6 Months!!

I can't believe I'm already 24 weeks!! The time had flown by! I can't wait to meet our sweet baby girl. We try to talk to her as much as possible, although, I must confess that I like to talk to her when it is just the two of us. I have a feeling though that she will recognize her daddy's voice faster than mine. I love being able to feel her move. It is the most surreal experience. I wish I was able to see her when she is moving. I want to know what she is doing in there. Are you just getting comfortable, are you stretching, are you sucking your thumb? I already know that with every move she is becoming her how person and starting to form her personality. It is only a matter of time before we get to see who she is :) The next step is starting our research. There are so many different products out there how in the world are you supposed to know which one to use. When registering at Buy Buy Baby we ran across a display for the Joovie Boob bottle which are supposed to be the closest thing to the real nipple. Well after talking with others I have heard that Dr. Browns is the best. I really don't want to go through the whole trial and error process, but I have a feeling I might have too.

Tiny Dancer

I’m now at 23 weeks and Aria is moving around like crazy! I love being able to feel her kick and punch (whatever it is she is doing)! Andrew was finally able to feel her move the other day and he got the biggest smile on his face! Last night he started talking to her and every time he would start talking she would start moving! I think she already recognizes his voice. He tells her every night that he loves her and he can’t wait to meet her! I feel so blessed to have Andrew as my husband because I know he is going to be a wonderful father!

Break Outs and Weight Gain

Here I am 22 weeks in and now the acne shows up! I have always heard that if you have a girl she will steal your beauty. I am starting to believe that. I thought I would be able to escape the acne aspect of pregnancy but not so much. I have noticed that my chin is breaking out in tiny zips enough to where every morning when I wake up I have a new one about to pop. I just feel disgusting! One thing that I am not sure if I should be happy about or worried about is the weight gain. Since I found out I was pregnant I have gained only 4 pounds! I started off at 125 now I am at 129.02! Every time I go to the doctor I ask if this is normal and she tells me not to worry about it that the weight will come. I just hope I don’t blow up like a blimp in the last 4 months!

Disney while Pregnant!

We had planned our last Disney trip for September in hopes that I would be pregnant and far enough along that I wouldn’t be battling morning sickness. Well I was 21 weeks and it was the perfect time to go. I was able to do everything normally would other than the wild rides and coasters. I was really able to enjoy the food and the downtime we had. We took our time and would go back to the room to rest. One day we went to the water park and while Andrew was riding all of the rides I couldn’t I fell asleep and when he came back he said he had been gone for 2 hours! Haha oops! While we were there we wanted to get Aria some prizes too! We didn’t get ourselves any souvenirs like we normally do. Instead we bought her her first pair of Minnie ears with her name on the back! Then we stopped and bought her a Tigger Pillow Pet and a Minnie Mouse doll that has a rattle inside. While we were at one of the jewelry stores I was walking around and Andrew called me over to one of the counters and said “I want to get her one of these because she is our princess” I looked down and they were tiny tiaras!! She doesn’t have her daddy wrapped around her little finger at all!!!

First Kicks

I had been waiting for the day that I felt her kick. So many people said that they could feel movement at 16 weeks and here I was 21 weeks and nothing! Not even a little tickle. I told Aria one day to please start moving around so that I can feel her and know that she is ok. Two days later I had a dentist appointment and while I was lying back in the chair I felt a little pull almost like a muscle spasm over where my right ovary would be. I didn’t think anything of it then it happened again so I started to pay attention. Then all of a sudden I felt it on the opposite side! I just knew it was her! I was so excited time I came in the house I yelled I felt her kick today!! haha

Gender Reveal!!

