22 weeks...

Okay, so it's been about a week and a half now since we found out that our baby is an Audrey! We are sooo excited!! And may I say that she is spoiled already! Just since we found out that she was a girl she has gotten the following: 2 rattles, a set of bath toys, a rubber ducky, 2 pairs of butterfly booties, another pair of little booties, a pair of butterfly rattle mittens, 2 bibs, a 'dadd'y's girl' onsie, a receiving blanket, a cuuute dress, a headband, and the cutest, frilly newborn shoes that you'll ever see!
Audrey is now getting very active. There are a lot more times during the day that I feel her moving about... and nope, you can't feel her from the outside, yet! I'm also finding myself getting more and more nauseous as time goes on...and here I thought that it was just going to get better, oh well, you win some and lose some, I guess. I'm also getting HUGE in the belly. I now look pregnant even when sitting down. I can't imagine 18 more weeks of growing!! But time is starting to go by faster now. The first trimester seemed to drag, but now it kind of seems like time is starting to fly. There seems like there is still so much left to do before Audrey comes and it seems like I have just enough time to do it in!
Oh, I went and registered this past week at both Babies 'R' Us and Target. (Thanks to Shannon for helping me get over my scanner inhibitions!) ;p I went absolutely CRAZY with the scanning, but oh well! I had lots of fun. I'm really excited about her bedding, it's called Gossamer Wings and it's at Babies 'R' Us and it's soooo precious!
Oh and I'll try to put up a new pic tomorrow. Anyways, onto the baby stuff for this week.

Your Baby's Development This Week:
Your baby is able to pick up and react to more stimuli. For example, music, sudden loud noises, or vibrations from a bus ride can stir your baby into activity.

Other Changes That Are Happening:
~Your baby's brain is growing rapidly and will continue to grow for the next five years.
~Though your baby is gaining important amounts of fat, he or SHE is still very lean at 1% body fat.
~The baby's eyelids are making blinking movements though they are still fused shut.

Baby's Size (head to rump) and Weight This Week:
Size: About 7.6 inches.
Weight: Approximately 12.5 ounces.

Right now your baby is about the size of a child's mini Nerf football.

Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice...

...that's what our baby is made of. That's right we're having a baby GIRL!! We had our ultrasound today and it was amazing! We got to see her moving around and opening and closing her mouth. We saw her eyes, nose, mouth, knuckles, feet, legs, thigh bone, spine, etc. Even though we only saw her onscreen, I think that she's beautiful. She is measuring right on schedule and we saw her little heart just beating away! Oh, and by the way, her name is going to be Audrey Elizabeth which means noble strength consecrated by God. I'm so overjoyed right now! She's amazing...

The pics are in this order:
#1- Audrey's knuckles!
#2- At the top you can see her spine.
#3- These are her little feet.
#4- It's a girl! Where girl is printed is the space where there are no little boy parts!
#5- This is Audrey's face..you can see her eyes, nose, and mouth!

Then and Now...

Well, I was looking at my pregnancy pictures and I realized that I have grown a HUGE amount since my first one was taken. I just thought that I'd show you guys the difference!
The first pic is at 12 weeks and the second at 20 weeks.
Amazing what 8 weeks can do to the belly of a pregnant woman!!

20 weeks = Halfway there!!

So I've hit the halfway point now! It seems like I've been pregnant FOREVER!! But now the countdown begins, yea! Let's see what's going on with me this week? The baby is really starting to become active, especially at night. It is a wonderful yet completely weird feeling. And sometimes I end up jumping because the kick is so hard that it actually scares me! Also, we get to find out the sex of the baby on Wednesday, so less than three days left to go. I've been looking forward to this for awhile. Keep your fingers crossed that the baby cooperates and doesn't cross its legs or anything!

The gender poll, as of now, looks like this:
Boy: 19 people think this.
Girl: 14 people think this.
We'll see in a few days who was right!

Your baby's development this week:
You and the baby have really been growing! By now, you have probably put on 12 pounds, plus or minus a few. While much development remains, the rapid growth rate of the baby is going to slow down just a little near this time. To aid in muscle development, the amniotic fluid is supporting the baby's movements. Your baby is quite the little gymnast and is getting busy with twists, turns, and forward somersaults!

Other changes that are happening:
~The baby's eyebrows are now forming.
~Your baby is sleeping and waking much like a newborn at this time.
~Permanent hair is now growing on the scalp, but even this hair will fall out the second week after birth, and will be replaced by thicker hair.

Baby's size this week: About 5.3 to 6.5 inches (head to rump).

Baby's Weight: Approximately 9 ounces.

19.5 weeks...

