10 Weeks

So I have had a great week :) My morning sickness has been there still but sooooo much less, and much more an annoyance than the miserable all day flu like symptoms that knock me out and makes me feel like staying in bed 24/7. So I've also been in a much better mood. I have to say that I am generally in a good mood most days, but when I was sick I was GRUMPY. The person I felt most sorry for was Jeremy cause I wasn't much fun to be around, but all of that is behind me now (I hope) and I continue to pray that this continues and that the baby is doing well and growing right on track.

I always feel so good right after an ultrasound, my stress level goes down cause I know the baby is doing ok, but then as the days pass I start to wonder what's going on in there and how my little teddy graham is doing. I wish I had a window that I could open and take a peak when I needed reassurance! Oh well, I guess this is teaching me the patience that I'll need once the baby gets here lol

So the baby now officially has two parents who are college graduates :)Jeremy is Graduating this weekend so his parents are coming down and will be staying with us for a week. YAY!! We are going to have a blast. We are going to go to a few museums and maybe a Renaissance fair on the weekend, shopping and out to dinner. I of course have been banished to a wheelchair so I'll have to get over my embarrassment.

This week Teddy graham graduates from being an embryo, to a fetus... How exciting! He/she is looking more and more like a little human and is now about 1.5-1.75 inches long. HURRAY :)


The belly this week seems to be not too much bigger but what I am noticing is that it seems to be changing shape, getting firmer and when I look down it does look a little bit weird to see it sticking out like it is. I can now feel the top of my uterus just above my pelvic bone. It's weird, last time it took me forever to find it but now I know what I'm looking for.

Here's some pics for you.

A couple of good days :)

Ok so this is what it feels like to be human again... :)

Saturday, Sunday and now Monday have been pretty great. My morning sickness was much more managable than it had been in a while. I fact I haven't felt this good since week 4.

I am hoping and praying that this is a good thing. It does make me a little nervous that something might be wrong with my hormone levels. I'm sure everything is fine. Jeremy says I need to look at it as a blessing and stop worrying. I will admit it feels like I am in the recoverey stages from a flu that lasted a month long!

I am hoping and praying very hard that this will not just be a fluke. I'm tired of being sick and grumpy, I want to feel like me again. I want to be able to fully enjoy this pregnancy and have nothing dampen my joy that there is a little Teddy Graham in my tummy!

Hope and pray with me

PLEASE... STAY AWAY MORNING SICKNESS!!!!

Had My Physical Today.

So today was another big day for us and Teddy Graham, the big scary first physical and another ultrasound to check cervical length and make sure the little one is doing ok.

So I had LOTS of tests done today. Frist they start out with the easy stuff... weight, temp and blood pressure. Then I was swabbed for mycoplasma, ureaplasma, and group B strep. They looked at my cervical mucous under a microscope to make sure there was no abnormal bacteria, or other funky cells. I peed in a cup, had a pap smear and a breast exam. By the end of all of it I was tired and ready to put my clothes but not before getting a little peak into my uterus and making sure everything was still looking good. I know it is not normal to get this many ultrasounds but I am going to admit that after loosing Gabriel the way we did every time I see my baby on that screen doing well, it just takes some of the pressure off of my heart and mind, a little reassurance that everything is going as it should be.

My cervix looked perfect still right where it should be so YAY!

Plus I know I am the mom and everything, but guys... that baby is CUTE! The little heart was beating wonderfully and now my baby has arms and legs... I am soooo proud. Think of how much hard work it must of been to sprout those bad boys.... what a trooper I have :)


Is that not the cutest 9 week fetus you've ever seen?!? :D

We will be going back in two weeks to hear results from all my tests and meet with Dr again for a quick check up and ultrasound to re-check everything. So look for the next adorable picture during week 11.

9 Weeks

Here I am at 9 weeks, I can't believe it! Time seems to be going soooo slow and flying by at the same time. Each day seems oh so long but then before I know it I am on here every week giving an update.

This week my one inch long Teddy Graham is starting to wiggle around in there even though I can't feel it yet, and growing nipples and hair follicles... how exciting, plus this week little Teddy Graham will start to develop the parts that will identify him/her as a boy/girl... so one step closer to finding out! If you want to visualize what it would feel like to hold this little one in your hand right now just grab a penny cause Teddy Graham weighs about the same amount as a Penny :) It's fun, I tired it!


Don't think my tummy has gotten any bigger yet, it seems to have exploded around 6 weeks and will probably not grow again until I hit 14 weeks... so funny how that works, we'll see. I put up a comparison picture anyways cause I figured even if I don't look bigger I should add to it every couple of weeks.


