Wrapping Up the Year

... or unwrapping since Christmas was just a few days ago. This year has flown by so fast I can hardly believe it. 8 months ago my husband was coming home from Iraq, and 7 months ago we found out I'm pregnant. We celebrated our one year wedding anniversary, my 20th birthday, our first Christmas being physically together, and now we're 5 1/2 weeks away from me being full term. I never thought pregnancy would go by this fast, and I'm definitely excited that it has. It's been a good while since I've posted any new updates on my pregnancy but nothing too exciting or note worthy has happened, until yesterday. I woke up yesterday noticing that my belly seemed smaller and a lot lower than usual. Midday came and I still looked the same and even felt some unpleasant pressure in my pelvis and a lot of pain in my butt while Sean and I were out shopping. When I got home I took a picture to compare to my 31 week pics (just 2 days prior) and sure enough, Gunnar had dropped. It wasn't a significant amount, but still lower none the less. Now today rolls along and I go out to do my final shopping at Kohls. I woke up feeling like he was even lower than yesterday. I had a lot more pressure than before and felt like I had to pee even after having already gone (not to be confused with the unpleasant sensation when you have a uti though). When walking around Kohls my pelvis hurt and I felt a little crampy but nothing serious at all. My butt hurt even worse and the right side of my lower back also killed. The only relief was when I sat down. Later on, as in an hour ago, I decided to take another picture to compare yet again. I compared to both my 31 week picture and my pictures from yesterday. He dropped even more as I had presumed. The kicker came though when I placed the image from 31 weeks and today (31 weeks 3 days) side my side. My oh my how low he is! See for yourself:Please, please, please pray for me that I deliver between 37-38 weeks. Who knows what my chances are since *normally* first time babies stay in longer, but seeing as how school is out and my only real event until he's born is my baby shower I'd rather not have to wait until the end of February to be blessed with his presence. I just want to have my baby boy already!

Pregnancy Week by Week

Week 1: The Journey Begins
Week 2: Baby Koehler Conceived!
Week 3: Morning Sickness started (I didn't realize I could be preggo)
Week 4: June 22- Found out we're Expecting!
Week 5: 2 Months Pregnant
Week 6:
Week 7:
Week 8: 1st OB appointment
Week 9: 3 Months Pregnant
Week 10: OB appointment- heard heartbeat for the 1st time
Week 11:
Week 12: OB appointment- 1st U/S & blood work
Week 13:
Week 14: Felt Baby move for the first time; 2nd Trimester!
Week 15: OB appointment- sequential screening part 2
Week 16:
Week 17: Morning sickness subsided; Felt baby kick from outside (17w,6d)
Week 18: Daddy felt baby kick for the first time (18w,2d)
Week 19: It's a Boy!!!
Week 20:
Week 21:
Week 22: 6 Months Pregnant
Week 23: OB appointment-140 bpm
Week 24: OB appointment- cyst under placenta is benign. Baby is 1lb 9oz
Week 25: Leaked colostrum for the first time- left side only
Week 26: Felt the outline of Gunnar's foot when he kicked (26w,6d)
Week 27: Final Trimester. OB appointment- passed glucose screening test
Week 28: Gunnar hangs out in my ribs. No longer able to eat a lot.
Week 29: No longer able to see over my belly while showering...
Week 30: Gunnar confirmed to be in head down position
Week 31: He dropped a little... cervix is lower

Pity Party for One

I'm only 26 weeks (technically I will be as of tomorrow) and I can already feel the 3rd trimester yuckness settle in. I woke up this morning with immense back pain that pretty much covered my entire back, and lucky me this isn't the first time this week that it's happened. Not only back pain, but also some lovely stomach pains and complete exhaustion- as in i'm ready to go to bed at 7pm.

This weekend (Saturday-Monday) we moved into Sean's parent's house for the next few months so we can save some money before Gunnar arrives. We didn't start packing until Thursday night so all night and then all of Friday we did nothing but pack. It was hectic and no fun, my body hated me for it. There were several times during the day where I would just get a ton of BH contractions because I was just doing too much for my body to handle. I was drinking water all day long too which i thought would help prevent it but it didn't. Since then, I've been having them every now and then- woe is me.

