Lila Grace is GROWING!

Ok, ok, I know...I've been so totally slack on this whole baby blog thing...and boy has a lot changed since my last post!

I'm now almost 25 weeks along! I'm doing well and our baby girl seems to be doing great as well! We decided on a name for her...Lila Grace. Lila is Laurin's mom's aunt's name and Grace is my middle name and also the name of my mom's mom who I never met. My mom LOVED that name! It will be a double name as long as it sticks...we'll just see how that goes. We couldn't be happier with the name and everyone we tell seems to love it too.

Lila Grace sure is an active girl! It has been so fun to feel her grow stronger and stronger the past few weeks. Laurin has been the only one other than me to feel her kick from the outside and he's felt her about 3 times now. It's crazy because sometimes I can see my whole tummy jump! I absolutely LOVE feeling her move and bounce around...it's so reassuring and joyful. Of course when she jumps and shoves my bladder (one of her favorite things to do) then that's not so fun...but I still get a kick out of it (if you'll pardon the pun)!

I feel like I'm getting huge! According to the scales at the OB's office I haven't gained but about 7lbs since getting pregnant...but good Lord to I feel and look like I've gained much more than that! I've outgrown everything. Fortunately my dad gave me a good gift certificate to my favorite maternity clothes place and a few days ago I was able to stock up on some good basics. Speaking of shopping...we did register about a month ago at Babies R Us and boy was that fun and crazy! I'm so excited for everything that we chose and I think Lila Grace will be very happy with our decisions. A few weeks ago, Laurin's parents were kind enough to buy us our convertible crib set! It's beautiful. We decided to go with a white, wooden crib that can convert into a toddler bed and then eventually a full bed. They also bought us a nice mattress. It was so generous of them and we will be forever grateful as I'm sure their little granddaughter will be!

Our new house is coming along great! We are still on target for moving in in the end of January! Everything is moving very quickly with it...painting, tiling, flooring, trimming, etc. This coming wednesday I'm taking the day off to do all our final selections including carpets, bath accessories, master bath counters, closet shelving etc. One thing that's been a little challenge for me is having the nesting instinct but not being able to nest yet! All I want to do is work on that precious nursery...soon enough I guess!

I can't believe how fast the pregnancy is going...only a few weeks until my 3rd trimester! March will be here before we know it...I'm just so excited to meet our little one and see what she looks like and everything. Just to be able to hold her and see Laurin and I in her and to see a new little piece of my mom in her. It will be so amazing...I can only imagine!

Below are some recent pictures of us...

Here we are in all our redneck glory at Halloween! And yes that is a fu man chu on Laurin...and yes it is real. It was histerical! That coverall suit I'm wearing is mine for cleaning the barn and taking care of horses in the wintertime...I could barely even get it one and you can see my belly poking out of it! It was really funny because at the party there was a girl that didn't know I was pregnant and asked me what my belly was made out of...she though it was fake and part of the costume! Too funny.

Here I am with the doggies on a hike around Lake Placid. Laurin and I got engaged November 4th, 2 years ago while on a hike in the mountains. So each year we are trying to uphold the tradition of going on a hike and going to our favorite little cafe in Travelers Rest. Obviously this year I couldn't do anything too strenuous but this walk/hike around Lake Placid at Paris Mountain State park was just perfect! The dogs enjoyed it too!

This is a picture of me, today at 24 weeks 5 days. Getting bigger and bigger!

My next pre-natal appointment is December 16th. I have to do the 1 hour glucose screening test where I'll have to drink a sugary bottle of something, wait an hour and then have a blood test. I will also see the doctor for my routine monthly check up so hopefully everything will continue to be great!

