Weeks 18 & 19

We went to the doctor this past week and had our 18 week anatomy ultrasound. Baby looks absolutely perfect! The first thing I said when I saw the heart beating was "Hey- how many chambers are in that heart??" The ultrasound tech probably thought I was some loon who googled something before my appointment. I don't make a habit of announcing my profession, so I just let her think whatever. She answered "Four." And I was satisfied. Baby has 2 kidneys, normally developing lungs, no spinal defects, and a good lookin' brain. We asked her not to let us see the gender, and she wrote it down on an envelope and sealed it. That was hard to do!!

3 painfully long days later, we found out the big news! Our sweet friends and my sister threw us a gender reveal party. It was such a perfect night! More to come on that later. 

I was so wrong! I had really started to feel more and more like it was a boy. Matt guessed that it was a girl. I had asked him for days what he thought baby was, and he kept saying "I have no idea." Yesterday, my sister got into town and asked him the same thing. He immediately said, "Oh, it's a girl." I was like what? Since when have you committed to a guess? It was funny. I am so absolutely beyond happy though! We really didn't care either way. We just wanted a healthy baby. But I am thrilled about having a daughter! We're so excited to finally know who she is and to start planning and decorating. 

Her name is Charlotte Katherine Newman, and she's a mover and a shaker already. She squirms around constantly, and I just love that feeling! In other pregnancy news, my belly is ever-expanding and my belly button is starting to look weird. Some things will never be the same, I suppose. RIP, belly button. Also, two people this week told me, "You don't look pregnant in the face." I'll take it. 

17 weeks

I'm so excited that I finally felt baby move! Last Saturday, when I was 17 weeks exactly, Matt and I had just turned the lights off to go to sleep, and I felt something that I can only describe as... bubbles. It was pretty subtle, and I wasn't sure if that was baby. People have told me that it kind of feels like gas or bubbles at first. I told Matt I thought maybe that was it. A few days later, I was sitting in noon conference at work, and I felt the same thing. I sat really still. It happened a few times in the same spot, and I was sure that time that that's what it was. Since then, it's become a little stronger and more obvious that it's baby moving around. It's my favorite thing!

I'm still nauseated, but I kind of forgot what it's like to not be nauseated anymore, so whatever. I haven't had to puke in a hospital toilet in a while, so things are really looking up! No one wants their face that close to a hospital toilet. Gross. GROSS.

Moving on... I still don't have any really intense cravings. This may sound really weird, and my mother and Matt are probably the only people that will truly understand the significance of this, but I have to have ice in my water now. Historically, I don't like ice in my drinks. I like drinks cold, but 86 the ice. Always. Times 27 years. Now, suddenly, I find myself needing the ice. I sort of wonder if I have pica.

We went to the state fair this week and had a blast. I love the fair. I love the fall. I was kind of sad that I couldn't ride all the rides this year (because I'm 27 years old, and that's still the highlight of my October). The food made up for my loss. I ate a corn dog and a fried philly cheesesteak. So good. I did ride the swings, and we won a fish, which we gave to some random kid. I just saw myself coming home to a dead fish in 3 weeks and the emotional turmoil that it might induce. It was better for everyone involved to give our fish away.

Happy Fall, y'all!

16 Weeks

I can't believe I'm already 16 weeks- 4 months! I feel like I just look fat in this particular picture, but I feel like I'm starting to look pregnant in real life, which is exciting! I also blend in nicely with the brick. Regarding this week's baby fact, Matt said that he's going to start playing the Alabama fight song frequently for the babe. And if you know Matt, he's probably not kidding.

Clothes: Definitely rocking the maternity pants these days. I can still wear my regular pants with the belly band though. And lots of my shirts aren't fitting anymore, so I'm either going shopping or I'm going to be wearing the same 5 outfits repeatedly. One of which is scrubs. Don't judge me.
Weight gain: My belly is large, which is great and means our baby is healthy and growing! But as you can see, my butt is getting large as well, which is less than awesome. I should start cropping it out of these pictures.
Symptoms: Still with the nausea and vomiting. I don't want to complain too much and sound ungrateful for this wonderful experience of pregnancy, but this nausea/vomiting has got. to. stop.
Movement: Nothing yet, but I'm hoping soon!
Gender prediction: I just don't know, man. The Chinese calendar says it's a girl. T minus 2 weeks until we find out!
What do I miss? Still ibuprofen and raw tuna. Sigh.
Cravings: I want jalapenos on everything- especially sandwiches. I've kind of stopped with the salsa thing. And yesterday I decided I could not live without a chocolate milkshake. So I got one. It was a fabulous decision.
Aversions:  Nothing specifically. 

*Of course, I'm late posting this, but I wrote it/took the pic last week when I WAS 16 weeks. I'm actually 17 weeks and 1 day today. One day I'm going to upload all these pictures and get back on track. 

Baby Newman!

We are so excited that we are expecting Baby Newman in March 2014!! I am 15 weeks along now, and still puking away. (If you are one of those people who never got sick during pregnancy, please do not tell me about your glorious experience, lest I punch you.) I've started some pictures, but I wanted to recap the last 15 weeks first. I know one day I'll forget, so I wanted to write it down.

We found out I was pregnant on July 4. I was 4 days late, which isn't much, but I'm never 2 days late, let alone 4. Sorry if this is too much information for you. I stopped and got a test on the way home from work. We'd been trying for almost a year, so I was trying not to get my hopes up, but I just had a feeling. I had actually had some abnormal test results, and I had been prescribed fertility medication, which I had not started taking yet. We were preparing ourselves for what we thought would be a difficult journey to parenthood. Imagine my surprise!!

I'd had all these great ideas of how I'd tell Matt when I had a positive test, but in reality, I was just a total spaz. He was outside watering the plants, and I just ran to the door and yelled "Matt! Matt! Come here! Now!" He asked me what was wrong, and I just ran back into the bathroom, where I stood pointing at the plus sign and speaking unintelligibly. He looked at me, and back at the test, and asked me if it was positive. I nodded. We just hugged and stood there totally speechless. Then Matt said, "Now what?" It was a bit weird to go on about our day as if everything was the same, and I wasn't growing a human.

We went to a 4th of July party that night, and I was so afraid people would become suspicious if I wasn't having a cocktail. So I poured Sprite in a solo cup and hoped no one would notice. Here's a picture of Matt and I that night- when we were the only two people in the world who knew we were going to be parents.

We went to the doctor the following week, and we could only see a gestational sac. We were disappointed that it was too early to see a baby or hear a heartbeat, but we were reassured that it was just too soon. When we went back the following week, they measured a tiny little peanut-shaped baby at 6 weeks and 4 days, and we heard that wonderful sound of a fast-beating little heart!

At 6 weeks:

So how's pregnancy going? Well, at that first doctor appointment, my OB asked me how I was feeling. I said, "Great!" I was just all smiles and still eating 3 meals a day. The next week, when we confirmed the pregnancy and heard the heartbeat, she asked me the same question. I told her that my sweet fetus was trying to kill me. So it began. Around 6 weeks, I was working in the PICU, where every 4th day we have a 30-hour call. I threw up all day, and every 4th night, I threw up all night, too. It was really special. I also had a total aversion to coffee, which is quite unfortunate when you're working 90 hours a week and staying up for 30 hours on a regular basis. I kept peanut butter crackers in my pocket, and I would walk to a corner and just shove one in my mouth every 30 minutes or so. Those crackers were about the only thing I could stand the thought of eating for about 3 weeks. It helped, albeit minimally. I may never eat a peanut butter cracker again. I don't know how people didn't know I was pregnant. I tried sucking on hard candy. I tried ginger gum. I tried ginger ale. It was miserable.

Things got better around week 9. I felt better in the mornings, but still got sick at night. Then I had one glorious week- week 12- where I just stopped vomiting. It was blissful. I thought it was over. It wasn't. I swore I had sprouted another human because I went back to the all-day sickness at week 13. And so it goes. I'm still nauseated all the time. I vomit at inopportune times, such as the middle of rounds or while driving home. And I've begun crying over nothing. I cried the other night because I am sick of being sick. Then I cried because I felt guilty about not loving being pregnant--especially after thinking we may never experience this. Matt assured me that my baby knows I love it and that it's ok to not love being sick.

Our 10 week check-up:

I would like to say that Matt has been wonderful. He lets me just lay on the couch and waits on me hand-and-foot. He brings me my phenergan. He goes and gets me plain mashed potatoes from KFC. He even went to Kroger at 10:30 at night once for magnesium citrate because I was sure I was going to die from constipation.

Here's baby at 12 weeks. One of our dear friends just happens to be an ultrasonographer, so we got an extra peek at our little one-- even in 3/4D!

So here we are, week 15. (I'm late posting this, and I'm actually 16 weeks now, but all this is from last week. Week 16 coming soon!

Clothes: My pants stopped fitting around 12 weeks, but God bless the inventor of the belly band! I've bought a few maternity clothes, but haven't worn them yet.
Weight gain: I don't know for sure. At the last appointment, I was up only a couple of pounds. I had actually lost weight in the beginning because I couldn't keep anything down. I'm pretty sure I've put on a few pounds since then though because as you can tell, my belly is not exactly concave. I definitely don't look pregnant though. I feel like I look like I have just been eating too many Pop-Tarts out of the resident's lounge.
Symptoms: all-day nausea (with less actual vomiting, thank the Lord), HEADACHES, and this week I've started having that weird round ligament pain when I cough or sneeze or sit up too fast. I've also started waking up in the middle of the night to pee for the first time in my entire life.
Movement: Not yet, but I can't wait!
Gender prediction: I don't have some huge instinct either way, but I've recently started to feel like maybe it's a BOY?! We'll find out in 3 weeks! All we want is a healthy baby.
What do I miss? Ibuprofen. Seriously. Tuna (I know I can have tuna, but I don't like my tuna cooked, so it's out.) And the only time I've really wanted a drink has been during football games- that makes me want a beer!
Cravings: Salsa
Aversions: Nothing in particular- it just depends. Sometimes Matt will suggest something for dinner, and I nearly gag. Good news is, I no longer have an aversion to coffee!!

