Baby Boy!

 
Last week I had my ultra sound and found out there's a little BOY in there!  I'm so excited to finally know the gender, and now I'm a little over halfway done!  The first half has lasted forever it seems, so let's hope the second half goes by faster.  I think Jensen is the most excited that we are having a boy, he even cried along with me at our ultra sound :)

Fall is Coming and Baby is Growing (Baby Bump in September)

 
September 9
September 15
September 18
September 22

(written September 5)
17 weeks!  On Monday the 3rd I had another doctor's appointment.  It is the greatest feeling in the world to hear my baby's heartbeat and to know so far everything is going well.  Baby sounded great.  My heart on the other hand has decided to beat irregularly.  My doctor said if I have any pain I'll need to go to a cardiologist, but so far it's just a really annoying heartbeat that feels off, and sometimes feels too fast or a little tight.

I felt baby move this morning for the first time! At least I think I did.  I felt movement in my stomach like I've never felt before, and I've read online that the baby moving sort of feels like bubbles popping, and that's the best way I can think to describe it too.  It was so exciting! I can't wait until I hear my little bean wiggling again.  And other good news, when I went to the doctor I gained three pounds since my last appointment.  Baby seems to be growing just like it should.

(written September 9)
I'm almost 18 weeks!!  I've felt the baby movie a few times a day since I first felt it.  I love it!
Last night Jensen and I went off roading with some friends, and I learned that until after the baby I am just going to have to stay away from bumpy roads :/  That's ok with me though.  I'm not a huge fan of offroading anyway.

(written September 10)
I've started having some crazy dreams lately that I'm pretty sure are caused by pregnancy hormones, becuase they are definately more frequent than before baby.  Crazy thoughts and emotions have started to surface on occasion too.  Here's a perfect example of my crazy brain:  Last week I was driving home from work on Jensen's day off.  I had texted him several times throughout the day and called him a few and he never answered or responded to my messages.  On the drive home from work I had the thought creep into my head that something bad may have happened.  Even though I knew he was fine my thoughts wouldn't stop there. After that I couldn't help but think about what life would be life if something did actually happen to him and I was just crying as I drove home. 

(written September 18)
Not much has changed in the past week or so.  I bought my first pair of maternity jeans!  They feel so much better than unbuttoning my regular jeans, and baby can breathe! I also went bra shopping and I have gone up a whole size! I am very excited about it. ha   Baby bump is really starting to show now too!  Jensen is a little weirded out by it, but I love it.  He has also been able to feel the baby move.  Now when we are watching a show together or laying down in bed he will put his had on my stomach just in case the baby moves.  It's very cute.  And one last thought of today.  I am really craving a spoonful of homemade chocolate chip cookie dough.  I might have to make some without eggs, just so I can eat it raw. :)

In just 5 days we find out the baby's gender!!


Baby Bean in August

August 4th
August 11th
August 28th

(written August 12)
I'm one day before 14 weeks!  Last night Jensen asked me if I wanted to go on a drive.  I assumed we would be taking a nice easy Sunday drive.  He decided to drive back behind our house toward the hills.  Not super rough off roading, but rough enough it made me feel sick.  I was complaining that I wanted to go back home and was feeling car sick and he made a comment about how I'm extra whiney now (it's true).  But my whining wasn't just me being annoying.  As soon as we got home I got sick, so maybe next time I complain to Jensen he will believe me. :)

I have been feeling a little better lately.  The beginning of last week was really bad.  On Thursday I had an orthodontist appointment and got sick three times that morning.  I think that's a record for me.
Friday and Saturday I seemed to be feeling much better, and on Sunday I didn't even take my nausea medicine to see how I would feel without.   Until our mini offroading adventure Sunday night I was pretty good, so I'm really hoping my morining sickness is finally going away! Tomorrow I'm 14 weeks and my baby is the size of a lemon!!!  I have a little bit of a belly already and I love it. I can't wait until everyone knows I'm pregnant because of my pregnant belly :)

So far I've lost about 8 pounds I think.  I'm supposed to be eating an extra 300 calories a day now, but I dont think I have at all yet.  My appetite is still not that great and still feel really picky about everything.

(written August 14)
I think I have finally found something that I can eat until I get full and don't get grossed out or lose my appetite.  Baked potatoes!  I have had one the psat two night loaded with cheese and sour cream and it's so delicious to me. :)

(written August 21)
15 weeks!  I made the horrible mistake of getting McDonalds while I was starving yesterday.  Either McDonald's was trying to poison me or baby realllly doesn't like it.  I didn't even make it home before getting sick and poor Jensen had to witness it.  The sickness carried over to today and I took a half day off work.  So far becaouse of how sick I've been I've lost about 10 pounds.

