Week 15: The WORST yet

Ok, I have had a smooth sailing pregnancy so far, but the start of this week was HORRIBLE. Saturday, Brent and I took the kids to Helen for a day trip with Kasey and her family. We went tubing and went to the water park. I was a little tired from doing some activity out of the norm, but not bad. We headed home about 5pm and ordered us a pizza. We ate and watched "The Crazies." I of course fell asleep during the movie and woke up on the couch about 9pm. I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach! I thought maybe I had pulled a muscle or something and didn't think too much of it. Well, we headed to bed and about 30 minutes later is when it all began. From this point until 9am the next morning, I vomited every 30 minutes. It was like clockwork.. It had Brent and I VERY worried. By 2am, I was just dry heeving.. I was actually drinking water, just so I wouldn't have to dry heeve when the next 30 minutes were up.. It was almost if I had food poisoning. I got ZERO sleep and began to worry because I wasn't keeping anything down to keep the baby and myself hydrated. So, about 9:30am Sunday, July 4th (the next morning) I decided to call my OBGYN.. The abdominal pain by this point tripled.. I could barely walk. Dr. Shilling was out of town, but I was transferred to Dr. McIntosh from Women's Healthcare. I described all of my symptoms to her and she informed me to head straight to the ER because the pain I was describing was where my appendix was. OH MY GOSH, I thought.. that NEVER occured to me and opened up all kinds of worries. The boys were still sleeping and we headed to Henry. The ER wasn't packed at all (it was July 4th so I wouldn't think so) and I was seen almost immediately. I was taken into an ER room where we met with a doctor and he wanted a CAT scan immediately. I was VERY scared because radiation to the baby is NEVER good.. and they didn't help by reading and going over all of the risks to having a scan while pregnant. But, they said there was no other option to finding out what was going on. I had to drink this dye that had to settle for 2 hours.. I couldn't take it thru an IV because I am pregnant. I went in for the CAT scan about 2pm and within 15 minutes of being done, the doctor informed us that I had Appendicitis and my appendix had to be removed immediately. EMERGENCY SURGERY, pregnant?! I had never been SO scared in my entire life. They called the team in to do the surgery because it was a holiday and they didn't have any surgeries scheduled, only call-ins. The surgery lasted about an hour and everything went great.. Whew. The surgeon told Brent that my appendix was close to rupturing. They put me in Labor and Delivery for recovery so they could monitor the baby and I. That was a relief. I went home the Monday evening and told the nurses I did NOT want to see them again until December! :) What a scary and hectic experience..

I have been recovering well. The first couple of days I slept mostly and by Friday I was moving around. After all, I had my very important interview with GSU to get into the Early Childhood Education program.. Am I dedicated to teaching or what?? Hehe. That went well and I should know something by July 23.

From BabyCenter.com: Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces about the size of an apple. She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! (Don't be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby's sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby's position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to "hide the goods.")

Hellooooo Second Trimester!

Amy's cute little outfit she got for him!
I will post the actual ultrasound pictures when I finish scanning them onto the computer!

It's a BOY!!

Who would have thought?? We went yesterday (7/2) and found out the sex. I was 14 weeks, 6 days. I read and researched about what to do to help before an ultrasound to better see. I filled my bladder up with lots of water and sipped on a coke 30 minutes before to get the baby moving. Brent, my mom, Kasey and I went to the appointment.. They looked like we were crazy when the four of us walked in! Amy came to meet us before her and Sean left for Oregon to give a key to Kasey and brought the baby's first gift! So sweet! I had two to choose from, a boy and a girl gift.. Thank you Amy! I have never had to pee SO bad in my life, but I had to hold it! We went back, and Dr. Shilling's wife Denise was the one who did the ultrasound. I had heard many great things about her, so I wasn't too nervous about not being able to tell. As soon as I looked at the screen I knew. He was squirming around and and I could have sworn I saw his "third leg." I didn't say anything, everyone just knew it was a girl! She said, "Are you guys ready?" She changed the view to be between the legs AND... there it was!! It was SO obvious.. I cried! Of course we talked about girls way too much, but I cried out of happiness.. it just made it so real! It's a BOY if I had ever seen one before! :) I guess my husband isn't capable of producing girls, hehe.. but we can try later on down the road (wink). Anyway, we got to the fun part of just playing around and he was just a waving! His hands are huge! I guess the coke helped because he was putting his hands on his head, waving, and kicking his feet. We even got to take a look at this heart, which was cool because they usually don't do that until 20 weeks. His legs are measuring to be 3 weeks ahead of what I actually am.. he is going to be tall like his daddy! Also, Denise said that she had been doing ultrasounds for 20 years, and at this week in pregnancy, she had never seen feet that big! He was measuring at about 4 ounces, and she said his feet were alteast an ounce of that! WOW! Oh, this has been the best day of my pregnancy yet. It was so real!

