27 Weeks

Christmas was so fun. It was wonderful to see all of our family. Tonight we're headed back to Yoakum for a New Years party at my aunt's house. We're so lucky that we have such a tight-knit family. And I'm happy that we don't live so far away to make day trips a pain. Driving down there only takes a little over an hour. Southern will be one blessed boy! He will have all four of his great-grandmothers and three of his great-grandfathers, most of his grandparents, and numerous great-aunts and uncles along with one aunt and uncle.

He also received some good Christmas presents this year. We got his high-chair, his playpen, his bedding, some books, his bathtub and bathing supples, and some clothes. It's nice to know that a few of the big-ticket items were knocked off of the registry. That's less for us to worry about later. I'm anxious to get his crib, dresser, and bookcase though so I can really start setting up his room. So far we've just got the rocker set up with the rest of his stuff piled in the corner.

Well I'm off to wrap presents now for the White Elephant we're having tonight at the party. Happy New Year!!

26 Weeks

After my appointment on Thursday, I was told that if the results from my glucose test weren't good, I would be getting a call that weekend. I didn't hear from them, so I was excited. Then Monday came and went, and I thought that surely I was good to go. Then, today, I got a call from my doctor's office... My sugar levels are too high. :(

I'm going to have to go back in for another test. This time it will be a 3-hour glucose test. They wanted me to come as soon as possible, but with the holidays that won't be until two weeks from now. I'll be going in on the morning of Jan 6th as soon as they open. I'm going to have to fast that morning, eating nothing after midnight. They're going to draw my blood as soon as I get there. Then I'm going to have to drink another yucky drink. I'll wait 3 hours and then they'll draw more blood. What fun.

On the bright side, Christmas is here. I'll just have to watch not to eat too many sweets. We had our first family Christmas (out of 7) on Sunday at Dustin's granny's house. That was fun. It was laid-back. We ate, played a game, opened presents, and talked. We have two more Christmases tomorrow, two on Thursday, and our final two are on Sunday. Yay! I can't wait to see everyone. Merry Christmas!! :)

25 Weeks

We went to this month's doctor's appointment yesterday. It was super busy, and we had to wait about 30 minutes before they called my name. They told me that they didn't have a room free yet but they wanted me to start my glucose test since that took an hour. They handed me a cute little bottle of what looked like water. She told me to drink it fast and then she'd start the timer since they would draw my blood in one hour. Needless to say, it did not taste like water... it was more like water with a whole package of lemon-lime Lifesavers dissolved in it. Yuck! I was supposed to drink the whole thing but Dustin just had to have one little sip to try it.

So they started the timer and we waited another 30-40 minutes before they called my name again. This time they had a room. They weighed me and took my blood pressure, then told me to wait for the doctor. It didn't take her very long, and she came in for her tests. My tummy measured out at 26 centimeters. The baby's heartbeat was 144. I also got a recommendation for what kind of heartburn medication was safe for me now that I've been getting a little heartburn with spicy/greasy foods.

She was finished and on to the next room when the nurse came back in. She said it was time to draw my blood. She fished around in one arm with her needle, not finding my vein. Then she got a smaller needle and tried the other arm. That one worked, and she drew two vials of blood. One was to check my glucose count to test for diabetes and the other was to check my iron count to make sure it wasn't too low. She said they'd call me sometime this weekend if the test results weren't good but that we wouldn't hear from them if the results were fine. So cross your fingers!

24 Weeks

I've reached the 6-month mark! :) To celebrate, I drank my first Dr Pepper since June!!! And oooh, it was amazing. But don't worry - it was the caffeine-free version. I saw them at Target yesterday and thought to myself, now why haven't I done this sooner? So I decided to buy a 12-pack. I had forgotten just how yummy DP's are.

We were at Target finishing up the baby's registry. What fun! I spent hours looking at all the baby stuff online to try to find the best deals. I read all the reviews so we'd only get things that worked properly and were safe for the baby. It seems like we'll need so much stuff!! Dustin was overwhelmed when I showed him the list of things we would need. But I had fun shopping for it all and picking out the best. There was some stuff that we couldn't register for online, so we finished up the registry last night with things like hangers and books in the store.

We wanted to have it up and ready in time for Christmas. That way when someone asked for gift ideas, we could just tell them to get stuff for the baby. Dustin's granny is going to do just that. I'm excited to start getting his room all set up and filled with his things! :)

23 Weeks

Southern has been kicking like crazy these past couple of weeks. I could feel him wiggling around a lot on Thanksgiving after eating all that turkey. I think he's getting as excited as I am about him finally getting out into the world. Up until a few days ago, I could just feel him inside of me, but now he has gotten big enough for me to actually feel my stomach move with my hand. It's so fun to feel him kicking.

