Belly Picture- 25w2d

Getting Big:):)

White girl!!

I spent the day out at the fishing ponds on base with my parents and my dogs! It was such a relaxing day! Rocco absolutely LOVES being in the water! I got to lay out and enjoy my Momma's company some more and Hunter took this pic of me after she got home from school! Just wanted to share!!

25 Weeks Pregnant!!

WOW! I never do get over how high these numbers are getting!! But, here we are... in our 6th month!!

Things are going great! I only have a week left of work and 40+ days until Thomas is home:) Lily is moving around like a wild woman and filling my heart so full of love! I'm spending the holiday weekend in Jacksonville with my family and am loving this wonderful weather!! I just wanted to hop on here and update you all real quick and thank everyone for all of the prayers and support, not only from the last 6 months, but for the past 2 and a half years!! I feel so amazingly blessed right now, that I can barely stand it:):)

I just ask that you take a second to remember the reason for this long weekend! Say a prayer of thanksgiving for all of the men and women that have given their lives for this country and also a prayer for the families that they left behind!

WEEK TWENTY-SIX:
*Your baby may weigh about two pounds now (average is 1.7 pound, 760gm) and is 14 inches (35.6cm) in length
*To support the fetus's growing body, the spine is getting stronger and more supple. *Though no longer than the span of the average adult hand, it is now made up of 150 joints, 33 rings, and some 1,000 ligaments.
*Air sacs in the lungs form now.
*Lungs begin to secrete a greasy substance called surfactant. Without surfactant the fetal lungs would stick together and couldn't expand after the baby is born.
*Although they've been sealed shut for the last few months, your baby's eyes are opening and beginning to blink this week. Depending on ethnicity, some babies will be born with blue or gray-blue eyes (which may change color in the first 6 months of life) and some will be born with brown or dark eyes.
*Retinas begin to form.
*Brain wave activity for hearing and sight begins to be detectable.
*Fetal brain scans show response to touch. If you shine a light on your abdomen, your baby will turn his head, which according to researchers, means her optic nerve is working.

Belly Picture- 24w1d

Sorry the last one is a little off center... but here we are at 24 weeks side and front views:):) I'm starting to get that brown line in the center of my stomach underneath my belly button (which is also getting shallower by the week!)!! It's not dark at all and you can't see it in the pic, but I just thought I would mention it!! Now I'm off to eat my frozen lasagna and watch Grey's and LOST!!! What a night:):) Have a good one!

The New Car!

2002 Toyota 4Runner!!!

24 Weeks Pregnant!!

Woo Hoo... last week flew by! These numbers just get higher and higher:):)

I spent the weekend in Jacksonville with my family and my mom came home with me for the doctor's appointment on Monday! She helped out with a lot of the car/loan stuff (I'll update on all of that when it's all finalized in the next day or two) and she went home last night! But while she was here she got to feel Lily moving and kicking around!! It was really neat considering no one has ever felt her existence besides me!! It really was special and now she is kicking so strong, I'm sure there are a lot more opportunities for people to feel her are coming up:)

There really isn't much to report short of the car information! That has pretty much taken up all of my spare time! But it's all working out rather well and easily! I can't help but feel so blessed! Things could have easily turned bad for us after the accident... but everything is working out and even though my momma helped me out so much, I can't help but be proud of myself... just a little bit! There was a time when a lot of people would have never thought I could be this independent! And to see myself living all alone, working and being pregnant through this deployment has really given me a lot of confidence for the years to come! --Because I'm sure this won't be my last deployment or pregnancy!!

Thomas is doing well! I met one of his new commanders yesterday and he sang Thomas' praises right away! That makes me so proud:) He has been a little sick though so lift up a little prayer for that to go away quickly! But all in all he's doing a great job over there and we should see him home in less than 2 months:):)

I'll get an update on the new car and some pictures on here tomorrow or Friday along with the new belly picture!!! Until then, enjoy the Fun Facts about Lily's development in

WEEK TWENTY-FIVE:
*The structures of the spine begin to form -- joints, ligaments and rings. These will protect the all important spinal cord which serves as the information transmitter for your child's body.
*Blood vessels of the lungs develop.
*Your baby's nostrils begin to open. There is a study out of Belfast that suggests babies at this stage have the capability of scent preferences!
*The nerves around the mouth and lip area are showing more sensitivity now. When baby is rooting for food later on, these will be valuable!
*Her swallowing reflexes are developing.
*Dexterity is improving. Your baby can make a fist and would clasp objects placed in palm.
*Your child has now obtained an approximate length of 13.6 inches (34.6cm) and weighs 1.46 pound (660gm).

Perinatologist Appointment!

I had the appointment this morning! My mom was there with me! They just did another ultrasound and the specialist feels pretty good about everything! Praise God!!

