23 weeks... ALREADY!

Well today marks the start of week 23!  This will begin some major weight gain by Connor, meaning major weight gain by mommy!  He is the size of a small doll and weighs over a pound at this point.  I have a feeling I am going to have a big baby... pray for my little self!! EEK!

His skin is still loose around him as his body is still growing into it.  It is becoming less translucent as the weeks go by and blood vessels are now developing!

More exciting yet... Connor's heartbeat can now be heard through a regular stethoscope!  I might have to go buy one so I can listen to it whenever I want!  SO NEAT!

I go to the doctor again Thursday for a regular exam and to get a travel chart of records to take with me on our adventures over leave!

I will update everyone after that!!!

Baby Shower!!!

My baby shower will be held February 6, 2010!  Mark your calendars... we will be getting invites out at the end of December for everyone!!

Time is a flying!

I can honestly say things are flying by at this point.  I am now 22 weeks along and feeling great everyday.  I haven't been getting tons of rest but have been told it is just a part of this stage of pregnancy.  I am just thankful that I can keep food down... I've never been one to sleep much anyways!

I go back to the doctor next Thursday for a routine visit and to talk about delivery and more details about Connor's development!

I will post new pictures as soon as I figure out how to use my Mac with the blog :).  My windows crashed so I am taking full use of the Mac again... but I forgot how everything works on it so give me some time.

However, I will NOT be posting ultrasound pictures as my scanner is not compatible with my Mac :(.  BUT... I have made a scrapbook of them for everyone to see over the Holiday's!

It's a BOY!!!

Hello Friends and Family!

I think most of you already know... but just in case some are out of the loop...

IT'S A BOY!!!

Connor Lewis Billings is still right on track for a mid-April delivery.  All appeared perfect on the ultrasound.

I will add ultrasound pictures as soon as I get a chance to scan them on the computer!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

15 weeks along and growing!

I am starting to look like a pregnant chick... instead of just a chick that has eaten too much... :)  HOORAY!

Baby Update: October

Today marked my second REAL prenatal appointment! 

Here are the updates:

My Weight: 116.5 (never weighed this much in my entire life)
My Blood Pressure: 110/71
My Temperature: 98.3
Baby's Heart: 150 (they said this is "perfect" for a healthy baby at this stage)

My next appointment is November 24th.  I have a regular checkup in the morning and then an ultrasound in the afternoon to find out the sex.  They don't have enough space in the woman's clinic to do routine ultrasounds anymore so I have to go through the radiology department for ultrasounds from now on.  I should have ultrasound pictures to post then also!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Thursday marks 15 weeks so I will have more pictures up within the next week for everyone :).

13 Weeks! Finally, into the 2nd TRIMESTER!

I have some updated photos for you all... I have grown more than I thought!  I guess since I see myself everyday I don't really notice but my oh my this makes it all seem much bigger now than it was 2 weeks ago!

The only baby update I have at the moment is that I made my appointment for the gender ultrasound!  DRUM ROLL PLEASE....... November 24, 2009 and 2:15pm!  Which if you notice is only about a month away already!  I can't even believe it!  My mom and grandma will be traveling down here for Thanksgiving and should be arriving on November 24th!  We are hoping they get here before my appointment so they can also come with Don and I.  Mom has obviously seen an ultrasound with me but they are much more updated and clear... and well they didn't have those when Grandma was going through this so she is really excited to be able to see something like this!  It's going to be one of the best days of the year...

Girls Name: Hailey Sue... we both loved the name Hailey and Sue was Don's late mother's middle name so we wanted to honor her as best as we could (not to mention that is super cute).

Boys Name: Connor Lewis... Connor has been a favorite in my brain for awhile now (like when I dreamed about having kids when I was younger) and when I mentioned it to Don he couldn't think of a better name himself (yeah, I am good I know) and Lewis is Don's middle name!  It fit so well together that there wasn't really any other option for us on this one.

Enjoy the pictures!  I am going to do them every two weeks until I hit 20 weeks and then I am going to try to do them weekly since I will start growing a lot more by that point! :)

Into Week 12... inching closer to Week 13

Just wanted to update you all on my progress the past week or so...

I am at 12 weeks right now... this Thursday will mark week 13 and the 2nd trimester.

I am gaining weight much better... already two pounds since my last appointment... and at 13 week I will post updated pictures.  Mostly so I can see the progress myself but also for everyone else ;)!

Hope everyone has an amazing week! 

11 weeks!

This is what you all have been waiting for... my very first belly I've ever had!  I know I know... I promise it will get bigger soon! :)

One Jellybean!

Well today marked the second visit to the doctor for the baby!  After waiting over an hour (why did I even bother to make an appointment a month ago) I finally saw my Certified Nurse Midwife (that's what the Army uses for low-risk pregnancies up until the end of the pregnancy or if something goes wrong during the pregnancy... so I hope I don't see an actual doctor for awhile).  She was an awesome lady and made me feel very comfortable. 

So here is the full update from the appointment:

My heart rate: 126/85
My weight: 113 (didn't gain any weight from the last appointment... they didn't like that but it isn't really an issue)
Temperature: 98.5
My blood type: B+
My due date: April 20, 2010 (still the same as predicted before)
Weeks Along:  10 weeks 6 days (however, after she checked me out she thinks I am actually in my 11th week BUT is still going to leave my due date where it is... if I "pop" early then I do)
Blood tests:  ALL NORMAL

Okay so enough about my vitals and such... here is the fun part!

I also got to hear the baby's heart beat!  It was probably the NUMBER 1 coolest thing I have ever experienced, nothing even comes close.  She asked me if I drank any coffee or anything this morning which I hadn't.  Her reason for asking is because the baby wouldn't sit still, she could barely keep her little wand on the "active little one" (her exact words).  However, I did eat chocolate chip cookies in the waiting room because I have to have a lot of snacks throughout the day (or I will get sick).  She thinks that was probably the cause but I am going to go with the baby is taking after me, already shaking the booty ;).  Although she says it is a good thing the baby is reacting to different foods in that way... I guess the baby likes chocolate chip cookies!  Good thing because I wasn't planning on giving them up in my life time!

I will be setting up my gender ultrasound next week which will be between November 18 and December 3!  That seems so close all of a sudden considering it's almost October!  I am going to be in labor before I know it... oh dear...

Well... I think that is about it for now!  Don wasn't able to come to this appointment because of training but hopefully he won't have to miss anymore!

Hope everyone has a great October!

I will post some picture of my belly next month... once I am a little larger! 

First Prenatal Appointment

Well Don and I had our first visit to the doctor yesterday morning!  After wating for 30 minutes in the waiting room they finally brought us to a room for registration and all of those crazy questions about our families health history.  They gave me pointers on food that will be easy on my stomach with the morning sickness and medicines that are on the safe list to help with my allergies that always seem to kick my booty!

My due date is April 20, 2010!!!

I will be going in for my first ultrasound on September 29 which is when it will get even more exciting.

I will be home in about a week and a half to visit everyone and for Maryville Alumni Weekend and a friends bachelorette party!

Can't wait to see everyone!

EEK.... it's been a rough couple of weeks!

This "morning" sickness is really starting to get on my nerves!  I can't seen to catch a break from it.  It seems when I finally start feeling better it all comes back again... grr!  Oh well it should pass eventually so I can actually get things done. 

I am looking forward to the "fun" part of pregnancy now after the way things have been going lately... but trying not to rush things! 

Don and I started our first baby registry at Target on Sunday with all gender nuetral things.  A lot will probably change on it because we want to register at Babys-R-Us for the main registry items but it was fun and I think helped it all sink in for him.  All's he wanted to do was put the "I love my Daddy" things on it... haha! 

Not too much longer until my first appointment now that it is September!  :)

I will update this again after that appointment with the due date and any other details I receive from the doctor!

And the symptoms begin...

Well I guess I spoke too soon about not having any symptoms because as of Friday my life has been rough... and by my life I mean my stomach!

Symptom Number 1... TIREDNESS! I can't seem to get enough sleep no matter how many hours I sleep at night and throughout the day. I am constantly trying to find an extra minute to nap and that extra bit of energy to make my bed (anyone that knows me well knows that I ALWAYS make the bed so this is very disturbing to me)!

Symptom Number 2... SICKNESS! This was an on and off sort of thing for the past week but is in prime season now. At first the sight or thought of chocolate made me uneasy but now I can eat chocolate ALL DAY long (thank GOD because I love my Triple Chocolate Meltdowns from Applebee's). At this point it isn't any certain food anymore... but if I don't constantly have a mint, jolly rancher, or something along those lines in my mouth I am feeling sick. Thanks to my pregnant friend, Maura McNamara, I was able to find a solution of sucking on hard candy, but prior to that it was my sitting on the couch with my eyes closed or constantly snacking on something edible which became annoying really fast.

I haven't had much else as far as symptoms... or at least not anything that is driving me crazy like the two mentioned above.

Oh wait... I have also been decently cranky (I guess I can recapture my old title of "Crabby Abbie" that my mom gave me when I was going through puberty). I am surprised Don is still feeling love for me... I snap easy! Well I guess this is fair warning to everyone ;)!

Hope everyone has a great week. I will update again once I have more details about this miracle inside me. :)

It's baby time!

Well on Thursday, August 13, 2009, I found out that I was pregnant! I took three tests and they all came back positive! I don't know if it is a sign or not but August 13 was also our 8 month annivarsary! So it turned out to be a very special day for sure! As we inch closer to being married for one full year, we also get closer to having our first child.

I decided that since I didn't have my family around since I am all the way down in Texas... that I would start this so that everyone could keep up with each new month of my pregnancy.

My first prenantal doctor appointment will be on Septmeber 8, 2009. So far I haven't had any major symptoms as far as morning sickness or extreme tiredness, but today I noticed myself yawning at noon... which isn't like me at all!

Well I hope that everyone enjoys my new blog! As I grow... I will post pictures on here for everyone to see! :)

Love you all!

By the way... the pictures here are the "before" pictures that I took the day I found out!