(Im)patiently waiting...

My dear friend Janet likes to refer to our appointment next Monday as "the one where we find out if the baby has a hamburger or a hot dog." LOL  Brandon and I are both SO excited for this appointment.  People have been asking me if I have a feeling of what the outcome may be, but I am clueless.  With Caden, I swore up and down that I was having a girl.  I had dreams that I was having a girl, I craved foods that apparently women crave when they have a girl and there were several other things which pointed me to believe that I was without a doubt having a girl.  My reaction to the doctor telling me that I was having a boy was, "REALLY?"  This pregnancy is different because not only do I not want to get myself all psyched to believe that I am having a girl and then be sad if they tell me otherwise, but I simply have no idea.

I have decided that I am going to be happy no matter what the sex of this baby is.  God knows what is best for us and so I will rejoice and be glad in whatever He gives us!

P.S.  I think that our cat Rizzo doesn't like it when I am not giving her my full attention and I have proof!  The second that I sat down and opened my macbook, she laid right on top of me and I could barely even see the screen.

After I got the picture above, I moved her so that she could lay next to me instead.  As I started typing the first few words, she took her paw and gently placed it on top of my hand.  Is this not simply ridiculous?

Pep-Talk to Myself

Sometimes I look down at my growing belly and think to myself, “Oh my gosh, I am pregnant again.” It’s not like it’s a bad thing, but sometimes I wonder how in the world I am going to do this again? I know that I CAN do it, because I have Jesus and I know that He will be my strength when I have none left. But that doesn’t stop the old, pessimistic side of Katie from revealing her ugly head as she tries to ruin the joy of this perfect gift that God is creating in her. I tend to default to the memories of the difficult things instead of the memories of things that were wonderful. Are we all like that? I know I can’t be the only one who battles this.

I’ve heard it said that sometimes it is good to list out the pro’s and con’s of something in order to help clear your mind of worry or to help make a decision. The decision I need to make is whether or not to entertain these pessimistic thoughts that cross my mind about the baby and its arrival. I already know what the outcome will be, but since I am sitting at work and really don't want to do anything else, here it goes…

The things that I am dreading:
1) The anxiety of going into labor and wondering what is going to happen next
2) Being a human pin-cushion while in the hospital
3) The slow recovery after having a caesarian
4) Engorgement. Ow. Ow. OW!
5) Lack of sleep
6) Being thrown-up on, pooped on and peed on, on a regular basis
7) The possibility of getting new stretch marks
8) The possibility of hemorrhoids
9) Cleaning the belly button/umbilical cord thingy (gag)
10) Spending an arm and a leg on diapers and formula
11) The possibility of suffering with post-partum depression again
12) The hospital bill
13) Did I mention that I can kiss my sleeping in on the weekends GOODBYE?

The things that I am looking forward to:
1) Seeing him/her for the first time
2) Holding him/her for the first time
3) Breathing in deeply that baby smell – the good one ;)
4) The feeling of unconditional love every time I see him/her
5) Fitting back into my favorite pair of jeans
6) Simply watching Brandon interact with his first-born
7) Getting to see Caden be a big brother
8) Hearing baby belly-laughs again
9) Taking naps every chance I get instead of doing chores
10) Having him/her fall asleep in my arms
11) Listening to “ahh” & “coo” sounds after bath time
12) Dressing him/her up in adorable baby outfits
13) Getiing smiled at every time your baby sees you
14) Hearing “mama” for the first time
15) Did I mention the baby smell?!

So obviously, all of the things that I am dreading will have been more than worth it once I get to start checking off my second list! So snap out of it Katie, and think on these things instead!

John 16:21 - When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.

Psalm 127:3 - Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.

James 1:17 - Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

Jeremiah 1:5 - Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you…

Psalm 139:13 - For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.

Nothing Much

The most exciting thing that has happened lately is that it snowed in Houston last week! It was beautiful while it lasted. Here are the few pictures I took. I spent most of my time enjoying watching it fall outside from my bedroom window as I sat in my cozy, warm bed.

