21 Weeks

So, I went to my check up last week and found out some interesting information. Apparently my placenta is anterior located, which basically means it needs to move before I try to give birth! If it doesn't and it blocks my birth canal then I'll have to have a c-section - no bueno. Oh, and so here's a picture of me today after working on the house.. this is sad, I am having to take my own pictures for everyone to see me... well not much else to report at the moment except that our little girl has been moving around alot today, feels kinda like popcorn popping in my stomach or something, oh and she's screwing up my back... i've been having to go to the OMT clinic. Jonathan is still traveling so please keep him in your prayers and i hope to get to TX soon. Please keep your ear to the ground for interior designers, architects, contractors and home builders. I am looking for these professionals to work with as a kitchen/bath design consultant. More to come...

20 Week Sonogram

Well hello everyone, today I had my 20 week sonogram where they measure everything and make sure it's all coming together right. Little ???? was moving around quite a bit but not cooperating for the technician. The tech actually called her a brat a few times, I think I heard her right?!? She didn't speak English very well. Hey, at least she has my spunk! :) She had her arms and feet crossed the whole time and when they went to make sure she had a nose and mouth, she covered her face and just would not budge :) This Thursday I have my 6 month check up where I hope to get the results from the quad screen and today's ultrasound. It's amazing to see how much she has grown and changed even from 2 weeks ago. The tech said she is 13 oz and when I asked if she was small or big for her "age", the tech said 80%...if anyone knows what that means... maybe you nurses in the family can help out :) Well in case you are wondering why I haven't said her name, Jonathan and I decided to keep it as something special between he and I since we aren't together during this special time and don't know if he'll be around for the birth. I am excited to report however that the night before he left, he got to feel her kick him and several mornings in a row she would be playing with him while his hand was on my belly, of course he slept right through it :)

As for other news, Jonathan is at Ft. Benning now where is he having oh so much fun going through "Anti Terrorism" Training. Today he had all his medical screenings and tomorrow he continues getting all his gear. Other than that, all I know is that he is stuck in classes most all day with little time to eat or relax, although he did sneak away for a movie last night with a Major from the SF... so at least we know he is still rubbing elbows, as he always does :) He hopes to get to an orthopedic doc in Afghanistan to check out his ankle and make sure everything is ok... it still swells up most days and with Selection coming up in April we want to make sure he will be healthy for it.

Our house should go on the market soon since we are now using a realtor and we hope that interest in the property will start back up quickly. My goal is to get to TX as soon as possible but with the looming idea of no job come October I am unsure I will make it there before the house sells. If I can line up a job in TX it would be helpful, but who wants to hire a prego? :) Still no word on when Jonathan leaves but I'll certainly pass along more info as I get it! Hope everyone is well and look for an update after Thursday's appointment. Thank you so much for all the thoughts and continued prayers. Several people, including family and friends, have called to check in on me... so many I can't keep up with the calls :) I am doing well, trying to stay busy with work, packing and school. Be in touch,
-A-

It's a ...

So today we went to have our ultrasound done only when we got there the technician said we had to reschedule for two more weeks from today because I wasn't 20 weeks. She went ahead and let us see the baby since Jonathan would not be here in two weeks and she said she would try to see the sex but that some organs may not be fully finished. Well, this was our very first shot...

What Jonathan and I thought was something else the technician said was 95% a girl. She continued to move around and check a few things out even though I would be back in two weeks and got this great shot of our new baby girl from the side...

It's a little confusing because the technician said her head is pointing downward which would explain some of my lower "pains" and hard spots I feel but the picture is of her sideways... who knows! What a cool thing to see how much the baby has grown since our first little picture! You can imagine how surprised we were to hear it was a girl only because girls don't really run in Jonathan's family but we are both very happy with a little girl and that so far she is healthy! We prayed right before we went in that God would give us a good clear image of what the sex was so Jonathan would get to know before deploying and I think he did pretty good at answering that prayer! He also answered another prayer of ours today of what will happen once Jonathan is back state side - today we got word that he has been accepted to the selection course for Special Forces, so as soon as he is back we'll have a short time to be together before he runs out to NC for a month to train and test for Special Forces. No word on the house yet, but please continue to pray that God will take care of our needs here in D.C. so I can get back home near all my great supporters! Thanks to all for your warm wishes, continual prayer and support. Look forward to reporting more in two weeks!

