12 weeks 1 day

Yesterday was a magical day. Well, not really. Yesterday we hit 12 weeks. For some people, that means out of the first trimester. People usually have 3 different theories on how to calculate trimesters. For the 12 week people, 12 weeks is when the critical development time is over. The next theory is 13 weeks, basically 39 weeks divided by 3. The 3rd theory is 13 weeks and 3 days, 40 weeks divided by 3. I think Im gonna go by the 3rd theory. I wont be out of the first trimester till 13 weeks and 3 days.

We have our next appointment on April 19th. Just another basic one...weight, blood pressure, fetal heartbeat. However, just 4 weeks after that one is our anatomy scan! Hopefully we will be able to find out the sex of the baby and really start some planning. As you might have been able to tell by Brad's post, he is a realist. He doesnt really like to talk about names or baby purchases because he doesnt want to jinx anything. On the other hand, I get really excited about things and start to plan from day one. Im ready to start looking at car seats and changing tables but he just isnt ready to go there yet. Im really thinking that once we find out the sex, Brad will want to start doing that planning stuff.

Im still not really showing at all. Maybe just a little rounder in my lower belly. My doctor said Ill probably be showing more by my next visit. She also said Ill be able to feel some movements around the visit after that. Im hoping that I might get to feel some movement when we go to Panama City Beach in the first week of May.

The doctors appointments have been going well. Our last one they asked me about risk factors (physical and mental defects) that run in my family. The only one I could say yes to was "does anyone on your maternal side have diabetes". My Mom's brother has adult onset diabetes so that one was a yes. It took the doctor about a minute to find the heartbeat (11 weeks is still a little early to find it reliably). However, once she found it, it was just beating away at 162BPM. Our baby is thriving and getting bigger by the day. They also asked us if we wanted to do any genetic screening at all. We decided not to, we will love our baby no matter what. Knowing the risks wont change anything and there is no reason to worry unnecessarily.

I still go through days when I start to realize how much our lives are going to change. Sometimes I wonder if we are truly ready for it. Everyone always says that being a mom is the best thing in the world. Im sure it is...but I also know that I cant truly fathom that until my time actually comes. Right now Im just taking it day by day and hoping that everything will turn out okay.

As for how I feel this week, I feel pretty good! Im much less tired, no more naps. Not sick or anything. The last 2 days Ive had a horrible headache but I dont really think thats a pregnancy symptom. The spring is here and I think its a sinus thing. I need to go buy some allergy meds and start taking them everyday. Maybe Ill send Brad out to get some today. :)

Have a great day everyone!

P.S. Dont I just have the most wonderful husband? He is my rock and I love him more than you know :).

Daddy's turn!

Ok, so after weeks and weeks of my busy life and the constant hounding of my wonderful loving wife, Here I am making my first post.  So , where to begin, not sure so Ill just start with how I feel todayand how I got to this point.  Not long after moving to Nashvegas, I met Allison through coaching at Let It Shine gymnastics.  She was the first girl who didnt fall for my "charm" because she had plans with another guy the night I asked her out.  Well, i forgot about her after that but also respected the character that she showed in following through with her word and date with the other guy.  The next thing I know she is moving back to Nashville from Knoxville Tn.  She was also looking for a place to live.  Well, I had a roomy and she needed a place so we all figured why not get the best bang for all of our buck and get a house.  So, after moving in together as three young friends all with the same interests and background, the rest is kinda history, I fell in love with Al and here we are Married and O wait yea thats right with a Little One on the way. 

So, Al thinks im not to excited because I have always had a way of not showing my ecitement about things, guess thats just how I am.  However, I can express that through the blog and let her know that I am so very excited about being a Dad!  I love kids and have always wanted a family, and now look at where I am headed.  Very scared, worried, stressed, excited, and impatient as well.  In other words the emotions I have gone through with life the last 6 months have been  a complete roller coaster ride.

So, now on to where I am now, I am very excited, the hardest part has been adjusting to her tiredness, mood swings, and o yea the weird cravings.  I love the "glow" that she has around her all the time, she has embraced this wonderful time in our life and I have done as good as I feel I can to comfort her have patience with her and be there for her as much as she needs. 

I know that my mom always tells me that God would not put something in your life without also giving you all of the tools needed to be able to handle it.  I am going to put all of my faith in Gods hands with the future and continue to pray that he will guide us through life and bless us with our new and upcoming family.  On that note, I am going through a tough time right now with my job, and us also trying to get approved to buy a house.  I dont break down much as men are not supposed to do, however, I have experienced new stresses lately that I have never gone through before and some of them I have no Idea how to cope with nor how to step up to and that being said, I do reach out for all of your prayers as well while Al and I go through this difficult and stressful time with my job and the house situation, and even though its hard I know there are supposed to be bumps in the road and even though this bump seems to feel more like a mountain, I know some how with prayers and God willing we will make it through and What better motivation that to think that  before I know it I am going to have another blessing in my life that is well worth fighting and living for. 

