9 Week Bumpdate!

Sorry, skipped a couple of weeks, but I am summarizing all of my symptoms from weeks 7, 8, & 9. Not much really changed during these weeks anyway!;)  
Now I am about caught up and can start my weekly post on time! 
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF YOUR SWEET COMMENTS! Makes me so happy!:)

 Week 7 Pictures....

Week 9 Picture....

For some reason on Sunday, I looked pretty pregnant. I guess I was extremely bloated because on Monday it was back to "normal" or my new "normal" ;)

How Far Along? 9 weeks and 2 days (Thursday, January 18)
Size of Baby P? Grape/ 1 inch!

This week's major developments:
Your new resident

is nearly an inch long -- about the size of a grape

-- and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human

. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form -- as do her tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Your baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. .(from www.babycenter.com)

Maternity Clothes? No, but I've got a good collection in my closet! I sometimes wear my belly band for comfort....
Weight Gain?I lost 2 pounds, so that puts me at 5 pounds.
Stretch Marks? Nope! Got me some Mama Bee oil!

Gender? Can't wait~! Should find out the week after Spring Break!

Sleep? Weird dreams continuing, up 4 times a night, usually twice to use the restroom.

Food Cravings?Oh the cravings; Grapico floats for about a week; oranges w/ salt; orange juice! Watermelon (which I've always loved);food just taste BETTER THAT EVER!

What I Miss? Getting my hair done:( It looks so sad. I am waiting until 2nd trimester and it can't get here fast enough!

What I am loving? I think we have agreed on names:) But will reveal later!
Movement? Of course not!

Symptoms? Still no nausea (crossing fingers I passed that!); extremely tired; no energy!

Best Moment of the Week?I received my first baby gift from my niece and sis-in-law! It was so sweet! :)

6 WEEK BUMPDATE!

 *Looks like a maternity dress, but it's not;)

How Far Along? 6 weeks and 5 days(Sunday, January 1, 2011)
Size of Baby P?lentil (what is that???); grain of rice!

This week's major developments:
This week's major developments: The nose, mouth, and ears that you'll spend so much time kissing in eight months are beginning to take shape. If you could see into your uterus, you'd find an oversize head and dark spots where your baby's eyes and nostrils are starting to form. His emerging ears are marked by small depressions on the sides of the head, and his arms and legs by protruding buds. His heart is beating about 100 to 160 times a minute — almost twice as fast as yours — and blood is beginning to course through his body. His intestines are developing, and the bud of tissue that will give rise to his lungs has appeared. His pituitary gland is forming, as are the rest of his brain, muscles, and bones. Right now, your baby is a quarter of an inch long, about the size of a lentil.(from www.babycenter.com)

Maternity Clothes? Not wearing them yet, but I made my first purchase! I am wearing the belly band when I wear my jeans. They will still button, but just not comfortable anymore!

Weight Gain?Don't pass out on me.... 5 POUNDS already!!!! You are suppose to gain that in the entire first trimester!! OOPS! Now that the holidays are over, I am getting my butt into gear!!
Stretch Marks? Nope!

Gender? Everyone I tell says. IT'S A BOY! We will see:)

Sleep? Still waking up multiple times during the night. Using the restroom more often and still having CRAZY dreams (I need to start writing them down, they are so creepy)!

Food Cravings?Strawberry Sour Belts;always hungry!

What I Miss? Sleeping through the night....preparing me for mommyhood I guess!! (For the record, I will take ANY of these symptoms, I am by NO MEANS complaining, I am OVER THE MOON grateful for this miracle, just sharing thoughts;)

What I am loving? Now our secret is out of the bag and I can talk about our little nugget! I wanted to scream it to the world, I felt like I held it in FOREVER~!
Movement? Of course not! 

Symptoms? Still no nausea, not even slightly nauseated!; restroom breaks more frequently; CRAZY dreams; and other normal symptoms us girls go through;)

Best Moment of the Week?Hearing/seeing our baby's heartbeat, best feeling in the world!  I think I could watch it ALL day long!:); Spilling the beans to family and friends! and first trip to Motherhood Maternity!

