Chunky monkey

Avery went to the doctor again today. She weighs a whopping 7lbs 3 1/2oz. She gained 4 1/2oz in 5 days. Almost right on track! I asked for the nurse to measure her length as well and she was 21 1/4 inches long! She grew two and a quarter inches in 3 weeks! The doctor was very pleased with her progress and said we don't have to go back for another appointment for 2 week which is her 1 month check up. I also asked about getting her back off the bottle of breast milk 3 times a day and going back to strictly breastfeeding and she said that was a good idea. Avery is getting a little lazy with latching on since taking the bottle. She has to work harder for it when I breastfeed her and she isn't much a fan of the bottle. Her doctor said we could start tapering off the bottle feeding so she is only going to get 2 today and tomorrow and then probably 1 for a couple days and then back to just breastfeeding. Yay!!

A successful trip to the doctor!

Avery went and saw Santa!

Avery went and saw Santa! She looked so pretty in her dress!

Christmas Eve!

Christmas Day!

Happy girl!

She gives lots of smiles! Usually when someone is talking to her. Finally caught two on camera!

Two weeks!

I can't believe that Avery was two weeks old yesterday. The time has flown by! She went back to the doctor yesterday to get her weight checked again. She only gained 2oz in a week. She was 6lbs 13oz. The doctor said she is supposed to gain an ounce a day so she should have gained 5 more ounces last week. The doctor wasn't terribly concerned but I do have to take her back tomorrow to get reweighed and I have to pump and feed her from a bottle three times a day. I was not happy with that. I don't want her to have a bottle yet. She doesn't seem too fond of it either. She does good once she gets started though. At least they didn't tell me I had to give her formula. I'm sure they will if she hasn't gained weight tomorrow. Her doctor said that babies born early have a harder time gaining weight so I'm hoping that is all it is.

Her hip ultrasound came back normal so far. She has to have it repeated in 6-8 weeks and have an x-ray at 6 months. She gets her hearing checked on the 7th. I'm thinking she can hear just fine though.

We are doing much better with our days and nights. She has been sleeping almost the whole night in her pack and play. I have fallen asleep with her on my chest in the chair more than once. I fall asleep burping her and wake up and it's time to feed her again. Lol! A couple nights ago she was up most of the night. She had a tummy ache and was really fussy. I'm blaming on the ridiculous amount of pineapple I ate that day since it gave mom a tummy ache too.

Oh! Avery went and saw Santa on Sunday! I will post the picture when I get it on my computer. She looked so cute! It was a lot more difficult than I was prepared for. We waited in line for over an hour and by the time we got up to Santa she was hungry. I didn't want to leave the line to feed her so it took a couple shots to get one where she wasn't trying to breastfeed from Santa!!

I think that's all for now. Love you all!

Avery is one week old!

Avery went to the doctor today for her one week check-up. She is 6lbs 11oz. She has gained 5oz since she left the hospital on Wednesday and has 5 more to go until she is back at her birth weight. She doesn't look jaundiced at all anymore. We have to go down to Cincinnati Children's for a couple of specialist visits. She failed her hearing screen in her right ear so she is going to see an audiologist. The doctor said lots of babies fail their hearing screen because of birth gunk in their ear canals. She also has to get an ultrasound of her hips to make sure she doesn't have the same hip condition that I was born with. The doctor was very pleased with her and said she's right on track.

She still has her nights and days a bit backward but last night was much better than the night before. She's a great eater and a great pooper!! We have gone through a ton of diapers already!

Love you all!

Avery Grace is here!

Avery Grace made her appearance sooner than expected at 2:51 this morning, December 8th at 37 weeks 1 day. She weighs 7 pounds and is 19 inches long. I was in labor for 39 hours, including 1 1/2 hours of pushing.