Beach at 18 Weeks

This past weekend my Dad, the in-laws, Laurin and I all went to Kiawah Island for a restful little vacation! Boy, I didn't realize how much I needed it! I didn't sleep well all last week and apparently I was more sleep-deprived than I thought. I practically slept the whole way down on friday, napped on saturday and slept half the way back on Sunday. It was WONDERFUL to have a few days where I didn't have a care in the world and I could, sleep, relax, read and spend time with the family. We all had a great time together. Another nice thing is that I can eat seafood again and actually enjoy it! During my first trimester the thought of it made me sick...I'm definitely over that! Thank goodness. Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

Another thing that has been pretty cool is that I've been feeling more and more movement from the little lady. No big kicks yet but some definite flutters and bouncing! I can't wait to see her again next week when we have the big 2nd trimester ultrasound where they do measurements from head to toe to make sure everything is progressing properly. This is also when they would have told us the sex had we not gotten so lucky a couple weeks ago! But I am glad that they will be able to confirm one more time that our little princess hasn't sprouted any extra extremities (if you know what I mean)! I will update the blog after our appointment on tuesday!

It's a GIRL!!!

So today was very serendipitous! Baby Nocks is a baby girl! I went in to the OBGYN today to get my blood drawn for my AFP test. I was talking to the nurses about the dream I had last night that I was found out I was having a girl. The ultrasound technician, Beth, was sitting there and was like, "I have a break right now, do you want to find out?" I was like, SURE, so I called Laurin to make sure he was ok with that and he was so excited we could find out early that he didn't care at all! So I called him again right before Beth told me what it was so Laurin and we did find out together even if it was over the phone. So I found out 3 weeks before I was supposed to...hooray! I will still have my 19-week ultrasound to do all the rest of the measurements because all she did today was find out the sex. I can't believe I'm having girl...I couldn't be more excited! I was convinced I was having a boy because everyone else thought I was...but surprise! I truly feel like my mom has everything to do with this...that she sent me this little gift because she wants me to have what she and I had. What a blessing!

Laurin is really happy...I was worried at first because I knew he wanted a boy really badly. But he's so excited albeit a bit overwhelmed! I can't help but think he's going to be the cutest daddy in the world...can you guys not see how precious he will be with a little girl!?

Can't wait to meet the little lady in about 5 months!

16 Weeks!

So I know it's been too long since I updated this blog...but we've been pretty busy around here.

About 3 weeks ago now we had an ultrasound for the nuchal screening test (see below). Our results were fantastic. In fact our doctor said he didn't think he'd ever seen numbers as good as ours! There's about a 1 in 18,000 chance that our baby could have a defect like Downs Syndrome. The ultrasound was so cool. Just to see that little baby, being well, a baby was such a moving experience! At one point we could see it playing with it's fingers and mouth. It looked like it was biting or licking it's fingers. (God I can't wait till I can say he or she instead of it!) Anyway...here are some of the pictures...


The first image is the baby on it's back. I think it's a really great profile shot! The second image is a 3D ultrasound image of the baby...pretty cool eh?

Anyway, we have been guilty of being proud parents already, showing off the beautiful pics of our unborn child! It's been so fun!

So now I'm 16 weeks along...almost 4 months! I'm feeling really good and growing like crazy!...I know I need to upload a new belly pic. We went to the Clemson game yesterday and I actually had someone tell me, wow, if you're bump is this big now, I can only imagine how huge you're going to be! Yikes! (by the way it was a guy who said this so I don't think he knew better.)

We had another appointment about a week and a half ago and we heard the heartbeat again (nothing compares to that!) The doctor said that my uterus was already about an inch below my belly button which usually (i mean for normal sized people) doesn't happen until about the 20th week. I guess it's just because I'm so short waisted. That kid is going to be in by ribs before I know it!

Our next appointment is the big one where we can find out the sex (assuming that the baby cooperates!) It happens on October 21st and it couldn't come sooner. We are so antsy and excited! I just can't wait to see that baby again. I will be at 19 weeks when that ultrasound takes place.

I still haven't felt much in the way of movement. A few flutters here and there but it's hard to say if it was actually the baby (i think so!) I just can't wait to get that first big kick!

