15 Weeks

So, I said things were starting to get better for me...yeah, not so much. I've puked four times in the past five days. Yesterday was I think the worst one yet and I called and cried on Jeremy's voicemail after. Pretty pitiful.

I know it's all worth it and when I'm holding this baby in my arms this fall I'll forget all about being sick, but right now it's still hard to endure at times. Needless to say, because I've not been feeling well I haven't taken the 15 week picture yet.

We also went to Manitowoc, WI this past weekend to visit Jeremy's family. It was great to see everyone, but far too short. We're looking forward to seeing some of them again next month though for Jeremy's graduation.

Thanks for your prayers. I'll try to post another picture soon.

14 Weeks

We're 14 weeks now and I think things are starting to get a little better for me. Last week was up and down, but I didn't throw up at all so that was a milestone. I got out of the house a fair amount over the weekend, and today I worked 6 hours! These are all victories considering how sick and nauseated I have been for the past several weeks.

Getting dressed in the morning is a bit of a challenge. I'm getting too big for a lot of my pre-pregnancy pants, but I'm not big enough yet for maternity pants. So I have this great thing called a Bella Band, which is basically a tube top that I wear over my waistband to hide the fact that I am not buttoning or zipping my pants. :) But that also means I need to find shirts that are longer so I don't look funny. It's a bit of a challenge, but it's definitely worth it. And I don't mind the fact that my tummy is growing. It makes this pregnancy seem more real.

This year is on track to be one full of change for Jeremy and I. He graduates from seminary in just six weeks, so we are now praying for and searching for a full-time job for him that will provide enough financially to allow me to stay home once the baby is born. We would covet your prayers as well while we search, and I will keep you updated as things progress in that area.

13 Weeks

Yesterday we hit the 13 week mark, which means we are now entering the second trimester! I'm very excited about this because it should mean that I start feeling better within the next couple weeks. I think I already am starting to feel a little better, but it's still up and down. Everything is still great with the baby though. We got to hear the heartbeat last week so we know the little bugger is still alive and well in there.

As promised, I'm including a couple pictures of the growing tummy. It seems like all of a sudden things are happening because my pants are tight and I'm starting to look pregnant. The baby is 2.75 inches now and it will grow two inches in the next two weeks!

the Hermann family is growing

That's right...we're expecting a baby this October! I am 11 weeks pregnant and we're both very excited to meet what Jeremy calls "the little bambino." We've had two ultrasounds so far and everything is looking great. I've been really nauseated and losing weight, so it's amazing to me that the baby can still grow and thrive even though some days I've eaten next to nothing. I'm on medication now, which is helping the nausea and allowing me to eat some, but I'm still looking forward to the second trimester and hoping the nausea stops.

Thank you all for your prayers! I promise we'll do better at posting regularly, and including pictures as my tummy grows. :)

Jeremy's Trip to the Hospital

So last weekend we had some excitement in the Hermann household. After church on Sunday we went to the Christensen's to watch the NFL playoff games. We had a great time with them, but Jeremy was pretty disappointed that the Packers lost. Toward the end of the game he started complaining that his shoulder hurt and his back hurt. I didn't think much of it because we had pretty much sat on the couch all afternoon and evening, so I figured he just had some sore muscles or something. We were getting ready to leave and he was still acting like he was in a lot of pain. He didn't want to make a big deal out of it so we got our stuff in the car and headed home. On the way home his pain was getting more intense and he was saying his chest hurt, it was hard to breathe and his left arm was going numb. I called my parents to see if they could direct me to a closer hospital, but while I was on the phone with them Jeremy said, "We need to get somewhere fast!" That is not what you want to hear from your husband, especially when you think he could be having a heart attack. So I got off the phone with my parents and called 911, while still driving. We pulled off the freeway and into a hotel parking lot. Police and an ambulance met us there within a few minutes. The ambulance ladies were SO NICE and they were able to at least let us know that it didn't look like it was related to his heart. We took the ambulance to the hospital and spent a few hours in the ER, where they determined his left lung had partially collapsed. Evidently this can just spontaneously happen, and it's more common in tall, thin males. They admitted him so they could keep an eye on him overnight. He wanted me to stay with him all night, but they wouldn't let me since he had a roommate. So I left at 3:30AM and went home to sleep for a few hours before going back to the hospital in the morning. When I got there Jeremy seemed more like he was in a hotel than a hospital. He thought the food was great, his nurse was very nice, and he had his own DVD player so he had me bring a season of Seinfeld for him to watch. They did more x-rays in the morning and said he didn't look any worse, and since he was feeling pretty good they discharged him monday afternoon. He's still experiencing some discomfort, but he's on the road to recovery. He'll have x-rays every few days until it looks like it has healed itself. If he's not all healed in a few weeks he'll have to go back to the lung specialist and possibly have surgery. We're praying that doesn't happen. The surgery isn't a real big deal, but we'd like to avoid it if possible. So...that was our exciting weekend. Hopefully this coming weekend is less eventful. We figure all the bills from last weekend will probably blow through our deductible, so this would be a great year to have a baby! We'll keep you posted if there is any news on that front. :)