It's been a while...

So, let's play catch-up!

• It's a girl!
• My due date may have changed
• Heartburn is BACK!
• Belly pics
• Baby Daddy...

I finally had my sonogram on August 27th. My mom and 3 year old niece, Rachel, went with me. When we finally saw Baby on the monitor, she totally had her legs crossed! So cute, but so frustrating, as I really wanted to know what she was!! The ultrasound tech told me to take a walk and drink some more water and come back in twenty minutes. So, we did. The second time around, Baby kind of had her leg stretched up over her head, like "Here I am!" The tech announced, "It's a girl!" Me: "Awww!" Mom: "Yay, Praise the Lord!" Rachel: "But I wanted a boy!!" Hahaha, so cute! I let Rachel make the calls to Grandpa and Aunt Megan :)

From my first sonogram I'd had back in May, they gave me a due date of January 5th. Going by that, I had thought I was 22 weeks along at this second sono. However, all of the measurements she made were 24 weeks! If we go by those, my due date would be moved up to December 17th. I would LOVE for this earlier date to be correct! How fun would it be if Baby Girl was here for Christmas?

There have been some changes in my pregnancy symptoms. My nausea has definitely calmed down (although has yet to completely disappear). My heartburn subsided for a while, but it is now making a comeback!! I really hate the taste of those Maalox/Tums/Rolaid chewables, so I've been trying to find some natural remedies. Apparently, there's something in papaya that helps relieve heartburn... looks like I'll have to run to the store this week! Otherwise, I read about milk, yogurt, and honey in warm milk... Too bad dairy seems to make me extra nauseous these days.

From the beginning, everyone kept commenting on how quickly I showed. Friends kept saying there either had to be twins or I was further along than we thought. But, no. My belly just decided to shoot right out there! Which is just fine by me :) I have enjoyed looking pregnant! It has also made my weekly belly pics at the studio a lot of fun! We are losing steam and having a hard time coming up with creative ideas, but hopefully we will continue to keep up with them. I can't wait to do some fun fall pics!! Pumpkin patch, here we come ;)
(All Belly Pics can be seen on my Facebook or Love of Life Photography's Facebook Fan Page)

As for the Baby Daddy... I am trying to involve him more and get to know him. At this point, I think I could even say we're friends. But having a child together makes it totally different from any other friendship, so we're still trying to figure it all out. Next up: meeting the family??

just a random post

I had my first funny pregnant pee moment the other day. I had to pee but i was in the middle of something and didn't go right away. All of a sudden I sneezed - and ended up peeing a little bit in my pants. Hahaha! I laughed so hard! Hopefully, that won't happen while I'm in public.

Last night, I dreamed about my pregnancy. First, I dreamed about feeling the baby moving, which was really weird. Then, I completely skipped over the delivery and all of a sudden I'd had the baby - except it was a puppy. So weird!

Today, I am going to my first doctor's appointment since the confirmation appointment. I am nervous and really don't want to go. I am not a fan of this doctor's office so far, and I am not a fan of having my lady parts all out there for the doctor to poke around in. I really just want to call and cancel the appointment. Sigh. Too bad I am being forced to grow up and deal with this stuff. I wish I could fast forward a few weeks so I could find out the sex of the baby already!! I'm not the most patient person in the world...

A Full Belly

I have two nieces, one is 3 years old, the other 9 months. My sister's family lives with us, so I've had plenty of baby experience, and it's so fun to watch them grow! Apparently, they've been watching me grow as well... Last night, the 3 year old asked me why my belly is so full. Haha! She had been looking at it and touching it throughout the evening, so I was just waiting for her to say something. I just kind of looked at her, and she asked "Is your belly full?" to which I simply replied, "Yup!" Haha, I'll leave the real explanation up to her mother. She and my mom were joking about how they'll just say that Santa brought the baby, since my due date is around Christmas ;)

Little Mama

I am now 14 weeks and 3 days (ish) along in my pregnancy. It is so different than how I'd always dreamed it would be.


