Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope everyone had a great Christmas, we sure did! We really enjoyed the opportunity to see our family and celebrate Christs birth. I have also really enjoyed Jake being on break from both school and work, we've had a lot of opportunities to just relax and spend some quality time together. I am now 31 weeks pregnant, 8 months. I can't believe how quickly time flies! Miss Ilyana is now about 16 inches and 3.3 pounds. I also noticed the other day that she is starting to 'drop', which has helped a little with breathing issues (but has made the bathroom my new best friend). I have been experiencing braxton hicks contractions more often and some of them have started to become a bit painful, but it's all good practice for her birthday. Although not nearly as bad as the first trimester, I have been struggling with some nausea again. I bought some 'sea bands' the other day to try out (they work through acupressure to relieve nausea), and they seem to do a pretty decent job. I mentioned last week that I haven't been sleeping well and was going to try out lavender oil. I am happy to report that the lavender seems to work! I have been sleeping so much better!
Don't forget to cast your vote on when Miss Ilyana will arrive!

Information about Ilyana:
EDD: February 27th (63 days)

How mom's feeling: Pretty good, just slightly uncomfortable. Excited for the faithwalkers conference this week!

How dad's feeling: Pumped for faithwalkers this week!

Ilyana's arrival date contest!

I'm excited to announce that we're going to be having a little contest to guess when Miss Ilyana is going to arrive! Here are the rules:
1. Everyone will get 1 guess.
2. Each guess must contain her birth date, time, weight, and height.
3. Guessing will stay open until January 31st at midnight (unless she comes before that of course!).
4. To guess you must comment on this blog post.
5. After she is born, whoever has the closest guess will get first dibs on holding her for 1 month!

May the odds be ever in your favor!

Note: a few people have had issues commenting while using their phone. Jake suggested clicking 'preview' before clicking 'publish'. I hope this solves it!

Fantastic Friday

Today has been a fantastic Friday (who doesn't love a good alliteration) to mark the beginning of 30 weeks! We are 3/4 of the way done with pregnancy. Miss Ilyana is about 3 pounds and 15.7 inches. The doctor said she is measuring perfectly and we should have a small (in a normal way) baby. I've noticed over the past week or so that her movements have been a lot less jerky and more of a fluid motion. She also seems to be claiming her space, the other night I was resting my arm on my stomach and she kept kicking it away like "hey! I wanted my foot there! Move it!". She does the same thing when I lay on the side she was laying on or when Jake rests his arm on my stomach. She definitely makes us laugh!
This morning we received some spectacular news! First, Jake received his official job offer from Rockwell and it was even better than we had hoped for! He has since accepted that offer and will officially be a full time Rockwell employee as soon as he graduates in May! The other fantastic news we received this morning came in the form of a picture:

They've broke ground on our house! Woohoo! We're so excited about everything finally being set into motion. Today has been a great day and God is SO good!

Also, the contest I mentioned last week will be up within the hour, stay tuned!

Information about Ilyana:

EDD: Feb. 27th (70 days)

How mom's feeling: still not sleeping well, however I'm going to be trying some lavender essential oils tonight, I'll update how that goes next week!

How dad's feeling: Ecstatic about everything that is going on!

Our little butternut squash

Let me apologize for the late post this week! I was intending to write it this weekend but never got around to it. I'm sorry! We are now finishing up week 29 of pregnancy! I wanted to give a big thank you to my mom and grandma who hosted my baby shower 2 Sundays ago! It was for my family and my parents friends (I'm excited to be having another one with Jakes family and our church family in January!), and it was a lot of fun! They did a great job hosting, there were some very funny games, and lots of very delicious food! Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate our sweet little girl and thank you for all the gifts that we received! I'll put a couple of pictures from the event at the end of this post. Little miss Ilyana is now 15.3 inches and weighs about 2.5 pounds, about the size of a butternut squash. She's been very active this week, I've even seen a few limbs sticking out of my stomach (It kind of freaks me out a little)! She also has been getting the hiccups a lot, which is really cute. It's so much fun to watch my stomach moving around with her! I've been trying to get a video but she seems to be camera shy. This past week, I've been fighting off a bit of a cold as well as feeling sick. I'm not sure if it's a stomach bug, hormones, or a friend mentioned it could be acid reflex (which seems most likely since I feel the most sick after eating a lot). Whatever it is, I'm really thankful that I'm able to stay home and just take it easy. I've also been struggling to sleep lately. It's difficult to find a position that is comfortable and allows me to breathe. But I'm not here to complain, I really am so thankful that we are pregnant.

Quick side-bar, there will be a small contest on the blog sometime in the coming week, so keep your eyes peeled for that! :D

Information about Ilyana:

EDD: Feb. 27th (73 days)

How mom's feeling: Feeling the effects of the 3rd trimester. Falling more in love with this little girl every day :)

How dad's feeling: Incredibly excited to be done with finals so he can start focusing more on the baby.

