baby update

Wow time is really flying by! I can't believe I am in the third trimester now. I'll be 30 weeks next week, which means only 10 more weeks to go! yay! I can't wait to meet our little munchkin! I went to the doctors last week and our little girl is growing strong. Every time I see my doctor she does a quick scan to measure the babies head, stomach and legs to make sure she is growing properly. Her head and stomach are measuring perfectly for my due date... her legs on the other hand are measuring a week above my due date. Apparently we have a string bean with long skinny legs. haha. Brandon likes to joke that our little girl is going to be a giant red wood. haha. Maybe this is why my belly looks so pointy? Multiple times throughout the day I feel a foot jab the side of my stomach and you can seriously see a little knob poking out of my belly. It's like she is trying stretch, but can't fit her legs anywhere. haha The second trimester felt like a breeze... and I was beginning to wonder if I had gotten lucky with an easy pregnancy. The third trimester hit and suddenly I'm feeling cursed. I have started having constant heartburn and lots of pain in my lower back and pelvis. I guess that's what happens when you have a huge belly. Also worst of all I have developed some varicose veins, which not only look horrible, but are quite painful. I'm told that they go away after birth, so fingers crossed! At the moment I have a hard time standing for more then 15 minutes at a time because my back and pelvis start to really hurt. I feel like an old woman. I recently bought a belly band that helps support my back and belly and it has helped SO much! Seriously it has been a life saver. In the end though all the aches and pains are worth it.

I thought this represented perfectly "Before and after" :)

Well Brandon and I have officially picked out a name for our little girl. We have decided on Ella. We both really liked the name all along and even talked about using the name before I found out I was pregnant. Once we found out we were having a girl we went back and forth on a few names, but Ella seemed to still be our favourite. We started calling her Ella and it seemed to fit. There are a couple neat facts about the name Ella. For one it is a really popular name in Australia. It was in the top ten most popular names in Australia last year. Ella doesn't seem to be as common of a name in the US, which is good because we didn't want an overly common name, but since Ella will be an Aussie baby we thought this was very fitting. Also Brandon served a two year mission for our church in Brazil and Ella (spelt Ela) means "she" in Portuguese. The last neat fact about the name Ella (and more personal fact) is that shortly after I found out I was pregnant, before I even knew I was having a girl, I had a dream of Brandon giving a baby blessing. In our church the father usually gives their baby a blessing it can be a blessing for guidance, comfort, strength etc and at that time the baby is given a name. In my dream Brandon was holding a baby girl, dressed in white and he gave her the name "Ella Reese." :)

We want to frame this one and put it in her room. :)

Last weekend my friends Dannii and Jade threw me a baby shower. It was scheduled early so that Michelle could be there for it. It was such a wonderful day. A mixture of friends from church and uni came to the shower. I had a great time catching up with everyone and got lots of adorable baby stuff.

Dannii and Jade did an amazing job planning the baby shower and decorating... seriously they should both be party planners. Well technically Jade plans parties for dead people since she is a funeral director ;). I seriously was blown away by how amazing it all look and the food was SO yummy. They made a mixture of American and Australian party foods. They even made pink rice krispy treats (an American treat) which I loved! Such thoughtful friends. Words cannot express how grateful I am for Dannii and Jade and my other friends out here. They have been like family to me since moving to Perth. I know we will be well taken care of when our little bub gets here.

Thanks Jade and Dannii!!! Love you!

Michelle was nice enough to help me get glammed up for the special day and even styled my hair. She did such a great job. Thanks chell for making me feel pretty. :)

I love my sister! It meant the world to me that she could be there.

I should have done a big group shot of everyone that came to the shower. This is a picture of me with my friends from Uni.

Opening gifts!

At the end of the shower once everyone had left, Brandon gave me a very special gift to open. He bought a teeny-tiny silver baby bracelet with "Ella" engraved on it. It was such a thoughtful gift. I have such an amazing hubby who is going to make the best dad. Every time Ella looks at it she will know how much her daddy loves her.

Brandon's gift for Ella

Last but not least, here are some pregnancy photos that Michelle took of me. Enjoy! :)

Camping in Stones Brook

Last weekend Brandon and I went camping in Stones Brook, near Collie, with our friends Dannii and Cody.  Initially we were planning on staying in Honeymoon Pool, but it was full when we got there so we went to Stones Brook instead, which ended up being better.  We found a really nice secluded camping spot.  

