Hello, Baby!

When I sat down on the couch this morning, I literally laughed outloud when I looked down. It might sound strange, but I often feel like my body changes on a DAILY basis! I am exhausted and still not gaining much weight on the scale (only 1/2 lb. up from pre-pregnancy weight), but the baby seems to be growing just fine! This week the doctor said he expects that I will start gaining pregnancy weight within the next few weeks since apparently as you get closer to the 20 week mark, they see a healthy progression of weight gain. I suppose if they aren't concerened, i'll try not to be. :) I'm still exhausted and struggling with dizzy/light-headed spells, but it's all worth it in the end. The medicine I got has really helped my nausea. Things are looking up! Or out - in my case!

Baby Meredith also got his/her first Christmas present from G and G Meredith! I love presents and I get to open them for baby at least for a little while!

Lord, help me!

I am so excited to meet our little one for more reasons than one! First and foremost, because I can't wait to watch and see all that he/she becomes, who he/she will most look like, etc. But for goodness sake, my morning sickness is TERRIBLE and I desperately can't wait for it to be over! I'm still having trouble eating enough and still throwing up regularly. Sigh. And of course, Aetna still won't approve the only medicine that will actually work! I'm going in for my 16 week appointment tomorrow, so i'm hoping the doctor can help me figure something out. I've been doing my best to pack back on all the weight i've lost so far in this pregnancy from being so sick. I even had a crispy chicken sandwich from Dairy Queen the other night. Yes, i've resorted to a bit of fast food (NO McDonalds, though (ick)). I've been baking a lot more chicken and potatoes, but we'll have to wait and see what the scale says tomorrow. This might just be the only time in my life I will actually try so hard to gain weight. I pray I've gained the weight!

Appointment Update

Today I went and saw one of the OB's in the practice I go to (I rotate between 5 and they're all wonderful!) She was disappointed when I stepped on the scale and was nearly back to my pre-pregnancy weight (112). Two weeks ago at my 12 week appointment I had gained up to 118 which was awesome. I've never been so excited to gain weight in all my life! And I never thought I'd be so disappointed to see 114 today. I have fairly high ketones in my urine and the doctor said that's a sign of lacking nutrition. Aaron and I have always been fairly healthy eaters....a lot of vegetables, fruit, etc. and I realized today how important it is that I start eating more meat and protein. I never anticipated this being such a problem! But it really woke me up. The doctor thinks the lack of protein is responsible for my fainting spell. Fortunately the baby is prefectly fine, so our little one must be taking all he or she needs! I heard the heart beat again today and that never gets old! My uterus is also up closer to my belly button now - It's the strangest thing to feel stretching throughout the day...I can't wait to start feeling the baby move!

Thank you all for your prayers. This is probably the best case scenario considering that it just requires a change in my diet (at least we're hoping this is the cause - we'll know sooner than later!)

So i'm happy to say that my first step in altering these eating habbits included a giant grilled chicken sandwich from Fudruckers right after my appointment! I think i'll enjoy the holidays with my new orders to "eat more calories!"

Scary Times!

I've not been feeling well lately and just yesterday experienced a black-out/pass-out spell (followed by "no warning" vomiting that ended up on my neighbor's living room floor - ugh.) I have the sweetest friends. My neighbor wouldn't even let me help her clean it up. Seriously. I felt terrible, but God blesses me so much through these women He's brought into my life. I started blacking out yesterday morning and somehow made my way down the hall to my neighbor's condo. I am so thankful she was home. My memory of what happened is fuzzy, but it was the scariest thing I've ever experienced! My other neighbor took me to the ER and they did a lot of blood work and sent me for an ultrasound of the baby (for some reason they couldn't find the heart rate on the hand-held thing.) Baby looks wonderful, cute and perfect, measuring at 14 weeks 2 days, so we're thankful for that! I had pretty low blood pressure, but i'll have a follow-up with my OB this week to hopefully figure something out. Praying and trusting in God's protection. All of this is so out of our hands!