19 weeks 2 days

Time is flying by. I can not believe that next Thursday we will be finding out if we have a son or daughter. A few nights ago I asked Pat through tears(hormones!) if he would be ok if it is a girl. He gave me a reasuring "of course,yes!" I think hes ready to be a Daddy! :)
I have been so blessed that I have been feeling well for pretty much the entire pregnancy so far. I have started to suffer from a few of the common symptoms such as sore feet, round liganent pain, and just a slow moving body overall. My tailbone was bothering me for a few weeks but that has seemed to subside. I am hopeful that this is because baby is moving up to where he/she is supposed to be. At my last appt. the Dr. said that she believe that my uterus tilts backwards. This could be some of the reason they couldnt find the hearbeat at week 13.
In the anatomy scan next week we are praying that my placenta is now where it should be. As baby grows in 50-75% of the cases the placenta moves up as baby makes more room in there. If it has not moved from over top of my cervix they will need to do more ultra sounds to monitor. If it doesnt move by our due date then I will need to be scheduled for a C-section. Before diagnosis of my low laying placenta I had every intention of going as natural as my body would allow me to.
I started to organize the nursery last weekend. I hung up all of the itty bitty clothing and separated it by size. I can't wait to find out if I will be buying Pink or Blue. I have started some early nesting behaviors. I have already washed all of the baby clothing that we have. I have also started cleaning in places I haven't cleaned in far too long. Last week I dusted the walls in our bedroom. I couldn't believe how much it was bothing me.
Till next time, please enjoy this picture.

13 weeks

Well, we are heading to ALASKA tomorrow!

I had a checkup yesterday and she went over my bloodwork that had been done, I am imune to most "common child sicknesses" that could harm the baby. Then she tried to find the heart beat, couldn't find it with the first doplar. Went and got another, still couldn't find it. The appointment stopped then and there and she ordered me to go to the Hospitals ER to get and ultrasound. The reason that they couldn't do it there was because the ultrasound tech was gone for the day. So I began to cry, thinking the worst. I called Pat before I even checked out and he came right over and we drove to the hospital together. It was a long drive over and a long process to get checked in and where we needed to be. Finally we got called back, I was so nervous that I kept asking to pee. Finally we were called back and set and ready to get started with the ultra sound. I kept trying to watch the screen but the ultra sound tech was trying to keep it turned away. I saw that sweet flutter of a heart beat before she told us everything was ok. I broke down and cried hard at that point. I felt so thankful that God has protected this little life inside of me. She spent a good 15 minutes with us. The baby now actually looks like a baby! We got to see the heart beat, see the brain, the stomach, and the spine. Baby was turning all around and seemed to enjoy laying on his/her head! We also got to see the little one kick and move their arms around. The ultrasound tech also changed my due date. She predicts we're due 12/31/12. This is the day I first thought but the Dr.'s said 1/2/13. I'm excited to see if we will have a 2012 or 2013 baby! It was an amazing appointment but a long day. My appointment was at 5:30 and we didn't leave the ER till almost 9:00.
Also they found that I have a low laying placenta. I need to be extra careful with lifting and doing  anything strenuous.
We are cleared, and packed, and ready to head to Alaska! I'll update once we return!

11 Weeks

Not much has changed since my last post but I figured I would update since I don't know if I'll get another chance in the next two weeks with preparing for Alaska!
I saw Dr. Harris in Baltimore during my infustion last Friday. All of the ladies there were very excited for us! Dr. H will see me again in the second tri and also the third. I usually get my infusions every 8 weeks but my schedule will change a bit because I can not get the infusions past week 32. Up till then the meds do not pass through the placenta. So at some point I will get the Remicade sooner than 8 weeks so that we can get it as close to, but not past, week 32.
Overall Ive still been feeling good. I'm starting to get some energy back and have been trying to push myself to get to the gym. I made it there twice this week (in addition to a few Theo walks) and feel good about that effort! Of couse I rewarded myself(and baby) with some Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream! I think he(she?) likes it.
Otherwise, we will be making our facebook anouncement sometime in the next few days/week. Enjoy the picture of my growing bump! Patrick says Ive really "poped" in the last few days and I don't think I can keep this secret quiet much longer!(Though the site won't let me upload my 10 week photo at the moment.)

9 weeks

JesterDuo PLUS UNO!

Drum roll please....Ladies and Gents, what you have all been waiting for. A BUMP UPDATE!

Tomorrow brings us to week 10! I think that part of me has not invested the time into a bump update because I didn't want to be too emotinally attached. But who are we kidding, Ive been emotionally attached to this little baby since the moment I saw thoes two pink lines and I jumped around the house, home alone, like a crazy person! AND, here we are, just 2 weeks left in the fist trimester!
It still does not feel "real" that I am growing a little person inside of me! So far the first trimester has treated me very well. I have been fortunate not to have any morning sickness. I have however been exhausted and hungry all the time. I have gained an undisclosed amount of weight already. More then the 'average'. I am not looking forward to working the extra weight off once baby comes but I am counting it as a blessing that my Crohn's is behaving and letting my body give this little one lots of food! Speaking of, I see my Chrons Dr. on Friday. I'm excited to see what she will say. Overall however I have been eating rather well. One food that I can not stand right now is bananas. Used to love bananas, right now, not on my top food list!

Patrick still seems to be in a bit of shock about becoming a Daddy. I'm pretty sure he will be heartbroken if our baby is a girl. He will love her anyways but he is 100% rooting for a boy! He has mostly been working hard to look for any way he can get more hours at work. He has also been continuing to look for a new job. If you haven't already, please put this on your prayer list. Pat has been looking for a new job for a while now, we are just waiting on God's timing!

Speaking of working hard, we are mostly looking forward to our Cruise to Alaska in a few weeks. The Dr. cleared me last week to take the trip and even take sea sickness meds if I need to.

And now, a few snap shots to see just how much food I have been packing in my pie hole! :P

 

First Bump shot. Our due date has since changed to January 2, 2013.

After the first ultrasound

7.5 weeks, starting with a teeny tiny pooch

Baby J and Baby D. 8 weeks and 18 weeks!

Baby Jester and Baby Ansell. Cousins 8 weeks and 29 weeks(I think)!

Baby Jester and Baby Jester! 8 weeks and 24 weeks!