And let the SHOPPING begin! I first opened THE cutest little outfit from Amy! Then, Kasey and I headed to Tanger. I got some outfits from Carters and then headed to Target to buy a baby book.. I can't wait to write in there! I decided to stop and just look in Marshalls and that's when I emptied my wallet.. I couldn't believe all of the name brand CUTE boy clothes in there! I am getting so excited about meeting my little man!

From BabyCenter.com: This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon— and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

Week 12-13

We went Thursday, 6/10, to our 12 week appointment. Went good, but our luck, the power went out as soon as we walked in the building! So, I couldn't get an ultrasound.. But, we had our appointment in the dark with candles and window light :) At this appointment, we didn't meet with Dr. Shilling, but the midwife there went over things like what to expect, what kind of birth I want, etc. We heard the heartbeat.. It took her what felt like 10 minutes, so I was a little freaked out (especially since I hadn't heard the heart beat in 5 weeks). I learned later that this happens alot, it can take them a few minutes. Anyway, I was so tense that as soon as she found it, I burst in laughter.. It was just a sign of relief. So, because I did that, she lost it again. HA! We just laughed for 5 minutes, I almost cried! Everything went great and I booked our Baby Prints appointment for July 2.. We get to find out the gender (or I hope so)!! Dr. Shilling has this "Baby Print" package where you can pay 100 dollars and get a DVD of the ultrasound, lots of pictures, and find out the gender as early as 15 weeks.. Come to find out, the DVD machine there wasn't working, so we would only have to pay 50 dollars! Nice deal to me.. Can't wait!!

This week, I FINALLY had to break down and buy maternity clothes, well pants! I can still fit into my regular pre-preggo pants with a belly band, but it is getting to be uncomfortable, especially at work when I am constantly bending over, etc. Amy and I went after to work to just "look around." We started at Target and I didn't really find anything I liked there, so we headed over to Motherhood Maternity.. We had a blast in this store! First, the sales clerk in there was SO annoying and nagging, she wouldn't leave us alone! I mean, it was very nice of her to help, but it gets annoying when they start actually picking out clothes FOR you! Anyway, I tried on lots of clothes and we had a ball in the dressing room. ... 250 dollars later! SO expensive!

From BabyCenter.com: Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long and weighs nearly an ounce.

Week 11

11weeks down and I am feeling GREAT! No morning sickness at all (yet!) and getting some energy back! First week of summer camp was a success. However, I do have to get used to this new schedule.. Went from 3 hours in the afternoon to 6:45a to 2:45p. Love getting off early, but I am tired! I dread starting my summer classes next week, but thankfully I am only taking two.

I have enjoyed the boys being home from school and so glad Brent is home during the day with them, working of course. It makes my day better when I don't have to worry about them at home (like last summer). With my first trimester coming to an end in the next two weeks, I am getting very antsy about knowing the gender of my Baby Philmon! I am ready to buy stuff, and I know my friends are too! I am ready to get this house ready, Max moved into his new room, and get a nursery started. This week, I am beginning to think about getting new flooring put in. I love this house, but if there was one thing I could change, it would be the carpet. It hasn't been taken very good care over the past years, so I have been looking at hardwood. Oh, and I am still trying to convince Brent that it's a necessity. ;) I will keep you guys updated.

