Keeping in Teutsch

John Hayden will be one month old next week, so I thought I better share his birth story and pictures before time got away from me. He was born on Tuesday, November 6th at 1:19 pm via a repeat c-section and weighed 7 lbs. 8 oz. and was 20 inches long. (I guessed he would be 7 1/2 lbs. and as you can see, I was right!)

We had to be at the hospital at 9 am Tuesday morning and the c-section was scheduled for Noon, but an emergency c-section had to be performed on another patient, so our time got pushed back. Most of the morning was spent waiting around, and everything went smoothly except for one little "we're going to pick on him about this forever" moment that is best described with the following pictures:


I had to be in recovery (next to the operating room) for about an hour before we could move into our regular room and everyone could come see him. As soon as we got in our room, Matt went and got Juliette so she could have a few minutes by herself to see him and hold him. And then after a few minutes, our families came in to see him--and to pry him from Juliette's hands--she's quite the baby hog!


And now I'll tell you a little bit more about John Hayden:
1) He's like a little teenage boy: he eats A LOT, and burps and passes gas just as loudly as them! :)
2) He hated being naked/diaper changes at first, but now he doesn't scream through those as much. (Sometimes he still gets upset when you undress him, though.)
3) He LOVES being swaddled. Juliette hated it and wanted her arms free. He loves it, but I only swaddle him at night since he had his days and nights mixed up at first and sleeps so soundly when swaddled.
4) Although he loves to eat all the time during the day, he goes 3-4 hours at night between feedings and sleeps soundly. I'm able to get about 6-7 hours of sleep a night, so things are going well and I don't feel too sleep-deprived.
5) He LOVES having his hair washed if you hold him over the sink to do it. He isn't very fond of actual baths yet.
6) Speaking of his hair, he actually has quite a bit of hair and it's reddish blond. You should see it in the sunlight! It looks more brownish red on top and blond on the sides when you are inside, but we had his newborn photo shoot last week and the photographer was set up in the sunniest place in the apartment and when she showed me a couple of the pictures on her camera, you could see the red. We're quite curious to see if it changes color and/or falls out and he becomes a bald baby like Juliette was.

And, to answer two other questions that everyone asks:
What does Juliette think of him? She loves to hold him and tells me everyday how adorable she thinks he is. When we first came home, she pretty much sat by me on the couch the whole time she was home and asked to hold him every 10 minutes, but she's gotten back into her normal routine of playing in her room and doesn't ask to hold him as much since he doesn't really do anything. I know she is going to love it when he can interact with her and actually play!

How am I doing? I feel good now. The first week or so after a c-section is always rough, but I'm happy to be past that time and back to being able to drive, lift John Hayden in his carseat, and stand up or sit up in bed without pain! My incision area is still a little tender, but for the most part, I'm back to normal. (Except for the fact that I have almost 10 lbs. left to lose and can't fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans yet!)

If you were waiting for this blog post, sorry it took so long. This kid does not like to sleep during the day. He only cat naps for about 30 minutes at a time about a handful of times a day, so it's hard to do any extra things beyond taking a shower, washing bottles, doing laundry, etc. Matt is officially at home full-time, though, for the month of December (he's done with school for the semester), so this month should be much easier to get things done, although I'm not looking forward to having to share the remote! :)

Check back next week for 1 Month pictures and an update. I'm going to do updates on him every month.

 Pregnancy Update: THE EVE OF WEEK 39/JOHN HAYDEN'S BIRTHDAY!

