18 Week Ultrasound

I know, I know...two posts in one week...I'M ON FIRE!

Today we went for our 18 week ultrasound with my mom's ultrasound tech friend. She has been so sweet, and has let us come just about every 4 weeks to see the baby. She always gives us SO many pictures, and really takes time to show us all of his parts (external and internal) to make sure everything looks good. I can't tell you what a relief it was in the first trimester to be able to see the baby so often. The first trimester is stressful for any mother, especially a first time mother, but to be able to see the baby so often really reassured us that everything was progressing as it should.

SO, anyway, we got there and I hopped up on the table, excited to see what the baby looked like. She put the goo on by belly, and found him right away with no problem. His head is just to the right of my belly button, which means that right now he is breech. She said this is completely normal, and that he will probably change positions several times before January. She also said that my placenta is on top, which means it may be harder for me to feel the baby kick. This completely made sense to me, as I have felt the baby kick or move before, but not as frequently as my friends around the same week as me have. Most of my friends that are in the 18th week are feeling the baby move frequently now. I have felt a little "nudge" that I was sure was the baby (and not something else) a few times, but not on an hourly basis or anything like that. She said as the baby grows his kicks will get stronger and I'll be able to feel them all the time. That's definitely something I'm looking forward too! The baby was being very modest when we tried to look between his little legs to "confirm his manhood", as my friend Megan so cleverly quipped the other day. Anyway, the ultrasound tech (whom I shall now refer to as Jennifer, since that is her name) said we would look at other things while we wait for him to relax his little legs. She checked his brain, heart and stomach and said everything looked good, and was measuring right on target. She said he was about 5 1/2 inches long from head to bottom, which is perfect! Finally we came back to his legs...he still wouldn't open them! She wiggled her little probe across my belly, and tried to get him to uncross his legs, and finally it worked. Its DEFINITELY a BOY!!! She is 100% sure. She has a special heat sensor on the machine to detect the umbilical cord and she said it was definitely "boy parts". Colt and I are so ecstatic! Towards the end, we tried to get a good profile shot of his face, but we were unsuccessful. He looks like a demon because you can't see the eyeballs/eyelids on a standard 3D ultrasound. We got to see him open and close his mouth and stick his tongue out at us. Jennifer said he must like to stick his hands in his mouth because he kept trying to do that throughout the ultrasound. We started talking about how we probably woke up him because he's so lazy, and he began to shake his fist at us! Obviously these are all coincidences, but I like to think he has a big personality already! :) All in all, it was a great ultrasound today! Its always nice to be able to see the progress of our baby.

My next OB appointment is in two weeks. That will be my DOCTORS appointment, but I will be getting my 20 week ultrasound at the office when I'm there. This is not Jennifer, but my OB office's ultrasound tech. They will measure all of his parts and make sure he's doing well, but I'm confident after today's appointment with Jennifer. I asked about the frequency of the ultrasounds that I'm getting and my doctor's office said its completely fine to have so many ultrasounds because there are some women who have had troubled pregnancies that have to get ultrasounds every week, and it does no damage to the baby. Anyway, thanks for reading, and I will post pictures below! :)

My 16-17th Week, My Colt & My Dog

Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay in posts! Week 16 was lovely! Colt took me to the beach last Monday. Going to the beach as a pregnant gal is definitely different than going pre-pregnancy. I got a cute bathing suit, that was actually a "normal" suit, but it kind if looked like a maternity bathing suit. I got a brown tankini top that covered my belly, but it was a looser fit so it looked kind of like a maternity top. The bottoms were brown with cream polka dots. We'll see how much longer that fits me! :) My belly is growing by the day it seems like. We were sitting on our blanket at the beach, and Colt said, "I wonder how many people don't realize you're pregnant and just think you have a gut." I can always count on him to say exactly what I'm thinking. I'm actually very thankful for a husband that's so honest. I asked him the other day if I looked like I had gained weight. I think I've gained about 9 lbs. so far (now I'm almost 18 weeks) which is right on Target for what they say I should have gained. I know that question is impossible for a man to answer without feeling uncomfortable. He said, "I'm not answering that because its a cardinal rule of manhood to never answer that question." I told him I didn't care, that I knew that I had, I just wanted to see where he thought it looked like I had gained the most weight. He said, "Well just in your arms...and in your face, and that's it. And in your belly, but there is a baby in there so that's why...and that's it." I started laughing so hard. He said, "What? What did I say?" I said, "Just in your arms and face and that's it. And in your belly, and that's it. Annnnnd in your legs and butt, but that's it.... maybe in your hands and feet, but that's it." We both had a good laugh at that. I'm very appreciative for an honest husband, that makes me feel beautiful , even when I feel my worst!

