Reflections 8th Month

I started falling behind on this blog, so not as many updates as I was like each month. But there has been so much to do to prepare for this little one's arrival. I have weekly pics I will be posting up soon for the ninth month though so that is good news. Anyhow, here are my 8th month reflections for you all. God Bless!

My Pregnancy Classes Are:
     We opted out of the pregnancy classes. Joe and I both have books that we have been reading. And I feel good about the information I've read and stuff over the past 10 years. Seen plenty of baby stories, bringing home baby, deliver me TV shows, I know what to expect. We did take a hospital tour, and it was awesome. Got to see and learn lots in just an hour or so.

In The Classes I've Learned:
     Once again, we didn't take classes. But the tour we took told us about the triage room, L&D room, and where we would be several hours post birth. We pre-registered with the hospital and we are all ready for her to come!

What We Have Bought For You So Far:
     We have bought several outfits, crib mattress, changing pad. All the necessities. We have been given so many gifts, that we are going to wait and see what we need for you next.

What Other People Have Bought For You:
     Well Grammie and Grandpa (Perry) pretty much bought your crib, we helped a little, but that helped out alot, they also contributed to your bedding. Grandma and Grandpa (Apodaca) bought you your carseat and stroller set. They both have bought you many outfits along the way. Aunt Gail made a beautiful blanket we are using as your comforter when you actually get to use it. Auntie Kelli and Uncle Brad have got you many things as well, she made a blanket, penny banks, clothes, stuffed animals, blankets, sucky clips. Lots of goodies from so many speacial people that cannot wait to meet you. And of course the shower, so many people came with gifts just for you! Uncle Richard gave us some money that helped buy your mattress, etc. And Rene made an adorable fleece blanket for you as well. So loved already.

The Strangest Food Craving I've Had So Far:
     Nothing strange, and really no "cravings." During this pregnancy I've wanted more pancakes and donuts than usual. I CANNOT stand chewing gum, this whole pregnancy I think I've had one piece.

At My Prenatal Appt This Month I Learned:
     Nothing new really. You are still head down and havent really moved from that position since before 30 weeks. That makes me happy. Growing right on schedule, my group B test came back negative which means I don't have to go early for antibiotics yay! Other than than, nothing new!

My Hopes:
     That she wants to come atleast a little bit early! I am so eager to meet her!! Not only that, but I can't imagine how Joe is going to be with her. I'm so excited to see him as a "Dad."

My Fears:
     I really don't want to be induced, I really want to just let her come naturally and see how it all plays out. So here is to hoping for waters breaking in grocery stores, and contractions and all that goes with it! Hahaha.

Baby Shower

On Sunday May 2nd I had my baby shower. It was so so nice, and so many people came out to celebrate this new addition to our family with me. I was so excited and happy to see how many people are just as excited as we are to meet this little girl. Close to 50 people showed up. Aunt Gail and Meemom came down from Texas, and Karen, Lester, Aunt Jane, and Garrison came from Ruidoso. I was so happy they could come out. The day was cold, which meant we had to stay indoors but it was still a great day. Here are a few pictures! Stacy Taylor made the cake and it was adorable. She put her ultrasound pictures on it. Aunt Gail and a few of her friends made her the most BEAUTIFUL blanket ever. It is my favorite blanket ever. It matches her bedding perfectly and I cant wait to use it! Anyday now she can come lol! I'd just like to thank everyone for your support and for coming out and celebrating this very special time in mine and Joe's lives with us. All the gifts were very much appreciated and will definitely get put to good use! Wish I would have got more pictures of me with everyone, but it was pretty chaotic. Thanks again everyone, from the bottom of my heart!!

33 weeks!

Well we are at 33 weeks in these pictures! Things have been going great, still feeling pretty good. Still no braxton hicks, if so very rarely and no other important changes. She is growing right on track. She has begun hiccuping...I think this started right around 31 weeks. I was not sure what they were, but I quickly figured it out, as she constantly has them. Just like me, she has them 3 times a day. It is a pretty neat feeling. I love to know she is okay in there. Not to say she doesn't move constantly. She is quite the kicker and puncher!

I wanted to get some new pictures, and not such boring ones, so I asked Joe if we could go down by the river and snap a few. Not too many came out good, as the wind picked up and it was pretty cold, but here is what we ended up with. Well, our 6th Wedding Anniversary is on May 1st and our baby shower is on the 2nd so it is going to be a fantastic weekend. I cannot wait for the shower, so we can finally get everything in the nursery finished! It will be nice to get it all done, and relax for a few weeks before she arrives. The countdown has begun! We are adding lots of babies to the family, Matt and Rene are due any day now with baby Austin, due May 6th, and Samantha is having a boy as well August 8th. It will be fun to have all these babies in the family. The farm will be lots of fun with lots of kiddos running around! I will be posting shower pictures very soon! Love you all, and God bless!