I started having timeable contractions at noon on Saturday. I went to the hospital at about 4pm to get checked out. I was 3cm and 50 % effaced. They said they would monitor me for 2 hours and decide if they were keeping me or not. After two hours I was still 3cm but 75 % effaced. They decided to send me home. After a sleepless night of contractions every 2-4 minutes I went back to the hospital at 5am. I was 4cm and 75% this time and again they wanted to watch me for 2 hours. At 7am I was 5cm and 75% so they decided to keep me. At around 1pm I was still only 6cm so they started pitocin. I stalled at 6cm for over 6 hours before I had more progress. At 7pm my water broke and I started dilating further....slowly. At midnight I was 8cm and 80%. All of a sudden my epidural stopped working on the left side of my body and I could feel everything. The anesthesiologist tried everything. They pulled out the catheter a little bit, had me lay on my side, and gave me a bunch of meds through the epidural. My right side was completely numb but I had no pain relief at all on my left. At 12:30 I got checked again and I was 9 1/2 cm. I was breathing through the one sided contractions and started having a lot of pressure and sharp pain (pain only on the left of course). At 1am I was complete and started pushing at 1:30. After pushing for almost an hour and a half she was born at 2:51.

She had a little trouble when she first came out with her breathing. She went to the special care nursery and was on oxygen for about three hours. I went over to try to feed her and they took her off the oxygen to eat. She kept her oxygen up and ate really well. All her labs came back normal and she wasn't grunting or retracting anymore so they let me take her back to my room with me. Since then she has been perfect!

Breastfeeding is going really well. She is latching on right away. She stops a lot and has to be coaxed into sucking again, but is doing very well. Of course she is gorgeous and absolutely perfect! We're hanging out in the hospital until Wednesday morning.

I think I got everyone up to speed! Love you all!

PS. I'll post a pic in just a sec!

Another L&D trip!

Just got home from Labor and Delivery...again. I thought I was leaking fluid and went to the doctor to get checked. I'm not leaking but since I mentioned that I was also contracting they wanted me to get a non-stress test. When she checked me she said I was 1cm and 25% effaced. I was on the monitor for about 10 minutes and had 4 contractions. They sent me to L&D to be monitored for longer. They gave me 3 liters total of IV fluid to see if that would slow down the contractions. They were still coming every 3 minutes. I'm able to talk through them. Still only 1 cm. The resident told me that at this point they would not stop my labor even though I'm only 35 1/2 weeks. So they gave me the choice to go home and come back when/if they get worse or to stay there overnight for monitoring. I chose home. I went there straight from work and only had my stinky scrubs on and nothing else.

So far they are still the same. I'm going to take a hot shower and make sure my bag is packed in case that changes overnight. I'm hoping that they decide to just go away for a week or so. If they don't, I guess you will all know soon enough!

Love you all!

A pic and an update

Just thought I would put up a picture of my expanding belly. This was taken today at 34 weeks 2 days.

Had my 34 week doctors appointment today. I'm measuring right on track and her heart sounds great. She checked her position. She is head down "very low" the doctor said with her back on my left and arms and legs to the right. Now I know what all that pressure is I've been feeling the last two days.

Avery will definitely be here before January 1st! I talked to the doctor about that today and she said she would induce so I have her before New Years. How crazy to know in 6 weeks she will be here, no matter what.

She gave me all the instructions for going to the hospital if I think I'm in labor. Crazy! It seems to have came out of no where! :) I have another appointment in 2 weeks. They will check me for Group B Strep and do an internal. After that I'm down to weekly appointments!

Love you all!

34 weeks

I'm 34 weeks pregnant today and feeling every bit of it.

Sigh

My bellybutton

My bellybutton is the weirdest thing ever. It was so deep to begin with that I thought there was no way it would ever pop. I've spent the last half hour playing with it. The skin that used to be the inside of my belly button is smooth and really soft. I just keep rubbing my finger over it. When I take a deep breath my belly button becomes an almost outie and goes back down when I exhale. Maybe it will end up popping after all.

Just thought I'd share! Love you all.

