oh boy, oh boy!

...just had to get that out of my system, so I can go on with the rest of my post!

Sorry for the delay in my 20 week post...I am actually almost 21 weeks now! Between text messages and facebook, baby updates spread fast this past week. Huge week for us by the way! Our family experienced some major milestones in the past week! The inevitable came and went...and my 30th birthday was rather uneventful, but I wouldn't have had it any other way! Mom called the night before and asked if it would be okay if she called me at 4:10am (the time of my momentous birth) as I officially turned 30. We both agreed that sleep was probably a wiser choice. Although chances are good that I was up going to the bathroom around that time of morning anyway. My day was filled with birthday wishes via text, phone and facebook (thank you, technology)...which just reminds me how blessed I am to have so many close friends and family in my life. Cooter brought home a cookie cake with hot pink icing (my cake request, but he picked out the pink himself!) and waaaaay too many candles! He insisted on lighting all 30 candles, although it was just the two (and a half) of us and the fur babies celebrating. Candles didn't stay lit long though...I didn't want to the fire department to know I was turning 30 as well!

We spent the next night with our amazing neighbors, who cooked me a homemade chicken pot pie and baked cookies and sang me happy birthday! Good times as always, I laughed till my belly hurt. Everyone made their official belly prediction...boy or girl? I stood by my prediction that its a boy.

Last Saturday I hit 20 weeks...officially halfway through the pregnancy! Although it feels like I've already been pregnant for quite some time, this next half is sure to be much more exciting than the first. I remember being excited when I hit double digits back at 10 weeks, then watching 12 weeks come and go, knowing that I finally made it past the first trimester. Now here I am, a mere 7 weeks from starting my third trimester...WOW. My belly has definitely made itself known, especially in the past few weeks. I go through numerous shirts a day until I find one that fits me right. Most maternity shirts are too big for me...I have pretty much just grown a belly and nothing else, so all the shirts are too big elsewhere. I squeeze into my pre-pregnancy shirts, only to find that thanks to the burgeoning belly, they aren't quite long enough anymore! My mom did find some XS maternity shirts at Motherhood this past weekend, and I ordered 2 tank tops a size bigger than usual from Old Navy, so I now have 4 new favorite shirts!

Baby is on the move now! It always was, but I feel it everyday now! Some days more than others, but I'm sure it's the baby now! Cooter still can't feel it yet, but sometimes I feel a stronger one here or there, but hopefully he gets to join in on the fun soon! Baby loves fruit and smoothies! He almost always wiggles when I eat fruit...keeps me eating well!

We also finished painting the nursery this past week. I know we have plenty of time to do all of this, but I was glad to be able to paint (with a mask and plenty of ventilation of course) before I get too big to help. You also have to remember that we've been planning that room's future since the day we moved in this house...so nothing is done too early for us! I got Cooter to take a few pics of me in the nursery to document being 20 weeks!
When I went to my show last Sunday, Cooter decided to put the crib together. When I came home, the whole room was set up...brought tears to my eyes. I don't have a mattress yet, so the bedding isn't set up, but here's a few pics of the furniture and the quilt that matches the bedding.

So, now for the real exciting news! We had the much awaited 20 week ultrasound on Tuesday (I was officially 20w3d). It seems like I have been counting down the days till that appointment for as long as I have been pregnant! We really, truly did not have a gender preference. When people would ask Cooter if he hoped for a boy or a girl, he would just answer, "healthy." That's the bottom line...and boy is he! They have such an awesome set up at our doctor's office for ultrasounds. There's a 42 inch TV on the wall for us to watch while she's taking her measurements. This was a longer than normal ultrasound, called an anatomy scan..but of course I didn't mind at all! (except for the 32oz of liquid they made me consume prior to my appointment...ugh, I felt SO sick) I soaked in every second we got to see our baby, our life...wiggling around, hands moving, heart beating. We got to see his head, his face, that adorable profile fit with the perfect little nose! She measured his bones, found his hands, his feet, even his kidneys. We saw a tiny rib cage and spine...and all four chambers of his heart beating away at 130bpm. I watched the tech fill out her checklist at the end of the ultrasound, noting he was an active baby! Most of his measurements put him around 21+ weeks at that time. Baby has been measuring a little big since about 10 weeks. He weighs 13oz (almost a whole pound!)...and his weight matches more closely with the 21+ weeks measurements. She waited until the end of the ultrasound to ask if we wanted to know what we were having. Before she even got him back on the screen, she said its a boy! I knew it! I also thought I saw a little something when she was measuring his legs earlier, but I waited patiently!