Well as you can plainly see from my blog color scheme and title we are having a GIRL!!! Regardless I wanted to blog about the gender reveal party we had! I was too much fun not to share :) We are so excited to be having a little girl. Andrew told me all along, even before we got pregnant, that we would have a little girl. He just knew it. I honestly had no feeling one way or the other about the gender. I did all of the home tests to see what they said and the results were about half and half. We both said we would be happy no matter what Jr. was but Andrew said he really wanted a girl and I secretly hopped for a girl as well I just didn’t say anything. I was able to go find out the gender at my 18 week appointment. Andrew and I were so nervous at that appointment. We had already planned a gender reveal party for the next night so we prayed that Jr. would corporate can we could get a clear shot. When we walked into the tech’s room I told her that we were having a gender reveal party and we wanted to be surprised with everyone else. I asked that when she got to the point of finding out the gender to please let us know so we can turn our heads and if she could just write down what the gender is. She said “no problem, I do this all the time!” So she started the ultrasound and had to poke and prod me for a good 30 minutes checking all of the baby’s measurements, bones, organs, and muscles. When she started looking at the legs Andrew and I turned out heads. We didn’t want there to be any chance that we saw anything! About 10 minutes later she said “ok, no one is looking right” we said no with huge smiles on our faces. Then we heard some quick typing and she said ok were done! Little did I know that she had recorded the whole thing on a DVD for us! Apparently they do that at every sonogram appointment how cool! While I was cleaning up the 4 inches of gel off of me she went to her office and wrote down the gender and came back with a tiny folded up piece of paper. Then we were off to the waiting room to see Dr. Bartley. While we were sitting there we debated back and forth about looking at that paper but we wanted to be surprised with the rest of the family. After we left the doctor’s office we stopped by Heathers house and taped the paper to her front door and drove off fast! Heather was going to make us a gender reveal cake that the icing in the middle was the color of the gender. That night she called me and said “You mean to tell me you had that tiny piece of paper and you never looked?” I told her nope we want to be surprised and she said “I don’t believe you!” haha That Friday was one of the longest days of my life! The work day drug on and on then it was time to head out! We had the party at Pam and Randy’s house and everyone was set to arrive at 7:00. At 7:10 when the last person walked in the door we gathered around the dining room table with all of our loved ones and got ready to cut the cake. I was shaking so bad I was nervous and excited all at the same time! This was going to reveal the rest of our lives! Andrew looked at me and said “are you ready?” I just laughed and said “NO!” haha We held each other’s hands and everyone started a countdown for us and on 3 we cut the cake. As we flipped over the slice everyone could see this baby pink icing and we all screamed!!! I dropped the knife and hugged Andrew and started crying. We were both so happy! No we know who our baby is! Aria Rose Smith!! We can’t wait to meet her.

Gross!

Through my research I came across an article that was about women growing more hair while pregnant. As I began to read it I realized they were not talking about the hair on your head. They said that women will begin growing more hair on their stomach, arms, face, etc. I thought to myself this is gross. Well I am eating those words. I have started to notice that my stomach has become really hairy. I have always had noticeable hair on my stomach because of my black hair, but this is so nasty it is like I have a happy trail! Andrew, bless his heart, tells me that he doesn’t notice a difference, but how can he not! Something else that no one tells you is how much discharge you have at the beginning of your pregnancy. I have had to run to the bathroom so many times to “clean up” it is ridiculous. I have had to resort to wearing a panty liner every day. You will be sitting there minding your own business and all of a sudden it will feel like you have stated your period. It will happen random times during the day so warning! Make sure you wear a liner especially if you are wearing thin pants or a dress.

No More Nausea!!!

I know that I was one of the lucky pregnant women and didn’t have to battle throwing up every morning, but the nausea was enough on its own. I remember starting to cry one night because I was just so tired of being nauseous all the time. I would wake up nauseous and it would carry on all day. So when I read that the morning sickness should subside between 11 and 12 weeks I was on the count down. The weekend I turned 11 weeks it was like clockwork! On Saturday I was nauseous all day and the Sunday I woke up and felt normal again. From that day on I have been nausea free! I hope it lasts!

Watery Eye, Veins, and Cramps

When I was about at my 8 week mark I started to notice that only my right eye would start to water at random times. When I say water I mean pour! One day on the way to work I got so tired of wiping it that I just let it run and by the time I stopped my car it looked like I had been crying the whole way. The next thing I noticed was the blueish/purpleish veins on my boobs and stomach. According to my book they should start appearing around the 10 week mark and like clockwork they were there. I also started to notice that I was starting to cramp a lot, almost like period cramps. Every time I would reach for something or even get out of the bed I would feel like I was pulling everything in my abdomen and would start getting cramps. I asked my doctor about it and she said that it was nothing to worry about. It was just my body starting to make room for the baby. That’s all well and good, but I didn’t expect to feel all that that early!

