Baby Rylan is Born

So I'm officially 3 weeks late... sue me! Spending hours at the computer uploading pictures and updating the blog hasn't been high on my priority list, unfortunately. I finally had took the time this after noon.

While we have hundreds of more pictures, from the past 2 weeks, I just wanted to start from the beginning, and just the first 5 days of my baby boy's life are accounted for here.

On the morning of Tuesday, May 18, 2010, Rusty and I woke up, knowing that our lives would forever change that day. I was scheduled to arrive at the hospital at 7:30 for admission that morning. When my alarm when off, I made the comment to Rusty that it was the alarm to the beginning of the rest of our lives. How true that was. My external version wasn't scheduled until 9:30, so we had a little bit of time after admission. During those first few hours, I was on monitors, started getting my drugs, etc. Ask Rusty - I was surprisingly calm all morning. I actually even slept well the night before.

They started my IV right away since I was to get my epidural before anything started. Of course they had problems with my veins rolling over (go figure...) so I had to be stuck a few times before the nurse got it in correctly. After this little "issue" getting the IV going is when the nerves set in - and believe me that they set in. The anesthesiologist was next up. This was my official cue to freak out. I did. I cried and just internally panicked. It was so easy. It wasn't bad at all - getting my IV was worse. The worst part for me is that I had nothing going on to justify any of this happening yet. I wasn't in labor, I had no pain, and I hadn't had any contractions. I was just getting poked all over for no reason.

After the IV and epidural were both in and running, I got 3 shots of what I remember to be Demerol. (I could be completely wrong, and I have no idea how to spell it.) Whatever it is, it's a medicine used on arthritis patients to help relax the muscles. In this case, it was used to help relax my uterus to hopefully make the version work better. The first two shots were in my arms, and they hurt. They were "smart" on the 3rd one and gave it to me in my leg since I couldn't feel anything below my chest. Woo hoo!

My doc didn't have high hopes that my version would work. I remember looking down at her and the other doc while the were doing it. I could feel my body moving and that is about all. To see the strain on their faces only indicated they were trying to push a stalled out car out from the middle of the road. I even looked over at Rusty once and his mouth was hanging wide open, in shock of how hard they were working on my stomach. After a few minutes, my doc threw in the towel and said, "Let's go have a baby." Rusty threw on his scrubs and they began wheeling me away to the OR.

Once in the OR, it was all very Hollywood-ish. It was a bright white and silver room with metal things all over the place and a big operating table right in the middle. They wheeled my bed right up beside the table and even used one of those board things to transport from one to the other. Once on the table, I kept wondering what the commotion was about. Come to find out, one of my legs kept falling off of the Op table. I couldn't feel a thing, and had no idea. Looking back now, it was pretty funny. Apparently they couldn't get it on the table and strapped in fast enough before it would fall again.

To my surprise, Rusty watched the entire process. I couldn't watch his face, because I knew that if he saw something bad or gross, and his face showed it, I'd freak out and start panicking. I watch the nurse that was holding my other hand the whole time.

Here are the things I most vividly remember from my C-Section:
1.) When we were in there, right before the procedure started, the song that was on the radio was "Hurt So Good." How ironic. I even pointed this out to everyone else and we all just laughed.
2.) My doc's voice was the most soothing sound in the room. She talked during the whole procedure about what was going on. I wasn't listening at all, but just hearing her upbeat, happy tone the whole time let me know it was all ok.
3.) The most awful smell filled the room throughout the procedure. I asked what it was, to which my doc said, "I don't think you want to know!" and to which I replied, "OK!" Rusty later told me what it was. OH. MY.
4.) When my doc started saying the baby was coming out, I looked to Rusty to see his expression, since everything was "numb" for me and I couldn't see a thing. His face was my window to the baby. This is when I cried happy tears for the first time. I'll never forget the love/excitement/joy written all over Rusty's face the first time he saw Rylan.

When they were putting me back together, my doc pointed out my mal-shaped uterus to Rusty. This is a big part of the reason Rylan didn't turn. Instead of being completely round, my uterus was flat on top, making it more like a triangle, and preventing our little baby from turning like he needed. The disturbing part is that she literally pulled my uterus out of my tummy and held it up for Rusty to see before jamming it back inside where it belonged. AWESOME.

The rest of Tuesday and into Wednesday were all a blur. To be honest, I don't remember much from these 2 days. The recovery was a lot rougher than I expected it to be upfront. I didn't get feeling back in my legs until the next day because my epidural was in for 24 hours as pain management. That was just odd. Also, my stomach was incredibly sore from the version, since they were working so hard on it. Never having had surgery or anything like that before, I didn't know what to expect from the c-section recovery. It was tough, but manageable. There were times I was in a lot of pain, but it was nothing the pain medicine didn't help with. 3 weeks later, I still have random soreness, but nothing terrible at all.