New this week: My baby bump is coming back! I can still fit into my pants, with a belly band of course, but I can tell it won't be much longer! I also have my next appointment this coming up Thursday that I am SO excited for! I can't wait to see how much our little bundle of joy has grown! I have also been getting heartburn for the first time in my life!! I didn't have a clue as to what the burning sensation was until I read about it in my What To Expect book.. I have Tums on hand now! :)

BabyCenter Update:

Week 11: Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden.She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming.

Week 9 and 10

I decided to put week 9 and 10 together because a part of these two weeks, I was laying on the beach! The good thing is, my little bug/virus is completely gone! Thursday of week 9, we were leaving for Panama City with 8 of our awesome friends.. Amy O. and I are both pregnant, so we were able to share that with each other the entire trip! We had a great time! After all, it was poppy's first beach trip and I was able to give my small bump a little tan! :)

A quick recap of the trip:

Day One: Drove from Atlanta into Alabama and then down into Florida to Panama City! Brent, Camron and Kasey and I rode together in the PT Cruiser, Amy, Sean, Amy and Chris rode together in Amy's minivan, and Blake and Tess rode in their truck. We spent the afternoon unpacking and admiring our amazing condo! We all went to Pineapple Willies for dinner.

Day Two: Today, we spent most of the day on the beach. We played volleyball, Frisbee and football, and just layed out. We had lunch in and played in the pool, then we went to Angelo's for dinner.

Day Three: We relaxed on the beach for a while and played in the pool. Chris, Sean, Amy and I grilled out on the beach for dinner and the rest of us went out to Dirty Dick's for dinner.

Day Four: We spent almost the whole day at the pool. It was so relaxing and fun! The guys played "aquatic quarters" while the girls layed out. We all went out to Margaritaville at Pier Park for dinner. That was a blast! Then, we went back and Brent, Sean, Cam, Chris and Amy played spades.

What a great vacation! It was back to work Tuesday and to get ready for summer camp the following week. No sickness, still feeling great! As you can see in the pic of me above, my belly flucuates depending on the day. I can fit into my pants one day, and the next I have to wear a belly band!

I have been craving sweets lately. I don't crave anything particular, just desserts in general... something I never have really been in to! I just kind of go with whatever my body feels at the moment. We went broke this 10th week. I craved Mo Joe's one night, Olive Garden another, and KFC twice. After each dinner, I wanted Dairy Queen for dessert! I enjoyed a dipped cone one night and an oreo blizzard the next two nights.

BabyCenter.com Update:

Week 9:

Your new resident is nearly an inch long, the size of a grape, and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do her tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Your baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. Her eyes are fully formed, but her eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. She has tiny earlobes, and her mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that your baby's basic physiology is in place, she's poised for rapid weight gain.

Week 10:

Though he's barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature.He's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy.If you could take a peek inside your womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.In other developments: Your baby's limbs can bend now. His hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. The outline of his spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from his spinal cord. Your baby's forehead temporarily bulges with his developing brain and sits very high on his head, which measures half the length of his body. From crown to rump, he's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size- to nearly 3 inches.

My first doctor appointment @ 8 weeks!

Dr. Shilling

This week was NOT a good week for me! In fact, it was rather strange! Monday morning, the day after Mother's Day, I woke up vomitting. As soon as my feet touched the carpet, I was hugging the toilet for about an hour. I thought, "Oh no, here comes the morning sickness!" On top of throwing up, I had a high fever. I put Zane on the bus and Brent had to take Max to school because I couldn't even stand up. I had to be at work today, so I laid down and went back to bed hoping that it would pass in a couple of hours. It was strange, I woke back up around 11:00 am and STILL had a fever and was continuing to have the morning sickness feeling. I could barely stand up! I HATE calling into work, but knew it had to be done. There was just NO way! My boss completely understood. At this point, I was hoping this was some virus.. I felt like I had the flu. It continued that way until Tuesday, where I felt a tad better. I still continued to vomit, but only in the morning. I forced myself to work the rest of the week, but my body was out of whack! I thought that there is no way I could be sick the ENTIRE day like this. Wasn't morning sickness supposed to just come at one point and you get some relief throughout the day?? I was glad I had an appointment at the doctor's office Friday, so maybe I could get some medicine for the nausea. I had an appointment Friday at 9am with Dr. Shilling and one next Wednesday the 19th with Women's Healthcare (this was so I could decide which I liked best). Thursday came around and I was feeling tons better. It had to have been a virus! I still couldn't eat very well, but the vommitting went away. I was orginially going to cancel my Friday appointment with Shilling and try Women's Healthcare first, but when the sickness came along I decided to keep it. I went in Friday and met Dr. Shilling! I absolutely LOVED him! It was exactly what I wanted in a doctor and the funny thing is, this is his last year delivering so I got him just in time!! He told me I had that "happy pregnant glow" that he loved to see on his first time patients. Usually they don't do ultrasounds so early, but he wanted to reassure me that everything was okay. Also, we were right on with how far along we thought I was! We did the ultrasound and I heard the heartbeat, sounded like a galloping horse! It was AMAZING.. the best feeling in the world. It made it all SO real. Oh, and there is only one baby in there! :) I decided that I would stick with Dr. Shilling because I liked him so much. The sickness was going away and he said what I had sounded exactly like a virus. WHEW!!! I am ready for a vacation with my buddies!

