The Next G

I have been waiting 13 weeks to make this post. I am sure you have all heard by now but in case you have not, WE'RE HAVING A BABY! Crazy, right? I don't feel old enough. Or like this something we are allowed to do. But, it's happening. I am hoping to use our blog as a place to post all of our baby updates, to ask questions to those of you who know how to do this stuff, to post pictures of the sonograms and possibly my belly, to vent and cry, and to express our level of excitement! I'm sure so many more things will be said here but those are the primary things that are on my heart tonight, as I lay on our couch and write this.

Here is the link to the video that Scott's talented cousin, Connor, made for us:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g_sKi5_D0Y&feature=feedwll&list=WL
We are so thankful for Connor doing this! He missed a day of school and stayed up super late editing it for us and we are so happy he did! We were able to show our families the next day. It was a big hit!

Where to start? Our first appointment. We went to our first appointment having never met the doctor or been to his office. We decided to go off base to have the baby because 1) we live about 40 minutes from the on-base Naval Hospital and 2) several of our friends advised us to go elsewhere. The impression I got was that the Naval Hospital was very business oriented. Which, completely makes sense because it's run by Navy Corpsmen. We wanted a more natural/easy going birth and decided the Naval Hospital was not a good fit for us. After doing our research, talking to our insurance, and getting advice from other moms in the area we decided to go with a doctor in Laguna Beach. You see, I watched this documentary called The Business of Being Born, it is all about natural home births, and I became very interested. We are still contemplating doing a water birth with a midwife in a midwifery but it gets complicated with insurance and stuff. There is a scholarship available, that would cover all of the costs, that we're considering applying for but we are kind of in love with the doctor we found. I might still apply for the scholarship (I had to be 13 weeks before applying) but we feel like God is telling us to stick with the doctor we have. He is a "midwife friendly" doctor. I think that just means that he supports our decision to go to a midwife if we choose to. He is sarcastic, straight forward, and smart. We clicked with him so well! He made us laugh and we felt very comfortable in his office. At both appointments I have bombarded him questions, things I read online, and things I heard from the lady at the grocery store and he has listened to everything I said and clarified it all for me. He's great. At our first appointment we went in and sat down and talked to him for a while. Like I said, he made us feel comfortable and he took the time to really find out who we were and what kind of birth we were looking for. And then, to our surprise, he took us back into an exam room and did an ultrasound right there! It was the first time we were able to see our baby. It was beyond words. Looking at the tiny life inside of me was almost too much to handle. It all became real at that instant. We are really having a baby. There is really a baby inside of me. After he let us relish in our moment of seeing the little life we created he turned on some machine and we could hear the baby's heartbeat! Oh man. As if seeing the little dude wasn't enough, we were able to hear that beautiful, constant, fast beating, swishing motion. Our baby has a heart. And a heart beat! After leaving that afternoon we were kicking ourselves for not recording the heart beat. We just couldn't get enough. Knowing that our baby had a beating heart and a head and a foot (you can see it in the picture, I'll explain in minute) and a little bitty body was unreal. We both left in a daze, a good daze. A smiling, hugging, God-thanking, daze. We spent the next couple of hours staring at the print out that the doctor gave us and sending out mass texts sharing the incredible experience we just had. It was one of the best days of our lives. Just knowing that there is a baby inside my belly is such a different feeling than I have ever had before. I cannot even begin to comprehend what the day we get to hold the little one in our arms will feel like. I think my heart might explode.

Ok, so here's the sonogram picture. (I learned that an ultrasound is the process of rubbing the thing on my belly and seeing the baby on the screen and a sonogram is the little print out we get, just FYI). The big black circle in the middle is what holds the baby, his or her little temporary home. And the two connected little circles on the inside are the baby's head and body. The one on the right is his or her head and the one diagonally down on the left is the body. That little white half circle diagnolly to the left above the body is his or her foot! Essentially, the baby is reclining with his or her feet up. Our baby is so funny!

