D-Day

Tomorrow (4/22/2010) at 5am I scheduled to be induced! I can't believe its finally here! My emotions are all over the board...just so many things racing through my mind. Part of me is overtaken with the excitement that I will finally get to meet Bobby...I can't wait to see his face! I love daydreaming of putting him in all these little tiny clothes I have been washing and folding. I'm looking forward to getting his arrival done and over with (hopefully SAFELY and QUICKLY!). And I can't wait to be done with the pregnancy part of this...just being able to bend over will be such a luxury! But...I am also terrified to actually face the pain of delivery...I am nervous to see what we are actually dealing with on this arm issue...and the MAIN thing is I am overwhelmed of the reality that tomorrow my life will be forever different. I honestly think having a child is the biggest accomplishment you make in life (you don't realize until you have done it yourself!)...and the thought that tomorrow it all begins scares me to death! Everyone keeps saying the same thing though...it will be the best day of your life...so I must trust them. These are people that have gone through this very thing...and fondly remember it as the BEST day of their life. Sooo...its gotta be wonderful, right?!?!??! haha

Robby is pumped...this process could not have gone any slower for him. He is so ready to be a dad. Soo...I am hoping that I can continue to feed off his positive energy tomorrow. Wish me luck. And I want to shout out a HUGE thank you to EVERYONE that has been so supportive to me during this pregnancy...and sending their love and support through text messages and phone calls in these last days. I don't think I could have made it without you...your my survival outlet!

Getting close...toooo close...

So I definitely think that I am having some of those Braxton Hicks contractions now. SCARY! I know they are normal and no big deal...but it just reaffirms in my mind what I have been in denial of for the last couple of weeks. This is getting REAL...real fast!

I have recently noticed that I am swelling. My first indicator was when I saw that my socks had left indentations in my leg. Attractive! Since then I have to forego my wedding ring...after lotion'ing up and prying it off my poor finger (that I thought was about to turn blue with the lack of circulation). Oh and don't I love walking around as a giantly pregnant woman without a wedding band. Naturally though, I would assume that ANYone that has been pregnant realizes that its very normal and that most women in the end of their pregnancies can hardly wear their rings.

In other news...I really feel like I am getting all my ducks in a row. I got our hospital tour setup for 4/12 (if I haven't already had the baby by then!), I went over lunch the other day and did the preliminary paperwork for my epidural, I called to get setup pediatrician, and now I need call my insurance and find out if there is any pre-certifications I should be doing or anything.

We went to the doctor yesterday and they estimated Bobby to be around 6lbs 5oz already! I have a feeling he is going to be a big guy like his daddy was. Robby was almost ten pounds when he was born...and I was a little chubby monkey shortly after I was born...so between the two of us...I foresee carrying around a heavy car seat.

The beautiful weather has really gave me spring fever...I have been daydreaming of taking Bobby on walks in the stroller...or putting a little ball cap on him and going to visit daddy and grandpa at work. How cute would that be!?!? I am sure they wouldn't be proud or happy to see him. haha

We are ready now!!

Yesterday I went to lay down after breakfast and I could hear Robby banging around in the living room and yelled whatcha doing...his reply was "don't worry about it, its a suprise" but was to tired to get up and see what the fuss was about....and I figured he was just putting away gifts for me. A little while later I woke up with Robby opened the door and flipped the light on and was rolling in our stroller...he put it all together while I napped! SO SWEET!



So then we decided to take a crack at the pack'n'play too. I love the pattern we picked out! I feel like we are really get close to be ready for little Bobby...he could come tomorrow and we might just make it!

Moving right along...

I don't know where my brain is the last couple of days but I had forgotten how far along I was. I just checked the calendar and I think I almost 26 weeks...6 1/2 months! Where has the time gone?! I haven't even STARTED the nursery yet! I have just kept thinking oh I have so much time still...I will get started after the holidays. Well here we are...and the pressure is on! Now I just have to make decisions...which is NOT something that is easy for me! I hate committing to something cause it makes me SO nervous to not be able to change my mind. Hopefully one piece at a time things will start coming together and my nerves will calm. Its all going come together...it has too! I want to set myself of deadline to be done with the nursery by the beginning of March..that way if I go into preterm labor we will still be ready. Bobby is on his way and I want a cozy place to bring him home too!


