Cole is coming...next week!!!

Well, I went to the doctor today for my 37th week check up...hard to believe I am already 37 weeks!! My BP was still up, so Dr Lyman took me out of work and drew some lab work. He told me based on my lab results, we were either going to have a baby this week or next week. Holy Crap...we're having a baby...really soon!!! Well, they called me back and the lab work came back fine, so we are going to meet Cole next week...Holy Crap..unless he decides to come a little sooner. Dr Lyman still has me taking my ctx medication, because he will be out of town this weekend, therefore, Cole really needs to cooperate this week. I really want Dr Lyman to deliver me. Please say lots of prayers for us. I'm going to try to enjoy my last week of freedom by myself. If anyone has any good chic flicks or any good movie for that matter, please send it my way!
Until next time....
All our love,
Nicole, Dean, and Cole

Drum Roll Please!!!

First of all, I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and will have a Happy and Safe New Year. Time is sneaking up on us so fast...it's hard to believe we will be having a baby, pretty much any time now! :) I am going through all kinds of emotions right now...excited, scared, ready (is ready even an emotion???), nervous, just to name a few. Everything is pretty much ready, we just need to put a few things on the wall and pick up a few odds and ends..not necessities to bring a baby home. I will keep everyone posted and how the next few weeks go either by blog, phone, or texts...are you ready???

Now for the drum roll...It took a lot of praying and discussions, but we finally came up with a name for the baby. I never thought it would be so difficulty to name a child. Anytime parent(s) would come in to have their babies and they say they don't know what the name is yet, I never understood it...now I do. It's a life long commitment, that someone else may have to suffer. It was much easier to commit to getting married! We had to think about any cruel names that other little kids could call him..how it would sound if he was in trouble :), saint names, and many other things. You must be thinking get on with it already..... :)..........

...............Nikolas Steve Bitzas!!!! For short, we will call him Cole!

Get ready friends and family, Cole will be here before we know it!
Until next time...
All our love,
Nicole and Dean

35 Weeks!!! Almost cooked!

I went to the doctor today and we are coming to an end. Everything looks pretty good. My blood pressure was up a little bit, but when the doctor retook it, it was fine. He wants me to monitor it the next two days and report back to him. I don't have any of the other symptoms for preeclampsia, so he isn't that concerned.
My cervix is officially open....1cm. We are well on our way. Hopefully it will continue opening like it is supposed to! He is still growing right on target. I asked Dr Lyman how big he thought the baby was and he said 6lbs...but he also said that little girls tend to have big babies and they hide him well. So Krista, you and Dean might actually be right about an 8 pounder...he better come out from below :)
I'm sorry about being so slack with blogging. When I'm not working, all I want to do is sleep...I am so exhausted. I'm still looking for this burst of energy! I'm also sorry for no pictures..still can't get it to work.
Until next time...
All our love,
Nicole and Dean

Fear this!!

As a L&D nurse, I know that most of the time when a woman has a baby the doctor has to break the water. Hence, most people's does not beak on it's own. Well, that's not what Nicole thinks!!! I was lying on my couch on day chilling out and all of a sudden this fear came over me that my water was going to break while I was on my couch....That would SUCK...BIG TIME!! Well, I went to work one night and told the girls about my new found fear (I've had a lot of them throughout this pregnancy). Well, one of my colleagues brought to my attention that when her daughter was pregnant, her fear was that her's would break in the bed...I didn't even think about that:). She proceeds to tell me that she placed a shower curtain liner on top of her mattress. Sounds like a GREAT idea. So, I went to the dollar tree to buy a $1 shower curtain liner. I washed the sheets, placed the liner on the bed and remade the bed. A few hours later, we went to bed..and a few hours later, I woke up sweating like a PIG!!! It was pretty gross and now I know why they say plastic is a good insulator. I will keep that in mind when I am stuck in the mountains during a snow storm!!! Needless to say, I had to do something to fix the situation, so I placed the liner under the matress pad...that worked out much better!! As for my couch, I have some chux pads from the hospital that I use....I also have some in my car, just in case :)
Until Next time...
All our love,
Nicole and Dean

2 more weeks have flown by!!!

