22 Weeks

 

22 Weeks

 



 

 

22 Weeks + 2 days

 

These pictures may not look any different to anyone else but my belly is poking out a lot more in just the two day difference. And for once my hair looks super red in this last picture!! Proof that red still exists in my hair! I didn't dye it or change anything. It was probably just the lighting.

 

I am officially past the halfway point! Wahoo! I don't think anyone can really mistake me now for not being pregnant. Looks pretty obvious to me though I still have people that when I mention I'm pregnant they say, "I thought so but I wasn't sure". Oh well. Maybe people are just more cautious these days.

 

 I'm feeling much better now that I have fully recovered from my surgery. I do get a bit of nausea on occasion but for the most part I'm feeling great! The heartburn has definitely set in though. People keep telling me that means my baby is going to have a lot of hair. Sounds like an old wives tale to me but they all swear it's true. I have yet to feel baby Blake moving around. A lot of people say I've probably felt him but just haven't known it was him. I promise, I really haven't felt a thing! I'd like to soon though! My doctor said I'll probably feel him within the next couple of weeks. He also said there are women that for whatever reason, never can feel the baby moving. That just sounds like crazy talk to me. With my short little torso, I doubt I'll be one of those women.

 

Jaren's been sick lately so I've been doing everything possible to avoid getting what he has. I fear that once I get sick, I'll be fighting sickness the rest of my pregnancy! It's getting a little harder to get in and out of bed and off the couch. I'm going to be in so much trouble when I'm 8 and 9 months along!!

 

We've completed a couple of house projects recently so once I get all of my pictures taken I'll post about them! Hopefully within the next week or two!

 

 

18 weeks

 

 

(18 weeks)

 

(10 weeks)

 

I put my 10 week picture up for comparison. And I wore the same shirt on purpose. Anyway, I won't keep you all in suspense. We did get to have an ultrasound at my doctor's appointment yesterday and we did find out the sex.

 

We're having a BOY!!!

 

Of course, we've known it the whole time. We've known for 9 years that our first child would be a boy. And for all you disbelievers out there who thought it would be a girl just because we said it was going to be a boy, here's proof...  

 

 

If you can't tell, his little legs and feet are sticking up and his bum is toward the bottom. Here are just a couple more ultrasound photos for my own record.

 

 

Baby's head is toward the left facing up in the above picture. The picture below his head is on the left facing down with his spine along the top.

 

 

The doctor said that baby looks great and I'm right on schedule. I'm recovering well from my gallbladder surgery and I finally got a prescription yesterday for my nausea. I couldn't take it anymore! I tried to avoid medication but until this nausea lets up...I need some help.

 

We've had baby's first name picked out for 9 years but have been debating on his middle name for quite some time. We've finally made a decision and his full name will be...

Blake Daniel Glover
 

Blake is Jaren's father's name (and Jaren's middle name) and Daniel is my dad's middle name. 

We're super excited about our baby boy! It feels like we've been waiting 9 years to meet him. I suppose I'll have to wait 5 more months but I'm sure he'll be well worth the wait! :)



Surgery

We went in and talked to my OBGYN a few days after my hospitalization from the gallstones and he said he would prefer that I have my gallbladder taken out now while I'm in the beginning of my second trimester. He said this is the best time to have it done. He's worried if I decide to wait until after the pregnancy, I could have another attack in the critical development time between 24 and 32 weeks. This could send me into labor early and mean more complications for baby.

There is still risk of miscarriage just by going under for surgery but Jaren and I both feel the greater risk is not getting it done. I have been faithfully watching my diet to avoid anything that will send me into another attack but the doctor said that may not be enough. I could still have an attack while eating as healthy as possible. With that said, I go in for surgery tomorrow morning. It will be an outpatient surgery and take about a week to recover. We're just praying for the best so baby will be alive and healthy after it all. I've really appreciated the love and support of our friends and family in our journey to become parents. Your prayers on behalf of baby and I would be greatly appreciated! I'll definitely keep everyone posted on how everything goes.

14 weeks

 

My belly doesn't seem to be too much bigger in this picture but it is. I certainly feel bigger and am having a harder time fitting my belly into some things. I've officially switched to maternity pants because they're more comfy. I tried the rubber band thing with my regular jeans and it just didn't work. Oh well.

 

I'm still struggling through sickness. Though most recently I've had another pain to deal with! I started having extreme upper abdominal pain last Friday night. It got so bad Jaren took me to the hospital. They did an ultrasound to make sure baby is alright and he was fine. Thank goodness! Then they moved the ultrasound to my liver and gallbladder. Sure enough, they found gallstones. Yuck! It seemed to take FOREVER for them to finally get me some pain medication. But once that stuff hit, I was very loopy and could hardly lift my own arms they felt so clumsy. But the relief from the pain was wonderful!

 

Jaren was, of course, very concerned and trying to do whatever he could to help me...which was pretty much nothing. I felt bad but I didn't want him touching me because of how much pain I was in. I tried to be nice and hold his hand when he offered it. Maybe when labor comes around, it won't be so pleasant for him. We spent about 5 1/2 hours at the hospital. It was the middle of the night so poor Jaren just curled up in the corner of the room on the hard floor to get some sleep. The nurses gave him a blanket and pillow which was nice. Every time they gave me some medicine to take, it shortly came back up. The next day my throat was so sore and hoarse because of how many times I'd thrown up. Horrible!!

 

Saturday I could only have clear liquids/food which consisted of Jell-O and chicken broth. I just tried to take it easy and spent most of the day preparing my talk and lesson I was giving in church the next day. Though I'm not in pain anymore I'm still feeling after effects. I think my body will be recovering for a little while. They said they don't generally like to remove the gallbladder while a woman is pregnant so I will just have to be really careful for now to avoid another attack. Honestly, I don't WANT my gallbladder removed. I don't care what anybody says, it's useful and I'd like it to stay there. Anyone have any ideas on how to safely and naturally get rid of gallstones while pregnant?

 

Aside from that fun adventure, nothing else is new. We're still waiting to hear news from our foster agency. In the mean time we're still getting kids bedrooms ready and finishing projects on the house. I feel like there's no end to those! We'll let you all know when we have news. I don't mind so much that it's taking a little longer though because I'm hoping the extra time will allow me to get feeling better before we get kids!