24 Weeks

Celie seems to be making great progress.  We're at 24 weeks now.  I'm not sure Micah understands he's about to have a little sister but he sure likes blowing raspberries on my belly.  :-) 

I've been thinking I was much bigger this time around but when I looked back at pregnancy pictures I was convinced I was bigger with Micah.  I did a comparison and appear to be about the same size, just carrying much different.

Another Active Baby

As Celie (this is the spelling we agreed on for her name) gets bigger I'm beginning to realize that she is going to be a lot like Micah.  From very early on I have felt a bump here and there.  I felt her kick my hand for the first time at 17 weeks.  She didn't seem to be as active as Micah though.  I had been trying to remember when he began moving 24-7 and Scott first felt him move.  I don't recall exactly when either of those were.  Regardless, Celie has pretty much been moving nonstop for the past couple of days.  And at 19 weeks Scott finally felt her kick several times Sunday morning.  Before she wouldn't kick around long enough for me to get him to my stomach.  Looks like we're going to have another active baby on our hands.  Sure hope we're ready!!!

It's A GIRL!

God has blessed us beyond measure the past few years, and he continues to do so.  We found out a few weeks ago that we were likely having a girl.  During our anatomy scan yesterday Dr. Whittle confirmed without a doubt that we will be having a baby girl!  We are so excited!!!

Micah made the big announcement to some of our closest family and friends.  I'm not sure how he feels about having a baby sister, but he loved the balloons.  He went to our doctor's appointment since we were only having the sonogram done.  He did so good once the lights were out and the machine was on.  When Dr. Whittle checked the heart rate Micah would look from my stomach to the monitor.  He was definitely taking it all in and trying to figure it out. The baby looks good.  All organs are developing right on track and she is currently 10 oz. with a heart rate of 149.  Dr. Whittle said she is a big baby but not too big.

We do have a name for the little one. We've actually had the name picked out for a while since we felt so certain we were having a girl.  It's a good thing we were right, because we haven't even considered a boy's name!  Baby #2 will be named Adrienne Ceeley.  We're still debating how to spell the middle name, but for announcement purposes I settled on Ceeley.  That spelling is subject to change.  Name meaning:  Adrienne "from Hadria" and Ceeley "heavenly/blessed".  I love that both of our children's names will show tribute to God.  Micah is "Gift from God" and Ceeley is "Heavenly or blessed". 

15 weeks

The first day of week 15 was a day of 15s.

Hello Second Trimester

We had our monthly checkup today at 14 weeks. Everything looks good.  I have gained 4 lbs so far and have a goal to gain 3-4 lbs by next month's visit.  We will have the anatomy scan at next month's visit.  Baby's heartbeat is still nice and strong.  I hope all looks good next month.

11 weeks

Wow, can't believe we are moving into our 11th week!  This pregnancy already seems to be going by so quickly.  We are finally getting over being sick in our house. Micah and I have both had a terrible summer cold with sore throats (not sure if his has been sore or not) and lots of coughing, Micah was terribly sick over the weekend, and Scott's throat has been sore.  I hope this is the last of the sickness I see while pregnant.  I'm behind on taking belly pics.  Nothing is really being missed because from what I can tell there hasn't been much change.  I think as bloat and flab go away it is being replaced by baby related stuff at the same rate.  I should be nice and big come Halloween.  Will have to come up with some cute costume ideas.  :-)

First Photo

We had our 10 week checkup today. Everything looked good. Baby is measuring 10 weeks 4 days and had a heart rate of 171 bpm. We were able to see the yolk sac and the umbilical cord. This time around we also got video. Will try to post later but it won't really be a whole lot to see.

9 Weeks (and 8 week pic)

Yesterday marked nine weeks for this pregnancy.  I've been doing good besides having to fight the cold I caught from Micah.  I still haven't had any morning sickness and really don't expect to since I didn't with Micah.  With this cold I have drainage that is causing me to gag and it feels like it is trying to move into my chest.  The joys of a summer cold during pregnancy...

I'm a week behind on my pictures so I am posting my week 8 picture at the bottom.  Still some bloat but even if that was gone I would be much bigger than I was at this stage with Micah.  My regular pants are now uncomfortable even with the buttons undone.  I dug my small maternity clothes out last night so I can at least be a little comfortable.  I would have sworn I had more small maternity clothes than I do.  Guess it was when I got big that I really found the good sales.

 9 weeks

8 weeks

Happiness

You know that feeling of being on top of the world and nothing can bring you down that comes with pregnancy?  Today, I'm there.  Not that I'm ever not a happy person.  It's hard to explain but it's almost like nothing can stress me out.  I guess it's the feeling of being blessed.

