Monday, December 7, 2009

Week 21

We are starting Week 21 and feeling pretty good. The baby is kicking quite a bit, which is an amazing feeling. I try to get Eric's hand there to feel it, but he is pretty impatient waiting for it. Although he has felt it at least a couple times. I'm just waiting for the baby to kick him in the face when he's doing this:



Wouldn't that be hilarious? So far, no go though.

I can count on the cat to sit on my lap and keep my belly warm. She is more clingy than usual since we left her home alone for a week over Thanksgiving. If I'm sitting under a blanket or laying out comfortably you can pretty much guarantee that she's there in 10 minutes or less.

Sadly, I have not gotten my pancakes in the last week. I may break down and buy some mix to make some one night. However, I haven't been having the craving for them either.

Two days until we find out gender of the Niesling. We are both hoping for a girl, although I wouldn't mind a little man either.

The next update should include a gender annoucement, as well as maybe some name possibilities. Hope everyone has a great week!


Week 21


Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving!

Life around this Nies household have been crazy lately. Eric has been working very hard and seems to have a lot of meetings. I haven't been so busy, but time has just been flying by. Even though that's easy to say when you seem to spend all your extra time sleeping.

It did help that we took a week off to go visit Eric's brother Jared and his wife Sarah. They were kind enough to host us for Thanksgiving in Litchfield, IL where Jared is currently doing his vicarage. Litchfield is a great little town and they are staying in the parsonage, which is great. We spent most of our time there just relaxing and enjoying time with Jared and Sarah. They cooked some great meals, which was especially good for me as I'm still hungry all the time.

On the way to and from IL, we also stayed with our friends the Nevins near Omaha. We love spending time with them and it's even better now as they are pregnant too. You can imagine how much time we spent discussing baby names and poo colors. Their daughter Celia was there this time, so we got to hang with her as well. She was especially enamored with Eric and he with her. I think it just reaffirmed his desire for a daughter.

I also bought my first maternity clothes with Cara. Three pairs of pants, which are still just a little too big. But I don't think it will be long before I fit in them, as I seem to be finally getting the classic belly. Which is good because the regular pants are not going to hack it for much longer.

The most exciting part of our vacation, aside from feeling the baby kick more and spending time with some wonderful people, was hitting a deer on the interstate 30-some miles from home. Luckily all three of us seem to be fine and we have insurance to cover the damage. Eric and I will be down to one car for a few weeks, but that's a small price for all of us to be safe and sound.

Because of our vacation, we did miss week 19 pictures. Below are weeks 17,18 and 20.

Week 17:



Week 18:



Week 20:



Also, just a reminder that next week is our next doctor's appointment when we will hopefully find out the gender!

Oh, and I still want pancakes all the time. :)

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Another Day, Another Doctor's Appointment

Today we saw Dr. K again. It was a relatively simple checkup. We did get to hear the Niesling's heartbeat, which was exciting. The doctor figured it to be about 140 beats per minute. Since we didn't get to hear it last month, it was great to get it this time. That was about the extent of the appointment. She answered a couple questions for us, including mine about morning and night pains. She said as long as the pains don't last very long and there's no bleeding with them, everything should be fine. She also agreed with Eric that I can exercise everyday and it would help me be in better shape for labor. Dr. K said she wasn't worried that I haven't gained much weight yet. That eased my mind, as I've only gained a couple pounds. I am hungry all the time, so I'm sure I'll start putting on more weight soon. Our next appointment is scheduled for December 9th, where we will have an ultrasound and hopefully find out the baby's gender!

Other than the appointment, things have been relatively normal. I'm eating about the same, and appear to be finished with the sickness. I did get the H1N1/swine flu shot last week, although it seems as though that has calmed down as well. I am still sleeping a lot, including at least one nap per weekend. I do crave pancakes all the time though...

Also, congratulations to our friends the Nevins who found out they are having a boy!

Hopefully I will have the next round of pictures up soon.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Weeks 14 & 15

Things have been pretty calm around here lately. I'm sleeping extra when I can, including 12 hours Friday night and then an hour nap on Saturday afternoon. Despite having built in extra hour last night with daylight savings time, I was up early this morning. Eric has been good about letting me take a nap if I'm tired.

