The Long Wait Is Over!

I had been posting this in it's own section but now that Hudson has entered this world, I think it would be appropriate to add it as a regular post.

WAITING FOR HUDSON

3-21-13  At my appointment last week, the doctor told me that if I make it to 40 weeks, I would then need to go in twice a week to do NST's and make sure everything is going fine.  Today at my appointment the doctor told me not to bother making my next appointment because she said she didn't think I would make it through the weekend.  I'm hoping that she is correct because she has gotten me very excited!  Come on little man!  

How far along: 40 Weeks

Energy:  Gone

Cravings: Filet Mignon (I can have one very soon!)

Total Weight Gain:  32 Pounds

Sleep: I've gotten to sleep the past few nights (minus the time spent waking up every hour on the hour to use the restroom) and it has been wonderful!

Best Moment of the Week: My hand has been numb for about a month.  I started getting sensation back yesterday!  I thought I wouldn't get it back until after Hudson is born so I am pleasantly surprised.

Gender: Male

What I miss: Again, Filet Mignon (with plenty of pink!)

What I'm looking forward to: Experiencing labor and the birth of our son with my wonderful husband, James.  :-)  I can't wait!

How far along: 38 Weeks

Energy:  Gone

Cravings: Sherbet

Total Weight Gain:  30 Pounds

Sleep: I've forgotten what this is.

Best Moment of the Week: Making it to 38 weeks and knowing that we are that much closer to the big       day.

Gender: Male

What I miss: Being able to sit while wearing maternity pants without cutting off the circulation to my legs.  I've had to move on to dresses, so I would really appreciate some warmer weather.

What I'm looking forward to: Hudson's birth day!  At least when he is here I will have something precious to look at while I'm up all night!

I know this second photo is terrifying but I couldn't resist.

How far along: 36 Weeks, 5 Day

Energy:  Depletes by the day...

Cravings: Chocolate, Sherbet (not together....I'm not a weirdo)  :-)

Total Weight Gain:  28 Pounds

Sleep: Between bathroom breaks, contractions and an active Hudson, I'm up often throughout the night.

Best Moment of the Week: Baby Shower! Seeing so many family and friends that I don't get to see often.

Gender: Male

What I miss: Being able to rotate my body from the left to right side in bed in less than five seconds.

What I'm looking forward to: Hudson's birth day!

How far along: 34 Weeks, 1 Day

Energy:  Losing It!

Cravings: Sweets

Total Weight Gain:  25 Pounds

Sleep: Between bathroom breaks, contractions and an active Hudson, I'm up often throughout the night.

Best Moment of the Week: Pregnancy Massage....Thanks to James

Gender: Male

What I miss: Medium rare filet mignon!

What I'm looking forward to: Seeing our mini version of James  :-)

How far along: 30 Weeks, 2 Days

Energy:  Still hoping it's on its way.

Cravings: Not currently

Total Weight Gain:  20 Pounds

Sleep: I enjoy sleep now more than ever.  I'm taking advantage of every last minute.

Best Moment of the Week: Seeing Hudson's chubby face in the 4D ultrasound.

Gender: Male

What I miss: Having a wider selection of clothing to choose from

What I'm looking forward to: Looking into Hudson's eyes

How far along: 26 Weeks!  

Energy: Slightly improved

Cravings: Well....food in general...still have my pickle a day. (Sorry James)

Total Weight Gain:  15 Pounds

Sleep: Enjoying every minute I can get because I know soon I will not know the meaning of the word sleep.

Best Moment of the Week: Two things: One, feeling sooo much movement, constantly.  He is graduating from kicking to routine rolls. Two, Bradley Method classes!  I'm so happy James and I decided to take them.

Gender: It's a BOY!

What I miss: MEDIUM RARE FILET MIGNON!!!  I want it so badly.

What I'm looking forward to: My third trimester starts next week!

20 WEEKS! 

(THERE WILL BE NO PHOTO DUE TO THE FACT THAT I AM SICK)

How far along: 20 Weeks!  We are halfway to our little man showing his face!

Energy: I was promised it would come in the second trimester....still waiting.  Right now I just scavenge all the energy I can to get through the day.  :-)

Cravings: Pickles and Fruit

Total Weight Gain:  10 Pounds

Sleep: What is sleep?  I've forgotten these past few days.  With all the bathroom breaks, coughing fits, and trouble breathing, I'm not getting much.  I know once the baby comes I will have the "no sleep" problem as well but at least then I will be waking up for much more adorable reasons.

Best Moment of the Week:  Thinking about the fact that little Becker is about 10.5 ounces and about 10 inches long!  That is unbelievable.

Gender: It's a BOY!

What I miss:  My wonderful immunity!  I can't wait to get it back.

