*About You*

Name: Ashley
Age: 22
Height: 5'8
Pre-pregnancy weight: 126

*About The Father*

Name: Zac
Age: 26
Height: 6 ft? - I just realized that I have no idea how tall my husband is!
Are you still together: Very much

*About Your Pregnancy*

Is this your first pregnancy: Sure is
When did you find out you were pregnant: A few days before what would be my missed period. (I just had a feeling, and went with it)
Was it planned: It happened a bit earlier than we had planned
What was your first reaction:"You have GOT to be kidding“ exact thought
Who was with you when you found out: Chuck
Who was the first person you told: Drove to Zac's work to show him the test
How did your parents react: They thought I was kidding, but were happy when they finally realized I was being serious.
How far along are you: Almost 23 weeks
What was your first symptom: Sore boobs
What is your due date: June 5th
Do you know the sex of the baby: Oh yeah
If so, what is it: BOY!!
Have you picked out names: Working on that one
If so, what are they: Bradley, Dylan
How much weight have you gained: Too much
Do you have stretch marks: Starting to get them
Have you felt the baby move: So much, all the time.
Have you heard the heartbeat: Sure have

*About the birth*

Will you keep the baby: Of course
Home or hospital birth: Hospital hopefully
Natural or medicated birth: Medicated hopefully
Who will be in the delivery room with you: Zac
Will you breastfeed: I sure will try
Do you think you'll need a c-section: Oh man, I hope not
Will you cry when you hold the baby for the first time: Maybe

What's the first thing you might say to him/her: "You look funny, but I love you"
Would you let someone videotape the birth: No way. Never. Absolutely not.
Are you excited about the birth, or scared: Both

2/8/08 - Today is Friday, and Zac and I have the weekend off again!!! Hopefully we can finish the dresser- Zac stripped all the paint off of it last weekend, and I am almost done sanding it, so as soon as I finish that, all we have to do is paint!! I am so excited, it's starting to come together so nicely! I did the touch-up painting on the crib, fixed the drawer on the bottom, and put it all back together, so the crib is done! It looks really great, we are very happy with it. I am making Zac a shirt that says "The Greatest Dad. Ever." for a valentines gift, hopefully he will think it's funny. He likes those shirts that say stupid things on them. haha! The past month has been one giant growth spurt for me. I feel like a whale, and just in the past week I have started having a little touble breathing (welcome to pregnancy, right?), and discovered that I can't stuff my face anymore or I get stomach aches. So, I have been trying to eat small meals instead. A couple of days ago I was really grouchy all day, but other than that day, I have been feeling really great - quite tired, but great! I'll be 5 1/2 months next Thursday, so the following Monday (2/18) I will try to get some new belly photos up. There'll be a big change!

2/18/08 - I added those new belly pictures the other day, I have been growing so much! I think that I have gotten out of the "comfortable" stage of the second trimester. In just about two weeks (I think) I will be starting my last trimester, and oh man do I feel like it! I am all of a sudden tired all the time, I can't breath very easily, almost everything upsets my stomach, and I have been a bit of a grouch lately. haha. Luckily I am married to quite possibly the most patient man in the world! We still have a little bit of work to do to the dresser, but the weather has not been cooperative, or we have been busy, so hopefully we can get it done sometime this week! I think we are going to try to get registered this weekend at Babies R Us, so that will be fun (for me, not Zac-haha). I'm at about 144lbs right now, which I guess is okay, that puts me at a total gain of 18lbs so far, and I'm supposed to gain between 25 and 30lbs. I'm sure it will end up being a lot closer to 30lbs though!

2/27/08 - Well, not a whole lot is changing right now. I seem to be getting progressively bigger, not too huge yet though. I havent gained more than maybe a pound in the past week or two - I'm at a 19lb gain so far. It's so strange, I have been so moody the past couple of weeks. Poor Zac! I'm feeling a bit better the past day or so, hopefully it will last! We finally finished the dresser, and it looks really good. Zac was very happy to get that done with! We registered at Babies R Us this weekend, but there are still quite a few things that I need to tweak on it before it is complete. I will be going with my mom to register at Target sometime in the near future. We have decided to paint one of the walls in the baby's room, so that will be our (Zac's) next project. I'm making a lamp out of this really cute ceramic frog that I bought yesterday, hopefully it will turn out good!

3/10/08 - Good grief! This whole pregnancy thing is actually becoming quite draining. Haha, imagine that! I will be 28 weeks in a few days, and have not stopped growing for one second. He has gotten so strong with his pushing and kicking and hitting, sometimes it makes me jump! We are almost done getting his room together, and after one or two more things, we will just have to wait until after the shower to do any more. It is looking great though (or at least I think it is). My face is so chubby today, but I think that it's because I had a lot of salty food yesterday. I think right now I am at or around a 21 pound gain. It sucks, but I know that it's needed and I'm trying really hard to be okay with it. Sometimes when I rub my belly I can feel his butt, or his leg or arm something and I will push at it and he will kick me or move really fast so I can't poke him anymore, haha! It's so much fun. I just cant wait to see him.

