Birth Class

Sam and I attended Birth Class at the hospital last weekend. Rather than taking a class a week for 7 or 8 weeks, we decided to take the accelerated class offered on Saturdays from 8 to 4:30. What a day! I was the least pregnant student in the class but greatly appreciated the suggestions by friends to take the class as early as possible. I can’t imagine sitting that long during the last couple of months of pregnancy. I would definitely recommend others to do the same.

The instructor was a very good teacher. She was realistic and never seemed too preachy or too optimistic. The class covered the basics: how to tell when you are really going into labor, what will happen when you get to the hospital, pain management (medication!), relaxation techniques (“hee hee hee woo”), hospital tours (the facilities are really nice), recovery time after baby, infant care and breastfeeding. I had hoped we would make it through the class without any videos – WRONG. I think there were four in total. Only one was bad – most were computer generated images (thank heavens for technology!).

The funniest part of the day occurred at the beginning of class. After introducing ourselves and telling the class our favorite part of pregnancy (I think there were a couple of girls who really struggled with this one), the instructor separated the men and women into different rooms. We were instructed to go around the room and share our least favorite thing about pregnancy. The girls were pretty predictable: morning sickness, back pains, heartburn, bed rest, etc. According to Sam, the men had quite a lot to get off their chest and the session quickly turned into a “list everything we hate about our wives” session. Sam said he and another father tried to be a little more positive by saying that they were just worried about having a healthy baby and momma (I am sure they got some nasty stares). I know I am not as far along as some of these women and I am willing to admit that Sam and I aren’t always perfect BUT I can’t imagine feeling the way these men felt about pregnancy. There wives must not be a cool as I am J Seriously, I guess it just showed us how lucky we are to have each other. Sam has been wonderful and I am thankful for him everyday. I could post pages about all the helpful things he does on a regular basis (and maybe one day I will). I can’t imagine sharing this experience with anyone else!

Twist and Shout

We have been shouting for joy at the Coverdale house this last week! Seems that little Harrison has figured out how to twist and KICK! I have been feeling little twitches and thumps for the last few weeks but last Friday Harrison really let me have it with several powerful kicks. They were so hard and lasted so long that I could share them with Sam. Since then I have been feeling lots of little movements.

He seems to be on a schedule (he is kicking me even as I type this) usually occurring before breakfast, again mid-morning, a little after lunch and right around bedtime. I hope he is so schedule oriented when he joins the outside world!

It really makes it all seem more real. I know I have seen the pictures and heard the heartbeat but those little kicks are really amazing. It isn't just a 2D image with the ability to thump. It is a real live moving baby boy!

I know there will be a time in a couple of months where I will wish I could get a break from all the kicking. For now, keep them coming little guy! I am loving it!

Busy Weekend

Wow! What a fun and busy weekend we had. Sam’s parents came for the weekend to visit on their way back to Iowa. Sam’s dad is now retired so hopefully that means we will be seeing a lot more of them. It is always fun to have visitors! Sam and his dad were very busy working on projects around the house. They put the crown molding up in the baby’s room (The baby’s room is really coming along, I hope to have pictures soon!) and made some repairs to the gutters on the garage. With all the rain we have been having, they might have been smarter to just build an ark :-)

Sam’s mom and I took advantage of the free time to do a little shopping. We visited Baby Time to pick out the glider for the baby’s room. It is a sweet blue and white gingham print. We also did a little shopping for maternity clothes (the Oak Court Macy’s has a wonderful selection). I really needed some new things to wear to work. It really helps to have a shopping buddy around to help you make decisions. I got 5 cute tops that I will be able to wear to work/church. What a successful trip!

Sam’s mom got a case of the “Grandmother Bug” and showered little Harrison with lots of cute gifts. He received his first official Florida Gator onsie with matching booties. He and his daddy are going to look super cute in their Gator apparel watching the games this year. She also gave us a sweet layette set for his first few weeks home from the hospital and a really cute knit outfit for when he is a little older. He is going to be one well dressed baby!