We had so many wonderful visitors while in the hospital... thank you to each and everyone of you that came out - it was wonderful to see and visit with you all (even if I barely remember it!!!).

Thursday through Saturday were rough days for us in the hospital. On Thursday morning, our pediatrician filled us in on some concerns they had for Rylan. And all day long this kind of news just kept pouring in. It was terrible. On top of dealing with all of the emotions and stress from the birth alone, I couldn't handle this. I cried so many times on Thursday. I can't even count them. This day brought Rusty and I so much closer, as we leaned on each other for everything that day. Thursday night was our celebration steak and lobster dinner. That was the worst celebration dinner we've ever had. It was hard to enjoy the evening when they had taken Rylan away from us for special testing and monitoring due to the previously expressed concerns.

In the end, everything is "ok" and all of the testing and monitoring was a precaution. I know that I wouldn't have had it any other way, looking back, but it was so difficult to deal with in the hospital. We're happy to say that Rylan is doing wonderful, and all of the concerning issues have nearly worked themselves out, thank goodness. Most of it was attributed to how he was in my uterus - he was just jammed so tightly in there and had no room to move, which made his adjustment into the new world a little more difficult than anyone expected it to be.

On Saturday, we finally got to go home!!! I was so sick of the hospital room! It was wonderful to be back in the comfort and privacy of our own home, but I will admit I missed the 3 meals a day, cooked, delivered bedside, and cleaned up all by someone that wasn't me. :)

To see pictures from the hospital and our trip home, click here. Enjoy!!

My Melons are Growing!!!

Week 35 brings lots of fun stuff!! We had our 3rd shower (post to come later) which was a huge success! Thanks to everyone who contributed! We had a sonogram yesterday, which was the first we've had since our 20 week appointment. Last but not least, I learned that we have a honey dew melon this week! (More on this debate later...)

Our latest email did specify we have about a 5 1/2 pound honey dew melon growing ever so larger inside the womb. Woo hoo! I think about the size, and it's so trivial to me, but then I realize that this represents the size of the person growing INSIDE MY BELLY and I'm a little more amazed. :) It's definitely been a fun ride.

To follow up on last week's post and doctor's appointment, we had a sonogram on Tuesday. The purpose of the sono was to determine exactly how little Rylan is situated. Last week my doc thought his head was down, his rear up in my left ribs and his feet pushed out in my right side. She wasn't 100% certain, though, so we went ahead with the sono. I knew going into it that if we found out Rylan wasn't head down, I'd start to get anxious about him turning. I know there's technically plenty of time, but still - anything could happen at just about any time now, so time is of the essence. (Ok, my apologies, but I just had a total FRIENDS moment by using the word essence... Chandler: "The cushions are the essence of the chair!" Joey: "That's right! I'm taking the essence!")

ANYWAY! We go in, and I don't know what to expect. I'm excited about seeing Rylan, but I wasn't sure what we'd see. Sure enough, it was "hard" to see much because he's so much bigger now. One body part would take up the whole screen, which kind of diluted the image, if you can believe that. She tried to get us some fun shots, but his head was facing in towards my body, so we couldn't get his profile or anything. We did see that he has hair though!! That's exciting! We did also determine he is still a boy. I'll tell ya - this little stinker has absolutely no problem showing his stuff off for us. Ugh! For the news - I have a butthead baby!! :( That thing I've thought was his butt all along is actually his head. Poor Rylan. What this translates to is that his head is up in my left ribs. No bueno, in my opinion. Like I said, I know there is plenty of time left, but STILL!!! Nothing is a guarantee at this point.

The sonogram tech is not the same lady as my doctor. She mentioned that my doc will probably either schedule me for another sono, or do one herself when we go back next Wednesday, just to check again. She measured Rylan's femur (which she indicated is the best measurement she can get of his "age") and he was measuring spot on, which is good news. She took a few other measurements including his head and his belly. When she got to his belly, she said, "Whoa! Look at that belly! You have a buddha baby!" Towards the end of the appointment, she casually mentioned, "Well based on the measurements I took, he's measuring about 7 pounds."

