Dear Gracie

Dear Gracie,
I am so excited to be your mama! Ever since the minute I found out that you exist, you have been the only thing on my mind. And now I can feel and see you kicking around in there every day. I just can't wait to tickle those little feet and kiss those little hands! You have changed my life so much, in a good way of course, and I cannot imagine what life would be like without you. I already know that you are where my life begins, and I haven't even met you yet! It's crazy to think about how much I already love you, I wonder if I'll just explode once I finally meet you! You are my everything, and everything else in my life revolves around you. Please always remember, YOU ARE SO LOVED!
Love always,
Mama

Such a big miracle in such a small child!

With the holidays coming up, blogging has taken a backseat to everything else in my life. But, I thought I should update today while David is still snoozing.
We had our big ultrasound appointment on the 16th. The days leading up to the appointment seemed to move so slowly, and now time is permanently set on fast forward. Seeing our baby in baby-form was amazing. There was actually a little human on the screen instead of a tiny dinosaur! It was amazing to see the little one kicking and fist-pumping! And now, after calling the baby "peanut", "little ginger", and "baby G" for 20 weeks, we can now call our baby...

GRACIE!



As you can see from the picture, we were completely shocked! A baby girl was really the last thing we had expected. We had all the little boy clothes to prove it! Gracie will be the second girl born into the Storm family in 55 years, and the first in about 25 years. She is just absolutely amazing already!

This is my favorite picture of Gracie :) Her nose, ears, chin, lips...her EVERYTHING is just so precious. I cannot wait to kiss those cheeks!

She loves lying on her belly...just like mama!

Sweet little baby foot! I can't wait to tickle those feet and paint those toenails!

Long legs...just like daddy!

She already knows she's beautiful! :) During all the face pictures I could see her smiling. What an angel!

It was so special to have Oma with us for the ultrasound appointment. She was just as shocked as we were! I don't think anyone expected the baby to be a girl. Even Grandpa was taken back by the news! Grandma and Grandpa Storm were both thrilled as well :) Our little girl is already so loved!
18 more weeks until we can all snuggle Gracie. I don't know how I'm going to wait that long!

18 weeks - almost halfway there!

As of Wednesday I am 18 weeks pregnant! I can now feeling our baby move around like crazy! Our little one is already on an opposite sleep schedule than myself, so I'm really trying to enjoy my sleep now while I can!
Other exciting news - David and I rented a fetal heart monitor for the rest of this pregnancy. I can't imagine being pregnant without it! Whenever I start to worry because I haven't felt the baby in a while I just listen to the baby's heart beat before I go to bed at night. David really enjoys listening to it too.
And we scheduled the BIG ULTRASOUND APPOINTMENT! I am SO thrilled! Our appointment is on November 16...so only 11 days left! Then I can finally start calling the baby it's name - either Gracie or Gabriel.
As far as cravings go, I haven't experienced anything too crazy. Before becoming pregnant I hated milk. I thought it was the most disgusting thing. Now I can't get enough. I go through a gallon every couple of days! Now after writing about this I can't stop thinking about it. I think I might need to go have a cup...
Here is the most recent belly picture :) Enjoy!

17 weeks, 4 days

We have a bump!

David and I decided to start taking pictures of my belly since I now officially am growing a noticeable baby bump. I bought my first pair of maternity jeans yesterday and I cannot express how much I LOVE them! What a difference :)
Here is the first picture of our baby bump.

13 week and 4 days pregnant

Looking at this picture makes me so happy! I cannot believe how blessed we are to have a little one on the way. 

Oh energy, how I have missed you.

Yes, you read that correctly. I had nearly forgotten what it felt like to get up in the morning and actually stay awake for more than two hours. I spent the last two weeks sick which landed me in the emergency room with a swelling throat. After a week of antibiotics I am feeling 100%, but now the daddy to be is sick. So, that means I've been his personal nurse all weekend. Lucky for him I'm feeling like I've had a caffeine IV drip. Maybe peanut knows to take it easy on me right now :) I did make a comment yesterday during our 1,000th visit to Walgreen's this week alone.
Me "If you think you feel sick now, try being pregnant!"
Daddy to be "I don't care about that right now! I'm sick!"
Hmm...it's a good thing that women have the pleasure of growing humans instead of men ;)

Long time, no blog!

Life has been so crazy lately, which has made time go by very quickly. BUT...here is what has been keeping a smile on my face...

This is our little ginger baby waving at us! Our appointment was amazing last week. We went in completely terrified, but everything went just fine. The baby was waving it's little arm around and kicking it's feet like crazy. And the heart beat looked so amazing. David was so excited to see his baby for the first time, and I was thrilled to see that the little one is healthy!
Then the very next week we went back for my normal, scheduled prenatal appointment. We heard the heart beat for the first time. I could have stayed there listening to it all day! The proud Oma was with us and used her charm to get our doc to do another ultrasound. The pictures from this ultrasound didn't turn out as perfect...but here's my favorite :)





I must say, our baby is very friendly. That thing that looks like a chubby little arm and nubbins for fingers...well, that's exactly what it is! I can't wait to hold that little hand. It was amazing to see how much the baby had grown in one week. The legs were no longer just little stumps, they were actually really long! And as soon as the little one realized we were watching, it began jumping around and putting on a show. Oh how I love my baby...

And more good news...we are almost finished with the first trimester! This is a huge relief. It's also nice to not feel quite so sick :)

April 6th cannot get here soon enough!

10 week scare

I went back to work last week after taking a few months off to finish nursing school. On Friday after I finished my shift I began spotting and slightly cramping. Needless to say, I panicked. This was the last thing I was expecting. I attempted to contact my doctor, but his office was getting ready to close and I spent about 20 minutes on hold. I gave up and went home with my mom. Over the long (WAY too long) Labor Day weekend I spent my time lying on the couch and worrying. I had also had a horrible back ache which I have heard is a sign of miscarriage. After a lot of TLC from my mom I have stopped cramping, I have no more spotting and my back is feeling much better. I'm still going to see my doctor in an hour to make sure everything is okay. This is truly the scariest doctor visit I have ever anticipated and I've spent the last hour a nervous mess. Everyone is sending a lot of love and prayers to our little ginger baby, including the daddy to be and myself. I cannot wait to know what we're dealing with.

The best news I've ever received...

David and I received the happiest news of our lives this summer. We are finally going to have the little ginger baby that we have been dreaming of!

The first ultrasound was on August 17th. It was absolutely amazing to see the little one floating around. The heartbeat was strong and truly the most beautiful thing that I have ever seen. I cannot wait to go back to the doctor this month!
The daddy to be is extremely excited. He absolutely cannot wait to start buying baby things! Annnd he's been pretty amazing at going out in the middle of the night to get me tums to soothe my upset stomach.
Oma seems to think we're having a boy. However, this mama is only getting little girl vibes ;) I guess we'll have to wait and see.