Reflections - 7th Month

In the Nursery we are planning on this:
Our nursery is pale pink and cream lines. I will be posting pictures of it soon, but so far we just have the furniture in there, and we have the painting done. What an adventure that was!

I used to love food, now I avoid:
Ugh, food and me just arent mixing too much, nothing ever really sounds good, and thats because pretty much everything triggers my heartburn.

I never thought this pregnancy would make me:
So grateful for my life, and I could not thank God enough for blessing Joe and I with this baby girl. I feel like I have so much to live for, this baby will need us for everything. We are so excited to meet the little one!!

I can't wait to:
SEE WHAT SHE LOOKS LIKE!! It is a constant thought of mine. I want to know everything! What color eyes she will have, hair (hopefully lots of it), face, fingers, toes...I can't wait to see Joe hold her for the very first time. What a special moment.

My appointment this month taught me:
No real changes in anything but baby's size, my belly size etc. Donna and I discussed part of the pregnancy plan, and she told me what to pack in my bag etc. Next appt is in 2 week and I'll have the Hep test.

My Hopes:
That she comes a tad early! Like Maybe the first of June....lol.

My fears:
Being overdue! Oh man, I just can't imaging going past the due date at this point. I want to see her too much!

30 week Ultrasound

Yaaay! Stacy is the best! She got me in for a 4d ultrasound today and I could not have been happier. Me, Joe, Grandma Rosemary, and Auntie Kelli went to see her today. She looked at everything, her heart is great, everything is perfect. Baby girl has hair, long eyelashes, and Daddy's lips. Joe and I disagree with eachother about the nose. He says she has his nose, but I say she has mine. Guess we will have to wait and see. Her HR was 149bpm. And she said that at 30 weeks, she weighed 4lbs. The computer calculated that at 39 weeks she would be 7lb 10oz. Yikes! Big healthy girl! Maybe we will be shooting to have her closer to my Birthday and not Joe's lol. Other than all that, she is head down and happy as can be. Here are all the pictures from her mini photo shoot today before she rolled over and we could no longer see her face.

Isn't she beautiful already? I cannot wait to meet her, we are so excited. It is going to be such an amazing adventure! Aaaaaand...she can be expecting a new baby cousin at the end of November! Yay for babies! I hope they have a boy this time!

Reflections - 6th Month

Buying maternity clothes was.....

I HATE maternity clothes. Jeans aren't too bad. I found some cute ones early on at Old Navy, and I (knock on wood) can still fit into them. Shirts, seriously, are made for OLD WOMEN. They are so ugly! I have ended up buying longer shirts from express and a few other places that fit cute now and will carry over after pregnancy since they arent stricktly maternity. Can't wait for summer, tank tops are easy!

The biggest change in my body has been.....

The belly of course! I cant believe it can stretch out this much, and I still have 3 months to go!

My favorite change in my body has been.....

My belly of course! I love watching it grow and grow, and although it may be uncomfortable, I wouldnt change it for the world. I love it!

What I never thought would change was.....

Hmmm, I dont know. Nothing I guess. I knew that my body would definitely change. I just hope it goes back after baby is born!

At this months prenatal appointment I learned.....

I had to take my glucose test for gestational diabetes. I had to drink a YUCKY orange drink that was the sweetest thing I have ever had. Sweet drink dont sit well with me this pregnancy and neither does gum. I found out that Im fine as far as diabetes go but am borderline anemic. So they put me on a prescription iron pill. No big deal. Im on the low end of normal. Here is a pic of the glucose screening for your enjoyment. PS....I HATE NEEDLES.

My hopes.....

Continue having a great pregnancy and a fast pleasant delivery ha! In my prayers though!

My Niece

My niece is so excited to meet her cousin. She may not understand it, but I know she knows about the baby, to some extent. It is so cute everytime she sees me she points to my belly and says "baby" in the cutest little voice ever. I love her to pieces. I cant wait for the two of them to meet. This is just a brief post, but I wanted to post a few pictures that I loved. Also I went to Babies R Us and bought Kostyn and the baby their 4th of July outfits. I cant wait to take her to the ranch to meet all of her family. She will be just under a month old when she takes her first 3 hour roadtrip. Eeek! Should be an experience! But will be tons of fun. She needs to meet great grandma and grandpa, and lots of other people we love!

