I have so many things to be thankful for today! I posted that I was 12 weeks yesterday and that I would be going to the doctor today for a check-up. My appointment was at 8:45 this morning and I did not know which doctor I would be seeing.
The first thing the nurse did was weigh me. I have told every nurse that I have seen, that I do not want to know what my weight is. I want to know how much I have gained/lost, but I am not interested in the starting/ending weight. I am so obsessive about numbers that it is just best to not know. The way I look at it, childbearing will last a few years and I will have the rest of my life to get the weight off. The first thing I was thankful for was losing 3 pounds! I am not on a diet, and it is certainly not a goal to lose weight while I am pregnant, but I did start out this pregnancy about 25 pounds heavier than I did with Ava. I will take what I can get!
The 2nd thing I was thankful for was the doctor I saw today. Dr. Elizabeth Emig was working today and I really liked her just from this first visit. She prescribed a medicine for my nausea (Zofran?) and assured me that it would help! She gave me the option of rotating around until I found a doctor I liked, but I am not that type of person. I like to just settle in and go. I asked her a few questions about her beliefs on labor and delivery and they matched mine. So, the little one and I will be seeing Dr. Emig for the duration of the pregnancy.
One scary thing happened today! I went into my exam room and the nurse could not find the baby's heartbeat on the Doppler. She moved the wand around for about 5 minutes and finally said that we would go into an ultrasound room to make sure everything was okay. I really did not panic. I didn't cry. It has been my firm belief from the beginning that whatever happens is what I will deal with. When the nurse left, Jeremy asked me if I was ready to cope with the loss of this pregnancy. He was very concerned and very quiet for several minutes. I shook my head and said, "Yes. If that is what has happened, then it is God's way of letting us know that something was wrong. Either we wouldn't be able to take care of this baby, or the quality of life would have been so poor that death would have been better than life." I know that is probably a morbid response, but it is honest. Of course we would have mourned, we are human beings with hearts, but we also would have tried to understand the big picture.
A half-hour later, we were called into an ultrasound room. Right away, I saw a baby squirming and kicking! I didn't see the heart right away, but it was so obvious to me that this baby had GROWN since the last time we saw him/her! I think I remember Jeremy exhaling very loudly and saying, "Thank goodness!" I still didn't cry or tear up. I was just so thankful to see a healthy baby moving around! I think my exact words were, "Look at that baby." (In a baby talk voice) :) So, we were all three thankful to see a healthy baby!
The fourth thing that I am thankful for today is the relationship that Ava has with her daddy. I have read enough Dr. Dobson to know that little girls need a thriving relationship with their daddy. She could not be more blessed in that area. Jeremy loves her and she loves him. Many times, I just feel like the caregiver! I am certainly not jealous. I want them to have such a close knit relationship that if something ever happened to me, she would be completely okay with being raised by her daddy. That is one of the reasons I married him!
Here is a picture of our newest member of the family:
Jeremy and I have decided that we will find out what we are having. And this time we WILL tell the name. I have had a lot of people ask if we will keep the name secret this time and the answer is "no." However, we will not reveal anything until we know the gender. I have also had a lot of people ask if we will name our next child a name that starts with an "A." The answer is also "no." We like the names that we like, and we didn't want to create parameters with alliteration (even though my parents did the whole alliteration thing with my siblings and me: Brooke, Brittany, Brendon, and even my adopted sister was named Brandi)
Jeremy and I have had three girl names picked out and one boy name picked out. We used our first girl name on Ava. Her name was originally Ava Lauren Elizabeth, but Jeremy nixed the whole "two middle names thing," as he called it. :) We decided on Ava Catherine after my great-grandmother (Elna Catherine) I think we made the right decision! I still love what her name would have been, but Ava Catherine suits her better. Jeremy said that two middle names was a bit snobby. If you know my husband, he is all about relating to people. He didn't want a name that would make her seem better than anybody. :)
Although we still have two girl names picked out, we know what we will name this child if it is a girl. The third girl name is for a third girl (I hope that makes sense! There is an order to it all!) And we have always been set on our boy name. Let me just say this: Jeremy was named after a character in the TV show "Big Valley." It was a western TV show that his parents watched. It is fitting then, that if we have a boy, his name is also from a western. I won't say which one, but we LOVE it! :)
After today's appointment, I finally feel like I can breathe! We are so excited to be through the first trimester. My next appointment will be January 3rd. I will be 17 weeks pregnant and closer to knowing what we will be having! We cannot be more thrilled!
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