Adding another one to the mix

We're excited, thrilled, a little nervous and feeling very blessed to be having another baby! We can't wait to welcome another baby into our family and experience all the blessings that are to come. Here is a little time line of what the last few months have looked like as we anxiously awaited to tell the news!!

The week after Christmas I started having suspicions that I might be pregnant due to the feeling in my lower back. That is one thing that I have felt with each pregnancy, even before I would get a positive pregnancy test!

January 4th- scheduled first Dr. appt

January 8th and on- started gagging when brushing my teeth-didn't have that with either of the first two kids!

week of January 17th- Gabe turned 30 and I started to feel the effects of early pregnancy. Usually just in the evenings, mostly just unsettled tummy feeling and a little heart-burn feeling. Also had a nosebleed one morning. Cooking raw meat started to make me feel a little nauseous.
Started taking some cat naps in the afternoons when I could sneak them in!

January 26th- First dr. appt and ultrasound! Due date scheduled as September 8th. I was measuring 8 weeks 1 day, which is a couple of days ahead but she sticks with the original due date if it is within 3 days. Heart-rate was 161 bpm. There was one small spot (2mm) where the baby had not totally implanted, but the doc said she was not concerned about due to the early stage of pregnancy. We will go back in 4 weeks for the next appointment and ultrasound. We did tell immediate family (not the kids yet!) of our exciting news but will wait for the 12 week appointment and ultrasound to announce the news to everyone.

By Valentine's Day, pretty much all nauseous-ness is gone! Feeling great and the occasional nap makes me really feel not all that tired!

February 23- Second dr. appt and ultrasound! Got to see the little cutie again, that actually looked like a baby this time. It was wiggling all around, putting hands together, waving, and poking at the technician while she was trying to get it to flip over to get some measurements. It really is amazing to see this tiny little less than 2 inch baby completely formed and moving around. What an amazing God we have. Hadley was with us so she also wanted to see her baby is her tummy and the tech did oblige and scanned her tummy when I was done. She was thrilled to see her "baby kitty". (What an imagination!) After the ultrasound I had some bloodwork then waited for awhile to see the doc. When she came in, she said all my results of earlier bloodwork looked good but that the ultrasound today showed complete previa. ugh! There is a good chance that it will grow out of the way as the uterus continues to grow and we are really praying that is what happens! But for now, she said total pelvic rest for sure until the 20 week ultrasound. Heartrate was once again 160bpm. I also bought a doppler (off craigslist) and have had a lot of fun using it. The baby's heartrate has been measuring a very constant 160 bpm. So, we will have to wait another 6 months to see if the old wives tale is right about heartrates. (That's right, I don't want to find out the gender this time and I'm pretty determined so I think I can hold out!)

For those of you non-ultrasound techies, the first picture is the baby curled up, facing down, you can see the spine and legs are tucked up under it. The second one (tilt head to the far right), little hand is right up by baby's (alien-ish) face.