First Ultrasound

Yesterday Nate & I were able to see our baby for the very first time! We went and saw Dr.Martin for our first Ultrasound. It was a truly amazing experience! Baby Muth's measurements were exactly on target for our due date & showed that I was exactly 7 weeks & 2 day- that puts Baby Muth's expected due date as May 12, 2009! The most amazing part of the entire experience was listening to the heart beat! I don't know if I was more excited and touched by the sound of the heart beat or Nate's reaction. It was a very special moment for both of us! The heart beat was right on target also for 7 weeks at 140 beats per minute. Dr. Martin was able to record the entire Ultrasound and heartbeat on video so we will be able to share it with our families! It's funny how that little "blob" on the screen means soooo much more to you when it is YOUR little "blob" with a heartbeat! Everything else checked out wonderfully and we are looking forward to many more happy, healthy, and exciting visits with Dr. Martin! I am SOOOOOOO glad Stephanie & Bobby recommended him to us- WE LOVE HIM & he makes the experience so much fun! Our next appointment is on October 23 - Dr. Martin will TRY to guess the sex of the baby at that appointment but said it will probably be at our next appointment mid-November that we will know for sure! We are super excited either way - but it will be fun to know and start planning! Nate teases me because my prediction on the sex has gone back and forth about 4 times now :)

Now that Homecoming Week is over... A few more details :)

As most of you already know, my good friend Ann & I are the Student Government Sponsors for Mill Creek High School where we both teach. This is my third year at Mill Creek and my third year sponsoring Student Government. Mill Creek is the largest public high school in the State of Georgia with over 4,000 students! The most important responsibility Ann & I have as sponsors is planning the Homecoming Week festivities including: spirit week, homecoming court nominations, voting, as well as pep rally participation, football game half-time show, and of course the homecoming dance! It takes months of planning and extra long days in order to pull it all off! As you can imagine this is exhausting for us every year but this year was ESPECIALLY tough for me being pregnant! I have been amazed at how exhausting pregnancy is. By the end of the day just walking to my car & carrying my purse somehow feels equivalent to a full hour spent in the gym! It has forced me to slow down my fast paced "go go go" mentality! Learning how to say "No" has proven to be difficult for me also!

Of course this week was not the week to be feeling sick but.... the pregnancy sickness hit me this week full force! I don't know why they call it "morning sickness" because it does not discriminate by the time of day! All day long- off & on- I am hit with the pregnancy funk! Nate has been such an amazing husband during this CRAZY week of homecoming chaos and sickness! He is so patient and comforting! I am so lucky to have a husband like him! He is constantly trying to get me anything that might make me feel better! For example, Nate cooks himself breakfast every morning before going to work but since i leave for work at 5:15 I am long gone before he is up and cooking. However yesterday morning we were up and getting ready at the same time- Nate was going to work & I was going up to the school to decorate for the dance. I was feeling sick & that super sonic sensitive sense of smell that pregnancy graces with your kicked in at Nate's expense! I made it out the door of our bedroom upstairs and was overwhelmed by the smell of whatever he had cooked for breakfast & quickly retreated back into our bedroom! I was convinced that he had cooked bacon! I was near tears and just couldn't understand WHY he would cook bacon in our house with me being to sick! ha ha :) As it turns out he had made waffles- no bacon :) He did his best to calm me down- in all my craziness- and escorted me with sweatshirt secured over my face to prevent ANY of those smells from wafting into my nose- out to my car! Bless his heart all he wanted to do was eat a little breakfast! His ability to remain calm and not laugh at me in those moments is why I believe god hand picked him to take care of me and our child for the rest of my life. My family is truly blessed!

Our next doctor's appointment is Thursday afternoon- I'll update soon after :)

Welcome to our journey....

I must give credit to one of my wonderful co-workers who introduced me to this site & the concept of a "baby blog." He and his wife created a blog on this site in honor of their baby girl (she was born this week :) yea!) It was so much fun to check in on the "Fabulous Fulcher Family" throughout their journey! I loved the idea so much that I just had to steal it for my own growing family! Nate & I were just recently blessed with the fabulous news that we will be adding a new addition to our family... we're having a baby!! AHH! That is just so exciting to say :)

Nate & I are overjoyed and couldn't wait to share the news with our parents! I didn't even make it out of the Dr.'s office parking lot before I called my mom! Her reaction was great! Lots of cheering and excitement & I think maybe a tiny tear- maybe :) My mom & dad had just spent the weekend with Nate & I at the pool and my mom asked me if I was pregnant - she just had a hunch I guess- the good ole' momma intuition! So I think she threw in a "I knew it- I knew it" in the midst of her excitement! Dad was my next call of course & a quote I will never forget... he said Aundrea "That is a smile I will wear on my heart" My dad is the sweetest! My sister actually already had a pretty good idea what was coming- but she was my third call (well I guess technically she would have been the first call pre-official confirmation)

Nate and I were able to tell his parents in person the next night at dinner. We went to our "go to" dinner spot Bone Fish. Nate decided to get a "congratulations" card & we wrote a cute little message inside! We didn't even think about the fact that we hadn't seen them since their anniversary so when we gave them the card they thought it was for their anniversary- opps! Well they were pleasantly surprised to read the message inside & find out that they were going to be grandparents again! Lots of tears from sally & a good solid congratulations from papa tom! It turned out to be a wonderful evening full of joy!

The only people left to tell in our immediate families.... Adam, Melanie, Eric & the boys! It worked out perfectly that we were making a trip to LA to visit Adam for his birthday & Melanie was meeting us out there from Texas as well! It was very difficult not to tell them right away over the phone- but it was SOOO worth it when we were able to tell them in person. We told Adam as soon as we got to his apartment, but waited to tell Melanie until the next night when we were out for Adam's birthday. It was such a perfect moment. Adam made an amazing toast to start off the night to "My Brother & Sister-In-Law who are having a baby" The look on Melanie's face was priceless. It was a really great moment for all of us and I thank Adam dearly for being willing to share the spotlight with me that night!

With each new person we tell, it gets a little bit more real. WE ARE HAVING A BABY!! We feel so amazingly blessed and overwhelmed at the same time! I am especially excited to have the opportunity to share this journey with my fabulous family and amazing best friends!