We've got a kicker!!

I have been really bad about remembering to update this. With a wonderful reminder via Facebook, I am doing my due diligence and posting. Everything has been going great. We are both finishing up our second to last semester with the BYU-I Pathway program (a gateway program into BYU-I) and I am graduating in less than a month from Front Range. We're both working really hard in school and at work and trying to keep our house maintained (with no help from our builder and contractors) and finances afloat. So far, so good!

 Last night, 04-17-2013, we got to feel the baby kick for the first time. We were laying in bed, Jeff was reading, I was watching Days of our Lives, when I felt it kick first. I quickly grabbed Jeff's hand and said "press hard right here" and after a few impatient minutes on Jeff's part, he got to feel it too! Pretty exciting. Yesterday marked the start of 23 weeks into this pregnancy. We are officially three months and twenty five days away from our due date as of today. It is all happening really quick. Some days it's pretty scary for me to think about being a mom and that I will have a child to take care of 24/7 but I'm still exciting at the same time.

We've been having a lot of people ask what the baby's gender is. We don't know. We truly want to be surprised when he or she gets here. Some of our friends and family are going nuts not knowing but we are having a great time guessing and wondering. In terms of names, we have a most definite name picked out for a girl (no, we're not sharing that yet either) and about three names for a boy. We figured that at this point if we don't fall in love with one specific name then we can go to the hospital with our one girl name and three boy names and whatever gender this baby is will help decide and then we can decide the rest in the moment.

Aside from all the wonderful parts of pregnancy, these last few weeks have also brought on a new area of concern for me. I have been having a hard time with my blood sugar and my midwife thinks my blood pressure and iron counts may also be a factor in how I'm feeling. I get dizzy, have vertigo, shake, and become very lethargic regardless of what I eat or how often. On the bright side, my midwife says that the symptoms I am describing are very normal during pregnancy and they are not worried. At my next appointment we are going to screen for anemia and check my sugar/pressure levels. Until then I get to eat every hour and eat foods with higher protein counts and lower carbohydrates. 

The top picture gives a pretty good indicator of what I really look like while the bottom picture shows how I feel. LOL We had to change the place where we took these as we finally hung up pictures in our house.

Baby Update:

How Far Along: Twenty-three weeks

Cravings: Pudding. This week has been vanilla and chocolate. French Fries still sound great too.

Feeling: I'm not feeling too great with the blood pressure/sugar problems but overall I feel good. 

Best Part of being pregnant right now: Feeling him/her starting to kick

Worst Part of being pregnant right now: Struggling with my blood sugar and blood pressure. 

Sleep: Doing great! I still get up every night at least once but am sleeping pretty well.