Most people who know me, know that all growing up, all I wanted to be was a mom. In elementary school, when we had to write papers about "What I Want to be When I Grow Up", I would write about being a mommy. It was seriously all I wanted. My dream was to get married as soon as I graduated from high school and start having babies and just be a stay-at-home mom for the rest of my life.

I didn't even go on my first date until I was 19, so obviously that did not happen.

As I got older and watched friends and family get married and have kids, I slowly started to grow away from that idea of my life completely revolving around a family. I began to think of possibly looking into a career dealing with interior design or photography, possibly dabble in graphic design at some point. Eventually, I began to wonder if I ever wanted children of my own at all.

Now, here I am, 24 years old, single, and pregnant. Not at all what I had planned.

When I found out, I was completely shocked. I only took the pregnancy test in the first place because my friend was nice enough to buy it for me. I never really believed this kind of thing would happen to me. So, after I pee'd on the stick and it pretty much immediately said "Pregnant", I just stared in disbelief and said "NO NO NO" over and over again. And I immediately pee'd on another stick. Another all-too-quick positive result. I sat and cried and freaked out for a while.

After my initial shock, I calmed down pretty quickly. I told a few close friends and co-workers as soon as I found out, and while a few of them decided to completely abandon me, there were others who were immediately there by my side, ready to support me and my baby. One thing that amazed and saddened me was how many people immediately asked if I would be having an abortion. Do people really come to that answer so easily? No, thank you. It was never even an option for me. Even though the situation that got me into this mess wasn't all that pleasant, I was not about to murder a child just because it might be a little inconvenient for me to have one at this stage in my life.

That first week was difficult, as I was trying to hide it for a while. I couldn't even tell my parents, yet, because my dad was out of town and I was not about to tell my mother while he was gone. I forced myself to stay up later than I wanted to, made myself choke down whatever was for supper whether my pregnant body wanted it or not, and tried to cry only when my mother was not around, so as not to raise suspicion. Once my dad was back home and I broke the news, the first few days were a little awkward, but I knew my family was there to love and support me. They've been here for me as I suffer my all-day-and-night morning sickness, they've gone yard saling with me to look for inexpensive maternity clothes (who knew my belly would grow so quickly?!), and they pray for me as I go through this strange and sometimes difficult journey.

People often ask me if I've been getting crazy cravings. I think with my constant nausea/heartburn, my body just doesn't even want to consider eating most of the time. The only instances of "cravings" I've had so far are either in my dreams or if I see something and think I might be able to eat it. Early in my pregnancy, I dreamed all night about a milkshake - the entire dream I was trying to decide which flavors and mix-ins to get. I finally chose some sort of delicious combination, but woke up before I actually got the milkshake! So, the next day, I couldn't stop thinking about milkshakes and finally stopped to get one on my way home. The next week I dreamed about tortilla chips and the following day, of course, I happily ate some throughout the day. A few weeks ago, my niece left one of her pretend play foods on the couch, and it just happened to be a little plastic E.L. Fudge cookie. I saw it and immediately wanted to eat it! So, on our way to the park, we stopped at Giant and picked some up.

I've definitely been suffering from plenty of "morning sickness" (although that is the stupidest name for it ever, as it lasts all day and night). It seems worse the earlier I get up in the mornings, which is no fun when I have to be at work at 5am on Tuesday mornings. Yuck! So, there are mornings when I puke in the shower, or vomit comes out my nose, or I throw up my meal as soon as I eat it. Not so awesome. But all I can do is push forward and try to make it through the day.

This past weekend, I actually started feeling HUNGRY! Like FEED ME NOW kind of hungry. It's quite a switch from the "ew, I'm nauseous and don't want any food near me" phase. I get so excited when I finish all the food on my plate! Haha! We'll see if it continues.