Moving Sites...

For the handful of people that actually read this blog, I want you to know that I will no longer be posting anything on this blog. I am consolidating, and will only be posting on my "regular" blog at http://cagallup.blogspot.com. Please visit that one to read about our pitiful boring life. I will post the same pregnancy related things there. I am trying to simplify things, and this will hopefully help. Peace Out Cub Scout - Ha!

We've Got A Cheerleader

We've got a future cheerleader on the way! :)




A side note, completely unrelated....I have already started thinking of this year's Halloween costume. Don't judge me. I'm thinking of something like this....

Our little sweet pea Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha

17 Weeks -

My how things have changed this week. We now know we are having a girl - yay! I really can't believe it. My whole life I've always pictured myself with a daughter (probably because I grew up in a family with mostly girls) and now it's happening. Since seeing our daughter move around on Monday I am falling more in love with her every minute. I am constantly wondering what she is doing...is she sleeping, sucking her thumb, moving around, practicing her toe touches, listening to what I'm saying, etc. I feel so blessed. God has chosen us to be parents, and I am experiencing a miracle every day. It's so cool how God's plan works out...he has perfect timing, and takes care of everything - thank goodness!

Yesterday we started talking about names, and it's not getting any easier. There are so many names out there, and I want to find just the right one. I pray that God will reveal just the right one for our sweet girl.

This week sweet pea is growing growing growing. Her skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord - her lifeline to the placenta - is growing stronger and thicker. Sweet pea weights 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop. [from http://www.babycenter.com/]

Life as a pregnant lady couldn't be better. I now have a closet full of cute, new maternity clothes, thanks to the generosity of my family. I am now able to wear some items as my belly is growing each day. I have not experienced any balance issues yet, but then again, I've never had very good balance (so now I may be normal to most women). I am not wearing high heeled shoes right now because I do feel like I am going to topple over and they bother my sciatic nerve. I am dropping a lot of things...like glasses. In the last 2 months I have dropped and broken 5 drinking glasses. Can we say klutz.

I am walking as often as I can around the neighborhood, and eating more fruits and vegetables. I am thankful that a dessert craving can be met by eating some fruit.

We Are Having.....

This morning we went to Prenatal Peek to see our precious Sweet Pea. I was told to eat a light sugar filled breakfast and bring some orange juice with me. I ate a bowl of cereal, donuts and orange juice. It wasn't a light breakfast but it sure was sugar filled. (I am experiencing a major sugar crash now, yuk)

We invited my mom and sister to join us. (both in hand with a present if it was a boy or a girl) We had so much fun. The technician started the ultrasound and sweet pea was moving all over the place. It's so hard for me to believe that the baby is moving around so much inside of me, and I can't feel it yet. As soon as the baby showed up on the screen I heard my mom crying. She was so happy!

Kiki before she started crying.

It didn't take long before the technician announced that we are having....
A Girl!

We are sooooo excited to say the least! I kept telling my husband, "you're going to have a daughter." I just know he will fall in love with her and she will have him wrapped around her tiny finger.

After the ultrasound Mom and my sister handed us our gifts. They are so sweet. C had to go back to work so the ladies went shopping. Oh my the things I bought. We're in trouble people....I already know it. I am going to really try to not buy any more clothes until we see what we really need. This shopping trip was just a fun celebratory spree. He He!

We ate lunch at California Dreaming then went to another boutique store. It was a great day. I can't wait to see C when he gets home from work so we can start discussing names.

4 to 10

In just a few short hours I will be having an ultrasound that will hopefully tell us the sex of baby Gallup! I cannot believe it. I'm hoping baby Gallup is awake and practicing his/her toe touches - ha! We want to see the goods!
4 of you say you think we will have a precious baby boy, and 10 of you say we will have a sweet baby girl. I will post later today to reveal if Sweet Pea will be a future baseball player.....

......

Or a future Cheerleader....

We'll see...

Can You See The Baby Bump?

I think it's very obvious. Do you? Let me know if my eyes or correct or if I need glasses.

Pre-pregnancy...........16 weeks pregnant

16 Weeks - Avocado

4 Months along. I know I say this a lot, but I really can't believe how fast each week goes by. I guess it helps that I've always got something going on. I'm thankful that I am not sitting around and bored. This week I have been wearing some maternity clothes. The pants are so comfortable, I don't think I will ever want to wear regular pants again. Ha!

