The Big Reveal

Here's the story of the day we found out we're having a BOY!  I wanted to write it down so I don't forget!

Let me just say, that I was so pleasantly surprised that it's a boy!  EVERYONE was guessing girl.  It was crazy how many people thought it was a girl.  I had thought for awhile now that it was a girl too, but I have no idea why since it wasn't because I had a preference.  Boy, was I wrong!  I even told Justin right before we found out that I was going to laugh so hard if it's boy.  And I was definitely laughing!  We get in the room and the sweet technician takes her time letting us look at the head, the arms, hands, feet etc.  I was thinking, lets get to the good stuff!  She asked us what we thought the gender was and I said I thought it was a girl and everyone else seemed to think it's a girl too.  Justin quickly said that he didn't know what the gender was and wasn't swayed either way.   So finally she gets a great shot in between his legs and before she said anything, I knew it.  I said right away "oh my gosh, is it a boy?!?!?!"  She paused for a little bit just to be sure of course and then said "it's a boy!"  Oh wow!  I started cracking up.  I said I couldn't believe it but I was SO happy!  I really could not stop smiling or giggling.  We were both so thrilled.  It was actually more fun since I was totally expecting it to be a girl.  And let me just say, it was very obvious it was a boy!  Cooper was moving his hands around a lot and it was so cute because he would keep covering his face with one of his hands.  The technician said he was embarrassed that we kept looking at his goods (rephrased by me).  He was probably like "I'm tired of everyone thinking I'm a girl!"  I am actually SO glad that we found out the gender beforehand.  It was still a huge surprise and I think I would have gone the whole pregnancy thinking it was a girl.  It's just so fun knowing and being able to call him by name now.   So we left the Doctor super excited and couldn't wait to tell people!  We went to Target and each of us picked out a cute boy outfit which was really fun.  We hadn't bought anything for the baby yet and it was fun to look around.

I had wanted to tell my family all together in a fun way, so I decided to order cupcakes with blue icing in the middle!  I ordered the cupcakes from Gigi cupcakes and they were awesome!  They were incredibly accommodating to me and I called them right after our appointment to tell them if it's pink or blue icing and they were waiting for my call.  They had the cupcakes done in an hour.  I have to give a shout out to them because I was so impressed by their customer service (and the cupcakes are amazing!)  So that evening we went to my parents house and my mom made a super yummy dinner.  I told them that we couldn't talk about the appointment over dinner because we had to wait until dessert.  I had everyone guess what they thought the gender was.  My 3 year old nephew of course said BOY.  The rest was pretty evenly split.  So after dinner I had everyone choose which cupcake they wanted (I had all different flavors) and they had to start eating the cupcake at the same time.  After a few bites, they all saw the blue icing!  It was a great reaction and a fun way to tell them as everyone was so happy to have another boy in the family.  Peyton was particularly very happy to have a boy cousin!  I hope Peyton and Cooper will be best buds all their life!  Here are some pictures of the day:

Peyton excited to find out!

Everyone eating the cupcake to see what color is in the middle

It's a BOY!

It was a very fun and memorable day!  

Introducing...

Cooper James Cummings

We found out yesterday that we are having a BOY!!  Isn't he so cute?  We think so :)  Not only did we find out it was a boy but we already have picked out a name!  It's something we have been thinking about for a year now so it wasn't too hard.  His name is Cooper James!  We named him Cooper mainly because we really like that name, we think it's super cute and masculine.  His middle name is James because that is his daddy's middle name and well, he has a pretty amazing Daddy for a role model!    We also like the nickname CJ for him and think that would be fun for his close buddies to call him, if he wants.  Cooper, CJ, Coop, Cooper James....so fun!  We can't wait to hold our baby Cooper in just 5 short months!  We are so blessed and thankful that the Lord has given us a son.

Boy or Girl? What's your guess?

Tomorrow we are going to find out the gender!  I really do feel like a little kid on Christmas Eve, just dying to wake up in the morning to see what the big surprise is!  So now is the time to have a little fun and take some guesses.   I truly have no preference at all for a girl or boy.  One week I would be thinking I want a girl and the next week I would be thinking I want a boy.  I would be so ecstatic either way.

As far as guessing goes, for some reason, everyone has been guessing girl.  My brother and 3 closest friends have all guessed girl, not knowing that the others have guessed that as well.  I have had more of a "feeling" that it's a girl, but that feeling is based on nothing.  Justin has been leaning more towards a boy so who knows?  There are a few old wives tales out there to determine what the gender is.  I thought I'd have a little fun to see what the wives tales say about me and to help you take a more accurate guess.  Of course, I really don't believe all this, this is purely just for fun :)

1.  According to legend, 140+ beats per minute indicates a girl, and below 140 a boy.
Well, the baby was at 154 beats on Tuesday.  That would be GIRL


2.  If you're carrying high, break out the pink. If your bump is low, you're carrying a boy.
I have no idea if I'm carrying high or low..I feel like I'm not carrying much as the baby is just the size of an Apple right now.  But I will say that I feel like I'm carrying more all over and not as much in front.  So that would lead to me say:  GIRL


3. Craving ice cream every single day? Some people believe this means it's a girl. If you have to have salty or sour stuff, then it's a boy.
Um, when am I NOT craving ice cream?  This seems a little unfair to me, but I guess I would have to say GIRL


4.  Legend has it that the Mayans determined a baby's sex by looking at the mother's age at conception and the year of conception. If both are even or odd, it's a girl. If one's even and one's odd, it's a boy.
Age of conception is 29 and year 2012.  One odd and one even= BOY


5.  If you're breaking out like crazy, blame it on your girl babe. The belief goes that girls steal their mother's beauty, hence, those annoying zits.
I did notice I was breaking out a little more in the 1st trimester but definitely not "like crazy"  so I would have to say BOY for this one.  