Okay, enough of that, let's talk about the little one on the way. God willing, we find out whether we're having a boy or a girl on January 4! Since we are so anxious to know, it seems like everyday just d r a g s. Or maybe it just seems that way because I am pregnant? Anyhow, we are hoping so badly that it's a girl. I will even confess to specifically praying for a girl, as silly as it may sound. I mean, a baby is a gift from God no matter what the sex is, but I can't stop thinking about how fun it would be to put little bows in her hair and buy her little pink frou-frou dresses to wear! All that being said, if we do end out having a boy we will be just as happy for the baby's arrival because no matter what our desires are, I know and trust that God always gives perfect gifts and knows what is best for us...so boy or girl, we will be praising God when this baby arrives!

I failed to remember to take a belly pic on the first of December, but it's better to be late than never, right? Here it is:

Oh my gosh, I feel like the belly has doubled in size since last months pic. Yikes. I am scared of what it will look like at the end of May when the baby is due. Brandon is 6'4"and I am only 5'6" so please pray for my belly's sake!

Before I go, I am going to answer the question that I get the most...

"How are you feeling?"

-TIRED.

-I never got morning sickness, but I have a super sense of smell now and it keeps me away from things that I used to enjoy. As tragic as it is, chocolate is not something I crave anymore. It doesn't smell bad or anything, I just don't want it.

-I don't have any strange cravings but if I think about a bean burrito from Taco Bell or a chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-A long enough, I MUST have it, and I must have it NOW.

-I have this constant pain in my aaaaaa left leg. It's right where my thigh bone meets my hips. It hurts the most a night. (Anyone know what could be causing this or how to make it go away?)

-I have been having very vivid, random dreams even though I toss and turn all night. I am thinking about getting one of those pregnancy pillows. Apparently they are supposed to make sleeping more comfortable for those of us who are 'with child'.

-Oh, and I am gassier than ever - if some of you can even imagine that. LOL. Seriously, I will eat one of those little candy canes and burp discreetly for like 10 minutes. It's ridiculous.

Caden-isms

I need to create an on-going list called Caden-isms or something because that kid says the funniest things sometimes. Yesterday, as he was putting little stickers on my belly 'for the baby' he stopped and put both of his hands on either side of my belly, looks at Brandon and says, "She's getting fatter!" Of course Brandon just busts out in laughter and I am standing there like, "Hey!" Granted, I know that Caden was talking about the baby because he always refers to the baby as if it's a girl, but I still laughed and asked if maybe next time he could say "bigger" instead of "fatter!"

He is so excited about this baby. :)

Ultrasound

I am terrible at keeping up with this blog so let me start this off right with pictures!  First is the belly pic Brandon took on the 1st of November:

Second, is an EXCLUSIVE belly picture that I took at work today!

And now the scoop:  So the appointment we were supposed to have on October 30 had to be re-scheduled b/c someone went into labor, so we finally got to see our little nugget on November 6th! We had to wait two hours for the doctor to finally get to us but it was worth the wait! Not only did we get to see our baby but we also got to hear the heart beat! What a great sound. I looked over at Brandon to see his reaction after the doctor pointed out where the head was and where the little feet were and I don't think I have seen a smile that big since our wedding day!

Meet baby Wilkerson!

I don't know if you can see it clearly enough, but based on the measurment from the top of the baby's head to it's little bottom, our estimated due date (EDD) is either May 30 or 31. Caden's birthday is May 27 so I hope he won't mind too much if he ends up having to share his birthday with his little brother or sister. Our next appointment is December 3rd.  For those of you wondering, we will have to wait until I am around 20 weeks to find out if it's a boy or a girl. We definitely want to know. That puts us at some time in January...which to us, seems like an eternity!!!

I cannot tell you enough how excited we are to welcome this baby into our family...especially Brandon!  When we finally told Caden we didn't quite get the reaction we were expecting.  His exact words were, "Does this mean that I am going to have to babysit?" He is so funny. I think he is going to be a great big brother.  He already loves the baby, prays for it to grow strong and even kisses and pats my belly.

First Prenatal Visit

I saw my OB/GYN on Wednesday.  They did a full women's exam, took some blood, and did an ultrasound to get a better idea of how far along I am.  Right now they are estimating that I'm around 6 weeks pregnant.  I think that seems too far along, but what do I know?  Anyhow, he warned me - before he squeezed that cold gel on my abdomen - that it might be too early to see anything and not to freak out if we couldn't see a baby in there.  Alas, we didn't but he assured me that everything is fine and it's just too early.  We did see the gestational sac though, so that is good.  I go back in for another ultrasound the day before Halloween.  I can't wait to find out our due date!

