The Ripley Family

Today was our second appointment at the doctor's office (not counting the ultrasound appointment at the imaging center). It was originally supposed to be on the 14th, but it had to be rescheduled because of a little snow storm we had. We thought it was going to be one of the less exciting appointments, because I was having my exams this time. The exams by the way were not nearly as bad as I had imagined. They were very quick and easy, and luckily I really like my doctor and the nurse that works with him. The nurse and doctor talked a little about all the sickness that I've had and talked about another medicine we can try. My weigh-in was 7lbs less than my last appointment and I'm still dehydrated. Other than the nausea issue, everything else is perfect he said. All of my tests from the last appointment came back with no issues.

After all of that, he said he was going to try to listen in on the baby with a doppler. He said that it is still early enough that we may not be able to pick up the heartbeat with just the Doppler, so if we don't hear anything not to worry. He said that if we didn't get to hear it on be doppler we'd get a quick ultrasound. Sure enough, he didn't hear the heartbeat with the Doppler, but before we even had time to wonder or worry he had us in the room next door with the ultrasound on my belly. In less than a second, he had found the baby and had the heartbeat showing up on the screen! We could also see the baby moving around right away. He pointed out that we could see the heartbeat in the baby's chest beating away, and he then turned the volume up so we could hear the thud of the sound waves! It was so neat! The doctor called it a "strong heartbeat" and pointed out the baby waving their little hand at one point, and showed us where the little ankles were crossed! It was adorable! At one point, one of the little feet started kicking a little bit! The doctor even printed out a picture for us! That was so nice! So, it ended up being a huge plus that the heartbeat wasn't able to be picked up on the doppler, because we ended up not only hearing, but seeing our little one again! And have an extra picture now! We weren't planning on getting to see them again until around week 20 to find out the gender. So it was a nice surprise, and the doctor was so nice about it.

Later that night, Alan and I were talking about the ultrasound and how much had changed! It was so fun seeing arms, hands, legs and feet! Then, I was talking about how cute it was that their little ankles were crossed, and I said I wonder where he/she gets that from? Do either of us sleep like that? And as I said it I realized! And Alan quickly responded with, "me!". The baby gets that from him! And he's so right! Alan always watches TV or relaxes with his legs straight out, ankles crossed, and he moves one foot around constantly! It actually drives me crazy sometimes if I'm next to him and can see his foot bouncing out of the corner of my eye...but it looks like our little one is already taking after daddy, because that's exactly what they were doing! Ankles crossed with one foot just bouncing/kicking. So cute!

Here's the baby's second "picture day":

Friday, October 29th, is when I first found out I was pregnant! I decided to take a test, but I was pretty hesitant at first, because it was very early. In fact, when I opened the test, I read on the chart that only 10% of pregnancies would show up positive that early. Well, I was in that 10%. It came up showing a very bold positive right away! I thought, even if I were by chance pregnant, surely I wouldn't know that early! I kept going back all day to look at the test in complete shock! It was kind of silly that I got surprised all over again every time I saw the positive, as if I hadn't already known! I couldn't wait to tell Alan! I almost told him right away, but I wanted to capture it on camera when I told him. He had had the idea earlier that week to get some fall photos at a park or somewhere outdoors this month, so I decided to use that as my opportunity. Especially with it being his idea, I knew he wouldn't suspect a thing. So, the two of us got ready and headed out to the White House Greenway with his camera that afternoon. We took a few pictures together, and then he took a few of only me. So, I told him I wanted a few of just him. I left the camera on the tripod and captured a few of him. Then, I switched the camera over to video mode. The first of the video, he is telling me that I had it on the wrong setting. I reply with, "I have it right where I want it". Then, I walked over to him and handed him my test and told him to hold it up and smile. He was so funny, he took it, looked at the camera and smiled, and then looked at me like I was crazy. After the initial confusion, he finally looked at me and said "Are you pregnant?!!?" He was so excited! I am thrilled to have captured it all on video as well! You can clearly see the expression pattern from confusion, realization, to excitement! It will be fun to eventually have a home video of the entire pregnancy including photos and slideshows, and we can open the video up with the video of him finding out!

