An Apple a Day + Christmas Pics

Well lately I've been eating a few clementines a day, not apples, but that's how big my baby is so far! Each week gets more exciting, and I'm loving every moment of it. I still have a little belly but not really anything all that noticeable. I have been eating just about everything I come into contact with, so I need to watch it! No weight gain yet though. Here are the updates:

Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby's a boy or a girl! (Don't be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby's sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby's position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to "hide the goods.")

A pinch over 3 more weeks and we will find out the gender!!!! Even if he/she is hiding the goods, at least we will get more US pics! Lately I have been checking out albums and getting ideas for my pregnancy scrapbook. I haven't decided if I'm going to keep the color neutral or go along with the gender for color theme. And I probably won't start doing it until I'm about 30 weeks or so. Once I get started on one of those I get OCD and don't stop until it's done. I don't want it to go too quickly! I have a very vast supply of the CUTEST stickers and embellishments already so I'm doing good in that department. Of course more will come after the gender is revealed!

Our Christmas was fabulous last week! Unfortunately I am also taking advantage of all of the holiday pay available at work, so I've been doing a bunch of overtime (and it sucks) so I had to work Christmas Eve. That means I was a zombie Christmas Day because I only got a couple hours of sleep! But that is one of the good things about working nights--even when you have to work on a holiday, if you sacrifice sleep you can still enjoy festivities during the day. Nick spent Christmas Eve while I was gone with his family about an hour away...that didn't go over too well. So we made up for it with my family on Christmas. There was tons of food and family and presents, and of course pictures!! Here are a few:

^The feast!

^Nick and I before eating

^My mom Kathy and stepdad Gary

^My brother Shane and his gf Audra

^Me with my bounty

^Nick excited about his presents

^My grandma Margie and I

Second Trimester!! Making Lemonade...

14 weeks is here and I may possibly be showing a bit!! Still no weight gain but I know it will come. I will start posting belly pics once a month soon, probably starting at week 16. One month from today we find out the gender, and of course get more US pictures!! That will be one of the best days ever! Next year truly is a huge year for us. Here are the updates:

This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.

In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

Christmas is just a few days away, and we are both very excited about this time of year with our family and friends. But I am sad that it will all be over!! We can take solace in knowing that FINALLY after almost 6 years of trying for a baby, next Christmas we will have three in our family!!! Plus the kitties of course :)

Finally Some Christmas Pictures!

I promised I would post pics of my decorations, and here they are! I didn't take any of the outside lights because they are pretty minimal--just a line along the roof and some little white light trees. Not to mention the barrenness from the lack of grass, leaves, and SNOW. But at night it is simple yet elegant! Inside is where I love to go all out, and if only I could capture the pine and bake apple pie scents wafting through (from candles of course)!

^Christmas tree with new tree skirt and ornaments

^Kitchen table

^Fireplace decorations (notice the bear?)

^Coffee table knick knacks

^Couch and window decorations

^My little village on the back of the piano

^Banister in entry way

^Table in entry way

^Last but not least, this is Crisp. He is a handed down, hand carved bear that looked a little "crispy", so we named him Crisp. We dress him up for Halloween and Christmas!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures! Yesterday was my 3 month prenatal checkup, and everything is looking great. My CF screen was negative, and everything on my chromosome screening was normal so we are looking great in that department. HR was in the 150's and strong. The next appointment is on January 26, which will be AFTER I find out the sex!!!! I can't wait! Only 5 more weeks.

In other news, Nick and I are very excited to be buying some land here in the very near future. Today at 2:30 we are going to look at some acres in a new addition, and to talk to a builder about some house plans. I don't think I had mentioned it before, but we are planning on moving to the semi-country and building a custom Victorian house. We will be putting our house up FSBO hopefully in early March 09. After we sell it, we will temporarily live in an apartment until our Victorian house is built. So little Madilynn/Bradley may spend their first months in an apartment, but that's just fine cause then they can spend the rest of their childhood in a beautiful one-of-a-kind house!! I'll keep you updated.

13 Weeks and a Name Dilemma

13 weeks is here my friends, and I am blogging from work at 1am because I'm currently caught up (ssshhh, don't tell anyone). Some things say 13 weeks is the beginning of the second tri, others say 14 weeks is the beginning. Well either way I am just ecstatic that I have gotten this far and everything is progressing well! I look forward to the next 3 months. Hopefully I'll get a belly soon, cause that means shopping!!! Here is my little one's size comparison and growth:

Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce.

