It Can't Wait Any Longer!

I was on such a roll there for a bit.  My goal was to get things all caught up to date, so I could post THE BIG update.  Surprise, surprise though I dropped the ball though.  I've given up hope on catching up anytime soon though, and I can't take it any longer.  Not that it's a surprise, as I think everyone probably knows by now, but.....

OUR FAMILY IS GROWING! 

Woah!!  So, here's the story.  It was the first full week of February, and I was just feeling a tad off.  I had just returned from Florida and thought maybe I was just tired adjusting to being back to my normal routine.  I had a slight thought that maybe I might be pregnant, but I took a test and it was negative, and I didn't really give another thought to it.  Later that week though I woke up in the middle of the night terribly nauseous.  Like we're talking just lying on the cold bathroom floor nauseous.  I felt so bad I wanted to wake up Mat, but it seemed pointless, so I didn't.  I tried to go back to bed, but I was just feeling so horrible.  After lying awake for a couple hours, I took another test.  It was super faint at first, but it was positive.  Honestly, I was in shock.  Now really tempted to wake up Mat, I still didn't.  I felt so sick, I was having a hard time being too excited.  I wasn't sure if this was early pregnancy nausea already or I had the stomach flu.  I was lying there trying to think of a cute, clever way to tell Mat, but I finally went back to sleep for a couple hours until Mat woke up.  All my cutesy ideas went out the window quickly because he could tell I was feeling really sick.  I asked him for a hug and he responded with something along the lines of not wanting to get my germs and get sick.  All I could respond with was tears and "It's not contagious!"  I think he quickly figured out what that meant and then of course gave me lots of hugs!  It was such a mixture of emotions that day though because I was just SO sick.  Mat went to work, but I had to ask him to come home early.  I just couldn't take care of the kids.  I was horrified worrying that this was going to be the norm for this pregnancy.  Luckily, I think it was just a 24 hour stomach flu, and by the next day I was feeling MUCH better.  Then, reality sank in a bit more as did the excitement! 

Everyone of course already asks if this was a surprise.  My response is, "Well, it was as much of a surprise as it can be when you're not preventing it."  It's not something we'd been avoiding, but it wasn't something we were actively pursuing either if that makes sense.  :)  Even though we'd just had a successful pregnancy with Charlotte, I guess I still just never tend to think that we have a very high chance of conceiving or having a healthy pregnancy.  God clearly has plans for our family though, knows my heart's desire, and has his own timetable.  All I could think back on was that call I received so many years ago when I was a teacher in Key West.  Mat and I had been trying for some time to start a family.  Finally, our doctor had begun doing some tests, and called me at work and simply said, "I'm sorry, but you and your husband will not be able to have children on your own."  Granted, I know he was just doing his job based on the medical statistics he was faced with, but boy do I wish I could pay him a visit now.  5 pregnancies in 5 years!  Phew! 

My fears of course tend to overpower my enthusiasm, and I have a hard time really embracing the good news too early on.  We had an early ultrasound at 6 weeks, due to our history.  I was on pins and needles waiting to see if we'd discover a heartbeat or not.  We did!!!  It's the most joyous sound ever hearing that new beautiful sound of life.  It simply amazes me!  Still guarded, I began to embrace this news and think that maybe, just maybe, our family truly was going to be expanding. 

It wasn't long, and I started to get a visual reminder too...

 Pop!  Things started changing quickly this time.  Guess those abdominal muscles of mine are pretty well shot! 

As always, my main symptom to quickly kick in was tiredness.  Early on, I suddenly fall asleep at the drop of the hat mid-day.  It usually doesn't last more than a month, but I'm already at 16 weeks now and I'm still taking daily naps when I can manage to squeeze one in.  I get tired easily!  Otherwise, I was feeling fairly well until about 9 or 10 weeks.  We traveled to FL with the kiddos (not ideal during early pregnancy), and it suddenly hit me one day while we were there, and it hit me hard.  Zofran has become my friend this pregnancy.  It's not something I'd used in previous pregnancies, but that combined with Prilosec seems to keep the puking at bay.  I'm still nauseous from time to time and hoping it quickly fades.  As with all my other pregnancies, I also had to be on progesterone for the first 12 weeks.  Not real fun, but I'm so thankful for it!! 

At 12 weeks, I was again a bit anxious I headed to the doctor.  This was the first time since our 6 week ultrasound that they checked for a heartbeat. 

Headed to the doctor at 12 weeks.  Yes, we heard that beautiful sound again!  Our doctor told us we now had a 97% chance of a successful pregnancy. I'll take those odds!

So, now at 16 weeks, I realized before this baby is born I'd better get around to updating my blog.  It's official...Keyes party of five expected in October!

We are so excited for this blessing!  Thanks in advance for your prayers for a healthy pregnancy and baby!

Oh, and for those of you that believe in those old wive's tales...heartbeat at 6 weeks was only around 115, at 12 weeks in the 160's, and at 16 weeks in the 140's...so what does that mean?!