Wednesday, October 1, 2014

We are getting close!

We are nearing the home stretch! If this baby comes when he is due we have less than 7 weeks left! I can't believe he will be here so soon! The third trimester is definitely more exhausting than I had anticipated. I get VERY tired before I get off work and usually come home and go straight to bed. We did have a tiny scare two weeks ago (31 weeks)--I was cramping enough to call my doctor to make sure everything was okay. I was instructed to come in and get checked. The worrier in me kicked in big time! I immediately got choked up, started crying (in front of my poor students) and nearly ran out of my classroom! My sweet coworkers covered for me as I literally flew to the hospital. Rob met me there and I was checked (twice!) and hooked up to a monitor. Everything was okay but was told to drink lots of water, stay off my feet, and not get stressed (ha!). So I took the next day off. I am back at work and trying my best to take it easy and not get stressed. I asked all of my students to tell me to sit down if they see me standing too long and to remind me to drink water. They are doing an awesome job! I get quite a lot of reminders every day!


Here are a few more bump pictures to document little guy's growth!

 First UT game of the season! 27 weeks

 Dinner in Galveston--29 weeks!
 Sadly, one of the few official "bump" pics! 29 weeks!

 Dinner at Taste of Texas with Daddy! 30 weeks!

 Trying to stay off my feet at 31 weeks! (Rob pushed me around Home Depot)

Spontaneous Date Night to Sparrow! 32 weeks!

A few interesting things that have happened the past few weeks:
1. More than one person has asked me if I was sure there was only one baby in my belly (just another thing to add to my book of what NOT to say to pregnant ladies!)
2. We are so blessed and thankful for such sweet friends! It's like Christmas over here! Packages arriving a few times a week. All gifts for RHL!
3. RHL is loving kicking his mommy, especially at night! He prefers to be on my right side but he must be growing because he's starting to kick me all over!

Monday, September 1, 2014

Choosing a name....


So if you already didn't know Rob and I are waiting to reveal Baby Lee's name until he is born. It only took us almost 29 weeks to choose the name so why not wait a few more weeks to share it! We finally agreed on Baby Lee's name on Friday while eating at our favorite local restaurant, Los Tios. While we aren't revealing the name until he makes his debut, we are sharing his initials! His initials are.....


RHL

We can't wait to share the name we have come up with and we will explain the reason for choosing the names once he is born. We took a picture to commemorate the joyous naming occasion! Can't wait to share in 11 weeks!


Bump update!

I know I promised more frequent "bump" photos but I guess I lied. It is SO HARD to remember to take a photo each week! (Major props to the mommas who post a weekly picture ALONG WITH a whole board full of information including drawn pictures!) Here are a few pictures from the last few weeks (at the bottom of the page). Only 11 more weeks to go so maybe all the 30+ week pictures will make the blog!

A few updates.....I feel like I've grown a lot the past few weeks. Little man is definitely trying to make himself known! I'm also wondering if he is going to be a soccer player when he grows up because he loves to kick me (usually around bedtime). I don't want to complain but sleeping is getting more difficult now too. On an average night I wake up at least 3 times to use the bathroom. I honestly think this is God's way of preparing new mommies for getting up numerous times a night. I guess I'm grateful for the "training".

School has started back since I last wrote on the blog and it is going well but it has been a big adjustment. I worked some over the summer but was able to rest frequently throughout the day, even on work days. School was a rude awakening. Being on my feet a majority of the day and going non-stop from 8-4:30 is challenging. Poor Rob has been very supportive with my emotional crying fits (anyone who has been pregnant understands that these emotional outbursts are out of our control and definitely make us feel like the crazy lady but they cannot be helped!) and he has been so sweet to cook dinner while I rest when I come home (even though he has worked and even longer day than I have!

My students at school have made some pretty funny comments about my growing tummy. I got quite a few stares last week and questions. One student asked me if I had had my baby yet. I responded with, "does it look like I had my baby?!" The student said no, they guessed not. Another student asked me why I had gotten so big (a 4th grade boy who should know better than to ask that question!) I responded with he should NEVER ask a woman why she had gotten big because most women would slap him across the face (I assured him I wasn't one of those women)! I then told him that he, being one of 8 children, had seen pregnant before and shouldn't have asked such a rude question. My favorite response though was telling my 1st graders that I had swallowed a watermelon seed. Their eyes got really wide and their mouth dropped open. I then had to tell them the truth, that I was indeed pregnant. They thought that was pretty funny. Next week I'm going to assign my students to name the baby which I will share the top ten names on the blog. Can't wait to hear what they come up with!

