Video Number 2!

Here's another movie, with photos and video footage from the entire pregnancy, plus Norah as a newborn! Enjoy!

The Long Awaited News!

Sorry to keep you all waiting today! I had a lot going on.

I won’t keep you waiting any longer…

If you voted BOY… you were dead wrong! It’s a baby girl!!! (Did I trick you?)

We are so excited! I have felt all along like it was a girl, but I was trying not to take myself too seriously for fear of disappointment. Looks like a lot of you thought the same thing, though! Thanks for playing our little voting game!

The ultrasound was a lot of fun. We went to Greenville Tech, and an ultrasound technician in training observed while the technician who was doing the ultrasound explained everything to her. So we got to have the inside scoop on what they look for and all, and we were in there for over an hour! She kept saying everything looked perfect and beautiful and gorgeous! That was nice to hear.

And without further ado, here are some pictures of our little girly-poo!

Here’s a profile view. I think she looks like Travis! The little circle under her chin is a cross section of her arm.

Here’s another of her with her hand under her chin…she’s wise!

And here she is with her foot in her mouth…literally!

I love this one: she’s holding onto her foot! Her leg is the one pointing more like this: ( /) Her arm is more like this: ( \ ) If you look carefully you can make out her foot and her little thumb. The other fingers are wrapped around. ADORABLE!

Lastly, the proof! It’s definitely a girl! We got to see like four different angles because she kept putting her foot in the way and we’d have to look at something else and then come back to it. She’s a modest little thing!

Also, I am happy to announce that she is on the small side. J I don’t think that means the due date will be any different, I just think she’ll be a small baby. Thank goodness! They said she is just a smidge over a pound.

So there you have it! Now we don’t have to call her an “it” anymore!!!

Before I sign off, I would like to congratulate my good friend, Mindy (Bennett) Cotton, and her husband, Josh, on their little bundle of joy, who came into the world yesterday evening! Baby Jay weighed 8 pounds 6.5 ounces and was 21 inches long. Here he is! Adorable, no?

Hope to see you back here for week 24!

23 Weeks Pregnant

Welcome to week 23!

This past week was so much fun…we got lots of snow, and school was cancelled ALL WEEK! I’ve never seen snow stick for that long down here. We were trapped in our house – or I should say our cars were stuck in the driveway – from Monday to Wednesday, and it was still pretty treacherous trying to walk on our icy sidewalk until today. I don’t know how I’m going to find the time to make up everyone’s missed lessons, but it’s fun to be snowed in once in a while. J

On Saturday we decided to go and get our hair cut. Mine isn’t a drastic change, especially since I have a habit of cutting it short, growing it out, getting sick of it, and cutting it short again. I got something like three inches off. Travis, on the other hand…

Yep. It’s shorter than he’s had it for as long as I’ve known him, and long before that. I like it…I’m not used to it yet, though!

Oh, and by the way, he’s modeling one of the bibs I made. J I have to finish the sewing on some of them, and then they’ll be up on my Etsy site, which I’m finally going to give you the address to! It is: www.friendlybeasts.etsy.com. Check it in a day or two, and I promise I’ll have lots of bibs posted.

Ok, on to pregnancy stuff! I haven’t had any more Braxton-Hicks, which I’m happy about. It’s not that they were painful – it just kind of freaked me out. I’m starting to have trouble getting comfortable at night. It’s not terrible, and I haven’t resorted to surrounding myself with pillows just yet. I’m not looking forward to that. Also, I keep waking up with a really stuffy nose, which I’ve read can be a pregnancy symptom. Last night I woke up gagging and struggling to breathe because of it. I’m hoping it’s partly because I’m fighting off a cold, and not solely a symptom of pregnancy. I’ve been very lucky with my lack of uncomfortable symptoms so far, though. Thebump.com says I might be swelling up from head to toe by now, but I’m not, so I guess I should count my blessings!