Sunday afternoon we decided that Harrison needed a little culture. We all visited the Dixon Museum for the “Cassatt to Wyeth: American Masterworks from the Cedarhurst Center for the Arts” exhibit. The Dixon Museum is a really nice museum and is the perfect size for a short day outing. We really enjoyed the exhibit and I especially enjoyed walking around the beautiful gardens.

We followed the museum with a visit downtown to see the rising Mississippi River along Mud Island (where Sam and I use to live). I am pretty sure the river is higher than I have ever seen it!


We ended our day with a nice dinner out with some of Sam’s friends from Graduate School who were passing through Memphis. It is always nice to catch up with old friends!

All in all it was a really nice weekend. After all the activity, I am looking forward to putting my feet up a bit and taking a break. At least until next weekend...

Big Surprise

I have half the mind to hold you in suspense for 30 minutes like the ultrasound technician did. Slowly torturing you with pictures of vital organs that would have been of great interest to me had I not been on pins and needles to know the gender of the baby. I know these things are important and I was relieved to learn that our little bundle of joy passed all the ultrasound tests with flying colors. But let’s cut to the chase! After about 30 minutes of torture and blurry images the tech zoomed in on something that seemed familiar. I have seen lots of gender ultrasound pictures and knew immediately what I was looking at. As she typed “leg” and “bottom” on the screen I knew exactly what was coming next. She slowly typed “I am a … B – O – Y!” just as I had predicted. I quickly looked over at Sam because I wanted to see his reaction. A puzzled look washed over his face. I don’t think he believed the technician. He wanted to be absolutely certain about this critical piece of information! He made her show him every detail until he could see with his own eyes the proof that he was in fact having a son. Once Sam had been convinced to his liking, it was all smiles from there!

I had mixed feelings about the whole ultrasound experience that had nothing to do with the results. I am thrilled we have a healthy baby and I can’t wait to raise our little boy. What an adventure it will be! I think I just expected to see more. I mean the experience is pretty amazing but it is a challenge to be full of joy and awe when the tech is pushing hard on your already full bladder and you are craning your neck to catch a glimpse of something on the little monitor. Sam said I should have spoken up and he is right. The monitor was not turned far enough toward me and the tech (who is new to the practice) sped through most of the images before I had a moment to take them in. Luckily this was all forgotten when she brought out the 4D wand. This was truly amazing! The sweet little baby almost looked lifelike on the screen. First he sucked his thumb, then he did something that resembled a wave (all 5 fingers clearly visible), then as if telling us he had had enough of all these photography sessions he nuzzled his hand against his face like he was taking a little nap. I was spellbound and all the troubles of the previous 30 minutes were long gone. I was in love with my baby boy!

We are pleased to introduce the future Samuel “Harrison” Coverdale:

No Appointment Today

The lab technician that does the ultrasounds couldn't be in the office today. They rescheduled our appointment for tomorrow afternoon. :-(

Hopefully, we will have good news to post tomorrow!

Baby Gifts!

Sorry it has been a while since my last post. I am trying to keep up! I have spent the last week recovering from my mini-vacation down to Fairhope. It was so nice to get the opportunity to visit my parents. Even though we got to share our pregnancy news with my parents over Christmas, this was the first time we really got to talk baby and shop baby in person.

My parents were wonderful hosts! The fridge was filled with all my favorite items (fresh fruit and yummy almond cookies – thanks so much Mrs. Smith!), there were lots of fun surprises ready for me to open on arrival (more later), and my dad prepared lots of yummy home-cooked meals. As an added bonus, the weather couldn’t have been much nicer. Since it was Fairhope’s Arts and Crafts Festival, most of our time was spent walking around downtown enjoying the festival. We also visited a few baby and maternity stores downtown so I could show mom what I liked and didn’t like (I think I liked everything!).

