The Vanderhorst Family

The Vanderhorst Family

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Pregnancy Thoughts

This may sound kind of odd to some people, but I have realized the past few weeks that I thoroughly enjoy being pregnant! I love it! Even during the first trimester when I felt sick, or if I still feel exhausted, or even get a little cranky (which by the way does not happen that often), I still love being pregnant. I think it has really started to hit me that Grant and I are going to be parents and that we're starting out family! Hearing the heart-beat a few days ago was one of the most spiritual experiences I've ever had. Each baby is such a blessing and gift from Heavenly Father and I'm so grateful for this opportunity that I have to be a mom. So yes, all the difficulties of pregnancy are such a speck of dust compared to the grand opportunity of being a partner with Heavenly Father and with Grant in raising our family. Happy 14 weeks to Baby Vanderhorst!

I think this is more from just eating a large meal and some bloating. My stomach fluctuates from day to day. I'm excited to start looking more and more pregnant!

Saturday, October 6, 2012

12 Weeks!

Hello everyone!

I haven't written on my blog for a few months because I have been scared about spilling the beans to early! I figured it was best to stay away from temptation all together :)
I want to tell the story of how we found out! I was having some early symptoms (like my face breaking out like I'm going through puberty again) and took a pregnancy test. It came back faintly positive! I told Grant and his response was "WHAT?! WE'RE PREGNANT!" I then told him that I wasn't sure, so I wanted to take another one. He said to take another test, or 3, or 10, however many I needed to take to be sure. I ended up taking 5 over the course of a few days :) They all came back positive. After the 5th one, it really began to sink in that we were going to be parents!
I am 12 weeks into my pregnancy right now and things are going so well! I really could not be luckier with how easy my first trimester was. One of my friends answered the following questions on her blog every month or so, and I plan on doing the same.

How Far Along: 12 weeks exactly. 
Size of Baby: According to babycenter.com my baby is 2 inches long and is about the size of a small lime.
Total Weight Gain/Loss: No change yet, but I'm sure it'll come very soon!
Maternity Clothes: Not quite yet. I don't really like anything tight around my waist, so I'm not wearing certain skirts or jeans, but other than that things are still normal. I know that's about to change very soon!
Gender: No clue--I really could go either way with this. I could see us having either a boy or a girl, but we don't find out till the beginning of December.
Movement: According to babycenter.com my baby is moving around like crazy, but it's still obviously very early for me to feel any movement.
Sleep: A lot. Lots and lots of sleep. I take a nap at least 3-4 times a week, and try to get to bed at a reasonable hour. I get up maybe once or twice during the night to go to the restroom, and sometimes I can't really get comfortable, but it hasn't been too bad.
What I miss: My energy. But I don't know if this is lost from the first trimester or from being a first-year high school teacher.  Or both!
Cravings: I don't really have cravings. Once in a blue moon I'll "crave" something, but I think it's more the fact that it's the only thing that sounds good.
Aversions: Honestly, it has not been all that bad. I will say there are a few times during the week where I go to eat something and it just does not sound good at all, but nothing in-particular that I can't eat anymore. It comes and goes. My first aversion was when we were at PF-Changs when I was about 7 weeks along. I ordered this amazing Orange Chicken dish, and got about half-way through this feast that I really was enjoying, and then all of a sudden it tasted disgusting to me. I remember thinking "Why did I just order this? This is disgusting!" So we took it home as left-overs and the next day it tasted great! Haha sometimes you just have to laugh :)
Symptoms:  I knew I was pregnant really early on because my face has been breaking out like I'm going through puberty again! From about weeks 6-9 my morning sickness was in full-swing. I was throwing up maybe 2-3 times a week, so nothing too bad, but I felt sick most of the time. After the 9th week it pretty much went away. I still have random days here and there where I throw up, but I have been very lucky! 
Best Moment: Honestly, the day we found out! Realizing that our dream of becoming parents was finally coming true! We really couldn't be happier. Here are picture of the month-markers.

4 Weeks (Moments after we found out!)

8 Weeks

12 Weeks (we just barely took today)