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21 Weeks and a Name

Tonight I went to the doctor as I am now 21 weeks, 1 day. I have gained 6 pounds since my last visit and weighed in at 152. The way I figure it, I've carried 155 pounds before in college and I wasn't pregnant so I've been there, done that. My next visit will be September 8th and then the appointments start rolling in more frequently after that. Everything from my 2nd trimester screening for genetic abnormalities came back negative, so that is great! We heard the baby's heart beat again and it just gets sweeter all the time. I asked my doctor about baby's BPM being 167 at the ultrasound last week but he said that is normal for his size. He said it will slow down a little bit as our boy gets bigger. He also said it may even get that high again if the baby gets excited.

Another piece of news is that we are 100% decided on our boy's name... Nathan. Still working on the middle name... ***you can help by voting in the poll on the left side of the page**

It's a BOY!

This morning we found out that we are having a BOY!! The entire ultrasound experience lasted about 45 minutes and I saw every nook an cranny of our baby. He made it super obvious he is a boy too. I had no idea the amount of detail that you can see during these tests! I saw all 4 chambers of his heart, his arms, legs, hands, facial features, bladder, and male anatomy! It seemed everything was there in the appropriate place. There was an ultrasound technician that did the test so she could only tell me so much. Next week I'll see my doctor after he reviews everything just to have a piece of mind that all is well. The technician said it was so we'll see. He weighs 1lb, 1oz with a heart rate of 167bpm. The weight is in line with his due date so for those of you who haven't guessed his date yet, let me know. I have a baby pool going. There is no money involved but I am just keeping track of everyone's guesses. We also need to agree on a name. We are open to suggestions so please throw them out there if you can think of anything you like. We have a pretty long list that holds the following: Brady, Brodie, Bryce, Chase, Gabriel, Grayson, Jayden, Jeremiah, Mason, Nathan, Nelson, Owen, Ryder, Shane, and Thomas. Nathan is the front runner right now. Odds are we won't go with a 1 syllable name because it doesn't sound right with Kahl but my list is just brainstorming so anything goes. At least we have 4 more months to figure it out! I will get the ultrasound pictures scanned in this weekend to share.

The Day our Baby Moved... and I Felt it!!

I will never forget Friday, August 7th, 2009... the day when I felt our baby move for the first time. I was actually making dessert with my mom and I started feeling sharp pain sensation on my lower right side. It would come and go very quickly and felt like a slight gas pain. I told my mom what was happening and she said it might be the baby! She placed her hand on my tummy and felt movement! After about 1 minute, it stopped. That evening I was laying on the couch watching tv and started feeling the flutter of my baby. Whether it was kicking or punching... I don't know. But it was phenomenal! I just laid really still with my hand on my tummy and felt it. The next day on Saturday I felt even more! I had eaten a good amount of chocolate in the afternoon which was a new thing for baby. When my pregnancy started I became almost 100% caffeine free. The only amount of caffeine I took in was from the little bit of chocolate on my daily protein bars. So, once baby had a much larger amount of caffeine, he/she decided to dance all day long. I felt movement for hours and hours! It was amazing!! Dan was able to feel it too. Even now as I type this, my baby is moving! I guess the best way to describe how it feels is to equate it to gas bubbles floating around. I think everyone knows what that feels like. It's a tiny little flutter. Tomorrow we find out if our baby is a girl or a boy and I will write more then.

4 Month Check Up

I am now officially in my 2nd trimester and am 15 weeks, 2 days pregnant! I had a visit to the doctor yesterday and everything is progressing beautifully. I gained 2 pounds since last month, which is great!! I am gaining inches slowly and apparently the doctor could feel the top of my uterus from the outside. When he was pushing on me, it also was pushing on my bladder! I thought I would just lose it there!! We heard the heart beat again and it is much more pronounced than before. My next appointment is August 10th and shortly there after will be my ultrasound where hopefully I'll get to see my baby's gender!

Work is getting much better with the girls that know. I was pretty emotional when I wrote my last blog entry and probably went a little over the top. I guess the girls had to get out their first round of questions before being supportive. I still have the one who says "my Toni, you are really popping out there" or the one that says "are you sure you aren't having twins." These were said on days when I wore tops that over exaggerated my little pooch. These comments stung a little at first. I know the girls meant no harm so I was able to move on. One of my partners gave me 2 rubbermaid bins of maternity clothes to borrow! It is like Christmas going through everything!!

I am waking up each night like clock work between 2 and 3 am to go to the bathroom. I had heard that would happen in my first trimester but not true for me. It seems as soon as I reached month 4, my uterus started to grow faster and push on my bladder more. No other new symptoms to report. Still feeling great!!

