14 Weeks

The weeks seem to be going by alittle faster now.  Sometimes I am glad they are moving quickly but other times I realize how much there is to do in the 6 months we have until Baby Bybee arrives.  I know the next month will most likely fly by thanks in part to the pool opening in just 25 days. 

This week Baby Bybee is the size of a lemon.  He/She is able to make facial expressions and suck his/her thumb.  I am still battling the same symptoms as before and hoping this is the magical week all of my friends talk about. 

Shane and I made our first trek to Babies R Us on Sunday.  I needed to go pick up some Preggo Drops to help with nausea (thanks Jill!) so we decided to stroll around.  Even after seeing all of my friends and brother having kids, it still surprises me how much stuff there is for a baby.  I know a few items that I really want because of recommendations from friends, but I will definitely struggle with the overall increase in "stuff" around our house.  If you ask Shane, I am always getting rid of things we don't need and trying to declutter the house.  Looks like it might be time to enroll in some OCD therapy!  :)

This weekend I am looking forward to my last free weekend for the next 5 weeks.  The only items on my agenda are to go pick out some maternity clothes and celebrate the upcoming arrival of my dear friend Courtney's second daughter, Maggie!  June 7 is the magical day!

Next Tuesday we will get a sonogram so look forward to a picture of Baby Bybee!  It still may be another 4-5 weeks before we know what we are having so be patient!

13 Weeks

I had to get creative taking the photo this morning.  The evenings are still rough for me as I continue to battle the nausea and complete exhaustion so it's hard to find the energy to take a photo at night when I have Shane's help.

We are officially in the 2nd trimester!  Some people say 13 weeks, others say it is at 14 weeks but we are still in a "safe zone" where the risk of miscarriage goes way down.  That brings some relief and excitement to both of us.

Baby Bybee is the size of a medium shrimp this week and has developed fingerprints.  As I mentioned, I continue to feel sick in the afternoon and evening hours.  I have good days from time to time where I feel good all day but then the nausea comes back the next day.  I am definitely getting plenty of sleep.  Typically I am in bed by 9pm and asleep minutes later.  Shane seems to be just as exhausted so he must be having sympathy pains.  I feel completely useless in the evenings so I am always trying to get as much done around the house in the morning before I go to work and when I go home for lunch.  Rumor has it I should be merely weeks away from feeling great and back to my somewhat normal self.

Most of my clothes still fit but I may be headed out this weekend to pick up a few items to get the summer started.  It is already starting to get warm outside so I need to invest in a few pairs of shorts, a couple of pairs of pants and a few tops to get me through the next few months.  I may not need them right away but I decided I might as well shop when I have the time.

Our next appointment is in 2 weeks and we will get another sonogram.  Shane has a meeting at school that evening so my mom may come up and go to the appointment with me.  After the appointment we plan to start shopping for a crib and other nursery furniture while she is in town.

Tomorrow I am looking forward to alittle spa afternoon!  My great friend, Courtney, got me an hour massage and facial for Christmas.  I kept meaning to use it in January and February but then we found out we were pregnant.  They will not give you a massage during your first trimester so this is the first opportunity I have had to use it.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Happy 10 Year Anniversary!

I wanted to wish a Happy 10 Year Anniversary to my brother and sister-in-law!  I am so happy for both of them and so glad that Kristin is part of our family.  She is such a great sister-in-law! 

I love you both!!





12 Weeks

I am officially 12 weeks!  Baby Bybee is the size of a lime and is slowly starting to make my belly bulge.  He/She continues to cause nausea on a daily basis but it mostly hits me in the afternoon and evening hours.  This makes my lunch and dinner choices very limited and quite random.  Cereal is still a staple in my diet!  :)

Our week has been fairly uneventful, but I know that will quickly come to an end within the next month when work starts to keep me busy.  We are doing our best to enjoy our evenings/weekends home together and already deciding what things we should get done before my presence in this house is scarce.  My "honey do" list for Shane may be quite extensive this summer!

We have already decided on painting the nursery gray with white furniture.  Accent colors (light/hot pink or blue/aqua) will be thrown in once we know what we are having.  The whole "gray" color scheme sort of centers around this owl from Pier 1 that my brother bought me for Christmas.  The day of my surgery my mom and I went shopping since I did not have to be at the hospital until 1pm.  I had seen this owl and told her how much I liked it so she relayed the message.  Little did I know it would only be a few short months later that I could actually begin planning a nursery around it!

After making our announcement, I had requests for belly pictures so I figured I would try to post a picture of me if I was not able to create one of my book pages.  I decided it may be hard to keep up with the book pages every week so I will save those for the big events/weeks and just provide an update such as this on other weeks.  I know, I know.  I should save my slacking for the second kid, but you start to run out of ideas and I can't always find the time to capture the right image.  

Only 28 more weeks!

Bybee Family Update

As you can see, Shane and I have some great news to share with everyone!  We are having a BABY!  Both of us could not be happier for this blessing in our lives.  It was a long journey but our prayers have finally been answered!  The love and support from all of our friends and family over the years has truly been overwhelming and we can't thank everyone enough!

