18 weeks

18 weeks has come and almost gone...after tomorrow I'm around 19 weeks...I should take a poll on whether people think I am right on schedule or farther along than the original guess...although, with my rapidly increasing "size", I already know what the results would be! :P

To help with your gender guesses...

• I had HORRIBLE morning, afternoon, and night sickness for a solid 10 weeks
• The heartbeat averages 130
• I have a nice, shapely belly - all out in front - and without it, could still get into my non-maternity jeans
• I am starving....all the time....hungry hungry hippo. :P
• Cravings have not been for sweets - more along the lines of bagels, apple juice, and mashed potatoes.
• I have developed acne...6 pimples in the past month compared to my usual 1 :-0

On Monday, June 1st at 10am I go in for the scheduled ultrasound and will hopefully find out the gender of the baby, along with other important facts, like...."am I really only 19 weeks?!?!" (I may not have made it very clear with the original post, but the due date was by "best guess"....I'm usually quite organized....apparently not when it matters!)

Stay tuned for the outcome!

Funny Story...

I have one particular student that comes in half-asleep most mornings. This morning was different. He was quite awake - unusually so. As he walked in the room, I greeted him and he said nothing. He proceeded to dump his backpack on his desk and exclaimed, "Mrs. Miller, you don't have to worry!" Curious, I asked him what exactly I don't have to worry about (thinking he completed his homework or some other assignment), and he responded very 'matter of fact-ly':

"Last night I learned all about how to deliver a baby. So, if you need help or have an emergency, I am here for you. I watched a few movies with my dad and that was just disgusting. So instead I got on Google and read all about it. Now I'm ready."

A few minutes later a very concerned student came up to me and said, "Mrs. Miller, you might want to make sure that Mr. Miller is here when you deliver your baby. He (the student) doesn't always pay attention very well in class and who really knows if he was paying attention to how to deliver a baby - something bad could happen!"

LOL! I had no idea my "kids" were so concerned about how this whole thing is going to work!! I reassured them that IF I was at school when it was time, I would be able to get to the hospital for a doctor to deliver the baby since it is only about 2 minutes from the school.

Now, I hope I don't have nightmares about delivering in my classroom! :)

16 weeks...

Not much to report here...

I had a check-up last Tuesday that was fairly uneventful. We listened to the heartbeat again. My Dr. says it's on the "slower" end of baby heartbeats - and according to my mom that means a girl...yet, with the way I have popped all out in front she is leaning toward a boy...we shall see! Either way, I'm feeling huge and look way too big for 16 weeks...big baby?? Oh dear!

I have a 19 week checkup at the end of May. At this appointment I get to schedule the big ultrasound during which we will hopefully find out what we are having (as well as check all the major organs) .

Hip Hip Hooray! - I haven't thrown up since last Wednesday morning and I don't miss it one bit!

Baby Miller's First Photoshoot

This weekend we visited the bay area...and while down my sister decided that she was still not convinced that I am only carrying one baby. Here in Mt. Shasta I only get one ultrasound - at 20 weeks...and she couldn't wait.

Apparently I look huge for 13 weeks?

I'll try not to take it personally. After all, I've only gained 2 pounds from my starting weight at 4 weeks along.

One of the perks of being a labor and delivery nurse is that she was able to ask a midwife that she works with to "scan" me and check. So, on Friday night at 10:30 Julie and her hubby, Reece & I went in and had an ultrasound done.

There is only one baby...one adorable baby :) Hopefully we'll be able to find out if it is a boy or girl at the end of May/beginning of June.

Must all good things really come to an end?

Not much is new around our neck of the woods...except, that while all my friends and family are enjoying lovely, warm, spring-like weather, it was snowing again in Mt. Shasta today...ugh. Don't get me wrong, I love the snow, however, being the bay area born and raised girl that I am, I am aching for warmth at this point!

