Week 29

Merry Christmas!!

No real new updates this week. I have felt a lot of movement and noticed when I stand up from sitting down for awhile I always have to potty. Other than that things are still going great. So thankful we were able to spend Christmas with both our families, ill post more later but here is a sneak peek at one of my gifts!!

 

26 weeks

I thought we took a picture but can't seem to find it at this moment. This one will have to do for now

Symptoms: No symptoms really this week. Just noticing my belly feeling bigger and a little uncomfortable. More movement by Lillian and also random pains in my abdomen which is normal. Again i am very thankful for how easy this pregnancy has been.

Weight: still gaining about 1lb a week although i'm staying pretty steadily this week. At 26 weeks i was at about 23 lbs gained. My fingers have gotten swollen at times but never too bad where i couldn't get my rings off with a little help from some lotion.

Cravings: I actually had a legit craving this week. We were on our way home from out of town and i had been wanting some ice cream. Not just any ice cream would do though i was CRAVING a DQ Blizzard. I had mentioned wanting it to Kevin but knew i didnt really need it so i didn't bring it up again. About an hour later we were getting onto a major interstate and had to stop first for me to go potty. We stopped at a McDonalds and i saw an advertisement for a McFlurry. it looked so good but that's not what i wanted i wanted a blizzard so it got me thinking about a Blizzard again. I get back in the car and casually mentioned how good a blizzard sounded but again said i don't need it. Well about 10 minutes later i decided  the rest of the car ride would be miserable if i did not get a Blizzard so my husband said to let him know when i saw a sign and we would stop. Of course we drove what seemed like 20 miles and did not see a single DQ. We then got smart and realized wecould just look up a loction on our phones and sure enough the next exit had one. Needless to say i finally got my blizzard (reese peanut butter cup) and it was crazy how much of a better mood i was in.

Movement: She is non stop moving all over the place, and i love it. I love when Kevin gets to feel her. He initiates trying to get her to move and its so sweet. One morning he was trying to feel her move and she was so still so Kevin started talking to her and as soon as he said like two words she moved!.

Dr. Appt. : I had my 1 hour glucose test on Monday. This is the test where you have to drink the sugary drink within 5 minutes and then get blood drawn. They are testing for gestational diabetes and if your levels come by elevated you have to take another test. Lucky me on Thursday i got a phone call that said i needed to take the second test. Part of me knew it was not a big deal but being at work and thinking what affects GD has on a baby got me all worked up. Thanks to the support of the husband and wonderful friends on Facebook telling me they all had to take the second test i was no longer worried. The next Monday I went in for the 3 hour test. They took blood once then had me drink the sugary drink again. (FYI it's not as awful as some people say. I had a lemon lime flavor and it basically tasted like a flat sprite) They then take more blood once every hour. Yes that means 4 times in the same arm they stabbed me. I was dreading having to sit in the doctors office for 3 hours but Kevin was able to come for half of it so that helped time go by. They said they would let me know when 3 days but ended up calling me the next day to say everything looked fine. That was a huge relief. I do have to admit that it got me thinking about how I need to be eating better anyways if not for me for little Lillian.  I'm such a picky eater (literally i eat like a 5yr old) so i have made it a point to make sure i eat better going forward. Cutting back on sugary foods is first (note i said cutting back not eliminating) and try to eat healthier foods that i already like. i.e. whole grains and more fruit since i hate veggies. Any suggestions would be great.

Home for Rent

For those who have not heard Kevin and I are moving to Huntsville, AL. I know crazy right but I will blog about all those happenings in a later post. We are actually looking for a renter for our beloved home and I thought his would be a perfect place to provide some info.

We are looking for a renter available January 2nd if not sooner. The home is located in Loganville, Ga. The school is district is Gwinnett County and I believe it is now zoned for Archer high school. It was built in 2005, 2,322 sq. ft. ranch on unfinished basement, and is located in a swim/tennis community. The home has 3 bedrooms (4 if you include the bonus room over the garage). The master suite is huge, we have a king size bed with a chest of drawers, nightstands, a dresser and recliner all in there and still have plenty of space. There are 3 full baths, 2 on first floor and the 3rd upstairs in bonus room. All stainless kitchen appliances will be included, washer/dryer hook up, granite counter tops in kitchen, covered deck, and 2 1/2 car garage. I have included some pictures below:

Dining Room

Living Room

Guest Bath

Bonus Room Bath

Breakfast area

 Kitchen

Price is $1300/month with a security deposit of $1000. Please let me know if you or anyone you know is interested.