My Christmas cards have been sent out, my presents are all wrapped and under the tree, and my baking will be shortly underway!! So far I have only received 3 Christmas cards, but that is usually how it goes--I send out 25, and I get 5. Oh well, some people just don't hold dear the traditions of the past. I promise I will take pictures soon of my decorations so that you can see what they look like!

Before I get to the name thing, you might notice up in the right corner of this page I put up a poll for people to vote on if they think I am having a boy or girl. Please vote!! You have until January 22 which is when the BIG ultrasound is!

As for our name dilemma...well I mentioned before that Nick and I loved the girl name Emma Lilly. Of course we do not know (yet) if it is a boy or girl, we just like picking out girl names better! Anywho, I've been browsing baby names on the internet and have come to terms with the fact that "Emma" is one of the most popular names around right now. Realistically, I do not want my little girl to have the same name as five other little girls in her class because it was the "trend" when they were born. So I brought this up to Nick grudgingly and told him it would probably be best if we went with one of the other girl names we had been eyeballing.

Of course this is all hypothetically speaking if we have a girl, but name we have currently decided on is:

Madilynn Rose

First Trimester Screening

I meant to post this yesterday, but I was too tired! Yesterday was my first trimester screening for some of the more common chromosomal abnormalities (also known as the Nuchal Translucency--or NT--test). After waiting in the waiting room for about an hour, they finally called me back and first did genetic counseling to find out my family history. Blah blah, after the end of that, he said I have about a 1:1000 chance of Down's Syndrome. Then on to the ultrasound (my favorite part!) where they measure some fluid at the back of the baby's neck. That was also very normal. Then the lovely technician took took several pictures of baby, and we got to see her moving around and stretching and everything! She is getting sooo big! Here are some of the pics:

^This one is a profile view, head on the right

^This one is a close up of the side of her face (see the nose and lips?)

^This is the front of her face looking right at you

^And this is where she was stretching out

^This is me very happy with my pictures!

And last but NOT least...we have a date for our next ultrasound to find out the gender!!!! It is set for January 22, 2009. Yes ladies and gents we will find out if we have a little Emma or a little Evan!! We are hoping for a girl (in case you haven't noticed) but of course we will be happy with anything healthy and safe! My next prenatal appointment is December 17, and I will be starting the second trimester soon so keep me in your thoughts. Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

Lime in the Coconut...

The weeks are just flying by! I'm already at 12 weeks, and yes things are still going fabulous. A lot of bloating the last few days, but I have actually lost weight so far! I still don't think I'm showing at all. When I lay down, I don't see a bump at all. Or really feel one for that matter. Here is the fruit picture of the week and her current growth status:

The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.

Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.

Over the weekend at work I once again snuck a peak at my babykins. She was in there all jumping around. After that since I kind of knew where she was, I tried with the doppler and found the heartbeat!!! It was 144 at that time. So when I got home that morning, I got my new fancy doppler out and was able to find it with that too! Me and Nick laid there and listened to it for awhile--it was 156 then. I tried again the next morning (after getting set up to record it) and of course couldn't find it again. Maybe next time!! But it was so amazing to hear it. I kept finding mine, but of course when the baby's is found it is obvious. I promise I will post an audio clip on here as soon as I can.

Nothing much else going on here, just working a bunch. Nick is looking forward to Christmas break, and I am looking forward to the new year! My NT test is this Thursday, so I should get a bunch of US pics to show you all! Check back then.

Fig Newton and a Video!

I'm here at 11 weeks along, and this is my weekly update for size and growth:

Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden.

She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccuping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming.

And for the neatest part! I think I mentioned how at work we have this primitive ultrasound machine...well Saturday night I had some free time so I "borrowed" it in an empty room and got a really good side view of Emmers. The funny thing was after a few seconds, it looked like she was trying to push and kick the ultrasound probe away!! It was so neat. Of course then I didn't have my camera, so I decided to bring it last night and try for round 2. It took a bit longer to find her, and I didn't get as good of a view, but you can still make out what she's doing in there!

My first trimester chromosomal screening is next week on the 11th, and other than that I really don't have much going on. Just work work work! I can't believe it's already December. I put all of my Christmas decorations up on Friday morning, and it looks mucho festive in my house. My hubby has just 3 more weeks until he is off for break, then it will be 2009! A HUGE year for us!