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Hello! My name is Rachel. My Husband, Ryan, and I have been married for three years as of June 2007. We are expecting our first baby at the very end of October. It was a shock at first, but has turned into such a blessing. :) I struggle with nausea a lot, but other than that, Everything is going very well.

I am just looking for some fellow mothers-to-be who are going through the same things as I am. I have a lot of support from my family, but it's been over two decades since my mom has had babies, and things have changed so much since then, and she can't always remember what it was like to be pregnant. I need some advice and support from people to tell me if what i'm feeling is normal or not!! :)

here we are on our wedding day:

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Pregnancy Survey
About You
Name?:	Rachel
Age?:	23
Height?:	5'4''
Pre-pregnancy weight?:	180 (don't remind me)
About The Father
Name?:	Ryan
Age?:	23
Height?:	5'8''
Are you still together?:	yes. married almost 3 years
About Your Pregnancy
Is this your first pregnancy?:	yes
When did you find out you were pregnant?:	february 28, 2007
Was it planned?:	nope
What was your first reaction?:	SERIOUSLY?? (I was in shock at first)
Who was with you when you found out?:	my mom
Who was the first person you told?:	Ryan, my husband
How did your parents react?:	VERY EXCITED, dad was shocked at first, but excited!
How far along are you?:	19 weeks at this point in time
What was your first symptom?:	breast tenderness and morning sickenss
What is your due date?:	oct. 30th, 2007
Do you know the sex of the baby?:	well, they said they thought it was a girl, but were not 100% sure
If so, what is it?:	Girl??
Have you picked out names?:	yes
If so, what are they?:	for girl - Jordyn Skye and for boy- Jackson Paul
How much weight have you gained?:	13 pounds last doc appt...I'm very good at gaining weight!
Do you have stretch marks?:	well, i've always had them, but never on my tummy, this pregnancy has given me about 6 all in a clump below my belly button!
Have you felt the baby move?:	oh yeah, she's a mover, that's for sure!!!
Have you heard the heartbeat?:	yes, two times now and it was so special
About the birth
Will you keep the baby?:	yes!!!
Home or hospital birth?:	hospital
Natural or medicated birth?:	epidural please :)
Who will be in the delivery room with you?:	Ryan and My mom for sure, maybe my step-dad
Will you breastfeed?:	if all goes well, absolutely
Do you think you'll need a c-section?:	i hope not, they kinda freak me out
Will you cry when you hold the baby for the first time?:	yes i'm also very good at crying :)
What's the first thing you might say to him/her?:	i love you so much!!
Would you let someone videotape the birth?:	no i don't think I will this time around....still a little shy ;)
Are you excited about the birth, or scared?:	I am pretty scared, but also excited!! Also ready to get this nausea-filled pregnancy over with and see my little precious baby!

May 16, 2007

So I am 16 weeks and one day pregnant as of this moment. Man, mornings are not fun. Not puking anymore, just feeling sick and not wanting to eat. However, I learned early on, if I DON'T eat, then I WILL puke. At least it's not lasting all day long like it was in the first trimester, but I just want to feel "normal" in the mornings again. I know, I know, I won't be feeling normal for a while. But I just started an even stronger prescription from my doc for the nausea, and even though I think it may be helping a little, it's making me SO CONSTIPATED, i'm just miserable. I'm so used to being VERY regular, so this is quite a bummer. I need to pick up some benefiber.

But anyway, we leave for Ireland on Friday, which is a vacation my family has been planning for over a year. I can't wait!! I'm just kinda sad that I won't be feeling tip-top on the plane ride over. I've been known to have motion sickness on planes...so that mixed with morning sickness sorta has me concerned. Does anyone know if you can take Dramamine during pregnancy? I wonder. That always helps me when I travel. I just want this trip to be perfect, ya know? It's not very often I get to travel overseas.

I am so anxious to feel the baby move, which has not happened yet. Although I am starting to show, which is fun. I will put some belly pics up soon.

Well, I guess that's all I have for now, hopefully my trip goes well! :)

May 30, 2007

Well, I'm back from my trip, and I only puked twice while over there!!! it wasn't that bad, although mornings were tough, I was always feeling well by noon! We had such a great time. It was so nice being on a fun adventure with family. I love my family so much. :) We had so many laughs and so much fun, it was awesome! Feels good to be home in Michigan. I have a doctor's appointment today at 2:00. I wonder what will be the main focus of this appointment. Here's a pic of us on our trip: (almost 17 weeks pregnant):

JUNE 06, 2006

I am SO anxious to find out the gender of this baby!! I scheduled the ultrasound last friday, the 1st of June, and it was scheduled a week from that date. So, I will know on Friday, June 8th, @ 11:45 am. I seriously cannot believe how slow this week is going. I realize that Tomorrow is Thursday and then I will have less than a day to go, but COME ON I just want to get over there right now and do this!!! My mom and my husband, Ryan will be coming along with me, both cannot wait. This will be my mom's first grandbaby, and everyone's so excited!! :)

A few of my concerns/paranoias:

That there will be something wrong with the baby, it will not be healthy. (this is obviously my biggest concern)

That the baby will not cooperate and I will have to wait even longer to find out gender. (worst case scenario would be not knowing until the day it is born!!!) AHHHHH!

That I will not be able to hold the 32oz of water that they expect me to drink 90 minutes before the exam. I have this fear that I will pee my pants while the sonogram is being done! How embarassing would THAT be!!! :)

JUNE 8 2007

Just got back from the ultrasound and.....the ultrasound tech said she thinks... !!!!!!!!!!!!

This is wonderful news!!! My husband and I are soooo happy!!! Of course they said this is not 100%....but the u/s tech said she couldn't see any "boy parts", and in her 30 years experience, she said in her opinion she believes the baby to be a girl!!!! :) U/S pics to come....

August 14, 2007

I have been such a CRYBABY lately. Last week I broke the remote control, and cried for like 20 minutes about it. Last night I screwed up the sugar cookies I was trying to bake, and felt like I could have just bawled about it! This morning, I got all choked up over a country song (yes, I love cheesy songs) and today, after my third or fourth crappy phone call (i answer the phones at work) I literally had to like calm myself down, or I would have started crying on the phone with this agent! I can't believe myself lately. I feel like I'm losing my mind. I've never been this sensitive before, I realize it's the hormones, but I swear I've had about all I can take!!! I just never want to come back to work ever again. But that's a fricken pipe dream, since we'd never survive on my husband's income alone. But man, I really HATE WORKING!