IT'S A BOY!!!!!

So here's how we found out the gender 2 weeks early!

I was scheduled for a more detailed ultrasound today just to get a better read on the thickness of my cervix since I had a the Leep procedure 2 years ago that removed a good amount of cervix. I'm just now 15w1d and I didn't even think you could start seeing boy or girl parts until at the earliest 16w. but the doctor said that my cervix looked great, and then went on to say "Your baby is cooperating, and I can tell what it is if you want to know" I of course said "Well isn't it too early?" But she said you can usually tell this early if it's "A big ol' boy" (which Chip loved! haha) But she said if she thought it was a girl she wouldn't have even mentioned it, since technically it wasn't officially "the BIG 20w ultrasound". So I guess we just lucked out!

Now we know how to decorate the nursery (we're doing Mickey & Friends) and what to buy clothes wise. Everything else we're going to try to keep pretty gender neutral so we can use it over again like swaddlers, Pack & Plays, oscillating seat that sort of thing. So some of you know, some don't, but right when we found out we were pregnant we chose a boy and girl name. We wasted no time, and we have no problem sharing said name prior to the birth, we all know that I can't keep a secret anyway ; ) So our little boy's name will be Kane Parker Schnabel.

Here are some new pictures to keep you updated!!

New Job & No Clothes Fitting

I GOT A JOB!!!!!!!!!! So it's official I FINALLY got a job! I found it on Craig's List believe it or not! This was a great week getting back into the work force, and I guess it's right what they say, you do get more of your energy back once the first trimester is done.

Unfortunately, I feel like I'm getting bigger and bigger everyday. I also haven't worn "work" clothes in over 2 months, so my body has changed quite a bit. My pants wont zip, my work shirts wont button, and my casual shirts are too tight and too short. Luckily my mom and I went to Motherhood Maternity this past weekend to see if we could find some pants. Of course, shopping for pants is the MOST difficult thing for me, and always has been but adding maternity to the mix was even worse! For about an hour, my mom and I turned that store upside down, I tried on about 30 pairs of pants, we were cracking up in the dressing room at how I looked in some of those clothes, it was a lot of fun. Finally I found a pair of linen white crop pants, a denim skirt, & yay black slacks for work!! We also dropped by Kohl's and found two cute shirts that will be great for work or play. Hopefully when I change my closets over this weekend I will find a couple things that will still work for the summer.

As far as symptoms go, I've been feeling pretty good over the past 2 weeks! Only morning sickness in the morning, mostly the thing that's been bothering me the most is how often I've had to pee! I get up at least 3 times a night to pee, and before I go to bed I have to make sure to move laundry baskets out of the way since I tripped on one a few weeks ago, not pretty!

Ok, and now for a cheesy moment! I would just like to say that I have THE MOST amazing husband ever! He has been such a big help around the house. Just the other day, I came home for lunch and my lunch was ready and waiting for me on the table. Then that same night I walked in the door at 5:45 and before I was in the door I could smell steaks being grilled. I walked in the door, and the table had been set, and Chip was walking in the house with dinner ready! He's such a great guy, and I am thankful everyday that he was brought into my life!

In closing I would just like to say, a few things. 1: Congrats to Robbie & Jenny LaCroix, my mom's cousin, who just welcomed their first baby into the world today, a healthy baby boy! 2: Happy 48th Birthday to my mom who doesn't look a day over 40!!! 3: Chip and I got new cars last week, we traded ours in for baby friendly models. Chip got a VW Tiguan since our baby carrier would be hell trying to get in and out of his two door coupe! Then I got a Pontiac Vibe, since we all know my trusty Olds had seen better days, those days being in 1997!! :)

First Ultrasound & a Due Date Change!

What an exciting day!! Today at 1pm we had our first ultrasound and were able to meet our new Dr. and more importantly, we met our little gobble gobble!! It is hard to describe the feeling you get to see a little life jumping around inside of you. And when I say jumping, I mean it! This little person was dancing a jig, it was sooo funny watching the baby shoot it's arms up and out, then kicking it's little legs, and then when the camera got close, it just turned around! How weird to see this little person moving, and for me to feel nothing. We also saw the little flicker flicker of the heartbeat, it was just perfect.

We also found out that it seems like our date calculation was a little off when it came to my last period. I thought I had a small period in February, but according to the size of the baby, we got pregnant at the end of January around the 25th-28th. The small period from February was just implantation bleeding from the egg settling in it's home in the uterine wall. When I went in today I thought I was just 9weeks 6days...Turns out that I'm 12weeks 5days! Which makes my new Due Date October 21st!! Gaining 3 weeks of pregnancy in just one doctor's appointment, awesome!

