15 Weeks!

 
Matt and I are so shocked and thrilled that we are already 15 weeks today! Here is a pic of the belly - I know, I know...it's getting pretty big and I'm ONLY 15 weeks! People tell me that all the time. Then some sweet, but totally dishonest people say "You aren't even showing at all!" I can already tell this baby is going to be HUGE, just like his Dad (you can tell what I think I'm having)! Matt was over 9 lbs and his mother is just about as small as I am! His brother was also a HUGE baby, so apparently mother nature thinks its cool for tiny, small women to marry into the Devereaux family and have HUGE, ginormous Devereaux babies!

I feel great, though, and cannot wait until our next appointment on December 30. Then, we go in 2 weeks later on January 14 for an ultrasound to find out if we should think pink or feel blue!! Until next time!

13 Weeks, 1 Day and We're Moving!

So we've officially made it to the 2nd trimester...well, I think officially...everyone keeps saying different things. Either I'm in my last week of the first trimester or I've got until 14 weeks until I'm in the second trimester...it's all very confusing. I just go by the week number. 12 weeks equals 3 months, which represents a trimester to us! You know, we make our own rules!

So everything is great with the baby. We went to help MC and David on their home improvement project this past Sunday and I got to play with Millie ALL day. She is my favorite person. MC told her about the lil bebe and she asked Millie "What does Ro Ro (my aunt/godmother name) have in her belly??" and Millie says "baaaby" with a sheepish grin. I almost cried right then and there. She probably does not fully understand yet, but I can't wait to have a big old belly so she can see her new cousin! I asked her where the baby was and pointed to different places on my body and I think I confused her because now she say "is no baby on your shoulder??" very inquisitively. Way to go, Ro Ro!

In other news, we are moving! We have grown out of this precious condo and our lease didn't run out until the month the baby is due, so we have found a fabulous house 2 blocks from the lake in Old Mandeville - we are 100% thrilled to be there! We move on January 15. MC, David - you can expect to arrive at our condo on Friday evening to join our caravanning to our new place to help us move:) Here is our new house!

 

We Inherited a Baby Bjorn

 

Mary Catherine and David gave us their Baby Bjorn - Gus likes it!

12 Weeks, 3 Days - And a Wide Load!!

At 12 weeks, 3 days, we had such a fabulous visit at the doctor today - we got to hear Lil Bow Wow's heartbeat for the first time!!! It was amazing! The nurse walked in, explained what she was going to do with her hand held doppler thing (Matt said it looked like a Tyco toy), and said "Do not freak out if you can't hear the heart beat right away. Sometimes it takes a while for us to find it. It doesn't mean-" and right when the doppler coldly touched my belly, we immediately heard the swish, swish, swish of his or her tiny heartbeat!!! Of course, I laughed and cried at the same time, which was awkward - but Matt's expression was priceless. It was a combination of elation and sheer terror. It was the first time we'd ever heard our baby do anything! Just that morning I was saying that I didn't feel pregnant...I didn't have a big belly yet, I couldn't feel the baby move and I didn't really have any symptoms. Well hearing the heartbeat made all the difference in the world! I sure do feel pregnant now! The sporadic dizzy spells help out with that, too. But I can't complain - if this is the only annoyance I have, I'll have 40 kids if I can!

Now, I'd like to share what a sweet older lady at the Kelly's Kids home office told me - she says "I think you are definitely having a boy because I noticed your behind is getting wider"...wow. I'm not 100% convinced that is the baby. It's more likely the Buffalo Ranch Doritos and popcorn I ate in the car on the way home from Natchez yesterday...or it could be the Huddle House I had for lunch today. She is a really sweet lady...!

We have another appointment in 4 weeks (December 30) with my doctor, just another check up. Then we go back 2 weeks later on January 14 to find out if the little lady from work was right about having a boy! What do YOU think we're having!?! Can't wait to hear your predictions!!!

