Maternity Pictures

I wanted to have maternity pictures taken at some point during this pregnancy so we scheduled to have them done and they got cancelled.  I was afraid that we would not be able to reschedule so my sister took pictures for us when we were down for my baby shower.  I am really pleased with how they turned out.  She is going to do editing on them, but here are some that she took before edits...

Thanks so much Meredith for taking time out of your busy life to help capture these exciting times in our lives!!  Love you!

Nursery Progress!

Michael and I were able to work in the nursery this weekend...it is looking more like a nursery and less like a storage room.  We got all the furniture put together and I am SO pleased with it.  I am doing a photo wall above the dresser and Michael hung all the frames for me.  I am ordering pictures this week to put in those so I will update you as I get those together.  My sister painted letters for us to hang above the crib and they should be coming in the mail today or tomorrow!  I cannot wait to see them!  I have had the bedding in for weeks now, but no bed to put it in.  I was so anxious to get the bed set up.  I love the way it turned out!

I am pleased with the room so far, but there is a lot more to do.  I still have 6 to 7 weeks to get it all done...I can do it!

Here are the pictures of the progress being made:

Better Late Than Never...Update

This is a little late, but here is the update from our last doctors appointment on April 21st.

This was a very quick appointment...blood pressure was good at 110/68, weight gain is good at a total of 21 lbs so far, and babies heartbeat sounded good.  Dr. Cole said that we would do another growth ultrasound in the next few weeks to check on Morgan since she was measuring ahead at the last ultrasound.

I have been feeling good these days, but have had problems with my ankles swelling.  The doctor is not concerned about the swelling unless I have an elevated blood pressure.  I am slightly uncomfortable at this point...I think Morgan is running out of room in there because she keeps kicking me in the ribs.  But it is going to be worth every bruise in the end! =)

I cannot describe the feeling that I get every time I feel her move around.  I had people tell me that it is just the greatest thing in the whole world to feel your baby move, but you don't truly understand until you get to experience it yourself.  It is unbelievable to imagine that we, with the help of God, created this precious child.  I try to imagine what she is going to look like, what color her hair will be, what her personality will be like, etc.  We are getting so excited about meeting her soon!

First Baby Shower!

This is the moment that I have been looking forward to...our first baby shower!!  We had our shower on Saturday, April 10th in Gulfport.  My friend Emily, my sister, and my mom did a GREAT job preparing for this shower.  Everything was perfect!  We had a great turn out, the food was wonderful (especially the chocolate covered strawberries), and the decorations were adorable.  


We got so many wonderful things...clothes, hooded towels, shoes, jewelry, mores clothes, bottles, and so much more.  


I always love getting to go home and spend time with my family as well so it was nice that we were able to spend time with them before Morgan arrives.  


My sister took some great pictures this past weekend at the shower so I wanted to share...

We took the opportunity to take LOTS of pictures while we were at home with family and friends...

 

Stay tuned for the maternity pictures that my sister took for me and Michael!!  They are GOOD!

Belly Comparison!

Michael and I have been taking pictures throughout this pregnancy so that I can compare my belly from beginning to end.  I wanted to be able to document it so that Morgan can see what I looked like when I was pregnant with her.  All of these pictures have been taken at night before I go to bed so they may not be the "prettiest" of pictures, but here goes...

7 weeks:

9 weeks and 4 days:

10 weeks and 5 days:

12 weeks and 5 days:

14 weeks and 4 days:

17 weeks and 1 day:

21 weeks and 3 days:

22 weeks and 4 days:

24 weeks and 3 days:

25 weeks and 5 days:

26 weeks and 2 days:

27 weeks and 2 days:

30 weeks and 2 days:

There will be more of these to come as we count down the last 9 weeks!!  

Furniture!