What's in a Name

I find it ironic how hard it was for Kevin and I to decide a on a name for our baby girl. I have grown up always thinking of names for our kids. I had a girl name ready to go since atleast middle school and it never changed. Kevin and I had a list of both boys and girls names we liked before we even knew we were pregnant.

The day we found out a were having a girl it was like that list was for nothing. None of those names were right. A name is a big deal. There are lots of things to consider:

1. does the monogram spell out something weird. (Kevin's is KMK but people always joked what if his parents named him Kevin Keith Kanzelmeyer then it would be KKK. no bueno)
2. will it sound good when they are little, a teenager, and grown adult?
3. is it easy to spell (poor kid already has to spell Kanzelmeyer)
4. is it short (see above)

the list just goes on. And there were a couple of other things i wanted. I wanted a family name either the first name or middle name. I also didn't want them to have a first name but go by the middle name. Its just a personal thing i don't want them to have to correct the teacher every year when they first call out role. ( i do understand why some parents do it though, it just flows better)

With all of the above being said the hunt for the perfect name for our obviously perfect girl was on. One night I wrote out a family tree of my mom's side then also for my dad's. We have a huge family so there we lots of names. I tried to do Kevin's family tree too but his dad's family is so big (9siblings) even he has a hard time remembering everyone's name. I had left my list out on the counter and one morning Kevin texted me that he found a couple names on the list he liked. Of course Mr. Jokester said he liked my PawPaw's brothers name Foy, i was like really... but then he told me the names he found Lillian and Elizabeth, I don't even know who Elizabeth is but it was too long and common for me to like but i really liked Lillian too. It is my Granny's first name. (this would be my Dad's mom). Funny thing is she was one of "those" :) people that went by her middle name Alline (sp?) so i really never knew it was her first name until my sister had pointed it out one time this last year. We both liked it a lot but we were still a little hestitant to commit. Kevin really likes it because it sounds sophisticated yet still cute for when she is young (he and my mom really want to call her Lilly).Her middle name we decided would be claire (just a name Kevin had put on our original list but i said was too common for a first name). I love how well Lillian Claire Kanzelmeyer flows, its sweet and southern to me and the monogram is cute for me to do all of my embroidering. Plus its a family name which i wanted.

I think it was about 2 weeks after our gender reveal party i told kevin we HAD to decide on a name now and we both just kept going back to Lillian Claire so we knew thats what it had to be. Kevin would even say the name out loud sometimes to see how its sounded. We laughed about how when our parents were mad at us or needed our immediate attention they would always yell our first and miffle name. We tried that a couple times too and it was perfect. lol. We never really made an official annoucement what her name would be so it has been about 2 more weeks and when we say the name we still have family and friends say oh is that what her name is going to be and it felt right to say yes.

So happy to have this decision done with and can not wait to be able to say her name more often. :)

24 weeks

I realize i am really bad about the weekly update. Again not a whole lot going on or changing so i feel silly do a whole post for it. This  post will show what happened in week 22 and 23 and today 24 weeks.

Symptoms: I have a huge soccer ball growing out of my belly, i'd say that's a symptom. It really started to show more week 23. I also noticed more pain in my back on the right side. Pretty much all around more uncomfortable but have to say very thankful i haven't really had the typical pregnancy symptoms.

Scary Moment: **TMI WARNING** Tonight i went pee and when i wiped there was a small amount of red blood. Of course i immediately started to worry. It was not much at all i called my mom and she said since it wasn't much and i didn't have any cramping i am probably ok. If I'm still worried about it in the morning i will call the doctor. Thankfully i didn't read to much on Google about it because i knew i would just freak myself out. Thanks to my friend Emily's blog post i was a little more reassured. If i notice any changes i will be calling the doctor as red blood is not a good sign but if you ever have brown then normally no reason to worry. I would say if it will make you feel better to just go ahead and call the doctor then do so you don't stress yourself out anymore. 

Weight: unfortunately still gaining, about 1lb a week, i didn't really care much before but now i'm starting realize i need to be more observant of what i eat and doing some form of light exercise. I did have one Sunday morning week 23 where my rings were getting tighter on my hand so i went ahead and removed them just in case. Nothing really ever since though. 