There was a really nice river near our camp site that we went swimming in.  It was freeeeeeezing though!  Poor baby girl probably had the shock of her life.  We blew up one of our air mattresses and used it as a raft to go down the river with, then used our flip flops as paddles.  It was such a blast.  We couldn't stop laughing... I can only imagine how we looked.  haha.  When it came to the rapids Dannii and I got off, and let the boys tackle them.  They managed to stay on the mattress so we were impressed.  

  

One of the mornings we decided to go on a long walk, however it ended up being much longer than we anticipated, and it was straight up hill.  Not exactly a breeze for a preggo lady.  By the end of it my back was killing and Brandon had to give me a piggy back ride up the hill.  haha.  It was really hot that day, and the only thing that was keeping us moving forward was the fact that at the end we could buy ice cream and relax in the shade.  Well when we got to the top we discovered that the little shop had closed, meaning no ice cream.  Further more, we also discovered that there was no fresh drinking water.... so not only were we exhausted and sweaty, but out of water.  Lucky for us Dannii's dad was in town, so he came and picked us up and took us back to the camp site, or else we would have had to walk all the way back (another 2 hours or so).  Thank goodness because I don't think this pregnant lady could have handled another 2 hours walking.  

At the top of the trail overlooking the dam 

our camp site

Not gonna lie the whole sleeping in a tent on the ground when you're almost in your final trimester was not the best idea... For one it was hard to get comfortable, and for two I had to pee multiple times in the middle of the night... meaning I had to get out of my sleeping bag, and out of the tent to go pee in the bushes. haha 

It was worth it though.  It was such a fun weekend.  We ate LOTS of junk food, played games, chatted, went for walks and went swimming.  Perfect weekend away! 

An update on our little girl

As of today I am 24 weeks and 3 days... only 15 1/2 weeks to go! I must say it is going by really fast. I am trying to soak in every step of the journey, because it will be over before I know it. Carrying a baby is truly a miracle and such a blessing. It is amazing experiencing everything for the first time... first ultrasound, first kicks and watching my belly continually grow. It is hard to express the love I feel for my little one, even though we haven't even officially met and I know that love will continue to grow even more. I am so grateful for our little girl. She is an answer to our prayers and I know she will bless our lives in so many ways.

It's fun to see my belly grow. In a way I've had to develop a thicker skin because everyone, and I mean everyone, likes to share their opinion with you... whether it's that your belly is too big or too small, or they are sure you are having a boy even though you've told them you've had the ultrasound and it's clearly a girl. haha. The most important thing is that my little girl is healthy. That's all I care about.

For the most part I feel great. I still get tired easily and have starting having heartburn at night, but really that's all the complaints I have. No swelling or stretch marks yet (fingers crossed). I think I have had a fairly easy pregnancy so far. She is very active and kicks me constantly... which I love. I love laying there and feeling her move around. :)

Crazy to think that I will soon be onto the third trimester! We have little bits and pieces put together for the nursery. I have made a few things for her room (which I will post later). We are hoping to order the crib set in the next couple weeks, so that Michelle can help me set up the nursery when she comes out to visit. My friend Jade deserves a shout out because she has been A-MA-ZING! Seriously, she has saved us so much money. She is constantly finding us deals and spoiling our little girl with gifts. She is also throwing me a baby shower next month with another one of my close friends.

Well that's all for now! xx

Graduation

On February 9, 2012 I graduated with my masters degree in Speech Pathology from Curtin University! Technically I was finished in December and started working in January, but the graduation ceremony wasn't held until February.

It was such an amazing feeling walking across the stage to receive my diploma. There was a lot of hard work and tears put into receiving that diploma. It was all worth it though. I made some wonderful memories, made some life long friends and am now working doing something I absolutely love. :) Life is pretty awesome right now. Even our little girl got to celebrate with us on the big day. It was fun graduating knowing that she was right there with me every step of the way. What a wonderful way to end one chapter of my life and begin another. The only downfall of the whole day was not having my family there to celebrate. I know they wish they could have been there though. Thank you mom, dad and Michelle for all the encouragement and support over the past 7 years. I honestly couldn't have done it without you. Also, I think my husband deserves a standing ovation for putting up with all the stress and tears over the past two years. I also couldn't have done it without him. I am blessed to have such wonderful people in my life.