The rest of the appointment went well. Doctor and ultrasound tech said everything looked good with the baby and his measurements. No blood work for the first time since I was 3 and a half weeks preggo! My blood pressure was back down to 124/72...so apparently the last trip was just nerves. The only negative was that my doctor told me I was gaining too much weight! My jaw dropped. Here I am, struggling to find maternity clothes that aren't too big for me and I'm gaining too much?!? I'm seriously ALL belly! I even said that to her and she looked at me like I was nuts. Cooter just laughed. I'm blaming the water. Seriously 32oz or more of liquid not even consumed 30 minutes beforehand...and then they want me on a scale? I've been paranoid and checking the scale all the time now...this morning I was 7lbs less than I weighed at my appointment...so take that doctor! All of my friends said just expect that. They are always going to tell you its too much, but as long as the baby is good and your blood pressure is good, then take care of yourself and who cares what they think. I'm only up 10-12lbs since the beginning of my pregnancy...I didn't think that was so bad. According to the doctor, I gained 10lbs in the last month...seriously, blaming the water! Plus I have almost 1lb of baby in there now! =)

Here's the much awaited snap shots of baby Ty! His little hand is up by his ear in the first pic. You can see arm bones and fingers on the side of his head. He's had his right hand up by his head since our early ultrasounds...he's going to sleep like Superman!

No doubt its definitely a boy!!! Think he'll be mortified down the road when he finds out I posted this for all to see?!?

Only 19ish weeks to go!

18 weeks and counting

I spent my 18 week milestone at the deer lease. According to What to Expect, I am entering into my 5th month of pregnancy already. Little baby has made lots of trips to the deer lease this season! I'll be pushing 30 weeks or more next time I go back for turkey season! It was so miserably cold and rainy all weekend, so the baby bump stayed bundled up as much as possible...which made it hard for the belly to proclaim its existence in all those layers like it does in most of my other clothes! I didn't have a mirror to take my weekly pic like normal, so Cooter took it for me...so I actually have a face this time!

Here's a close-up of the 18 week belly.

I'm feeling better and better each day, and dare I say, some of my energy has actually returned! Less than 2 weeks until we find out what the little guy is! I have been feeling the baby move more often now, and I'm pretty sure its the baby I'm feeling now! Its always around the same place in my lower abdomen and I know when to expect it now. Baby is very active in the mornings, even kept me from sleeping a couple times and woke me up hungry. Oranges seemed to do the trick...as does most kinds of fruit. I had a smoothie yesterday (which, by the way, totally rocks my world right now) and halfway through my cup I started feeling little movements again. SO incredibly amazing! Cooter and Nicole are patiently awaiting their turn to feel the baby on the outside. Most of the movements are still sporadic and unpredictable and he/she still has so much room to swim around, so they will have to test their patience a little bit longer! Baby likes to let me know its there every few nights after I lay down too. Can't wait to feel real kicks!

Oh Miss Grace... WIthin the last few weeks, Grace has become quite attached to me. Grace is seriously Ms. Independent as far as cats go, and hasn't had the slightest bit of attachment issues since she was a kitten. Until Cooter was home every night, she still slept in the bed next to me, then she got moved to the foot of the bed. After Laila came along, she pretty much had no interest in being in the same room with any of us unless she was passing through. Once we added Allie to the family, she really wanted her space. Here lately though, she needs to be where I am. She sits in the kitchen when I cook, sits on the desk while I'm working, even sits in the sink while I'm getting ready in the mornings. For the first time in a very long time, she comes in our room and lays with me in bed. She's really the best snuggler and doesn't smell like a dog (no offense to Laila). This week she has even reclaimed her blue blanket and chooses to spend most of her time napping on our bed. I'm guessing she senses the baby, but I'm loving her temporary attention. No one ever sees it, but she's such a sweet girl.