23 WEEKS

24 WEEKS
 (celebrating Allison Rudd and her sweet baby girl) 
L to R: Harmony (girl), Me (boy), Allison (girl) and Crystal (boy)

25 WEEKS
Celebrating Mimi's birthday at Capital Grille

25 WEEKS
Celebrating at Morgan's wedding (I can't find 26 WEEKS so we are posting two from 25 WEEKS!)

27 WEEKS
First day of school!

28 WEEKS
Only 12 more weeks to go!!



Wednesday, July 23, 2014

20 Week Ultrasound Pictures


Rob and I went for our 20 week ultrasound a few weeks ago. We were excited to make sure that the blood test we did at 12 weeks was accurate and that our baby was indeed a boy. I will spare you the picture but we saw the evidence that there is definitely a little boy in there! Here are a few pictures of our little him! 


Look at that precious face! We can't wait to see you in 17 weeks!!

Week by Week Photos

So I had every intention to take weekly bump pictures to see how our baby is growing. (My mom did warn me that if I do this for the first it probably won't happen with any other sweet babies of mine. Maybe I'll do better with month by month pictures when little man gets here!) The first picture I took was at 16 weeks and now I'm 23 and have nothing to show! I've taken many pictures just not specifically of my bump. Here are some "life" pictures that will hopefully document my bump growth! Enjoy!

16 Weeks

17 Weeks

18 Weeks

20 Weeks

21 Weeks

22 Weeks

Hopefully you can see my bump grow! Starting this week (23 weeks) I'm going to be better at taking pictures! Stay tuned for bump updates!

Friday, June 13, 2014

16 Weeks!

I decided to start taking bump photos to document how my belly grows. We went to our 16 week appointment on June 5th. We were able to hear the heartbeat very clearly this time! (At our 12 week appointment the nurse couldn't find the heartbeat and it took a while for the doctor to find it. I was so worried!) Everything is going well so far! Our doctor gave us a great report and we are looking forward to our 20 week appointment so we can see our baby again! He sure has grown a lot since our 8 week appointment!

My baby app told me that I should be able to start feeling my baby between 15-20 weeks and I think I felt him move for the first time the other day! It was last Thursday morning (6/5) and I kept feeling "bubbles" in my stomach and think it might've been him! I'm looking forward to feeling him move the bigger he gets!

16 weeks!

Sunday, June 8, 2014

How God Showed Himself Faithful to Me...Our Fertility Story

October 22, 2011--I married the love of my life and began a very happy life together. Before our wedding we discussed our plans for the future with regards to starting a family. We agreed that 18 months would be a good lapse of time before we would be ready to start a family. (This was a compromise with me leaning more towards waiting only a year while Rob wanted to wait two.) Thus began the not-so-fun year of birth control. I'm sure all the mood swings had Rob thinking what happened to the women he fell in love with because this crying, moody woman wasn't her! After a hard first year we agreed that we would get off of birth control and just "not try" to get pregnant.

January 2013--this month began the "not trying" but trusting in God phase. I admit that I honestly thought God was going to allow us to get pregnant pretty quickly. I had, after all, been dreaming about being a mother ever since I can remember. Imagine my surprise and disappointment when 3 months passed and no pregnancy! I assured myself that everything was fine and we continued "not trying."

April 2013--Then, it happened. The inevitable that happens to everyone's group of friends a year or so after they all get married--couples begin getting pregnant. At first it was a random couple here, a random couple there and then all of a sudden it seemed like everyone was getting pregnant. Everyone, except us. My calendar began filling up with baby shower invitations and gender reveals. Month after month of more friends announcing their happy news and it seemed like we were never going to be able to experience the same joy. I admit by September I was getting very depressed, sad, even angry. I truly wanted to be happy for each couple but would find myself with a forced smile, saying congratulations but then crying myself to sleep at night. I was truly happy for every couple and their exciting news but it was also like a slap in the face--that couple had what I most desperately wanted. I was doing everything in my power to get pregnant and I couldn't.
By the end of the year I was very frustrated. To make matters worse people started asking when we were going to start a family or why weren't we having babies yet or even to hurry up and join the fun!(Looking back I know that all those comments weren't meant to hurt my feelings. It's just a common question that people ask. Something that I am also guilty of!) However, every comment felt like a dagger thrust into me. I responded very negatively to most comments assuring myself that my rude retort was warranted and surely the person would never ask a question like that again!