And then there's the school issue... a whole other story. A ended up dropping my history class and accepting the "w" (withdrawal). That class was just too much for me and I had an awful teacher that I was learning nothing from. History has always been my worst subject and if I have a teacher that can't teach it well or make it excited, i'm not going to do well. It's a GE course so I needed to get a C or better in order to get the credits and that wasn't going to happen so I said forget it i'm not wasting my energy on it anymore. My other 3 classes are going well but I'm at the point where i just want it all to be over (2 more weeks of classes left). I'm just at my wits end and have a hard time studying, staying in class for that full hour sitting on my butt, and just having the energy to get through the school day. Luckily though, the end is near and I can see the light.

/end rant.

C is for Cyst

Today was my appointment for a follow up on the cyst found under my placenta. GOOD NEWS! It's Benign! The doctor said that the cyst was something very common; they see it just about everyday. It's the result of amnion rising up and doesn't interfere with the baby at all. That was definitely a huge relief for me even though my OB said not to worry about it.

In addition to finding out that good news, we got to see all the other bits and pieces that make up our little boy. His kidneys are perfect, so is his heart. All measurements are right on target too! He's in the breech position with the top of his at the very tip top of my uterus (which is RIGHT under my ribs now) and his feet are off to the left side.. which explains all the kicking i've been feeling in my pelvis. Sean and I both noticed that this kid seems to have incredible long legs- just like his mama. His nose also looks to be the same as mine, but we'll see for sure in a few weeks. That's right! On November 26 we're having our 4D ultrasound! yay! I'm way excited for all the excitement that will bring.

That's all for now, hope everyone is having a good Tuesday!

A Case of the Mondays

Project 365 has come to a halt. There is just too much going on right now that I don't have the time to remember to take a picture everyday and edit it, then post it (plus i'm working with a film camera which makes it that much more time consuming). I'll take it up next year sometime instead.

We have a cute new cute lil 10 week old puppy. His name is Benelli and he is a Belgian Shepherd Malinois. He is SO well behaved! Potty training it going well, he still has his accidents of course though because he hasn't developed the necessary muscles to hold it yet, but he understands that outside=bathroom. We also let him sleep on our bed with us at night and he doesn't have any accidents! In the two weeks we've had him we've taught him how to sit and are now working on sit-stay and shake. I'm looking to get him into a puppy class once he's 12 weeks, he needs the socialization.

For a more personal update, on the 17 of this month we'll be moving out of our apartment and into Sean's parent's house (don't worry i LOVE my in laws!). After going back on reserve status, Sean has had the hardest time finding a job despite his endless efforts. He is now in the process of going on RA for 9 months but was given the wrong paperwork and we're now back to square one. So who knows how long this process will take. In the meantime, we'll be living with his parents for a few months (February 1 will be the VERY latest i'm willing to stay there) so we can save money and make sure we have enough to move into a 2 bedroom place- we also need to get our savings going again. I really think this will help us out a lot because we can pay off some debt without having to worry about all those big ticket bills.

As far as the pregnancy goes, everything is ok so far. I have an appointment tomorrow morning for a follow up on the cyst found under my placenta. We'll see how that goes, but my OB said to not worry about it. The only thing that's been bothering me BIG time is that my tail bone has been literally KILLING me since last Saturday. I cannot sit for longer than 20 minutes at the most. It even hurts to lay down sometimes. I know it's due to the fact that Gunnar is sitting down low and just not in a fun spot but it still sucks; and then adding him kicking me in the pelvis which vibrates all through my lower back/tail bone area is NO fun! Ugh, it's just been one of those bad weeks and i'm ready for Thanksgiving holiday already.

Gunnar Kicking

I have to give the credit to Meggan G. for this idea because it was her video of Emalyn kicking that made me want to do this too- so thanks Meggan!
Anyways, after about 5 weeks of trying to get a clip of him kicking, I succeeded!! It's WAY harder than it seems.