Intuition

I guess this post should have come earlier but I didn't write about it when it happened. Towards the beginning of May I had a thought that I might conceive that month. What brought on that thought? I won't go into details but it had to do with something that had my doctor give me a call. I had expressed concern to a dear nurse friend and she relayed my concerns to my obgyn. In no time he had called to see exactly what was going on and to ease my mind. Can I just say I have THE best doctor ever? Somewhere between the event and the end of our conversation the thought crossed my mind that maybe my body was preparing itself for a baby. Then when we were on vacation the thought crossed my mind. I guess I should pay attention to my intuition. Especially when I went from not being confident things would happen quickly to thinking it probably would that month.

Growing Along

Here we are at 8 week, 1 day and it is becoming more and more obvious that I am expecting.  I have been fortunate enough to not have any morning sickness with this pregnancy.  I am so glad about that!  So far this pregnancy is very similar to my pregnancy with Micah.  The only differences I have noticed is increased emotions (I am so emotional these days) and I am growing much faster.  I started having round ligament pains today.  Pretty severe round ligament pains.  I was trying to remember when I started having those with Micah.  I honestly don't remember exactly, but I do know it was after 10 weeks. I remember that because it was after I started seeing my current obgyn, and that was after 10 weeks.  I am definitely bigger now than I was at 10 weeks with Micah.  I guess that you really do start to show earlier with your second pregnancy.

The Secret is Out

I hadn't realized how much I had been holding my excitement for this pregnancy in.  I knew I was trying to hide it so no one would realize that something was up, but now that we have told everyone it feels great and I am super excited!

We told everyone using the big brother shirt in the previous post.  Apparently people don't read shirts like we thought they do.  We almost had to tell them all (the parents and grandparents) to read it.  As expected, everyone is super excited.  It is truly amazing that God has opened the opportunity for us to be parents to a precious, sweet, handsome baby boy and kept the gate open.  We are blessed beyond measure.  

The Bump...Week 7 and Micah's New Shirt

 7 weeks (week behind posting pic)

Be happy when this is a "real" baby bump and not just bloat and fat.

Happy news!!!

Our Life

Our Life

This is my attempt at creating a video to announce our pregnancy.  Of course the thing moves past the tests so fast you have to be quick to read them!  My initial idea was to show parents and grandparents the pictures we get back from Micah's 1st birthday shoot with sonogram pictures but we need a back up plan.  It's looking more and more like I won't be able to make it for another 3 weeks.  I'm going to be showing much sooner than last time.  I can already tell a difference.

7 weeks

Today we hit the 7 week mark.  I will start with weekly pictures.  Not much to show right now.  Yes, I am showing but only very minimally.  No one could really tell other than Scott and me.  I actually look pregnant to others because of the little gut I still have and the bloating is back in a major type of way.  Everyone keeps asking me about being pregnant and if we've had any luck so I think they are all beginning to suspect I am (because of that gut).  I've already set a goal for myself to lose it all after this baby gets here. 

 This was the first test I took.  You can barely see the positive line but it was there (just like my first test with Micah).  Maybe this is why Scott wasn't convinced.

These convinced him!

Starting to Show

Starting this pregnancy I had some extra weight in the midsection that I need to get rid of.  I even had someone ask if I was expecting again because I seriously did look pregnant.  Since finding out about this pregnancy I have been eating better.  If anyone really looks at me closely that knows me and my build they will definitely figure out that something is going on.  As far as actual weight, I weigh the same, but things are definitely developing.  I think I will start taking weekly pics next week.  Might even take one tonight.

Emotional Day

The pregnancy hormones seem to be in full swing today.  I have been weepy ever since I dropped Micah off at daycare and he started crying.  It breaks my heart to see Micah crying but especially today.  I'm going to blame it on hormones a little.  And then I've been overwhelmed thinking how it's only 8 months (or less) away before this baby arrives.  I honestly don't know if I am going to be able to handle having two babies crying for me not to go.  Not working isn't an option, no matter how much I wish it was.

On a happier note, only 4 weeks and some days before our first ultrasound.  After that we'll spread our news to family and close friends.  I guess co-workers will be told soon after.  I'm not sure when I will make it Facebook official.  I'm assuming it won't take long for something to hit my wall once people start finding out.

