33 weeks and 5 days!

Only about 6 weeks (plus or minus a few) left of this pregnancy adventure! Then the real adventure can begin! ;) It is starting to hit me that we are close to Ellie's big arrival! Excited does not even begin to express how I am feeling. Really it is a mix of emotions. Excitement, anticipation, wonder, and many more that I cannot even pinpoint. I just have this overwhelming feeling of anticipation (in a good way). I cannot wait to be on the flip side and come out of this with our precious prize and a wonderful birth story to share with all of you :) This week we finished up our Bradley Birth classes. The next few weeks our focus will be on practicing the relaxation techniques we learned together in order to be prepared for labor. Patrick is a wonderful coach. It is so comforting to me that he has learned so much and has all the tools he will need to help me when I will need him most.


New Developments
Ellie: She has now grown to be the size of a pineapple- right under 5 lbs and anywhere from 18-22 inches (approximately). I had my 32 week checkup last week. As of that appointment, they were pretty sure she was still head down. She was very active for the doctor and had a strong heartbeat in the 150s. She is generally pretty active during the day and I am still feeling the hiccups a few times a week at least.

Me: I am still trying hard to focus on my protein each day. Some staples for me have been Greek yogurt, milk, and beef (this week its been taco meat- salads and tostadas have been the craving). Also, I have been loving avocado! A funny craving that has developed- Sonic ice! A Rt 44 Sonic water with lemon and extra ice makes for a great day! As far as physically, the 3rd trimester aches and pains have set in.  I have had quite a bit of lower abdominal pain and pressure this week. I think she has found her way down real low- probably the reason for that. Watson has been a great cuddle buddy and very affectionate lately... especially during the times I have had to lay down and rest from the abdominal pain... its so nice to have a buddy!

Ellie's room is coming right along. Last weekend, Patrick assembled her new dresser and this week we got the crib mattress in. So I got right to work sorting and organizing her clothes and putting on her bedding! We both feel a lot better having most of the major stuff done in her room. It was so chaotic before (stuff was everywhere!), so it is nice now to see it all organized and put away.

As far as other developments with us, we are just a few weeks away from officially becoming members of Berea Baptist Church in Evans, GA! We are so glad to have found a church home finally. And some might think it is strange to join in June when we will be moving at the end of October, but we know that it is important to be joined to a local body of Believers. Plus, who knows, we could end up staying here in Augusta! At this point, the only One who knows is the Lord. We also just signed up to join a community group as well which is going to go through Tim Keller's book "The Meaning of Marriage". On another note, Patrick has been doing great in his classes so far at work. He did well in his first class which was Cisco. He now is in the middle of the math class and doing good so far. AND this week he studied away and took the Cisco CCNA certification test and passed! I am so proud of him (especially the fact that he got it done before Ellie arrives). He has been very busy doing math everyday and studying for the Cisco test in the evenings, but he seems to be enjoying it.


As the days pass our excitement just grows and grows! We don't have much on the calendar for the next 6 weeks and I am very excited about that. Just preparing, resting, and waiting for the time to come to welcome Ellie! We covet your prayers... for a great and natural birth experience, for our next post assignment, and for the 3 of us in general. We know this will be a big transition and will need a lot of grace and wisdom as we transition into parenthood!

Ellie's diaper bag- already packed with a few things (just in case!)

The Crib with her Pottery Barn Penelope Crib Bedding! (thanks Mom)

The Dresser! We love it (thanks Mom)

Hello Third Timester! 28.5 weeks!

It is so exciting to be approaching the last 10 weeks. I cannot wait for our sweet little baby to be here. So a lot has happened in the last 8 weeks and I will try to catch you up...

