– I took a pregnancy test on the evening on April 9, 2011…. we got a big fat positive.  I then proceeded to take 4 more tests over the course of the next week because I just couldn’t believe it!  I didn’t have many symptoms at the beginning, so I was worried that I wasn’t really pregnant.

 

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-We spent the next two weeks telling our families and close friends.  I drove in to Dallas to tell Grandma.  She was the first family member to find out.  I took her to Braum’s and told her while we were eating.  Her first reaction was to ask me what we are going to do with our dogs after the baby gets here.  I guess killer pit bulls don’t mix with a tiny baby.  🙂  We went to The Cheesecake Factory with Ted and Deborah on Easter.  I brought along an Easter gift… some Easter eggs filled with candy and one egg with a baby bib in it.  When they opened the present and saw the bib, it took a little bit to register what we were telling them.  Deborah started screaming, shoved Ted out of the way, and gave us huge hugs.  Definitely my favorite reaction.  I think she might have been a little excited to be a Grandma!  We took Dad and Valerie to Blue Mesa to spill the beans.  We hadn’t been able to take Dad out for his birthday, so we brought a birthday gift… complete with a baby bib.  Valerie figured it out before Daddy.  I think the fact that I declined the all-you-can-drink brunch cocktails at Blue Mesa may have helped them figure it out.

-We had our first doctors appointment on May 2nd.  Along with all of the normal poking and prodding, we had an early sonogram to confirm the pregnancy and determine how far along we were.  I was thinking I was almost 9 weeks along, but the little bean measured a week smaller which gave us a due date of December 14, 2011.  Here is the first picture:

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-On May 11th (9 weeks), we had a second doctors appointment because of some test results that came back a little funky from the first appointment.  Everything wound up being okay, but needless to say, I was a little upset.  I think the doctor felt bad for turning me into a hysterical (and hormonal) mess and she let us get another sonogram to ensure that the little bean was still there and still doing okay.  It’s crazy to compare the sono from last week to the one from this week.  The little bean has already changed so much.  Here is the picture:

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– May 18th (10 weeks)- First belly shot.  Hima insisted that I text her pictures of my belly… I probably wasn’t wearing makeup, so I cut my face out.  Not much of a belly yet, but you can definitely tell that I’m getting bigger.

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-week of May 25th (11 weeks)-  My 28th birthday was quite possibly the best birthday ever.  I have a tiny baby growing in my tummy… and I got a Yukon!   Chris would put me in a tank if he had his way… I guess the Yukon is the next best thing.  Besides, we need more room now that we will be toting around a little one.

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-May 27th (11 weeks)- A few days before my birthday.  Here’s another belly shot.  Still not really looking pregnant yet, just bloated up and fat.  And I was obviously in the middle of doing my makeup, so, no face.

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-June 6th (12 weeks)- We had another appointment with the doctor.  This one was not as eventful as the others, but we were able to hear baby’s heartbeat with the doppler, which was reassuring for us!

-The week of June 27th (15 weeks)- I started feeling what I thought might be little kicks.  Most everyone said I would feel flutters first, which I did not… but every now and then I would feel a little ‘pop’ that was distinctively different than the typical bubbly gut feelings of pregnancy.

-Weekend of July 2nd (16 weeks)- Chris and I used the long weekend to paint the nursery.  Yeah, we don’t know the gender yet, but we couldn’t resist!!  Luckily, the room we have planned is pretty gender neutral.  The room used to be a dark teal.  Now it’s an off white.  We had dinner with Ted, Deborah, and Lauren and then we went to see fireworks on the way home.  Chris took pictures of the fireworks and snapped this one of me with the growing baby bump.

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-July 6th (17 weeks)- Pool day with Amy.  My swimsuit still fits, but I look like a tub ‘o lard in it.  It’s okay, though… it’s all for a good cause!

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So sad… tried on my pre-pregnancy jeans today and they don’t fit anymore.  I wonder if they will ever fit again….

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-July 7th (17 weeks)- We had another doctors appointment and another sonogram…. our gender check.  At first, the little bean was being a ‘stinker’ and was not working with the sonogram technician, but she eventually got a good picture….

It’s a BOY!!!!

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This is one of him sucking his little thumb.  So sweet.

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So, that evening, after all of the excitement of telling family and friends the great news, we went out to eat to talk names.  We had tried to talk names a few times before, but had decided on waiting to find out the gender.  We had names picked out a long time ago, when having a child was the furthest thing from our minds… back before we were even married.  The first boy was going to be Logan and the girl, Lorelei.

So, in the middle of PotBelly’s, I  look at Chris and I ask him what he thinks, and he immediately says that he still likes the name Logan.  I laughed because I had already kind of started calling the baby Logan in my head.  When I visualized the nursery, I saw the name ‘Logan’ above his crib.  I saw it spelled out in little ABC blocks on the bookshelf.  I saw it hanging on the door to his room.  In my head, his name was already Logan.  Luckily, Chris agreed.

I’m pretty sure that is the fastest naming of a child in the history of the world.  🙂

-July 9th (17 weeks)- Belly shot for Hima with her little dog, Charlie, looking on in the background.  She had just moved away to California and we were keeping Charlie for her.

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-Week of July 11 (17-18 weeks)-  I definitely feel a dancing baby in my belly!!

