Gender Reveal!!

Merry Christmas!  

We know you have been waiting and waiting for this day to come...so have we!  So without further ado, check the volume on your computer so you can hear the audio on the video and press play!

(To view in full screen you may have to go to YouTube and watch it there.  Press the 'You Tube' button on the bottom of the video to go straight there.  Then expand the screen and watch.)

P.S. ~ For those who called me at 1:30am and 3:30am this morning...nice try! (I still love you!)

18 Weeks!!

Time has gone by so fast!  I can't believe that we are almost halfway through this pregnancy.  The count down for the gender reveal is getting close, only nine more days!  We thought since Christmas is right around the corner we would reveal the gender to all our friends and family at the same time Christmas Day!  What a great gift!  By email and/or blog you will be able to find out if Baby Palmer is a boy or girl!

Currently Baby Palmer is the size of a sweet potato, approximately 5.6 inches long from head to rump and 6.7 ounces.  Baby is growing rapidly, twisting, rolling, punching and kicking too!  I have seen on previous ultrasounds that Baby Palmer is a mover but I have not yet felt any of his/her movements.  I would imagine that it wont be too much longer before I can feel everything going on inside of me.  

Tim has officially completed his last flight here at this training command!  We are set for the January 13th Winging Ceremony and will be moving shortly there after.  Where????  We still don't know!  Hopefully we will find out the first week in January.

Last night was the HT-8 (Tim's Squadron) Christmas Party.  It was a nice night to dress up, get out of the house and enjoy the evening with friends.  They were giving away some awesome prizes including a 55 inch and 60 inch flat screen TV, Kindle Fires, iPods, and $$$.  We walked away with two squadron glasses that they provided for everyone attending.  

Baby Shower

The ladies from our Sunday School class put on a baby shower for me and another first time mom-to-be, Catherine.  Getting involved with this group at church is truly a blessing.  Tim and I have made some  wonderful friends and will be sad to leave them soon.  It is alway sad to leave our church friends because we get so close to them and they become family to us.

The shower was so sweet.  Everyone brought  heavy hors d'oeuvres to snack on all night and an adorable cake.  Since we don't know if we are having a boy or a girl yet they had the baker put Baby Palmer on the cake.  Catherine is having a boy and they are naming him Christian.

 It was so nice to have the love, support and prayers of these lovely ladies.  Everyone that came to the shower had to draw a piece of paper that asked them to specifically pray for Catherine and I and our pregnancies.  Some of the prayers were: comfortable pregnancy, easy delivery and the soon to be Daddy!

Catherine and I took turns opening gifts from everyone and had so much fun looking at the cutest baby stuff.

Baby Palmer made out with some great gifts!  I came home and set it all out so Daddy could see the neat things we got.

Baby Palmer got a few pieces of clothing, including a set of onesies with numbers 1 thru 12 sewn on them for a monthly photo to follow his or her growth.  I love this idea and am looking forward to documenting all of Baby Palmers achievements.  We got our first box of diapers and wipes!  THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!  I plan on using cloth diapers but for long outings, over night and in the beginning disposable  diapers will be our closest friend.  A dear friend and my P'cola Mama, gave us the softest sweetest bear and a beautiful picture frame that will be great for holding a bath time picture.  Those of you in my family that work in the medical field will like this next one, hanging on the left side of the picture is a scrub and stethoscope bib for those messy moments which leads to bath time with our ducky towel set and wash clothes.  The rest include cute bear slippers, two sets of mesh nibblers, teether rings, nail clippers, a giraffe cloth rattle and last but not least Baby's First Bible.

To all my friends, thank you so much.  I know Baby Palmer will love all the gifts and will put them to good use.

17 Weeks

Baby and I went to the doctor this week for our 16 week check-up.  Apparently at the Naval Hospital you only get to have ultrasounds routinely at your initial appointment, at your 20 Week appointment and right before you deliver to determine the position of the baby.  I had to ask the corpsman if I would be getting an ultrasound because I had not had one since October and thought I was due for one.  But lucky for us, the Doppler could not pick up the fetal heartbeat....kind of scary for a minute or two, so my doctor came in and did an ultrasound.