Cravings: i have decided i'm probably not a typical pregnant person who craves certain foods. I have started to realize i prefer certain foods over others but its never anything i never ate before. lately i have really enjoyed frosted flakes cereal for dinner. I've also had a lot more chocolate milk lately. I hate regular milk except in cereal so Kevin keeps buying me chocolate milk and i'm not going to let it go to waste. :) 

Movement: 22 weeks i finally felt her move. It was very hard to tell before now but ever since then i know its her. People always explained it very weird so here is my attempt for you future moms to get an idea what to expect. To me it felt like a popping in my stomach. Kind of like popping your shoulder.   I also physically saw movement in my belly this week. i sat in bed for 15 minutes with my video on my phone recording my stomach to see it. again it looked like something popping in my belly. it was really cool and Kevin was able to feel it for the first time too! It hasn't become annoying yet but its not the most comfortable feeling either however to know she is still moving in there is always reassuring. 

Best Moment: obviously feeling her move has been the best!

20 weeks

Technically I am 21 weeks now but 20 weeks was a big week so I am just behind.

Our baby girl: is about 10 1/2 in. Long now, about the size of a carrot  and weights about 3/4 of a lb. this still seems so small to me.

Symptoms: again I have been very blessed this pregnancy haven't had any terrible symptoms for long periods of time. This week wasn't too different. I have a little bit of heartburn usually after dinner occasionally but nothing two tums and some water does fix.

Weight: I started to gain a little more than 1lb a week lately but still have matched my total weight gain to the number of weeks pregnant I am so I guess that's good.

Cravings: no specific cravings. Junk food always sounds good. I have noticed that my appetite has come back down to normal this week. I don't eat nearly as much as the last couple of weeks which should help with the weight.

Movement: I was told I would start to feel baby girl move around 18 weeks but I never really noticed anything. I still haven't felt her move and no that's exactly what it was. I had read people say it feels like a butterfly fluttering around, or a fish swimming in a fish bowl but how do people know what that feels like. Honestly the only time I feel anything in my belly area it just feels like a short sharp pain, a cramp, or my food digesting. I still just assume its digestion bc I only ever noticed it an hour or so after I eat. This week I read I may start to feel her doing "martial arts" so maybe it will be a little more distinctive if its her. I don't worry at all I figured we know she is moving bc we saw her on the ultrasound this week and ill have plenty of months of feeling her kicking me in the middle of the night :).

Best moment: duh it's when we had our ultrasound to find out the gender. Kevin was like 2 minutes late and i started to freak out bc i just knew he was going to miss it. luckily the Ultrasound tech wasnt in any hurry since they had just gotten back from lunch so we waited for him. as soon as we sat down and she put the warm jelly stuff on my belly we she asked did yall want to know the sex? we both quickly answered yes, almost in a tone that may have come across as Duh thats why we are hear but i was glad she did ask just for the sake of people who dont want to know. she immediately went for a shot of the baby's booty and said well bc of these three lines here you are having a girl! i was so excited but dont remember saying anything probably a little shock and Kevin gave some kind of "ALRIGHT!" burst and then immediately asked are you sure. Haha it was funny, we didnt care either way but i think we both just wanted to be sure we knew exactly it was a she. the ultrasound tech checked mulitple times to reassure us and then started taking measurements,It took longer than I thought bc they have more measurements they are looking for. When we were done we headed down the elevator to meet my mom in the parking lot. She had taken a half day to "celebrate" with me bc Kevin had to head straight to school for a test. As soon as we walked off the elevator there was my mom sitting on a bench anxiously awaiting, we didn't say anything and just laughed at her bc she was smiling so big and tapping her feet in exictement. We asked one more time what do you think and she guessed boy and we said nope baby girl!! Of course my mom squealed and started crying lol. It was for sure another good reaction from my mom.

The rest of the week was so hard bc everyone was asking and sending text messages asking what it was and we weren't telling anyone until we had our gender reveal party on Saturday (dr. Appt was on Tuesday). Saturday finally came and you can read about that Here.

