Monthly Archives: June 2011

THE sonogram… not just any sonogram, today is THE BIG ONE!!

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It is 8:55 am and we are getting ready to leave our house to go to our sonogram appointment!  I am so nervous I could hardly sleep at all last night.  As soon as the doctor tells us we have a healthy baby with all the right parts in all the right places, I’m sure the nervousness will all fade away and it will turn into pure excitement and joy.  We will be posting videos as soon as we can!

Click here for video on our way to our appointment:  http://youtu.be/G0rX2aOKfiA

It is now 1:19 pm and we just got home from our doctor appointment!  Neither of us has stopped smiling since hearing the wonderful news.   Our little one is healthy, heart beating at 150 beats per minute, and all of the measurements are perfect.  We can’t make the big announcement quite yet though… We want to make sure our families get first priority.  We will be posting pictures and videos and make the big announcement as soon as we have talked to all immediate family. 🙂  It is measuring at 20 weeks, 6 days, so baby is just a few days older than what we originally thought.  We love y’all and stay tuned- we can’t wait to share our news.

Our shy baby

Boy or Girl?

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There really hasn’t ever been a question about whether we were going to find out the sex of the baby before it is born.  I am a planner.  I am a “know what the ground is like before I take a step,”  hate surprises,  kind of planner.  And Ian… he can’t stand eating cake before opening presents on someone’s birthday.  If there is an unopened package, Ian will not rest until the person of honor opens it.  So, from the first day we found out we were expecting, we have been counting down the days until we find out exactly who our little person will be.  Up until today, it has been just that- a countdown.  I have just been so impatient and anxious, waiting until June 30th.  Our appointment was supposed to be June 21, so I have been going crazy knowing that we had to wait a whole extra week.  Today, something is a little different.  It hit me that in less than 48 hours, our whole life is going to change again.  We will start planning for a real person to join our family; no longer is this purely a mass of cells growing inside of me- it is a BABY, with little arms and legs, and a four-chambered beating heart.  Finding out the gender of our first baby in less than two days has catapulted me into a reality of what is to come.  We will pick out his or her name, we will decorate the nursery and we will be using real pronouns to refer to our newest addition. I believe that finding out the gender will only enable us to bond even more with our baby before it is born.  Having said that, I completely respect couples who manage to survive the suspense and wait until the baby is born to find out.  I can see that it would even further enhance the intense experience of giving birth and meeting your baby for the first time.

We will be thrilled with either a boy or a girl.  I can’t wait to start buying baby clothes.  What do you think Baby Mielke will be?

My lovely lady bump

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So, it’s been a bit since the last time I was able to write a post.  I have been so busy with summer camp this week.  I have been teaching two different camps- In the morning, it is Camp E.R. where I have the most wonderful group of five girls who want to be vets and doctors and think everything I say is the most amazing thing they have ever heard.  In the afternoon- Camp Grossology- where we have burping contests, dissect cow eye balls and make fake snot and edible poo.  I’m a little out of my element here, I have to be honest.  This group of 13 has been sucking the life out of me.  I come home and just lay on the couch until it is finally dark enough to fall asleep.  I have never in my life been in so much pain with my back- not even when I ruptured two discs in a car accident!  Is this a new side effect of being pregnant?  I don’t know how I will move if it gets any worse during the last five months of pregnancy!

Some days I feel like I can actually see my belly growing, other days I have to convince myself that the baby is fine and still growing just as he or she should.  Today, I woke up trying to “feel” more pregnant than the day before, but no such luck.  My belly hasn’t grown in days.  Today, I wore my black maternity dress to school with my huge Epstein School hoodie over it (despite it being 100 degrees out, I am always cold!).  I got home from work, took off my hoodie, and BAM!  My oldest foster daughter exclaimed, “Woah, your stomach is HUMONGOUS!”  I looked down and much to my surprise, the baby bump had doubled in size!  Tomorrow we will be at 20 weeks, half way there until we get to meet our angel.  This pregnancy is going so fast, but so slow at the same time.  One more week from today we will know if we are expecting a boy or girl.  I have so many countdowns happening now- its the only thing that gets me through.

Ian’s first father’s day!

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Happy Father’s Day to all of the men in our lives!  Dad, Rev Kev, Grandpa Jack- You have all made such a tremendous impact on our lives and we wouldn’t be who we are without you.  We have learned how to be great parents because of you, and we feel so blessed that our baby gets to have you all as granddaddies.  We love you all so much.  And Ian- this is your very first father’s day- I hope you remember it forever.  To go from not having any kids to having three foster daughters and a baby in my belly is quite an undertaking, and I can safely say, I don’t think anyone could do a better job than you have.  I love you more than words can say.

 

And, for anyone who wants a great breakfast recipe, this is one of our all-time faves:  Eggs in a Basket!

