Introducing Junebug! And a few other tidbits...

Well readers, we have finally made it to "that time in our lives"...this meaning that we have jumped on the baby bandwagon!! I am ridiculously excited, and while I don't think Duane would say it with as much exuberance, I'm pretty certain he's excited too...just not as outwardly as me :) You know guys...

And speaking of outwardly...that is the direction my belly has been heading in these last 19 weeks! I feel like I've been showing for a number of weeks now (at least a month), when in reality I've likely only recently "popped". I know there's much more "popping" to be done, especially since both Sherri and Jody had an obvious change between 20 and 25 weeks. Since I'm the last of the sisters to be pregnant, I can now keep track of my growth by checking their photos from the same week period. I think I won for size at 18 weeks, but I really hope it doesn't become a trend! I DO NOT want to get as big as Jody did with Gavin! Ouch.
Both sisters did photos (I took Jody's) in 4 week increments, and strangely enough I haven't bothered...really...and I LOVE belly photos! I've taken torso shots every couple weeks here and there with my phone's camera, just to keep a watch on the growth...but nothing really special. I've asked Duane to take some next week when we head into Cranbrook for our 20 week ultrasound though! I think he's agreed...

Speaking of ultrasounds...
As only a few of you may know, we have experienced an u/s once before this pregnancy...and fairly recently, too. I am not going to lie: I am somewhat nervous for next week.
Junebug will be our second pregnancy, and already has a big sister up in Heaven.
Duane and I were blessed to get pregnant about 11 months ago with a little girl who was not meant to be with us. I was ecstatic about that pregnancy and wrote her little notes throughout the 15 weeks she was with us, laid a hand on my belly to await movement, and said a prayer for her every night. Devastating doesn't even describe the day I laid on the ultrasound table at the Cranbrook hospital, only to find out that our baby had no heartbeat and was only measuring 10 and a half weeks. I was surprised, sad, mad, heartbroken, and any other imaginable negative emotion that you could imagine. And they all came in one massive wave...and then I just couldn't stop crying.
I am VERY thankful for friends and adopted family in Fernie. Without them, I don't know that I could have gotten through that weekend just me and Duane. We were both stunned. I think going out to a planned birthday celebration that night, despite our tragic news, was the best thing we could have done. Our friends were there and supported us with hugs and encouragement, and allowed me to cry on their shoulders. I really tried not to ruin the mood though!
I had a few moments over the next two days (Saturday and Sunday) where I was in total denial, and ended up going to the ER here in town to see if they could check for a heartbeat with the Doppler. The doc on call didn't bother...he just rang up Cranbrook and spoke to the radiologist who confirmed fetal demise. I went home with my head hanging. We were meant to announce our special news at church on Sunday, and after a frantic call to our pastor, that was halted. We stayed home from church that day, and I'm not sure I actually even got out of bed.
Our D&C surgery was booked for Monday, so back to Cranbrook we went. I felt at peace with our decision, as waiting for a natural miscarriage made no sense to me...we'd already apparently "waited" and nothing had happened from the time her heart stopped to the time we found out about it 4.5 weeks later. I wasn't convinced my body would do it on its own. So surgery it was. Our little girl was "born" on June 6, 2011. That date will always be on my heart. We chose not to name her, but she is our little angel baby. I had a ring made with the June birthstone Alexandrite, which is also called the Cat's Eye stone. When we received the results from pathology 12 weeks post-op, we were told our little girl had a chromosomal disorder in which she had an extra chromosome...now I can't remember all the details from that visit, but I do remember that the disorder is sometimes known as Cat Eye Syndrome. Coincidence? I think not. I keep trying to remember to double check the name of the actual disorder the doctor mentioned, but I couldn't ever remember at my appointments. Ah well.

Back to Junebug!

I have been feeling great overall, but very tired and rather sore at times. The only "sick" I experienced was during the entire two weeks we were away on holidays in Abbotsford and Hawaii. Go figure. Ugghh. Thank you hormones. And, honestly, the exhausted tired only lasted a few weeks. Now it's the tired-because-I-watch-4-kids kind of tired...and I can't really blame that on the pregnancy too much, I don't think.
Around 14.5/15 weeks I felt the first movements for 2 nights and then felt nothing for almost 2 weeks. I became quite paranoid and wanted to call the doc to check the heartbeat. Ask Duane! Because my previous appointment had only been one week prior, I still had another 3.5 to go before my next one. I held off and complained for those last few weeks and then a few days before 17 weeks I started feeling movement again! It reassured me,and while I still thought about calling the doctor early, I didn't. At 18 weeks I was able to hear that wonderful heartbeat again :) I have now heard it 3 times (once at each appointment so far...9.5 weeks, 13.5 weeks, and 18 weeks) and Duane has heard it once. What a blessed sound it is!

I'm feeling much more certain of this baby coming to join us as each week passes and my tummy grows and the kicking increases! :) We are pretty excited for baby's arrival come the end of June/beginning of July. Our official due date is June 24, but I'm not going to hold out for that, and I am officially expecting baby around July 5/6 :)

~K~