Weeks 33-36 Honeydew

Baby’s senses are continuing to improve -- when light peeks in through your (extremely) stretched belly, those tiny eyelids and irises blink and dilate. And, baby can now recognize and react to simple songs… time to start practicing your lullabies! Growth (at least inside your womb) is starting to slow, and you may notice baby descend into your pelvis at the end of this month.

An update

I was supposed to be a homeowner as of Wednesday. As usual there was drama. The title company for the seller called 2 1/2 hours before closing and said we couldn't close because HUD didn't stabilize the lead based paint in the house like they were supposed to. According to HUD, it could take 30-90 days to get it done and get closed. There was also an issue with an escrow account that was discovered. My realtor is all over them right now. Thank God for her! She has been so wonderful. She called me today and said she stopped by my house and the escrow account shouldn't be a problem after all (long story) and it looks like they have already started stabilizing the paint. I hope this means that it won't take 30 days since I will be 32 weeks pregnant tomorrow!!

My realtor called me on Wednesday telling me closing was off as I was pulling into the parking garage at Cincinnati Children's for my OR interview. The interview went well. I was kicking myself after for saying "um" so many times. I think it was a combination of being nervous and being upset about my house. I have to go back on Friday to shadow two cases. I'm supposed to let them know that day how I liked it and then I should find out about an offer. I praying that I like the shadow experience. These hours would be perfect for me and I was interested in the OR in the past. The job involves on-call hours, but they aren't bad at all and weekends are only on-call and only every 4-6 weeks.

Avery is getting huge! I believe she is closing in on 4 pounds! I can feel her in my ribs and pushing on my bladder at the same time. She must currently be curled up in a ball because I'm much more comfortable right now. I go in on Tuesday for my 32 week appointment. There are a few things I want to discuss with the doctor at that appointment. I can't believe how close I am to meeting her! I went to Babies R Us today to get a few odds and ends things that I needed before she gets here. Now if only I had a house to unpack it all in...

The beef stew in my crock pot is ready for me and I have ice cream in the freezer for dessert! I'm going to try to actually get some sleep tonight (unlikely). I want to wake up early and do some more packing before I have a lazy movie day at Megan's house.

Thanks Ashley and baby Jonah for the inspiration to update! I love your blog!

Love you all.

Weeks 29-32 Squash

Baby’s energy is surging, thanks to the formation of white fat deposits beneath the skin. (Have those kicks and jabs to the ribs tipped you off yet?) Baby is also settling into sleep and waking cycles, though -- as you’ve also probably noticed -- they don’t necessarily coincide with your own. Also this month, all five senses are finally functional, and the brain and nervous system are going through major developments.

I guess I forgot to update.

My sister had an ultrasound at her doctor and her she is a he! She went back to the 3D imaging place after the doctors appointment and there it was plain as day! She returned all her girl stuff and got boy stuff. Too bad she already did some girl pages in her scrapbook! They are very excited though, she was wanting a boy.

30 week visit!

Went to the doctor today. I think my brain cells went out the window when I got there. I told them I had a doctors appointment with Dr. Wilson. The lady looked at me funny and looked through the papers. She eventually had to look me up in the computer. My doctor is Dr Warner. I was convinced she was the crazy one! :) She was pretty sympathetic, perhaps it happens more at the OBs office then a family doctor.

Everything went pretty well at the visit. I have gained between 20-23 pounds so far. Can't remember for sure. She must be okay with that since she didn't say anything. Only 10 more weeks so hopefully I don't gain a ton more. I am anemic so she told me to go buy an iron supplement. I forgot to get it today so I'll go out for it tomorrow. I wasn't too surprised since I have been denied to donate blood before because of anemia. She also had my blood drawn again today to check my thyriod level. She said since I'm on the low end of normal she wants to check it every month until I deliver.

