Forget your traditional children's books...

This is what I'll be reading to our Audrey: What Would Audrey Do? Timeless Lessons for Living with Grace and Style.

I saw it at Borders the other day and snatched it right up! 

Found it!!

I just tried again and found the heart beat! 3 different times, only for about 10 seconds each time though. I can't wait until Chris gets home so we can listen together! 

Doh!

So, we bought a doppler from Amazon.com. I hate waiting in between doctor appointments, so I though hearing the baby's heartbeat anytime we wanted would help. It came yesterday and we tried it last night. We thought we found it...it sounded like a heartbeat! Apparently it was mine :( I knew it was too slow to be Baby Burns. We'll try again tonight, but I feel so silly for being all excited...about my own heartbeat, lol.

I found a cool video on YouTube of what he or she should sound like. It's also the same doppler we have: 

Last Day of School

I can't believe it's come and gone. I was fine yesterday. I even made it through my end of the year motivational speech- "I'm so proud of you, you've been the best class, good luck, etc." But as soon as the kids started hugging me good-bye I lost it! I hate crying, but I couldn't help it. I've had the most amazing group of kids this year. We all bonded so much. Will I ever have a class this wonderful? I hope so. Chris swears I said the same thing about last years class, lol. 

I start all over again in July. I'll have 17 kids in my summer school class...eek! I do have a para, but that's a huge class for summer school. By the time that's over I'll be ready for a break (yaaay Maine!) and 18 weeks pregnant!! Until then I plan on packing up my room, finishing my records, swimming, and relaxing.

Last week of school!

I'm sure it's going to be crazy and fly by! I'm ready for a break, but I am going to miss my kids so much. It's been a great year with them. I'm doing summer school in July and by the end of that I'll be ready for another break :) Hopefully we get to go to Maine in August. Ever since my parents separation, we don't vacation there anymore. We tried it once with dad, but it just wasn't the same. We skipped it last year and went to Disney instead. That was fun (although HOT) but there's nothing like Maine on the lake in August. 

Some fond memories of Maine:

Fishing off the dock w/Craig & Kelly: circa 1990

Scott's love of the seagull!

Chris and I

Scott & I on the boat!

No water skiing for me this year...

I'll have fun watching Scott, who could ski for MILES!

I told my kids!!

I WISH I had recorded their reactions...it was so funny! At the end of the day I gave each table group a brown bag. Inside were the cut up words, "Mrs. Burns is having a baby!" I told them that I had a special message for them and that to find out what it was they had to work as a table group to put the words in a sentence. It took about 5 seconds! There were gasps, teary eyes, grins, shock. Emma came up and rubbed my belly....Christopher gave me a hug. The rest of the kids jumped up and down and held hands. 

I was overwhelmed & touched by their reactions...they were so excited! I love them so much and I'm so happy I shared the news with them. Luckily there were no scary questions, "How do you get pregnant?" or "Where do babies come from?" I knew better and told them during the last 10 minutes of school ;) It feels more real now that I've told them. They are such a huge, wonderful part of my life, and it was hard keeping it a secret!! 

For reals??

Is this actually true?

A digital USB pregnancy test...what will they think of next??

Click here fore more details.

Baby Burns is looking good!!

I am just amazed at how much the baby has grown since we got to see the h/b 2 weeks ago!! A huge head, arm & leg buds, a tiny h/b between 150-160 bpm. It was so cool!! I was hoping to see some somersaults, but Baby Burns was still. I can only imagine how much better it's going to be each time we go....the baby will be bigger & more active.....I can't wait!!

We go back in 4 weeks to hopefully hear the h/b. I don't know if there will be a sonogram, but I'm excited either way!!!

Ultrasound tomorrow!

These things make me so nervous. I know I should be excited (and I am!) but my nerves get worse the closer we get. I'm terrified that I'll be on that table and the doctor will have bad news, like the baby stopped growing, or there's no heartbeat. I am enjoying this pregnancy, but I have bouts of worry. We could easily be one of those couples who miscarries in the 1st tri. 

I'm sure I'll be a complete wreck all day tomorrow, all afternoon. Our appointment is at 4:00 and I hope & pray we get to see a healthy Baby Burns!!  

Seafood...barf

I was hungry. We were at a seafood restaurant. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Hours later my bowels were a mess. When I thought the worst of it was over, I threw up violently. That's enough to put me off seafood for the duration of this pregnancy!

I'm hoping it was bad seafood and not onset of morning sickness! 

Phew!

The spotting has stopped! I'm 80% convinced everything is fine. I've  been feeling good this week. As soon as I get up I eat a bagel and don't  have the queasiness I was experiencing last week. I bought a bunch of  food to snack on during the day. I definitely feel like I'm hungry more  often. I hope morning sickness stays away, but after the bleeding on  Sunday I'd probably welcome it!  I have an appt today but it's at 3:10 in F'burg which I won't be able  to make. Besides, if there's something wrong I couldn't handle it right  now. I'd rather give myself a week to mentally prepare. As long as I  don't bleed or feel bad, I'll be waiting it out until next Tuesday.

