June Bumpdate

Sorry for the baby post overload.  What can I say?  I'm kind of obsessed with my growing little girl!  We still don't have a name for her, so we've been lovingly referring to her as Ginger until we have one. It started out as a joke, because we're all pretty sure she's going to have red hair and so we thought it was funny to tell my mom we decided to name her Ginger... that didn't go over to well.  Nick and I were both cracking up, and then it just stuck.  So from henceforth, until we figure out her REAL name, I will refer to her as Ginger :-)

 6/3: 18 Weeks.  Still not really much of a belly.  I had a doctor's appointment this week for my big second trimester ultrasound.  It was really amazing how much they can tell about the baby already!  They wrote down the gender for us (just like my regular doctor did last week) so we could make doubly sure of what the baby is.  This is the week we had our gender reveal party!

 6/10: 19 Weeks.  Our little ginger is a Ginger!  I have a feeling that if it had been a boy we would be calling him Ron Weasley.  We are so excited to finally know what we are having... okay, so maybe I'm a little bit more excited because it means I can finally start shopping.  Nick and his bank account are slightly less excited.  We also celebrated 6 years of marriage this week.  Yay for anniversaries!

 6/17: 20 Weeks!  Halfway!  I FINALLY felt Ginger move!  On the 17th while sitting at my desk at work I felt little flutters!  YAY!!  Now I feel her move all the time.  I absolutely love it.

6/24: 21 Weeks.  This is the week that I am starting to feel like I look a little pregnant, rather than just like I've been putting on weight ;-)  I had my regular doctor's appointment this week.  Dr. Dimmette says Ginger is super active!  I sang a solo in church this week.  I think Ginger knew I was super nervous because she was moving like crazy before I went up, and then as soon as I sat down she gave me a couple of "great job Mom!" kicks.


I absolutely love being pregnant so far!  It probably helps that my pregnancy has been fairly smooth sailing, but especially now that I feel Ginger move, I love it even more.

Move Baby, Move!

If you were hoping for more pictures, sorry... No pictures this time.  I will put up my weekly belly pictures at the end of the month.

I've been meaning to write this post for almost two weeks now, but what can I say?  I'm lazy. 

I've been waiting eagerly to be able to feel this little girl move inside me, and I finally did!  I was 20 weeks on June 17 and was sitting at my desk at work when I felt little flutters.  I sat there, afraid to move because I was hoping it was her, and I felt it again, and then again.  Just sitting there feeling this little miracle move inside me brought tears to my eyes.  Sometimes I honestly can't believe that this is really happening - it feels like we had to wait so long for this stage of our lives and we have been through so much on our journey to get here.  Its all very surreal at times. 

Feeling her movements is the most amazing experience for me.  Every time I feel her, I stay so still wanting to keep feeling those little flutters and kicks.  Now that I know what it feels like, I have started feeling her more and more, and her movements are getting stronger every day.  I feel her the most sitting at my desk at work in the morning and right before lunch, and then in the evenings when I'm laying down on my back.  I cannot WAIT for Nick to be able to feel her as well.

Pregnancy is such an amazing gift.  I have known so many women who struggle through their pregnancies and are super duper sick the whole time - and I am so grateful that my pregnancy has been as easy as it has been so far.  I have also known women that do nothing but complain about every little thing - and that has always bothered me.  Although I haven't had the extreme of some of the symptoms that other women have, and while I sympathize that they are miserable, I still can't understand why they take such a blessing for granted.  Every symptom I've had - everytime I want to cut my boobs off because they hurt so bad, or my ankles swell up so much that it hurts to walk (yeah... that just started! Thankfully only when I eat salty foods.), or I'm so tired I almost fall asleep at work, or when I forget important things, or my legs get such bad cramps in the middle of the night that I wake up crying... everytime I feel something to do with the pregnancy it just makes my heart swell with gratitude for the incredible blessing growing inside me.  God has entrusted me with the care and protection of one of His choicest spirits.  What an immense responsibility that is, and what a gift!  I am grateful for everything that comes with pregnancy, both good and bad, because there are so many women out there who struggle to get pregnant and those who are not able to get pregnant at all.  I feel so lucky to be able to go through this experience.

My heart is full to the point of exploding.  I already love this little nameless girl so much, and she continues to solidify her place in my heart with every kick and flip.  I am excited to be able to feel her even more as she grows and gets stronger... though I may regret that when she is kicking me in the ribs...

Gender Reveal Party!

This past weekend we had a little get together with our family and close friends to find out if this little munchkin is a boy or a girl.  We had a blast chatting and eating yummy desserts, and even more fun cutting into the cake to reveal the gender.

The guesses.  There was a lot more blue than pink at the party, including both Nick and I.