5 WEEK BUMPDATE!

How Far Along? 5 weeks and 5 days(Sunday, December 25)
Size of Baby P?Sesame Seed; looks like a tadpole.

This week's major developments:

Deep in your uterus your embryo is growing at a furious pace. At this point, he's about the size of a sesame seed, and he looks more like a tiny tadpole than a human. He's now made up of three layers — the ectoderm, the mesoderm, and the endoderm — which will later form all of his organs and tissues.

The neural tube — from which your baby's brain, spinal cord, nerves, and backbone will sprout — is starting to develop in the top layer, called the ectoderm. This layer will also give rise to his skin, hair, nails, mammary and sweat glands, and tooth enamel.

His heart and circulatory system begin to form in the middle layer, or mesoderm. (This week, in fact, his tiny heart begins to divide into chambers and beat and pump blood.) The mesoderm will also form your baby's muscles, cartilage, bone, and subcutaneous (under skin) tissue.

The third layer, or endoderm, will house his lungs, intestines, and rudimentary urinary system, as well as his thyroid, liver, and pancreas. In the meantime, the primitive placenta and umbilical cord, which deliver nourishment and oxygen to your baby, are already on the job.

(from www.babycenter.com)

Maternity Clothes? Not wearing them yet! Pants are snug and uncomfortable!

Weight Gain?4 pounds, UH-OH:/
Stretch Marks? Nope!

Gender? Can't wait!

Sleep? Still waking up multiple times during the night. Using the restroom more often and still having CRAZY dreams!

Food Cravings?Strawberry Sour Belts; the other night I seriously considered driving to Gatlinburg to get some. But my sister introduced me to a candy called Rips that are very similar and satisfy that craving so maybe we can save the gas and avoid that trip to Gatlinburg!

What I Miss? Sleeping through the night....

What I am loving? Having our little angel in my belly for Christmas! Best present ever!
Movement? Of course not! 

Symptoms? Still no nausea, not even slightly nauseated!; restroom breaks more frequently; CRAZY dreams; and other normal symptoms;)

Best Moment of the Week?Receiving our baby reveal items in the mail!; Spending Christmas with a baby in my tummy!

4 WEEK BUMPDATE!

 Obviously, I am farther along, but like I said, I did some "behind the scenes" blogging. I am going to post them this week and hopefully get caught up for my weekly posts for next week! :)

 I felt a little silly posing for a picture by myself.... after 50 tries this is the best I could get!

Not showing yet; looking a little thick around that waist... I'll take it!! ;)

Heading to church for our choir special in my red & black....

• How Far Along? 6 weeks 4 weeks and 5 days(Sunday, December 18); It changed when we went to the doctor (I will explain later)! My weeks change every Tuesday and I usually take my pictures every Sunday before church!:)

• Size of Baby P? Poppy seed

• This week's major developments:

This week marks the beginning of the embryonic period. From now until 10 weeks, all of your baby's organs will begin to develop and some will even begin to function. As a result, this is the time when she'll be most vulnerable to anything that might interfere with her development.

Right now your baby is an embryo the size of a poppy seed, consisting of two layers: the epiblast and the hypoblast, from which all of her organs and body parts will develop.

The primitive placenta is also made up of two layers at this point. Its cells are tunneling into the lining of your uterus, creating spaces for your blood to flow so that the developed placenta will be able to provide nutrients and oxygen to your growing baby when it starts to function at the end of this week.

Also present now are the amniotic sac, which will house your baby; the amniotic fluid, which will cushion her as she grows; and the yolk sac, which produces your baby's red blood cells and helps deliver nutrients to her until the placenta has developed and is ready to take over this duty.

(from www.babycenter.com)

• Maternity Clothes? Of course not, but my pants are sure feeling snug! I've been eying some websites w/ cute clothes though! :)

• Weight Gain? None... YET!

• Stretch Marks? Nope! Getting some creams and oils ASAP!

• Gender? I have a feeling it is a girl; Lee thinks it is a little knucklehead(boy;) 

Do we care? NOT AT ALL, we will be over the moon happy either way! The silly calendars all say girl. 

