HERE COMES BABY ROBERTSON...OH MY, OH MY, OH MY!!!

After our last pregnancy, Nick & I decided that we'd wait to tell everyone about this pregnancy until we'd reached further into the pregnancy.  However, I started writing this blog THE DAY I found out I was pregnant again.  Didn't want to miss anything.  I'm also going with an idea I saw on (of course) Pinterest.  I'm also writing a lot of this and other, more personal notes, in a journal to our little one.  I can't wait to give it to him/her one day.  I don't know if that will be the day they graduate, get married, or have their first child, but I'm going to cherish this time.

Monday, February 11, 2013 - 3 weeks, 4 days

After TWO pregnancy tests this morning, I'm pregnant again!  I'm so very excited, and I can't wait to know for sure.  I called my OBGYN this morning to set up blood work, but they said they only do urine testing.  For some reason, I trust blood work more.  I called our family doctor, and he got me in for blood work this afternoon.  Eek!!  If I have the dates correct, my due date should be around October 24th.  I think that would be fun because our kid could have costume parties for their birthdays!

I've actually wondered if I was pregnant a bit last week.  I've been UBER tired (as in taking a nap at lunch every day).  Plus, I had four people say I've sounded really tired.  Mom and April asked me that after having a phone conversation.  Both said, "Are you feeling ok?  Are you mad?"  I was never mad, just worn out.  Sister asked while in Hobby Lobby this weekend.  She said, "Are you ok?  You seem really tired."  And Melanie, HR at work, asked me if I was ok on Friday because I'd been really quite all week.  That's always something to be suspicious of, because I'm quite the chatterbox.  :)

I did one of those "Chinese Gender Predictions" because Casey told me it worked with both of her kids.  It also worked for a lot of her coworkers, so "they say" I'm going to have a girl.  We shall see!

Tuesday, February 12, 2013 - 3 weeks, 5 days

It's official!  Blair called last night and said the blood work showed positive!  He was amazed because this means I'm only 3 and 1/2 weeks pregnant.  He said it was amazing two at home tests were even able to pick it up.  He joked that there may be two in there.  I think it would be fun to have twins (and so does Nick), but I'll be happy with one happy, healthy baby too. :)

To tell Nick, I printed out the above picture and put it in a frame.  I put it in a Valentine's bag, and walked into Nick's office.  I held out the bag and said, "I have an early Valentine's present for you."  He looked suspicious, but he took the bag and pulled out the frame.  He said, "Yay!  I'm so excited!"

Tuesday, February 19, 2013 - 4 weeks, 5 days

I was under the weather last week.  I ran a fever on Tuesday & Wednesday.  I was concerned for the baby, but I just drank lots of fluids, rested a lot, slept with a humidifier next to me, and stayed home all day Wednesday.  I only had the fever for about 8 hours, then I was just tired.  I think it may be a sinus infection.  I had my prenatal appointment yesterday, so she gave me the list of medicines I can safely take.  I'm going to try and not take many, but I do need some relief.

Speaking of my appointment yesterday, she said my due date is expected to be October 25th.  Yay!  She wanted me to come in in three weeks to have my first ultrasound.  We're doing it earlier than we did with the last pregnancy because I miscarried.  I am crazy nervous, but I am also excited to (hopefully) see our little baby's heartbeat!  I had my appointment made, and didn't realize until 5:00 that the appointment was for FIVE weeks away.  I contacted the nurse I saw yesterday, and she got everything fixed.  Ready for March 11th to be here!  I hate the wait!

I've not been nauseous.  I have been extremely tired.  But I know I'll get more symptoms further into the pregnancy.  I'm only four weeks and five days. :)

I'm pretty sure Casey will figure everything out before we tell them.  She's a nurse and one of my best friends.  We're around them so much, that I'm pretty sure she'll catch on to things I do, eat, and say.  I've had to catch myself three times already from saying something about the pregnancy or baby.

I'm pretty sure my Mom and Melanie, my MIL, already know too.  They're mothers and know the signs.  Plus, I think everyone is on the look-out for us to get pregnant again after the miscarriage.  I want to tell everyone, but I also want to wait to see that little baby and a heartbeat at an ultrasound.

