It's a BOY!

I changed my blog background to reflect our upcoming arrival...baby BOY Amerson! (I actually like these colors together for boy stuff...we shall see) So crazy! I thought it was a boy the whole time, but was still kinda surprised when we found out. He was laying face-down, so we couldn't' get any face shots of him in the sonogram. But we got a real nice one of him flexing his huge bicep (my dad says he gets that from him). The photo of his boy parts didn't turn out too well, but both doctors I saw today agreed based on the position of all the spots on the screen, it was definitely male! He's been moving around ever since we left the doctor's office. Maybe he's trying to poke me to say that he's turned now and ready for his close-ups. Well, it's a little too late for that now buddy! I'm hoping we can get a 3-D ultrasound later in the pregnancy. Kyla says she can hook me up at the pregnancy resource center. No names yet. That's the question everyone is bombarding us with now. We really haven't talked about it that much. We had more ideas for girls than boys, so we will have to put it into high gear now! We likely aren't going to be discussing the name possibilities with anyone, as people are often all too forward about telling you what names they don't like and why. We will likely just announce our decision later in the pregnancy...hopefully in time for showers! Baby boy looks great and is healthy and his living quarters look perfectly accommodating the Dr. said. Based on measurements, his due date might be a couple days earlier than we thought. That would be fantastic considering my predicament I discussed in my previous blog. Any additional days before driving to Austin and being in a wedding would be fantastic. Yay baby!

Apple of My Eye

I really haven't had cravings since I've been pregnant, but I have enjoyed some foods more than others.

One has been a newer type of apple that my Kroger just started carrying. It's been out for a while in other areas, but its new to me and the lady at the store got me to buy a million with her taste test one day.

It's from New Zealand and it's called Envy apple! So crisp and sweet! Everything I'm looking for in an apple. I'm glad that I found it and like it so much, b/c its a healthy option for my daily snacking between meals as I have been more hungry lately (yay).

Weekend in Austin

This past weekend we spent some fam time at our friends' lake house outside of Austin. Duke man got to come and so did Sugar and Missy. They did so well!

Duke liked to sniff out the little deer families that are everywhere in the neighborhood!

Boys got to golf on Saturday and girls went into town to look at Elise's dress and check out some potential bridesmaids' dresses. She had mom and I try them on. It was kinda funny/depressing trying to fit my expanding parts into dresses. The sizes that I had to try on were quite larger than what I normally wear! AND unfortunately I will probably have to buy a huge size when she finally picks them out, since I will likely only be approx. 1 month postpartum when she gets married.

This should be interesting seeing as I am the matron of honor!

Sickly One

Lately I have been a bit under the weather! I woke up two Thursdays ago (7/15/10) with my throat hurting and lots of drainage. I left work early because I was getting gagged up (I'm still experiencing the fun, intense pregnancy gag-reflexes) and then the drainage going into my tummy made me nauseous. YUCK.

I called my family doctor on Friday to see what, if anything, would be safe for me to take. He wasn't in the office, so I talked to one of his associates' nurse who was pretty much of no help. Told me that I could do what I was already doing...taking Zyrtec, Tylenol, and using my saline rinse.

But then it kept getting worse throughout the weekend. I should have taken my sick day on Monday! Green snot! I was starting to get worried about my potential risk for sinus infection forming, since I'm prone to them! So finally got my doctor on the phone and he agreed that taking Sudafed and Mucinex now was better than having to take prescription anti-biotics and other strong decongestants later. So I prayed prayed for baby's safety as I took meds for pretty much the first time in my pregnancy.

I've been feeling better ever since, but I think the allergies are here to stay. Baby seemed to be active and kicking normally the whole time! Now I'm just back to saline rinse and the occasional half-Zyrtec. Praise God!

Random Pics

I have some pics that I just now remembered to put on my computer! The first is from our 3rd Anniversary dinner last month. He took me to Bin 303 in Rockwall, which used to be Angala Gheen's house...so that was interesting to be eating such a nice meal in my friend's old house. We had fun! These pics are from Memorial Day weekend where we hung out with our friends Justin & Abby in Oklahoma. This is the area that Ryan is working in now. We got to swim at an old rock quarry that had filled up with water when the hit a natural aquifer. Beautiful! Duke had a lot of fun too. This last pic should be on the cover of the next Orvis catalog. He's so modelesque!

