So we decided we'd start trying to have a baby in the fall of 2008. Turns out it didn't take much trying and we found out on October 18 that we were going to become parents! That morning was when I had figured would be the first day I could take a pregnancy test and have it be 100% accurate. It was Anderson University's homecoming weekend and Kyle and I were getting ready to meet up with friends, and his sisters Kristin and Stacey were coming out to visit that day. I pretty much knew I was pregnant already but then I decided I wasn't sure if I wanted to take the test yet or not. Eventually I went ahead and took the test and saw two pink lines show up pretty instantly. I came out of the bathroom and just handed the test to Kyle. He looked at it and thought we must not be pregnant because one of the lines was still pretty light. I let him know that any line meant we were going to have a baby! So, our baby adventure begins.
Month 2 (Weeks 5-8)
We were able to tell most of our family in person about the baby. There was a lot of crying, screaming and hugging. This little baby is so small but so loved already. We were able to hear the baby's heartbeat at the doctor's office. It was good and strong, and on top of the heartbeat we heard a few other wooshing sounds. The doctor said that was the baby moving around. It's hard to believe that this tiny little baby already has a heartbeat and can already be moving! As far as I can tell from the online illustrations, baby looks like a small pink manatee. We also had an ultrasound this month. There's not much to see yet on the ultrasound, but the technician described it to us as a large head and little nubby arms and legs. I call the baby Nublin for now.
We were able to tell most of our family in person about the baby. There was a lot of crying, screaming and hugging. This little baby is so small but so loved already. We were able to hear the baby's heartbeat at the doctor's office. It was good and strong, and on top of the heartbeat we heard a few other wooshing sounds. The doctor said that was the baby moving around. It's hard to believe that this tiny little baby already has a heartbeat and can already be moving! As far as I can tell from the online illustrations, baby looks like a small pink manatee. We also had an ultrasound this month. There's not much to see yet on the ultrasound, but the technician described it to us as a large head and little nubby arms and legs. I call the baby Nublin for now.
Month 3 (Weeks 9-13)
At the beginning of this month we started letting some friends know about baby's arrival. I've been really fortunate that I've had very few side effects from pregnancy. I haven't been sick or nauseous at all. I wasn't able to sleep much until I got to 11 weeks, and then I was fine all of a sudden again.
Month 4 (Weeks 14-17)
I think I'm feeling the baby moving every once and awhile but I'm not 100% sure. Just a weird fluttery feeling I haven't felt before. Other than that, I don't really feel pregnant other than being a lot more hungry than I used to be! In the photo below, there's my sister Amy, me (16 weeks pregnant), Katie Deitrich, Rachel Green, Melody Carr, Shanna Crist.
Month 5 (Weeks 18-21)
A momentus time in the pregnancy! At week 19 we had another ultrasound. I've heard that if your baby is in a bad position and is asleep, you might not be able to tell if it's a boy or a girl at your ultrasound. I gave up caffeine before pregnancy just to be on the safe side and haven't had any (except for what's in chocolate!) ever since. The morning of the ultrasound I drank half a cup of coffee just to make sure the baby would be awake. Well, he was awake...almost too much! We got to see the baby rolling around, stretching it's legs, rubbing it's face with it's hands, sucking it's thumb, and pretty much everything except for getting in a good position to see it's gender! Our ultrasound technician was great and she had me get up and walk around a bit, then come back to try again. Eventually she was able to get a quick look and let us know that it's a boy! Kyle was standing behind her and did a silent "YEAH!" and had his fists up in the air. I told Kyle, this is the most excited we will ever be for our little guy to show off his privates. It was really cool to be able to both see and feel the baby moving. Now I know a lot better what it feels like when he moves. He's a really active little guy, and Kyle was able to start feeling him move at 20 weeks. I was so happy when that happened because I think it helps it feel a lot more real for Kyle also. In the ultrasound, the left image is his cute little skeletor face, and in the right one he is sucking his thumb.
