dumpling has a name

This will be a short post, but I wanted to update the blog world on what we found out today. We can now call Lil Dumpling, Lucy!!! Yep, it's a girl. It's a girl. Wow. It still has not sunk in. It was a busy day of shopping and trying not not fall down on the icy parking lots. We are so excited. Tommy had a huge grin on his face all day. I totally cried during the ultrasound. She was a little stubborn and did not give us a good look at her face or her heart. She looked up for a second then put her head right back down. I turned to Tommy and said, "She's just like her momma, a bit stubborn." The tech tried bouncing my belly all around to get her to move her head, but she just having none of it. She had her arm behind her head and was just comfy where she was. We did get a real good shot of her girly bits or lack there of. The ultrasound technician all of a sudden said, "Oh, it's definitely a girl." That when I lost it. I'm having the little girl that I have always wanted. Someone to share my collection of Barbie Dolls with. Someone to make little bracelets and necklaces for. Oh, and the clothes and the shoes. Tommy mumbled something about boys coming over and good thing he has guns. Yeah, he's that kind of redneck guy. Anyway, we are just thrilled. Dr. K said that everything that they could see looked good. She wants me to have another ultrasound at our next appointment on January 21st. They want to have a better look at her heart and the face. Hopefully she will be a little more cooperative at that appointment. I do not regret one bit finding out. It put a smile on my face and made the holiday blahs go away a little.

Merry Christmas to all!!!

holiday blahs

I have not been myself lately. My sinus infection finally went away after almost two weeks and I was thankful for that. For a few days I felt a little better. Now I just feel, blah. Physically I'm tired and I don't want to do anything. I'm still a little congested and my emotions are all over the place. I just feel like hiding away and not talking to anyone. Tommy is still working midnights and when he is home he is pretty much sleeping. Normally he is able to be his silly self and make me feel better. He is not so much able to do that when he is not here.

Tuesday we have our anatomy ultrasound and next OB appointment. Hopefully that will be enough to get me out of this funk. Tommy and I were talking tonight before he left for work about the appointment. He said that he is so excited to find out the sex of the baby. I would have to agree. I'm very anxious to get another peek at what is going on inside of my tummy. What a wonderful Christmas present to find out if Dumpling is a boy or a girl. I honestly have not had a feeling one way or another. Well, actually this last week I have been thinking girl. Either way, we will be happy. I'm just praying for a healthy baby. Tuesday we also get to pick up our crib. Hopefully in the next few weeks the baby's room will be painted so we can get things in place instead of the middle of the room.

Tommy asked me tonight if I wanted him to go off midnights. I told him to just do whatever he needed to. Hopefully after the first of the year work will pick up for him and he will be able to go back to his regular shift. Until then I will do my best to plug away and stay on top of things the best I can.

16 weeks, almost

Tomorrow I will be 16 weeks into my pregnancy. I feel like I have gotten over a huge hurdle and I am so thankful for that. We had our second appointment with Dr. K the day before Thanksgiving. It went really well. She found Lil Dumpling's heartbeat right away with the doppler. It was a very welcome sound to our ears. We just looked at one another and smiled. According to their scales I had gained a pound since the last appointment. She said that I must be doing something right. I laughed and told her that it's because I'm not eating very much. She answered a few questions for me and she said that she would see us again in 4 weeks. At that appointment we will have our anatomy ultrasound. That means we will get to find out if Lil Dumpling is a boy or girl. We are 99% sure we are going to find out. I am so anxious to get a look at our little miracle again.

As for what our Dumpling will be called once we know the sex, we have made a decision on that. If Dumpling is a girl she will be Lucy Ella. I knew I wanted to name my daughter Lucy even before I was pregnant last time. The middle name Ella comes somewhat from my dad's mom. Her name was Luella. If Dumpling is a boy he will be named Jay Thomas. Jay is my dad's name and Thomas is actually Tommy's middle name. So, there you have it. I have been holding them in, but we are both pretty set on them so I thought it was time to share with everyone else.

I have been fighting a cold/sinus infection pretty much since Thanksgiving. On Friday I finally called my OB to see what they suggested I do. They gave me a prescription and I'm really hoping it starts to work soon. I'm at the point where I really don't have much of a voice. At least I can partially breathe through my nose now. Oh, the wonders of the pregnant body. So much fun! Tonight I finally got our tree up and the lights on it. Maybe tomorrow night I will have the energy to put on the ornaments.

Well, I guess I should wrap up this all over the place post and get Tommy up for work. Yeah, another week of midnights.

13 weeks- embracing the belly

Since I have a bit of a baby belly I thought I would post a picture. I'm still negative on the weight gain and I still don't have much of an appetite to speak of. Tonight was the first time in a long time that I have actually been hungry and ate a nice big supper. I'm still not complaining about feeling sick though. I'll suffer through it if it means that everything is okay with Lil Dumpling. We are very anxious to get through our next Dr's appointment. I think I will be a little less edgy after that.

12 weeks 1 day

I'm almost at the end of the first trimester. Hopefully that means I will be feeling better soon. I have been sleeping a little better. I accredit that mostly to the Snoogle. My awesome mom got one for me a few weeks ago. It took me no time at all to fall asleep that first night. All night I don't think I moved a muscle. Barbie is not so sure about the new addition to our sleeping arrangements. She can't get as close to me as she normally does. For that same reason Tommy is not so fond of the pillow either. For me though it is totally worth it.

Another comfort item that I have added to my daily routine is maternity pants. Ah, yes the large expanding waistband. Love it! Although to date I have still only lost weight my body is slowly changing and I even have a little bit of a baby belly (as one of my co-workers so kindly pointed out a few weeks ago.) Tommy and I hit a major sale one day and I bought some work pants. I had them altered and viola my work wardrobe is comfortable again.

Tommy has been so supportive these past few weeks when I've been feeling not up to par. He has been cooking a lot of our meals. This week he is back on afternoons so I guess that means I'm back to fending for myself. That wouldn't be so bad if I actually had an appetite. When it is time to eat I stand in the kitchen and almost cry (actually did cry one night) because nothing at all sounds good or even looks appetizing. Sure there are those times when I get so hungry that I need food NOW. Most of the time, especially in the morning, I have to force myself to eat. I guess this is just all part of the miracle of creating life. I just want to be as healthy as possible for my baby.

As I end this trimester I have been thinking a lot about my last pregnancy. At this point last time I had no idea anything was wrong. No idea that the child I carried in my womb was no longer alive. For that reason I have not been able to rest easy with any little cramp or pain I feel. The other night as I tried to fall asleep I was having some pain in my right side. I cried and told Tommy that I can't go through "that" again. All I can do for now is rest in the fact that God is in control and wait for my next appointment for some reassurance. I still think of the child we lost on a daily basis. I'm guessing that will continue for some time. The pain is easier, but still there and still VERY real...