Week 19

We're feeling GREAT this week. My tummy is growing and I am feeling like I have more energy than I have in the past few months. What we are most excited about this week is that we get to tell Jimmy's parents the wonderful news! And then we can finally share the news with everyone! It's been fun waiting and planning- imagining their faces and reactions when they first realize that we're expecting! The event that is really bringing us to Utah is Riley's (one of Jimmy's friends) wedding. We're so glad they are getting married this weekend. It is going to be a beautiful wedding and the timing just happens to be perfect for us- an added bonus. We will also see 3 of our siblings, 1 in-law and 2 of baby's great-grandmothers! A lot of our friends will be at the wedding and we can't wait to tell them too. I was hoping to get up to Idaho to see my girls, but we have to get back quick to say goodbye to Mom and Dad, since they will leave 4 days after we get home.

Delivering the news to Helen at work.

Week 18

I don't know why, but I'm so happy to be to week 18! It seems like we're really coming along! In two weeks we'll be halfway there!
Something new for this week is that I'm loosing one of my greatest talents- my ability to sleep! For years I have been a gold medal sleeper! I sleep deeply, every night, for AT LEAST 8 hours- preferably 10. Beginning a couple nights ago, I have been waking up to SORE hips! Whatever hip I am lay on will wake me up with a crazy intense pain that threatens to kill me if I don't get off of it. So, I switch to the other side until that one wakes me up with the same threat. And that is it... once on each side is all I get in a night! If I try to switch back to the other side, I am rejected! I am now down to an average of 6 hours a night! SIX?

I fully expect to get less than 6 as I reach the 3rd trimester, and I'm not naive enough to expect that much once the baby comes, but I wasn't prepared to say goodbye to my 8 hours just yet. This morning, after my third night of this, I actually resorted to sleeping sitting up! When you're pregnant you aren't supposed to sleep on your back because the uterus would be resting on two important blood vessels, the aorta and the inferior vena cava. It could decrease circulation to the baby and parts of the momma's body. Sleeping on your stomach is also out of the question. I was left with only two other options- get up for the day, or sleep sitting up. Since I chose option #1 the other two mornings, I decided to try option #2. I made a throne of pillows to help hold me up and..... it worked!! I slept about 2 more hours for a grand total of 8!
On a different but somewhat related note, my yoga dvd came and it is wonderful! Shiva Rea is a great yoga instructor and I really enjoyed the exercise and stretching. Aside from several other benefits, I'm hoping that doing this routine will help me sleep better. But if not, there will be time to sleep when I'm an old lady! Anything for the baby!

Week 17

(This pic makes my belly look a lot bigger than it is... but I like it!)

I'm feeling great this week! My belly is growing slowly. I haven't felt the baby move yet but a couple days ago I woke up and baby was laying all on the right side of my belly. My stomach was lower on the left side and higher on the right. I pushed on it softly for a minute and baby moved back to the middle! Then that day at breakfast I felt something hard like a head or bum sticking out on the right side. It was so cute!! I pushed on it a little bit and it moved back in. I just LOVE being able to tell there is a baby in there! I can't wait till I can feel it move all the time!

I just ordered a prenatal yoga dvd last night so it should be here in a couple days. I want to make sure I'm doing some exercise and relaxation every day. We want a calm, happy baby. {Dream on, right?... oh well, it's ok to dream.}

Something baby loves: A couple weeks ago I noticed that baby loves it when I rub my belly in big, round motions. It makes everything in there feel comfortable. Mom says I can expect a baby that always wants its back rubbed. How cute!

The Mother's Day surprise!

A few days ago was Mother's Day and we thought it would be the perfect day to tell Grandpa and Grandma Hrncirik that they were going to get a new grandbaby. We framed one of the ultrasound pictures and added a text bubble of the baby saying, "Hi Grandma!" When mom opened it she looked at it for a couple seconds then a huge surprised look come across her face. She looked up at us and said, "Really?" Then dad looked over at it and said, "No way!" We all just laughed and hugged! It was so fun telling them the great news. Today they gave us our first ever baby present: some baby Q-tips, baby powder and baby wash. How exciting!

We can't wait to tell Grandpa and Grandma Newton the great news when we go to visit them in Utah in 3 weeks! We are glad that we get to tell them in person and see their reaction!

We also had a doctor's appointment today. There was no ultra sound, they just measured my belly and we got to hear baby's heart beat. What a beautiful sound!! Baby has a strong, regular heart beat. It should be in the 120-160 range and it was 140- right in the middle. My mom said that when she was pregnant with us they didn't have ultra sounds so they used the heartbeat to guess if it was a boy or a girl. I think if it was fast, they said it was a boy and a slow heartbeat indicated a girl. Lucky we have ultra sounds because baby's heartbeat is right in the middle and we would never know that way. We are going back to the doctor in 5 weeks for another ultra sound. We will be praying for a healthy, growing baby until then!

We love you, Baby!!!

Week 16

I am definitely starting to show now! Even with my roomier shirts I have a little belly.

I have started to have some strange pains on my baby belly. It's not like the tired, stretch feeling that I've had, it's like a dull (sometimes kinda sharp) pain that goes along the sides and bottom of that baby area on my belly. I really hope it's normal. It's not an unbearable pain, but it's there.

I realized something as I was thinking about this pain and what I would be willing to go through for this baby. I came to the realization that I would do anything to keep this baby. I would go through anything if I knew that it was healthy and growing.

So aside from the strange pain, I'm doing great. I feel comfortable getting bigger. It is wonderful to feel my stomach grow. Soon I should be able to feel the baby move. That is going to be amazing!

Week 15

I wanted to start recording how I feel from week to week. Sometimes it's hard to remember if I feel the same as last week or if things have changed. And when I'm huge and have totally different symptoms it will be fun to look back at the good ol' days of the 2nd trimester.

15 Weeks and 5 Days

I have been feeling pretty good this week. I haven't been constantly nauseas like I was in the past month. I just have to be careful what I eat or think about while I'm eating so I don't gross myself out and throw up.

Some days my stomach feels like it's stretching and tired so I like to lay down or take a nap during these times and when I get up I feel great.

I'm in that strange stage in pregnancy when I'm not big yet, I can't feel the baby move yet, and my symptoms are mild to none some days. I try not to worry that something has gone wrong. I don't want to pass those worried feelings on to the baby. It's hard going a whole month without getting to go to the doctor to make sure the baby is still growing and healthy. Hopefully I will get more confident as this pregnancy moves on, and in future pregnancies I won't be like this. I don't think these worries would even cross my mind if I hadn't experienced a miscarriage last year. I never thought that I would have lost that baby. You never think that something like that will happen to you. When I pray I have to ask for strength to handle whatever the outcome is.

I love to think about holding this sweet baby and spending every second with it. Right now Jimmy and I are staying in the bedroom where the baby may be sleeping when it comes. I like to think about its crib and soft blankets that will be in the room in October!