Saturday, December 31, 2016

Telling the Big Grandparents and my Uncles

Seth's dad came up to visit us for Christmas and to give Orion his presents.  Orion calls Seth's dad and his wife the "Big" grandparents, so that's the name we go with.  We had wrapped an ultrasound picture as a gift for them as well.  We waited until Seth got home from work, then let Orion hand the gift to his grandpa.  He started to open it, then handed it to B so she could continue unwrapping the present.  She looked at it and instantly her jaw dropped and she started dancing around all excited.  She handed it to Big Grandpa and he just looked confused before Seth finally said, we're going to have another baby.  Big Grandma came and hugged me and Big Grandpa started talking to Orion about how Seth was as a big brother.  It was a sweet moment to share with Seth's family.



Later that weekend I drove over to visit my Uncle Troy and Uncle Forrest.  I love these incredible men, so as soon as I had a moment, I tried to tell Troy.  I showed him the ornaments that I had made for my sisters and I, but he said they were cute and passed my phone back.  So I told him he had missed something. He looked more intensely, but still was confused.  I then swiped the phone over to a positive pregnancy test and he looked SHOCKED.  It was pretty funny.  Forrest came in the room and sat down and asked what was wrong with Troy.  I told him that we were going to have another baby and he says "Cool!  If I had known that I would have done something different for Christmas."  :) He's such as sweet man.   Troy spent the rest of my visit randomly whispering "You're pregnant" and I would just laugh.  It definitely surprised them both.  They are such a blessing in my life, and have been so loving and gracious to my son and Seth.  I can't wait for them to meet this new little person.


Sunday, December 25, 2016

Telling Crazy Grandma

On our way home from my mom's house, we stopped at Seth's mom's place to tell her about the new baby.  Orion has nicknamed each of his grandparents, and he calls her "Crazy Grandma."  We had wrapped an ultrasound picture as a gift for her as well.  Orion handed the gift to his grandma and when she opened it, Seth asked "How would you like to be a grandma?" and she responded "Again!?" It was pretty funny.  Seth's sister, Krista, was also there and she seemed pretty excited.

Telling my Grandparents and the Grandpecks

Over Christmas, I also got to tell my grandparents that I'm having a baby.  I wrapped a picture of the ultrasound to give them as a gift.  They unwrapped it and my grandpa, in his typical manner just looked at it confused.  My grandma said "what is this thing? It looks like an ultrasound."  I told her that it was and she jumped a little.  She said "I thought you couldn't have more babies!??"  I told her that we were pregnant and they both grinned.  Grandma, who is an only child, said "Well I never wanted to say anything but I always hoped you'd have more.  Being an only child is very lonely."  This, of course, is after she said that exact thing to me EVERY time I have seen her for the past 7 years...but ya know.  :) Either way, I'm happy that I got to tell them and that they're both excited for their next great-grandbaby.


I also called my dad on Christmas to tell him about the new addition.  We were chatting and I told him that we were going to have a new baby.  He seems very excited for us and asked that we let them know if we need anything.  I then told my step-mother and she was thrilled, saying that she has prayed for us to have a new baby and that she knows Orion will be an incredible big brother.  She said that we made her Christmas, which was very sweet.  I'm so grateful for all of the love and support we've received so far from our family.

Week 12

We're at week 12!  What an exciting week.  We finally told my sisters and Seth's mother that this little one is on the way, and you can read all about that here:  
For this post, we'll be talking about baby and momma updates, like normal!  So what is going on this week?  

For baby:
The baby is now about the size of an apricot.  Aww, how sweet and tiny.  Baby now weighs about half an ounce and is about 2 inches long.  The digestive system is now starting to function, developing the skills they will need to eat when they are finally born!  The baby is also making white blood cells for life after birth! From this point forward, most of what the baby will be doing is just growing and getting ready to come out.  

For momma:
Overall, I feel normal.  It's nice to finally have my sisters in the loop so that I feel like I have more support and am not hiding things from them.  I'm less sleepy this week than I have been the past couple weeks, which is definitely nice.  Otherwise, it's exciting to be nearing the end of the first trimester!  See you next week! 

Friday, December 23, 2016

Telling My Sisters

I hope you all had a fantastic holiday season with lots of time with your family, lots of laughter, and some decent weather.  We made a short, quick trip back to visit my family this year to spend the holiday with them, and of course to share our big news.  It's a big tradition in my family that my sisters and I get together and decorate what we lovingly refer to as "the ugly tree."  It's a tree with a hodge-podge of unmatching ornaments, ranging from the stuff mom got from her father to the stuff we made as children and insisted that she keep.  It's something that I look forward to, and definitely a tradition that I have started at home with Orion as well.  I decided, what better way to tell my sisters than to make new ornaments for this tree that we share each year?  I decided to make a jar for each of us, one ketchup, one salsa, and one Prego spaghetti sauce.  :)

I bought a couple of the large jars of baby food and disposed of the actual food (yuck baby hot dogs!!).  I washed the jars and with Orion's help we got to decorating the jars.  Orion painted the inside of each jar red, and I painted the lids gold.  We then affixed some labels on them and attached some strings to hang them from, and the story was ready to be told.

So when we got home, everyone in my family their ornament.  My step-father received one that says "I love Grandpa".  He put his on the tree.  I then had my mother open her ornament and started to tell the story.  She received an UGLY tomato.  I told my sisters they could open their ornaments.  I said, see, you have salsa and ketchup...those things come from the tomato and share a lot of traits, but there is also something that makes them different and individual.  Orion and I then went into the bedroom to get my ornament.  He quickly changed into a shirt that says "Rawr means I'm a big brother in dinosaur" and I brought out my ornament, a little jar of Prego. Arlana knew instantly, and started just saying "are you....are you...." over and over, wanting to ask but scared she was wrong.  Ashley had to read Orion's shirt before she got it.  When I finally said "yes, I'm pregnant" Arlana yelled "YAY" while Ashley started bawling.  There were lots of hugs and it was a very sweet moment.  I'm glad that I got to surprise my sisters in such a fun way.


Sunday, December 18, 2016

Week 11

We're at week 11!  Woohoo.  By this time next week we will have told most of our family about this little one.  I'm excited and nervous, but ready to be able to share this secret with the people we love. Just a few more days to wait! So what is going on this week?  

For baby:
The baby is now about the size of a brussel sprout, which is about 1.5 to 2 inches long.  Baby now has open nasal passages and will be able to smell by the end of the week.  There is a tiny tongue and palate in the mouth, and even tiny nipples on the chest.  And finally, the fingers and toes are losing their webbing and individual fingers and toes are formed.  

For momma:
Overall, I feel normal.  I'm less sleepy this week than I have been the past couple weeks, although I could happily use a nap in the afternoon most days.  The oddest symptom so far is that I am FREEZING!  I'm typically not someone who is excessively cold, but I find myself snuggled under a blanket at home, and sitting at my desk at work with a space heater under it even when others think it's too hot in the building.  

Thursday, December 15, 2016

2nd Dr Appointment

We had the 2nd doctor's appointment today, and I'm pleased to share that EVERYTHING LOOKS GOOD!!  That's right.  As I'm sure most of you assumed, my paranoia was unfounded.  We started the appointment with an ultrasound, scanning the little baby and seeing the little arms and legs that have already formed.  I was elated to see a healthy baby exactly where it should be.  We measured right at 10 weeks, which is what all the dates pointed out, so our due date is July 9th, 2017.




That's right.  July 2017, we will have a brand new Baby Doty.  I know ultrasounds are hard to read, but the baby above has the head to the left and the feet to the right.  There are little arms and everything.  They measured my blood pressure yesterday and it was at 111/79, which is within the normal range, so here's hoping for a non-exciting, drama-free pregnancy.  Next week we will finally start telling our families about this baby, and probably sometime after the start of 2017 these blogs will all go public.  :)

Sunday, December 11, 2016

Week 10

We're at week 10 and the end of the first trimester is in site.  We've still managed to keep most of our family from knowing what's going on, so hopefully things go well for the next 2 weeks so that we can tell them!!  We plan on telling them at our Christmas get together, so it should be pretty interesting. So what is going on this week?  

For baby:
The baby is now about the size of a lego minifigure, which is pretty cool to think about.  The internal organs are starting to function, and several of the joints are also fully formed.  This week, the nose develops and the baby now has a sense of smell.  Also, the baby should almost have enough muscle control to make a fist.  A tiny, tiny fist.  Awww how cute. 

For momma:
I feel pretty good other than being super sleepy.  Otherwise, there aren't a lot of pregnancy symptoms to speak of. It makes the paranoia even stronger I think.  I am so so anxious for Thursday when I go back to the doctor.  Until then, I'm hesitant to get excited at all.  I hate to be so negative, but I'm also terrified to allow myself to be excited and have it end in heartache.  *fingers crossed*

Thursday, December 8, 2016

1st Doctor Appt

We went to our first Doctor's appointment today, and it really wasn't terribly exciting.  They measured my vitals, which all looked good, weighed me, and then sent me in to meet with my doctor.  Overall, I really like her.  She answered a couple questions I had and gave me some detail sheets.  We tried to listen for the baby's heartbeat and although we could hear it, it wasn't super easy to pick out.  She didn't seem too concerned about it, so that helped ease my mind a little bit.  I will still feel much better when I can see and/or hear some solid proof that things are ok.  They are going to have us come back next week, December 15th for the 1st ultrasound and I can't wait for that to happen.

Dream #2

I was in my father's house which was a huge mansion.  One of my old friends walks into the door, with one of her friends who is in two leg casts.  My father asks if they parked in the driveway and they say yes, so he tells them to move.  I tell him that they can wait a few minutes since this girl had two broken legs.  He tells me it needs to move, so I yell at him and tell him I'm 32 years old and I can park a car in the driveway if I want to.  Of course then I went to move the car.  I get out to this car and it's a red convertible.  I drive it around the HUGE circle drive and into the attached parking garage.  There is a parking attendant (Jonathan Brandis) and I ask him how I park in this garage and get back to my dad's house and he says he doesn't know.  I thank him anyway and drive to a parking spot.  I pull the car into a parking spot and then start wandering this enormous garage trying to figure out how to get back into the house.  I found a water slide and tons of people, but still no entry to the house.  I end up getting approached by a random staff person working in this parking garage after wandering for at least an hour, and apparently the original parking attendant had put out a notice to people because he hadn't seen me come out and I looked lost and confused when I entered. So I was escorted toward the door, and before I got there I woke up to my alarm again.

Sunday, December 4, 2016

Week 9

We have reached week 9.  It already feels like it's been forever since I started journalling here again, but I think it's simply because there has been so much time spent waiting and having to keep things secret.  The holidays are just around the corner, so I hope the next couple of weeks go by quickly.  So what is going on this week?  

For baby:
The baby is now about the size of a green olive and is officially considered a fetus instead of an embryo.  Yay!?  At this point, at least the beginnings of most muscles and organs have started to form.  They still have a long way to go, but they have started to develop.  The kidneys, brain, and lungs are starting to function, and the heart should now be heard by doppler.  While the eyes are fusing shut to continue their development, the ears are forming fluid to form a sense of balance for the little one.  It's all very exciting and important work at this point. 

For momma:
I finally get to see the doctor this week, and I can not wait.  It feels like I've known forever and I can not wait to hear that little heartbeat to know that things are going to be ok.  Overall, I'm tired and would gladly nap every single day, but I can't.  Otherwise, I feel pretty normal.  Vivid dreams have happened every night, but by the time I am awake enough to write them down only fragments remain.  Really, my focus this week is getting to Thursday so I can meet the new doctor and see what she has to say.  Waiting has been the hardest part of the last couple weeks by far.  By this point with Orion I had already had both the official blood tests and an ultrasound to verify his tiny heartbeat was strong and viable.  I'm definitely getting impatient.  

Thursday, December 1, 2016

Dreamland is Back

The entire time I was pregnant with Orion, I had crazy, vivid dreams that were very entertaining to retell.  I've always had very vivid dreams, but that seems even more intensified while I'm pregnant.  Last night I believe I had my first pregnancy dream again.  It was pretty short, because my alarm cut it off, but I was entertained nonetheless.  So, why wait?  Let's just tell the story.


I was sitting in the waiting room of a doctor's office.  Time was passing and I just kept waiting and waiting.  Eventually, this SUPER old nurse comes out and calls my name.  By SUPER old, think 100 years old.  However, she is also SUPER fast.  I look down and realized that I'm also VERY pregnant, which means that I am anything but fast.  I get up and try to waddle after her, barely catching up with her in the hallway.  She rushes past the scale and I ask her "wait, aren't I supposed to use this thing" (in real life I would NEVER ask to be weighed.  If they want to skip it, all the better.)  She rolls her eyes at me and sighs really hard and says "I guess".  So I try to step up on the scale, but the thing is crooked and unbalanced like there is a tennis ball under one side of it.  I keep trying to find my balance, but it's leaning so far to the left, that I find myself leaning up against the wall just to stand on it. Despite the fact that I'm not actually standing on the scale, she starts pushing the tab around, chooses a weight arbitrarily since there is no way she ever found balance and writes down a number.  I look over her shoulder and see her write down 112 which is something I haven't weighed since at least middle school.  I tell her there is no way that's right, and she turns around to yell at me for looking at my chart.



At that point my alarm clock went off and my time with the oldest nurse in the world ended.  :)