Could I be...

any worse of a blogger? Seriously. For those who blog stalk me, I'm so sorry for my lack of posting. Truth is, there hasn't been a whole lot baby wise to post about. I'm 23 1/2 weeks along and just had another OB/GYN appointment this morning. Everything was good of course, nothing really exciting happens on the little check ups. My bp was 119/79 which is pretty high for me but I'll attribute it to some unknown factor lol. I've now gained (as of today) a total of 14 pounds! Yikes! I', 99% sure it's all in my butt too seeing as my MATERNITY pants are now tight in the ass, lovely. Oh the joys of having this kid in me.

So far I still haven't experienced heartburn. My doctor thought I had when I was telling her symptoms but after talking to a lot of people I found that heartburn does last a consistent 48 hours with no pain what so ever. That was just the awesome pain of having my uterus shoving my lungs up into my ribs and squishing the crud out of them.

Gunnar has been kicking me like crazy. Now I know what ladies mean when they say "boxing champ". It's so true! There have been a few times where he kicked me so hard it felt like A) my pelvis was going to shatter B) he was going to just fall out lol or C) I had period cramps. I love watching my belly jump around, it's good entertainment and Daddy loves it too! Hiccups are also a frequency with this lil boy and boy are they funny feeling. I'm still amazed everyday about the changes going on with my body and I couldn't be more in love with the way I look! I don't think i've felt this great about myself in a while (not like i ever hated the way i looked). I have more updates about project 365 and also about family life but I'll post those later on today- Just thought I'd give ya'll the baby update!

The "infamous" (yes, infamous) belly button
**my belly looks crooked because Gunnar was hangin out on my far right side**

Project 365

I've seen so many people do this project and decided I wanted to give it a try too! For those that don't know, project 365 is where you take a picture a day for a whole year. As of right now I only have my digital camera, but for my birthday i'm asking for a digital SLR (which my husband knows i've been wanting for a long time). It's likely that i'll get that because i NEED, yes need, it before Gunnar comes! Anways, here's the first 4 days

It's a ...

as most of you now know, we're expecting a lil baby BOY! I couldn't be more excited. before we found out I was dead set on wanting a girl but once we found out it's a boy, i no longer wished it was a girl. i've babysat baby boys all my life so i have a ton of experience with them and i think i'd be somewhat at a loss as to what to do with a girl- a boy would just be personally easier for me. the more i've let it sink in and what not, i really hope our next child is a boy too (but we'll see if i still feel that way after this one). my appointment went well, with one little concern. the ultrasound tech found a cyst under the placenta so now i have to have a follow up on that to see how the blood is flowing and if everything is alright- from the u/s everything with the baby looked perfect so my doctor isn't too concerned at all... but i am =/

after my appt we headed over to babies r us to start the registry. lets just say i got a tiny bit carried away with the whole boy theme lol. my son will have a ton of blue boy stuff. if you'd like to take a look or feel like shopping here's the registry: http://www.toysrus.com/registry/index.jsp <-- search for Ashley Koehler

Gender Poll!

Nineteen Week Belly


Is it a lil Prince or Princess?


I am for sure carrying high


My belly button getting ready to pop!

One Day Shy.

... of 19 weeks! That means one more week and I'm at the halfway mark! Boy does time fly. Things have been hectic and full of new and exciting events this past week. To start off, I felt the baby kick from the outside on September 24 (17 weeks 6 days). Unfortunately my husband was working all night and wouldn't be home until the following day so he didn't get to feel Munchkin then. However, on Saturday night (September 27- 18 w, 2 days) we were laying in bed watching a movie and the baby was kicking HARD so I took Sean's hand and put it on my belly and sure enough the little one kicked Daddy! Sean got really excited but was sad because he only got kicked once. Lots more where that came from though. This week is midterm week- woo hoo... not. In addition to that my husband is out of town from tues-fri on a hunting trip with his dad and bro, boo. However, that is good for me because then I can concentrate on studying like a good student. Because of my midterms, I doubt I'll post tomorrow so I figured I'd give the baby update one day early.

This baby is very active, and loves my left side. Every so often i'll look down at my stomach (as i did yesterday) and will see a huge bulge on my left side, trying to moon the outside world perhaps? Anyways it's totally cute but a tad bit creepy lol. My uterus is huge, who knows how big in relation to a type of fruit it is, i'll have to consult my WTE book for that. I've gained a total of 4 pounds in 19 weeks- not exactly what my OB wants but if i'm healthy then I don't see the problem. The itchy belly continues on almost a daily basis now. it's bareable though, thankfully. So far I have NOT experienced the following: darkening of my skin, heartburn (knock on wood), and leg cramps.