Size of baby: it's anybody's guess now! I predict 7 1/2 lbs. We'll see how accurate I am!
Weight Gain: final total comes out to 36 lbs. A little more than I was wanting it to be, but it's not 50, so I'll take it! 
Movement: their movements are supposed to slow down some at the end, but he hasn't really, although they are smaller movements with less kicking (because I'm sure there really isn't any space to kick now).
Sleep: I've been fortunate to be able to sleep pretty well for most of this pregnancy, which is good since I'm about to be sleep-deprived!
Symptoms: My back and feet haven't hurt as much these last few weeks, which is odd. Maybe I've just gotten used to it? Anyway, still have some swelling in my feet. Have also had some contractions and pressure, but nothing consistent. And, I have to use the bathroom pretty much every 5 minutes. Literally.
Cravings: Sweets in cake-like formats (like donuts, cupcakes, cake, Little Debbies) and ice from Sonic.
Best Moment of the Month: Counting down the days and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel! My work also threw me a little lunchtime baby shower, which was incredibly nice. My boss's wife made a delicious vegetable lasagna and everyone gave us gift cards to help finish up the last minute buying.

And, now, a final look back at all my pregnancy pictures (click on them to make them larger):

Pregnancy Update: WEEK 36
Size of baby: probably weighs around 6 lbs. and is around 18 in. long (at this point, it's a guessing game, since he could be bigger or smaller, but considering he was right in the middle of the weight range at our 32 week ultrasound, he is probably around average size)
Weight Gain: the time has come in which I do not wish to discuss my weight, but you've come this far with me, so I guess it won't kill me to divulge. BABY and I have gained 33 lbs. now. Why, yes, this IS a 8 lb. weight gain in 4 weeks, when it should have only been a 4 lb. weight gain. I'm blaming water retention on this (and John Hayden--I'm pretty sure he had a growth spurt)! :)
Movement: John Hayden is quite active. Sometimes I wonder when he sleeps! (Oh, and when I was pregnant with Juliette, she never had the hiccups, but he has had them about five times and it's quite interesting! One time when he had them, I think he got mad because he started kicking my ribs, which did not feel good!)
Sleep: the same--still able to sleep most the night at this point
Symptoms: I announced on Facebook a few weeks back that the cankles had finally made an appearance. I was SO close to getting through this pregnancy without any swelling! My feet swell off and on, depending on how hot I get and how much standing and walking I do. I also had to take my rings off, although my fingers aren't nearly as swollen as they were with Juliette. I could probably still wear my rings, but they are just a tad too tight for my liking. The "end of pregnancy" tiredness recently started as well. (My face looks a little puffy in the picture above, but I don't really think it looks like this in person [in fact, Matt just said the other day that I hadn't gained weight in my face this pregnancy], so it might just be the angle or the fact that I took this first thing this morning and was still waking up!)
Cravings: Right now I want a cupcake or some chocolate cake. Or another Little Debbie snack (yes, I've had one already today). But these new sweet cravings have absolutely NOTHING to do with that weight gain this month. At least that's what I'm telling myself and you should all agree with me! :) I also want cereal for breakfast all the time now, and I think that is simply because I CAN'T have it. (I have to take my iron pill in the morning and can't have milk near the time I take it since it hinders its absorption.) This makes me want cereal for dinner a lot, but that's not really possible since I have to feed my family something more substantial than that!
Best Moment of the Month: My women's Bible study group gave me a baby shower and Juliette came with me. They did a great job and everything was so cute. I don't have the pictures from it yet, just the few that I snapped with my camera, so below are pictures of the food table, the diaper motorcycle one of the girls made, the cute cookies, and the adorable wreath one of the other girls made that we will put on the hospital door (and the bedroom door as well). We're also pretty much all ready for John Hayden. We just have to install the car seat and get the pack-n-play bassinet out of storage, which we will do this weekend. We've got a stockpile of diapers and wipes (in fact, I don't have room for any more!) and he might have too many clothes, but I don't really consider that a problem! :) So, we are all set for his arrival in 3 weeks (c-section is scheduled for November 6th) and just hope he stays put until then (so that my maternity leave doesn't run out before the university closes for the holidays. If he came earlier than November 1st, I would have to go back to work before the holiday break begins). My last day at work will (hopefully) be November 2nd and I've already trained the person who will be filling in for me while I'm gone. I'm absolutely positive that because I'm all caught up at work and have everything done at home that the next 3 weeks are going to drag by!

