Week 27

Today marks week 27... the end of my second trimester and the beginning of the third.  As I write, I have headphones straddled around my belly tuned in to Pandora classical music.  Baby boy Keeter seems to really like this, as in the last week the most recent development is full belly movements.  Matt and I both get to laughing when, what we can only imagine, is this little guy doing sommersaults to some stringed melody.

Also a recent addition, I think the baby stretches and all the sudden I feel him pushing in a certain spot.  I find this to be sometimes the most uncomfortable feeling... like being poked from the inside, and he seems to find real tender spots to do that. (As I'm typing he's doing this to my right side at the headphone... ouch!)

He hasn't officially found my ribs yet as his new toy, but I think sometimes his head comes right up to the base of my ribs and that's not exactly comfortable either.  I find in several of these circumstances I am playing defense, trying to ward of the next sneak attack by rubbing my sides or pushing down on an area he's pushing out on.

Last Thursday, I was having more Braxton Hicks than usual, and the doctor wanted me to come into the office right away.  As it turns out, I was a bit dehydrated, but I've been more aware of these contractions.  Today, I felt like my abs were really tight, and I began rubbing my lower abs.  Then my belly poked me back.  I stopped and just laughed... I think it was the baby saying- that's no contraction, that's my back- I'm a low rider and leave me alone.  He's a funny baby.

We're 3 months and 1 day away from d-day. I'm feeling a little claustrophobic in my own body, and have a hard time believing there are still 3 months to this journey. I haven't slept through an entire night in at least 3 months, but every night I haven't given up hope that maybe tonight's the night.

We're closer to narrowing in on a name, but I'm having commitment fears.  We've narrowed first name options down to 7, but no idea when that list will be truncated even further.  We still have 3 months, but I am looking forward to calling him something other than baby, Ghoukas or Poogie.  Praying God will give me peace about what to brand this child with for ALLL HIS LIFE... no pressure.

Well that's it for now- I'm crashing.. and who knows maybe tonight's the night I'll sleep all the way through...

24 Weeks

School is done, and we're still waiting for life to slow down.  Weekend before last we had a whirl wind trip to Arkansas for Matt's 10 year high school reunion.  It was hard to believe it was my first trip up there since Christmas, but so good to spend some time with family, however brief it was.  This past weekend we took a trip to Dallas and went to Naz Nite at Six Flags and then spent the night with our friends, the Young's.  I didn't have many options for rides, so I did sneak onto Yosemite Sam's Gold Mine float ride and the swings, but otherwise got in some good walking and enjoyed the great company of great friends.

This week the baby is supposedly a little over a pound and the lungs are warming up for breathing.  Otherwise, its all about growing... brain is still developing, white blood cells are kicking into action, and I do believe he has the hiccups on occasion.  I can't really tell, but ever so often his movements get rhythmic for 4 or 5 times... perhaps he just has more rhythm than his mom.

It's really hard to believe we're 24 weeks along, and the newest development this week is Braxton Hick's contractions. I've now had 3 or 4. I always wanted rock hard abs... It is the weirdest feeling- the first time I was just sitting on the couch and resting. The second time was last night... Matt and I came up pretty quickly on the toll road on an accident emergency crews were just responding to. I think that one might have been stress related, and then I had one or two more last night, and think they were just set off my that previous one. I do have a doctor's appointment coming up this week, so I'll make sure it's nothing more than what I'm supposed to be experiencing, but according to everything my apps are saying and what I'm reading online- we're in the clear.


Yesterday was also quite the milestone- Matt and I had our 6th wedding anniversary.  We're so blessed to have each other.  Last night I just looked across the table and reminisced about all we had done together... getting each other through school, moving 4 times, and now- having a baby.  The rough times, the good times, and thinking this is my life.  My world is right here with him.  I'm so lucky to have this man in my life, and to be loved like he loves me.  I've never loved something or someone so much.  Just knowing we're finite and someday there will be a goodbye (100 years from now) will always bring me to tears. (That's even before all these hormones set in). I love him.

Matt's doing well at work.  I'm so proud of him.  We both get up for work together and have breakfast in the morning together.  It's a new welcomed addition to my routine.

I'm still working and trying to keep up with my former pace.  I do have the luxury of a comfortable recliner in my office which has been awesome for my swollen tailbone and ankles that swell on occasion.  My co-workers are all so very sweet to me and pop by on occasion to offer to grab things for me or help in any way.  I'm pretty independent, but I do recognize the blessing it is to have such sweet people that care about you.