-July 15th (18 weeks) – We have a crib, folks!  Now, if we could just get the room finished, we could put it together and I could start working on bedding!!

-July 27th (20 weeks)- Chris FINALLY felt Logan kicking.  I had been able to feel it from the outside for about a week… luckily Logan kicked just right so his Daddy was able to feel it.  SO COOL!!

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-July 28th- August 2nd (20 weeks)- Chris and I went on our pre-baby adventure to California to visit Hima.

This picture was taken during while we explored Venice Beach.

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We made a pit stop in Vegas on the way home.

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-August 4th (21 weeks)- We had our anatomy scan today.  The anatomy scan is a sonogram where they look at the baby from head to toe to make sure that everything is developing normally.  Everything looked great on ours!

We didn’t get any good pictures of his face.  This one actually creeps me out a little.

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Here’s one of his little foot.

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-August 20th (23 weeks)- School is starting back up.  I think I might look a little bigger than I did in May.

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– September 1st (25 weeks)- Chris and I had our first appointment at Inanna Birth and Women’s Center today.  We have officially transferred care to the birth center!  I plan on eventually writing a blog dedicated to why I decided to transfer care to a midwife.  Maybe someday I’ll find the time!  Here’s a picture of the bump at 25 weeks.

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-September 3rd (25 weeks)- Work has officially begun on the nursery.  We used Labor Day weekend to lay new floors and start painting the mural.  Thanks for the help Dad and Val!!

-September 13th (26 weeks)- Had our first extremely stressful day at work, which resulted in having a complete “Mommy Meltdown” and going to the birth center and being hooked up to the monitors.  Luckily everything was okay

-September 20th (27 weeks)- First day of our childbirth class.  We are taking the Birthing from Within classes offered by the birth center.  So far, we love them! And my belly button is starting to flatten out.  Chris decided that it needed a little face…

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-October 2nd (29 weeks)- I took a trip to Canton with Valerie to search for the changing table.  After searching all over (and enjoying a corn dog and Tater Twisters) we finally found it.  It’s perfect and has a lot of space to organize our cloth diapers.

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-October 8th (30 weeks)- Today we had our baby shower!  Thank you Hima and Valerie for throwing a great shower!

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-October 24th (32 weeks)- Another belly picture.

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November 19th (36 weeks)- Since breastfeeding is something that I feel very passionate about, I decided to host a breastfeeding class at my house.  I hired a lactation consultant to come and talk with me, a few friends, and family members about the benefits of nursing and the ins and outs of how to do it.  Very informative and I highly recommend it to all of my pregnant friends who plan on breastfeeding their kiddos..

-November 20th (36 weeks)- So thankful for Amy, Amanda, and Lindsey for hosting a couple’s shower for us.  We had a blast!  (PS- I still need pictures from this shower!)

-November 27th (37 weeks)-  Very interesting day.  My friend Katie had her baby (2 weeks early) and I had contractions all day.  Chris and I were out shopping most of the day trying to get some last minute items for the little one, and by the end of the day I was having consistent contractions.  Amy and I went up to the birth center to get checked… but they told me that I was having false labor.  I was starting to dilate and efface (almost 1 cm and about 50% effaced).  The prodomal labor continued for 3 more weeks!  Good news was that I was in Denton and able to stop by and see Katie and her Logan (yes, they have the same name) that evening.  He’s a handsome little dude!

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-December 5th (38.5 weeks)- My substitute started in my classroom this week.  And here’s another belly picture.

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-December 10th (39 weeks)- Another belly picture.

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-December 12th (39.5 weeks)- My last week of work before Christmas break.  I’ll either be here until Friday or when this baby decides to come.  Which ever comes first… just hoping that I don’t go into labor at school!  We had a scare today.  One of my students crawled under my desk during a tantrum, and I bent down to help get him out.  When I stood up, my pants were wet.  I was sure that my water had broken.  I left school and went to the birth center.  Turns out it wasn’t my water.  I just peed myself.  Lovely.  I’m now known as the lady who pees her pants at school.

-December 14th (40 weeks)- DUE DATE!!!  Still no baby.  This little guy has decided to cook a little longer.

-December 15th (40 weeks)- Check up at the birth center.  I have been feeling like I am coming down with a cold so we have increased some of the vitamins that I am taking.  It would be no fun to go into labor while I am sick!  I also bought some “All Stuffed Up” tea from the birth center.  They have an herbalist who prepares organic teas to use during pregnancy.  I have been drinking her Red Raspberry Leaf tea since about 30 weeks.  I also had Betty check me today.  I was 1.5cm dilated and 80% effaced.

-December 16th (40 weeks)- Last day of school.  I made it!

-December 20th (40 weeks 6 days)- Still no baby… and still about 1.5 cm and 80% effaced.  Went for a biophysical profile today to make sure everything still looks okay.  Logan got a 10 out of 10 on all of the tests so we can wait a little longer…  last belly shots ever taken:

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-December 22th (41 weeks)- Still no baby.. and not much progress towards labor. Decide to try a non-medical induction the next day.

-December 23rd (41 weeks, 2 days)- Logan’s birth day.  He was born at 11:23 pm weighing 8 lb 2 oz and was 21.25 inches long.  See ‘Logan: The birth day” for all the gory details.