82 Days or LESS!!

What?!? You heard right, I am officially in my third trimester and in 82 days or less this little guy will be here in the flesh!

Last night we felt hiccups for the first time and it was so fun! 

We are so excited!!!! Can't even put it into words...LOVE LOVE LOVE

Little Lettuce Baby

It is amazing that 26 weeks have already passed! Just this week I have started thinking about how drastically my life is going to change in 3 months. This week for some reason everything started to feel a bit more real. Up unto this point I have been so in love with being pregnant that I have avoided thinking about how he is going to get out of there....I'm starting to get scared! 

I completed my glucose/blood test this week and everything is looking perfect. I had my Rhogam shot this afternoon since I am AB negative in blood type. I remember in the beginning of my pregnancy thinking, "oh that doesn't happen for a LONG time"...and now I am here!

I am starting to sleep much better thanks to a body pillow although the getting up 3x each night to use the restroom seems to be avoidable. I have had some pretty gnarly stretching pains in the past few weeks and some major pressure. I bought a belly support band to wear when I walk the dogs or do the elliptical and it definitely seems to help. For the most part I have felt really great,

praise the Lord for the most amazing pregnancy a girl could ask for. We will just continue to avoid the fact that he can't stay in there forever and I have to get him out somehow...don't remind me...

Relaxation

Today was wonderful. I finished my 2012 photo book and spent a lot of time relaxing with my baby boy in the beautiful 80 degree weather while Shaun cleaned the pool, washed the dogs, and mowed the lawns. He came out to snap this picture saying, "what do you think this is? A resort?" Haha! Yes!

 I have always been an extreme multi-tasker, never sitting for too long without being bored and always needing a project or plan of some sort for each day. Lately I have done a whole lot of the opposite and I am enjoying every minute of it. There really is nothing better than just sitting around and cherishing every movement of my little man. I know Shaun is probably sick of it already because I am constantly telling him to come and feel him kicking around or watch my belly roll but I have never been so mesmerized. 

Love you Jeremiah and can't wait to meet you in a few months!

24 weeks

Little Jeremiah is getting bigger and stronger each day and I can feel such a difference in his movements and strength lately. Although people warn me it will eventually become painful or annoying, for now I cannot help but love each and every bump and roll. I love just sitting and watching him move around and wondering what it is he is doing in there. 

This week I have had trouble sleeping. Now that stomach sleeping is completely out of the picture and I get up 3x each night to go to the bathroom I am not getting very much sleep. I guess now that my uterus is officially the size of a basketball it is to be expected. A basketball?!? I still can't believe I am pregnant let alone that we have made it this far and have experienced so much change in my body. 

We are so blessed and so excited to meet this little guy in about 100 days or less!! 

2013 Begins!

Shaun and I were talking the other night about the past 4 years and how each time we began a new year we hoped it would be the year when we became pregnant or when we were able to have a baby and...it's here! It is so very surreal to be able to say we WILL be having a baby in the year 2013. We WILL indeed become parents in 2013. 

Yay! 

And now...for some actual belly shots. I have been avoiding these but my friends and family members have told me I should at least take a few every couple months showing belly skin. So, here he is! 

2012 Reflection

It's it hard to believe that in two days it will be 2013. Looking back over the past year is emotional for so many reasons. My dad has recovered from his battle with cancer, and we got the best news that we would in fact get the chance to be parents. After months and months of heartache, bad news, negative pregnancy tests, procedures, and shots, we are 4 months away from meeting our baby face to face. 

We are so blessed to have had the support and prayers of so many family members and friends over the past couple years. Now as I sit and feel my little Jeremiah bouncing around inside my belly it is hard to remember all of the physical and emotional pain we endured on this incredible journey to parenthood. 

I would not take back one single difficult conversation, one procedure, one shot, or one blood test. This was the journey God had planned for us all along and it has been nothing short of miraculous. 

I can remember all of the conversations I had with God about my desire to be a mom. I can remember crying myself to sleep and wondering why He had chosen this for my life. I can also remember leaning on Him and trusting in Him more than I ever knew possible. I can remember Him picking me up out of times of sorrow and bringing me joy through the sweet babies and children of others and through my job as a teacher. 

He allowed me the ability to laugh with my husband in the most difficult of times and I got to know Him as a true Father for the first time in my life. Most of all I can remember the day and the conversation I had with Him in which I was finally able to find peace in the fact that I may never carry a biological child. I can remember the brief feeling of grief but the overwhelming feeling of peace. I knew I would be a mom one way or the other but I was finally able to accept the reality that it might not be the way I had planned my whole life. 

As I sit here 5 months into this pregnancy I am overwhelmed with gratitude for being able to try the In-Vitro process and for its success against all odds, joy for the opportunity to feel this little boy growing strong and experience pregnancy, and a sense of my Father's love for us that He has chosen us to be Jeremiah's parents, the best gift of all. 

Christmas Eve 2012

22 weeks exactly on Christmas Eve!

Baby boy is one whole pound and 11 inches long! He is kicking and moving constantly and I love every minute of it. Each and every movement is still so special to me and so amazing and makes me smile every time. Tutu (my mom's hawaiian version of grandma) has gotten to feel him several times this week and grandpa felt him tonight for the first time. I have dreamt of sharing these special memories with my family for so long and it is such a blessing to watch this baby bring joy already.  

Baby Jeremiah you are more loved than you even know and you aren't even here yet!

Merry Christmas! God is good!