August15

August 15, 2001

Week 13

This was a big week! I had my appointment yesterday, and we got to hear the heartbeat for the first time!!! I forgot to ask ahead of time for her to check the rate, and she didn't check it, but she said it sounded very strong. It was such an amazing thing to hear! I'm sure I'll never forget that "whoosh-whoosh-whoosh" sound! The nurse put the COLD stuff on my belly and then started going around trying to find the heartbeat. She first went over to the left side, and we heard nothing, then more toward the center, and we heard nothing, so then for a second or two I started feeling a little anxious. Then she went over toward the middle-right side of my belly (where the baby was situated at our ultrasound at 9 weeks, and the side that I know I ovulated from too), and there it was, a very strong heartbeat - and just ONE heartbeat! (I think we're pretty certain now that there's just one in there!) I couldn't see Phil during this time because I was laying down and he was by my feet, but when we were listening to the heartbeat, he squeezed my toe. Later he told me that he didn't know at all what to expect, what it would sound like, but then when he heard it, it was obvious what it was; he told me "we heard our little baby!" After the nurse left and Phil and I were just sitting there waiting for Dr. Teague to come in, I just sat there thinking about that sound. Just amazing! Dr. Teague came in and measured the size of my belly, and I seem to be right on track. Oh, I got my blood results back too, and everything is good except that I'm going to have to be re-tested for rubella (German measles), apparently the test came back with a possibility that I'm not immune to it anymore. I asked Mom about this last night and she told me that my last vaccination for that was in 7th grade. But at this point, since I'm in my second trimester, if I was exposed to rubella, the chance of it hurting the baby are less than it would have been last month. Last note on my appointment, I only gained half a pound this month, but at least I didn't lose weight like I had last time. I didn't think I had gained any weight, because I've been getting on our scale at home every so often and I haven't seen any changes. It surprises me, too, because I've been eating so much, so often lately. Now that my nausea has subsided, I feel like I've been eating constantly. I'm sure I'll start making up the weight gain here in the next month or two!

Last week was a very good week for us. Wednesday was our third anniversary. We didn't do much because we are trying to save up money, but we did go out to dinner at The Melting Pot, which is the fondue restaurant that we love going to we pay them to bring us out our own food to cook! It's a lot of fun, and very, very tasty. It was a good evening all around. We got a chance to reminisce and talk a lot about all the things we've done and where we've been over the last three years. It felt like we were sort of "taking stock" of where we were, because by this time next year, our lives will be completely different! We have been really blessed with a very good, strong marriage, and we thank God for that all the time. We have been through some rough times already, like in 1999 when my dad died, and with all of Phil's time dealing with unemployment, but as far as our relationship, it just continues to grow stronger. We love each other more than ever, and especially more than either of us ever thought would be possible on August 8, 1998.

This past weekend, we drove down to Springfield, Missouri for Phil's high school reunion. Except for being a 12 hour drive, it was a really nice weekend. The reunion itself was nice, it was basically just like a wedding reception (hotel ballroom, good food, decorations, dancing, etc), and Phil got to see some of his good friends that he hadn't seen in the last 10 years. We had the most fun just being with Phil's family, though. We stayed with his Aunt Sue and Uncle Andrew, who is his Mom's brother, and their two really wonderful kids, Kirk (17) and Jason (13). We spent a lot of time with Phil's Grandma Hadden too. It was really the first time I'd ever talked to them, we'd only met briefly at my wedding, and we probably didn't even spend 10 minutes total with all of them, so this was really nice. If Phil's mom was anything like these people, which they must be because they are so much like Phil, I would have really loved to be around her. As we were driving home yesterday, for about the first hour, Phil and I were talking about the weekend and it really struck me, now that I'm pregnant especially, how much I grieve that Phil's mom isn't around. I never thought I would feel like I was missing out on having a mother-in-law and a relationship with Phil's family, and in the last three years I never really thought about it because we are so close to my family and do everything with them, but after this weekend, I was really upset that we are so far away from Phil's side of the family. Twelve hours away is just far enough that it's too far for casual trips. Maybe we'll get to see more of them now that Julie is in college at Evangel, though. I hope so. Speaking of my family, right now my Aunt Jackie, Aunt Patti, and my cousin Ellen are in town for the week. They came in this weekend, when Phil and I were driving OUT of town. :) We went over to my Mom's last night so we got a chance to talk to them for the first time in a long while. I wish they all lived closer too! Nan was in this weekend too, but we missed her because she had to go back to Cleveland on Monday. She brought all kinds of goodies for the baby though! She had found a place that was getting rid of their day care stuff, so she picked up a whole stack of small quilts that will be good for laying the baby on the floor, and some boxes of crayons and some wooden blocks. Our collection of baby stuff is at least STARTING to accumulate down in our basement!



