Okay, so I have to admit this isn't the first belly picture that we have taken but it's the first one that I have been brave enough to share haha. Usually Wes would snap a picture or two after I came home from work, but I quickly found that after working all day I was looking pretty bad! Ha! So although the belly looks a little smaller here then it does after dinner...you get the idea! This was taken when I was 21 Weeks exactly!

General "Stuff" Update

Now that we are definitely having a little girl, we decided to start on the nursery! Yeah! A few weeks ago we ordered a sample of Restoration Hardware's Silver Sage paint to try and so Wes painted a bit on the wall yesterday and after two coats we realized that we got the wrong paint! It is really pretty, but completely blue! So I called this morning and they were kind enough to send us another sample for free to make sure there was no mix up.

I also found a few cute paint samples that I really like that are a light rose color (think pink and purple mixed together) but very subtle. The current picture in my mind includes chair rail molding with a color painted above, and white painted below, along with some Crown Molding at the top as well (Wes rolled his eyes at the mention of that this morning)! Haha! Mommy better ask for a raise! Ha!

I have also recently enlisted the help of my Sister in Law Mary to help walk us through starting our registry since Wes and I are pretty clueless! We will certainly need all the help we can get so she is going to help us get started with our first walk through of the overwhelming Babies R Us! Ha! (Thanks Mary!!!) I never imagined how intimidating a store like that can be! So may choices, regular vs. convertible cribs, about 1,000 different strollers, pack-n-plays, high-chairs, bottles, etc...the list goes on and on!

We also just recently signed up for our Childbirth and Breastfeeding Classes along with our Hospital Tour! Our classes don't start until the end of April and go for three weeks (one night a week) but hopefully our tour will happen soon. We are also starting to look into things like day care...which is another scary part! I can not believe how much it costs!!! Wow!!! So we have a lot of work to do!

Weekly Update - 21 Weeks!

Well, Wes and I are moving right along with this pregnancy...already 21 Weeks! Holy moly!!

How is Baby Growing?

Our baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long. I will soon start to feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges (which I have already started to feel!). We may also discover a pattern to her activity as we get to know her better. In other developments, our baby's eyebrows and lids are present now!

It's Official!! We're Having A Girl!!

Wes and I had our BIG ultrasound this morning at the Fetal Assessment Center in Harbor Hospital where we will be delivering. As you can tell from the title of this blog entry, we are definitely having a girl!!! Our appointment was at 7:45AM this morning but we finally got into the room about 8:15AM or so and overall everything went really well. She is measuring right on schedule and my due date hasn't changed a bit, so it's still July 8th. Heart, brain, organs, fingers, toes, bones, etc all look great! Her heartbeat was at 145 which they said was good and we got several more pictures to keep, including "the money shot" as we like to call it haha!

It was amazing because they checked every inch of her spine, all the way to the development of her nose and lips ha! They also pretty much measured every little thing that they could and didn't find anything out of the ordinary at all. I am still waiting for the placenta to move away from the cervix (it moved about 0.3 centimeters since our last appointment) and it has to move about 2 centimeters more to be in the clear. Nothing to be worried or concerned about at this point though because in about 90% of the cases, it moves later in the pregnancy. So all in all, it was a great appointment! We got again for a follow up appointment in about 7 more weeks, so we will get to see peanut yet again!

I am soooo excited to FINALLY know that peanut is a little girl for sure! Now we can finally get started with all the fun stuff like the nursery, registry, etc...yeah!! Although Wes is a little frightened that I may go crazy haha. How can I not?!?! Now it's off to the doctors office on Friday for our regular appointment, which is usually pretty quick so hopefully this one won't be any different. I hope everyone has a great week!

Weekly Update - 20 Weeks!!