  

Needles and nesting

28 weeks was brought in by my least favorite OB appointment so far. As much as I dislike doctors, I generally look forward to my appointments. I love my doctor, Dr. Driscoll, and as a task oriented person, each appointment is like one checkpoint closer to our due date. This appointment, however, included the glucose test (testing for gestational diabetes) and receiving the TDaP (tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis) vaccine. The glucose test consists of drinking an extremely sugary drink, fasting for an hour, and then getting your blood taken. I had heard terrible reviews of this drink so I was really dreading it, however I didn't think it was as horrible as others have said. Don't get me wrong, it definitely wasn't pleasant, and it made me feel a bit nauseous, but it was manageable. I chose the lemon-lime flavor (the other option was orange) and thought it tasted similar to yellow Gatorade, except ten times more sugary. After finishing the drink, I then had my usual appointment. I knew there were going to be a lot of needles at this appointment so I had Jake come with me, I'm so glad I did because he was finally able to hear Ilyana's heartbeat! Everything is looking and measuring perfectly. At the end of my appointment came the shot, I really hate shots, but Jake held my hand and I got through it (it's definitely sore today though!). Next we went back down to the lab and they took my blood. With my blood work they were testing for two things, gestational diabetes (which was negative, praise God!) and anemia, which is really common at this point in pregnancy. I was slightly anemic (normal iron levels are between 12-15 and mine were at 11.2), but since I was so close to normal I won't need to do anything extra besides trying to incorporate more foods in my diet that are high in iron. I now get to start having appointments every 2 weeks until I'm 36 weeks, at which point I'll have appointments every week until Ilyana is born. We're getting closer!
This week I've started nesting. Our house has been getting super clean, organized, and ready for baby. But hopefully she'll wait just a couple more months before making her grand entrance! I called Jake at work the other day to ask him a question and he apparently was concerned that I was calling to tell him I was in labor! Don't worry Jake, she's still in there kicking away!

Information about Ilyana:
EDD: Feb. 27 (83 days)

How mom's doing: Good! I only had to get up to pee twice last night! Haha!

How dad's doing: Ready for this semester of school to be done.

3rd Trimester

November has flown by and now at 27 weeks, we are into the 3rd trimester! I can't believe that in 12 short weeks we'll get to meet our sweet little baby! This week, Ilyana is about 14.5 inches and 2 pounds (about the size of a head of cauliflower). Her vascular system can how handle the oxygen/carbon exchange and her brain can now regulate rhythmic breathing and her basal body temperature. So far the 3rd trimester is going pretty well. I've definitely noticed the increased fatigue and I also had one of the dreaded middle of the night leg cramps the other night. According to what I've read, the combination of extra weight as well as the extra pressure on veins and nerves in your legs from the expanding uterus is the cause of these painful, middle of the night episodes (and by painful, I mean excruciating!). This week we started organizing the nursery for Ilyana's impending arrival. Nala's litter box has found a new location, storage items were moved out of the room, clothes were hung up, and the crib was built. Jake worked really hard on Saturday to get the crib all put together. It was such a sweet father-to-be moment to watch.

On a quick side note, we had a meeting with our house builder this past week. It sounds like they may start our house this year after all. Once they get the deed in the mail they plan to start digging (provided the weather cooperates, they hope for this to be in the next 2 weeks). They estimated that our house could be done by mid-April, depending on what type of winter we have. We are keeping our expectation at July, but there is a definite possibility it could be done sooner now!

Since I've failed at posting pictures lately, here are plenty to make up for it!

My family at Thanksgiving

Before building the crib

Better read the directions first!

Halfway there!

Almost done!

The finished product! Good job Jake!

27 weeks!

Information about Ilyana:
EDD: Feb. 27th (89 days)

How mom's feeling: Excited to start using the nursery!

How dad's feeling: Excited for her to be here!

Under 100!

I apologize that I didn't get a post written for last week. After some internet and computer issues it all of the sudden was the middle of the week so I decided to just skip writing one. However, I'm back and I'm at 26 weeks! We are wrapping up the second trimester and the countdown is under 100! Lil' miss Ilyana is now about 14 inches and 1.7 pounds. This week she was finally able to open her eyes (she can now see the bladder that she loves to squeeze)! She also is able to move her head, her hair is starting to grow in (I wonder if she'll get crazy cowlicks like her daddy?), and her itty bitty toenails are starting to grow in. Also in these coming weeks, she (hopefully) is working on turning herself head down so that she's ready to make her entrance into the world. Jake and I are getting really excited to meet her. We got her crib last week and will hopefully be setting that up, along with her nursery, soon. I also washed a bunch of baby clothes this past weekend too. They're all so gosh darn cute! Lately at church, Jake has been playing the bongos with some of the worship songs, it's been fun to feel her dance along on those songs! My friend Megan was standing by me during church a few weeks ago and was able to feel her kicking, she's the first person besides Jake and I that has been able to feel her! I can't wait for her to be here so we can introduce her to everyone! The countdown is on and hopefully with the holidays right around the corner, the time will fly by fast!

Information about Ilyana:
EDD: Feb 27th (95 days!)

How mom's feeling: A little back pain and constantly peeing, but I really can't complain!

