23 weeks

Last Wednesday, December 15th, we went for a check up. Everything looks fantastic and Jerry is growing big and strong. My weight is fine and my BP measured perfect. Jerry's little heartbeat was a little erratic, but it was all because he kept running from the Doppler. He is one active little tyke and likes to wiggle around, especially if I'm on my back. Also, my fundal height is measuring a week ahead, this boy is going to be a chunker, I'm sure of it.

This post was meant to be short, as I would like to ramble some a little later in the week regarding Christmas. So, check back soon.

What's in a name

I posted last time that our choice for our son's name was to honor my father, but I didn't mention the middle name - Michael. Michael is Jeremiah's dad's name. Jeremiah is really close with his dad and we felt that we should honor him as well. Two men for our son to model his life after in two very different ways. My father was an upstanding man who loved God, his family and everyone around him. He served in the Air Force, he worked hard everyday and he lived his life for my mom and I. Whereas Michael is a changed man. From my understanding, when Jeremiah was young, Mike (as we call him) lived more of a fast life and was led down a rough path. He is now a man that loves his sons, works hard and seems to want to make right of his wrongs from the past in one way or another. Two men that show our son the way to be in a very unkind world.

Now, the next part of this post is purely observational. I recently saw the list of top 10 names of 2010 and got to thinking about the people I grew up with and the kids Jeremiah grew up with - the kids of 1983 and 1979. Here are three lists of the top 10 names of the 3 eras. Interesting to see the wide changes, I think.

1979

1	Michael	Jennifer
2	Christopher	Melissa
3	Jason	Amanda
4	David	Jessica
5	James	Amy
6	Matthew	Sarah
7	John	Heather
8	Robert	Angela
9	Joshua	Nicole
10	Brian	Michelle

1983

1	Michael	Jennifer
2	Christopher	Jessica
3	Matthew	Amanda
4	David	Ashley
5	Joshua	Sarah
6	James	Melissa
7	Jason	Nicole
8	Daniel	Stephanie
9	John	Heather
10	Robert	Elizabeth

2010

1	Aiden	Sophia
2	Jacob	Isabella
3	Jackson	Olivia
4	Ethan	Emma
5	Jaden	Chloe
6	Noah	Ava
7	Logan	Lily
8	Caden	Maddison
9	Lucas	Addison
10	Liam	Abigail

Here I sit...

I sit here on the day after Thanksgiving and think of what I am truly thankful for this year. Everyone always says family, friends and God. Yes, I am thankful for all of these things, but this year is unique.

In the past year, Jeremiah and I have been through a lot. We started last November off buying our house, our home. Then we found out that I was pregnant - November 17,2009 was the day actually. We were excited, scared and blissfully happy. We told everyone we knew, friends and family, the world. However, the excitement quickly ended December 10th. This was the day we found out that I was having a miscarriage, a blighted ovum. I had my D&C on December 15th, the day after my 26th birthday. What a way to end the year and start a new one.

We rocked along and decided to try again as soon as given the go ahead. I got pregnant again in April and what do you know, another blighted ovum and another D&C. At this point I fell into a deep depression and finally had to seek out help. I was so hurt, so confused and just pissed off. Why me? Unfortunately, this story is so common for so many people. How do so many women go through this over and over again? I just don't know.

A year later, I sit here feeling my son wiggle and kick. All I wanted was to be pregnant with our child. I just wanted to make a baby that would be ours to love, raise and watch grow. It appears that this is finally going to happen. I am exactly half way there, 20 weeks pregnant today, and nothing short of scared, excited and joyous. This is truly all I want for Christmas, our baby.

So, to sum it up. I am thankful for Jerry Michael Watts. I am thankful that God has planned for us to have a son. I am thankful to have a husband that will raise his son with love, respect and character. I am just so thankful for finally having this opportunity.

Our Sweet Baby Boy

That's right, it's a boy.

On November 17th, we found out that Baby was in fact a boy. It was so sweet to see him and watch him wiggle and get all the measurements.

I really had been thinking for a long time that he was male and that we would soon be raising a son. His name is Jerry Michael and that is so special to me. On November 10, 1999, my daddy passed away and his name was Jerry. I had always said that I wanted to name my first son after him, no matter what. I find it so wonderful that Baby is a boy, that we found out in the month that Daddy passed away and that he will have his Granddaddy's name - what a lovely way to honor a lovely man!