Oh, I lost 2 pounds this week because of the sickness... my belly bump went down some.

Update from BabyCenter.com:

Week 8: New this week: Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. You may be daydreaming about your baby as one sex or the other, but the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether you're having a boy or a girl. Either way, your baby — about the size of a kidney bean — is constantly moving and shifting, though you still can't feel it.

Happy Mother's Day.. and 7 weeks today!!

Today was a very special, but busy day! Max woke up at 7am with a high fever, so he had to stay home from church, etc. to rest up for school tomorrow. He is thankfully feeling a little better. I woke up to flowers, cards, my all time fav movie Erin Brockovich that I have been wanting to have on DVD, and big hugs from Max and Zane! We started our day off with going to Lord of Life for my Danielle's (my sister) Confirmation. It was awesome and I am so proud of her! The service was nice and reminded me of when I grew up going there. Zane actually enjoyed the traditional service (vs. Avalon) and asked if we could go there again, actually. The whole family, except Uncle Erik, Aunt Kristie and Jacob, went to Golden Corral to celebrate. However, the line was out the door so we decided to go to Yuki Japanese instead! Boy, that was delicious!! It was great family time, but we missed Maxie. Afterwards, we made a surprise visit to GaGa's (Brent's mom) and gave her Mother's Day gift and let Zane and Kyle swim for a bit. Then, we went to visit Brent's dad's to spend time with Phyllis. It is always a pleasure to visit with them and I loved my new petunias! We finally made it home around 7 and I am pooped! I am writing my blog for a bit, getting the boys settled for school tomorrow and writing this last final due tomorrow at 10am! Then, I can officially say I am done with this semester! WHEW.. 6 classes definitely wore my butt out!

Besides a wonderful Mother's Day, today starts my 7th week of pregnancy! I have started to feel some nausea these last couple of days. Nothing serious, just a constant hangover feeling! Oh, and the thought of certain types of meat disgust me! I crave fruits and sweets.. mostly cold stuff! The hot food isn't settling well. I also continue to have NO energy! My house (to me) is the filthiest it has ever been and I am a CLEAN FREAK! So, it is bugging me! This week, I am going to clean in spurts and get this done.

LOVE reading these, so thought I would post what's going on this week:

The big news this week: Hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs — although they look more like paddles at this point than the tiny, pudgy extremities you're daydreaming about holding and tickling. Technically, your baby is still considered an embryo and has something of a small tail, which is an extension of her tailbone. The tail will disappear within a few weeks, but that's the only thing getting smaller. Your baby has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long, about the size of a blueberry.

If you could see inside your womb, you'd spot eyelid folds partially covering her peepers, which already have some color, as well as the tip of her nose and tiny veins beneath parchment-thin skin. Both hemispheres of your baby's brain are growing, and her liver is churning out red blood cells until her bone marrow forms and takes over this role. She also has an appendix and a pancreas, which will eventually produce the hormone insulin to aid in digestion. A loop in your baby's growing intestines is bulging into her umbilical cord, which now has distinct blood vessels to carry oxygen and nutrients to and from her tiny body.