Feeling better!

Written on Monday, 5/19 at work:

The bright red turned into brown last night. I feel crampy today so I  took some Tylenol.  The nurse at my doctor's office told me to go to the ER since they couldn't  see me today at 3:30. I think I'm just going to wait it out. Our next  appt is next Tuesday. If I feel worse, or the spotting continues, then  I'll probably try to get in earlier. But if something is happening, I  can't help it now, so I might as well wait.

Spotting

Not good news :(

I started spotting this morning, bright red after we came back from the grocery store. I was quite alarmed, but didn't have any cramping. I called my doctor's office and Dr. Leonard called me back. She was pretty reassuring, but also said that it was no good to worry- what's going to happen is going to happen. 

Chris is being very positive, but I'm freaking out. It's scary to think that Baby Burns might not make it. On the bright side, we can get pregnant. We saw the heartbeat. I still feel pregnant. I'm calling the office tomorrow and maybe they'll want to see me for an u/s. I will not take it very well if this ends in miscarriage. These past 4 weeks have been the happiest of my life. The next 24 hours will be very touch and go...I'm praying that everything will be ok! 

First Mother's Day

What a great day! Although I'm not  mom yet, I felt like this was a special day. Last night we had the ILs and friends over for dinner. I got beautiful flowers and a cute card. Dave & Laura bought us a VT bottle :)

This morning Chris took me to brunch at Mattaponi...it was so yummy! I had an omelet, bacon, sausage, waffles and raspberry cheesecake w/decaf coffee and OJ. Heaven! The rest of the day I napped, then did some laundry. It was a rainy, cozy, lazy Sunday. I got so many well-wishes via Myspace and text. Everyone is so excited for Baby Burns!

Only 16 days until we get to see him/her again!

We have a heartbeat!!

It was so amazing! I'll never forget the doctor's words when he found it: "This is how we all start out in life." I didn't even look at the screen until he said that! I was so nervous up until that point. In the picture, there's just a tiny dot, not much too look at...but knowing that's our baby's heart is just so cool.  We get to go back on the 27th and *hopefully* see a bigger baby & stronger heartbeat! I am so happy :) 

Thanks, Baby Burns!

Baby Burns got me a free coffee today!! One of my favorite baristas was working this morning. When I ordered a decaf mocha, she was like, "Decaf?!?" I said, "Yup, at least for the next 9 months!" She was so excited and said that the coffee was on them!

I was called out!!

As I was leaving school today, our guidance counselor (a wonderful, sweet older lady) came up to me and whispered, "I have a feeling about you....I'm sensing that your pregnant." I couldn't lie, and I was so totally shocked! I said, "How did you KNOW?!?" And she hugged me and got teary. She said that I always had a glow about me, but lately it's been more so. I said, "Really? I've been feeling so blah and kind of moody!" Then she swore she wouldn't tell a soul and offered to cover my class if ever I needed a 15 min break to get some fresh air or throw up, lol. 

Hmmmm, I think she just noticed my massive bloat and was trying to be nice, haha! 

Another long week ahead...

As I predicted, we didn't see anything at the sonogram. There was a sac, and Dr. Kil thinks it's very early, especially with my hormone levels. The levels are great, but at this point, we wouldn't see anything. So we're scheduled to go back this Friday morning in hopes of seeing a tiny heartbeat. I'll only be 6w 1d, but I've read that it's possible to see something by then.

We told the Burns side of the family this weekend. Everyone is so happy!! I hope everything goes well and that we have super news to share with everyone after Friday!!

 

Appointment today...

We have an appointment this morning for another beta and an internal sonogram. By my calculations, I'm only 5w 1d. My doctor's office thinks I'm 6w 1d. The problem with that is I don't believe we'll see or hear anything. That will bother me, but at least maybe then my doctor will adjust my due date (and how far along I am!) I guess I don't have many expectations about today. I've heard that we'll probably only see the yolk sac. Bummer! I just pray that everything looks ok and this continues to be a happy, healthy pregnancy!

Pregnant!!

I can't believe it!!

3 positive tests on Sunday, 4/20! I was only 10 dpo, but I just had a feeling. We had our first appointment yesterday and they took blood. I'm going back on Monday for a beta, then again Friday for another beta and transvaginal sonogram. I'll be exactly 6w, which may be too soon to hear the heart beat. Friday can't come soon enough!! 

We told mom & Tim last night. They are so excited. We plan on telling dad tonight before the Marine Corps concert. The last week has been amazing. I am in awe of what we're about to go through.