This week sweet pea (a little tangent - we go to get an ultrasound on Monday to hopefully find out the sex of the baby, and I cannot wait! Yippee!) will be growing rapidly in the next few weeks. Our baby will double its weight and add inches to his/her length. Right now baby Gallup is about the size of an avocado, 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His/her legs are much more developed, his/her head is more erect than it has been, and his/her eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His/her ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of sweet pea's scalp has begun, though the locks aren't recognizable yet. He/she has even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his/her (is anyone else ready for me to say his or her and his/her - me, me) heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as our baby continues to develop. [from www.babycenter.com]

My life is changing some too. The top of my uterus is about halfway between my pubic bone and my navel, and the round ligaments that support it are thickening and stretching as it grows. People are telling me that I'm glowing, but I still think it's from my blush. I have not felt any baby movements yet, but I hope to feel them soon.

Here are pictures of me at 16 weeks (I do not like to see pictures of myself-yuk). A definite baby bump is obvious.

Today's Doctor's Appt.

Today I had my 16 week appointment. First, they changed my time from 1:45 to 11:30. Then, when I arrived everyone was behind so I waited for 1 1/2 hours. I was so bored, and all I could think about was that I should have brought something to do - lesson learned. I was taken back and had a weight check (gained 4 more pounds - woa - probably from celebrating a little too much this weekend) and a blood pressure check (110/70).

Then I saw the midwife. I got to hear the heartbeat again. It was the sweetest heartbeat I've ever heard - ha. It was 140 bpm so if you believe in old wives tales Sweet Pea is a boy. We'll see - only 5 more days until we hopefully find out.

Then we went over boring and depressing insurance stuff and how much I will need to pay when. I am still in sticker shock. Apparently I am very ignorant, and my maternity insurance is different then my health insurance including deductibles and everything. That was not fun. Without going into specifics I'll just say this is going to cost $2,000-$3,000 more then we expected.

Total Weight Gain: 7 lbs (this year I definitely celebrated my birthday by eating all my favorites. This week I'll stick to salads, lean meats and fruit for me - thanks)

Baby's heart beat: 140 bpm

Blood Pressure: 110/70

Hopefully I will get a picture to post tomorrow of my growing belly.

15 weeks - An Apple A Day

Today I'm celebrating my birthday, and thanking God for this healthy pregnancy. It's very fitting that baby Gallup is now about the size of an apple. I eat at least one apple every day. I prefer Gala apples - yum!

I cannot believe how fast each week is flying by. This past week has been very exciting with preparing for the baby's arrival into our home. Our baby's future nursery is now my husband's office. We will be moving his desk into the guest room so the past three evenings I have organized every inch of our guest room. Tonight we will move some furniture around, and when I say we - I mean my husband (no mom I'm not lifting anything heavy) will move his desk into the guest room. It might be a little cramped, but it will have to do for now. Then he will organize and clean out the rest of the office. We will rip up the old nasty carpet - yuck, and I will tackle the dreaded office closet. Inside this closet is where I keep everything I don't know what to do with. Since we have lived in our house (4 1/2 years) I have organized this closet 5 or 6 times and it always ends up junky and messy again. Ugh! What in the world ends up in this closet you may ask? Well, it's my wrapping, craft, sewing, gift stuff. It really doesn't have that much stuff in it, but I often end up wrapping gifts in such a hurry that I just throw everything in the closet instead of putting it back in its proper place. So, my goal is that by Monday I will have this entire closet empty.

I'm sure you are very bored with hearing about my boring plans of cleaning out rooms and closets, so here is what is going on with sweet pea this week;

Our growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces about the size of an apple. He/she is busy moving amniotic fluid through his/her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in the lungs begin to develop. Sweet pea's legs are growing longer than his/her arms now, and he/she can move all of his/her joints and limbs. Although baby Gallup's eyelids are still fused shut, he/she can sense light. If I were to shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, the baby is likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but is forming taste buds. [from http://www.babycenter.com/]

I've gained 3 pounds already (most people have gained about 5, so I guess that makes me feel better) and for the most part feeling great! Some days I am full of energy and some (like Tuesday) it's a struggle to keep my eyes open. My nose is very stuffy and I can't tell if it's from the pollen that's now falling or from hormonal changes and increased blood flow to my mucous membranes. Which is very common they even have a name for it "rhinitis of pregnancy." C and I are more exited as each week goes by. My next doctor's appointment is March 18 and I will have blood drawn to test for Down syndrome and spinal bifida (sp).