Pregnancy Update: WEEK 32
Size of baby: weighs around 3.75 lbs. and is around 16.7 in. long
Weight Gain: 25 lbs. Hoping to keep it around 30 total and I just might be able to!
Movement: All the time, except it feels like he is doing flips more instead of kicking.
Sleep: I'm sleeping pretty good. Thankfully, I haven't gotten to the stage where it's hard to get comfortable and sleep. Maybe I won't!
Symptoms: Back and feet are still the main things that hurt (but not all the time). Other than that, everything else is good. Still no swelling (yay!) and my blood pressure has been perfect this entire pregnancy, so I'm hoping that doesn't change in the next 7 weeks. I have to say that this past month has been quite pleasant and even though I didn't think I was really tired when I found out my iron was low last month, the iron supplement has helped give me a little boost of energy. Or maybe it's just the nesting kicking in!
Cravings: Nothing really. I've noticed that my appetite is diminishing since there isn't much room in there anymore.
Best Moment of the Month: Finally getting the "nursery" (John Hayden's part of the room) finished, and getting to see him yesterday on the ultrasound. He weighs 4 lbs. (although the weight they get from the ultrasound is not always accurate--it can be a pound off in either direction) and he is measuring a week ahead. (That doesn't mean he'll come a week early...just that his measurements are a week ahead. That also doesn't mean he'll be big. Juliette's measurements were a week ahead most of the time I was pregnant with her and she was 6 lbs. 15 oz., but had long arms and legs, so that may just mean he's long. It also could mean that he just had a little growth spurt early and will even out by delivery time, so you can't really predict how big he'll be with these measurements. Based on what he weighs now, though, and how much babies grow on average in the last weeks of pregnancy, he'll probably be around 7ish lbs.) He also is head down, which is where he should be now (but isn't really necessary since I'll be having another c-section), but good that he's getting ready!

Below are pictures of his side of the room. (And, I think I've said this already on Facebook, but not here, and I'm just going to say it again one more time because as the third of four children who shared a room and bed with my sister until she got married and moved out, it annoys me that I've had more than one person make comments about the fact that Juliette and John Hayden will be sharing a room. Ironically, these people have only one child! Anyway, they will survive. He won't be in her room for the first two months, and many, many people have their children share a room with a baby and everyone turns out fine.)

Also, at the end is a picture of some of John Hayden's outfits that I monogrammed this past weekend. (Monogramming his initials on some of his clothing made me even more excited for November 6th to get here!)

Pregnancy Update: WEEK 28
Size of baby: weighs around 2.25 lbs. and is around 14.8 in. long
Weight Gain: 21 lbs. (Not happy to hit the 20-lb. mark, but I was WAY higher than that with Juliette at this point, so I still think I'm doing good. And, technically, I'm right where I should be, gaining about a pound a week.)
Movement: All the time. He's officially started playing kickball with my bladder!
Sleep: Some nights are better than others. Third trimester = horrible sleep. I'm not looking forward to that! 
Symptoms: My ankles and lower back have started hurting quite frequently. If I sit too long, my back will start hurting. If I stand too long, my ankles will start hurting. It's a no-win situation! I also have to go to the bathroom ALL THE TIME! In regards to swelling, my ankles are still visible, although I think my face is starting to look a little fuller. And, finally, they tested my iron at my last doctor's appointment and it's low (which is common in the third trimester of pregnancy), so I have to take an iron supplement and I'm supposed to be eating more iron-rich foods. Eating more of some things are no big deal, but eating more red meat does not appeal to me!
Cravings: None really. Most definitely not red meat! :)
Best Moment of the Month: Finally getting all the baby stuff out of storage and getting the crib and changing table set up (and being able to put the bedding on it)! Below is a picture of the day we got it all set up. I've ordered a couple of prints online to put on the wall and I'm working on a few crafty things to hang on the wall as well, but nothing is hung up, so no pictures yet. Also, I'm officially in the third trimester! Woohoo! Eleven weeks to go (since I'll deliver at 39 weeks and get to skip that last week). Well, technically 10 weeks and 6 days since I'm blogging this a day late.


