My Pregnancy So Far =)

[You'll have to forgive me for the horrible quality photos taken by me with my phone - No one ever takes pics of me, so this is my sad attempt to capture the moment - I am 31 weeks in the photos]

Let me first say that I LOVE being pregnant. I love the feeling of carrying my son with me everywhere I go. I love feeling his movements (even his merciless kicks). I love it when he gets the hiccups. I’m going to miss the little love-taps he gives me when he’s finally here and driving me utterly insane, but at the same time, I can’t wait to actually hold him in my arms . . .

My husband and I have joked around and talked about having children ever since we first started dating (I was 16 and he was 15). We both soon realized that becoming a parent was part of both of our dreams, amongst all the crazy things we wanted to accomplish! He wanted to be the ideal, cool, laid-back father and I wanted to be the loving, strong-hearted and fearless mother. And we couldn’t imagine not having a little one running around with us. Perhaps one of our biggest fears was finding out that pregnancy would be a difficult thing for me . . .

Well I had NO trouble getting pregnant. 10 weeks after my husband and I married, I found out I was 10 weeks gestation with my little man. We were surprised that it happened so fast, but at the same time not surprised at all. It’s not like we tried to avoid getting pregnant, if you get what I mean! I guess this would technically be considered an "unplanned" pregnancy, though my husband and I have been preparing all along!

So I went to the doctor. OMG let me say I HATE doctors. Especially the “woman” doctor, as I call it. Yes, it sucked, but everything checked out fine, despite the slight spotting I had afterwards. And that’s the only time to this day that I have spotted during my pregnancy.

I’ve been told that I’ve had the ideal pregnancy so far. I am considered low risk, passed my sugar test at 28 weeks, experienced PLENTY of fetal movement daily (you gotta trust me on this one!), and all blood work checked out fine. The ultrasound concluded that I have a good placenta, good water, and everything is normal. My OB even approached me at my 28 week appointment regarding my seemingly perfect blood work results, and congratulated me about how I had to be one of the 15% of her patients that actually take the prenatal vitamins . . . how she got this percentage I have no clue. [CONFESSION: I cannot swallow pills – not even an aspirin – so I did some research and compared the prescription prenatals she wanted me to have to Kid’s Flintstones chewable vitamins. I found out that taking 2 ¾ Flintstones chewables a day equals EXACTLY what was in the prenatals, so I settled for that . . .without telling her . . .] Apparently it has worked! Ha ha!

My pre-pregnancy weight was a healthy 120 pounds. And at 5’5’’, my BMI was approximately 20.5 and I was overall quite happy with my body (aside from wanting to tone up). Now, at almost 32 weeks, I fluctuate between 148-149. I have yet to hit 150! I try to walk plenty throughout the day, but I eat whatever I want. And nobody is telling me any different at this point! I will deal with toning up and losing baby weight AFTER my son is born. No sooner.

SYMPTOMS! – Probably the WORST part of being pregnant was the hunger-induced nausea I experienced from 10 weeks – 17 weeks, which caused me to eat nearly 10 full meals a day, literally. My coworkers would playfully joke “It’s not gonna be a 60 pound baby!” Additionally I have suffered from extreme heartburn, slight fatigue, slight backaches, stretch marks, bleeding and sensitive gums, Braxton hicks contractions, sciatica pain, leg cramps, minimal swelling of my ankles (1 time only so far), and slight moodiness. My nesting instinct also kicked in around 20 weeks and it has been at full force ever since!

Craven is also in very good health and is growing just as expected. He responds almost too well to my voice, his father’s voice, and my mother’s voice. He has been head down since he was 28 weeks along – I know this because of the pressure on my bladder and the little footsies that keep teasing at my ribcage. At my 30 week ultrasound, they confirmed this. I opted to not have the amniocentesis done, simply because the outcome of the test was not relevant to me. Even if he was born with a genetic problem, it would not cause me to love him any less. To me, even the smallest risk of miscarriage is not worth knowing a few scientific readings. The outcomes of amniocentesis tests are not even 100% correct, more like 50% or less. My son is a completely normal, healthy little man, and that’s all I need to hear.


