BABY BOY FRANDSEN!

I'm pregnant!

Baby Boy Frandsen is on his way - due in December! 

It's been a really neat few months. Here is a quick review:

Weeks 1-12

We had a positive pregnancy test on my mom's birthday in April. 

Two pink little lines to change our lives!

We went to Disney World & Universal Studios a few weeks later with Paul's family. After sitting out a few roller coasters, the Frandsen family caught on to our secret. I really need to go back to ride all those rides I missed out on, but I really did love helping watch the too-small-for-ride kids.

I was also coaching lacrosse on top of working full time during these few months. I was able to handle it pretty well, only a few moments of sickness that were terrible (ie: throwing up while driving between work and lacrosse with no shoulder to pull off on). I ate a lot of bland snacks throughout the day (as soon as I got hungry I would want to puke) and I also liked having a sucker on hand which my lacrosse team thought was so funny and strange.

We had a few doctors appointments and seeing the heartbeat (at 6 1/2 weeks) was a miracle and a relief. I had another appointment at 10 weeks and loved seeing the little gummy-bear looking baby just before I headed out to Germany. I was also able to hear the heartbeat via Doppler, what a sweet sweet sound!

Weeks 12-16

The 12 week mark was a nice milestone mentally, as the risk of miscarriage drops and morning sickness is supposed to fade out. I wasn't showing yet but decided to start documenting the monthly progress. I actually started to feel a bit more sick around this time and was also exhausted. When I'd push my body too far (a long day of touristing, trying to go for a jog, etc) it would result in sad times for my stomach. Luckily my work schedule (starting at 2pm) allowed for sleeping in and a daily nap but it was a rough few weeks!

Chelsey visited around 14 weeks and my energy was kind of coming back, but I was grateful that she was ok with a slower pace. We had a fun trip to Amsterdam and after dinners I could feel my stomach sticking out a bit. 

I was missing the reassurance that a monthly doctor visit provides. I did have health insurance in Germany but decided not to hassle with finding an English speaking office that had appointment availabilities, when everything seemed to be going well.

To make it seem more "real" (since there was no real bump, no kicks, and no doctor appointments) I decided to buy a little German gift for the babe. All the kids in Germany wear these cute little striped cotton beanies, so I found one for our little babe. It was so weird being in the baby section for a baby that was my own!

16- 20 Weeks

Between 16 and 20 weeks things started to feel more and more real as we begin to see some “evidence” after waiting for it for 4 months. A little pooch of a belly seemed to be there all the time instead of just in the evening or after I ate. I was feeling pretty well during the day but was getting stomach aches late at night. Sometimes my stomach made the craziest, loudest, noises. I was still throwing up about once a week. It was tricky in Germany to find good, healthy, easy-to-make foods at the grocery stores, especially with our teeny tiny closet kitchen. It was during this time (around 16-17 weeks) that I felt pretty confident that some twitches and squirms in my lower stomach were the baby moving!! 

My friend Megan came to visit at 18 weeks and we spent time in France and Switzerland.  Headaches were (and still are) my only frequent trouble maker. I found the European version of Tylenol in a desperate moment in Switzerland.

We did a 10 mile hike in the Alps that was amazing and I was so proud of my body for being able to handle (a few weeks before I was throwing up when running a few hundred feet). We took a lot of breaks and Megan was really helpful carrying the backpack up the steepest parts. Probably because I was so busy, I didn’t notice much movement that week, but when I got home and rested I would feel little nudges more and more frequently.

At 19 1/2 weeks Paul and I spent our 6 year anniversary in Paris. It was romantic and beautiful and a nice time to reflect on our marriage and growing family.

20 weeks! 

20 Weeks! The big halfway mark! On this very day Paul was able to feel the baby kick from the outside. It was so neat and I was so happy because I was leaving for the U.S. just a few days before and it was my "goal" that he would feel it before I left. I bought a little wooden German baby toy to celebrate our halfway mark.

I flew home at 20 1/2 weeks and did well. I had an aisle seat and went to the bathroom around a million times. It was a long day, but it was nice to have company on the long flight with little kicks the whole time.

Bump wise, it is actually starting to be there! I can hide it if I want to, by wearing looser shirts, and all my pants still button up, but if I wear a tight shirt you can definitely see there is a belly there. Paul thinks it cool, and I think it is cool but still a little in the awkward stage. I am starting to embrace it (especially now that people know I'm pregnant!) with a few outfits that show it off.

I shared the good news with my work on the Monday I returned, and on Wednesday (one day shy of 21 weeks) we had the anatomy scan ultrasound. Wow! It was amazing to see a little 11 inch long tiny human inside me. I was able to FaceTime Paul and we got to see its beautiful little profile, see it suck its thumb, a strong little spine, a brain inside a nice round Frandsen head, all four chambers of the heart pumping away, long little legs that were all the way stretched out and wiggling its feet, 5 little fingers on its hands (Paul thought there were 6 for a minute, haha) and then a quick look to find out it is a BOY!

We shared the good news "with the world" that night and it was amazing to hear from people from all different parts of our lives that were excited for us. Paul and I feel so loved!

We are so grateful for this growing, healthy, little dude and we can't wait to meet him in just a few months!