I'm sorry, say what? My email 3 DAYS AGO said 5.5 pounds! **Insert breathing sounds learned at child birth class.** I would've loved to see my reaction to her saying that. It didn't take too long before I remembered my doc saying the week before that any size estimates the sonogram makes could be off by up to 20%. Once in the car, we quickly did the math and were relieved this potentially puts Rylan down to the "normal" 5.5 pounds... or up to 8.5! Again, WHAT?! Rusty and I were both pretty average babies at 7 lbs, 14 oz and 7 lbs 15.5 oz, respectively. I really hope her estimate was wrong. I guess if it's correct, though, I'm closer to having a small watermelon, rather than a honey dew melon. :)

I'll keep you updated, of course, after we learn more next week. New pic below!

34 weeks:


35 weeks:


TTFN!

food food food

*BIG SIGH*

I'm so hungry. These past few weeks of pregnancy have really been a test for me. I'm hungrier (more hungry? I can't remember...) than I've been in a while, and the great part is that I don't get full quite as fast most days. I've really tried to battle the hunger by making smart food decisions. Some days it's easy to do. Today, not so much.

I had my slightly larger-than-normal bowl of cereal this morning. My mid morning snack was a normal cup of yogurt and handful of almonds. I usually hold out until about noon to eat lunch, but it's 11:55 and lunch is gone. This morning I did "good" and packed a peanut butter sandwich, strawberries and a 100 calorie back of chocolate covered pretzels. That lasted me all of about 7 or 8 minutes and I'm still starving. :(

If my hunger stays this way for the next 4-5 weeks, we might have some issues. I've done so good on my weight gain and I really hate to spoil it now. Any suggestions??? (As I ask, I think about the secretly stashed half of a Nestle Crunch bar that I've avoided for about 6 days now. Today might just be the last day of it's sad little life.)

TTFN!!

34 weeks

Since I started receiving weekly emails that contained some kind of a reference to how big Rylan is, Rusty told me he'd be impressed the day he was the size of a canteloupe or something. Well, DH, that day has come. Last Saturday, when I got my 34 week email, a baby's size (weight, really) is guessed to be about that of a canteloupe... almost 5 lbs and a long 17 inches.

We had our 34 week appointment on Wednesday. Once again, everything seemed good. I'm measuring perfectly and the baby's heartbeat was just beating away like crazy. Since we're drawing closer to the end, my doc is becoming more in tune with how Rylan is positioned. After feeling around a bit, she thinks his head might be down, his buttox up in my ribs on the left, and his legs/feet piked out to my right side. She's not 100%, though, so I'm scheduled for a sonogram next Tuesday so we can see exactly what this little stinker is up to inside of me.

I'm not really worried, yet. To be honest, worst case scenario is that he won't turn. No. Big. Deal. Yes, I'll have to have a C-section if he's breach, which I'm not crazy about, but there are worse things in life. He still has time to turn, and my doc said if he's not turned, there are some things we can do to help aide the process.

The one GREAT thing about this little situation is that we get another sonogram. I haven't had one since our 20 week appointment... that'll be 15 weeks by the time we go!!! I really am excited to get another look at him. :)

I think that's all for now. Pictures below:

31 Weeks:


34 Weeks:

Couples Shower

Rusty and I officially had our first shower over the weekend... and it was a BLAST!! We have so many wonderful friends that made this so much fun for both of us!

The shower was baseball themed (obviously it fits for a boy, and makes it more enticing for a couples shower). Everything about the shower turned out fantastic. Aunt Chrissy did a great job. :) All of the foods were ballpark related - we had hot dogs, cotton candy, cracker jacks and of course, beer. Our team was the Covey Critters because we have so many critters... a dog, 2 cats, a turtle and a baby on the way. (Anyone interested in a turtle, please inquire within.)

The one organized game we had was the "Diaper Dot Race." Everyone got a depends that had a "dot" on it. (We have some softball fields behind our house where the game was supposed to be played, but it was occupied by some kids that later came over and joined our game. One of the little boys ran over, pointed at everyone and said, "Look! They're on their periods!" It was HILARIOUS!)





The object of the game was to finish the race first, after successfully completing all of the obstacles. Everyone started at home plate and had to run the bases. At first base, there was a baby bottle full of beer that had to be chugged.



At second base, the dots had to successfully put a diaper on the baby doll. Once completed, the baby had to run the rest of the race with the person...



At third base, there were plastic bats that everyone had to do the "forehead on the bat and spin" thing. They all had to spin 9 times - 1 rotation for each month I'm pregnant. :) As far as I know we only had one stray runner after spinning...



The game was a blast to watch and I know everyone had a good time playing!! After the game, and a little bit of food, it was finally time to open presents. I was so excited to see all of the fun stuff we were destined to get, and our friends didn't disappoint! We got so much GREAT and ADORABLE stuff! I can't wait to use most of it (butt wipes excluded) and play dress up with little man! He'll be so handsome, I know!

