15 Weeks

Today was my appointment for just a check-up and it was nothing but good news! All of the blood work I had done after my first appt. came back normal and I am "on track" for progressing with the pregnancy. I got to hear the baby's heartbeat, which is always re-assuring, and we could even tell when the baby was kicking or throwing it's arms (it was almost like a quick break-up/static sound that came over the heartbeat sounds-it kind of caught me off-gaurd the first time I heard it, but then she told me what it was). The dr. said the baby sounds great and that it's heartbeat was nice and strong. I still think it's crazy how advanced technology is that you can do these things to check on the baby. I was so excited and amazed, I actually cried a little! Now, we just have to wait 4 weeks until our next appt., which is a BIG one because we get to find out what we're having! That's also when they do a full anatomy screen on the baby to make sure all the organs and brain are developing correctly. It's going to be so hard to wait!

The only symptom I've been having is being tired. By the end of the week of work, I am done. After church on Sunday, I did pretty much nothing and sat around all day- it was soooo nice. Will, on the other hand, just kept on trucking with the work he's been doing around the house. He's made a lot of progress and everything is looking great.

Here are a couple of cakes we had this past week:

This coming weekend we have 6 weddings so it will be another long week!

Hope everyone has a great week and love to all!

14 Weeks

I've been a slacker this week....it's Thursday and I'm just now doing my weekly post and I have no picture of my belly to add. (Maybe if I skip a week, we can tell a difference!) This week has been busy for us: between work and Will working on the house, it seems to never stop sometimes. There will be an end to the house work, though, because we're trying to have everything done by the time the baby comes.
I've been feeling fine this week. Not really any symptoms except being tired. My weight has jumped up by about 5-6 lbs now, but it's been a slow rise in numbers, which I think is good. It seems like I gain a lb. or 2 and stay that way for a couple of weeks. I think because we're on our feet so much during the day it's helping with the weight gain...I sure don't hold back on eating sometimes! Especially the ice cream- I had some Ben & Jerry's Strawberry Cheesecake earlier tonight and last night (it's sooooo good!).
Some of my clothes I can't wear anymore and I feel like I'm at that in-between stage where I just look like I've gained weight. Hopefully, in a couple of weeks, I'll actually look like I'm pregnant.
I have my second doctor's appointment this coming Monday- it's just a check up so we won't get to see the baby, unfortunately. I've been ready my book "What to Expect When You're Expecting," each week and it says that right now the baby is about the size of a lemon or the size of my fist. It's crazy how fast it grows each week! I can't wait until I can actually feel it for the first time!
Next month is when we can find out if it's a boy or girl that we're having. We don't care one way or the other just as long as it's healthy. Those are probably the two questions that everyone has been asking: "Are you going to find out what it is?" and "What do you want to have- a boy or a girl?" We'll be happy with whichever God chooses to give us!
Well, it's time for bed. I hope everyone is well and I'll post pictures next week!

13 Weeks

I did shower for this weeks picture! Now that I'm pretty much out of the first trimester, I am feeling a lot better- no more nausea at all- yeah!! I still get tired and my tastes change daily with what I want to eat, but that's pretty much it.

In other news, we worked over the weekend (surprise!), but we only had 2 weddings, which was nice. This coming weekend we only have 2 weddings again. This is the calm before the storm for October- we have about 5-6 every weekend except for Halloween. We'll be doing good if we can get through it! Gotta pay those bills and get ready for this baby, though! :)

Here are the two wedding cakes we did last weekend:

We also got a surprise visit from my mom, which was the best part of the weekend :) She had been in NC visiting her first grandchild and made the trip over to see us on Monday. We took her out to lunch at the Folly Beach Pier and then we went to Babies R Us- talk about baby overload! Who knew there was so much to get! I did find a few things to put on my list for later, though.

Will and I also had our 2nd year wedding anniversary Tuesday- as you can imagine, our conversation was a little different than last years! :) We went to California Dreaming for dinner, which is a restaurant that we went to on our first date and first anniversary- we thought we'd carry on with tradition this year, too. We also appreciate all the cards, gifts, and good wishes from everyone!

Well, that's it for now. Hope everyone is well and has a great week! Love to all!

BTW, here is a pickle cake we did today: Eat a pickle!

12 Weeks

Well, I wasn't sure about starting to take pictures of my belly yet, but Will told me I should. Don't look too hard...I've been working all day, haven't showered yet, and basically look like a grease monkey! I've gained about 3 lbs. total now and my pants continue to get tighter and tighter. My nausea is pretty much gone (yeah!) unless I eat too much during a meal and then I feel kind of quesy. And speaking of eating, it seems my appetite has suddenly grown and I'm hungry all the time! Will says he's definitely noticed that I eat more than I used to- ha!

The only other symptoms I seem to have now are being hot all the time and once last week I had a horrible spell of heartburn. The hot spells aren't really like hot flashes, which I used to get during my period, but it's more like I'm just constantly hot. Sitting in church on Sundays, I just fan myself with the bulletin- I know people have to wonder because Will says he's fine when I ask him if he's hot. The heartburn episode was not fun at all and I hope I don't get to the point of having it more often. I feel for anyone who has had it or deals with it often! (Amber, I now know how you felt because mine did happen at night and I still had it at 3:30 AM when I got up to use the bathroom!) Other than this, I feel pretty good now.

