10 Weeks

How Far Along: Today I am 10 weeks along. Due date September 4th, 2013. 

Baby's Size/Other Info: Baby is size of a Prune! As baby continues her rapid growth and my tummy starts to develop some extra curve. In the process, my ligaments and muscles are starting to stretch, so I shouldn’t be surprised if I start feeling some aches and pains. While, some moms-to-be don’t really get them, others find these sensations -- called “round ligament pain” -- well, downright painful. Breasts have probably gotten bigger too, since they’ve been prepping for breastfeeding for weeks already! That’s why week 10 is probably a good time to stock up on some new, looser clothes. 

Baby at 10 weeks

• Baby has working arm joints, and her cartilage and bones are forming.
• Her vital organs are fully developed and they're starting to function.
• Her fingernails and hair are starting to appear, too.
• Plus, she's swallowing and kicking in there. (Can you believe it?!)

Symptoms: Some nausea, sleepy and (TMI) HORRIBLE Constipation :/ 

Food Cravings: I'm back to chocolate covered strawberries. YUM!!

What I'm Excited About: Hearing baby's heartbeat in a couple of weeks! :) 

Something I've done to Prepare for Baby: Nothing this week. 

Weight Gain: Pre-pregnancy weight: 120lbs  Today's weight: 117lbs. Gained 1 pound since last week. 

Gender Prediction: GIRL! 

Maternity Clothes: Not yet. 

9 Weeks

How Far Along: Today I am 9 weeks along. Due date September 4th, 2013. 

Baby's Size: Baby is size of a green olive! Little embryo has now officially graduated to fetus-hood. And adding to the excitement, a Doppler ultrasound device might be able to 
pick up the beating heart. With basic physical structures in place and increasingly distinct 
facial features, baby is kind of starting to look like... well... a baby!

Symptoms: Just yesterday heartburn started kicking in. Ugh! I certainly didn't miss that! Nausea, low grade fevers, mild headaches, complete exhaustion, lightheadedness/dizzy spells, some crazy emotions(I find myself crying at stupid commercials on tv) and some mild cramping.  

Food Cravings: Just this morning I had a craving for caramel apples! Yummmm!! 

What I'm Excited About: Our next doctor's appointment!!!! We get to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time! That's ALWAYS exciting!! :) AND 2nd trimester!!!!!! 

Something I've done to Prepare for Baby: Nothing this week. 

Weight Gain: Pre-pregnancy weight: 120lbs  Today's weight: 116lbs. Lost 1 pound since last week. 

Gender: Still thinking girl. Especially since heartburn has officially roared its ugly head. 

Maternity Clothes: Not quite yet. But I think within the next few weeks they will make their way back into my closet.

9 week belly

8 Weeks

How Far Along: Today I am 8 weeks along. Due date September 4th, 2013. 
Baby's Size:  Baby is the size of a raspberry! Now she weighs in (yay!) at about .04 ounces and measures about .63 inches. This week, she's growing about a milimeter each day. I can't feel it yet, but she's moving those arms and legs like crazy! Her fingers and toes are now only slightly webbed, and her tail (yes, she had one) is gone! Fun fact: Baby's taste buds are now forming.

Symptoms: I've had a couple of crappy days of morning sickness this week. I have absolutely no energy! Bloated. Cramping every now and then. 

Food Cravings: Wavy chips and dip thanks to a friend of mine! ;) 

What I'm Excited About: Our "first" doctor's appointment is tomorrow! :)  37 days until 2nd trimester! 

Something I've done to Prepare for Baby: Nothing this week. 

Weight Gain: Pre-pregnancy weight: 120lbs  Last week's weight: 117lbs. Today's weight: 116lbs. Lost 1 pound. 

Gender: I still think it's a girl. Seth thinks it's a boy. My mother in law thinks it's girl. Samantha thinks it's a girl. :) 

Baby Names: I THINK Seth and I picked out a girls name!!!! I don't think we're 100% about it yet, but we like it and want to discuss it with family before we decide for sure. 