I was complaining to her about how bad my hips are hurting. I was born with hip issues and I think that is part of the reason they are so sore. She told me to just hold out for 6 more weeks and then she would be fine with me going into labor. SIX MORE WEEKS!!!! Holy crap. Thanks for making the pregnant lady panic. I'm getting to the point that I want to meet her, but I'm not ready. There are still so many things I need to get and do before she comes. I packed her diaper bag for the hospital a couple days ago. I have started working on my bag. It seems surreal that she is actually coming.

Friends from home came down today. Shawn and his boyfriend Chad and Amanda and her friend Crystal came down. All of them and Megan, Jaden and I went to the Bodies Exhibit today and out to lunch downtown. It was so nice to hang out with them and the Exhibit was just as cool the second time.

I'm ready for bed and it's only 8:30! Avery sure is taking it out of me lately. As usual I'm hungry again so I think I'll look for some food first.

Love you all!

Insomnia

I can't sleep!!! Now that it's Sunday my pregnancy website tells me I only have 70 days to go.

PS. It's not helping the insomnia. :)

Back from South Carolina

We got back last night from South Carolina from Tiffani's boot camp graduation. It was so great to see her!! She is on her way to Houston right now for AIT. She got her phone back this morning so I was able to text her this morning. Justin came home last night. They both look so skinny! Justin will be here until after Christmas.

I will be 30 weeks pregnant tomorrow. I can't believe it. It seems to be going so fast! I have a doctors appointment on Tuesday. I think I will start every two weeks after that. It seems like she will be here so soon I need to start getting things around for her. I'm going to spend most of my day tomorrow doing that and packing to move. I close on my house on Wednesday. Hopefully we can get it fixed up to move in before Thanksgiving.

Love you all!

I'm in pain!

Little miss Avery Grace has decided that in my ribs is the most comfortable place for her too be. To bad it is the most uncomfortable place for me! She has been in my ribs for 2 days now. They are sore. :(

Second thoughts?

I have been having second thoughts about her bedding. I have one on my registry already but nothing has been purchased so far. I need you guys to vote!

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3156677
This is the one I have on my registry right now.

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2811387
This is the one I'm thinking about switching to.

I love them both! I can't decide! HELP ME!!!

No news is good news?

Nothing exciting to report. She's still in there. No further escape attempts as of now. She's growing a lot this week. I know this because she is being very quiet in there and I'm really tired.

Love you all!

A trip to L&D

I was called off work yesterday for the first 4 hours so I went back to sleep. At about 9 o'clock I woke up with stabbing pains shooting up my abdomen. I got some water and laid back down. The pains continued intermittently in my lower abdomen. When I wasn't having the pains I was having menstrual like cramps in my stomach. I wasn't bleeding. I was called into work at 11. I got up and showered and got ready. Only cramps, no sharp pains. I got to work and parked in the garage. Walking from the garage to my floor I had several of the sharp pains. I got busy when I first got to work because both of my transfers came pretty close together. At 12:30 I decided to call the doctor because they were getting worse when I was up walking around. At 2:30 I called and left another message.

At almost 4 they called me back and wanted me to come into the doctors office and be seen. Not a huge deal since my doctor is right next door to Riley. I handed off my kids and walked over to IU. I had multiple sharp pains walking over. After the doctor checked me she said I was a fingertip dilated and was concerned that I may be contracting. Since the office was closing she sent me to labor and delivery to be monitored. In L&D I was hooked up to the monitor and pretty much just hung out for a few hours. The doctor came in after awhile and said that I was having small contractions and my uterus was "irritable". She wanted to monitor me for a bit longer and recheck me. She said if I wasn't dilated any more she would send me home. After another hour of being monitored the contractions slowed way down and I was still a fingertip dilated. I was sent home with orders to come back if it gets worse or if my water breaks. I was also told to relax last night and today.

I've felt good today. No contractions. I wanted to clean today since it's the only day I will be here on my day off, but I'm following doctors orders and watching a movie in bed. I have phone calls to make about my house so that should keep me busy for a little bit. I'm just drinking lots of water and taking it easy.

