Christmas 2008

Lots of little Christmas goodies! He got the Alabama bib and book from Cory, Kelley, Kaitlin, and Kenzie, the lamb and Christmas Classics DVD set and white blanket from Nanny, money from Luke's parents, and the rest from my mom & dad. Christmas will be even more fun next year --- I can't wait!

Doctor Visit 12.22.08

We had another ultrasound done, and that little boy sure was rowdy! You'll notice we already have a little thumb sucker on our hands! He kicked quite a bit during this one. The ultrasound tech noticed some little cysts on his kidneys, and showed them to the doctor incase we needed to see a specialist. The doctor wasn't concerned, and said these often go away by the next ultrasound. He said the baby's bladder being full could've caused the ultrasound to look like cysts, so he'll just check it again at our next appt. He weighed in at 13oz.

Preparing the Nursery

Luke got to work on 12.17.08 to get the nursery prepared. He's done a great job!

Halfway Mark

My mother kept telling me to get pictures of my stomach along the way, and I finally got around to it at Week 20 (the halfway mark)...

Little Wiggle Worm

One night during Week 18, Luke and I were cleaning and getting the house ready for the Sunday School Christmas Party I'd volunteered us to host. We were in the spare bedroom cleaning, and I felt a little bubble work its way right up the left side of my belly button. It was the briefest and most subtle little thing, but I'm declaring it the first time I felt the baby move. Luke, of course, had his hand to my stomach for the next few days, hoping to feel a little jolt. The next week, as we were lying in bed reading aloud to the baby, he got pretty squirmy and Luke finally got to feel him move. He couldn't wipe the grin off his face the rest of the night...

12 Weeks Hugging the Toilet

From 9.22.08 through somewhere around 12.5.08, Luke spent the majority of his time following me around with a garbage can, changing out the garbage bag, taking steps to eliminate odors that triggered more nausea, or holding my hair back. I typically was most sick in the early mornings and the late evenings, which was nice not to be sick all day at work. It's crazy that one day I just wasn't sick, and it gradually got better.

Luke also spent a lot of time with one hand in whatever snack I had on the way home from work each day (usually Honey Nut Cheerios or Honeycomb). I discovered that the smell of hamburger meat cooking usually took away my appetite. There was one night that Luke grilled bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin, baked sweet potatoes, rolls, the works. I didn't touch the meat, ate up most of my sweet potato. Luke hauled it away about 30 minutes later in the trash can.

There were several moments when I thought I'd never last if the sickness kept up much longer, and I decided that women absolutely must forget what that feels like or there would never be the second child. I know it will be worth it, and I know I'd do it all again in one instant.

It's a...

Little Boy! The 12.1.08 ultrasound confirmed it --- and above is the picture to prove it.

It must've been too early in the morning for him because he kept moving
away, but we got to see his little lungs, bladder, stomach, kidneys....so far everything looks good!

I'm pretty sure I'll be paying for Luke's raising (peeing out the window of the car, getting his nose broken playing keep away with another boy's football helmet, the list goes on).

Start Spreading the News...

Keeping quiet for three whole weeks was excruciating for us! I started getting a little queasy during week 7. A friend I work with even asked several times (no doubt the Sprite on my desk was out of the ordinary for me). My sister also came to stay the night with us during that time, and asked at one point. Sad how obvious it was for me NOT to have a Diet Coke in hand.

Telling my family was something I had always looked forward to, so I set to work getting our first ultrasound picture (which my Uncle Dan later compared to a wall cloud on doppler radar) printed to go on some cards we had made up that said 'Our home is expanding by just two feet'. I wanted to get to tell our families in person, but knew I couldn't coordinate getting my sister and brother-in-law in town without question.

We arrived in Florence the evening of 9.22.08 (the first morning I actually got sick), and presented our little announcement to my parents before heading off to dinner. Smiles spread immediately across their faces....it still didn't seem real. We went to Luke's parents' house the next morning and presented their little card, which is already in a frame in their den. I called my sister to tell her to expect her card, and she responded in such a high-pitched scream, that I'm still not sure what she said, but she certainly was excited!

It's true what they say about people being SO nice to you when you're pregnant. Luke has especially been great! He says some things he shouldn't (like pointing out stretch marks), but he has been so involved, following me around with a garbage can for months, reading to the baby, going to each doctor appointment. He truly is an amazing husband...and I can tell he'll be an even better daddy.

Doctor Visit - 9.16.08

Our first visit to the doctor was exciting (especially for Luke, who kept his nose stuck in the newspaper since he was sitting directly at end of the stirrups)! We immediately got called back for the first ultrasound and were warned upfront that we may not see anything yet (being merely 6 weeks along). Sure enough, the ultrasound tech turned the screen to us and introduced us to our little one! At the end of the ultrasound, she finally explained that what I was pointing out as the baby to Luke was actually the yolk sac...the baby was the tiny little thing beside it. We saw it's little heart thumping away. It was still pretty unreal, and we left with a sack full of prenatal vitamins and pamphlets, still completely blown away by what was happening.

No Time Like the Present...

Back to 9/4/08 - This is the day we found out we were pregnant (it only took 3 tests to convince us). I'm pretty sure that wrinkle in my forehead came about at that exact moment -- we were overwhelmed! Here's how it went down...

Labor Day weekend was one of most fun I've had in a while! I spent the weekend in Destin for Brooke Tate's bachelorette party. The following Thursday, returning from having my hair colored, I decided there were several things I should probably avoid were I actually to be pregnant (like decreasing my Diet Coke consumption from 6 cans per day, getting my hair colored, etc.), so I take the internet's advice on getting a home pregnancy test. I inform Luke that I'm headed to the drugstore, and he is absolutely convinced there's no possible way we could be. He kindly offers to ride with me (despite my assurance that he shouldn't feel obligated, being merely the other partner of this little tango), so off we go. Like idiots, we only get one test (a digital one that actually reads "Pregnant" or "Not Pregnant", as if that wouldn't be obvious enough for us), and head back to the store, hearts racing. I think the emotions were so mixed around that we didn't know whether to laugh or cry....we just stood hugging in our bathroom for a few minutes, not sure what to do next. Not exactly a normal Thursday evening in our household...