It's a boy!

I have to admit we were a little surprised at first. We've been going around thinking it was a girl for 3 months and we were wrong! I couldn't believe it when the ultrasound tech told us!

These are the "boy parts" but it's pretty hard to see what's going on. The tech promised me it was there, so I'll have to take her word for it.

Heartbeat was 140 beats per minute and here is an image of the 4 chambers of the heart. Everything looks perfect!And the spine looked good as well.
And a cute little foot! Baby T had one leg down and one by his head! He's flexible!
I'm still in shock 2 days later, but it's starting to sink in.
I'm so excited for my little baby boy to come into our lives!

18 Week Update

Baby's the size of a sweet potato!
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.

I've become one of *those* women. The ones that are still suffering from morning sickness into second trimester. I love when people ask work as me how I'm feeling because I look sick or tired. I tell them I'm still pretty nauseous and they say, "Oh, just wait until second trimester!" No, no. I'm already way into it!

I thought I made it through the winter without getting sick, but this weekend changed that. I have a cold and sinus headache : ( I'm popping the Sudafed and have my humidifier going so I can get better soon. Being sick is hard enough, but being pregnant & having a migraine while sick is even worse. It's also bad timing for work because I have a big week coming up. We're still working on a back-up during maternity leave, but right now, I'm my own back-up and can't be away very long.

Yuck, I didn't plan on being in a bad mood, but it's hard being sick. On a good note, we are officially wait-listed at a daycare! We did another tour this week and really loved the place. It might be over a year to wait, but it's the most convenient and we both felt really comfortable there. I'd still like to visit a couple more so we have alternatives.

And the best news of all, 2 days until our next ultrasound and gender scan! I can't wait! We're looking forward to going shopping for furniture soon too! : )

Can it be next week already?

I'm DYING to know the gender! And I'm dying to have another ultrasound to see the baby! I was way too spoiled at the fertility treatment center where an ultrasound was a bi-weekly occurrence.

I just wanna know!

Saying goodbye to an era

The belly button ring era...

Unfortunately, it's time. I waited as long as I could, but I don't think I should go any longer. It's time to say goodbye to a special accessory on my body. It's been a great ten years showing you off like a true college skank.I wanted one SO bad in high school, but there was no way my parents would ever let me do it. I didn't even get my first hole in my ears until I was 16 because it was so scary.

During my freshman year in college, those cropped tank tops were all the rage at frat parties and I wanted to look hot, of course. I started working out to lose the few pounds I gained from eating in the dorm cafeteria. In the spring, I got up the guts to do it and I remember how excruciating that pain was! Cleaning it those first few days actually make me nauseous. But showing it off with my cute little shirts and bikini in the summer was the best part. I loved it!

I hid it from my parents for a couple months until I got home for the summer. On Father's Day, I was laying out in the backyard in my swimsuit and I figured it was time to spill the beans. I really didn't mean for it to be on Father's Day, but that's what happened. My mom guessed right away and my grandma was beyond shocked. I loved that I actually did something rebellious for once.

So here we go...I felt so sick doing this.

It's been with me through ups and downs, all of college, my engagement, my wedding, getting back to my awesome pre-college body, and now almost half of my pregnancy. I will miss you.This looks really weird...

17 Week Update

Baby's the size of an onion!
Baby's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. His umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes now feature one-of-a-kind prints.

So here's the belly. I swear it looks bigger in person.I'm sick of these dorky photos. I don't think this is my flattering side. Yuck.

Anyway, it's the big 1-7 this week. I'm not really sure I believe there's a 5 inch baby in there, but I'll trust the Bump...

I think the morning sickness is starting to get better. But of course, once I told a few people this news, it came back. I still think it's on its way to being over, so that's good.

My nails and hair are growing like crazy. Really need to file my nails when I'm done with this post...

We went on our first daycare tour during the week. It's early, but I want to have options and be prepared. The place was very close to our house which is really convenient. All the people that worked there were very nice and willing to talk to us. The place seemed a little cramped, but we'll have to compare it to some of the others. I would feel comfortable going with this place if it ended up being our favorite. We're headed to another place on Wednesday.

1.5 weeks until we have our gender ultrasound!

Baby Names?

No, I'm not revealing our name choices. In fact, we haven't even discussed it.

I'm shocked at how many girls on the Bump have already decided on their baby names already! We're not discussing it until after we find out the gender, so we have 2 weeks to go. I spent a few weeks going through the entire baby name book and writing down the ones I liked, but it's not narrowed down at all. I feel like I need to go through a few more books just in case I missed something. Hey, I was watching tv while I looked through the book, so it's quite possible.

A lot of the names I like and that are big right now end in an "n" sound which doesn't work so well with our last name. I also probably don't want to use something super popular, but you never know what we'll decide on.

What if we come up with a name and it doesn't seem like it fits when the baby is born? Should we have alternatives just in case?

