Baby Booty!

FYI - I finally scanned all of the ultrasound pics and have posted them below next to the posts. So scroll down and check 'em out! (Belly pics are coming soon, I promise.)

I wanted to take pictures of all the things that have been given to us so far. We have been blown away by all the clothes and baby items people have been so generous to give us. Most of the clothes and blankets have come from Amy and her baby girl Jalynn (thanks guys!!!). Our little girl will be very well outfitted if we continue getting Jalynn's cast-offs!

And my sister Wendy has given us a play mat, a Johnny Jump-Up, a swing and a baby lounge seat. Oh! And both of them have given us a huge supply of diapers to start us off with.

Jon and I were able to send 3 huge boxes home to us, and pack our suitcases to the brim after our Vegas visit to get most of it home. That's in addition to the big box mom had already sent us of things she picked up from Amy. All that's left at mom's is the swing and seat.

We are really SO THANKFUL for the generosity. Now we need some furniture to put it all in!

This picture isn't great if you're trying to see everything. The boxes barely survived, but they did make it! They were all stuffed full of things. It's crazy!

This was mom's first outfit for the baby. I love it!!! I can't wait to put her in it next Christmas!

Two onesies from Camden and Tobin (Wendy). The first says "I only cry when ugly people hold me" and the second one says "This is how I roll". Love them!!!

And here's Amy and Jalynn! Thanks again guys!

Names

We've been debating a few names for a while now, and we seem to settle on one for a few days, then talk about other options. We have a name we've chosen for now, but I'm keeping it under wraps just in case we change our minds again.

HOWEVER, I'm posting a poll on the blog to see what everyone thinks about names. All of the names we're posting are some that have been discussed. I'll be posting the results in a month or two.

The site I've been using for finding out meanings and origins of names is www.babynamesworld.com. It's great! Check it out.

Have fun voting!

20 Weeks

Thursday I hit the 20 week mark which is the official "halfway point"! I've been feeling great, with the exception of the cold I've got. I feel the baby move all the time now, especially after a meal. She's not big enough to determine actual body parts or feel it on the outside yet, but I definitely feel her doing jumping jacks in there!

We went back for our "sex check" ultrasound on Wednesday and we were able to confirm it's definitely a girl! I made sure to eat lunch beforehand and drank a caffeinated beverage - and she was having a party in there!

We got a few more pictures. I really have to scan all of these and post them. Last week we also got a DVD recording of the ultrasound (it wasn't working this week) but I can't figure out how to post it. I can't upload it to YouTube for some reason, but as soon as I get it up, I will post it. It's so cool!!!

More Ultrasound Pics

From our "sex check" appointment on 12/19.

Okay, now I could explain exactly what you're looking at here, but the truth is I'm not entirely sure. So I'll just take the tech's word for it that this picture proves it's a girl!

Hi sweet baby girl! We see you! Eyes, hands, body and feet!

The results are in!

(This is my favorite ultrasound pic yet! So cool!)

We're having a beautiful baby girl!!!


Well, we're 99% sure we're having a girl at least!! We are going back in a week to find out for sure. After a total of about 15 minutes of searching on the sonogram machine, the Doctor only caught a glimpse of what we were looking for because the cord was in the way! She assured us she was very confident what we're expecting is a little baby girl. However, she realizes that when it takes that long to determine the gender, then the parents don't always leaving feeling 100% confident. So she's invited us back next week for another peek! We feel very fortunate, as there is no requirement for her to do so, and while we are very confident that SHE is very confident, we'll always welcome another look!

Needless to say we are so very excited about a little girl, and now comes the hard part - choosing a name!!

The rest of the appointment went really well. All of the measuring and spotting of necessary body functions looked great, and she was really pleased with how everything looked. We went in to see Dr. White and that went great as well. I managed to keep my blood pressure at a normal level this morning and he was very pleased. Impressed, in fact. He even had to be reminded if he had prescribed me any blood pressure medication the last time because it was so perfect. He said I wasn't out of the woods yet - that blood pressure is usually lower in the second trimester, and tends to creep back up in the 3rd. But as long as I can remain calm before my appointments and not become anxious, then he'll be very happy! yahoo!!! Such a relief!

So we go back next week for another look, and then go see Dr. White in early January. We were also able to schedule a 3rd trimester ultrasound in March!

Getting closer! It will be here before we know it!

This is a shot from below, but it's still not a great picture since the cord was in the way. It's a good picture of her long legs curving around.

Another shot of the baby before she flipped over to the picture at the top. This picture has her spine on the bottom.

Latest Appt Update

We had our latest appointment on November 16th and everything looks great!!! Dr. White couldn't find the baby's heartbeat again, so we did another ultrasound and saw the little fluttering butterfly in there.

He was a little concerned about my blood pressure as I tend to have "white coat hypertension" where I get really worked up before an appointment. It was much lower than it was last time, but he'd like to keep an eye on it.

Up next: December 12th where we have our ultrasound to find out if it's a boy or a girl!!! Can hardly stand it.

I've been feeling pretty good. Experiencing some difficulty sleeping, but I've discovered a few tricks to help me. I'm a terrible sleeper in just everyday life, so this should be interesting. My right hand falls asleep all night and I can no longer sleep on my back or stomach.

Next update: December 12th!!!