As I said above, there were lots of gifts waiting for me when I got home. My mom had been very busy sewing lots of beautiful things for the baby. She had also done a little shopping too. It was really fun – these were my first baby gifts! Here are some of the fun baby items (sorry the picture quality isn’t great..it really doesn’t do the pretty items justice):

Little bunny bowl - like I use to have when I was little

Pretty little bib
Sweet sack handmade by mom (like a little sweater)

Detail on sack
Pretty handmade day gown (also made by mom)

This will probably be my last post until next week. I am going in for my BIG sonogram this Monday. If all goes well, I will know the gender of the baby the next time I post. I am so excited but also a little nervous. While my focus has been finding out the gender of the baby, there are also a lot of “tests” being performed by the technician. Above all we are hoping the technician gets lots of good readings and sees a very healthy baby!

Snow Day

For everyone living north of Memphis these pictures won't seem like much but the snow last night was a pretty big deal for those of us living way down south. This is the first real snow we have had this year. The snow started yesterday afternoon and continued until about midnight last night. The news said there were about 6 to 7 inches of snow.

We really enjoyed waking up to the winter wonderland outside. Here are some pictures of our adventures outside. I think Lilly enjoyed the snow the most!

Our house covered in snow.

Lilly running in the snow.

Sam and Lilly really liked the snow.

I liked the snow too! I couldn't resist making a snow angel.

I hope everyone is enjoying these last few days of winter because spring is almost here!

Look Ma, No Cavities!

After stressing out over the semi-annual dentist appointment for about a month I finally got up the nerve to call and make an appointment. Normally, there is little to no stress in our house over dentist appointments. This appointment was a little different than others I have experience due to the little baby growing inside of me.

For the last few months, the toothbrush and I have been archenemies. There were weeks where the very idea of brushing my teeth could induce a combination of nausea and tears (over said nausea). At my very worst, I would brush my teeth while showering (the water was distracting) with a plain toothbrush and followed the brushing with a mouthwash rinse. Recently I have been able to return to my regular brushing schedule but I still only brush for the very minimal amount of time required.

Due to the brushing phobia, I didn’t think it would be wise to schedule a dentist appointment during my first trimester but I didn’t see any harm making an appointment now that I was several weeks into my second trimester. I had two basic fears about going to the dentist.

1. Failure to brush thoroughly for the last couple of months would result in cavities or at least really yucky teeth that would require extreme painful cleaning.
   
2. My gag reflex would result in a very unpleasant appointment for both me and the dental hygienist.

I am happy to report (as my title indicated) that I didn’t have any cavities and that I didn’t puke on anyone. I celebrated both accomplishments by treating myself to lunch at the Pei Wei Restaurant around the corner from the dentist office. Yummy!

Water Works

I can think of plenty of pregnancy symptoms I have encountered so far that just seem cruel - morning sickness (it should be called endless motion sickness), dizziness, extreme exhaustion, and several body functions that we just won’t get into here.

There are also several pregnancy symptoms that I think are kind of funny (note: I probably have a warped sense of humor). One I have shared in the past that is still plaguing me is crazy dreams. While the dreams have subsided a little bit over the last few weeks, I am still having my fair share. Poor Sam received the wrath of this particular symptom last night when my sleep talking woke him up. Evidently my dream was so bad that I was sobbing loudly in my sleep. I have a vague recollection of the dream and it was pretty frightening.

Even funnier than the crazy dreams is the newest pregnancy symptom I have developed which is crying fits. At this point these crying fits are fairly brief and are usually provoked by heartwarming news stories or television programs. In my non-pregnant state I am not one to cry over these sorts of things. I have been known to tear up a little over a touching book (see: “Marley & Me”) or a movie (anything based on a Nicolas Sparks novel) but otherwise I am pretty tough. I have been told that this is just the beginning and that I should be prepared for more extreme cases of this to come. According to a coworker, by his wife’s third trimester of pregnancy she couldn’t watch a long distance commercial without tearing up.

