I CAN FEEL MY BABY!!!

So my anxious waiting for a kick is finally over! Late last night, Derek was very tired and I...wasn't! So when we went to bed, Derek fell asleep as soon as "Amen" was said. I on the other hand turned to my phone for entertainment. After a while, social media and candy crush burnt me out (doesn't take very long) and I decided to at least try to sleep. I turned over to find a comfortable position. Up until these past couple weeks I've been able to sleep on my stomach just fine but as of late I have to do a side stomach position because it's just enough discomfort to not let me sleep. Well last night, I fought the feeling because even though everything felt squished down there, I was too comfortable and paralyzed to move. Well Blake must have protested! I thought I was feeling my heartbeat through my stomach harder than usual until I realized heart beats are supposed to be consistent. Then I just got excited! I knew for a fact this time that it was Blake. There have been times in the past that I wasn't quite certain but I sat as still as I could for about an hour in bed feeling my sweet baby respond to my positions. It wasn't too strong, I can tell he is small, but like many moms describe it, it feels fluttery. It was easier to feel if I laid on my stomach because I think I must have been squishing him and pushing him closer to the outside of my belly. I was so excited it was hard to go to sleep. Now, I can feel him kick if I get into the right positions, otherwise he doesn't like to bother mommy much ;) Blake Bird is alive and well!!

Doctor Visit #4

Little Blake Bird is alive and healthy!

We got more of a 3D look!

Today Derek and I went in for our 4th doctors visit thus far and everything is looking good.  We went straight to the ultrasound room where they measured Blake's body parts and vitals.  He is within the regular growth patterns of a mommy around 19 weeks and was looking straight at us when we first took a look!  My doctor said he is a little small but not outside regular growth patterns which might explain why I haven't felt movement yet!  Either way, a small baby doesn't sound too terrible! ;)  I'm gaining a healthy amount of weight (or so they say...) and I'm really feeling things stretch!  We're so incredibly happy!! 

Pregnancy Survey

About the Mommy!
Name: Christina
Age: 21
Hair Color: Blonde 
Eye Color: Green
First Child: Yes

About the Daddy!
Name: Derek
Age: 23
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Green, Brown and Blue!
First Child: Yes

Finding Out!!
What day did you find out?: April 6, 2014
How did you feel when you found out?: Happier than I've ever felt.  Felt like a dream.
Who was with you?: My husband
Who was the first person you told?: Derek
How did they react?: Disbelieving! 


About the Pregnancy!!!
When was your first appointment?: April 29, 2014
When is your due date?: December 15, 2014
How far along are you?: 18 Weeks 4 Days
Have you had any ultrasounds?: Yes! Every appointment my awesome doctor does an ultrasound! So 3 so far.
Have you heard the heartbeat?: Yes, many times. So cool!
What was the heartbeat?: Last time it was 146
Sex of the baby: BOY!

About the birth!!
Do you know what you are taking with you?: Sanity
Who is going to be with you?: Derek and excited grandparents waiting outside
Are you going to videotape it?: Yikes
Natural or Medicated?: Give me the drugs!!!
Do you think you will need a c-section?: I hope not.
Will you cry when you hold your baby for the first time?: Let's be honest.
Do you think Daddy will cry?: Ya, he's a big sap!
Do you know what you will say to the baby when you first hold him/her?: Welcome to the world!

Names!!
Do you have a name picked out?: Blake Christopher Bird
Is your baby going to be named after someone?: The middle name is after my sweet brother

Other Random Questions!!
Have you felt the baby move?: Not yet.  I'm getting anxious! 
What was your first symptom?: Tired...ALL THE TIME
Food Cravings?: CHOCOLATE!! 
What is the baby’s room theme?: Probably going for a jungle look
What was the first thing you bought for the baby?: Cute overalls! 
Will you cloth diaper?: HA!
BFing or Formula?: Breastfeeding
What is your favorite pregnancy book?: My awesome App 
What do you look forward to doing again once you are no longer pregnant?: Ballroom!
What physical features do you hope baby will get from Daddy?: Eyebrows and eyes.
What physical features do you hope baby will get from you?: At my party people kept saying they hope my baby gets my smile so i'll go with that.  
Is he ready to be a Daddy?: He is more ready than he thinks he is :)
Are you ready to be a Mommy?: MORE THAN EVER!!!  It's all I've ever really wanted.  

It's a Boy!

On Tuesday, June 24th we held a gender reveal party for our closest friends and family in the area.  It was so much fun!! Derek and I went to the doctors appointment early that morning and found out it was a boy.  We were so excited and happy and it made everything feel so much more real!  Derek and I went out to lunch to celebrate and while Derek went back to work, I prepared for the party with my awesome Bird family.  We decorated and cooked all day. And I had to try really hard not to spill the gender until the party!

  The party started at 6 o' clock and the games began!  People came in and picked a gender guess (Team Blake or Team Allison) while filling out wishes for the baby papers.  We played Old Wives Tales and listened as my father read aloud all of the baby wishes while guessing who wrote them. 

