Bringing us up-to-date!

We found out I was pregnant Monday, October 12th at 6 o'clock in the morning. I took a pregnancy test, like I always did around this time of the month expecting it to be negative as it usually was. Well, this time it said "Pregnant"! I went and flipped on the bedroom light and woke Chance up and said "does this say what I think it says?" The look on his face was priceless. A combination of shock, startle from the light and excitement...I'll never forget it! I called my doctor that morning and went in for blood work that afternoon to confirm I was pregnant. YEP! I went back in a couple more times that week to monitor my blood levels. Everything was looking good. I started having some problems the following week and my doctor put me on "light duty". RIGHT! There is no such thing as light duty as a Physical Therapist (in my setting anyway). So I took a short leave from work to let my body rest! I was on light duty for a month, but was able to do some computer work so I didn't have to use all of my time off. I had several visits to my doctor during that month and we heard the heartbeat at 5 weeks when I had my first sonogram! That was exciting. I had several ultrasounds during that month. Here are a couple of pictures!

We told all of our immediate family and some close friends and of course everyone at work that I was pregnant. When I was 9 weeks pregnant, my doctor thought things were progressing and it was safe for me to go back to regular duty. We wanted to wait for our 12 week visit before letting the cat out of the bag. At my 12 week appointment my doctor saw a "band" on my ultrasound that she was a little worried about. She referred us to a Perinatologist for a second opinion. That was a restless night! We had an appointment with the specialist at 8 am the following morning. He did another ultrasound and was certain it was NOT an amniotic band (An amniotic band is a fibrous band of tissue that runs through the amniotic sac and can cause many complications...scary)! He thought the "band" we were seeing was most likely scar tissue and would not cause any problems at all! It would be pushed out of the way as the baby grew. He also thought the "fibroid tumor" I was told I had wasn't a fibroid at all! Great news all around. The baby looked perfect, although would not cooperate so we could determine the sex! Must be a boy! Here is a picture from the Perinatologist visit.
We decided to share our news on our Christmas card. Here is the picture we used.
We went on vacation over Christmas for The Doyle Reunion in Tucson. We got to share our exciting news with everyone there in person. Here is a short video of me telling Mimi and Papa the news!


Here is a picture at 3 months. My "baby bump" popped out literally over night!

On New Year's eve morning, I was lying in bed after a trip to the bathroom at 4 am. I felt the first "flutter"! Needless to say, I didn't go back to sleep. I woke Chance up to tell him, but he feel right back to sleep! We spent New Year's in Abilene. Kristin (Chance's sister) convinced me to take an "Intelligender" urine test to determine the sex of the baby. That was our New Year's Day excitement! We all guessed what it was going to be. Everyone picked boy except Kristin, Scott and Kellan. I took that test (at night...you are supposed to take it first thing in the morning...but I couldn't wait) and it said BOY! Chance was very excited. Kristin and Scott were still convinced it was a girl! I had my 16 week check up on January 7th. I gained 6 pounds in one month!!! Everything was good. Heartbeat was strong...I was growing...no sonogram for me. I wore my first maternity outfit on January 9th (thanks for all of the hand me downs, Kristin!) because my clothes were starting to get a little snug!


On January 17th, my mom and I went maternity clothes shopping...I was definitely growing out of my regular clothes quickly. That evening, after a long day of shopping, I felt the baby move...not just flutter...but MOVE! 4 times! I had an unexpected visit to my doctor on January 21st. I gained 3 more pounds. The heartbeat sounded good and I was growing, but she wanted to do a sonogram just to check on everything. This was the big "anatomy exam" where they look at all of the organs. It is usually done at 20 weeks, but my doctor wanted to do it early. Everything was perfect! The brain, heart, stomach, kidneys, bladder, long bongs...everything was perfect! And no more "band"! And..we found out IT'S A GIRL! Much to our surprise. Chance kept saying "are you sure it's a girl?" We were both excited and very surprised! Back to the drawing board for names and nursery ideas. Here is a picture. (She had her legs crossed like a perfect lady!)
Here is a picture of my belly at 4 months. Getting bigger!

Well, I think that brings us up-to-date!