12 Week Ultrasound

May 21, 2012

Journal Entry May 21, 2012:

Today we got to have our first ultrasound. It was an experience we will never forget. We saw the obvious outline of our baby and heard the strong heartbeat. Dr. Beeson said our baby was “text book perfect.” I was very anxious and kept having what if thoughts. Like what if we are making all this up, and I’m not really pregnant? What if they can’t find a heartbeat? It was a wonderful relief to see our healthy baby moving like crazy. I have dreamed about hanging up ultrasound pictures on our fridge for some time now, and today they are hanging there with much excitement and love!

We also didn’t have a due date nailed down, so it was great to finally have a measurement that told us I am 11 weeks and 5 days pregnant and our due date is 12.5.12. Nate was hoping for a November baby so we could all have matching birthdays, but you never know. This means that I was pregnant on our mission trip to Nicaragua. No wonder I couldn’t stop crying all week… I was also pregnant during the Ladies Retreat when I was begging God to answer my prayer for a child of my own. What a different focus that weekend would have had had I known. And lastly, I was pregnant during my attempt to run a 5K. That will always be my excuse about why I couldn’t train and run like I wanted to ;)

Nate and I are talking about when we will tell our family and friends. We think we are close to being ready to do that. I am not big on attention, so it will be hard for me to put myself out there. Nate’s sister also just had a baby on May 13, so I don’t want to take any attention away from her. Mostly, I am looking forward to telling my mom and my best friends, Hollie and Melissa. It is super hard to keep secrets from them. Especially when I know that Melissa and Hollie have been praying for this baby for over 15 months.

I already have the nursery completely done in my head. I’m ready for either boy or girl. I know that my heart longs for a daughter, but we also need a boy to carry on the McConathy name. We will have at least one more kido if the Lord allows. This time around I will be ecstatic and elated with either boy or girl.

On the clothes front, I can’t really comfortably fit into most of my pants. I bought two pairs of shorts with a stretchy band, so I have been living in those and loose fitting dresses. My plan is to only buy when I absolutely have to, but then again I have been cruising the maternity clothes on Target.com. Going to Target online or in person is always dangerous. When my bump starts getting even bigger, I will be happy to not worry about it poking out ;)

I see the doctor again in four weeks! I don’t know what that visit will entail, but I’m already excited about it.

12 Weeks

May 23, 2012

Yep, I’m gonna do the take-a-pic-every-week thing.  I think it is super neat to be able to look back and see the growth.  It truly is a miracle!  Then after the baby comes, maybe I will get motivated to shrink. ha

This is the first week where I have felt like there was even a hint of a bump, so let the pictures commence.

 How Far Along:  12 weeks

Size:  Baby is the size of plum… 2.1 in. and .49 oz.

New Baby Developments:  Most of Baby’s critical systems are fully formed!  Baby is now developing her reflexes, opening and closing their fingers and toes.

Cravings:  Tacos, Cheese Dip

Aversions:  Eggs

Movement:  Not yet

What I Miss:  Not being tired.

Looking Forward To:  Telling our family and friends!

Best Moment of the Week:  Having our first ultrasound and hearing our baby’s heartbeat for the first time.  There really is a little baby in there :)

April 23, 2012

Positive Pregnancy Test/Telling Nate Our Good News!

Journal Entry from April 23, 2012:

My heart is overwhelmed with joy! Today we found out that we will be parents! After 14 long months of trying for a baby, our dreams will finally come true. I haven’t been feeling very well the last few weeks, and after taking so many pregnancy tests with a negative result I promised myself I wouldn’t take one without signs of a pregnancy. As I thought more about my symptoms I thought it would be okay to splurge and take a test… but telling myself the whole time not to get to excited. Every time I would get a negative result I would feel so defeated, so when two pink lines popped up, I was in disbelief!

I spent my time with God that morning praising Him for His providential timing and for this precious life now growing inside of me. I am completely humbled and extremely grateful. After fearing the word “infertility” my whole adult life and getting a small taste of what it would be like to never conceive, I am more appreciative and excited than I ever thought I would be.

What a joy! What a blessing! Nate and I thank God for giving us the desires of our heart and so look forward to this next chapter of our lives. We know our lives will never be the same and can’t wait to meet our little one.

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I waited all day to tell Nate the good news.  I knew he would be just as excited as I was.  We were together all day at work and even took a trip to Target together, so it was hard not to tell him… but I wanted to do something special when he got home.

So, as I waited (not so patiently) at home, I came up with a plan.  I stopped by Homeland and got a big bun and put it in our oven.  I also made this card and sat it in the oven.

When he got home, he immediately put on his work clothes (or gym shorts and no shirt) to go mow the yard.  Before he could make it outside, I told him I made something for him and it’s in the oven.  He was like whatever and went to open the oven.  When he saw the giant bun, he understood right away that we had a “bun in the oven” and his face turned bright red and his smile filled up his whole face.  All he could say was, “really?”

After I caught this first reaction, I made him go put on a shirt. ha

 

  (I still didn’t have a camera so these were taken with Nate’s phone.) After that, he forgot about the mowing, and we abandoned our diet to eat at Johnny Carinos.  We went crazy with Italian food and even sprung for the chocolate cake!  That was one great dinner with the love of my life!

Humbled and Happy

I haven’t been able to blog lately because one thing has been on my mind.  One BIG thing!  We let the news out to the entire world today…. and we are super excited.

Nate and I have been together for over 12 years now.  In August we will have been married for 7 years.  It is a perfect time to finally add to our family.

What most people don’t know, is that we started trying in February 2011.  It was a long year of waiting for God to bless.  All of my friends got pregnant very quickly, so it was a shock when we didn’t get that positive pregnancy test right away.  We went through months of sadness, but overall we were positive and as patient as we could be.

It paid off because we have been blessed with this miracle and couldn’t be more happy!  After thinking that it may never happen for us, I am completely humbled to be able to fulfill my life’s goal of being a mother.  Waiting it out this last year has made me even more thankful and ready to face those sleepless nights.

From the beginning of this blog, I have had my future children in mind.  So get ready for lots of updates and “Baby Bliss!”  As of today, I am 14 weeks along.  Our due date is 12.5.12!

Welcome to the World, Aubrey!

On May 12, Nate and I went to the hospital around 12:30, right after lunch.  We were expecting to meet our new niece that evening sometime, but she had different plans.  Around midnight they wheeled my sister-in-law, Kristen, back for a c-section.  Then in the early hours of May 13, 2012 Aubrey Evelyn Qualls was born!

  

                                   One day old.                                                                 Five days old.

She is beautiful and perfect.  I can’t wait to braid her hair someday.  Uncle Nate and Aunt Whitney are happy to have our first niece to join our two nephews!

May the Fourth be With You and Cinco de Mayo

We made some strange purchases this weekend.  We are probably the cheapest people you will ever meet and rarely make impulsive purchases, but this weekend we went a little cra cra (that’s crazy for all you people that don’t speak a little youth-n-ese).

It all started with a trip to Target.  We had to get a gift for a birthday party, so I was having fun going to down every toy isle while Nate was planning his first impulsive purchase.  He comes back to the cart and doesn’t even ask my opinion…. he just chunks it in:

That’s right.  Star Wars R2-D2 Trouble.

It was a cute $10 to spend to see the smile on Nate’s face.  And it was pretty fun playing it that night.  We did just finish watching all six Star Wars movies again, so I guess something else Star Wars was destined to live in our house on this “May the Fourth be With You” day.

And, yes…. If liking Star Wars makes you a nerd, we are total nerds.  Unashamedly so! ha

The next day, we decided to go look at some trucks.  We have been thinking about buying Nate a new truck for some time now.  His single cab pick-up will be a problem when we have kids, and his poor truck is just slowly falling apart.  So, Saturday on Cinco de Mayo, we bought this:

I am so glad that Nate has a reliable truck with four doors just like he wanted.  It is worth every penny and we are excited to see just how long we can make this ol 2003 ford last.

The best part of the new truck is that by selling his old one, we will pay off our jeep!  I am beyond excited about that!  It will be another one of my “27 Things” to check off!

Live and Breath

Last Sunday, April 29th, would have been my friend Kristin’s 26th birthday.  I spent a lot of time this month thinking about her, and even more time on Sunday.  I had a good ugly cry, because it is just so heartbreaking when someone’s life is cut short… especially a good friend.

Kristin and I at her wedding ~ November 2004 

But then, I remembered the lessons I learned when my other great friend passed away right after we graduated from college.  It was in June 2008 and I will never forget the tearful message from her dad on my phone.  That day changed my life forever.  I struggled with extreme guilt and disbelief.  Why should I have the opportunity to be with my husband when she couldn’t anymore?  Why should I be able to enjoy a meal, take a vacation, or even breath?  Courtney will never get to do these things.  She will never get to have those babies we always talked about and enjoy her new house with her high-school sweetheart husband.

Courtney and I at our college graduation ~ May 2008

Those were some of the darkest days of my life as I searched out what God was trying to teach me.  When I heard Courtney’s family talk about how she was looking down on us wishing she could be here, it hit me…. no she’s not!  Courtney (and now Kristin) is in the very presence of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!  She isn’t wishing for the things of this world.  They aren’t even thinking of us like we are thinking of them… There is no time in Heaven.  My friends are in a perfect place where their souls are at rest in the very presence of Jesus.  Who am I to wish they were still here on this earth?  In all actuality, we are the ones that are here in this increasingly evil world.

I say all this just because I have spent this entire month extremely grateful and humbled for the wonderful life I get to live on this earth.  I also say all these things to remind myself that we are not home… We are just temporary travelers in a foreign land… dots on the timeline of eternity…

God thank you for life.  For blessings.  For giving us the desires of our hearts.  Lord, please help me to live with eternity in mind and set my feet firm on your path for my life.