Baby Bump: Week 13

How far along? 13 weeks, 5 days

What's baby up to? Fingerprints have formed on baby's tiny fingertips.  He/she is almost 3 inches long from head to rump and weights almost an ounce.

Total weight gain: 1 pound according to my scale

Maternity clothes? Not yet, but some pants are getting tight around the waist

Symptoms: Headaches, tired, dizziness- if I stand up too quickly or stay in the same position for too long, I start feeling lightheaded.

Sleep: All the time.

Food cravings: Still no real cravings except the amazing taste of Mexican food...specifically guacamole

Food aversions: None

Miss anything? Not really

Best moment of the week: A 3 day weekend

Looking forward to: Greeting the 2nd trimester on Monday and actually looking like I'm pregnant instead of widening.

Pre-Parenting Counseling: Session 1

Most couples go through pre-marital counseling, right?  Well, maybe not....but, many churches do require couples to go through pre-marital counseling prior to getting married.  Since my Pappaw married us, I don't know that it was a "requirement".  But, we chose to go and really learned a lot through the experience.

For that reason, I decided that I wanted us to go to pre-parenting counseling. I figured it would be a proactive way to start this journey.  My goal was for us to "get on the same page" and talk through typical parenting dilemmas.  Who is going to change the baby?  What are our discipline philosophies? What things are non-negotiable and what things can be compromised on?  That kind of thing..... So I found a christian counselor in New Bern and made the contact!

Well, today was our first counseling session and I think we were both excited. The counselor started with basic questions: birthday, age, what we love about one another, how long we've known each other (9 years-- holy smokes, time flies), how long we've been married, etc.  From there, she started discovering things about each of us and eventually centered in on our biggest difference as parents at this point in time.  And I must say that she hit the nail on the head.....even if it isn't the direction that I wanted things to go in. So, therefore, we will now "get on the same page" in a much different way than I imagined.....but a very necessary way. After gleaning all kinds of information, she discerned that Jacob was the confident, "everything's going to be okay and work out" parent.  I, on the other hand, am the scared parent who lacks confidence in my abilities. Therefore, for the next however long it takes- we will be working on "getting me on the same page" as Jacob.  Is it what I originally wanted?  No.  Would I have originally gone if I had known this would be the outcome? Most likely not.  But, God has crazy ways of working and speaking through others. So, we're in it until......

Our assignment this week: come up with scenarios/"what ifs" and talk about how we each would handle the situation.  Our next meeting- next Saturday!

Baby Bump: Week 12

How far along? 12 weeks, 5 days

What's baby up to? The biggest development this week: reflexes.  Fingers will begin to open and close, mouth will start making sucking movements, toes will curl, and eye muscles will clench! The baby's eyes have moved from the sides of the head to the front, and the ears are right where they should be.  Goodbye flounder baby :-)

Total weight gain: 0 pounds according to my scale

Maternity clothes? No

Symptoms: Headaches- MAJOR headaches, tired

Sleep: Going to bed around 7:45-8 has become pretty common around our house.

Food cravings: No real cravings, but Mexican is tasting better than ever!

Food aversions: None

Miss anything? Not really!

Best moment of the week: Our diaper bag came in-- hopefully this little one isn't a boy or we're going to be sporting a very feminine diaper bag for him! Hearing our baby's heartbeat was definitely exciting yet still very hard to believe.

Looking forward to: Our first pre-parenting counseling session and an upcoming 3 day weekend (Halloween)

Birth Plan thoughts

Music:  Most definitely.  Not sure what I want it to be yet, but I definitely want music playing when our little one is born.  It has been one of the most significant parts of my life.

Calming: I would definitely like some type of candles (if possible....don't know if the hospital would allow that) or lavender incense/smells going.  I will most likely need all of the sanity inducing items I can get.

Clothing: My mom is going to try to make me a cutsy hospital gown and I'm going to try to convince (probably won't take much) her to make a toboggan that baby M can wear instead of the hospital ones.

Favors: I would like to and plan on creating favors for the people who come to visit and for the team of doctors and nurses.  A small token of appreciation.

Printable tags are on this site too!

Celebrations: When all of the family/friends come in, I definitely want to have a toast.  A "chin-chin"....in the words of my FIL, Mr. Jack.  And obviously, monogrammed plastic cups are a must. That may be wishful thinking.....