By the way, I want to give props to all of you mom's out there who are strapping your kids in carseats on a daily basis, in Florida, in the middle of August. I walked from my garage, out to my car in the driveway the other day, and was sweating before I even opened the car door. I can't imagine having to strap a squirmy toddler into their seat before turning on that AC. I guess I'll figure out how you do that soon enough! :)

Now for the mushy stuff...

I've been meaning to write this for a long time, but I keep avoiding it because I want to express my thoughts clearly, and I haven't felt like I had enough time (or patience) to. I think I need to give a "shout-out" of sorts, to Colt and all of the husbands of pregnant ladies out there. When a couple plans to have a baby (assuming its planned), its a 50/50 decision. Both the husband and wife decide when a good time would be to start "trying", decide what goals, or responsibilities they need to take care of before pregnancy, etc. When the woman finally does become pregnant, I think sometimes it can switch gears from a team effort, to a one WOMAN show. Everyone wants to know how she's feeling, how she's doing, is she sick, is she showing, what's she craving etc. etc. etc. All of these questions are fun for women to answer because this is new and uncharted territory for us (and who doesn't like talking about themselves :) ). Once I got over the constant nausea, and I started to think about things other than how I could keep my dinner down, I started thinking about Colt. How would it feel to have a wife/husband who was throwing up 3, 4, or sometimes 7 times a day! I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. It doesn't matter if you have kids. If you're married, and your spouse has ever been sick, you know it stinks for not only your spouse, but for you too! From the beginning of our marriage, Colt and I have always been, not only husband and wife, but pals. Even if we had never hit it off romantically, we would have still been best friends. Just like when you're a child, and your next door neighbor/best friend, was sick, you knew it was going to be a boring day of playing inside by yourself. From about 7 weeks, up to week 12, I was sick as a dog everyday. This meant not having an appetite for anything, so when something sounded tolerable, we HAD to eat that. This also meant falling asleep on the couch almost every night very early, due to exhaustion from work, and pregnancy. During this time, it was very difficult for me to do almost anything since I was working 10 hour days and was very sleep deprived. Colt completely picked up the slack. He did all of the cleaning, all of the laundry, the occasional grocery shopping trip, and A LOT of listening to me complain! Its true that you learn more and more about your spouse as you meet every new stage of life together. In our two years of marriage, we really haven't had any life changing milestones. I don't want to say that I have LEARNED so many great things about Colt in these last 17 weeks, because I always knew he was a good man, and a great partner, but I've been continually reassured of his unique character. He has been nothing but caring, considerate, selfless, and more than anything, he shows me love, everyday. Throughout this pregnancy, I've been reminded time and time again, what a rare friendship, and relationship I have with Colt. I never expected marriage to be this fun and truly easy. If there's one thing I want our baby to know that I'm thankful for, besides my relationship with God, and the family that has brought me to know and love Him, its my relationship, and marriage to Colt.

I hope you all know, the purpose of this post is by no means to boast about my life, or relationship, but to express my true feelings, as I'm feeling them, to our baby, my husband, and friends who know my motivation behind this blog. Anyway, thanks for reading everyone! I should have more to update you with after our ultrasound this week!!!

P.S. Colt and I babysat for Sawyer Murphy (Peter and Lauren's new baby) tonight for a little while, and Moe was and SO JEALOUS and desperate for attention! He'll need to get over that quick! We still love him though.

Gettin' my kicks!

I just wanted to write a quick update post...SO I think I may have felt my first little kick tonight!!! I have been anxiously waiting to feel something for a long time. I know they say that you can usually start feeling the baby between 16 and 20 weeks, but that wasn't stopping me from laying very still every night just to be sure. Tonight at 10:30pm (at 15 weeks, 6 days & 22 hours-haha!) we were riding in the car to get a slurpee, and I felt a little knudge in my uterus. At first I thought it was just a fluke, even though it was very apparent I felt something. I said to Colt, "I'm not sure but I think I just felt a kick!" I waited a few seconds to see if I could feel anything else, and a few seconds later, it happened again...and then again, in the same spot. The only conclusion I can come to is that it was a kick, seeing as how I have nothing to compare it to. If it turns out I'm wrong, I'll let you know. Haha! The best part, is that the Frank Sinatra song, "Time After Time" was on the radio. Anyone that knows me, knows I have loved Frank Sinatra since I was little. I told Colt, the baby must like him too! :)