The big news (or upcoming news really) is that NEXT MONDAY, OCTOBER 6, we find out the sex of the baby!!!!!!!! My u/s is at 10:45am and then i'll see my OB by 11:45 and get the regular check up stuff. I'm so excited but i think my husband may be even more excited than myself lol.
19 week belly pictures will be posted tomorrow if I get the chance!

An Updated Cravings and Aversions

In August there was a post made about the things I craved and averted. Since then things have obviously changed so I figured I might as well make another post with the recent likes and dislikes of mine.

Wants:

  • Hamburgers (yep, still) with Extra pickles!
  • Grilled Cheese w/ LOTS of pickles!
  • See a pattern? yep, it's Pickles!
  • Fruit
  • Juice
The Yuck Stuff:
  • Chicken
  • Ranch
  • Pizza
  • Turkey

Appologies.

After reading my last two posts it came to my attention that I'm not being the blogger I wanted to be. I'm not being the pregnant woman I wanted to be. The point of this blog is not to whine and complain or even rant. It's to inform and keep all those friends and family in the loop about the journey my husband and I are going through. I apologize. I've heard many pregnant women complain and complain about their symptoms or pain and I frankly found it annoying (although maybe that was being THEY were pregnant and I was envious?). Anyways, I vowed to not be that person. That vow has been broken. This is the only place that I will actually come and rant or whine about what's going on and I don't like that. It feels like I'm telling people that pregnancy is awful and that is not the case. I absolutely love being pregnant. It's an amazing thing to go through and I would and will do it over again. There are just times when it's not so pleasant. Those times are the ones I find myself focusing on more than others and that is going to stop. If you ever hang out with me in person you know that I don't go around complaining about pains or anything. I try to suck it up as best I can because most of the time there's not a darn thing I can do about it so I try to make the best of the situation. I plan on bringing this aspect of my real life into my blogging world. When my child and I read back on this I want him/her to see how much I loved the experience and not get the idea that it was awful. So in light of my recent realization, my posts will become more optimistic as they should be. I can't promise there won't be days when things just go badly and I need to vent, it happens, but shouldn't be a daily thing. End.

Pregnancy Week by Week

Week 1: The Journey Begins
Week 2: Baby Koehler Conceived!
Week 3: Morning Sickness started (I didn't realize I could be preggo)
Week 4: June 22- Found out we're Expecting!
Week 5: 2 Months Pregnant
Week 6:
Week 7:
Week 8: 1st OB appointment
Week 9: 3 Months Pregnant
Week 10: OB appointment- heard heartbeat for the 1st time
Week 11:
Week 12: OB appointment- 1st U/S & blood work
Week 13:
Week 14: Felt Baby move for the first time; 2nd Trimester!
Week 15: OB appointment- sequential screening part 2
Week 16:
Week 17: Morning sickness subsided; Felt Gunnar kick from outside (17w,6d)
Week 18: Daddy felt Gunnar kick for the first time (18w,2d)

Yep, one of "those" days. the days where you don't want to wake up. or go to school. or even keep your eyelids open. I'm finally about 95% over my cold and last night was the first night I did not take tylenol before bed. I kind of wish I did. For the past 5 days I had been getting an amazing night of sleep. No waking up, no tossing and turning. Just pure uninterrupted sleep. Last night that was not the case. I had my usual 2 trips to bathroom with the extra 2 times of waking up just because I wasn't comfortable. On top of that, I woke up an additional two more times due to back and/or stomach pains. Not Fun! Luckily, I picked up the heating pad from my parent's house last night so when I woke up at night I just used that and it felt a lot better. Anyways, back to the point. An awful night of sleep + waking up at 6am for school was not going in my favor. On my way to school I started having ligament pains again and I wanted so badly to just turn around and go home but I knew I couldn't. Actually, there were about 4 times at school that I just wanted to up and leave. I love school and all, just not when I'm pregnant. That's a whole 'nother ball game that I don't want to play anymore. If I wasn't so dead set on getting my degree I swear I'd stop going. It's just been a bad day and I guess I needed to vent more than anything. I'm just glad that my little one is kicking up a storm right now when I am not in pain so I can actually enjoy the awesome feeling. Please feel free to send prayers my way- I could use them!