Below is a look at all of the fun stuff we got! Again, I can't say "THANK YOU!" enough to everyone who was there and who made the shower happen. We really are so lucky to have such wonderful people in our lives! :)

Weeks 30 & 31

Sorry to disappoint, but no fun new foods!!

Rylan is about 3 lbs 5 oz right now (porker!!!) and growing fatter every day. My most recent email said he's about to hit a big growth spurt, so that should be fun. When I went in last week for my 30 week appointment, I asked how big he was. Dr. Welborne just said he should be about 3 lbs, and even if they did a sonogram there'd be no way of knowing 100%. She did mention, though, that I'm measuring perfectly, which is good news.

There wasn't anything too exciting revealed at the appointment. I asked when Rylan will turn to get ready for birth, and she said he should be turned by 35 weeks. Of course she said they'll make sure he's "ready" and have some things they can do to get him there, in the event he doesn't do it on his own.

Rusty and I get closer and closer every day with the nursery! All of our furniture finally came in, which was SOO exciting! We're working on getting everything organized and pretty enough so we can take and post some pictures. Please know that as soon as it's camera ready, pictures will be up for all to adore! :) Just to make you all a little more anxious, it really is looking good, and the furniture looks great in the room!

Well, I took a new picture. I know I'm supposed to keep growing until little man gets here, but I'm starting to get more creeped out by my own pictures. Don't ask why. I'm fortunate for the fact that about 95% of my weight gain has been in my belly, and I'm fortunate that all I look is pregnant. Still, there's something to just not feeling "cute" like everyone says I look. (Maybe you are all liars... hehe)

Here is 29 weeks:


Here is 31 weeks:

Squatternut Baush

A few of you might actually get this right away... For those of you that do, you rock. For those of you that don't, here you go...



We're in the middle of week 29 this week. According to my weekly email, little man is approximately 2.5 pounds and a little over 15 inches long. It compares him to a butternut squash, thus squatternut baush. :) Hopefully you all appreciated that as much as I did when I read it.

Last week, at 28 weeks, I had my last 4 week appointment. From now until 36 weeks I go every two weeks, and then at 36 weeks, I'll start going every week until Rylan graces us with his arrival.

I was a little apprehensive of my 28 week appointment, but over all, I did a good job, if I do say so myself. I rewarded myself with 2 pieces of chocolate that day. First of all, it was the much feared glucose screening. I'd heard horror stories about how terrible the fluid was I had to drink. Let me say this - it was NOT that bad at all. I was expecting to drink something along the lines of battery acid, so I was very pleasantly surprised with the nice orange drink. The worst part was the hour after the drink. I don't think I've ever had such a sugar high. It was terrible! On the way in to the Doc's office, Rusty asked me a question, and I actually was stuttering over my words because I couldn't talk fast enough to answer him. Then, once we were in the office, I couldn't sit still. Of course all of the sugar made Rylan just go crazy in my tummy, too. Glad to know it wasn't just me struggling.

I knew that I would be getting a RHogam shot at my appointment, also. I was a little nervous about it, as well, because I'd heard several different things. Some people had it in their arms, others in their rears. Everyone, though, said the worst part was how cold the fluid was when it was injected, so you could actually feel it spreading. I reallllly don't like needles and shots. To be honest, I can't remember the last shot I had - that's how much I dislike needles. So we go into one of the rooms for my shot to be administered. The assistant walks in and immediately says, "So this goes in your backside." I looked at Rusty and said, "Nooo!!" To make it worse, I was wearing a dress and just kind of had to hike it up and bend over. (Sorry for any terrible mental image you might've just had.) Of course I freaked out the whole time, but in the end, it really wasn't bad at all. The needle was small enough that I barely felt it, and I didn't feel a single drop of the fluid going in. When we walked out of the room, I kindly asked the nurse to not talk about me or laugh at me until I was well out of the office. :)

Well, I go back next week, already, so maybe I'll have some more fun stories after that visit. Hopefully none of them are bad enough to provide gruesome mental images again... HA! No promises to be made.

I missed a few weeks on pictures. Anyway, here is my growth since the last picture at 24 weeks. I had to go for the official wardrobe change. To make myself feel better, I find it necessary to tell you that the other clothes technically still fit, but since they aren't maternity, they don't hug my shape the right way, showing you how big I actually am.