So, here is how the day went - my appointment was at 8:00 am. I went back and waited in the lab waiting area after leaving my "sample" and having my iron checked. I waited and waited and waited. I began to get irritated and then I became aware that I had been forgotten. My nurse finally came and got me at 8:45 (after apologizing and trying to push it off on me, whatever). I had my BP and weight checked (both good) and then grabbed Jeremiah and waited in the ultrasound area. We were called back around 9:20 and began one of the most exciting days of my life. Our US Tech was fantastic. She first found baby and got a great profile shot and quickly found Jerry's "boy parts." Let's just say, he is definitely boy!! We got the rest of the measurements and got to see Jerry for about 30 minutes straight. He has long legs, I mean long. Every measurement was normal and Jerry is measuring 2 days ahead and weighs approximately 10 ounces - little chunk!

After all of that excitement, Jeremiah and I spent the day together going to see family, shopping for a Little Guy and just being excited. We are already so in love.

So, here are some pictures - enjoy!

This is a side view. On the left is Jerry's face. Do you see his forehead, eyes, nose and mouth?

Back view, arm on the left and spine and ribs to the right

Jerry's really long legs

His flexed foot and toes

Belly Progression - First 18 weeks

I have been taking belly pictures every 3 weeks. Here is the progression for the first 18 weeks.

(6 weeks 1 day, 9 weeks 1 day, 12 weeks 1 day, 15 weeks 1 day, 18 weeks 1 day)

Will it be Allyson Marie or Jerry Michael?

This time next week, we should know whether Baby is a boy or girl, so my question to you is - which will it be?

Here are my answers to all the myths:

• If you carry your baby high and tight, it is a boy. If you carry your baby low and wide, it’s a girl.- I am carrying low and wide (girl)
  

• If you crave fruits and vegetables, it’s a boy. If you crave meats and starches, you will have a girl. - I crave fruits, veggies (boy)
  

• If you crave sweets, you’re having a boy. If you crave salty foods, you’re having a girl. - I crave both (??)
  

• If the hair on your legs is growing faster than before you were pregnant, you’re having a boy. If it is growing at the same rate or slower, you’re having a girl. - My hair is growing faster (boy)
  

• If your feet are colder now than before you were pregnant, you’re having a boy. If they are the same as before, you’re having a girl. - My feet are always freezing now (boy)
  

• If your husband is gaining weight right along with you, you’re having a boy. If he hasn’t gained any weight, you’re having a girl. - J's weight is about the same (girl)
  

• If your hair is gray, you’re having a boy. If your hair is not gray (natural or dyed), you’re having a girl. No grays for me (girl)
  

• If you have morning sickness early in your pregnancy, you’re having a girl. If you haven’t had morning sickness, you’re having a boy.- I had morning sickness (girl)
  

• If you look particularly good during pregnancy, you’re having a boy. If you’re not looking so good, you’re having a girl.- If by looking good this means clearer face and healthier skin, then yes (boy)
  

• If your urine is a bright neon yellow color, you’re having a boy. If it’s a dull yellow, you’re having a girl. - My urine is more neon than dull (boy)
  

• If you must have orange juice everyday, you’re having a girl. If you don’t like orange juice, you’re having a boy.- I must have orange juice everyday (girl)
  

• If you’re having headaches, you’re having a boy. If you’re not, you’re having a girl.- I have headaches often (boy)
  

• If someone asks you to show them your hands and you present them palms up, you’re having a girl. If you present your hands palms down, you’re having a boy.- I present my palms up (girl)
  

• If you pick up a coffee mug by the handle, you’re having a boy. If you pick it up by the body of the mug, you’re having a girl.- I pick it up by the body of the mug (girl)

So, that is 7 for a girl and 6 for a girl - that didn't help much, did it? Anyway, see that poll over above my timeline? Vote what you think Baby will be next Wednesday, November 17th.

16 weeks

Hi all!

Today, Baby and I had our 16 week appointment and it went really well. I had my quad screening done and should find out the results soon. We did a weight and bp check and that all went great as well. Lastly, we heard the heartbeat and it was between 169-174. Apparently Baby really likes orange juice and made the little one a little hyper - haha!

And finally for the most exciting part, we scheduled our BIG appointment for November 17th at 8:00am. I am so excited!!!

I don't have many pictures to show, but I will share the picture of the crib that we (we, as in Jeremiah and Molly) put up on Sunday. I will show more of the furniture once we get it all set and like we want it.

Baby Things

I thought it would be fun to show everything we have gotten for Baby so far. Let me first warn you that Granna (my mom) is pretty positive Baby is a girl, so there are lots of girl things already. If Baby is a Jerry and not an Allyson, that's ok we have friends with babies and this won't be the last baby, so who knows.

