Boy or Girl?

November 10th, 2015

In less than a month we will find out if we are expecting a daughter or a son. I thought I could wait to find out on his/her birth-day, but now that we have the Ultrasound scheduled the anticipation is really building. I can't even imagine what that moment is going to feel like. Pure excitement and pure fear! Life with boys or a teenage girl!

Cory and I neither have a preference of what "we want". I think it's a good thing, because then we won't be disappointed. I've read too many times of parents being disappointed the rest of their pregnancy because who they were growing wasn't who they "wanted" them to be. I can't even imagine that. This little babe was prayed for SO much and having a healthy little boy or girl is all that matters to us.

I thought it would be fun to do some of the Old Wives tales to predict what we will be having.

1. If you are carrying high it's a boy.  I'm carrying lower = GIRL

2. Heart rate is below 140 means a boy. Our little peanut has been 155-170, GIRL

3. If you are craving salty foods, boy. I've been craving all things sweet, GIRL

4. More morning sickness = Girl. I've had not so much, BOY

5. No breakouts, Boy.  I've had some, GIRL.

6. The Chinese Gender Predictor says GIRL

7. If the year I got pregnant and my age were both odd = GIRL

As you can see it's 6-1 in favor of Girl. As far as my family guesses are, 4-1 vote Girl.

We will soon find out!!

can't wait to meet you little one!

The weirdest pregnancy symptom thus far

November 3 2015

They all warn you about the nausea, the fatigue, swollen feet and hands, but there are some really crazy and weird pregnancy symptoms that happen to some woman. My mom, for example, when she was pregnant noticed she never had to shave her legs. The hair just stopped growing. And even to this day that woman rarely has to shave her legs. I'd say that's a pretty sweet symptom. Some other woman I know notice their hair just falls out. That wouldn't be as nice. 

The weirdest "symptom" I have experienced is a really sore tailbone. Like sore! I can't seem to lay on my back when sleeping because it gets that uncomfortable. The theories out there say it's a combination of reasons. One being the pressure of the baby is building and the uterus sits right in from of the tailbone thus causing more pressure and pain. The second thought is that the body is continually releasing a hormone called relaxin. This hormone helps to relax, in essence, the ligaments surrounding the muscles of the pelvic floor. This could allow the coccyx to shift a little more causing that pain I'm feeling. 

I'm sure many can chalk up a hundred "symptoms" to pregnancy. But it's hard not to blame the baby for what's going on. Never have I felt this strong of a pain down on my tailbone. It's weird to say the least but comforting to know that others have felt it too. 

I'm definitely rolling with the punches here. I'm truly grateful for this experience. Weird or not, it's a pretty neat thing watching this baby grow and feeling what I have been. Grow baby grow, and bring on the pregnancy symptoms! 

xo / leah

So it has begun!

November 2nd

I absolutely love Christmas decor! Just something about the colors and the textures; it all brings me back to the magical wonder of Christmas time. And for me, November 1st is the perfect day to start the decorating!

I purged all things Halloween and threw out all my pumpkins to make way for my little trees and tiny reindeer. I'm sorry but the sooner we can start decorating the longer the season will be with us and the more we get to enjoy. 

I'm really excited that this will be the last Christmas just us two. There is so much magic and wonder surrounding Christmas time, Jesus's birth, and everything that's holiday cheer. I'm very much looking forward to continuing out traditions with our little one, making new ones, and really relishing in all the magic that surrounds this season. 

Happy Holidays!  / leah

Road to Baby: First Trimester

Today is the last day of the first trimester. We pray every night and thank the Lord that we are here. Everyday is a miracle and a day to celebrate. We saw our little one again on the ultrasound (we were just going to have a doppler check the heart rate but they couldn't hear anything - scariest moment ever - the ultrasound found him though) and I couldn't help but just start crying. Happy tears. So many happy tears. He is looking more and more like a little person and I can't believe how much has already developed in his little body. 

Every week we look at the progress of whats happening in baby's body and mine. I can't stop saying how much of a miracle this is. It's amazing and completely unbelievable what needs to happen for this little one to grow and be. 

I've had the joy of having a very manageable first trimester. Morning sickness happens and started pretty early on. The first day I felt "sick" was at work. I had made ramen the night before and ate a good amount of it. The next day I just felt weird. I couldn't think of eating any more soup and all I craved were sweet things. I drank 3 cranberry juices from the patient's fridge and ate all the fruit I had. On the way home I had to stop and get some strawberries, whipped cream, and shortcake. I ate almost the whole thing. I realized if I was pregnant it would be late enough for a test to come back positive. While I was buying all those sweets I bought a home pregnancy test. The next day, + . I crawled back to bed and told Cory we're pregnant. Over the next week I noticed my "sugar cravings" were actually aversions to a lot of food. The nausea started and came and went throughout the day. Not just in the morning, but in the evening as well.  This first few weeks I ate a lot of fruit, bagels, and lasagna. Pretty much all of that on repeat. Around week 10 I noticed the aversions slowly were going away and I was able to open up my diet a little more. I gave myself grace and tried eating something good (fruit and vegetable) at least once a day. I never actually threw up and only lost 5 lbs during this trimester. 

Besides the nausea/food aversions the fatigue was real. People tell you it comes but I didn't expect to the extent it hit me. Everyday I was off I would take at least a two hour nap. Not like me at all. I realized my body was going through a big change and I took a lot of breaks and slowed my pace. Overall though, this first trimester has been wonderful. The first times we saw him on the ultrasound; the talks on names; designing and starting to renovate the nursery; these firsts have been so incredibly special. 

