Stombaby is Moving!

Today I am 17 weeks and 4 days pregnant. I started feeling Stombaby move last week when I was 16 weeks. I wasn't sure at first if that was it, being a first time mom. But after awhile I was positive. It's definitely not my body. I feel the movements low, exactly where my doctor said Stombaby is resting right now. It's such an awesome feeling! I feel like Stombaby has been really active over the last week. I feel him or her quite often. It's reassuring to know that the baby is really there and doing well! :)

Sniffles, Hips and Pains

I've been congested and sniffly ever since I got pregnant. At first I thought it was our house. I asked Luke if we needed to get the air ducts cleaned. But we left town and the same thing happened. Now, after talking with my friends who are moms, I have found that this is just another symptom of pregnancy. I will probably be blowing my nose until February. :)

My hips are already feeling tender. Most mornings when I wake up they ache. I try to sleep with a pillow between my legs, but it doesn't always help. I am planning on getting a pregnancy Snoogle pillow soon. Maybe that will do me some good.

Since the early weeks of pregnancy, I have experienced twinges of pain in my stomach whenever I cough or sneeze (and sometimes when I laugh). I was worried about this at first and thought something was wrong. My friend Tamrah who is currently pregnant with her third child told me that this is completely normal during pregnancy. Ligaments in your stomach begin to stretch soon after conception, preparing for the baby. When you cough or sneeze they stretch even more. That is what causes the pains. I am happy to have all of these experienced women in my life to set my mind at ease!

Stombaby Dreams

Last Saturday, August 8th I had my first gender dream since being pregnant. I dreamt that we already had the baby and the three of us went to the movie theatre. For some reason we were waiting until the first doctor appointment to find out the gender. I really wanted to know, so I told Luke that I had to check the baby's diaper. When I looked, he had abnormally large genitals. Then I looked at Luke and said, "It's Noah!" We hugged and were both very happy. Noah had Luke's nose, which I was very happy about since I think Luke's nose is so much better than mine.

Then last night I had a dream that we had Olivia May. She had a ton of dark brown hair and big blue eyes. She was adorable! There was a lot of breastfeeding going on in this dream. My friend Emarie was helping me to learn how to do it.

So who knows. I've now had a dream about a boy and a girl. I guess we will find out in October! :)

Welcome back, Appetite!

So my appetite is finally back. Stombaby had taken it for awhile. Eating is no longer a chore. I am so happy about this! There are still a few foods I couldn't imagine eating right now, but overall I eat well and often. Hurray! :)

Pacne Sucks

So I'm discovering that pacne is included among the many joys of pregnancy. Pacne is an original term I created. It stands for pregnancy acne. I find myself having to use much more concealer these days... :(

Happy 5-Year Wedding Anniversary!

On July 31, 2004 we were 19-year-old high school sweethearts tying the knot. Five years of marriage, love and friendship have passed. An eternity is yet to come.

To see more photos from our anniversary shoot, visit CT Ryan's blog.

Food Issues

The thing I miss most right now is having a normal appetite. I've never been a picky eater and I've never had any issues with food. Ever since I got pregnant things have changed. Eating has become a chore, which is a big bummer for a food-lover. Nothing sounds appetizing when you are nauseous or generally do not feel well. Several times I have had a craving for, and later an aversion to, the same exact food! It's rather annoying. I bet families waste more money on groceries when there is a pregnant woman in the house!

They say you should gain 4-6 pounds in the first 12 weeks (first trimester). I am 9 weeks pregnant now and I haven't gained any. I've actually lost a pound! I'm not too worried about this, though, because I know it is common to have problems gaining in the beginning (since so many pregnant women are sick at this time). I am confident that I will make up for it in the second and third trimesters.

Boy or Girl? Trying to Stay Neutral...