I have another more detailed sonogram coming up to measure my cervix to make sure its thick enough. The Dr. said that it looks a bit thin from a surgery I had about two years ago to remove some of my cervix due to pre-cancerous cells caused by HPV, see this is why all mom's should have their daughters get the HPV vaccine early! Hopefully that will come back with a nice & strong cervix, otherwise I will have be limited to my activity, possibly bed rest as early on as 20 weeks or possibly having my cervix stiched up until delivery. Yuck! Don't want to have to go through all that, but we'll have to cross that bridge when we get to it!

Please enjoy our little gobble gobble pictures! Pic #1 is of the baby's face, you can see both sections of its brain, both eyes, and it's little body. Pic #2 is of the baby's hand waving to us!! "Hi Mom!!" my child is already a ham for the camera! Pic #3 is a crown to rump measurement of the baby, on the bottom you can see that baby is 6cm long! Over all, such a happy day! Spring has sprung, new life is just sround the corner, and we couldn't be happier! The start of our Second Trimester officially begins on Wednesday at the big 13 week mark, finally out of the woods!

0-9 weeks, baby steps

So lets just start from the beginning, leaving out the obvious ; ) . After Chip and I came home from our Honeymoon it was clear to us that we wanted to explore "the next step". I scheduled a pre-pregnancy doctors appointment and a full physical to make sure that everything was in place for a healthy pregnancy. We got the green light from the doctor and out the window went the birth control, and the ovulation charting began. Not knowing how long it would take to become pregnant 2 months or 2 years, we went with the thought of when it happens it happens. After our 2nd try off birth control, we had a positive home pregnancy test, WE'RE PREGNANT! We got our positive test on March 3rd, and couldn't be more excited!

Now the lovely symptoms I've had thus far. One of the reasons I took the home test was because of the nausea I had been having. Weeks 5-7 were full of morning sickness that should have been called all day sickness, I was intimate with our toilet at least 3 times a day. Luckily the vomiting has become a once in a while thing every few days. I've had some food aversions, but mostly just thinking about eating food makes me sick, but once I make myself eat it, I'm alright. I've been really bloated so far, my insides feel like they're full of gas, and I'd just like to get rid of it already! I've never been one to burp in the past, but now it makes me feel sooo good to burp to get rid of all the gas! Chip cracks up at me burping all the time because I never really burped before....Also....Passing gas in my home growing up was absolutely off limits, you just don't do it! Well sometimes, you just gotta let it go mom!! Along with the burping, there's been some farting too I admit, but it's only for decompression purposes!! I have to get the gas out of my bloated belly! I think Chip has been a little shocked at first by this, but is having some sympathy farting as well! haha Well besides those fun things, the occasional cramping and the inevitable boobs getting bigger (already up a size) everything else seems to be going pretty smoothly.

I've learned a lot already about what to expect through the resources that are now available. The sister website of Theknot.com for wedding planning is Thebump.com for baby planning. It's a great place to speak with other pregnant women from all over the country experiencing all of the same things you are, and to help you figure out if something is a normal worry or not. Also, I can't imagine being pregnant 20 years ago when my mom was pregnant. I feel like people are much more candid to speak about what's going on with their bodies, as well, I don't know what I'd do without GOOGLE!! I'm reading What to expect when you're expecting of course, but mostly thumbing through it since it seems to be a repeat of all of the web sites I've gone over. Also I was given Frankly Pregnant by Stacy Quarty. It's a really cute story of her 2nd pregnancy that's extremely candid, and very funny!

Alright, well I went this week to fill out some paper work & to have my lab work done for my 1st appointment with my new OB/GYN on base. Hopefully we'll have sonogram pic's on Monday after the appointment! In the mean time, Happy Easter!

The Blogging Begins!

Hello all! I've decided that I would start this blog to journal and document each step of the way during our pregnancy. For those of you who don't know, Chip and I started our relationship right here between the "www's" on Match.com so I felt it would be completely appropriate to bring our pregnancy to the web as well! As most of you know I'm currently out of work, and my mother says that I need to "get a life", so here I am, filling the time between the endless job applications.

Just so you know this blog will not be for the faint of heart. I will not be holding back with symptoms, thoughts or random things that creep up, lets go ahead and get some words out of the way. Fart, Vaginal Discharge, Nipple, and what the heck, Constipation! There ya go, it's out of the way, so when I use these words there will be no shock or gasps heard behind your lap tops! ::My mother is probably dying right now:: Also just a little disclaimer, I will spell check before I post, but if for some reason I use 'there' instead of 'their' (which I hate!!) it's because most of the bloggs will come in during the wee hours of the morning, so if I misspell, or use too many comma splices, please forgive me! Alright, well welcome to this journey with us, it's gunna be a fun ride!