The day after I told Alan, he had gone to the store to grab something, and he came home with two adorable little newborn outfits: one for if it's a boy and one for if it's a girl. It was the cutest thing! He was surprised when I informed him that it would be about 4 months before we would know if we're having a boy or girl! He's going to be the best daddy ever! He already is the best hubby ever! Baby's first outfit from daddy:

On Monday, November 1st, I called and made my first prenatal appointment. We have no idea what to expect at this visit. Well, I have done research and read what others have said, but they all differ. So, again, I don't know what we will do. I'm sure they will obviously ask a million questions and run blood or urine tests (or both), but I'm not sure if we will get to do any of the fun stuff like have an ultrasound or see a heartbeat yet. I know it is possible to have one done that early, but I've also read that not all places will do one that early without a specific reason. So, we will have to wait and see!

Wednesday, November 3rd, is when we told my parents and little sister, Amanda. Mom had just had a birthday last week, so we told her we had one more gift for her. We had bought a Willow Tree keepsake box entitled "Grandmother". It has a carving of a grandmother holding a baby. Inside the box, we had printed a photo of my positive pregnancy test and cut it out to fit inside of the box. It also took her a minute to "get it", but they were all excited when she finally asked "Are you pregnant?!"

Wednesday, November 10th- We took Alan's mom out to O'Charley's for dinner to announce the "big news"! We brought a little bundle of "grandma bibs" for her. When she opened them she just kinda nodded and said "Does this mean what I think it means?" In a way, she was surprised...but she also said that she had picked up on a few things during that day that had her thinking something was up. She said her biggest clue was how many trips to the bathroom I was making. I hadn't even noticed that one myself, but after she said it, I realized she was right. I was having to go constantly. She also picked up on a couple other things, like my eating/drinking habits that day and the fact that I just looked "tired". Fatigue has kicked in, and hits me without warning here and there at times. She told us that Rachael was also "wondering", so that we needed to go ahead and tell her, or else she would figure it out on her own too. So, after dinner, we went back to the house and told Rachael when she got home. Here are the pictures:

Friday, November 12th- Grandma Melodie and Grandpa Brett were over having dinner, so Alan and I decided to tell them the news! We made a little card that said "You are a GREAT Grandmother" on the front of it. Then, the inside said "...LITERALLY!". Brett got it right away. You could see it in his expression. Grandma took a minute. She kept reading the front then the back, and then it hit her! Alan captured the expressions on camera! She was very surprised! They both were, especially after we told them that we found out the day of her birthday. We were hanging out with the two of them that evening at the haunted woods. They had no idea. That was very early, before I had any symptoms at all.

Wednesday, November 17th- We had our first prenatal appointment today. When we first got there, we of course filled out a lot of paperwork in the waiting room, and waited probably about half an hour. Not too long. I had no idea what would be happening at this appointment, but I figured they would be doing all kinds of tests and exams, so as we are waiting, I realized I needed to go to the restroom. I didn't want to be in the bathroom when they called me back, but at the same time, I didn't want to have to go while I was back there and make them wait or have to hold-it through who knew what kind of "exams" they'd be doing. So, I decided it would be best to hurry up and go. I barely made it back and sat back down when they called my name. Alan and I got up and went back and they pointed me to the bathroom...! Seriously?! They wanted me to pee in a cup! I should have known! I figured they'd have me do that and also take blood, but I thought nothing of it. There was no way I could go. I tried and I knew better....nothing! So, I come out and start guzzling water, cup after cup of ice cold water. They told me just to keep drinking and they would get that last. No big deal. Except now I was feeling all kinds of pressure! They took us back to a room and the doctor came in to talk to us. Alan and I both really liked him. That was a relief. I was really hoping we would like our doctor. He seemed very laid back, very easy to talk to. He didn't seem too "doctory" if that makes sense. He was very knowledgable and we felt comfortable with him in that way, but he had a personality too. So, that made the appointment go smoothly, and made it more enjoyable. About half way through talking with him, and 4 glasses of water later, I start shaking like crazy! All of that water on my already unsettled stomach was SUCH a bad bad idea! I had been doing fairly good all day untill then. I started feeling sick to my stomach, water logged (you know the feeling when you drink too much water too fast anyways)...now add that to an already upset and weak stomach. It was BAD! But, we got through talking to him, and then I just felt SO weak walking to where I had to go get my blood drawn. The lady who took my blood was so sweet. She thought I was shaking because of the needles and all, but I kept telling her that needles and bloodwork and shots never have bothered me and that I just didn't feel good. She saw my hands shaking and my knees were jumping. I know my face would have looked ghostly and flush. She kept trying to reassure me and have me look away. I just hadn't eaten that much yet this morning anyways, and now the water just messed with my levels or something! After I got done with the blood, I tried again with the "cup". Luckily, I got enough, and my pregnancy test came up positive right away of course. The nurse dipped the stick and immediately said "yep, she's reeaalll pregnant". It was funny. They gave me this big bag of "goodies". There were tons of magazines, a few samples of prenatal vitamins, and even a huggie diaper! It was so tiny and cute! I went over and scheduled my next appointments. I felt like I was going to pass out while I was talking to the lady about our next visits. She asked if I was okay, and I just told her I needed to eat something. So, I made it out of there, and Alan and I booked it to Chic-fil-A. I had an entire chicken sandwhich. That was the most I had eaten all week! I don't know why the call it "morning sickness", because for me...it is all day everyday!

