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.