The Big Reveal

The big ultrasound was on Tuesday October 23rd. I'll write another post for that particular day b/c it was very fun but I was so excited about doing this one, i could wait to take time to write the other post first. It was so hard to not tell anyone between Tuesday and Saturday when we had our party but it was worth it. The only people we told were my parents and Kevin's parents. And many people tried to get it out of us sooner but we held strong. :)

Here is our invite the hubby made

Anyone who has been on pinterest has seen or heard about the gender reveal parties. It really isn't that new but still a little uncommon that you'll have the occasional person that hasn't heard of it before. When i first saw it on pinterest (before we were even pregnant) I knew I wanted to do this. I had to convince Kevin a little but he came around. we weren't sure how many people would be interested in coming but the curiosity of the women will get them to come and by telling the men we would provide food and a big tv to watch the GA/FL game on they were in. We are very lucky to have so many friends and family come to celebrate with us. I think there ended up being around 40 people total. that is the most people we have had in our house all at once and i didn't mind at all. It was so fun. I am especially thankful my brothers and sister-in-law drove down from Nashville and surprised me! Also my sister drove down from Cary, NC to be there which meant a lot. It was really fun to be able to spend the whole day with them preparing for the party. It's funny how you can tell how they are excited for us without them having to say it. Obviously they drove down for a short weekend, but also the effort they put into making the party fun showed they care. My youngest brother, Mitch, actually vacuumed my living and dining room, mopped my kitchen, and helped me bake and ice 48 cupcakes. My oldest brother video taped the big reveal and did a great job. Kevin is always hesitant to hand over a camera or video camera to a amateur b/c people will always try to zoom in when you can always crop to get the best picture and get the best video zoomed out but Nick did a fantastic job. You can view the big reveal here . Brittany (my new sister n law) is so amazingly crafty and she made me this adorable wreath for the door.

Side note: You can also tell she is so crafty b/c she made my brother's Halloween costume for work. Isn't this amazing 

 My sister helped with a bunch of stuff but her role as fashionista aunt will continue. she keeps me looking cute and also has purchased very cute clothes for our baby girl. The biggest shout out of thanks and gratitude goes to my mom and dad. They bought and made a huge Mexican fiesta meal for our 40 guests and spent their whole Saturday preparing for it. The food was amazing. we had hard tacos, soft tacos, burritos, tacos salad, rice, beans, my dads (technically his niece's recipe) famous delicious salsa, and cheese dip. Unfortunately i didn't get a picture of all the food but the there was no counter space left there was so much. We also had a small table of desserts with some more decor thanks to Brittany. There was blue Hawaiian punch and pink lemonade for the drinks. strawberry cupcakes, and white cupcakes with blue icing and pick and blue sprinkles, different pink flavors of starbursts, cookies and creme kisses (they just happen to be wrapped in blue).

I had also found this idea on pinterest as well and thought it was easy and cute so we had these too. 

For the BIG REVEAL we used the balloons in a box idea (again from pinterest). We couldn't find a cardboard box big enough so my wonderful Hubby actually built a quick box frame out of some scrap wood, stapled some cardboard to it and walaah! here are just a few picks from the reveal

 Here is a good one of Kevin's Face

 Our friends and family (sorry its blurry its from a phone)

a little photoshopping 

The proud parents! 

We don't have a name yet so we are definitely open to suggestions.

Lastly, to all of our friends and family (not just those that came to the party) we really love everyone and are so blessed to have so many people already care about this beautiful little girl and are so thankful for the congrats, thoughts and prayers thus far. I will probably say this same line in more posts to come because we are just so thankful to have such a loving group of people share in our joys.

Lets go to the beach, beach...

This weekend I got to get a nice little getaway from work with my Nina, mom and dad. Nina's boss owns a condo in north myrtle beach and said she could use it for the weekend. I wasn't about to pass up a free weekend to the beach in the middle of cold weather October in Atlanta. The condo was a penthouse. It was so nice and bc it was his personal condo it was very homey with family pictures and kids toys, and pretty much everything you would need that you hope a hotel has but never really sure. The view was amazing and there was this lounge chair that rocked so I spent lots of time on the deck. It was a little cold to get in the water but perfect weather for walking the beach and laying out. They had a small "lazy river" that Nina and I tested out. It was FREEZING!!! Judging by the pictures my mom took it must have been pretty entertaining watching us try to sit in the tube without any of our body parts touching the water.

And of course one afternoon we hit up the tanger outlets. We always go shopping at the outlets and always find great deals. I got a couple of my Xmas gifts there. Although with the way this baby is growing  I may be hitting up my mom to give me some of my gifts a little early so I don't have to wear a moo moo to work. :) I wasn't the only one who got Xmas gifts. We find out Tuesday the 23rd whether baby is a boy or girl and if you haven't already heard my mom and Nina are so excited and have been buying cute clothes for this little one since they found out. Every store we went in to if I got separated from them I always found them in the baby section. Oohing and aahing. I don't complain at all bc they find some good deals and have great taste.