6.  Sick as a dog during the first trimester -- or still? Signs indicate you're having a girl. Little or no morning sickness points to a boy
I was nauseous but definitely not bad at all compared to most of my friends and I never threw up.   So I have to go with BOY


Out of those 6 wives tales, looks like we have an even split.  3 for girl and 3 for boy.  Too bad I don't have any Drano to do that test for the tie breaker :)  What about you?  Do you know of any other old wives tales I've missed?  What's your guess?


I hope to update the blog/facebook sometime late tomorrow evening (after we have told our family in person) or on Saturday afternoon....so stay tuned!!  

15 Weeks

I am now 15 weeks pregnant and well into my 2nd trimester.  I went to the Doctor today after not going a whole month and heard the heartbeat!  She warned me that it could take awhile to find since I'm still early on, but she was even surprised how quickly she found it.  I was of course relieved as the waiting as been a little rough.  So here are some random thoughts of 15 weeks of pregnancy:

• I am still feeling pretty good overall.  Not many symptoms and still haven't felt the baby move yet.  I'm dying to feel the baby, I just can't wait!  
• I'm finally seeing a little baby bump.  I don't think anyone else can really tell except for Justin and I, but depending on what I'm wearing, it's more noticeable.  My stomach feels very tight and different but I'm enjoying it!
• I have been getting bad headaches lately....I have no idea if that has anything to do with pregnancy or not, but it's not fun.  
• I still get tired easily and sleeping a lot, but not near as much as before.   Sunday I took a 3 hour nap!  
• My dear sweet friend gave me all her maternity clothes!  It was a HUGE blessing and I'm so grateful.  I started wearing maternity jeans this week and WOW!  Everyone was right, I had no idea what I was missing.  Sitting down is so much more comfortable....it's marvelous!  
• What I dread most everyday is deciding what to wear for the day.  I.Hate.it.  Even with more maternity clothes now, I still feel like I have nothing to wear that looks good.  Some maternity shirts just looks silly right now since I don't have that big belly yet.  I'm still wearing a lot of my old clothes that are loose and not too tight, but there is just so much of that.  I so wish it was socially acceptable to wear my yoga pants and a big T-shirt everyday.  So comfy!  
• We find out this Friday the gender!  I'm so excited.  

Those are all my random thoughts at 15 weeks.  I'll end with a funny story that will hopefully encourage future  pregnant women to go ahead and get maternity pants earlier rather than later.  Since I could still technically button my old jeans, I felt that I should continue to wear them until I couldn't button them anymore.  When I would put on my old jeans, I thought "oh, this is great, they still fit." and went on with life.  Little did I know, that when I sit down, it was putting so much pressure on my belly that was already feeling so tight.  So at my office, I started to just unbutton the top button when sitting down.  I then started to worry that someone would come in and I would forget about it so I quickly stopped that.  But then on my way home from work, I would have to sit in my car for 45 minutes to drive home.  So the first thing I would do is unbutton the top button and enjoy the car ride home much better!  I mean, I was just in the car by myself, who really cares?  Well, after 45 minutes or so in the car, of course I completely forget about my pants and decide to do some grocery shopping at HEB during the time where everyone goes.  I noticed that there were a few people looking at me and particularly at my belly and I thought "can they tell I'm pregnant?" Oh boy.  No, that's not what they were looking at.  To my horror, I finally looked down and realized my shirt was caught up in my unbuttoned jeans.  It was completely obvious to anyone a mile away from me.  Oops.  I then realized it was definitely time for that belly band and/or maternity pants!  

The Fearless Woman

I never really considered myself a fearful person.  When I was little, I was never afraid of anything.  I would go on the scariest and tallest roller coasters, watch the scariest movies, and was very trusting towards strangers.  I could be alone at night and not think a thing of it.   I lived by myself in a foreign country and didn't bat an eye doing it.  I would go sky diving in a heartbeat if Justin approved (he doesn't think it's a good idea....he might be right).  With the exception of roaches and snakes, I don't know if I have a "fear" of anything.  And then, I had 2 miscarriages.  And now I realized how incredibly fearful I actually am.  Now that I am pregnant again, I have had more fear than I can ever remember.  And in a small way, I would justify my fear as normal and acceptable, being what I have gone through.  With all good intentions, others would also justify my fear saying that is completely normal and that they too are fearful for me.  I didn't think much of my fear...and then I read this quote by John Piper in the book, Momentary Marriage.  He is describing Christian womanhood.  It is based off of 1 Peter 3:6 " And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.”  