First of all, I hope everyone had a GREAT Thanksgiving!! I know our family did! It's hard to believe Christmas is right around the corner...which means Baby Bitzas is right around the corner too!
I had my 33 week appointment on Monday and everything went well. Heartbeat is still good and growing right on target. I meant to ask Dr Lyman how big he thought he might be, but I forgot. I'm hoping he isn't as big as Dean thinks he is going to be. We started a pool with the family on when they think the baby will be born and how much he is going to weigh, and Dean seems to think he is going to be 8lbs 12ozs....He does realizes that the baby does need to come out, doesn't he?? Anyway, I go back to the doctor in two weeks and then I start seeing him weekly.
I'm sorry to say that for some reason, I can't get the pictures to upload. I'm not sure what is going on. I guess you guys will just have to come to the house to see the nursery. I will continue to try though, I promise.
As I approach then end of my pregnancy, my dreams have become more fears then anything. I guess everything is starting to become such a reality now. I've had dreams that I slept all night without getting up to feed the baby....I had no cloths that fit him (which is rediculous, b/c I have so many!!)...I didn't know how to give him a bath....and that the doctor completely butchered his circumcision. They were really nightmares, not dreams. I'm sure this is all natural...no bad dreams about delivery yet :).
Until next time...
All our love,
Nicole and Dean

30 week doctors appointment

I went to the doctor last Friday and everything is going well. It's hard to believe that we are already 31 weeks. It has gone by so fast and I know the last few weeks will continue to go fast as well. The baby is still growing right on target and the heartbeat was 147 with an accel. An accel is an increase in the baby's heartbeat above it's baseline. It is very positive...it is a sign of a very happy baby! He still moves around like crazy. I'm beginning to think he already has ADHA. I'm not complaining though, I absolutely love watching and feeling him move. I'm sure I will miss it when he comes out (except when he kicks my bladder, no accidents yet!!). Every once in a while he will move or stretch..or whatever he is doing, and it doesn't really feel good. It actually hurts.
I have been dealing with sciatica on my right side for the past couple of weeks. That is no fun at all. There are times at work that I really want to go to my knees. I had asked Dr. Lyman if there was anything I can do about it...and basically not. I just have to rest and put heat on it. That is unfortunately difficult to do at work. I go back to on Dec 1st when I'm 33 weeks!!!
Until next time...
All our love,
Nicole and Dean

We're well on our way....

We have blue walls, a crib, and a dresser...oh yeah, and a new fan!!! We accomplished all of that without one single tiff. Dean did a GREAT job painting (he hates to paint and really tried to get out of doing it)! Once he finished, we started on the fan. The directions really weren't making sense to us, so we decided to take a break and eat. It's amazing how much easier it was for us to put it together with a little brain power.



Then it was time to move on to the crib. I was thinking it was going to be a nightmare, but it was actually the easiest thing we have ever put together. The only tool needed was an allen wrench and that came with the crib. I know it took less than 30 mins to put it together...and it looks beautiful!! The dresser, even easier..I just had to turn the knobs around and put the shelf in the cabinet:) All we have left is to put the glider together and the other dresser. Then we just have to fill it with clothes, other essentials and a baby!! It won't be much longer:)!



Oh, I forgot, we also put up closet doors. That was pretty tedious because our house has settled and they are so not even..but we have doors!

Unfortunately, I cannot get pictures to upload to the blog. I'm not really sure what is going on. I have a ton of nursery pictures and new belly pictures. I will continue to keep trying so be on the lookout.

Until next time...
All our love,
Nicole and Dean

Keeping a promise...

Time flies when you go to the doctor every two weeks (although my appointment was cancelled this week, so I go next week) and the holidays around the corner. I only have approximately 8 weeks left to go. Therefore, we need to get things rolling on the nursery. Not only the fact that we don't have much time left, but Dean promised my Aunt Lisa that it would be finished by the time she came down for Thanksgiving. Which means, only THREE WEEKS!!!!!