One Year Anniversary

Yesterday marked mine and my husband's one year anniversary. I can't believe it has already been a whole year! Time has sure flown by way fast. For those that don't know, we have been through a ton this past year and my husband wasn't even home for all of it. Just for a recap, here's what went on:
2007
Sept 21- Married
Oct 9 - Sean deployed for 7 months
Dec- Started planning our church wedding
2008
April- Moved into our new apartment
May 5- Sean came home
June 22- Found out we're expecting
July 11- Church Wedding
Aug- Sean no longer working
Sept- Our anniversary
Although we've only been physically together for a little over 4 months, we still were married all this time and had to go through the same things, and some other harder things, that regular civilian couples go through. It's been a whirlwind but I've enjoyed every single moment of it and I'm thrilled to spend the rest of my years with my wonderful husband.

Now for a baby update: Munchkin is well, kicking/punching up a storm in my belly that's for sure! This kid really moves around a lot and makes sure I know it. Still no sickness, but since that's the case, my body has decided to give me incredibly horrible back and ligament pains. The past two nights have been horrific as far as pain goes- literally pushing me to tears. I'm guessing my body is doing some major shifting and my uterus is growing a lot right now since this is the first time I've had ligament pain that lasted more than 5 minutes and more than once a week. Hopefully I get a break soon. Other than the pain, I'm doing very well, just patiently waiting for our next appointment. 14 more days!

Kicks and Squirms

BIG DEAL!


For those of you who have been pregnant/are pregnant, you know. Those first kicks, thumps, squirms. They're just amazing. And let me tell you, I have quite the active lil munchkin in me! This baby LOVES to kick and punch mommy at night- and they're quite strong too. I figure that in no time hubby will be able to feel it too- maybe he can feel it now? I've been feeling baby now since I was 15 weeks, but I wasn't positive if it was the baby or not at the time. Everything is just peachy and baby is being a lot nicer to mommy now. Except now I'm dealing with the following symptoms:

  • growing pains- OUCH!
  • back pains to a greater degree
  • dizziness.. still
  • and this isn't exactly a symptom but since I can't lay on my back (or even reclining because of the pressure) I'm having one heck of a time finding positions that I'm comfy in

16 Week Belly Pics!

They're 4 days late but here they are!

"16" Week OB appointment

This morning I had my 16 week appointment, even though I'm not quite 16 weeks yet. My morning didn't start out too hot. No more than 5 minutes after I woke up I was hanging over the toilet throwing up (lovely, I know). I have been doing so well in the nausea department too that I was hoping it was coming to an end- guess not. Anyways, for the past couple weeks I've been freaking out that something was wrong with my baby thanks to the lovely posts I read on the babycenter mommy boards. I weighed in at 130, which was before I went to the bathroom. When I can home I weighed myself again and I was almost 2 pounds lighter because I had finally peed out all the juice and water I drank (I was VERY thirsty). My BP was 129/70, a lot higher than it was last time but nothing to worry about. My doc's nurse whom I love very much because she is so sweet reassured me that the pains I was having around my belly button were definitely growing pains. Doc M (as Sean calls her lol) finally came in she went to straight to the comp to check my results from my sequential screening. Those results came back perfect with me being a nice low risk pregnancy so she was happy about that. Today was the day I was to have my second part of the sequential screening (basically a follow up). BECAUSE of my good results, I only needed to have blood drawn- no U/S, so we didn't get to see Munchkin today or get a peek at his/her goods. That wasn't a huge deal to me because I got to hear my baby's heartbeat and that put my mind at ease. All I wanted to know was that my child was still alive and moving around. I had a few questions to ask too. She showed me where the top of my uterus is- so cool! Told me I'm no longer allowed to lay flat on my back- boo. And said that those taps I'm feeling at night may very well be the baby, especially since when she checked for the heartbeat, Munchkin was on the left side which is where I've been feeling the taps. That concluded my appointment.
The main point here though is that we didn't get to see our Munchkin which is what we were hoping for. Our next U/S, when I'm 19 weeks, will be on Oct. 6- so we'll find out then for sure!