 Friends and family.  We were so grateful to everyone that was able to come and truly missed those who couldn't be there.  I may or may not have cried when I was thanking everyone for coming.

 Lemon Pudding.  DELICIOUS!

Chocolate covered brownie bites.

Caramel Nut Tartlets.

 THE CAKE!  It was so hard not to bust it open from the second it was in the house.  

We actually ended up having two ultrasounds before the party.  The first one was at my normal doctor's office, and we had her seal up the gender in an envelope, which I took straight to Leesa Booker of Cakes and Mudpies.  My second ultrasound was the day before the party, and was my big second trimester ultrasound.  It was so fun to have them measure every itty bitty baby part and see how our little one was growing.  We also had the ultrasound tech seal up the gender in an envelope, just so we could open it after we cut into the cake to make extra sure we had the right gender.  Thankfully the cake and the envelope matched, and we are happy to say we are going to have a baby girl!

I was honestly in shock.  I was SURE it was a boy.  We had our boy name picked out, and hadn't even really talked about girl names because we BOTH were convinced it was a boy.  Honestly all I wanted was a healthy baby - I didn't really have a preference... It would have been fun to shop for tiny Ducks jerseys and suits, but I can't say I'm sad to get to shop for ruffles and sparkles and rhinestones...

We are so incredibly excited for our little girl.  I can't wait to be able to feel her move inside me (I still haven't felt anything yet... sad face) and for Nick to eventually be able to feel her move as well.  We want her to keep growing and developing into the feisty little ginger we just know she will eventually be.  Because let's face it, with all of the red heads on my side and Nick's side, there's no avoiding it.

PS - I've already made my first purchase for our baby girl.  Would you be surprised if I told you it was a teeny tiny pair of shoes?

May Bumpdate

Here's an update on my pregnancy:

Physically things have been wonderful thus far!  I haven't had any of the "normal" pregnancy symptoms... aka, no morning sickness (at least none worth mentioning).  Thank goodness.  I feel extremely grateful for that.  People keep asking me how I'm feeling, and the only thing I can say is "I feel great!"  The only real symptom of being pregnant I've had is extreme exhaustion, but even that is slowly getting better now that I'm in my second trimester.  Honestly, aside from the whole not having a period thing, I would have no idea that I was pregnant if I hadn't already had an ultrasound!  I am one lucky girl.

My whole first trimester passed without much of a hitch, but now that we're in the second trimester, the pregnancy hormones are in full effect.  So even though I feel fabulous physically, emotionally I feel like I got run over by a truck.  I am EXTREMELY self-conscious of the way I look.  Honestly, the only reason I'm taking weekly pictures is because I think I would be mad at myself later for not doing it.  I just feel fat all the time.  I can see my body changing and getting bigger, and even though I haven't actually gained a single pound, and even though I know its the baby growing that is causing these changes, I am having a much harder time with it than I ever imagined.

Today was an especially hard day emotionally.  I am really struggling with my self-esteem and with feeling valuable.  It just feels like every time I tell someone how I'm feeling I get responses like "you're just being silly" or "you need to stop worrying about it" or "that's just the hormones" or "you need to stop trying to control everything."  All of those responses just seem to make things so much worse.  I know things will get better, and I probably am being silly and worrying too much, but it doesn't change how I feel, and I wish that the people close to me could understand that.  But instead of those close to me understanding, I was yelled at and told off.  I often feel like I'm on a roller coaster of emotions.  One day I feel super happy and wonderful, and one day I feel like the rug has been pulled out from under me and I'm lying on the ground being sucker punched.

On a lighter note, we find out if our little munchkin is a he or a she next weekend!  I cannot wait.  And actually, there are two people out there who already know!  My doctor wrote down the gender and sealed it in an envelope, which I then took to the lady who is making a cake for our gender reveal party on Saturday!  The one thing about the party that makes me sad is that my mother and father in law will be in Canada that weekend :(  Major bummer.  We had NO idea they had planned a trip out of town, and we're really hoping that they are able to skype or facetime or something so that they can still "be there" for the big reveal.  

At my doctor's appointment last week, the doctor told me that we have an incredibly active baby.  In fact, while she was using the doppler machine to listen to the heartbeat, she had to keep moving it around to get a good read because the baby kept flipping and moving.  I cannot wait to get to feel those movements!

So other than the MAJOR emotional breakdown today (and when I say major, I mean full on hysterics, can't catch my breath, can't calm down, waterworks... for several hours), this pregnancy has been fairly easy.  I love knowing that I have a little boy/girl growing inside me.  Pregnancy is such a miracle, and I am so thankful that my Heavenly Father entrusted me with the care of this little spirit.