A few more cravings for fun...Tonight, I just had to have a Coke slurpee! We went to two different 7/11's, after the first store's machine squirted my clothes and arms with melted slurpee juice! It brought back many memories of 9th grade, when I would get one everyday after school. I've only had instant Kraft Mac and Cheese once in my life, but the night before last, I was craving some like nobody's business! We had to make a quick run to CVS. Poor, Colt. He's the best husband, and always gets me what I'm hungry for. Last night I was craving tomatoes, and for the past two days, I have made myself a delicious salad with swiss cheese and minced garlic. Delicious! I have a current obsession with real minced garlic cloves (not the "pre-minced" garlic you can buy in the jar). Anyway, thats all I can think of right now. Thursday (the 13th) is my next doctor's appointment! I will update again soon! Thanks for reading!!!

A Spending Spree and a Baby Bump

Well week 14 was pretty uneventful, if you don't count finding out he is a he (which was week 13 and 6 days). Like I said, the ultrasound tech said she's almost 100% sure its a boy, but we'll be positive at my next ultrasound which is at the end of the month. I promised myself that I wouldn't buy anything yet, until we're 100% sure, but I caved tonight at Marshalls. They had the cutest pajamas that said "Bedtime Buckaroo"! They had little horseshoes and cowboy hats on them, and it came with a little stuffed horse/blanket for the baby to sleep with (check out the bottom of the footie pants!). Too cute to pass up for the price! I also got a little church outfit that came with a hat which resembled one that Colt has. I will try to upload pictures below.

-I don't know why they're so blurry and not lining up, but whatever.

In other news, I think I may have found some bedding that I like. I have never liked the "baby" looking decor. I prefer sophisticated nurseries, that look like just another room in your house, plus a crib etc. Well, I found the perfect bedding to go with that motif, and I was so excited about finding accessories to go with the room I was imagining. I showed my mom and sister, and to my dismay, we discovered Target had discontinued it!!! I was so upset. I had been checking the Babies-R-Us and Target websites religiously for weeks to see if they had anything that remotely interested me, to no avail. I picked up the search again today, and stumbled across some really cute bedding! Its a little more "babyish" then I usually prefer, but I'm going to accessorize "sophisticatedly" (is that a word)? I will post pictures of the nursery when its completed. No previews! :)

Last week (week 14) is also the first time I noticed a "real" baby bump starting to form. Its still small, but definitely there! I've also felt a sensation that feels something like the baby is rolling around, not kicking, but just doing somersaults in there. I can't wait to feel him really kick me! This week (beginning of 15), I've really noticed the bump start taking shape. I was telling my cousins (who have had two babies each) the other day, I never realized how body conscious I would be when I got pregnant. I always just though that when you get pregnant, you get the baby belly fairly soon, and the fact that you're pregnant is easily recognizable from early on. This may be true for some lucky ladies, but not for me! I haven't gained very much weight at all, but when you've gained a few pounds, and you're still not "looking pregnant" it can make a girl very self conscious. Before I got pregnant, if I gained a few pounds, I would just exercise extra hard or try to eat a little healthier. When you're pregnant, you're not supposed to lose the weight you gain. Its a hard habit to break! Now that I'm starting to look pregnant, I'm totally digging my new body! Lets hope the enthusiasm continues! :) Another obstacle I've had to overcome was comparing myself to what other girls looked like at whatever week I was on. There are a million websites that show you pictures of what different girls look like at different weeks in their pregnancy. I found myself thinking, "Am I gaining weight faster than them? Am I getting a pregnancy bump earlier (or later) than they are?" I have always been a thin person, and I never really had to work on it. I could pretty much eat what I wanted, and the scale would vary between a few pounds, but never go past a certain number. Pregnancy is uncharted territory for me (obviously). This week, when I saw my little belly start to "pop", I finally felt like, "Ok, this is the way I look...I may have a baby bump earlier than some women, and later than others, but this is when it decided to arrive!" Pregnancy is so different for everyone, thats the beauty of it! Its definitly nice feeling more pregnant, and less chubby, although I'm told that every woman feels chubby until they see that little pregnancy bump. Anyway, so far week 15 has been great! I'll keep you posted, and thanks for reading!

Oh BOY!