As for our personal lives, we've got a lot coming up! Laurin's grandparents are coming in town for the week today, this coming weekend Kathy is coming to visit (yay!), the following weekend we are going to Kiawah, and then it's only a little while until the big appointment. We have about 3 weddings spread out in that mix as well.

Laurin is doing great as always. He's working hard and being wonderful to me. I've had some cravings, aches and pains and he's been there to fix all of them. Thank God for such a wonderful man!

The house is coming along great! I'll try and post some pictures of it soon. The framing is completed and the plumbing and electricity are almost done. We still seem to be on target for our end of January move-in date...let's pray it holds! It's been so fun and exciting to pick out everything and watch the progress. It's going to be amazing!

So I guess that's all for now!

12 weeks!

There's my 12 week baby bump! Now that I'm honing in on my 2nd trimester (only 1 more week!) I'm starting to feel a good bit better!  I'm much less queasy, almost hardly at all.  I'm still getting extremely exhausted...that might even be a bit worse.  The late afternoon is bad and then I get a second wind around dinner time. By 9pm I'm yawning every other minute! It's pretty funny, I feel like an old lady...all I can think about is how excited I am to go to bed! Let me just say I hope what they say about having more energy in the 2nd trimester is true...because I can't wait!

Last Friday, the 22th, I had a prenatal appointment.  It went great!  I had only gained one pound since week 6!  The nurses said I needed to be eating more, but I told them I had been so queasy. They said that should be getting better in the next couple weeks...so hopefully I will have gained a bit more by my next appointment.  When I saw the doctor, he asked how I was doing and felt my tummy to make sure everything felt normal. Then he told me that usually they can't hear the heartbeat through the little doppler thingie at this early of a gestational age. He told me not to be disappointed or worried if I didn't hear it (yeah right!). But the second he put the little thing on my belly there it was as clear as day...thump, thump, thump.  I was so relieved I got teary and the doctor was very happy to hear it as well.

This friday is the Nuchal Screening Test.  I'm nervous for everything to go well but also excited to see the ultrasound.  The last time we saw the baby it was just a little grey pea, now it will be a very recognizable baby...so I will definitely update the blog after that!

Laurin is doing well and is still being absolutely great about everything.  I'm so lucky to have him be so excited.  He's been very tolerant of my moods and my first couple of crazy cravings! Thank goodness for him!

Yes! We're Pregnant!

On the first Sunday of July Laurin and I found out that we are expecting out first child due in early March!  Slightly surprised, extremely excited and utterly amazed, we are so thrilled to be starting this crazy journey into parenthood, and we couldn't be more happy to share it all with you!

I had my first ultrasound and prenatal appointment on the 23rd of July.  My ultrasound showed a beautiful little grey blob.  But boy did our blob have a healthy, strong heartbeat! Hearing that thump, thump for the first time was simply surreal.  It sounded like my own heartbeat but it wasn't!  It was another living being in my belly...so freakin' cool.  We learned more than a lionshare about everything baby at the appointment, leaving excited, scared and proud.

As far as how I've been feeling?  Well not great but it could be a whole lot worse.  Just about every morning I get really sick...yuck.  I only get queasy the rest of the day if there's nothing in my stomach so I have to kind of graze all day.  The past week I've been getting progressivly more and more tired every day...it makes it pretty hard to get through the work day but I'm doing it!

I am now 10 weeks along and so ready to get into my 2nd trimester!  Only a few more weeks.  I have my next prenatal appointment on August 22nd.  Then on the 5th of September I have an ultrasound where they will do some measurements to make sure there isn't a risk for any chromosomal abnormalities such as Downs Syndrome.  I'm both excited and nervous for that one because of both the seriousness of it and that it is a really cool hi-res ultrasound.  At that time the doctor should be able to pinpoint a more accurate due date in march.  Can't wait!

My body sure is going through some crazy stuff.  I'm even already showing!  I guess because I have such narrow hips, there's nowhere to go but out!  It's cool though because it makes the whole thing seem so much more real.

Once I figure out how I will post some pictures, but until then...we're signing off!