Friday, March 1, 2013 - 6 weeks, 1 day

Yesterday, I was six weeks.  And a light switch flipped!  I spent half the day trying not to get sick, and the other half getting sick.  At least I waited till I was home from work.  But, I'll take it if it means my pregnancy goes full term, and we can meet this little one.

Monday, March 11, 2013 - 7 weeks, 4 days

Today is the day.  It is our first ultra sound, and I'm terrified.  What if it's like last time, and the doctor tells us the baby didn't develop?  I want this pregnancy to go full term so badly!  Thank goodness the appointment is at 9:00, so I don't have all day to wait.  Nick is going with me, and I pray we get good news this time.  Right now is when I wish we'd have already told close friends and family so they could be praying for us, but at the same time, if something isn't right, we'd have far fewer people to tell this time.  Lord, please let this baby be growing and healthy!

UPDATE:  Praise the LORD!!!  We have a baby with a good, strong heartbeat!  We are so very, very excited.  I cried as Nick held my hand and we saw our tiny tadpole of a baby.  :)  I have always said I wouldn't post sonogram pictures for everyone to see, but I'm taking that back today.  I'm not going to post them on facebook, but I am putting it here.  I always just see black and white fuzz, but now I see that that picture is MY black and white fuzz.  Even though it looks just like everyone else's fuzz, it's our baby.  Dr. Slovak said that everything is right on track.  I'm at 7 weeks and 4 days.  Since I've had a miscarriage, we'll do ultra sounds every two weeks until I'm out of the first trimester.  So, next appointment is Monday, March 25th.  I'm excited to see how much the baby will have grown between now and then.  Thank you Lord for this blessing!  Nick & I will try our best to raise this child to follow You, and be good, Godly examples for them.  We love You and our baby!

You can click on the photo, and it will enlarge.

Nick & I are already discussing when to tell the family members.  I was thinking of waiting until Easter Sunday to tell my family.  We're headed to New Boston after church for lunch that day.  My Dad's sisters and their families would be there.  We'll be celebrating Mom & Dad's birthdays, so I could get a birthday card and slip the sonogram picture in it.  We would be able to tell a lot of our family at once.  Melanie's birthday celebration would be the following Friday, so if we could keep it to ourselves for five days, we could give her a birthday card as well with the sonogram in it.  Of course, we may change our minds and tell them all this weekend.  We're headed to celebrate Dad's birthday with just my immediate family on Saturday, so we could tell them then.  I don't know, but I'm ready to spill the beans!!!

Thusday, March 14, 2013 - 8 weeks

Yesterday evening, I went out to eat with two of my friends....two of my PREGNANT friends.  Do you know how hard it is to not say anything about you being pregnant when you and two other people have dinner together and you talk about babies non stop?!  One friend, Maegan, is due in less than a month.  So, of course, we talked about baby boy McKenzie (they don't have a name picked out yet) a lot.  The other friend, Linsey, is due in mid-June, so she was asking Maegan questions and telling us funny stories about her and her husband, Joe.  I caught myself numerous times about to say something that would give away the fact that I'm pregnant.  I know it wouldn't be the end of the world if someone found out, but I would at least like to tell our parents and siblings first.  We may just go ahead and tell our families this weekend.  I don't know how I'm going to keep it to myself much longer!!  But we did have a lot of fun, and we're planning on doing it again soon. :)

Sunday, March 17, 2013 - 8 weeks, 3 days

Well, we did tell our parents and my sister this weekend.  Yesterday, we celebrated my Dad's birthday. My sister and I had already discussed giving dad some money to go towards something he was wanting.  We both decided to wrap the money we gave him in a box so he'd have something to open.  I made a copy of our sonogram, rolled it up, then put it in a small gift box.  I then laid the money on top of the sonogram.  I took a video of him opening it, but it won't load for some reason.