 Speaking of having great taste I had only packed comfy clothes like gym shorts and T-shirts. My sister is much more of a fashionista than me and she flat out asked me "are you wearing what your we're yesterday again to go shopping." I said that's all I brought, so she dressed me and I have to say she has got style. I took this for my 20 week picture.

Even though it was a long drive there and back (6 1/2 hrs one way) and a short weekend it was a lot of fun hanging out. We didn't take many pictures but good memories and i got spoiled with Krispy Kreme  doughnuts two mornings in a row. :) I am very excited that Nina is coming down to Atlanta this coming weekend too for our gender reveal party. we had fun planning that this weekend at the beach. Stay tuned for that post. 

Up to 18 Weeks

I haven't done a weekly update lately b/c I feel like nothing has really changed but I had a doctors appointment today so I figured it was time to update.

Symptoms: no symptoms for the last couple of weeks other than my belly getting bigger. I did notice about week 18 though I started to feel cramps in my lower abdomen. I knew it was probably normally but I'm sure all first time preggers still worry. Luckily I have good experienced mom friends and they all assured me it was from the stretching and growing and dehydration. The cramping was like a lot of pressure plus knife stabbing me. (may have a little exaggeration on that last statement) byte other way if feel cramping like "that time of the month" feeling you are probably ok. My doctor did mention to just relax get off your feet and drink plenty of fluids. If its really bad it never hurt anyone to just call the doctor that may help ease your mind.

Weight: I am still consistently gaining 1lb a week since I found I was pregnant. I haven't been eating quite as much and I'm trying to be better about doing something active weekly. We'll see how long that lasts.

Cravings:no cravings still. But I never have a problem finding something that sounds good to eat. :)

Baby K: I actually read my weekly update email that says what to expect this week and what not. It says baby K is about 5inchs long and about 7ounces. He/she is getting bigger and it's showing in my belly. Lol

Other happenings: doctors appointment have been good. No news really. I do like going just to hear the heartbeat, always reassuring. Very excited about my next appointment in 2weeks we finally find if baby k is a boy or girl!!!! Kevin won hubby/future daddy award last night bc he spent 2hours with me on photoshop to design the invite for our gender reveal party we are having. It's a big deal bc he is so busy right now with school and work and applying for jobs so I am so thankful he spends time with me thinking about this precious baby!

Picture Update

I am way behind on posting lately but i am working on it. In the mean time enjoy some pictures we have taken thus far since we found out we were pregnant!

1st pregnancy test. (this only cost like a dollar so we bought another one just in case)

2nd test (more expensive and not as clear at first as the cheap one)

Parents!

This is how we told my parents. Doubt my stomach will ever look this flat again. :(

12 weeks

14 weeks

16 weeks

Best Friends since 3rd grade

That title reminds me of that clearasil commercial but it's  true we have been friends since 3rd grade.I knew is weekend was going to be awesome because Kinsey was coming to visit. Background  on our friendship like I said we met in 3rd grade. Her family was visiting our church and my mom taught the 3rd class and was taking us to the movies or bowling. I cant remember which one now but i know we did both eventually. My mom had invited Kinsey and her brother Cody who is a year younger than us. And it all started there. Here are some pics of us growing up.

We were probably in 5th grade here:

 This was in 2009 for Kinsey's wedding:

 This was in high school on a tout trip to the camp we grew up going to Camp Wetoga

is was in 2007 at my wedding:

Our friendship grew and grew and literally we were inseparable until college even then we were roommates our freshman year. Her family always lived close and for a couple years in middle and high school they lived in our neighborhood. It was really hard when they moved to Alabama when we were in college bc it meant she would not be in ga for the holidays or summers and then we both got married and she now lives in TEXAS! Worse place ever Jk the only reason I am ok with it is because she has an awesome husband but I sure wouldn't mind him wanting to find a job over here on the east coast so we could see each other more often. With the distance and price of plane tickets we haven't  seen each other much, maybe 5 times since we graduated college in 2007. Which was for both our weddings and 3 times she has been here tovisit. I know i am a terrible friend for not going to visit her yetbut she makes multiple stops around here to visit me and family so its easier for her to justify the $400 plane ticket. Anyways she came into town with Cody (who was roommates with Kevin one year and we all grew up together) and we went to a braves game together. It was so much fun and we laughed a lot in the car and talked a lot while we watched the game. The braves won of course bc they are amazing and we stayed for the Friday night fireworks afterwards. Here are a couple pictures we took.

