Third Trimester Here I Come....

Nowadays there is much speculation on when your 3rd trimester begins. My "Belly Book" tells me that the 3rd trimester starts at like 24 weeks, which I don't believe to be true. So, as I was checking my email this morning, I had something in my inbox that told me 'Welcome to the 3rd Trimester,' and I think I actually believe this one. I'm 27 weeks along and I think that sounds just about right...

As I start the 3rd trimester, lots of changes are happening to my body. There are still times when I forget I'm actually pregnant, though. Yeah, I'm gaining weight and all, but sometimes I look down towards my feet and I still don't see a large belly...but then the day passes and my feet disappear. It tends to fluctuate quite a bit - in my eyes, at least!

Baby Hunt has started to kick a little harder every now and then. There are even times when I can see my belly protrude outward because of a kick, which is always fun to see. Baby tends to hiccup a lot, too. I didn't realize what hiccups felt like until I spent the night in the hospital last week and the nurse told me the baby was hiccuping and then a light bulb went off in my head and I remembered that internal feeling having happened before. Now I love it every time I feel it, although it's a little annoying! :)

Speaking of the hospital, I never had a chance to get online and blog about my car accident. I was rear-ended after work on November 17. The accident was very minor and actually didn't present any damage to either vehicle. The woman that hit me happened to be an OB Nurse at the IU Med Center and when I told her I was 25 weeks pregnant, she advised me to call my doctor because she'd probably like for me to be observed for 4 hours. I immediately called my doctor and she told me to stop at the nearest hospital emergency room and tell them I was in a car accident.

It took me 30 minutes to get from the accident to Community North due to rain and SLOWWW traffic, but I got there. Jeremy had already made it home and I asked him to grab me some clothes to wear and drive back to Indy...

In the hospital, they took me to the OB triage unit where I just laid there with heart monitors on me to observe the baby. Jeremy finally showed up with some McDonald's chicken nuggets (mmmm!) and some comfy clothes and we both just sat there listening to the baby's heartbeat and watching my belly move up and down with pretty hardcore kicks.

I started having some cramping in my lower abdomen and the doctor then told me they'd be keeping me overnight for observation and I wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything - luckily I had just had my dinner!! They transferred me to the antepartem part of the OB floor and we were introduced to our room for the night - which was awesome. Everyone should want to have a baby at Community North - they have amazing rooms!

Jeremy had his own little cubby-hole with a couch, chair and his own television. I had a serene area in the room with a television and internet access. The bathroom is nicely decorated in small neutral tiles and the shower was VERY nice. Everything is very secure and no one can even get into your room without having a password to the key pad. It's just very nice.

I didn't get much sleep throughout the night, due to my back hurting and the nurses coming in to check on me every hour. My blood pressure was good and all of my vitals were fine - but they were pretty concerned at one point because I had been contracting quite a bit. I didn't feel the contractions, but they were able to pick them up on the monitors. At 3:30 a.m., they told me that I had 6 contractions in the last hour, so they finally gave me a shot to help me sleep and stop the contractions...and then I finally slept for about 3 hours.

By morning, the pain had mostly stopped and the contractions had stopped, as well. They released me from the OB floor at about 9:30 a.m. and told me that things seemed like they'd be okay, but I had to be released from the ER, too. Ugh. After an ultrasound and two more hours in the ER, we finally left with a clean bill of health.

I'm still nervous and scared - but every week that passes is a milestone. The closer I get to March 2, the better I feel. After having two miscarriages, it really sucks to have to be so paranoid - and after having a car accident, my paranoia hasn't slowed down.

All I know is that I have 13 more weeks to go and THAT is a miracle to me. There are ladies that I've met on my online birth board on BabyCenter who have already had their March babies and it's amazing to me to know that IF I were to go into labor today, there is a good chance that this little one will survive. I'm not ready for that, yet, but the thought of it blows my mind. In just a few short months, we'll have a baby to add to our family. We have lots to do between now and then, but I can't wait to meet Baby Hunt and finally know what I'm carrying inside my belly. Secrets aren't my forte, so I can't wait to share the sex of the baby and the name, which we won't be telling either.... :)

I'm going to try and document more of my pregnancy throughout the 3rd trimester, though. More of my body will evolve and the baby will start becoming more active. I'm so excited for what's to come...