Holy Moly!! We are half way there already!! Well, at least we were on Wednesday haha. It was an absolutely crazy week last week, and the little peanut is definitely letting me know that she didn't appreciate the lack of sleep! So I have been playing catch up as much as possible this weekend and trying to relax. Little peanut is still kicking up a storm, although Wes hasn't been able to feel her yet. We are SOOO excited to go to our sonogram appointment on Monday to get to see her again and 100% confirm that Baby O is a she (or a he...you never know!!).

How Is Baby Growing?

Baby O weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. She's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — about the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against her torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of her head to her bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, she's measured from head to toe.) She's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for her digestive system. She's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in her bowels, and we'll see it in her first soiled diaper. Oh boy!!

Weekly Update - 19 Weeks!

Okay, so this weekly update is a little late, so you will probably see another one on Wednesday! Ha! Things have been going great lately, I just got back from Florida on Friday night and was welcomed home with a dozen roses and chocolate. You can't go wrong with that (good job honey)!! Florida was absolutely gorgeous and was a nice break from some of the cold weather here. Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling very well during the trip so I missed out on an evening boat ride but all in all had a great time. Too bad I had to work during the day though ha!

Baby O has been growing like crazy lately, and so has mommy's tummy! 17 Weeks seemed to be a big week for growth, and so did 19 Weeks as well! We can't wait to head to our ultrasound a week from today to see our little peanut again! How Is Baby O Growing?

Baby O's sensory development is exploding! Her brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that she may be able to hear our voices now, so I find myself talking to her, or singing to her all the time! According to http://www.babycenter.com/, she weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom, so about the size of a mango. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

Off to Florida!!

Well, things have been moving right along with Wes and I this past week. Nothing too exciting really, just the usual (which sometimes is really nice!) I am heading out of town for a business meeting so I am off to Florida in a few hours, so hopefully the little peanut likes to fly! We will find out soon enough! Wes and I now have a little less then two weeks until our big ultrasound and we are really excited! I don't think I can hold off much longer on starting the nursery!

We should have some fun pictures to update the blog with soon...Wes, being the amazing husband that he is, bought me a brand new Canon Digital SLR Rebel XS Camera for my Birthday! I have been wanting this camera for two years now!! I really am looking forward to starting a little photography hobby and it's perfect timing so we have a few months to practice before little peanut gets here! So many belly pictures to come!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

Our Fun Morning Game!

Wes and I played a fun game this morning while I was procrastinating going to work haha. It was the "Who's *blank* do we hope the jelly bean gets?" game. Here is what we decided...it will be really interesting to see what actually happens though!

We hope jelly bean gets Mommy's hair.
We hope jelly bean gets Daddy's metabolism. :)
We hope jelly bean gets both of our eyes (we both have blue eyes).
We hope jelly bean gets Mommy's Math & Science brain.
We hope jelly bean gets Daddy's History brain and good memory.
We hope jelly bean gets Daddy's ability to drink Milk. :)
We hope jelly bean gets Daddy's sense of direction (Mommy gets lost too much).
We hope jelly bean gets Mommy's ability to figure out tips at restaurants. :)
We hope jelly bean avoids Daddy's ability to hurt himself all the time (i.e. slamming fingers, etc).
We hope jelly bean gets Daddy's nose.
We hope jelly bean gets both of our crazy low blood pressures.
We hope jelly bean gets Daddy's laid back personality.
We hope jelly bean gets Daddy's LONG eyelashes.
We hope jelly bean gets Mommy's ability to talk Daddy into anything. :)

I think that is about it! Haha...the things you will do to avoid getting out of bed in the morning.

Our Letter to Jelly Bean...

Dear Jelly Bean,

It’s your 18 Week Birthday today and although we already constantly talk to you as you are nestled all warm and toasty in Mommy's tummy, we really wanted to write you a letter. We wanted to tell you, that you cannot even imagine how happy you have made us already.