My inspiration....from Kelle Hampton

Another first

Wednesday, October 22 was the first time that we were able to hear the heartbeat.  Jacob came along- just in case- and I'm glad he did!  It ranged from about 165-174.

Baby Bump: Week 10

How far along? 10 weeks, 3 days

What's baby up to? Baby has now completed the most critical portion of development.  The tissues and organs in baby's body are rapidly growing and maturing.  There are little nails forming on the fingers/toes and peach-fuzz hair growing on its skin.  Baby is swallowing fluid and kicking and most vital organs are in place and starting to function!

Total weight gain: -1 pounds according to my last appointment

Maternity clothes? Not yet, but my Mom, Dad, and Rebecca have me hooked up when that time comes!

Symptoms: Headaches- MAJOR headaches, some nausea but nothing like I expected, exhaustion- running on fumes.

Sleep: Depends on the night.  Some nights I sleep better than other while others I wake up around 2:30 and can't get back to sleep.  It doesn't help that I usually get up a 3 or more times a night to pee.

Food cravings: Funnel cake....fortunately that craving was finally satiated at the Bluegrass Festival

Food aversions: Coffee, baked chicken (I got a hold of some with a piece of fat and came within a hair's distance from puking)

Miss anything? Advil...no really.  I miss being able to relieve my headaches relatively quickly.  Fortunately, the doctor did give me a prescription for Fioricet (a pregnancy safe migraine medicine). Margaritas- we would end up at a Mexican restaurant on margarita special night, haha!

Best moment of the week: I finally broke down and made our first baby related purchase.... a diaper bag!  It came in the mail and it is everything I thought it would be and more.

Looking forward to: Going to the State Fair and eating DEEP FRIED SNICKERS!!!  I may pick up a funnel cake too.  And some NC State ice cream.  And some maple syrup cotton candy.  Just sayin'...

Our First Ultrasound

On October 1, Jacob and I left for a very nerve-wracking (in my opinion) doctors appointment.  It was the appointment of our first ultrasound.  I was supposed to be almost 11 weeks along, but since I hadn't been overly symptomatic I was still hesitant to accept the "pregnant" label.  My appointment was at 2:15 and we arrived just in the knick of time!  After waiting for about 30 minutes (which felt like an eternity), they finally called me back.  The ultrasound was internal and as soon as the tech (named Currie) put the wand in, I immediately saw what I thought I would never see.

I think my exact words were something like, "Oh my gosh.  There is a baby in there."  And Currie's response, "What did you think would be in there?!"  I explained to her how apprehensive and nervous I was about everything and she was great.  The whole thing lasted about 15 minutes and she pointed out the arms, legs, heart (which you could see fluttering away), brain, and spine.  While we couldn't hear baby Morgan's heartbeat, Currie did clock it in at 178 bpm.  She also mentioned something about the baby wiggling around.  Well, apparently I wasn't paying very good attention because I was oblivious.  So she patiently held the wand still and waited for a few minutes for baby Morgan to show off again.  And sure enough, we got to see the little nubby arms and legs wiggle around!

There's nothing like seeing that.  I didn't know what I would feel.  I didn't know if tears would start spilling down my face.  I just didn't know.....  But what I do know, is that I became a little more at ease with everything after that appointment.  I saw and felt a glimmer of excitement.  And something about Jacob sitting behind me was also prophetical in a sense.  Because through it all, I know that my husband is my #1 supporter.  He'll always have my back.  And at the sight of our baby moving, my heart melted because a little, "awww" escaped from my man.

After the ultrasound, we met with Dr. Tinga who informed us that everything looked great.  But, he was also very proud of himself for being right.  He told me that he suspected all along that I wasn't quite as far as we had originally thought.  So all in all, they changed my due date from April 24 to May 4 which put me at 9 weeks, 2 days.  I mean, I'm going to be a cooperative participant here and not question them. But quite frankly, their calculations don't add up to my dates which I know to be correct!

When all was said and done we left with three little momentos tucked safely into my wallet.  Oh yeah.....and a bill for $1100 (but we won't talk about that- haha).  Then, we headed to a celebration dinner at El Tequila!  We had a buy one, get one free dinner coupon which landed our bill at a whopping $10.98 which included Jacob's drink.  And while a margarita sounded unbelievably amazing--- probably because I know I can't have it.....or maybe because they were on special for $3--- I decided to be a good role model and not "contribute to the delinquency of {the} minor" (as my FIL would say) growing inside of me.