I’ll try to keep updating often. Being home alone while Jon is at work is very . . . lonely! And quite boring to boot! I’m going to post about my birth preferences as well in the near future, so stay tuned!

*Craven's 4D Photoshoot Experience*

I first asked for my 4D ultrasound at my 26 week appointment. My OB told me I could get it done next time, so I didn’t fret about it and went on the schedule my next visit for 7/21/10. Well, 4 weeks later at 30 weeks pregnant, I was told to schedule for my 4D next time. I was a little frustrated, but I expected it. I was after all at a hospital (which I’m not a fan of). At the checkout counter, the lady stated, “well we don’t do 4D ultrasounds after 30 weeks.” I insisted, and bitched a little . . . maybe even threatened a little . . . ^_^ . . . but I got an appointment for the very next day.
That’s more like it.

7/22/2010
10:15 a.m.

Craven was scheduled for his first actual 4D ultrasound. He was 30 weeks, 1 day gestation and he was KICKING! He must have known what awaited him! Well . . . when the lady turned on the machine, our loving son failed to show us his face. He scrunched up into a ball, clenched his fists and buried his little visage into those fists. We saw arms, knuckles, legs, ears, a forehead, and even his penis . . . but very little of his face! At this point, we were convinced that this boy was going to be a handful from the start! We did managed to measure him though. His heart rate was 149 bpm and his estimated weight was 3 pounds, 13 ounces.

So we were scheduled for a recheck that following Monday at no charge. The poor lady must have felt sorry for us!


7/26/2010
10:15 a.m.

This time, my mother came with my husband and I. Truthfully, we probably should have brought her with us the first time. Craven is already so relaxed around his grandmother, it’s unbelievable. All it takes is for him to hear her voice and he stops what he’s doing. During the ultrasound, he tried to throw a fit, but my mother’s calming voice stopped him in his tracks. He fell asleep! That seemed like a first haha. We got some amazing pictures, which helped us determine exactly how much he takes after his father. This time, his heart rate was 160 bpm and his estimated weight was 4 pounds, 2 ounces. He even smiled!!!!

  

It Starts.

Ok so it's a little past 7:50 a.m on a Friday....I am 31 weeks, 2 days pregnant and feeling pretty good aside from my calf muscles, which is COMPLETLELY my own fault for stretching so much that I give myself charlie-horses in them. bleh. Whatever.

As it is probably very obvious, this is my first post. I'm not sure what to type [not that I can type at all anyways!] but I'm going to try to keep this from being a complete and utter fail. All I can see myself posting about is my pregnancy, my husband, my son, my hobbies, fashion, and reviewing products.

So let's get started, shall we? ^_^



Here's a little insight as to what I've been up to recently (or somewhat recently). I'm going to try to make this LONG story as short as possible:

I am currently 21. I married my sweetheart of 4 years on Dec 23rd 2009. About 2 months beforehand, we began the process of moving out of our parents' houses, so to make things run a little smoother (or so we thought) we decided to spur down to the courthouse one morning, get hitched, and finish things up after that, mainly for tax purposes, home-buyer's closure, and whatnot. Well. We got our 'house' as I call it [it's actually a cute little newly built single wide mobile home, customed just for us] and began the rather LONG process of moving in it while at the same time attempting to plan our ceremony for our marriage. Well. In the midst of planning our wedding, I found out I was 10 weeks pregnant. I was overjoyed. And so was my hubby. So much that we both completely put off our ceremony in exchange for planning for the baby (not to mention that my chosen dress was designed as a cold-hearted corset with no thought for an innocent young one in my midsection!)

That was back in mid Feb this year. Now here I stand (or sit preferably) nearly 8 months pregnant, trying to sort out and prepare for both the day my son will arrive and the day that my husband and I will FINALLY walk down the isle together. It will happen!

I swear it.