I also wanted to share Juliette's first drawing of our family that includes John Hayden. When Matt asked her why he was holding him instead of me, Juliette said it was because Matt was the biggest and strongest and wouldn't drop him. (When she drew this a few weeks ago, she still didn't know how to spell his name correctly; since then, she has gotten it down.)

Pregnancy Update: WEEK 24
Size of baby: around 12 inches long and weighs around 1 lb. (At this point in the pregnancy, his measurements could be ahead, so these are just averages; when I'm 32 weeks, I'll have another ultrasound and will get to see how big he is exactly; I'm not going to give the fruit comparisons anymore because for this week it says cantaloupe, but when you look at one--as I did in the store this past weekend--the measurements don't seem the same.)
Weight Gain: 16 lbs. (On a side note: I've decided to not talk to women with smaller stomachs in the waiting room anymore. Yesterday a woman that I was sitting next to barely looked pregnant--like if she had baggier clothes on you might not even realize it--and she was 32 weeks. Ridiculous! I REALLY didn't want to tell her that I was 24 weeks when she asked! Made me want to shove some brownies down her! I also had a male co-worker tell me that I looked like I was going to burst before November and asked if I was sure it wasn't twins. Oh, and he also said he thinks this baby is going to be huge. I wanted to shove something else somewhere else on him!!)
Movement: Yes. And, around 21 weeks we were all able to feel him kick from the outside! Juliette thinks it's cool. Matt says it's weird (he's not one of those rub-the-baby-belly type guys) and it just freaks him out a little bit that I'm walking around with a tiny, little human in me. Also, this past weekend, I finally saw him kick my stomach, but as soon as I called Juliette to come see it, he stopped. He tends to always stop kicking when I call her to come feel it (or in this case, see it). It's like he's already teasing her from the womb! She says he's a "stinker-poo" for not letting his big sister feel his kicks. :)
Sleep: I've been waking up more during the night and it's taking longer to go back to sleep. Not sure what the deal is with that, but I do not like it!
Symptoms: Feeling good other than my feet hurting when I stand or walk too long. Still no swelling (thankfully!). 
Cravings: None really.
Best Moment of the Month: Feeling John Hayden kick from the outside and just feeling his movements a lot more. He definitely has a sleep/wake pattern that I can identify now, and it's really comforting to feel him on a consistent basis and know he is okay in there. Also, all the shopping...it's been fun so far! I've done a lot of online shopping, so it's been fun getting all the packages in the mail. We also had fun registering for some small things that we need at Target. (My women's Bible study group is having a baby shower for me in September, which is why we registered. Juliette loved scanning the items that we wanted to register for with the "gun" they give you, so much so that she announced later that she really wants to work at Target when she grows up so "she can make things beep.")

I spent last weekend sewing, so here are some pictures of some of the things I made (my standard baby gift of the backpack with the applique name and some bibs and burp cloths):

 *I should have posted this update last Tuesday (June 26th) but I kept forgetting to take a picture, and then I just haven't had a chance to upload it until now.