Al, I love you my dear and you are my miracle in life when I didnt know how to continue living, So always know that and remember that I love you with all of my heart and will be here no matter what as I know you will too! 

P.S.  Hearing the heartbeat at the doc the other day was really amazing, makes you realize that its really real!!!  Cant wait to find out what we are having, and I made this post long just on the notion that it may take me another month before I can get back on here to post again.........lol!  Till next time....

Its been a while...

I usually try to do weekly updates but its been kinda boring over here. Im feeling great! Im still tired pretty early in the night but Im not sick, my heartburn is WAY better, and Im overall feeling well. Honestly, its a little scary sometimes (like maybe I should have some symptoms if Im pregnant) but I told Brad how I felt. He said that Im still bitchy sometimes (oops) so he knows Im still pregnant. Even though he called me bitchy, he still takes care of me and makes sure Im feeling good. Ive wanted some sour gummy worms for like a week and couldnt get any. We went to the movies the other night and even THEY were out of them. Well he was so sweet and stopped by CVS on the way home from his workout to pick some up for me :). Its really the little things like that that truly matter. We have our next appointment in 6 days! I cant wait to go back and make sure everything is still progressing correctly. My doctor said that they would try and find the heartbeat with a Doppler but if they couldnt find it (its still a little early to definitely be able to find it), she would do another ultrasound to make sure everything is okay. I secretly hope they dont find it so we can see our baby again.

Ive been doing some research on predicting the sex of our baby. Now I know that nothing is definite but its still fun to speculate. Now here are the theories Ive looked at...
Chinese Gender Chart - http://www.thebump.com/calculators/ChineseGenderChart.aspx
-Just put in your age and the month you conceived and it tells you what you are having.
Our Result: BOY
Intelligender - www.intelligender.com
-You can buy these at Walgreens for around $40.00. Just pee in a cup, wait 5 min, and read result.
Our Result: BOY
Baby Gender Tool - http://www.babygendertool.com/
-Kinda like the Chinese Gender Chart but asks for the birth month and year of the parents as well.
Our Result: BOY
Placenta Theory - http://www.obgyn.net/ultrasound/ultrasound.asp?page=/fm/articles/fetal_gender_placental_location
-This theory is probably the most intriguing and requires a little more explanation. Basically this guy did a study from 1997 to 2007 and did ultrasounds at 6 weeks of over 5000 pregnant women. He found that if the placenta was on the right side of the woman's body, 97.2% of the time, the baby was male. If the placenta was on the left side of the woman's body, 97.5% of the time, the baby was female.
Our Result: BOY (If you want to check mine out, look at the picture at the top of the page and the left side (my right) is whiter than the right side (my left))

So based on these results, we are probably having a girl (LOL). Brad will never believe anything until that baby comes out (I was thought to be a boy and he was thought to be a girl till we were born). But its interesting to check it out. Anyway...enough for today...I should probably get to work.

For all of you ladies who already have babies, check out your ultrasounds and see what side your placenta is on...Id like to know if its true. :)

8 weeks...again

So at my appointment last week, the doctor said I was measuring a week behind what I thought. So we are looking at an October 11th due date. Not too far off! We have our next appointment on March 23rd where we will hopefully hear the heartbeat with a doppler. If not, my doctor said she would do another Ultrasound. So anyway, my doctor sent me a letter today. It had how much we are responsible for for doctors fees. I really feel like I am very lucky to have great insurance. We only owe the doctor $500.00 and my deductible is only $600.00. That fee doesnt include the hospital stay but does include all 13 visits Im supposed to have and my doctor's fees for delivering the baby and a 6 week post birth checkup. I really feel like that is reasonable. My insurance pays 80% of everything so our hospital fees shouldnt be too crazy either. If we decide to have an extra Ultrasound or have extra blood work or anything, that will be extra. But once again, my insurance pays 80%.

So anyway...on to the good stuff. Im feeling pretty well. Im still getting some crampy feelings but its probably because I dont drink enough water. I know I dont drink enough water but I just cant get myself to down 3 bottles a day. My sickness is basically gone already (lucky huh?), and my boobs are a LOT less sore. The one thing that is sticking around is fatigue. Im still soooo tired. I just want to go to bed at 8 every night. So I usually get in a nap before Brad gets home. I have also noticed that I dont have ANY patience anymore. Its so hard for me to be nice to people if they get on my nerves. I also cry more easily. Im not crying at stupid things or anything...just when something is sad (Extreme Makeover: Home Edition), I cry a lot easier. Anyway...enough rambling.

Im still trying to get Brad to write an entry...one day. :)