~love~
Toni and baby

Music to our Ears

As you can probably guess from the title, we have heard our youngin's heartbeat and it was music to our ears. The first time I heard it was June 4th when I went to my doctor for a nutrition and genetic counseling appointment. The nurse told me she wasn't sure if she would be able to find the heartbeat but would try. First she placed to doppler where she and I could hear my heartbeat. Then she sought out baby. The moment I heard it my eyes welled up with tears. I was overcome with joy! Baby's heart is racing and the difference in the pace between his/hers and mine is astounding. The next time I had the pleasure of hearing it was June 9th. I decided to switch doctors and in so doing, the new doctor wanted to see me asap. Fortunately Dan was able to accompany me to that appointment. He then was able to hear baby's heart. The look on his face was pure bliss. This week, I went back to my new doctor again to finish my initial prenatal visit. This time, we could definitely hear a difference in the beat. It was more pronounced than previously. I am now 12 weeks! I cannot believe next week will be the beginning of my 2nd trimester. It seems like just yesterday I took my at home pregnancy tests. I am also starting to pooch out a tiny bit in my tummy. I have packed away all but about 4 pairs of pants that I can still fit in for work. I think next week I will finally splurge for some pants. I've heard that in the 4th month my body will really start to grow.

Last week I finally told my office manager that I am pregnant. She said she already suspected it because of my dr appointments but wasn't going to ask. The meeting went a lot smoother than what I had figured and I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Monday, a paralegal confronted me about being pregnant. She was cute because she said she had a question but wasn't sure how to ask... that if the answer was no then I would be upset. Since I knew where she was headed, I told her just ask. So she did and I said yes. Apparently, I am walking different, standing different, and my hips are widening. I had no idea. She did not mention my pooch though so I am ok with that. So the grand total of people that know I am pregnant from direct conversation with me is 4. I know the gossip train has started because a source told me someone asked her if I was pregnant.

Still no further pregnancy symptoms. My appetite has slightly increased but I'm not extra tired or nauseous. My sense of smell periodically kicks into overdrive and that can be a curse at times, especially with strong perfume. Well... I guess my hormones have started going crazy. Anything that Dan has done before that made me a little nuts makes me WAY nutty now. Glad he has thick skin. It's like I know when I am saying or doing emotional things that it's from pregnancy but I can't stop. Dan has taken control of scooping the litter box after 2 doctors told me to STOP, even though I was using gloves and a mask. I know it's crazy but I hate giving up that task. I love to take care of my kitties!! I watch Dan like a hawk every time he scoops.

I will write more next week. My next doctor appointment is July 6th but I am having blood drawn this Saturday. Yikes!! Toodles :)

When We Found Out

I figured this would be an appropriate time to describe the events which led up to Dan and I discovering we are parents to be. April 27th was the big day when I passed the test. That day at work, Dan and I had talked on the phone about the fact that I was late. I did not think much about it because late is a relative term, and with my body, I've never really defined "late." That evening, we went to the gym at our apartments and after about 15 minutes, I told Dan that I had to stop because suddenly I was ferociously hungry. We had dinner and I felt better. Earlier in the day, we had toyed with the idea of me taking a pregnancy test but after dinner, I decided it was silly. It was just another one of those months. Around 8pm, we had to run to Walgreens to pick up something... I don't even remember. I sat in the car while Dan went inside. He came out with 2 pregnancy tests even though I wasn't really interested. About 30 minutes after we got home, I took the test, laid it on the floor and walked away. I honestly thought it was negative. I walked into the kitchen and Dan asked from the bathroom what a positive result looks like. I told him and all he could say was "You're pregnant, you're pregnant." Of course I said "nuh uh." Once I compared the test to the box, my jaw dropped open and I just cried and laughed. We hugged and he sweetly said "I'm gonna be a daddy." Neither of us could focus the rest of the night. The next morning, as many women do, I took the 2nd test just to be sure. And it was positive immediately. We did not want to tell anyone until I went to the doctor so I made an appointment for 2 days later. We went together and after I tested, I was told "congratulations. you are very pregnant." So, the first person I called was my sister as we have always had a pact that when we get pregnant, we tell each other first. Dan then called his mom and dad on conference call to tell them both at once. That weekend was when I went to San Antonio and could not wait to tell my parents in person. What purrfect timing! Friday, May 1st, I broke the news to them. Before we left the hotel room that morning for breakfast, I asked my mom if she could put something in her purse for me. She laughed and said her purse wasn't that big. I just said, can you bring my prenatal vitamins for me? She looked at me and said are you pregnant? I said yes! She hugged me and so did my dad! My sister took pictures and it was a very blissful moment. I have an appointment with the nurse practitioner tomorrow regarding nutrition so I'll blog about that next time.