Dustin had yet to feel it though. Southern would be kicking up a storm, and just when I would get Dustin's hand to my belly, he would stop. Well, not last night. I felt Southern start kicking when we got into bed and grabbed Dustin's hand. And just as he got near my belly, Southern stopped. So Dustin got smart. He wiggled my belly with his hand, and sure enough - that got Southern's attention. :) He got to feel him kick for the first time last night!! It was so exciting!

22 Weeks

I hope you all had an awesome Thanksgiving. Dustin and I certainly did! We spent a night in Yoakum and attended three Thanksgivings in two days (Dustin's parents, the Wyatts, and the Ehlers/Brandls), then ran home to have another Thanksgiving at our house (our first!). We had my mom's side of the family over, and it was a blast. Everyone pitched in on the cooking and my mom stayed late to help me clean up. I have the best family ever!! :) We have one more to go to on Sunday (the Hahns) which gives us a nice break from eating too much turkey.

Another highlight for this week was seeing Southern!! We finally had our sonogram appointment at the doctor's office on Tuesday. It was amazing. He was sleeping while we were there, so we couldn't see too much of his face (he was using the placenta as a pillow) but we were happy with what we could see. We got to see him stretch his arms up around his head as he slept and got to witness one yawn. We also got a cute picture of his feet crossed at the ankles. My mom said I always used to cross my feet when I was a baby, even when she was pushing me in my swing.

His heartbeat was at 151, and he weighs about a pound and a half. We're happy to report that everything is progressing normally. The sonogram tech checked on his lungs, heart, kidneys, etc. and things look great. We also got to see his full stomach!

Here's a clip of baby Southern fast asleep:

21 Weeks

So we went to the doctor's office yesterday for our sonogram and found out that it's a...... BOY!!!!! :)

Things were pretty crazy at Dr Geldernick's office though. I got off of work and drove there in plenty of time for our 1:30pm appointment. Dustin, however, got out of his class at 12:50pm but had to wait for the other coach to make it back into the classroom to relieve him before leaving. So he didn't leave Seguin until almost 1:10pm. I waited in the parking lot for him so I wouldn't run the risk of starting the sonogram without him. I was feeling very guilty about being 8 minutes late to the appointment as we walked up to the front door... only to find the door was locked! I immediately called the office and was told by the answering service that they wouldn't be back from lunch until 2pm. What?!? My appointment was set for 1:30! So we thought about leaving for a little while and coming back. But then another pregnant lady (her appointment was at 2pm) came walking up, so I didn't want to lose my place in line. We were very anxious to get the sonogram!

So we waited, and around 1:50pm, the nurses drive up. They pile out of the car with to-go boxes in hand. They apologise for the wait and unlock the door. We make our way inside and sign in. Our name was called within 5 minutes. I am taken to be weighed (a little more than last time) and they take my blood pressure (a lot higher than last time!). We then wait for the doctor. It feels like FOREVER! We kill time by playing Rock, Paper, Scissors. Dustin bets me that if he wins, it's a boy... I won. Then I won 2 out of 3... Then I won 3 out of 5.

Finally the doctor makes it to our room at 2:10pm. She said they had a delivery this morning and had to push back all the appointments which is why we're starting so late. No problem, I say. We're finally going to get to the sonogram! She proceeds to rub ice cold sticky goo all over my belly and fires up the sonogram machine. We then see a little throbbing blob on the screen. That's the heartbeat, she says. She moves the wand and we start to make out something that resembles a blob with limbs. Here's one leg, she points. Here's another. And here's something in-between them. Dustin and I both are shocked! Did she just say what we think she said? And then she's called out of the room. We are left looking at the blob with legs. I am still covered in goo. Dr Geldernick then rushes back into the room, hits a few buttons on the sonogram machine and tells us that someone is bleeding, she must rush to the hospital for an emergency C-section. She's sorry, but we'll have to reschedule for the full sonogram later. Dustin and I are in shock. Dustin manages to ask if she's sure it's a boy. She says yes, that's she's positive and to start shopping for blue stuff. She then rips something off of the printer and hands it to us as she leaves. It's the blob with legs picture. We're stunned. I wipe the goo off of me and sit up. We're both silent for awhile and then ask what next?

We make our way to the front desk and tell them what happened. They have no openings this week. The first possible time we could get is in a week, next Tuesday (the 25th) at 4pm. We're disappointed but then realize that we will be on the other end of the stick in a few months and are comforted by the fact that our doctor will drop everything and rush to help us when it's our time to deliver a baby.

