Pregnant and telling. (this is because I now know I will never remember this stuff)

Yesterday I turned 16 weeks pregnant. This pregnancy has definitely been the easiest so far (and I'm hoping that doesn't mean hardest baby!) It has been a lot easier to be excited for the baby instead of just "making it" through the day..the nausea, etc.. Both Luke and I feel like this is the most excited we've been. I think we always knew we'd have 2 kids...but this one is the kid we never PLANNED on having. I mean, yes, the pregnancy was planned...no surprises here...but it wasn't one we always knew we'd have. We haven't always pictured 3 little rascals in our lives.

Some of the things that stick in my mind lately are the THREE ultrasounds I've had in only 7 weeks. The first at 9ish weeks showed a giant bean with a heartbeat...and proved there was only 1 baby with a due date of Sept 12ish. The second at 13ish weeks showed that the bean had grown into a full fledged baby. It was so fun to see how much could change in a little over 3 weeks. I have a picture of just baby's feet in that ultrasound. They are about the size of a pencil eraser. The third ultrasound was yeterday at exactly 16 weeks. It was truly amazing how much bigger the baby was and how differently it moved. We could see it's spine and ribs, both chambers of the heart beating, and baby kept flipping around...proving that I DO feel baby inside me this early! It's been such a fun progression to see this baby so often and it has been truly mind boggeling (to put it nicely) to know that people kill babies at these stages.

I started feeling the baby flutter around last week, around 15 weeks along. Lately the flutters turned to kicks..and yesterday, at exactly 16 weeks, I felt a kick from the outside. I was SO shocked. I was just laying on the couch after a very busy long day, and the baby started kicking, so I put my fingers on the spot and started poking. Right then it just kicked my fingers right there...as obvious as could be. In the middle of my sentance I just went "WHOA! The baby just kicked me!" and do you think it would do it again for Luke?

I did get a stomach virus at 15 weeks and it lasted a LONG time. I never threw up (I'm crediting the nausea pills for that) but I wanted to. I almost think it was worse to not be able to. It felt like a brick in my stomach while sick. It caused heartburn like I've never had, and was truly miserable. Adding to that, it was the days we were traveling... So, that makes pregnancy #3 to get the flu in. I had been hoping to avoid it.

Now that I'm officially well again, I have decided to cut my nausea medicine down to 1/2 pill. I'm on day 2 and I seem to be doing ok. I do feel nausea throughout the day, but it is doable. I am anxious to be off all meds, and have the side affects gone too. However, I did start a acid reflux medicine, so I'm not sure how successful I will be at going off all meds. I'm just taking it a day at a time, and determined that I will do what it takes to feel ok for the sake of everyone in this family! (Within reason and limits, of course.)

I can't believe I'm already 16 weeks. I find out what I'm having within the next month (not sure when...) I do feel like I am having a boy. In fact, I am pretty convinced. I tell myself all the time that people are always wrong, so I somewhat expect to be! I feel like it is a boy because this pregnancy is so similar to Kaden's. I feel the kicks so much sooner (compared to Kate's) and am carrying so high that I can wear regular jeans even though I look fairly pregnant. It's all the little things that lead me to believe it's a boy. But I will be just as happy if it's a girl...maybe just a little more surprised! Yesterday at the ultrasound the nurse asked if I knew what I was having yet (at the Resource Center they are not allowed to tell) and then kept saying "he" then correcting herself... "err..or her." Since I already feel like I am having a boy, this didn't help unconvince me. Time will tell! And we'll see if I'm right! Like I said, either way is totally fine with me :)

What a ride. I'm still having trouble believing that I'm pregnant with #3. Where has time gone?! How old am I? and (some days) WHAT WAS I THINKING?

But I'm so excited. so very excited.

i had my second OB appointment today. The dreaded one. (Can I get an AMEN from my mom friends?!) The fun part was I got to have another ultrasound! It is absolutely awe-inspiring (breath-taking, unbelievable, and amazing) how these little babies grow inside us. At my 9(ish) week ultrasound it looked like an oversized lima bean. This is what I'm used to seeing since I've had ultrasounds with each child around 8-9weeks. I hadn't realized I've never had an unltrasound between 9 and 20 weeks...so seeing it at 13 weeks (just THREE weeks later!) how much "it" changed! It looks just like a 20 week baby only miniature! SO adorable. I mean...how cute can you get? At one point the baby put his/her feet toward the monitor so I have the most darling little ultrasound picture of just these teeny tiny footprints. TELL ME AGAIN why we don't save all these babies from the monsters that kill them? Tell me why we don't punish people for even suggesting we kill our precious babies. (end rant) anyway. it was just so amazing and fun. Another memorable moment was when the baby put his/her arm up by his (I'm just gonna call it a him for this post) head and i could see the arm and hand by his head. I truly enjoyed the moments seeing my baby today. I feel so blessed. and SO happy.

"His" heartbeat was down at 152. Now "they say" (who knows who "they" is anyway?) that a high heartbeat is a boy and a low heartbeat is a girl. My Kaden-boy had a low heartbeat and I was always told he must be a SHE... Katelyn-girl always had a high heartbeat and i always was told She must be a "he". So, based on that, we're going with boy this time around. He looked perfect. I still have the cyst, and it has not reduced in size, but it also has not grown in size, so that is a major praise!

