Christmas...

Well we had a nice Christmas this year, much better than the last two! I was sick throwing up 2 years ago and miscarrage last Christmas....it was nice to be healthy and happy this Christmas! Eric had to work, but got home around 3 so that was good. We didn't do gifts for each other or anyone else for that matter this year. Well little homemade gifts in a jar, but not typical gifts. Infertility costs are outrageous for those that don't know and so this Christmas everyone really got the most expensive gift ever from us....a son, a grandson, a great grandson and a nephew. I have to say this has been the poorest we have ever been after all the expenses over the last couple years, but by far the happiest we have been too!!!! So much for the theory that money buys you happiness, God has blessed us in much greater ways than money, things or big vacations! So this truly was a great Christmas and we did get wonderful gifts from family and friends, but none that compared to the happiness of having a child on the way. I even think I felt Carson move on Chirstmas morning. I was still feeling tired and not that great from being sick so I was laying on my moms sofa and it was quiet and I was still and I felt a little flutter. I am pretty sure it was him, but with all the coughing I've been doing I havn't noticed anything that obvious since, but I am looking forward to more flutters!
I hope everyone else had a nice Christmas!!!!! I can't believe how fast it comes and goes, I feel like I just put out my Christmas decorations, now they are put away for next year already.

Fun times at the beach...

The last two weekends we have spent at the beach, which was very nice! The first weekend we went and spent it with Eric's parents and the guys went golfing while Eric's mom and I watched tv, we watched the worst lifetime movie ever too!!!! The acting was so funny! We had the dogs and later went to the dog park. It was also Andy's birthday so he got to celebrate it at the beach, pretty cool! Before we left we ate at Splash in Pismo were we had the best fish and chips and clam chowder ever! Eric came down with a cold while we were there, but we still enjoyed the trip. We had a great time.

The next weekend we went with my parents. My mom and I did a little shopping for Carson at the Carters and OshKosh outlet. Love OshKosh!!!! We laid out all the cute clothes on the counter and just admired our work when we got back. We were so proud! My mom was giving her thumbs up since she is a proud soon-to-be grandma! We also went to Splash Cafe again, I didn't let myself eat as much this time though! Then walked along the pier in the very sunny gorgeous weather. It was weird to think it was Christmas time with that kind of warm weather!

I got sick with a cold this weekend we went so I wasn't in the mood to go out for dinner. So the guys went to pick up some pizzas and they came home with these cigars. I don't think Eric had ever had a cigar, it was pretty random! I guess it was practice for when Carson is born. Oh and you like my dads outfit? Nice huh? haha. We enjoyed our short trips to the beach while it lasted, because once school starts for Eric its all over, life gets really busy again. Now we are back and I am trying to get this cold over with so I can feel better for Christmas! I hope everyone remembers the reason for the season and has a great Christmas!!!!!

The dreaded diet....

Here is the diet my doctor wants me to live by, he wants all his patients to eat "ONLY this, not this plus other stuff" as he told me the other day. Get ready to laugh!

*1 quart milk (I hate milk, so I tried for a few days and I realized I would never be able to do that for my entire pregnancy-so I take those calcium chews instead, sometimes yogurt too)
*1 egg
*1 oz cheese (cheese has been the thing I crave the most! I have been loving cheese, do you know how small one oz. is? ugh!
*1 portion of meat or fish
*2 portions of veggies
*2 portions fruit
*1 slice of bread
*1 pat of butter

So you see my frustration...I realize he is totally old school though, my mom said back in the day she had a friend who went to him and it was the same diet. He is so strict on weight gain, which I am glad I guess because I don't want to gain a bunch of weight, but geez he made me feel horrible like I sit around and eat bon bons all day or something! I really do like my doctor and am not mad at him or anything, I just find it to be a strange diet and think women would lose weight their entire pregnancy if this is all they ate. Every doctor has their quirks and this is his for sure.
I have been attempting to try this diet (trying being the key word) for a while at least because I wouldn't mind dropping a couple pounds. It is hard, for breakfast I will have a slice of flourless bread with one scrambled egg and a sprinkle of shredded cheese. Once breakfast is done check off one slice of bread, egg, and cheese and there isn't much left for the rest of the day. To a carb-o-holic like myself this is my worst nightmare--where is the pasta and bread!!!! So I guess for a couple more weeks at least (minus Christmas day) I will stick to it somewhat. I will keep my veggie platter in the fridge for snacking and my oranges, apples and pears on hand for my sweet cravings.