• Sleep? Before pregnancy I pretty much slept through the night. But I have been waking up 3 and 4 times a night. Either from a weird/creepy dream (those are another post in itself!WOW)or to potty!

• Food Cravings?No cravings yet; I stocked up on veggies and fruits though!

• What I Miss? Nothing!.... YET that is:)

• What I am loving? Waking up every morning knowing I have our little angel growing inside of me! We feel so blessed. I love how Lee is constantly asking me, "Are you ok?"I am also loving searching for a mommy mobile! 

• Movement? Of course not!

• Symptoms? None that need to be talked about on the internet; just the normal! I have been extremely lucky so far....

• Best Moment of the Week?Ordering baby reveal items and pregnancy journal! Doing my first pregnancy blog post... (I can't believe it's my turn!!!:); AND one more thing, when Lee sent me my first email saying, "How is little momma feeling today?" First doctor's appointment soon!

Please Pray.....

I can't get this little angel and his mommy off of my mind. 

You can read their story here . 

It is amazing how strong they are.

PLEASE PRAY....

Revealing Our BIG News!

Once I took the digital test to confirm the POSITIVE, I got on the internet to design & order shirts for the big reveal. Like I said in my last post, I had to confirm that our little nugget made it to the "right place" and hear that sweet heartbeat before letting the secret out of the bag. After our Dr's appointment, we went straight home and the last package (Cam's shirt) had arrived on our steps so we were excited to have everything ready. Lee said he had waited long enough so we decided to do it the same day of our appointment.

To tell Lee's parents, sister, and niece & nephew, I designed and ordered custom shirts. I could not find any shirts that had anything to do with cousins so I found a website and did them myself (which was an easy website & the people were amazing).

We headed to Lee's sisters house first. Lee called her and pretended we were coming over to workout. He handed her the shirts and she caught on to it automatically and started screaming. She showed the kids and they started jumping up and down screaming. It was so sweet! We went to tell them first so the kids could wear their shirts over to Lee's parents house. 

Amy called her mom and told her the kids wanted some pigs in a blanket (from Christmas). We just headed over there and walked in, which is not unusual for us. We were sitting on the couch when the kids walked in. His mom noticed their shirts right away and asked if another family member that just had a baby gave them to them (GREAT!). Of course, Amy said no, "Their Aunt and Uncle gave them the shirts." It still did not click for a few more minutes but when it did she busted out crying. Most people were not expecting it for another year or so, she was shocked and it took a while to set in. They are both thrilled to be having another grandchild!

I wanted my sister to be the first to hear the news. I actually tried to tell her before the appointment but there was never a time it was just the two of us. After our appointment, right when we got home, I called her and she was shopping with mom but in the restroom by herself (PERFECT TIMING!). I made sure she was alone and just blurted out, "I am pregnant!" She was trying to be quiet because mom was outside the bathroom, all she could whisper was, "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, I KNEW IT!" She was so excited!

And this little guy revealed the news to my family....

It worked out perfect that mom and Lyndsey were together, because my sister helped me get mom to our house. We pretended we were all going to meet at my house and go to dinner (which we did;). 

Mom had found lots of school supplies on sale so she was just a showing me everything and Lee went to let Camden out of the bedroom. She did not notice him because she was busy showing me everything but got confused because I just busted out laughing. She finally realized Camden had a shirt on and went over to read it. I think the picture below explains it all.... ;)

Next, we called dad and he was on his way home from work. We told him Lee needed him to look at something which was not a lie;) When he got there, Lee got Camden out of the bedroom (again, bless his heart;) and mom handed him to dad, and I think the picture below explains it all once again... ;)

Luckily, my aunt Diane(mom's sister) and cousin was still in town from Christmas and they got to the house right when dad did which worked out perfectly. We didn't get to get my aunt's reaction, but she jumped up and down screaming, and Camden took off running!haha It was very special.