Last night’s episode was sparked by a story on the nightly news. It was one of those “feel good” stories that they end the news programs with. This particular story was about a lady that recycles flowers from weddings and other events to take to the elderly patients in nursing homes. The image of those sweet little ladies receiving flower arrangements was all it took to start the water works. Based on what has triggered tears in the last couple of weeks, I have noticed I am particularly sensitive to stories involving the elderly and the disabled. This sudden sensitivity really amuses Sam and who could blame him? The sight of a grown woman crying over a sappy news story has to be pretty funny. I can’t imagine how much ridicule I will get if and when I start crying over commercials. I know one thing for sure, we are going to have to add Kleenex to the shopping list!

Is There a Red Head in my Future?

Greeting bloggers! Here is another development update for those of you keeping track. Big things are happening this week in baby land. Turns out this week is when the baby's hair color is determined. Will baby Coverdale take after its daddy? Guess we will have to wait and see!

PS - There is even a great fruit reference below for those of you following along. Enjoy!

Week 15: Skin Begins to Form

Your baby's skin starts out nearly transparent. Eyebrows and scalp hair may make an appearance. For babies destined to have dark hair, the hair follicles will begin producing pigment.

The bone and marrow that make up your baby's skeletal system are continuing to develop this week. Your baby's eyes and ears now have a baby-like appearance, and the ears have almost reached their final position.

Curious why your body is finally looking like it's pregnant? That's because your baby is growing bigger each week — he or she is as long as four and a half inches right now. Need a better visual (and a snack)? Hold a large navel orange in your hand — that's how big your little darlin' is.

Baby Furniture

We picked out our baby's furniture today. We found a collection that we really loved and thought it would be a good idea to go ahead and get it ordered. The pieces we purchase are shown below - we ordered the pieces in white (not brown). We got the crib, the full size bed conversion kit, the dresser, hutch and mattress. We plan on using the dresser as the changing table. It should be delivered in about eight weeks. I can't wait to see it in the room!



We bought everything from a local store in Memphis. After shopping around we felt like they had the best selection and we loved their staff. The store is called Babytime and I recommend it to everyone in Memphis - they carry baby furniture as well lots of other baby items. We will most likely register there since they have such a nice collection of items. It is definitely a better shopping experience than the panic attack inducing chain stores!

13 Week Check Up

Had a fairly routine doctor's visit today. The doctor just took my blood pressure (v. good), weight (haven't gained a pound - the doctor was very pleased), listened to the baby's heartbeat (thumping away), and took a few measurements. It seemed really funny to see the doctor measuring my stomach with a measuring tape. Like the Doppler machine, it seems so low tech but I guess it's another one of those "if it ain't broke don't fix it" sort of things. We also went over my blood work results from the last visit and talked about the pro's and con's of genetic testing. We decided against the optional cystic fibrosis testing and Dr. Austin was very supportive of this decision.

The highlight of the visit (other than getting a positive bill of health of course) was making the appointment for our next visit. This appointment is significant because this is the BIG sonogram visit! As long as our little one decides to cooperate, we should be able to determine the sex of the baby at the next visit. I can not even begin to describe how excited I am about finding out the sex of the baby. The appointment is set for March 24th at 8:30. Five weeks and counting!

Sweet Dreams???

According to "Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy," vivid dreams and nightmares are common during pregnancy. Boy are they right on!

Here is a brief sampling of some of the most disturbing vivid dreams I have had over the last month (I am hoping for a good dream sometime soon):

• I am attacked by a coyote while walking on the farm at the home of one of my parent's friends. I plead for help from Mrs. Johnson and beg her to shoot the coyote with the gun she is holding but she refuses stating that they do not believe in killing defenseless animals. Mrs. Johnson was very amused by this story!

• During my job as a convenient store clerk in a gas station, I am robbed at gun point and my car is stolen. I wake up just as I am running down the street in tears chasing after my car.
  

• I attend a rooftop party with lots of friends. As I am leaving I look over to another roof and see one of my good friends drowning in a pool. We are able to rescue her but still the experience is quite traumatic.

• I receive a phone call from an ex-boyfriend asking me to go to dinner. While I am out at dinner, Sam sees a news story saying that my ex is wanted for killing his significant other. In a panic he tries to contact me but is too late. His call arrives just as my ex reveals his desire to murder me. Luckily I wake up right at that moment as well.