First of all, we found out we are having a baby GIRL!! We are so excited. I almost fell off little ultrasound bed when the technician told us! We have also decided on a name, but are waiting until she is here to announce it. BUT we are sharing her nickname.... Ellie! It is so fun to have something to refer to her as! We also started our Bradley natural birthing classes about 5 weeks ago. We are so blessed to have this time together to learn all about pregnancy, labor, delivery, and the postpartum phase. I really really REALLY love the environment and the curriculum. It is just such an encouraging time to be reminded that God has designed my body to do this and given us so much information to be able to go into this experience informed and prepared. I know I will need His strength to get through a natural/non-medicated delivery, but I know that He has equipped me and made my body to be able to do this. I can't tell you exactly why I first decided to go natural. Really, it is just what made sense to me. And the more and more I have learned, the more confirmation I have that this is the best option for me and for Baby Ellie.  We also have put down a deposit for our Bradley teacher to be our Doula for the birth. I am SO excited! She is nothing short of a God-send. Not having family here in GA, it has been the biggest blessing to have an older/wiser woman connection that has lots of experience with natural births. As a Doula, she will basically be an assistant coach to help Patrick (the coach) and I through the labor and delivery.  She will be there to remind us of all the things we have learned in class and also offer her tips/ suggestions as different situations may arise. I am just so excited to have her- words cannot explain the peace and comfort it has already brought knowing we won't be going through this alone!

BABY: She is now approximately 17 inches long and 2.9 lbs. Her kicks have become stronger and stronger. I notice the most movement at night time (like for instance last night, when she was having a dance party at 3am for almost one whole hour! HA!).

ME: The last week or two has been interesting. I have had lots of headaches (not migraines) and the  nausea has come back. Nothing like the first trimester, but just an overall queasy feeling all day. This has totally killed the little motivation to cook that was coming back. LOL. Oh well, we are on the final stretch now so I am not going to stress out about it. Another funny thing, my puppy Watson has also been acting more clingy lately. He is always right by my side or trying to lay right on my tummy. He also has been constantly licking me (not sure what this is about). I have also been prepping him for Ellie's arrival. I now refer to the guest room as "Ellie's room" to him. The other day we were in her room and I was on the floor organizing some stuff. I pointed to the crib and said "This is Ellie's bed" and he did the cutest thing ever... he went over to the side of the crib and stood up on his back 2 legs and looked inside like "Where is she Mom?" I cannot wait to see how he does with her. He loves kids and especially babies! I know she will get lots of love and attention from him and I just can't wait to see how they bond!

So prayer requests for the next 10+ weeks...

1) Pray that Ellie flips into the proper head down position. They say its not a big deal that she hasn't yet and she has plenty of time, but after watching my sis go through the whole breach baby ordeal, I would really love it if she cooperated on her own. And I know that with the military, if she remains breech I will have a Cesarian delivery.

2) That I would daily trust the Lord... I am so thankful Patrick is here (and not deployed), but having him in school right now has been interesting. I already know that he will not be able to take the 10 day paternity leave the military usually gives. And lately, I have been tempted (and given in at times) to imagine worst case scenarios. So please just pray that I would trust the Lord with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding. As my old pastor once said, The future is not my domain, it is God's. So I will leave that up to Him.

3) that God would continue to prepare us to be the best parents for Ellie that we can be in His strength

4) that Ellie would continue to grow healthy and strong

5) that through this remaining time and the arrival/birth He would be glorified and honored.

HE is the One who creates Life and deserves ALL the glory, honor, and praise!!

Ellie's crib with her bedding

Patrick picked out her first bathing suit!

Getting bigger... 28.5 weeks!

Ohhh, we're half way there. Ohhh, livin' on a prayer.... 20 weeks!

Well as I sing some good ole Bon Jovi, I can hardly believe we really are half way there! What a big milestone for Baby Bryan! And for me ;)

Baby: Now measuring about the size of a large banana, Baby Bryan is about 3/4 lb. He/she is now swallowing amniotic fluid to practice swallowing and digesting. He/she is very active and loves to kick and do somersaults, especially after I eat ;) Last week's OB appointment went very well. Baby was moving and heart rate was 150 bpm. No good angle to tell the gender though- so we will have to wait until our next ultrasound at the end of the month! (the Lord is already giving me a lesson in patience and he/she is not even here yet ;) )