They were all very excited for us.  They, of course, asked how I was feeling, the due date, all of those fun questions.  I told them I couldn't eat fried foods, and I get sick every evening from about 5:00 to 7:00.  Dad had picked a restaurant called Fish Creek for his birthday dinner which is about 75% fried.  He asked if I wanted to change to somewhere else, and I told him of course not because anything will make me sick.  I ate some non fried items, plus some fried okra (because that's one of my favorites), and hit up the dessert bar...cinnamon rolls and ice cream are good with this baby.  It's definitely got the Bray sweet tooth.

After church this morning, Nick & I told his parents.  We weren't able to take a video of this because there was no reason to have a camera on them.  But, Melanie had brought us each something from their trip to Lake Catherine.  She handed me what she'd gotten me, then I said, "Oh, well I have something for you too!" and handed her the sonogram.  She was ecstatic (as was Joe).  She then said, "DeAnna, you have to read this note I wrote a while back."  She pulled out her phone, and pulled up a note she'd written on February 17th ( I was 4 weeks, 3 days).  The gist of the note was that she thought I was pregnant, and asked God to let this baby and pregnancy thrive and go to completion if I were pregnant.  I thought it was so sweet.  So exactly one month ago today, Melanie had an inkling we were pregnant.  She's got a keen eye.  :)

We had the Maybens come have dinner with us this evening.  Nick & I have decided to go ahead and tell them.  For one, they were going to wonder when I barely ate anything this evening.  Two, Casey is the person I can ask any question of since she's a nurse.  Third, they're our best friends.  I was ready to tell them!!  We waited until Kenlie was absorbed in the dance game.  Bud wasn't paying attention to us, but playing with the tractors.  We showed them the sonogram as we were all in the kitchen getting ready for dinner.  They were both super excited for us.  They know not to say anything.  Casey said it was good we told them when Kenlie wasn't in the room.  She'd tell everyone. :)  We also bought a rocking chair from them for our future little one.  I'm not sure where we are putting it yet, but I really wanted it.  I'm excited.

Monday, March 25, 2013 - 9 weeks, 4 days

Today was our second appointment.  The baby is growing and has a strong hearbeat!  It looks like a gummy bear with its big head and little arms. :)  Thank you Lord for letting this miracle grow!

This weekend, we told a few more people.  We decided to call and tell Nick's brother and sister-in-law.  We had intended on waiting until we actually saw them this weekend, but too many people in Pittsburg were getting wise.  We wanted to tell them before too many people found out.  We've started tell close friends.  It was nice to know that so many of our friends and family were praying for us today when we went to our appointment.  My doctor said she's very happy with the way everything is progressing.  The gummy bear is measuring 10 weeks.  I'm just so happy this seems to be a healthy pregnancy!

I've been sick as can be almost all day now a days.  It really kicks in around 10:00 in the morning and lasts till I go to bed.  However, that means everything is going correctly.  I'll take it!

Also, funny side story...  Saturday, March 23rd, my friend Jess Sullivan texts me.  This is what she had to say...

She made me laugh, and took me completely off guard.  I had not expected that question, but you know you're good friends when you can start a text like that. :)

Monday, April 1, 2013 - 10 weeks, 4 days

We told more family this weekend.  My Dad's sisters and their families were coming to celebrate Mom & Dad's birthdays and Easter on Easter Sunday, so we decided to tell all of the aunts and uncles.  My sister had a cake made at Wal-Mart with our sonogram picture on it with the words "Arriving in October" written on it.  It didn't come out exactly as she had planned, but it did get the point across.  My Aunt Gena thought was a Green Lantern symbol at first because Wal-Mart printed the sonogram in black and green.  I joked I was carrying an alien in my stomach.  We all had a good laugh about it, and everyone was very excited. :)  Afterwards, Mom & I took to texting the below picture to my other aunts and uncles.  Nick & I had also called his Aunt Patsy and Uncle Bobby to tell them.  We'll start calling the rest of his aunts and uncles this week.  We've also been telling more friends.  They're all very excited for us, and are continuing to pray for a healthy pregnancy.  I feel the love!

Thursday, April 11, 2013 - 12 weeks

We've told more friends, had another appointment, and I've started shopping!