• The next dream started unlike others - with a positive twist. Sam and I win a raffle and receive a beautiful Victorian home. Sam goes out without me and buys a ton of furniture to fill the house. Unfortunately, I hate all of the furniture! I beg him to return the furniture but he refuses and continues to move the awful pieces into the house. I decide that I can't take any more and say that I will never live in the home. Sam and I decide that our marriage can't take the stress of the furniture and that we must separate. I am sure there are some physiologist that would have a field day with that one!

• My most recent dream was the first to actually relate to pregnancy. Sam and I decided that we wanted to interview nannies. The first interview goes really well and we like the candidate. As she leaves another nanny arrives unannounced - we are a little confused but decide to interview her anyway. The interview is very strange and it is very clear that we will not be hiring this nanny. As the lady is leaving she blocks the door and insist on knowing if we will be hiring her. We say that we are sorry but that we think we have already identified our nanny. Since she didn't get the job, our nanny decides to rob us instead. She takes all of the contents of our living room in a matter of minutes. I think we have been watching the Memphis news a little too much!

I promise that I have been very happy over the last few months and I am not as disturbed as my dreams have been! Hope everyone else is having sweet dreams!

Super STORM Tuesday

What a night we had! Terrible storms came through Memphis last night and hit many areas within the city. We are happy to report that Sam, Lilly and I were safe and sound in our house watching the news from our bedroom closet as the tornados came through the Memphis area. We didn't have any damage in our immediate area but many places in the city weren't so lucky. There were several offices and warehouses that were hit within blocks of our office complex. Our offices are closed today due to power outages and damage to the buildings in the complex. We drove out to the office a little while ago so I could get my laptop. (I didn't realize I would need it today!) We were shocked by the damage in the area. It is going to take quite a while for everything to be repaired. Sam's building sustained quite a bit of damage. My building looked pretty good and it was currently up on generators. I don't know when we will go back into work. We feel very blessed that we were not at work when the storms hit (thanks to Sam for being overly cautious and making me go home early) and that we were safe and sound in our home.

What a night we had! Terrible storms came through Memphis last night and hit many areas within the city. We are happy to report that Sam, Lilly and I were safe and sound in our house watching the news from our bedroom closet as the tornados came through the Memphis area. We didn't have any damage in our immediate area but many places in the city weren't so lucky. There were several offices and warehouses that were hit within blocks of our office complex. Our offices are closed today due to power outages and damage to the buildings in the complex. We drove out to the office a little while ago so I could get my laptop. (I didn't realize I would need it today!) We were shocked by the damage in the area. It is going to take quite a while for everything to be repaired. Sam's building sustained quite a bit of damage. My building looked pretty good and it was currently up on generators. I don't know when we will go back into work.

Here are some pictures one of Sam's coworkers took of the area around our offices:

Street in front of Sam's building

The plant across the street from our complex

Leaving our complex...there use to be a stop light here and a guard tower across the street.

The corner of Sam's building

The back of Sam's building

We feel very blessed that we were not at work when the storms hit (thanks to Sam for being overly cautious and making me go home early) and that we were safe and sound in our home.

10 1/2 Week Update

Sorry that there hasn’t been much on the blog lately. I have been spending my free time in full research mode. The last couple of weeks have been devoted to:

1. Reading the “Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy” from cover to cover
2. Researching baby furniture, bedding, clothing, safety items and more in my “Baby Bargains” book
3. Researching Child Care options – I made great progress on this topic today when I was suppose to be working
4. Designing baby rooms – I will write an entry soon and share a few of my ideas
5. Sharing our exciting news with family, friends and anyone who will listen
6. Reading "Your Baby's First Year Week by Week" - I still haven't gotten through the first week yet so I have a ways to go on this one

I am doing really well and I am happy to report that morning sickness has almost fully disappeared. My tired spells seem to be decreasing for the time being. I still feel like I am going to crash everyday at 3pm and I get exhausted after doing something simple like cooking dinner but at least I can stay awake past 8pm. Hopefully this newfound energy will hang around for a while.