January 2014--By this month an entire year had gone by with no pregnancy. Surely something is wrong with one or both of us! Rob went to a urologist to be tested and everything came back normal. For months I had been taking various supplements prescribed by my alternative medicine doctor Dad. I then switched doctors and went to see my new OBGYN. During my first visit I broke down sobbing about how we couldn't get pregnant. She immediately sprung into action and told me that we had a plan! She suggested I start Clomid (a fertility medication) that day if we wanted to and that we would also do some blood work. I hesitantly told her that I would like to talk to my husband before starting any type of fertility medication but we would hopefully start Clomid the next month. By this time so many of our friends and family knew our struggle to get pregnant. So many people were praying for us. The beginning of February came and I honestly thought that this was our month! Imagine my disappointment when I got a negative pregnancy test 9 days late!
By February I reached a point where I was able to give the whole fertility saga to the Lord. Here are a few excerpts from my prayer journal:

February 12th: "Help me to trust in YOUR timing and learn to be patient. I do pray specifically that we would get pregnant during the month of February. I pray this in Jesus' name..."

February 14th: "I pray for contentment and peace regarding getting pregnant. Help me to cry out to YOU whenever I think about not being pregnant rather than crying. I pray and trust that YOU will bless us with a healthy baby and I pray and trust that YOU would open my womb and allow me to get pregnant this month."

February 24th: "I pray for a baby LORD. I pray that YOU would open my womb and allow me to get pregnant this month with a healthy baby. Help me to by joyful and happy for others who are already experiencing this journey."

March 2014--Rob and I had agreed that we would start Clomid on my next cycle so I was all set and ready to call my OBGYN on Friday of Spring Break to begin our first round. Wednesday (3/12) of Spring Break I was shopping with my mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law and experienced some weird cramping in my abdomen. I thought it was weird but didn't think too much about it. The next morning, without telling Rob, I took a pregnancy test. (The test was purchased for $1.00 at Dollar Tree.) When the test showed positive I didn't believe it, it had to be wrong! It was, after all, from the Dollar Tree! I casually told Rob on the phone that we might be pregnant but it was probably a mistake. I assured him that I would buy a more expensive test (because those have to be accurate!) later that day. The next morning I woke up at 5 am (remember, I was still on Spring Break) and took another test. Imagine my excitement when it was positive and even told us we were 2-3 weeks along! I woke Rob up with the happy news. Instead of calling my OBGYN to schedule a round of Clomid, I called to set up an appointment to confirm our pregnancy!

From a medical standpoint, Rob and I didn't suffer with infertility. We are grateful that we didn't have to go through the heartache of IVF, IUI, etc. However, this journey was still a struggle. I believe God was in total control over our story of getting pregnant. One thing I didn't share was that in February of this year Rob started a new job. This job enabled us to change insurance companies which has better medical coverage. His new job also allowed more stability for Rob and his work. God allowed us to get pregnant DAYS after he started this new job. What a wonderful way that HE has provided for us!

I wrote out our story as a way for me to remember what we have gone through the past year. So I don't forget. I am so happy that we are pregnant and will soon hold our sweet baby in our arms. However, I do not want to forget the heartache I experienced when we were waiting, trusting, and praying for God to allow us to get pregnant. So many people struggle with fertility (so many more people that you think). We often take it for granted that when we want to get pregnant (POOF!) we  get pregnant. God allows things to happen in HIS timing. How are we going to react when we have to wait? I admit that there were many times that I had a horrible attitude during the waiting period. I cried and thought it wasn't fair. However, I do think that this experience has brought me and Rob closer and deepened my relationship with God.

I Thes. 5:16-18 "Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."


Friday, May 30, 2014

Baby Lee is a....BOY!!!

                                             It's a Boy!!!


Rob and I went to our 12 week check up and the doctor asked us if we wanted to do genetic testing. We originally thought we would pass on the test but realized we could find out the gender of our baby and we thought "why not?!" They told us it would take 7-10 days to get the results which seemed like FOREVER! I got the call last Tuesday morning (5/20). The nurse asked if my husband was around--we were both at work so I asked her to put the results in an envelope. I couldn't wait to get home so we could find out! I rushed from work to the doctors office and I asked them to double tape the envelope so I wouldn't peek. I picked up some blue and pink balloons at the store and headed home to make a pink and blue cake.

We asked our good friends Russell and Allie to come over that evening to help us with the reveal. I was so excited (and nervous) I couldn't eat dinner! Here's the video of what happened next!


We are so excited we are having a boy! Now let the planning begin! Baby name! Nursery! We can't wait!!

                                          Us after the reveal....so excited for our baby boy!!



Rob and I with our great friends, Russell and Allie Hodges...baby Lee is already blessed with such wonderful friends!











"For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked..."






Baby Lee due November 18, 2014!

Rob and I are thrilled to announce that we are expecting our first baby in November! We are so grateful for all the prayers as this whole process was a long and emotional one! We are looking forward to the next few months preparing for baby and becoming parents. We appreciate all your prayers! Below you will be able to read more of our story (or at least my point of view) or our fertility process. Hopefully it will encourage you! Stay tuned...