The first image we saw on the screen was a perfectly round circle.  The probe was looking straight on top of our baby's head.  The doctor was pretty impressed and said it was the best shaped head he has ever seen!    This was a Proud Mama Moment!  I can already brag that my sweet baby has the best looking head, not to mention quite a large looking head!  Unfortunately, Tim was unable to attend this appointment due to his flight schedule but I was able to bring two pictures home for Daddy!

This first picture is of our baby's arm and hand.  Baby was moving around a lot but got a picture of it's hand up by his OR her head.

(16 Weeks 4 Days)

This second picture is looking straight onto Baby Palmer's face...kind of a creepy skeleton image.

(16 Weeks 4 Days)

As for things at home, Tim and I are doing great!  Tim's Winging Ceremony had been scheduled for January 13th.  We are looking forward to the next adventure the Navy will send us on, unfortunately we will not know where that is until shortly before the winging.  Moving definitely was not on the top of my list of things to do while pregnant so we are trying to do a little preparing now so it will not be as stressful when that time does come.

As for now the ultrasound only revealed that Baby Palmer likes to move...a lot!  I have yet to feel any movements but I am waiting for them to show up anytime now.  Still waiting to find out if it is a boy or a girl.  At the very latest we should know by January 5th!  

Soon to come...a preggo pic of me and a shopping spree! (since my favorite pieces of clothing no longer fit!  Thank God for sweatpants!)

14 Weeks

14 Weeks - This week Baby Palmer has grown to about 4 inches measuring from head to rump and weighs  about 1.5 ounces.  I would like to say that my weight gain so far has been cause by our growing baby but it's weight is not exactly matching up to my additional poundage.

At my check up this week we did not get to have an ultrasound but did hear the heartbeat that was in the 150's beats per minute.  Since I have high blood pressure normally and have been medicated for the last five or six years my doctor thought it would a good thing to change my blood pressure medicine to something less invasive for the baby's safety.  I switched to the new medication a couple weeks ago but my blood pressure was still elevated on Friday's appointment so Doc has increase my dosage from twice a day to three times a day... If you know me, you know how much I hate, HATE taking pills, but for Baby Palmer I will do what ever is necessary!

We have an ultrasound scheduled for December 21st and should be finding out if the addition to our family will be a son or a daughter.  Tim is still confidant that it will be a boy but I am thinking it is going to be a girl, either way we just pray for a healthy baby.  We are so excited to find out what we are having and will share it with everyone as soon as possible.

13 Weeks

Our last week in the first trimester is here!  Our baby is almost three inches long and close to a whopping one ounce!  Fingerprints have already developed and is working on it's vocal cords and tooth buds.

Things at home are starting to get busy as Tim is near the end of flight school and is scheduled to receive his wings December 9th.  Family will be coming from all locations to help us celebrate this great achievement!  Unfortunately we will not know when or where we are moving until the day before the winging ceremony but we have started getting things situated and organized for moving.

Things are definitely changing!  Tonight we went to a wedding and I had to take a double look in the mirror when I was getting ready because I couldn't believe what I saw...a bump!

Me At 12 Weeks

Here we are at 12 weeks!

Feeling bloated!

12 Weeks

First Trimester is almost over!  Time has gone by so fast...at least it has for me.  It feels like it was just yesterday I was driving in downtown Pensacola and received the call from my doctor that out treatment was successful and we were pregnant!!  I have truly been blessed and have had no morning sickness beyond the occasional queasiness that subsides with a cracker or two.  I like to say that my happiness over powers the stereotypical morning sickness.

Clothes are starting to fit differently but there is not a huge difference in my overall appearance.  My uterus has grown from the size of an apple to the size of a grapefruit that now hold my plum sized baby!

Our baby is transitioning out of the developing stage and into the growing stage.

your baby at 12 weeks

Most of her critical systems are fully formed!
She's about to enter the growth and maturation stage, in which her organs and tissues will grow and develop rapidly.
She's now developing her reflexes -- if you poke her body, she'll likely move.
She's opening and closing her fingers and curling her toes, too.
Her brain is developing fast!

     

Profile Pic

Last week we had an ultrasound...at 10 weeks 5 days and my doctor gave us a picture that appears to be a profile view of our baby's head!  So awesome!  I can't wait to see its sweet face.