Well, we started yesterday on the painting..Dean did most of it ( i wore my face mask and helped do the cutting in..there's no way I wouldn't be able to not do ANYTHING). It started off with Unlce Van coming over to help Dean move all the furniture (that is still in the boxes) out of the room ( yes they are now in our kitchen). I covered the entire room with these drop clothes (new carpet) and then plastic over that. Dean then tackled the spackled ceiling. For any of you that have a spackled ceiling and attempted to paint it, know what I mean. He actually got away with only one spot peeling off ( I think it was from my great advice on how to paint it, after much experience doing the whole house) :))

Onto the walls...for those of you that don't know we have white and red walls in the room. Well, we bought primer to go over the red walls...and it didn't work. It looked like water paint. We decided to see what the paint actually looked like over the red and it completely covered it. So, we took a trip back to the store to buy the gallon of paint that we needed (thinking we will just skip the primer). We asked the paint lady why the primer didn't work and she informed us that we needed a gray primer to go over red..not the blue (since the walls are blue) that the other paint guy told us to get. Of course we didn't bring the primer with us, so we will need to make another trip to the store...anyway... We went to dinner and came home to paint the white walls (we don't need to prime those walls) with the paint color. It looks GREAT!!!

I hate to say it, but my computer is acting up and I can't get the pictures to upload onto the page, so please check back for the pictures. I will also be posting a new belly picture..it's getting BIG!

Until next time..
With love,
Nicole and Dean

Too Much to Drink

I think the baby has gone a little overboard on the drinking of the amniotic fluid. Lately, I have noticed some "rythmic spasms", if you will. So I got my book "what to expect when your expecting" book out (ok, it's really Elisha's book..thanks girl..i'm almost done with it!!) and read up on it. It says right there in black and white..hiccups. Some babies have them and some don't. It appears that ours does. In fact, quite often...3 times today. I'm not complaining..it's all a good sign. Babies are supposed to drink the fluid and then pee it out. It'skinda gross if you think about it, but it actually helps them get a lot of their organs ready for "Life"! GOD is absolutely AMAZING!!
Yiasou Baby Bitzas!!

Until next time..
All our love,
Nicole and Dean

Moving Right Along

So I went to the doctor today for my 28 week check up. I wasn't supposed to go until Monday, but I had a run of contractions on Thursday night, so I went in today instead. Everything looks good. My cervix is still closed (thank goodness)! I told Dr Lyman I've had two rough weeks at work, which could be what has contributed to the run of contractions. He told me I needed to rest when I'm not working and to try to break up my work week, instead of working my 3 days in a row. If that doesn't work, I may need to go to part time or be taken out of work all together. We can't have that.
The baby's heartbeat was 159bpm and he was moving around like crazy. This is nothing new to me, but Dr. Lyman got a kick out of it. He told me it sounded like I have a soccer player growing because of how hard he kicked. Dean and I decided he will be a punter instead of a soccer player...sorry Uncle Jeffrey!
He measured my belly and the baby is growing right on target 28cm. As you can all see below....I am growing!


I'm starting to get to the uncomfortable stages of pregnancy. My back is starting to hurt and I occasionally have difficulties getting off the couch, out of the bed (if I sleep in it), or out of the car. I keep telling Dean if I'm having so much trouble now, I'm pretty much screwed at the end :)! I'm exhausted all the time. I probably haven't slept a full 8 hours in weeks. (actually, I did the other night b/c I took some benedryl) Everyone at work keeps telling me it's God's way of preparing me for the baby. I can accept that, but can't he wait another month for that???
Other than that, things are going well. We still haven't finalized a name yet. This is a decision that really worries me...actually, it scares me. I've been practicing saying some of the names and writing them, to see what I like. To be continued!!
I start going to the doctor every two weeks from now until the end..that should really make the last 10 weeks go fast. Plus, we have the holiday's coming, which is going to make it go even faster... We don't have much time..

Until next time....
All our love,
Nicole and Dean

Let the decorating begin!!