Still pretty sick, still very tired, still can't wait until I hit the second trimester and hopefully start feeling better. I am also not sleeping well AT ALL. I've been plagued with bad dreams since the beginning of the pregnancy and they make it hard to rest well at night. Even when my dreams aren't bad they tend to be VERY vivid and feel so real, that when I wake up from chasing, being chased, dancing, falling, jumping... I feel like I really expended the energy it might have taken to do these things in real life.


We have our first REAL Dr appointment tomorrow, I will be getting a physical from the midwife and according to the nurse I will "probably" be getting an ultrasound from Dr Johnson and get to talk to her briefly. I was told she is going to try and fit me in. They will probably try to listen for the babies heartbeat with a doppler, but may or may not be able to hear it because the books say you can start hearing it between week 9-12 and I'll be 9 weeks+1 tomorrow, plus as the midwife said last pregnancy I am a little bit extra "fluffy" ;)


I am very excited to get another ultrasound and make sure that everything is fine. They will peak at the baby to make sure he/she is growing, and check my cervical length to make sure I am maintaining a nice, long, and closed cervix. The baby should have arms and legs by now, so maybe a bit less blobbish... HURRAY!!!

First Craving

So with Gabriel, I never had any real cravings to speak of but I think I am having one with Teddy Graham. For the last few weeks I have been wanting Bannanas, one of the few foods I have found that actually still taste "good" and I just want them all the time. They are the best food I've found that helps my morning sickness, and I can't get enough!

8 weeks

So 8 weeks was this last Thursday so time for an update and pictures.

I'm doing ok. I have decided though that is NO FUN being pregnant at least in the first trimester. I kind of feel like a walking zombie to be honest. For some reason being sick has the side effect for me of sucking all emotion out of me. So I feel like I'm walking around a bit numb to what is going on around me. I am also still very tired and just want to sleep a lot.

I've been dealing with feeling very out of control this week. I'm supposed to be taking it easy which means asking for help, and letting others do things I would normally do for myself, like my house cleaning, and as much as I love Jeremy for helping with the laundry it takes him at least 3 days to get through all of it and then another 2 or so days between the two of us to get it all put away. If I was feeling normal and able to do my normal routines, all the laundry would be done and put away, as well as the house cleaned and supper cooked in one day (if I had nothing else to do). So I am having to let go of some of the things I am used to doing for myself...

Also as much as this is an adjustment for me I am very grateful for the people helping me out. My mom and Tiffany have been helping with laundry and cleaning, and Jeremy has been taking excellent care of me and doing a lot of extra cleaning too. I love everyone for the help they have been giving me!

This week Teddy Graham is close to an inch long! How amazing is that? Just a few short weeks ago s/he was smaller than the period at the end of this sentence. I just love it! I am still really nervous about things going well but I can't deny that I also have hope. I can picture bringing this baby home and holding him/her in my arms.

So here are the best pictures from this week...

Me reading in bed and my four kids, Zoe (sleeping with her head on Jeremy's pillow) Oliva and Nimitz curled up next to me and baby Teddy Graham swimming in my tummy ;)

This is my tummy pic from this week, not any bigger than last week so I'll put up more comparison pictures when I start growing bigger again!

The Crazy Things My Jer Bear Says and Does!

Story #1:

My morning sickness has been sort of unpredictable. I have had some days that are better than others and some where I am pretty miserable all day long.

Well a couple of days ago I was having a bad day with feeling sick and I was laying on the couch. Jeremy was sitting in chair a few feet from me. I said "Jeremy... can't you make me feel better? Do something!" so he said "I know how to cure you... are you ready?" I said "YES!!!" So he said "ok all you have to do is clap your hands three times" I clapped three times to humor him just in case he really did have a good idea... "then take a deep breath" I took a deep breath... "Then you have to wait for the cure to take affect, so in about 9 months you should feel all better"

At this point I couldn't help but laugh, although I did lob a pillow at him, unfortunately my aim wasn't very good and it didn't even make it close.



