Thinking back...

I was reading some of my old posts on here and as I was looking at the one about our anniversary trip it got me thinking. Looking at the picture of the two of us on Lombard Street I thought...who knew that two weeks later I would be pregnant?

Growing families

As I've posted before, Paul's sister had a little boy, Benjamin, back in November. Here are photos of their announcement. (Unfortunately, my copier/scanner/printer is no longer working, so I had to take pictures of it!)


Also, a congratulations goes out to our friends (and matchmakers), John and Andrea Nestvold, on the birth of their second son, Carter! He was born today weighing 8 lbs and 20 inches long.

Week 21

Baby gulps down several ounces of amniotic fluid every day, both for hydration and nutrition and to practice swallowing and digesting. And, these days, those taste buds actually work! Studies show that after birth, babies are most interested in tastes they've already experienced through amniotic fluid. Meaning, think about what you want your future child to eat as you prepare your own lunch.

We know what you are!!

**I'm sorry that I didn't post this last night, but Paul and I went out to dinner to celebrate and then went shopping.**

We had our 20 week ultrasound yesterday to check the baby's health and sex. Within 5 seconds of starting the ultrasound, our technician said, "I have a secret!" in a sing song voice. But does she tell us? No! She continues with measuring the baby, placenta, and such. We were able to see the heart (which still amazes me to see beating) and stomach, as well as head, arms and legs.

The technician kept shaking my stomach trying to get the baby to move because it was laying on it's side! Once she arrived at the legs she showed us this...

WE'RE HAVING A BOY!!

My intuition was right! (It's a good thing Paul and I only focused on boy names!) We ended the appointment with views of his face and profile.

The technician said our baby boy looks healthy and weighs about 14 oz. That's less than the amount of turkey sandwich meat we buy each week! It was great to see our baby moving around so much and feeling him punch me at the same time that I'm seeing him do it!

We called our families on the way home to tell them the news. For some reason, I got home faster than Paul, and when he arrived he had this in his arms...

I do believe that I am married to the most thoughtful man out there! We also chose our baby's name from the few that we had. We've chosen Evan Daniel as our son's name. Paul and I both like the name Evan and Daniel is Paul's brother's name. As I mentioned earlier in the post, we went out to dinner at Florencia in Ahwatukee for dinner. Afterwards, we stopped at Babies 'R Us to look around and purchase a few things. Paul's favorite part was trying out the gliders while I went to the bathroom! We bought two onesies and baby clothes hangers.

Paul and I are so excited to be having this little boy! I have someone to spoil and Paul has someone to rough-house with! But now we BOTH have someone additional to LOVE! June can't come fast enough!

How far along are you??

Ok. I get confused by this every time. In order for me to understand it myself, I've added this handy chart on the blog to figure it out. When someone asks me how far along I am my answer is stated in weeks. But what people really want to know is the number of months you are! So here is a reference tool for all of us...

Apparently I'm five months pregnant. I thought I was four.

HALFWAY! Week 20

It has arrived upon us! We've reached the midpoint of this pregnancy! As I look at the "fruits" to come, I can't imagine that little baby inside of me being as large as it is. Only six more days until our ultrasound!

Baby's digestive system is busy creating meconium (a tarry black substance made of swallowed amniotic fluid, digestive secretion and dead cells), which will fill the first diaper after birth. And, speaking of the diaper situation... baby's genitals are now fully formed!

As of right now, I'm not afraid of labor. I'm more afraid of cleaning a diaper and baby butt covered in meconium!

To be determined...

...on Jan. 28th! That's when we get to find out the sex of our baby, if he/she is willing to cooperate.

So far so good

I had another doctor's appointment today. I weighed 4 pounds less than last time (when the doctor said I was gaining too much weight), the baby's heartbeat is nice and strong, and I'm measuring just right. I also found out that my blood type is O+. The doctor also asked if I wanted to do a quad-screener that measures various levels in my blood. It would give us a ratio of the chances that our baby might be born with Down Syndrome, Edwards Syndrome, and spina bifida. I decided to pass. Paul and I figured that if our baby is born with an abnormality, even knowing ahead of time, we'd never be fully prepared for it. Besides, it wouldn't change our thoughts on loving and keeping our baby. God will give us our child how he/she comes for a reason.

Photos

I'm happy to say that our wonderfully talented friend, Pam, is going to be taking my maternity and newborn photos. She's extremely good at what she does and it just an amazing person. We are honored to have her in our lives!

See her work at Pamela Nicole - Life is Art

Week 19

Vernix caseosa, a greasy white substance made of lanugo, oil and dead skin cells (yum) now coats baby's skin, shielding it from the amniotic fluid. (Picture yourself after a nine-month bath, and the need for protection makes sense.) You might actually get to see the vernix at birth, especially if baby is premature.

Two New Things!

#1. On Saturday, Paul and I went and bought a new car. We have been researching and Paul has been communicating with dealerships for a while now. The decision was to trade in my cute little two-door coupe for a larger, more family friendly car. I knew that one day it had to be done, so Saturday was it. We went to the Mazda dealership early and, even going in with a price ahead of time, it still took us three hours before we got out of there. Did I mention that they forgot to tell us we have a Sirrius satellite kit installed in the car, they forgot our antennae, and I left my garage door opener in my Honda? It was an exciting day!

Goodbye cute little sport car!

Hello mom car!

#2. I'M FEELING THE BABY MOVE! Or at least I think I am. Lately, I've been asking my pregnant and mother type friends what it feels like when you first start to feel the baby move. I've received various responses. But for me, last night I started feeling a "flick". It's kind of like when you can feel your pulse on your wrist or neck.

Paul and I were on the computer last night when I turned to him and said, "I just felt three flicks." After that I didn't feel anything for a while, but as we were going to bed, I felt them again. Today, I've felt them sporadically as well. It's usually when I'm sitting still and really trying to pay attention to them.

I'm hoping that it's the baby I'm feeling because then at least I'll know that he/she is doing ok in there.

Belly picture update #3

Ok, so I know that I usually post these on Sundays, but I couldn't wait. My belly has grown enormously already (due to the cantaloupe inside of me and the sweet potato inside of it) so I wanted to get this going on the blog. Tomorrow is my 18 week mark, so here's the latest photo!

18 weeks

14 weeks

11 weeks

Week 18

I know it's being posted a day early, but I have class tomorrow night. :-( Anyway, I also read that my uterus is now the size of a cantaloupe, or slightly larger. No wonder my stomach looks like a cantaloupe. You'll see what I mean on Sunday when I post the next belly picture. Seriously, it's grown!!

Monday and Tuesday morning I was so sick of not being able to fit into my regular pants anymore, so I cleaned out my closet last night. I pulled out my friend Kerri's buckets of maternity clothes she gave me and went "shopping". As I was putting my "little" clothes away and placing the "big" clothes on the hangers, I was praying that after the baby is born that I wouldl be able to pull out my clothes and be able to wear them again.

Your fetus has become amazingly mobile (at least compared to you), passing the hours yawning, hiccuping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking and swallowing. And, baby's finally big enough that you'll be able to feel those movements soon.

Sorry

I wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year!

I also want to say a happy belated 10 year anniversary to my sister and brother in law!

Week 17

Baby's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. The umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes are now topped by one-of-a-kind prints.