So this has been an abosolute nightmare to get this furiniture uploaded to the blog...it was worth it though, because I wanted everyone to see what the nursery is going to look like ( a start anyway)!! I ordered the bedding online from JCPenny with my fingers crossed that I was going to like the outcome. I was really worried about what the colors were actually going to look like. Well, I love it!! The more I look at it the more I love it :).

Here is what The Bedding looks like!!!

The colors are not as bright as they look in the picture. I think we are going to go with the light blue for the wall color and accent with the other two colors. Dean said he didn't want to walk into a room that looks like puke green :)

The next few pictures are of the furniture that we got. The first picture is of the glider. It is so comfortable and I'm sure I will be spending a lot of time in it feeding the little one. I went with a neutral, just in case baby #2 is a girl. The frame of it is black.

The Glider

Oh yeah, the ottoman glides also!! Pretty cool!

The next picture is of the crib. Pretty much all the cribs they make are are convertable cribs, meaning that they convert to a toddler bed and a full size bed. We decided to go with black because it can work for either sex, agian, if baby #2 is a girl...

The Crib

Next we have the chest. Not too much to say about that. It's a pretty basic chest!

The Chest!!

The last piece of furniture is a dresser and changing table combo. It doesn't look like your standard changing table, so it can grow with the baby. That is if we decide not to use the same furniture for the second baby.

The changing table/dresser

I found a picture of the furniture all together (excluding the glider). It's a little difficult to see the detail, that's why I put the individual pictures up. It will give you some idea of how it all looks together.

The Furniture!!

I'll make sure I take pictures of the transformation! It's all starting to become very real. I was telling my friend Janine when we were picking up the furniture the other day " i never thought this day would come when we were bringing home baby furniture". Pretty soon it's going to be " i never thougth this day would come when we were bringing home a baby!!!"

Until next time...

With love,

Nicole and Dean

ps. Janine and Craig, thank you so much for helping us pick up the furniture!!

24 weeks and growing!!!

It's hugh, I can barely see my feet!!! I can not believe how much he and I have grown in the last few weeks. It is absolutely crazy. I'm learning that I'm going to be in big trouble in about a month and a half and on. It's already becoming a challange to get out of bed or out of the car. AND the belly already gets in the way of everything! I wouldn't change it for the world...especially if it means he is smart and I am dumb :)!!! I do want to thank God for making me all baby at this point ( I know it is liable to change). My hips and butt actually look a little small....this will probably be the only time I ever say that again ;)

Until next time....
With love,
Nicole and Dean

Way to go PANCREAS!!!

I need not work the night of and the follow two after my doctors appoinments..it causes a late blog. First off, I'm VIABLE!! 24 weeks is considered viable, meaning the baby has a chance (one I don't want to take) and the neonatologists will attempt to sustain life if delivered. Even though it is a hugh milestone in pregnancy, it's not one you want to tempt fate with. Babies this early have a very slip chance of a living a normal healthy life, if they even live at all.
Everything went well at the appointment. I had my 1hour glucola for the gestational diabetes, and everything came back normal!! YAY!!!!! For all you mom's to be or people who know mom's to be, to me, the drink is not as bad as everyone says. The hardest part is having to drink it in 5min....on an empty stomach :(. I'd like to give kudos to my pancrease for providing the insulin I need to enjoy my sweet tooth cravings!!
On the not so good side, I gained 6 pounds in 3 weeks. I imagine it was all the food we ate when Grandma and Grandpa Fassl were here, and all the sweets I craved the week before my appointment (just incase I was diabetic and wouldn't be allowed to eat it anymore:) ). I know I'm supposed to gain weight, but 6 pounds in 3 weeks was a little shocking, considering I have only gained 6 pounds since becoming pregnant. The nurse did tell me that this appointment or the next one at 28 weeks is usually the time where you see a big weight gain..Lord I hope I don't gain another 6 pounds...I'll be huge by the end of the pregnancy.
The baby's heartrate was 159 beats per minute and strong. Dr Lyman measured my stomach, to make sure he was growing properly. The measurement should me right around the number of weeks gestation you are. Since I'm 24 weeks, it should measure 24cm. Well it was right on. Dr Lyman says "He's a smart baby, he is the exact size he should be." I responded with "He better be smart because he is sucking everything out of me." I didn't realize pregnancy can make you so ditzy and forgetfull and clueless sometimes.
I go back in 4 weeks when I'm 28 weeks. I probably won't wait that long to post pictures of the growing belly, because it is growing like crazy now. Plus it is time to start getting the nursery together, so I will be taking lots of pictures of the transformation!!
Until next time..
With love,
Nicole and Dean