Now to help you understand the title of this post. Last week was spring break for my school and it was delightful! To be able to take a nap whenever "baby" was wearing me out, eat whenever "baby" said it's time, and being able to just plain relax was wonderful! In a total of 7.5 days off, I think I only threw up three times altogether! That was the more wonderful part. However, today I had to go back to work....and it seems I am back to my regular routine of running home on break to puke. :(

I have decided that work makes me sick.

The word is out!

Well, it's official! We wanted to wait until we heard our sweet baby's heartbeat before we announced anything "publically" and WOW was it difficult keeping secret!

Yesterday at 4pm we had the long awaited appointment and I had no idea how exciting it would be! To wait for weeks in prayer and anticipation and then to finally get to hear our baby - this sweet blessing that only God could give!! I couldn't wait to rush home and share the news!

Today, I told my students and they were so excited! "Is it a boy or a girl?" "What are you going to name it?" "You don't look pregnant - where's the baby?" "Will we get to meet him/her?" "Can we come to your baby shower?" "Does it hurt when it kicks you?" "Can I feel your tummy?" Needless to say it was a challenge trying to get them to focus on academics today! After lunch a student said, "Mrs. Miller, I can see your baby - your belly is growing!" I could sense them staring at the mid-region all day hoping to see something amazing. :) One boy even slyly put his hand on my stomach as they were leaving the room for lunch - as he left I overheard him telling the other boys - "that baby is strong - like superman - Mrs. Miller's tummy is so hard!" :P

Here is the 11 week photo for my non-facebook friends :)

His Plan - and we wouldn't have it any other way!

I've been working on starting a blog for some time now...and now is as good a time as any!

Ever since I was a little girl asked to memorize this verse in Sunday school it has been one of my favorites. A constant reminder that God is in control!

Now, more than ever, Reece and I look back at the past few years and see how God has guided each one of our steps to lead us where He wants us. His plans have always prevailed over the many that we have made - and we are so grateful for His goodness!

We had it all planned out, once again. All up until Thursday, February 19th, that is. It was just like any other day until right in the middle of teaching a math lesson I thought for sure I was going to be sick. I'd been fighting off a cold from the weekend prior so I didn't think anything of it - and I was able to hold it in being the expert puker that I am (for those of you that are worried at this point - mucous makes me sick - and with my allergies as bad as they are....well, I am quite experienced in the art of vomiting...yuck!).

I went through the rest of the school day snacking on a cracker here and there in attempt to settle my stomach. That evening, while Reece was out proctoring the EMT class, the thought crossed my mind that I had lost track of time...and well...yeah. So, I had an old, expired pregnancy test in the bathroom drawer and didn't expect anything to come of it but figured I'd at least make sure that I was legitimately ill (so as to call in sick for the following day of work). You can imagine my shock when it turned out to be positive. I took a picture just to be sure (and so I could later show Reece). For the remainder of the evening I checked and re-checked the calendar...apparently it's easy to lose track when you're as busy as we are! The next day I bought a new test - a different brand just to be absolutely sure - and it was again positive.

Reece got home that evening and I asked him if he wanted to see what I had been up to. He did as I knew he would, so I gave him the camera. When he turned it on to view the images, he stopped, looked at me with the most surprised face I've ever seen and asked "are you pregnant?!!!!?" "I think that's what that means," I replied.

How can this be?! We had not planned this. We had, in fact, been planning the exact opposite. I was going to work another year, we were saving to buy property, build a home, and THEN start our family.

But, as we have learned over and over again, God has plans that are often different than ours and better than anything we could come up with!

A new addition to the Miller family should be arriving near the end of October, 2009! Thank you for your prayers and rejoicing with us during this time!!

----------------------

I quickly learned all I wanted to know about the joys of morning sickness - and feel blessed (ok, maybe "blessed" is not quite the right word) to be among those that are not just sick in the morning - but all day. I have been rarely able to keep any breakfast or lunch down - and dinner only manages to stay in most times because I can lay down afterward. Vomiting 3-5 times a day is getting old really fast! It is truly exhausting and I'll be delighted when this stage is over.

If anyone is ever in need of a list of food ratings, I can accurately provide them with a chart of the best and worst tasting foods to throw up...not really something I am proud of.