I am currently experiencing the most beautiful part of being a woman-carrying life. I am honored to have this little one in me growing. I feel so connected to nature when I am pregnant and bf an infant. It has to be the greatest thing I've ever done. I've had the career, leadership status, but the thing I am the most proud of is being a mom. It is awesome!

Here's to all the moms and moms-2-b.

Congratulations to all!!!

June 1, 2007 14 weeks, 6 days

My last day on week 14-getting ready to roll over to 15 weeks and I couldn't be happier. I am beginning to feel alot of movement-especially while laying on my back with my hands on my belly. I feel him rolling and kicking. It just doesn't get any better than that.

At 11 weeks, 5 days, the specialist thought we were carrying another boy-our third. Thus the name mythreesons. I will find out for sure Wednesday when my 15 week US is done. As much as I originally wanted a girl, I can't imagine being happier than I am knowing this little one is another boy.

I am still dealing with a touch of morning sickness so my appetite is not ravenous yet. I am being treated for gestational hyperthyroidism also, and that has me feeling somewhat out of sorts, also. For those that haven't experienced it, hyperthyroidism in pregnancy is when the thyroid gland over works, basically attacking the body. It speeds up my metabolism, causes my heart to race and pound, and makes me anxious and nervous at times. On medication, it usually stabalizes within a month and I can come off the meds by my last trimester. It only happens during pregnancy-something I thank God for. If you deal with any thyroid disorder, I feel for you. It downright makes you miserable.

When I do eat, my preferance is Mexican and scrambled eggs with cheese and a genearous dousing of Texas Pete hot sauce! I love the stuff!! I drink alot of water to stay hydrated-it really helps fight headaches and fatigue.

Keep the faith and be excited about the life in you.

June 4th Monday 15 weeks, 2 days

OB visit went well today-I got to hear the heartbeat and that is always a miracle. Wednesday, I get to see him via ultrasound again and I can't wait. I live for those appointments.

I am drinking my first cup of coffee (decaf) since becoming pregnant. My tastebuds just haven't returned so even the coffee tonight tastes a little off, but it feels good to be drinking it again. I have a strong aversion to mint gum, and I lived on it before pregnancy. If I smell it, I want to hurl. It's amazing how your body changes during pregnancy. I am thankful that the morning sickness is officially gone. I get nautious a little here and there but not head-in-the-toilet sick like I had been. Truely, this is the best trimester!

June 6, 2007 Tuesday 15 weeks, 4 days

I went back to the Perinatologist for an ultrasound today. Everything is perfect-no cleft lip, the heart and brain and spine look good. Annnnnd, at 11 weeks they thought we were having a boy and totally confirmed it today. He kept flipping around to prove it to me. God knew I needed to know beyond a shadow of a doubt because I was convinced this was a girl. I still wonder what happened. LOL. I just knew......

To those that wonder if the gender can be accurately predicted in the first trimester, I say YES!! Especially with a boy. We live in a time where modern medicine makes it easier and easier to get answers very early on.

This week, I am crazy about mexican food. I don't care what or from where. Taco Bell is my new best friend. They redeemed themselves from trying to kill me 2 years ago when I ate there. Long story....another time! :-)

June 9, 2007 Friday 15 weeks, 6 days

I just have to record this. The baby-now named Adam-is moving more and more. This is what kept me hanging on when my head was so far in the toilet puking I thought my life was over.I've lived for the day that I could start feeling him, and KNOW that it was him. I've felt the little flutters and a kick here and there, but this is unmistakable. It is a miracle!! I am still amazed that a tiny cell 3 months ago turned into a living, kicking, moving, finger-sucking baby today. (We watched him sucking on those fingers the other day during the ultrasound. This kid will LOVE breastfeeding! :-)

It's a day where I am totally thankful to God for my little boy.

June 15, 2007 Friday 16 weeks, 6 days

This has been a hormonal week for me. I am sleepy, hungry and self conscious. Definately feeling pregnant. My little man keeps kicking and rolling around which is the highlight of my day. When I am able, I sit quietly for a few minutes and see if I can feel him moving around. He loves to be active at night and early in the morning. I know his sleep habits aren't suppose to be established yet, but try telling him that. LOL.

I am not as nautious, although I still have my moments. I don't think my body knows it was suppose to stop the morning sickness a month ago. :-) It's weird how every pregnancy is different. In spite of my thyroid, I am having a better pregnancy than the other two. I had constant bleeding issues then and have had none now. I am not chained to bedrest, so am having fun being on the go more than usual in pregnancy. It's wonderful being pregnant and 40. The doctors act like it is a miracle for a woman to be pregnant over 35, but I feel more natural being pregnant at this age than I felt at 22 with my first. Maybe I am more in touch with my womanhood-more relaxed. (shrug)

I roll over to week 17 tomorrow and will miss the ladies on the week 16 board. You all are a chatty bunch! :-) Hurry over to week 17!