How dad's feeling: Ready for Ilyana to get here!

I'm still a wife first

We've made it to 24 weeks! We're now starting to check things off the development checklist as our little one prepares herself for life outside the womb. Ears: done; fingernails; done; lung walls: secreting surfactant. Surfactant is "a surface-activated fat that helps your baby's little lungs inflate" (babygaga.com). It continues to amaze me how quickly God grows a living, breathing baby! Miss Ilyana is now a little over a pound and about a foot long, about the size of an ear of corn (and to imagine that we started at the size of a poppy seed!). She's moving around a lot, especially when I eat or drink anything chocolate, and loves to have swimming practice when I take a bath. I love watching my stomach move while I'm in the bath, she really goes nuts! She's been making it really difficult to breathe lately (especially when I'm sitting for a long period of time), which has been rather uncomfortable. But I'm learning to take more shallow breaths more often to try to make it easier.

Becoming parents is a journey Jake and I are so excited about, but as excited as I am about becoming a mom, I'm still a wife first. This past weekend I went to a women's retreat, which was an encouraging and refreshing time. The theme of the retreat this year was "Godly womanhood". Like most retreats, I learned a lot of great things that I wanted to apply to my life and to our marriage. But unlike most retreats, I decided to pick 3 things that I felt would be most beneficial at the current time to actually work on and apply. Here are the 3 things I chose to work on:

1. Greeting Jake with a hug and kiss. Often when Jake gets home from work and school I'm in the middle of some sort of activity (housework, watching tv, derping on facebook) and I will take the time to say "Hi!" but then it's usually back to whatever activity I was in the middle of. The first challenge I have for myself is putting aside what I'm doing to get up and give my wonderful husband a hug and kiss to greet him when he gets home. It is such an easy way for me to show him that he is more important to me than whatever it is that I'm doing (because he is!).

2. Asking him how I can help. A great idea one of the woman teaching mentioned was that she asks her husband everyday "How can I serve you today?". I would really like to ask Jake this question daily, I think it will make him feel really loved and supported. I also think this one will be one of the hardest and I will have to really prepare my heart ahead of time everyday. Some days it may be as simple as just giving him lots of sweet hugs throughout the day, but other days it may be less... exciting, like doing the dishes. Can I put aside my own hopes and desires for the day to serve my husband?

3. A change in how I view housework. Up until now, I have viewed housework as a dreadful task that just has to be done... eventually. Some things aren't so bad, in fact I find vacuuming rather enjoyable, it's just things like dishes and putting away laundry that really get me. But one of the speakers this weekend mentioned something so simple, yet so profound to me. Housework is a way I can serve my husband. I would really like to start viewing housework in this way rather than that thing that I have to do... tomorrow. I don't think that this change in heart will come easily, and I don't think it's something that will change how our house looks over-night, but I would like it to change my attitude and I think, eventually, it will at least make doing those dishes a little bit easier.

Information about Ilyana:

EDD: Feb. 27th (109 days)

How mom's feeling: Counting down the weeks until we get to meet the little miss!

How dad's feeling: "I'm super excited for Ilyana to be out. I've been really enjoying getting to really feel her moving around consistently."

We've made it to a pound!

We've made it to 23 weeks! In the medical world, 23 weeks is generally seen as the point in a pregnancy where if a baby were born they could survive (with a lot of medical interventions). Miss Ilyana now weighs just over a pound and is about 11 and a half inches long. Her cochlea is now fully formed, meaning that she can hear the sounds of the outside world, so watch what you say around her! She's continuing to kick harder everyday. Sometimes Jake and I will just sit and watch my belly move, it's really weird, but also very neat! I've definitely noticed that she has started to take up more room, sitting for too long often results in being unable to breathe. I've also started to experience some braxton hicks. Braxton hicks are essentially practice contractions, not necessarily painful (so far), but definitely unpleasant. However, I'm viewing them as a good opportunity to practice relaxing and breathing through the pain. There really isn't too much going on this week, we're just (im)patiently  waiting for our baby girl to make her debut. Hopefully these last few months will fly by!

Information about Ilyana:
EDD: February 27th (116 days)

How mom's feeling: Looking forward to February :)

How dad's feeling: Ready for Ilyana to be here!

He is in control

Tomorrow will mark 22 weeks for our kickboxing champion! Ilyana is doing great, she's kicking like crazy which is fun to feel and watch although not always pleasant to wake up to! She's about the size of a spaghetti squash and has now developed a sense of balance (lets hope she gets that from her dad, not me!). She also seems to really like apples, they've definitely been a craving of mine and she tends to go nuts whenever I eat one. On the baby front, everything really is going great.

As most of you know, along with expecting our little one, we are also in the process of building a house. Even though dates were continuing to be pushed back, we were holding on to hope that we would get into our house before Ilyana arrived or at least shortly afterwards. We received news today that they will not begin building until next April, estimating to be done by mid-July. This is definitely a bummer. As thrilled as we are with the benefits of the ROOTS program, it has definitely been a frustrating process. The big reason we're so behind is slacking on the builders part, not the city. After taking several months to get a document to the city, they then put off giving the city a timeline until the last minute, meaning our deed couldn't be processed through this months council meeting. Because they now won't have the deed until the end of November (after the next council meeting), they won't be able to start building until it warms up and the ground thaws. As disappointing as this is, there have been a couple of thoughts that have been helping me to stay positive that I'd like to share. 