11 Weeks, 1 Day and the Holidays!!!

Well, I am officially in the last week of my first trimester and feel absolutely fabulous! I'm still not showing to the normal public, but I can definitely tell! I've learned that this week, the baby is over 2 inches long and his/her body has begun to straighten out. Lil Bow Wow is also growing hair follicles and nail beds this week, and next week he/she will have nails! Hopefully it won't inherit it's father and mother's bad habit of nail biting! However, the prenatal vitamins have really given my nails a push - they actually look normal in length now! This week, el bebe can also turn, flip and do somersaults even though they say I won't be able to feel them for a few more weeks.

I'm not sure if its nesting or not, but I had an urge to decorate for Christmas and all but my Christmas tree has been up for a week now! I just couldn't help myself:) I love decorating for the holidays! On task for tonight is making my yummy pumpkin soup with cranberry/apple relish. Matt and I will be toting this with us to Jackson Thanksgiving tomorrow. We can't wait to see the Shull side of the family for Thanksgiving! We hope you and yours have a wonderful Thanksgiving week! Cheers!

Almost 10 Weeks!!!

The latest crisis is solved - my ultrasound nurse saved the pics of my last visit and I brought her a new disc to copy the images to, thank God. And they work this time, thank God even more! So I've been feeling great these last few days. My appetite has been the same...HUGE. I've been sleeping pretty restlessly but other than that, I can't find much to complain about! I won't say I've got a bump, per say, but I definitely do not have that a flat tummy...and there is no 'sucking it in' at this point. I have to let my SPANX do that for me from now on. To make myself feel better, I tell myself it's the babe! But I'm not supposed to show for a while - well not to the normal person, anyway.

Matt's been so great lately - his goal right now is the P90X challenge. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's basically boot camp-style exercise program you do for 90 days straight! Matt's totally dedicated and while I can't excercise yet, I sit and eat on the couch watching Matt work his little butt off. I'm sure it's really motivating him! Well, I press pause and play on the DVD when he needs a break! I'm not totally worthless!

My next appointment is not until December, so until then, we'll just be counting down the days until we get to see lil Bow Wow next! Hope you all are well!

8 Weeks 3 Days and a New Due Date!!

Hi All! What a day!!! We had our 8 week ultrasound this morning and were told that our official due date (that will not change from here on out) will be June 14!! That makes me 8 weeks 3 days today, 2 days farther along than we thought! The baby's heartbeat was 163 bpm, which the nurse said was perfect! I got to look at the baby as long as I wanted today. The ultrasound tech was wonderful - said that we couldn't see the baby's arms or legs at this point, but that his/her size looked very good - about half an inch long! We were just thrilled beyond words. I saw that tiny heart beating again and was speechless.

I'm on pelvic rest until 10 weeks just to make sure the little bean is growing properly, which is only 11 days away. I think I can make it! Other than that, we go back on Dec 3 for our 12 week appt and I'll be 12 weeks 3 days then. I won't have another ultrasound until 20 weeks, but the images the ultrasound tech put on a disc for us today are not working! I think the CD was corrupt - I may beg for another appointment and see what she says! The print outs are great, but what if something happens to them!? Cross your fingers!

7 Weeks and 2 Days!!

Wow, guys...I feel awful. I mean AWFUL. I am 7 weeks and 2 days today and for the past 3 days I've had the worst lower back aches and nausea/dizzy spells. I hate to complain, because I know all of this is totally worth it, but I got hit with the pregnancy stick REAL fast. Last week I was all "I'm fabulous - not sick at all! How lucky! blah blah blah" and this week, I think Mother Nature has it in for me. Today I worked in bed...literally. I felt so bad I couldn't even sit at my desk so I moved all my gear to the guest bed in my office and have been propped up completing as much work as I possibly can. It ain't easy. Man, do I feel sick...but at least there is a baby in there!