Mama Got a Job!!!!

So, this announcement has been a long time coming for me! After about 24 interviews with 12-13 different companies, I have finally landed a job with a great company - Emmis Communications! This news is exciting to be because Emmis has, of course, been a company I grew to respect and admire throughout college and I'm so happy to be beginning a career with them as the Sales Executive Assistant for the Vice President of the Indy Market, as well as two of the Indianapolis radio stations.

I feel so fortunate because as we know, I'm 21 weeks pregnant. I'm sure that I'm not the ideal employee right now, but I have climbed my first mountain by telling them about the pregnancy. I think it went well - at least I didn't get thrown out immediately. I know I have the uphill battle of proving myself to them so that they know hiring me wasn't a mistake, but I enjoy the opportunity of a challenge. I believe my first day will be sometime early next week!

With that said, I can't believe that five months with this baby in my belly. It still feels so surreal to me, especially when it kicks/nudges me. I look forward to the really noticeable kicks that may wake me up in the middle of the night...or allow Jeremy to feel them, too. He thinks he felt a kick last week, but I can't be sure whether he did or not.

So, finally...I'm going to debut my baby belly progression. It's not too bad, actually. I honestly think God has held off on my gaining too much weight so that it would be possible for me to job hunt without looking as big as a house! I'm sure I'm in for a huge surprise in a few weeks when I'll finally start ballooning into a monster! Ugh. I hope not!!!

Now, I'm not sure when most of these were taken - I do know the first one was at 5 weeks and the last one is at 21 weeks, but I think the rest of them are in the 9 week to 18 week range. I was really bad at keeping track. I promise I'll be more on top of things from here on out! :)

Anyway, happy Thursday!

Suck It Up...

So, I realized this morning that I haven't really followed through with my want to blog about this pregnancy. It's not that I haven't had the time to blog, I mean, I've been unemployed throughout the first five months of this pregnancy. I'm not real sure what it is. The only real thing I can think of is that it's just been so hard for me to to become attached, just in case something bad happens. Again.

I'm here to tell myself to suck it up. I'm 20 weeks pregnant now and I shouldn't worry anymore about things. I know anything can happen and nothing is ever guaranteed, but it's time to just be happy, excited and positive...

So, here's to posting more about my pregnancy - besides, I was offered a job yesterday and I feel like I can now begin to relax a bit and think about doing things for this baby...buying things and registering and all that other cutesy stuff you do as a first time mother!

...and I'll finally post some belly pics. Soon!

For now, I'm happy to say that I've made it this far. I can't believe the last 20 weeks have been given to me and I look forward to the next 20 weeks of all sorts of aches and pains. I may complain, but it's so worth it to me.

...and so the blogging begins!!

And I am starting this blogging experience off on a good note!! Jeremy just got a job today and I couldn't be more thrilled for us! After 8 weeks of searching for jobs after moving back to Indiana from Ohio, one of us finally got an offer - which means the end is in sight for living in Alexandria with mom and dad!

I've started to stress a bit about having a baby and having to live with my parents, so this is great news and a HUGE prayer answered today...

Onto baby news - I have just passed the 13 week mark (insert an enormous sigh of relief!!) and I think this means that I'm pretty much out of my first trimester, depending on which source you read. This, of course, does not mean that my nausea has subsided much. If I'm anything like my sister, she was sick through about 17 weeks - so I may still have awhile to go. Let's hope not!!

I had my 13 week appointment yesterday and after seeing the baby 5 times via ultrasound, yesterday was all new for us because the doctor just used a handheld fetal heart monitor. We got to hear the baby and that's good enough for us! Beating a strong 150bpm, which is much less than what it has been. I believe it's been as high as 188bpm just a few weeks ago.

Everything looks great, though. My next appointment is the last week in September and then our gender appointment is on October 1st!!!!

It's just so surreal to be pregnant with a growing baby inside of me. I know I'm walking in uncharted pregnancy waters for myself, but it's exciting and nerve wracking all at the same time. I'm excited to document this journey from beginning to never-ending end!!