What a fantastic idea–bacon, eggs and toast all wrapped up in a cute little muffin-sized package.

Ingredients:
6 slices of bacon

6 slices of bread

Shredded cheese

6 eggs

Salt and pepper

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400° F.  Grease 6 wells of a muffin pan with butter.  In a frying pan, cook bacon about 3-5 minutes, until partially cooked but not completely crispy.  Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.  Cut out rounds of bread (I used a 3.5-inch round cookie cutter, but a drinking glass would be fine.)  Press the bread rounds into the greased muffin wells.  Curl a piece of bacon around the periphery of each piece of bread, positioning it between the bread and the muffin tin to help keep it in position.  Sprinkle a small amount of shredded cheese in the center of each piece of bread.  One at a time, crack an egg, removing about half of the white, and dropping the remaining white and yolk over each piece of bread, being careful not to break the yolks.  Once all the bread pieces have been topped with eggs, bake until eggs are cooked through to your liking (about 6-10 minutes) and bacon is crispy.  Run a knife around the edge of each muffin well and pop the egg cups out.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

 

Night owl

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A mother’s joy begins when new life is stirring inside… when a tiny heartbeat is heard for the very first time, and a playful kick reminds her that she is never alone.

~Author Unknown

Baby has started kicking like crazy around 10:00 pm every night and continues for hours.  My dad said that means he or she is going to be a night owl… Mom says, with a twinkle in her eye, “What goes around, comes around!”  Haha, oh man are we in for it if that’s the case.  Ian’s parents say he was such a happy, easy baby.  Me, on the other hand… not so much.  I didn’t let my parents sleep for the first four years of my life, and even still today- I hate sleeping.  I’m really hoping and praying the baby takes after Ian sleep-wise (and  if baby inherits his bright blue eyes, that wouldn’t be so bad, either 😉 ).  I slept in until 9:00am this morning-first time in 5 months I have slept past 6:30- after the oh-so-supportive comments from my parents, haha.  Maybe I’ll try to actually get some sleep while I still can.

Exactly two weeks from today we have our anatomical ultrasound.  I am so nervous- I’m praying everyday that he or she looks as perfect as he feels in my belly, and hopefully, if  baby cooperates, we will be able to find out if we are going to be having a little prince or princess.  Ian is going to do his best to video the appointment so we can share it with you all.

150 more days!

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150 days to go... 18 1/2 weeks

This week (week 18) has, without a doubt, been the best so far. It has officially been 7 days since I have been sick in the morning, and I will never again take for granted being able to get out of bed without throwing up for 20 minutes straight.  I  feel and look pregnant now as well. I have made it past the awkward stage of  looking like I ate a few too many hot dogs and not being able to button any of my pants to actually having an obvious belly bump.  Complete strangers smile at me, hold open doors, and ask me when my due date is.  I have had about 15 people that I don’t know (all women, thankfully) put their hands on my belly and tell me what a miracle it is to bring a baby into the world.  I have heard so many women say they don’t like it when strangers touch their baby bump, but I really don’t mind.  I’m just as in awe of having this little life inside of me as everyone else!

TheBump.com is keeping a countdown until we get to meet our angel.  150 more days until she or he makes their appearance (if they aren’t as stubborn as I was… I was almost two weeks late! 😉 )

 

18 weeks!

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So I know I could feel baby kicking when I was only 13 weeks along, but so many moms told me I was crazy and that it was just gas!  Well, now, five weeks later, when most moms are feeling their babies move for the first time, I have felt you move at least two or three times each week ever since the first time I felt life inside of me!  Yesterday had to be one of the coolest moments yet.  We were driving down the road listening to music, and our favorite song, “Lover, Lover” by Jerrod Niemann came on and Ian turned it up pretty loud.  We were dancing and singing, and out of nowhere, baby starts kicking to the beat of the song!  Now, I know for sure those same moms who doubted my claims of feeling him at 13 weeks are really going to think I’ve lost it now, as his ears are still developing, but I’m telling you, my baby got rhythm! 🙂

Our doctor’s appointment got pushed back until June 30th for the anatomy ultrasound.  I am so anxious to find out if we are having a boy or girl (my bet is still a boy, although if it is a girl, we already have her name picked out!) 🙂 I was reading in my pregnancy books that at 18 weeks, the baby is bigger than an OPEN HAND!  Around 5 1/2 INCHES!! Wow!!

Overall, the morning sickness has gone away, although it still likes to rear its ugly head every now and then.  A few days ago I couldn’t keep anything down at all but Gatorade.  For the most part, however, I am really starting to enjoy the second trimester of pregnancy!  My energy level is increasing and the best part so far is the baby bump that seems to be growing daily!

Thankfully, I have the summer off and have been spending a lot of time mentally preparing a to-do list of things that need to get done around the house before baby makes his appearance.  I am trying to exercise to stay in shape and have been walking everyday.