Last Tuesday night (10 weeks, 5 days), I told my Bible study girls since it was our last study of the semester.  At the end of the study, we did prayer requests and praises like we always do.  I said I needed to add a praise/prayer. Everyone was so excited and happy for us.  The funny thing is, one of my friends, Kelley, has known longer than even Nick.  The day I went to get my blood work done (February 11th), she had been at the same hospital getting an allergy shot.  She saw me across the lobby sitting at the lab, and she knew. She has kept it to herself this entire time, even saying things to see if I would say that I was pregnant.  I laughed at the fact that she knew all along.  I'm not good at lying or keeping a secret people!

Sunday (11 weeks, 3 days), we decided to go ahead and tell our Sunday school teacher and his wife.  Last pregnancy, we told them when we first got to class by giving them a picture of us saying "Due in June."  Well, Perry grabbed the photo and ran downstairs to where the first service was letting out.  He took it upon himself to tell everyone he could.  My mother-in-love had been looking forward to telling the choir about her upcoming grandchild after Sunday school, so therefore, Perry stole her thunder.  She let him know she wasn't happy about that at the time.  So, I gave Melanie the delight of telling Perry.  She walked into the classroom and said, "Perry, last time you STOLE my joy!  I'm letting you know that you are one of the last to know!" He knew exactly what she was talking about.  He started crying and whooping, and came and gave Nick & I hugs.  He said, "Yay!  Sorry Melanie."  :)  It was pretty funny.

I had an appointment on Monday, April 8th (11 weeks, 4 days).  Dr. Slovak said everything looked perfect, and she's very happy with the way things are progressing.  I've been on a two-week appointment rotation, but I'm moving to four-week rotations because everything is looking so good!  The baby is 5.5-6 cm long.  About the size of my palm.  During the sonogram, the baby kept "jumping".  It was so weird knowing that the baby was moving around, but I couldn't feel it!  The baby's heartbeat is holding steady at 160.  It was hard to hear a good heartbeat due to the little jumping bean.  The baby still looks like a gummy bear, but the baby's arms were moving around and the legs were kicking.  So very fun to see!

I took Tuesday and Wednesday off to go visit my Bestie, April Anne, and to go shopping at JBF (Just Between Friends).  If you've never heard of JBF, and you have kids or are pregnant, let me enlighten you.  JBF is a consignment of "gently used" items - from pack-n-plays, to carseats, to toys, to tons and tons of clothes!  They also have maternity clothes which is why I went.  They have a JBF in the spring and fall.  There are many locations.  I went to the one in Weatherford because that's where April was. :)  I've been looking at others and would like to hit some of those up in the fall possibly.  If you are a first time mom, you can sign-up for a presale for the night before the event opens.  So, we headed to the JBF sale at 8:30pm on Tuesday night and left around 10:30!  It was a late night, but very worth it!  I got eleven items (many from Motherhood and Target) for a grand total of $57!  They are all staples I should be able to wear throughout the entire pregnancy.  I didn't buy any baby items because I'd like to have showers first, and I don't know if the gummy bear is a boy or girl.  We had a blast, and I can't wait to go to another in the fall!

Friday, April 12, 2013 - 12 weeks, 1 day

We posted the Sleepless in Pittsburg photo to facebook today.  We feel very loved!  We've had so many "congrats" and messages from dear friends saying they've been praying.  I feel blessed, and can't wait to share more about this growing miracle!

Monday, April 22, 2013 - 13 weeks, 4 days

Well, this week will be the end of my first trimester!  Of course, some would already say I'm out of the first trimester when you pass the 12 week mark, but others say you aren't out of the first trimester until you're 14 weeks.  Anyways, I'm going by the calendar on my iPregnant app.  I'm very excited since everything I've heard is that the chance of miscarriage drops drastically after you are through your first trimester.  I have had two good days as far as feeling better.  I am getting to where I'm not constantly nauseous/sick, and that's nice.  Call me crazy, but it worries me when I feel good.  When I was sick, I knew I was pregnant.  I'm hoping that my once I'm out of the first trimester, and we are well into our second, I won't have these nagging fears of miscarriage.  My doctor said that she feels very confident about this pregnancy.  She said that there is always the chance of miscarriage, so she won't rule it out completely, but she said everything looks great.  That's a great relief for me.  She's also said that if I ever feel like something isn't right, to call and she'll immediately get me in for an ultrasound.  She's a phenomenal doctor, and I'm so blessed to have her.  We have our next appointment May 6th, and we'll see our little one again then, and maybe I'll calm down.  Here's hoping.