On the other hand, I am excited to have our next ultrasound in 6 days! I'm also hoping to be off pelvic rest (whatever that means) by then so I can get back to exercising. I miss Pilates! I think that will definitely make me feel better. In other news, the babe is growing up a storm this week. He/she is half an inch long and is growing lips, eyelids, and a tongue this week! It is also starting to move spontaneously through the arms/legs/trunk, though I won't be able to feel it yet. Last week's blood work showed that my hCG levels are rising and multiplying every day as they should, which means the pregnancy is on track and developing nicely! I dont' have to worry about last Tuesday's episode so we've put it behind us! Here's hoping for a relaxing weekend and a quick week next week so we can see baby Devereaux soon!! More to come soon!

Tuesday Scare!

Make that 5 weeks and 6 days pregnant...oops! I called the doctor this morning after a few days of spotting worried that something terrible was happening like a miscarriage. They saw me today, did an exam, bloodwork and rushed an ultrasound where come to find out, Lil Bow Wow is only measuring in at 5 weeks 6 days, not 7 weeks and 4 days! The sonographer said that at this point in time, her measurements are the best to go by because gestationally speaking, fetuses all measure the same at this point through about 10 weeks. At that point, genetics take over and the size of the baby will vary on Mommy and Daddy. So here's Lil Bow Wow!!!


Because of the STAT order of the outsourced ultrasound, the lady wasn't allowed to gush over anything. She was on strict orders to measure the baby, see the heartbeat and give all the info to the radiologist, who would call my doctor to discuss everything. Though she didn't talk to us much, we still got a glimpse at Lil Bow Wow's heart rate, which was at a solid 170!!! I have to say, seeing that little perpetual beating inside my body was the most amazing thing I've ever seen. I felt the proud ownership of that little being, something Matt and I created out of love, and to see our dream come to fruition in the form of our tiny baby is truly a miracle.

I was astonished to see that the heartbeat was so visible, coming from a heart that had already formed two chambers! No eyes, no real arms or legs and the beginnings of a torso and round-shaped head...but that heart...that strong heart beating like beacon in the night for all the world to see...that is unmistakable. The true essence of all living beings is the heart, which makes such sense that it would be one of the first organs to form in our baby! I love that tiny baby so much already.

Please pray for our tiny baby - that he/she continues to grow healthier each day! We have a follow up ultrasound to measure his/her growth in 2 weeks. We will definitely keep you posted!

7 Weeks and 4 Days!!!

We've got big plans for this week! We have our first ultrasound this Thursday and hopefully we'll get to hear the heartbeat! I'm pretty nervous, I have to say, but I've been feeling great lately - still no morning sickness *knock on wood! I don't, however, fit into any of my pants...which is highly depressing seeing as how I can't blame the weight gain on Lil Bow Wow (Matt's nickname for baby Devereaux) yet. I am excited about my new purchase, though! Be Band is a brilliant invention! It's a band that goes around your pants in the early stages of pregnancy when you can't button your old pants but are not big enough to get maternity pants! I love it! It's better than the rubberband around the button and hole of my too-small jeans! I tried that this weekend....it sucked.

Now this, I'm afraid, is what the belly looks like without the band!

I have shared our little secret with immediate family and the Natchez girls sans Christine at the Balloon Races and made them all promise to keep quiet - but who knows how quiet they will be! We are still holding out for the heartbeat before going public...it's harder than I thought! I plan on telling my college girls this weekend if we all meet up to watch our friend's performance in NOLA. It's so much better sharing the news face to face!

On another note, I found out my boss's wife is pregnant and due almost exactly when we are - June 4!!! I also know another girl in Natchez who is pregnant and due a few days before me - I hope we can be belly buddies! It's kind of nerve-racking to do this whole pregnancy for the first time alone! You think you know what to expect, but really, you have no idea. Thank God for the book "What to Expect When You're Expecting"! More to come later!