In other news...we got some good news from the doctor last week. I haven't mentioned it much but we have had some concerns with our precious baby. We had a big scare that Bobby's heart walls were forming to thick...which can cause a narrow valve...which makes his heart have to work to hard to pump the blood. It can cause the baby not to grow and/or heart failure. There wasn't any signs of his growth being affected or that his heart rate was elevated, so for a time we were just waiting and praying. We went back to the specialist last Wednesday though...and got some great news. His heart is ok after all! The doctor was able to see everything he needed to see this time...and it resolved all his concerns. YAH! We couldn't have received better news! And on top of all Bobby is cruising right along with his growing...he was at 1 lb 11 0z. Go Bobby! Yep, that's about the only reason I feel comfortable with how much weight I have gained...I don't mind at all...as long as HE is gaining weight too!

Early Christmas present for Mommy!

Last night Bobby decided to make his presence know...I finally felt him kick! This time I am 100% sure! So it was just a day short of 23 weeks. Its lower than I expected, right below my belly button actually. I don't know what made the difference yesterday but he was so BUSY last night, I felt it over and over throughout the evening. I had ate some Christmas goodies...maybe it was just the sugar in them? This morning I was anxious to feel him again so I drank a glass of orange juice right away...and like clockwork there he was again! Now I am starting to wonder how much of the time he sleeps and how much he is awake? Anyone know the ratio? He is actually kicking me like crazy as we speak. I LOVE IT!! Its the best feeling in the world. Well that's all for now...gotta go start getting ready for the Christmas craziness that is set to begin this evening. Everyone be safe on the roads...MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Run Run Rudolph!

So is anyone else feeling the rush this year? It seems like the season is just moving so fast. I feel like I have been running around non-stop and I am feeling overwhelmed with everything I still need to get accomplished in the next couple of weeks. The problem is I have NO ENERGY to get it all done! Now granted I am suffering from a wonderful snotty nose cold, that makes my body ache like I just ran a marathon...but still, this is MY FAVORITE time of year...and I want to be able to enjoy doing the Christmas shopping, instead of feeling like breaking out in tears of exhaustion after I get back in my car from the mall. Same with wrapping presents...usually top of my list of favorite things to do, normally I can't wait to get out all the wrapping paper and ribbon as soon as I got home and get things out of the bags. This year the gifts have been sitting in a pile for a couple of days after I have bought them until I can gather enough energy to start the project. And even then I have to take breaks from my back aching from leaning over to much. Oh well, most of the fun in Christmas for me is the "preparing" so I guess I should just sit back and enjoy that the process is stretched out for me...even if its because I am a slow moving, back aching, runny nosed pregnant woman. Oh I can just see Robby drooling now...I am just so irresistible these days. hahhahahahah

In Bobby news...things are pretty quiet. I think I might have felt him kick a couple of times...but being the inexperienced mother I am, there is no telling if it was legitimately him or not. But I am waiting patiently for more communication from him. :) I am growing quite a bit. My belly sticks out pretty obviously. I have received the comment on more than one occasion that "I am big for being 5 months". I can't decide if that is exciting or depressing. I enjoy showing...it makes me feel more confident that people don't just think I am lazy for no reason if they can actually see that there is an obvious reason behind it. And I have always thought a growing baby belly is the most adorable thing. Its just that since "I" am the one growing I have realized for the first time that what isn't so cute about it is that EVERY thing else on your body grows too. And if people think I am big now...I can't imagine what I am going to look like in four more months. I'll take it though...as long as Bobby continues to grow! Go Bobby!

So this second picture is really a not so glamorous picture of me but I wanted an example of how much my belly has grown. I don't think I realized how truly thin I was (everyone always considers themselves fat in their own personal image) but now, I am in a whole new level!

I'd like to compare belly's with the next Santa I run across...

Yep I am definitely growing! I feel like my belly just looked HUGE in this dress. Oh well! I am proud to be carrying around my Bobby in there! Next time I will have to put all the pictures of my belly along to way in a row to compare.

And per Nicole's request...some pictures of Christmas time at the Reed's!

I LOVE the holidays...