Because this is a High Risk pregnancy we get to see our baby more often than the normal pregnancy ultrasound schedule! Definitely a positive in this situation.

Baby Bump?

So here is the question of the day...Are you starting to show?  Well it's hard to say.  There is definitely puffiness that wasn't there a couple weeks ago but not the typical rounded/hard "bump" one thinks of on a pregnant woman.  I think it is still a little early for that.

This week our baby is about the size of a lime.

Where Has The Time Gone?

Ten weeks has come and gone!  We are now 11 weeks along and the baby is growing, growing, growing! Our sweet baby is around the size of a lime now!  Had an ultrasound this week and the heart is still very fast, 175 bpm.  I will upload the ultrasound picture soon so y'all can see what we "think" is the profile of our baby's face!

I have been feeling great!  My dad is here visiting for my birthday and his birthday!  What a special time it has been to be together and share a birthday cake and lots of fun together just like old times.

I have this sense that this baby is going to be a girl...at least this week I do.  But it seems to be that majority of all our friends and family think it will be a boy.  (And when have I ever been correct in making predictions...Tim laughs at me!)  Either way it doesn't matter to me, I just want a healthy baby in my arms!

9th Week Almost Complete!

Wow, time has gone by so fast!  We are nearing the end of my 9th week!  At our last ultrasound it was so neat to be able to see the details of our baby's fingers...so sweet it brought a tear to my eye.  Baby Palmer is very active and kicks its feet and waves its arms all around.  Not that I can feel any of this but Baby Palmer likes to show off for Mommy at the ultrasounds.  This time Baby's heart rate was 175 bpm and measured right on schedule for our due date, May 18th 2012. 

There is definitely a bond developing with this little one that I have "never met" and it is so special.  Everyday Tim and I thank God for this blessing He has given to us and pray that we will be Godly parents that do His will in raising our child to love and honor his or her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

8 Weeks - Sorry For The Delay!

Ok, I am so sorry I have not given an update on what is going on this week.  We have been pretty busy around here but we are all doing very well!  I am in the middle of my 8th week and the baby is growing, growing, growing!  Still not having "morning sickness" which is awesome but I am feeling quite tired these days. Tomorrow, Friday October 14th I have my first appointment at the Naval Hospital and will be having another ultrasound.

              

Our little baby's fingers and toes are starting to poke out and the "tail" is practically gone! This week Baby Palmer is somewhere around the size of a raspberry and is growing about a millimeter each day!

Kicked To The Curb!

Today was our last appointment and ultrasound with The Center of Reproductive Medicine!  As they like to say..."You are good to go, we like to kick you to the curb now because that means we did our job and got you knocked-up"  So as sad as it is to be leaving one of the best facilities I have EVER been to in regards to patient care, I am happy to moving on to the Naval Hospital in Pensacola.

When we had the ultrasound today the first thing we looked for was that fluttering heart and it was working hard!  156 beats per minute! Last week it was 120 bpm. We also got to see two arms and two legs...very little but they were definitely there!

We have been lucky to have experienced all that we have this early in the pregnancy...two ultrasounds in two weeks!  To top it off I will be having another ultrasound next Friday, October 14th with my new doctor at the Naval Hospital.

The mystery spot that was present at the first ultrasound is either a vanishing twin or a bleed of some sort.  Regardless the doctor didn't see it as a problem at this time and released me from his care.

October 1st - Week 7

With the new due date, May 19th, 2012, my new week change is going to be on every Saturday.  Today I am 7 weeks pregnant and feeling good.  Every once in a while I get hit with some nausea but nothing to hard to handle and usually passes quickly.  

This week our baby is the size of a blueberry!

Hands and feet are starting to emerge from it's little arms and legs but they still look like paddles rather than tiny little fingers.  Last week our baby doubled in size and is continuing to grow fast, getting bigger and bigger every day.  The only thing that is getting smaller at this point is the extension of the tailbone.  Technically our baby is still considered an embryo and looks like it has a tail.

From www.babycenter.com:

"If you could see inside your womb, you'd spot eyelid folds partially covering her peepers, which        already have some color, as well as the tip of her nose and tiny veins beneath parchment-thin skin. Both hemispheres of your baby's brain are growing, and her liver is churning out red blood cells until her bone marrow forms and takes over this role. She also has an appendix and a pancreas, which will eventually produce the hormone insulin to aid in digestion. A loop in your baby's growing intestines is bulging into her umbilical cord, which now has distinct blood vessels to carry oxygen and nutrients to and from her tiny body."