Calling all "hands on the belly" lovers

It's probably pretty normal, but I feel like I have a gymnast, karate master, swimmer, soccer player, aerobics instructer, and yoga instructer in my stomache! This child is off the chain (I guess he gets that from me). He is finally doing all his moves hard enough for everyone to feel, you have to be quick though. Dean finally felt him last week (thank god. I think he was starting to get a complex..plus I was probably driving him crazy b/c I kept saying come here, he is kicking). He had his hand on my stomach and all of a sudden, you would have thought Dean saw a ghost:). His mouth dropped and eyes wide open. He goes "I felt him". It was priceless!!

I included yoga instructer to the list b/c I can feel him stretching and turning in all kinds of weird positions. The other night, I was laying on the couch and all of a sudden I felt this really weird sensation..I looked down and there he was, all on my right side...the left side of my stomach was practically flat. It was the craziest looking thing. I'm loving it (most of the time, sometimes it hurts)!!

Not much else going on. I feel pretty good! I have my next doctors appoinment on Monday. I'm not really excited about getting on the scale..I'm sure I gained 5lbs with all the food we ate last week when Grandma and Grandpa Fassl were here!! Plus, I have been craving sweets this week...kinda weird, b/c I really haven't been having too many cravings. I will let you know how it goes, and of course post a picture!

Until next time...

With Love,

Nicole and Dean

Dean's in for a rude awakening!!!

Dean really has no clue what we are about to get into...I may not either for that fact, but especially Dean. We were at walmart the other day and I had a coupon for diapers (it was about to expire), so I told Dean lets go ahead and get some. He couldn't understand why I would want to buy diapers when I'm only 5 months. I told him if we buy some here and there, especially if we have a coupon, it would help out for when he comes. Again, he couldn't understand why..he says "how many diapers are we going to go through? Like 4 a day, right" He has NO IDEA...He may change 4 a day (if I'm lucky) and I may change 4 and yia yia may change 4 and.... For anyone who would like to give Dean a little friendly advice (I'll take it too), please do!!
Until next time..
With love,
Nicole

21 weeks and getting bigger!!!

Sorry it has been a while since my last blog. I have been busy getting back into the swing of work after being off for a week. I went to the doctor last monday and got a pretty good bill of health. He increased my daily medication to every 6 hours instead of every 8 ( this is the medication to calm down the contractions) and added a weekly shot of progesterone. The progesterone will also help with contractions..after all, it's the hormone of pregnacny!! They also measured my cervix and it's within normal limits...thank goodness. I go back in 3 weeks (from the last appointment), I will be 24 weeks...yay VIABILITY!!!! This is the appointment they check for gestational diabetes by doing a test called 1 hour glucola. I have to drink this really thick orange sugary drink and then they will draw my blood an hour later. Hopefully, my body will produce enough insulin to handle all that glucose. If it doesn't, I will have to do a repeat test called a 3 hour glucola. I will update you on how delicious/gross the drink is and the results after the next appoinment!

Well, here's my next belly picture...21 weeks and 3 days. I got a lot of responses from my last picture about not looking as big in person as I did in the picture. So, I'm not really sure what you guys will think about this one. I almost think I look smaller in this picture than the last...who knows, maybe it's the angle. Regardless, I'm growing and enjoying it!



Grandma and Grandpa Fassl are coming to visit on Monday for the week, I'm really excited. We'll take lots of pictures (maybe I can even get a few of daddy in them) and I'll update you on the week.

Until next time....
With Love,
Nicole and Dean

PS. for everyone who is wondering, no names yet! We'll let you know!