"So this portrait of Christian womanhood is marked first by hope in God and then by what grows out of that hope, namely, fearlessness. She does not fear the future; she laughs at the future. The presence of hope in the invincible sovereignty of God drives out fear. Or to say it more carefully and realistically, the daughters of Sarah fight the anxiety that rises in their hearts. They wage war on fear, and they defeat it with hope in the promises of God. Mature Christian women know that following Christ will mean suffering (2 Tim. 3:12). But they believe promises like 1 Peter 3:14, “But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled,” and 1 Peter 4:19, “Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.” That is what Christian women do: They entrust their souls to a faithful Creator. They hope in God. And they triumph over fear."


Wow. I read that and immediately felt convicted.  I then read it a few more times and repented to the Lord for my anxiety over this pregnancy and my fearful attitude.  I then read it to Justin and we were able to talk about it for awhile.  It's nothing new to me.  I know that the Word commands us to not fear and to not be anxious.  I have known this, but in some strange way, I felt that I was this exception because of what I have been through.  I keep thinking about how we are supposed to laugh at the future.  It sounds so insensitive to laugh at the future but how true.  Hoping in the sovereignty of God drives out fear.  I wish I could say that I have now completely defeated all my fear with this pregnancy and I'm as cool as a cucumber, but I have realized it is a daily fight.  Some days are good, some days aren't.  But I will continue to fight fear with hope in the promises of God.  

The 1st Trimester

Now that I'm 13 weeks pregnant, I'm having a little more energy to write about my 1st trimester.  We all know that the 1st trimester can be rough, and it definitely was for me for several reasons.  My main symptom was exhaustion....the kind of exhaustion that makes you feel like you just got hit by a truck.  I normally average about 7 hours of sleep a night and I'm embarrassed to say that I have been sleeping 9-10 hours a night (when possible).  I feel like I could sleep and sleep.  And then when I get home from work, I would sometimes even lay on the couch and take a 30 minutes "power nap" since I'm so exhausted from that drive home.  I also started to get nauseous at around 6 weeks but I never got sick.  The nausea would come and go from 6 weeks to about 9 weeks and then it faded.  I definitely liked being nauseous because it made me not worry as much.  There were times when I would go 3 days in a row without feeling nauseous at all and start to worry that something was wrong.  But thankfully the nausea would come back or I had a Doctor's appt that would confirm that little heartbeat. The only thing that helped my nausea, since I never got sick, was to eat.  Isn't that crazy?  Usually when you're nauseous, you don't even want to look at food, but they say when you're pregnant, an empty stomach makes you more nauseous.  I had to eat when I first woke up in the morning or I would feel very sick.  I also carried snacks with me in my purse all the time.  I felt like a kid having crackers and cheerios in baggies all the time.   Looking back, I really did not have that bad of a 1st trimester compared to some of my friends who are constantly sick.  It's very ironic as I really wanted to be sick, while most women who are sick hate it.  I knew the Lord was teaching me not to fear and to trust Him.

My main other symptom was hunger.  I have always noticed an increase in appetite, especially when I first wake up, with all of my pregnancies.  It's also a little strange as I would get hungry very easily and then become full very easily.  My Doctor told me that was completely normal.  So the key is small meals throughout the day!  It helps with my hunger and my nausea.  I haven't had any big cravings yet, but I do say that I love eating macaroni and cheese and pasta!  The other night,  we went to the Olive Garden and it was like heaven for me!  I usually don't eat pasta as it's loaded with carbs, but now I'm quite enjoying it!  

I'm still trying to work out, but not near as hard or as often as I was before.  My Doctor encourages me to work out, but to definitely take it easy with my history.  So I'm enjoying long walks outside and the elliptical at the gym.  I'm sure in a few months, the elliptical won't be a great idea for me anymore.  But I am looking forward to swimming this summer!  How fun to wear a bathing suit and not feel self conscious because you're suppose to look big!  I'm looking forward to getting some good exercise and staying cool by swimming during the hot Houston summer.

So now that I'm 13 weeks and out of the 1st trimester, I'm feeling a lot better.  I'm not nauseous or as tired anymore (thought still pretty tired, just not as bad).  To be honest, I thought after I was out of the 1st trimester, that I wouldn't be worried as much.  Boy, was I wrong.  I have been a little worried now that I don't have any big "symptoms" anymore and it's still too early to feel the baby move around.  I feel pretty normal besides the extra pounds!  I just want to feel something different to give me reassurance.  Did anyone else feel this way the beginning of the 2nd trimester?  I also have to wait a month to go back to the Doctor which is harder since I was going every 2 weeks before.  It's a continual reminder to me to give my fear over the the Lord and to trust Him.  There is literally nothing I can do but seek the Lord during this time.

On a lighter note, we get to find out the gender in just 3 more weeks!!  I'm SO excited I feel like a kid counting down to Christmas Day!

Thank you again for praying for us and our sweet baby.  I appreciate your continual prayers!