20 Week Update

It's a Boy!!

Bennett Clark Harris

I can't wait to meet this sweet little boy!

As some of you know, I really wanted a girl. Honestly, it was to the point that I wasn't sure how I would feel if this baby was a boy. In church last Sunday, part of the message talked about Abraham wanting an heir and taking a servant from his household since he had no children, and instead, God promised Abraham a Son to carry on his family. At this moment, I knew I was having a boy. I truly think God showed me that having a boy is more than just a baby with a blue nursery, it's about raising a strong, noble man. I couldnt help but be so incredibly proud that this baby boy will have Zach as his main example of a man of God. We are both also very blessed to have amazing Dads for this little boy to look up to!

When I got to my ultrasound on Wednesday, the tech pulled up the screen of the little legs and when I looked up I exclaimed, "That is definitely a boy!!". And to tell you the truth, I am SO excited! The Lord will give me a baby girl when it is the right time, and right now it is our time to raise a son. My heart hasn't been this giddy with joy since the day we got engaged!

Alright now to the update on my growing bump :)

Taken this morning at 20 weeks

Baby's size: One app says mango, one app says small canteloupe!

Sleep: I sleep pretty well, my sweet hubby got me the Boppy sleep pillow and it has been a life saver.

 

Maternity Clothes: I have a couple of loose fitting tops I can still wear, but other than that I'm all maternity! My belly hangs out of my regular shirts now haha! I wish that in the last couple of years I would have bought a few more looser tops so that I didn't have to purchase so much right now.

Food cravings:  Nothing overwhelming yet, but I have been loving a slurpee and coconut/mango froyo!

Symptoms I have: Cranky & tired. My poor husband :)

Doctor’s Appointment: Baby measured a week ahead of where I'm supposed to be. Hoping this means we'll meet him sooner than later!

Movement: Just started feeling him this week! It feels like an eyelid twitch but bigger. I am LOVING feeling him wiggle around!

Belly Button:  It's getting very very flat, but hasn't poked out yet.

Best moment of the week: Finding out we have a "him"! (I was so ready to not say"it" anymore)

What I’m looking forward to: 

Going home to Seattle in September, feeling Bennett move more.

 

What I miss: Wine.

Attempt #1 to Find out Baby's Gender

So when my friend Sarah (the one who was with me when I found out I was pregnant) moved here, we instantly clicked. She teases me because I always say I have the worst luck, but I have a pretty dang good life. Anyways, the longer we are friends, the more she starts to believe in my bad luck...

Two weeks ago I had a regular OB checkup. Last month, the doctor had said we could maybe check for the gender at this appointment (I was almost 18 weeks). So Zach and I prayed and prayed that it would work out. I am so tired of this guessing game and just want to know!

So we arrive to the office, checkin, and wait... and wait.... and wait. They finally call my name and by now I am convinced that we must have had to wait because my awesome doc just wanted to get us into the ultrasound room to check on that gender! And then they take us to room number 2, which definitely had no ultrasound machine.

The doc comes in and listens to the heartbeat, asks me the regular checkup questions, and says "OK, see you in another month!". At this point some words my dad said countless times pop into my head: Always ask for what you want; the worst that can happen is they'll say no. So I coyly say, "Hey last month you mentioned that you might be able to check on the gender..."

This is the funny part. The doctor gets a big smile on her face, peeks out of our room and says, "there is someone in the ultrasound room right now but just wait in here and I'll watch for when they come out." We only waited about a minute and then scurried to room 4 to check on the babe. The nurse was trying to put a new patient in there and the doctor had to stop them so we could sneak in! Haha!

So we hurry in, she preps my belly and starts looking around in there. She gets super quiet and keeps looking and looking and looking. By this point I'm wondering what the heck she sees in there!

After about 3 minutes of looking, she gets a sad expression, looks over at us and says, "I'm really sorry, but the umbilical cord is between the baby's legs. I just can't see what the gender is."

Seriously?! I swear this crap only happens to me!! The doctor SNUCK us in to get an extra ultrasound and still couldn't see the gender!

The good news is, we have an appointment in precisely two hours with a sonographer, and I'd appreciate all the prayers I can get that this baby lets us see if its a little princess or prince!

How We Found Out I'm Pregnant

I realized that after announcing my pregnancy, I never told all the fun stories of how we found out, how we shared with our family, etc. Must be the "pregnancy brain" kicking in already :)

The day I found out I was gonna be a momma was April 23,2012. I can't even describe the emotions I felt when I saw that one word, Pregnant.

