Drum Roll Please!!!!

David and I went to our 2nd trimester ultrasound. We had horrible weather yesterday. See to the left my mid-20 week belly pic, with tighter shirts you can start to tell. We decided to find out the sex of the baby. As you can clearly tell from the pics below......its a BOY!!!!!!!! David and I are BEYOND excited! This is the 1st boy grandchild AND (most importantly) the 1st born to be a boy into a family from the James and Heim chain!

Everything looks great with regards to the baby. 2 arms, 2 legs, 10 fingers, 10 toes, 4 heart chambers, bones look good so far. Everything is developing nicely. Our little boy weights 14 ounces and is about 7 1/2 inches long from crown to rump.

20 weeks = Half-way!!!!

So Ive reached 20 weeks, the half-way point. Im so thankfull and thrilled Ive made it this far. Still feeling the bubbles, I know soon they will turn into kicks. Hopefully soon David will be able to feel them. I hope to take a belly pic next week when we get our ultrasound done (3/26/09). Stay posted for the pics!!! Ive attached a summary below on what should be going on this week.



Congratulations! This week marks the half way point of your pregnancy. It has been 18 weeks since the date of conception and your baby's crown-to-rump length is 5.6 to 6.4 inches (the length of a banana). The fetus weighs about 9 ounces and your belly definitely has an obvious bulge. Your waistline has expanded and is no longer visible. Your uterus has now moved up enough that it is pushing your abdomen outwards. The top of your uterus is even with or just below your navel.

For the remainder of your pregnancy, the growing uterus puts pressure on your lungs, stomach and kidneys. This will make you feel short of breath, the need to urinate more frequently and can cause indigestion. The added pressure on your abdomen can also cause your bellybutton to protrude and cause an `outy` instead of an `inny`. Many pregnant women begin to notice stretch marks around this time as well. Your abdominal muscles are being stretched and pushed apart as your baby grows inside of you.

Your baby's skin begins to thicken this week and will develop four layers. Your baby's sebaceous glands secrete a waxy substance called vernix caseosa. Your baby will be born with this wax and it will look like paste. The vernix caseosa is crucial because it protects the fetus' fragile skin from the continuous immersion in amniotic fluid. Lanugo hairs secure the vernix caseosa in place and it is thick around the eyebrows. Scalp hair and toenails are beginning to form at this point. Hair can also be seen on the upper lip and eyebrows.

NT Scan results

I forgot to post these results.

Down Syndrome:
1:1,912

Trisonomy 13 & 18:
1:10,000

This means a low risk baby!

Movement!

Im almost 19 weeks and I finally felt the baby move. Ive been waiting for this for awhile, and knew being a 1st time mom, it might take a bit longer. Well last night I felt him/her move. I had eaten something that upset my stomach yesterday and I was paying for it last night. As most 1st moms do, they dismiss possible movement as an upset stomach. Well I actually had both. My upset stomach pressure and pain subsided, but I still felt that "upset stomach feeling", but there was no pain or pressure accompanied with it. Then it clicked!!!! Thats the baby moving!!! Ive had this feeling for a while now and just brushed it off for nerves with my new job or it must be something I ate. So now that I "know" the feeling, Im feeling the baby about 30 min after I eat, or drink something with caffine in it. Its very exciting, and I cant wait til David gets to feel the baby move.

We also should be able to hear the heartbeat with a stehoscope in the next few weeks! My next appt. is on the 26th for the ultrasound! Stay posted after the 26th for an update with pics!

Belly Pics are Here!!!

Here are the belly pics as requested. The 1st is 8 weeks, the next is 12, and the last is 17. Im probably almost ready to "pop". I can actually still "mask"the pregnancy, wearing certain clothes just makes me look a little chunky in the mid-section.

NT Scan Ultrasound

So we had the 1st trimester screening done, but ONLY for the ultrasound...lol I knew I wouldnt get another ultrasound until 18-20 weeks, so I took advantage! This was an awesome appointment. We got to see the baby for a good 40 minutes! It was WONDERFUL. My appointment was at 8:30am and I was drinking plenty of cold water hoping that would make the baby a bit more active for us. Well no such luck. I think s/he takes after the daddy....who can sleep ALL day if I let him. The baby also looks like s/he gets just as aggrivated to be bothered when trying to sleep (sounds like the mommy...lol). The tech took measurements of the back of the neck, heartbeat, head, crown to rump, everything. Heartbeat was 171!!!! Ive attached the pics. One is a profile, another is just his/her face (looking at you), and another is looking at the camera with is arm and hand by his head (almost as if to say "Enough already!!!!").

Made it to 12 weeks!!!

Well we are very excited that I made it to 12 weeks!!! The morning sickness is still here, just in a different form. Ive only been able to eat crunchy things. Like salads or chicken tenders....lol I do often find myself starving, then when I go to eat, I eat about half or less of my food. This is probably why Ive lost 4 pounds.

Im hoping to take some belly pictures soon!! I get another ultrasound at my NT scan this Thursday, so stay posted to see the pics!

Hmmmm....What to Eat???

So here is my new version of morning sickness. Every meal is a struggle on what to eat. Every meal it varies on what I want or what I "think" I can eat. Breakfast is tough, I know I cant have milk on an empty stomach. Ive tried oatmeal and that was good for a week until it just became too mushy and thats what made me want to gag. Right now I eat homemade bread (banana nut) and some OJ. Lunch and dinner....who knows. Poor David has had to fend for himself. The past 2 days for lunch Ive been wanting a BLT, but they are already running their course. Jambalya seems to be good lately with some turkey sausage. Oh and I used to LOVE chicken pre-pregnancy. Now.....I can only have dark meat and it MUST be JUICY. Any hint of dryness and I have to spit it out. Ive tried eggs, which I used to eat for breakfast before I was pregnant, now the smell makes me gag.

So Im stuck everyday just thinking of what I can eat that day :( Hopefully this goes away soon...I miss all the food I used to love.

10 week appintment!

So far, this was the coolest appointment! Im sure they will get better as we go along. I went in today, got a "routine" exam. We went over all the beginning pregnancy stuff, especially for new moms. Talked about insurance and coverage, medications that are safe, exercise, and much more. It was a great visit. We also got to see out Little Pod again! Except now, s/he looks like a baby! We couldnt hear the heartbeat this time, but the doctor said it looks like its in the 160's. The doc assured us that next time we can hear the heartbeat. The doc also said everything looks great! Im measuring right on schedule at 10 weeks 4 days!

She confirmed my due date of August 7, 2009! My next appointment is Feb. 10th.

7-9 Weeks

Ahh.....the joys of early pregnancy! At around 7 weeks the dreaded morning sickness showed up. Thankfully it was just the constant nauseous feeling, no running to the toilet! The morning sickness lasted about 2 weeks. Its gradually slowed down to occasional morning sickness. Im very grateful my little one didnt roll me over with it!

I also find myself very tired! I can never get enough sleep or naps! David has been awesome with helping me out, doing anything I ask of him. He's very sweet and wants to do ANYTHING to help. Lets hope he keeps this up! Of course he might change his mind when those hormones start raging!