I LOVE the holidays...but I'll tell you what...I can already tell this year is going to be harder than usual because I get so tired I can barely keep up! I feel like I didn't even get to sit down the entire four days I was off! That's ok...it was a great weekend and I wouldn't change any of it! I'll start from the beginning of my holiday weekend...I got some great news from my OB on Weds afternoon that my amniocentesis came back completely normal. I not quite ready to go into detail about why this was so important...but let's just say I had been losing sleep waiting to hear those results...hoping and praying to hear good news...and I DID! I could hardly believe it. The nurse double checked again and yes, again she said the words to me. "Your results came back completely normal...the doctor read the report with a smile on her face and told me to GO CALL HER BACK AND TELL HER THE GOOD NEWS!"

W. O. W.

Talk about the best day of my life! I called my husband and then shot out of my chair at work to do a lap around the office giving hugs and spreading my wonderful news! We continued the celebration that night by going out to eat and smiling ear to ear the whole time. What a way to start a long weekend! :)

Then came Turkeyday! Boy did we ever have alot to give thanks for! I had gotten up early to make one of my favorite staples for thanksgiving...my late grandma's mashed potatoes. (I seriously think I could survive on potatoes alone these days.) And then we had to Robby's grandma's to celebrate the day. Thank goodness it was a pretty low key day because I was already worn out from all the excitement the day before.

Friday morning....AKA BLACK FRIDAY! Well I chickened out on going to do the early EARLY bird shopping even though it crossed my mind a million times, right up until I went to bed Thursday night. My girlfriend was all ready to go at 3 AM if I was up for it...but I just didn't think I could hang with her. I decided to go for the less craziness at about 8AM. There were still a few stores that had lines wrapping around the place but thank goodness I never had to get in any of those lines. I went with my mother-in-law and she had a list of huge items and was on a mission. Lets just say four tie-downs and seven hours later we were back to the house unloading and finishing up with online shopping. WHAT A DAY!

And there was no resting in the picture for the poor pregnant lady from there either...oh no, I had to get right back up and be out the door by 8AM again the next morning with Robby on the way to Norman for the Bedlam game. The weather was nice and we played good so it was a wonderful day. We stopped for dinner in OKC at Bricktown so by the time we got home it was dark and another day was gone.

Sunday...day of rest right? Ahem...I wish...it was my first day at home in a while and I had A LOT to catch up on. I put clean flannel sheets on the bed (ready for a our cold weather!), did all the laundry, gave the girls a bath, went and got groceries, cleaned the house, wrapped Christmas presents, worked on my performance review for work, and we finished the Christmas lights outside (in the COLD and rain I might add) but it was totally worth it because the house looks a million times better.

Drumroll please....

So I must start out again by apologizing for my lack of communication. As I finished off the longest month of work in my life last week AND THEN we finished off the week by getting the BEST news of our lives!

Wednesday: My 2nd prenatal appt...yah! I had been looking forward to this. Everything went fine...I met with my actual OB doctor for the first time instead of just the nurse practitioner. I liked her, she gave me the vibe of very smart, very comfortable in her position...been doing it for 30 plus years (yes I asked). :-) Just very comforting. All the normal little things they do went fine...my blood pressure, my weight...everything right on schedule. She said his heartbeat was 140...at that very second the old wise tale popped in my mind WHAT did it say if the heartbeat was below it would be a boy or a girl? hmmm. Then she asked if I wanted to do the down syndrome test...and Robby and I looked at each other and thought...well why not. She says ok well it has to be done between 16-19 weeks...or your test will come back abnormal. Was your last period a normal one? I answer with a yes, but that it was 12 or so days late...to which she says ohhhh...hmm...well in that case I think we'd better do an ultrasound to verify that you are just 15 weeks....and not further along because that will skew the test results. YAH! Sooo excited! I get an ultrasound! Seems like everyone else I know gets an ultrasound every time they go to their doctor, and here I was probably only going to get the one at 20 weeks.

So they call and schedule the ultrasound for the next morning (Thursday) at noon. Robby and I are SOO excited! We get in there and it is EVERYTHING I hoped it would be. We could see the little baby bouncing around and moving its little legs up and down, we could see its face, its feet, its everything! I exactly 15 weeks like we had suspected, and it weighed a whopping 4 oz. How CUTE!! LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT!! And the tech says....well I think I can already tell what it is...do you want to know??! Before I can even say anything Robby practically screams YES! we want to know. I look over at him...and then I look back at the tech and agree with Robby...yes we would like to know.