Yea!!!  We have furniture FINALLY!!!! I ordered our baby furniture over 10 weeks ago and it finally came in yesterday.  I am very excited to start working on her nursery.  I think that she is going to have the cutest room =)

30wk 5day Appointment

Yesterday was our doctor's appointment to check on Morgan since 2 weeks ago my belly measured a little small.  We started out by having our ultrasound.  It is always so much fun to see her and get to watch her move around.  I was completely expecting a small baby on the screen, but babies have a way of doing their own thing.  She is currently measuring ahead by about a week to week and half. According to the ultrasound she weighs 4lb 5oz.....that is kind of large at this point.  The doctor said that there was nothing to worry about, that she looked healthy and her heart rate was good at 138 bpm.  I am going to have to start watching my diet to make sure that I am not taking in too much sugar though.  All the sugar I take in (which is A LOT) goes straight to the baby which is probably why she grew so much in 2 weeks.  All in all it went well!!  Here she is...

Here is an update on how things are going:

Total weight gain - 18 lbs


How I'm Feeling - I have been feeling good for the most part.  I have had the typical back and rib pain, but can't complain because it could be worse.


Baby - Happy and Healthy!!  She has just been moving around like crazy.  She is at the point where it is hard for her to rare back and kick because she doesn't have enough room, but she loves to squirm!  I can tell which body parts are where now...she likes to push on my stomach with her foot on the left side of my stomach which pushes her little booty out on the right side of my stomach.  It is just so cute.

I am anxiously awaiting this weekend...I have my first shower in Gulfport!  I am looking forward to having some time to spend with my family before Morgan arrives.   Stay tuned for pictures from the shower!

The Pregnancy Up Until Now

I didn't know much about pregnancy when I first started this journey.  I have heard horror stories about the morning sickness, sore body, and things that I will not even begin to discuss on this blog!  After all the stories I completely expected this to be one of the most difficult experiences in my life...so far it hasn't been all that bad.  I have been very blessed to not have the dreaded morning sickness that so many people have to suffer through.  I have felt good!  Recently, I have started to experience terrible rib and back pain, but I will take that any day over throwing up.

Milestones:

January 12, 2010 - This is the day that we found out we are having a precious baby GIRL!!  Her name is Morgan Elisabeth.

March 11, 2010 - This is the day that I had to go and take the glucose test that everyone HATES!!  The doctor told me that I had to score below 140.  The nurse called me back after the blood test, I had my fingers crossed.  No one wants to have to take the 3 hour glucose test.  The doctor came in the room and asked me what I had eaten that day....my appointment was at 2 pm and I was instructed not to eat before the test.  That was too long for a pregnant women not to eat so I decided to eat bacon and eggs that morning because there are no carbs in bacon and eggs.  The doctor was pleased with what I had eaten and said that I scored 136.  She was happy with the number and said that we would continue to watch my glucose throughout the rest of the pregnancy since I was so close to 140.

March 12, 2010 - 4D ultrasound!!!!!  This is the moment that I have waited for.  Both Michael and I were very excited about seeing Morgan.  Throughout this pregnancy, we have learned that our sweet little girl loves her hands and feet!  She has constantly had her hands and feet in front of her face.  In preparation for the ultrasound I drank orange juice because I read that helps get the baby active and alert (unless you drink orange juice on a daily basis like I do).  I quickly learned that I had put our daughter to sleep by drinking the oj rather than waking her up.  We attempted for 35 minutes to wake our child up so that we could see her.  She was determined to sleep through the 35 minutes with her hands and feet right in front of her face.  Needless to say we had an uneventful try at the 4D experience.  The good news is that we got to go back on March 15th for a second try at the ultrasound.  I decided to take another route this time in preparation.  I drank no soft drinks for 3 days and right before the ultrasound I drank a Coke.  She was awake this time, but was still keeping her hands and feet near her face.  We were able to get some good pictures...

As of March 24th, I have gained a total of 14lbs (28 wks and 5 days).  Morgan is measuring a little small so we go back to the doctor on April 7th for an ultrasound.  We are suppose to be getting our baby furniture in on April 7th also so stay tuned for updates on her room.

Today, I am 30 wks and 3 days pregnant.  Last night Michael took some pictures for me (which we have done throughout this pregnancy to document the change in my belly) and as he was taking them he said "Wow that's a big belly", it was very funny!!  At this point I am going to be gaining anywhere from 1 to 2 lbs a week.  I cannot imagine getting much bigger, but I know that it is inevitable!  We are getting down to the last stretch.  I cannot wait to meet our sweet little girl.  I am far from being ready for her arrival, but I know that by the time she comes I will have everything done.  

Last weekend we upgraded our vehicle to a stylish mom mobile so we can check that off of our list of things to do before she arrives!

Stay tuned for more updates...more pictures of our sweet little girl, her nursery coming together, the home stretch, etc!!

The Moment We Found Out

Michael and I found out on September 7, 2009 that I was pregnant.  This is how our morning started...Michael went on his 3 mile run that he does every morning at 5:30 am.  I had been complaining about not feeling "right" for about 2 days so before he left for his run he said "Laura, just pee on a stick."  I told him that I was not going to do that because I was NOT pregnant.  To satisfy him I decided that I would take a pregnancy test before I got in the shower.  I completely expected a big ole negative!!  So you are suppose to wait 3 minutes before the results will show, but I just knew that is was negative and was ready to get my day started so I decided after about a minute I would go ahead and look at it.  Much to my surprise after 1 minute there was a BIG FAT POSITIVE!!

I stood there in the bathroom talking to myself.  I kept saying "Oh my gosh, I cannot believe this."  I was nervous, excited, and who knows what else!  I could not wait for Michael to get back from his run.  His 3 mile run usually takes about 35 minutes, but this particular day it seemed like it took a lifetime!  When he finally got back I was in the shower.  He walked in the bathroom and I told him that something was wrong in the bathroom.  He kept asking me what was wrong.  I said "just go look in the bathroom."  I had no clue what his reaction would be.  He came out and said "interesting."  Interesting??  Is that good or bad??  I think we were both shocked beyond belief, but excited at the same time.  It took some time to get used to the fact that I had a baby in my belly.

I went to work that morning and immediately grabbed one of the doctors in our office and said "I need for you to verify something for me."  I could not trust that one little stick. =)  He was kind enough to verify it for me through blood work.  When I got the results from him, I called Michael to let him know the good news.  The two lines...they were correct!

This is where the fun begins!  I called my OB office and set up our first doctors appointment.  At the first appointment they do an ultrasound.  I was very excited, but at the same time nervous because who knows what you are going to see....will it be one baby, two babies, or maybe even three babies??  Thank goodness we found out that day that we were having ONE baby.  Everything looked good at this first appointment.  We got the first picture of our precious Little Peanut that day (7 wks and 5 days).

  When you get to see your sweet little baby for the first time, it all starts to sink in.  I have loved her from the moment I saw her.  She didn't even look like a baby, but I knew that I was responsible for her.

New to Blogging!

So here goes....I decided to start a blog so that I can document our lives as they change each and every day.

Here is the history...

Michael and I met in May of 2004 when my sister Meredith married Michael's college roommate Peter. I was the maid of honor in the wedding and he was a groomsman. I can remember the very moment that I met Michael. The bridal party (minus 2 groomsmen...Michael and Taylor) were congregating at Peter's parents house after the rehearsal at the church. Michael and Taylor finally arrived and walked into the kitchen and Meredith started introducing them to everyone. We all sat around and visited, but Michael and I didn't really talk after the introductions. At this point, I didn't think much about "meeting" anyone at my sisters wedding.

It's wedding day and we all get dressed and go to the church for pictures. Here I am taking pictures with the guy that I would one day marry. Crazy. So Michael and I exchanged a couple of words from the time that pictures began to the start of the wedding, but not many. The wedding was beautiful, Meredith and Peter were as happy as could be, and the reception was beginning. I got to the reception hall and Michael came up to me and asked if I would like to come sit with him and Taylor. Of course I said yes! We sat and talked through the whole reception. So the funny part of this story is that Michael was living in Colorado at the time and I was living in Hattiesburg. When the reception was over Michael came up to me and said something to the effect of "it was nice meeting you, Taylor and are heading back." After we had talked for what seemed like forever, but was really only like an hour and a half...that was all I got. So I found out about a year and a half later what happened after Michael left that day. Taylor will not let Michael live this one down. They got in the car and Taylor starting messing with Michael because he chickened out on asking me for my phone number that day. I was left wondering if I would ever talk to this guy again. God has a way of working things out in his time!

How did we get to where we are today??? Well, July of 2005 my sister and Peter were living in Macon, GA and I decided to go visit them for a couple of weeks. Meredith was cooking dinner one night and needed something from the grocery store so her and Peter got up to go and Peter asked me to tell his friend that he was IMing that he would be right back. I had a problem just getting on his computer and telling some random person that Peter went to store and would be back. Peter said his name is Michael, just tell him I will be back. So I got on his computer and said "This is Laura, Meredith's sister. Peter wanted me to tell you that he had to go to the grocery store, but would be right back." Michael's response was "Laura? From the wedding?" And from that moment, we have spoken EVERY day!!

Michael and I "officially" started dating in August of 2005. We had a long distance relationship the whole time we dated. Michael was no longer in Colorado when we reunited on the computer. He was living in Alabama and I was still in Hattiesburg. We took turns traveling on the weekends to see each other. Michael and I had so much fun while we were dating. We started traveling to Colorado every year which we have continued even now. Life was (and is) great!!!!

In October of 2007, Michael proposed to me!! I was so excited! We were in love and knew that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. At this point, we had dated for a little over two years and new that we wanted to get married and move on with our lives. We didn't want to be engaged for a year and then get married...and I have been planning my wedding since I was 6 years old so I knew that I could plan a wedding in a short period of time and it would be perfect. I set the date for February 16, 2008....4 months!! I think that some people were hesitant as to whether I could get this wedding planned in 4 months, but I knew that I could do it. I spent every waking moment working on wedding plans. February 16th showed up and the wedding was perfect!! Every dream that I ever had about my wedding came true that day (minus my wedding pictures, but that is a whole different story that we won't rehash). The reception was probably my favorite part of the whole day. We had a blast!!! We danced the whole night. By the end of the night Michael and I were EXHAUSTED!

We got on a plane the next day headed to Paris. It was the most perfect place to go on a honeymoon.  We saw all the sites and sounds of Paris!  And we ate LOTS of chocolate croissants.

Let me rewind a bit now....we found out in May of 2008 that we would be moving to Baltimore, MD for about 3 months for Michael's job...well that turned into 7 months. We enjoyed our time there. We went to Orioles baseball games, concerts, and even went to see Jerry Seinfeld. As much fun as we had, we were so ready to get back to Mississippi.

In December of 2008 we bought our first house together which is a huge step in a relationship. We closed on it December 23rd and moved in right after Christmas. We absolutely love where we live and everything about the house. It is so much fun to own a home...we are constantly working on the house to make it our own.

That was probably the most exciting thing that has happened in our lives...well until recently!

So you might be wondering where we are now...

Michael and I are going through some HUGE life changes!! We found out of September 7, 2009 that I am pregnant and that we will soon be adding a family member to our already wonderful family (me, Michael and and our precious dog Kiki). We are so happy about our family growing. Michael and I have a great relationship, love each other dearly, and this could not be a better time in our lives to have a baby. We have been able to travel and grow as a married couple. I don't think anyone is ever fully prepared for a baby, but this is a good time in our lives.

So here is our current family...

That is the history of me and Michael, where we have been, and where we are today. Stay tuned for all the scoop on this pregnancy!