I figured it out, thanks to Uncle Jeff!!

Yay!!!! As it turns out, I have been uploading the picture right for a while...my computer just sucks. None the less, here's my big belly (althought, everyone says I'm small). This picture was taken the same day as my doctors appointment for my ultrasound. In it, I'm 18 weeks and 3 day...as of today I'm 20 weeks and 2 days. We'll continue to take pictures before all doctors appointments, and now that I know what I'm doing, I'll post them on time.

I want to thank all of you for your prayers and concerns in response to our trip to L&D. I probably didn't make it clear in the blog that everything is OK. Lord knows if it wasn't ok I wouldn't just put it in a blog. I'll try to be a little more.......can't think of the word....next time!

Until next time...

With love,

Nicole and Dean

20wks and a trip 2 LD

So, on Sunday I just wasn't feeling "good", but I wasn't really sure what was wrong. Since Saturday night I couldn't stop going to the bathroom and all day on Sunday. It was like every 15-30 minutes (obnoxious). Not only that, but I felt like the baby kept balling up in my side. You would think as a L&D nurse I would know what that ment. Anyway, a little while later it went away, so I thought nothing of it. Later on that night, it all started over. This time, it wasn't just the baby balling up in one side...it was my whole stomach. I thought, surely it couldn't be contractions....I'm only 20 weeks. It was about 1:00am. I called up at work and talked to one of my coworkers, who happened to be pregnant. She too started contracting at 21 weeks. We talked for about a half hour and she finally convinced me to call the doctor. Wasn't really wanting to do that because it was 1:40 in the morning by this point and we just thought it was a UTI. Well, I broke down and called him (thank god it was my doctor). He too initially thought it was a UTI ( which can cause contractions (ctx)) and was getting ready to call in a script. Well, I happened to have another ctx while on the phone with him, he decided I needed to just go into the hospital. So, 2:15 in the morning I was on the way to Richland...as a patient. What a whole new perspective of L&D. It was the normal routine as if I was working, only I was in the bed...getting everything done to me. Turns out, I was indeed ctxing...but no UTI. The baby was very active and his heartrate was in the 150's, thank goodness something positive! After a whole bag of IV fluids and some medication that makes you feel like you want to climb the wall, the ctxs went away. After all that, my doctor showed up, did his little thing, and sent me home with 3 scripts. Good news is, my cervix was closed!! That was the best news I heard all night. Oh yeah, he also put me on bedrest for the rest of the week. Which means no work for me until Saturday. Holy crap, what am I going to do???? I guess I will just take advantage of it. I just continue to pray to God everyday and thank him today that everything was OK!!
I still can't figure out how to upload pictures. I have a great picture of my belly from when I was 18 weeks. Just tried again and I can't figure it out. If anyonw knows how, Please let me know.
Until next time...
With love,
Nicole and Dean

It's A.......

So we had our 18 week anatomy ultrasound and the baby is absolutely perfect. Everything that is supposed to be there is there! Thank God Again!!! So this is another side picture of the baby. The head is to the left and the body goes off to the right. I think that is the cord that is above the abdomen. Again the little had is by the face.

The next picture is another side view with the arm in the air! You can't see the sillouhette of the face as much, but the bones in the arm are very prominent. Ultrasounds are amazing!

The next one is a dead giveaway of what it is........At first the baby wouldn't cooperate, due to having it's legs crossed. I was ok with that. I had already prayed and said if it didn't cooperate, it was just god telling me I needed it to be a surprise ( since I wasn't 100% about finding out). A little while late, the technician goes..oh there it is, plain as day. IT'S A BOY!!!! I figured it was going to be a boy, because he is so rambunctuous (is that how you spell it???)

I saved the best for last. They can do 3D/4D ultrasound now, where it actually shows extreme detail of the baby. It was absolutely amazing. The only downfall is, if it isn't caught at the right angle, it looks like a big blob/alien. Well, the baby had his hands over his face for a good bit of the 3D/4D part. You can see him move his hands all over his face, like he was scratching it or something ( or like I told Dean hiding his face like his daddy used to do for pictures). Anywho, he finally cooperated and we got a good shot. I have to agree with my last comment, I think he has my nose!