Fathers Day '07 June 17th

I ate some chocolate cake today and boy, did Adam like that. He was dancing in there. I'll have to remember that. I checked my pregnancy journal from the last go round and by 17 weeks I had gained 6 pounds. I am currently in a deficit still. I originally lost 5- 7pounds and have gained 2 of them back. And I was convinced I was so huge this time. I am stretching on my sides big-time now and have that sharp pain if I roll over or get up too fast. YIPPEE!! It means little man Adam is growing in there. It's just starting to feel legitamate. :-) I've waiting for the belly to show up and the movements to get somewhat regular and that is happening now. Hubby is talking more and more about how much he loves to hold an infant and I am getting so excited about labor. It just honestly doesn't frighten me. I've done it twice naturally-with no medication-just from being so high on excitement. Praying it is that way this time, too.

I'm still eatting Mexican daily. I put a flour tortilla in the oven with beans, cheese, onions, roasted red pepper and hot sauce on 350 for about 10 minutes or until it melts and then I am in heaven. It beats going out all the time. I eat avocado everyday, too. I make a salad of corn, avocado, roasted red pepper, and sunflower seeds everyday, too. MMMM. Ok. You've had enough of my cooking show for today. :-) Now go make some good food and enjoy!

June 23, 2007 Saturday 18 weeks

I have another OB appointment on Monday-one of those drive throughs. Blood pressure, weight, measure and you're done. This time I have blood drawn to see if my thyroid is normal or close to normal. Then on Wednesday, back to the Perinatologist to see if my cervical length is changing. Not that they have any reason to believe it is, but that is something they are monitoring with me since I had pre-labor complications with my first.

I got on the scale last night and at first glance, I was the exact same weight as I was 3 weeks ago. I had tears in my eyes. That means that although I am getting bigger, I am not gaining and I worried about baby Adam. It also was a strong indicator that my thyroid was not balanced yet. I was so heart broken. Then hubby put a new battery in another scale-the digital one-and when I stepped on that, I had gained 5 pounds since 3 weeks ago. That was more like it!! I was so happy. I read stuff-like I should have gained between 10-13 pounds by now-and let it totally upset me. That was another reason I really, really, wanted to see a gain. So now I am back to pre-pregnancy weight and anything from this point on will be considered a gain!

Baby Adam is making his presence known alot now. I just love this little man so much.

We did a late night run to Taco Bell last night. It was a celebratory moment for my weight gain! :-) I am still so into Mexican it's not funny. I have to have refried beans, or a taco everyday. Oh, well. I'm just going to go with the flow.

Enjoy your week and the movements of your little one. That is what makes this worth it.

June 25, 2007 Monday 18 weeks, 2 days

My drive through appt at the OB's went great. According to their scale, I have gained 3 1/2 pounds in 3 weeks. AWESOME!!! I go Wednesday to the specialist, but won't have to have another blood draw. They did it today and will fax the results over to the specialist. I don't want to volunteer for an extra stick if I can avoid it. They found little Adam's heartrate right away. They usually have to hunt for it. It was steady beating in the 150's.

June 26, 2007 Tuesday 18 weeks 3 days

My 5 yo ds had his hand on my belly yesterday when he gasped, sat up quickly and said "Did baby Adam just kick?" I asked if he felt him and he said yes and I said "well then he kicked." He had the biggest smile on his face!!

July 4th, 2007 Wednesday 19 weeks 4 days

Happy 4th everyone! The big change lately is that I not only feel baby Adam kicking, I feel him moving continuously sometimes. Not just a thump here or there. Sometimes, his movements are for 30 minutes at a time. I also have to LOL whenever I change my position in bed at night. I feel him moving and changing his. He'll move around for a minute and then it's quiet. Like he has to get comfy again. What a little man already! Enjoy your day!

July 7, 2007 Saturday 20 weeks

"Viable pregnancy was defined as one resulting in delivery of at least one live fetus at 22 weeks gestation, which conforms to the current World Health Organization's (WHO) definition of childbirth."

Since I am 20 weeks today, I figured I was "viable" since 20 weeks was the marker for my last pregnancy 6 years ago. Turns out I am still 2 weeks away from that. Bummer. I was thinking this morning how close, yet how far away this baby is from being born. He is due the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Christmas music will already be playing. That makes it seem like an eternity away. Yet, I have to look at the fact I've made it half way already. Too bad it has to take so long!!! I am getting impatient to meet this little guy.

July 12, 2007 Thursday 20 weeks 5 days

My Perinatologist appt went really well yesterday. My total weight gain since the beginning is 3 lbs, 10 pounds from the point of weight loss. My little man Adam is already weighing a pound and measures about 1 week further along than estimated by lmp. They actually got an US pic of his nostrils and lips that beats any 3-d pic I've seen so far. I just love using the US machines at the specialists office. The only downer is I have to increase my thyroid meds. I am still getting a fast heart rate when I exert myself (like walking around) and I still fight insomnia and exhaustion. Typical symptoms of a thyroid still out of balance. I was disappointed-I always hope for news that I can start coming off the meds-but to see my little man thriving and gaining, well, it didn't keep me down for long. I have a history of premature labor and complications within my uterus make that a possibility at anytime. However, the dr. said he has no reason to believe we can't go full term and deliver a healthy baby. Wonderful!! Little man is still a frank breech, but we have about 16 more weeks until that becomes a concern. I love you, baby Adam!! Keep growing in there. We're doing this kiddo. We're actually doing this!!

