Pregnancy Story

So, I thought I'd share a bit about the craziness that was involved in getting pregnant, especially since I wasn't blogging about it at the time. It was actually a little bit of a roller coaster for us. I've never had so many emotional ups and downs in my life.

The original plan was to start trying pretty much immediately when Nick got back from Iraq in December of last year. We knew that Nick would be home (not deployed) for at least 1.5 years because of Captain's Career Course, so it seemed like a good time. Then, after thinking about it for a little bit, we decided that maybe we wanted to wait until after the holidays, since there would be parties and Disneyland and a snowboarding trip.

We also decided April would be a good time to really start trying, although we would have been ok with getting pregnant before then. We decided April because I didn't want to be really pregnant: 1- When we were moving and 2-In the dead heat of a Texas summer.

So April rolled around and we weren't pregnant yet, no big deal. But then things started getting crazy. My cycles got realllly long and I convinced myself more than once that I was, in fact, pregnant. Every wave of fatigue or slight nausea was overanalyzed. Plus, I wasn’t really drinking during this time and was consciously trying to eat better. I also attempted to wean myself off of caffeine as much as possible and my allergy meds (because they aren’t recommended during pregnancy). Not so much fun during cedar season in Texas, let me tell you! Obviously, none of these things were bad in and of themselves, but it’s kind of exhausting completely changing your lifestyle for months on end. I’m mean, I would have had no problem with it if I was actually pregnant, but it just felt exhausting and like I was doing it for nothing.

The worst was the month when I was 2 weeks late. I think we ended up taking 5 pregnancy tests (2 at the doctor), and all of them were negative, but I was still very late and, for some reason, absolutely starving all the time. I had all but picked out baby names (seriously). Then, finally we went in to the doctor and they did a blood test and that came back negative.

I was totally crushed, having been completely convinced that I was pregnant. I felt like we had been so close, and now we had to completely start over again. It definitely didn’t help that more and more of our friends were announcing they were expecting. Don’t get me wrong, I was really excited and happy for them, but it just felt like salt in the wound for me. I couldn’t understand what the problem was. And, of course, the deadline of when we “knew” (as much as you can in the Army) that Nick would be home was slowly approaching, which definitely didn’t help my stress level. It was definitely a little difficult to “just relax” and know that it would happen.

Finally, I got an appointment with a doctor to figure things out. Normally, the Army likes to wait until you’ve been trying for a year, but I have some family history of PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome), so I was able to get in. At first, my appointment was 2 months from the time I called (and like 2 weeks before we were supposed to move). But, I was persistent, and eventually got a much earlier appointment. They did some tests and although my hormone levels were a little off, it didn’t really seem like there was anything wrong.

Yet again, it felt like two steps forward, and one step back. There weren’t really any explanations as to what my test results meant or if there was anything they could do. They had me use an ovulation kit to see if/when I was actually ovulating. That definitely didn’t help me relax about the whole situation, as I’d much rather be ignorant to where exactly I was in my cycle. Instead, I got to see negative results daily. It was just another reminder that I wasn’t pregnant and it felt like a small failure every day.

During all this, I had some amazing people speaking Godly wisdom into my life and reassuring me that God was in control and it would all work out. For the most part, I was pretty ok, but like everyone, I definitely had my share of frustration and discouragement. But all I could do was pray for patience and draw strength from God. I knew God had put this desire for kids in my heart and had built it up over the months. I always wanted kids, but the idea of them (mostly the giving birth and being completely responsible for another human life aspects) completely freaked me out for pretty much the first 2 years of our marriage. But now, things were different. He was preparing me for this.

Finally, I had a positive ovulation test and went in for a blood test to make sure it was a “good” ovulation. But, before I got the results back, I was late, so we took a couple of pregnancy tests. I really wasn’t expecting much at all. I had a little bit of hope, but I really wasn’t setting my hopes too high. The first pregnancy test was negative, not a big surprise there. A couple of days later we took another one, which started out negative, but then Nick noticed a really faint positive. I didn't get my hopes up too high.