Me: Well, I am finally feeling TONS better. My allergies are crazy so I am having to take my allergy meds. But besides that, headaches and nausea are at an all time low. My appetite is pretty crazy these days, although I can't eat much in one sitting. So that means its more like all day snacking! I have learned the hard way though...  if I don't snack often, the headaches/nausea get bad! Emotionally speaking I am a sensitive one these days... just ask the hubby! Lately it doesn't take much to get me to cry ;) Just one weird phrase or look from the hubs and you would think the world was crashing down around me! Luckily, these little episodes of sadness are pretty short lived. Guess this is just a part of the  Lord preparing me to be sensitive to my little one and all of his/her needs!


Things I am loving: BEEF in almost any form, which lately has been Arby's, pot roast, meatballs. MILK- I could drink it all day long! Peanut butter and honey sandwiches. Caramel- candy, frappuccino's, really anything caramel is sure to hit the spot these days. Strawberries.

Baby Bryan and I at 20 weeks!

Besides that, nothing new to update on here. We are just moving right along and thanking the Lord for each day with our blessing! We don't know how many days we will be given, but each one is a gift for sure!

17 weeks!

Wow, I feel like we are finally getting somewhere now! I can't believe it has been 13 weeks now since we found out about this little blessing. The first weeks were the slowest ever (thanks to the morning sickness), but now that I am doing better time is starting to fly by!

Some new developments:

Baby: Now measuring in at 5.5 inches and 5 oz! The baby's nervous system is maturing rapidly, baby can now yawn, as well as move all around. I can't wait to feel this little one move! And baby's sense of hearing is more acute... guess I should watch how much I yell at Watson!?! LOL. Or hopefully the baby is just getting used to it now in utero so that it will be a normal part of life by the time he/she is here!

Things I am loving: Moe's burritos (best pregnancy food ever), bottled water, peppermints, eggs for breakfast, cottage cheese, baked potatoes, Greek gyros.

Strange aversion: pizza! not sure why but I can't really eat much of it and can't stand the smell of it either! and I still can't stomach cooking with raw meat. Hopefully this week the hubby can attempt a few meals so we can eat some home-cooked food.

Physical changes: My headaches have subsided!! praise the LORD! Hope they continue to stay away! Nausea is only bad in the evenings. Lots of lower abdominal pain (those ligaments must be stretching like crazy!) and some weird upper back/ rib pain. Obviously, my body is gearing up for some major changes soon! I can't wait to actually have a cute little bump instead of this pudge that looks like I just ate to much over the holidays ;)

In other news, we visited a great church this week. We are excited to go back and are hopeful that maybe we have found one to call home!

And this is our newest addition to the baby room: a beautiful changing table that Patrick's Grandpa and Grandma found! We love it. Thanks so much!

And another few non-baby pics. We were given this BEAUTIFUL chest of drawers by Patrick's parents. It was just taking up space in their garage. It needed a lot of  TLC though before its real beauty could shine through! So Patrick has been working on this since October. We had to strip the stain and polyurethane off (lots of stripper and sanding). Then we brought it back to GA and Patrick  applied the new stain and finish. We found some great new hardware for the drawers too. I am SO proud of him! I think it is gorgeous and I don't think I will ever want to part with it. Here are the pics.

Before

After

15 weeks and Counting it all Joy

The inspiration for this post comes from James Chapter 1. I am sure a lot of you have at most of the first chapter memorized. I have meditated and clung to this verse in times past, times of trials and temptations. And to be honest, it is not the subject I would've ever thought I'd need to be meditating on during pregnancy.

Pregnancy is definitely one of the biggest blessings I have ever experienced. So don't get me wrong, I am blessed beyond belief and thankful for each day with our little Baby B. But, who ever said that blessings couldn't be hard, or difficult, or require great endurance, faith and trust in the  Lord? At least to me, at first glance, that seems kind of like a paradox. In my head, times of blessing are mostly associated with the "sun shining down on me" seasons of life (like the verse in Blessed be the Name of the Lord). But I am learning that is not always the case...