I know that I'm late with this post, as usual. Hopefully at some point I will actually get these posts written at the beginning of the week instead of the end!!

Well, this week hasn't been much different from the last. The baby is starting to kick a lot harder now. Not to the point that it can be felt from the outside, yet. Hopefully within a few weeks it will be hard enough for Bryan to feel. Also, the major difference this week is the building of anticipation as the date that we can find out the sex approaches. If the baby cooperates with us, we will be finding out in 6 days!

On that note... you only have 6 more days left to get your vote in for the sex poll.

So far the results are:

Boy- 16 think this.

Girl- 9 think this.

Let me know what you think!

Your baby's development this week:

The baby is developing at a steady pace and has undergone some incredible changes. This week, the baby begins taking on more fat, which is very important for its ability to create and maintain heat and for metabolism. If your baby is a girl, primitive egg cells are developing in her ovaries. Girls are born with all the eggs they will ever have. The egg you released to conceive this baby is as old as you are!

Other changes that are happening:

~The baby's ears now stand out from the head.

~The placenta will continue to grow from this point on, but only in diameter, not thickness.

~This week a temporary hair called lanugo will appear on the baby's body and head, but will disappear by birth. No one is sure of the purpose of this hair.

Baby's size (head to rump) this week: 5.25- 6 inches

Weight: Approximately 7 ounces

Right now your baby is about the size of a small banana.

Our Christmas Picture....

As you see by the title I wanted to show our family Christmas picture. It was taken on Christmas Eve at my mom's. There's Bryan, me, and little Gordy!

18.5 weeks...

Yes, I know that I'm a little late at posting this week, sorry for that. I hope that everyone had a great Christmas weekend!

So, yesterday we had a doctor's appointment. My doctor was on vacation so we saw a different doctor. The appointment went really well. We got to hear the baby's heartbeat again, it was around 145 or 150 bpm. We also got to hear my heartbeat, it's amazing how much faster the baby's heartbeat is. I think he said that it's around twice as fast as the mom's. Anyways, he said that everything looked good, and that I'm progressing the way I should be. Oh, and also, we get to find out the sex in 13days!! Yea! We thought that we were going to have to wait 4weeks until our next appointment, but he said that they would see us in 2! So, we are VERY excited!!

Also, the fact that we are going to be parents is starting to hit me now. Now that we're almost to the half way mark, I'm starting to go wow, we're almost in the "countdown". In the next week and a half we'll be half there. I can't believe it. And, I've spent a lot of time reading up on pregnancy, at this point I think that I'm a whiz at it! But, now things like breastfeeding, and strollers, and cribs, and, bathing the baby, etc. are entering my head. This is definitely uncharted territory for me. It's kind of scary, but very exciting. We are actually going to have a little person with us in about five months!!

Again, you only have 13 more days to tell me what you think the sex is...
So far, the poll is:
Boy: 16 think this...
Girl: 7 think this...

Your baby's development this week:
The baby continues to grow bigger. You should be able to feel your uterus below your belly button. It is near this time that myelinization begins. This involves a coating of the nerves with a fatty subsatnce called myelin to speed up nerve cell transmission.

Other changes that are happening:
~Pads are forming on the baby's fingers and toes that will develop into characteristics of fingerprints and footprints.
~Fine hair is growing and covering your baby's hair and body.
~The baby's legs are now longer than the arms.

Baby's size (head to rump) this week: About 5 to 5.5 inches.
Weight: Approximately 5.5 ounces.
Right now your baby is about the size of a can of soda.

17 weeks...

So, as of yesterday I am 17weeks along. The only thing that is really different this week is that I'm feeling the baby pretty regularly! I can't wait for the movements to get strong enough for Bryan to feel too! Also, Bryan is convinced that the baby is a girl, so he has started calling my stomach Audrey (our name for a girl)! We'll see in about 5weeks if he's right.

The poll so far:
Boy: 11 people think this
Girl: 6 people think this
Well, obviously most people think that it's a boy. If you haven't already, let me know what your vote is!

Your baby's development this week:
The baby is growing quite rapidly this week. A full supply of blood is traveling through the umbilical cord, causing tension (like a water filled hose). This, combined with the baby's movements, keeps the cord from knotting. Your baby has its own circulation of blood and a heart that is beating strongly. The baby's heart is circulating about 25 quarts of blood a day.

Other changes that are happening:
~The baby's bones are hardening. If you were to take an x-ray, the skeleton would be visible.
~By this week, your baby may suck its thumb.

Baby's size (head to rump) this week: About 4.5 to 4.75inches.

Weight: Approximately 3.5ounces.