I'm so suprised that I held it together! I almost lost it a couple times. Yesterday was an ordeal I hope I don't have to go through again for at least 10 more weeks!

Love you all!

Holy contraction!

I carried a cardiac monitor from one side of the hospital today to the other. I didn't think much about it, they aren't that heavy. Half way back I had a couple Braxton Hicks! I think it was just being up and moving around a lot this morning and carrying that thing together. I think I was being told to slow down a little bit! On a side note, she has been so crazy active in there today! She is apparently practicing her kicking. My left ribs are getting pretty sore.

Love you all!

Yay!

I just looked myself up at work. I know, I know I'm not supposed to. I passed my glucose tolerance test with flying colors! It was 82. Normal is 70-140. My thyroid level also dropped a little bit which is great news. My hematocrit and hemoglobin are a little low and I'm not sure why. I haven't had any bleeding or anything. I might call and ask what they think. Great news!

Love you all!

She's normal after all :)

The doctors appointment was pretty uneventful today. My uterus was measuring 26 weeks, right on schedule. We concluded she must have just had a huge growth spurt right before my last doctors appointment. I had my glucose test. I don't know what the results are yet. The drink wasn't as bad as people make it seem. I chugged it like a big shot, reminded me of my college days...lol. I gained 3 pounds this time. Not nearly as bad as the 6 last time. That puts me at 17 total so far. I think that is pretty good but I don't know for sure. I forgot to ask her.

When they drew my labs for my glucose test they rechecked my thyroid again. They also drew my third trimester labs. Third trimester labs. Woah! I think next week is when I'm officially in my third trimester, but how crazy!

So, I guess she is not a monster after all. She's normal. Well, for now she's normal. She hasn't met her mom yet! :)

Love you all!

Pictures!

The top is a picture of me at exactly 26 weeks. The bottom is a picture of baby girl at 25 weeks 6 days. I can't believe how great the pictures turned out. It's amazing the things they can do now. She looks a little bit like me. :)

A job

I forgot to say that I officially got an offer from Cincinnati Children's in the CICU. It's days and nights both so I want to do my other interviews before I make any decisions. What a relief to know that I have a job when I move over to Cincinnati though.

Yay!

My sister Ash had her ultrasound today. Another girl! Yay! She was so little in there and really wiggly. She's already begun her wardrobe. :)

I was tempted into another 4D ultrasound today. Luckily, I got it at a reduced price since I was a return customer. :) I have some really cute face pics that I will post as soon as I get them on my computer. She has fat little cheeks and I think she has my nose! Too cute.

I go back to the doctor on Monday for my glucose tolerance test. Not really looking forward to it, but I know it's something I have to do. I'll just take a book or something to pass the time while I wait. I'm curious to see what my uterus measures this time. I will be starting my every 2 week appointments soon too. This appointment will be 26 weeks so I might wait another 4 weeks before starting the 2 weeks. It's going so fast. Back when I first found out I felt like I would be pregnant forever. I guess life has a funny way of not stopping just because you think your life is falling part. I've definitley had a change in attitude about this pregnancy since then. My life isn't falling apart, it's simply evolving. I know now that there is a reason I'm going through what I'm going through and what I have already gone through.

I think it's bed time for me! Love you all.

Feck...

I will be in my third trimester in less than two weeks. HOLY CRAP! How in the heck did that happen?

Got a house and maybe a job!

I just wanted to let you guys know that I got a house! It is one that I originally made an offer on, but we thought they took it off the market. A long story short, it was taken off because they accepted my offer! For 14,000 less than asking no less! Thank goodness! It needs some fixing up, but my dad is going to do that for me! Yay! I'm glad to be one step closer to finally being settled. I have no idea about closing or anything at this point since I just found out I got the house yesterday.