Next update will announce whether we'll be registering for pink or blue! Last chance to take your guesses!

look what's coming up...

Birthday Tickers

I am currently NOT freaking out about this...seriously! I debated trying to pull off "29 and counting..." for a while, but why delay the inevitable?!? I am still young, healthy and full of life! Literally, my belly reminds me daily...that and the amount of trips I make to the bathroom everyday. Which also got me thinking that I should consider redecorating the bathroom! LOL The way I look at it, I'm already getting, quite possibly, the best birthday gift ever...motherhood (albeit about 5 months belated, but after 30 we women stop counting, right?!?). I'll proclaim my age and release my inner party animal next year when Cooter turns 30 and we'll celebrate together...how's that?!?

16 week visit

I have hit 16 weeks (1.1.11)! My belly has grown so much since my last few pics. I actually look more pregnant now, not just like I ate too much.

We had our 16 week appointment today (I am 16w3d as of today 1.4.11). This was the longest we had to wait between appointments so far. The past few days I've been getting more and more nervous leading up to it. My nerves showed...my blood pressure was up - 136/72, which is kinda high for me. They told me that once that top number hits 140 they start monitoring me. We're hoping it was just nerves... Nothing to worry about just yet. I didn't have an ultrasound today, but they did listen to the baby's heartbeat on a doppler. As soon as the jelly hit my belly the nurse was able to find the baby. It has a good, strong heartbeat around 150bpm. I read in What to Expect that around this time, the heart rate usually settles in the 140's or 150's, so we were very happy with that. I felt like I could breathe for the first time all morning after hearing that beautiful sound. We had follow up blood work from last month's NT screening...nothing out of the ordinary, just routine stuff. The doctor and nurse both asked me if I had felt the baby moving yet and I had to say that I don't know. I think I have several times, but its such a new feeling to me, I'm not even really sure what I should be feeling. Plus when I feel flutters I get real still, waiting to feel it again, but its still too unpredictable and the baby still has plenty of room to swim around in there. My doctor said its completely normal, but I should start feeling it move more in the next few weeks! Even then it probably won't be very regular movements, but I can't wait!

We bought ourselves a last minute Christmas gift...the nursery furniture and the bedding! I know its still early, but Baby's R Us had some good sale prices on furniture for the holidays so I wanted to take advantage of it while we could. I have the crib (still in a giant box) and the dresser/changer and chest should be coming in soon. The nursery is finally all clear of my classroom stuff (it temporarily looked like 3rd grade exploded in that room). We are about to paint, then get the carpets cleaned. Love feeling progress!

This is the furniture we bought, except ours is in a dark cherry color. Instead of a traditional changing table, I got a dresser/changer combo...you just put a changing pad on top and after we're done with it, we'll still have a dresser!

Cooter happened to find the bedding we bought in a catalog and I instantly fell in love with it. It has little deer on it, just perfect for our little guy! Its mint green and chocolate brown, so very much neutral colors. I can easily make it more girly if I need to.

Here's the bedding we picked out... Sorry its so small. I'll take a pic when I finally get the room set up!

My next appointment is February 1, which will be the big 20 week ultrasound! I'll actually be 20w3d at the time. We get to find out if the baby is a he or a she that day! I'm so anxious...already counting down the days! Time is flying by!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We were quite the busy elves these past few weeks, hence the blogging hiatus. The baby hasn't had much to report, which I suppose is a good thing. Although, I am beginning to grow outward at an alarming rate it seems! After successfully completing NT screening last month, including a great ultrasound and bloodwork to match, we have officially graduated out of the high risk pregnancy category! All of our blood tests came back negative for any heart defects or genetic abnormalities with the baby. We prayed and prayed to make it past that appointment! I am also well into my second trimester now! Woohoo...2/3's of this pregnancy is done! We have been on the road or just plain busy since the weekend before Thanksgiving. Holiday festivities kicked off with the annual trip to Victoria for the Edge Family Christmas...ALWAYS a good time!

Here I am the morning we left. I am 14 weeks pregnant!

Mom and I

Baby Maxwell received his/her first Christmas gifts!