I  want to make sure I can look back at this pregnancy and remember how I looked and felt. I want this time to be remembered because it is so very much cherished right now. 

My must have/tips for the first trimester: 

1. A good water bottle / tea you like: keeping hydrated can be a challenge in the first few months. I made sure to get in my fluids in more creative ways. Drinking water extra cold or really warm helped. Drinking tea helped as well. Just make sure those teas are pregnancy safe. 

2. Jolly Ranchers / the nausea will hit you at the most inconvenient times. Driving home I would start getting nauseous and would pop in a jolly rancher. Having something to suck on relieved a lot of that nausea until you can eat. 

3. Eat frequently but not a lot / I noticed that having an empty stomach triggered a lot of the nausea. Eat small things until you feel that nausea subside a little and stop. Being too full is incredibly uncomfortable. 

4. Sleep when you can / just lay down and see if your body falls asleep. If you do, you'll be happy you slowed down and let your body do what it needed to. 

5. Be joyful / there is no reason to let the worry feelings overtake you. Tell your friends and family, celebrate and be happy. This time is supposed to be joyful and don't let any negative thoughts consume you. 

Very thankful for this pregnancy. This time is magical and should only be celebrated. Looking forward to the next few months. 

xo / leah

Oh Baby!

The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy!

Psalms 126:3

The Lord has blessed us richly! As of today I am 9 weeks and 3 days along with our little "Chip".  Joy oh joy! We are both beyond excited and can't help but say thank you at least one hundred times a day for this blessing. 

We had our first ultrasound and it felt as though the world had stopped. We saw his little heart beat and his wiggly body and everything felt right in the world. We are praying that this little bean grows and grows and everything is healthy. 

We have a lot to do and think about before this little one arrives but for now we are just relishing in the moment and thanking the Lord for this experience. 

We won't find out the sex until mid December, but we are calling this little one "Chip" for now. When we first found out I was pregnant the baby was the size of a chocolate chip and the nickname just seemed perfect. If he is a little she though we'll have to think of a new one :) 

This has definitely been a journey for us but the timing right now is absolutely perfect. The Lord knows and everything is in His hands. And I cannot be more reassured by that. 

xo // leah

Happy Anniversary

On September 1st we celebrated three years of blissful marriage. As the saying goes, time flies when you're having fun. And it really does! These last three years have definitely seen a lot of change. Our first apartment where we lived together for the first time, a home buying experience, a home renovating experience, two puppies, and two out of the country adventures. These years have really been fun. Of course we've had our little arguments but nothing big. It is by the grace of God that we've had such a full and happy three years. And as Cory said, the honeymoon ain't over yet! 

We celebrated this anniversary by meeting at the place we had our first date, Noodles and Company. The food was ok but it was really just about recreating that first date and looking back on all that we've accomplished as a team. It was simple and it was perfect. We talked a lot about how we've had such great years, what each other has done really well in our marriage, and what we want for this next year. 

Thinking back, here are a few moments from that special day we became one. 

9.1.12

To many more laughs and adventures; to riding the waves that life brings us; and to being together for the whole thing! 

xo / leah

Marriage: What Works

As we are soon approaching the end of our 3rd year of marriage I couldn't help but think of these last few years. Cory and I can both say we've found a really good flow of our marriage. Despite all the comments of well-meaning friends and family, the first few years haven't been that tough. Yes we've had our moments but overall its been fun and rather easy. Every marriage is different and there will always be some advice on how to have a successful marriage, but it's been really nice to take that advice and use it how we see fit. These are a few things that have worked for us these last three years and I want to continue doing them throughout our marriage.

Laugh often Honestly not a day goes by that we aren't laughing about something. Either one of us has done or said something, our dogs have done something, or we've chosen to watch some pretty comical entertainment. Whatever it is we laugh often. We are able to laugh at ourselves and fill our conversations and what we watch with light-hearted topics. Being able to not take life, situations, or ourselves too seriously has been really helpful at making these first few years fun and not too stressful.

Intentionally listen  At our pre-marital counseling we did exercises that made you practice this idea. "I hear you saying ___ and I hear that it makes you feel ___". As silly as it felt constantly saying that phrase, man does it really help. It helps to make sure you are understanding exactly what your spouse is saying, what they are feeling, and what might be their biggest qualm with whatever is happening. My husband is a firm believer that how you say something is more effective than what you are actually saying. Many a times he thought I felt/meant something just by listening to my tone. When in reality what I was saying was all I felt and needed him to understand. It's been a great tool to use this little phrase during those heated arguments or times when we felt like we really weren't making headway with a discussion.

Community  We both come from somewhat small friends group. Before we were married we each had just a hand few of close friends that we saw often. When we were married we realized that it was important for us to start making some new friends, new to the both of us and friends that were married. I had my girlfriend and he had his guy friends, but we knew we needed some married friends to go along with us during this ride of marriage. We met a few new couple friends from work and through church and the community we have now is such a strong one. It's been really helpful to start new relationships. Friends that are ours and friends we could talk to about the ups and downs we were experiencing in marriage.

Marriage is a lot of fun. It takes work, constant work. Keep love flowing, keep it fun, and have those friends around you to support you both. Very excited that I married the man I did. We have had some great years and I just feel proud as we round out the last of our third year.

xo // leah