I'll back up. We weren't trying, but we weren't preventing. We both wanted (want) a baby really badly, and we didn't know how to decide the "right time" on our own. So, we decided to just pray about it & trust in God's timing. We knew that this is something too big to try to decide on our own and also knew that His timing is perfect.

Mid-April, I figured out that there was a small chance of me being pregnant. The Saturday night we went to dinner with my aunt & uncle in Coronado, she asked me when we were going to get pregnant, and I replied, "I could be pregnant right now!" and proceeded to finish my margarita. That was Day 1 of my missed period. My next day off was Thursday (keep in mind we live an hour from any type of store), and I decided if I still hadn't started by then, I would buy a test. Well come Monday afternoon (day 3 of missed period) I couldn't take it, I just wanted to know, because obviously by then my hopes were WAY up!

Zach had to work late, so when I got off work I called my friend Sarah and said, "Want to go down the mountain with me to buy a pregnancy test??" she squealed and of course jumped in the car. We drove the hour to Walgreens, calculating how many days it could be, talking about the possibility of it not being real and me having to be okay with that, me convincing her that I'm definitely not pregnant, etc, etc.

We finally arrived and I decided to buy the cheapest test which was the Walgreens store brand. I pondered going home to take it with Zach there, but I knew I wouldnt be able to wait another hour to get home. So, I asked the cashier to let me into the store bathroom, peed on the stick, and waited. First the control line appeared nice and strong horizontally. Then the faintest of faint vertical lines was possibly forming. It was so faint that I was convinced my eyes were playing tricks on me. Sarah couldn't decide if it was there either, and when I took a picture with my phone, there was nothing. So I declared I wasn't pregnant, and we went to my car. Sarah's phone rang, it was her sister, and she talked to her for about 15 minutes while I just stared at that damn stick.

See??? It's not there!!

Once she hung up the phone, I decided to go back in & buy the Clearblue test, that picks up a much lower amount of HcG and also clearly states Pregnant or Not Pregnant. Here's where it gets funny. The cashier was like maybe 17 years old. There is a very clear sign on the bathroom door that states it closes at 9 pm. I was checking out at 9:15pm. So naturally, I asked the awkward teenage boy if they ever made exceptions to the bathroom closing, and pointed at my pregnancy test. He turned 19 shades of red, and called  a "code 90" on the radio. I almost died laughing!

Long story short, I peed on the new test, waited the longest three minutes of my life, and finally saw that life changing word! First I shrieked, then I giggled the most nervous giggle I've ever heard, and then I rubbed my belly. I told Sarah I couldn't believe that MY body just produced a positive pregnancy test! It was the most surreal feeling in the world. I still feel like a kid! How could I be pregnant!




There it is :)


I then looked at my phone to find a text from Zach, "can you please wait to take the test with me?" ... oops. It's ok, he was still just as excited to get my phone call!

Sarah and I got in my car and drove home, the entire time she was on my iPhone downloading preggo apps and calculating my due date.

I didn't even know how to feel! I obviously was excited, but it really didn't feel real since I didn't feel any different at all.

That is one Monday night I will never, ever forget.

ps. you better believe the next morning I woke up and took two more tests, just to be sure... they both came out positive :)

14/15 Week Update

I love reading updates from friends, so I decided to do these weekly updates every once in awhile. Not sure it'll be every week, but we will see! 

Here is a picture from a week ago. This week I've grown a bit but I didn't want to take another photo!

Baby's size: at the doc last week it was 3.75 inches

Sleep: Not so much. My belly muscles ache and cramp at night so it's hard to fall asleep. I wake up everytime I roll over, too, because of the funny feeling in my tummy!

Maternity Clothes: Pants for sure. My mom spoiled me when I was home & I got the jeans in the photo above at Kohls, they are SO comfy and so cute, too!

Food cravings:  Not really craving anything, but if I read something on a blog or on facebook I can't get it out of my head all day. Like today, Audrey said something about chocolate ice cream. Currently, my husband is on his way home from the store to get me some! Don't forget, we live an hour from a store. Yes, I picked a good one.

Symptoms I have: Vomiting, tired, emotional.

Doctor’s Appointment: We had one last week and got to see the baby swimming around in there. Most amazing thing I've ever seen. Another appointment in three weeks and (fingers crossed) the baby will be in the right position to find out the gender!!