Story #2

Jeremy has been so sweet about giving me foot rubs whenever I ask to help me relax before I go to sleep. Well last night when he was rubbing my feet I said "say something nice to help me fall asleep" so he said, "do you want to know how much I love you and Teddy Graham?" I said "yep". He said "If I put a penny in the ocean for every bit of love I have for you there would be no ocean left at all, just a REALLY big hole full of pennies, and if I put a drop of water on the land for every drop of love I have for Teddy Graham there would be no land left just a whole lot of water"

You can bet he got a goodnight kiss for that one! ;)



Story #3

Not related to Teddy Graham but too funny not to share :D Jeremy called me into the bathroom the other day cause he just had to show me something sooooo funny, and this is what I found staring back at me... lol. I ran and grabbed the camera and memorialized the fact that my now 30 year old husband still has a goofy kid running around inside his brain ;) I think it'll come in handy when he's a Dad to our kiddles.





I know it's kind of silly but these are some of the reasons I love my silly, sweet, handsome, lovable, crazy husband!

holding a baby

So my mom just got a new baby at the daycare. Her name is Oliva and she is 7 weeks old. Today I went over to Mom's house and got to hold that little bundle of warm wiggle cooing joy. She was so warm and fit perfectly in my arms... it made me think of holding my baby. I hope it comes soon. I can't wait!

Our First Ultrasound

So, the moment I had been waiting for finally came this afternoon, I was feeling fidgety all day leading up to it and then by the time we got to the lakeland medical building where we were having the ultrasound done, it felt a bit surreal. We got there about 15 minutes early and were called back right away. Then the big moment the wand was turned on and a black and white image flashed across the screen and I saw a black circle with some whiteish shadows inside... but she didn't stay on the image long and told me she would explain everything at the end. So I laid there and waited staring at the screen trying so hard to decifer what I was seeing, but of course most of it just looked like black and white shadows.

She checked both of my ovaries, and my cervix and then finally zoomed in on the sack and magnified things so we could see. Inside the black circle was a BEAUTIFUL little white blob :) with an AMAZING little heart beating just like it should be (131 bpm), my heart felt like it would explode with happiness, I got teary eyed and stated breathing a little faster HURRAY, the baby looked awesome... and the big news is that we are further along than we thought, so today we measured 7wks +1 day, I'm not sure if the Dr will take that due date (Feb 26) or the one calculated based on when I think I ovulated which puts us at march 3. So We will see. My next Dr apointment is July 24 which will put me at 9wks +1 according to my new due date, or 8wks +3 according to my old one.

Either way I am SOOOOO happy right now, I felt this sense of peace flow over me as I watched that tiny heart beating away. One of the most amazing things I've ever seen. :)

Thank you God for hearing our prayers and helping our little Teddy Graham grow big and strong!

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You can see our precious little blob in this picture and if you look close you can see the outline of the yolk sack right above the baby.

What will little Teddy Graham look like?

I found this really fun website online that takes a picture of me, and a picture of Jeremy and presto chango, shows us what our baby would look like :)

It's kind of fun. Thought I would share :)

So this is Teddy Graham as a baby boy

And a little bit older

And this is Teddy Graham as a baby girl

And a little bit older

So what do you think? Do we make cute kids? They definitely look like siblings, maybe twins ;)

Tomorrow is the big day!

So tomorrow is the big day where we get to see our little one for the first time and make sure everything is looking good. I'm going to be honest I am really nervous. I REALLY want everything to be ok.

Mommy loves you Teddy Graham, smile big for the camera tomorrow!

6 weeks today

So here I am finally another week along :)

Not a great morning.... spent half of it bent over the toilet throwing up... hoping that this does not start a new trend because I HATE throwing up.

Also I am so shocked because we took my weekly tummy pics today and I compared to the one we took the day I got the positive pregnancy test which was at 3 weeks + 3 days pregnant and my tummy has shockingly already grown when you put all of the pictures right next to each other! I CAN NOT BELIEVE IT. I measured my tummy the day of the positive test, and again today and apparently it has already grown 7 cm... WOW. I've only gained 3 lbs since the positive pregnancy test and I'm pretty sure the 3 lbs cannot alone account for this... is this normal? I promise I was not trying to make it look big either, just standing normally. Maybe I'm just bloated. If I'm this big already I cannot imagine how I'll look in 8 months...


Please leave me comments on what you think!

The hormones have decided to kick my butt!

So, I am now remembering just how unpleasant it is to feel sick almost around the clock... YUCK!

When I hit 5 weeks pregnant it started and has been getting a bit worse everyday, I always feel on the verge of barfing and yet it hasn't happened yet. I am gagging while swallowing my prenatal vitamins, and no food looks, smells or tastes good. I remember why I lost 16 lbs last time I was pregnant.

I'm feeling as though I could rival the sniffing power of a bloodhound because I can smell EVERYTHING and unfortunately everything smells gross.

Also I am suddenly VERY tired all of the time, I could take about 4 naps a day and still sleep through the night.

Well as much as all of this sucks, I am happy because it means my hormone levels are rising like they should and hopefully everything is going well. I love my baby and I will gladly take this... but I might complain just a little bit ;)

First apointment

So today Teddy Graham and I had our first OB appointment! My mom went with me because Jeremy had to work, and today was nothing too exciting, just paperwork, blood work, and peeing in a cup.

I've been worried about going to the same clinic I used with Gabriel because I wasn't paid much attention to last time around and I also didn't feel like the staff showed very good professionalism most of the time... Since we are using medicaid as our main source of insurance, we have to use the same clinic because it's the only one in the area that will accept medicaid.

So I went in today with some apprehensions, but I was pleasantly surprised! The nurse who will be in charge of my pregnancy this time around, had done her homework and read up on my situation and what happened with Gabriel, she was all set to explain how things were going to work. Since I am high risk I'll be getting my first ultrasound early, actually next Friday on the 10th. I'll be 6wks +3days at that point. The main goal of that ultrasound is to get a baseline measurement for my cervix, and measure the baby to see if we can get an updated due date... the nurse seems to think I might be further along than I think I am... but I think I'm right based on my temperature charting so we will see.

Gabriel was 5wks +6days when I went to the ER with stomach pain and I had my first ultrasound with him, and in that ultrasound we didn't see much but we could see his little heart beating, so I am hoping that next Friday we will get to see Teddy Graham's heart beating for the first time too.

My OB physical is set up for July 24th when I'm around 8wks and then the nurse said that she'll talk to Dr Johnson (The high risk OB Dr) and see if she'll make an exception and start to see me somewhere between 10 and 12 wks. ( she normally doesn't start seeing patients until they are 14wks along) The nurse was VERY nice and seemed like she was willing to bend the rules, and go to bat for me to make sure I'm getting good care so that made me feel soooooo much better!

After the appointment we had to go down to the lab, which was a strange experience... you go down about 4 different hallways, twisting and turning, then you come to the end of the hall where there are about 6 waiting room chairs and a door that looks like it is 3 feet thick with a video camera looking out at you. There is a sign that says have a seat and we'll be right with you. So you sit in the chairs and wait to be called, no bell, no window... you just have to hope that someone is watching the video camera and notices you sitting there... strange.

Well I got 5 vials of blood drawn, and peed in a cup, and 15 minutes and two needle pricks later we were on our way home.

I'm very excited about the ultrasound, I'll post as soon as I can about it and scan in the picture if we get one :)

5 weeks pregnant

I know these are boring now, cause there is no big baby belly but it will be fun to compare to later and pinpoint exactly when everyone starts to think I'm showing! :)

I just added a new link called: How big is teddy Graham this week? Click on it to see how big the baby is compared to common everyday items.

Click on the link and then, click on the right side, where it says how big is your baby in the first trimester, I am 5 weeks now so I guess this week our baby is the size of a peppercorn :)

How life has changed so far?

So I am lucking out so far, not too many symptoms. I am hoping and praying that my morning sickness is mild this time. Last time I was SOOO sick for about a month starting sometime between week 5&6.

So far I've just been dealing with slow digestion, which has got better after I instituted my morning breakfast plan. This includes oatmeal, dried fruit, and activia yogurt. So far it seems to be working well which is a relief cause I was a bit miserable earlier this week.

I have been taking vitamins every day. Something I have always had trouble remembering in the past, but since we started trying to get pregnant I have not missed a single dose. I think it's because it is so importnant to me that this pregnancy be as healthy as possible and it's just one little thing I can do to help my little Teddy Graham grow big and strong!

Another interesting symptom is an awarness I have developed of my tummy. It is a slightly uncomfortable feeling that just makes me aware of it when I otherwise wouldn't be activley "feeling" my tummy at any one time. I now this sounds weird but I felt the same thing with Gabriel. This feeling also gives me a very strong aversion to pressure on my tummy which means:

#1: although I have not grown out of anything yet I can hardly wear any of my clothes because they are not loose enough on my tummy. I've been living in sweat pants and the few elastic waisted skirts I own.

#2 that Oliva has been banned from walking on my tummy, a rule she has yet to fully accept. She will litteraly sit by me and put a paw up on my tummy as if to take a step, then I take her paw off and say "no" I swear you can almost see her frown, and then she stares at me for about 10-15 seconds and tries again. The longest this has been repeated was 10 minutes before she finally decided to just lay down next to me instead. CRAZY CAT!