Tonight I did make chicken noodle soup....it was really yummy!

Eric has been sick with a cold and also gone for a couple nights for work so I made it for him when he got home. Plus I made it healthy so I could eat it too. : )



Chicken Noodle Soup
Tyler Florence (food network)
serivings: 4, seems like more though

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 med onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 med carrots, 1/2 inch slices
2 celery ribs, 1/2 slices
sliced mushrooms (not in his original recipe, I added them-obviously you can add whatever you like)
4 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
2 quarts chicken stock (I used low sodium)
8 ounces dried egg noodles (I used whole wheat, more fiber!)
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken (love the rottessiere chickens)
salt and pepper
1 handful of fresh flat-leafed parsley,finely chopped

Coat bottom of soup pot with oil. Add onion, garlic, carrots, celery, mushrooms, thyme and bay leaf. Cook and stir about 6 min or until softened but not browned. Pour in chicken stock and bring liquid to boil. Add noodles and simmer for 5 minutes until tender. Fold in chicken and simmer for another couple minutes to heat through, season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.
It is a simple, healthy soup that cooks in no time if you get the rottessiere chicken and don't make your own stock--who does that anyway?!

A diet...

I had a doctor's appointment today...it was really great because I heard Carson's heartbeat and that is always really nice to hear! It was in the 140's. He said Carson was moving around a lot and I can expect to feel him move soon, anytime in the next month. That is really exciting. I can't wait to feel him moving around and know that he is okay in there!
It was a really great appointment other than hearing I have gained too much weight and I am pregnant and on a diet now. That is really depressing and made me want to cry! Darn it for eating those fish and chips with malt vinegar (so good!) at the beach yesterday! That was not a good idea the day before I got weighed! He said I should not have gained any weight yet and in fact I shouldn't gain weight until my 20th or so week. Yikes!!! I am really going to watch what I eat now and be good! I don't want to gain too much, I am freaking out now about my weight gain! I am extra paranoid about this weight gain because I have been on infertility meds for a year and a half and they made me pack on the pounds, so to already have gained a bunch of weight and then to have already gained too much weight at only 15 weeks is making me feel REALLY bad. It has been so depressing to watch myself gain all this weight and know there is nothing I can do about it, but now that I have been off the meds I might be able to lose a little. Plus I am on progesterone which doesn't help. I didn't know how hard this would be since I assumed I would be sick my first trimester like most people I have known, I didn't think I would feel so good and be so hungry my first trimester!!!! So the first time I have been on a real diet is when I am pregnant--go figure!
But Carson is doing good and that is the most important thing!!!! So even though I might feel like crying over my weight, I am still really happy!!!!! I promise!!!!!!!!

The second trimester

My second trimester seems to have given me much more energy. My first trimester I was dead to the world once 8pm hit. Now I have the opposite problem, I have trouble sleeping. The increased blood flow is making my heart pump faster and I have too much energy to sleep. I actually liked it when I was really tired at night because I have never gotten such a great nights sleep as I did then. It was a really good feeling to go to bed THAT tired. I figure since I am one of those people who has to get a FULL 8 hours of sleep so I am not cranky (just ask Eric), this is my bodies way of preparing me early for what is to come. I think I needed an earlier kick in the butt, instead of waiting till my third trimester to not sleep. Seriously, its not bad because even though I am awake at night sometimes I just think about Carson and I am just so darn happy!!!!

It is really cold and rainy today and Eric and I are headed to the beach later just for a couple nights and it looks like it might be rainy there too, but at least it's the beach! Time to go get ready and pack a few things. Have a great weekend!

First Belly picture!

14 weeks, well tomorrow will officially be 14 weeks. My belly just became visible to other people this week. I was the only one who could notice it growing up until now. Now I have proof I am indeed pregnant! YAY!

So Sweet!

So someone knocked on our door this evening and Eric opened it and threw me a package that was delivered...I opened it to find this infant size Giants baseball cap...how cute is that!? I think he is a little excited about little Carson! I thought it was REALLY sweet he bought this hat for his son! The hat is so cute....it is SO tiny! It is still crazy to be holding things that are for our baby! I went shopping the other day with my mom and mother-in-law and I got a couple things (my first purchases!) and it still felt like I was buying a gift for someone else!

Update....

An update...

Eric finally has a break from school for a few weeks!!!! YAY! It was getting exhausting for him the last few weeks of school, he would be up until 2:00am doing homework after being up at 5 for work and then having class until 9, he would have to come home and somehow finish his homework. The break from school is much needed for him. Of course he has lots of little projects around the house he wants to get done, since school doesn't allow him time to do any. So he is busy, just not in such a stressful way!