Movement: It moves a LOT, but I can't feel it yet.

Belly Button: Same as always :) 

Best moment of the week: Our unexpected ultrasound and seeing the baby moving so much!

What I’m looking forward to: Finding out the gender!! AHHH can't wait to know & not call it "it" anymore!

What I miss: Sleeping through the night! And not being afraid to eat.

this baby in my tummy

being pregnant is a funny thing. i mean i know there's a baby in there, although a very small one, but it's really hard to actually believe it. i've been focusing on being sick, being tired, being cranky -- because those are "touchable" things. I feel them, see them, taste them. i think a part of me is really, really afraid of having a baby. part of it is the fear of loss. what if something happens between now and January? what if something happens after then? if I allow my heart to love this baby, admit it's there, i fear that i will lose it. every time I get a tiny cramp my heart drops.

anyways, i was thinking about it yesterday & i want to make sure i don't seem ungrateful. i've posted a few statuses on facebook about feeling like the life is being sucked out of me (which it kind of is) and being sick all the time (which I am) -- but I want to focus on this tiny life inside of me instead of how I feel. because this time, it's just not about me. its about this baby. our baby. not someone elses, but mine. mine to love, to teach, to grow, to discipline. to shape into the best person it can be. the truth is, i am so grateful. this is something i have wanted my entire life, and in the most recent years & months i've even dreamt about. i long to know this child, to snuggle it and hold it and let it need me. i'm so afraid of that never happening; i'm allowing fear to hold my instead of love. i need to let myself love the life in my tummy.

i'm so thankful for this little baby. i'm thankful that without much thought or effort, the stick said "Pregnant" the first time i peed on it. nowadays, that is definitely not always the case.

i'm learning how not to live in fear, how to allow myself to love this baby without meeting it, even with the chance i may never meet it on this earth. i trust Him though, no matter what happens. and with Him i have hope that i will indeed get to hold this baby in my arms in just a few months.

oh sweet baby, see the turmoil you're already causing in my brain? we've got a long road ahead of us...

and i can't wait to see where it takes us =)

my tiny 10 week belly



My Favorite Pregnancy Items So Far

I know I'm still a noob at being pregnant, but there are a few things that I have been really thankful for & that have helped me out! I said last week I've been sick, so some have to do with that but some are just general :)

1. Boppy Prenatal Cuddle Pillow

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My sweet husband surprised me with this on Mother's Day because he knew I had been having trouble sleeping. Even though my belly hasn't started really growing yet, my sleep has definitely been interrupted by hip pain and I knew that sleeping with a pillow between my legs helps baby develop better anyways. The shape of this pillow is great, and will be awesome once I have a big ol' belly because of the shape at the top to support it!

2. The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy

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This book is seriously hilarious. Zach keeps laughing at me because I'll be silently reading on the couch and then I'll snort I'll be laughing so hard. The author is SO funny, but she also has tons of great advice. I not only appreciate the laughs, but also knowing I'm not the only one these weird things are happening to!!

3. Delighted Momma's DIY Stretch Mark Prevention Oil

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Although my mom doesn't have stretch marks (which according to the book above means I am likely not to either !!!), I still want to be preventative just in case. Since my boobs have been growing at exponential rates lately, they appreciate this intense moisture & it helps with my tummy not being itchy when it grows. I highly recommend this potion, especially since it's all natural!

4. Queasy Pops

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I tried sucking on ginger and drinking Canada Dry (which actually does help) but my sweet Aunt Cindy sent me these in the mail one day and they have been life savers!! It's nice to be able to keep these in my purse at all times so I can pull one out when I start to get gaggy. I wish I had them sooner!!

5. Comet Lavender Fresh

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Let's be honest here. I've never cared more about our toilet being clean until this babe decided my head needed to be in it nightly. I appreciate this comet because it doesn't smell very strong and it works realllly well. Enough said.

What are some of your favorite pregnancy items?! I would love some advice!

First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage...

It's time I finally told y'all the REAL reason I've been completely absent these last few weeks!
 
Baby Harris, expected to arrive around New Years 2013!

We are SO excited to welcome this bundle of joy, and I am SO excited for the constant nausea to be done! So please forgive me for being out of touch, I've been hugging the toilet or sleeping for the last four weeks straight.

I'm excited for all the support we've already received from our families & close friends, and I've been reading up on all your momma advice on this little blog world! What would we do without eachother? :)