6 Weeks, 4 Days!

I'm almost at 7 weeks and I couldn't be happier!!! I feel great besides the fatigue and minor cramps. I'm still in shock over not being nauseous though I know it could start at any time. They say if you don't have morning sickness by the 6th week, chances are you'll be one of the lucky women who escape pregnancy with little or no morning sickness at all. Here's hoping!

I can hardly stand the suspense from now until I get to hear that magnetic heartbeat next Thursday, October 22. It will be our first ultrasound and we'll be 8 weeks! I admit I am pretty paranoid about losing the baby. I know I need to focus on the positive and take care of myself, but I am well aware of the % of miscarriages during the first trimester. Matt keeps telling me not to think about it and I'm trying not to. So to distract myself I enjoy learning the week by week growth of little Devereaux!

Happy Birthday to Mattie, Indeed!

Well...you really won't believe this one, 'cause we don't. I'm pregnant! Seriously! After Matt's birthday party last night, I felt extremely bloated and not right, especially since I hadn't seen my period in over 40 days. Now, keep in mind, I'm an irregular gal so the date didn't seem to throw me. So I just sat up this morning and said I think I'll take a pregnancy test just to rule it out...and I did...and to our astonishment, it was POSITIVE!!!!!!! There they were, the word I'd been waiting on for over a year and a half...'Pregnant' on my niffty digital HPT.


So I screamed for Matt and we sat there looking at each other for 5 minutes, unable to form a coherent thought. Then he suggested I go get more dog food because we were out. Perfect. But actually, he really thought we needed more proof so off I went to clear out the grocery store of their entire stock of HPTs. Turns out, they were all correct! I got squeezed in to see the nurse practitioner today just to make sure I was pregnant and after I waited for what seemed like an eternity, they called me back, took my weight (ugh I gained 5 or so pounds:(), blood pressure and got a urine sample then the nurse walked in with paperwork and started with "Ok, which hospital do you want to give birth at?" and I said "wait...WHAT??? Am I really pregnant??", she said "Yes, girl!!! You're 5 weeks and 6 days! Your due date is June 4th." That's how I heard the most fabulous news of my entire life!

So here I sit, blogging about this experience at 4:30pm after I have daydreamed an entire day away. I can't tell you how surreal this is. I go in for the first ultrasound in 2 weeks and hopefully we'll get to hear a heartbeat! Until then, we'll try not to tell anyone...wish us luck with that! It's gonna be hard! And just to measure how I started out in this pregnancy, here's a belly pic...except that's not the baby - that's carb consumption:)

Doomsday Tuesday

...so they day has finally come for Matt's full work up at the doctor. He has an appointment with an internist as we speak and I know he is a nervous wreck. Until the test results are in, we won't know anything. So we sit and wait...and wait...and wait...please pray for good news...or at least no bad news!

Now a strange thing is happening to me, though I know it's not pregnancy. I already do not have normal cycles, so the phrase "I'm late" doesn't pertain to me. But its been 40 days since my last cycle. I have been having strange cramps and a ridiculous appetite and my boobs are enormous. I know, I know, I should NOT take a pregnancy test because it only stresses me out and makes me angry...but I did anyway, last weekend. Of course it says negative...so I am in the waiting game again. I think this next month I'll start an OPK...I haven't used one in months since all the doctor's appointments so I thought, hey, what could it hurt? We can tell if the vitamin cocktail is working, right?! We shall see...until next time!

The Fam Dam

Time spent with family is time well spent. This weekend we are in Hattiesburg visiting Matt's parents who we haven't seen in what feels like forever! Matt's dad recently had an accident and severely broke his arm, to which the doctors though it would be humorous to fit a bar similar to a towel rack on the outside of his arm. Thank Jesus, he finally had it removed! Typical Mike, we have not seen him since we've been here because he was working on a Habitat for Humanity project all night (yes, ALL night) and recently got home to shower and sleep a bit before heading back downtown to oversee the rest of the day's activities. He is the epitome of inspiration. The devotion to God he has is awe inspiring and I just like to sit back and watch him work. I love my father-in-law.

