Week 14

• How far along? 14 weeks
• Total weight gain? 1 pound
• How big is the baby? the size of a navel orange
• Maternity clothes? No clothes yet...leaving for a cruise Saturday so may try to find some cotton dresses in case the combo of all you can eat and heat put me in a predicament
• Sleep? still having trouble trying to sleep on my side..trying all sorts of different pillows with little luck. Also have been waking up 1-3 times a night to use the restroom
• Best moment this week? eating blueberry muffin batter (no kidding but it did hit a high note)
• Movement? Not yet
• Food craving? Well this was a week of some weird eating for me Had my first steak of the pregnancy..red meat has not appealed to me at all up until now..so thank you texas roadhouse..also had a weak moment in the fast food department and stopped one evening at wendys for a junior cheeseburger and pulled right into to McDonalds for french fries (since I don't like Wendy's fries)...enjoying mixing healthy fruits and vegetables with my occasional fast food splurge.
• Belly button? In
• What I miss? Kicking my shoes off at the end of the week and having a good time with friends...hearing about all of my girls weekends made me realize that I wouldn't be partaking in any partying for quite awhile! --all worth it of course ;)
• What am I looking forward to? A week away from Walmart Pharmacy to really enjoy my pregnancy (oh and getting a tan and all of the food on the cruise that I will indulge in)
• Milestones? Putting our first deposit down on a waiting list at a church child care center (talk about the most stressful issue I have had to deal with..these childcare centers act like I should have known last summer that I would need childcare in Feb 2011...I feel so clueless and everyone has treated me as though I am so ignorant for not having put my name on a waiting list. It is a very emotional subject for me right now!)
  

Looking forward to our very last vacation before welcoming Baby Redd into the family! We couldn't be more excited! I hope that we have a safe and fun trip! We will be departing in Janet's new Town and Country luxury edition with 3 tvs and leather heated seats..should get to see some good movies in on our long drive to New Orleans. Can't wait to see family in New Orleans and enjoy some our our favorite food before leaving on our cruise. I sure pray that me and the baby don't experience any motion sickness on the boat!

13 Weeks

I am going to attempt to follow along with the fun quizzes to see how many things change as the pregnancy goes along..Hopefully I will start taking pictures and documenting the journey. Here goes....

*How far along? 13 weeks
*Total weight gain? about a pound
*How big is the baby? size of a lemon
*Maternity clothes? Not yet so far all of my regular work clothes are still holding out for me
*Sleep? falling asleep is miserable because I am nauseous at nighttime and cannot get comfortable. once I fall asleep I awake every couple of hours either because I have to use the bathroom or because I am on my stomach and I wake up feeling sick.
*Best moment this week? Hearing the baby's heartbeat!
*Movement? Not that I am able to feel yet
*Food cravings? no food ever sounds good to me. I have a great appetite but trying to decide what I want to eat or can stomach to eat is a nightmare. I am still waiting for a 10 pm run to the store to get that perfect food to fit a craving. Although I can usually always eat mexican (surprise surprise)
*belly button ? In
*What I miss? Feeling energized every minute of the day. I am not used to feeling exhausted all of the time.
*What I am looking forward to? The big ultrasound numero dos. I can't waaaaait to find out if we are expecting a little boy or girl
*Milestone? Finally making it to the second trimester and sharing the news with all of our family and friends!
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Doctors Appt #3

Well, I have officially made it to the second trimester!! I had my third Dr. appointment and met my second Dr. his name is Dr. Bradley. Unfortunately Brad was at work and wasn't able to come to this Dr. appointment but I got the best treat ever because Brittany drove from Charlotte to have a fun filled baby shopping and Dr. appointment day with me. We had lunch at Mimi's cafe (one of my favorites) then spent time at a baby furniture store, Babies R Us, Baby depot, and my favorite boutique Nest (where I hope to purchase the bedding for my future son/daughter). We then headed to the appointment and I got to see what a standard visit would be like. (It took all of about 20 minutes). They check your weight and blood pressure send you to an exam room where a nurse comes in to find the heart beat and then the Dr. comes in to answer any new questions or concerns. My favorite part was obviously hearing the baby's heartbeat. It was amazing! I couldn't believe how low the baby still is in my stomach. It had a strong heartbeat of 157 and I just couldn't get enough. It was a special day to share with my best friend and I feel so lucky to have had her there with me. A great day and another advancement in the pregnancy!

Ultrasound Day

May 10 was our first ultrasound. It was an amazing experience for both of us. At this visit, Christen was 9 weeks. You could see the heartbeat beating at a rate of 189 bpm. We could see the lil nugget moving around. At one point, it looked like our baby was doing sit-ups. (Is there an athlete in our future?) Seeing an ultrasound for the first time is amazing beyond words. I was speechless when I saw the baby for the first time. Seeing the ultrasound made it REAL! We are so excited. Without further adieu, I present to you....Baby Redd!

2010 G'Vegas Invitational

Brad plans and hosts a golf tournament annually. This was the 5th year of the G'vegas. It was held May 8th at Furman Golf Club. He had 24 guys play in it this year. Friday night at our house, Brad had the Pairings Party where all the participants draw for teams and food and drink are provided. They also auction off each team. Brad loves hosting this tournament because friends that he doesn't get to see that often come into town for the tournament. They ended up having a pretty good time Friday night after the party because he only got 2 hours of sleep. Brad woke up to play 2 rounds of golf. His team ended up in 3rd place out of 8 teams. He got home around 8:30 Sat night and immediately went to bed and slept 12 hours. Much needed sleep!!!!!

First Meeting w/ the Doctor

So our first meeting with the doctor was April 20. We met with one of Brad's friends wife, Hope, who is the nurse educator for pregnant women. It was nice meeting with her and she is very good at what she does. She told us not to worry, that she wouldn't go home and tell Dustin :) We asked her if they do a pregnancy test to confirm and she told us home pregnancy tests are so accurate that they don't bother testing themselves. At the time of this meeting, Christen was 5 weeks. Christen's baby tracker app on her iPhone said the baby is the size of a blueberry at 5 weeks so....

Brad and Christen's life takes a wild turn when...

...they found out they are PREGNANT! Here's the story: Every night after her girls weekend in Charlotte, Christen complained about being extremely tired early in the night. She just thought it was from the lack of sleep the girls got in CLT. So on April 17, the following Saturday, Christen asked Brad to go get her a pregnancy test. She took it first thing that morning and it immediately showed up positive. YAAAAAY, we're having a baby! After the initial shock, both Brad and Christen are so excited about bringing a new life into this world. Please check back often as we plan to blog about the progress of Christen's pregnancy. Stay tuned...