July 19, 2007 Thursday 21 weeks 5 days

At 21 weeks, your body requires 500 more calories a day to make up for the rapidly growing baby. Supposedly, it'll be this way until week 30. I can vouch for the sudden increase in hunger for sure. Why can't I be hungry for healthy things though? It's always a waffle or pancakes I crave. I almost woke dh up the other night to beg him to go to Waffle House and get a waffle for me. I couldn't sleep I was so hungry and all I wanted was a waffle. This I find funny and amusing since I am pretty much vegan when not pregnant. I eat lots of veggies and fruits. Since becoming pregnant, I gag even thinking about lettuce or onions or watermelon or squash. Some of my favorites are off my list right now. Junk is definately on.

Little man Adam was rolling around for 3 hours solid last night. It was so neat. He is such a little person already. I feel like he is so far away from me yet we are only seperated by a few inches of skin-if even that. I wish I could see him and hear him and I wish he could see me. I wonder if he knows how much I love him already?

Well, in a few weeks I'll be getting my Rhogam since I am rh-, and then the lovely glucose tolerance test. Or in my case, intolerance test. I never test positive for GD, but I sure do feel sick the rest of the day from all that sugar. I shiver just imagining it. I've tried to beg, steal and borrow from the OB, but he is bent on me having it done since I am high risk. I asked just what was my risk. Turns out being over 35, and definately over 40, makes you high risk for GD. Just who makes up these rules anyway? :-) All part of the fun, I guess of carrying life. Now if a man would get pregnant, and had to go through all of this, hmmm. How many of these tests would still remain as manditory? And would the maternity leave suddenly increase? Would we get maternity days off for those days when the pukeys have you or you just are too tired to work? I wonder.........

August 3, 2007 Friday 23 weeks, 6 days

The pregnancy seems to be rolling right along now. If I don't feel Adam moving around after an hour or two of silence, I worry. He is really active. Not alot of hard kicks, just really active. It is proof there is life dwelling in there. I am eatting alot of peaches and mangos lately. I love them. I've always loved mangos but the peach-thing is new. Blame the pregnancy. Atleast I am getting some good stuff in me. On a typical day, I eat raisin bran for breakfast, a salad for lunch, a peach and mango snuck in there for a snack, and then supper which usually is full of carbs. Eatting carbs is new for me, too. I still don't eat alot of meat. In fact, I probably have it twice a month if that.

Two weeks ago, my bp was still at 100/60 and my weight gain is 6 lbs. Hard to believe because I really am eatting and the occasional cupcake or cookie doesn't seem to be sticking anywhere. To see my belly, you'd never guess it's just an added 6 lbs. You'd call me a liar. :-) I am stretching like crazy, too. I try to drink alot of water but it makes that stretching even worse by mid-day. All part of it, I guess.

This week has been hard in that our youngest is going to Kindergarten and it seems to be quite an adjustment on him. He cries on and off during the evening, dreading already the following day. I hope he adjusts soon. It is just heartbreaking.

August 10, 2007 Friday 24 weeks 6 days

I saw Adam again via US on Wednesday and he is a real, live baby! They estimated his weight at 1 lb 12 oz. WOW! No wonder I feel like a cow these days! LOL I also gained a whopping 5 lbs in 2 weeks-1 of which I know is baby since he was estimated at 1 lb at that time. My belly is so big-I look like a starving ethiopian. Skinny legs and arms and this big belly. :-) I really doubt I will make it to Thanksgiving. I believe the first or second week in November will be his birthday.

My youngest has settled into Kindergarten nicely this week. He actually went to school with a smile on his face instead of puppy eyes this morning. Some of that could be that today is Friday. Ya think? :-)

August 27, 2007 Monday 27 weeks, 2 days

Lots going on lately. According to an US last week, Adam weighs approx. 2 lbs 3 oz. He's coming along nicely. I've been having preterm contrax, though. I was hooked up to a monitor last week for 30 minutes and sure enough, they were registering. I am *not* dilating with them or effacing yet, praise the Lord!!! I am on bed rest and lots of water-ya think 120+ ounces a day is enough? LOL

My son was withdrawn from Kindergarten and is now homeschooled. It just wasn't working. I am doing the one thing I said I'd never do-homeschool. Never say never! He is happier and that makes mama here happier, too.

I am proud to be a last trimester mama in waiting!

justmommies.com has made the following prediciton about my impending labor: (for entertainment purposes only)

Get your bags packed early just in case you need them. Make sure your partner has a phone available when he's away because this baby just might come early. We predict your baby will come 2-3 weeks early. Your baby will most likely be born in the morning. Justmommies predicts that your baby will weigh approximately 6.8 pounds and that your labor will be about 6 hours long.