1. James 4:13-15: 'Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”'
There are two things in these verses that really stuck out to me about our situation. First of all, life is short, in a year or two, will it really matter that we had to wait 5-6 extra months to get into our house? I doubt it. Also in this verse I saw a challenge from God, can we trust Him enough to give this up to Him and have peace in our hearts about a difficult and disappointing circumstance? We are not in control here, He is.

2. The city is highly involved in our house now. They have done a lot of extra work to push our builder in ways that we can't. They will also be holding our builder accountable for the timeline they gave them, so hopefully this means less delays.

3. As much of a bummer as it is to not be able to get into the house sooner, there is a silver lining. Before finding out this news, we were in a sort of awkward state of unknown as to where we would be when we have our baby. Now that we have this information, we can make the decisions necessary to figure that out and start preparing for her arrival. We can start setting up furniture and other necessary items in the next couple of months instead of having to wait until the last minute. In some ways, waiting until July, although not ideal, may be a blessing in disguise. We no longer will have to move in the winter and won't have juggle unpacking with either me being super pregnant or with caring for a newborn. Also, Jake will (hopefully) be working full time when we move in, which will definitely take off a large financial burden.

Basically what this all boils down to is this: We're definitely disappointed, but God is in control. He knows what He's doing and we are trusting in Him throughout this process, both with the good and the bad.

Information about Ilyana:

EDD: 2/27/15 (127 days)

How mom's feeling: like a punching bag ;)

How dad's feeling: Amazed at the feeling of Ily kicking.

Kicking queen

Here we are at 21 weeks and Ilyana is kicking up a storm. That is, when daddy's not trying to feel! She will be kicking like crazy but as soon as he puts his hand on my stomach she stops, and starts up again as soon as he gives up! So either she's very stubborn or is just calmed by daddy's presence! However, he did finally get to feel a couple of good kicks Saturday morning. He was pretty excited and thought "it felt really weird". It's been really neat to start to figure out her activity patterns and know about when to start expecting her kicks. They aren't hard enough to wake me up at night yet (I'm not complaining!), but during the day she usually kicks around 8:30 or 9, again around 12:30, for an extended period of time from around 4:30-6, and once more before bed around 9:15. I'll feel a couple of random kicks throughout the day as well, but for now, that seems to be her schedule. If she wants to keep that schedule once she's here I would be totally ok with that! Not so little Ilyana is now approximately 12.5 ounces and almost 11 inches long, about the size of a large carrot! Jenna was holding up a piece of paper the other night saying that it was 8x11 and I think my mouth literally fell open at the thought of our little baby girl being that big! Looking at my stomach, we can definitely tell she is growing though!
In other news, our house should finally be getting started this week. After contacting the city about the hold up in the process, they talked to our builder and told them that their eligibility to build in the program was being reconsidered. Very quickly, our builder 'magically' got the document from their bank that we've been waiting for. Our deed will be discussed at the city council meeting on Tuesday and after that our builder should begin building. From what I hear, the city is going to sit down with our builder to discuss the timeline of our house getting built to make sure that they are getting it done in a reasonable amount of time. It will definitely be cutting it close, but there is still a chance that we will be able to get into our house before Ilyana comes. Please pray that we can!

Information about Ilyana:
EDD: Feb. 27th (130 days)

How mom's feeling: Besides some back pain (looking forward to the chiropractor this week!), doing great!

How dad's feeling: Super excited to have felt her kick!

Bows or Bowties?

20 weeks marks halfway! Today we got to see our perfect, healthy baby and find out that it's a... GIRL! Jake and I are both ecstatic! Miss Ilyana Noel is right on track to make her debut around February 27th. It was so neat to be able to see how much she has grown since our last ultrasound and see her little heart beating. My favorite part was getting to see her little fingers and toes! So cute! During the ultrasound she was very busy playing with the umbilical cord, swallowing amniotic fluid (yuck!), and playing hide and seek with the ultrasound tech. She's already stubborn ;) Everything is looking great and we are eager to meet our sweet baby girl!
To announce the exciting news to the grandparents, we gave them little pumpkins with bows on them, here are some pictures of some of their reactions (my mom was out of town and the pictures of my dad didn't turn out):

Information about Ilyana:
EDD: Feb. 27th (140 days)

How mom's feeling: Great! So excited to meet our little girl!

How dad's feeling: Giddy with excitement that he can have a little daddy's girl :)

Exciting news!

We are celebrating 19 weeks with some exciting news! Last night, my hand was able to feel the baby move! I was coming back to bed after a middle of the night snack and had my hand resting on my stomach as I was falling back to sleep and felt a little kick! At first I thought maybe it was just a trick of the mind, but then I felt it again several more times. It was so neat! After several tries today, Jake was able to feel a little kick this evening too! In equally exciting news, we will be finding out gender THIS FRIDAY! Everyone can look forward to seeing the announcement sometime that evening after Jake has gotten off work and we've had a chance to announce to all the soon to be grandparents. So now is the time to start calculating your guess, will our little peanut be a boy or a girl? If you'd like to check out our answers to some of the gender wives tales, feel free to take a look at last weeks post.

Besides that exciting news, not a whole lot has been going on this week. My hips have been a bit sore so we're praying that that would subside soon. My stomach has definitely been growing a lot these past few weeks too which is fun. I'll try to remember to snap a picture tomorrow (I'm already in my pj's for the night). It's no wonder my stomach is getting big though, our little peanut is already about 8.7 ounces and 10 inches long (we can start measuring from head to toe instead of head to rump now)! 

Information about Peanut:

EDD: Feb. 27th (146 days)

How mom's feeling: Painful hips, but really excited about everything!

How dad's feeling: Really excited to find out the gender (we both are guessing girl)!

Old Wives Tales

Here we are at 18 weeks and our little peanut is the size of a green pepper! There really isn't very much going on in the baby world this week. Little peanut has been kicking more and more often, it feels like we might be having a little break dancer to follow in daddy's footsteps! Besides that, we are looking forward to finding out the gender and also really excited about all the friends this little one will be having! So many babies!
In other news, we are hoping that our house will be getting started soon. After hearing the same thing from our builder for months, Jake contacted the ROOTS program coordinator at the city and they are going to be putting some pressure on our builder. If you have the chance to pray for this process, we would really appreciate it. It would be really helpful if we could be in our house before the baby comes.
Since I seem to be lacking a little bit on content this week, I thought it might be fun to post a couple of old wives tales about gender so everyone can start calculating their guess! Have fun!

Information about Peanut:

EDD: Feb 27th (152 days)

How mom's feeling: Great! Enjoying being a full time wife!

How dad's feeling: More excited everyday!

Peace

17 weeks already! Isn't that crazy! I apologize for the late post, you would think with the extra time on my hands I would be better about getting it done. Last Tuesday was my last day of work, what a bittersweet day! We shared some gifts and had a delicious Culvers lunch to celebrate! If anyone is looking for a sentimental but fun gift idea for young kids, I ended up getting them cute little personalized books that had their names, their siblings names, and my name in the story. They loved them! As much as I miss the kiddos, not working has been wonderful in so many ways. Physically, I'm able to get things such as cooking, cleaning, and shopping done while still being able to rest when I'm not feeling well. Jake especially enjoys the home cooked meals! Emotionally, I feel so much peace from knowing that I have the time to get everything done. We're having some friends over for supper Saturday night, if I were still working I would feel so stressed thinking about having to get all the cooking and cleaning done before they come. Now I'm able to just relax and get it done throughout the week! Most importantly though, I have been feeling spiritually at peace. I've been getting out and walking for an hour every morning, while I walk it is so calming to the spirit to be able to just pray and listen to worship music. It's really just a great way to start off my day with my eyes on God!
In baby news, we will be finding out whether little peanut is a boy or girl on October 10th! WOOHOO! We're so excited (if you can't tell)! In other baby news, our little one can hear now! It's so adorable to watch Jake talk to them. He's going to be such a sweet daddy! Little peanut is now 5 inches and 5 ounces, and the bones are starting to harden. I said it before, but I'm just so amazed at how quickly they grow!
Finally I wanted to tell you a little bit about something that has finally been giving me some relief as far as sickness and headaches go. My friend Carrie suggested I try out essential oils and gave me some samples to try. I can not even express to you how happy I am with them. What I've found works for me is ginger oil for morning sickness and peppermint oil for headaches. I have never had anything give such instant relief like the essential oils do. I definitely recommend giving them a try, they have oils for almost any sort of ailment! If you'd like to learn more, feel free to contact Carrie at carrie.kearney12@gmail.com

Information about peanut:
EDD: Feb. 27th (157 days)

How mom's feeling: Great! Thankful to be able to take afternoon naps!

How dad's feeling: Loving all the home cooked meals! Having fun talking to little peanut!

2nd trimester symptoms

16 weeks is here and wow is our baby getting big! Our little peanut is now 4.5 inches and weighing about 3.5 ounces. Also, their little heart is now pumping 25 quarts of blood every day. I've been continuing to feel them move most everyday, which is really neat! Along with headaches, I've started to experience another 2nd trimester symptom, round ligament pain. Here is WebMD's description of round ligament pain: Several thick ligaments surround and support your womb (uterus) as it grows during pregnancy. One of them is called the round ligament. The round ligament connects the front part of the womb to your groin, the area where your legs attach to your pelvis. The round ligament normally tightens and relaxes slowly. As your baby and womb grow, the round ligament stretches. That makes it more likely to become strained. Sudden movements can cause the ligament to tighten quickly, like a rubber band snapping. This causes a sudden and quick jabbing feeling. For the past week or so I've been experiencing this once or twice a day, however I had no idea what was going on! I was getting a little concerned but decided to wait to ask my doctor at my next appointment (on Monday). However, I happened upon a segment on round ligament pain as I was reading what was going on with our baby this week and it described my symptoms perfectly. This week I also visited a chiropractor to see if he could help relieve some of my headaches. I'm feeling very hopeful that it will help. He explained that there are occipital nerves that connect to the back of the neck (my headaches often start with, and are the worst, behind my right eye and at the base of my skull), as he was adjusting me he noticed that I have some large knots right around the area that the nerves are, explaining a large reason why I get these headaches so often. Since getting adjusted it has definitely helped some, and I'm confident that with a few more adjustments it should relieve the situation even more.

Information about peanut:

EDD: February 27th (167 days)

How mom's feeling: Excited about our growing baby!

How dad's feeling: Wishing he could feel the baby! (It makes my heart so happy to see him talking to our little one!)

 

"Hey mom! Here I am!"

We had a little surprise to welcome us into 15 weeks, last night I felt little peanut move for the first time! I had a little cramp in my stomach so I was massaging it and after I stopped I felt a tiny little jab from the inside that felt almost like a bubble popped in my belly, it was as though peanut was saying "hey! Stop that!"! I felt it once or twice today too, so exciting! In other pregnancy news, peanut is now about 4 inches long and about the size of an apple! This week was really rough as far as sickness goes. For a couple weeks now I've been really struggling with getting headaches several times a week. Being pregnant Tylenol is the only pain reliever I can take and it does nothing. This week I got a headache Monday night, it got bad enough Tuesday morning that I was throwing up most of the morning and lasted until Thursday night. I finally got in to see my OB today and everything checked out normal so she prescribed me some stronger pain meds which should hopefully help. I'm also looking forward to seeing a chiropractor next week to help with some of the neck pain that accompanies the headaches.
Finally, I wanted to share that I will be done working a little sooner than I had originally planned. After talking with Jake and my boss, we decided it would be best for everyone if I were to quit working. I try to only stay home sick when I absolutely can not function, however I was still missing a lot of work between sickness and appointments and I didn't want to continue to put my boss in that position. We also felt like it would be nice if I were able to take it a little easier on the days I'm feeling sick but maybe would push myself to work through it. So Friday the 19th will be my last day working as a nanny. I'm so excited to be a full time wife for a few months before our sweet little peanut arrives and I thank God (and my very hard working husband) that this is possible. However I'm also sad to be leaving such a wonderful family! Yasue (my boss) has become one of my closest friends and I just love these kids to pieces! But I know that I will continue to see them, even if it's not everyday, and from everything I've heard about Kirsten (my replacement) they are in great hands!

Information about peanut:
EDD: Feb 27th (175 days)

How mom's feeling: praying for relief from these headaches! So excited about feeling the baby move!

How dad's feeling: jealous that he can't feel the baby move yet!

*picture to come tomorrow ;)

size of a peach

I'm now in week 14! Our sweet little peanut is now the size of a peach and can make facial expressions and suck their thumb! This week I was actually able to get another ultrasound with my OB (she prefers to do an early ultrasound as well as the 20 week ultrasound, I knew I liked her!). It was really neat to see our little one again and the picture quality was even better this time which made it extra special! Little peanut was swimming around a lot and everything looked great! I was even told that I have a "fantastic cervix!", haha!
I want to apologize for the late post. I had really wanted to share with you guys about some of the work God has been doing in my life but I haven't figured out how to say it without it coming across as prideful yet, so I will save it for a later post! I've also been sick. I've been getting tension headaches a lot lately. They last for days and usually result in a lot of nausea. They're no fun!

Information about peanut:
EDD: Feb 27th (177 days)
How mom's feeling: frustrated with these headaches!
How dad's feeling: relieved that school is going well!

Meeting our little peanut!

13 weeks has arrived along with the 2nd trimester! (Ok, so it's debated whether 13 or 14 weeks is the start, but the calendar I'm using says 13 so that's what I'm going with!) This week our baby is the size of a lemon and is starting to be able to hear! What an exciting week it's been! Since I was sick last week I had my 12 week appointment this week. Everything is looking great and I got to hear the heartbeat for the first time! I definitely teared up! It was so neat hearing the proof that there really is a living baby growing in me. The heartbeat was strong at 170 BPM. Also this week we decided to have an ultrasound at Bridgehaven. I was really thankful that Jake was able to get off work early to join and since Jenna works there she was able to come see too! Our little peanut was swimming all around and having fun moving their arms and legs around! They measured perfectly at 12 weeks and 6 days (exactly what I am today) confirming our due date of February 27th.

In other exciting news, our house should be breaking ground soon! The builder is just waiting on a form from their bank and then they should be ready to start. Woohoo!

Information about peanut:
EDD: Feb 27th (190 days)

How mom's feeling: really hungry! So excited about our babies continued growth!

How dad's feeling: It was really neat seeing the baby!

^Introducing our little peanut!

^Peanut says "Hi everyone!"