Pregnancy Update: WEEK 20
Size of baby: comparable in size to a banana (length, not width obviously); 6.5 inches long and weighs 10.6 oz.
Maternity Clothes: pants, yes; wearing a mix of maternity shirts and regular shirts
Weight Gain: it's been fluctuating a lot lately, so I can't say exactly, but it's around 13-14 lbs. A pound or two more than I should be at this point, but I'm trying to watch what I eat.
Movement: Oh, yeah! This makes me happy! Some days he doesn't move as much as others, but I do feel him move everyday. I haven't been able to feel him move from the outside, but I'm sure I'll be able to any day now (and then Matt and Juliette will get to feel him too).
Sleep: Still sleeping good, but if I wake up in the middle of the night, it takes a little while for me to go back to sleep (and it really annoys me).
Symptoms: The oily hair has gotten much better; skin is still awful, though. I can still wear my rings for now and have no swelling (except when I go out in the heat and that's not really from being pregnant). I'm feeling really good, except when I go on a 4-hour shopping marathon and then I'm literally dragging the rest of the weekend. (This happened recently...lesson learned!) Oh, and my ankles have started hurting a little. Not swollen, just hurting if I wear flats for too many days in a row.
Cravings: Nothing particular.
Best Moment of the Month: This past month has been full of great news that we are incredibly thankful for. We found out it is a BOY, I started feeling the baby move, I had my anatomy scan at the doctor's office and baby boy looks great and is developing just like he should (in fact, a few days ahead) and I passed my 1-hour glucose screening. We've decided to call him by both names, John Hayden, and I've been busy shopping. (I said I was going to wait until the second ultrasound just to make sure he was still a boy, but that picture of his "boy parts" makes it hard to even think that he was a she, so I started shopping.) I've bought most of his clothing through 9 months, a diaper bag, fabric to make bibs and burp cloths (which I'm anxious to get started on) and have ordered his crib bedding. (I changed my mind on making the bedding after I got fabric samples in for both the fabric I was thinking of using and a crib bedding set from Land of Nod that I liked.) The other weekend we switched rooms with Juliette (we had the bigger one; yes, all of Juliette's and the baby's furniture will fit in the bigger room...I wouldn't have gotten pregnant if there wasn't room for both of them; and yes, our furniture fit in her room, although there is less space, but that's no big deal.) Later this summer we'll get the baby stuff out of storage.

(A side note to those reading who are wanting to buy clothes for him: Other than pajamas, I'm not purchasing any 12 month and beyond clothing until he is closer to that age/size. Due to when his birthday is and the incredibly unpredictable Louisiana weather and the fact that I can't predict how fast he will grow or what size he will be then (and have lots of friends whose boys wore larger sizes sooner than their girls), I don't want to buy 12 month winter clothes and him end up being in 12 month clothing in August nor do I want to buy 18 month winter clothing and him not be in 18 month clothing until late spring/early summer, so please keep that in mind if you are wanting to buy clothing. I would suggest sticking with 6 or 9 month spring/summer clothing since I'm certain he'll get to wear those. Also, no terry cloth sleepers please. Only cotton! It doesn't get cold enough in our apartment...he'll just sweat!)

We went for the elective ultrasound today and at first the baby was NOT wanting to cooperate, but the sonographer kept working at it and we finally were able to see that it's a BOY!


We are SUPER excited! And, thankfully, we already had a boy name picked out: John Hayden. (We didn't have a girl name really.) We may call him by both names, but we're still undecided on that. I've always thought double boy names sounded a little snobby until Juliette started saying his full name whenever we talked about that the baby might be a boy. We like the way it sounds, but we haven't decided 100 percent if we will call him John Hayden or just Hayden. (John is a family name and the first name of a lot of the men on Matt's side. Matt's name is actually John Matthew.)

While she was trying to get pictures of him and get him to move some, he was moving his arms a lot and at one point it look liked he was waving to us. He also looked like he was about to start sucking his thumb and then decided not to. We did get a few 4D pictures of him, but because he's so little and still has so much growing to do and has virtually no fat on him yet, they aren't the best looking, so I'm not going to post them. He's still very skeleton/alien-like. :)

Here's a good profile pic we got of him. The black circle is his heart and you can see part of his arm and hand as well. You can't really see much of his legs in this picture.


Now it's time to start really planning, although I'd pretty much had a idea of what I wanted to do for crib bedding, etc. before we found out. I am going to attempt to make his bedding, possibly, but I'm not going to start ordering fabric and working on anything until we go for the 20 week ultrasound on the 25th and get a second confirmation that it's a boy. Although that first picture above screams boy, so I'll be incredibly surprised if it's wrong! :) I'm looking forward to working on making bibs and burpcloths and shopping for boy things. The nice thing about it being the second time around is that you don't have to buy all those expensive essentials and get to spend your money on the cute little gender-specific stuff! So, I'll be spending a lot of time at the sewing/embroidery machine this summer and I'll definitely be showing it all off on here.

