baby progress

For those of you who do not stalk on facebook, this is our little peanut the very first time we got to see him or her. It was so reassuring to see the baby for the first time. I had called the doctor's office to confirm our appointment and asked if we would be getting an ultrasound at this time. The receptionist told me that because it was just a confirmation appointment we would not have an ultrasound at this time. We were ecstatic (and thankful for our amazing insurance) when the doctor went ahead and squeezed us in to see the baby! We had already fallen in love with the idea of being pregnant and I knew that the baby inside of me was becoming more and more a large part of my heart. When the ultrasound tech found the baby and we could see the tiny heart fluttering away, I could not help but feel overwhelmed. It was not just a plus sign on a test, it was a real life growing inside of me!

This is our little (less peanuty baby) one at 13 weeks. The tech put the wand to my belly and started to look for our baby. When they found the baby, the sound was not turned on so I was thinking "Where is the heartbeat"...then I saw the heart and was happy! The little bugger was being extremely difficult. The tech needed to get very specific shots to measure different parts of the baby. Part of this ultrasound was to look for certain tendencies to have conditions that doctors want to be aware of. We were just glad for the chance to have a date with our baby (even though Mattie didn't come to this one). When the baby refused to turn the way the tech needed, it was time to try to force the baby to do some acrobatics. I had to cough (I thought only guys did that at the doctor), laugh, and turn over on both sides until the baby turned the way we needed. I thought it was funny that the baby already has a mind of it's own, just like Mama! I also did not mind all the extra time with the tech. We are a little scared of this picture because we know that the front view of this baby makes him or her look like an alien (Mattie specifically says the alien from the movie Predator), but we love our baby anyways!

Our next ultrasound will be June 24th. This would technically be the ultrasound where we would find out if it would be a him or a her, but we are hoping for tightly closed legs (or at least tightly closed eyes) so that we cannot see! Going old school and waiting until November!!!

Baby quote of the week

This past Tuesday we got to visit with my stepsister- Dena and her baby girl Solena (she is almost two). Solena is a big ham and I really enjoyed chasing her around the house and laughing like crazy! I am looking forward to laughing with a baby girl or baby boy of my own! 

Dena was explaining to Solena that there was a baby in my stomach that was growing. Later, when we were asking Solena where the baby was, she replied that it was in my tummy. She then looks at me with big eyes and asked me "Did you eat him?" It was one of the cutest things I had heard, but I let Dena explain that babies grow in tummies like little seeds...

I am still laughing at the cuteness!!! I will post a picture of the little ham shortly!

maybe I am getting too caught up in the way things look

So...seeing all of the baby bump pictures together like that really started to freak me out. I would not say that I am the healthiest pregnant woman around, but I do try. I insisted that Matt took another picture this morning (05/22) so you could see that the bump does expand throughout the day. I am not sure how long this expansion will be noticeable. I have a feeling that it becomes less so as the days count down!

Baby bump complete with maternity pants...

My other blog

I have a food blog...you can go here to see a food/baby related post!!!

List...

So...as many of my readers know I am in the process of busily growing a baby. I will keep most of the baby stuff to my other blog, however I did want to share some foods the baby does and does not like...

Does not like...

Grilled Cheese (way disappointed by this one...it was a craving)

Donuts (even Shipley's, which is the one donut Matt and I allow ourselves)

Food from Studio Movie Grill (or any majorly processed food like that)

Fried Shrimp (that was a bummer)

Skins on cucumbers (peeled are fine)

All meat pizza...or Little Cesar's the next day...

Does like...

Mashed Potatoes (even the flake/box mix...I regularly partake as an after school snack)

Macaroni and Cheese (craved it like crazy in Europe)

Chips and Salsa (which my mom ate incessantly when she was having me)

Sub sandwiches (my doctor approved deli meat as long as it is from a reputable place)

Foods that have been growing on me

Ice Cream (not with pickles)

Soup (any kind...I think the broth is comforting)

So overall, the baby has enjoyed healthier food rather than processed easy food. Which is good and bad...good because the baby is getting nutrients for the most part...bad because sometimes mama wants a corn dog, but knows baby won't like...

Whoa Mama!

The growth that is taking place has been amazing...here are some pictures from along the way!

The day we found out we were pregnant! March 1st

March 27th...at the 8 week mark

Today...May 21...16 weeks exactly!