I am a few weeks into my 2nd trimester now. I am glad to report that morning sickness has gotten a lot better. I've had a few bouts of intense nausea lately, but nothing like I experienced in my 1st trimester. The recent struggle has been the onset of lingering headaches/migraines. And just to explain, I use those words almost interchangeably. So not to confuse, if I refer to a headache it is a migraine. Normal "headaches" hardly even put a dent in my day or hit my radar.

Anyway, so as most of you probably know, I have suffered from migraines since the later part of college. I've had an MRI, allergy tests, multiple doctor consults, and right before I got pregnant was on a new dietary plan to help. For the most part, the migraines died down a lot in my 1st trimester. But now for the past week I have had a very unwelcome, almost constant companion. And if you are a fellow migraine sufferer, you probably have experienced the dark cloud that a lingering one can bring... the feeling of being trapped, having no way out, no relief,  insomnia at times, the feeling of wanting to bang your head on the wall, or actually banging your head of the wall just desperate for the pain to ease, even if it is only for a few seconds. That is the place I have been for over a week now...

So here I am,... Waiting. Praying. Hoping. Enduring. and as I found out today this is not something I can do. I am only going to be able to endure with the Lord's strength.

I am learning that trials and blessings can accompany each other. And I am determined not to let this temporary trial completely steal my joy of this wonderful blessing. As James wrote :

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds"


This is what I want, but it will only be by the Grace of God...

14 Weeks and Counting...

I can't believe I am already out of my first trimester! As many of you know, I had an interesting time navigating through the first trimester and have gladly welcomed this second trimester's arrival! I began having morning sickness around 5 weeks (just one week after we found out we were expecting). Surprisingly, my normal migraines have eased up. I only had a few in the first trimester and one major one so far in the second.

In general, I am feeling much better. I am starting to get anxious to feel this little baby kick and move. My pants have definitely gotten tighter. I wouldn't say I am "showing" yet, but I definitely feel bloated and just bigger in general.

As far as food goes, I have been eating much better and the aversions have subsided for the most part. Right now I am really enjoying oranges, broccoli, hummus, and cereal. I really need to work on the proteins, specifically eating more meat. I still don't have a desire to cook much. The food I like is usually fresh and easy to prepare (either just cutting it up or steaming some veggies). But the poor hubby loves his meat and potatoes and is usually needing a good meal after work... so hopefully I can get back in the kitchen!

I had an OB appointment this week with a new doctor. I really liked him! Very calm, nice, answered my questions with lots of details. As long as I can, I am going to stick with him (its hard with Tricare and the Army hospitals, you are constantly getting a new doc). I have been very pleased so far. We also signed up for  Bradley natural birthing classes yesterday. I personally am SO excited! The teacher has been incredibly sweet every time I have chatted with her. I am also really excited for Patrick to be a major part of this. I have to publicly thank the Lord for this opportunity,... I know many friends and fellow military wives who have faced their pregnancies while separated due to deployments. I know the Lord would help me through it if that was His plan. And as far as the future goes, it is a very real possibility that someday we will have to go through that. But I am thankful for this season and being able to have my husband home while experiencing our first pregnancy. I don't know how I would've made it out alive of the first trimester without my servant-hearted love! He catered to my every need and helped me more than I can put into words. I am so grateful he is home and is not deployable while he is in school this year. It is a blessing and I do not want to take a single day for granted.

We were so blessed this Christmas by our families with baby gifts galore! We were surprised and overwhelmed with their generosity! My favorite: a 12 pack of BumGenius cloth diapers from Bill&Wendy! I LOVE them and am so excited to be doing cloth with this baby. That is a gift that will keep on giving,... every day!! I just love looking at them and all the bright colors.

Aren't they so cute?!



We also took family pictures with my hubby's family during the holidays. Below are a few. Hope you enjoy! I am going to start taking some "belly pics" here in the next few weeks and I will be sure to post when I do. Until then, God Bless and Happy New Year, 2012!!