Hello again everyone! Well my 13th week has flown by! My last day of work was Friday (the 24th). I think having so much free time on my hands has made time go by faster. Colt and I have been looking forward to an ultrasound this week for a long time.

Today, we were running late getting to the ultrasound. We left in plenty of time to get there, but about 3 minutes into our trip down to Clearwater, Colt's Jeep Grand Cherokee decided to die on us! Thankfully we pulled into a parking lot before it conked out, and we were able to restart it easily to get it home. So, after going home to switch cars, and getting back on the road, I was nervous that we weren't going to make it in time. We called ahead and told them we were running about 15 minutes late. When we got there, Jen (the ultrasound tech) was so nice, and understanding. I hopped up on the table, excited to see the baby move for the first time. Our last ultrasound, at 9 weeks revealed a chicken nugget with tiny feet inside my womb. This week, it was a baby! The ultrasound tech started to prod around on my belly, and then, there he was! I even said, "Look at him!" She said, "Or her, we still don't know." A few seconds later, my mom and I were "ooing and ahhing" over the little feet and the little hands, and the ultrasound tech chimed in, "And there is his ("boy part"--in case we have any young readers)!" She was just as shocked as were were to see anything. We were told from the beginning that we probably wouldn't be able to tell. She did a pretty extensive check-up on the little guy, and she said she could see two little kidneys, a pancreas, obviously the heart, and all fingers and toes were accounted for! He was being really cooperative the entire time that we were trying to see his face, and front of his body, but at one point he was OVER IT. He quickly flipped himself around, away from the camera. At one point, he stuck both of his little hands under his chin. Colt said it looked like he was posing for a Glamour Shots session. He also decided he wanted to wave to us from inside there. It was so cute! I posted a picture at the bottom of this text. The heart rate was 135 this week, which is supposedly indicative of a boy as well. He was measuring at 4 inches, and 4 oz. She said I am measuring at 15 weeks and a few days, when I'm actually only 14 weeks as of Wednesday (the 29th). She said the baby is big for its "age", and we could potentially deliver earlier than we think, but that can always change as well. We are supposed to come back in 4 weeks, and have another ultrasound just to make sure of the gender. She said she's almost 100% sure its a boy. He kept moving his little rear end in front of the camera to show us! She said, "If that's not a boy, I will be shocked!" It was very apparent. It was so amazing to see his little profile. We are planning on naming him Cash (but this is subject to change).

Another funny side note...My mother was reading the newspaper, and came across my horoscope this week. This is in no way advocating the belief in astrology, witchcraft or the like, but I just thought it was a funny coincidence. This is from the July 28th edition of the St. Pete Times, "Surprise gifts, goodies, and favors might come your way today. Someone might even give you CASH!" Weird, huh?!?

So there it is! We can't wait to see him again on screen, and in person in January!!! I'm sure I will edit this post further with information that I am forgetting to mention. I just wanted to get something up in the mean time. The pictures below are a profile shot at the bottom, and a picture of the baby waving to the camera on top! Thanks for reading!

My Nausea Vacation and Crazy Cravings!

I just wanted to write a quick post about the last few days. I'm still in my 12th week (12 wks, 4 days to be exact), but around 12 weeks, 1 day, the nausea went away! It just disappeared. Thursday at work I had a few minutes of feeling mildly nauseated, but this is leaps and bounds better than what it has been. Friday, I had maybe one episode of mild nausea. Today...NOTHING! This is awesome! I don't know if the nausea will come back, or if its gone for good, but I'll take whatever I can get! :) So anyway, I'm feeling much better. I just wanted to record this major milestone in my pregnancy, so if, Lord willing in the future, I'm able to get pregnant again, and I'm in my first trimester wondering when the suffering will end, I can read this and remind myself that there is a light at the end of the tunnel! Ha!

Elyse...this is for you! Cravings. Where do I begin. I had cravings before I was pregnant, so I don't know how much of this is the baby, or just me. :) I think my first real craving was for white rice with soy sauce. When I needed it, I needed it RIGHT THEN! Thankfully we had some in the pantry. A few weeks later, Colt and I woke up on a Saturday morning and I rolled over and said, "I NEED some Fruity Pebbles!!!" I really didn't think that I would actually get them, I was just talking, but my sweet husband went to the store and bought me some! What a guy! :) I went through a pickles stage where I ate kosher dill pickles like it was my job. That ended when I had some nasty vomiting incidents after my pickle eating sessions. Next it was turnip greens with vinegar. I still love this. Nothing better than a big bowl of seasoned turnip greens with red wine vinegar! YUM! They're packed with folic acid and good for the baby too! Two restaurants I've been obsessed with are Arigatos and the Columbia. Yes, I know, the baby loves expensive cuisine. Thankfully, I like the soup and salad from Columbia, and I haven't given into temptation with Arigatos yet. One night, Colt was watching TV, and I had rolled over to try to get some sleep before work the next morning. About 15 minutes after Colt thought I had gone to sleep, I just about jumped out of my skin & rolled over, telling Colt I NEEDED Arigatos rice, vegetables, and goodie-goodie sauce. It scared him so bad because he thought I was sleeping or dreaming or something. We both laughed hysterically because he was so startled. As I type, at 12:53am, I have sweet corn mixed with cayenne pepper, and tomatoes in the oven. This will not help my swollen, chapped lips. I don't know if that is because of the baby or not, but my mom said her lips did the same thing when she was pregnant. So, you could say I've had my share of weird cravings. Although I will say, I crave all of these things when I'm not pregnant also. This is to be continued as I still have a long way to go. Thanks for reading!!!

The Last Several Weeks

In this post, I will try to give you a brief overview of the happenings in the first few weeks of this pregnancy. It will be hard to remember details, as I recorded them on my old laptop, and then it broke, so I'm still waiting to retrieve those notes. Here goes...


Week 3: We found out we were pregnant on May 18th, and told our parents the following night. At this time I had no real symptoms, but I noticed my skin was breaking out.

Week 4: We started telling a few of our family members, although it was still strictly under wraps. I still had no symptoms other than feeling like a water balloon! Haha!

Week 5: All of our family (Grandparents, Uncles, Aunts, Cousins) knew at this point. We have such a big family, it was impossible to keep it secret for long. Everyone was thrilled! This week we went on a mini-vacation to Jacksonville for a gig on Friday night, and a day of R & R on Saturday in St. Augustine. We had a great time and I was still feeling pretty good.

Week 6: At this point I was starting to feel a little bit nauseous. Colt had a few gigs in Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia, so we went on a road trip. I don't think being on the road helped the nausea. We had a great time in Tennessee visiting my Aunt Heather and Uncle Josh and their kids Hannah and Fischer. The kids affectionately called the baby, "the grain of rice". They thought it was cool that the baby was so small. By the end of this trip, especially driving through Atlanta on Sunday morning, I was feeling really sick. Little did I know this would become an ongoing theme. UGH! Another fun thing this week was our FIRST ULTRASOUND! My mom has a friend who is an ultrasound tech, so she has been giving us ultrasounds for free. We got our first one this week. You couldn't see much, just a tiny baby, the size of a grain of rice, and a yolk sac. We got to "see" the heartbeat, and the ultrasound machine put an audible noise to it, so we could hear it too. It was 130 beats per minute. I literally thought my bladder was going to explode on the table! I'm sure all you experienced pregnant women can relate! My bladder is the big, black blob at the top of this picture...yeah...FULL!

Week 7: HORRIBLE! This week was horrible. Sunday through Wednesday I was sick almost all day. I would sit down at work and literally gag on crackers. It was all I could do to keep myself from throwing up everything in my stomach, although I did that too. By Thursday I felt much better, and it hasn't been that miserable since.

Week 8: Still battling with nausea. Some days are fine, and some days are pretty bad, but still not as bad as week 7. Throwing up almost daily though. Its difficult to tell what are pregnancy cravings and what are normal Aubree cravings, but I did really crave rice one night. On Saturday of this week, I woke Colt up, CRAVING Fruity Pebbles. He ran out and got me some...what a good husband!

Week 9: Still nauseous. This week we went for our first doctors appointment. My appointment was at 2:30pm on June 25th. Interesting side note for the baby...we found out later that Michael Jackson's time of death was around 2:15pm on June 25th. He died while we were on our way to the doctor's office. Anyway, the doctors appointment was fun. I got my blood tests and all the other fun tests done. My doctor was really nice and actually gave us a free mini-ultrasound. We got to see the baby's progression, and hear the heartbeat again. This time it was 178.5 beats per minute! She said that it was a good, strong heartbeat. I was a little worried that it was to fast, but she said with the development of the circulatory system, its to be expected. According to old wives tales, heart rates of 140 beats per minute and below is supposed to be indicative of a boy, and above 140 is supposed to be a girl. We'll know soon enough! We went to Louis Pappas for dinner after the appointment. If you look closely at the picture, you can see its little feet and hands forming!

Week 10: I'm not sure why, but for some reason, I've been really nervous about this pregnancy. I've been very excited about being a parent, but very nervous about the actual pregnancy. Will it go ok, will the baby be healthy, will I do everything I'm supposed to do, what does it mean that this or that symptom seems to be going away, etc. etc. etc. Its a never ending cycle of worry! My mom said its God's way of preparing you for parenthood. Supposedly, the worry doesn't stop after you deliver a healthy baby, and that one day, I will be worrying about my baby, having a baby of their own, like my mom is now. Saying all of that, I when I first got pregnant, I thought by 10 weeks, I would feel much better and more secure about the pregnancy. That didn't happen, although for some reason I felt like I wasn't in the super early stages of pregnancy anymore. Maybe its because I hit double digits in the weeks. I was still pretty nauseated during the beginning of this week, but for some reason on Friday and Saturday, I felt 100% better! I was thinking two things...either there was something wrong with the baby, or I was one of the lucky ones who's nausea was starting to fade around the end of my first trimester. I was wrong on both counts. By Sunday the nausea was back in full force. I think I threw up like 6 times. Too much information I know, but it must be said. I took Monday off of work (only my second sick day since I've been working here). This week-weekend (Wednesday-Sunday) we were dog sitting for my parents, so we hadn't been home all weekend. When we came home Sunday night, Colt was washing clothes and the water heater started leaking. We cleaned it up and didn't think much of it, until I went into the bathroom. My shower, and bathroom floor had standing water. This was true for the hall bathroom also! The guest bathroom was unaffected thank goodness, but it was an add on and on a different system. We had to call a plumber at 1am! He didn't finish until 3:30, and we didn't get in bed until 4!!! My Monday off was much needed!

Week 11: This week I experienced the first case of heartburn in my life. Its kind of funny, I get weekly updates from a website called babycenter.com, and it tells you what to expect week by week. Heartburn was first mentioned as a symptom this week, and low and behold it happens to me! NOT FUN! The really bad heartburn started Wednesday afternoon and left by Friday, but I had mild cases throughout the rest of the week. My doctor's office said I could take Pepcid AC, since the Tums and Pepto Bismol wasn't working. They told me that if the heartburn has started this early, they will most likely have to put me on a prescription. Not an ideal situation, but its necessary. I hope I don't sound like I'm constantly complaining about this pregnancy. Most aspects have been really fun and exciting, but nausea and heartburn aren't fun for anyone! I don't mind dealing with it, because I think the payoff will be pretty cool. :) A really exciting thing that happened this week, is that Colt and Buddy put the crib together! Uncle Josh and Aunt Heather gave us a really beautiful crib that they used for Hannah and Fischer. I love it! I also love the character of a crib that has been in the family. My mom is storing my rocking chair at her house. It was the rocking chair that she used to rock me to sleep. Its got my little teeth marks on the arms, where I used to bite it in my toddler years. I love that! The rest of week 11 was pretty much the same. I still had bouts of severe nausea, but for the most part, it was tolerable.

Week 12: I had been waiting for week 12 for a long time. First off, everyone says, if you can make it to the twelfth week with no problems, you should be fine for the rest of the pregnancy. Obviously this is not a set in stone rule, but I knew it would make me feel a little bit better. Also, I've heard that most women start to feel more "normal" in terms of the nausea and early pregnancy symptoms going away or decreasing significantly. Most women say that there is an increase in energy levels, and the nausea disappears almost overnight. I'm still waiting for this. Haha! I will say that fatigue has not been a complaint for me. I don't know whether its because I'm always exhausted because of my crazy schedule that I didn't notice any difference, or if I just wasn't abnormally tired. Colt will probably disagree with me on this point. He has had to put up with many nights of me falling asleep during our shows that we normally watch, or falling asleep in the car when we go places (which I did all the time before I was pregnant anyway).

I went to my 12 week doctors appointment today, and everything went really well! The baby's heart rate was between 158-160, which is really good. I go back in 4 weeks. I'm going to get another ultrasound week after next! I can't wait to find out the gender!!! They say somewhere between 15-20 weeks they might be able to tell me. We announced the pregnancy on Facebook today as well. Its not that we weren't ecstatic when we found out, we just wanted to make it to 12 weeks before we told anyone outside of family, just in case. We are so glad the secret is out. Thanks again for reading, and check back soon for more posts!