8 Weeks!!!

Today Kevin and I went to my 8 week appointment and it could not have gone any better! We got another ultrasound and the baby has grown from 4mm to 21mm in just two weeks! While the doctor couldn't measure the exact heartbeat because it is not audible with a doppler yet, he said that by looking at it he could tell it is between 120 and 150 bpm. This is exactly where it should be and he was very pleased. The best part of today was that, while were were watching the baby's heartbeat, it started to wiggle around! Something about seeing our little baby moving around in there made my heart so happy! The doctor told us that, after seeing such a strong and healthy baby at 8 weeks, the chance of anything going wrong decreases dramatically, to less than 3%. Thank the Lord!

I have been feeling much better the last week. A lot of it has to do with the fact that I found the right prenatal vitamin and started taking it right before bed so I don't feel sick during the day from it. Smells have bothered me more lately, and I got sick for the first time while shredding some chicken yesterday. I also can't stand the smell of fresh paint, which becomes a problem in a brand new house! Other than that, I have just had some stretching pains in my abdomen and a VERY hard time sleeping. Kevin has threatened to sleep in a different room because I am keeping him up with my tossing and turning :(

Our next appointment will be at 11 weeks, three weeks from today. Until then I'm planning on just taking it easy and getting plenty of rest. Kevin has been wonderful with helping around the house, getting me dinner, and being patient. I have just been so exhausted and easily tired out when I try to do anything! I'm grateful for his patience. I have included a couple of pictures for you:

My belly at 8 weeks (most of it is water weight, but with all the stretching pains I've felt lately, I have to believe there's SOME baby to that!):


Our 8 week ultrasound picture (The head is on the right, and if you look closely a little to the left from there you can see a bright little dot - that is the heart beating!):

...and Baby makes three!!!

Kevin and I are so happy to announce that we are expecting a new member of our family on February 10, 2011! We could not be more thrilled about this! I am currently only a little more than 6 weeks pregnant, and while I realize that it's still early, we saw the fetal pole and even a flicker our baby's heartbeat today! This was one day after my birthday, and the most amazing gift I have ever received. Tomorrow is our 3 year anniversary, so we have even more to celebrate! What a great week :)

We will be going back to the doctor in two weeks to see and hear a stronger, more steady heartbeat. The doctor is also going to monitor me because he saw a little bit of bleeding on my physical exam. He says this is typically nothing to worry about this early in pregnancy, but Kevin and I would GREATLY appreciate your prayers for the safety and health of our tiny one.

You can't see much of anything here, other than the 5mm fetal pole (the beginning of the baby's body from head to bottom). However, it's the first picture of our baby and it's special to me!



We decided a while back that it was getting close to time to start our family, so we went for it. We didn't realize that it would happen so incredibly quickly, but it's another one of God's MANY blessings on us. We got all moved into our new house and finished unpacking on Tuesday, May 25th and I found out on Wednesday. We then confirmed it with 7 more tests over the next two days (the picture only shows day 1 tests, LOL).

We are still fairly early in this adventure, and we would appreciate any prayers that you could send for us. It is a frustrating feeling to know that there is only so much that I can do for our baby. However, at the same time I have full faith that our baby is safe in God's hands. Please join us in prayer for our little one!

We look so forward to the journey that lies ahead of us, and we are so grateful to have you all in our lives to share our excitement!

Four Weeks - I won't be showing for a while but I still plan on pics every 4 weeks :)