Keeping Our Secret = Lies

I am really into the idea of keeping our news secret now.  I'm thinking I want to tell everyone the week after we get our sonogram done.  We can tell our families and church family Sunday and then work and Facebook friends the next day or whenever.  That Monday we'll be 11 weeks and almost out of the "danger zone".  BUT, keeping our secret already sucks.  I was asked by a friend at work how the family building was going and had we had any success yet.  I had to outright lie and I absolutely, positively HATE that!  I felt bad enough finding out I told my uncle I wasn't pregnant when I was (he asked before I knew), but this is a whole new ballgame.  I hope no one else asks before we are ready to tell.  :-/

Keeping The Secret and First OB Appointment

I have decided to set this blog to private until we are ready to announce our big news. By making it private I can update the bog without having to create a million drafts to publish later.  When will we announce the big news?  We're not totally sure yet.  I have been struggling with how my friends who have had recent miscarriages will take the news.  While I know they will be excited for me, I also imagine my pregnancy announcement will bring lots of emotions.  I figure the longer I give them to process their emotions, the less painful it will be for them.  I always wondered why people found it so hard to tell me they were expecting when we were trying for all of those years.  While my situation was light years away from what they have been through, now I can understand.  I've also decided to not update Facebook with my pregnancy details regularly once we tell.  Instead, I will update on this blog, and maybe Twitter.

Now for an update on this pregnancy.

This morning I had my first OB appointment.  I saw the nurse practitioner for this first visit but will be seeing my doctor in the future.  All went well.  She noted my due date as February 6, 2013 but it will actually be February 4, 2013 since my cycles have been 26 days and not 28.  I guess two days don't really matter much in the grand scheme of things.  If we go by her calculations I am 4 weeks, 6 days and got a positive pregnancy test at 3 weeks, 5 days.  I think I'll keep with my dates.

My next visit will be the 11th of July.  I will have an ultrasound and see my doctor that day.  They wanted to see me in a month but that fell on the 4th of July so it was either do it a week before or a week after.  I chose a week after so that the ultrasound will provide more details.  :-)  I can't wait to see this precious little one!

Positively Pregnant

May 30th

I think Scott was skeptical about the positive results I had gotten.  Even though I had already taken two tests with positive results he insisted on me taking another test...just to be sure.  I took one and didn't see it working like I normally do so thought it was a dud.  We had to go to town to get his grandma a birthday present so he bought me a package of three tests.  Well, by the time we got back to the house the test I took before going to town had worked and said positive.  I used one of the three he bought and again, got an instant positive.  I think he is finally convinced.  I also think we are both a little overwhelmed at the thought of actually having two babies to care for.  Thinking of having two and then it being a reality really changes things.

I'm not sure how Micah is going to handle having a baby around.  He will be 21 months old when the baby arrives.  It seems like the older he gets the more of a Momma's baby he becomes.  He has also shown jealousy with the grandparents and other children recently.  I never want him to fear that he is any less loved because there is another child around.  I am already starting to tell him how loved he will always be and that he will always be my baby boy.

I am excited and terrified at the same time.  And I can't wait to be able to tell everyone.  I'm still trying to figure out when the best time will be to tell.

Cautiously Excited

May 29th

We returned from vacation Sunday and I found an old pregnancy test in the cabinet.  I decided if I hadn't started my cycle when I woke up yesterday (my first cycle day) I would test just for the heck of it.  I've really had no indication to make me even think I might be pregnant besides some pretty severe cramping on the 25th or 26th, which could have been related to my oncoming cycle.  The test was $1 when I bought it several months back.  I fully expected for it to be one line with a completely blank slate to the left of the control line.  To my amazement there was a slight line indicating positive.  I took it outside to Scott and asked him if he saw anything and he said barely.  I had some pretty severe cramping right after lunch and got sick to my stomach.  This made me want to test again even more.

This morning I stopped by the stored and bought a Fist Response test.  This was the name brand that gave me my sure enough positive with Micah so I trust the brand.  Sure enough, there was a positive line about as soon as the control line appeared.  Looks like we are now waiting for number two to arrive.  I've scheduled an appointment for June 5th with my doctor.  Now to decide when to tell.  It's hard because I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings and don't want to tell too soon in case something happens.

MIA

Looks like I have been MIA from this blog for a while.  I really didn't intend to be but I guess it is a result of already feeling a little hopeless in our trying to conceive journey.  I just don't feel like we will be pregnant any time soon.  I imagine that thought has something to do with the happenings around me in the pregnancy realm.  We are still trying.  I order some fertility predictor strips but have yet to use them.  The month they came in it was too late in my cycle to use them, the next month I was in discouraged mode, and this month I will start using them tomorrow.

Starting to Have Doubts

I am starting to have doubts that conceiving a second child will be any different than it was with conceiving Micah.  My cycle has changed to 26 days instead of 28 days.  I don't think the shorter cycle is anything to worry about, because I am 99% sure I am ovulating on day 12.  From what I have read that would put the length of both phases of my cycle where they need to be.  It also gives me more chances of conceiving each year.  I'm somewhat thankful, although disappointed, that we didn't conceive in March, because two of my friends just experienced miscarriages.  My heart is broken for them.

