20 weeks...

Well, we went for our big 20 week appointment today where they do a very detailed ultrasound!  They checked all her major organs....brain, heart, kidneys, stomach, bladder and her skeletal system etc.  Everything looks just perfect!  She is actually measuring 21 weeks and 2 days!  So she's measuring a little bigger!.....which is a good sign that her growth is progressing just fine with the baby Aspirin!  The placenta has moved up and back....which is great too!  It was covering my cervix for a while......which can often mean a c-section is required.  Now, it has significantly moved!  Her little heart rate was 141 beats per minute.  Our technician kept commenting on how strong and healthy her little heart looked.  She was wigglin' all around......but she mostly keeps her little legs curled up on my right side and her head is far down on the left.  

She weighs 13 oz and is about 7 inches long.  She is about the size of a large banana!  

I've been definitely feeling lots better over the past week...gaining more energy and stamina!  I've been brainstorming ideas about her little nursery.  Jeremy's parents are giving us her crib and my parents are giving us all her nursery bedding/fabric.  Her little crib is coming in this week!  So, I've been busy cleaning out our extra bedroom and reorganizing all our closets.   My neighbor is going to make her bedding...so I get to pick out all her bedding fabric. =)  I've narrowed it down to my favorites....now I just have to finalize my decision!  Jeremy and his mamma are going to paint the nursery......they have some very cute ideas to make it just perfect!

We are looking forward to Thanksgiving and spending time with the Lloyd family...and I'm super excited about being able to enjoy a good Thanksgiving meal......my nausea has started to go away just in time for the holiday food! 

Above:  Our little girl's profile...look at her cute little nose and little bitty lips =)

Below:  Look at her first footprint.....I still think she's gonna have her daddy's feet w/long little toes!

Growin' Baby Bump...

My little baby bump is growing!!!  Even though most people say that I still don't even look pregnant...I can definitely tell that my tummy is much bigger! =)  Here's my picture at 19 weeks...

Overall, I'm beginning to feel a little better every day.  I have lengthened my morning walks to 1 hour......and I look forward to it each day!  It's become such a sweet time for me to spend praying for my little girl!  I've definitely been able to venture out a little more through out the day too!  I just have to make sure that I always have my peanut butter crackers with me.....it is not a good situation if my tummy gets empty!!  I'm still carrying around my little wal-mart bag....otherwise know as my "throw-up bag" just in case I get sick......but I haven't had to use it in a few weeks!! YAY!  We will go to the doctor next week for my big 20 week ultrasound!  We are praying that everything is continuing to grow and develop into a healthy pregnancy!  

I can still wear a lot of my normal clothes......but a few of my friends have loaned me their maternity clothes - so I'm starting to wear them too!  From what I've gathered.....I bet that I will really begin to look pregnant in the next few weeks! =)  We shall see........

Oh, and she's been wigglin' around more and more!  She usually moves most right after I eat or drink.  Jer hasn't been able to feel her quite yet....but I bet it will be any day now.  I think around 20 weeks he's going to start singing her a little lullaby to sleep each night with his guitar.  He's been looking forward to it for a long while now. =)

Each time I feel her wigglin' around and moving........I thank the Lord for this precious life and healthy pregnancy........we have so very much to be thankful for!

Birthday & Ironman...

I can't believe I'm 28!!! AH!  I'm getting so old! =)  I had such a perfect birthday this year.  Pretty much all day I was teary as I was reminded of all the blessings I have to be thankful for this year.  I had so many of my dear friends who live in various parts of the country calling to wish me a happy birthday.....which always makes my birthday extra special!  As far as the pregnancy...I'm starting to feel a little better each day so that always makes a day so much better......especially when I get to feel our little girl wiggling around inside. =)  We drove over to Panama City Beach on my birthday evening to spend time with my family and Jer's family for the weekend.  My dad was participating in his first Ironman and my two sisters and their husbands drove down for the long weekend!  It made for a very special birthday celebration!  My sisters gave me cute little girl outfits and some fun little baby things.....along with some cute things for me too!  My mamma gave me my first pair of maternity jeans.....very cute for maternity!! =)  Mamma Lloyd gave me a sweet little girl outfit with a precious little matching white sweater!  It sure gets me so excited!!  Here are a few pics from the weekend...

Me, Brit and Linz on the porch of our beach condo.....

Jer pointing out my growing little baby bump...

All of us together right before Daddy headed to the gulf for his 2.4 mile swim...Linz made us all shirts to wear......sisters wore "Go Daddy Go"....mamma wore "Go Hubby Go" and husbands wore "Go Pappa Boyd Go"....the bottom of the shirts said "Champion Family" (because when I was a little girl and my daddy did really well in a race...I said, "Dad, we are the champion family!"....so it's stayed with us!!) the back of the shirts had the verse from Hebrews 12...."Let us run the race with perseverance.....let us fix our eyes on Jesus."

We were anxiously awaiting dad's finish.......2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run makes for a LONG day!!! =)

GO DADDY GO!!!  He did amazing!  After 11 hours of racing....he even finished with a strong sprint!!!  We were all so proud of him......even my baby girl was wigglin' around all day for him as she cheered him on! =)

18 1/2 weeks...

Well, we had our appointment yesterday and everything went just perfect!!  I got a little nervous when we first went into the office because the ultrasound machine was not in our little room like it always has been.  My doctor reassured me that everything is fine.......but they were just going to listen to the heartbeat today.  I've been spoiled being able to see our sweet little girl every week.....or every other week on the ultrasound screen.  Most people only see their baby a couple times the entire pregnancy!!  Our sweet girl's heartbeat was 151.....but she must not like having her heart rate checked because she tried to move away from it!  Then, her little heart rate would get higher! =)  I will go back in about 2 weeks for my big 20 week detailed ultrasound.

I won't see my high risk doctor again until right before Christmas!  Seems like forever away....but from what the doctors say it's all good signs that they are spreading our appointments out!  They will just continue me on baby aspirin each day......unless they see some sort of growth restriction during an ultrasound exam.

Another bit of exciting news is that I can feel her moving!!!!  Just little bitty tiny twitches in my tummy!  When we went to the high risk doctor, my nurse asked me if I'd felt any movement....and I hadn't at that point.  Over the next week or so, I tried really hard to be still and I tried to be very observant.  I noticed little twitches in my tummy....kinda like when your eye twitches.  I wasn't sure if that was really our baby girl until it continued for several days.  I usually only feel her in the morning when I eat breakfast and may once or twice throughout the day.  I just love it!!  Jeremy can't wait for the day that he can put his hand on my tummy and feel her kickin'!  He tries to feel her each day......but no luck yet!  He's so funny...last night he asked me when she can start hearing.  I haven't found the answer yet......

He wants to start playing her a lullaby with his guitar every night. =)

Well......such a fun birthday it has been today!  I sure have so much to be thankful for......not only a celebration of my life today.....but of this precious miracle growing inside of me.  Seems like every time I pray for this little baby......I just start crying....so overwhelmed with thanksgiving and love.  I never imagined that I could love someone so much.......and I haven't even held her yet. =)

God is so good and I praise Him for his faithfulness to us.  It brings me such peace each day just knowing that no matter what's ahead.....He holds me and this sweet baby girl in His hands so perfectly.

Her first little outfit...

Well, after we found out that our baby was a girl....I just had to buy her a pink little outfit! 

And who else would be up for a quick shopping trip to Target than.....my friend Christi!  

Let me pause here to share the cutest little story......

So, my dear friend Christi and I have walked through our miscarriages together over the past year and a half.  It's truly amazing how the Lord blesses us with friendships during our life that are truly a special gift from Him.  We've been through a lot together....cried with eachother, prayed with eachother and shared in the most exciting of joys together!

Well, Christi was blessed with a healthy, beautiful baby girl in September...Charleigh.  So, when I called Christi to share with her the news that we were having a little girl.....she started telling Charleigh...."you're gonna have a new bestie!"......then Christi said that Charleigh smiled so big her little gums were showing!! =)  So precious!

Ok...so back to shopping for our little girl.....so, I browsed through Target quickly 'cause I was on my way to a Halloween costume party and found some cute little onesies and some precious socks to match!  

Later that night, I placed the little socks on Jeremy's pillow so he would see them as he crawled into bed...... 

So, these little purchases will always be remembered as the first little gifts for our baby girl!

Oh, so many fun shopping trips and cute little outfits in the future.......and I can't wait!!! =)

17 weeks & 4 days...

It's a............sweet, precious, beautiful little GIRL!!!  As we drove to our appointment, we both just prayed the whole way that we would be able to see a growing healthy little baby!  We truly did not care if it was a cute little boy or a sweet little girl......having either gets us both very excited!

We both had so much anticipation as we sat in the waiting room at our high risk doctor.  I think I was so excited to see our baby and to find out if it was a boy or girl that it made my blood pressure go super high!  The nurse had to take it twice because the first time it was 150/90!  Of course the second time it was less........amazing what nerves and excitement can do to your body!  [A few days later my nurse at my other OB office took my blood pressure and it was 110/60!  =)]

So, they took us back to the ultrasound room....we always tell our tech that the first thing we want to know is that there's a strong heartbeat!  As long as we know there's a heartbeat, we can rest easy.  As soon as the screen came on, we saw the little heart just a beating and the baby moving all around!  I think this was the most active that our little one has been during an ultrasound!  Soon after the nurse checked the heart rate (which was 153)......she told us that we were having a little girl! Jeremy and I were so happy.......excited about our new little girl.....but mostly excited that we've finally made it far enough in a pregnancy to find out the sex of our baby!!  Such a milestone for us!  She continued on with the ultrasound.....which lasted for almost an hour!  Our baby was the size of our hand open wide.  It was a little over 5 inches long and weighed about 4 oz!  She showed us the litte stomach and explained to us that it was dark because it was full of fluid.  She showed us the kidneys and the bladder and explained to us that our little girl was already processing the fluid using her kidneys and bladder!  She showed us the 2 parts of the brain and the 4 chambers of the heart.  She studied the heart and the various chambers for a while looking for any abnormality at this point.  She measured the spinal fluid and all the other important fluids......which all measured normal!  Our high risk doctor was very positive about the growth of our little one!  He said that he is very pleased with my health and the baby's health at this point in the pregnancy.  At this point, he sees no reason for me to start Heparin injections (blood thinners) - but he just wants me to continue taking my baby Aspirin every day!  It was difficult to get a full picture of our little girl because she was squirming around all over!  Here are a couple of the best ones from this appointment....

Above:  A full body shot of our little girl!  You can see her head was down during this picture.

Below:  Here is her right little leg and foot!  Check out the little muscles on her leg!  Makes me think we may have a little runner coming very soon!!! =)