 My grandparents got to the house shortly after and we showed them the shirt as well. I sent a picture of Camden in his shirt to my brother (he had to work) and he said "Are you serious?" Then he called me and told be, "I thought I saw your belly getting thicker" Leave it to the brothers to tell the truth!;)

I then sent a picture of Camden in his shirt to all of my friends and everyone was calling at once, ecstatic about the news, which is always special! 

Everything happened exactly how I've always had in mind. This all happened within two hours, which was perfect! So thankful for my amazing family:)

The Story Behind ALL the Tests....

 On the morning of December 9th (that sounded so cheesy;) I decided to take my second pregnancy test (I got a negative 3 days prior). I thought it was negative again, but I decided to take it to the window, to the natural light, JUST to make sure. After turning it to every angle and examining it for 5 minutes, sure enough, there was the faintest plus sign you could possibly have. Luckily, I still had the negative test I took a few days earlier to compare, and there was definitely a FAINT, FAINT line. 

My heart started pounding and I could not concentrate to finish getting ready. Thankfully, I had a workshop that morning and not 24 little 9 year olds depending on me, because I could not think straight! I told myself to wait and tell Lee when he got home that evening so it would be special. I always call him on my way to work every morning and when he answered I  just could not hold it back. I blurted out, "I THINK I GOT A POSITIVE!" Bless his heart, he had an office full of men, so he was trying to whisper. I told him not to get too excited, because I wanted him to look at it to make sure I wasn't hallucinating! When trying to have a baby you tend to imagine lines are there so a second opinion is always important;)

There were days I had "that feeling" and different things happening that led me to think I was, but I would not let myself get my hopes up. Lee thought the whole time this was our month!

It still did not sink in and I TRIED not to get myself TOO excited (which is almost impossible). The next morning, WELLLL, actually about 3:00 in the morning, I woke up and could not get it off of my mind so I HAD to take another test. I sat there a while and waited but the test looked negative. I went back to bed and Lee asked me, I told him I think it is negative. My heart was broken, my stomach was in knots, and it took my a few hours to fall back asleep.

I went to get the test to throw away the next morning and sure enough that FAINT, FAINT line had appeared. My hopes were back up and of course, told Lee immediately.  But still tried not to let myself believe it.

We went on about our Saturday, talking about babies throughout the day. Of course, I could not get it off of my mind. After church on Sunday, we went to eat at Firebird's and stopped by Walgreens on our way home to pick up the BIG BOYS! I needed that digital confirmation! 

Sure enough, I took it when I got home and PREGNANT popped on the screen within seconds. I could finally believe it, Lord willing, we were going to be parents!!!!!

Days following I would take a test, skip a day, and take another test. I just needed that reassurance.(Slightly OCD too!;) I never dreamed I would see that positive pregnancy test. No reason really, I have feared since a little girl of not being able to have children.

On that Monday, I called to make my appointment. I already had an appointment for testing, so she let me keep it!! I started ordering baby reveal items I have always had in mind so we would be ready to tell our big news! (Which I will post about soon;) In my mind, I HAD to hear the heartbeat before telling everyone, so Lee and I kept it our little secret for a while, which was EXTREMELY hard considering it was CHRISTMAS! 

Like I said I am slightly OCD and have a plan for a plan and a list for a list. Being a teacher, the "ideal" plan was to have a summer baby, but God had plans for us to have a baby in August, RIGHT when school starts!!!! That's OK though because if He had allowed MY planning to take place, I  would be a 9 month pregnant bridesmaid or not even present at one of my best friend's wedding!That being said, His PLAN is perfect and we over the moon HAPPY and THANKFUL He chose us to be the parents of this little miracle.
So there is the little story behind the 8 test, sadly, I threw a way about 3! OOPS;) 

I know it looks like I have been slacking on blogging, but I have really been doing "behind the scenes" blogging. ;) I have a post about how we revealed our BIG NEWS to our families as well as weekly bumpdates coming soon!

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SWEET COMMENTS, they mean the world to me!

Have a BLESSED Wednesday!

Big Changes, Prayers Answered in 2012!

Happy New Year!

Hope 2012 brings you a year of happiness and always remember, HIS timing and HIS plan is PERFECT! God Bless!

With love,

Our Growing Family;)