I don’t think there’s much of anything new going on with the baby. Still kickin’! Last week the website said it should be about 11 inches long and weigh a pound or so, but this week it’s giving a range of anywhere from 10.5 to 11.8 inches, and 12.7 to 20.8 ounces, or approximately the size of a papaya. I’m hoping it’s on the small side! I’ve had nightmares about giving birth to a 13 pounder…

Last but not least, THE ultrasound is this Wednesday morning at 9:00! That’s only 37 hours and 22 minutes from now! I’m planning to do a bonus blog on Wednesday night to let you know what the gender is. I can’t wait to not have to call the baby an “it.” Poor baby! He or she needs a name! I feel like I’ve been waiting forever!

Don’t forget to check back on Wednesday! Until then…

8 Weeks Pregnant - Ultrasound!!!

So much has happened this week, but I can't bear to save the best for last...I'm gonna jump right in. I had an ultrasound today! And here's the photo! I couldn't wait to show everyone!

She said the baby is measuring right on at 8 weeks. We could see the heartbeat, which was going strong at 172 BPM. They said that was good. I think that's on the fast side if what I've read is accurate, but I know too fast is better than too slow.

And now I will attempt to explain what everything is without being able to point: the head is at the bottom. It's pretty big at this point compared to the body, and it's supposed to be. The little dark spot on the head is actually an open space where the brain is growing. The little thing sticking out on the left side is an arm. :-) It has arms! It has legs, too, but you can't really see them on this photo. You can see the outline of part of the amnion (the little sac the baby is in). It's the curvy line that starts on the right side of the feet and goes down toward the head. The large black area is the outer gestational sac. The amnion will eventually fill the whole gestational sac. We could see the yolk sac to the left of the baby's feet. It's pretty small compared to the baby now, because the placenta is getting ready to take over nourishment duty. And in the words of Forrest Gump, "That's about all I have to say about that."

I can't even express how relieved I am to see that there is actually a living baby in there! It's the right size, everything looks perfect so far, the heartbeat is great -- it's been hard to believe that I really am pregnant, and of course there is always worry that something will go wrong. Now that we've seen the heartbeat, the chance of miscarriage drops to just 2% from about 20%.

A funny thing that happened at the ultrasound: the tech said she could see my bladder filling up before her very eyes. :-) They made me drink lots of water beforehand.

An annoying thing that happened at the ultrasound: she asked if I have a high tolerance for pain, since I am planning to have a natural birth. I just think it's something women are built to handle. Don't imply that I may not be able to bear the pain. I don't need to hear that.

My amazing, wonderful husband just went to the store to get ice cream and root beer, and then made me a float and brought it to me because I've been wanting one all day! :-)

I want to hurry up and get this thing posted, so I won't go on and on about all of the other stuff that happened this week. Suffice it to say that the DMV has sent me a notice stating that my license will be suspended on the 20th of this month if I don't pay my speeding ticket from two months ago by then. I sent the payment in on time, but the person I talked to at the municipal court said they never received it. I have sent a new payment and I need to call tomorrow to see if they got it. They better have! I am having my original money order tracked, and hopefully I will get a refund for it.

Also, we took my car to get fixed today (the check engine light has been on forever), and I gave them the wrong car key. I'm blaming it on pregnancy brain. So we had to go back after the ultrasound and give them the right one, and then they couldn't fix it anyway. They had to refer us to some muffler place. Ugh.

Ok, more about ultrasounds really quick: I was able to make an appointment to have a FREE ultrasound at Greenville Tech on January 19th to find out the gender. I was hoping to schedule it before Christmas so that we could sort of give ourselves a present, but they were booked already. They can usually tell the gender at 18 weeks or so, and I'll be 23 weeks when we find out. At least if the baby is a little bigger and more developed, there might be less room for error.

I think that's everything for now! I just can't wait for everyone to see the little raspberry (that's about how big it is now)! And no belly shot again this week...still no belly to show. :-) Have a great week!