8 week belly

7 Weeks

How Far Along: Today I am 7 weeks along. Due date September 4th, 2013. 

Baby's Size: A Blueberry. Baby's brain -- both hemispheres! -- is growing fast, generating about 100 new cells every minute. Arms and legs are emerging as joints start to form, and a permanent set of kidneys (baby's third!) is now in place.

Symptoms: Good ole morning sickness. Blech. Lately it has been pretty minimal and manageable though. I make sure to eat a banana right before I get out of bed in the morning. It has helped A LOT!!!! Although, I am starting to get tired of bananas, as long as they help me get through the worst of the morning sickness, which has been the mornings, then I'm happy. I do get spurts of queasiness throughout the day. It's mostly smells that trigger it and if I get REALLY hungry. So I try to eat small meals throughout the day. I haven't had any bleeding or cramping for about a week and a half. I'm having some bloating. And I am soooo tired all day long. I find myself taking naps just about everyday. Ooops.. :) 

Food Cravings: After seeing a commercial last night and seeing this woman enjoying an chocolate covered strawberry, that's all I can think about. It sounds like pure heaven! Other then that, not a whole lot. Well, I guess a big juicy steak doesn't sound too bad right now either. :) 

What I'm Excited About: Our doctor's appointment next week. Not much goes on at the first appointment. But my doctor will let me know if I will need to have another ultrasound to check on my SCH(Subchorionic Hemorrhage). I hope I do! But if not, I'll be okay with that. That just means that everything should be just fine with itty bitty. :) 

Something I've done to Prepare for Baby: Nothing really. I did purchase a new nursing cover, which came with reusable breast pads and a bracelet to track when you feed baby and what side baby last fed on. I also purchased a new car seat canopy. I do need to purchase a new car seat and I would like to get a new pack n play. I will be getting a new vehicle soon as well. My car will not fit 3 car seats in the backseat. I never thought I'd say it, but it's time for a van. :) Other then those items, I think we're already pretty prepared for little one. 

Weight Gain: Pre-pregnancy weight: 120lbs  Today's weight: 117lbs. Lost 3 pounds. 

Gender: Of course it's way too early to know yet. My prediction is a girl! No doubts about it! Since this will probably be our last baby. I would really LOVE to have a surprise baby, and not find out gender until baby is born. How fun and nerve wrecking would that be??? lol. We'll have to see if I will have enough strength not to find out. BUT if we do happen to find out, I think it would be a lot of fun to have some sort of "gender reveal" party. 

Baby Names: Boys name is all picked out and has been picked out since before we got pregnant with Samantha. Seth Thomas III. Girls name is a totally different story! We had a heck of time naming Ella. I can only imagine how hard it will be this time. So we have absolutely no clue for girls names. Any help/suggestions would be fantastic!!!!!!!! :) 

7 week belly

Ultrasound

I had my ultrasound today to check and see how the subchorionic hemorrhage was looking. The tech did warn us that we still may not be able to see a heartbeat quite yet, since it's still early. She said typically they don't see a heartbeat until around 6 1/2 weeks. Well, we were able to see one!!!!! :D  The baby looked wonderful! Heartbeat was 124bpm. Baby is measuring right on track from my LMP(last menstrual period). 6 weeks 2 days along. So I'll be due September 4th. 

I talked to my doctor's nurse after my appointment. It turns out that I do still have the subchorionic hemorrhage. I still have to take it easy for another week or two. But it should all heal on its own. 

My next appointment is January 24th. Which is my 8 week appointment. We'll find out then if my doctor wants me to have another ultrasound or not. 

The ultrasound makes everything so surreal. I just can't believe we're going to have 3 little ones running around. God has truly blessed our family!!! 

And I just want to thank my husband for surprising me and showing up at the ultrasound!!! It really made my day. He wasn't sure if he would be able to make it because he had an appointment to go to himself. But he did. And it was a wonderful surprise. :) I have the best husband in the world!!!! 

My Follow Up Appointment

Not a whole lot to update today. 

