Playing Blog Catch Up!

Saw and felt the baby move on the outside for the first time! What a miracle this little man is! Can't wait to meet him soon!

I felt him move September 10th. Mark felt him the next day because he was at work on the 11th! Such an amazing experience for us both! 

Mark and Bryan worked hard to put up the batten board in our little guy's nursery! Then in the next week poor Mark spent pretty much an entire week locked in this room slaving away painting, sanding, caulking, and more painting for our baby boy (and maybe me too). Now that is LOVE!  

And.....he surprised me by painting one day while I was at work. He told me he had taken a day off because he needed a break, and I come home to this! Love this man, and what a great dad he's going to be! We are so lucky... :)

And the crib...

 (At this point I am 28 or 29 weeks prego, this is why I should not get behind on the blog, I can't remember all I know is that I am pregnant and getting bigger each day!)

TA-DA! 

I do NOT like you, little orange drink!

This, my friend, is hell trapped in a bottle....the drink itself, not too bad. Not good, but drinkable. The aftermath of drinking it = B-A-D.  My nurse told me it's the sugar equivalence to eating an entire chocolate cake to yourself.  At first I had the shakes, and then I crashed and burned and felt super sick. Which is weird because I love candy~ you think my body would welcome the sugar. The good news is that I passed the glucose test, no diabetes for me! 

Registering....what an adventure!

Yep, we parked here.

Checking out the rockers.

Not the gun Mark is used to, but still a gun. :)

Trying to register for our baby boy, was trickier then I thought it would be! I thought Mark and I would go in the store and rock it!  We were lucky enough to have printed off emails from other moms! Thanks you ladies! You were a life saver. But.....even with those emails, each liking different things, we were a little LOST! It's crazy that people who have never had a baby, register for everything a baby would need! How are we supposed to know?! We were in the store for 3 hours---talk about a time warp! Besides being a little overwhelmed, I would say our trip to Babies-R-US, was a success!   It was fun to imagine our little man using these things and fun to do this with Mark, just us. 

24 Weeks, 110 days to go!

24 weeks, 6 months preggo or maybe 5, I don't really get the whole month thing because really woman are pregnant for 10 months not 9 months. Either way, I'm getting closer. :)

At this point I am feeling quite large and in charge...I know I still have a long ways to go and shouldn't complain. Because really, I am just getting bigger and will be for the next 16 weeks. This is the shirt I wore on 'meet the teacher night' to HIDE my belly. Turns out in 3 weeks this belly is no longer hideable in this shirt! Or any other for that matter. 

-Something weird, my belly button is getting super shallow. Guessing soon, I will have an outie. Eeeeek, belly button's weird me out!

Cravings: 

- crackers and chips (I know not good, and to be really honest, CANDY!) But I don't drink caffeine so I feel like that evens it out.  Sugar vs. Caffeine. 

-red meat one time

-cotton candy and movie theater popcorn...both of which I  have been wanting for months. 

**So pretty much the things that always sound delicious to me are REALLY HEALTHY! :(

Dislikes:

-nothing

Ultra sound 23 weeks

 Here's our little guy at 23 weeks! This is our last ultra sound, I wish we could see him every week! :(   

Beef! It's what's for dinner!

Those of you who know me well, know that I do NOT eat red meat.  I can barely eat chicken (unless it is cooked like jerky), but I know I need the protein so I force myself to eat it.  If I could, I would totally be a vegetarian pre-pregnancy.  Well, the other day we went to the Compton's for dinner and every one was eating steak while I had my jerky chicken.  For some reason the steak looked delicious....so I tried ONE bite of Mark's and it was sooo good! WEIRD beyond weird!  So I had a little more, everyone was shocked-even me!  So the next night for dinner at our house we had flank steak too, and I ate it! Again it was so tasty! I only felt bad for the cow once, but then I thought if I don't eat it, then this cow died for no reason, so I carried on.  After I ate it, I felt like I had an epiphany:  I was like a normal person eating meat! It was the first time in YEARS that I have not dissected and inspected every bite of meat.  Moooove over meat eaters, I am now on your team and it feels kind of good. 

NAMES? No BIG deal, it's not like the kid is going to have to live with this name for the REST OF THEIR LIFE!!!  I know children are not comparable to any animals or pets.  But let me tell you, naming a child is WAAAAY harder than naming your dog!  

With that being said, Mark and I are struggling to come up with names for this little guy. We have a secret list started, but just barely started....

According to my nephew, Caden (who is three), its a no brainer that we should name our son Nemo!  He's so passionate about it, he made up a song for our baby Nemo!  I told him that we MIGHT have to think about that one.... in the meantime enjoy his special song! Pretty cute!

20 Weeks, baby is the size of a small cantaloupe
HALFWAY THERE!

             

19 Weeks: 

On the way to the appointment I asked Mark if he was nervous to find out what we are having. His response was no--we know we are having either a boy or a girl. It's not like they are going to tell us we having a baby squirrel!  I on the other hand was very anxious-sweaty palms and all! 