We have wanted you for so long now, and finally, now that you are here, we count our blessings every day. Unfortunately however, the love that we feel for you already comes with fear; at least with your Mommy (you can thank your Mimi for that one because she passed on the “worry” genes). Every day Mommy wakes up and immediately touches her stomach, for fear as if someday you won’t be there anymore. Ever since she felt your first few flutters and kicks, she now worries when she doesn't feel them if you are okay. She worries that she's not doing enough for you. You should get used to Mommy worrying about you though because she is your Mommy, and it’s what Mommy's do!

We just can’t explain to you how much Daddy and Mommy want to meet you. We can’t wait to see your face, hold you in our arms and learn more about you every day. That day seems so far away as we still have many, many weeks until you are ready to come into the world. We already worry about the hardships you will face in life, the boys that will break your heart, and the hearts that you will break along the way. We wonder what you will be like all the time. We wonder if you will like school or if you will want to play sports? What color eyes and hair will you have and what will your first kiss be like? Mommy wonders if you will be best friends and who you will marry? There is just so much that we want to tell you and teach you, but most of all, we just want you to know how much we love you and that we will always love you, no matter what.

Love Always,
Mommy & Daddy

Weekly Update - 18 Weeks!

Well here we are once again at Baby O's weekly Birthday! Today she turns into a Sweet Potato haha! Wes is very excited and thinks it's because she knows how much her daddy loves potatoes in general haha. So far I have been feeling pretty good this week. I started class again this week so last night was a long night but I am sure I will get back into the swing of things. I haven't been able to feel the baby move much lately which is kind of a bummer, but maybe tonight after dinner she will get the wiggles again. I have definitely grown in "the bump" department haha, and Wes and I have started taking belly pics, so now we just need to find our camera cord so we can download them!

Although it is not definite that Baby O is a girl, I couldn't resist any longer and had to break down and make my first baby purchase. I think waiting 18 weeks was long enough!! So I bought a few cute outfits that are supposed to arrive this week! YEAH! I also ordered a little paint sample called "Silver Sage" to see what we think about that for the nursery. Hopefully we will be able to start decorating soon!

How Is Baby Growing?

Head to rump, she is about 5 1/2 inches long and according to http://www.babycenter.com/ she should weigh almost 7 ounces. Although that's what the ultrasound technician told us she weighs last week, so we are right on track! She is busy flexing her arms and legs — movements that I should start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. Her blood vessels are visible through her thin skin, and her ears are now in their final position (shew!), although they're still standing out from her head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around her nerves, a process that will continue for a year after she's born. Since we *think* we are having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place.

Another Milestone!!!!

Well, we hit another milestone this weekend with Baby O...I felt her move for the first time on Saturday night!!! I had been feeling a few little flutters starting on Thursday night or so, and then again on Friday but they weren't quiet as distinct as what I felt on Saturday. They were always at the same time at night though, after dinner, either when I was in bed, or just relaxing on the couch, whenever I was very still.

We were watching a movie on Saturday and it was about 10:00PM or so (I was just amazed I was still awake...of course this was after my 3 hour nap that didn't end until 6:00PM haha) and it was the most amazing feeling in the world. It is really hard to describe but felt like bubbles popping. It was that night that I finally realized what I had felt before was our little peanut and I immediately burst into tears! Ha! Poor Wes, he is so good at dealing with my emotional outbursts haha! I felt her a few times that night and then again last night while watching the end of the Superbowl. I actually felt her on the outside of my tummy too last night, very lightly, but unmistakable. So that pretty much made my weekend!

Wes and I had a pretty good weekend all around. Saturday I volunteered at UMBC for the First Lego League competition which was really fun but exhausting (which explains the nap haha). Then Sunday we just relaxed, did some cleaning and painting before Mom and Dad came up to watch the Superbowl. Dad and Wes at least watched it while Mom and I talked Baby most of the time haha. Our next big appointment is three weeks from today when we get to see the little peanut again and confirm for sure, girl or boy! I can't wait!

We hope everyone had a great weekend!