A few funny stories about food consumption.  I've been sick for the past 7 weeks, and I never want to eat anything.  It concerns Nick for mine and the baby's health.  So, if I ever say something sounds good, we'll drive wherever we need to for me to get that food.  April 14th, I was craving Taco Casa.  This was Nick's favorite place to eat while in college.  He'd have to drag me there because I NEVER wanted it.  But, I woke up from my Sunday nap and said, "Taco Casa sounds really good.  But it's in Longview."  Nick said, "Let's go!"  So, we loaded up in the car and drove 40 minutes one way to get me food.  I ate a fair bit, but not as much as I did before I was pregnant.  This past Friday night (April 20th), Nick & I had planned a date night.  I know, we're still childless, so you could argue that any time we go out to eat is a date night, but it had been a long time since we had planned an evening together to go out to eat.  We even put our phones in my purse and didn't look at them the entire time.  We went to the winery, and I had pumped myself up for the tappas platter and cheese toes.  I ate A LOT that evening.  It's the most I've eaten in the past 7 weeks.  Nick was so excited to see me enjoying food again.  Then yesterday, we went out to Highland with my in-laws to fish.  I was saying we should drive into Gilmer once we were done to eat at Dairy Queen.  Everyone said they were game.  The main reason I wanted to go... NACHOS!  If I could have concession stand type nachos every day, I'd be happy.  Of course, that isn't very healthy, but it's food, right?!  I ate almost all of my nachos followed by a Butterfinger blizzard.  As Nick said, "You're in preggers heaven right now."  I was.  All of my pregnant friends have told me that I will soon want to eat everything in sight.  So far, I'm not there yet, but here's hoping it happens soon.  At my last appointment, I had lost 8 pounds since the beginning of the pregnancy.  I know I've still not gained any because I barely eat still.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013 - 13 weeks, 5 days

I wanted to write down two of my weird pregnancy dreams.  One happened when I was in Weatherford the week before last.  I don't know if hanging out with April caused me to have this flashback dream of college life, or what.  But here it goes.

I was working at Cotton Patch Cafe again, and I missed three shifts in a row.  I just couldn't get to work!  I finally got there for a shift, and apologized profusely to Todd.  He said, "No big deal, DeAnna.  Just get to work.  And you have a shift Saturday."  It took me forever to remember my code to get into the computer system.  But, I finally got going.  I woke up around this time, and thought to myself, "Crap.  Sister can't come fishing on Saturday, I have a shift at CPC."  What the heck?!  I haven't worked there in three years!  Apparently, that dream was very real.

Last night was my other weird dream.

My sister-in-law, Tovah, brought my nephew to the bank.  I was supposed to keep him for the day.  We have this awesome little room at work called "KIDZ CORNER" for employees kids to use.  Well, I took Owen inside (he was crying because Tovah had left), but as soon as he saw all of the bean bags, he started giggling.  He jumped out of my arms, ran straight for the bean bags, and belly flopped on them.  Then he just laughed and laughed.  I put Monsters, Inc. in the TV, and he sat and watched it.  I came back to check on him a few minutes later, and he had spilled his juice, but he was wiping it up.  I said, "Oh no!  Let me help."  He said (and quite clearly for an almost 2 year old), "It's okay.  It's from Whole Foods."  Then I woke up.  Something that was odd was the KIDZ CORNER in my dream is nothing like the real KIDZ CORNER, but I knew that's where we were.  Does that make sense?  How weird is that?!

I called Mom this morning to tell her of my weird dreams.  She said that towards the end one of her pregnancies, she had a dream that she cut the ball of her foot open, and tomatoes came out instead of blood.  Weird.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013 - 13 weeks, 6 days

I'm at the end of the first trimester!  WHOO HOO!