One more recent development has been my almost constant hunger. The nauseousness and queasiness are pretty much gone. The only time my stomach is upset is if I get hungry and don't eat. Consquently I've got snacks everywhere, from trail mix and fruit at work to cheese and salad at home. I feel like I'm eating a lot but am only slowly gaining weight. I'm not weighing myself every morning like I was before but feel healthy. Which I think is more important.

Last week was my birthday, my last one without a baby. And as one of my coworkers put it, my last one as Michelle. From now on I'll be "Niesling's mom". Which is fine with me, just made me pause for a minute and realize how much my life is going to change. Only for the better, but still different. It's a new chapter in my life I'm really looking forward to.

With everything that was going on, Eric and I missed a picture for Week 14, but below are Week 15 pictures. I am getting a bigger bump, but I think it's more obvious when I'm wearing a couple layers of shirts.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

First Doctor's Appointment

For all my promises I haven't been very good about updating the blog. I'll try to be better as time goes on.

Last week I had my first doctor appointment. Thankfully I have a wonderful husband who insisted on going with me. I hadn't met the doctor before (we'll call her Dr. B), but she was great. I'm looking forward to getting to know her and having her with us through this process.

The appointment started, as most first appointments with a new doc do, with the medical history questions. Dr. B's nurse Anna is quite the character, but at least she'll keep me laughing. After she finished asking us about our backgrounds and such, Dr. B came in. She went through some of the same questions and we got to know each other a little bit. Because we thought I was at 13 weeks, she said we should be able to hear the heartbeat with a hand-held doppler. So I laid on those fun beds they always have in doctor's offices and got the fun cold goo on my belly. Dr. B went over my belly for 5 to 10 minutes. While it was cool to hear my own heartbeat, she couldn't find the baby's.

This was one of my big worries, that something had happened to the baby in the first three months (since I didn't see a doctor that entire time) and we wouldn't know it. Eric, being Eric, wasn't worried, but since I am the worrier of the two of us, I will say it gave me some restless nights. I think being my first pregnancy, and having heard sad stories from more than one couple who are friends, I was justified in my worry.

Dr. B decided to order an ultrasound since she couldn't find the heartbeat. She didn't seem worried at all. She thought I might have a tilted uterus or be a week behind what we thought, either of which would have made it harder to find the baby's heartbeat. We headed over for the ultrasound (where I once again got my belly exposed to the chilly goo) and the tech had no problem whatsoever finding the baby.

In that moment, it became completely real for both Eric and I. I knew I had this baby growing in me, but it wasn't the same as seeing him/her right there in front of me. (And for those of you taking bets, there is officially only ONE baby. Sorry.)


So without further ado, behold the newest Nies:

We each have a copy at work, plus the original on our fridge. I also believe Eric's mom has a copy on her desk at work. The kid isn't even born yet and already has more pictures out there than me!

Needless to say, the ultrasound was a great relief. While the tech said she had hoped we would see some movement, just knowing our baby is safe and sound was enough for both of us. When I called before the appointment, they did tell me that they usually do ultrasounds at Week 20, and then with Eric's connections at the Care Center, hopefully we will have more pre-birth pictures to share.

The ultrasound tech also said, according to the measurements, she thought I was at Week 12, which would put us a week behind what we thought, also moving my due date to April 20, 2010. (Sorry to those of you looking to have the baby born on your birthday, earlier in the month, though anything is possible.)

The ultrasound was the most exciting part of the appointment. Aside from it and the previously mentioned question portion, there was the always fun "female" (Pap, exam, etc) part, and then the blood draw. Eric and I also got flu shots, and I will be getting the swine flu shot, most likely at my next appointment (which is November 10th).

It was a wonderful first appointment and I am so glad I waited the extra couple months to see Dr. B. She is a great doctor and I think will take good care of all of us. I did ask her about my not gaining any weight, in fact losing a couple pounds in the first trimester, but she said it was nothing to worry about at this point. If I don't start putting on some weight though, we will have to do something about it. I am still not really craving anything, but find myself getting hungrier more often during the day. Luckily I have very understanding bosses who don't mind me snacking on fruit or such at my desk.

According to a few people, I am getting the baby bump, which I think is more obvious at certain times than others. But I'll let you judge for yourselves with some pictures of me. The first two are from two weeks ago (Week 11), then last week (Week 12), and this week (Week 13). (Also, when looking at the older pictures, please note they will be a week behind what I said because of the adjustment.)

