15+ Weeks

Well, about 3.5 weeks ago, I came out of the "Pregnancy Closet" on facebook! I guess it's about time I blogged about it, too! Hopefully, this will help keep those who are interested "in the know" about how my pregnancy is progressing, as well as how doctor appointments go, and all that jazz!

Shay and I went to the doctor today. This was my first actual OB visit. My blood pressure was great...as a matter of fact, the nurse said, "VERY good blood pressure, my friend," which I was VERY pleased to hear. While I've never been diagnosed with "high blood pressure" or even "pre-hyptertension," my blood pressure has tended to be on the high-side. However, over the past 2 years, I have lost a good 30 pounds, and have been excercising much more and eating better. I was hoping it had paid off, and it looks like it has! Yay!! We'll just keep it up so that it's one less thing to worry about! (It was 122 over 80).

ANYWAY, I'm about 10 to 11 lbs. lighter now at 15 weeks, 2 days than I was at the time I got pregnant. This is because there were a few weeks (around weeks 8-12) that I just couldn't eat! My morning sickness made most foods very unappetizing to me! And don't even talk to me about lettuce...YUCK! I'm completely fine eating salads now, but up until about 2 weeks ago, it made me want to hurl. The good news is, I never actually did "hurl," and I hear I'm one of the lucky ones since I haven't gotten physically "sick" during pregnancy!

Even now, though I'm eating a lot more different foods, and most things taste good to me, my appetite isn't as big as it was before pregnancy. I usually must stick to small portions, and it doesn't take much before I feel very full! The good news is, the baby is still taking what it needs and is still growing like it should! It's funny, though...as I've lost weight, my pants are still fitting the exact same way, I guess because the baby's growth is evening things out around my waistline! I still don't feel like I'm "showing," though, which is fine, because I know in about 4-6 more months, I'm probably going to feel like a house! AND, I've been able to continue wearing all of my same clothes and haven't had to buy any maternity clothes yet! That's made Shay pretty happy! Or, his wallet, anyway! Haha!

We got to hear the heartbeat today!! I was so happy because when I went to my very first appointment, all they did was do an ultrasound to determine how far along I was and when my due date was and everything. We heard it then, at 7 weeks, 1 day, but haven't heard it since! It was such a beautiful sound to hear again!!! I can't WAIT until I actually begin to feel him or her moving around in there! Our next appointment will be on Monday, November 16 at 4 PM (19 weeks, 5 days). We will have our "20 week ultrasound" at that point. I can't wait to see the baby actually looking like a baby (the one at 7 weeks looked like a little blob-like bean), AND be able to tell what "it" is!! It's so funny....Shay is dead-set on it being a boy. He's absolutely CERTAIN! However, I kind of think it's a girl, and my mom, his mom, my cousin Michelle, and my cousin Emily all think it's a girl, too!! When the nurse that took the heartbeat today told us it was 150/151/152/151, she said that if she had to make an educated guess, she would say it was a boy. Dr. Hood agreed, too. That made Shay VERY happy! I am just pleased that it is a good, strong, healthy heartbeat! I'm not going to take any "old wives tales" seriously until I have that ultrasound next month! :) I will be 100% happy either way! And it will be nice to be able to call it a he or a she instead of "it!" :)

Speaking of which, a lot of people have been asking us about names! We've told everyone who has asked, so I'll gladly share here, as well!! If it is a boy, his name will be Barrett Bryan Wright. We both really like the name Barrett (Shay actually came up with it, and has been so happy about it, so that makes it even more special...even if it is after Barrett Ruud of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers), and Bryan is after Shay's grandparents (their last name is Bryan, which also makes it Shay's mom's maiden name). If it is a girl, her name will be Evans Elise Wright. Evans is my middle name because it is my grandmother's maiden name. Elise was my great-grandmother's "middle name" (in quotes, because we think she made it up herself), and is also my Aunt Dianne's middle name, as well as my cousin Sutton's middle name. I was very determined to use family names in naming our child, and we are very happy with what we've decided upon. And in just a few short weeks, we will be calling him or her by name, and it will just make it that much more real to us!!!

We have not taken "belly pics" yet because, like I said, I don't look pregnant yet, but in a few more weeks/months when it is much more apparent, we'll take some and post them then! I will also post our 20-week ultrasound pics when we get them!

Well, I hope those of you who have been curious feel a little more "in the loop." I'm going to go take a nap now, because that's just what I do these days!! :)