We have enjoyed sharing our news with family and friends over the last couple of weeks. We still have a few people to tell but overall we have gotten the word out pretty quickly. Everyone has a different reaction and I have enjoyed getting to share our excitement. My favorite reactions so far have been:

Rhena (coworker) broke out into tears and said she felt like a proud aunt - very sweet

Max (coworker) spit coffee at me – I learned to make sure people swallow before sharing big news

Forrest (friend) gave me a high five – such a wonderful boy response

Anita (coworker) screamed and effectively communicated my news to the rest of the office

It really is fun to surprise people with the news. This baby has an amazing group of people eager to welcome it into the world. We feel so blessed to have some many wonderful friend to share this amazing experience with.

Blueberries, Grapes, Strawberries, and Shrimp

You may think I am talking about what I had to eat today or maybe my latest cravings but if you are familiar with baby books you may have guessed that I am talking about terms used to describe the size of the baby during the first trimester. While I agree that common foods are a little easier to visualize than size dimensions, it is a little funny to think about the baby as any of these items. Blueberries and grapes (sizes that we have passed) are pretty standard in size and easy to imagine. Strawberries and shrimp are a little harder to picture...is it a popcorn shrimp or a prawn??? Either way, it sort of makes it hard to imagine eating any of these foods and I am sure it will inspire some pretty interesting dreams to add to my list of strange pregnancy dreams (I will have to dedicate one of my upcoming blogs to the crazy dreams I have had).

For those that are curious, I thought it would be fun to include a baby status update so you can see how much our little strawberry has grown:

Week 9: Movement Begins

Your baby is now nearly 1 inch long and weighs a bit less than 1/8 of an ounce. The embryonic tail at the bottom of your baby's spinal cord is shrinking, helping him or her look less like a tadpole and more like a developing person.

Your baby's head — which is nearly half the size of his or her entire body — is now tucked down onto the chest. Nipples and hair follicles begin to form. Your baby's pancreas, bile ducts, gallbladder and anus are in place. The internal reproductive organs, such as testes or ovaries, start to develop.

Your baby may begin moving this week, but you won't be able to feel it for quite a while yet.

Third Visit with the Doctor

We had another good trip to the doctor today. Doctor Austin did a full check up and said everything looked great and the baby seemed to be growing like it should. Always nice to know everything is on track. We got to listen to the heartbeat again. This time they used a Doppler to listen to the heartbeat (last time we "listened" using the sonogram). I don't know why but I thought the Doppler would be some advance scientific tool. I was really surprised when they pulled something out that looked like a radio someone would have found in a second hand store. It was a surprisingly low-tech tool but I guess I can't complain since it did exactly what it was suppose to do.

I think we might have gotten a glimpse at our little shrimp's personality for the first time this week. No matter how hard Doctor Austin tried he just couldn't seem to get the baby's heartbeat. The baby was hiding right next to one of my veins and the sound of my heartbeat was hiding the baby's heartbeat. After about 5 minutes of searching we were finally able to hear the faint little beating of the babies heart. It is so amazing to hear the heartbeat. There are two beats of the baby's heart for every one beat of mine. What was really neat is that every other baby beat was exactly at the same time as my heartbeat. While that may be explained medically and/or very common it was still amazing to me. Now when I feel my heartbeat I imagine a second little thump in between it and imagine I am listening to the baby's heart.

I also had blood work done. I guess my skin was a little sensitive this time but it hurt a lot more than the blood work I had done in the past. I felt like such a wimp! They took lots of blood so I guess they have lots of test to do.

Doctor Austin gave us the thumbs up to start sharing our news. Many people wait until the end of their first trimester (12 weeks) to announce their pregnancy. We didn't want to rush telling people if there was still a strong risk but Doctor Austin felt like our risk was greatly diminished by the established heartbeat. That was just the confirmation we needed so we are going to start telling people this week. We have told family and a few close friends but we still have many loved ones to share the news with. I can't wait!

