Baby #4, Week 8

Still just bloated... yay...

How far along: 8 weeks

Baby is the size of: A kidney bean!

Gender Prediction: Boy

Weight gain: 1 pound

Starting to show yet?: Still bloated... so not quite sure!

Maternity clothes: Not yet!

Stretch marks: Just a lot of old ones!

Belly button in or out: In

Sleep: Great! Even better when I workout!

Movement: Not yet!

Best moment this week: Seeing all the positive feedback on Facebook for Baby #4! I honestly thought people wouldn't be so supportive... I get a lot of, "You know how that happens? Right?"... and maybe those people are trying to be funny, but it hurts my feelings. Charles and I want a large family. God willing, this will not be our last child. Trust me. WE KNOW HOW TO MAKE BABIES. We've had plenty of practice!

Worst moment this week: The anxiety I had about losing this baby. I've had no negative symptoms, I just get so scared that something is going to go wrong. This week, my hormones were all out of whack and I had a major break down about the possibility of losing this baby. Charles and I said a prayer together and we were comforted!

Miss anything: I'm still missing smaller boobs...

Wedding rings on or off?: On

Cravings: Oranges
Appetite: Hearty. I have to be careful though! I'm eating more, but moving less. I know it's alright to gain weight while pregnant, I just need to start keeping track of my food. I only need 300 extra calories a day. Not three extra servings of each meal! Drinking a lot of water has helped me cut back on my serving sizes!

Queasy or sick: Queasy. It gets better when I don't miss a meal or snack. If I miss one of those things, my body goes into queasy mode. Also, riding in the car is NOT GOOD. I can drive, but being a passenger is a totally different experience for me. I get car sick SO fast.
Workouts: I didn't work out during the beginning of the week. I just didn't feel good. Walking across the house made me feel sick. By Thursday, I was feeling more like myself and decided to try Power Hour and Aqua Zumba! I made it through both classes just fine! 

Emotionally: I am worried and stressed more than I'd like to admit. I constantly worry that I'm going to lose the baby. I won't say that it's an irrational fear, I've lost four babies in my time. So every time I feel gassy or bloated, I instantly think that I'm cramping and going to lose the baby. I try to remain positive, but my fears get the best of me. And I cry. I am trying to adjust my thinking and stay positive, but I am scared. I pray 100+ times a day that this baby is safe, healthy, and growing.
Physically: I am still beyond exhausted! I cannot pull myself out of bed in the mornings. Even getting up to pee in the middle of the night is a chore! I feel like I'm crawling out of a hole! All I want to do is lounge around and sleep. My pimple/acne problem is clearing up slowly. I've made sure to get all of my water each day and it's helping! It's hard to drink so much when I have to pee every five minutes!

Looking forward to: Entering the second trimester! Worrying/Stressing less.

Running for TWO!

We have been keeping a HUGE secret!

Vivian is going to be a BIG SISTER in July of 2014!

Charles and I found out, literally, minutes before taking our girls trick-or-treating for Halloween!

Rewind to the Sunday before Halloween: I was super bloated and crampy because I was to start my period the next day. But I didn't... I have gone a few days late before and have negative pregnancy tests. So I didn't think too much of it this time. Tuesday, no start. Wednesday, not start. Halloween was that Thursday.

Before we got ready to go, I took a shower. When I got out of the shower, I stood on the bath mat talking to Charles. He looked at me weird and said, "Weren't you suppose to have started your period?" I was confused and surprised by his question. (TMI warning!) When I'm on my period, I usually have to rush to put a pad on after my showers, and when I was just standing there talking to him, he was a little confused by it. He knew I was suppose to start on Monday. I told him that I have been this late before and not been pregnant. He gave me a sideways look and told me that he was going to get a pregnancy test from Walmart.

As I was looking up costume ideas (I still didn't know what I wanted to go as!), I realized that my boobs felt fuller than normal. I laughed a little about it, but then I started getting a little scared. What if I am pregnant? What would that mean for my weight loss and next year's running season? I decided to put off those questions until I knew the results of the pregnancy test. I also decided to go as Queen Amidala from Star Wars. I had a Queen Vampire costume, so I just needed to paint my face.

Charles walked back through the door and handed me the test. I finished getting my face painted and getting the girls ready to leave for trick-or-treating. Our friends Rumy and Amanda had showed up to help us trick-or-treat with our girls. While they were outside taking pictures, I went inside to take the test. Within, literally, five seconds, this is what I saw:

I was in shock! I sat down for a minute to process it... then called Charles inside to look at the test. We both looked at each other, again, in shock, and I said, "Here we go!"

Caitlin as a Ballerina
Rosalie as Princess Belle
Vivian as a Care Bear

Star Wars Love
Me as Queen Amidala and Charles as Darth Vader

We were in shock! The entire time while trick-or-treating. Afterwards. The next day. The next week... I only told two friends during the first week, and that was to have their input on some races I had already signed up to run next year in the Spring. We weren't sure if we were going to announce it to our families until I had the first ultrasound. But we decided to go ahead and announce it. We told our family on Friday, November 8th. We put a "Big Sister" shirt on Vivian and said, "You have to see Vivian's new shirt!". We got SO many excited claps and hugs! Some people got it right away, others it took a minute before they realized what that meant! Then we told our close friends the same way! Each was met with big hugs and cheering!