And the drum roll please
.
..
...
....
...........ITS a BOY!!!!!!!! Little Bobby Reed!!!

I can't describe the excitement that went on in that room. Robby jumped out of his chair with his arm shooting straight up in the charge position and yelled YES!!!!!!!! I KNEW IT!! I started laughing so hard that tears were coming down. I was SO excited...seeing him sooo happy meant the WORLD to me. This was it...the moment we had been waiting for. Who knew we would find out this early!?! We were thrilled. We got our sonogram pics and headed back to work beaming...and bursting at the seams to spread the news. I can honestly say it was the best moment of my life!!

Daddy, momma and baby...pumpkins that is...

First off I need to cover something...I am so sorry I have been MIA! I know I have been slacking on posting, emailing, and just reading everyone else's blog entries. I can honestly say I am in the midst of the most frustrating (slam your head in your desk) month of work I have endured since I started this career back in 2005. Suddenly without warning the perfect storm was created on my desk making it difficult to even make it through the day let alone survive endless amounts of meetings on how to handle all the changes that need to be implemented over the next couple of months. What a time to have a heavy work load huh? No wonder I can even stay awake through a TV show that starts at 8:30 anymore...I already drained before I even get home from work. In summary...life has been busy!
So with that covered...we can move on. It was a great weekend...I felt pretty good and since the game was away this week I wasn't drained from traveling. I got a lot done around the house, got my mind off work, and spoiled my myself with lots of good food and rest. Like I mentioned up above I have been going to bed so early it's actually not even been a problem getting up early. Maybe I will handle that part of having kids better than I thought...who would have ever thought the trick was as easy as go to bed as early as you do on week nights? haha.
On a cute holiday note...I dragged Robby to take me to get pumpkins yesterday. And cheerfully came out of the store to show him the prized choices I made. Even the former grump about the pumpkins couldn't resist smiling about this.

Daddy, Momma and Baby pumpkins

Note: You might notice Momma pumpkin is almost as big as Daddy pumpkin these days. :-)

11 weeks along

Sorry I feel like I have been out of pocket...its been a BUSY week! I don't have much to report...I did kind of throw up on Tuesday...but it was so little that I really don't even think I should fully count it. I think I could have avoided it but my body just kept saying it would just feel so much better, and it did! Other updates, I feel like I have gained more control of my crazy hunger with more consistent snacks. I had a couple of nights where I had an hour or two randomly in the night where I couldn't sleep. And my lower back has been aching today. But otherwise pregnancy is just moving right along. I have moments here and there but for the most part I have been feeling better daily...so I am thinking maybe I am almost out of the woods! I took another belly progress picture. Keep in mind this probably has nothing to do with "baby" and more to do with my current diet but here's the lastest.

11 weeks and counting...

Thoughtful...

My sweet sweet friend Nicole surprised me with the BEST gift ever the other night...I have so always dreamed of having one of these...but I can't believe my day is here now.

This was Robby's kind of gift too...add the "Sooner's" into anything and he is SOLD!

Thank you again Nicole, you never cease to amaze me with your gifts...you are always sooo thoughtful and right on the mark...I LOVE it!!

Finally...

Great news!...I finally heard back from the doctor last night...at like 5:35 pm! I was anxiously awaiting the call all day...and even called and left an extra message on their machine around 2 o'clock but never heard back. I had received several inquiries from people asking the results all day (so sweet that people care and can remember what's going on with MY doctor appointments) and I was getting so frustrated because I wanted to hear the news too (not that it was super exciting news or anything but still it was SOMETHING!). Anyway all my blood work came back great! YES, I am pregnant...in case any of you had any doubts. :-) My thyroid levels had gone down significantly, so I am now in the normal range (so no need to worry about that at all anymore). My hormone levels measured between 7-12 weeks so she is assuming I am sitting right at the 9 week mark like I thought. And the greatest (relief) news was that my levels were normal enough to indicate that I am just carrying ONE baby. YAH! Happy news all around. Now I can just look forward to my Family History appointment tomorrow with my actual OB office. I am sure I will have to give more blood (grrr) but if it gives me more news to wait for then I am all for it. News is all I have to live for at this point...its my only tie to my baby. I can't see it, or feel it yet...so I just want to hear about it. :-)