(written August 31)
16!  We were out of town all of last week visiting Jensen's family in Canada and then down to Coeur d'Alene to see my dad. It was a ton of fun.  I've been feeling so much better!  I still have some days where I don't feel great, but I haven't been super nauseous or sick to my stomach at all.  One day while visiting my dad I over did it with how much rich food I ate, and that did not agree with me or baby, but other that than I have not had any problems.

Baby Bean In July

I'm trying to catch up on all my baby journal posts, because tomorrow we find out our baby's gender! Eep! And I don't want to post about that weeks from now :)  So here's all my entries from July.

July 21st (11 weeks)

(written July 12)
I'm about 9.5 weeks along now.  I have a little bit of a pudge, especially at the end of the day.  I'm pretty sure 70% of it is just bloating, and not baby.  I have still been feeling pretty sick but I thiiiink it's getting better.  I feel slightly less nauseous throughout the day, but have still been throwing up on occasion.

I'm trying to convince Jensen to let me tell our family at 10 weeks and not wait all the way until 12.  I already told on girl at work because it was just to hard to keep inside and I was too excited.  I made a photo book for my Dad and Lisa to share the news, and we are making a little movie for Jensen's family.  The rest of my family I will just call :)

(written July 31)
July 30th was our second doctor's appoitnment.  I got to hear my baby's heart beat!  At that appointment I was past 12 weeks, so my chances of miscarriage are less than 2% now.  That is such a relief to know.  I worry about every little ache and pain so having that knowledge helps me stay much more calm.

Bubba and Claire's Wedding

At the end of July Suz and I went out to Twin Falls, Idaho with my grandma and our cousin Jordan for my cousin Bubba's wedding.  Twin Falls is always one of my favorite places to visit. I love to see my Uncle Jimmy and all of his kids.
Cousins! Suz and me with my Uncle Jimmy's daughters/daughter-in-laws and a few of his grand daughters.
Congrats!  Welcome to the family Claire!

Baby Doctor

waiting for the doctor

First Doctor's appointment: July 1st
It was two weeks after I found out I was pregnant before I was able to go to the doctors and those felt like the longeset two weeks ever.  I was so worried there was something wrong and my baby wouldn't make it.  I had a few melt downs before we went to the doctor because I was nervous and worried about every little ache and pain.  I get way too wrapped up in looking up symptoms online and have thought of all the worst case scenarios. so going to the doctor has eased a lot of my fear and uncertanty.

We also learned my due date! February 11th! I am so excited. I can't wait until I start to have a belly and find out the gender. Right now I feel like I have the most exciting secret in the world and I wish I could tell everyone!

I looked around a while for a doctor that sounded good and took our insurance.  The closest hospital to us is about 30 minuts away in American Fork, but they don't take our insurance. The next one is the Timpanogus Hopsital in Orem, almost 40 minutes away.  I found a doctor that had good reviews online and the doctor's office said he was everyone's favorite.  He seemed really nice during our first appointment.  Jensen was not a huge fan.  I think that's just becuase of how much in your personal space they are, especially during the first appointment.  They had me wear a hospital gown while I was checked, and Jensen joked after that I should have just been naked because of all the prodding they do everywhere.

My cycle had been very irregular so I wasn't sure how far along I was. At my first appointment they did an ultra sound so they could see my little bean's size and tell me my due date.  I found out I was 7 weeks and 5 days according to the ultrasound.  According to my last period the estiamted time was 9 weeks, so I was hoping I was already 9 weeks just so I would be a little further along.

We got to see our tiny bean baby at the first appointment and hear it's heartbeat.  It was such a relief to have real proof that there's a baby inside me!  Little baby was only the size of a kidney bean during our first appointment.  It's amazing something that small has a beating heart. I could even see the tiny heart on the ultra sound.  So far I have the feeling we are going to have a boy, but who knows.  Jensen really wants a boy and I want a girl.  I would be ok with a boy first if I was guaranteed to have a girl next. I am just terrified that I will have all boys. ;)

Biker Man

Over the summer Jensen did weekly mountain bike races at Sundance and Soldier Hollow out in Midway.  The first race kicked his butt a little bit, but every week he got better.  I was really proud of him.  Those races were intense! And nothing I could ever do.  They were usually about an hour or two long of lots of up and down hills and non stop going as fast as you can.  Not my idea of fun.  Even though he was too far away to see or hear me most of the race, it was still fun to go and cheer him on.