Our next appointment will be in a month (February 18). Since we have decided not to do the optional genetic screening tests, I think it will be just a routine checkup and will be pretty uneventful. The next big appointment will be late March or early April (18 - 20 weeks). This will be the next time we do a sonogram and hopefully we will be able to determine the baby's gender as well. Definitely something to look forward to!

Splish Splash

I have started water aerobics. My first class was on Friday and I went again this afternoon. What a treat! I think this is one of the few exercise programs I look forward to. Our YMCA recently put a large enclosure around our outdoor pool. It is surprisingly warm despite the really cold temperatures outside.

The class is available everyday except for Sunday so it shouldn't be too hard to go several times a week. They offer a shallow version and a deep version. I have been going to the shallow version so far since it is offered a little earlier in the evening but I am hoping to try the deep version soon. The ladies in the class are really nice - I am the youngest by far but I think the older ladies like having a young person around. I have almost instantly become friends with a sweet lady named Virginia. She even gave me a little hug after class and said she looked forward to seeing me on Wednesday. How sweet!

I am hoping that this will be an exercise program that I can continue well into my third trimester. The instructor we have had so far is certified in rehabilitation aerobics so I feel like I am in really good hands. One thing I know for sure is that I will be sleeping really well tonight.

Second (Unexpected) Doctor’s Appointment

We had an emergency appointment with the doctor today. I had been experiencing some cramping the last couple of days and was starting to get a little concerned. Between the cramping, the cold, a decrease in morning sickness over the last few days and my past history I had gotten really worried. After a couple of restless nights I decided that there was no reason to worry myself any longer. I talked to Amy’s mom first (it is so nice to have a nurse to talk to) and she suggested that I go ahead and call the doctor. The nurse at Dr. Austin’s office was very pleasant and while she said she didn’t think there was cause for concern, she knew it would be better for me to have peace of mind so they scheduled an appointment for me to come in right away and see one of the doctors in the practice.

Our prayers were answered and the check up went really well. Since I was an emergency visit they just scheduled me with the next available doctor. The doctor we met with was really nice and very helpful but I have no idea what her name was! I am going to have to find out because I really liked her. She said that everything looked good and that most likely I was just experiencing cramping due to dehydration from the cold I was having. Based on my dry skin and chapped lips I felt like that was a good possibility. They were also going to run some test to make sure there weren’t any signs of infections. I should hear back from them in the next 24 hours if there are any problems. The last possibility was the funniest by far. Even though we had a sonogram last time she felt like we needed to do another just in case to check for twins. The look on Sam’s face was priceless!

The sonogram confirmed that there was only one baby (thank goodness!) and that its heart was still beating away. I was really surprised how much it had grown in the last week. As I was laying there checking out our little blueberry the sonogram technician turned on the sound so we could hear the heartbeat. What fun! Normally they don’t let you hear the heart so soon but she felt like we needed a little treat to make up for the last few days of worrying. Boy that little heart beats fast. Sam and I had lots of fun imitating it on the way home.

So I am happy to say that we are both healthy. I am trying to increase my water consumption. Now that my morning sickness has subsided a little it is a lot easier to drink fluids. Hopefully this cold will go away soon and I will be back to 100%

PS - I think this picture is even fuzzier than the last but it was a normal sonogram and it isn't magnified as much as the last time. Don't worry if you don't know what you are looking at...if I hadn't seen the heart beating I wouldn't have a clue either!

Joys of Pregnancy

I can’t really say that the New Year has gotten off to a great start. These last few days haven’t been much fun. Morning sickness has become almost constant and has now been compounded by a very bad cold. Battling a cold with little to no medication isn't much fun. Yuck!

Luckily I have been able to take a little time off work to relax. I have slept so much in the last couple of days. I think I have been alseep more than I have been awake. Hopefully the worst of the cold is over and I will be back to feeling better in no time.

It's Friday night and I am spending it in my PJ's. Really exciting stuff but I am really looking forward to a weekend of doing nothing!