Right now your baby is about the size of a stick of butter.

16.5 weeks...

Okay so I know that this post is a little later than normal and that I haven't been good at all about keeping up with the pictures, forgive me!

So on to what's happening now. Last week was the absolute WORST week of morning sickness that I've had so far... But thank God that this week I'm feeling pretty good. I'm just really sensitive to the smell and the looks of certain things. I also felt the baby moving, did I already post that?! I can feel it when I'm lying real still and there is minimal noise around. I have to concentrate. At first the feeling was like fingers lightly tapping inside my stomach and now it's become a swooshing feeling, like the baby is doing somersaults or something! Last night Bryan and I were in bed and my stomach was touching his back, and it felt like the baby was going crazy in there. Just moving all around. It's a very weird feeling to describe, but it's the best!!

Also, I've gotten several responses back on the sex of the baby. The results so far are:
BOY: 7 people think this!
GIRL: 5 people think this!
If you haven't already voted, please do. I'm very interested to know what everyone thinks! We have less than 6 weeks before we find out!

Your baby this week:
This week the baby's muscles are continuing their development. The baby is going through motions to prepare for life outside the womb. Now the baby can kick with its legs, turn its feet in and outward at the ankles and even curl its toes. The baby's head has experienced significant growth, but during this month the body will now begin to grow faster than the head.

Other changes that are happening:
~The baby's head and neck will straighten more this week as back muscles get stronger and more bone is formed.
~Toenails are now forming from the nail bed.

Baby's Size (head to rump) This Week: About 4.3 to 4.7 inches.

Weight: Approximately 2.75 ounces.

Right now the baby would fill the size of your open palm and fingers.

Our First "baby"...

These pics are of our first "baby", our Yorkshire Terrier puppy, Gordy. He's 11 months old and the cutest thing ever!! And for some reason he loves laundry!

15 weeks...

So, I've now passed the 15week mark. Yea! Just 5 more weeks and I'm halfway through the pregnancy! I'm feeling a whole lot better this week. The gagging and nauseousness have both subsided a bit, I can't wait for the nauseousness to be COMPLETELY gone!! My doctor told me last Wednesday that I should be able to start feeling the baby at any point now, I just have to be on the look out for it. So, that's the next big, exciting thing that I'm looking very forward to. Hopefully, it will be soon.

I had the idea to take a poll and see what everyone thinks that I am having. So feel free at any point to either e-mail me or comment me to let me know. I'll post a running count every week, and in about 7weeks we'll see who had the best intuition!

Your baby's development this week:
The baby's muscles are developing well. By this point they have become less jerky and operate with a smoother motion like an infant. The baby's face is becoming more human-like as the eyes, which started near the sides of the head, have moved inward and the ears have come to their natural place.

Other changes that are happening:
~The baby's neck is now well defined and the head now rests on the neck and not on the shoulders.
~The baby's scalp hair pattern will be determined this week.
~Your baby now has considerable hand movement and can make a fist and move at the wrist.

Baby's size (head to rump) this week: 4-4.5inches
Weight: 1.75ounces
Right now your baby is about the size of a large grapefruit.

Hopefully a new picture will be up in a few days.

14.5 Weeks: Doctor's Appointment

Yesterday we had another doctor's appointment. It was pretty nervewracking going into it, but everything went very well. We didn't get to have an ultrasound this time, but we did get to listen to the baby's heartbeat. That really is the most wonderful sound. The only piece of disappointing news that we heard was that we won't be able to find out the sex of the baby at our next appointment (Dec. 28) because I'll only be 18.5weeks along and he likes to wait until at least 20weeks. So it will be the appointment after that when we find out (Jan. 25). Anyways, we are so thankful to God that our little one is safe, sound, and healthy!

This picture was taken yesterday at 14.5weeks.

14 Weeks= 2nd Trimester= Yea!

Well, as of tomorrow I'll be 14weeks along, officially in my 2nd trimester. Woo-hoo! The idea of having a baby is becoming more and more real to me. We go for another doctor's appointment on Wednesday, I'm really hoping that he'll do an ultrasound. The last time we got to see the baby's hands move, but they just looked like little dots, the baby is now a lot bigger and more active than it was at that appointment 4 weeks ago. I'm just getting really excited, but I still have looming nervousness and anxiousness. Hopefully this next appointment will help me relax a bit more.

Here's what's happening with the baby this week:
By this week most of the major structures are formed in the baby and they continue to grow for the remainder of your pregnancy. The baby begins practicing inhaling and exhaling, sending amniotic fluid in and out of the lungs. This is believed to be an important part of proper formation of the air sacs.