	August 15, 2001 Week 13 This was a big week! I had my appointment yesterday, and we got to hear the heartbeat for the first time!!! I forgot to ask ahead of time for her to check the rate, and she didn't check it, but she said it sounded very strong. It was such an amazing thing to hear! I'm sure I'll never forget that "whoosh-whoosh-whoosh" sound! The nurse put the COLD stuff on my belly and then started going around trying to find the heartbeat. She first went over to the left side, and we heard nothing, then more toward the center, and we heard nothing, so then for a second or two I started feeling a little anxious. Then she went over toward the middle-right side of my belly (where the baby was situated at our ultrasound at 9 weeks, and the side that I know I ovulated from too), and there it was, a very strong heartbeat - and just ONE heartbeat! (I think we're pretty certain now that there's just one in there!) I couldn't see Phil during this time because I was laying down and he was by my feet, but when we were listening to the heartbeat, he squeezed my toe. Later he told me that he didn't know at all what to expect, what it would sound like, but then when he heard it, it was obvious what it was; he told me "we heard our little baby!" After the nurse left and Phil and I were just sitting there waiting for Dr. Teague to come in, I just sat there thinking about that sound. Just amazing! Dr. Teague came in and measured the size of my belly, and I seem to be right on track. Oh, I got my blood results back too, and everything is good except that I'm going to have to be re-tested for rubella (German measles), apparently the test came back with a possibility that I'm not immune to it anymore. I asked Mom about this last night and she told me that my last vaccination for that was in 7th grade. But at this point, since I'm in my second trimester, if I was exposed to rubella, the chance of it hurting the baby are less than it would have been last month. Last note on my appointment, I only gained half a pound this month, but at least I didn't lose weight like I had last time. I didn't think I had gained any weight, because I've been getting on our scale at home every so often and I haven't seen any changes. It surprises me, too, because I've been eating so much, so often lately. Now that my nausea has subsided, I feel like I've been eating constantly. I'm sure I'll start making up the weight gain here in the next month or two! Last week was a very good week for us. Wednesday was our third anniversary. We didn't do much because we are trying to save up money, but we did go out to dinner at The Melting Pot, which is the fondue restaurant that we love going to we pay them to bring us out our own food to cook! It's a lot of fun, and very, very tasty. It was a good evening all around. We got a chance to reminisce and talk a lot about all the things we've done and where we've been over the last three years. It felt like we were sort of "taking stock" of where we were, because by this time next year, our lives will be completely different! We have been really blessed with a very good, strong marriage, and we thank God for that all the time. We have been through some rough times already, like in 1999 when my dad died, and with all of Phil's time dealing with unemployment, but as far as our relationship, it just continues to grow stronger. We love each other more than ever, and especially more than either of us ever thought would be possible on August 8, 1998. This past weekend, we drove down to Springfield, Missouri for Phil's high school reunion. Except for being a 12 hour drive, it was a really nice weekend. The reunion itself was nice, it was basically just like a wedding reception (hotel ballroom, good food, decorations, dancing, etc), and Phil got to see some of his good friends that he hadn't seen in the last 10 years. We had the most fun just being with Phil's family, though. We stayed with his Aunt Sue and Uncle Andrew, who is his Mom's brother, and their two really wonderful kids, Kirk (17) and Jason (13). We spent a lot of time with Phil's Grandma Hadden too. It was really the first time I'd ever talked to them, we'd only met briefly at my wedding, and we probably didn't even spend 10 minutes total with all of them, so this was really nice. If Phil's mom was anything like these people, which they must be because they are so much like Phil, I would have really loved to be around her. As we were driving home yesterday, for about the first hour, Phil and I were talking about the weekend and it really struck me, now that I'm pregnant especially, how much I grieve that Phil's mom isn't around. I never thought I would feel like I was missing out on having a mother-in-law and a relationship with Phil's family, and in the last three years I never really thought about it because we are so close to my family and do everything with them, but after this weekend, I was really upset that we are so far away from Phil's side of the family. Twelve hours away is just far enough that it's too far for casual trips. Maybe we'll get to see more of them now that Julie is in college at Evangel, though. I hope so. Speaking of my family, right now my Aunt Jackie, Aunt Patti, and my cousin Ellen are in town for the week. They came in this weekend, when Phil and I were driving OUT of town. :) We went over to my Mom's last night so we got a chance to talk to them for the first time in a long while. I wish they all lived closer too! Nan was in this weekend too, but we missed her because she had to go back to Cleveland on Monday. She brought all kinds of goodies for the baby though! She had found a place that was getting rid of their day care stuff, so she picked up a whole stack of small quilts that will be good for laying the baby on the floor, and some boxes of crayons and some wooden blocks. Our collection of baby stuff is at least STARTING to accumulate down in our basement!