The First Few Months

6 Weeks

I was not very good about keeping a journal of my first pregnancy with Lincoln, so I've made it a goal to journal about our newest little nugget!

Everything about this baby is a surprise. Just conception alone was a shock! We were set to take fertility meds, so there was virtually no stress involved with getting pregnant. And I think that was part of the perfect potion!

So far this pregnancy has been so, so different from the last 3. At first I didn't feel pregnant at all. I was tired and woke up starving, but I just wrote that off as exhaustion from watching children all day. I had started insulin meds again, so I wrote off the hunger as my body just regulating my levels.

Other than that, I don't feel pregnant at all! My other pregnancies I either had tons of symptoms or none. My chemical had every symptom imaginable, yet Baby March hid until I was 8 weeks and took a test on a whim! It really is so crazy how much each little bean can vary!

This pregnancy has definitely brought on some major bloating. I'm already getting questions! Yikes.

It's so fun to compare pictures from just a week apart. My original due date got pushed back 4 days, so my new week is Saturdays now. Hopefully I can keep up and remember to take a picture each week!

Our first ultrasound wasn't much to report. While things still looked good, I left feeling uneasy. Because I was measuring smaller, there was just a big gray blob. Not the normal blobby blob, but a really boring blob. My doctor said nothing looked concerning, but I was left unsatisfied. 

Even though I was only 4 days behind schedule, those were important days. You can just barely make out the yolk sac in this first ultrasound.

My second ultrasound a week later was a little more promising. I cried when I heard the heart beat. There's nothing like it. I was just happy to SEE something. Anything. I was still measuring on time, so that made me feel umpteen times better than the previous week at my first scan.

So far so good! I'm still very nervous about this entire thing, naturally. I've had beautiful scans at almost 8 weeks and sad ones at 12 weeks. I'm not sure I'll feel good about this pregnancy until I hold this little bub in my arms. If it doesn't work out, at least we got to see part of their life inside of me.

Just the thought of having LIFE inside of me seems so surreal. And I've done this a few times before! This growing child is thriving because of my body that God gave me. It is truly a miracle that we can do this! Make this!

I love every second of this pregnancy. I am so grateful for the time that we've had with them. I'm hopeful, but still hesitant. My guard is still very high, naturally so. I am going to enjoy as much of it as I can, nausea included! I'm one of the lucky ones that gets to carry life, no matter how long they're with us. That alone is a blessing.

I can't wait to look back and read this with my child and show them just how loved they were from the second we knew they existed. We have so much hope and excitement for you, little one.

Jenny and Baby October 

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8 Weeks

Nausea. Man. I only had a few bouts of nausea with Lincoln. This new baby bean is already giving me a run for my money. I am having more "evening sickness" than anything, although I still wake up nauseated sometimes.

I've never had food aversions or a crazy sensitive nose with previous pregnancies, but this babe is very different. Just seeing recipe videos on Facebook sends me over the edge. I'm constantly bleaching my kitchen but I can't get rid of whatever it is that is driving me crazy! I'm about to throw out my trash can because it is so repulsive. My nose is so dang dramatic this time!

I'm not sure if it's exhaustion induced nausea, but I just don't feel awesome. Going from no symptoms to every symptom suddenly is...rough.

I'm feeling more pressure everywhere, tenderness, bloat, and all the glamorous pregnancy perks. I was asked how many months I was at 6 weeks! And now at 8 weeks people are already rubbing my stomach and asking if I have news. We decided not to announce anything on social media until we felt comfortable. And we're still not exactly sure when that will be! But hiding it from people we interact with every day is getting harder and harder.

We have another scan in about 2 weeks. I'm looking forward to seeing that gray blob again! And the little flickering heartbeat. It's so exciting to get farther along. Every day gives us a little more hope. EVERYTHING about this pregnancy has been different so far, so we're grateful for that. We'll have blood pulled and find out gender just a few days after! I am still in awe at science and technology!

❤ Jenny and Baby October

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10 Weeks

Time is absolutely flying by! At 9 weeks I was potentially a fourth of the way done (if baby comes at 36 weeks like Lincoln!). I cannot believe we're already 10 weeks!

On Monday I go in for another ultrasound with my Fertility Specialist. At that point, as long as everything looks good, they'll let me fly free to my original OB that delivered Lincoln. I originally left that office because of issues that I had with them and my first miscarriage, but I am excited to go back to a place I know, nurses and a doctor I like, and it's much closer than the specialists!