Pregnancy and the flu don't mix

12 weeks! Woohoo!  Last week of the first trimester! Currently our baby is the size of a lime and weighs a whole half an ounce! It's surprising how big they get in such a short time! Morning sickness has been mostly gone for a few weeks now besides feeling a little 'off' in the evenings still. However a new pregnancy symptom has come about the past few days. I can't go more than 1-2 hours between eating before feeling like I'm starving again. I'm talking hands shaking, feel sick, starving. It's really frustrating! Especially when it wakes you up in the middle of the night!
In other news, pregnancy and the flu don't mix. Earlier last week Jake had a stomach bug. We did our best to not touch or spread germs but Wednesday night when I started feeling kind of sick I started to wonder... then I woke up in the middle of the night puking and knew I had caught the bug too. Puking 6 times in one day isn't fun in any situation, but it's especially not fun when you're pregnant and worried about the little life inside you too! Don't worry, I definitely called my doctor first thing in the morning and they assured me that besides getting dehydrated I didn't need to worry. However to keep the bug from spreading we did have to reschedule our appointment so we won't get to hear the heartbeat until this week. As disappointed as I was about having to wait another week, Jake want going to be able to go and this week he will, God knows what He's doing (although, I'll make a plea to Him that the doctor just needs to reschedule instead of getting the flu!)

Information about our little peanut:
EDD: Feb 27th (193 days)

How mom's feeling: hungry (and annoyed by that), excited to hear the heartbeat! Also thankful that we may have found an excellent replacement for me at my job!

How dad's feeling: enjoying the last week before school starts, excited about our growing baby!

The size of a plum

11 weeks is here! That means our baby is the size of a plum! Isn't that crazy??? And my belly can tell, I couldn't button a pair of jeans this past weekend! This week our baby is learning to swallow and to smell! I wonder what the womb smells like... on second thought, I'm not sure I want to know! There really isn't much news on the baby front this week, however at our appointment next week we will get to hear our little peanuts heart beat for the first time! We're super excited for that! We're also excited that our house should be getting moving soon! The state is finally done with their part so our builder should be getting the deed! Hurray!

Information about peanut:
EDD: Feb 27th (201 days)

How mom's feeling: tired, not to sick (haven't had to spend any time with the toilet for over a week!), really looking forward hearing the heartbeat!

How dad's feeling: stressed for the upcoming school year but excited to be a dad.

And the winner is...

We're into the double digits! 10 weeks! Hurray! Jake and I really enjoyed being able to go on vacation and relax this past week. For the most part I felt decent for the majority of the trip, the nausea is mostly the worst in the evening so we just spent the evenings relaxing. While we were in Kentucky we went to the creation museum which was really interesting and a lot of fun. We also went to the Cincinnati zoo which was a blast (I love zoos!)! Also in Cincinnati we found the cutest little restaurant ever! I would classify it as a burger joint and it just had a fun friendly vibe. The burgers were homemade and DELICIOUS! If you're ever in the area I highly recommend 'Terry's Turf'.
On Monday we were back in cedar rapids and we had a big day ahead of us, hospital touring! Since we both had the day off we decided to go ahead and get this done now. Both hospitals (mercy and St. Lukes) were excellent hospitals. Jake and I agreed that whatever decision we made we definitely couldn't go wrong. In the end though we had to pick one and the winner was... St. Lukes! Like I said, they both are excellent hospitals so the deciding factors were preferential more than anything. I liked the way that St. Lukes does their food better, it'll be closer to home, and the biggest reason was I just felt more comfortable there. So anyone that has chose or does choose mercy, no judgement here! It's a great choice as well, St. Lukes was just the best choice for us :)

Information about peanut:
EDD : Feb 27th (209 days)

How mom's feeling : pretty good! Mostly sick in the evenings and for a little bit when I wake up. Looking forward to the end of the first trimester :)

How dad's feeling: fantastic, super excited, a little anxious about the upcoming school year :)

Fetal stage is here!

Here we are in week 9, welcoming our little peanut into the fetal stage! I really don't have a whole lot to report this week. It's been another week of some days feeling sick and others feeling mostly fine. On Monday we had our first prenatal appointment with a nurse. It was fun to see how things are finally getting moving with appointments and what not. The appointment went well, we basically just talked about how things have been going and what to expect from here forward. My next appointment is mid August and we'll get to hear a heart beat then! Monday night we had our first prenatal class at bridgehaven. It was a lot of fun getting to see pictures of babies in the womb and just being around other expecting moms. This weekend we're on vacation! We decided to go to the Kentucky/Ohio border and go to the creation museum and an aviation museum. Our bed and breakfast is a beautiful farm house with lots of cute kitties and horses to play with! Lastly, I wanted to apologize for not putting up a picture last week, after writing the post I had meant to get a picture taken and then post it but I kept being either too sick or too busy to get the picture taken so finally I just decided to post it and wait to put up a picture this week.

Information about peanut
EDD: Feb 27th (216 days)

How mom's feeling: sick in the morning and at night but usually fine during the day.

How dad's feeling: enjoying reading a couple of parenting books!

