It's a Boy!!!

And all boy he is, apparently. It took the ultrasound tech all of 2 seconds to determine the sex of the baby ~ he was ready to show it off! Thank goodness, everything looked great on our 20 Week ultrasound as far as scanning for birth defects, etc...Praise God! She checked him out from head to toe, and everything measured on target. He weighs 11 oz at this point ~ not even a pound yet! I, on the other hand, have gained 10 pounds in the past 20 weeks. Not too bad, but at the expected rate of 1 lb per week, that means I'll gain another 15 or 20 before the baby's born. That's quite a bit on short little me, especially since the baby only accounts for a small part of that!!

So here are the goods...hahahaha. There's an arrow pointing to the "turtle", and apparently, turtle = BOY!!! The thing that the arrow is on top of is the umbilical cord, according to the U/S tech.

In case you can't find the turtle, here's another view. (I hope he can forgive me one day for posting his parts for all to see!!!) Mommy's just so excited!!
Here's his little face in 2D:
And in 3D:

Kinda spooky!! :) The tech said it's a little early for the 3D/4D because they're not quite all filled out yet. In another 8-10 weeks, we'll go back and have one and you can really see how baby's features look! But, this was kinda neat for now.

Given how much he was moving around during the ultrasound, he was probably awake. His eyelids will stay closed for another 2 months or so, though.

They also gave us a video of the whole thing, and you can see the 3D part a bit more clearly, but whether or not I can get it in a format that will post on this blog...we'll see. Stay tuned!!

The Baby Bump

Well, I really didn't think I would be showing that much by now, and really depending on what I wear, you can't tell sometimes. But, I've grown out of all my pants except a select few pair that have been in the back of the closet because they were way too big (until now, of course)! So here's the progression since we first found out....

Coming up on Week 19, the baby is not growing so much in length these days, but instead putting on a little fat. It's also covered in fine hair called lanugo and that lovely vernix stuff. Only 8 more days until we find out if we're having a son or daughter!! Please pray for us that the baby will be in good health at this all-important ultrasound :)

A "Real" KICK!!

Today I finally felt this little baby kick!! The doctor said between 18-22 weeks is when you can begin to feel movement, and sure enough....right on time :) I've been feeling little twitches and thumps for about a week now, but just can't tell the difference between them and the usual tummy rumblings. Today, though, I felt this "poke" of pressure similar to something I felt Tuesday. Then, when I put my hand on my belly to feel, *THUMP*....there was another I could actually feel with my hand! Then a bit of what felt like rolling around in there, and baby must have gotten tired and settled down ~ how exciting!!

During Week 18, the baby is about 5 1/2 inches long. Or, the size of a soup can - ha!

Also, he/she is starting to develop the ability to hear and may be startled by loud noises outside the womb. Mark and I have to chatting with this little one...I read somewhere they will recognize familiar voices from inside the womb after being born!!

Only 11 more days until we find out 1) most importantly - if the baby looks healthy and has 10 fingers and 10 toes, etc. and 2) most anticipated: BOY OR GIRL!!!

(or as Chandler put it...."When do we find out if it's a boy or not?" Ya think he wants a brother?????)

This reminds me....why have only 4 people voted for Boy or Girl? Don't worry...your vote will not actually change the sex of the baby ~ it's just for fun! ;)

16 Weeks Today!

January 27
We got to hear baby's heartbeat at the doctor again today! We saw Nurse Melissa and she was super-nice....ususally as soon as they find the heartbeat and measure it, it's over. But, she let us listen for a really long time ~ I love that sound! I'd like to strap that Doppler to my belly and hook up a set of headphones and have continuous baby-feed into my ears :)

We also "heard" it kick, too, but I couldn't feel a thing. So, now I don't feel so bad - it is happening, but it's just too early to tell.

Today the heartbeat was 160 bpm, which is stil in the "girl" range if you put any stock into that wive's tale....we'll see in just a few weeks when we go for THE BIG ONE!!!! (20 week ultrasound where we find out the sex!)

Out of the "Baby Closet"!

January 13
Today we finally told our coworkers about the baby....whew! That was hard work slipping out to all those doctor appointments and wearing lots of swing coats and huge sweaters the past few weeks. To tell his folks, Mark printed off a picture of the 4 of us that we gave his family over the weekend. On the picture, it said:


Picture Frame: $7.99
Gift Bag & Tissue: $3.49
Photo Print: $1.29


Realizing there are 5 people in this picture.........PRICELESS!!



Mike "got it" right away and was even saying, "That's great, man!" etc....but all the rest were just puzzled, or saying what a nice picture it was! So, he got a good laugh out of that.

To tell my coworkers, Mark went to the Great American Cookie Co. and got a cookie that said "Someone in EA is Having a Baby!" and delivered it to the receptionist for my building. So, she called our secretary Sharon to pick it up, and I just laughed as I listed to the chatter over the cubicles as all the girls (and Keith!) mulled over who it could possibly be!!! They kept going over Sharon's only clue: the receptionist said some handsome man in a suit dropped it off....

(I'll have to agree with that!!)

Of course, they figured it out, being there aren't that many obvious answers to that question, in my department at least! So, 5 or 6 ladies come buzzing over wanting to know if I've got something to tell!!! YES, I DO!!!