I've always had a preferred gender in the back of my mind, even since I was a little girl. I feel it's very important now for me to stay neutral. We will find out in October if our Mini-Stombaugh is a boy or girl, and I want to be happy either way. If I were to get my hopes up about a certain gender and then feel disappointed, that would be quite awful of me. I would feel like a terrible mother. After all, there are so many things that matter more than gender like physical, mental and spiritual health. Family isn't making it any easier, though. Everyone seems to want a girl just like me. There aren't a lot of girls in the families. Luke has two brothers and I have one brother, so I'm the only girl. When we told Luke's dad about the pregnancy he cried tears of joy and then said, "I hope it's a girl." He has three sons. I've been praying for neutrality in my heart. The other day I did have warm and fuzzy feelings about the thought of having a boy. I think God is doing a good job of preparing me either way. Let it continue!

Dreaming about Olivia or Noah

Every single day Luke and I pray for our baby to be spiritually, mentally and physically healthy. If you would keep our baby in your prayers too, it would be much appreciated!

Looking back, it seems that every significant thing in our lives has happened in an instant. We were married in exactly two weeks, found and purchased our first home in four days, found and adopted our dog in two weeks, and got pregnant in one week! God knows I can be impatient, and He seems to be making my dreams come true quickly.

The pregnancy has been real to me for some time now. After all, I have been experiencing all of the physical symptoms. I believe the first ultrasound made it real for Luke. He seemed absolutely amazed when we saw our little lima bean and noticed the heart fluttering at a rapid rate. When I tried to talk to him about the whole experience on the ride home, he was speechless. He immediately asked for one of the ultrasound photos, and he has kept it in his back pocket nearly every day. He shows it to all of his guy friends. I looked at it yesterday and it resembled an ancient artifact with all of the creases and wrinkles on the delicate ultrasound paper. I think this is so precious. Luke is going to make a wonderful daddy.

Mini-Stombaugh: Due February 28, 2010!

Our first baby is on the way! Praise Jesus! We are excited to enter this new adventure in our life. I am nearly 8 weeks pregnant, and Luke has been home for 9 weeks. Haha - that didn't take long! :)

I knew that I would be able to test sometime during Father's Day weekend (Father's Day was on Sunday, June 21 this year). My original plan (if I received a positive) was to wrap the test up in a box and give it to Luke on Father's Day. That was how I was going to tell him, and it would have been perfect! But I tested early the morning of Friday, June 19. The first was a +/- EPT and I received a very faint +. My heart started racing. I decided to take one more test to be sure. I took a digital 1st Response that says YES/NO, and it said YES! There was no way I could keep this big secret from Luke for two whole days, so I immediately ran into the bedroom to tell him. It was still before 7:00AM and he was half asleep. I gently woke him and showed him the test. He said, "Really?! Oh, Good Morning!" and gave me a big hug. I burst into tears, of course. Then I called my mom to tell her - woke her up - and she was ecstatic. She dropped off an "expecting" card and a wrapped book (Nancy O'Dell's Full of Life) before I even got home from work that day! Then I called my Grams and woke her up - she too was very excited. Luke told his mom that evening in person. We told Luke's dad on Father's day. He cried and said he hopes it's a girl (since he has 3 sons).

I found out I was pregnant very early on at exactly 4 weeks. The first 5 weeks were great! The only symptoms I had were cramps and bloating (totally normal during the beginning of pregnancy). In fact, that's how I knew I was pregnant. I started experiencing cramps on Monday, June 8 which was exactly mid-cycle for me and around the time that I'd be ovulating. That was not normal for me. I never got cramps until the day before my period - and it wasn't due for another 2 weeks! After I tested positive at home I had to go into the clinic so that they could test me positive. I thought that they were doing a blood test, but it turns out they were doing a urine test. They tested me at 4:30PM on June 19. The doc came in and said the results were negative. WHAT?!?! Then we had a discussion. I had tested early (as in, before my missed period). And I had tested in the morning when I first woke up. The pregnancy hormone, hCG, shows most in the morning if you are only in the third or fourth week of pregnancy because your first morning pee is most potent. It made sense that a 4:30PM test would be negative. The doc said not to worry, she would do a blood test and it would probably be positive. She called me early the next morning (Saturday) to tell me that my pregnancy was indeed confirmed. She said my hCG level was 53 and I was exactly 4 weeks pregnant with a due date of February 28, 2010. 4 weeks? But how could that be? Apparently they start counting from the first day of your last period, which for me was May 24 (2 days after Luke got home from Iraq!). I had stocked up on so many pregnancy tests that I took them all weekend just for the fun of it (and to convince myself it was real!). By Sunday night, I had a positive non-morning urine test. This made sense because your hCG level literally doubles every 24 hours. All was good!