After the game we headed home and stayed up until about 3:30am again just talking. We didn't have anything to do until later in the afternoon Saturday so we knew would be able to sleep in. What we talked about I have no idea but we are definitely the friends that talk forever and there is never any silence. The next day we went and had lunch together at steak n shake and unfortunately said good bye early bc Kevin and I were headed to the GA Tech game which was an afternoon game and Kinsey and Cody were heading to the UGA game which was a night game so we didn't have much time to visit this weekend but at least it was something. Looking forward to the day i am able to see her more often. 

Witnessing Birth: My Niece Annalise

My sister-in-law is pregnant with her 3rd child. This was going to be baby girl #2 and her name is Annalise. Being that this was her third my sister in law (Bree) asked if I wanted to be in the delivery room. My first thought was gross no way but when we found out we were pregnant too I was so excited she had asked me. I would be able to see and experience what it would be like when we have our baby. Obviously it will be different bc I won't be able to experience everything but I would get a good idea of things to expect. 

  I happened to have a doctors appoint the same day Bree was going in for her check up, she was hoping they would tell her she could be induced. (back story she is due sept 22nd but her husband leaves for active duty with the Air Force on Sept. 30th so they wanted to make sure she had the baby before he had to leave.) after my appointment I got a text that said she would be induced Thursday morning. I was so excited. I scheduled to have the whole day off of work so I wouldn't miss anything. She had to be at the hospital at 7:30 so I told them to call me once they left and I would get up and get ready to head over. Well I woke up literally every hour that night thinking that I would miss it. I finally woke up at 7:30 and just went ahead and got ready bc I knew she was at least at the hospital at that point. I got here about 8:30 and she hadn't gotten her pitocin (this is the drug to induce labor) yet but the nurse came in soon after and got it started. They would up the dosage every 30 minutes. She has had some contractions but she said they aren't bad. She makes it look easy, she just squished her face until it passes. 

Its about 10:35 the contractions are getting a little more painful she says but she must tolerate pain well bc i can never tell when she is having one. And now we just wait.

3:45 the nurse came in again to check and she was 5cm dilated the contractions got sooner and stronger, she still amazes me how she handles it. They are going to get the epidural ready to help and hopefully will see more progress. 

I  lost track of the time at this point but I remember the nurse saying she couldn't get the epidural until the saline bag was empty and she was about half way done. It seemed to take for ever to get through the second half, probably because the contractions were more intense and we were all thinking hurry up. There may or may not have been some yelling and the nurse tried to keep her calm but a this point Bree knew this baby was coming soon and said call the anesthesiologist to bring my epidural I won't want to be the third patient in line waiting on him and it be too late. So they finally called and my mother in law and I had to leave while she got the epidural, we were in the waiting room for about 15 min or so and finally my brother in law came to get us and as we were walking down the hall he said she is ready to push. I got so excited we had waited all day and all of the sudden everything was happening so fast. We got back in the room and the nurse was saying she had to wait 15min to push so that the epidural would kick in and Bree said call the doctor bc she will be coming in 15min. About this point wi all the excitement and it was hotter in the room an in the waiting room i started to feel a little uneasy, i didn't want to say anything so i just sat down for a minute to compose myself and then i was good to go. That was probably the only time i felt sick. More nurses started coming in and Bree kept saying in ready to push, finally one nurse told them to call the doctor and tell him to run or this baby was going to be delivered by a nurse today. The doctor came in and was ready to go. I wont give all the details but it wasn't nearly as bad as i think people imagine but the is the basics i remember happening after that. The doctor broke her water, we waited for a contraction he said push and then breathe then push again all in the one contraction and we there was the head. The doctor cleaned out the mouth and nose, the umbilical cord was wrapped around her head but no one ever really mentioned it, the doctor flipped the baby around and got the cord back around and then the next contraction he said push and the shaders were there one more push and she sweet Annalise was here. it was truly amazing nothing you can imagine without seeing it. It amazed me how everyone just happened, God made us to be able to do this and it happens just as it should. I'll admit at some point I think it was when I saw the head I got a little teary eyed well just blame that on being pregnant :) but it was just so unbelievable to be able to witness something like that. even though she was here there was more to the whole birth process and I will not go into details about that but I am glad I watched but it was definitely not beautiful like the birth. The rest of the night was just taking pictures and playing hot potato with baby Annalise. Here are her stats: 

Born at 5:26pm on Sept. 13th

7lbs. 5 oz

20in. Long

And I think I heard someone say something about the Apgar (not sure if that is what it is called) thing being 8 or 9 if that sounds right.