Week 11:
Week 12:


Week 13:



*Please ignore my not-so-happy expressions in the pictures. They in no way reflect how I feel about this pregnancy and baby. It is a reflection for the time of night (right before bed) that Eric usually takes these pictures.

A short update on everything else about the pregnancy: I'm still queasy, tired, visiting the bathroom frequently, and breaking out. But I'm hoping the first two on this list will be gone in the next couple weeks as I start the second trimester.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Thank the Lord for good family and friends

Now that it has been almost two weeks since my last post, I've decided to give you an update. There actually won't be much of an update. Things have been plugging away the same as before. Nauseous, breaking out, tired, hungry, and maybe a little whiny. I keep waiting for the queasiness to be over, but as of yet there has not been any relief.

I keep waiting for the cravings to kick in so I can send Eric to the store for pickles at 2 in the morning, but they haven't shown up either. I haven't been eating as well as I should have in the last couple weeks, so if anyone has fun easy ways to incorporate more fruits and veggies into my diet, please let me know!

The last post I wrote was a little bit of a downer about all the bad things in the world that we bring children into, so this time around I thought I would be more positive.

One of the greatest blessings we have that I'm so thankful for are amazing family and friends to help us through this stage of our lives. Both of our families are very excited and have been nothing but supportive for us. It doesn't hurt when Eric's mom brings us new stuff for the baby every weekend after she's done with the garage sales. I don't know what we'll actually have to buy new when the time comes. As this is the first grandchild and great-grandchild on both sides, I don't think we could have happier relatives. And I know they are all there for us, no matter what we need or how far away they are.

Along with these great families, we have wonderful friends. The ones who already have kids are answering any and all questions we have about child rearing, the ones who are pregnant along with me are there to commiserate and advise, and the ones not yet to the family stage are just plain excited for us. I hope we are as good of friends to others as these people are to us. Even when we seem to be "ignoring" them. We just have to spend a lot of time at home because I haven't been feeling well. (Hopefully that will change soon! Both the sick part and the non-socializing part.)

I don't know what we would do without all these amazing people. Yes, we could make it on our own, but they make it a lot easier, and more fun because they are around us, supporting us. So thank you to all you out there. You know who you are, and more importantly, we know who you are.

And yes, we will be calling you for babysitting duty!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Week 10 Update

Sorry for the lack of posts the last week. I've been tired and queasy and not up to the task of dragging myself to the computer to type. Thankfully I'm feeling better tonight, so you all get a post!

(And actually today officially begins week 11, but I thought I should let you know how week 10 went first.)

There wasn't much excitement around our house this week. Primarily the ordinary housework, go to work, relax time. I swear if I wasn't queasy 90% of the time, tired 80% of the time, and using the bathroom every hour I wouldn't even think I was pregnant! Oh, and there is the breaking out like a high schooler, moodiness, food cravings, and other assorted pregnancy symptoms. I don't understand the stories about women who don't even know they're pregnant until they give birth!

One thing that did really hit me this week is something I'm sure all parents go through. Wondering about bringing a child into the world. I mean, between all the pain and suffering we go through, the possible surgeries, the losses we sustain in our lives, the day-t0-day grind, why would anyone want to be part of this? I think it was mostly my father-in-law having surgery last week that really made me think. He came through great and hopefully will feel a hundred times better once he's through recovery, but what if something had happened?

I've been fortunate not to have a major loss in my life thus far. But just the thought of not having someone there, of losing them forever really makes me pause. Of course we still have children and continue to grow our families but I think it's something that comes more the the foreground once you know you'll be bringing a child into the world and subjecting them to all of that.

Okay, enough with the heavy stuff. Now on to what I'm sure is everyone's favorite part of the blog (although I know it's not mine!), the pictures:

There is no obvious changes yet, but we want to stay faithful to our week-by-week update. And just to show everyone that Eric is not gaining any sympathy weight, feast your eyes on this!
Not quite the same Buddha we all used to know and love, huh? He has done an amazing job of losing the unnecessary weight and keeping it off. Hopefully he can inspire me to lose the baby weight next year. But of course, safely and not in a hurry.