Our baby girl got to celebrate with us :)

For my mom

Love my hubby

The whole family together :)

My North American friend counterpart

Love these girls

Girls that I work with

Christmas in Perth

In December my family came out to Perth to celebrate Christmas! We had such an amazing time and managed to cram in a whole lot of fun in the 3 weeks they were here. It's hard to believe they have already come and gone. We made some great memories and had an unforgettable Christmas. Thanks for coming out to visit! Here is a short timeline of Christmas in Perth 2011. Since I couldn't post all the pictures we took (which was well over a hundred) I picked some of my favourite ones to share instead.

My parents came out a week earlier then Michelle and Brad, so we got to spend some one on one quality time with them. We spent a lot of time showing them around Perth. This picture is in Fremantle.

While in Fremantle we got to see the preliminary sailing races for the Olympics.

We took my parents to Curtin University. Since they weren't able to make it out for my graduation we took a picture in front of where the graduation ceremony would be held.

Went to the beautiful Kings Park a handful of times

Went Christmas shopping in the city

Went to see the pinacles in Nambung national park

Pinacles

Celebrated an early Christmas and opened presents before we headed off on a road trip down south

Had a celebration dinner at Little Ceasars pizza for my graduation

Spent Christmas at one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen- Hamlin Bay

Merry Christmas 2011

Saw wild sting rays.....

and touched them! One of the coolest experiences I've ever had by far!!!

Since we were on the road Christmas day everything was closed... so we had a gourmet lunch consisting of chips, soda, chocolate and candy from the local petrol station

Did lots of camping!

Went to Walpole and did the tree top walk

I was thoroughly entertained watching these two surf

Michelle over came her fear of waves and became the boogie boarding queen

Celebrated New Years out on the town

Happy 2012! :)

It's a GIRL!!!!

On Monday (Jan 16th) we had our anatomy scan and found out we are having.... a little GIRL! I couldn't be more excited. I had a feeling from the beginning that it was going to be girl and would have been pretty shocked (still excited) if it had turned out to be a boy. I was still a little nervous about the anatomy scan (I know I'm a HUGE worrier)... but once we got in there and saw a healthy baby my nerves went out the window. Getting an ultrasound is so amazing. I loved seeing our little girl and it was so comforting knowing that she is healthy and growing right on track.

Right after our ultrasound we hurried home to skype with both our families. We made everyone guess boy or girl and the votes were 50/50. Everyone was VERY excited! Later that night we had a gender revealing party with some of our close friends. We did a potluck dinner so everyone brought a dish to share and then I made a cake (pictured above) to make the big announcement.
I was pretty proud of my cake decorating skills and I would like to note that the entire cake was made from scratch (even the frosting)! It turned out perfect and was very yummy. The majority of our friends had guessed boy so it was a fun surprise for everyone.

As for an update on my pregnancy... I feel great! No real complaints here. The 2nd trimester so far has been smooth sailing. I am no longer nauseous and have a huge appetite, which is a nice change. My belly has grown nearly 20 cm since being pregnant. Can you believe it?!?! I was 67 cm before and now I'm 86cm! It's fun having a little bump... although not so fun sometimes finding an outfit that looks good. haha I have gained 10 pounds so far. I also started feeling her move a couple days ago. It felt like little pop corns popping in my belly (I think that was her punching/kicking me) and every once in awhile I'll feel her roll around. Such an amazing feeling! I am really enjoying the journey and am so excited for her to get here!!!!!

We are in the process of getting the baby room ready. We are putting her in what use to be our office downstairs. We have spent the week moving the furniture from the office upstairs into a different room. We will wait a little while to get the nursery furniture... we are just doing little bits at a time. Our pram is on it's way to my parents house. My wonderful sis has been kind enough to bring it over with her when she comes out in March. She is doing an OT placement out here for a few weeks. Buying it in the US saved us a whopping $500.00 so THANK YOU CHELL! Now that I know the gender I am looking forward to buying cute pink outfits and dresses... which is what I will be doing today! :)

That's all the updates for now.... at some point I'll get on the ball and post about my families Christmas vacation in Perth. So many pictures to chose from!!! Stay tuned! xx

How Bean came to be...