27 weeks

27 weeks already! Wow, 30 is coming up and fast! I can't wait, Im getting so anxious, as I said in the last post. Still playing catch up. Not sure what to say. People are really noticing now, and I'm enjoying every moment. Back pain has now got the best of me at nights. It is hard to sleep, and when I do sleep, I wake up after an hour or so and have to roll to the other side. My hips start to hurt so it is a constant back and fourth. I had a few nights where I think I only got 3-4 hours of sleep. But thats okay. Been trying to organize the house, and keep things clean. Here are a few pictures of me from this week! Hope you all are enjoying my journey so far. I love being pregnant!

25 Weeks!

Here are some pictures from 25 weeks. I am playing blog catchup today, I fell behind. Lot's going on I guess. We finally received our crib from JcPenny's and my Dad and Joe got it all set up, while Mom and I went for pedicures. Much needed, THANKS MOM! The crib looks awesome! I can't wait for my shower, so I can get stuff set up, It is so hard to wait. But it is all well worth it. I will post pictures of the nursery as we get it set up, but so far it is not really anything. I have a bed in there I need to move out or something. Gotta figure that all out. Other than that, doing well, still truckin' along. I'm getting really anxious to meet her, and wonder all the time what she is going to look like. I can't wait to finally hold her in my arms.

Reflections - 5th Month

The first time I felt you kick.....
I felt you move just below 18 weeks, but it was so slight. You have grown much stronger since, and you can kick hard!

It felt like....
I can't describe it. Somtimes it feels like rolling, sometimes little kicks. But you really cannot describe the feeling.

I felt.....
So happy. I cannot believe someone is living inside of me. It is the greatest God given gift I could have ever been so blessed to receive.

The strangest food craving I've had is....
Well, I dont think I have any "cravings." In fact I hate the word craving, but so far I've really been wanting donuts and pancakes.

This month's prenatal appointment taught me.....
Pretty much the same. She measured me and she is growing right on track with how many weeks I am. Also we discussed taking prenatal classes and hospital tours.

My hopes.....
For her to continue to grow big, strong and healthy.

My fears.....
Having a teenage daughter. hahaha, in a few years.

22 weeks 4 days!

Ohhhh how I love my baby girl. I wish we could decide on a name for my little "bug" but I can't. I'm afraid we will be holding her in the hospital room looking at her when we can finally pick her name. But that is okay with me! Everyone has their favorite of the two names we like so far. Right now it is between Jenna Kate and Sarah Grace. I love them both so much I wish I was having twins. Ha. Time really flies when you're having fun, because this baby will be here before I know it! One week goes by QUICK!

Spent some time in bed with baby girl this morning. She was moving EVERYWHERE. She has finally moved up higher and for the first time today I felt her kick way above my belly button. Here is a few pictures from this morning laying in bed. The one to the far left is my lopsided belly. She loves to be on one side. Normally it is the right, this morning she was on the left. She moves all day long, and again when I am getting into bed. For some reason she likes to party while I am trying to sleep. Joe felt her last night. I just love it so much. On my way home from work she kicked high up again, and pretty strong too! I pushed on the same spot she kicked and she kicked again, really hard and it kinda tickeled my belly. I had the biggest smile all the way home. She is so fun already.

This past weekend, I went to a women's conference at First Family Church and listened to a fantastic woman by the name of Lisa Bevere speak. She was telling us so many wonderful things. She prayed for us pregnant ladies, had us stand up and everyone reached out to us and prayed. We did the same for the women trying to conceive or that have miscarried. It was very moving. We then moved on and listened to her speak about priorities in life, when you have a family, and what matters most. It just re-affirmed to me how important it is to me to raise my children in a solid Christian home and around a wonderful Church family. I can only hope and pray my children will have strong faith in their walk of life. Sure makes life good! We also had a garage sale on Saturday (which I had to just help set up because I was going to church) but we were able to finally get Joe's favorite sofa and love seat SOLD! Waaahooo! Ha. We have a clean spare room and can begin doing the fun stuff...setting up the nursery. Can't wait! Well I'm off to go eat dinner...ugh had hearburn all day...not sure what to have tonight. Leave this with one of my favorite baby verses. "God watches as you are formed in utter seclusion, as he weaves you together in the dark of the womb." Psalm 139:15.

Reflections - 4th Month

Today is a great day despite a HUGE lack of sleep, and heading into a long night to celebrate Audra's bachelorette party. The snow is coming down, and I'm up bright and early. Feeling extremely blessed though. Here is all about my fourth month.