We went straight from Victoria to the deer lease to spend a few very relaxing days before the Christmas craziness began. It was such a more pleasant trip for me as my morning sickness has all but disappeared. I took lots of naps while I was there though...still can't seem to relocate my energy reserve. A nice quiet deer stand makes a perfect napping place. I even managed to sleep in the backseat of Cooter's truck while the guys cut down firewood with chainsaws. With Christmas quickly approaching and the fact that we hadn't hardly been home, I had a marathon wrap-a-thon. Every gift was wrapped within 24 hours. I was so sore from sitting crouched down on the floor for hours. I am a meticulous wrapper, which unfortunately makes it a lengthy process for me. Plus I decided that homemade bows were much needed. I was proud of my hard work though.

Here's our tree and mantle Christmas morning.

me on Christmas morning at 15 weeks

We left our house at 6am and headed to Mom's and Dad's to open presents with Jeremy and Nicole. This year, we had to buy our gifts at the dollar store...3 gifts per person. We had the most fun picking out some of the most heinous gifts and sticking to our $3 budget! Some of those gifts provided the best entertainment all Christmas morning!

Cooter and I at Mom and Dad's

Jeremy and Nicole added a new member to their family, Beaux. Here's Beaux and Laila with their Christmas bones...or as I refer to them - puppy pacifiers.

After a quick visit at Mom and Dad's, we headed over to the Gonzalez house to open presents with the kids and eat traditional Christmas morning backstrap and gravy. It was probably the best backstrap and gravy I've ever had, I might add. Its so much fun watching the kids Christmas morning, especially now that they are both old enough to enjoy it all. As we walked in the door with arms full of gifts, Justin kept asking, "Are those presents for me?!?"

I just love capturing them in the middle of it all, in their fuzzy feety pajamas.

Cooter and Justin...I just LOVE this picture! He's such a sweet boy!

Cooter and Emily...look what a big girl she is now!

We had so much fun with the kids this year. We couldn't help but constantly think about how fun Christmas will be next year for us. Our little guy will be 6 months old next year! I can't wait to add another kid to the chaos...they are SUCH blessings! Here's a few more of my Christmas favorites of the kids..

As if we didn't have enough Christmas fun two weeks in a row, we rang in the new year with some of our most favorite people...our neighbors! Jeremy and Nicole joined us, as well as Matthew. This is our 2nd annual New Year's Eve bash and it was just as fun sober as it was intoxicated last year! Okay, maybe not quite THAT fun...but the best part of being sober is I remember everything everyone else doesn't! I fashioned my own fun drink...makeshift mimosas with sparkling cider. Jer and Nicole brought me some sparkling grape juice too! Cooter borrowed his BBQ pit from work and was outside grilling all day long. We had so much food, but as always, it was gone before we knew it! Here's a few pics from the party...

Cooter, me and baby at almost 16 weeks

me and Nicole

The Edge Family (minus Hobie)

Lady Weeni...a few members of the Ladies of the Landing - me, Barb and Rebecca

Gregg, Patrick and Cooter

We are so blessed to have such amazing friends, family and neighbors to share these holidays with. 2011 is sure to be one of the best, especially the fact that we get to hold our precious baby in our arms in just 5 short months!

bittersweet

Yesterday at 10:15am, my Papa was stripped of all his pain and left this world to live with God in heaven above. Knowing he is safe in the arms our Lord brings peace to my aching heart. Nicole put it perfectly yesterday...Jesus got one heck of an angel today. I love it. Papa has fought his way through a rough journey the past couple of years. It is so hard to watch someone you love fight for life. Last Thursday, he suffered a stroke and was moved to a hospice facility on Saturday, where he spent his remaining days surrounded by his family. I am so glad I got to go see him one last time. He squeezed my hand as I rubbed his arm and told him goodbye.

My mom has been such a pillar of strength and enduring love throughout the whole ordeal. She has unimaginably cared for Mimi and Papa over the past couple of years...and she was there every moment possible during Papa's final days. She got to talk to her dad that one last time before his stroke...I'm sure she'll forever remember that. Jeremy, Nicole, Cooter and I spent the evening at Mom & Dad's last night...listening, reminiscing, and just spending time together. Nothing means more than your family.

