Goodbye 2013, Hello 2014

I don't normally say this but I was glad when 2013 ended.  We had a rough end of the year, mainly because we learned that the baby we thought would be arriving in August 2014 was not going be arriving after all.  The news that I was pregnant was a shock to just about everyone including me but I was very excited about the idea of a new addition to our family.  However, on Christmas Eve, things changed.  We went in for an ultrasound because some things didn't seem quite right.  My suspicions were confirmed when the technician discovered that there was a gestational sac but no baby developing inside it.  So the pregnancy was not viable and it would only be a matter of time before I would experience a miscarriage. It was heartbreaking news and kind of put a damper on our Christmas plans and plans for our future.  So December was a bit of an emotional roller coaster ride.  On top of that I was having frustrations with selling our house so I was ready to say good bye to 2013.  (I will add there were so many wonderful things that happened in 2013 but the end of 2013 was a tough one).

I was ready to welcome 2014 on a positive note.  We spent Jan 1st doing a few organizational projects and while cleaning and organizing I came across some money tucked away in birthday cards.  What a fun little surprise-surely this was a sign that 2014 had a lot to promise.   On Jan 2nd more good news, an offer on our house!  I do believe that 2014 will bring lots of happy moments and memories for our family!  Although I don't do New Years Resolutions because I try to set goals for myself around my birthday (see:  31 Years, 31 Goals).  I hope to work on these goals through out the year!  

We have so many fun things to look forward to this year, besides the house.  We get to travel to Poland to celebrate the wedding of my brother and his beautiful bride Magda.  It will be so much fun and great time spent with family.  

My good friend Randi just had a little baby girl names Clara!  We can't wait to meet her!  

We have a few little family vacations planned-one to Duluth for sure.

I have two races on the books so far-one for February and one for March (a 10k!! eek)

Our friends Adam and Ruth are moving back to the states and we can't wait to visit them!  

John and I are going to go see George Strait in April! 

And although we experienced another pregnancy loss, we have hope that 2014 will bring news that our little family will grow from three to four.  

And who knows what other wonderful things 2014 will bring!  I can't wait to find out.  

20 Weeks-Halfway There

Well last Monday I reached our 20 week mark in our pregnancy (I am now 21 weeks).  This first half has gone by so quickly!  I can't imagine how fast the 2nd half will go!  I am still feeling pretty darn good!  I can tell in the last week or so my appetite has definitely increased!  Good thing I am still mostly craving fruits and veggies.  I love this time of year-all I can think about is Watermelon and Cantaloupe.

As far as getting ready for the baby we are actually making some decisions.  We decided on the nursery bedding!  So I can paint the room once we decide on a color!  We also have a daycare provider!  We are really excited about where our little girl will be going!  So that is a big thing out of the way! We of course have decided about cloth diapers (my newest obsession-see previous post).  If you are wondering about names, well we haven't come up with anything yet but we haven't talked much about it yet.  And once we do decide it is going to be mine and John's little secret :)

I think right now my biggest complaint would be the heat.  I have no desire to spend much time outside right now in the Iowa heat.  This is my first summer working inside for a long time, I should be used to summer heat but I think that with being pregnant it is affecting me a lot more!  I am normally a no air conditioning kind of gal but now I say bring it on!  Along with a fan.

Another annyoing thing for me is heartburn.  Some days it is sooooo bad.  Tums have become one of my best friends.

So all in all things are good!  Here is me at 20 weeks.  I can't believe how big my belly is getting!  Seriously!  If I am this big now, how big am I going to be full term!  Maybe because it is the end of the day and my belly if full of food too :)  haha

The Envelope Has Been Opened

So we took our sealed envelope with us to Lanesboro, MN this past weekend when we went camping with some friends.  Lanesboro is a special place for John and I.  It is where we spent a lot of time while we were dating (since I lived there), where John proposed, and where we we got married.  It is only fitting to add one more special moment to the list right?  So on Saturday afternoon we went for a bike ride on the Root River Bike Trail and made our way to the spot where John proposed.  It was on that same picnic table we decided to open the envelope.  Prior to opening, we both were convinced we were having a boy.  Well, we were wrong!

We are having a little girl!  No matter what the picture said we would have been so excited!  I am still trying to wrap my head around pink since I have been thinking blue for the past few weeks but we are so excited to welcome a little girl into this world in 21 weeks!  Before I got pregnant I had always hoped for a girl someday but it didn't make a difference if it was this time around or another. So we are very excited and have now started talking names.  We looked at some lists last night and were throwing some names out there.  What we decide on for a name will however, remain a secret until she is born! :)

So that is the news for the week.  We are now 19 weeks along, almost halfway there!  I am feeling great and definitely feeling and looking pregnant.  No definitive movements felt yet but I am sure that will be here soon.  I actually kind of felt something this morning but not sure that it was for sure the baby. I could do without this heat wave but thank goodness for air conditioning!   Camping wasn't too bad this weekend but the A/C definitely helped in the camper when it was time to go to bed!

Mid-Pregnancy Ultrasound

Well we had the big appointment today.  The ultrasound. I started to get nervous this weekend because I had talked with John's cousin who just had her's on Friday and she was telling me everything that they measure and check for.  so of course I was worried that they could find something wrong.

Well everything went great.  They check the brain size, the heart and it's 4 chambers, blood vessels, fingers and toes, nostrils, femur, spine, and on and on.  Everything is measuring right on for 18 weeks which is where I am at today!  So yay!  It's heart beats 140 bpm and weights about 8 oz.  It was really moving around too.  I of course could not feel it yet.  Which she said is normal and that I might feel it later because of how things are positioned.  It was such a relief to hear all is going well.

