I'm PREGNANT!!

I'm so excited to share that we're expecting baby #2! We are thrilled to be adding to our little family and can't wait to meet this new little guy/gal! I did a due date calculator online and it gave me January 30th, but the due date at the doctor's office was February 1st! I was 8 days early with Stella when my water broke, so I won't be sad if this little one comes early too! I had my first sonogram three weeks ago and we got to see the little sac and watch the heart flickering on the monitor...priceless. Conception and baby-growing is just nothing short of a miracle.

We found out that we were expecting over Memorial Day weekend. I was only one day late at the point when I took the test, but Blake was convinced I was pregnant days before because I had my super-woman nose powers :) We went ahead and shared our exciting news with our immediate families that weekend, but since I was technically only 4 weeks pregnant at that point, we decided to wait until I was further along to share with others! I have to say, I'm not one for waiting - it's just too special and too exciting to have to hold out on people. But, last August (2012), I miscarried at 6 weeks so I wanted to be cautious about sharing until I felt the pregnancy was more established. It's always been a good sign when I'm sick, so about week 6 I started feeling that all-too-familiar nausea and I really haven't been the same since!

When I was pregnant with Stella, I was sick from about week 6-14. And when I say sick...I mean sun-up to sun-down {and most middle-of-the-nights} and can only describe it as having the flu for 8 weeks. I just couldn't figure out why people called it morning sickness if I was going to be throwing up ALL day. I'm really not sure how I even worked during that period of time. My father in law had to drive me to my first doctor's appointment while I was curled up in the backseat. Needless to say, I lost 10 lbs that first trimester, but that didn't bother me - it just meant I was started in the negative on how much I could gain! At week 14 with Stella, I passed out in Walmart, so I'm trying to be EXTRA vigilant to not let myself do that again. I'm pretty sensitive when I've stood for too long. {Yes, I am a hot mess when I'm pregnant - at least the first trimester!}

This pregnancy hasn't been near that bad and I'm so thankful it hasn't since I have a vibrant, head-strong little two year old to corral! But, it certainly hasn't been easy since I am still getting sick and have some pretty bad headaches almost daily. I'm so thankful to our families who have pitched in to help. Poor Stella and Blake haven't had a good meal cooked in quite a while...I can barely stand to be around uncooked food and I'm pretty much sustaining myself on cheese toast! Blake calls me Gollum, from Lord of the Rings, because I have this awful gagging cough most of the day...but I can't help it! So many things make me gag! However, all that to say, this part should be over in the next couple weeks and I truly LOVE being pregnant. I know this pregnancy will go by faster, but I'm going to try and savor it.

Stella is just precious about the "baby in the belly" and I love hearing her call herself "big sister." I know she doesn't fully understand, but it's adorable that she wants to come up and put her head on my belly and say "Hi Baby!" She's tried showing people, in public, my belly by trying to lift my shirt so I'm attempting to explain that people don't want to see that yet :) Or ever!