I also may have a job. I interviewed at Cincinnati Children's on Tuesday on the CICU. It went really well. Anna, the manager, was very nice and took a lot of time explaining the unit to me. She sounded interested when I left the interview. She kept introducing me to people and telling them "it's so rare to have a nurse with pediatric cardiology experience". I called the Nurse Recruiter today about a letter I need if I get an offer to get the house finalized. She said "you will have an offer as soon as I check your references". That was promising! The only thing that worries me is that they do rotating shifts. I know right now that I will have a lot of trouble switching from days to nights all the time. I still have other interviews to go to, two of which are only day shift. I'm trying not to stress about that until the time comes. I do love to get ahead of myself though! :)

I'm getting ready to leave work. I'm meeting my dad tonight to get Lauren for the Kenny Chesney concert tomorrow! We are so excited!

Love you all!

Reality Check!

I've been moody and cranky the last couple days. Things aren't falling into place like I have been expecting them to. I'm stressing about finding a definite job in Cincinnati, finding a place to live when I move to Cincinnati, having a baby by myself, legal issues with taking Ken to court, affording everything I need to prepare for this baby, etc.

I met a family today at work that really opened my eyes. Dad lost his job about a month ago because the economy sucks. Mom works part time and isn't able to work full time at the moment. Their son was just diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor and has to start treatment soon. If that isn't someone telling me to quit being a brat, I don't know what is!

Belly pics

7 weeks

13 weeks

21 weeks

My Niece/Goddaughter!!

Welcome to the world Jaden Lynne! She was born Friday, August 29th, at 11:39am. She weighed 7 pounds 13 ounces and was 20 inches long. She has tons of black hair. She is absolutely beautiful. Congrats Megan and Curt! I love you guys!

She is a giant!

I went to the doctor today. The med student came in to ask me questions and measure my fundus. She felt around for a little bit and said she would be right back. The doctor came in and felt my fundus and said "Holy cow". After she measured me, my uterus is measuring 24 1/2 weeks. I'm barely 23. She is officially a giant in there. Found her heartbeat right away which was suprising since she was especially wiggly today. She said it sounded perfect.

I have to go back in three weeks, on the 22nd, for my 1 hour glucose test. I'm hoping things go well and I pass. If I don't I have to go back for the 3 hour test. Not fun. They draw blood during the 1 hour test so the doctor wants to recheck my thyroid again. It's still normal but on the high end of normal. I jumped almost a point last time she checked it.

The nurse told me that I can tour Labor and Delivery after any of my appointments. I may ask if I can go at the next appointment or the one after that.

I think that's all for now. Bye for now. Love you all!

Oh...

Happy Birthday Lauren! I love you sis!

Frustrated with work.

I got called off today for the first 8 hours. I didn't get to work my overtime day yesterday because there weren't enough patients. So I have to use 8 hours of PTO time today to cover it. I'm frustrated because I'm trying to save every hour for maternity leave. I'm already going to be 8 hour short as it is. Now I will be 16. I'm signed up for overtime on Thursday too so I guess there is still hope that I can get some of my hours back. There really isn't anything that anyone can do about it, if there aren't enough patients then all the nurses can't work. I had the least amount of call off hours so I was up. Hopefully it won't have to happen again.

No baby news. She's been pretty quiet in there today. Maybe she's a mellow baby? Let's hope!

Off to work. Love you all!

A few pictures

So I caved!

I wasn't going to start a blog. I've been bugged by numerous people to start one and...I caved! So, the backstory:

I found out I was pregnant on April 22nd. Needless to say I was a little shocked! I think Darcy was too. (Beware of flying pregnancy tests!) After confirming it with about 6 more tests I began to come to terms with the fact that my life was about to change. I was scared, nervous, terrified, ashamed, and even a little excited. I've always known I wanted to be a mom. These were not the circumstances I expected when it came time to become one. Everyone that knows me knows that I am very much a planner. Ok, ok maybe borderline OCD. My life has been planned out for as long as I can remember. My life was going along just as planned until last November. I think God had a different plan for me. Since getting pregnant I have learned a lot of things. You can't change people no matter how much you want them to change, sometimes the answer is no, everthing happens for a reason, everything will work out in the end, and no one is perfect. So, onto the baby...