Other changes that are happening:
~The baby is beginning to use it's thumb in opposition to other fingers.
~The baby's spleen will start to work with the liver to remove old red blood cells and to create antibodies.
~The baby's muscles in the cheeks are strengthening with sucking motions ans salivary glands are beginning to function.

Baby's size (head to rump) this week: About 3.5 to 4 inches.

Weight: About 1 ounce.

Right now your baby is about the size of your computer mouse or small fist.

I'll post a picture tomorrow!

13 weeks...

Okay, so now I'm 13 weeks along. According to some sources I'm now in my second trimester, but according to others I still have a week to go. Either way I'm sooo excited about my pregnancy being a third of the way over! I've heard that from this point on time flies by. In some ways it feels like it already is, but in others it feels like time is standing still. Let's see what's going on with me? I've got morning sickness up the wazoo! I'm not throwing up, but I feel like I'm always nauseous and I'm gagging/dry heaving from the time I get up in the morning until the time I go to sleep. It's definitely gotten worse over the last week. Hopefully this will go away as I make my way into my second trimester.

This is what is going on with baby this week:
The growth of your baby is rapid and the head to rump length will double in the next 3 weeks. The baby's vocal cords are developing in the larynx but the baby will not make sounds until birth. This week all of the baby's twenty baby teeth have formed in the gums!

Other changes that are happening:
~Your baby's external genitalia are starting to show distinguishing characteristics.
~The baby's intestines are moving from the umbilical cord to the abdomen.
~The baby's pancreas is now producing insulin.

Baby's size this week: About 2.5-3 inches.
Right now your baby is about the size of a nectarine.

Also, hopefully I'll get another picture posted within the next couple of days.

12 weeks and expanding...

Okay, so tomorrow I'll officially be 12 weeks along. Yea! I'm really expanding in the belly area, and thank God not much elsewhere! But I am now pretty exclusively in maternity pants or jogging pants, everything else just starts cutting into my stomach. And for those wondering why I am already so big in the middle, if you've ever been pregnant you know that you are constantly filled with gas (sorry if TMI!), I'm always burping! Being in my first trimester I've been REALLY tired. Hopefully that will go away soon. I really want to get back into my walking routine, that way I can curb some of the inevitable weight gain. Anyways, I'm also hoping to get over my morning (more like all day) sickness soon. It sucks because I'll just randomly get nauseous and start dry heaving, even in the middle of a conversation. I'm praying that it's gone VERY soon!

Here's the info for week 12 from Babyfit.com:
Both you and the baby are growing right along. By now you have probably gained 2-4 lbs. The baby's palate has formed. The palate divides the mouth from the nose, making it possible to eat and breathe at the same time.
Other changes that are happening:
~Your baby's fingernails and toenails are beginning to grow.
~The baby's brain has the basic structure that it will have at birth.
~The baby's digestive tract is becoming functional and developing the ability to push through food.
Baby's size (head to rump) this week: About 2.5 inches.
Right now your baby is about the size of a billiard ball.

This pic was taken on 11/12/05 at 11weeks and 6days.

11 weeks and counting...

So, I am now 11weeks, 2days along. Only approx. 28weeks, 5days more to go. Here is the baby's development as of this far.

Your belly continues to grow outward. To support you and the baby from this week on, you will experience a 40-50% total increase in blood volume (most of the gain is in the liquid called plasma and not the red blood cell count).
Other changes that are happening:
~Your baby's head now makes up more than half of its entire length.
~Although weight will fluctuate a great deal, your average gain in the 2nd trimester is about a pound a week.
~The baby's skin, though very thin and transparent, is forming and becoming thicker.
Baby's size this week: About 1.5 to 2.5 inches.
Right now your baby is about the size of a lemon.
(Courtesy Babyfit.com)

Me before I was pregnant....

I know that some of you guys don't see me that often, so here is a pic of me taken in August, right around the time I got pregnant.

My first post...

Well, I guess the title speaks for itself. I'm officially "coming out" with the news that I'm pregnant! Some people already knew, but this is the first public endeavor. I am 10weeks 4days along and absolutely loving it! We've known since I was 3weeks 6days, so the last almost seven weeks has seemed like it has taken forever! We are so excited, and there is nothing like seeing your baby move on the ultrasound machine, which is exactly what we got to see yesterday at our doctor's appointment. We saw him/her (depends on who you ask!) moving it's little hands around. It was sooo amazing! We also heard the heartbeat for the second time, which for us is the most wonderful sound in the world! I'm so excited!! I can't stop smiling! Only 29weeks 2days (give or take) until we will actually be able to hold our child. Wow!
Oh yeah, this pic was taken on 9/17/05.