Cravings vs. Diet

The day we found out we were pregnant I decided to do everything by the book (i.e. what to expect when expecting). The first choice I made was how I would handle my food intake. I read that it is best to avoid processed foods, caffeine, alcohol (duh), and sugars. This diet has been a constant battle for me. I have been doing good with the caffeine intake. The only thing I have been drinking is water! Water, water, water I am about sick of it at this point. I did have to have Sprite or Ginger Ale while dealing with my nausea but as soon as that subsided I went back to good’ol H2O. The battle has been with processed foods. All I have been wanting is junk food! Fries, burgers, chicken nuggets, hotdogs, all the junk. When it comes to cravings I have had few and far between. I have people tell me all the time that I am a boring pregnant lady! The only “craving” I can honestly say I have had are olives, blue cheese crumbles, chili cheese dogs, and sweets. The sweets have been hard for me because I really am not a big sweets person, but baby loves them!

The First Doctors Visit

I had to wait until I was 10 weeks before we were able to go to our first visit. This was the most nervous I have ever been. We knew that the main point of this visit was to see if we had a heart beat and I think everyone was on pins and needles that day. This was the day I also realized that I needed to find a new doctor. My appointment was at 3:00 and before we walked in Andrew and I said a little prayer while we were still in the car that our baby would be healthy and have a strong heartbeat. Once we walked in they called us straight back and started the sonogram. It had to be a vaginal sonogram so I had to go change and had to insert the wand myself, which was odd. The tech then took the wand and found our baby. Time she got a clear image we were able to see the little heart beating away and I started bawling. I looked at Andrew and he was on the verge of tears himself. She checked my ovaries, uterus, and all other baby goodies. After she printed us a few pictures we went back to the waiting room. This is when I got fed up with my doctor. After sitting back in the waiting room for over an hour they called me back and took my vitals and then sent me back to the waiting room. At 4:50 they called us back again to the room and during all this we could see my doctor standing at the cube in the middle of the back office. So we knew that she wasn’t at a delivery. Right at 5:20 she decided to grace us with her presence. When she walked in Andrew stood up to shake her hand and I said “Dr. Christie, this is my husband Andrew” and he reached out his hand. She just sat down and said “I figured” right then and there I knew I had to find another doctor because if she treats him like that at an appointment how would she treat him and me during my delivery. If he asks a question would she even acknowledge him? We were finally able to leave at 5:30 on the dot. I was fed up. The next day I Googled the Best OBGYN Doctor in Augusta and a Dr. Bartley was in the top three. I called and she was still taking new patients. After my first visit with her I fell in love. She is the nicest doctor I have ever met. You can tell she really loves what she is doing!

Morning Nausea :(

From the day I found out I was pregnant I was terrified of the morning aspect of pregnancy. Throwing up has to be my biggest fear I have to say! I am terrified of getting sick. I think it goes back to when I had a virus and was so sick I had to go to the hospital. I felt perfectly fine until about the 7 week mark. That is when the nausea hit me. Mine would come in the morning and at night. The night time was worse because I had to sleep sitting straight up and could never get comfortable. There were a couple of times that I thought for sure I was going to get sick. One night I just sat by the toilet waiting on it but it never happened. Then one morning on the way to work I made sure I drove on the side of the road that had grass so I could pull off if I had too. luckily I would start feeling better once I had some crackers and ginger ale. I wanted to try not to take any medicine during my pregnancy so I called the doctor to see what the best home remedies were for morning sickness and this is a list of what I found to work the best for me. • I would eat something every 2 hours on the dot. If I went past 2 hours it would show up again with a vengeance. • I would drink nothing but Gingerale and Ginger tea • SALTINE CRACKERS!!! • Ginger candy (thanks to Vicki) • And these suckers called prego-pops. They come in all kinds of flavors, but have different herbs in them to help with nausea

Telling Everyone the Big News!