Slacking. Oops!

It has come to my attention thanks to a fellow blog stalker and CW sister that I'm overdue for a blog entry; and boy is she right! So thanks Kassi for giving me that kick in the butt to update my blog =)

I haven't posted in a while because, well, I didn't think I had anything to really talk about that was of any importance since there have been no major events. I was wrong. A ton has gone on!\
For starters, I'm now 15 weeks which means I officially entered my second trimester last Thursday (finally!). Not a lot to update on Munchkin except that if all goes well, we may find out for sure what the gender is on Monday, September 8! Let's hope our little one is not afraid to show its stuff like last time. 
As far as my pregnancy in general goes, I'm feeling 100% better! Morning sickness has died down. I have energy. Sex drive exists, woo hoo! My belly is really growing. And I finally have some new prenatals that don't make me puke. Unfortunately, there are always some negative symptoms. I'm dizzy/lighted what seems like all the time. Growing pains HURT! My belly itches. Back is killing me. And I still get up at least 1-2 times a night to pee. Overall though, I'd take these symptoms over my first trimester ones any day. Still not sure if I've felt baby yet. There have been a couple moments when I thought so but I'm just not at the point where I can really tell yet. That's all in the pregnancy department.
Since most of the pregnancy related stuff isn't too juicy, I figured I'd add a little bit of life in general. My marriage is awesome and we're creeping up on our One Year Anniversary- September 21! I can't believe how fast this past year has gone. Sean is really getting into my pregnancy and tells me often that "I really look pregnant and am showing a lot." Silly man lol, duh! He's also big on kissing my belly and cannot wait for the day when he gets to start playing music to my belly for baby to hear. I love his excitement about this all, it helps to reassure me that everything WILL be ok. 
In other news, school started back up 2 weeks ago and I'm now a sophomore! I absolutely love school and am thrilled to be back. Sitting around all day is just not something I'm good at. I'm a nerd lol. Unfortunately, due to the baby in my tummy, I'll only be going to school for the fall semester but I'm making it my goal to not let myself get behind. I am still determined to graduate in 4 years! After this semester I'll only have 5 units left of GE and I'll have completed 1/3 of my total unit needed. Time for some internet classes to keep up! 
My brain is not up to its full potential right now. It's 8:20 and I'm done with the "active" part of babysitting (aka- child is now asleep). I'm worn out and tired. Can't think of anything else to write. If something pops up, I'll write about it tomorrow. Until then, God Bless and Good Night!

Symptoms and what not

I'm not sure I ever posted about the symptoms I had/have, so I figured I would.

Weeks 4-10:
- Nausea
- Frequent Urination
- Exhaustion
- Eat everything follow by eating nothing
- Sore boobs --> needing a bigger bra
- Excess saliva
- Bloating
- Gassy

Weeks 11-current (12):
- Nausea
- Frequent Urination
- VERY selective eating
- (tmi) Constipation- not that bad though
- Gassy
- Visible Veins
- Faintness/ Dizziness