This week we also started baby registries (per the request of many family members) at babies-r-us and Target.

Some friends of ours had their twin girls Tuesday night at 30 weeks. The babies weigh 2 lbs 7 oz. and the other 3 lbs 2 oz. Please pray for Billy and Terri and their babies.

I Got Some Prizes!

Well, they are really gifts, but prizes sounds so fun too. My mom hooked me up this weekend. Look at all the fun things we got!

Maternity clothes, a space saver "high" chair, cloth diapers (for a craft project I am going to do) and a jogging stroller (for the beach next year).

New Threads

Yesterday, when I went home for lunch. A big ole' box greeted me on my front porch. It was full of maternity clothes - 4 pants and 4 tops. From my sweet Aunt. Here are some of the items:

I got this top in white

I cannot wait to wear my new clothes.

14 Weeks - Our Fruit Baby

I'm starting my second trimester! Yay! This is so exciting, and hard to believe that I am 1/3 through this pregnancy. I hope that my posts become a lot more interesting. Not much has really gone on the last 10 weeks or so (which is an answer to prayer - an uneventful pregnancy). From what I understand a lot of things will change an happen starting the next few weeks. As exciting things happen I promise to blog about them.

This week sweet pea can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his/her thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his/her facial muscles are getting a workout as his/her tiny features form one expression after another. Sweet Pea's kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he/she will keep up until birth. Baby Gallup can grasp, too, and if I were to have an ultrasound, I may even catch our little one sucking his/her thumb. In other news: Our baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he/she measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon— and he/she weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His/her body's growing faster than its head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, the arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his/her body. (Although the legs still have some lengthening to do.) Sweet pea's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his/her body. Our baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his/her spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active. [from http://www.babycenter.com/]

Last night I made poppy seed chicken (yumm), and it was hard to believe that 10 weeks ago our baby was the size of a poppy seed. Those suckers are tiny!

Changes in my life: My energy is returning ssssllllooooowwwwlllyyy (because I am able to get most of what I used to get done in a day), my boobs aren't as tender, and my queasiness has gone (except when I smell something nasty). The top of my uterus is a bit above my pubic bone, which is pushing my tummy out. Staring to show is exciting, especially for C. He is now able to see things happening (other than me laying around and throwing up). We are now seeing visible evidence of the baby we've been waiting for. I have been told from several sources to take some time to plan, daydream, and enjoy this amazing time. It's normal to worry a bit now and then, but try to focus on taking care of yourself and your baby, and having faith that you're well equipped for what's ahead.

Mom and I went to Motherhood maternity on Sunday, and I tried on everything (at least it seemed like it) in the store. We had a great time. I am also expecting to receive a package today from my aunt with maternity clothes. I can't wait to try everything on.

This weekend I hope to post about some of the funny questions (at least I think they are funny) that I have been asked already. Thank you so much for all of your prayers, and support. C and I are truly blessed to have so many loving and caring people in our lives, and we can't wait for sweet pea to meet everyone too.

Boy....or Girl....

We get to find out in a few weeks if we are having a precious son or a sweet daughter. This is something that we are very excited to find out, but it really doesn't matter to us the sex of our child. He or she will be loved just as much either way. I have been asked by a surprisingly amount of people if I could choose the sex of my child what would I choose, and I have always said it doesn't matter to me. The more I think about it even if I could choose - I would want God to choose for me. God has supremely planned out our family for us and I wouldn't want to accept anything else.

Another question I am asked alot is if we have names picked out. We have not decided on any names, and we will probably wait a little while to do that.

I have picked out some bedding that I like.

If we have a girl:If we have a boy:

I can't believe today is the last day of my first trimester.

Exhaustion.....Crash!

I know this post consists of a lot of complaining, but please let me vent. I have been more tired this week then I have any other time during the pregnancy. The past two weeks in particular have been extremely busy, and on top of that I have not been getting a good nights sleep because I'm up every 1-2 hours to pee. I know, I know, you all are saying "Girl, you don't know what's it going to be like a a few months when the little one is here." I agree, I don't have a clue and I know I will experience a level of exhaustion like no other....and I can't wait.