Here is 24 weeks:


Here is 29 weeks:

24 weeks

I'm officially over the hill!!!... the pregnancy hill, that is. :) I swear I say this every time, but it is always true! I can't believe I'm already at 24 weeks. Where does the time go??

Everything is going well... We had a doctor's appointment this morning, in which she said everything is progressing wonderfully. We got to hear his heart beat, and she measured my belly for the first time. I guess we'll be sure to know whether this little guy is growing too quickly or too slowly before long!!

I don't really have any news to report since last time. I started taking in more water, and that's really helped out with some of the discomfort I experienced. It's also helped out with some of the dizziness/weariness I've felt, so that is a huge plus. I'm honestly wondering if maybe I was a bit dehydrated, but that's who knows!! All I know now is that the more water I drink, the better I seem to feel.

The biggest struggle I've had lately has been the weight gain part. From the very beginning, I told Rusty that I was going to just not care about it. I'm a fairly healthy person - we exercise and eat pretty good, most of the time - so I wasn't at all worried about gaining too much. I honestly didn't think my eating habits would change that dramatically, and for the most part, they haven't.

In the beginning, roughly my first trimester, I had an aversion to sweets. They didn't gross me out, rather I just found that I never wanted them. Let me tell you - I love sweets and I do indulge a little every day. The fact that I never wanted to partake in these little indulgences was surprising to me, but I went with it. Have no fears, though!! After the first trimester, my normal sweet tooth came back. The world is right once again...

Much to my surprise, my appetite hasn't been so large that I just eat all the time. I heard stories about some women that did, so I just assumed it was part of it. The hardest part has been making myself eat, sometimes. I've often been told (by that voice in my own little head), "If you're not hungry, don't eat!!" Pregnancy is not the time nor place for that. It's hard to overcome that idea and eat on a regular schedule, regardless of if I'm hungry or not.

Other than the early sweet aversion and struggling with the whole eating when I'm not hungry thing, my appetite has remained relatively the same. I still eat everything I used to - I don't have any cravings, nor do I avoid any specific foods. All things considered, I'd say I'm doing pretty well on my weight gain. I'm on track to fall in the normal range, as I should. I'm also extremely fortunate in that most of my weight has been in my chest and belly. My gluteous is a little more maximus, and I can hear some distant rumbles of thunder in my thighs, but it is nothing like I feared it would be... yet... :) I just pray that I'm able to keep this up and keep the storms at bay.

As far as my post-baby weight attitude... I keep telling myself, "It's a process!!" It's taking me 9 months to put this weight on - I can't expect it to fall off overnight. (If only, right??) I'm telling my self that I need to plan on losing the weight at the same rate I gained it. (It's discouraging up front, but in the long run, I think it will really be beneficial for my "goals" to approach it with a slow come/slow go mentality.) Besides... how great will it feel if/when I lose the weight quicker than expected?? (Hey - just because my goals are lower, doesn't mean my dreams have to be!!!)

My next appointment is my last 4 week appointment... yikes!!! That means it is time for the glucose test and my RHogam shot (boooooo!!!!). Oh well...

Here I am at 22 weeks:


Here I am at 24 weeks:


TTFN!

Jazzercise, anyone??

The title seems highly inappropriate as I sit here eating ice cream straight out of the carton... eh, who cares? In case anyone cares, it's chocolate chip cookie dough, only the best there is.

I'm 22 weeks now, but quickly enough knocking on 23's door. Just last night Rusty asked me if I feel like it's going by quickly or slowly. My answer to him was neither. The first half seemed to be over before I knew it, but we had so much going on in that time frame - anniversary, holidays, etc. I never found myself thinking, "This is going by too quickly!" though. Even now, time is just sort of going.

I know Rylan will be here before we know it, but I think we will have a mix of, "It's going too quickly!" when it comes to taking care of pre-baby business and, "Oh my gosh, will this ever end?" when it comes to the last few miserable weeks and what I'm assuming will only be an everlasting labor. Oh well...

Over the past week or two, Rylan has started moving SO MUCH! I seriously feel like he's hosting an aerobics class in my uterus, at least 3 times a day. And MAN! When he gets going, he means business. I think with every move, I'm 10 times more excited than the last time I felt him move. It's nothing that can be described to someone who has never been pregnant. I'd have never imagined it was this... cool.

I'll admit though - my favorite part isn't feeling Rylan move internally. It's being able to feel him move from both the inside and out. I love putting my hand where ever he's kicking/aquirming and getting both perspectives. Feeling the movement from the outside makes me realize it's NOT my imagination and that this really is happening. Another favorite part has been watching others' reactions when they feel him move for their first time. It's fun to see how differently everyone reacts initially.

Just today, I had my first wave of "blues" hit me about being pregnant. Let me hedge the following statement by saying I really do enjoy being pregnant, and I cherish each day that I get to wake up and experience the miracle growing inside of me. There are little things I'm starting to miss about not being pregnant, though. Mostly, I miss being a little more active than I am right now. Pregnancy has definitely slowed me down, and that's just not something I expected, at least not to the magnitude it has affected me. (The devil on one shoulder is telling me to get over it and enjoy the "excuse" I have for the next 4 months...)

The "fun" events we've experienced lately include cleaning out bedrooms and closets, and registering. I'll let you guess which one was more fun! :) I will say that both are equally exhausting. We spent about 2 and a half hours at one store, going through every little thing... By the end, I thought Rusty was going to have to pick me up and carry me out, I was so whipped. (By the way... I sure hope once we start buying these things there is a hidden set of instructions somewhere on how and why to use the item. I'm so absolutely clueless.)

We do have kind of a funny story from registering... We were going down a "recommended" list provided to us upon setting up the registry. We did so good and studied lots of important things before actually going to the store. When we got to the store, we didn't bother with the list. Instead, we just walked from area to area making decisions on how we felt about any given item. We got towards the receiving blanket area, and registered for a couple of cute sets. Rusty asked what a receiving blanket is for, and why it's different from a regular blanket. [Insert blank stare here.] I said, "I don't know, you swaddle the kid and then he gets received." There was an employee standing near by and we started chatting with her about just random things. She asked if we were first time parents, to which we said, "Yes, is it that obvious?" She laughed, politely said no and told us that if we have any questions just to ask - she was once as clueless as we are now, and that's why she's there. So Rusty asked, "How many receiving blankets do we need?" (This question was a lot safer than, "What exactly is a receiving blanket?") She said, "Oh, probably 2 to 4." We both looked at her very straight-faced and Rusty went on to say, "So the 16 we just registered for is too many, then?" I said, "I guess we'll be editing THAT when we get home..." She looked at us hesitantly for a few seconds, laughed nervously and then just kept on with some other conversation. **Sigh** There really should be classes to teach you these things.

Anyway, enough rambling for now. Below are two pictures, for your entertainment. :)

This is at 19 weeks:



This is at 22 weeks:

20 weeks

It's crazy to think this bun in my oven only has 20 weeks left to bake! 20 weeks doesn't sound like that much, but I know it will fly by. Time always does, regardless of whether you want it to or not.

The past week has been super fun and exciting - Rusty got to feel Rylan kick for the first time, which he loved. It was fun for me to feel Rylan move and watch Rusty's facial expressions. I was laying on the couch with my legs across his lap, and we happened to be watching TV so his attention was turned away from me. His hand, though, was in prime position to feel a kick. When I felt the kick, I looked at Rusty's face and just saw his mouth kind of drop and his eyes cut in my general direction. Those were the only moves he made until little man kicked again then Rusty turned to me asking if that was him. He was so excited to feel him, and I was so happy that he was finally able to.

Well we had our big 20 week sonogram this morning... and it's still a boy. Might I add that he seemed very proud of his "manhood" as he wasn't afraid to show it. Oh dear. Other than that, everything looked wonderful. (Thanks for all of your prayers!!) In one of our pictures, his little hand was up on his chin and in the next both hands were up right over his chest. Can you hear my heart melting?? We also got to hear his heart beat, which was fantastic.

One of the neat things from the sonogram (aside from all of the good news) was I got to figure out how he is situated in my belly - or at least how he was as of this morning. Every morning I can feel this really hard spot just to the left and under my belly button. Turns out to be Rylan's little bum. His feet are down closer to my right hip and his little head is up towards the top of my stomach, just below my ribcage. It's fun to at least sort of know where everything is.

One thing that I was NOT aware of, until yesterday when I got my reminder phone call, was that I had to drink 24 ounces of water 30 minutes prior to my appointment. Umm - they do realize I'm pregnant right? I run to the bathroom nearly every hour for what seems like 2 ounces of liquid to dribble out... I swear - you'd expect for me to have the world's longest bathroom breaks, for as bad as I feel like I always need to go. Anyway, so this morning was torture having to not pee until permission was granted. She's lucky I didn't go right there on the examination bed while she was pushing the thingy all around my stomach looking at Rylan.

According to my weekly emails and the book I'm currently reading, he should be about 10 inches long, head to heel (roughly the length of a banana). The books also say that he should be about 10-11 ounces, but my sonographer this morning measured him a little bit larger, at about 12 ounces. She also said based on the measurements, she shows me to be with in 24 hours of my original due date of May 30th. I already have a few people thinking I'll come early. I guess only time will tell.