Pregnancy Update: WEEK 16
Size of baby: comparable in size to an avocado; 4.6 inches long and weighs 3.5 oz.
Maternity Clothes: pants, yes; wearing a mix of maternity shirts and regular shirts
Weight Gain: 8 lbs. 
Movement: still some of those "phantom" butterflies occasionally, but nothing that I can say with certainty is the baby moving (I started feeling Juliette moving around week 16, so I'm hoping any day now those phantom kicks turn into real ones)
Sleep: still sleeping well, thankfully
Symptoms: occasionally tired, but nothing like I felt while in the first trimester on Prometrium; I am hungrier now, but eating mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks helps curb the desire to stuff my face; have had some round ligament pain (basically pain from my uterus growing), but thankfully it's only been a couple of times; baby keeps hanging out on the right side and pinching a nerve, so I've had a few days where my right thigh has been killing me; I severely dislike the oily skin; and my hair has been oilier (my shampoo doesn't appear to "work" some days on it...it's weird...I never had that happen with Juliette)
Cravings: Nothing really...most everything that I would normally eat sounds good!
Best Moment of the Month: making it into the second trimester, hearing the heartbeat again, and hearing the baby kicking at the doppler wand at my appointment today--sounded like thuds. We WERE counting down the days until we find out whether it's a boy or girl (27 days until 20 week ultrasound), but when I went to the doctor today, she asked if I was going to find out the sex at this appointment and I was like "what are you talking about? I'm only 16 weeks." She said, "You can find out today...you just have to pay a $50 fee. And we still do the normal 20 week ultrasound at your next visit to get all the measurements." I was so bummed. I didn't have Matt and Juliette with me because they hadn't told me I could do this at 16 weeks, so I had to refuse. I had already been thinking about going to an elective ultrasound place later in the pregnancy to get some good pictures, but now we are going Friday afternoon to find out the sex of the baby!! (This place has all kinds of packages but we are just getting the basic "hamburger or hotdog gender reveal package" and it's just $15 more than our doctor's office would have charged.) Now, instead of 27 days, it's 3 days. SO exciting! (And, just in case you're skeptical, this place is the only one in town--there are multiple ones--that only hires medically-certified sonographers and if they aren't 100 percent sure of the sex of the baby--or the baby is being modest--you get to come back for free later for them to try again. Also I've only read good reviews about them online and didn't see any in which people were told they were having a girl when it was a boy, or vice versa. And, obviously, I'll get a second confirmation at my 20 week ultrasound, and although I might start buying a few things, I won't buy anything that can't be returned should they be completely wrong--which I really doubt will be the case since technology has come so far now days.)

Check back Friday evening for some ultrasound pics and the big news of whether Matt's going to be outnumbered in this house or we get to level the hormones out around here! :)

Every few weeks I'll be doing pregnancy updates, complete with a picture. However, the picture we took for 8 weeks was rushed and no good since we were walking out the door, so I deleted it with intentions to take another one during that week, and then I forgot. And then week 9 went by and I forgot to take a picture that week as well, so there is no picture for this first update; however, there is one for week 12 which is below. I do have a week 4 picture, though...or a "before" pic:



Pregnancy Update: WEEK 9
Size of baby: comparable in size to a green olive; .9 inches long (almost an inch!) and weighs .07 oz.
Maternity Clothes: not really (just wearing one pair of jeans occasionally that has a small elastic band because I only have one other pair of jeans that fits, although they are probably about to be sent to the back of the closet; oh, and I wore a maternity shirt for Easter because of its color)
Weight Gain: 3 lbs. (which is really good for me, because by this point in my pregnancy with Juliette I had gained at least 7 lbs or more; of course, I started out that pregnancy weighing 15 lbs. less than I did this one, so I'm trying really hard to not gain too much)
Movement: Not yet, but I can't wait! That was one of my favorite things about being pregnant with Juliette. I am feeling phantom movements (like those early butterfly-like movements) but I KNOW it's not the baby because they have been in the top of my stomach, and I know the baby is no where near there yet.
Sleep: Sleeping good, except I have to make a trip to the bathroom every single night/morning around 4 am.
Symptoms: Tired--some days are better than others; nausea--it kicked in around 6 weeks and I've had waves of nausea all day, every day. With Juliette, I just felt a little sick in the mornings, ate some crackers, and then I was fine. That doesn't work for this one. There have been some times where I have felt nauseous and have been starving at the same time...it's a very odd feeling.
Cravings: Nothing really, except plain, bland food.
Best Moment of the Month: seeing the baby on an ultrasound and seeing its heart beating (158 bpm)