I definitely noticed a change in how I felt when the 6th week of pregnancy rolled around. It was rough. I felt nauseous every day, all day. I never got sick, though. It's really hard to eat when you have nausea, because nothing sounds good. I did some reading and discovered that the baby has a growth spurt in the 6th week. It more than doubles in size and this can sometimes cause nausea. That's why most women find out they're pregnant around 6 weeks. I was too impatient to wait! This week is my 7th week and things have calmed down a bit. Now I only get waves of nausea every now and then. I know it will all be worth it in the end!

I know that everyone reacts differently to a first pregnancy. I have become an information junky. I want to know anything and everything about this little life growing inside of me and the changes that my body is going through. I've been on BabyCenter.com every day and it has been a great resource! I also like to visit BabyFit.com and EHD.org. Luke and I ordered TLC's A Baby Story: First-Time Parents Edition from Netflix and watched episodes for over a week! It showed first-time parents in the last few weeks of pregnancy, throughout the birth and the first few weeks with the baby. It was really informational and fun to watch. I'm glad that Luke got into it too. :) I've been reading What to Expect and Full of Life. I also got a great video that shows the embryo and fetus inside the womb from conception to birth: National Geographic's In The Womb. I like being well-informed about what is going on with me and this baby. It is making the whole experience much more fulfilling.

My dear friend Becca gave me an awesome pregnancy journal and baby book just days after I found out I was pregnant. Thanks, Becca! I have been keeping track of everything in my journal and I trust that it will keep me occupied as we wait for this baby to come. I have been recording humorous and endearing quotes in my journal. Here are some of them:

On June 23, at 4 weeks and 3 days pregnant I was extremely emotional. I cried for an hour over multiple silly things. Luke said, "You're so fragile. You're like a tulip, and life is like a fox." He made me laugh through my tears. Oh, the hormones...

On June 25 I went out to dinner with Samantha Schaal. I asked her if she had any feelings about whether I was having a boy or girl. She responded, "You seem to always get your way, so I think it will be a girl. But if it's a boy I think it will be a very stubborn boy if he subverts your will."

On June 27 at midnight I had my first major craving: Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. Luke thought that I was kidding when I asked him to go to our 24-hour Cub grocery store to get some for me. I finally gave up arguing with him and went to get it myself. When I got home and happily made my mac and cheese he said, "I just didn't get it." And I replied, "You don't have to get it. I'm pregnant. Just roll with everything."

On June 28 Luke said, "I'm just excited to have a kid. I think I will understand love better. You've got the love of your wife, which you have to earn. And you've got the love of God, which you don't deserve. Then you've got the love of a kid, which is unconditional."

Today (July 16) we had our first ultrasound. It was so exciting! Although I did have to drink 32 oz. of water an hour before the appointment and hold it until after the ultrasound, which was pretty painful. But once I saw the images of our baby it didn't matter anymore. I was in awe. You could even see the little heart fluttering. The technician turned on the sound for a minute so we could hear the heartbeat. It was amazing. The baby measured 1.49 cm with a heart rate of 164 BPM. The tech confirmed that I am exactly 7 weeks and 4 days pregnant. The due date is still February 28, 2010. Our little Olivia May or Noah Matteson is on the way! Here are photos from today's ultrasound...