Yesterday Daisy had to go to the doctor, she has mange. She has these nasty sores on her head and one on her leg that she scratches like crazy. She is on an antibiotic and some other medication for like a month. Carol, my mother in law, was with me and when we put Daisy on the scale she weighed a whopping 102 pounds!!!!!! Yikes! She doesn't really look overweight like you might think either, she is really just a tall and really long lab, but we ARE going to cut her food back a little. Daisy is officially on a diet today, poor doggie!

My doctor called and said the chromosome testing came back fine, no worries. I really wasn't worried since the last ultrasound we could see a lot and the gal said everything looked fine. But it is still nice to hear it from the doctor.

My belly is beginning to grow, which is exciting for someone who has waited for this for a little while. It is making me feel more pregnant now that none of my regular clothes fit. I am now officially in the "in between" stage. Maternity clothes are too big, regular clothes are too small. I call it the "I feel fat stage". But keep growing Carson, I will deal with the consequences of being fat later! : ) My wardrobe consists of workout clothes right now and one pair of maternity jeans that have only the small front panel because they fit a smaller belly so they don't feel so big and sloppy. I am thinking I won't have this problem much longer though, so hopefully I will have more of a wardrobe soon!

Well not much has been going on since Eric hasn't been out of school long, that's all folks!

What a day!

I am 12weeks 3days and I had my 4th ultrasound done! At least there is something nice about being high risk--lots of ultrasounds!!! This one was for chromosome testing and I didn't think it was going to involve anything but a quick ultrasound and a finger prick, but I was wrong! Eric took a day off work last week for our ultrasound then so he had to work today, so I took my mom. We were in for a treat!!!! I had like a 30 minute ultrasound and that included some 4D too! It was amazing! We found out already that we are having a BOY!!!!!! Suddenly a boy is exactly what I wanted, funny how that works! The second picture has an arrow pointing to what says "Carson's Business". haha. We are pretty sure Carson is his name! It is strange to be 12 weeks and know the name of our boy! So strange, so cool!!!! We saw him move all around and stretch out, it was the most amazing thing!!! We have a DVD too of the whole ultrasound! So since Eric wasn't there he gets to see the entire thing which makes me feel better, because I would feel horrible if he didn't get to see what my mom and I saw today! What an unexpected WONDERFUL surprise today was!!! Thank you God for this baby boy!!!!

We still can't believe it...

Well we are still in shock that this baby we see in the ultrasound pictures is ours, we are not looking at someone else's. It is still extremely surreal to us. We can't help but be SO grateful to all of those who have prayed for us, we couldn't be more thankful for that! It has been a long road, not as long as many out there though, and we knew somehow God would come through and reveal His plan and in His timing. We are still praying for a healthy baby!!! I am going to be coming off my heparin (blood thinner) injections this next week and I am anxious for that of course. I am anxious about everything to be honest! I guess that comes with infertility and miscarriage though, we just have to put our trust in God and have faith. My doctor is keeping me on metformin to help prevent gestational diabetes. I will also stay on the progesterone throughout to help prevent pre-term labor.
Above picture-7weeks 4 days-this was my second ultrasound Eric was with me for the first and we saw the heartbeat, this ultrasound Eric couldn't go, but I saw and heard the heartbeat. I sobbed like a baby, it was the most amazing sound.

This ultrasound was 11weeks 5 days (today)-Eric took the day off for this one. It is a little hard to see, but on the left is the head and an arm is up in the air (waving to us of course, haha) Its little legs are bent. We think he or she is darn cute! I always thought how strange people were for getting so weird about an ultrasound black and white picture--I am by far the weirdest person then, because I stare at it all the time and cry.

So I am 11 weeks 5days today and we are excited and nervous. We are praying for a healthy baby and we hope to meet him or her sometime in early June. We waited to tell everyone because we couldn't believe it ourselves, it took 3 ultrasounds to make me finally go "okay, this is inside of me, it's our baby". I wanted to shout it from the beginning, but history made me hold out a little longer. So thank you to all who have been so supportive!

New Blog

Well I decided to start over and so I started a new blog and decided to start from scratch instead of fooling around with the old one deleting everything. You see with Eric's line of work I figured I should just start new anyways, it won't hurt I suppose. I got rid of using our last name too. So here it is-a new blogger address, since I cancelled my old one.