My nausea comes and goes. Some days I don't feel pregnant at all, just tired. Other days I am knocked over with exhaustion and nausea. I can't really seem to find a pattern, but I'm happy to have the upright days! I'm still watching quite a few children daily, so I'm sure that adds to the exhaustion. They're all really, really good and easy babies, so that's always nice. It's just making my constant rounds to make sure everyone is changed, fed, and naps. Some days I feel like I'm running in circles getting everyone everything they need! But I love it.

My bloat is quite ridiculous with this little peanut! I'm already getting eyed at the stores! I get confused at first, but then I look down and remember that there ain't no hiding that bad boy!

Most days I just feel FAT! But, I'm excited for the true belly to show up.

I've actually gotten a few "How many months are you?" and "Do you have news?" with an accompanied belly rub! Yikes! We're still in the scary timing, so I'm not exactly hiding it, but I'm not exactly flaunting it. But I will only be able to hide this bad boy for so long!

On Monday we had bloodwork pulled to test for GENDER! So crazy. They say it takes about 14 business days. So three weeks or so. It's so soon but also seems like an eternity!

We got to see Baby Bean! Everyone is guessing girl. My gut tells me boy, but science tells me girl! This is based on timing of conception (without going into too many details! 😜), higher heartbeat, etc. All of my friends and family that know are guessing girl, but I'm not setting my heart on either one.

Doc said she could have seen if it was a boy, but the umbilical cord was between the legs. What bad luck! We'll find out soon enough, though!

I have another ultrasound at 11 weeks, so I'm excited to see baby again!

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11 Weeks

We were spoiled and got FOUR ultrasounds in my first trimester with baby. I'm not exactly high risk, but need close monitoring because of my history of losses.

Baby is perfect. Strong heart beat and measuring right on time. I'm still nervous most days and cannot believe this is real. My OBGYN was so excited to see me again. When I told her the short version of the story, she was so excited. She couldn't believe I didn't need fertility meds and did it on my own. High five ovaries! Good work.

I've been such an emotional blob. Over everything. Sometimes I get a wave of "THIS IS REAL! THIS IS REAL!" and cry because...this is happening! I'm still in shock even though I'm about a third of the way through this pregnancy already! MADNESS!

I'm also crying hysterically over Facebook videos. You know the ones where people save owls and pelicans from fishing lines? Or videos of military surprising their children and dogs? I am a wreck and should know better than to watch them! Commercials have me crying. And songs! Don't even get me started. Garth Brooks speaks to this girl's heart.

I'm still over the moon about all of this. Not only that I got pregnant on my own, but that everything is going well! I'm not out of the woods yet, but I'm getting less and less nervous and more hopeful with each passing day.

I'm slowly having to tell people I'm expecting. I can't deny this belly! Even when I try to hide with with clothes!

Can't wait to snuggle this baby!

Baby waving!

❤ Jenny and Baby

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12 Weeks

Time is FLYING by! I can't believe I'm already almost in my second trimester! So crazy how quickly it's going.

The first few days seemed to drag on for some reason. I think it was mostly fear. I was still in shock over this surprise pregnancy, so I was just waiting for it to end. I couldn't let myself connect. And then a week or so passed. And then we had an ultrasound and I felt a little bit better, but not great. And then another ultrasound looked a little more promising. It was only then that I felt I could somewhat connect to baby. But I was still very, very guarded.

Now that we know we're having a girl, there's no way I can't connect! Poor girl already has an exploding wardrobe! I went to the thrift store the day we found out she was a girl and got 75 pieces for dirt cheap! I'm talkin' church dresses and cute outfits in great condition for less than a dollar! BOOM!

I also found a few cheap stores online and went a little crazy. But beautiful church dresses brand new or $3.99 is hard to pass up! I think Thomas is going to have to give up his office and our extra bedroom just to be able to house Baby Girl's clothes! I'm only MOSTLY kidding. Hahahaha.

I'm trying to get too ahead of myself, but girl clothes are so tempting! Luckily I can fund this bad habit right now! Watching kids at home has given me a little bit of play money. I always joked I'd go broke when we had a girl!

I've slowed down for now. I always planned on putting our girl in dinosaur outfits and Buzz Lightyear shirts, so I'm sure we have more than enough of all of that! :)


To see more pictures: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10208629834279581.1073741850.1121730168&type=1&l=74c007cfec

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