December Baby

I debated not trying to conceive this month because I've never wanted a December baby.  It just seems like so much is going on at the end of the year and a December child would add a birthday to the mix.  Up until today I was thinking I would just skip this month but when I saw signs today that ovulation is approaching I knew I couldn't not try this month.  We shall see if a December baby it will be.  :-)

Hormones in Disarray?

I think my hormones are going berserk!  At this point, I'm not even sure when I am ovulating.  I had signs of ovulation three different times last month and already having a weird cycle this month.  I guess it makes sense they would be out of whack after 17 months of no cycle.  No clue when things will straighten out but I have decided to focus on getting back into better health rather than conceiving.  Maybe it will happen soon but I'm not going to get my hopes up.  I'm actually a little thankful that this cycle wasn't successful for us.  One of my very dear friends who found out she was pregnant after seven years of trying lost her baby.  I would feel so guilty if I had become pregnant so soon after starting to try given her situation.  :-(

Countdown Continues...

March 9, 2012

I still have four more days before I can really test.  I feel pregnant sometimes but I think it is wishful thinking combined with symptoms of my UTI.  I tested with a $1 test last night.  I know, I should have waited until morning and it is too early.  I was going to go at lunch to pick up a First Response at lunch yesterday but never made it.  I sure hope the $1 test is just not sensitive enough for early testing.

Keeping a Secret

March 5, 2012
Scott and I have decided that if we are pregnant we will try to keep a secret until Micah's birthday party.  I have plans for him to announce it for us by opening a last gift that reveals the news.  I am thinking a shirt that says Big Brother Est. 2012.  So for now, I will blog about my thoughts on this cycle privately and publish in order once the news is revealed.

I still feel very strongly that I am pregnant. If I am correct, I am three weeks today.  I bought a cheap dollar store test Sunday and took it.  I knew it was too early to tell but thought I'd give it a try anyway.  The First Response tests are sensitive enough that I can test tomorrow to see if there is any HCG in my system.  I'm debating on whether to go ahead and test or wait it out a while.  I do have a $2 off coupon for the tests.  On one hand I would like to test so I could start my OB visits up, but on the other hand I don't want to waste money on a test.  And what is one more week of waiting?  Decisions, decisions!  On another note, I have started searching baby names to get a head start.  :-)

March 19, 2012

Even after I started my period I felt like I was having symptoms of pregnancy.  Had a weird one so still not sure what went on there! Going ahead and posting this since our plans are blown since we aren't pregnant.

Medication While Trying

Finally went to the doctor with the UTI yesterday.  It obviously was not going to go away with OTC meds, water and cranberry juice.  As suspected, the doctor said it looked really bad.  Since we are actively trying to conceive he couldn't give me the medicine he would normally give me.  For women who might be pregnant or are pregnant they usually prescribe Sulfa, which I am allergic to.  So...I am on amoxicillin, which should clear it up if it isn't one of the more resistant strains.  They are running a culture to see which strand it is and will have to revisit the treatment if it is a more resistant strand.  Figures the first month we are officially trying I will have a UTI, which can't be treated with the usual medication in case we are.

Is it in My Head?

I promise I am having more pregnancy symptoms than not.  Of course it could be all in my head.  Yesterday morning while I was feeding Micah before church I was feeling really rough.  Right after I finished feeding him I had to rush to the bathroom because I thought I was going to be sick.  I wasn't but it was close.  Of course, I could be coming down with something (I was freezing the night before when we got in bed) or could have gotten sick off of the medicine I am taking for my UTI (I wasn't able to take it with a full class of water or anything on my stomach).  If I were pregnant, I would only be 2 weeks and 5 days yesterday so it isn't likely I'm noticing things this early on.  Only a week more to go before we'll know if this cycle was successful.

Trying for Baby #2

I have decided to create yet another blog.  This blog will be dedicated to the road to conceiving baby #2, aspects of pregnancy (hopefully), and milestones once he arrives (God willing).  I thought I could remember everything involved with creating Micah.  Little did I know that long and winding road would last for 10 years.  Even with details of my pregnancy with Micah and since he has been here (10 months) I have to think hard about some of the details.  Mommy brain, maybe?  Anyway, I want to have something where each child can come back to see what lead to them being in our lives.

Micah is 10 months old.  I breastfeed, which resulted in a delay of my cycle returning.  My first cycle after deliver was in December.  My wonderful OBGYN recommended we wait two cycles before trying to conceive so chance of miscarriage would not needlessly be higher.  So, here we are in the middle of the two week wait.  We are hoping and praying that this will be the only two week wait for baby #2.  If not, we'll be going down a road we know all too well.  It won't be any easier than the first time around but we know the reward is very sweet.