What I'm looking forward to: We just started our Bradley Method Classes. I'm looking forward to continuing them.  It is a 12 week series so it will carry into the middle of January.

How far along: 18 Weeks, 4 Days

Energy: Zero

Cravings: Fruit

Total Weight Gain: 9 Pounds

Sleep: My new bedtime is 10:00 p.m.

Best Moment of the Week:  The Ultrasound! Oh, and feeling him move several times this week.

Gender: It's a BOY!

What I miss:  Energy!

What I'm looking forward to: Seeing our baby boys face.

How far along: 16 Weeks

Energy: Hoping the promises of more energy in the second trimester will be fulfilled.

Cravings: Chocolate Chip Cookies and Fruit

Total Weight Gain: 8 Pounds

Sleep: I feel best the days I am able to get 10 hours of sleep.

Best Moment of the Week:  Feeling little Becker move!

Gender: In two days I will be able to schedule my ultrasound to find out the sex!

What I miss:  Some of my old clothes....pants in particular.  Although, now that I have maternity pants, I may wear them for the rest of my life!  They are amazing.

What I'm looking forward to: Getting the nursery ready to go.  I have the crib and mattress set up at this point which I think is more than most people have done at this point.  I just figure, I'm only going to get more and more tired as the days go by.  I might as well get going on it now.

At 13 Weeks, I had to get an emergency ultrasound.  It was wonderful to see the baby and know that everything was fine.  He/She was swimming around during the entire ultrasound.  I asked the ultrasound technician if she could tell the sex yet.  She laughed and said no.  Can't blame me for trying.

How far along: 12 Weeks

Energy: Tired as soon as 8 pm rolls around.

Cravings: Chicken and Noodles (mother-in-laws recipe)

Total Weight Gain: 5 Pounds

Sleep: Wish I could get more but my weird hot flash moments haven't been happening as often :-)

Best Moment of the Week:  I got to hear the heartbeat again on September 7th!

Gender: Can't wait to find out!

What I miss: Still miss having energy.  

What I'm looking forward to: We just switched Obstetricians so I had to cancel the ultrasound appointment.  I had my first appointment with the new doctor on September 7th.  She said she will not be doing an ultrasound on me until 20 weeks.  Booo!  We will hopefully find out the sex of the baby at appointment!

How far along: 10 Weeks

Energy: Still Exhausted, 10 hours of sleep just doesn't seem to be enough.

Cravings: Tuna with pickles and miracle whip.  Delicious!  James is far from a fan of this meal.  Lasagna and Mexican food have also been some favorites lately.

Total Weight Gain: As of my nine week appointment I have gained 4 pounds!

Sleep: I go to bed cold in hopes that I will be comfortable all through the night but every night I wake up sweating like crazy.  I think it's time to invest in a fan for our bedroom.

Best Moment of the Week:  At the 9 Week appointment we were able to hear the heartbeat!  It was an amazing feeling to know that everything was okay.

Gender: Can't wait to find out!

What I miss: Still miss having energy.  I also miss my patience with myself.....guess I'll have to work on that.

What I'm looking forward to: Well, as of right now I have an appointment scheduled for an ultrasound on September 13th but I am in the process of changing Obstetricians so I'm going to have to schedule a new appointment.  I just want to know when to plan for the ultrasound.

How far along: 8 Weeks

Energy: I'm exhausted!

Cravings: Buffalo Chicken

Total Weight Gain: I will find out when I go to the doctor at my 9 week appointment.

Sleep: I have been sleeping fine minus waking up three or four times to go to the bathroom.  I just attribute that to all the extra water I'm drinking.

Best Moment of the Week:  James and I are reading a daily journal about baby Becker's development.  I was out of town for work but it was wonderful to have him there and still be able to do this with him.

Gender: Can't wait to find out!

What I miss: Having energy.  I have hopes that will return when I enter my second trimester.

What I'm looking forward to: I am a planner and I really want to find out the sex so I can start preparing the nursery.

March!

We are now into March!  20 days until my due date to be exact.  There are several things I'm excited about this month.  Spring is around the corner, the time change will mean that there will be daylight when I leave work and some friends are getting married!  I will also turn 26 this month which I'm sure I will not even think about when the time comes since our little man is due right about that time as well.  This will definitely be an exciting month for the Becker family!


I had my weekly appointment on Thursday and was relieved to find out that Hudson is measuring to be about 8 pounds by 40 weeks.  Once I started thinking about this, I realized I shouldn't get too excited because the doctor could be off and there is always the chance that I will go two weeks over my due date which will allow him more time to plump up.  I've had several times where I have had painful contractions for a few hours but I am able to get them to go back to the painless Braxton Hicks by eating, walking or laying on my side.  I'm trying to stop any chance of going into labor until James gets back home in a few days.  I just hope that is God's plan as well.


