Baby Update!!

I know I've been posting week by week what is happening with our baby's development, but I have not posted anything personal about my pregnancy at all yet and I am almost at 18 weeks. So here is my little catch-up blog entry! My first appointment was at 8 weeks. My doctor did a quick ultrasound to get a measurement to verify how far along I was. I had my camera with me, so I took a picture of the baby. You can't really see any defining things on the baby, but you can tell that it's a baby! I was able to see the baby pretty well and we could even see the heart beating! It was amazing and it really made everything sink in that we were already going through this again. I was still really shocked at the whole pregnancy thing again, but this made me so excited! It's amazing to see the baby that you'll be holding in your arms in just a few months! The next appointment was at 12 weeks. Since my doctor already got the measurement, he just listened to the heartbeat this time instead of doing an ultrasound again. The heartbeat was good and strong! It was very comforting to know that everything was alright. Until I can feel the baby moving, I just have to go on hoping that everything is fine. Then at 13 weeks, I started bleeding a little bit. SCARY! So I called my doctor and he immediately put me on bedrest until the bleeding stopped. It lasted for 2 days and all seemed fine again. I worked Wednesday night and was probably on my feet too much. This all caused the bleeding to come right back. I was then on very strict bedrest until the following weekend when it had been stopped for a few days (my dr. was afraid of this leading to a miscarriage, so it was very scary for us). I had to have people over to help with Mason and things around the house. Luckily I have an amazing sister and mom that didn't even hesitate to jump in and help out. Julie came over for two days and did my dishes, vacuumed, and much more. Not alone, just helping with Mason. She was my lifesaver! Thanks sooooo much Jules!!! Then my mom came over for a few days after helping with my Grandma and Grandpa every morning. She was a huge help with everything as well. Thanks Mom!!!! During all this bedrest, my doctor had me go in for an ultrasound to make sure the baby was okay and to see if they could tell what might be causing the bleeding. Everything seemed completely normal with the baby (thank goodness) and there was no apparent reason why I was bleeding. Well, the bleeding eventually stopped and I have since returned back to my normal life. I just try to be a little more careful with everything. Luckily I have an awesome boss at work that had no problem with taking my Saturday shift away since it was a little too strenuous for me. The next most exciting thing that happened was at fifteen weeks when I felt the baby move for sure! I thought I had felt it before that, but I wasn't ever positive. Well this time, it was definite. I hurried and grabbed Vance's hand so he could feel it. And sure enough, it started kicking away!! We were both so excited!! It is so comforting to feel it move and know that it's okay. I now feel it move all the time and I LOVE IT!!! Well, my next Dr. appointment was at 16 weeks. He did a heartbeat check and everything was great. I then got my ultrasound appointment scheduled which I cannot wait for!! I also have to get my blood drawn after the ultrasound. Yea. I hate needles. But after having a baby, they don't seem to phase me much. So now I am just counting down the days until Sept 17!