God is absolutely awesome and we are so thankful!! We can't wait to meet our son and begin our new journey as parents! Now that we know what he is, we can procede with preparing for his arrival. I can't wait to go shopping!! Actually, Dean and I already did last night. I wanted to get a little something to remind us of this special day. We bought a blue blanket that says "thank heaven for little boys". We haven't really talked about names yet, but we'll be sure to keep you posted when we decide.

I want to thank everyone for their prayers and support. Unfortunately what I do at work doesn't help with my nerves and our previous pregnancy can wear on me at times. But I guess I wouldn't be a good mom if I didn't worry about my child. All I can do is remember that this is my pregnancy, not my patients. Also, I'm keeping my faith, God will deliver! We just ask that you continue to keep us in your prayers!

Until next time...

With love,

Dean and Nicole

It Has Finally Happened!!

Well, I fianally had to break down and buy some maternity pants. Yep, the stomach is growing and regular cloths aren't fitting. From what I understand, I should be pretty thankful that I was almost 18 weeks by the time I had to start wearing them...none the less, I am wearing them. I went to target, and found a pair of shorts and a pair of capris. They are actually cute and comfy (maternity clothes cute and comfy, who knew). I'm hoping I will get a good bit of wear out of them, fingers crossed. I did buy these bella bands when I was in florida, they are ok. They are supposed to help keep preprego jeans up, so you can unbutton them. So, I bought a white and a black one...figuring they will go with anything. The white one seemed to work out ok, but the black one..not so much. We went to church last sunday (nothing fit) four outfits later, I had to use the bella band. After church, we went to lunch with the family and I honestly thought it was cutting off my circulation. I was soooo uncomfortable. I'll give it another try, everything and everybody deserves a second chance!!

As soom as I figure it out, I will upload the pictures of the growing belly. It is growing and the baby is kicking!! Who knows, I may have a gymnast in me....when I was looking back at the posts, the FIRST kick was on the opening day of the olympics :).

I may post before then, but be sure to check out the blog at the end of the week if you want to know what we are having!

Until next time...

All our love,

Nicole and Dean

I Think that was a KICK!!!

So, I woke up last night at 330 to go to the bathroom and couldn't go back to sleep..not again :( I worked 3 days in a row and I think that puts me on a night schedule. I guess I will have to seperate my days. Anyways, I got up and made a bagel and got on the computer for a few hours. About 600, I decided to try to go back to sleep. I got into bed and I was lying on my left side, but more on my stomach. Well, I kept feeling these weird sensations in my stomach. I thought I had felt the same things the other night, but I didn't think anything of it, for a couple of reasons. 1~ You can feel movement beginning at 16 weeks, but my doctor told me I probably wouldn't feel anything until around 20 weeks, because it's my first pregnancy. 2~ I've been feeling so many weird sensations with growing, gas and whatever else is going on in there, that I thought it was in my head. Well, I was falling asleep and I couldn't get comfy, so I turned to my back and placed my hand on my stomach in the same area I felt the sensation ( not sure why, I was convinced it was in my head). A few minutes later I swear I felt a kick. It was at 614 in the morning, and quite frankly, it scared the crap out of me :). It was really weird. I didn't feel much after that, but I also went to sleep. When Dean was leaving for work, I couldn't wait to tell him! It's starting to become so real for both of us. I think at this point, the kicks are so subtle that I will really have to lie still and focus on my stomach. I'll keep you guys posted!!
Until next time...
With love,
Nicole and Dean

I'm Getting Good at This!!

Yay!! I am finally getting a better at posting these pictures. I know how to scan a picture and upload it, but I can't figure out how to upload them from my camera. I've taken a couple pictures of the growing belly. The size of the belly depends on what I ate that day :)! I can definitely tell my uterus is growing, it is almost to my belly button! So the first picture is amazing!!! It is a silhouette of the babies face towards the left of the picture with the body going towards the right. The little moon shape above the face is the hand..it was waving to me!! It's kinda hard to tell, but I think the baby has my nose :)!! Absolutely amazing.