Thursday 8/14 I had my appointment at Mission Hospital for my Sequential Screening. For those that don't know what it is, it's a test performed in the 1st trimester to determine my risk factor during this pregnancy (high risk or low risk). It won't tell me if my baby has Down's Syndrome or anything like that but it lets the mommy know how high the chances are of the baby having it. Luckily for me, the younger you are (and also depending on your family history if it's all good) the less likely you are for a high risk pregnancy. The Screening is a combination of blood drawn and an ultrasound. The blood is used to test for measuring hCG levels and PAPP-A (another hormone). The ultrasound is used to measure a thin layer or fluid that accumulates in the back of the baby's neck (NT). If there's more fluid, it could indicate an increased risk. The two tests combined with age provide a risk assessment for Down Syndrome and Trisomy 18. If everything comes back normal I will have a follow up test later on to make sure my risk is still low.
Now that you have the idea of what it is, I'll fill you on the appointment. Let's start with the fact that the only time I've been to Mission Hospital was when I was taken to the ER so I had no idea where to go or anything... and we got lost looking for the correct building and had to be re-directed lol. Once there the impatient waiting began. Soon enough I was called in to get my blood drawn (something I absolutely HATE!). I was then sent back out to the waiting room and asked to wait for the U/S tech to finish up. In the time I was waiting til I was called in for the U/S, I managed to realize how badly I had to pee... and they made me hold it. Laying on the table and looking at the monitor I finally got to see our baby. I looked at my husband and he had a HUGE smile on his face (he said hearing the heartbeat didn't make it real- an u/s would). The tech had no idea it was our first u/s until I told her so she took some awesome pics for us (below). She took three measurements of the NT and all measurements were normal (yay!). She then asked if she could get a good view, if we wanted to know the sex of our baby (at 12 weeks??). Well our baby was very open about its goodies and had no problem spreading its legs. She told us that there was a 75% chance it's a boy... although the umbilical cord COULD have been wrapped through its legs which is common... so we'll see in a few more weeks.
Overall, everything went really well and we were thrilled to finally see our Munchkin. Oh and I finally got to go to the bathroom too! lol.
3 1/2 more weeks until the next appointment when we get to see Munchkin again! Woo Hoo!

And here are the U/S pics:

Munchkin with its arm covering its face:


Our child showing his/her goodies:



And the 12 Weeks belly pics for good measure:


11 week appointment

I had my 11 week appt. on Thursday (8/7). It was no big deal; the reason for the appt was just to see if we could hear Munchkin's hearbeat.
Took all of 2 seconds after getting in the office for me to run to the bathroom- I downed quite a bit of water and hadn't gone to the bathroom for 2 hours prior to make certain I had to go- and I did.
Weight was taken, I "gained" 2 pounds (we ate some lunch at the mall literally RIGHT before my appointment). Blood pressure was perfect- 107 over 69! yay!
Then my doc came. She went over the blood work I had done last time. Everything came out perfect, nothing to worry about! I now know my blood type and that I'm also rH Positive which is good news. 2 Minutes later she had the doppler out and we got to hear our beautiful child's heartbeat. It was the most amazing thing ever and made this whole pregnancy finally seem so real. I was giddy for the rest of the day because of that =)
A future appointment was then made for 5 weeks later (I'll be 16 weeks then). I was told that I needed to gain 5 pounds by then, not something I'll be able to do easily but I don't have a choice. The upcoming appointment is were I'll have my second portion of the Sequential Screening- the big U/S. The appt I have this upcoming Thursday is just for the blood work-- boring. I'm hoping that we might be lucky enough to find out the sex of Munchkin at my 16 week appt, I know it's possible; let's hope we have a baby that likes to flaunt his/her stuff!
Well that's all for now I guess, my energy is back up the way I like it and I'm starting to get my appetite back. Good news!

Cravings & Aversions

I thought I'd make this post because it seems to be a question that everyone asks me. What do I crave? Is there any food I liked pre-pregnancy that I now can't stand? This will answer everyone's questions!
I never thought about writing this kind of stuff down because it's just something I remember. However, today I made myself a turkey melt.. something I have always loved (especially the turkey part!) and to my dismay, I hated it.

Cravings:

  • Fruit- apples, peaches, bananas, berries, you name it. If it's fruit or contains fruit, I'll eat it!
  • Vegetarian sandwiches from Subway
  • M&Ms
  • Hamburgers
  • Tuna.... which I can't have as often as I'd like
Aversions (specifically food I used to love):
  • Mashed potatoes
  • Ranch- the mere sight of it makes me nauseous
  • Honey Mustard
  • Teriyaki
  • All Deli meat
  • Steak
  • Chicken

Food I crave that I used to dislike:
  • Top Ramen- any flavor
  • Chocolate Milk
If I (or my husband) can think of anything else, or anything changes, I'll be sure to update this!