In the midst of our 6 wedding marathon this past weekend, I was able to go shopping and actually purchased a couple of baby items for the first time! Our church had a children's consignment sale so I went and scoped it out. I ended up getting a little overhwhelmed with everything and since we don't know yet what we're having, it made it a little more difficult. I did make it out with two items, though...one was a Winnie the Pooh baby carrier that you strap on and wear so that the baby is strapped in on the front of you (does this make sense?). I thought the Winnie the Pooh could be used for either a boy or a girl. The second item was a book called "What to Expect During the First Year." It's from the same writers who did "What to Expect While You're Expecting" and I actually got a nice surprise from Will's Aunt Joan, who sent me this book last week! In one night, I read it all the way through to where I am currently at 12 weeks. It's a great book that leads you through the different stages of pregnancy and goes into how your baby is developing each week, which is really cool since we can't see the baby as much as we'd like. I thought the book about the first year might be just as helpful, but we'll see!

I also went shopping for myself since, like I mentioned earlier that my pants are getting tight. I bought this accessory called a Bella Band- you can put on over the top of your regular pants or shorts that you can't button anymore and it covers it up so that you can still wear your clothes a little longer. Then, I hit up the clearance racks and bought some capris, shirts, and a pair of shorts that I can wear to work. I bought sizes that were too big for me now, but I should be fitting into them in no time!

Once conclusion that we've come to is that having a baby definitely gets you motivated to finish projects around the house. Will has been working his tale off: he's been re-doing the casing around the bedroom doorways to match the newer work he has done on other parts of the kitchen and dining room; he's been putting in new, larger baseboards around the entire house; and he's re-painting our guest bedroom as I'm writing this. Eventually, we will have the baby's room to do, which is going to involve everything from cleaning out to painting to decorating, etc. And speaking of cleaning out, we have a home for our pool table and fooseball table, but we also have a full weight machine and separate bench so, if anyone wants it or knows someone who might, please let us know!

I guess this is it until next week. I am going to start adding in a few cake pictures from our recent weddings/parties so here are some for your enjoyment.......

11 weeks

Ok, so I am publishing 2 posts in one night to get caught up with the weeks. This week I am actually 11 weeks, not 10 weeks. Hope I'm not confusing!
Anyway, this week I went and had blood drawn at the lab. I'll find out the results when I go to our next appointment later this month, if nothing is wrong. Cross your fingers!
Over the past couple of days, I have noticed that the nausea doesn't seem to be as bad or as frequent, which I'm very happy about. I still haven't gained any more poundage and will be glad if I can stay at this pace, but I doubt it. The doctor told me that I should gain about 25-30lbs throughout the pregnancy so we'll see if I can. I did buy two different kinds of ice cream today: moose tracks and turtle tracks because I couldn't decide which one. Ice cream has been one thing that I've let myself have once a week because I have been craving it pretty bad.
Oh, and Will has been such a good sport about all the food cravings, especially when it comes to dinner. He just says he's along for the ride and will eat whatever I want. He's not a very picky eater, which is good right now! He calls it the "craving rollercoaster" because I change my mind all the time.
To give an update on the other aspects of our lives, we are working our assess off, as usual. This weekend we have 6 weddings between Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We are thankful for all of the work we've had this year considering the economy. Weddings and birthdays are one area where people will still splurge.
This past weekend we just had 3 weddings, which was good because my brother and Diana were in town. They did have to do some things on their own while we worked, but we still got some hang out time in with them. They went on one of our deliveries to Magnolia Plantation and we took time to walk around and see some of it. We also went bowling, out to eat, and to the beach. It was a good time.
Hope everyone has a good week! Love to all!

10 weeks

So, by now almost everyone should know that Lauren is pregnant! Yeeaaahhh! We decided to start this blog so that all our of out-of-town family and friends can follow the progress and keep updated on everything. Will and I couldn't be happier and are so excited to be able to finally share the news! It's been really hard keeping it a secret for so long, too! And I will try to update at least once a week, but we'll see how that goes!
Well, now I am 10 weeks along and we just had our first doctor's appointment, which was really exciting. We had our first ultrasound and got to see our baby for the first time. We were literally speechless when we saw it! (and the nurse even made a comment about how quiet we were) I said it's one thing to know that you're pregnant, but it's completely another to actually see it. We also got to hear it's heartbeat, which was a strong 190 beats per minute. It was a relief to find out that everything was ok and that I was doing well.
Here are some pics that they put on a cd for us:

The baby is on it's head in 3 of the pics, but the nurse said that it was normal, it just happened to be the position it was in at the time. We were able to see it kick it's legs around a couple of times when she would go over a certain part of my belly- very cool to see, again!

As far as how I've been feeling up to this point....I've just had really bad nausea and been really tired. I haven't actually gotten sick, which I am thankful for. The food cravings change from day to day, but the one thing I can't stand at all is coffee. If anyone knows me, they know how I looooove coffee, too- not now, though! I can't even stand the smell of it! And so far, I've only gained 2lbs. and even though I'm not showing yet, some of my shorts are getting pretty tight.

I'll wait to post pictures of my belly until I actually start showing.

Well, that's the update for now- stay tuned!