Over half way!!!!

Well, I suck at blogging. But here I am!
So, baby is growing like a champ! The little thing is now the length of a banana and the size of a grapefruit! ALSO, almost weighs a whole pound!! Now that pretty much all of the important things are done developing baby's only main job is to plump up and kick me a lot at night!
Today is the first day that I feel like I look pregnant! When we were at the grocery store earlier Dave asked me if I was sticking my gut out and I wasn't!! We were both kind of excited by that fact.

As you know by now, we had our first ultrasound. It was hands down the most incredible thing I have ever seen. We saw every tiny perfect little part. Hands, feet, arms, legs, FACE, heart, brain... It was just... so amazing. Dave and I had immediate opposite reactions. Him: Holy shit there's a baby in there and I have to take care of it and provide for it!... and Me: Holy shit there's a baby in there and it has all of it's parts and now I can relax! (after about 2 minutes Dave said he turned into an excited and emotional care bear, it was just the initial sight that freaked him right out...)
After all was said and done: baby is the perfect size and is developing right on schedule!

We also just recently had an appointment with our midwife. We listened to the heartbeat again which will NEVER get old, just louder and stronger. We told her about our decision to not have a doula or take birth classes... We were a little nervous that she might not be ok with this but she was totally cool. She said that there isn't a right or wrong way to give birth and that it's all up to us :)  Dave and I are completely positive that we will be just fine. He is all I need. We are ridiculously connected. I have NO fear about it anymore.. I'm actually really excited about it. I feel like it is going to be amazing.

On that note, I am going to go hug Dave.

<3

break out the stretchy pants....

4 months, hooray!

Things are perfect! I have been feeling really great. My only complaint is that I get REALLY sharp pains in my lower belly sometimes when I reach for things or roll over in bed. Jenn, our midwife, said that it's just things stretching around. (well, she said many more technical things but that was the short of it.)

My weekly email says that baby is now the size of an avocado! Dave was happy, he loves him some avocado. #3 is developing eyelashes and hair this week! EYELASHES!
We also got to hear the little heartbeat again. It was so clear and loud and strong. AND you could tell by all of the other noises that it was moving around like crazy. Never thought I would be in love with a heartbeat, but I totally am. 

I just made our first ultrasound appointment! It will be September 22 at 2:15. I really cannot freaking wait to see the little bugger. (the ultrasound scheduling lady was SUCH a jerk to me on the phone I almost lost my marbles but I kept my cool. I did, however, have an out loud fight with her after I hung up, it made me feel better)

We are also looking into taking some childbirth classes at Jenn's suggestion... We aren't really sure if we will but I'm researching them. Same goes for getting a Doula..
Dave and I are extremely connected and private.. we kind of feel like it will be the best for us to have as few people there as possible, even if they are the sweetest most helpful people in the universe.. but, we'll see.

OK! That's all I got! Pictures will be coming very soon.. I am starting to "swell" (as my bosses wife put it..)
:) <3

Second Trimester!!

Yaay!
I'm now 13 weeks! My weekly email said that #3 is the size of a peach and is growing teeth and vocal chords this week! It's crazy.. Crazy! So many amazing things are going on inside of me when while I'm just minding my own business. 

We had our second prenatal visit with our midwife, Mel. Everything is great. She told me to continue to take a ton of vitamin d. The big big news is that we heard the heartbeat!!!! It took a while to find but we got it! I can say.. it was not nearly as fast as I imagined, but so so cool. It kept moving around. Mel kept saying "oh, we've got a swimmer!"

I'm feeling good. I feel like I have gotten really lucky as far as symptoms go. (I still pee alllll the time but that's about it.) So many people are offering baby stuff to us..it's so great.. we know great people. So far we are getting a crib, swing, car seat and stroller. !!!!!!!!

We bought a little pack of onesies the other day and when I opened it up I just about lost my mind.. how can anything be this tiny?! I guess I'll see!!

<3

Baby the Size of a Prune!

Well, things are going great! My weekly email told me that Little Battjes (or as I like to call him/her "Number 3") is the size of a prune and will double in size over the next week. It also informed me that soon I am going to be feeling really (extra) fat and my skin is going to start breaking out like crazy! OH BOY! haha

I have been reading a great book by a world renowned midwife named Ina May Gaskin. The first half of the book is simply birth stories written by numerous women. The first few stories I read made me want to puke and really scared me... but.. after I read a few more I started to feel really confident. They were making me cry like crazy. I think it's gonna be the best thing I ever do.

My midwife Jenn called the other day to tell me that she got the results of my blood tests. Everything is normal expect my vitamin D and thyroid are low. She has me taking 6,000 IU of vit. D for the next month. To put that into perspective, the normal daily dose is 400 IU. (I'm not really all that shocked about this.. Seattle isn't the sunniest place...) She told me that the low thyroid is normal in early pregnancy but she is going to test me again at my next appointment.


Well, that's about it! Dave and I have been reading like crazy and sorting through all of our junk to make some extra room in the apartment. A coworker is GIVING us a crib and a swing. AWESOME.

:) <3

FIrst Appointment!!

SO!
We went to see the midwife yesterday. The appointment was sort of a get-to-know-you kinda thing. We talked for a long time about Dave and I as a couple, whether or not we have a support system in Seattle, how we are feeling about the pregnancy... it was good.

We also (obviously) talked a lot about family medical history and my personal medical history. I am always quite amused by the fact that I have really NEVER had anything wrong with me. It makes me feel boring when I answer every question with a "no." (and I realize that it's boring in the right way)

Everything seems normal and average. The one draw back was that we tried to listen to the baby's heartbeat and she couldn't find it. I didn't even know she was going to check but once she told me I couldn't stop smiling and kind of laughing (to the point where she asked me if it tickled and I had to explain that I'm just a laugher..) She said that it is perfectly normal but I found myself thinking about it all night until I was almost in tears. (I'm feeling better now.. I guess it was just the fear that something could be wrong.. I didn't really expect it)

She did a physical exam and told me that my uterus is slightly enlarged (which is normal) and that I should start thinking about getting bigger bras. I guess I always knew that my chest would get bigger but I didn't expect it yet. My goodness.  She also drew some blood. I warned her that I am not so good with needles and that I bruise even if you show me the needle but I don't think she expected  the almost immediate golfball sized bruise. It looks pretty nasty.


Well, that's about it! We will have our next appointment in four weeks. I'm sure that by then we will be able to hear the heartbeat. We are feeling pretty good about everything. It seems like time is already flying by.


Also... it's our four year anniversary today. I couldn't possibly love anyone more than I love Dave.. well.. we'll see how I feel in about 7 months...  :)

Holy Moly

So, There's a baby growing in me! We found out two days before leaving on a three week road trip to Michigan. It has been quite the month.
I am about 8 1/2 weeks along. I had two weeks of feeling like I was going to die but things are seeming a bit better now.  I am having some pretty wicked food aversions though.

Cravings so far: pop tarts, donuts, lemonade, cereal. (the lemonade craving has been by far the most intense.. I was about to lose my mind.)

This week has brought a lot of good news! I was approved for Medicaid, (it pays to be poor..?) and we found our midwives! I have my first appointment this week.

We have decided that we are going to have the baby in a birth center instead of a hospital. (and with the midwives instead of a doctor) This means that I will not have access to pain medication. I know this may sound crazy but it is what we both want. We will be in a private setting, just the two of us and the midwives. (also, it will be a water birth)

 That's it for now!
I'll post more after we go to our appointment!!