Here are a few things that the doc said:

   1.  Since I am not currently experiencing morning sickness, I might not at all! (Praise the Lord!) I am hoping that he is right.

   2.  Kitties can be carriers of toxoplasmosis and we need to make sure that they aren't snuggling with me in bed at night. (This wouldn't normally be a problem but Bella has just recently crept her way right next to my belly several times in the middle of the night, so I have to continually push her off the bed.  Poor thing, I don't think she has any idea what has happened until she hits the floor! LOL)  And not to worry, B and Caden have been shoveling the kitty poo since we found out that I am preggers.

   3.  He strongly suggested that I refrain from taking ANY medication during the first trimester unless ABSOLUTELY necessary. Needless to say, thanks to my allergies, kleenex and I have become close friends. My purse is loaded with them as is my car, desk and every room in the house.  So if you encounter me, let me forewarn you...there will be sneezing and there will be lots of it.  And to those of you who say, "Bless you!" when someone sneezes, please forgive me.  I promise that I am not trying to hog all of the blessings with all of my sneezing!

Other than that, nothing much has changed really since my last entry. My husband asked me several times this week if I had "updated the blog yet" so I finally found some time to post this. I hope that this will have made it worth the wait.  I am going to have B take a belly picture every 1st of the month so we can watch the little bean become a baby!  Here is October's:

Allergies

Once I found out that I was pregnant, I stopped taking my regular meds, which included Zyrtec for my allergies! I sneezed and blew my nose so many times yesterday that I got a headache and a raw nose. It hasn't improved any today either.

I am pretty sure that I took Allegra while pregnant with Caden but I don't remember how early in the pregnancy I was taking it. I mentioned that to Brandon this morning and of my plans to call Dr. Johns on Monday to see if I can take anything for my allergies but he wasn't too keen on that idea. Probably because we read online that pregnant women should avoid all medications in the first trimester as much as possible and to use other non-drug remedies instead. The pharmacist at Walgreens told him the same thing last night when I sent him there for some Tylenol to cure my pounding headache. It turns out that Tylenol is pretty much the only thing that Brandon is okay with me taking.

Who knew that he would be so protective? He keeps saying, "Babe, you're just going to have to tough it out because my boy or girl is coming out perfect! I don't want some allergy medicine to mess anything up while it's developing!" That makes me smile. He is so excited about this pregnancy. I can't wait to see the look on his face when he lays eyes on his child for the very first time.

We're Pregnant!!!

So last night, Brandon persuaded me to take a pregnancy test. I had a feeling that I might be...actually, I knew deep down that I was. I was just so scared of getting a negative result. This is the first time that I have ever taken a digital test, so I read the directions carefully to make sure I didn't mess anything up. All of the other tests I have taken in the past few months have only taken 2 minutes for a result, but this one said it would take 3 minutes.  So, I took the test, checked to make sure the hour glass was spinning (which shows that the test is working correctly), laid it down on a flat surface, and prayed that whatever the result was... that God would help me deal with it.  About 30 seconds later, I checked to see if the hour-glass was still spinning.  To my surprise, the hour glass was gone and it said PREGNANT!  I convinced myself that the test might just default to that result and left the room to let the full 3 minutes pass.  I told Brandon about what was happening and he was simply smitten. Sure enough, when I went back to check the results, it was the same.  

Since the test came with two tests in a box, I took another one early this morning.  2 for 2.  There is no room for denial now Katie, you are pregnant!

Happy. Scared. Excited. Curious. Anxious. Relieved.  And those are just a few of the emotions that I am feeling. Above all, I feel blessed.  Knowing that God is knitting this child together in the womb (and with His own hands) blows my mind. And the fact that I get to be a part of His creation of this child is amazing.

We haven't told Caden yet, and I don't think we are going to until we reach "the point of no return." Probably after the first trimester. 

I already made an appointment with my gynecologist and luckily I only have to wait a week and a half! They estimated that based on my last menstrual cycle, I am somewhere between 4-5 weeks along.  Neat!

I will try and keep up with this to the best of my ability so you can keep up with all the details!

Much love!