Week 9 sonogram. 
The next appointment was this past Tuesday. This appointment was different than the last one. This time we did not go into the doctors office and sit and chat, we went straight into the exam room. I also found out that each time I come in I have to do a urine sample. I forgot to ask why. Anyone know? In the exam room the nurse came in and weighed me and took my blood pressure. Our doctor's office is pretty little. It is run by the doctor and his wife. There are 2, maybe 3, women who work at the front desk. And he has his nurse. I have only seen one nurse so I'm not sure if there are more or not. I cannot remember the name of the nurse we have had both times. It's one of those two-name names, Mary Anne? Ann Marie? I don't remember. I'll catch it next time. When the nurse came in I noticed her nails. They were beautiful and long and painted a metallic gun metal color. I really loved them so I commented on them to her. She smiled the sweetest smile and began talking about how Jesus gave her nails. She told us how she had some sort of deficiency (I wish I could remember her whole story) and how she never had nice hair, skin, or nails. She talked about how she asked God for nails one time and then He just gave them to her! She had me touch them to feel how hard they were. They really looked like acrylics but they weren't, they were 100% real. Her story was beautiful and her love for the Lord was so inspiring. She went on for a good 5 minutes telling us how good God was and how much she has been blessed by Him through the years. While she was telling us all of this Scott and I were both sitting and staring at her in amazement. We have been praying about staying with our doctor or checking out a midwifery. We both could not believe the overwhelming presence of the Lord in that room. We were blown away! It was so courageous of her to share her faith with us. She most certainly planted a seed of boldness in me to want to share my faith in a loving way as she did with us. I think I forget to be proactive in that. Sometimes, when I surround myself with Christians I forget that I need to be sharing the greatness of God with non-believers, too. She sparked something in me that I hope will grow into something big. I admire her faith and courage and I am very excited to get to go back and talk to her again! After all that goodness happened, the doctor came in and asked how I was doing and if I had any weird stuff going on. I told him that my lower back hurts and that I have been getting headaches. He and Scott told me to suck it up and get over it and that I'd be fine. So, that's what I'm gonna do. With the occasional massage request and whiney moment I think I'll live. After the talking was over he did another ultrasound! He said we would get to do one at every appointment, "just for fun"! How cool is that? Is that normal? Do you normally do one every time you go in? This ultrasound was completely different from the first one. THE BABY WAS DOING FLIPS! It was so strange to see the baby 1) look like a real baby and 2) move around so  much! The doctor had a rough time getting a good picture for the sonogram because the little guy or girl would not stop moving around. He or she was doing flips and barrel rolls and curling up in a ball, it was incredible! We have a little bundle of energy in there. We thought maybe the baby was moving so much because he was pressing the wand on my belly for the ultrasound? We read that the baby can now respond to poking on my stomach so maybe the baby was freaking out because he was running that thing all over my stomach. Are ultrasounds bad for babies? Can the baby hear the sound waves? Can the baby feel it? Does it hurt the baby or make him or her uncomfortable? Anyone an ultrasound tech out there? If so, please let me know all of these things. Regardless, it was so neat to see the baby moving. We were both mesmerized. This time we left wishing we would have taken a video the ultrasound. Hopefully next time! We once again were able to hear the heart beat and we took a sound clip of it. It's wonderful to be able to play it back whenever we want to. It's comforting to know the baby is ok. The baby seemed even more real this time. Watching him or her move around and swim and play was unexpected. We weren't even sure we would get to do another ultrasound, much less see the baby run around like that! God surprised us, once again.

Here he or she is at 13 weeks. Now we have an alien child. I think you can probably figure this one out. The big alien head is the baby's head and if you go down from there you will find his or her body, hands, and feet. Isn't the growth crazy! The baby more than doubled in size in 4 weeks! So weird. And awesome!

Week 13 sonogram.
And how's Scott? Great! I have been saying "we" this entire post and that's not just for looks. He has been completely interested and involved in this entire process. He has been the greatest husband anyone could ask for throughout the past 3 months. He has taken care of me when I've been sick and let me be lazy when I've felt tired (which is most of the time). He has given me input when I can't decide between colors for baby stuff and been the final decision when I can't decide what stroller/car seat/sling would be more practical and safe. We have been doing a good job of communicating our emotions to each other about this new life inside of me. Honestly, I'd say he's more confident than I am. He's excited and ready and doesn't have many doubts about any of this! I, on the other hand, get worried and nervous but he is always there to talk me through it and calm me down. He's perfect, the greatest husband I could ask for. I am so certain that he is going to be the greatest father this world has ever seen. I am sure he would appreciate encouragement and congratulations, too. Stop by his Facebook or shoot him a text. I'm sure he'd be just giddy. He loves telling people about this baby.

Proud daddy-to-be, after church at a little diner in town. 
I want to post more about what books I've been reading. What things I am hoping to try with our baby in future. Our baby gear. And what baby blogs I've been stalking. If anyone has good baby advice please send it our way! We feel a little overwhelmed with all of the decisions to make and stuff to buy. But, we are developing a little circle of people whose opinions we trust and who we feel like can help us through this whole process. So, thank you for you questions/comments/advice/concerns in advance. As we develop a state of mind about this whole process I'm sure we'll need less guidance but we are kinda doing this whole thing blindly at the moment. I've have had so many people tell me that this is our baby and that the decisions are ultimately ours. Which, I completely understand. We know our values and what we believe and we're starting to develop blueprints of how we want to raise our child. But, I would still love to hear what you all have to say!

We love you, thanks for reading this super wordy post!