First Breakdown

I had my first emotional breakdown today. I had an appointment with my endocrinologist, who confirmed that I not only have Graves disease, but also Hashimoto's thyroiditis, another autoimmune thyroid issue. If I had only avoided the internet, maybe I would have been fine. But after researching the latest studies about how BOTH diseases increase all kinds of risks during pregnancy, some of them REALLY scary, I had a total breakdown at work. I managed to almost pull myself together to leave, but it wasn't pretty. Thankfully I didn't see anyone on the way out. We have an appointment with our perinatologist tomorrow morning and will have an ultrasound, so hopefully that will give me some peace of mind. I just keep thinking that after all we have been through to even get pregnant, surely nothing else can go wrong! Thank goodness our little man has been kicking this evening... that is the best ever. Now for some good news tomorrow...

28 week picture

OK, I know I am way behind, but here is the 28 week belly picture.

Cullen gets showered!

We have had our first few showers. Our first was in Johnson City, my home town. It was so much fun! We got so many fabulous things for our little man. The people in my home town are so sweet. Some of the people who came and brought us gifts were friends of my parents that we had never even met! So sweet! And it was so fabulous to see my family.

Last Thursday we had a shower at David's office. It was so great to celebrate with the people who had followed our struggle with infertility. We are so blessed!

Only 10 weeks to go!

I am so excited that we are starting our last 10 weeks!

The past week and a half has been pretty crazy. My sister-in-law, Lindsay, got married last weekend. The wedding was beautiful! We were so excited that Larry got to go. I will have to post some pictures of the beautiful bride when I get them. I was the biggest bridesmaid in history! Hehe! The wedding festivities were a bit much for me, though, and we had a scare at the reception when I started having some pretty serious contractions. Luckily, they went away after I had a BUNCH of water and was able to rest.

The next day we took Janice to lunch for her birthday and went to Annette's first birthday party. Busy, fun weekend!

I started feeling pretty sick last week, so this past weekend was much less eventful. I guess the third trimester is starting to get to me. Little Cullen has discovered my ribs, and he LOVES to kick them. He is a strong little guy!

Other than that, I am really having the nesting instinct. My dirty house is driving me crazy, and I am obsessed with getting everything ready for Cullen.

Under 100 days! And things you should never say to a pregnant lady

For some reason, I have been looking forward to the milestone of being under 100 days to go in the pregnancy. FINALLY, I am here. It feels fabulous! I am so excited to meet our son! Feel free to remind me every time you see me that I am almost there.

Don't, however, feel free to tell me I am "so huge" or "out there" or insist that I must be having twins. I was warned at the beginning of the pregnancy that I would get these comments, but I guess I just didn't believe it. But, oh yes, now I get them. One person even asked my due date and responded in disbelief, "December 6???!!!! Are you sure there aren't two in there?" It was way too early in the morning for me (and I was really wanting a cup of coffee), so instead of saying something I would completely regret, I responded only somewhat offensively with: "that's not a very nice thing to say." She went on to explain that my due date must be off. Wow. This definitely goes in the file: what not to say to a pregnant woman.

And for the record, my doctor says I am right on track for weight gain. Just to make myself feel better, I watched 4 episodes of A Baby Story that night and remarked to myself how much smaller I am than all of those ladies (:

Cullen's Room

All the pink is now gone from Cullen's room, and it is starting to look like a little boy's room! Thanks to some advice from Kelly, we installed a shelf above the dresser/changing table for more storage and put the paddles on the wall. It is starting to look complete!

David approves!

The dogs approve too but want to know why they can't have a crib

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My, how you have grown!

While I still don't understand those people who say they LOVE being pregnant, I am starting to feel MUCH better. I definitely had my share of all-day sickness (WHY do they call it morning sickness?!), but I think I am finally over it! Woohoo! But along with feeling better has come eating more. You know, first breakfast, second breakfast, first lunch.... and so on. Can you believe how much my belly has grown? I keep hoping it is mostly Cullen... and begging David for a personal trainer after our sweet Cullen is here.

Check out the huge 24 week belly!

It is really fun to hit the viability milestone. I hope Cullen decides to keep cooking for a long while, but it is somewhat comforting to know that he would have a fighting chance even today. Thank you, thank you God and Dr. McKenzie for this blessing.