ONE Sweet Little Baby!

Today was our first ultrasound and it was amazing!  Seeing that little flutter on the screen and hearing our baby's heartbeat really made us realize how awesome God is and what a miracle this little life inside of me is.  Our baby's rapid heartbeat was measured at 120 beats per minute!  As we are leaving the doctor's office and entering the elevator we were talking about how fast our baby's heart was beating and Tim says, "That's double the frequency of the electricity that comes out of the wall socket!"  ...what do I say to that?  I don't know, sometimes its just best to smile and nod.

The baby looked good and based off its size they changed my due date to May 19th, 2012.  So now our "week change" is every Saturday instead of every Thursday.  So this Saturday, October 1st I will be 7 weeks along in my pregnancy!

Having PCOS (Poly-Cystic Ovarian Syndrome) it is common for me to have ovarian cysts and today they found one about an inch big on my right ovary and four more on my left that were slightly larger.  This explains why I have been experiencing some pain and discomfort.  As for now we will just wait and pray that the cysts will pass on their own, being absorbed by my body...the natural way.  Dr. K did have some concerns on a dark spot found on the scan.  Either it is a second gestational sack or a bleed.  PLEASE pray that for whatever this spot is that next week when I go back for another ultrasound we will have better results and that there will be no harm to our sweet baby.

How Many Will There Be?

So maybe the question right now should really be how many babies do you thing we are having rather than will it be a boy or a girl?  Since we were able to conceive by the aid of fertility treatment along with the will of God, there is a possibility that there could be more than one baby.  In fact our last cycle of treatment revealed that there were four good follicles!  So here is the new poll for you to participate in...WILL WE BE HAVING 1, 2, 3 OR 4 BABIES?  Hurry up and vote because we find out on Thursday September 29th at our first ultrasound.

September 22, 2011- Six Weeks

Well we have arrived at week six of my pregnancy and doing great!  Our baby is the size of a sweet pea, approximately a quarter of an inch big.  This week our little sweet pea will continue to grow at a rapid rate, doubling in size.  The nose, mouth and ears are beginning to take shape and the spots where its eyes and nose will be are starting to form.  His and/or her ears are marked by small depressions on the sides of it's head and little arms and legs are starting to limb out as little buds.

Next week will be very exciting as we will go to our first OB appointment to hear our baby's heart beat and to also get a "head count" on how many babies God has blessed us with.  This week our baby's heart is beating 100 to 160 times a minute, almost twice as much as mine.  So much is developing all at once, it is amazing to think of this beautiful miracle inside of me.  Thank you God for your precious gift!

Morning Sickness Anyone??

So the most common question I am getting lately is "How are you feeling?" or "Do you have any 'Morning Sickness'?"  And my answer is... I feel great!  Tired...but great!  Every once in a while I feel as though someone disconnects my power source from the wall and I have to take a nap right then and there.  But feeling sick has not been a problem for me.  As long as I snack and don't go too long between meals my little "apple seed" and I are doing fantastic!

Please continue to keep our growing family in your prayers.  Next week we will hear our sweet babies heartbeat!

"Spaghetti Sauce"

So right now Tim is obsessed with calling me "Spaghetti Sauce" because the only brand we use is Prego and he correlates that to me being "preggo".  To top it off we are now referring to our baby as "The Meatball" for now (no relationship to its current size).

To give y'all an update on HCG levels; I went back on Friday September 16th for blood work and the nurse called me with the new number.  We were at 1899 mIU/ml...once again, I am an over achiever!  The nurse calculated that I needed to be around 1080mIU/ml but as you can see I was well above it!  High numbers are good!  Only ten more days until we hear the tiny little heartbeat(s)!

5 Weeks

Tim and I are thrilled to be starting our family!  This week (9/15-9/21) I am five weeks along in my pregnancy and our baby is the size of an appleseed.  Exhaustion has taken over and although I say I have no "morning sickness" if I don't snack constantly I start feeling a little...odd after a couple hours with no food.  On an average day I end up napping on the couch once or twice.