I am blessed

(Written on 7/18. Will update with photo later)

 I told you 8 weeks would be here in a flash! Week 7 was filled with more nausea and vomiting, but I also had some good days too where I wasn't feeling too bad! I've also stated noticing a little bit of a baby bump recently! Hurray! This week our little peanut is a whole inch long and continuing to grow bigger everyday! Also exciting, no more tail! This is also its last week as an embryo!  We're very excited for our first prenatal appointment on Monday and our first prenatal class at bridgehaven Monday night!
Now as promised, I'm going to spend some time doting on Jake :) He has been SO amazingly supportive! Being so sick, it's been really hard to cook or clean or do much of anything. He has been so helpful with making dinner, helping me out and all the while without making me feel bad. He's been fetching me water and blankets while I'm camped out at the toilet and making sure I'm taking my prenatal every day. That's not even to mention how interested and involved he's been with our peanut. It's so sweet to watch him talk to our little one and ask about how he or she is growing this week! And I can't forget to mention how hard he's been working and will be working to provide for us! This hardworking man of mine is hoping to work full time and do school full time this next school year! I really am just so blessed with this wonderful husband of mine. He's going to make such a great daddy!

Information about little peanut:
EDD: Feb 27th (224 days)

How mom's feeling: tired, sick, tired of being sick, looking forward to everything!

How dad's feeling: still very excited!

Finding Hope

7 weeks is here (and will be gone in a flash)! Week 6 was filled with lots and lots of nausea. I was nauseated every moment of every day. It was really difficult, both physically and emotionally. I was really starting to feel very hopeless about ever feeling more than 'ok' for a while. But today has brought with it a little bit of a respite. There have still been some moments of nausea, but on the whole, so far, I've felt more than OK today. It's encouraging to know that even if I'm sick again tomorrow there's at least hope that I could have another good day soon!
On a more exciting note, in the past week our little peanut has doubled in size and is now the size of a blueberry! It's just so neat how quickly our little one is growing! This week the major developments are hands and feet as well as continuing to grow major organs. It's so cool to think about everything God is doing to create this tiny human!

Information about peanut:
EDD: February 27th (230 days)

How mom's feeling: usually pretty nauseated, learning to just not think about food (it's quite a task!), so thankful for Jake's awesome support (I imagine that there will be a post doting on him very soon :) )

How dad's feeling: a little stressed thinking about school and work, but still very excited!

Continually in prayer

6 weeks here we come! Hurray! Last week we started taking weekly pictures for the fun of watching my belly grow (I forgot to post last week's but it is now added to last week's post).
There really isn't much to share this week pregnancy related, our little lentil sized baby is just continuing to grow big and strong, so I figured I'd take some time to share with you some other exciting answers to prayer! Since getting pregnant we've obviously been praying for our little baby, but we've also been praying for our house. For any of you who don't know, we are part of the ROOTS program where they are building us a brand new house to help bring more new development to the flood zone, it's a spectacular deal. We originally got accepted into the program and put down some money on the house earlier this spring and since then have been waiting, sometimes not so patiently, for the city to finish their end of the processing before they give our builder the deed so they can break ground. Well after this past week or so of fervently praying for things to get moving the city has FINALLY finished and after receiving state approval our builder should *hopefully* get the deed in the next month or 2. Praise the Lord! We're really hoping that if the builder can at least break ground before winter that our house will be done before our little ones arrival!

Information about our little peanut:
EDD: Feb 27th (238 days)

How mom's feeling: very tired, very nauseous this morning :( , excited, nervous, CRAZY hormonal emotions (I've never dealt with pms emotions so this is new to me!)

How dad's feeling: Very excited, can't wait!

Jumping for joy!

Today I am officially 5 weeks pregnant! I've mostly completed building a heart and it should start beating this week (although it's not detectable by ultrasound for a few more weeks)! This week's major developments are the creation of our little peanuts eyes, ears, nose and budding limbs, I really hope they have Jake's cute nose! We were both SO excited when the blood test came back positive! Between that and setting up some of the first appointments everything is finally starting to seem real! We're still just so excited!

Information about our little peanut (our deemed nickname currently):
Estimated due date: February 27th 2015 (245 days)

How mom's feeling: Exhausted (the fatigue hit hard today), sore, a little nauseous in the afternoon, but all around very excited and thankful for how supportive Jake is!

How dad's feeling: Excited, interested in everything going on, looking forward to everything!

A little gift from God

On our 2 year anniversary God decided to give us a little gift. It wasn't expected, but we are SO thankful for it. What did He give us you may ask? A baby! Actually it's currently a little embryo about the size of a poppy seed. But it's a gift that keeps on giving and keeps growing and growing. By next week it will already have a little heartbeat. Can you believe that?! We are so excited to start this new journey and welcome our little bundle of joy into this world!

Information about Baby Marzen #1:

Estimated Due Date: February 27th 2015 (T-minus 250 days!)

How mom is feeling: Still in disbelief! Physically feeling pretty good, just a little crampy and a little nauseous throughout the day, but overall not too bad!

How dad is feeling: Also in disbelief! And excited :)