Month 6 (22-26)
This month was when I think I finally started moving from that awkward stage of looking a little extra pudgy to actually looking pregnant! I'm 21 weeks in the photo to the side, and the next 3 weeks I started puffing out. I'll see if I can find a photo from then to post. Around 23 weeks I was noticing that my pelvic muscles were really sore so I made an extra appointment to see my doctor. When I went in, she hooked me up to a machine that monitors the baby's heart and tests if you have any contractions. It's called a Non-Stress Test (NST). I had 8 contractions in 20 minutes and saw the doctor's eyebrows go way up when she came in to see the chart that the machine was printing out. More than four in an hour is when you're supposed to contact your doctor, so that was definitely too many. The doctor put me on Brethine every 6 hours to stop the contractions. It's working but I have to set my alarm for 2:00 am for one of the pills. I worry about the side effects on baby so I don't want to take it on an empty stomach so I get up, drink a lot of water and eat a granola bar. Now I'm getting really tired out! At 25 weeks I had another ultrasound to measure my cervix. It's gotten shorter so now I'm now on modified bed rest. I'm still working but trying to stay seated most of the day with my feet on a footrest and the chair tilted back. Kyle's been doing a great job at cleaning the house and doing some of the cooking. The contractions have pretty much stopped so now I only have to take the pills every 8 hours which 
has helped with sleep a little bit. They make my heart race and I feel somewhat restless so I still am not sleeping well. We did get to see baby again on the ultrasound. The technician was able to confirm that he is still a boy! He's gotten a lot bigger in the last 6 weeks! He was too big to fit the image of him on the screen so we just got to see parts. It wasn't quite as neat as the 19 weeks ultrasound but it was still great to see him and know that he's doing well. I've had 3 NSTs now, and baby seems to hate the sensors on my stomach. He'll move around until he finds them and starts to kick. Particularly the one that measures his heartbeat, we'll hear his heartbeat then hear a louder thud as he kicks the sensor. (The photo is of me during the NST. I look annoyed because at that point, I was pretty sure everyone had went to lunch and forgot about me. Luckily they came back and got me eventually and gave me juice for waiting so long.)
This month was when I think I finally started moving from that awkward stage of looking a little extra pudgy to actually looking pregnant! I'm 21 weeks in the photo to the side, and the next 3 weeks I started puffing out. I'll see if I can find a photo from then to post. Around 23 weeks I was noticing that my pelvic muscles were really sore so I made an extra appointment to see my doctor. When I went in, she hooked me up to a machine that monitors the baby's heart and tests if you have any contractions. It's called a Non-Stress Test (NST). I had 8 contractions in 20 minutes and saw the doctor's eyebrows go way up when she came in to see the chart that the machine was printing out. More than four in an hour is when you're supposed to contact your doctor, so that was definitely too many. The doctor put me on Brethine every 6 hours to stop the contractions. It's working but I have to set my alarm for 2:00 am for one of the pills. I worry about the side effects on baby so I don't want to take it on an empty stomach so I get up, drink a lot of water and eat a granola bar. Now I'm getting really tired out! At 25 weeks I had another ultrasound to measure my cervix. It's gotten shorter so now I'm now on modified bed rest. I'm still working but trying to stay seated most of the day with my feet on a footrest and the chair tilted back. Kyle's been doing a great job at cleaning the house and doing some of the cooking. The contractions have pretty much stopped so now I only have to take the pills every 8 hours which 
has helped with sleep a little bit. They make my heart race and I feel somewhat restless so I still am not sleeping well. We did get to see baby again on the ultrasound. The technician was able to confirm that he is still a boy! He's gotten a lot bigger in the last 6 weeks! He was too big to fit the image of him on the screen so we just got to see parts. It wasn't quite as neat as the 19 weeks ultrasound but it was still great to see him and know that he's doing well. I've had 3 NSTs now, and baby seems to hate the sensors on my stomach. He'll move around until he finds them and starts to kick. Particularly the one that measures his heartbeat, we'll hear his heartbeat then hear a louder thud as he kicks the sensor. (The photo is of me during the NST. I look annoyed because at that point, I was pretty sure everyone had went to lunch and forgot about me. Luckily they came back and got me eventually and gave me juice for waiting so long.)
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