2nd Trimester

Not a day goes by that I don't feel incredibly special to be this baby's mom. And I'm so thankful that Matt will be by side through it all. Even on the days when I am crying to Matt because I feel fat and none of my clothes fit, I still feel so blessed. Matt is so patient and reassuring. He is always telling me how beautiful he thinks I am and his latest compliment is, "you wear my baby well." 

This picture doesn't show my "belly" very well. This was taken last week (I am ALMOST 14 weeks now). But I just love this picture because of Maci. Every week when Matt takes my pictures, Maci has to be right in the middle of it all. I think she senses that something else is getting my full attention and doesn't like it very much .

12 weeks 4 days

Over the last couple weeks, I've seen a shift in my physical self. I can see changes taking place. To most people, I am sure I just look like I have a tummy. But it's a tummy I've never had before. A tummy that I KNOW is actually my "baby bump." And while I often say "I'm fat," and I am still exhausted, and most food doesn't sound good, I wouldn't trade any of it!

The picture below was shocking to me when I saw it. I knew my tummy was getting bigger but I feel like there is just such a HUGE (literally) difference between my 12 and 13 week pictures. Maybe I ate too much? Or my clothes are showing it more? Oh well...not much I can do about it, right?

13 weeks 3 days

July 5th was the first time we HEARD Baby's heartbeat. I'm so glad Matt was able to be there. The nurse was having a hard time at first finding the heartbeat. I laid there holding my breath, trying not to move  and totally scared. She finally said "did you hear it?" Both Matt and I didn't hear what she did. She kept looking. Then again, "did you hear it?" Still nothing. Finally, it came through so crystal clear and beautiful. I could have laid there and listened to that beating heart all afternoon. Even though we have seen the heartbeat on the ultrasounds, being able to hear it was a beautiful moment. 

Also a couple weeks ago, I had a doctor appointment that was a truly incredible. I went to the Maternal Fetal Medicine clinic to have a Sequential Screen done. The series of tests looks for things like Down syndrome, Trisomy 18, open tube defects, along with other problems that might cause issues during my pregnancy and delivery. We won't know the results for about a month because they will compare the blood test from that appointment with a blood test that I repeat in a few weeks. It's easy to worry about all the potential problems but I choose to trust that God is continuing to work His great plan.

But the reason that appointment was so awesome is because I was able to SEE Baby again. Unfortunately Matt couldn't leave work but I was able to bring Val (his mom) with me to the appointment. The last part of it was a very long ultrasound. Anytime I get to see this miracle, I'm in awe. And this day was no different. The ultrasound tech was extremely nice and kept complimenting him/her. She said "it's so cute" a bunch of times, "it's a beautiful baby" and even said "it's very photogenic and cooperative." She also switched to using a 3D ultrasound and we got to see with much more detail what the baby looks like. And I must say, it's adorable (of course I'm a biased mother)! Every time I see the pictures, it makes my heart smile.