You better believe as soon as James gets home, I will be doing everything that people say might help put you in labor (except for a few weird exceptions that I have heard from people).  I know Hudson won't come until he is good and ready, I just want him to know that he is more than welcome to join us out here as soon as his little heart desires.


Packing for the hospital has been on my to-do list for the past month.  I have finally determined that it will get done this weekend, even if it is the only thing I accomplish!  I guess I should get to work before my energy disappears for the day!

34 Days Until The Due Date

I'm so excited that there are only 34 days until Hudson's due date.  I'm so thankful to know that James will be in town for sure.  He is now set to leave about four weeks after the due date.  That being said, I am hoping that Hudson will not come two weeks late...otherwise I may loose my sanity.  I just keep trying to remember that is will only be for about six weeks.

Since I am a little bit of a planner, I have Hudson's nursery pretty much put completely together.  I'm so ready!  This could be a really long five (potentially seven) weeks.  James and I went to Union Terminal today with Jensine and Jimmy to check out the museum and take some maternity photos before my belly pops!  Thanks Jensine!  

Being that this is possibly going to be James and my last weekend off together without a baby to take care of, I should probably finish this up and spend some time with him.

 

  

 

So...I'm not going to be pregnant forever?

Technically today I am 30 weeks, 4 days pregnant.  I can't believe that Hudson could potentially be here in less than 10 weeks.  This past week we got to welcome Lillian Ellerbe into the world.  I felt like Tara and I were both going to be pregnant forever so seeing Lily's sweet face was a reality check that Tara in fact is not going to be pregnant forever and I'm next!

We took these photos on Sunday at Dave and Busters.  Thinking that James was going to be leaving tomorrow for his six weeks of training (we found out Thursday), I wanted to get a few photos of us together while I'm still pregnant.  He was due back three weeks before I was due but I didn't want to take any chances, so Emily (who seems to have become our personal photographer) volunteered to make this happen. Thank you Emily!

Unfortunately we got a call this morning saying that plans have changed and James can not leave for a few months.  I'm just hoping that he is at least able to stay in Cincinnati the first four to six weeks after delivery.  I don't know what I'm going to do without James for those weeks.  Clearly people deal with this all the time and I am blessed to have a lot of local friends and family so I am trying to remain as optimistic as possible.

I just need to remember that it is all in God's hands.  As soon as you think you have life figured out, he will throw you a curve ball!  

29 Weeks, 2 Days and a 4D Ultrasound!

On Thursday James and I, along with nine of our family and friends, went to get a 4D Ultrasound of Hudson at Becoming Mom in Mason.  James purchased this as part of a "Spoiled Mama" package for Christmas.  I also get a massage and hot stone pedicure at some point.  Both of which I can't wait for!  So anyway, we all packed into the room on Thursday evening.  It was so amazing to see his little body.  He had his little legs crossed and he was in the most uncomfortable looking position.  He refused to give us a good face shot.  Hudson held onto his umbilical cord right in front of his face the whole time.  Whenever he would start to slowly move his hand down, he would throw it right back in front of his face.  He did give us the thumbs up at some point though, which you can see in the second photo.  Since we were not able to get a good shot of his face throughout the entire ultrasound, the staff at Becoming Mom allowed us to come back today to try again at no additional cost!

Today James and I went alone.  Hudson still kept his hands around his face most of the ultrasound but he was nice enough to pull them away a few times so we could catch a glimpse of his precious little face.  The ultrasound tech was kind enough to remind us that we have a fat baby.  :-)  She kept talking about his pudgy cheeks.  I'm still just praying that if Hudson ends up being a 10 pounder, that he will at least help me out a little bit and come on time if not a few days early.  The ultrasound tech looked for hair but as I expected, she said he doesn't have much.  We got to see him open his mouth a few times to get a taste of the amniotic fluid.  Even after all these ultrasounds and feeling him kick, I still can't believe that James and I created this little guy!  

Perfect example of Hudson's chunky cheeks :-)

Thumbs Up!

So sweet!  I can't wait to stare at that little face for hours.

I love his little elbow resting on his knee.

This is the best face shot he gave us the first day.

More than Halfway to Holding Hudson

It has been a long time since I have made a normal post.  My last post announced that James and I are expecting.  I am now 22 weeks, 3 days into the pregnancy.  We have had a very exciting, busy, joyous, and sometimes stressful few months.  As I'm typing, little Becker is moving around relentlessly, which I love!