10 weeks 2 days

Here are my 10 week belly pictures! (although technically they're 10 weeks 2 days)
Sorry for the not so pretty quality. They were taken with my phone as you can tell.


oh the slacking

Yesterday I hit the 10 Week mark!
Wow I never thought I'd slack THIS much at the very beginning of blogging. Can I use the "I'm pregnant" excuse for this one? No matter the case, things have not been too crazy or hectic at all- I've just been beyond drained and find myself wanting to do nothing but lay my head on the pillows and drift off into my insane dreams.
About that doctors appointment... everything was good! My weight was 126 (it fluctuates between 124-127) and I didn't get to find out what my BP was but I'll definitely be asking at my next appointment so I can keep track in my pregnancy journal. I finally got my PAP for this year which was long overdue and I haven't heard any news about it so I'm guessing everything was fine (?). My OB/GYN said my uterus was measured at 9 weeks (I was 8 weeks 5 days at the time) and was growing right on schedule but it was a little thin; she didn't seem too concerned about that though so no need to worry at this point. I decided the only test of the optional ones I wanted to receive was the Sequential Screening (blood drawn+U/S) because it's the least invasive and doesn't require anything that would totally freak me out. Luckily my husband and I have perfectly healthy families with no histories of any types of illness so there's a VERY slim chance that my pregnancy will be high risk (also because I'm young). Tricare approved the request to have the testing done so I will be going in on Aug 14 to Mission Hospital to have that done- which I'm so excited for! Anyways, back to the appointment, my doctor pulled out the Doppler to see if she could hear Munchkin's heartbeat- no luck though. However, because of this, she wanted me to come back in two weeks (Aug 7) so she could try and hear the heartbeat then! YAY! After all that craziness was over I went to the lab and had about 10 viles of blood drawn. Now if you know me, you know that I cannot stand the sight of blood- especially my own. It seemed like she was taking blood for about 10 minutes! It took forever and a day. I'm just happy I had my hubby right there because that was NOT a fun experience for me; one I unfortunately have to get used to though. All in all it was a good appointment and I'm very happy with the doctor that Tricare picked for me, she's so awesome.
As I mentioned previously, my next appointment is Aug 7 followed a week later by my sequential screening appt.
In other pregnancy related news, the nausea has finally decided to not go full force on me anymore. I still get it from time to time but it's not to the point where it's a daily battle. I do however get more headaches, get lightheaded WAY too easily, and still don't seem to have the energy to ever finish the laundry- let alone any other chore. I still haven't even taken my 10 week belly pictures which is sooo not like me considering how much I love belly pics (but don't we all!).
My goal for this next week is not only to find a job that works for me and my upcoming school schedule but to also find ways to extend my energy so I can get more things done during the day. I like going to bed feeling very accomplished and lately I haven't even had the energy to let myself THINK about the stuff I didn't do. Never in a million years did I think this was so tiring. I'm counting down the weeks until the 2nd trimester when I know things will get better!

8 Weeks 5 Days

I can't even begin to explain what I've been going through the past 4 weeks since I found out I was expecting. Every day I get more excited and anxious, yet also more worried. I have yet to see my munchkin or even hear it's heartbeat and that, as moms-to-be and moms know, is expected. I've dealt with a horrible case of all day "morning" sickness since 5 days BEFORE we found out and the exhaustion.. oh my word. Lately things have gotten a lot better though. The sickness has begun to subside and not be as frequent although it does make an appearance every so often. The tiredness is still my biggest symptom and so are my many trips to the bathroom throughout the day. Overall things have gotten much better and I'm happy with that.
Tomorrow will be my first prenatal appointment with my brand new ob/gyn. I'm nervous because she's a new doctor for me but I have plenty of faith because I'll be going to Saddleback Hospital which is know for it's amazing maternity ward. I'm hoping I'll get to hear the heartbeat and maybe get an u/s (although I'm not counting on it). My appointment is bright and early in the morning so I most likely will need a nap afterwards but I'll be sure to post an update on how it went!
Lastly, the hubby and I finally came to an agreement on a girl's name this morning. This has been the most difficult thing I have yet to do. I got to the point where I wanted a boy sooo badly because I thought we would never agree on a name for a girl. However, we have! Now it's time to send some girl vibes my way! I'm not going to reveal both first names publicly until we know the gender but these are the first initials and middle names:
boy: G. Thomas
girl: K. Elizabeth
now it's just time to wait until I'm 18-20 weeks so we can find out the sex! yay!

Here's my 8 Week Belly Pictures (since I've slacked on making my first post since creating this)