Basically, Lily is growing well (in the 50th percentile for weight and length) and has all of her limbs, digits and facial features! They are all developed and fine! He can't tell me, for sure, that it is Amniotic Band Syndrome. It might be intrauterine cylia (can't remember the exact name, could be wrong about that lable) that is basically just benign abrasions on my uterus... like scar tissue that is showing up on the screen like amniotic bands! There is only one and it is pretty obvious, up by her head. But I will go back in 4 weeks for another ultrasound and check for growth and/or entanglement! The doctor said to be "Cautiously Optimistic"! We left the office feeling much more comfortable and confident than we did walking into it... so that is a blessing in it's self! He just told me to watch for leaking and/or rupture of my amniotic fluid/sac and that the next appointment should clear it up for us even more!!

I also have some extra craziness going on with my placenta! I basically have an extra lobe. There is placenta in its normal position and then there is an extra piece of placenta (still attached) down below! Which is why Lily always seems to have her face in my placenta... since either way she turns her head, there it is!! ((She is still breech by the way!)) This isn't causing any problems with the pregnancy. It's not placenta previa or placenta versa!! The only thing is that I have to make sure that I deliver allll of the placenta after birth!!
Thank you all sooo much for your prayers and well wishes over the past month! I know this is very close to some of your hearts and it means so much to have all of your support! But thank God it looks like everything is going to be ok:):)

Our Registries

Well I have finally started registering! I went to Target yesterday with my Momma and started one at Babies'r'us today online! Both can be accessed online or in the store under Heather or Thomas Whitten:):) I'm excited!

Belly Picture- 23w2d

Covered and Uncovered!
Getting big!! I'm still not too sure how I feel about it all! Sometimes I feel like I don't have a bump at all and other times (like when I see pictures) I feel like I'm huge already!! I'm starting to lose my waist to the baby and that has been the strangest part I think since my body is taking on a whole new figure! But I'm still pretty happy about it all!! I guess we'll see on Thursday how much more weight I've gained!! And in a few weeks I'll start working on that tan:)

Accident Update!

I found out on Tuesday that the Durango is a Total Loss! And then Wednesday they called to tell me that I only had a week left of rental car covered on my insurance! Soooo, I was Internet searching like a crazy woman for a new car!! We have a loan through USAA and my mom and I are going to look at a Toyota 4Runner on Monday at the POV lot on Bragg!! I'm really hoping everything works out and we can have the car by Wednesday or Thursday!! We finally decided on the 4Runner after looking at Ford Escapes and more Durangos! The Escapes are way too small for the dogs and a baby but the Durangos are just too crazy on gas! So the 4Runner is a happy medium!

I had to clean out the Durango on Thursday and I took a few pictures of the damage so everyone could see and so I could have a little piece of her because I really really did love that truck!!

23 Weeks Pregnant!!

We have made it to the 24th week!! Lily is now considered "viable"!! I know that sounds silly... because Lord knows I don't want her coming out anytime soon! But with everything that has been on my heart these past few weeks it is a pure blessing to know that she has a fighting chance with every waking day!!

My appointment with the perinatologist is finally here! My mom is coming with me on Monday! We watched the ultrasound video from April today and I cried like a little baby when I saw all of her fingers and toes spreading! So it is going to be such a relief to know what exactly is going on with this Amniotic Band Syndrome!! I will try to get on here asap and let everyone know what we found out!

The week has been pretty busy for me. Nina, our tiny cat, was missing for a week! I put up flyers in the neighborhood for her and she just showed up at the house on wednesday looking pretty ragged and hungry!! My theory is that she got stuck in the house next door that is under construction until they came back to finish the job! But I'm thankful that she's home now!! I also had a lot going on with the car hunt! But I'll post about that later!!




THE TWENTY-FOURTH WEEK:
*Bring on the bulk! Baby gains about 6 ounces this week. The weight is in muscle, bone mass and organs.
*Her body begins to fill out with her appearance increasingly becoming more like a newborn.
*Taste buds begin to form. If mom drinks something strange or bitter, baby may be observed showing her distaste.
*Little creases have appeared on her palms. The muscular coordination of her hands has improved as she sucks her thumb.
*Over the next seven days the sweat glands will be forming in the skin.
*Her lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" and cells that produce surfactant, a substance that helps the air sacs inflate easily.
*This week your baby is officially considered viable.
Baby weighs 1.3 pound (600gm) and is 11.8 inches (30cm) long -- almost the length of a ruler!

Accident update

I finally heard from my claims adjuster this afternoon and the Durango is "a total loss"! I'm ooooober bummed about that! I missed the call from the estimator (who was supposed to go over all the details with me) so I left him a message and hopefully I'll hear from him tomorrow so we can start the process of paying off the loan for the durango and looking for something new! I am still not sure what we're going to replace it with but I'll update you guys as soon as I get some more information!

Belly Picture- 22w2d

Sorry it took a few extra days to get this up here! I had a verrry lazy weekend and pretty much didn't leave the couch for anything... including batteries for the camera! But here we are in all of our pasty glory:)

Thomas Pictures

They are all kind of mixed together, but here are the pictures Thomas sent me from his promotion ceremony and the little birthday party they threw him in Iraq!
He looks pretty cheesey in all of them, but that's my baby!! I know some of you haven't seen him since January so I really wanted to share these with you all!!
He will be home in 2 months!!! woo hooo!!