At 13 weeks I had a little scare.  I decided to call the doctor and they got me in a few hours later.  After discussing all the possible issues (which was terrifying), the doctor did an exam and the next thing I knew, I was in the ultrasound room.  Everything turned out fine.  I was so excited to have a chance to see the baby but I wish James could have been there with me.  Luckily the woman who did the ultrasound gave me six photos to share with him...and everyone else of course!  During the entire ultrasound Baby Becker did not stop moving.  It looked like he was swimming around in there the whole time.  You can see in this first photo he/she had his/her legs scrunched up and in the second one, his/her legs were straight out.

We had another ultrasound at 18 weeks and found out that we were having a little boy!  Since then James and I try to imagine what life is going to be like having a son of our own running around this world.  Having several friends with little ones of their own, makes fathoming James and me with a son a little easier.

There has been more and more talk lately about the fact that our baby is most likely going to be mammoth sized which terrifies me a little.  I was considered a large baby but James fell into the 10+ pounds category.  When I went to one of my appointments, I voiced my concerns to the doctor about my possible "giant baby".  She said, "You are small so you will most likely have small babies."  Next I told her how much James and I weighed.  She stared at me for a few seconds, then said, "You are most likely going to have a large baby."  No false reassurance from her.  At least she is honest. :-)   Amazingly, she didn't seem at all shocked when in the next breath I told her I plan to have a natural birth.

James and I have started Bradley Method Classes.  I am well aware of the fact that I am most likely going to have a large baby and I know that the only chance I have in a natural birth is if I feel comfortable with the process, learn exactly what my body needs, and know that I have James there to be my support through the whole journey.  Whatever happens, it's in God's hands.

I had a little "episode" at work last week.  I had hot flashes, lower abdominal cramping, and blurred vision.  Then all of a sudden I blacked out and lost my hearing.  I sat down on the ground and in a little over 5 minutes, it was all over.  I was well hydrated and full of food, so I knew that wasn't the issue.  The doctor told me I should go in to see him.  He told me that most of what happened can be somewhat normal in a pregnancy.  However, he was a little thrown off by the hearing loss.  He told me that if it happened again I needed to see a Neurologist for testing.  Apparently pregnancy can cause issues to a mothers nervous system.

I was at work today and felt the same thing coming on, only this time Whitney was kind enough to pick me up and take me to the doctor (I didn't want to chance losing my sight and hearing while I was driving).  By the time we made it to the hospital, the "episode" had come to an end and everything felt normal again.  I am in the process of trying to get in to see a neurologist to get the testing but in the meantime we are praying that everything is fine.  Of course the baby is most important and he was perfectly fine in the ultrasound.  He has a strong heart beat and continues to move around what seems like all hours of the day, which is wonderful!
God is in control.

A Becker Baby is Coming Soon!!!

James and I went to Clearwater Beach, Florida in the beginning of July with Emily and Nathan (my sister in law and her husband).  

While James and I were in Clearwater, we discovered that there will be a Becker baby coming into the world!  There is both a bit of fear and a whole lot of excitement associated with this news.  Even though this is a terrifying time in our lives to think about the expenses of having a baby, it's God's time and that is all that matters.  For the past five years James and I have talked a lot about the possibility of having children.  It's so strange that the time has finally arrived!  We are both extremely excited!

Yesterday was my first prenatal appointment.  James was not able to make it to the appointment so Emily (my amazing sister in law) came with me.  Everyone had told me not to get too excited about the first appointment because all they would be doing is taking blood samples, other tests, and have a ton of paperwork for me to fill out.  After keeping myself from getting too terribly excited about the appointment all day long, it was finally time.

The doctor went through all the routine questions and answers.  When he told me we would schedule my first ultrasound appointment for three weeks from now, I resigned to the fact that I would not have a chance to hear baby B's heartbeat until the next appointment.  I decided to clarify by saying, "So at 12 weeks I will be able to hear the heartbeat?"  I wanted to cry as I was saying this because even though I had been told by everyone that there was a slim chance I would get to hear the heartbeat at the first appointment, I was secretly holding out hope.  I was surprised to hear him respond with, "I think we may be able to do that today"!  I think I pulled a muscle in my cheeks because I have never smiled that hard!

The doctor started doing the doppler ultrasound as he reminded me that we may not be able to find the heartbeat because it is so soon.  It took the doctor about 30 seconds to find.  I know most women tend to cry when they hear their babies heartbeat for the first time and I probably would have if James had been there but instead I looked over and saw Emily with a huge grin on her face and that's all that I could do was smile.

The previous week I had worked 91 hours in a 7 days period and heard story after terrifying story from women about their past experiences in the beginning of pregnancy.  It was such a relief to know that Baby B. was okay and had a strong heartbeat.

We are due March 22, 2013.  More on the vacation and Baby B. later...time for a nap!

Emily and I found this little outfit at a surf store near the beach.