What I least expected with this pregnancy is.....
My appetite. It really has not changed much. I have had a few days where I feel the urge to eat every three hours, but other than that my appetite has been the same. I try to sneak in a few extra calories in though. Need a healthy baby!

The best bit of advice I have received is.....
Probably advice I have read off my June babies baby site. The girls on there are awesome, and the second time around mom's have posted very much needed info on neccessities to buy, and what to pack in your hospital bag. Of course all advice is great, being a first timer. The registry part of it was long and interesting.

What has changed most in my life with this pregnancy so far.....
How blessed I feel. God is so good, and he has worked so hard in Joe and I both. We could not be happier and I thank him everyday for blessing us with this amazing little life growing inside of me. I have no words for how it feels to feel that baby girl moving around inside of me. So amazing. I love her so much already. That, and I get to experience it all with the love of my life.

The day I finally felt pregnant for the first time was.....
The day I felt her moving. Once again, it is the most amazing feeling on earth. I wish Joe could feel what I feel, but he atleast can feel the outward. Also when my tummy finally popped out.

At this months ultrasound.....
At 19 weeks we found out we were expecting a precious baby girl. It was one of the best moments of my life. I cried (as usual) and could not stop staring at the screen. She was moving everywhere. I think she was doing a morning leg lift workout. She is gonna be active like her mommy and daddy.

At my prenatal appointment this month I realized that.....
Tummy finally popped, heard the heartbeat, and Dr. Mosier measured my belly for the first time. She also told me to look into some pregnancy classes if we wanted to. I think we will schedule to hospital tour for sure. That should be interesting. I think I would like to take a breastfeeding class. We will see in a few months.

My hopes.....
To get the spare bedroom organized and cleaned out. I really want to buy the crib this month. I want to start getting her room set up. I am having a hard time deciding on a theme. I don't particularly want PINK. Probably something more neutral.

My fears.....
Really they are always the same. I just pray for a healthy baby and fast, easy delivery.

20 Weeks 5 Days

Hello all! Well we have reached the halfway mark. Heading on 21 weeks. It has been a busy week, and it is only getting more busy starting tomorrow. We have a lot of family in town for Audra and Greg's wedding that is on Saturday. It is going to be so much fun. Tomorrow night we have the bachelorette party, then Friday night rehersal/dinner, the Saturday is the big day. I am so happy for those two. They make a great couple. Love them both.
Baby is doing great, so am I. I still feel great. I definitly have noticed more back pain these last couple of weeks, and more restlessness at night. I expect this to only get worse as time progresses. I get up every night at 2am and again at 5am to go to the bathroom. I thought this would have gone away, but every night at those times, it is the same old thing. Last night I didn't really sleep at all, but it is okay. I believe it is God's/baby's way of preparing me for many more nights like this in the very near future. I can't wait though. I constantly am wondering what she will look like. What color hair will she have? What color eyes will she have? Hopefully blue. I would LOVE if she got that from me. Here are a few 20 week pics.

Getting a tad bigger. I think I look bigger than these pictures show, but who knows. Joe and I are very excited. She moves all the time. Joe felt 2 pretty good kicks the other night. I have been starting to shop for some maternity tops, but everything maternity looks like it is made for a 45 year old pregnant lady, not a 25 year old one. So I'm gonna shop just for longer tops that cover more. They fit better and look better anyways. Colleen got me a few tops from Gap that are cute as well, thanks Colleen! My next appointment is on Friday, February 5th, we will see how that appointment goes, I suspect all will be well again. She is growing well and moving all over. We also did our registry on Monday. We registered at Babies R Us, what a great store. I loved it. I was definitely a process, Joe and I had to break for lunch then we went back to finish. Thanks for reading! I'm gonna start on my 4th month reflections now.

The BIG Announcement!

Well today we are at 19 weeks and 3 days. We had our ultrasound today and guess what it is? This pic says it all! It is officially a beautiful little baby girl! Boy was she active. I cannot wait to meet this little girl. We are very excited to start planning out her room. We think we found the "theme" and I will post pictures of that as we get the nursery set up. Anyhow, back to the ultrasound. The tech we had today was much more informative than the one we had the first time. Perhaps because she is bigger now, but still, I felt like she actually cared about what she and we were looking at. Such a special moment. She did all her measurements and looking at all of baby's parts when she asked, "Would you like to know the gender?" We said yes. A very nervous Daddy sitting next to me. She put the probe so we could take a look, and I knew the answer right away. It was clear as day. Then she said, "its a girl!" I started crying and Joe was in shock. He could have sworn she would be a he! Mom was excited, but she also thought she was a he. So Dad and I were right. The tech did tell us that she will hardly ever give patients a 100% sure answer, but she said there was no doubt about it. I think she just wanted Joe to stop calling her a boy! She showed him whats up for sure! She then let us watch baby girl kick around and move around in my tummy. I think she was doing some leg lifts. So cute. We got some 3-d and 4-d images and got FANTASTIC shots of her. I will post those now. She should be quite photogenic. The tech said she normally does not get this great of pictures. I think she was having fun with our little one. Her heart rate was 143 today. In this picture to the left she is hugging her umbilical cord. She apparently likes to keep it around her face. Kinda like how I still sleep with my blanket lol. It was hard to get pictures with it always across her face. Hope it doesn't wrap. That would be scary. Other than that everything looks great. Nothing to be worried about, and everything is right on track.