This post will be mostly pictures, so enjoy!


4 little outfits I got at a yard sale for $.50 each.


Shoes!

Sweet little receiving blankets (we really like jungle stuff)

Hats and bows

Baby clothes - purple onesie, blue dress, green "Mommy's Little Stinker" onesie

Burp clothes and matching bibs

Yard sale books - I am so excited about these

Regular bibs and shirt bibs

Baby carrier that I got at a yard sale for $5 unused

We are going to get our crib this weekend (thanks Granna!) and after we get that, we are going to start slowly putting the room together. Baby's room is painted, but we need to clean it out, clean the carpet and organize so that when things start getting hectic, it isn't too much to do.

I have my next appointment on Wednesday, Nov. 3rd so check back soon for an update :)

12 week appointment update

Another great appointment in the books!

This appointment was great for several reasons:

1. We got to hear the baby's heart beat on the Doppler, which means I am far enough along and baby is big enough that we don't have to have an ultrasound to know that baby is doing ok.
2. Dr. D took me off prometrium.
3. I don't go back for 4 weeks because I am now a "normal pregnancy."
4. I am almost out of 1st trimester! I really never thought this day would come.

Overall, in the span of 30 minutes lots happened. I got weighed (up 7 pounds- wow!), I got a flu shot and I was assured that baby and I are doing great!

Funny thing, when trying to find baby with the Doppler, Dr. D couldn't find the little goof at first. However, as soon as he rolled over to my left side just above my hip, found him/her. A nice loud 174!!

The next time I update I will give you a detailed look at what baby is up to in there. Also, I thought I would share some photos of what baby has gotten so far.

Ahhhh so exciting!!

12 weeks

Yay, I made it another week!! I cannot believe that I am almost out of First Trimester!

Well, here we are at 12 weeks, 1 day. Looking pretty good, huh!


The last couple of weeks have been a lot of fun.

Last weekend we celebrated Molly Ann's 1st birthday. Here she is in her new haircut!


This weekend we celebrated Jeremiah's 31st birthday. Can you believe it, this is his last birthday as just a puppy daddy. How exciting. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of that day :)

I have my next appointment on Wednesday and will update everyone as to how that goes.

5th Appointment = Wonderful Progress

Well, hey there!

Today, we had another appointment and it went really well.

Baby was measuring 3 days ahead, the heart rate was 184 and baby was just a wigglin'. The ultrasound tech was able to get some good pictures of our little baby. It's funny, baby looked like a baby today and not an M&M or gummy bear or blur. I am getting so excited - heck, I even announced it on Facebook.

The first picture is of the baby's profile of the face and the second picture is the little legs.



That's all for now. I'll update some later.

9 weeks, almost 10

Hey readers!

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days. Work as been stressful to say the least and I'm just plan tired. In fact, I took half a day off today to just come home and sit and rest in the peace and quiet.

So, I guess you all would like an update, huh?

I am doing good! Tired, nauseous, emotional but very good and pregnant. Today I am 9 weeks 6 days, tomorrow will be 10 weeks!! Double digits, yippee!

Oh and here is some fun info - I am starting to show!! I can't believe I am showing already. Not only that, I had to go buy a couple of pairs of maternity pants b/c my other's will no longer button. I got 2 pairs of pants for $20.69 at a consignment store. I am pretty pumped about that!!

Here is me at 9w 1d



Here is a little comparison of 6w 1d to 9w 1d

Great Appointment!

Well, we did it. We made it the the 8 week mark plus some and then we had a wonderful appointment today.

Here are the stats:

• 8 weeks 5 days, measuring 9 weeks 1 day (6 days ahead)
• Baby's heartbeat was 179 (hmmmm, girl maybe?)
• My blood pressure was 100/62
• My weight was 163 (lost one pound, told to eat up!)

I go back in 2 weeks and then I will start being a "normal" pregnant woman and start going every 4 weeks for 2 or 3 appointments and move back to 2 weeks, then once a week and then BABY!!!!

So, in a word, things are awesome!!! I am so happy, so thrilled, so relieved and so excited!!!!

OMG, WE ARE GOING TO BE PARENTS!!!!!!!!

Wanna see some pictures?

Look, in the 2nd and 3rd picture you can see a little arm. In the 1st picture, it is blurry because baby was wiggling (ha, silly thing!).

Ahhhh, I am so excited!

8 weeks

Well, folks I made it to 8 weeks!

According to BabyCenter.com, baby is the size of a kidney bean.