I went to the doctor at the end of April to confirm the pregnancy and go through my past medical history. It was about 2 to 3 hours and pretty uneventful. I made an appointment for May to see the doctor for the first time.

On Friday, May 9th, I left work and headed straight to Cincinnati to the parents house. Pretty standard. I do it a lot on weekends I don't have to work. I got to their house at 10 or so and ran straight in to the bathroom. One of the lovely symptoms of pregnancy is that your bladder feels like it's the size of a pea. After using the bathroom I noticed a pretty significant amount of blood on the toilet paper and in the toilet. It looked like Aunt Flow came to town even though I knew this couldn't be possible. I yelled for my dad and he took me straight to the ER. I was crying and crying and didn't really know why. It dawned on me in the car. I told my dad "I didn't even think I wanted this thing until right now." We spent the entire night in the ER. After checking my cervix, getting blood, urine and an ultrasound they said I had a "threatened miscarriage". I should take it easy and follow up with my doctor.

I had my first appointment with the doctor on May 20th. I did all the normal things that are done at a first OB appointment. (I'm assuming since I've never been to a first OB appointment before.) My doctor, Dr. Warner, is very nice. I didn't feel rushed when she was talking to me and she answered all my questions completely. After my appointment they took some blood for testing. About 7 or 8 vials later they finally let me leave with instructions to return on the 29th for an ultrasound to tell me exactly how far along I was.

The doctor gave me a due date of 12/30/08 based on my LMP. I'm going with 12/28/08 because, well I know what day it was made. :)

My doctors appointments have been pretty uneventful. I've been having to have my thyroid levels checked more often. I have just been getting them done every 6 months. My doctor said at least once every trimester because pregnancy can do screwy things with your thyroid. My TSH has jumped almost a point since my initial blood work which has be a little concerned. I'm going to mention it at my next appointment. I'm also going to ask her about getting on some generics. Synthroid is costing me 25 bucks a month! I go to the doctor a week from Tuesday for my 23 week appointment.

My pregnancy has been fairly easy up to this point. No vomiting at all in the first trimester. I was sick to my stomach a lot and certain foods made me turn green. I did have a love for Taco Bell for about a month it was the only thing I could stomach. I felt the baby for the first time just before 15 weeks, 4th of July weekend. I think all the loud fireworks scared the little peanut. I had a 4D ultrasound just before 18 weeks to try to tell me what the gender was. I actually only paid for 2D but when the tech found out it was to tell my sister before she left for the military he switched it to 4D. I was glad that Tiffani could be there when I found out I was having a little girl. I had my ultrasound at my doctors office at 19w1d that confirmed it. The tech at my doctors office did all kinds of measurments at different angles. Her femur (thigh bone) is measuring a week and a half ahead! She is going to be a tall one. Overall she was measuring 19w2d, so a day ahead. I'm thrilled to be having a little girl, but honestly I would have been thrilled either way.

In the last week and a half or so her light little kicks and flutters have turned into full fledged kicks! I felt her kick my hand for the first time last weekend. It was the coolest thing. Since then I have been feeling her roll and move around in there. I keep poking and shaking her trying to get her to kick me more but she won't do it! She only kicks when she wants to kick. I think I have a stubborn one already. I guess it serves me right.

I think I pretty much have you caught up to speed. I'm having a lazy Sunday. I did some laundry this morning and baked a yellow cake with chocolate frosting (yum). Of course, I wasn't in the mood for it by the time I frosted it. I've been watching movies most of the afternoon and researching things online. I'm starving right now as usual so I'm going to go find some food. I've had a serious craving for Arby's beef and cheddars lately so I got a 5 for 5 the other day. I have 4 left in my fridge. Sounds like a good dinner! :) Ok, ok I'm starving and so is she. The laptop is on my belly and she keeps kicking it. I get the message! Bye for now. Love you all!

(Oh, I'll post some pics later!)