Ultrasound Pic 10/18/07

It's hard to tell in this picture what you're looking at. The cursor (+) is right on the baby's forehead. The eyeball is right below that, and you can see the little curve of the nose. The spine is on the bottom, and the rest ofthe body curves up to the left. Can you see it????

13 weeks

I am now 13 weeks pregnant! I can't believe it.

We had our 2nd appointment on October 18th and Dr. White was very pleased with all the results from my blood tests, which was a great relief. He was also very encouraging with what he calls "survivalist eating" when a pregnant woman is experiencing endless nausea, where you eat strange things simply because you can't bear the thought of eating anything else.

The main point of the appointment was to hear the heartbeat. He was very patient and listened for a while, but alas, The Dot was being stubborn, so the doctor ushered us down the hall to the ultrasound room, where we were very blessed to be able to actually SEE the heart! It was such a relief, and The Dot was definitely taking on more of a human form where we could see an eye, the nose, mouth and forehead. What a treat.

I'm feeling soooo much better. About 1 1/2 weeks ago I really felt like I had turned a corner and my energy started to pick up, although I still take a nap almost every day in my car at work. If I can just rest my eyes and relax for a while, usually that's enough to get me through the rest of the afternoon. But sometimes I really conk out for a while! I'm still having a bit of nausea, usually in the mornings, but Jolly Rancher candies have been the best thing for that.

It's been interesting to really start to "feel" pregnant, in that I can definitely tell a difference in my lower abdomen especially when I bend over to pick something up, or stretch above my head. I haven't felt any movement from the baby yet, but there is definitely change going on in there.

I'll be starting a new link or post for pictures only. We've only taken 8-week pictures so far, and they don't look any different than I looked before. I'm sure the next round will show a difference.

It's been interesting to look at our pregnancy calendar each day. If you'd like to see what it looks like, click here. I'll try to be better about posting the interesting things that are going on each week.

According to my calendar, on Friday I was exactly 13 weeks and 1 day pregnant. The baby was approximately 3.0-3.5 inches and weighed 1.25 ounces. Between then and now (today is Sunday), the baby's tooth sockets and hair follicles began forming. Two very important things!! So fascinating...

'til next time!!!

1st Ultrasound Pic! 9/20/07

The Dot!

Well, fatigue has completely taken over, which means I'm lagging a bit on blogging.

Jon and I went to the doctor last Thursday and got to meet Dr. White. He's super friendly and made us both feel very comfortable. And- added bonus - he's also Jon's niece Michele's OB. She's loved him, so it was just great confirmation for us that we just so happened to wind up with the same doctor.

Anyway - he moved my due date back to May 8th. He did an ultrasound and we got to see the little Dot on the screen. And it is actually a DOT. So I'm pretty sure that's officially the baby's nickname. I need to scan the shot and draw a really big arrow to the tiny little dot for all to see. :)

I've been sleeping much better since we visited Dr. White, but I am feeling terribly fatigued all day long. I was also having awful indigestion, but this week it seems to have gotten better. Weird!

We did take my rings to get resized and it turns out they were originally sized a 6 1/2!!!!!! I don't think I've ever been a 6 1/2 ring size in my life! So needless to say they are sending them in to the original vendor for inspection and for sizing. Even the jeweler we took them to can't believe they were so small. I feel much better knowing I wasn't retaining water like crazy or had gained 50 pounds in my finger alone. I'll have them back in a couple weeks.

We've gotten a few really sweet gifts already. Wendy's gift made me cry like a baby of course. And even our next door neighbors gave us a little card. So kind.

Welcome to the journey!

Here we are in the middle of Week 8. What an exciting time for all of us, although "exciting" isn't always the word I would use to describe what's happening with my body. "Interesting" and "confusing" seem to fit better sometimes.

I've been experiencing the typical fatigue that I hear happens in the First Trimester, or sometimes throughout the pregnancy for some women. I've also been having crazy hormonal mood swings and outbursts, which is expected to last the entire 9 months (pray for Jon). The other morning I burst out of bed and into the living room in a huff because I couldn't sleep, and I started sobbing because I couldn't bear the thought of going to work even more tired than the day before. In my defense - one of my coworkers made me feel better. She's due at the same time I am and she shared a story of her sobbing on the way to work because the drive-thru forgot to give her salsa and she couldn't possibly be expected to eat her breakfast burrito without her salsa!!!

Jon has been very patient and understanding. We've been reading up on the baby's daily growth together, which has been fun. And he's got his own books which seem to be helping him in understanding what to do with a hormonal, crazy, confused wife.

I've been walking almost every day now and have had virtually no sweet tooth since I found out. I'm trying to be very healthy in exercise and eating during this pregnancy. I know I'll never be that "cute pregnant girl" (ie: impossibly skinny pregnant girl), but at least I can do what's best for both of us. No more ice cream! Jon had better get to eating the rest of the supply in the freezer.

Today I did have to take off my wedding band and engagement ring. Apparently I'm retaining water like a camel, and wanted to take them off before they became stuck. We'll take them to get resized this weekend since it seems like it will be a while before my fingers shrink down a bit. I think they've been too tight since they sized me in the first place, but oh well. Maybe now my finger will lose the huge indentation. In the meantime, it's a very roomy sterling silver band for me!

We keep forgetting to take belly pics for the progression. But they'll start up soon, I promise!

Our first appointment is Thursday. Wish us luck!