Baby Kailyn Corine: Her story begins

Brandon and I found out we were pregnant on June 16th, 2014. We had hoped for a February 2015 baby and our dream came true! I went online to calculate my due date, which came out to be February 22nd 2015. My Grandma celebrated her 100th birthday on Saturday of that week, where we also shared the news with our immediate family. Of course both of our parents were ecstatic to have another grandchild.

My pregnancy was identical to my other two. I occasionally had a queezy stomach that could be cured by eating something. I was very tired, more so with this one, but I assumed it was because I was home with my other two children 24 hours a day. It seemed like we waited forever for our first appointment, but it finally came on July 23rd when I was 9 weeks 3 days. My blood pressure was spot on (110/70) and I had put on five pounds (mostly because I was constantly eating so I would not feel sick). We were so excited to see our little peanut and announce our big news to the rest of our family and friends. Baby measured a bit small, but the doctor said we will keep the due date on February 22nd because I was sure on my dates. Baby's heartbeat was a strong and fast 176 bpm.

After the appointment, Brandon and I went out to eat and talked about how our future will change with a third child. We talked about how we would need a new vehicle, move Madelyn into Jackson's room and where we would put the pack-n-play in our bedroom for the first few weeks after we brought the baby home. Baby was loved so much and we were envisioning our new life, as chaotic as it might be, with him/her. We caught ourselves unable to stop smiling and I remember giggling when we discussed how crazy it could be.

We came home and told our kids the big news. Both of them cheered, smiled and clapped their hands when we told them they would be a big brother and sister. I sent out this announcement to family and friends a couple days later. I love the excitement in their faces!

Madelyn easily transitioned into Jackson's room. Jackson was more than excited to have his sister join him and Madelyn couldn't stop talking about her new "pink bed". Most of the time they are best friends and so far, it has been wonderful having them share a room. I think it turned out pretty cute :)

On August 19th, I had my next 4 week check-up at 13 weeks 2 days. I only gained two pounds and my blood pressure was 112/70. The Doppler picked up the heartbeat right away and Dr. T was very
happy with the strong heartbeat of 160-170 bpm. I was feeling great except for the fatigue and trouble
finding a good spot to sleep. Jackson started preschool two days later. He was so excited to start school!

I used my "free time" in the afternoon while he was at preschool and Madelyn slept to work on my defense for my Master degree that was scheduled for the next week. I passed my defense and received my Master of Education in Teaching and Technology. Everything was lining up and I felt very proud of the things I had accomplished after turning 30 in May.

It seemed a little odd to me that I was not showing as much as I had with Madelyn at this point. People would ask me "when are you going to start showing" or say "I was humongous at 16 weeks". The week before my next 4 week check-up, I asked Brandon if he thought my stomach was getting smaller because I sure felt that way. Here are the only belly pics I took of this pregnancy (12 and 16 weeks):

Life was great.