Now that we've announced it to the Facebook world, I want to start documenting my week-by-week with the online surveys some of my friends have been posting for their own pregnancies! Here we go!

Pretty sure I'm just bloated!

Our first ultrasound at 7 weeks, 1 day

How far along: 7 weeks, 3 days

Baby is the size of: A blueberry!

Gender Prediction: I'm thinking BOY! This pregnancy is completely different from my others... I know that it doesn't necessarily mean that I'm carrying a boy, it's just how I feel! Some of it might be wishful thinking! Honestly, I'll be happy with whatever God blesses us with! Charles and Caitlin are also thinking it's a boy! Rosalie thinks it's a girl! Vivian thinks it's a duck!

Weight gain: Nothing yet! Although I feel bigger... more puffy.

Starting to show yet?: Yes! I think... Which seems crazy to me... but this is my fourth child! My uterus knows what it's doing! Or it might just be bloating... probably just bloating.

Maternity clothes: Not yet! Although my clothes are getting tighter in the bust and belly section! I've had to up a bra size! (The joys of pregnancy!)

Stretch marks: Just a lot of old ones!

Belly button in or out: In

Sleep: Fantastic! Minus getting up to pee every now and then!

Movement: Nothing yet!

Best moment this week: Seeing our baby and his/her heart on the ultrasound!

Worst moment this week: Waiting for the ultrasound... I have a history of having bad moments during the first ultrasound... 

Miss anything: Smaller boobs... Running longer than a mile without having to stop to pee...

Wedding rings on or off?: On

Cravings: Pickle Wraps, Apple Cinnamon Cheerios, Avocados, Salad with Hidden Valley Ranch, Oranges
Appetite: I feel like I'm eating everything! I am constantly hungry! AT ALL TIMES. It doesn't go away. I drink about 80 ounces of water a day and I still feel like I'm starving. I am eating five small meals with two to three healthy snacks a day. 

Queasy or sick: Queasy all the time. It doesn't really go away. Some moments are worse than others. When I workout, I'm fine! But within 10 minutes of finishing, I have to lay down because I'm so nauseous.
Workouts: I haven't really been running since I found out about the pregnancy. I'm so, so queasy and all of the jostling of my stomach doesn't help. I've had some good runs and some bad runs. It doesn't help that I'm SO tired all the time. I try waking up early to run or workout and end up falling back asleep. Oops! I'm going to start running with a time goal instead of a mile goal. So instead of saying, "I'm going to run three miles today!", I'm going to say, "I'm going to run for 30 minutes!" That way I don't get down if I can't finish my miles. I tried running three miles a few weekends ago and my body was just not up for it. I made it... but I was regretting it afterwards. I still go to Zumba, Aqua Zumba, and Power Hour. I've just toned it down a bit so that I don't harm myself or the baby.

Emotionally: I am so, so happy! This was what I wanted after finishing the marathon! I have had some serious mood swings. Happy one minute, down the next... It's hard for me because I love being pregnant. I wasn't expecting to be a little down, but with my history of postpartum depression, my Doctor said that this is normal and that I have nothing to worry about! I was also feeling down because I had set some major running goals for next year. It's okay! They will be my goals for 2015 instead!
Physically: I hate that I have had terrible pimples/acne since finding out. They are everywhere on my face. Especially along my chin/jaw line and my forehead. Hopefully it will get better soon! It makes me terribly self-conscious of my face. I am also extremely bloated all the time. No relief. I've cut back on foods that can give me gas/bloating, and nothing is working. Guess I'll just have to look like I'm showing when I'm not...

Looking forward to: Entering the second trimester! Less nausea and bloating!

While Charles and I are overjoyed to share this journey with you, please know that we know that nothing is guaranteed. We have lost babies before and we know that that is a possibility with this pregnancy. But we believe that each pregnancy is worth celebrating... even the ones that end too soon. We've lost babies before, and we vowed to never announce our future pregnancies until we knew for sure that everything was fine. But we've changed our minds. We want to share our news. We want our family and friends in the loop. We want our girls to know that there is a baby brother or sister inside of Mommy's tummy and that it's okay to tell their teachers and friends! We don't want to live in fear of loss, but rather live in gratitude for every minute I have been blessed with carrying this pregnancy.

We ask for your prayers and kind thoughts. We know that babies are miracles! We are nervous for the future, but we are also hopeful! I haven't had any bad signs or symptoms yet. And this is the first pregnancy I will have with a healthy, fit body. I am excited for the future and I am glad you are along for the journey!

Our Family Photos 2013

We started a tradition two years ago taking photos in the fall. I was very pregnant with Miss Vivian when Karmen offered to take some maternity/family photos for us! Here are some comparison photos!

Karmen was very excited to get some more practice shooting pictures and I think that she did a fantastic job! It took us about an hour to get these shots in! Vivian sat still for the first photo, then wanted to play! We had trouble getting a solo shot of her, but Karmen did the best she could! I was/am very  happy with the outcomes! Here are our family photos for 2013: