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Way behind!!! 

Wednesday, December 28, 2011 - Posted by Danielle at 4:24 PM
Wow...between the holidays and everything that's been going on, I have gotten way behind on blogging!! Sorry to all of you faithful blog-checkers! :)

So...this is update for weeks 29, 30 and 31!

Let's see...at this point, let's just say things are getting increasingly uncomfortable! I really can't complain; I've had some not-so-great symptoms, but nothing extreme. So far the biggest struggles have been sleep (but that's been an issue for weeks now!), heartburn (that recently came back...thank goodness for Tums!), and worst of all has been rib pain. On my right side, I've been having rib pain for about a month now that starts in the center up front and wraps all the way around to the middle of my back. That's been getting to me the worst. I've definitely been more tired lately which is a bummer because I think I've also been nesting a bit too. Those two don't go so well together...having a ton of things that I want to get done around the house, but no energy to do any of it!!

We've had 2 appointments since my last posting. Three appointments ago, we were worried about the weight gain. I had gained 20 lbs in 2 months. I had been eating as healthy as I knew how and been watching everything closely, so the midwife had reassured us that I would probably just be one that gains up front and then towards the end, it tapers back down. Sure enough, at my last appointment, I had gained only 2 lbs!! HOORAY!!! I had another appointment today and when Mark and I were sitting in the waiting room ready to go in, I said, "Let's make this interesting...if I've gained 5 lbs or less in the last 2 weeks, we stop at McDonald's for french fries on the way home!" I got up to the scale, took my coat off, purse off, sweater off and luckily, I'd gained only 3 lbs!! HOORAY AGAIN!!! We walked back to the room and the midwife was in the hall; she said to Mark, "How'd we do!?", Mark told her 3 lbs and I told her that that meant we get to go to McDonald's on the way home! She laughed and covered her ears and then said, "Well, at least you're goal oriented...and I do love those McDonald's french fries!!!"

Baby has been looking good at both of the last appointments; measuring perfectly for February 25th and heartbeat and everything sounds good. She said that at this point, Adilyn has just about completely turned to head down. I remember hearing about that whole process awhile back and thinking, "Wow...when she's head down we're going to be really close!!" Well...we're here!!

We also finished up our childbirth class last week. The course was a combination of the Brio-birth and Bradley-birth methods and in the end, gave us about 35 hours of training. It was 10 weeks long, about 3-3 1/2 hours each class and well worth it. We learned a ton, hopefully tucked some great strategies, tips and coping techniques into our back pockets and will be prepared for February! We aren't taking any other classes, but did get registered for the tour at the hospital on January 16th. Whew...we're getting close!

Mark is officially done with Fall semester now and on break. I finally feel like I have my husband back!! It was a stressful semester, that's for sure and he is very much in need of this well-deserved break. Mind you, I've got a few projects lined up for him to get done for Adie in the meantime! :)

We had a wonderful Christmas; very busy, but lots of fun. We had said that for this Christmas, we didn't want presents for us, if anyone was going to buy anything, just get us stuff for Adie since that's what we really needed. Well my grandma, parents and uncle spoiled us with lots of things for Adie; receiving blankets, bottles, pacifiers, outfits, stuffed animals, gift cards, etc. and we are so grateful!!

I think that's about it for weeks 29-31. Tomorrow Mark and my dad are going to build the bookshelf for Adie's room...I'll have to post pictures of that next week.

Hate this picture....


Can you believe how dark my hair is getting!? I hope it will go back to blonde once I'm not pregnant...




Keep forgetting to add these...stage 3 of the four preggo cousins and a pic of all of the cousins together:

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THIRD TRIMESTER!! 

Sunday, December 11, 2011 - Posted by Danielle at 11:14 AM
We are down to the final trimester!! This week marks 28 weeks!! It's been a good week - Adie is continuing to move and roll around a ton. A few nights ago, we sat on the couch for 5 minutes or so watching my stomach roll from side to side and pulse with little kicks!! It was so cool, but about 3 minutes into it, I said, "I can't watch it anymore!!" It's a little creepy or as a friend put it "alien-esque"!! We're pretty convinced that she's started to turn; the midwife said it wouldn't long and with the new patterns of her kicks and the spots she's been in this week, maybe...

Mark finished up his final week of school last week and this week is finals. I'm not sure who is more excited to have this semester done with!! Between taking on 18 credits, commuting to school and hour each way 5 days a week, not getting enough sleep because of homework, childbirth classes, the stressful Emma situation, a pregnant wife and job interviews all in the mix...it's time for this semester to be done!!!! This Thursday - we can't wait!!

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27 Weeks 

Sunday, December 4, 2011 - Posted by Danielle at 8:41 AM
It's been a good week! I've been feeling really good and Adie has been moving a ton!! We had our doctor's appointment on Monday - that was a little rough. My weight gain at the last appointment had me a little nervous, but they didn't seem to mind. This time, I had gained quite a bit again and we talked with her about it. We went over diet and she said everything sounded good. I've been trying so hard to eat very healthy, avoid "snacky" foods and make sure that my snacks are nutritious. I told her what I've been eating and she had no complaints. At this appointment, I had to do the glucose test for gestational diabetes. She said she thought it was either going to come back positive or else based on how my diet sounded, maybe I had just hit a "growth spurt" and now the weight gain could taper off. She said it's hard to determine how things will go when it's a first pregnancy because there is no history to base it off of. We got a little nervous about the possibility of gestational diabetes and what all that would mean, but in the end, results came back and she said that my blood work was well within normal and looked great. At this point, we're going to wait until the next appointment and see how things look then.

At the end of the appointment, it was time to hear baby's heartbeat and she had Mark do the doppler which was fun. He found the heartbeat right away and as soon as he started rolling it around, she started kicking back really hard!! We would hear the stead "bump, bump, bump" of the hearbeat and then a really LOUD bump from the kicks!! It was very fun. It seems like we've been able to get her to respond to things more lately -whether from the light of a flashlight, Mark talking to her, playing guitar, etc. and it's fun to be able to "interact" with her now.

It's been a week of adjustment for us as well. Mark's mom ended up taking Emma and it had been a hard transition, mainly for me, Emma & Sailor. Mark has been ready to be free from her for awhile now, but considering how much she truly is MY cat, it's been very hard for me, and Sailor was an extremely depressed little puppy the first couple days. In the end, it wasn't working out over at Carol's either and we are going to have to have her put down next week once Mark is done with school and has time to handle it. It's a very hard situation because she truly is a wonderful cat...for me. Anyone else though, she is so territorial and so scared that she ends up coming across as a mean, scary cat. We talked with a neighbor who is a vet and she said that unhealthy cats aren't always just "health issues". In Emma's case, she said she thinks there are some mental illnesses that no matter what work you try to do with her, it's never going to go away. I know we're doing the right thing now and I have a peace with it. It's just hard through the process of it though. I will be glad when Emma is out of the misery of being moved and shuffled around and no longer has to be the scared kitten that she is now. It will be best for her, and in the end, I know it's best for us and our family as well. I love her very much though.

Mark had a very good week; he had another interview with Stryker that went WONDERFUL. He met with a lady to discuss what kind of a position he really wants there, because while the other internship didn't work out, they knew that they wanted to bring him on, but wasn't sure where to place him. Through that interview, we basically found out that if the other internship he originally was going for had panned out, even if he did a killer job at it, in the end, they wouldn't be able to guarantee any sort of employment...not because he didn't do well, but just because the positions aren't available. They are now talking about getting him lined up for possibly a spring, if not summer, internship as a buyer working with different customers and suppliers. This position is in high demand and they are constantly bringing on new buyers so the possibility of employment at the end of it sounds far more promising. At this point, he will be going in once this semester finishes up to do a job shadow with a buyer for a couple hours. Then after that, we'll get things hopefully lined up for an internship and be able to go from there.

I also had a chat with my employer this week about future decisions. He wanted to meet for breakfast to go over our plans as we had in the past, and I let him know that as of now, there's really no definite plans that I could clue him in on. We met anyway and it went very, very well. My work is going to be going through major transitions in the next 18 months or so; losing one employee, me on maternity leave and who knows what after that, and 3 employees retiring...all in an office of only 7 people!! Basically, I came away from our meeting feeling great about where I'm at with it. I have been as up front with them on my desires and what we do have figured out for our "plans" as I can be and have left nothing a secret. At this point, I'm clueing him in as soon as I know anything different. We also got talking about the potential possibility, based on all the changes coming up, of me being able to do some part time work from home. While I'm not holding my breath or getting excited about that working out since they are still very much in the planning stage of things, it could be great if it does end up being an option.

Think that's it for week 27!!


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25 & 26 Weeks 

Sunday, November 27, 2011 - Posted by Danielle at 11:18 AM
The biggest events this past couple weeks have been Adie's movements. She has been kicking and rolling like crazy! One night Mark and I were laying in bed and able to feel her rolling around...haven't been able to see any rolling yet but can definitely see the kicks. I was laying back in my chair at work the other day when two of my co-workers walked in and said, "Wow you look pregnant!" and I told them to check it out - my stomach kept jumping :)

We ventured out on Black Friday to go to Babies 'R Us and see what deals we could snag. We had a good time and got lots of 9-12 month clothes. We also went to Toys 'R Us a week or so ago and got the changing table. Boy was that an experience. First of all, the store was a complete zoo. So we went in, looked through the clothes, grabbed a few cute outfits, Mark grabbed a couple clearanced video games and we grabbed the piece of paper with the info for the changing table and headed up to the counter. The girl rang us up and then when she saw the paper for the changing table she said they would have to check to make sure that they had it. I explained that we had called Babies 'R Us and they had told us that Toys 'R Us had four in stock. She sent a girl back to find it and we stepped aside so that the rest of the line could continue to go through the checkout. As we waited for about 25 minutes, we saw a girl come out with the changing table box on a dolly, go out around the checkouts and back into the stock room. After literally 25 minutes of waiting, Mark ended up going up to the customer service counter to ask if there was a problem. They said that they would check on it. On a minute later a girl came up and said, "Well they're back they're looking but only 3 of the 4 were scanned in so it might be a few more minutes." I asked what she meant and she said, "I don't know - thats just what they told me to tell you..." The three of us looked over and saw the girl coming back out with three changing tables on the dolly. She came up and said, "I'm so sorry, but I can't find the fourth one!" I said, "Fourth one?? We only need one..." She said, "Are you serious? They told me you wanted four so I've been back there looking for them this whole time!" We all laughed and we proceeded to finish checking out. I paid and then realized I couldn't find our back with the outfits and video games. We looked all over; well apparently one of the people who checked out while we were waiting had grabbed our bag off the counter by mistake and took off with it!!! Mark took the changing table out while 2 store clerks and I headed back to grab our items again! The manager was so apologetic, felt terrible and ended up giving us an extra $10 off our bill. So...we spent about an hour and a half in that store, but in the end, between the extra $10 off, coupons and rewards cards, we got our $100 changing table for $30!!! Ha!

I think that's about it for catching up these couple weeks. Next appointment is tomorrow and then we start 2 week appointments. Wow time flies...


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Catching Up... 

Saturday, November 12, 2011 - Posted by Danielle at 5:38 AM
Still don't have my computer back, but luckily Mark is sleeping in a little this morning which means that his computer isn't tied up with homework!!

Let's see...this is catch up for weeks 23 & 24. On Halloween I had another midwife appointment. Everything went great - I wasn't so thrilled with the weight gain, but she didn't seem to mind. She measured me and said everything is looking great, heartbeat sounded wonderful, blood pressure good; it was a good appointment. The part that caught us off guard the most was the fact that I have one more appointment (end of November) and then I switch to appointments every two weeks!!! I hit the six month mark also - I've now been pregnant for half of a year!! It is absolutely crazy how true the "time flies" statement really is! We have just been in awe of 'time' lately. We've been looking at the fact that we've got three-ish months left and we've looked back to where we were at three-ish months ago. Certainly puts it in perspective and doesn't seem like long at all!

I had my first shower last Saturday - SO much fun!!! I had a wonderful time getting to visit with friends and family and celebrate Adilyn. We were blessed with so many incredible things and it was just a great day.

Emotions have been a complete roller coaster the past week (the last blog entry!) Between being a hormonal mess, the whole Emma issue and then some other things that went on this past week, by Friday I felt like my nerves were fried and my blood pressure was through the roof. By Friday morning, I sat down and started praying - praying hard that God would give me something good to hold onto. With everything that had happened, I just needed a shred of good news, something positive to get me through. Friday afternoon, I was reminded of God's grace, kindness and provision. I had Pandora on at work all day and the song "Stronger" by Mandisa came on. I had heard the song before, but never really listened to the words. For some reason though, I keyed into it this time. "When the waves are pulling you under, just know that this is going to make you stronger." I thanked God for the ray of hope he gave me and the afternoon took a total 180. Long story short, the Emma issue got put to rest and we are no longer giving her away, Mark got some incredible news that uplifted both of us, I got a phone call about a hospital bill from a year and half ago that I'd been fighting and they are waiving most of the charges, it was just one thing after another yesterday afternoon that was great news. I thanked God and was reminded even more of what I already know; His plans are perfect. The rough times, the trials and the uncertainties, they truly do make us stronger.







Made with love by grandma for Adilyn Marie Fletcher, 2012


A very unexpected and much appreciated gift; my mom had found an old bassinet and my dad re-finished the entire thing. Then my mom made the bumper and bedding to go in it and had it embroidered. The pattern she made the bedding in is almost the same as the bedding I had as a baby.

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An emotional few days... 

Tuesday, November 8, 2011 - Posted by Danielle at 12:33 PM
Our computer has been in for repairs for the past week...hence no updates. I'm doing my best to make this post with my phone! Once the computer is back, I'll post the latest belly shots and pictures from my first incredible shower this past weekend!!

This past Saturday at the shower was absolutley wonderful. I had such an incredible time with our great friends and family, catching up, hanging out and celebrating the fact that in a couple short months, Adie will be here with us!!! Thank you to all of you who were a part of the shower and made it such a wonderful memory. Mark and I are continually reminded of God's blessings in our lives, and we are truly blessed with great family and friends.

The past couple days have been a little tough. I tend to think its just me and the fact that I'm a hormonal basket case at this point, but regardless, it's still been a hard few days. For starters, the time change this weekend brought with it some very dark, gloomy days, reminding me that a cold, dark winter is on its way (have I mentioned I HATE winter!?)

Saturday night after the shower, we set the bassinet up in the bedroom. We were getting ready for bed and I came back to the bedroom and found Emma sitting in the bassinet. Cute? Very. A good thing to start? Not hardly. I scolded her and thus began a huge discussion for Mark and I. Emma has been a great pet and companion. Hands down, she is 100% my cat. She is my buddy. While doing anything girly, she's right there with me- whether I wrap presents, do card making, crochet, she loves it! Every morning while I get ready, she sits patiently on the toilet waiting for me to be done. She is a wonderful kitty. Our discussion ended up leading into how practical and how good of an idea it is to have a cat and a baby. Over the past 2 days we've come to the conclusion that it's just not a good idea. I am so incredibly thankful that Carol (Mark's mom) is willing to take her- Emma LOVES her...and Carol spoils her just a little! Grateful, yes, necessary, yes...but I'm still struggling. Were going to do a 30 day trial starting Saturday.

On top of this, I feel like I have transitioned from the 'how many weeks along' mindset that I had to the 'how many weeks to go' mindset. Mark and I are so enjoying our time together and really enjoying the pregnancy, but are also really ready to meet our daughter. I know this time is precious and after delivery, life will never be the same...sometimes its just hard to be patient though.

So...There's my little journal from the last few days. Emotional and hormonal? Absolutely, but still hard to get through. I've not been sleeping well...maybe it's a good night for a nap!! :)

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Baby Girl's Name!! 

Sunday, October 30, 2011 - Posted by Danielle at 12:12 PM
At first, we had thought that it would be fun to surprise everyone with the name. That didn't last long. We ended up deciding that it's far more fun to be able to call her by name around family and friends. So, for those of you who have not heard it yet, the name is.......

Adilyn Marie Fletcher

We had this name picked out from very early on...it was boy's names we had struggled with. Some of you may know, our all-time favorite singer is Jeremy Camp. His wife is also a singer and her name is Adie. We loved the nickname Adie, but didn't want to actually name her Adie. So, we began with Addison...but quickly learned it's at the top of the charts for baby girl names of 2011. So, we kept looking and found Adilyn. We are thrilled with it!!!!

With that, we made major progress this weekend on the nursery!! We have a few projects we want to complete before it's finished, but this weekend we got several of them complete!! One of our projects was putting the name up on the wall!!


The light and dark pink circles were added to the corners...


We stained and added the letters above the crib. I'm pretty sure this project took us a good 3 hours!! All the measuring to make sure the circles were evenly spread out and all centered to the room and the crib...quite the project but we love it!!!

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22 Weeks! 

Posted by Danielle at 12:04 PM
This has been a very interesting week as far as hormones are concerned. This past week, I've physically felt pretty well, but emotionally...I've been a bit of a wreck! There were numerous occasions this week that I found myself upset with the fact that I've felt like I have absolutely no control over my emotions. In each of the circumstances, whether I was upset, sad, etc., I know I normally would have had the emotion anyway. However, this past week, my emotions have just been so much more intense!! Just ask Mark...

Physically, she's been kicking up a storm this week. Mark has been feeling significantlly more quicks than before and I no longer have to tell him when she's kicking so he knows for sure he's felt it. Earlier this week I had some bad cramping going on and then by the end of the week, I've felt like my stomach has shifted more to the front. Before, I felt like I was carrying all the way around, but the bump seems more in front now.

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20 & 21 Weeks! 

Tuesday, October 18, 2011 - Posted by Danielle at 5:03 PM
It's been a very busy week!!! I've been feeling really good; still tired, but not exhausted like I had been. Her kicks have been getting stronger and stronger. I sat at work today and when her kicks were getting strong, I looked and although it was slight, I could see my stomach jumping with each kick. So cool! I have enjoyed the kicks the most out of everything so far. The biggest "problem" I've been running into so far is that there is a position she apparently likes to get in that gives me a horrible cramp on my left front/side. A couple of the times I've had it, the cramp is so intense that I walk bent over to keep from hurting. Then, within 10 minutes or so it will suddenly go away...not gradually, it will just suddenly be gone!

I hit a bit of a milestone this week apparently; I've been wondering when I'll get past the point of "is she or isn't she..." and people will look and be able to obviously tell I'm pregnant. Well we were out last Saturday and went to dinner and a girl I used to work with at The Fountains was our waitress. She was really busy so I didn't mention anything. Well then we got up to leave, she saw my tummy and came running over. Then we were at the store getting paint, etc. and the girl said "Oh!! When are you do!?!?" These two girls were confident, but then the funniest one happened at the bank Saturday morning. I was inside doing a deposit and as I was waiting the guy looked up and said, "Any fun plans this weekend??" I said, "Well...painting the nursery!" He responded, "Oh that's fun...when are you..." and as soon as he got that much out, he caught himself and started to stumble and said, "Well so you're helping a friend with a nursery or...?" I smiled and said, "It's ok...it's mine and I'm due in February!"

Since I'm having my first shower somewhat early, I've been wanting to get the nursery painted so that when we have things to bring home, they can go into the nursery without having to be moved around again to paint. Well this weekend we made major progress on the nursery!! Friday night, we went and picked the paint colors and all day Saturday, we put up trim and painted. By about 8pm, we had it done. We still have several other smaller projects that we are going to do with it, but for now, the bulk of it is done.

On Sunday, my parents stopped over. Their neighbors (who I grew up with being my neighbors as well) have two little girls. They blessed us with so many clothes and baby items and we are so grateful! My parents brought everything with them on Sunday and there was a massive bag of clothes, a bouncy seat and one of the play mats that they lay on with toys over them. We went through all of the clothes and then debated what to do next. Being the obsessive compulsive person I am, I told mom "Let's go get hangers!!" We ran to Target and I about cleared them of their children's hangers; I bought 70!! While there, mom and I realized that since finding out it's a girl, we hadn't had a chance to go shopping yet! We wandered through Target and got a few of the cutest clothes and then went over to Marshall's and picked up some great deals there too. It was so much fun to be shopping for our little girl!! I came home that night and started hanging everything up and with everything that the neighbors gave us, I ended up with 5 of 70 hangers left!!! Our little girl is going to be stylin!!! :)

I think that's about it for this week. Somehow we got thrown off once again with the pictures/weeks. Hopefully with these two shots, we are caught up now and next week will be back on track...hopefully!


Oops...actually 20 weeks!



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18 & 19 weeks! 

Sunday, October 9, 2011 - Posted by Danielle at 3:09 PM
So apparently I'm very late on posting this time...oops! I don't know why, but we got very confused with what pictures we had and didn't have the past couple weeks. In the end, we still ended up with the weekly pics...but they aren't the weeks they say they are. Anyway....

We had our 3rd ultrasound on September 30th and it was confirmed...we're having a GIRL! It has been so much fun to now be able to picture life with a little girl, start shopping for girly stuff, start decorating the nursery and calling her by name!! So exciting!!!

We started decorating the nursery - I had found a crib set that I loved. Then when we were registering the second day, my mom was with us and spotted a rug at Target that was light pink, dark pink, cream and brown and SO cute. It was originally $100 on clearance for $40!! Although it didn't match the crib set I had picked out, I decided that for a deal like that, I could find new bedding!!! That night when we got back to the house, we unrolled the rug in the nursery and mom, Mark and I all laid on the floor looking for baby bedding!! We found a set that is so cute and it was delivered within 2 days. It is light pink, a little bit darker pink, cream and brown circles and then a few of the pieces are striped instead of dots.

I went to the Kalamazoo Expo mom to mom sales with a girlfriend and we had such a blast!! We found some treasures and the first of our little girl's outfit collection :)

The kicks were steadily getting stronger and stronger and one night, Mark actually got to feel one. Up until then, he wasn't sure if he was just feeling the pulse in his fingers or just imaginging it, but this time, it was so strong that his fingers actually jumped a little bit! The last week or so though, they've not been as strong.

I think that's about it for the last couple weeks. Most exciting thing for me at this point? Maternity work pants!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank goodness I finally found some that are LONG enough...if not a little too long. So glad to be done with the belly band!!!!


(We got confused...this is 18 weeks!)


Profile

Close up profile

Two little girl feet!

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Registry Fun!! 

Tuesday, September 27, 2011 - Posted by Danielle at 3:50 PM
This past weekend, we began the baby registry!!!! My first shower is somewhat early due to the holiday season coming up and my grandma leaving for Florida. So, as soon as we found out it was a girl, off to register we went!

Mark was more than a trooper!! We registered ALLLLLL day both Saturday and Sunday. Each morning, we started off at "East Egg" (the BEST breakfast place in Portage for those that haven't been there!) so that gave us some good energy!!

Saturday we spent the day registering at Babies 'R Us. I'm pretty sure I only got to hold the gun when Mark went to the bathroom! Ha! The best part of the day though was in the very beginning. We were just getting into some of the pink items that we could register for...things that didn't need to be gender-neutral. Well several weeks before, we had been into Babies 'R Us and saw a "Cars" bath set that had shampoo, body wash, etc. in containers that looked like bottles of car oil. As we started scanning pink blankets, all of a suddent the Cars bath set popped in Mark's head and he said, "Wait a second...girls like Cars too right?!?" I said, "No!!! Girls like baby dolls!!" After a couple seconds, he regrouped and said, "It's ok...I had a little breakdown there, but were good. I'm good with pink!" LOVED it!

By the end of Saturday, we had Babies 'R Us finished. Sunday morning we went to church and mom joined us for the day. We did all of our registering at Target and then went to Babies 'R Us to finish a few last minute items. It was great having mom along so we could ask her questions like "I know I'm supposed to register for this...but what is it!?!?!" It was also great to have her around in times that the registry list told us to register for 4 mattress covers, 5 sheet savers, 8 sets of sheets, and 3 mattress pads...in times like that, she could tell us "Waaayyy overboard!" and we could register for a reasonable amount instead!

Registering is finished...now, it's lots of editing to get rid of duplicates! It was definitely a fun time though picking all of the items out to take care of our little girl!!! Can't wait!!!!


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IT'S A................... 

Thursday, September 22, 2011 - Posted by Danielle at 6:37 PM
TONIGHT WE FOUND OUT WHAT WE'RE HAVING!!!! HOORAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My next appointment isn't actually until September 30th, which is when we planned on finding out the sex of the baby. Well, my sister-in-law (Mark's brother's wife), is an x-ray tech at a nearby hospital. She graciously offered to let us come in and she would take a look for us to see if she could tell.

This afternoon, we met up with her and it was such an amazing, cool experience!!!! We all discussed what we thought the baby might be or what gut feelings we've had. Mark has had dreams that it's a boy, and dreams that it's a girl. I've had just a gut feeling that it's a boy. She scanned around for 10 minutes or so and then Mark's brother, Dan, showed up with their two kids, Jacob & Lily. It was such a neat experience I will never forget; while Darci scanned around for another 30 minutes or so, Jacob crawled up on the bed with me and kept saying "Mommy, what are you doing?" and "Aunt Danielle, what's mommy doing to your belly?!" He was so intrigued and Lily was interested in sitting with me for a couple of minutes but then just wanted to play with all the goop on my belly :) It was so fun though and turned into a family affair!

Darci primarily does x-ray, however, she sits in on lots of ultrasounds and did it to herself for their two kids and to her sister and was 3 for 3 on those. So, she was about 90% sure by the time she got done. We got several good shots and we can say fairly confidently that.....

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There was only one shot that made it questionable, but we all decided that what we saw was probably umbilical cord. Each of the other pictures were much more "girl-part-looking!"

WE ARE THRILLED!!!!!! Now we can actually start calling our baby girl by name (assuming we don't slip since it's still a surprise!!) and can start buying things for her. I told Mark that I am not even the slightest bit disappointed - my reaction has just been that I am incredibly taken off guard by it! I've been so convinced by this gut feeling and so many people have said from the picture or "a feeling" that they thought it was a boy too. With all of that, I've totally had my head in the mindset that we were going to have a boy (even though I really had nothing to go by!!) I am thrilled though and can't wait to welcome our DAUGHTER into this world!!

We love you baby girl Fletcher!!!

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17 Weeks & Feeling Kicks!!! 

Posted by Danielle at 6:27 PM
It has been a very big week!!! Overall, I've felt a lot better; not quite as much energy as last week, but still feeling good! The biggest thing this week has been feeling kicks!!!! What an amazing feeling!!

Last Saturday night, we were laying in bed and I felt something kind of "dance" from the left side of my lower stomach over to the right. I told Mark I was pretty sure I felt something. Well the next morning, I got up, let Sailor out, went to the bathroom, and came back and laid back in bed. That time, I felt 3-4 solid little taps. I read online that someone was describing it as "popcorn popping"...that is exactly right!! Since that time, I've definitely been feeling more and more and movements and I feel like they've gotten stronger/more noticeable. Maybe I just know what I'm looking for now?? I just can't wait until they really become consistent and Mark is able to feel them! We've tried a few times, but he hasn't been able to feel anything yet.

It's all starting to feel really real now!! Up until now, without having a big bump or being able to feel anything, etc., it kind of just felt like a really bad flu bug and even though we had everything confirmed, etc. it's just been hard to not keep telling myself that it isn't true! Now it's definitely becoming a reality though!!

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16 Weeks! 

Wednesday, September 14, 2011 - Posted by Danielle at 6:27 PM
16 weeks and feeling better!! The last couple days I've felt like I've had more energy and haven't had heartburn or nauseousness like I had been.

Mark started school back up this last week - he's doing more than full time...18 credits with some very long days. We know we're down to the final two semesters though!!

We're getting excited for the upcoming ultrasound when we get to see baby again and HOPEFULLY find out if we've got a girl or a boy on the way!! September 30th...can't wait!

Maternity clothes are getting to be a must and unfortunately, at this point I've got enough to last me about 1 week...need to get some more so that I'm not wearing the same thing every week!! Regular clothes are growing increasingly uncomfortable; shirts I am constantly pulling down since they start to slide up over my belly and the belly band is not so helpful anymore...it's keeping my unbottoned and unzipped pants up, but the zipper is cutting into me so much that it's definitely time for some new pants!

Today at work, my boss came up and said, "So..what do you think about a casual day for tomorrow??" I turned around and said, "LOVE IT! My jeans are the only maternity pants I have so far!!!

What else is new....I'm finding that I can't eat as much at meals anymore. I'm also finding that my balance is off just a bit - certainly not as coordinated as I once was!! May be time to get rid of the heels at work!!

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A Very Late Post!! 

Thursday, September 8, 2011 - Posted by Danielle at 4:08 PM
So...now that I'm not spinning anymore and can sit at the computer, I'll FINALLY post the latest belly shot and our ultrasound pic!!

As I said from the ER appointment, our ultrasound tech measured the baby to be smaller than we thought so my due date and how far along I am all got changed. Even though this pic says 16 weeks, I'm actually 15 here according to that appointment. This Saturday will be 16 and we'll post another belly pic!

This week has been better; the dizziness and spinning is finally gone and I am SO glad. Being on a non-stop carousel was rough!! Heartburn has kicked in quite a bit worse. Last night was tough - I had heartburn to the point of nauseousness and throwing up. Today has been a better day of it though.

I went and bought some of my first maternity clothes this weekend - very exciting!! I got some great deals and even snagged an $80 winter coat for $24! I haven't been able to find dress pants yet, but at least got some jeans. I won't be able to wait too much longer though - the belly band just isn't cutting it anymore.


(Actually 15 weeks!!!)


OUR BABY!!!!!

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Night in the ER, first ultrasound & new date!! 

Wednesday, August 31, 2011 - Posted by Danielle at 12:14 PM
A LOT has gone on in the past week! It's been an interesting week - that's for sure! So, Thursday we were at our condo floating down the lazy river when one of the water sprayers coming off the side blasted me in the ear. My ear was plugged, we thought nothing of it, it got better and life went on.

Friday, we hung out around the condo and decided to go out for dinner, got ready and headed out. We made it about a mile and my head was spinning so bad, I was so dizzy and about to throw up (which hadn't been happening in a few weeks!) I told Mark we just needed to pick something up and head back to the condo. On the way back, we got stuck in a horrible line of construction, and I ended up WAY sick as I hung out the passenger door for all to see! Mark luckily was able to pull off to a desserted parking lot shortly after :)

The next few days and through the trip home, the dizziness, nausea and vomiting continually got worse. I was set to have Monday off and go back to work on Tuesday. Well Monday night, I was terribly sick and started having some stomach pains. We called the on-call nurse who told us that I should absolutely come in to be checked out. Although that meant we would be able to get things figured out, the fact that she said I needed to come in (even though we had a scheduled appointment with the midwife the next day) completely threw me into a panic.