I also need to come up with a Hebrew name, but that will be a lot easier since we'll be passing down my grandma or grandpa's Hebrew name. One decision almost made!

First purchase for baby

I couldn't help it.

When I saw this at Old Navy it was too cute to pass up! We have a koala inside joke and this was perfect! It's gender neutral so it will work for our baby no matter what. I'm totally buying the other matching pieces when they go on clearance!

16 Week Update

Baby's the size of an avocado!
Watch what you say... tiny bones forming in baby's ears mean the little one can now pick up your voice. Eyebrows, lashes and hair are starting to fill in, and taste buds are forming.

It's about time for some new bump pics. Ignore the pasty arms...and I even put on self-tanner first! This is me before our pole dancing class on Saturday. It was a ton of fun and the baby bump didn't get into the way too much.

After the class, we all went to Flat Top and my friend Kelly gave me adorable ornament! I'm so happy to have this! Back in December, I really wanted to do something like this, but I was way too nervous to make it official with a keepsake. I'm so excited to have this to hang on our tree every year to remember that first miracle month.
Not much else going on this week. Everything has been going pretty smoothly and not too much has changed. I'm still into salads and fruit and grossed out by most meat. It's getting so hard to have the energy to cook and I just want to stop and pick up food for every meal.

Clothes are fitting better now and my belly is filling out the pants better. I'm loving getting to wear all my new clothes and show off the bump.

We're starting to talk more about the future and it's just fun to imagine what it will be like with a little child around. Whether it's at the grocery store, in the bathtub, or playing with Kitty, we're so excited for the future.

My growing body

I'm still in shocked at how fast the baby is growing.

I'll wear something one week and then put it on the next week and it fits completely differently.

When I'm in the shower, I look down in shock. How can my boobs and belly be that big already?

I'll be walking down the hall at work and touch my stomach with disbelief that there's actually a bump now.

There's really a baby in there!

15 Week Update

Baby's the size of a naval orange!
Continuing the march towards normal proportions, baby's legs now outmeasure the arms. And, finally, all four limbs have functional joints. Your fetus is squirming and wiggling like crazy down in the womb, though you probably still can't feel the movements.

And of course, we picked up the oranges at the grocery store this weekend to check out the size! We've also been having fun with the orange jokes and I'll miss them next week.
"Orange you glad it's Friday?"
"TGIO - Thank glad it's orange"
"Orange you happy you married me?"

This week we had another appointment at the doctor. It's great to be excited for appointments rather than scared and nervous like I used to be. The ultrasound room was full, so we could only hear the heartbeat with the monitor. 150 beats per minute and going strong! We scheduled our next ultrasound and 20 week scan (at 18 or 19 weeks b/c we cheat) and I'm super excited!

Officially retiring my last few pairs of pre-pregnancy jeans. I washed all of them over the weekend and now they don't fit! So glad I was able to find some new pants or I'd be walking around without any on. The maternity clothes are starting to fit better and the bump is really forming now! People seem to be either shocked at how small it is or how big it is. Not sure why, but everyone seems to have a different reaction. I promise I'll take new pictures. I always plan to do it and then feel like crap and don't want pictures of me looking sick and pale.

Speaking of sick and pale...hello, second trimester? Are you there? Apparently, I'm a late bloomer. Sick and tired of being sick and tired. I'm having random dizzy spells and just feeling like crap on most days. This week of work was probably the most tiring in more than a month. Just when I start thinking I'm doing better, it's back to feeling crappy.

Our nephew Grady is now a month old! I'm so excited for our little orange to have a cousin that's so close in age. I love seeing all his new photos and dreaming that we'll get to do the same thing very soon. In honor of Grady's nickname, Lil' Tuna, I made a little sign for him after the Potbelly billboard I saw on my way home. Our Lil' Tuna will soon have his or her own sign!

Beginning of Nursery Planning

Why do they call it a nursery anyway? It's a baby room to me, but whatever...

I've had some of this planned for years! Definitely white with lots of colors. I'm not into the dark wood that's popular now, plus I'm way too matchy-matchy to ever buy things in dark wood because I'll never find things to match perfectly. Anyway, I see lots of light and color for the room.

The first things we want to tackle are the window and closet doors. Just for fun, we looked around Home Depot to see what we both liked. Surprise! The blinds we wanted (same as our bathroom) were on sale so we went ahead and ordered them. I love the look of white wood blinds and the fancy valance on top. I think this will work better than curtains that get hairy and dirty.

We also started brainstorming for closet doors. Right now, there are full length mirror doors that are looking a little 80's. We decided on 6-panel doors, but then I was quickly reminded that they must match the doors we put in the entire house! So now we may decide to purchase all 14 new doors at the same time.

I'm also looking for some new lighting for the room. I'm still debating on either a fan or light, but definitely something bright and good for a child's room. So far, nothing is really popping out that we like, so we may go visit a few specialty lighting stores for more ideas.

Hopefully, this weekend we can get working on plans!