As for the gender... the results are currently in a sealed envelope.  I doubt we will wait until it is born but today we are celebrating that so far it is healthy from what they can tell with the ultrasound.  I am thinking boy, I think John thinks it is a boy too.  Only time will tell ;)

Everything else with the pregnancy is going great!  I am feeling pretty good-I could do with out this hot humid weather but no big deal.  I have A/C.  I walked a 5k on Sat night and even jogged a little at the end and it felt good! Let's hope that the 2nd half of the pregnancy is as good as the first half :)

Boy or Girl or Wait to Find Out

Okay so we have less than 2 weeks until our big ultrasound where we get to get a good look at the baby, check to make sure it is doing okay and to check for gender.  We still have not decided 100% if we are going to find out or not.  Part of me really wants to wait and then part of me things we should just find out now, because why not right?  So I think we can still be persuaded either way at this point.  Maybe we will make a game time decision.  Who knows.  So anyways I put a poll on the side of the blog so cast your vote, boy or girl or we should wait until it is born to find out.

The daycare interviewing has begun and is going good so far.  I have like 5 different prospects so we will see which one is the best for us!  We had one last night and it went great and another one tonight.  The others we are waiting until a few weeks into July to meet with.  I suppose we still have a little bit of time to decided ;)  I have gotten a lot of great advice on what to look for and what is important when looking for someone who your child is going to spend SO much time with.  So thanks for that!

Well I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July!

Dr Apt and Some Random Bits

So yesterday I had my 14 week check-up.  Through this pregnancy I haven't worried much about how things were going.  It was going to go how it goes right?  As long as I am eating healthy and doing what I should, everything else is out of my control.  Until yesterday.  The bad thoughts kept going through my mind.  What if we don't hear the heartbeat, what if something happened since the last ultrasound and I never knew, what if what if what if.  If there was something wrong, I would find out at the Dr.  So off we go to see my Dr.  I am armed with a short list of questions which I wrote down so I wouldn't forget.

1.  Can I got swimming/floating in rivers or streams (I am hoping this is a yes but doubtful).  I didn't even have to finish asking the question  and she is saying No way.  Pools-great but not those dirty places.  So no tubing on my trip to Lanesboro this summer :(

2.  Can I eat suhsi rolls that are made with only vegetables and cooked meats- Yes totally okay-YAY!  I have been craving wasabi and sushi rolls this whole time!  I know what I will be having for lunch next week.

3.  Is it okay that I still find myself sleeping on my back-Yes, for now.  If I do later in pregnancy it won't hurt the baby, just me. Plus she said I won't be comfortable on my back later in pregnancy so not to worry. 

4.  Can I use insect repellent and which kind- (I am not big on insect repellent and not so keen on ones with DEET)-She says I should be using insect repellent and it should have DEET.  It is not good for me to get mosquitoes bites

Super bummed about the water since it is summer time but oh well, won't be the last sacrifice I make for my child :)

So after my questions were answered she checked the heartbeat-We heard it and I am so relieved.  So far so good.  Everything else was good and as I was leaving she said " I am going to track your happiness level through this pregnancy and see if you are this happy through the rest of your pregnancy-I haven't seen someone smile so much in a while"  I told her it has been a couple of good weeks.  Why wouldn't I be happy right?  So all in all it was a great appointment!  

Couple of other random updates:

A. Our countertops are backordered and won't be here for at least another 3 weeks :(  I am getting tired of cardboard countertops but what can you do.  

B.  I am loving watching the Twins-they have been winning even when I watch.  Joe Mauer is back tonight in the lineup so hopefully that means we will be playing even better.  

C.  We got our first CSA disbursement last week from the local farm and I am loving the fresh veggies!  They are soooo good.  It is fun to get some different things than we normally eat.  At the grocery store I buy lots of fruit because that is so what I am craving right now.  I can't get enough!  

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!  

14 Weeks-Into the 2nd Trimester and Weekend in MN

Well it is official!  I am into the 2nd trimester.  Time is flying by!  I am feeling so much better now too.  Still a bit tired but I still have more energy than I did a few weeks ago.  Our little bugger is now about the size of a lemon and it's arms are proportionate to it's body.  It can now squint, frown, grimmace, oh and pee too.

We still haven't done much on the baby front.  No real name discussions or purchases.  I did buy a couple of summer maternity clothes when I was up in MN this week-no sales tax there!  My fav is a Twins t-shirt that says "Minnesota Twins:  Fan on Deck"  I can't wait to wear it!  I feel like some days I REALLY have a bump and others I just look like I ate too much or have put on some pounds around the waist.  For the most part my pants are still fitting me.  Another symptom that has started in the last week is having to get up to go the bathroom in the middle of the night-how annoying.  I have also had some headaches too.

This past weekend I went up to MN-alone-John stayed to get some work done.  It was a great weekend!  I left work early so I could get up to the cities before major Friday night traffic and went out to dinner for my Grandma June's birthday.  Also at the dinner was my cousin Nicolle, who I don't get to see nearly enough.  Fun catching up.  It was a great night!  Saturday morning I went shopping with my mom.  We ended up walking through Pottery Barn Baby and I found two sets of crib bedding that I LOVE-one for a boy and one for a girl.  I had a grad party for my cousin and then I went to visit my sister for the evening.  Sunday morning I got up, got packed up and met a college friend Katie for breakfast!  It was so great to see her-She has spent the last year and half in Korea. After breakfast I headed home so that I could go out with John and his family for dinner for his Birthday!  It was a great, busy weekend catching up with family and friends!