I had my follow up appointment this afternoon. My doctor checked my cervix and she said everything looked good. I had no cramping today and barely any bleeding. Although after the appointment I had some cramping. But that's normal after an exam.
My doctor wanted me to set up an appointment for an ultrasound at the end of the week. So we'll see how things look on Friday. :) 

Continued prayers would be much appreciated! 

ER Visit

Well we've had a pretty long evening.

This morning I started having really bad cramps. The kind that bring tears to your eyes. But I had no bleeding. So I just kinda brushed it off and it tampered away. I put the girls down for their naps and then I tried to take one myself. I was just getting ready to fall asleep when Ella woke up(Turd!). But she hasn't been feeling so good the past couple of days, so she hasn't been sleeping very well either.

Anyway.. I got her up then I went to the bathroom and there was blood on my underwear. So of course I started freaking out, but then I remembered what happened with Ella and I was kinda reassured that everything still could be okay.

I called Seth(he was out and about). I told him that I started to bleed. So he wanted us to go to the hospital. Seth's Mom came over and picked up the girls, then we headed that way.

The bleeding wasn't heavy, but it wasn't light either. It was enough to worry.

We arrived at the hospital around 5pm. We were seen right away. They took my blood, did a pap(holy crap that hurt!), and I had an ultrasound.

Since I'm only about 5w4d along they weren't able to see much on the ultrasound, since it's still pretty early yet. They didn't even show me the ultrasound screen. So then we headed back to our room and waited for an hour or so for the doctor.

The doctor finally came in and said that everything looked normal. He thinks I had a Subchorionic Hemorrhage. Which is what I had with Ella around the same time(I was around 6 weeks along with Ella when it happened with her). So everything should heal on its own. I have to take it easy for a week or two(which won't happen with 2 little girls and housework that needs done)rest, take Tylenol for the cramping and drink lots of fluids. I have to have a follow up appointment with my OB within the next few days. He also told us that a miscarriage can still happen and if it does there's nothing they can do about(which was so wonderful to hear*sarcasm*).

We finally got out of there around 8:30pm.

I woke up this morning with some mild cramping and some very light spotting. So the bleeding part seems to be tampering off. But the cramping part is still pretty uncomfortable.

I will update when I have my follow up with my OB doctor. :)

Thank you to everyone who prayed for us! We certainly do appreciate it!

Here's some reading material on Subchorionic Hemorrhage.

http://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/pregnancy-health/complications/subchorionic-bleeding.aspx#

~*~SURPRISE~*~

Our Announcement
Photo by: Identity Photography

First Test

It's official 

HERE WE GO AGAIN!!! 

We found out Friday, December 28th that we're expecting #3!!!!!!

I was only one day late and decided just for the fun of it, that I would take a test. Well....SURPRISE!!!!!!!! lol 

I told Seth that evening when he got home from work. I put the test in a box and had him open it. He's super excited!!!! :) And of course my Dad found out then too, since he was staying with us while he was in town visiting for Christmas.

My plan was to tell everyone via facebook with a photo. So I called up my awesome photographer. I met up with her Saturday morning. She then posted our sneak peek Monday evening(Photo above). :)  

We told Seth's parents Saturday night (if they found out via facebook they would hate us forever). I tried to figure out something new on how to tell them. So I printed out pictures of all of their grandkids and put them in frames, and added the pregnancy test picture to the bunch. :) I always LOVE telling Seth's Mom. It's just too much fun!! :D 

 Screaming Grandma #3

                                       

(Check out the other two videos!!! 

Screaming Grandma #1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1aTZ1qtaNo

Screaming Grandma #2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFFvZmeQUzk

We are so incredibly excited!!!! It's so hard to imagine Ella being a big sister and Samantha being a big big sister. :) But we cannot wait!! 

Our first appointment is January 24th. We're hoping to get more information for a due date. We're thinking the beginning of September. Since this is about the same time we found out with Ella too. :) 

I'm feeling okay so far. Few spurts of nausea, and I feel VERY bloated. :/ But that's about it, for now anyway.