In other news...I had the Race for the Cure 5K on Saturday. Now, that was a different experience! I have done several 5K's this summer all with goals of improving my times each race. hahaha...now the goal was just finishing the race. I haven't been out to jog or even hardly to walk in probably 2 1/2 weeks. I am not sure what everyone else's weather has been like but last Friday was the 14th day in a row that it rained here. I was started to think I lived in Seattle! We did get a pleasant weekend with the recently unheard of sun but of course yesterday our next 5 day setting of rain began...and here we are back in dark dreary weather around the clock all over again. Anyway point of this is...I haven't been able to get out in the evenings and exercise...so the race was very jolting. I only ran maybe the first 15 minutes of it...and then walked the entire rest of the way...even hoping THAT part would be over soon. My body just doesn't feel the same! And that did a number on my pride...I was in some of the best shape of my life earlier this year...and now I am reduced to this. Again, welcome pregnancy! I had some of my coworkers in their 60's beat me! Come on...that's depressing! And to make it all worse...I haven't told anyone at my work I am pregnant yet...so they probably just think I am quite the slacker! haha Oh well...I really can't worry about that...I honestly felt like I had to do what was best for my body...and the goal was not to get too overheated...and so when I felt like it was getting hard and I was getting sweaty...I backed off...and I am ok with that.

I am glad I got out and was active...and the race really was fun but I paid the price for it later that day...my lower back really ached, I was sore and exhausted. Not only did I race home afterward for FOOD but then I settled in for a nice long nap. I didn't make it home in time to go to the game with Robby...so I had the house all to myself and it was dead quiet and peaceful. I love nap time...so do my girls...so we were just three peas in a pod :-)

Doctor appointment!

Ok well not exactly THE doctor appt that we have been looking forward too...but I still received some news that brings excitement and some that brings relief. When I called my OB again the other day questioning whether I should be medicating for my thyroid, they suggested that I get an appt with my primary care physician and get my blood levels checked again to bring the results more up to date. This was all well and good except I HATE giving blood now (last time I volunteered at the blood drive my vein rolled and I don't know what else happened but I shrieked in pain and tears flooded my eyes, since then I have been a chicken). Anyway I went and gave the blood without any problems today (thank goodness) and she said since she was already going to a full work up...would I like her to do the pregnancy looks too? Such as how far along you are (based on your H.C.G level or something) and that she can even sometimes tell if you are carrying twins or not. HA! I thought that was crazy...she can tell that without even looking at a sonogram?! Well I was all for it, #1) I can't wait to hear ANYthing about my baby from a doctor's perspective like how far along I am etc. #2) I am sure its just paranoia but I am terrified of twins being a realistic concept because my girlfriend that lives two houses down just came up with twins completely unexpectedly on her first pregnancy. Yep, identical twin boys!



So as you can see this DOES happen...it truly is such a miracle, blessing, and true gift from god for sure but to be quite honest I am not sure I would be as brave about it as she has been. Anyway back on topic...the doctor said she would probably have results tomorrow or at the latest Monday! How GREAT! This will give me a new found confidence...and I might even be brave enough to confide in someone at work of my status! (That's right I haven't told a soul yet at work...and its been killing me to at least have someone to talk to and complain to when I am not feeling good. Thank goodness for my instant email buddies, you know who you are :-)

The second thing the doctor told me that gave me the relief was...she thought my thyroid levels weren't going to be an issue at all. She said after speaking with the specialist I saw last year they decided that my levels weren't to be worry-some because it was most likely caused by my birth control! Wow...all this worrying for nothing! Well not completely, I DO have cysts on my thyroid that I have to continue monitoring...but as far as baby, she is almost sure that everything is going to be ok even without medication. Whew!
Oh and one last thought...I still planning on "jogging" the 5K for Race for the Cure this weekend even though I haven't been out running in probably 2 1/2 weeks (thank you non-stop rain) so wish me luck that I can make it through without having to stop for a nap or something. HA!
Anyway I will be sure and post what the doctor has to say about my blood work (hopefully tomorrow!)

Miscounted

Last night while looking at my little calendar card thingy I realized that I think I have been miscounting my weeks. I think I am in the middle of my eight week. (not seventh!) Which of course, is not that big of change...but its exciting! I have more chapters in my prego books I can be reading already! The part about it that bothers me is that when I originally called the doctor they said that they didn't need to see me till 8 or 9 weeks. Well my first appointment isn't till the 23rd and that one is just family history and just with a nurse. And the first "doctor" appointment I have isn't even till the 30th. Well I am going to be one day short of 12 weeks by then! I need to call the doctor's office back today about my thyroid questions anyway so I think I going to question whether I should be coming in sooner??

On another note, I just got a call from one of my old girlfriends that was asking how I am doing and she mentioned something that we could find out the sex of the baby WAY earlier than I ever expected? I mean I was guessing we wouldn't know that till like half way through the pregnancy...and she thought it was something like 12 weeks or something? That can't be right, is it? Anyone remember?

I almost forgot...its Thursday again so I think I am officially in my 7th week now. Yah! The faster the time passes before I get to go to the doctor and hear the heartbeat, the better. I am so looking forward to that! I am scheduled for the "Family History" visit on the 23rd...but my first actual visit with the doctor isn't till the 30th. So I have still got a couple weeks to go. I wonder how soon I will show? Unfortunately probably not for a couple more months. I never understood why pregnant women were in such a hurry to show...but now I completely get it. Well at least I think do, I want to show so that I will be able to see that I am pregnant. Same goes for feeling the baby move the first time...I can not WAIT for that! I just put so much thought into the baby that being able to see or feel it will be a great moment.
In other news, I have feeling pretty good the last couple of days! Which has been GREAT! I even slept really well last night. Don't ask me why I don't sleep really well every night based on how tired I am but I don't. A lot of times I am restless in the night and it bothers me A LOT to miss any sleep, because sleep is one of my most very favorite things. I have always been a sleepaholic. So I hope the baby realizes how I am giving him/her the ultimate sacrifice of my precious sleep. :-)
Kayli and Coco are not helping the situation though, they aren't doing anything different its just they slept right next to me (MUST BE touching me so they don't accidentally miss me moving without them knowing or something) and they are so hot that they are overheating me. Not to mention the fact that I have to get up several times a night to pee and one of two things happen: either they are completely unhappy to get moved and I have to make some giant maneuver to get out of the bed and covers without throwing them out of the bed, OR they are TOO eager to wake up and want to be taking outside to play around (which wakes me up further to dink around with them). Either way this could get A LOT worse as I get bigger, hotter, less graceful getting out of bed, and less patience for taking out rotten little girls that want to play in the middle of the night (or pretend to need to go pee JUST to receive a treat). But on the other hand HOW can I resist this faces?

Body changes

Well there really aren't any changes yet...but I am excited for them to start! I went ahead and took some pictures of my "before" body last week...hopefully these will serve me a good reminder come next May to kick it back into high gear a lose my baby weight. In this last year I have really gotten into running, and I am continuing to jog so far...and I plan to continue as long as I can. They say it really helps with delivery if you are in good shape, and it might help against stretch marks. Plus the biggest benefit, it will help the weight fall off afterward. So at this point my hopes are with staying active with exercise and hopefully I can breastfeed, and maybe between the two I can get my body back together again. We'll see....

This next picture really cracks me up. Its not exactly the best picture of a side view...but if you look at the shadow on the wall it looks like what my belly will eventually look like large!

How I'm Feeling...

I immediately became completely in tune with my body after the very second I found out, wondering if every moment if this felt different or that etc but overall I was feeling really good till about the first day of my sixth week (Thursday August 27th). I woke up feeling fine and got dressed and headed to work but shortly after getting there I had switched my lamp on at my desk and my left eye simultaneously turned blurry. I knew what this meant and panic rushed through me. I had a migraine coming on...and I wasn't going to be able to take ANY medicine for it! I tried to finish some things up quickly because I ended up leaving work and heading home by about 9:30 that morning. The girls were completely thrilled to see me home and we immediately all just cuddled up into bed...and remained there most of the day. My headache didn't turn out to be that bad this time THANK GOD but I still was exhausted and nauseated so the day of rest was well needed. I felt terrible the next days too...just nauseated a lot and very tired but no headaches at least and thank goodness no throwing up thus far. I am trying to take it easy...after I get home from work I go and lay down and sometimes full out nap for a couple minutes. Yesterday (Tuesday Sept 1st) was the best day I have had a while though! I wasn't nauseated all day, I had more energy than usual , I cooked dinner and even went jogging. I hope days like that come around more often!