We went in and after a urine test, blood work, poking me 3 times to be able to get the IV started (have I mentioned I pass out with needles!?), a catheter and an ultrasound, they finally diagnosed me with a severe UTI. It seemed really strange because I've had them in the past and had NONE of the usual symptoms. They explained that in pregnancy, things can take off fast so I may have just "skipped" some of the minor symptoms. We left with a perscription and I told Mark I just wanted to hold off on getting anything filled or starting anything until we could talk to the midwife the next day.

Gotta say though - THANK GOODNESS for the ultrasound that night because it made all the rest of it worth it!!!!! The doctor wanted to have it done to rule out an ectopic pregnancy since I was having stomach pains. The lady who did it was so cool about it knowing that it was our first one and let us watch the baby for a few minutes as he or she kicked and stretched and opened and closed it's mouth - INCREDIBLE. It was so awesome to finally see that it's all real!!! She tried her best to see gender, but no luck...

So, yesterday, we went in for our scheduled midwife appointment. It's routine to do a urine sample for them so I did and she came in and asked what it was that brought us into the ER. We explained and she said, "Well, that's interesting because on the culture from today, I show absolutely NO signs of a UTI at all." She explained that she could see how they would think that because the white blood cell count was very high, but she said pregnancy is the explanation for that. She asked a lot of questions and ended up determining that rather than a severe UTI, I have a severe inner ear infetion which is throwing my equilibrium off which is leading to the dizziness, nausea and vomiting. She prescribed two different meds which I started last night.

While I'm not as nauseous today, the room is definitely still spinning. I feel like I've been on a carousel for the past 6 days and can't get off. Thankfully, work has been so gracious and understanding of me needing a couple extra days to lay low after a long vacation!

No picture for "16 weeks" yet for two reasons...first off, I've been laying on the couch for the past few days and am not quite in a "picture taking" kind of place yet!! Also, according to measurements on the ultrasound, I am actually 14 weeks 4 days today rather than 16 weeks 3 days like we had thought. The new "due date" is February 25th.

Once I'm better and able to get off the couch without feeling like I'm going to fall down, I'll post a belly pic and the ultrasound pic!

Thanks for all the concern, prayers, and calls that you made over the last week. I feel very loved and we are very blessed.

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Vacation Sneak Peak 

Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - Posted by Danielle at 7:16 AM
We arrived in Kentucky Thursday night, did Mammoth Cave Friday, and then drove laste that night into Pigeon Forge, where we stayed until checking into our condo on Sunday. We have had a great time so far checking out the Smoky Mountains, viewing wildlife, and playing in the mountains!!

Mammoth Cave was really neat; I had been once when I was younger, Mark had never seen a cave. We did a 2 1/2 hour, 3/4 mile tour through the cave and saw lots!



Saturday morning, we started driving an auto tour through the Smoky Mountains and ended up at the highest peak in the Smokies which was approx 6,300 ft. It was so "smoky" that when we first got there, all you could see was white. After arriving here, we then hiked a 1/2 mile straight up hill to where the peak actually was and the view was incredible!!!




Yesterday we did another auto tour through the national park and spent the day in Cade's Cove; a place known for spotting wildlife. We did a 5 mile strenuous hike to Abram's Falls. The hike was a HIKE, but the view was definitely worth it!! We then drove the scenic loop of Cade's Cove a few times at dusk and saw tons of deer. We saw several bucks that were 8-10 point. As afraid of deer as I am, I actually did quite well since we were actually LOOKING for them as supposed to seeing them jump out in front of the car!! On the drive back to the condo, it got so dark back in the mountains that I was driving and tense for about 20 miles. At one point I saw an image of something big and black run out across the street and down the hill. While I didn't get a close look at it and we couldn't see it when we got up to that section, we're fairly confident that it was a bear! Also, now with a baby on the way, we had been debating getting a new camera that would take better pictures. We went ahead and got one here while on vacation so that we could use it in the mountains! We are loving the great pictures that this camera takes!!







We are going to spend the day at the waterparks here at the condo today and then still this week we will head back to the national park in hopes of finding some bears.

We're now 15 weeks too; feeling great this week - a little dizzy, but considering I was able to do the 5 mile hike, I'm thinking I'm getting some energy back too.

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