The second picture is amazing also! This is a picture of the back. It may be a little harder to make out, since it is small. The round object on the right of the picture is the back of the head. The back goes off to the left and up. You can actually see the spine, which is so cool!

I hope you have enjoyed the current pictures and I can't wait to show you the next set. I have my 18 week ultrasound in two weeks from today. They do a full body and anatomy scan to make sure all the parts are there. We also have an option of finding out what the sex of the baby is. It's still up in the air what we are going to do, but I think we are leaning towards finding out. Actually, I'm leaning towards finding out...Dean doesn't really care. I don't know what to do, but I have two weeks to figure it out.

As far as what it is, we just want a healthy baby. About half of people think it's a boy and the other half think it's a girl. What's your guess???

Until next time...

With love,

Nicole and Dean

The Glorious Second Trimester

Thank God for second trimesters!! I thought I was never going to live through the first. All I wanted to do was sleep. Unfortunately, it didn't even matter if Dean was off...I wanted to sleep. Thank goodness he is laid back and understanding. Although, he was probably a little happy about not dealing with my grumpy and emotional self. Enough about the first trimester...I feel like a totally different person now. I have energy and I can sleep through the night!!! :) I am learning about a few new symptoms of pregnancy...indigestion. I'll take it any day over the fatigue. I've also been noticing foods that aren't settling well. Unfortunately for me that's not good..considering I'm already a picky eater.
So I am still learning how to put pictures in the blogs..I think I may have figured "a way" out. Although, it is probably the more difficult way. So the first picture I was able to put in was from my first ultrasound at 8 weeks. It doesn't look like much right there, but it is growing!!! I went to the doctor the other day and had another ultrasound. As soon as I figure out how I got this ultrasound up, I will upload the new ones.

Until next time...
With love,
Nicole and Dean

Due Date

So, as we have been getting phone calls, texts, and emails of congratulations, the biggest question is......WHAT IS THE DUE DATE?? Ok, so if you don't already know, pregnancy makes you really ditzy and forgetful!! Anywho, due date is JAN 19th, 2009. I would also like to take this time to thank everyone for all their prays and well wishes, I know we will need them. Well, it's time to go to bed, I have to work again tonight.
Until next time!
With love,
Nicole and Dean

It's true...we're having a BABY!!!

Life has been an emotional roller coaster for the last two months. We found out in the middle of may that I was pregnant. I couldn't have been more excited! At the same time, I was really nervous. The last thing Dean or I wanted was for this pregnancy to end the way the last one did. I put my faith in the lord and prayed everyday for him to nurture me and the baby. I made it past the much dreaded 8 week mark and am getting ready to start my second trimester/4th month!

Let me bring you up to date . I have a doctor that has been absolutely wonderful. We started with early blood tests and ultrasounds. We actually saw the baby and the heartbeat at 6 weeks. Then, I had a repeat ultrasound at 8 weeks and there was still a baby and a heartbeat. The best thing was, the baby was measuring exactly 8 weeks!! Now it was getting past the 12 week mark.

I had an appointment this friday (13weeks and 4 days) that I was pretty anxious about. Guess what???? We heard the heartbeat with the doppler, it was 150bpm!!! I felt like a ton of bricks had been removed from my shoulders.

Now, let me tell you about these "pregnancy symptoms". Nausea, bloated, EXCESSIVE urination, EXCESSIVE eating, emotional basketcase (like I needed any more emotional problems), and insomnia. Actually, there are a few more, but I will spare you the details :).

I have not slept at night in over two months, this probably has a lot to do with working night shift also. It's getting a little ridiculous, but I'm PREGNANT! God is awesome!

Blogging seems to be the new thing and I thought it would be a good way to keep everyone updated on the pregnancy, especially our family and friends far away. I'm still learning how to do all this blogging stuff. I think I have the posting part down, but I can't figure out how to put pictures on it. Don't worry, I will figure it out so you guys can watch me and the baby grow!
Until next time...
With love,
Nicole and Dean