Speaking of family...here's a few pics of our growing family! Well, 2 out of 3 of us (me and baby) in my weekly belly shot. I found really cute stickers to document the belly every 4 weeks. I hit 12wks on Saturday...a monumental landmark for me!

Close-up

Cooter and I went to the doctor this morning for our 2nd prenatal visit. We completed NT screening today. This scan can help the doctor assess the baby's risk of having Down's Syndrome and some other chromosomal abnormalities as well as major congenital heart problems. They measure the clear space in the tissue at the back of the baby's neck. Babies with abnormalities tend to accumulate more fluid during the first trimester, causing a larger space along the baby's neck. Everything on the scan looked perfectly normal! Not that there is any sort of situation that would cause us to terminate a pregnancy, but there is treatment and preparation before birth that can be done if needed.

The baby is doing wonderfully! We hadn't seen it in almost 2 weeks, as our weekly appointments with the fertility doctor have ended. Today was my first abdominal ultrasound as well, so as you will see, the clarity of the pictures isn't the same as the ones before. But look how much the little guy has grown!

We were once again a little nervous going into the ultrasound. Although I am further along in my pregnancy than I have ever been before, it was the NT screening last time that led us to find out that our baby's heart had stopped beating. As soon as she gelled up my belly and placed the wand, we saw that growing baby! Heart beating and everything...153bpm! It wiggled around a little bit for us, mostly kicking its feet. Its little legs are getting so long...and we could see its tiny feet. During most of the ultrasound, the hands were up by its face, which is where they were last time too. Baby likes to stretch! I am 12w3d today, but the baby measured 12w6d. I am getting so close to finishing my first trimester! I have been feeling better, but still haven't regained all of my energy. Its definitely better though. My nausea is under control, but now I've completely lost my appetite, which makes it hard to want to eat. When I don't eat enough my blood sugar crashes quickly, leaving me feeling dizzy and weak. The baby is just taking so much more than I can give right now! I've actually lost any weight I gained...leaving me with a 0.5lb (and that is a POINT in front of the 5!) weight gain for the first trimester. I've been reassured that the appetite will indeed return, and the pounds will pack on in due time.

Our day ends still mourning the loss of one life, and praising the creation of another.

so much to be THANKFUL for!

So this is a belated Thanksgiving post... We spent part of this past week at the deer lease, where Cooter shot the best buck he's ever killed. It was a great trip...and best of all, my morning sickness is slowly fading so I wasn't miserable the whole time! I forgot my good camera at home...go figure he'd shoot a good buck since I didn't have it. I had the case, lenses, etc. but no camera. People warned me that the baby would eat my brain...but seriously?!? The act of forgetting things is an everyday occurrence now. Here's Cooter with his buck.

Seeing as I outgrew my jeans a couple weeks ago, I got to give my new maternity jeans a good try while we were there. Turns out, they are pretty cute with cowboy boots too! Mom and Nicole went overboard on a shopping spree to Motherhood Maternity a couple weeks ago. Here's the loot mom gave me to get started... I am SO blessed! Can you read the red shirt on the bottom?...it says Tis the season to be pregnant. Cute. I will be wearing this every couple of days till Christmas!

That same day the clothes fairy visited me, I went to Pearland to see Jeremy and Nicole as they closed on their first house! So excited for them!

So on to baby news because I know that's why you are all such loyal followers. We raced home from the deer lease Wednesday for our last appointment with the fertility specialist. I got a call halfway home asking us if we could either come in early (um no could do...we were miles down I-10) or take our appointment to The Woodlands office. So we did. We actually saw our doctor for a minute...which we haven't seen since I quit my shots. The nurses do all of my ultrasounds and the doctors just help get the babies made. When he walked in I got nervous, like something was wrong...turns out it was just a misunderstanding. He thought we were sent to The Woodlands because we needed to see him (i.e. pregnancy complications), but our office was just short staffed that day. He stayed long enough for the nurse to start the ultrasound, saw a wiggly baby and beating heart, congratulated us and left! I LOVE feeling such trust from the doctor!