That morning, before the appointment, we told Angela the news! She was very surprised. I don't think she believed us at first. She actually asked the question, "How did this happen?" Leave it to her. haha!

Saturday, November 20th- We went to Grandma Melodie and Grandpa Brett's to celebrate Thanksgiving with the family. Grandma had pulled me to the side when I first got there and showed me something that she had bought. It was a little sign that said "caution: baby inside". She said there were many that said baby on board, but she thought that "inside" was more appropriate. So, she had the idea to hook it on a chain necklace and hang it over my back and see if they notice. Lyndi and her crew were there before Matt and Mandy got there, so as we were getting food, I tried to kinda hang around Lyndi with my back to her in the food line. She was oblivious, so I sat next to her at the table and turned my back to her and very obviously bent over and said "I am gonna bend over here and tie my shoe". Then she squealled "really?!" and started sobbing and hugging me. It was so cute! It's got to be a huge deal for her, because we've always been so close. More like sisters than aunt and niece beings she was just 7 when I was born. Later, Matt and Mandy came over and they noticed the sign right away. Well, the family kinda made it obvious that something was up, because everyone started asking me to go get things from the kitchen. So, they caught on right away. It was really fun telling them! And all of the cousins! The older ones reacted. The younger ones didn't really know what was going on. They will catch on soon I'm sure as I start to show and all of that fun stuff.

Saturday, November 20th- After church Alan and I went to Grandpa Richard's and Suzy's so Alan could fix some vents for Grandpa. I did pretty good as far as sickness at church up untill communion. I made the mistake of eating an oyster cracker, which is one of the only things I had on my stomach one night that I got "sick", so it triggered some kind of gag nerve, and I started feeling horrible! I felt a little better by the time we got to Grandpa's and did okay there, but by the time we left I was feeling absolutely miserable again. We told the two of them while we were there, but didn't take pictures because nobody in that house was feeling good. Grandpa had just gotten home from having major lung surgery and Suzy was fighting a horrible cold. So, the pictures would have been no fun.

Thursday, November 25th- Thanksgiving Day. I had been dreading Thanksgiving day all week! I have been so sick lately, that a holiday revolving around food was not something I was looking forward to. Especially since the night before I was up untill after 1:00am still "getting sick". We didn't make it to Grandpa's anual breakfast, because I was up all night and would have had less than 5 hours of sleep if we had gotten up to go. We did make it to Alan's family's dinner. Alan still hadn't gotten to tell all of his family, so I just kind of forced myself to get up and get ready. I actually did pretty good while we were there. Alan announced the big news right before we ate. We were all standing in the kitchen. I had the camera and was able to get the reactions! The last two pictures are of a gift from Grandma Ripley, a little lamb stuffed animal.