Well there we were at our 20 week ultrasound, so excited to see our baby and find out the sex! It was truly amazing to see the perfectly formed spine, hands, feet, and head. The baby even gave us a show as you will see on some images I posted. Jumping and yawning, healthy and active. But, when it came time to see the sex, the baby kept it's little legs closed for the whole hour that the ultrasound was being done! Not even a peek! So we're back to square one, waiting again to find out what color to start painting the nursery. So why don't we just do neutrals? I HATE YELLOW!! Plus, if it's a girl, the room will be a very girly room, and if it's a boy, the room will be boyish. So in four more weeks I will have another ultrasound hopefully revealing the sex of our little bundle of joy!

The past two weeks have been amazing! I've been feeling his/her feet thumping here and there. It's truly amazing to not only see the pictures of the baby and to see my belly growing but to actually feel it! The results came back from the ultrasound and everything looks great! The baby is developing perfectly and there are no visible concerns! Keep us in your prayers and hopefully we'll know what name to pick in another month!

17 Weeks and Counting!

Seventeen weeks and only three to go before we find out the sex of the baby. Everyone has their opinion of whether it's a boy or a girl. I really don't have any inklings about it being either. At first I thought it was a boy because I had had two dreams about it, but I've also had girl dreams and all the old wives tales are pointing to a girl. So I really don't have a clue. Zach and I both don't have a preference. Boy or girl, as long as it's healthy. Plus we have thought of great nursery ideas for both sexes as well as name ideas. I started school last week and it will be my last semester before the baby is due. I was scheduled to graduate next Spring but I'm due in the middle of that semester so I will have to finish 2 classes sometime after the baby comes to graduate. I'm still feeling great, a little moody and tired but nothing far from normal. Here are my 17 week belly shots. I swear it grew overnight!

I survived the first trimester!

Well I made it through the first trimester. Some of you women who have been pregnant my hate me when I say this but it wasn't bad at all. I was extremely lucky. No morning sickness, no moodiness (although that's changed now), and just minor fatigue. Thank God for that! I am anxiously awaiting feeling the baby kick, finding out the sex, and putting the nursery together. These are pictures from our first ultrasound at only 10 weeks! It's a jelly bean with a heartbeat ;0)

How did this happen?

Ok, ok. I'll spare you the details of the birds and the bees. But really... Many of you may be wondering if this was planned or a pleasant surprise and how it all happened (I mean finding out). First off, this was planned. Zach and I decided to start trying a few years ago (2-3?). We weren't so much trying as we were just seeing what would happen. A year went by and nothing. We both had a change of heart as I decided to go back and finish my bachelor's degree and decided to wait. As friends of mine started getting pregnant and having babies on "accident" or within a few months of trying, I began to wonder why that hadn't happened for us during that year. I then decided to search for an OB that could answer my questions and find out if anything may be wrong. Soon after, I was diagnosed with poly cystic ovarian syndrome. Now we weren't 100% positive that that was what prevented a pregnancy during that year but it was a strong possibility. Meanwhile we tried to find other causes. A year went by and after much thought we decided to start trying again. We knew that it was a possibility that I would have a hard time getting pregnant and we didn't want to waste anymore time. So in December of 2006, Zach and I officially started trying. My OB wanted us to just try naturally for the first six months. Still nothing. Then my OB thought that getting me back on birth control for a few months may regulate my cycle and thus making it easier once I came off to get pregnant. After three months on birth control, we tried again for six more months. Still nothing. At this point my doctor decided that a light fertility treatment may be in order. He prescribed Clomid for me and I started right away. I did the research on Clomid and found that in rare cases it could cause multiple births (ever seen Jon and Kate Plus 8)? However, the chances of having multiples were so small. I also found that most people on a Clomid dosage could expect it to work within 3-4 months and that if nothing happened within six months it was recommended that the woman seek other fertility treatments as prolonged use of Clomid can cause ovarian cysts. I was on my fifth month of Clomid with still no luck. A few things happened that month. First, I decided to truly give it up to God. I felt that ultimately he knew the big picture and that whatever happened was on his time not mine. Second, I took control of the medical situation and demanded that my doctor test Zach (to find out if he was the deficient one :0), that he do more blood work on me to see if everything looked ok, and that he raise my dosage of clomid the sixth month. After finding out that Zach wasn't the problem, my doctor agreed to my other demands. The sixth month came and I knew it was my last shot before resorting to more costly and invasive infertility treatments. Talk about pressure! This month was loaded with other preoccupations. It was my birthday, we were planning a trip to Branson, MO for Zach's grandmother's 70th birthday, and it was also the month of our fifth year anniversary. It truly was amazing, I had a nagging feeling that this would be the month. AND IT WAS! Hallelujah!

On June 2, 2008 after have a week of minor pregnancy symptoms I took an at home test. Immediately the plus started showing up and I knew. We still waited the prescribed 2 minutes to view the results but I was sure this was the real thing. Zach still insisted on reading the entire pamphlet that came with the test after we read the results (as if we misread the positive sign). He just couldn't believe it. We both were so excited and yet scared at the same time. I thank God everyday for this little life growing inside of me.