Another adjustment that we have been making is getting used to my list of do's and don'ts. These are things that have been suggested to me to reduce my risk of have premature rupture of membranes and preterm labor again.

Th don't list includes:
No swimming or baths
No walking for an extended period of time
Avoid lifting over 10 pounds
Avoid stairs as much as possible
No nightime loving... poor Jeremy

The do list:
Take extra folic acid, a cranberry tablet to prevent UTIs, fish oil for Omega 3 acid (helps with brain development)
Take prenatals everyday
Drink lots of water
Eat as many fruits and veggis as you can
Rest when I am tired

So life has definately already changed a bit, can't wait to see what comes next :)

Pictures at 4 weeks

I can't believe there is a baby in there!

Happy!



Miss Oliva, having finally accepted her position beside me tries to see if she can hear anything moving around in there yet :)

So today, I had so much fun with my little Teddy Graham! We went to Erik's house to hang out and because Erin wanted to cook all of us dinner. While Jeremy and I were waiting our turn to fill our plates, I reached over and teasingly gave his earlobe a little tweak. So he very dramatically jumped and said "OWWWW". Erik of course wanted to know what happened, so Jer said, "someone tweaked my ear". At this point I of course jumped in and said, "well it wasn't me, who could it have been?". Jeremy looked at me and grinned and said "I wonder who it was..." I said "well, I must admit it might have been my arm but really it was all Teddy Graham's doing. Teddy thought it would be funny and who am I to refuse my baby, Teddy's just being a little bit mischievous" Jeremy chuckled and said "oh I guess the baby told you to do that with ESP huh?" I said "yep" and shot him a look I hoped was totally innocent.

Later when we were leaving we talked about Teddy Graham in the car and Jeremy decided that he/she needed to be punished for telling Mommy to do such a thing to his ear, so he turned to my belly and said in a loud booming voice "listen up Teddy Graham, this is your daddy, I just wanted to say that for your punishment you are grounded for the next 9 months, so stay put!" I burst into laughter and said "I know our joke earlier was funny but, you had better listen to Daddy now".

I hope our baby heard us tonight, stay put my sweet little Teddy graham, sleep tight Mommy and Daddy love you!

I'm Pregnant

You all know that Jeremy and I have been going through a period of transition in our lives, a lot of stuff going on. Jeremy will be graduating with his bachelors degree from Andrews this August and hopefully soon after, getting a management position with Target, where he has been working for 5 years. I also made the decision to put school on hold for a while about 1 month and 1/2 ago.


You all also probably know that we became licensed foster parents at the end of April. Well we hadn't gotten any calls yet and both of us still very much wanted a baby. Since I was not in school anymore, we decided it would be the perfect time to start thinking about trying to get pregnant again.


We wanted to go about everything the best possible way this time so I immediately started taking prenatal vitamins, and we made an appointment to go to the dr to get my health checked. we threw out the protection and decided to just relax and see what happened.

Well when we went in for my dr appointment the dr decided to check the health of my ovaries with an ultrasound and he saw that I had just ovulated within the last few days. We were excited because even though we had literally made the decision to start trying again only the week before we still had a good chance for this month.


Well, a few days later I took my first pregnancy test, which had a VERY light line.... hmmm I thought "am I imagining this?" so I took another test the next day which again had a light line, the next day darker, and then on friday June 19th I got a VERY positive test. So Jeremy and I hugged and cried and screamed and jumped around the room. Jeremy and I are in COMPLETE shock that it happened this fast... but SO SO SO SO excited to have another baby on the way.


I went to the dr, on monday and had it confirmed with a blood test so it's really, really true! :) :) :) :)


We got in contact with the social worker and put foster care on hold for now. It is still something we would both very much like to do but for right now we are going to concentrate on bringing this little one into the world safely.


As most of you know Gabriel's nickname was baby canderemy when I was pregnant with him so we thought this little one needed his/her own nickname and since you all know Jeremy is Jer bear, we decided to call this baby our little Teddy Graham :)


As of right now I am 4wks+1 day pregnant (by my estimations) and our due date is March 3rd 2010 which seems an absolute eternity away, but we are going to put our trust in God, pray for the safety of this little life and hope for the best! Please be excited with us :) and please join us in praying for the safety of our little Teddy Graham.


We love all of you and are so glad that we had your support when we lost Gabriel, even though he didn't get to stay with us here, we know we will see him again in heaven and no matter what happens this time we'll be glad that we had the support of family and friends throughout. so thanks for being awesome guys! :)




doesn't it just make you smile? (can you tell I'm happy?):) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)