We are so grateful that God has blessed us with a child, and we know that this baby is His miracle. After a period of time (although thankfully a brief period) where fears of infertility were very real and devastating, we are reminded that God is always in control, and we pray that our child will always be filled with His love.

We moved!

I do this so often. Halfway write a blog. Realize 6 months later that it is still a draft. Ergo, this random post from the beginning of summer. Better late than never I suppose.

Back in June, Matt and I bought our first house!

The landscaping leaves much to be desired, but we'll fix it in the spring.

I can't believe I haven't posted about our new abode yet. We're still in the process of painting, decorating, and arranging (and rearranging) our furniture, but one of these days I'll take some pictures of the inside.

Our home buying process was a pain. We put offers on two houses that got snatched out from under us by old people with a bigger budget. I was so disappointed after it happened the second time, but I suppose it was meant to be. We love our new home!

One thing I hated about our old house was the backyard. We had a lot of yard, but there was no back porch space. There was nowhere to put furniture, and our grill was in the grass. We couldn't really enjoy the space. My favorite part of our new house is the backyard! It has a big, covered patio (with a ceiling fan!), and it extends into a deck. We've already had several get togethers, and it's so nice to be able to entertain outside! There's plenty of yard for the canines to run around (and poop).

Oscar Bob and Grayce are loving it.

Dad came over and cooked us dinner when we first moved in.

My father is a master chef of tuna.

That's a meal, people.

This was back in June, when we were all free as birds before residency started. We had nothing but time and nothing to do but... this. (You like that outdoor furniture?)

We did get some new outdoor furniture. Of note, the missing chair on the end is no longer missing.

I love my kitchen window. It's big and bright and lovely. My mom is making me a roman shade, and I'm super pumped. Stay tuned.

I'm also loving our gas stove. (Sorry Matt. I had to.) Matt's even learned how to use it.

We wanted a house that we could grow into, and we absolutely love it.

Vacay recap

Back in August, I had a glorious week of vacation. Matt and I decided to take a trip and celebrate our anniversary a week early. We stayed in Baytowne in Sandestin, and it was wonderful and relaxing. There weren't many people there since it was the end of summer, and all the kiddies were back in school. We never waited for a table for dinner, and the beach was pleasantly uncrowded.

It only rained one day, and we hit the outlets. Imagine Matt's enthusiasm. We got some ice cream.

I bought some new kicks. Of note, this is the first pair of tennis shoes I have purchased since the 8th grade. That's right. I've been rocking gray and pink New Balances since I was 14 years old. It was time for a change. 

This was our routine: I slept til at least 10AM everyday. Matt woke up at a more age-appropriate hour, watched Fox News, and made coffee until I dragged myself out of bed. Then we put on our swimsuits, grabbed one of these delicious drinks downstairs, and headed to the beach for the day.

So I was not trying to take a picture of my hand. Do you see the rainbow? It made a complete circle around the sun. It was so weird. And neat. But I couldn't take a picture of it without blocking the sun out.

One night, Matt said he had a surprise for me for dinner. We got in the car, and he drove us to Carillon, where we got married. We walked around for a little while and talked about our wedding day. We walked by the chapel where we said our vows, and we walked through the green where our reception was held. It was so sweet. Then he told me that that was just a pit stop on the way to dinner. So we drove a little further to a place called Caliza. It is a restaurant in Alys Beach where we had considered having our rehearsal dinner. It's so cool. It's a super nice restaurant that surrounds a beautiful pool outside. I had said [a year ago] that I'd wanted to eat there. This guy doesn't forget anything! 

One of our favorite restaurants ever is Harbor Docks in Destin. We ate there twice. Our last day was so beautiful, and we ate lunch outside. Then we got the heck out of dodge before Isaac hit.

One Year Down

Matt and I celebrated our one year anniversary last month. It really has been the best year of my life. I am so grateful to have a husband that loves me despite my moodiness, messiness, and the fact that I progressively work more and cook less. And I straight up refuse to iron his clothes. Yet he loves me, and he chose to marry me even though he already knew all of these things. He makes me laugh everyday. He's so funny. I think that's what I love most about him.

I came home from work to this.

We got our our wedding cake, which has been taking up a significant amount of room in my freezer for the last 12 months.

Unfortunately, it wasn't very pretty. The whole eating year-old cake really grossed Matt out, but I forced him against his will to eat a bite of it. Our top layer was strawberry. It had real strawberries in it. It was delicious in 2011. It was okay in 2012. A little dry, but the tradition was fun. 

We didn't get fancy. It's not our style. As evidenced by my ponytail and tshirt. Matt grilled steaks, and we hung out on the couch. It was perfect. He even sat there patiently during my multiple attempts at getting the self-timer on the camera right.

I love him so much, and it just keeps getting better.