15 weeks today

Wow, has it really been 4 weeks since our last update? Time has really flown by! I'll try and re-cap the last 4 weeks with some photos.

12 WEEKS!

Baby is, by this time, the size of a lime and weighs 1/2 ounce

(Length: just over 2 inches, head to bottom.)

our little trekky baby

stretching those legs

a sweet profile

A video of our 12 week baby

13 WEEKS!

Your baby has reached the size of a medium shrimp and weighs nearly an ounce

(Length: almost 3 inches, head to bottom.)

Sleeping face down

profile

skinny legs :)

13 week belly

Bought this sign almost 2 years ago, with hope that someday,

it would go in our baby's room...and it will, praise the Lord.

in absolute awe of what God has done

14 WEEKS!

Your baby, now as long as a lemon, weighs about 1 1/2 ounces

(Length: 3 1/2 inches, head to bottom.)

This might be hard to believe, but we actually gave our baby a break

this week from having an ultrasound!

Instead, we spent one evening with our friends, Dave & Anna, celebrating her birthday.

The four of us had a blast going to the performance of "South Pacific"!

Me: 14 weeks Anna: 31 weeks

Then, we spent the rest of the weekend getting our baby's room ready

Bought this dresser on Craigslist. Paul is painting it brown first

Then, he painted it blue

then, he distressed it.

finished product of dresser #1!

I gave this to Paul, after he was finished with this dresser

Today, I am 15 WEEKS!

Your baby has grown to the size of an apple and weighs about 2 1/2 ounces

(Length: 4 inches, head to bottom.)

Too loud, Mom & Dad! I can hear now!

Facing away from us

Profile

As you can see, a lot of growth has occurred over the past 4 weeks! I am officially in my 2nd trimester as of last week and I can really tell a difference between now and the 1st trimester. I'm still nauseous on and off, but it's less frequent, so I am able to function pretty well during the day. The greatest improvement over the last 2.5 weeks is that I am no longer spotting, PRAISE GOD!!! I definitely have more energy during the day, but when my head hits the pillow at night, I sleep pretty well, until my bladder wakes me up, that is! Overall, I'm feeling good and I am finally starting to really enjoy this pregnancy. The first trimester was challenging with the constant nausea, spotting, lack of energy, bed rest, loss, etc., but we were always thankful despite all of it. I'm just glad to be feeling better, which of course, makes life more enjoyable!

I have had 2 OB visits, which have both gone well. Baby's heartbeat at 12.5 weeks was in the 160's. My doctor has cleared us for travel, so we are going to MN early September and also for Thanksgiving, Lord willing! We have a long weekend trip to the Oregon coast with Paul's parents in a couple weeks, as well.

Soon, I will begin to feel the baby moving! I have imagined what that might feel like for so long. It's still hard to believe that I have a child GROWING inside of me, but it will become much more real when I can actually FEEL this baby moving.

Here is a video of our Baby at 15 weeks

So, that should have brought you up to speed in our journey to parenthood! I will try and keep the updates more frequent in the future. Thanks again for your continued support and prayers. We are reminded each day that this baby is a miracle and a gift from the Lord, never to be taken for granted. We have so many friends who are still praying for their miracle and we feel so grateful for this opportunity to grow our family of two. We pray that this little one will be used in wonderful ways to reflect God's love and faithfulness. Paul and I continue to grow in faith and love for our Creator as this child grows inside of me. We are blessed beyond words and give God all the glory for this incredible miracle.

Much love,

Paul, Gretchen, & Baby B