I went today and did my blood work for the Triple Screen Tests.  Those are the ones that are supposed to test for Down Syndrome, spina bifida, and other birth defects.  I'll find out the results at my next doctor's appointment, which is less than 2 weeks away now.  Until then I'll be praying for negative results on all counts.  I hope that anyone that reads this will pray for me, too.  This is one of those rare times that a negative is actually a positive.

Also at my next appointment, we'll hopefully find out the sex of the baby.  I can't wait!!!

As of today, I’m 4 months along.  I’m so excited!  My belly is finally starting to show a little.  It depends greatly upon what I’m wearing, but I’m definitely beginning to show.  For some reason it’s much more obvious at night, especially near bedtime.  It must have something to do with the fact that by then, I’ve had dinner and I’ve been sitting around, relaxing for a while.

Yesterday, I finally progressed to maternity pants.  I bought a couple of pairs when my regular pants first started getting tight, but they were still way too big to be able to wear.  For about the last month, I’ve been getting creative with wearing my same pre-pregnancy pants.  Let’s just say that rubber bands and safety pins have been my buddies for a while.

Well, 2 days ago, I realized that I just couldn’t stand it anymore.  Safety pins or not – my regular pants just weren’t comfortable anymore.  So, yesterday morning I decided to try a pair of my maternity pants , which have been waiting patiently in the closet for a month or more.  Miraculously, they fit!  Now, they’re not a perfect fit or anything (since they’re made to “grow” with you), but they weren’t falling off me like when I first bought them. 

 I couldn’t believe the difference those pants made!  I was so much more comfortable during the day.  At my job, I do a lot of sitting at a computer. Lately my regular pants had made work quite unpleasant – cutting into my stomach, riding up, etc.  Yesterday was totally different though.  They never bothered me at all.  It was great!

Well, this is my first entry.  I've gotten a little bit of a late start on this journal-thing, as I'm over 14 weeks along now.  I guess that just means I have a lot to write about.

Hi, my name is Mandy.  I'm 28 years old and have been happily married for over a year and a half.  This is my first pregnancy and I'm really excited!  The baby is due on May 24th, 2006.   We found out we were pregnant near the end of September.  I had been feeling more moody than usual, extremely tired, and my breasts were SUPER sensitive.  I took a pregnancy test at home and called that same day to schedule a doctor appointment.  That was the longest 2 weeks...waiting for the "official" confirmation from the doctor.  At the doctor's office, we found out that I was just over 6 weeks along at that point.

I had A LOT of nausea for about the first 2 and half months.   I never did actually throw up, but I was absolutely miserable most of the day every day.  There was nothing that I wanted to eat, but if I didn't eat something every hour or two the nausea would get even worse.  Plus, I always had this yucky taste in my mouth.  It was pretty awful. 

Things have gotten MUCH better since then.  My nausea went away around the 10th week (Hallelujah!).  Our bible study leader prayed over me and my husband at our meeting that week.  One of the things he prayed for was that I wouldn't have any more nausea.  Since then, I've been nausea free!  I am still tired almost all the time and extremely moody, but at least the nausea is gone!  Praise God!

I've only had 3 doctors appointments so far. 

At the first one, the doctor did a sonogram and we saw the flicker of the heartbeat.  We got to take home pictures, but there wasn't a whole lot to see.  The baby was about the size of a piece of rice and looked like a little blob.

At my second appointment (10 weeks), my mom was visiting from South Carolina, and she went with us.  We were only supposed to listen to the heartbeat that time (no sonogram), but the doctor couldn't find it.  She said the baby was hiding.  So, just to make "me" feel better (according to the doctor), she did another sonogram to make sure everything was okay.  This time, it was so amazing!  It actually looked like a baby!  We could see the head, the body, the arms, and the legs.  The best part was that it kept moving and waving its hand around.   It was so exciting!

At my third appointment (just short of 14 weeks), we listened to the heartbeat.  That wasn't nearly as exciting as I expected it to be.  We really didn't do anything else at that appointment.  It was a pretty quick one.  My regular doctor was out of town, so I saw a different doctor.  I asked her if we'd be able to find out the sex of the baby before Christmas (my next appointment is that Tuesday before - I'll be 18 weeks then).  She said that would depend on what my "real" doctor wants to do, but she went ahead and scheduled it as a sonogram appointment.  I REALLY hope we find out the sex then.  I'm so anxious to know.

At this point the thing I'm looking forward to the most is feeling the baby move.  Even though I'm almost 4 months along now, I still don't really "feel" pregnant.  I just feel mean most of the time (hopefully because of the hormones).  I haven't really started to show yet either, so not only do I not feel pregnant, but I also don't look pregnant.  I think that once I begin to feel the baby move, it will finally seem "real".  So, I'm anxiously awaiting that time in my pregnancy.

Well, I know this was pretty long for my first blog, but I wanted to fill in a little background.  It seems like this one was a lot of info and not a lot of insight into me or my pregnancy.  Now that I've gotten started, I plan for my future entries to be more "personable" and interesting.  I hope you'll check back soon and keep up to date on how the pregnancy progresses.  Thanks for reading!