We get into the car, and I stare at the baby's picture again. I finally realize what I'm looking at. The baby is sitting right in our view. We can see his bottom and two legs and the proof that it's a boy. Great... not a photo to show the family. We still want to travel to Yoakum even though we don't have our sonogram DVD and our only photo is X-rated. We want to tell as many people as possible in person. So we did. We'll just have to wait to show the baby off at Thanksgiving.

Everyone was thrilled. We got to visit some parents and grandparents last night. (Or should I say some grandparents and great-grandparents?) My dad predicted a boy. It was half and half with my friends at work, with some predicting a girl. But they were all super excited to hear the news. The poll on this blog got it right, with the majority voting for male.

And we've decided on his name: Southern Jeffrey Wyatt. Can't wait for next week!

20 Weeks

We're headed to the doctor's on Tuesday! I'm super excited. Hopefully the baby will cooperate with us and not just give us a booty shot. Dr. Geldernick mentioned something about a DVD the last time I was there, and I think she meant that we would get the sonogram on DVD. That would be awesome!

The baby's been active this past week and the week before. I can feel him/her squirming around. I can feel it the most when I'm laying down in bed. So far we haven't been able to feel the kicks on the outside of my tummy, but I'm looking forward to when he/she gets big enough for that. We went to Cougar Staduim last night to watch my hometown team, good ol' YHS, play in their first playoff game. They won by a large margin, and it was fun to see all the Yoakum gang. Some of my family came up, so we got to sit with them. The baby was excited about the game too. I could feel him/her dancing as the band played. :)

Well, I'll let y'all know when we hear the news!

19 Weeks

Still no news about the baby's gender... but I am happy to report that we will find out in exactly 2 weeks from today! I just can't wait to find out. Then we will seriously start deciding on a name, we can start planning the nursery, and we can do some registering for baby goodies!! :)

I plan on turning my 2-weeks notice in at work this week. I'm looking forward to having some time to myself before baby and to have time to get things ready at the house. We have so much to do before the baby gets here! And another good reason for me to be at home is the flexibility to make my own schedule. I've been hungry all the time lately, so I'd rather eat a few small meals and snacks throughout the day than just 2 large ones. And I've been getting backaches in my lower back and my feet swell when standing for too long. At work, we only have 5 chairs. (There are 10 tellers.) So I'll be able to sit down and put my feet up at home without having to worry about fighting over a chair. I know I'll miss most of my co-workers, but I sure won't miss all that stress!

Paw-Paw

Our child missed out on meeting one of his/her awesome great-grandparents. Jackson Edward Ehlers died on Friday, October 31, 2008 around 1:00 in the afternoon. He will be greatly missed.

18 Weeks - halfway there!

I am thankful for the advice I've been given on the ligament pain. Luckily, it was only really bothersome that one day. Now it just comes and goes while I'm walking or turning over in bed. I'm grateful it wasn't anything more serious.

I've reached the halfway mark in this pregnancy and am excited for the next few months! I can't believe how big I have gotten and am amazed that I will continue to grow!! I've outgrown all of my old pants and most of the shirts so I am having to go shopping more often. Thank goodness for Ross where I can find some good bargains! I've just been having to wash and wear the same 2-3 pairs of pants for work.

Well we had a fun weekend in Fredericksburg. This picture was taken in front of the B&B we stayed at with Dustin's dad. The boys played doubles in the Dr Pepper Open tennis tournament there on Saturday. It was so painful to have to sit there and watch everyone else drinking the ice cold (free) Dr Pepper's they were handing out and not be able to have one myself! Oh well, at least I got a cute Dr Pepper Open t-shirt. :) I'll just have to wait until after the baby's born to actually wear it.

Our trip was cut a little short when we heard from Dustin's uncle Mark that Saturday night. Dustin's paw-paw has decided to no longer do dialysis. So we made the crazy drive from Fredericksburg to Victoria on Sunday. That was 5 hours in the car! We did make it though, and we got to visit him. It was a very sad occasion and we all tried to tell him what we could. Dustin and his sister Carly are taking it pretty hard. They lived with their grandparents for awhile after their mom died. It was tough saying goodbye. But Dustin's continuing to talk to him over the phone daily. And we made another trip to visit him on Tuesday. That was a more happy day as we just hung out, looked at old pictures, and talked about everyday stuff. He was talking and cracking jokes the whole time. I'm so glad we were able to make it over there again. That was a good way to remember him.

We're hoping to be able to go see him again this Saturday. Let's hope he is still feeling well. Who knows, he's pretty tough. I'll keep you all updated! Thanks for the prayers!!