I'm sure all of you have questions so I will do my best to answer them.

When are you due?
Our current due date is October 30.  We are excited to possibly have a Halloween baby!

Is it a boy or a girl?
We don't know yet.  It will be another 8-10 weeks before we can answer that question.

How did it all happen?
Typically this answer is pretty obvious, but us Bybees can't seem to do things the easy, normal way.  :)  I began seeing a fertility specialist last year after 3 1/2 years of unsuccessful attempts and one miscarriage.  He began some pretty restrained measures to get us pregnant and none seemed to work.  After one failed procedure we decided it was time to undergo another laparoscopy to see if my endometriosis came back.  Surgery was completed in December.  It was confirmed that my endometriosis had returned so my doctor removed all of the extra scar tissue.  We tried the procedure again in January using basic medication.  No such luck.  In February we decided it was time to step it up another notch and tried injections along with the procedure.  This was quite amusing since Shane had to administer the injections every other day for a week.  I was sure some fights would break out during the process but both of us handled it pretty well.  A little less than two weeks after the procedure, we got the positive we had been waiting for!  Two blood tests at the doctor's office the following week confirmed we were for sure having a baby!  At 7 weeks we were able to see and hear the heart beat during our first sonogram.  Everything looked great so the fertility specialist released me to my regular doctor.  Today we saw our regular OB for the first time and heard the heartbeat again.  I am officially 11 weeks along.

How did you tell Shane?
The day I got the positive test, Shane was traveling all day so it would have to wait until the following afternoon.  I participated in the Color Run with Erin the next morning and decided to tell Shane after I got home.  I had gone to Hobby Lobby and purchased 2 white bandanas the day prior.  I ironed the words "Big Brother" on the bandanas for Aspen and Buckley to wear.  Before going into the office to talk to Shane, I put the bandanas on the boys and lead them into the office with me.  Aspen, in true fashion, laid back down on the bed and failed to follow me.  Buckley, being the trusty companion he is, did what he was supposed to do. Shane was on the computer and noticed I had "dressed" Buckley (which he hates).  He immediately said, "What did your mom put on you now?"  After looking down and reading the bandana, he spun around in his chair with a huge grin on his face.  I looked at Shane and said, "I'm pregnant!" which was quickly followed by a big hug and kiss.  Aspen then felt it was time to join us since he hates to be left out.

Will you keep us updated?
Of course!  Over the last year, I have been following a blog that I absolutely love.  It is a girl based out of Austin that has her own photography company but has become a mother over the last year to 2 little girls (born merely 11 months apart)!  Her name is Hanna Mac and she had the cutest maternity books and weekly updates.  Most of them can be seen on Pinterest which is where I originally found them.  Just recently she made templates available for people to purchase so they could create their own books.  I had to jump at the opportunity.

Here is what I have created so far.  I hope to create one for every week and post it to this blog along with other updates.  I am also loading all of these updates into a book that will be printed for us to have forever!  :)

The first photo is a summary of our journey to pregnancy.  Hanna is actually going to feature this photo on her blog one day.

I am currently working on 11 weeks so I hope to have that posted during the next update.  Thanks again to all of you for your love and support!  Keep checking back for updates!  :)

Easter

We spent another Easter down at my parent's lakehouse.  It was pretty low key and most of the time was spent hanging out at the house.  Here are a few photos from the weekend:

Kristin and I went out looking for bluebonnets one afternoon and came across this field.

 

James Family paddle boat ride

The boys gearing up for some time in the lake

Aaron loved it when his Uncle Nay Nay threw him in the water.
Soon after, Nay Nay  joined them in the lake.

Of course Aspen can't resist a dip in the lake.  He's just happy they finally have water!

View of the back of the house from the dock

Sunset

Sunday morning Easter egg hunt.  The Easter Bunny was awfully generous this year!

Quilts

When I was graduating from college about 10 years ago, t-shirt quilts were starting to become pretty popular.  My mom told me she would make one using my Texas A&M shirts if I could get enough put together.  I went through all of my drawers and found about 20 shirts she could use.  About 8 years later they were packing up their house to move to the lake when she handed me a bag that contained 20 shirts, still folded.  She figured since I had learned how to sew, I could probably make the quilt myself.  :)  Another year went by and I was finally motivated enough to finish this quilt.  I have a few friends at work that have made them before so they gave me a couple of pointers.  It took a few months since you have to cut and prep the shirts, figure out your pattern and then put it all together.  A couple of weeks ago my mom helped me with the final touches before I handed it off to a friend to be quilted.  Yesterday I got the FINAL product and it is absolutely fantastic!  The back is just the plain gray color.

I had put together this fun pink/gray/black back for it using some fabrics I loved, but realized it may not work once she began quilting it since the patterns can shift and not line up properly.  Instead, I decided to go ahead and just make a separate quilt all together.  The back is hot pink and light pink striped.

Now I have 2 quilts to enjoy!  I thought they looked pretty good before they were quilted, but once I picked them up yesterday I realized how much better they are now!  Too bad the weather is starting to warm up!