 Then it was time for everyone to grab a silly string and head outside to find out blue or pink!  All of girl guesses were on one side, the boy guesses on the other.  Derek and I stood in the middle and got doused with BLUE silly string!!!

Baby Bumps Until Now

                    

Telling the Rest of the World

Telling the Fam

Well on both sides of our families we are the only ones married, so both sets of parents were going to be first time grandparents.  In Derek's family, he is the first grandchild among many younger cousins.  So we knew this would be exciting news for both sides of the family.  We were excited to tell them but wanted a creative way to do it.  Because it was a Sunday and we were short on time and resources, we decided to go with the whole 'bun in the oven' idea.  We printed a picture of a delicious looking bread roll bun and placed it on a little easel.  We first drove to my parents house and quietly (while they were still asleep) placed it in the oven.  I ran to my parents door and exclaimed that they should come to the kitchen quickly because they left their oven on all night.  They were not happy to say the least.  My mom came out looking like a confused sleeping zombie.  She opened the oven door, looked inside and an even more confused and puzzled expression took over her face.  As she grasped the bun in the oven concept, her eyes grew wide and she shouted rather loudly "Todd is pregnant?!" (For those of you who don't know, my fathers name is Todd)  Um...what?  She was still waking up so she was a little tongue tied and by the time my dad came out they were both really excited and laughing at their reactions because apparently neither of them got a very relaxing sleep the night before.  I woke my two brothers to tell them they will be uncles and they both couldn't believe it.  Neither of our families knew we were even trying to have a baby so their reactions were pretty much all the same...shock...excitement.  We waited until Mothers Day to tell my brother, Christopher (we are super close so his reaction was a bit more animated...) who is on a mission in Nebraska because we knew we could Skype him and see his face.  It was priceless because the one thing he made me promise when he left is that I would at least wait 9 months before he got home.  We called him Uncle Chris to break the news...below is a video of my family being very loud when we tell him!

That same day, Derek was with his family telling his brother, Daniel who is serving in San Diego.  He was so excited and can't wait to be an uncle.  

Okay, so back to the story.

After telling my family that Sunday morning, we raced over to Derek's parents' house to give them the news.  We waited until everyone was in their rooms getting ready for church and placed the bun in the oven.  When Whitney, Derek's mom came out of the room she was suspicious because we told her we baked them breakfast and it's waiting for them in the oven.  This was particularly funny because Derek's parents were doing a special diet at the time.  When Whitney checked the oven she instantly turned around, started walking towards us with a combined mixture of tears and "are you serious?!"  She hugged us both and instantly downloaded an app on how my baby was developing week by week!  Excited Grandma!  Derek's sisters reactions were pretty hilarious.  Katie, "I don't get it...wait...i'm going to be an aunt?! I'll babysit anytime."  Amy, "I'm really disappointed, I thought you guys made me breakfast." But Derek's dad, Ryan, was the best.  Because they were on this diet, once he looked in the oven he just started chuckling.  We thought this was his reaction to becoming a grandpa but when he didn't congratulate us, Whitney realized he didn't quite understand.  He thought we were poking fun at their diet and when he finally realized the news, he had the most shocked face of all! 

We are so grateful to have all this love and support from our families.  Every since they found out, they have both been unbelievably supportive and helpful through my pregnancy (ya know, making sure I eat first and the most and letting me crash on their couch when napping was taking over my body in the first trimester).  We love our family!!

Finding out there is a life form in me...Sunday, April 6th, 2014

As crazy as it was, after a year of marriage, Derek and I decided to try to have a baby.  I was anxious to see a positive result as soon as possible which is why I probably went through too many expensive pregnancy sticks!  The first picture is the test stick I took the day before the pregnant result showed up; if your eyes are tricky enough, you can see a faint line going through the negative line making a plus.  As an anxious mother to be, I relied on that faint line while my husband told me he didn't want me to get my hopes up.  Well, at about 6 am the next day, I took one more test (even though I said I was going to wait a couple of days...) and I must have believed my husband because when I saw the "pregnant" label post after about a million years of watching a loading bar in anticipation, I couldn't believe my eyes.  I started shaking and crying all at the same time because it just got super real!  I was in the bathroom excited to wake my sleeping husband and tell him the news.  When I hopped on the bed to tell him, I caught the poor boy off guard and he instinctively reached for his gun!  Woops!  Once he woke up a little, he was very excited and we both just sat there in shock.  That first moment when you realize it's not just trying to have a baby, you're having a baby...holy cow!  That's all I can say. One of the happiest moments in my life so far.  

I should mention real quickly that Derek and I decided we were going to wait at least four to five years to have children.  (Ya, I also said I would wait until I was at least 25 to get married...woops!) We changed our mind the month before when we thought that I had gotten pregnant by accident.  By the time I realized I wasn't pregnant, we both realized how disappointing that result was and how bad we actually wanted to be parents.  When we started trying, I think we both thought we would have a good amount of time to mentally prepare before actually getting pregnant.  HA! So when we found out so quickly, we had that "we're having a baby" moment that a lot of parents can relate to i'm sure.  We couldn't be more excited though and we cannot wait to welcome our baby into the world this holiday season!