This new growth has literally taken place in the last week. I am very grateful for the pregnancy clothes purchased already and I have plans for more this weekend! I think it is safe to say that we have a healthy little bugger growing in there!

On a side note...tomorrow Mattie and I will be celebrating our 5th anniversary! Whoop for us and the new baby!

Gender guesses

So many people are very opinionated as to what Matt and I are having. People are actually getting quite adamant one way or the other. Early in the pregnancy I really felt boy...lately I have more frequently felt girl...but I won't put money on any of my intuitive guesses. I have always wanted to wait to find out what I was having. I really enjoy surprises and although I know it is a surprise either way, I would like to draw it out as long as possible. Matt originally wanted to know and was a little disappointed when I asked if we could wait, but now is excited about the prospect of being the one to tell everyone that he has a new son or daughter after experiencing the delivery. I read in a book that it is kind of nice to let the new daddy shine in the spotlight. 

Although we do not want to see with an ultrasound what we are having, we have looked at some quizzes and online predictor charts to see what they say. A quiz on babyzone.com informed me that I am either having a boy or a girl...thanks...that was really helpful. The standard Chinese Predictor Chart (age 24, month of conception February) 

says we are having a girl, but with a 58% chance of it being a boy and a 42% chance of it being a girl...confusing. The Chinese Lunar calendar (putting in my birthday and the day of conception) says boy. With no consistency in all of these prediction methods, I fail to believe any of them. The only sure fire way to know is to wait until this little sucker comes out to see if they will be a linebacker for the Aggies or a basketball star for the Women's team!

Note: Matt wanted me to add on that he liked that we were waiting to find out because it meant more of our stuff would be gender neutral thus adding value to our new baby when we are ready for a second...

Crepe (not creep) video

Over spring break Mattie and I crossed the pond and went to London, Paris, Dublin, Edinburgh, and Durham (in North England). While we were in Paris we knew we had to have crepes for our many friends and family members who are ga-ga over the french delight! If you have not had a crepe is a very thin cross between a pancake and an omelet. I say that it is a cross between the two because it definitely has more of an egg texture than a pancake. There is a distinct chewiness that only comes from extra eggs in the batter. From my understanding there is only one kind of crepe, but the fillings vary. Both McKay (Matt's sister) and Roberds (one of my co-workers) freak out over Nutella filled crepes. SMurphy (who we met over in Paris) rather enjoyed a Nutella/Banana combo. I myself rather enjoyed the strawberry crepe. The crepes are usually made fresh (although they are sometimes merely reheated) and served warm. By the time we had our crepe the sun was setting and we could see the Eiffel Tower and the Arch de Triumph in the background. We ate our warm crepe filled with perfectly sweet strawberry jam and could not imagine a better Paris snack. Later, we walked over to Notre Dame and ate a savory crepe (filled with cheese and chicken). The picture is our savory crepes being made as the French guys made fun of us.

Europe

So....thinking that it would take us some time (or at least more than one try) to get pregnant we had booked our trip to Europe well in advance of ever deciding that we might be ready for kids. Seeing as we found out two full weeks before we left, we figured that as long as we listened to my body we would be OK. Looking back on the trip, I was a little more miserable than I wanted to be for my first trip to Europe. Reflecting on the nausea (but never any throw up) that I experienced almost incessantly, I doubt that I enjoyed the food as much as I could have. Additionally, we spent a good deal of time on trains, riding backwards. I have a tendency to get motion sick anyways, so add that onto nausea, tiredness, and not being able to find food that actually sounded appetizing (so I often opted to wait to eat) and I see that I traveled around spending more time trying to feel better than I did truly experiencing what was there. 

I did enjoy myself (just not as much as a history 

nerd like myself should have). Matt also learned very quickly that when I said I was hungry...I meant I was already hungry...not that we should eat in the next hour. Here are a few pictures of

 our first family vacation.

Dublin for St. Patty's Day

English/Scottish border

Paris at Sunset

Sacre Couer (coolest church...worth the hike)

So we know that one day our little wee one will complain that we never take him or her to cool places and in this case we can say that they had been to four countries even if they don't remember it. 

Also, we saw Martha, Ben, and their son Liam on this trip. They currently reside in Durham which is located in North England. It was good to see them, but really hard to keep our little secret from them.

Coming up next: telling family about our Fightin' Texas Aggie!