The doctor referred me to physical therapy for the "golf ball in my back/tailbone that becomes a tennis ball during pregnancy" (my explanation, not hers). She was amazed that I've had this problem since getting pregnant with Kaden and am just now saying it affects my life. I figure as long as I can manage I'm good...when I stopped being able to bend over to pick up my shampoo...i knew there was more of a problem. She feels I need to do some PT to find the problem, maybe even fix it, so that when I'm 9 months pregnant I won't be bedridden. i think I agree.

I also found out that after my 20 week ultrasound (the infamous BOY or GIRL ultrasound!) I need to have one at 27, 32, and 37 weeks. This is because when I had Kate she had been losing weight and my amniotic fluids were consistantly low and lowering. As in, I measured 3 inches small kind of low. SO, apparently that becomes more common if that has been a problem before. She basically told me not to expect to make it to my due date, and if I did, probably not past. I didn't know whether I should smile right then...but, sometimes it's just nice to hear that you might not have to endure being "late". Today's due date was Sept 12, by the way. I'm not sure what they are officially going with...I've heard the 10th, 14th and now 12th. So I might just stick with the 12th??

I think that's the highlights of my appointment! Next one is just the doplar and measurements (and the dreaded scale) so I'm considering taking Kaden..I wish I'd taken him today to see the baby on ultrasound, but I guess we will have plenty of oppurtunity for that!!!

Some of what I never said...

I know I'm pregnant when: (first trimester)

I cut/color my hair totally different than ever before.
Baths are preferred to showers...every time.
I can go to bed at 7pm (6pm if I'm totally honest) and sleep all night. And take naps everyday.
I can't handle anything that remotely resembles ground beef or the smell thereof.
The golf ball that lives in my tailbone grows to the size of a tennis ball, and hurts worse too.
I can no longer drink my diet soda. or any soda...except on random days.
I eat more than 1 serving of pepperoni per week. (Ok, per day sometimes.)

The different: (as opposed to pregnancies with Kaden and Kate)
I can eat eggs! I can even FRY eggs. I can fry an egg AND eat it. Without throwing up. In fact, without FEELING like I'm going to throw up. Weird. I don't know what it means. I mean, if I had 2 boys I'd be sooo sure this was a girl. But I have a girl and a boy... so... what am I having? a boy or a girl..that apparently is ok with eggs.
I can get up out of bed without eating! This is exciting to me. Eating in bed is just ...kind of gross. Especially day after day. I love that I can get up without puking. love.love.love.
Tums is my new best friend. The kind of best friend you love to hate, yet hate to love.
Coffee. YES PLEASE. After like 8:30am. Starbucks? even better.
I think I'm really gonna like this kid.

Some cute things I haven't been allowed to share til today:

When I was about 9 weeks along, I had boxed up some clothes of Kate's she had outgrown and told Luke we were going to give them to a friend for her baby girl. At this time Kaden had not been TOLD we were expecting, but we had talked about it around him some. So he pipes up: "Aren't you going to save any clothes for OUR baby?" It was then I knew I am just lucky if no one finds out until we want them to! He hears/knows more than we want to think he does.

Kaden every morning: "Mom, are you feeling good today?" If mom says "pretty good" (which is the best it gets) then he asks "then i can climb on your stomach?" (because, naturally, that's what he should do if I feel good.) If I say "no, I'm not feeling good" he asks: "Is it going to be several YEARS before you feel good?" (Yes, Kaden, it's going to feel that long.)

When I went to my first OB appointment a friend came over to watch the kids for me. She asked why his mom needed to go to the dr. and he said "Cuz she's not feeling well everyday." Yes... he could have spilled the beans. Maybe he is wise beyond his years?

So far, I can't complain about this pregnancy. I've had my bad days, my good days and my in-between days. But even the bad days have been better than many of the days of my other pregnancies. I credit it to several things: 1- God. I prayed that I would not be able to get pregnant unless He was going to make it survivable. (I trusted Him to know what that meant...) 2- My gallbladder. I no longer have it. The doctors said I would notice a big difference in pregnancy. I was skeptical. No..that's not true. I was beyond skeptical. In fact, I just didn't believe them at all. I think I was wrong- and I'm totally ok with that. 3- the pill. The wonderful amazing nausea pill. I take one every night. If you know me, it's amazing that I remember to take a pill every single day. If I don't take it, I guarantee myself a bad day. (I only had to learn that lesson twice. the first time I thought it might be a fluke. the second time I considered it lesson learned.) If I do take the pill (which i always do), I might still have a bad day, but hey, I can still take 3 more pills! its a different one than I tried with Kate. I was allergic to that one....so it didn't really help at all.

I had my first OB appointment on Feb. 9th. Much earlier than I had hoped. (I guess with #3 I'm just not so excited about these appointments.) When I casually mentioned that I was a twin..and clarified "fraternal" I was immediately escorted to the ultrasound room. There were no twins... but I did find it amusing.(With the other two kids no one seemed to care that I'm a twin... why this time?) I found out we were dead on with the due date. I saw the heartbeat...172 bpm. I also found out I have a cyst on one of my ovaries. This is normal in the first trimester (who knew? apparently you learn something new with each pregnancy) What's not normal was how big it was. She said it wasn't HUGE, but it wasn't small....meaning they need to monitor it. Now, it really shouldn't surprise me. With each pregnancy there has been something to "monitor" (Kaden's was the placenta previa, Kate's was her underdeveloped bladder) both took care of themselves. I have a good track record...here's to hoping the cyst "takes care of itself". It does explain the little bits of pain now and then....although, I hadn't really thought much of it. It is pregnancy afterall.