The day we found out we were expecting I went to work like normal and called the doctor time I got in. over the phone the nurse said that I could come in to take a urine sample and a blood test to conform the pregnancy. Time I hung up I went straight to the doctor! When I walked in I got a look like I was some random crazy person off the streets. The receptionist told me that they close early on Fridays and don’t run test, I told her that I was told over the phone that I could come in. After a huff, they called me back and I was able to just do a urine test. She told me “it’s positive and it looks like you are about 5 weeks and 6 days!” I called Andrew immediately and told him that it was official! We immediately started planning on how to tell our friends and family. I know everyone suggests to wait to tell friends and family until you are 12 weeks, but one, we were too excited, and two, we knew that if we didn’t tell them and something happened we would not be able to hide it from them. So we decided that since that coming Sunday was Father’s day that would be the best time to tell everyone since we would all be together. That night we went on a search for a big brother t-shirt that Teddy could wear to announce the pregnancy. After 4 stores Andrew found the last one in the clearance section of Old Navy! The next day we went over to Vicki and Trey’s so Teddy could get groomed and to tell them the big news! They had just gotten back from their trip to Alaska and were so excited to tell us about their trip and I was excited to hear about it! After the groomer came in and they took Teddy I told them, “well, we have something to tell yall” without another breath Vicki yelled “Your pregnant!!!” and we just smiled and said yes! After big hugs we set down and looked at their pictures from the trip. That is when I had my first moment of “are we ready?” the whole time I was looking though the pics I couldn’t help but think, are we ready to have a baby? There is still so much I want to go do and see. I knew we really wanted this baby and that we have a wonderful support group so why worry! Sunday morning came and we were getting ready for the Father’s Day lunch. I started cooking and Andrew was getting the video camera ready. We had a plan all laid out! While we were waiting on the parents to show up we called Joel and Courtney to tell them the news! Joel answered and I told him to put Courtney on speaker phone. Once we told them there were “congratulations” and “we are so happy for you.” Little did we know they were in the middle of the grocery store with us yelling We’re pregnant!!! Haha it makes for a good story. Once the parents arrived I said a little white lie and told them that the food was not ready so I suggested we watch a home video from Disney. We had come up with this story about how we were watching the videos and we came across something funny that we had to show them! While Andrew “got the video ready” I ran to our bedroom and put the Best Big Bro shirt on Teddy. I walked around the corner and Andrew gave me this little grin so I knew the video was rolling. I walked up and said “I have to show you this shirt we got Teddy” everyone was just like aww then got quite. My mom said “are you pregnant?” and I just smiled and said yes!! Then Pam started screaming and everyone jumped up yelling, clapping, and crying all at the same time. That was honestly one of the best feelings in my life! You never get to have a surprise like that!

Our Journey!

Andrew and I have met when we were sophomores in high school. It sounds cliché but it was love at first sight! After dating through high school and college we got married and started our lives together as a new family. We said all along that we were going to work on a five year life plan. There were many things we wanted to do in life before we started having children. Since we got married in 2009 we figured a good time to try to start our family would be sometime in 2014. In December of 2013 I decided to stop taking my birth control because I wanted my body to be regulated before I got pregnant. I was told all along that it takes at least a year for your hormones to get back in order. From month to month my periods were all over the place. Lasting 2 days, to 2 weeks to not having one at all. So when I didn’t have a period in June I figured I was still out of sync. Andrew took me on a date on June 14th at TGI Fridays and during dinner I told Andrew that I just didn’t feel right. I remember that conversation like it was yesterday. I asked “do you ever have those days where you just don’t feel right.” I told him that something just felt different. I felt ok, but not good. I figured I was just tired, but then I thought, maybe I should take a test just in case. I told him I think I will wait until July to take a test because I was just tired of wasting them. The next morning, the 15th, I woke up and took a test. I knew I couldn’t wait for the rest of the month to pass by. I went and peed on the stick and just set it down and continued to get ready. After I washed my face and brushed my teeth I decided to look. Expecting it to be negative. Well I noticed this faint plus sign!!! I flung open the cabinets and dug the directions out of the box and it said two lines is negative, one line and one plus sign is positive!!! I opened the door and Andrew was still asleep but I just said baby and I guess he could tell something was up from my tone. He popped straight up and said what’s wrong! I said, while crying, “I think I’m pregnant!” that was the fastest I have ever seen him move! He came running in the bathroom and looked at the test and then just grabbed me and we held each other and cried for what I felt was like an hour! I told him I was scared and looking back I know why I said that. I was more afraid of the morning sickness aspect of pregnancy than the delivery! That might change!