This week I have been getting a lot more back pain and the heartburn is about to kill me. Note that I do not see ANY hair on this baby's head in these pictures haha. Maybe she will be blonde. Who knows. I just can't wait to meet her. We got her some cute clothes today, just some summer onesies and Joe picked out a dress for her. I will post pics of that during the 20 week post. I feel like there is so much I could write today, but will save some of it for a few days. I thank everyone who congratulated us today, we love you all and cannot wait to share this little lady with you all. God bless!

19 Weeks Today

Well we are officially one week away from the halfway point! It is really going by pretty fast, except for this past week. Waiting for this ultrasound is starting to feel like an eternity. Anyhow, a few exciting things I want to add to the blog is, last night, Joe felt the baby moving for the first time. It is getting much stronger now. It is so exciting and brings a smile to my face every time I feel it moving. Bailey will not leave my side the past two days either. I wonder if she can sense something is up. Here is a picture of her with me this morning. Anyhow, I'm gonna go get my haircut today and get a pedicure, so should be fun. I can't wait to go buy something for the baby on Monday after we find out if it is a boy or a girl. I really am feeling girl at this point. But either way, I just want a happy, healthy, perfect little baby! Will have ultrasound and belly pics up Monday evening with the big news! Hope you all have a great weekend. I kinda hope this one flies by! Which it should with all the Birthday parties we have this weekend, and also Papa and Aunt Gail are coming into town tomorrow. Can't wait to see them. They came down to Ruidoso first to go to Elzy's funeral (Papa's Brother), then came here so Papa could do some work and also just to pay us a much needed visit.

18 weeks 3 days

Good evening all! Just sitting here and I had Joe take some belly pics for this week, so thought I would post a new blog. I am still feeling the baby move quite a bit. And on Sunday, as I was feeling it move while I was laying on the couch, I decided to stare at my belly, and I actually saw a tiny movement, twice! I was so excited, I wish Joe would have seen, but he and my Dad were moving Joe's new gun safe upstairs. Gotta start baby proofing our house. Had my 18 week appointment on Thursday and the doctor said everything looked great. Baby's HB was in the 140's and she measured my belly. I've gained 6 pounds and am officially weighing over 130 for the first time ever! She had me lay down and she said "Wow! Belly's is pretty lopsided!" I agree'd. This baby likes to hang out and sleep on the right side of my belly. It's crazy looking at it in the mornings. She also scheduled the ultrasound that will hopefully tell us baby's gender, on Monday Jan 18th! One week! We cannot wait! Joe still says it's a boy, and I still say it is a girl. We shall see! Been trying to learn all the fun settings on my new camera, but it is so much! It takes such great pictures, I love it! Joe and I started school today and the term ends on May 5th, so it is going to be a busy next 4 months with work, school and preparing for baby! Other than that all is well. Will be updating you all with the super exciting news on Monday! Yaaay!

17 weeks 5 days

Just a short post of some changes, as I'm sitting here with tissue stuffed up my nose to stop the bleeding. I hate bloody noses, and this is like the third one since becoming pregnant. Oh well. So as of yesterday 01/05/10, I have started to feel the baby move! Yay! I was laying in bed yesterday and I could feel it, and again yesterday sitting at my desk at work. I felt a few this morning laying in bed too. I have my Dr.'s appt. tomorrow so I can't wait to hear the HB again and hear what she has to say. I usually go every four weeks, but with the holiday, I've had to wait five whole weeks! I think they will start getting more interesting maybe since my belly is starting to grow. Along with the belly growing, so is my belly button! Ugh! I didn't think my belly button would pop out, I was hoping rather, it would cave in haha. Oh well! It is so weird all the changes your body goes through. Well that is all for today. I will be posting up tomorrow after the appt to let you all know how it goes and stuff. I'm really anxious! Have a great day!