To close out my update, I'll share the latest food craving- white cream gravy- goes best on french fries from Braum's and milk shakes.  Milk shakes seem to help the burning lava that is heart burn, and they just taste good!  I still really can't do chicken in any type of large quanity.  Oh how I hate chicken right now... yuck!

The Keeter Express- a quick catch up on what's been going on.

I apologize that I haven't given a good update in a little while- it has been a little busy, and thus, there's a lot to catch everyone up on.  We'll start with the most recent news-

I'm twenty weeks this week!  That officially marks the half way point.  In some sense it feels unreal that this experience is half way over, and in others, I think back to when we first found out, and it feels so long ago.  According to various apps the baby is now the size of a banana, and is developing a sense of taste.  Thus my food choices become a little more important to make sure this baby likes veggies, fruits and tex mex.

Also- we can openly use pronouns!  He's a he!  I'm so thrilled to know I'll be the momma of a little boy.  Ever since I found out we were pregnant, I just knew it was a boy.  But I wanted to be careful, just in case it was a little girl, so no one would think I was disappointed or anything.  When I had my little scare at the ER, the ER doc and sonographer strongly hinted that it was a boy, but I wanted to wait until I had Matt with me to officially hear those words "Its a boy"!

We had our sonogram on Friday after we got back from our Babymoon.  The sonographer and we got to laughing a couple times with how much this baby is on the move.  He's a wiggler for sure.  That was until the sonographer got a picture of everything except the profile of our baby's face.  That's when he burrowed his face into the crook of his arm, facing my spine and wouldn't budge.  The sonographer took a break and gave me 10 minutes to march, dance, do jumping jacks, and would retry.  We retried, and there he was, same position!  She had me roll to both sides twice and then finally she seemed to gasp and took a ton of pictures.

That's him sucking his thumb.  We also found another picture where he might have been making an obscene gesture at the sonographer, so we'll have to talk about that when he get's here...

We also had a terrific time on our Babymoon!  We went to Secrets Capri in the Riviera Maya after flying in to Cancun.  We were there for 7 nights, and it was just wonderful getting to spend that kind of quality time with Matt, since these last two years have been quite busy with school.  Matt and I got in, spent the next day at the resort, and then the next day took the Tulum Extreme Tour.  We got to start off by visiting some Mayan ruins at Tulum, and then we headed into the jungle, where Matt zip lined, we both rappelled, and then got to snorkel in a cenote.  Its like a cave with cold clear water.  It was awesome!  We then went back to the hotel. 

We spent Saturday and Sunday lounging and in the pool, and Monday we went on a snorkeling excursion.  It was soooo fun!  We started off on a white sandy beach, flippers and all.  Our guide took us out over the grass beds and towards the reef.  This is an awesome place because sea turtles come in to feed.  Matt and I saw 4 or so on our way out, and boy are they cute!  We also saw a parrot fish, and lots of other friendly fish that can swim right up to look you straight in the eye.  About half way through I started to feel the rock of each wave.  The tour guide said not to worry if I threw up, it would be a great fish attraction.  I didn't want to be the attraction, so me and the secondary guide began to head back.  I told Matt to continue with the group, so he didn't miss anything on my account.  On our way back, Moses showed me the biggest sea turtle I had seen yet, and I swam right over him.  Then we saw a sting ray... it was like my own private showing!!  I got back to the beach, but being out of the water didn't stop the rocking I felt.  It took a while for my stomach to settle.  We then loaded back into the van and headed to three more cenotes to snorkel.  The water was beautiful, clear and COLD!  It wasn't comfortable going in, but after I got out my whole body felt refreshed.

I will say it was in Mexico that I saw for the first time my skin move with the baby's kicks.  It's been so fun.  And Matt got to feel it for the first time too down there.  Such a fun and special time!

I'll try to post some babymoon pictures later!

Oh and last, but not least, I graduated!  After two years going every Tuesday night, with only 1-2 week breaks between semesters it's almost all over.  I have one more presentation next Tuesday, and then I will officially be Amanda Keeter, MBA, MTB(Mom to Be).

Feeling Good

We're now wrapping up 16 weeks, and all are doing well and healthy. I did have an excellent run of not being sick, and only threw up once this last week.  I'm branching back into the world of the carnivores, and while meat as a solo main dish still isn't settling, I have worked up to meatball subs... so long as I split the meat balls in half.

This weekend I've been making sure to take it easy, and spent even most of Saturday in my PJ's watching TV and movies.  A little bit of a different story from the weekend before.

Matt was visiting Mom and Dad Keeter for the past week, enjoying the 4th of July festivities with our large extended family.  I do struggle with nightmares while he is away, but I was doing really well.  I was kind waiting for the shoe to drop, as generally its when he goes for a trip that I usually have some sort of notable event... my worst week of morning sickness while he was in Pensacola, and before that, two years ago I had severe neurological side effects from a medication.  But as of Saturday, I was feeling good and... unbelievably motivated.

I got up, and being freshly out from sickness, I thought I would start getting back into a work out routine, so I picked out my pilates video and did 10 minutes of abs and 10 minutes of flexibility.  I then proceeded to clean the house for a couple of hours, took a little nap, and then headed off to the grocery store.  I got home, and settled in for the night.  Unfortunately - the other shoe began to drop, and I noticed something that concerned me.  I called the nurse line, and they patched me in with Labor and Delivery, who recommended I head in to the ER.  I called Matt to let him know what was going on, and then called my best friend, who drove over.  I also called my other best friend, who is now an MD, and she also recommended I head in, just to get things checked out.

Ashley and I headed to the Scott & White ER.  It was a bit of a traumatic experience, and I had to get fitted with an IV (which has left a bruise that is still visible).  The ER doc had a couple of concerns so they called in a sonographer, who was on call.  She got there 55 minutes later.  She did a great job looking at everything, and by the end of the night I got to see the baby sucking its thumb, and moving around.  It was special, since the last time I saw it, it was 1.5 cm.  Both the ER doc and sonographer made references to the sex of the baby, so that was also fun to learn, sad as I was that Matt wasn't there with me.

At the end of it, I left with a diagnosis of "threatened miscarriage", and saw my doctor two days later who told me to continue to take it easy, but considered it more of a flukey one time thing.

Matt got home midnight Sunday night, and brought home the crib and changing table.  All three were a light for me, especially Matt.  I really missed him, and needless to say, we've both discussed that he's not going on any more solo trips without me.

We're so glad God is watching over me and the baby... can't believe it will just be 23 more weeks (plus or minus) until we get to meet this little one.

Love to all-

Mandy

Dreams of Pregnancy

There are fair warnings that you'll have crazy dreams when you are pregnant, and whenever my husband is away, they seem to take on a whole new level of ridiculous.  For example- in a recent dream apparently the baby had escaped and was traveling internally down my leg.  I could feel it moving while it wiggled down my leg- creepy!  Somehow it then got out, and I looked down and it was the size of one of the baby's in a King Cake at Mardi Gras.  I remember thinking... this is not good.

I think that stemmed from the practice that as I'm laying down on my left side, I think I feel the baby "thumping" me ever so lightly.  So as I go to sleep and as I wake up I'm feeling for this.  The literature all says about by week 16 you may feel the baby... I know that's all of next Tuesday but it would be nice to have something make this feel more like pregnancy rather than months of the flu and my body aching/ ballooning.

It has been funny how on many occasions that I get up from a nap, and after seeing myself in a mirror, my immediate thought is-"you've really let yourself go."  Then I have that light bulb moment that reminds me there's a reason my belly isn't what it was.  But it is comical to me how many times I do forget it, and it is a little bit of a shocker when I catch my reflection.

The baby is supposedly 4 inches long from crown to rump, and the size of a naval orange.  I'm sensing the lack of real estate in my abdomen.  After eating I have to do those side stretches from the 80's music vidoes to feel like everything fits.

I hope to get a picture soon posted.  I keep thinking about it after I'm in pj's and I always swore I'd never be one of those gals who took a picture of myself in the bathroom mirror... (don't know why that matters, but I guess we all pick the things we'll be wierd about).

Saltines... the snack of champions

Two steps forward and one step back...

I took last week's meat eating success as a green light, and tried to quickly return to my former pace of life.  Not so quickly!  This week has certainly been better for Morning, Afternoon and Evening sickness... its more now like immediate sporadic sickness, and the gag reflex is a little less quick on the draw, but doesn't let me forget it's still there.  Thankfully Lucky Charms get me through the morning, oranges, saltines and water get me through the work day, and my sweet husband has dinner for me at night.

The big change this week is how my body must be shifting, cause I just hurt.   I've been walking for two days with a limp because my hip got torqued funny when I was sleeping.  The two days of limping plus sitting in my desk added up to a pretty painful backache.  It hurt so bad I almost got sick as I drove home from work yesterday.  At 9:30 at night I just had to talk with my best friend Ashley to see if she could use her amazing massage skills to see if this was a muscular issue or a kidney.  She is the BEST, and saw me late that night, and it did turn out that my whole left side and some parts of my right side of my back was just in complete knots.  I'm so lucky to have such a sweet husband that would drive me over, and such a sweet friend who would do what she could to help.  It did help immesurably, and I hope to go back to see her soon for a full on massage so I can feel good in what is "supposed to be" the "good trimester".

PS- if anyone needs an amazing massage, Ashley has her own studio!

Surprise!

This weekend I took Friday off and surprised Matt with a fun day.  Without him knowing, I packed an overnight bag and loaded the car.  We grabbed Dusty, and Matt thought the three of us were going to go do something.  Before we got too far down the road we dropped Dusty off at Grandma's and headed down into Austin.

Unknown to Matt, I was working in tandem with our great friend Mallory from college, and she was surprising her husband with a birthday celebration in San Antonio, and we were meeting them there.  Unfortuntately, they were running late, so I needed a stall tactic.

Matt and I stopped for the food trucks on South Congress.

I had a mighty cone

(baby wasn't a big fan)

and Matt got a shrimp po-boy.  It was so hot outside, so we quickly got back in the car and on the road.

Apparently when you're expecting you're supposed to stop every hour of a trip and walk around for about 10 minutes, so we stopped at Buc-ees just south of New Braunsfels. 

Now that's a gas station!

We got down to San Antonio around 3:15, and I tried to take a short nap.  We then devised a plan to meet up at the pool at 4:15.  Matt and Adam were so surprised!

After swimming, we cleaned up and went to the Riverwalk. On the way there I got some insight as to what's to come...

1,2,3... JUMP!

Adam, Little Kaden, and Matt

We walked the entire Riverwalk

and then watched the Razorbacks in the College World Series from our hotel room.  In trying to walk to bed, I hobbled like a grandma... my hips are doing something all their own.

The next day we started with breakfast, a walk through the Alamo, and then we went to Sea World! 

We had so much fun watching Shamu, and getting to play with Adam and Mal's two kids. 

We left at 9:30 and made it home by 11:30.  It was a great trip!

Wrapping up week 13

This week I welcomed the second trimester, and man o man do I feel a difference.  It wasn't so much over night, but it started with the thought... "I think I could eat a Junior Burger from Sonic".  From there, I progressed to a BLT at lunch the next day, and this weekend even took two bites of cheese enchiladas.  Its been a good while since I've gotten sick, and I've even been able to ride in the passenger seat without getting car sick.  It may not sound like much, but for me it's huge!

Speaking of things that are big... things are progressing here at the homefront.

Here I am one day shy of 14 weeks!



The biggest change since becoming pregnant outside of food woes, and I think Matt will agree, is my laizze-faire attitude.  I used to passionately care about so much.  Currently, in a milder sense than Rhett Butler, "I just don't give a darn!" 

Dinner- whatever is in the fridge. 

There's nothing in the fridge- let's call and see what Grandma's got.   

House has gone about 3 week since a vacumming.

My hedges look like something wooley out of a Dr. Seuss cartoon.

Papers are getting written the day before they're due... 

My response... I don't care... :)

God is Faithful

"Momma" at 12 Weeks



The name of this post is God is Faithful, because even though I have been so sick during this pregnancy, God has provided.

This week really was tough to survive.  I stayed home sick from work Monday, went home Tuesday, and worked from home after throwing up at the office, and the next day I threw up twice at the office, but stuck it out, because ...well... there's work to do.  In all of this, I've had caring family, friends and coworkers showing me such love.  Facebook posts and messages, texts, calls and prayers.  I want to thank them all for being real friends to me while I've at points just gotten down right discouraged.  Nausea has a funny way of at points making you question whether you can even go on like this.  That's when you really need the love and support of friends, and to each of you- I am so thankful.

I gave a shout out to my friends Phyllis, Katie, Julie and Becca last time.  I was really running low on clothes I could wear, and these girls met my point of need.  I also know Sarah and Amanda have a few more items for me.  God has blessed me abundantly more than I could think or ask (as it's said in Eph 3:20).  Between these ladies, I should have a FULL closet and every need met.

I also got a text this weekend from Matt's Aunt Ramona who was out busy hitting the garage sales.  She found this crib that converts to a toddler bed and baby changing station all for $100.

My parents were so great to keep my crib for me, but now hearing about how a "drop side" crib can be dangerous, we were having some anxiety about what modifications we would need to make to it, to make it safe.  I also didn't even think I was going to get a changing table, but just get a dresser and put one of those changing pads on top of it.  This nursery might actually look like it belongs to a baby!

Thanks, Aunt Ramona!

I think the part that just really shows how God is faithful relates to what I called in my last post of "some complications" I had.  Namely, that I've had endometriosis for many years, and have even had to have a laproscopy for corrective surgery.  In February of 2008, I went in to have my surgery and while under, the doctor discovered that my ovary had flipped and was attached by scar tissue to the wall of my body cavity.  She was able to detach it, and flip it back, but especially over the last two years I've felt the scar tissue growing back there on my left side again.  Even my new doctor said he could feel scar tissue the size of an egg beginning to grow, and that if I were to come off birth control, Matt and I would need to try right away to conceive.

So it was a bit of a shock when we thought it would take months to get pregnant and it happened right away.  It was even more of a shock during our first ultrasound when the doctor located the ovary that produced the egg.  It was the one I had corrective surgery on.  What a miracle for us, and just another testament to God's faithfulness.  We just know God has a plan for this child's life, and I feel at peace about the road ahead, because He is with me on it.

Top 10 FAQ

Its been a long time since our last "Family Post", but that's because much of the blog would read... Matt's almost done with school, Mandy's busy with work and school... and not much else.  But Wham Bam and thank you mam, 8 weeks and one day ago we got something to write about.  The Keeter Klan is about to Expand.

Yesterday marked 12 weeks along, and word is officially out.  We're having a baby!
In preparation of some of time's most honored pregnancy questions, I'll go ahead and try to answer what some of you may be thinking:

1. When are we Due?

December 25, 2012. Merry Christmas!

2. The "It's about Time" Statement
 Some were beginning to think we were holding out, having been married 5 and a half years.  Others question whether our little gift was a surprise.  I will say that we had been preparing for a baby for about a month, but due to my previous "complications", we really thought it would take some time.  So I rationalized in my head, that if it would take long, let's start trying while I'm in school so I'm not consumed by it.  Needless to say, first times the charm, and now what consumes me is homework and nausea.

3.  Have you been Experiencing any Sickness?
YES.  It all started around week 6 and 4 days.  It really hasn't stopped since then.  There's been a good day here and there, but wouldn't you know we're closing out on the first trimester, and so far week 12 has been the worst.  Already I've gotten sick every day this week, twice today at the office.  I'm comforted by friends on Facebook and sweet co-workers, but there is little relief.  I put in a call today at the doctors office to see about finally taking something.

4.  Any Food Cravings?
I've gotten very picky about what I'm eating... its been since May 25th since I've really eaten any meat.  I think the baby's a vegetarian.  Usually, when its the roughest, I can still manage to eat a Taco Bell Tostada or Bean Burrito with no onions.  When I'm feeling better, I like strawberry banana smoothies and get this... ketchup!  Not together, I mean, but I often find myself wanting to order fries or fried okra just for a taste of the Heinz.

5. Boy or Girl?
We'll really be so happy either way.  From what I know from some reading I did, I get the sense that it might be a boy.  I'd love to have a girl, cause I really enjoy the relationship I have with my mom, but a boy might get me out of playing catch with Matt as a better substitute.

We will find out the sex of the Baby.  Originally it was going to be August 8th, but with my graduation the week before, and all our family in, I called this morning to see if we could push the appointment back to the Friday before.  With a little sweet talk, that's just what I did and we'll be "surprised" on August 3rd.

6. Names?
I always feel a bit shocked when people ask about whether we've thought about names.  I'm still getting used to the fact my new name is Momma, much less what to call someone else.  Luckily I'll find out the baby's sex the day before I graduate, so my hopes really are to focus on and complete school, and then turn my full attention to the growing development at hand.


7. Am I Showing Yet?
I feel like I've been showing since week 7 or so.  I'm currently in what used to be my "big" pants, and they may work for one more week or so.  Some have questioned if there's just one in there.  With all this sickness I sometimes do too, but so far, heart beat and sonogram show one taking up residence.

Also, now is a great time to shout out to Abby, Phyllis, Katie, Julie and Becca for filling my closet up maternity style.  I was really hurting for something to wear, but Abby helped me come and box my things up, and now it looks like a whole new wardrobe.  Thanks for the loaners!

8. Any Other Side Effects?
I do get tired often.  I try to take lunches at my Grandmas, so I can take a quick nap during my lunch hour.  I've also got a half hour break at 3 that I sometimes try to sneak in a cat nap.
I definitely have "pregnancy brain".  I think sometimes Matt's surprised at the lack of thought process that now occurs. 

I even caught myself a day ago thinking about going ahead and having a gender reveal and graduation party the same day as my graduation.  I had an entire conversation about it with a friend.  It wasn't until the next day that I realized that my appointment, at that time, to find out the sex of the baby was the following week.  Sheesh.

9.  Well pregnancy brain strikes again, and I can't think of two other questions to answer.  If you post something below, we'll count that and I'll answer those.

10.