After another busy week last week we then had a busy weekend. Friday night I headed to bed early, but only slept about 3 hours - my mind was racing. Saturday we drove to Columbia to celebrate our niece's 4th birthday. It was so great to be there and hang out with the family. Our nieces are precious. Then we drove back that same day. That night I slept probably 2 hours. I woke up at 5:45 a.m. to get ready for church (where I work). Immediately after church my mom and I had a fabulous afternoon. We had lunch and then went to Motherhood Maternity so my mom could buy some maternity clothes for my birthday. It felt like I tried on every thing in the store. We had a great time, but I was worn out. We literally shopped until we dropped. Then we went and got some sweet treats...ice cream. Sunday night I was trying to watch a movie on TV and I fell asleep around 9:30 p.m. I didn't wake up until 6:30 (to use the bathroom) and then I slept until 9 a.m. That's almost 12 hours! It was wonderful. First, I haven't slept until 9 a.m. in sooooo long and I woke up feeling great! Today, I thanked God for the good sleep he blessed me with. He cleared my mind, and I don't even remember dreaming. All day I was thinking of how God never gives you more than you can handle.

Growing....Growing....And Growing

I don't understand how a shrimp is supposed to be larger than the lime. ????

Week 13 - It's A Shrimp On The Barbie

How our little one is growing:

Fingerprints have formed on baby Gallup's tiny fingertips, his/her veins and organs are clearly visible through his/her still-thin skin, and his/her body is starting to catch up with its head — which makes up just a third of the body size now. If baby Gallup is a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Our baby is almost 3 inches long the size of a medium shrimp and weighs nearly an ounce.

According to http://www.babycenter.com/ here is how my life is changing: This is the last week of your first trimester, and your risk of miscarriage is now much lower than earlier in pregnancy. Next week marks the beginning of your second trimester, a time of relative comfort for many women who see early pregnancy symptoms such as morning sickness and fatigue subside. More good news: Many couples also notice a distinct libido lift around this time. Birth is still months away, but your breasts may have already started making colostrum, the nutrient-rich fluid that feeds your baby for the first few days after birth, before your milk starts to flow.

I am feeling great. Again, another very busy week so it's hard to tell if my exhaustion is from that or pregnancy...probably a little of both. Although I am still not wearing maternity clothes I have bought a few things, and that is very exciting. I went through my closet on Saturday and switched my clothes. Now my closet has free flowing lose clothes and the few maternity items I have purchased.

Sunday I will begin organizing our guest room (it's full of clothes that don't fit and gifts) so that we can move C's desk in there. Then I can start working on cleaning out the office and my craft/wrapping closet (which is a disaster). I hope to get those things done in two weeks so we can start replacing flooring and doing other things. Before I know it we will be fining out the sex of our baby and then the real nursery planning begins. Please continue to keep us in your prayers.

12 Weeks - You Put The Lime In The Coconut

Our little sweet pea's fingers will soon begin to open and close, and his/her toes will curl, muscles will clench and the mouth will make sucking movements probably wanting to eat the yummy food mommy is now able to eat (no more morning sickness aka all day sickness). In fact, according to babycenter.com, if I prod my abdomen, sweet pea will squirm in response, although I won't be able to feel it. The intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into the abdominal cavity about now, and his/her kidneys will begin excreting urine into its bladder. Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in our baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. The baby's face looks unquestionably human: sweet pea's eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his/her head, and the ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, sweet pea should be measuring just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.

According to babycenter.com here is how my life's changing: Your uterus has grown to the point where your health care provider can now feel the top of it (the fundus) low in your abdomen, just above your pubic bone. You may already be into maternity clothes, especially if this isn't your first pregnancy. If you're still fairly small and not yet ready for maternity clothes, you've no doubt noticed that your waist is thickening and that you're more comfortable in loose, less restrictive clothing.You may begin to feel heartburn (also called acid indigestion), a burning sensation that often extends from the bottom of your breastbone to your lower throat. Many women get heartburn for the first time during pregnancy, and those who've previously had bouts of heartburn may find that it gets worse. During pregnancy, the placenta produces a lot of the hormone progesterone, which relaxes the valve that separates the esophagus from the stomach. Particularly when you're lying down, gastric acid can seep back up the pipe, which causes the uncomfortable burning sensation. For many women the problem doesn't begin (or get worse) until later in pregnancy, when your growing uterus starts to push up on your stomach. The discomfort may range from mildly annoying to intense and distracting.