Again I was so thankful to be able to witness this event. It has given me so much knowledge and took away some fear about what to expect come March. I was able to give Kevin a good play by play so he knows what to expect too without grossing him out. Now you can enjoy some pictures!

With her favorite Aunt

 Wearing the hat and cocoon thing "Nina"(Kevin's mom's) knitted for her

 Proud big brother and sister

 After her first bath

Week 13 in Review

Wow what a week. Multiple changes going on this week. 

My Symptoms: I started with a headache on Sunday on our way back home from out town. The headache continued thru Tuesday. (decided I needed more water and to not cut out caffeine completely) Monday was labor day and I did absolutely nothing. I was so tired. I didn't want to be a bum all day so Kevin and I went to walk at the park. That wore me out even more. We came back and I fell asleep in the middle of our bedroom floor for about 30 min. I then spent the rest of the afternoon and day laying around the house and at one point took another nap. Yes two in one day! Lol. I have also noticed this week that my appetite has increased. I don't feel like I need to eat all the time but meal times I eat more than I use to. For example Monday night I had two hot dogs and chips. I never eaten two hot dogs in one sitting. I have been trying to eat more of the solid foods instead snacks things. Hopefully that will help.

Weight:  I am now a total of 7lbs bigger than my pre pregnancy weight. :( so far I only notice it in my belly. Hopefully that is where it all has gone. 

Sleep: tired more often this week depending on the day. obviously have taken a few naps. Sleeping isn't uncomfortable yet but I do wake up a couple times during the night especially if I'm on my stomach. 

Cravings: again no cravings but pretty much anything i see or smells sounds good and makes me hungry. 

Other happenings: Kevin is showing some Empathy symptoms. Monday while I was lazy he was a busy little nester doing loads of laundry, cleaned our bedroom and organized the closet. I didn't mind it all :)

YCC

This weekend I got to spend up in north Georgia mountains with one of my best friends, Addie Garner soon to be Eckstein for her bachelorette weekend! We just rented a cabin for 12 of us and basically ate and hung out. So much fun. Here is a pic of Addie and myself not from this weekend, those pictures haven't surfaced yet ;)

I ended up leaving early this morning to head back home to make it in time for church because our young couples class was having a potluck afterwards and we decided this was when we wanted to tell all of them. Side note about our class, it's been going for probably 2years now and we love being apart of it. We were hesitant at first bc everyone in there had been married a few years and had multiple kids already. Out of about 14 couples there are two of us without any kids. But everyone in there is awesome and are going to be very helpful come time for baby advise so we knew we wanted to be able to tell them all at once. We just made an announcement before the prayer and of course everyone was so excited for us and it just made me more excited all over again. After lunch we came home and made it Facebook official. And have just been hanging out enjoying all the congratulations. We are so thankful for friends and family who share in our excitement. 

First Ultrasound!

I was just over 10weeks when I had this appointment I left work early to go to a dentist appointment then head to my doctors appt. Kevin met me there and of course we had to wait, I've learned that is typical for one of those doctors offices. We finally get called back and the tech was so nice and made the experience even better how excited she was for us and how informative she was. FYI the first ultrasound is not like you we in tv or movies (on the belly) that is all will say. Anyways She turns the machine to show us and I about died, it actually looked like a legit baby. I was shocked how easy it was to tell. The tech asked me if I had coke for lunch and I said yes, we ran out of caffeine free, I drank a dr. Pepper which she said was fine but also  beneficial for us today bc of how active the little thing was. I could totally tell the difference in the arms, legs, head and bum. It was so crazy!!! Here is one of the sonogram pictures

 

Week 9

Week 9 in review

I don't plan on doing this for every week unless I notice anything different.