17 Weeks

I woke up with some abdominal pain this morning. It only hurts when I'm walking but it got me a little worried at first. I immediately went to my "Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy" book. I start reading under possible causes for abdominal discomfort or cramping and am warned to seek medical help as it may be preterm labor. What?!? But then I read further along to find out that usually this is only the case if accompanied by fever, bleeding, and/or contractions. Thank goodness!

It turns out my pain is most likely caused by my ligaments stretching to accommodate the baby. It's called round ligament pain. The round ligament is one of the several ligaments around my uterus. And I read that the pain can be triggered by moving or reaching suddenly, rolling around in your sleep, or sometimes with exercise. It says round ligament pain may ease as your pregnancy progresses. And that it should go away after you have your baby. Sounds pretty positive, right? ;)

So keep me in your prayers. Let's hope this pain won't really last for the rest of the pregnancy!! And while we're at it, please pray for Dustin's paw-paw (Jackie Ehlers). He's in ICU in Victoria right now. He has had complications with his dialysis and is now being treated for an infection in his spine. My grandfather (William Hahn) is also in poor health. He has lung cancer but is still hanging on. Both of these men are having it rough right now which keeps Dustin and me grounded. It's a little hard to seriously compain when we have so much going our way. We both have wonderful loving families, our health, and a little miracle on the way.

16 Weeks

I just got home from the doctor's office. The baby's doing great! :) I got to hear his/her heartbeat again. It was pretty easy to find now that the baby is growing. We heard it right below my belly button, which most likely explains the sharp prick of pain that I have been feeling there lately. (I guess our baby is already practicing his/her tennis moves!) The heartbeat was 156. And we measured my tummy for the first time. It was 17 centimeters from my pelvic bone to my belly button - getting bigger! We took another round of blood to finish up those tests. So far, all of the results have been great so the outlook is pretty good that we'll have a super healthy baby.

We also found out that I have gained a pound and a half since last month. My doctor was happy about that and was excited to learn that the morning sickness is no longer a problem for me. My blood pressure was a little lower than last time - I was 110 over 59. Maybe that was due to the fact that I had off today! I spent the morning relaxing at home with kitty. Then I drove over to Seguin to have lunch with Dustin and did a little grocery shopping afterwards. So it was a stress-free day.

I do have some bad news though... we won't be finding out the baby's sex as early as we thought we would. :( They had to reschedule my appointment for next month. It was originally set for Nov. 13th but now it has moved to Nov. 18th. That means we'll have to wait 5 more days!! Ugh!!! It turns out they have another tech that does the sonograms on Thursdays and my doctor wants to do ours herself. So apparently whoever made my appointment the first time didn't know, and now that next month is so close, most days and times are already booked. So now it's going to be on Tuesday, Nov 18th at 1:30pm... which means Dustin will most likely have to take personal leave to get out of work that early. *sigh* Oh well. At least that was the only bad news to report from my doctor's visit.

The baby and I are happy and healthy! :)

14 Weeks

I am feeling much better now, and I have been able to keep most of my food down. Yay! :) It's so much easier now to travel and share meals with family and friends when I don't have to keep running to the bathroom. I hear that the second trimester is supposed to be the most comfortable and pain-free. Only two more weeks!

Dustin and I had a fun weekend in Yoakum. My dad's birthday was Friday, and Dustin's granny's birthday was Monday so we made it a point to spend Saturday and Sunday with them. It has been a long time since we have spent the night in Yoakum, so it was nice. We had lunch with my dad on Saturday followed by games at his house and a night out in Victoria for some shopping and supper. Wow - Victoria has changed so much since we had been there last. It is incredibly busy. And there are so many stores packed close together. It was a relief to get back to my dad's that night!

On Sunday, Dustin and my dad woke early to get some fishing time in. Dustin was also able to ride around with his camera to get some really good shots. It has been awhile since he's used his camera. It didn't take him long to get some really amazing pictures of the scenery and water. He also got some good bird shots and of course some of my two pretty cows Panda and Rosie. Panda recently had a calf so Dustin got some good pictures of her little girl as well.

We had lunch at Dustin's granny's later that day. Carly and Parker made the drive down as well. That was fun. This picture was taken in her driveway. My first belly shot! :)

We're headed out tonight for a family supper with Dustin's extended family here in New Braunfels. The Ehlers all have been so nice to include us now that we're living so close. And we can't wait to meet little Paige Walker. She is Dustin's paw-paw's late brother's great-granddaughter. She was born a little over two weeks ago. It's crazy to think we will have one her age in April. That sounds far off, but the time is going by quickly!