Feeling a little more pregnant

Sorry for the millions of pregnancy posts I will have the next week or so, I just want to catch up so I can start posting as things happen.
You can't tell yet. but there's a baby in there! (8 weeks)

(written July 7th)
A few days after I found out I was pregnant I took another test.  Besides feeling sick I don't feel pregnant at all, so it's hard to believe.  That one was positive too :).  A week after that I took one more. You know, just in case.

I think as soon as I saw that positive pregnancy test my body decided it was time to be sick.  The day after Father's day was the first time I felt sick.  For the past three weeks I have been extremely nauseous every day, and pretty much all foods gross me out.  I've been a little more ok with plain bland foods like potatoes and grilled cheese. I got some anti-nausea medicine from my doctor. I try to take it as soon as I wake up before the nausea really hits and it seems to be helping a ton.  Usually after I eat lunch I feel pretty good, but overall still tired and not awesome. The only down side to taking my medicine that early is when that decides to come up too.  I even had to tell my boss at work pretty early on because of my constant bathroom breaks.

The beginning

I have a lot of catch up to do on my pregnancy so far.  I've been keeping a pregnancy journal but haven't gotten around to posting anything until now.  So let's start at the beginning... Just be warned if you don't want to read gross womanly things, stop now :) ( I promise nothing too bad).
(this was taken the day I found out I was pregnant! and just a few days after new brace face so I'm feeling awkward when I smile)
Jensen and I have been trying for about a year and a half to have a baby.  Anyone who's had any sort of fertility issues knows this is extremely frustrating and emotionally draining.  As soon as I wanted a baby it was on my mind constantly.   I have never prayed or cried so much in my life.

I would give myself little goals for when I wanted to be pregnant by.  Of course I wanted every month to be THE MONTH.  I would think things like maybe by Christmas I'll be pregnant, that would be the most exciting Christmas present ever.  Maybe by the time my family comes to visit I'll be pregnant.   Maybe in February I'll get pregnant. Then I'll have an Octobor baby.  October sounds like a good month to have a baby.

For the past year or so my cycle was very irregular which made this whole process even more annoying.  Several times I would be 10 or 15 days late, and have taken many pregnancy tests that come out negative. Almost every month I would obsess over what day it was and when I was supposed to be able to get pregnant, and each new month I wasn't I would tell myself I would make a doctor's appointment to figure out why.  I kept putting that off month after month. I was nervous to go, and nervous to find out what might be wrong with me. and with each new month i would think maybe this will be the month. I don't need to go to the doctor yet. I also had a feeling I had PCOS. But since I diagnose myself with a lot of diseases on my own I decided that was just me being silly.

And then it finally happened.
 
Over the past year and I half I prayed so hard to be able to get pregnant. But I also prayed to be ok with not getting pregnant. I felt like Heavenly Father wanted me to be totally happy with my life right now first. And also testing my patience. Lots of patience testing. I think I failed that test.
May was the first month in a while that I didn't obsess. I decided not to worry anymore. I'm not saying I forgot I was trying to get pregnant, but I stopped obssing. May came and went and no period ever came. I was 15 days late, but tried not to get too excited because I had gotten up to 15 so many times in the past. Then came days 16, 17, and all the way to 20. I told Jensen I thought my boobs seemed a little bigger. (They're really small, so after that they still looked really small, and Jensen just said it was in my head).
 
I decided to finally buy another test. and then i accidentally bought a fertility test. The store is 15 min from our house so I was too lazy by the time I got home to make the 30 minute round trip drive and buy a new test. That weekend I went to walmart with Jensen and bought another pregnancy test. He told me to stop wasting money. :)  I'm always embarassed to buy things like that, but still a little excited. Our cashier wished us luck when she was checking us out (thanks cashier!), and Jensen and I made our way home. That was Saturday June 15th. I read that if you're early in your pregnancy you are more likely to get a positive result by taking a test first thing in the morning so I decided to wait until the next morning.
 
Sunday June 16th (Father's Day) I took the test. And for the first time ever it was positive!!! My reaction was a little different than I expected. Mostly just shock and extremely shaky hands. I thought there would be a lot more crying. I ran into our bedroom and jumped in bed and told Jensen. and about a minute later skyped Suz to tell her. I think that's a pretty fantastic way to start Father's Day.

Baby baby!

Sorry I've been gone so long blog world, that little bump is the reason and I could not be more excited!