I think that's all for now, I'll try to post again soon. Hope everyone has a great Wednesday!

Monday, September 7, 2009

Week 9, Post 2

Thanks to everyone for the great response to my blog. I know you haven't all left comments, but just hearing that you're reading it inspires me to keep going.

Hence this, the second post.

I said in the first post that I didn't seem to be having too many symptoms, right? Well one that I am having over and over again is FBT (aka Frequent Bathroom Trips). These FBT have now progressed in the last week to include the infamous ENITMOMPSFBT (aka Every Night In The Middle Of My Precious Sleep Frequent Bathroom Trips). And as it usually does, my feet on the cool linoleum and just having to get out of my comfortable bed for these trips wakes me up enough that it takes me a few minutes to get back to sleep. So while I lay there, praying Eric will stop snoring, I usually start to compose blog posts in my head. And at that time they are always brilliant, riveting, and full of amazing insights. Sadly by the time I get up the next morning, all these awesome thoughts are gone from my head. And so you are left with this.

In the great tradition of many pregnant couples before us, Eric and I have decided to do weekly pictures to follow the physical changes pregnancy imparts on a woman's midsection. As such, here is the first set, taken on the Saturday night of week nine. (We're not even officially parents yet and already are weekend nights are going down the tubes!) (I can't believe I'm really going to post these on the internet for anyone to see, but here goes.)

In addition to FBT, I have now another symptom of pregnancy to add to the list of having experienced. Luckily I don't mind this one nearly as much. On this long Labor Day weekend I ended up taking four naps totaling between 5 and 6 hours. While I've been slightly more tired the last few weeks, this was the first time I actually was tired enough to sleep during the day. Unfortunately, I do have to go back to work tomorrow, which is going to greatly impede my naptime. I'm hoping I'll either have time for a catnap during lunch, or right away when I get home, or that maybe the tiredness will restrict itself to the weekends. Sadly, I don't think any of these options are very likely.

I think that is all the updates for now. Hope everyone had a great long weekend and I'll post again in the next couple days!

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Not Quite the Beginning of the Beginning

Well, here it is. After having been pregnant for the last 9 weeks, knowing I'm pregnant for the last 3, and contemplating this blog for the last few days, I've finally sat down and started.

I want to use this blog to keep friends and family (both those we see a lot and those we don't) updated on the pregnancy. Unfortunately, I'm a procrastinator and somewhat lazy, so I'm going to depend on my husband and your enthusiasm to keep me going on it.

The title for the blog came from a friend of Eric's who coined the term "Niesling". We both thought it was appropriate and funny enough to be included.

As I said, I'm approximately nine weeks along. And sadly, I have been experiencing the wonder that is morning sickness for most of the time. I don't actually get sick, I'm just queasy and uncomfortable almost all day long. Except after lunch and dinner, which it's nice to get some relief. Thankfully I only have three weeks left until the second trimester starts, so hopefully the nauseousness will go away like all the women I've talked to say it does.

Other than the sickness, and frequent bathroom runs, I haven't felt too much different. Okay, there are the occasionally dizzy moments, and I can't concentrate very well in the morning, and I'm constantly hungry, but other than that...

I have not yet been to see the doctor. I did go in the Monday after we found out and saw a CNP. They did all the blood tests and such, and have not called me, so I'm assuming all is well until I do see the doctor. That appointment is scheduled for Wednesday October 7th. Don't worry, I'll be sure to let you know how it goes!

Also, we do plan to find out the gender, and will be telling everyone who wants to know. Why just add to the stress of delivery when we can know now and decorate accordingly? (And let my mother-in-law know so she can plan her shopping accordingly as well. And anyone else too. :) )

The funny thing about this is we have two couples that are friends who are also pregnant right now! Unfortunately they do not live close so I have to depend on email and facebook to ask them my questions and commiserate.

Hm... Is there anything else I need to tell you in this post? Well, I haven't had any cravings yet. Unless you count the fact that as soon as I think of a food (Chinese food, chocolate chip muffins, yogurt, etc) I immediately want to eat it and will not stop thinking about it until I do. Eric is not digging this part of the pregnancy, but has agreed to start going on my food runs when I hit the second trimester. Only 3 weeks to go!

I hope you guys find this interesting and feel free to email me or leave questions in the comments and I will answer them!