On Oct. 9, 2011 Brandon and I got a wonderful surprise... that our little family of 2 would soon become 3. So this is the story of how Bean came to be...

I had been feeling "different" for about a week. I won't go into all the details about my symptoms because some of it may be too much information for my readers haha... but for the most part I was feeling extremely tired to the point where I was going to bed at 8:00 pm almost every night. I was a little late for my period but kept thinking it would eventually come. Since I had been feeling different I decided to take a test and it came up POSITIVE! I couldn't believe it. Brandon was outside gardening at the time, so I ran out of the bathroom holding the pee-stick like a trophy and showed Brandon. He was SOOOO excited. Thinking back, I would have liked to surprise Brandon in a fun creative way, but I'm horrible with secrets when it comes to something I'm really excited about. I couldn't stop smiling all day!

Brandon was gardening at the time I told him and he thought our lemon tree would make a nice background, so we took the picture outside. haha

We had our first doctors appointment on Oct. 13th to get blood work done to confirm the pregnancy and make sure everything was running smoothly (I was around 5 weeks at the time). Everything went well. They figured out my due date would be June 14, 2012. I downloaded an app on my phone called 'Baby Bump' and 'What to expect when you are expecting'. Each week it would give me an update on how big the baby was. It started off the size of an apple seed and by the time we had our first ultrasound it was the size of a blueberry. We decided to call our baby Bean because we were tired of referring to our child as an it. Plus Bean just seemed to fit. Our first ultrasound was on October 31st, Halloween! At first I was worried this would be bad luck, but apparently only Friday the 13th brings bad luck... because we got to see a very healthy, very small baby. And it even looked like a Bean (see the name fit). We got to see Bean's heartbeat. At the time it was beating at 157 beats per minute. On the ultrasound screen it looked like a little flicker. We were so excited to see that there actually was a baby in there and that things were running smoothly.

Our first appointment with our OBGYN was on November 29th (I was 11 weeks 5 days at the time). We selected our doctor based off of a referral one of our other ex pat friends had made. I was really nervous for our first appointment. I woke up with butterflies in my stomach and was praying so hard that the everything would go okay. I had already become so attached to my little Bean. Anyway the appointment went great! The doctor did a scan in her office (which was a nice surprise) and we got to see Bean. Bean was jumping up and down and doing flips... almost as if to see "See mom I'm okay, don't worry." It made me so happy to see that our little Mexian Jumping Bean was growing strong. It was so crazy to see the transformation over 4 weeks. Bean no longer looked like a Bean but looked like an actual baby!

That day they sent me off to do more blood work (ugh I hate getting my blood drawn) for the down syndrome screen that is done inbetween 12-14 weeks. They use your blood test results with your ultrasound to determine if you are at high or low risk for having a child with down syndrome. We didn't care either way if our baby had down syndrome, but decided to do the test just to see if everything was going okay.

Today (December 9th) we had the ultrasound! I was really excited to get to see Bean again, and was hoping that s/he would be jumping around again so that I could get a picture. I had to go in with a full bladder (they need a full bladder for the scan) so Bean was slightly restricted and couldn't do his/her usual acrobatics, but we did see him/her hiccup and stretch his/her legs.

The results came back that we are at extremely low risk of having a baby with downsyndrome (1:8197). They said Bean looks healthy and is growing right on track. We find out on January 16th what gender Bean is. Most people are guessing it's a boy. Time to make your guess!

For the most part I have been feeling good. I've had a few dizzy spells and still feel sick off and on at night. At the beginning of the pregnancy I had major food aversions to meat... I still can't eat a hamburger, but chicken is okay. The fatigue isn't as bad now that I'm almost in my second trimester. Cravings include, chocolate milk, milk and fruit... Which is strange because I never was a big milk drinker and use to prefer soymilk. I am starting to get a little baby bump and most of my pants no longer will button. At first I was thinking it was more bloat then baby... but the ultrasound tech said that the placenta is attached right at the front (some women carry further back... meaning they don't show as much).

Well that is all the updates for now. I just love my little Bean so much and can't wait to be a mother. I can't stop smiling every time I think of Bean. What a wonderful blessing! I can't wait to meet my little one in 6 months.