Pregnancy Update: WEEK 12

Size of baby: comparable in size to a plum; 2.1 inches long; weighs .49 oz.
Maternity Clothes: I started wearing them around the 10 week mark...much more comfortable! The last pair of pre-pregnancy jeans have been sent to the back of the closet.
Weight Gain (since pre-pregnancy, not since last update): 5 lbs. All the books say that "normal" weight gain is 3-5 lbs. in your first trimester and approximately 1 lb. a week after that for a total of around 25-35 lbs. I can't believe I'm finishing the first trimester in "normal" range. (My overall weight might not be in normal range, but I'll take the small accomplishments I can when it comes to my weight!)
Movement: I sometimes "think" I feel flutters (in the right area this time). I didn't feel Juliette until I was 16 weeks, but I've read that when it's your second pregnancy (or more) you will often recognize the movement sooner. I don't know if these are real movements are not...I'm going to pretend they are.
Sleep: Still sleeping good and haven't really missed sleeping on my stomach. The middle-of-the-night trips to the bathroom have eased up (which they say is normal for around the start of the second trimester since your uterus has moved up some and the baby isn't big enough to use your bladder as a kickball yet).
Symptoms: Still incredibly tired. Only have to take my progesterone pill for the rest of this week, and I am SO hoping the extreme tiredness goes away once I'm done with them. The nausea is mostly gone--it left around 10 weeks...yay! Now, I'm just starving all the time!
Cravings: Not really having any cravings...just been wanting comfort food still. If I had to pinpoint one thing, though, that sounds good pretty much at any time of day, it's a BLT from Sonic (or technically, a BLC--no tomatoes, add cheese).
Best Moment of the Month: Hearing the heartbeat at my 12 week check-up. Juliette had to come with me since school was out yesterday and Matt had to take the oral part of his comprehensive exams (he passed...YAY!). At first the doctor was having a little trouble finding the heartbeat, which can be typical when they are still really small, but she finally found it (whew!) and it was 164 bpm. I'd been praying that the visit would go well since I had Juliette with me. (After Juliette heard the heartbeat and the doctor was about to leave the room, Juliette told her "I prayed for us to have a baby." And the doctor said, "Your prayers were answered, weren't they?" It was really sweet.)
Funny things Juliette has said or done in regards to my pregnancy:  The night we told her we were having a baby she said to me, "So, you and Daddy are my boss, but I can be the baby's boss!" She wasn't too happy to learn that wasn't going to be the case. She now says she's going to be a "helper boss" (meaning she gets to help me and WAY down the road when she and the baby--much older child by then--are left home alone, she gets to be the boss).

A few weeks ago, I told Juliette all about breastfeeding...to prepare her in case I decide to breastfeed. (I couldn't breastfeed her, and I'm undecided what I'm going to do with this one.) Anyway, after having to give way too many uncomfortable details, Juliette was appalled at the whole thing and kept saying, "What? Gross!!" I just had to laugh.

Also, what she has found to be gross...peeing in a cup. Since I had to take her to the doctor with me yesterday, she's learning all kinds of things! She was almost equally appalled about the peeing in the cup as she was the breastfeeding. While we were in the bathroom at the doctor's office, she asked me in a whisper, "Does the nurse know your pregnant?"


I've got some blogging I need to catch up on...stuff like Easter, t-ball, and more. So, check back soon for all that stuff, and then every month I'll be giving a pregnancy update (and patiently waiting until June 25th when we are scheduled to find out whether it's a boy or a girl). 