Aside from the sickness though the most major change I have noticed in my body is my HUNGER. Its like uncontrollable! Of course I have been so famished before that I make myself sick...but this is different...never in my life I have felt like "if I don't get something in my mouth this very instant I am pulling into the next drive thru and ordering the first thing I see"...there is no waiting till I get home sometimes. When I need it, I need it right then! And I just need to eat so much more often then I ever did before! And for the first time its not just me thinking about wanting food, its my body demanding food! I never dreamed it would feel that way so early in a pregnancy...but after reading more about it...this is the most influential time. I am trying to grow a new person and my body is working triple time.

Confirmed...

I am sure that most women that are newly pregnant can relate to this (or remember) but by Thursday of that same week (August 20th (which would have been the first day of my 5th week)) I was convinced that I had dreamed the whole thing up. I still didn't feel pregnant...and by then the digital test results had disappeared from the test screen. I would go back and look at the picture I took of the positive test to comfort myself, but even then I convinced myself that the first test could have just been a fluke! So Thursday night we took a second test...this time we just stared at it waiting for the results to show up. JACKPOT it said pregnant again...and the results showed up fast! There was no three minute wait. What a relief! Who would have thought that it would matter so much to me already? I mean just three days earlier I was completely content being an un-pregnant woman...and yet suddenly after knowing I was, even for a split second...there was no turning back. My thoughts immediately changed to: do ANYthing to make sure you remain pregnant and that you are a growing a healthy baby. And since then that is EXACTLY where my frame of mind has stayed...every time I get ready to put something in my mouth, every time I get ready to go jog, even every time I go to the bathroom (for the millionth time each day) I am reminded its all for baby...and what's best to grow a healthy baby.

Let's get started...

Hello! Welcome to the Baby Reed blog! My sole purpose of this journal is to document this entire miraculous event from the beginning and be able to look back on everything we have been through thus far. So I think I'd better start at the beginning. Robby and I have been toying with the idea of having a baby for quite a while now. But last month we decided to get serious and just see how long takes...well let's just say God must think we are ready because here comes baby #1 on the way. I took my first test on August 18th (a Tuesday night) right after I got home from work. That's right, we didn't even wait till the first bathroom break in the morning like we were supposed to. No, we just pretty much jumped right in fully expecting it not #1 not be positive #2 even if we were pg we weren't expecting it to show up on the test yet (knowing that sometimes it takes days even weeks for your hormones to show high enough levels to be picked up on a test). Robby and I were completely giddy (he'll kill me for saying this) waiting for the three minutes to be up before we walked back in to see, we were standing in the closet next to the bathroom just bouncing off the walls of nerves and excitement. I was climbing all over him while he was counting to 180 seconds...we walk back in and agree to both look down at it at the same exact time and well it was VERY CLEAR that it was positive.

I thought I was just like looking in a mirror because both our expressions were exact the same...our mouths both dropped as we both looked up at each other at the exact same moment with HUGE eyes. OMG this is it! This is the moment I have day-dreamed about for years...the moment where we both jump around screaming and crying. Nope, as with almost all things, it's never the way you imagine it, we were so shocked and THRILLED, we hugged and smiled non-stop...but there was no screaming or crying. Robby exceeded my expectations though...he was more excited than any other time I had ever seen him! He had a smile planted across his face that was unshakable. His emotions and actions MELTED me! I don't know if there is a better feeling then seeing your husband so thrilled about making a baby with you (granted I am sure his excitement had a lot to do with thinking “my little athlete” but hey I will take it…excited is excited!) At that very moment life just couldn't be more perfect...we made a baby together...we had taken the giant step...it wasn't just some other couple that we knew this time...it was us...we were starting our own family...our new chapter...and now thinking about this, talking about this....now the tears are coming (its these dang hormones!! haha)