We found out little Baby Austin is a BOY!!!  I really can't believe it! I thought we were having a boy, but to hear we really are having a BOY is so exciting!  We had our ultrasound and got to see all the little parts and pieces that make up baby Austin. Towards the end of the ultrasound we got to find out what baby A was, I kinda blacked out.  I know that I was just overcome with emotions and started to cry and I have no idea what Mark did.  I remember saying throughout the remainder of the appointment, "What are we going to name him?" The ultra sound tech told us that he had wide feet, (we all know I love my husband, but he has not so pretty feet) which means that baby boy has Mark's feet.  Two things I've prayed for was that baby gets my feet, and Mark's eyes.  Hopefully, since he has his feet, he also gets Mark's big blue eyes!  Knowing the gender of the baby made me feel so much more connected to him and made him seem more 'real'. I know he has always been real, but now he is not just a baby, he is a baby boy, my baby boy! :)

We also have a picture that shows he's a boy....but I thought better of posting it.  But there is no mistake...it's a boy!  We get to go back in 4 weeks because he was 'stubborn' quote from the ultra sound tech, to get some pictures they weren't able to get! Yay!


 After the appointment we started calling family right away to tell them the exciting news! Then, Mark and I went to Babies-R-Us and we each picked out one boy outfit! It was so fun to imagine our little guy wearing these itty-bitty clothes!  

TODAY @ 2:00 we have our appointment to find out what baby A is! CrAzY...yep, crazy to find out who's in there, this waiting is making me crazy, and crazy excited! Why is it that time is NOT moving today? This is taking FOR-EV-ER. (Sandlot, anyone?). 


Funny thing, Mark and I (okay, they were my ideas, Mark was just nice enough to go along) had all of these elaborate ideas on how we were going find out.  Putting pink or blue helium balloons in a box and then opening it up and have them float out, buying a boy or girl outfit and then having the ultrasound tech put the correct one in a box that we open later, having a picnic and finding out there with birds chirping and children laughing in the background, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH!  Now that today is THE day- we've decided to just find out there in the room! No big production, just have them tell us! Lame, right? 


The whole purpose of finding out later, was so that Mark and I could embrace each other and dance around frolicking in love and excitement for our little baby.  INSTEAD- I will be confined to the bed with goop on my belly, while Mark sits on a small little stool and we awkwardly (but happily) find out the if baby A is a boy or a girl!


Oh, the SUSPENSE IS KILLING ME!  But guess what? You will have to wait even longer to find out! So there-ha! 


Any guesses??

Keep on DREAMING:


I've always heard about crazy, weird pregnancy dreams....well, last night I had my first.  I dreamt that I was was having two babies, and of course I only found that out when I was delivering.  First, Mark missed everything because he was at work so I called him to let him know that I had our babies. Second, I had a boy baby that weighed 8lbs 6oz, and a girl baby who weighed 10lbs 1oz. As soon as I had the babies I went to visit Mark at the station. (Because obviously after you have a baby you are perfectly normal and feeling great again, right?) When I showed him our babies they were only stuffed teddy bears...I was so embarrassed and tried to explain that they were real, but because they weren't  I put them in a duffle bag for safe keeping. (Why is it in dreams that these props just appear?).  When I got to the car they were real babies again, no longer stuffed animals....I was horrified!!! Luckily, I woke up then, But WEIRD!  I hope I don't get these reoccurring dreams, because as far fetched as they are, they seem SO REAL in your dream!  

PS. Tomorrow is week 17. The baby is the size of an onion and weighs 5.9 ounces. 

16.5 weeks baby: Avocado!

Yep, exciting isn’t it! I can’t believe Mark and I are expanding our little family of two!  It’s pretty crazy to think that I have a little baby growing inside me right now!  This baby is beyond a blessing! We are so grateful and excited for our baby!

How we found out baby Austin was coming into this world!

I felt ‘weird’ that is the only way I can describe it, just WEIRD (but weird different, like I was pregnant).  I decided to take a test. (Let’s be honest, I took two boxes). Nothing showed up, I was so disappointed! But I felt it deep down that I was pregnant. So I decided to save one test and wait until Saturday to test again.  Of course that didn’t happen….so here’s what did.

On Friday, we headed to Bend, Oregon, with the Compton’s for a race that Mark and Tom were running.  Jen and I were going to have a drink, but I felt unsure about it because I thought that I might be pregnant.  So, I agreed to take a test at the next gas station we found and then depending on what the test said, I would or would not have a drink.

We pulled over in the next town at the service station in Riley, Oregon.  (The whole town is the service station and archery shop—mark wanted to make sure I included archery shop, as if that makes it waaay cooler)!  I went into the bathroom and took the test, and didn’t look at it until I got back in the car.  Turns out there were two pink lines! 

When Mark got in the car I passed him the test with shaky hands.  The look on his face was priceless—shocked, excited, and terrified all in one look.  Then everyone cheered in the car, and Mark and Jen had a celebratory beer while Tom drove, and I sat prego and thirsty.

Over the course of the weekend I took 9 tests just to make sure! (Mark says we need to buy stock in these things!)

Waiting for the multiple tests....so anxious!

Mark’s grandparents were visiting Boise, so we decided it would be the perfect time to tell Mark’s parents and grandparents.  We knew we wouldn’t see his grandparents again until this summer, and it would be way more fun telling them in person.  It was close to Mother’s Day so we decided to tell them disguised in Mother’s day cards and pictures.

Here’s how we told them:

Here’s the video to show their reaction, the camera was not set to ‘auto’ so that’s why it’s blurry. :( 

Nancy, (Mark’s Mom), is laughing because she thinks we gave her the wrong card! 

We had our first appointment on May 4^th.  We went in thinking we were 7 weeks along, to our surprise we were only 6 weeks. Wah-wah.  Luckily, we were still able to see our little blob that was our baby. The ultrasound tech. told us that if we had been in any earlier we would not have been able to see anything.  She told us the baby was the size of a grain of rice, and the coolest and most amazing thing was that we could see the heartbeat! How incredible is that??  The heart was beating 122 bpm.  All is well and we have another appt. in a month.  
Oh, P.S. our due date is DECEMBER 27^th!  
**Side note, we always said we wouldn't have a Christmas baby due to the poor baby's birthday, but beggars can’t be choosers, so we’ll take it! And it will be the BEST Christmas baby ever born!**

We told my Mom and Bryan when they came into town for a visit that they’ve been planning since December. Perfect timing! It was right before Mother’s Day so we played it up again. J My mom and I have been pranking each other with this really ugly fake flower arrangement for years--Valentines, Christmas, Birthday presents since high school, so I wrapped that in a box along with a sign that said, “the only thing better than having you for a mother is my children having you for a Nana. Taped to the back of the board was our ultrasound picture.

My mom’s reaction was great, unfortunately our camera ran out of space, yes the same one that was blurry for Mark’s family, so we missed her reaction.  She opened it up laughed at the flower thing, and then read the sign and made a long and high pitched ‘ooooooooo’ sound and then hugged me and cried. It was great, too bad the stupid camera failed us! LAME!

Ugly flower arrangement, and sign with the ultra sound pic on the back.

The little white blob is the baby @ 6 weeks! Size of a small pea. 

At around 10 weeks we tole the rest of our family! Everyone was so excited for us! We feel so blessed to have such wonderful, supportive family... this baby is going to be one loved baby!

A typical 1st trimester dinner: 

Mark: mashed potatoes, wild rice, meat loaf, and salad.

Me: eggo waffle with peanut butter and syrup, strawberries, and watermelon. 

 Food Aversions:

ALL MEAT!!!!!

Banana tasted like tuna fish to me- weird I know.

A lot of textures grossed me out. 

Vegetables.

Food Cravings:

PICKLES!!!! I went through these like it was my job, I loved the saltiness and would even take sips of the juice (I could have chugged the whole jar). I am ashamed.

Fruit.

Baby @12 weeks. Size of a plum. Its feet are stretched out and kicking the top.
(The face kinda looks skeleton-ish and scary to me, although my mom does not like me saying this). 

 First Trimester = OVER!!!! 

Let's just say glad its in the past...

Top 10 BEST & WORST of the first trimester:

1. How I felt when I saw a positive test.

2. The incredible and priceless look on Mark's face when he found out.

3. amazing that I'm growing a baby, what a miracle.

4. throwing up every night around dinner time.

5. hearing the heartbeat for the first time. 

6. throwing up in a garbage bag in the car--it was an extreme low, I felt so pathetic.

7. sharing the news with family and close friends.

8. all of the crazy things happening to your body that no one tells you about, except maybe Jenny McCarthy in her book, "Belly Laughs."

9. seeing the baby for the first time and the 2nd time when it actually looked like a baby and was moving all around.

10. and the fact that it is finally over and I am feeling more 'normal' although, I am not sure what my 'normal' is anymore. 

2nd Trimester, we welcome you!


To date, I have bought 1 pair of maternity shorts, 1 pair of capris, and 1 pair of jeans. It's happening. I am officially getting a bump and no longer find it comfortable to do the ‘rubber band trick’ on my jeans.


I will say this is a hard part of being preggo because people can't tell if you are just fat, or if you are pregnant. 

14 weeks. Baby size of a lemon.

4th of July parade in Neskowin. Theme: Super Heroes! 

Mark and Hank rocked their costumes! Such good sports! :) I am pretty sure Hank stole the show, what is it about animals dressed in costumes that we all love? (exactly that!)

15 weeks as wonder  woman  mom! Baby size of a navel orange.