5 Month/Life In General Update

First, let's talk baby. Yes I am 5 months, even though I don't look like it! This was one day that you could see a small bump so we snapped a shot... most days I'm still not that big and people can't believe I'm 5 months. We had our monthly check up on Wednesday and found things going pretty much as expected... we got to hear the heartbeat again, only bigger and better :-) and I got some answers to some of the pregnancy issues I've been going thru... I got some new prescriptions for the nausea (yes, it is still very much here and I'm sick of it!!) and constipation and a referral to two different docs for my back and hip problems... we scheduled our ultrasound to find out the sex for two weeks from today, a little early, but we wanted to try to find out before Jonathan deploys.. yes, for those of you who haven't heard yet, Jonathan leaves Sept. 8th for Ft. Benning then flies to Afghanistan from there for 6 months...

On that note, I'll fill you in on my plan, well the plan that keeps getting curve balls thrown at it :-) I think I'm going to try to come home but don't know when since we have to sell our home :( I have been working with my boss to figure out how to keep working some since they have expressed how much they don't want to lose me, which is a good thing! Please keep us in your prayers that God will show us which path to take, although we are already thankful for the opportunities he has shown us recently!

On another note, I woke up this morning to find my car had been broken into and my GPS stolen (the only thing thankfully). The cops and CSI came and dusted for prints and today the glass is supposed to be getting fixed but of course it just added more stress to us financially, so again, just keep us in your thoughts and prayers all around: for both my health and the baby's, for Jonathan's health (especially his ankle), for the stresses in our life like selling the house, details on me working, maybe going back to TX, where I should deliver baby murphy, etc. :-)

As for other things going on in my life; I am scheduled to start back in to school Sept.6th. I will be attending the Academy of Art University because they are the only ones who offer an Interior Architecture and Design degree. I am mainly interested in this because it will allow me to design plans and know how to make most structual changes without an architect, defintely without a contractor or builder... and this is important since I have been working towards starting my own business (website will be launching soon!!). Obviously with all the changes in our life I am having to rethink how many hours I can take (if I can go home, I'll be able to go full time).

Lastly, I thought everyone would like to read something special from my sister-in-law and her cute little boy:

Hey guys,
The past couple of days, Will keeps mentioning that he and his brother and sister are...and then the story goes anywhere from there. So I told him that he had a brother but that he didn't have a sister and he said that his sister wasn't born yet. So I asked him where the baby was and he said she was in Adrienne's belly!! So we had to explain that you were pregnant with his cousin not his sister and we didn't know if it was a boy or a girl yet. He says he does know and that she is a girl! Wonder if he is right??

Well we'll all find out soon and of course we will update then, if not before!

Quick Update

Well I went to the doc to weigh in since I've been on my new anti-nausea medicine and found that I gained barely ONE whole pound. I kinda feel like I'm in Weight Watchers only they want me to gain weight! :-) Today I've felt a little weird, all kinds of stretching and aches in my tummy area. There's a slight bump forming so I'll post a picture soon for those of y ou who keep bothering me! :-)

2nd Trimester Starts Monday!

Well last night we had our 12 week check up and got to hear the heartbeat! It took the doc a second to find it, which freaked I know her and I out after last time, but what a relief and neat feeling when she found it!! I think the doc said it was somewhere around 160 - which I think is good :) We had a very good visit with the doc and got alot accomplished. As many of you know, I have been very sick the last few weeks. Last night we found out I have lost about 5 pounds and the nausea has been so bad some days that I am not keeping food or liquids down. The doc was not happy to hear about that and said that if we couldn't get it under control they would have to admit me so she prescribed a second anti-nausea medicine. I am supposed to weigh in again in about a week, have my regular check up in about 4 weeks and hopefully find out the sex in 6 weeks! Already today I am feeling some relief from the new medicine so I am hoping it just continues! As for the family, my little brother keeps asking "Am I really going to be an uncle?" and all 6 grandparents are being very supportive! Kels has been helping around the house, which has been awesome, especially on days I am very ill. That's all for now, look forward to reporting on zero nausea and new cravings instead!

11 Weeks

Well, I'll be 11 weeks on Monday and I think I've hit the peak of morning sickness and am on the way back down. Last week was the worst at Jonathan's grandma's funeral. I wish it hadn't been at such a tough time already but I AM glad that this week it hasn't been AS bad! My next doctor's appointment is in one more week and although we won't find out the sex, we hope to hear the heartbeat!! We started registering but will continue to modify it and update it. So far we DEFINITELY found our stroller and I'm so excited! It's a knock off of the bugaboo but $600 cheapier :) Yeah!! We are having a touch time finding a reasonably priced crib that I like so we're starting to look on ebay and craigslist. Any suggestions from you moms out there? My mom has been in toen for the past few days helping Jonathan switch the house around. Now we have the bedroom upstairs (next to the bathroom!) and the office will continue to be my home office until closer to the due date. Kels has the basement now and I'm not sure if we'll still put the bathroom in down there. I think that's all for now - I'll write more after our doctor appointment next week! Don't forget to check out the ticker at the bottom of our page to watch our progress!!