Week 16 and Week 17

I've been hearing a lot of old wives tales about whether it's a boy or a girl. The most recent one I've heard is that if the heart beat is above 140 the baby is a girl and if the heart rate is below 140, the baby is a boy. What if the heart rate is 140? That's what we found out at our latest appointment with our midwife. Maybe our baby just wants a little more time to decide. Hopefully by May 3, when we have our sonogram, the baby will decide. We are hoping for a healthy baby - boy or girl. :)

Last week I ran in a 5K here in Waco at the Xterra Trail Run Series. It was AWESOME! I haven't been running lately, but I have been working out a lot lately. My job as a Fitness Director keeps me very active and I am learning to respect and listen to my body for limitations and abilities being pregnant. During my trail run last week I was able to process being active and pregnant while running in a race. It was motivating and emotional and inspiring at the same time. There is a blog that I read often - Athleta Chi. It's written by active women pursuing their passions ranging from triathlons to marathons to yoga to surfing and more. It's been encouraging to read this blog, run in my first 5K as a mom knowing that my life will filled with children and races. I don't want to be a mom that stays home and on the soccer game sidelines only. I want to be a mom that competes in triathlons and other adventures before the soccer games. 

The pregnancy journey so far hasn't been too bad. I've gotten over the hump of nausea and am now into the infamous second trimester full of energy. Some days I have more energy than others but overall, I am feeling really good. I've gained about 10lbs and had to buy my first pair of prego pants. I'm not quite sure how I feel about the foot wide elastic band that is supposed to cover the tummy, but I definitely like that ability to put non spandex clothing on and it fit comfortable. I think Canaan, our dog, knows something is up. He has been a lot more protective and often doesn't leave my side. Mark's been great too. Whenever I ask him if I look pregnant (knowing that what I am really asking is, "do I just look fat, or is it obvious that I am pregnant") he answers with the best answer - You're beautiful and yes, you look pregnant and not just fat. Thanks, babe! 

Here's a few pictures for your enjoyment! Week 16 and week 17. Can you see my innie of a belly button changing to an outie? So fun!

We will post again on May 4 after our sonogram! Check back to find out if we will have a baby girl or a baby boy!!! 

Love, 

Kenda & Mark, plus one.

A blog worth posting!!!

It's been a long time coming. We know that we haven't posted in a long time.....but really, we just had to wait until we had a post worth posting!

Get ready, Baby Mullert is on his/her way!!!  

That's right, we are pregnant! We couldn't be more excited about this new twist in our adventure called life. This week marks our 14th week and our baby is growing rapidly!  According to our new day-by-day calendar of our baby's growth status, our baby is 3.5 inches long and weighs almost 3 ounces. (too bad that's not the amount I've gained)

A few of our friends and family have asked if this was a planned pregnancy. Of course it was! We knew that we wanted to have babies when we said, "i do". We found on that we were pregnant on January 31, 2011. The day before, Kenda ran her first half marathon and didn't feel so "right". She knew that she was a week late on her period but thought with all the training and working out that it might account for a late period. We took two pregnancy tests actually. Who really takes only one? I (Kenda) sat in our bedroom while Mark went into the bathroom to read the pregnancy stick said. He looked at me. I looked at him. Then I ran into the bathroom and checked for myself. We looked at each other and said, "we pregnant". Then we decided to take the second test. Good thing that I had a lot of water to drink that night. After two positive tests, we realized that we were indeed pregnant. 

Mum was the word.

We kept pretty quiet about our new secret. It seemed like the very next day, (I) Kenda began feeling the symptoms of morning sickness. I would wake up and go to bed nausea, allthougth I never threw up.  I had a love-hate relationship with food. I loved eating because it would make my nausea temporarily go away and I hated it because the sight of food made me sick. We scheduled our first doctor's appointment on Feb. 24 (Kenda's birthday). What a birthday present to see the baby's heart beat!! The doctor's determined that we were 9 weeks and 1 day along as of Feb. 24 with a due date on September 28. We kept our little secret for three more weeks. It wasn't easy though. Kenda still had to teach her 10 group exercise classes a week - a feat in of itself when she was so exhausted and nauseas all the time. And really, there isn't too much room to hide the weight gain in spandex. On March 11, we broke the news to our parents and family members with a video.  Both sets of parents were estatic and everyone we have told so far has been really positive and proud of us. We had our 12 week appointment the next day - Mark got to come to see and hear our baby's heart beat. What love! 

We began telling our work and friends the next day. It's been such a fun adventure so far. I have definitely gained some weight and my belly is definitely showing signs of a baby inside. Supposedly, not many women show until their 14-15th week (according to some websites) but I have been showing since week 12. We wanted to wait until our first trimester was over to tell everyone. 

Mark and I are busy making plans for having our baby. We have registered the baby at Target and are busy scowering the garage sales and sales racks for baby furniture and items we might need. Since this is our first, we are starting from scratch. Do you have any recommendations on what baby item you would never trade? Tell us! We want to know!

Until our next post - in about a week or two after our next appointment, keep us posted with your ideas and baby item recommendations. 

Mark and Kenda