Everything seems to be going fine. I need to drink more water, but that's about it. I can handle that. I need to be doing it anyway. One thing that is on the horizon... a shot. BOOOO!!! I don't like shots. I'm alright with all of the blood draws that they do now - I've learned to accept those and know what to expect. Shots, though. Not so much. At 28 weeks, I have to get a RHogam (I think that is how it's spelled...) shot since I'm a "negative" blood type. From the sounds of it, that day will just be filled with fun, as that's the day I get to do my glucose testing as well. Oh well... At least it's still 8 weeks away. As I sit here and count the weeks, I realize that is right around my birthday. Happy birthday to me.

Anyway, no new picture this week. (Actually, I'm doing this at work during lunch, so I don't have access to anything.) I'll be sure to post a couple next week though!

TTFN!

Tomato, Tomato

First of all, I'd like to apologize to anyone who has been checking in only to find nothing. We were without internet at home for almost at week, and it's too difficult to concentrate and write from work...

Second of all, Happy New Year to everyone! But more on that later...

I'm right about 19 weeks along now. HOLY COW! To think that next week is the unoffical half way point. (I say unofficial because so many things can happen between now and then. We could have an early arrival, or a stubborn little booger that decides to make my tummy his cozy home for longer than necessary.)

This week I learned that I have something about the size of an heirloom tomato growing within. He's about 6 inches from head to bottom, and weighs around 8 to 9 ounces. (I'll tell you when I read how much they approximately weigh, it sure dampens the day for how much I've gained. I know, I know, it's all part of it, and so much of it is for his protection and nutrition and all. But still...)

I still feel great. I'm starting to slow down a little bit, and I find it harder to bend down and do things like put on shoes and socks, or pick something up. I still manage for now though. I joke with Rusty about when will be the last time I'm able to tie my own shoes. He recommended I buy some slip ons for when I can't reach anymore. So sweet. :) Maybe it will be warm enough for flip flops by then.

We go back to the doctor next Tuesday for our big 20 week appointment. I'm excited, albeit a little anxious, about the sonogram. This is the one where they check that all of the vital organs are accounted for, functioning properly and healthy. I'm sure everything will be just fine, but I feel like we should always be prepared for something to not be okay. (Keep us in your prayers in the mean time.)

The weeks sure seem to be going by faster now. Maybe it was just the hustle and bustle of the holidays, but it seems like we were just in for our 16 week appointment like a week ago. I'm sure this second half will go by faster than the first, as we're really starting to plan and make things happen, like the nursery. We've picked out our furniture, and we know our colors and theme now. Lucky Rusty gets to start painting sometime soon. He's SOO thrilled. Little by little, things are falling into place.

That's about it for now... We'll be sure to post an update after next week's appointment. Below are a couple of pictures of my progress over the last 3 weeks. The first is my picture from when I was 16 weeks. The latter is my picture from 19 weeks. I can tell a difference... can you??

Hamburger or Hot Dog???

A few weeks ago when Rusty and I heard that we might find out boy or girl at our 12 week screening, I got some good advice from a dear friend... He said, "Remember, if you see a hamburger on the screen, you know it's a girl." Thanks Jeremy. You're a STAR.

This morning when we went to the appointment, I had this overwhelming feeling that we were NOT going to find out. I was sad, but, I could deal with it. There are worse things in the world. After the nurse called us back, and I got weighed (yay.), she walked us to our room. Unfortunately, she kept walking right past the big room that has the ultrasound machine thingy it it. This was clue #2. (Clue #1 was my gut feeling.)

Rusty and I sat in there and waited for the doctor to come in. She came in and we chatted about all the fun stuff... she finally asked us, "Well would you like me to take a peek to maybe tell boy or girl?" I don't think I could have said yes any faster than I did. I might have even scared her a little. Oh well... so we got the ultrasound machine rolled in to our room and she got us all taken care of. The first 5 minutes were spent by her telling us what a little stinker we're going to have because the baby would not be still for ANYTHING. (Refer back to previous postings about why we couldn't tell boy or girl at our 12 week appointment...)

I started laughing because I thought about what Jeremy had told us, and I told the doc. I said, "I had a friend tell us - you want to look for the hamburger or the hot dog... that will tell you all you need to know." She laughed, and quickly agreed how TRUE that is.