It's very obvious to C and I that I'm showing. I have a definite baby bump and I am outgrowing some of my clothes already. Thankfully I lost some weight right before my pregnancy so I have bigger clothes that I am able to wear right now. As I said before my nausea is gone - thank you Lord, and my energy is coming back. Although this week is a very busy week with something to do every evening I am feeling more like myself.

To celebrate our "little lime" I'm going to drink a lime and coconut collada tonight at happy hour. I'm joking, but I might put some lime in my water - ha!

Spoiled...Spoiled With Love

This sweet card is from my mom

I posted this on my other blog too, but I also want it on our "pregnancy" blog, so if you read both blogs...sorry. Since the announcement of our sweet pea on the way we have received several things from loved ones.

My mom bought me a bella band from Motherhood Maternity and they gave her a gift bag (that she gave me of course) with a bunch of coupons and a bottle in it. My doctor's office also gave me a book and a nursing guide gift. I think both of those are so thoughtful and cool.

We received this card in the mail from Uncle Greg and Aunt Sandra, they are so sweet and thoughtful.

I really want to thank everyone for the sweet baby gifts, cards, blanket, pregnancy books, maternity clothes, butt paste (to my husband from my mom) - ha, pregnancy prayer guide (from my sister), and baby book. We know that everything was given in love. (The book on the bottom, second from the left was a book my mom was given when she was pregnant with my younger sister and she found it a few months ago, how neat is that?) My mom and sister have given me all the pregnancy books you see.

This beautiful blanket was given to us by my dear friend Kristin. It has this beautiful passage from 1 Samuel "For this child I have prayed."

My husband and I had this made almost 2 years ago when we had one also made for our nephew.

I bought this right after Christmas this year at Target for $2. It says "Mommy's little joy."

You've Captured My Heart

It was very fitting that two days after Valentines Day I had my second doctor's appointment. The exciting news is - WE GOT TO HEAR SWEET PEA'S HEART BEAT! C went with me to our appointment again this time, because we were told we would get to hear the heart beat and I wanted him to experience something for himself with this pregnancy.

When we got to the doctor's office we only waited a few minutes (this is the nice thing about being seen first thing in the morning) and I got my blood pressure checked - good and my weight checked (I've already gained 3 pounds). I didn't think I had gained any according to my scale at home, but the doctor said gaining 3 pounds was perfect in the first trimester. Then she asked many questions about my history and then about our family history. Then she said we would check the baby's heart. It took her what seemed like 5 hours to find the heart beat. It was actually 5 minutes, but that is a long time. Inside I started freaking out a little, and then I looked over at C and he could tell I was worried and told me to calm down. Finally we heard our precious sweet pea's heart beat. The doctor said it was very strong and sounded really good - 160 bpm. When she said this I threw my arm over my face and said "Thank you God" and blew out a huge sigh of relief. I'm sure I'm being extremely dramatic, but that really scared me. I'm sure in the months and years to come I will be scared by many things and I will laugh about the 5 minutes I had to wait to hear the baby's heart beat.

Because my insurance will only use a certain lab (which my doctor's office does not use very often) they did not run all the tests they were supposed to from my paps mere last time so they had to get one more sample and I had to have a full vaginal exam again - uggg - I wasn't expecting that.

So far this has been a great day, and I will be smiling even more now. It's amazing how much we already love our baby and he/she is so tiny. We are truly blessed beyond measure. Thank you God for answering our prayers.

11 weeks

Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. His/Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under his/her gums, and some of his/her bones are beginning to harden. He/She's already busy kicking and stretching, and his/her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as his/her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccuping that may be happening now that his/her diaphragm is forming. [ from www.babycenter.com]

Being pregnant has been just the most wonderful thing in the world. I wake up and the first thing I think every morning is we're having a baby. I can't quit smiling. I have never been more happy in my life. Every day I spend time thanking God for this wonderful wonderful blessing. No matter how yucky I feel it does not damper the excitement and thankfulness I have.

I can hardly wait for my next doctor's appointment which is Monday. I am really hoping we can hear the heart beat, and that everything is progressing nicely and as it should.