3/19/08 - Growing, growing, growing. He is getting so huge right now! His punches and kicks have turned into slides and pushes, and they kind of hurt sometimes. I love it though. I just wish I knew what exactly I'm rubbing when I feel him in there. His head, or his butt? His arm or his leg? I guess I'll never know. I have been so exhausted lately though, no matter how much I sleep, I'm still tired. It probably doesnt help that my job is extremely boring on most days. Zac was so sweet last night. My stomach was really hurting me and I was so tired, so he made me dinner (pizza - haha) and rubbed my feet for me while we watched a movie. Poor Chuck has not been getting his normal exercise lately, due to my laziness and the weather, and when I took him to the vet the other day they said that he's gained a pound and a half! oops! I told them that our whole family was gaining weight right now, but they didn't think it was as funny as I did... I also went to the doctor yesterday, and she told me that my blood platelets are low, so now she wants to check my blood every 4 weeks, or more often it they get any lower. Too bad, here I thought I was going to get through this whole thing with no complications. Oh well, maybe next time! The weather will be getting warmer soon, and it makes me very happy. Although, none of my "warm weather" clothes will fit me anymore, haha. I'll put new pictures up soon.

4/2/08 - Can't breathe, can't sleep, can't eat, can't sit for too long, can't stand for too long... this has become quite fun. haha! He is getting so big in there, the poor little guy is so squished, and I know it's only going to get worse. He's going to come out looking like a pickled ham. We went to the doctor yesterday, and I nearly fainted. Twice. It was so embarrassing, they made me lay down for a while and drink some water. I felt so bad, because Zac had come with me to the appointment (he normally doesn't, but he has the week off work), and here I get all dramatic on everyone, haha! Anyways, the little one basically spends his entire days with hiccups, and he's gotten to the size that my belly kind of jumps with each one. I feel so awkward when I am sitting at work talking to a customer or something and my stomach is jumping all over the place. All I think is "please don't look at my stomach, please don't look at my stomach". The doctor says he is still growing right on schedule, and that except for me trying to do too much all the time, everything looks great. Considering we are growing at an unbelievable rate now, I will try to put pictures up more frequently. I'll be 7 months tomorrow. Hooray!

4/11/08 - Well, the day after our last appointment, the nurse called me and told me that my platelets had dropped even more since the last time they had tested them. So, she told me that my doctor wanted me to go see a Hemotologist to have more testing done. Great. I went to the Hemotologist yesterday, and he basically told me that it's nothing that I need to worry about, and that in reality they are not that low, but that he will test them once more before our due date just to make sure they don't for some reason drop drastically, and then sign some sort of statement that says I'm okay to get an epidural... should I want one. Easy enough. The baby is growing like crazy right now, and I look (and feel) like a whale. I was trying to get dressed yesterday, and a t-shirt that fit me 3 days ago, no longer does. Luckily Zac's shirts are bigger than mine, so I can wear them as a last resort. haha. I received some VERY exciting news the other day from my dear friend, and will talk more on that another time perhaps. Other than being extremely uncomfortable (there could be worse things) everything is going really great! Just ready to meet our new little, or not so little, family member!

4/28/08 - Not much is happening at this point. We had our shower, and everyone was so generous to us and our little boy! His room is ready now, all it needs is a baby in it! He is continuing to grow, but hasn't dropped yet, so it still looks a bit like a basketball shoved in my belly! I have surprisingly been feeling great! I have a ton of energy, and haven't really been too tired, or sick at all. My heartburn has definitely gotten a bit worse, but thats it! Lucky us! We hit the 8 month mark this week, and I am so ready to be hitting the 9 month mark! Lamaze classes will be done after tomorrow too, and after this week's check-up I start going in once a week. Great. I told work that my last day will be the 21st of May, so not much longer with that either! We of course want him to cook in there a little longer, but we're ready when he is!

5/12/08 - Well, we are 37 weeks this week, and that means that anytime between now and about 5 weeks from now our little guy could come! There are absolutely NO signs that he is coming anytime soon though, which is fine with me I guess (like I really have a choice in the matter! haha) . My last day at work is next Monday, and I am thrilled to have some free time (not to mention sleep later than 5:30am)! I'm still feeling great though, have a good amount of energy, and haven't been feeling too wieghed down by my growing belly. I probably won't update this again before he comes, so thanks to everyone that has been so helpful, and answered so many of my questions throughout this pregnancy! Good luck to you all!