We just missed Marc, Matt's brother, who we also haven't seen in ages. His fiance' Heather is expecting (surprise) and I hear she is NOT feeling so hot these days. I admit, I am jealous. Hearing Matt's mother talk about her last night and how the pregnancy is coming jolted me back to the reality of it all. Here is yet another example of how God works in mysterious ways. Marc and Heather just got engaged - they were not trying to get pregnant, and bam - it happens anyway. Oh, the irony...but I know Marc is secretly thrilled beyond words...as are his parents. They want to be grandparents so much it oozes out of them. Matt and I cant wait to give them grandchildren.

Let the Journey Begin

I'm not yet sure how this blog will work. I created it to track and record our journey to parenthood and to keep in touch with friends and family - we are all so busy these days that the typical "how are things" phone call gets thrown to the wayward side. I am most definitely guilty of this! I guess the best and most informative way to start a blog is to give some background...so here goes:

Matt and I have been trying to get pregnant for over a year now. Since I'm 25 and he's only 29, when we were not pregnant after 6 months of continuous trying, I began to worry. After a thorough evaluation by my fabulous new OB-GYN, I was diagnosed with PCOS, or Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome (for those wikipedia-obsessed, enjoy the knowledge). PCOS is basically a hormonal condition that affects 5% of women, and is the most common cause of anovulation, or when a woman rarely or never ovulates. In layman's terms, my little eggs that are suposed to be released monthly actually never "leave" and result in the formation of cysts. Thus, we have difficulty getting pregnant! I will say that I have never known more about the female reproductive system than I do now...neither has Matt...even against his wishes:) And the internet sites for PCOS support are the bomb.com! Soul Cysters is a wonderful aid...

After my initial doctor's visit in January 09 and my diagnosis in April, I was put on a concoction of fertility drugs to try and promote ovulation and reduce the appearance of cysts. Here's the infamous cocktail:

• Clomid (initiates the release of the egg)
  
• Estrace (promotes estrogen)
  
• Crinone (offers progesterone support)

Because PCOS knocks my hormone levels out of whack, and I HAVE to have normal hormone levels to get pregnant AND sustain a viable pregnancy, this fertility drug cocktail was prescribed to me for three months. (After three months of this treatment, women run the risk of having too much estrogen and progesterone levels and are referred to fertility specialists, also known as reproductive endocrinologists)

Of course, this is where the story turns typical Caro. During the third month of treatment, a cyst the size of a tennis ball on my right ovary decides to explode. The doctor would prefer to say "ruptured"...I prefer to say "EXPLODE". After a day full of abnormal pain while working in the Natchez office, I managed to drag my hunched-over self via doctor's orders to the Natchez ER (which I vow to never visit again) for fear of a ruptured ovarian cyst. Long story short, I recovered fairly quickly sans surgery and after a month of prescribed birth control and "no trying", my OB-GYN gave us the go-ahead to start trying again.

I'm not sure if it was the residual pain or fear of another cyst forming from the meds, but Matt and I decided to take a break from the fertility treatments. And that's where we stand. Though I haven't gotten back on the fertility treatments, I have tried a more holistic approach to dealing with PCOS. Vitamins, vitamins and MORE vitamins!!!

• Evening Primrose Oil
  
• Black Cohosh Root Extract
  
• Vitamin B-6
• Fish Oil
  
• Prenatal vitamins
  

We struggle daily with the idea of more aggressive fertility treatments like IVF, IUI, etc...maybe we are just old fashioned, but we are alike in the fact that we want our baby when God wants to give us one. When we think we can't stand to hear one more story of a 'surprise' pregnancy among people we know, we try and remind ourselves that while medicine is so advanced nowadays, especially for infertility, there is a little bit more than medicine involved in conception. We are thankful for the trust we have in God, because without him, this journey would be a long and lonely one. The Beatles offer a tranquil repose for me when I really don't think I can stand it...

Let It Be
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