We ended up waiting a couple more days and took another test. I went to set the timer for 3 minutes, but looked at the test and realized I didn’t have to. It was so obviously positive! Nick and I were pretty much in shock, but couldn’t stop smiling and hugging and ya, it was amazing. My doctor had me take a blood test and it obviously came back positive as well. As if I wasn’t sure with all the the cramping, exhaustion, nausea and starvation. Oh, and Nick can attest that I was a little bit crazy at times too, ha ha. I may have had a few extreme reactions to silly things.

I know how absolutely blessed we are that it happened naturally, even if it took a little while. Of course, there were absolutely torturous moments, and it seemed like forever during the actual process. But, I think we appreciate it that much more having been through all that.

First Belly Picture!

I am officially 12 weeks today, woohoo! Here's my first official belly picture!

Nick said it looked like Scout was looking concerned at my growing belly

- My cravings have significantly increased in the last week or so. First, I really wanted banana bread, then in the middle of a movie, I decided we had to have tacos for dinner (and proceeded to tell Nick so). Then, in the middle of church, I couldn't stop thinking about hash browns. And then there is the fact that I can't stop thinking about In-n-Out Burger. It's pretty hilarious.

- We've officially decided that we're not going to find out the gender of the baby. Neither of us are really dying to know what it is, so we decided we can wait for the surprise when it comes out. And my sister made a good point (she didn't find out with 2 out of the 3 of her kids) that it'll be a good motivation to get through labor. Plus, we will most definitely be having more kids in the future, so we think it makes sense to get neutral stuff like carseats and such.

- Speaking of labor, I'm definitely shooting for natural childbirth at this point. The whole thought of an epidural freaks me out, both the complete numbing and the giant needle that goes into your spine. So, that's the goal, but I haven't even opened my natural childbirth book, so I still have a lot of learning to do.

- I may or may not have bought a frame for our ultrasound picture. I think we're a little excited!

Cat's Out of the Bag

Ah, it feels good that it's out in the open that I'm pregnant! It's been such a huge part of my life for the past few months especially (not including the months we were trying), it was weird not blogging about it. We told family a few weeks ago, but were keeping it hush hush otherwise until we had our first ultrasound, just in case. But, like I said, everything looks great!

Like I said before, I've been pretty tired lately. I kind of "hit the wall", so to speak, after lunch, but especially after like 3pm. That means my mornings tend to be pretty productive and then I'm a lazy bum the rest of the day. Man, growing a human is hard work! Not so great when you're trying to get settled in a new house, but, we're getting there. I swear, we're really close now and I'm going to try to take pictures of our place this week! Woohoo! Also, I am so forgetful, it is ridiculous. I'm just now writing a to-do list because I can't remember a single thing. I'm hoping that'll help with my productivity, because the days just seem to fly by and I seem to have accomplished little more than watching shows on my TiVo.

I'm barely showing, but I've realized that the baby is much further down than my pregnancy pooch is sticking out, ha ha. But, I know my ever-growing womb is pushing everything around, so it's all good. I'm thinking I may need to get some maternity clothes soon. My pants are getting just a little bit tight and it's much more comfortable to just keep them unbuttoned. I may or may not have used a rubber band around the button yesterday. It was pretty effective! I'm planning on doing a belly picture this coming week when I hit the 12 week mark, woohoo!

The Fever

So, if you weren't aware, there is a crazy baby fever going around. Seriously, Nick and I know about 20 couples who either just had a baby in the last few months or are currently pregnant.

And...we may have caught the fever as well! I am pleased to announce that Baby D will be making it's appearance May 4, 2011. I just had my first ultrasound on Wednesday and it was amazing! The baby was moving around like crazy. It looks like we have a feisty one on our hands! They confirmed that there is only one little one in there, which is good because Nick thought it was hilarious to joke that we were having twins. Nope, just one, thank goodness! We could have watched that little screen forever though. Nick asked if we could get an ultrasound machine for the house, ha ha. Here are some pictures of the little one:

Its kind of curled up in the first one, then there is a hand up in the second one. The head is on the right in both

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." Psalm 139:13

So I'm at about 11 weeks right now, almost out of the 1st trimester, woohoo! It hasn't been too bad (other than a couple rough nights...so much for "morning" sickness), but I'm excited to get some energy back. I feel like an old person going to bed around 9:30pm every night. That explains why we've been slacking off so much on unpacking. It's hard work growing a baby!

It's getting more and more real every day, although it still seems totally crazy that there's a little person in there! Baby fever!!!

Seeing Orange

So one of the last things that Nick and I did before leaving Texas was attending a UT Austin football game! It seemed only fitting since Texas is alllll about football. It was definitely an experience, that's for sure. Texas won, but it wasn't the total defeat we were expecting. It was still a great time though.

Driving into Austin

We made sure to wear our orange!

On campus before the game (it was 9/11)

The view from the seats (not bad, huh?!)

They had cowboys who shot off the cannon every time they score points or at kickoff

Enjoying the game

The giant drum- "Big Bertha"

The band on the field

Just a little Texas pride


The stadium (ya, it's huge!)


The sea of people in orange

So ya, overall, it was a really fun time. We learned some fun cheers and songs and got to see a pretty good football game.

Who Needs To Unpack?

We have been really busy this week! Unfortunately, that means that we have severely neglected the continuing process of getting settled. We're still making progress here and there, but there are still waaaay too many boxes in the house. So, no pictures, yet, sorry!

What have we been busy with this week, you ask? Well, on Monday night we went to a small group/bible study through our church that we really enjoyed. We met a really friendly woman at church on Sunday who leads the group with her husband and she invited us, along with another couple we know. They're going through a book/DV

D by John Piper and it seems really interesting so far. It's called Don't Waste Your Life. Nick loves John Piper, so we're pretty excited. Then, on Tuesday, there was a men's lunch at our new church that Nick went to, and I was invited out to lunch with the same lady and a bunch of other girls. There were 7 of us all together and we went to a cute little town nearby for a delicious meal and some window shopping.

Finally, today, I went to a Newcomer Orientation at our new post with a girl I'm kind of casually mentoring (she's brand new to the Army). I'm really glad we went together because like 80% of the people there were soldiers in uniform, which neither of us were expecting (I thought this was mostly for spouses and stuff). But, there was a lot of good information and I came home with a ridiculous amount of free stuff. Oh, and the USO was handing out Krispy Kreme doughnuts, which is always a good time.

So really, I don't know when in all this we would have time to unpack! We are getting there, just slowly. Hopefully we'll be able to get more done this weekend, since it is a 4-day weekend...not that Nick has been gone more than a few hours a day trying to get into the next Airborne class (fingers crossed) since his Stryker Leader Course is over. But we'll probably buckle down a little more since there isn't a whole lot else going on...I hope.

House Pictures

I got a new wireless router today and now my wireless is working again, woohoo! Life is SO much easier with wireless internet, ha ha. Now I can sit in my living room and update instead of being chained to a desk in our office. Yay!

Unfortunately, the inside of our house is still definitely a work in progress. Nick is on a productive streak and is getting stuff put away right and left, so hopefully I'll have some pictures of the inside of the house soon. I swear, it's not just me being picky...it's a mess. But, we're getting there! In the meantime, I thought I'd show a few pictures of the outside of the house:

The front of the house (excuse the boxes we have yet to recycle)

Looky-loos while I was taking pictures out front

The backyard

Our little patio

The other side of the yard

Also, Nick graduated from Stryker Leader Course today, woohoo! I got to go to the graduation ceremony and was the only civilian there. Good times. It was pretty cool anyway though, despite being super quick (like 15 mins). I'm proud to say that Nick was the "Honor Graduate" though, which means he got the highest GPA in the class. Not too shabby for joining the course 4 days in. I didn't take any pictures at the actual graduation so as not to be super conspicuous, but I did take some pictures outside the building:

This is a Stryker

Really cool looking Stryker