13 Weeks

Today I am 13 weeks and 3 days pregnant. It's going by quickly! This week I have been having my "morning sickness" again... just when I thought I might be getting over it. It hasn't been as bad as usual thank goodness. I was able to go grocery shopping on Tuesday and got a lot of yummy stuff for supper this week. I made chicken fried steaks last night, and they were delicious! :)

But we had some bad news last night as well. Dustin drove me over to the emergency room late last night. It turns out I have a thrombosed external hemorrhoid. According to the doctor, they are common problems associated with pregnancy. And now that I have gotten one, I will be more predisposed to getting them throughout my pregnancy. He gave me a prescription. We were able to get it filled last night, and I started on my pills. I may have to continue taking them throughout my pregnancy and for a little while after the baby is born. It is painful to walk and to sit. Luckily, my doctor gave me a note to miss work until Monday. Hopefully by then the swelling will be down enough so that I will be able to function normally.

I talked to my manager today, and she was very understanding. She said they'd be able to work something out and not to worry about missing work. Fridays are one of our most busy days so I feel bad about leaving them hanging. And the Comal County Fair is this weekend, so there will be a lot of people around town. I believe this Saturday will also be fairly busy at the bank. We have always had three tellers working the drive-through and two in the lobby on Saturdays ever since my bank started offering Saturday hours in March. But now that we have new managers, one of them looked at the "forecast" for this Saturday and found out the computer program only recommends two in the drive-through and two in the lobby. That's crazy! How can a computer forecast how many people we will need when it has absolutely no data from the past year at this time? And I would think it would need more like 5-10 years of past data to predict anything close to accurate. We tried to explain that, but of course the "forecast" can't possibly be wrong... I was supposed to be working in the drive-through. I definitely can't say I will be sad to miss this Saturday. That was not going to be fun. Only two of us trying to keep up with 6 lanes of cars. Not to mention working the night drop, day drops, running coin, and balancing the vault all at the same time. Yikes!

Well the baby and I are both fine. I believe that the swelling will not last but a few more days, no longer than a week for sure. Dustin and I have done a lot of praying, and things could have been worse. I'm thankful. So I'm going to take advantage of this time off and make sure to get enough sleep, stay off of my feet for the most part, and eat nice balanced meals. Our kitty is sure enjoying me being home! :)

12-weeks

Well this past Tuesday, September 16th, marked the 12-week check-up date with my doctor. I found out that everything's good with the baby. I got to hear the heartbeat again - it's at 146. I lost some weight though, and it was hard for them to get all the blood they needed for the tests. They said I must've not been hydrated enough due to my constant problem with throwing up. My "morning sickness" has been pretty bad. Luckily, I have been able to keep down most of my food for the past week. Hopefully that's a good sign that it is coming to an end. I call it "morning sickness" in quotation marks since it never bothers me in the mornings. I had problems keeping my lunch down and would feel queasy all the way until evening. But like I said... this past week, I've felt much better

I talked to the managers at work, and I am excited to report that I am now getting hour lunches everyday. Since I am part-time, most days I would only get 30 minutes for lunch, and it's hard to eat that fast and keep my food down. I explained that to them and let them know that I wouldn't mind staying 30 minutes later to make up for the longer lunch. We have had some recent changes in our management at my branch, and it seems as though this new set of people are much more easygoing. Perfect!

So during this visit to the doctor, they mainly just took a lot of blood and told me that next month they'll take more. They need the blood for all of the tests they preform to help determine any genetic defects that baby may be in risk of having. And then in November, we'll do the sonogram to see if it's a boy or a girl!!! I can't wait to find out.

Dustin wants a boy. My mom wants a girl. I haven't decided which I want yet. I think I don't want to get my hopes up one way or the other. I've heard boys are easier to raise but girls are easier as babies. Who knows... I just want a healthy baby!

8 Weeks

I went to my first pre-natal appointment on Monday, August 18th. Dustin met me at the doctor's office. It took forever to fill out all of the paperwork. When they finally called my name, I was feeling a little nervous. The nurse sat me down in the first room for more paperwork. She asked many questions about family history of diseases. Two of my favorite questions were "And is he the father?" when I introduced Dustin to her as my husband, as well as "Do you smoke, drink alcohol, or use recreational drugs?" I wonder what she would have said if I had told her my husband was not the father of our 8-week old fetus? Hopefully that's not something she hears often. And don't even get me started about pregnant women who answer yes to the recreational drugs question...

We were then escorted to another room where the ultrasound machine was. It was AMAZING to finally see our little child. We heard the heartbeat and could see it wiggling on the screen. Our baby measured out at 1.67 centimeters, the standard size of an 8-week, 2-day old fetus. We found out our due date would be March 30, 2009. How exciting!!