If you've been reading my blog regularly (or as regularly as I post, which is not very regularly), then you know that we've been trying to get pregnant since last summer. I had a horrible doctor's visit in October, swore off doctors for a few months, made an appointment for a visit in January to a new doctor (a female one this time), and then at the last minute felt led by God to cancel it and wait a little longer. I made a new one for March 12th and felt very at peace about it.

In February, Juliette, on her own accord, started praying consistently every night (and oftentimes at meal times too) for "God to put a baby in mommy's tummy." We had not talked about having problems getting pregnant in front of her...she just decided she was ready for a little sister or brother and she needed to pray about it.

On March 5th, after suspecting that I might be pregnant (because I had been feeling some implantation aches and just felt a little "off"), I took a pregnancy test that morning...one of the ones with words.


However, March 5th was also the day that Matt had to take his last comprehensive exam, so I didn't want to tell him that morning in case it distracted him from his test. I went to work and kept my little secret all day long...longest work day ever! As soon as Matt walked in the door from his test (around 5:15), I pulled him into the bathroom to show him the pregnancy test that I had saved from that morning. He got all excited and wanted to tell Juliette right away, but I wanted to wait until I was further along. He overruled me and said it would be too hard to live in the same house with her and not talk about it, so Matt told her. At first she didn't believe him (because he is always joking with her), but once I told her it was true, she started jumping up and down, and asking a bazillion questions. (Seriously, even after I put her to bed that night, she got up and came and asked me more questions--one being, "How do you know it's coming out in November?") Juliette at one point did say, "My wish came true!" to which I replied, "Prayers aren't wishes. God answered your prayer." She said, "That was fast!" And I said, "It sure was," thinking to myself, if only all prayers were answered that fast! Obviously, my same prayer took longer than a month to answer! It was so great, though, to see God answer her prayer in such a tangible way.

My mom had also been praying for my body to "act normally," and I can not tell you how excited I was to see my cycles becoming more regular and to be able to conceive this baby naturally without medication. I have never been "normal" in that area, and it thrilled me!

God has shown me time and time again (through getting pregnant with Juliette; finding my job at UL; etc.) that his timing is the perfect timing, and once again, he showed up! And, it is 100 percent his doing, because, like I said, I wasn't taking any medications to control my cycle or control my ovulation date (which would have possibly put me in control of my due date). Our due date is November 13th. Since I'll be having a repeat c-section, the baby will be born the week before. I will have 6 weeks of sick leave accrued by then. When you add the 6 weeks, plus the 2 days we have for Thanksgiving holidays, it takes me right up to the 2 weeks the university is closed for Christmas, allowing me 8 weeks at home. Talk about perfect planning! I could only dream of it working out like that!

Since I had the March 12th appointment already with the new doctor, when I called, they told me to keep it, so I went in and had some blood work done (to confirm the pregnancy and check my progesterone levels). My progesterone was low, which wasn't a problem I had with Juliette (but I had been taking progesterone on and off for over a year when I got pregnant with her so that's probably why), so they prescribed me Prometrium (progesterone) and told me that it was a possibility I might miscarry if my progesterone levels didn't increase. I was told to come back in 5 days for more blood work. (This was all God too because normally the doctor would not have seen me until 8 weeks, which might have been too late.) Those 5 days drug by (literally and physically, the Prometrium makes you even more tired than normal first trimester tiredness) and I was incredibly nervous. I prayed a lot, and Dr. Google helped calm my fears when I realized that low progesterone in the first trimester is quite common for a lot of women. The blood work came back great, and since then, I've had an ultrasound and the baby looks good and has a strong heartbeat.

Picture is upside down so that you can see the baby right side up!

I'm giving God the glory and thanking Him for all the answered prayers and this incredible miracle of life! I can't wait to share this pregnancy with you through my blog...we are so excited and feel incredibly blessed!

"I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him." - 1 Samuel 1:27