Tim told me he thought he would make the crib for our little one but then we remembered that there is a higher chance that we could be pregnant with more than one baby!  Conceiving multiples is a risk of the treatment but we will not find out until we have our first ultrasound.  So until we find out we are holding off on designing any cribs, making one..OK, making two, three...oh my! :-)

Last Monday I had my HCG levels taken and from the following Friday my levels went from 90.1 to 325.  On average every 2-3 days those numbers should double, the nurse said I was an over achiever because my numbers were so good.  This Friday September 16th I will have my levels taken again and hopefully they continue to rise as they should.

We're PREGNANT!

Yes that's right, we are going to have a baby!  After trying for six years God has blessed us with the precious gift of life.  Friday September 9th, 2011 I had a scheduled appointment to have blood taken for a pregnancy test.  In the previous week I could sense that I was not as energetic as I have been in the past.  My friend Marie even asked me if she was boring me because I just was not acting like myself and was tired all the time.  Back to September 9th, Marie and I were driving in downtown Pensacola and I received a phone call from my doctor.  They were calling with the results from the lab and they were positive!  I pulled over and after confirming with the nurse on the phone that she was talking to the right patient and I could regain my composure Marie and I sat in the car in utter shock.  Together we prayed, thanking and praising God for this great news!

When I found out I was already four weeks pregnant and our baby was the size of a sesame seed!

Fertility Treatment

After I graduated from college with my teaching degree Tim and I thought it was a great time to get serious about seeking out a new form of fertility treatment.  After many trials that resulted in failure, the doctors finally said that I needed the expertise of a Reproductive Endocrinologist.  This meant that I would be referred to a civilian physician instead of an OB-GYN from the Naval Hospital in Pensacola, Florida.  We were referred to Dr. Koulianos from The Center of Reproductive Medicine in Mobile, Alabama.

Our first meeting with Dr. Koulianos was great.  Dr. "K" was the first doctor that showed genuine care and concern in meeting our desires to become parents and gave us hope.  We went into this meeting expecting the cost of treatment to be quite large but we knew that God would guide us as we made these financial decisions.  He provides for his children and to our surprise that day in Dr. K's office, his treatment plan was covered by our health insurance with the exception of co-payments on prescriptions!

The treatment consisted of constant monitoring of blood work and ultrasounds two to three times a week.  These were to follow hormone levels and follicular growth while I routinely gave myself injections that would cause follicular stimulation.

The first cycle of treatment was primarily to see how my body would respond to the new fertility drugs but ended up canceling the treatment cycle because I was not responding correctly.  The dosage needed to be adjusted properly for my body and this information was gathered in all the tests in the first cycle.  The second cycle I was able to complete but the timing was not quite right yet and received a negative pregnancy result.  Upon starting our third cycle of treatment I had to be cleared of any problems.  They needed to make sure there were no cysts present.  During my ultrasound a large black spot filled the screen and I knew that this was not what we wanted to see.  It turned out to be a cyst twice the size of my left ovary.  Dr. K thought it would be best to put me on birth control and let nature take its course and see if the cyst would be absorbed.  This delayed us for a month and once I was cleared we started our third cycle of treatment which was successful!

Together Forever!

In 1997 Tim and Alyssa met at Tammany View Baptist Church in Lewiston, Idaho.  Over time their friendship grew stronger and they fell in love with each other.  After dating a few years they married August 2nd, 2003.  As Tim continued his career in the U.S. Navy, the newlyweds departed for San Diego, California where Tim was stationed for three years.  In 2005 Tim and Alyssa decided they were ready to start a family but to their surprise things wouldn't happen as easily as they thought it would.  You see God has a plan for every one of His children and His timing may not always match that of our own heart's desire.

Six years of varying degrees of fertility treatments ranging from Clomiphene (Clomid) to follicular stimulation, that required Alyssa to give herself nightly injections; was a learning experience for both Tim and Alyssa.  Throughout this experience God opened Tim and Alyssa's eyes and hearts to understand that God's timing is perfect and if it was His will for them to have a baby it would be done.  Once it was ALL given to God, there was peace in their hearts that all would be fine.

So here we are, married for eight years and trying to have a baby for six years and the feeling is amazing.  God has blessed us and we are expecting our first baby Spring 2012.