Apparently baby has webbed fingers and toes, her eyelids just about cover her eyes, breathing tubes extend from her throat to the branches of her lungs and her tail is just about gone. In the brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. Unfortunately, external genitals haven't formed enough yet to be able to tell if baby is an Allyson or a Jerry. She is constantly moving and shifting, which I can't wait to finally be able to feel around the 15 to 20 week mark.

As for my current symptoms, I am feeling ok. My nausea is still pretty hardcore, my headaches are daily and the fatigue is one for the books. However, I am thankful to still feel ok and able to function. Even though functioning usually ends around 7:30 most evenings.

Only 5 more days until we see baby again!

Waiting is the worst

There is something to be said about waiting...

First, you wait to ovulate. Then you wait until the 2 week wait is up to see if you were able to conceive that cycle. Next you wait until you are able to get into the doctor's office and see a heart beat. Lastly, you wait until the next appointment to make sure things are still going ok.

So, it seems to me that this whole baby thing is nothing more than a waiting game. I think I would be more ok with the waiting if I weren't such a worrier. I am so worried that something will be wrong at the next ultra sound and that baby is, somehow, not ok. I worry that this is all too good to be true. I worry that I have, once again, gotten my hopes up.

Our next appointment is Wednesday, September 8th at 8:30 and it could not seem further away. I do realize that most women have to go 4 weeks in between appointments, but unfortunately, I am not most women - I am the 1 in 10 that have had more than one miscarriage. I just want this to work, ya know?

Let's just hope the next 6 days fly by!

I do have to say that the following picture, really is true.

Itching to buy things

Oh man, I have been itching to buy things for this little miracle since we saw the heartbeat. However, I have been really good and have only bought one thing and it was the receiving blanket that matches the bed set that Jeremiah and I fell in love with. Oh, you want to see the set? OK!
It is the Sleepy Safari set at Buy Buy Baby. I just love it so much. If you want to see more of it, you can just click here.

If you know me, you know that I adore all things elephant and my child HAS to have an elephant based room. I am just so excited to buy elephant things for this sweet child and share my insane love for the big ol' grey guys.

Also, I have fallen trap to the bargain baby sites. Here is a list of the baby sites that I love:
MamaBargains.com
BabySteals.com
Zulily.com

If you have anymore to share, please do!

Ok, so here is a quick gripe. It is really hard to find gender neutral things in most stores. Buy Buy Baby has a nice selection, but Target is all pink and blue. What if you don't like either of those colors? Maybe I should start a gender neutral line of clothing for the mom who wants to start shopping a little early.

Fun pictures

Hello to the ones following, thus far!

I promised that I would add some pictures and what not as time went on. So, this entire post will be pictures for your enjoyment!

This first picture is of the 3 tests that I took to prove it to myself, that I was in fact, pregnant again.

Houston, we have a baby and a heartbeat!!!! This is at 5 weeks 5 days. I was so excited, that I forgot to ask the heart rate and any of the specs. However, I do know that baby was right on target and doing great. Baby looks like a little M&M to me.

These were taken at 6 weeks 1 day. I am terribly bloated and feel like crap, but I figured I better take them and just do what I gotta do. About 20 minutes after these pictures I had to change due to throwing up all over myself, but whatever.

These were all taken on 6 weeks 5 days, the reason it isn't as clear as the first one is because it wasn't done trans vaginally. Instead the tech did it on top of my tummy to see if it was possible an it was (yay!!). The heart beat was 131 and baby was measuring perfectly on time. The first picture is of the CRL (Crown-to-rump length) and the last picture is the most clear of the pics.

I hope you all enjoyed these as much as I do (minus the ones of me). Next time, expect to get an update and maybe a preview of the bedding we have already picked out.

Thanks again for following us!

This is the beginning of an exciting new adventure

I have always wanted to do a baby blog, but unfortunatley, I have never been able to. However, this looks like it might just be our successful and sticky baby. It is still very early, but we have never been this far, so I have my hopes up and I feel like I should be able to at this point.

My plan for this blog is to chronicle the day in and day out of this exciting pregnancy for the world (well, those of you that are reading this).

I want to tell you how I'm feeling, what I'm thinking and how everything is going thus far. I have started a little time-line to the right of the page for quick reference or whatever. Feel free to ask any questions or give me any pointers as you feel the need.

As of today, I am 6w6d and feeling ok. I have been nauseas most of this pregnancy and am having consistent headaches. I think most of it is due to the fact that I am on 200mg of Prometrium 2x a day for a Progesterone deficiency.

Anyway, after this post I will update with pics and other fun stuff as we go along.

Thanks for sharing with me!