My Symptoms: I felt no nausea this week which I was very happy about however it also made me worried that something had happened. Of course nothing was wrong and I started to realize that about half way through the week when I started feeling my next symptom, exhaustion. Well right now I guess it's just that I'm tired not quite exhausted yet. One night I went to bed at 9:30 and didn't wake up until 8:15 which is at least a good 2 1/2 hours more than I normally get.

Weight:  I am now about 3 lbs more than my normal weight. 

Sleep: obviously I am sleeping fine I just want to sleep all the time.

Cravings: haven't had any cravings but I have noticed I am eating more than normal. Donuts have been very satisfying. :)

Other happenings: Kevin went out of town this week and I did not like it. I already hate being home by myself as it is but this week was harder. 

Week 8 in Review

My Symptoms: I haven't felt as nauseous this week as the last two but I still have my moments daily. I never feeling like eating but I make myself eat the basic 3 meals a day bc I always feel better for the 2 hours after I eat. Snacking throughout the day doesn't really help as its just a snack and I think I need to be full.

Weight: I haven't gained any yet but I have always fluctuated between 118-121 and this week I have been more on the upper end of that. I read I should only gain between 25-30lbs so that is my goal

Gender: we won't be Able to see for a few more weeks

Movement: Way too early

Sleep: It's getting uncomfortable to sleep on my stomach I think just bc I worry I'm smashing the baby but I read you cant harm the baby this early. Another reason I don't sleep on my stomach is I think it makes me have to pee more often. I wake up at least once a night to go pee and sometimes right before my alarm is set to go off but I try to hold it so I can sleep a little longer. 

Cravings:  I haven't really craved anything this week, nothing ever sounds good. I just eat what I normally do but even smaller portions bc I get full quicker. I bought some BBQ flavor sun flower seeds today while I worked and they were awesome.

What I miss: not having to worry. Guess that won't end for the next 18 yrs. I'm always worried I'll get really nauseous and throw up which is the worst thing ever. I am also constantly worrying about miscarrying only bc we have waited for this so I'm very conscious about everything.

Best Pregnancy Moment This Week: we received a card in the mail from Gammy (Kevin's  maternal grandmother) it was so sweet what it said. 

Other happenings: my mom and sister went shopping while on vacation (shocker they were shopping? Nope that's vacation for them) but they bought this girl outfit 

and then this shirt girl or boy they said jeans for boy and denim skirt for girl

  

and some gender neutral onesies. And of course my sister would not pass up getting this onesie. 

 

At least they have good taste in baby clothes. Tomorrow is August 3rd and I will be 9weeks! 

1st Craving...

July 20

I had my first craving tonight. I hadn't eaten a lot of meat all week and I came home from work and told Kevin I was starving. On the way home I was thinking of what sounded good and the winner was chinese food! I wanted to make sure it was good so we went to our trusty grand china in Loganville. I got a combo order of Mongolian beef and plain fried rice. Kevin and I usually share and still have leftovers but I knew mine would be gone. I scarfed that thing down. I didn't want to eat too much and make myself sick so about 1/2 way through I put it away. But it was soooo good. About 30min. Later I got it back out and reheated it and ate about 1/2 of what was left. I made myself stop eating just so I would have a little leftover for lunch the next day and be able to enjoy it a second time. It was the best. 

Best hubby and week 6

First let me say i have the best husband in the world. He made and served me breakfast in bed. I can tell how much he already cares for this baby as he brought me fruit and made me drink orange juice (which I hate) so that I will get good nutrients to make this baby healthy. I love being able to see how happy and excited our family is for us but I love seeing it in Kevin. The little things he does that shows how much he cares and how excited he is. This week on multiple occasions I have seen that. He is always making sure I am comfortable. He went to the grocery store and bought all these foods that he thinks I'll want to snack on or eat for dinner,  he bought jolly ranchers for me to suck on at work if I feel nauseous. What else can I say he is the best. 

Week 6

Also this week I have really felt the "morning sickness" luckily it hasn't been horrible which I am so thankful for but it hasn't been pleasant either. I have had this slight nauseous feeling all day everyday So far. I never actually get sick but it's always there. What I think makes it worse is how much I worry about it. If you know me I do not handle throw up well. The last time I got sick was when I was 24 and Kevin wasn't home and I called my mom just bawling that I had thrown up. So yes I am a wimp. I know God is taking care of me though and has allowed me to bypass the actual throwing up part so far. I never feel like eating and nothing ever sounds good but I eat anyways and as soon as I have eaten I feel  a whole lot better.