Wiggles and Squirms

We are at 16 weeks now and just truckin' along! Our doctor's appointment on Friday went well. Of course I forgot ALL my questions I had for Dr. Gunby, except about my weight. Ryan got stuck in a traffic jam and couldn't make it, so it was just me and baby! Baby still has a strong heartbeat, and fast...but I'm not sold on any of the old wives tales about what that has to say about the sex. They said I lost another pound :( but then I weighed myself at my parents' house later that night and again later that weekend, and it says I have gained 2 pounds. So I choose to believe that. So that's not up two pounds from my starting weight, that's still down about 10 pounds! Oops! Dr. Gunby says that he isn't worried at all about my weight and that as long as I'm eating frequently like I say I'm eating, things are all good. My bloodwork came back perfect as well, so don't try to scare me with saying that I might have some sort of thyroid or other problem or something and that's why I'm losing weight. (Some stranger actually told me that a week or so ago. The nerve! As if I'm not worried ENOUGH! Just say congrats and move on lady!) But the most exciting part of what's been happening lately is that I think I can feel the baby kicking and moving! I know it's still early and not everyone can feel these movements this early, especially with their first, but I'm pretty convinced that's what I'm feeling in there. I'm learning how to try to decipher between gas, digestion, and movement. I think I've got it down. The other morning there was a lot of thumping going on and I was excited/concerned. Concerned because this baby has seemed active since our first sonogram. We saw baby Amerson wiggling around in there quite a few times during our <5 min sonogram at 8 weeks. Now the other morning I feel multiple movements. Now what's going to happen when this baby gets big enough to jack me in the ribs, bladder, or some other fun body part with it's elbow or foot if it's this active now? Oh dear!! I'm just going to try to set my mind to believe they will be love taps and that the baby is just trying to say hi...yes, this will help! ;) HA. The Lord has been a constant source of peace for me. Some days I have to lay down my anxieties multiple times, but over time it has seemed like He has really taught me how to give it to Him. Fear is not of God. He's the knitter of the babies, not me. I don't know the first thing about knitting. I'm encouraged by Jesus' words in Mark 5:36, "Do not be afraid any longer, only believe." Looking forward to week 17...it's one week closer to 20 weeks, when we will get our next sonogram and see baby Amerson's sex! July 28th! Get ready!

Eat Sleep Poop

I saw the book by this title at Barnes & Noble the other day. It discussed the first year of baby's life. But I found that though our child is not due for another 5 months or so, I already resonate with this motto. Eating, sleeping, and pooping have been my primary concerns since conception for the most part. EAT: I've mentioned my concerns regarding eating in the past. My nausea was no fun and turned me off to eating almost completely for a few months there. Now that baby is not eating of the yolk sac anymore, it is important that I consume a healthy diet for the both of us. But I'm still not a huge fan of eating, though I get hungry CONSTANTLY and eating is all I can think of. Ugh. Who would have thought of all the issues that I would ever worry about, eating enough would be one of them? SLEEP: I know my sleep habits will never be the same again. No need to remind me about the crying hungry infant at 4am or the toddler with a tummy ache that wants to sleep with you. My sleeping pattern is so erratic right now. I guess it's God's way of preparing me for what's to come. Most of the time I fall right asleep...but that kind of ease does not usually define the rest of my night. Freaky dreams, frequent potty breaks, waking up just plain uncomfortable, being too cold, being too anything...sheesh. Some nights I sleep like a rock; some nights I just don't. And unfortunately, oftentimes my night's sleep defines the type of day I have. I try not to let it, but you try handling a caseload of 10 needy addicted women on no more than 2 consecutive hours of sleep! POOP: This might be TMI, but other moms know exactly what I'm taking about here. Pooping has become quite the concern over the past 4 months! Why can't I just be REGULAR!? A good poop can make my day. A constipated day can just be plain frustrating. This one goes back up to the eating part, because now I'm trying to figure out what exactly I ate that helped me out down south that day...more protein, milk products? Has it gotten more difficult since I changed vitamins? Did I go for a walk that day? I NEED TO KNOW THIS! Ah, the joys of pregnancy! I'm just looking forward to the time where it's not my eating, sleeping, or pooping that I'm concerned about anymore. It will be a lovable little baby Amerson's eating, sleeping, and pooping! How much more cute will that be?