So this was by far, the best ultrasound we've had yet. I keep saying that... Immediately the nurse commented on seeing a good strong heartbeat. She measured it and it was 156bpm. I asked if that was okay since we have steadily fallen in the last couple of weeks and she said anything over 120 is normal. Also, the baby was more or less resting again this week...not that we didn't see our fair share of wiggles though! It had flipped around again. Each week, its head it on the opposite side of the sac. So weird to know how much the baby is flipping around inside me and I don't feel a thing. Soon I will though! The baby is the size of a lime this week...measuring about an inch and three quarters today and will be two inches within a few more days! Amazing! During most of the ultrasound the baby had hiccups. Do you know how adorably cute it is to watch it hiccuping on the monitor?!? Its whole little body would twitch and then lay back down. The nurse said I would start feeling the hiccups in the next month or so. Yay! I was 10w4d at this appointment, but the baby measured 10w6d. Anything within a couple of days is good. At this point, I like seeing it jump ahead like that! Grow, baby grow! Here's June bug this week with is feet curled up. Feet are on the left, head on the right.
As adorably cute as we found the hiccups...we were once again stunned by cuteness as the baby took a big stretch. Its legs stretched all the way out and both hands went up. We could see fingers and toes... What a sight! The legs are stretched out of the left (see its little feet?!?) and one hand is to the side and the other is up by the face.
Then as if we hadn't had enough ooooh and aaaaahs for the day, the nurse was able to get a shot from the baby's bottom half. This picture is a little harder to understand... The two white dots on the bottom of the pic are the bottom of its feet. The legs are curled up in the fetal position so we don't really see much of them. Then if you look upward there is another dot in the middle of the pic. That is the answer to the heated debate...boy or girl?!? Those are the parts, ladies and gentleman, but we just can't seem them enough in detail yet.

Oh how I wish they would keep me there another couple of weeks and then we'd know early! The nurse did hint a bit that she thought it looked awfully boyish, but she couldn't give us any more than 50% accuracy...lol. Cooter is convinced though...even calls it "he" when he talks about it. Speaking of talking about the baby...I LOVE to hear Cooter go on and on about the baby. I LOVE watching him show off the ultrasound pics and hear his description of each one and recount what a wonderful experience we had at our appointment. So sweet. He's going to be such a great daddy.

And the appointment just got even better! Yes, there was still room for more excitement... We HEARD our baby's beating heart for the first time! It is the most beautiful music to a pregnant momma's ears! Nothing is sweeter than that swishly thump-thump of your baby's heart beating. Typically the specialist didn't have the ability to hear the heartbeat, just see it via ultrasound. They don't deal with much prenatal care outside of watching the first 10-12 weeks of growth and development. However, they had just received new software for the ultrasound machines and this was the nurse's first attempt to see if it worked. Boy, did it!

It was a bittersweet day as we said good-bye to Houston Fertility Institute. We feel so lucky to have been brought to their care. They are such an attentive, caring staff. We know this is a good thing. The baby is doing well enough to graduate to the OB full time now. We're just going to miss our weekly sneak peeks at the little guy. We left that last appointment on such a high...thrill after thrill, goofy smiles are our face as we carried all of the pictures of our baby out to the car. No videos this week...the files didn't save to my thumb drive for some reason. I might make a drive to The Woodlands this week to retrieve them. Next appointment is with our OB on December 7. We are doing NT screening (more info on that later) and will be having an ultrasound...yay! Then we probably won't see the baby until late January...

We had a busy, but wonderful Thanksgiving with the family. We spent Thanksgiving eve sitting in the garage with the neighbors. Always a good time. Thanksgiving Day, we dropped Laila off at Jeremy and Nicole's new pad so she could spend the day with her aunt, uncle and grandparents. Cooter and I took of to the Gonzalez house for turkey dinner.

Cooter and I Thanksgiving Day

Justin and Emily

After turkey, I headed over to my parents house to watch the Aggies beat UT in the annual Thanksgiving game. Jeremy even gave Laila a Maroon Out shirt to wear during the game. Cooter and the guys headed up to the deer lease for another weekend of hunting.

See, SO much to be thankful for! Big bucks, new houses, precious time well spent with friends and family, growing, hiccuping, stretching baby in my belly, and Ags win! What a wonderful end to an amazing holiday! Now, time for Christmas!!!