After some prodding, a little shaking and head twisting, we finally got a glimpse of it... we're having a hot dog... I mean a boy!!! We got some great "proof" and have a little picture of what is either a little weenie or a 3rd foot. Once we saw it, I heard this little "Yes!" come from the corner of the room where Rusty sat. I turned to see him pumping his fist in the air. Awww, he's so cute...

As we were leaving, our quote of the day rolled off the lips of my sweet husband. He said, "I never thought I'd be so excited to see a weenie!"

Anyway, we are so thrilled to be having a boy! I guess we'll be closing the polls early, for all you cheaters out there. Haha, just kidding.

TTFN!

What's Your Opinion??

I added a poll for all of you that might be interested in contributing... Do you think Baby Covey will be a boy or a girl??

My gut instinct all along is that we're having a boy, but I've been dreaming that we will have a girl, so who knows. I guess one of them has to be right!!! :)

We'd love to know what you all think!

TTFN!

The First 16 Weeks

I'll apologize now for the length of this entry... I have 16 weeks worth of information to catch up on. :)

Before we jump right in to Week 16, let's back up a little bit. I've been SOOO LUCKY in that I've had such an easy pregnancy so far. I had no nausea or sickness what so ever. WHEW! The worst part has been the exhaustion. There are some days that I get home from work, or after a long day of chores on the weekend, that I can barely function. To make the exhaustion worse, I have to get up and pee like a million times a night. (I guess this actually lends to me being tired in the mornings...)

After the infamous "pee on a stick" (like 3 times... I won't lie), we had to decide who to tell, and how to tell them. We decided to only tell the immediate family until we got the results of the first sonogram at 8 weeks. Our way wasn't overly creative, but it worked out for us. With each of our parents and Rusty's sister, we had them pose for a picture, and as we were preparing to snap away, we told them, so we could capture their first reaction on camera. It worked out, kind of. I think everyone was so shocked, and because of it, their reactions were extremely delayed in coming out. No doubt what we captured was great, though.

Our first sonogram was at 8 weeks. It was really neat to see, but weird at the same time. At this appointment we got to see our little bean for the first time, complete with heart beat. We were given a due date of May 30th based on the measurement of the little bean. Our doctor told us a few things to expect and so on.

At 12 weeks we went in for a genetic screening appointment. We got another sonogram. Going in to it, we were told the doctor would likely be able to make an accurate prediction of boy or girl. (This excited us, obviously.) The sonogram was so neat because we could actually see a baby... a head, a body, 2 arms and 2 legs. While we were in there, the baby was moving so much - it was so cool to see! One of the sonogram pictures actually captured the baby kicking it's legs up and it's arms extended. Because the baby was moving so much, the doctor couldn't get an accurate "read" of anything in the private regions... BOOO!

Immediately following the genetic screening, I had an appointment with my regular OB/GYN. (She's the best by the way... her name is Leslie...) She asked if the doctor was able to see anything, and we told her no. She told us we weren't scheduled for another sonogram until 20 weeks, but that if she wasn't busy when we came in at 16 weeks, she'd do a quick sonogram to see if we could tell anything. We're trying not to get our hopes up, but we really want to sneak a peek this week. :)

This brings us to current day. I've (approximately) entered my 16th week... that's 40% of my pregnancy. It's crazy to think I'm nearly half way through, but anyway... I get an email every week letting me know what's new, what's going on, what to expect, etc. This week, the email informed us that our little baby is about the size of an avocado. I was also informed that over the next few weeks the baby should nearly double in size, and that I could possibly start feeling the baby move...

We go to the doctor this coming Wednesday. As previously mentioned, if our doctor isn't busy, she might do a quick sonogram to find the sex of the baby. I don't want to wait 4 more weeks, but I guess we may have no choice. We're mostly ready to start doing some planning, finally. We are ready to start working on the nursery, but obviously need to know boy or girl...

We do have names picked out, for all those that are curious. If it's a girl, she'll be Caylee Marie. If it's a boy, he'll be Rylan Ray. As far as the first names, we've had them for longer than we've thought about having a baby.

When the time comes, hopefully naturally at the end of May :), we'll be delivering at Frisco Baylor. (Assuming everything goes according to plan, that is.) I've heard nothing but wonderful things about this hospital, and am so excited that we'll be delivering there.

We'll be sure to keep the updates coming, as we get new information. Also, below are a few pictures of my "progress" through these first 16 weeks. (One of the other OK things is I'm not gaining too much weight too quickly. I've only gained about 5 pounds, thus far. I'm pretty sure most of that is in my chest, but based on the pics, you can see some other growth, too.)

Here I am at 4 weeks:


Here I am at 8 weeks:


Here I am at 16 weeks: