And the heartbeat says...

On December 13, we had our 12 week follow up appointment. The only thing interesting that happened was we got to hear little Mudgekin's heartbeat again. The doctor said it was in the low 160s, which was good and strong at this point. If you want to believe a) the Chinese gender calendar or b) the not so exact science of how fast the heartbeat is.....then we're having a girl!!!! Or if you want to believe the, you're not that sick with boys but could be with a girl not so exact science....then it's a boy!!

We only have to wait 2 months to find out for sure and in the meantime there's not a lot to report. The doctor asked me if I had any questions or concerns and I could not think of anything! Seriously, who grows a baby and has zero questions about it? She said that it seems I may have it figured out if I didn't have any questions, I think it's closer to, "I have no idea what's going on or what I'm going to do, so I'll just smile and nod for now"

Once I hit about 11 weeks, I started getting some energy back and stopped crying and/or yelling at Chris every day.  Those hormones are no joke. I think we're both happy to be in our second trimester and look forward to finally watching my belly grow. We missed the 12 week picture, but the food belly looks about the same, trust me. Maybe when I actually think I'm showing I'll take another picture!

We are excited to start our tour of Christmas-Texas style for the last time with just the two of us, and anticipate what our lives will be like at Christmas time next year

Merry Christmas!!

10 Weeks

This is a little late, but we were 10 weeks along on Nov. 30th. Hopefully we can read it a little better, if not I took a close up.

Still a food belly...no one get too excited.

He tried to take a close up of the sign, but I think he also just wanted to be in the picture. Those dads always get left out.

We have a heartbeat

As I'm sure is true with any new parent we are already learning so much at an incredibly fast rate.

The first thing we learned this week is that Mudgekin has a heartbeat! Last Monday we went to our first doctor's appointment and got to see our sweet little baby for the first time. Granted, it doesn't look much different than a cheeto, but it's there and it has a strong heartbeat. For the first 7 weeks or so, you start having the symptoms of pregnancy, you've had a positive test, but you don't really know that there is something actually in there until you see it with your own eyes. Everything at the doctor looked good, so we will go back in mid December for our 12 week appointment. We have a sonogram picture, but for some reason I find it a little uncomfortable to post on the blog for everyone to see inside me, maybe once it looks a little more like a baby and less like a cheeto it will make more sense to me. :)

Another thing we learned this week is to never complain about NOT being sick in the mornings. I guess in my mind, being sick means everything is working properly. I have mornings that are better than others, and on those bad days I remind myself that I kind of asked for it. Knowing that both my mom and sister were very sick with their little ones I keep waiting for the storm to come. Although I am not 100% in the mornings and sometimes feel a little uneasy, I will take it and count it as a blessing!

I have also been introduced to what the word "tired" really means. My whole life, I thought I had seen tired, I thought I had been tired before, and I'm sure this definition will change again when I am on a lack of sleep with a newborn. BUT for now, my "tired" has been taken to a whole new level. When it's time to sit down and watch tv after work and I'm asleep by 8 because my body has shut down...THAT's tired.

My last lesson for this week is that no matter how hard I try to be creative or follow something on Pinterest...there is a great chance that I will fail! I realize that no one can read what this sign says, so I promise my 12 week picture will be legible and much larger, but I decided to post anyway. This blog is a way for me and Chris to remember every step of this journey along with letting our family and friends see into a little bit of what is going on with Mudgekin. So....you get the big picture, the details are not important! It says that Mudgekin is as big as a green olive and is its limbs are starting to grow big and strong. (Trust me...that's what it says). :)



8 Weeks
Before anyone tells me they see a belly, any belly you see is food related due to my increased appetite over the last few weeks!



Sharing the News

Sharing news like this is always exciting, but can also be very tricky. You have to make sure you can tell everyone you need to around the same time and we made the decision to tell each of the new grandparents face to face. With our families spread across 6 different Texas cities, and plans already made for this weekend, we had to get creative. Unfortunately for everyone, Chris and I are absolutely NOT creative, and we're terrible liars. But, if we didn't share this weekend, it would get harder and harder to keep this Little Mudgekin a secret, so this was it. We had to make it work!

On Thursday afternoon about 5 pm, Chris and I decided we needed to just get in the car and drive to College Station. Gamma and Poppy (already named from their first grandchild, Barrett) were leaving town for the A&M/Auburn game and they both happened to have dinner plans Thursday night. Buuuttt we drove to College Station anyway telling them we had to pick up a game tape from A&M, and we would just stop by on our way out of town. With Chris' crazy schedule, we didn't think this seemed too far off...but they saw right through us. At about 9:15, and after about 5 terrible lies that made no sense, we just gave up and gave them a little book sharing with them that they would be grandparents for the second time. After a little celebration and telling Aunt Alli and Uncle Kyle, the Barrett clan had officially been notified.

On Friday, Chris' dad and step mom were expected to come into town.  Happy that we didn't have to have an excuse to show up at their door, we went to dinner just like any other visit would have started. We had a book for them in my purse, and were going to wait until after dinner. However, with every else ordering wine (sigh...wine), we decided that was as good a time as any! They were excited to hear that Little Mudgekin would be here in June.

Last, but certainly not least, we got up Sunday morning and began our drive to Round Rock. Chris had practice that evening, so we had 3 hours to get there, 2 hours to share the news and 3 hours to get back. Seeing how bad we are at lying, we thought maybe this time we should just show up! We are about 15 minutes from the house when we find out Chris' mom is not home, but going to work instead...aaaaand we don't know where her office is. Thank goodness for Google! As she gets out of the car, we get out next to her and she stares at us for about 30 seconds before realizing that we have good news. We had a celebration lunch and head home. We notified Aunt Lissa on the way, and the Mudge clan was complete.

It was a whirlwind of a weekend, but we were excited to share our news and at least have someone we could talk to about everything! It sure is a blessing to already know the support and love we have from our immediate families! Still at 6 weeks is pretty early, so we just wait and pray for the strength and health of our Little Mudgekin!

It's That Time

Well, I guess it's that time. It's the time that every young married couple thinks about at some point or another. For some it doesn't come quick enough, for some it's a bit too soon. Chris and I discussed having kids and had the, 'ok, we're ready', talk....but let's face it, no one is ever completely ready! Especially only a month after having said conversation. :) Don't get me wrong, we were excited to see the word 'Pregnant' digitally produced on that small little stick that will change our lives forever. We are excited to share our marriage and our life with a little one expected in June 2013. Because Chris was set on having something to call this little one for the next 9 months, we decided on 'Our Little Mudgekin'. Corny, yes...but if you know Chris, you know why he loves it!

As exciting as the news is, the obvious fears creep in about what kind of parents we will be, will we put Mudgekin in day care, how will we handle the holidays, will they be smart, who's hair will they have, what will we name it (really? What goes with Mudge?), and the list goes on. Somewhere in those conversations I forgot about being freaked out by my body becoming an oven, someone else being completely dependant on us, and not to mention childbirth. BUT I have a few months to sit and think on the pains of that one. Oh joy! :) God has given us this incredible gift and we are just really trying to trust that He knows what He's doing! He doesn't give us anything we can't handle, right?!?!

With all of that said, we are excited to embark on this journey together and are thankful for all of the friends and family we have supporting us. We are thrilled to be following God's plan for our life and excited to see how it all plays out!

I have been putting off creating a blog, because I didn't have much to share, but at 5 weeks pregnant, I feel I'll have a lot of things I'll need to jot down in the near future. So, here is the blog about our little Mudgekin, our experience of the next 9 months and into the joys of figuring out how to be parents!