I heart garage sales and ultrasounds!

Yesterday was a great day...I woke up at 5:15 am and couldn't get back to sleep so I got up, ate some breakfast, got ready, and went to an early garage sale.  I bought the following items, plus a book that I forgot to put in the picture for under $15!  How exciting!

After the garage sale I came home and picked up Cory.  I suprised him and took him for a 3D/4D ultrasound of the baby for his birthday!  We got to share this with several people:  Lucas, Patty, Dylan, Kerry, Martina, and Chris.  It was so nice to have them there!  

The man doing the ultrasound asked if we knew the sex of the baby and I said no, and that we didn't want to know.  Throughout the ultrasound he kept asking if we were sure we didn't want to know cause he knew.  Luckily though no one gave in, he didn't spill the beans, and we didn't see any between the legs shots!

The baby was being a little bit of a stinker and didn't want to show his/her face.  He was facing a little towards the back, which makes it hard to get a good shot, then Baby Z kept putting his/her hands, arms and even a foot in front of his/her face!  

You can see here in this first picture what I'm talking about (arms and hands in front of face)...

This second picture shows the baby's face with his/her fist at his/her mouth...

The next picture is my favorite, it looks like Baby Z is smiling and waving.  Silly baby!

This next one might be a little harder for you to see...towards the left side of the picture is Baby Z's face with his/her left hand pointing just above where its left eye is...

And here is a 2D picture of Baby Z's profile...

Someone that I work with let me know about this volunteer opportunity to get a free 3D/4D ultrasound, so I am doing that on Thursday.  :)  I'm so excited to see Baby Z again...hopefully the little stinker will be more cooperative next time!  

Hope you enjoyed the pictures.  Let me know if you can't make out Baby Z/ need me to explain any of the pictures anymore.  :)

Bellies

I love being pregnant!  Don't get me wrong, it has it's downsides, but the good parts FAR outweigh the bad!  I might even say I don't even mind the bad parts.  I love how people are so nice to pregnant people...it's too bad though that people aren't more like this all the time.  I've noticed that people are more likely to talk to you when you're pregnant- and their voices are usually higher than normal.  Strange, but entertaining...and I like it.  :)  Also, it's hilarious to see people look at my belly first then my face.  

On a separate note, I think Cory is experiencing some of the symptoms of pregnancy as well.  

Here is a picture that demonstrates what I'm talking about...

23 Weeks

I've been to the doctor twice since my last post.  I went for my regular appointment which went well.  Not much to it.  Got to hear the heartbeat again, which I love.  The doctor was a little concerned because I had lost a few pounds since the previous month, but not enough to worry too much.  Plus I've been eating like crazy, I should be packing them on soon enough.  :)

I went to the doctor again the following week because I was feeling kinda crazy at work.  Like I had drank a pot of coffee...and I hadn't had any caffine.  I think it was a drop in my sugar.  Anyway, I called them and they told me to come on in right away.  I got to see the nurse and the doctor.  I was really impressed with how soon they got me in and the attention they paid me and the baby.  They agreed that it was probably a drop in my sugar and instructed me to keep candy or juice boxes with me...sounds good to me.  :)  

Here is a belly picture from this past week.  In this picture I am 22weeks and 5 days pregnant...getting bigger.

And here is a belly picture from yesterday (23 weeks 2days).  I was in the Chicago area for a wedding and got to see my parents.  Despite all the bad luck experienced, it was great to see my parents as well go to Annie and Chuck's wedding!!

My next appointment is scheduled for October 1st.  We will be doing some sort of test during that appointment, but my pregnant brain has forgotten what that test is.  I think it might have something to do with me being Rh-.  I guess we'll find out then.  :)

Thanks for checking my blog and keeping up to date on our pregnancy...leave me comments, I love them.  Maybe I'll post more if I see that people are actually reading this stuff/looking at these pictures.  :)

This week we got a free crib and had gotten some bedding while visiting family in Indiana, so today Cory put the crib up and I put the bedding on. Here are pictures...



I think the crib is a little feminine because of the ladybugs and I want to keep it neutral, so I'm trying to think of a way to make it more neutral, what do you think? I like the idea of a pond type theme...like different bugs/insects ( cute ones, not real looking ones :) ), and frogs, and ducks and stuff. Hmm...

On a side note. I've still been feeling very good for the most part. Sleeping is super interrupted because of my back hurting and going to the bathroom, but otherwise still feeling pretty great. My doctors appointment got switched from Tuesday to Thursday, so I'll definitely update more then, if not before.

Movement

I started feeling the baby move and I love it! I guess when he or she is kicking me in the ribs I may not love it quite as much, but for now it's great! :) I started feeling it a couple weeks ago, but very rarely. Now I've been feeling movement several times everyday. Today I was rubbing my belly, talking to the baby and asking it to move and it did! I know it's not cause I asked him/her to, but it was great timing. :) Cory got to feel him/her move the other day too! Seems early, but he did-I was so happy!

Ultrasounds are FUN!

I wanted to post this last night, but we don't have internet at home, so today it is...
We had our ultrasound yesterday and it was GREAT! The baby was measuring at 12 oz and the technician figured about 9 inches long. The technician said that he or she was measuring at 20 weeks 3 days, compared to the 19 weeks and 5 days that goes along with my due date of January 9th. It was first estimated that the due date was January 1st, so maybe it will move up, not sure.
The baby was head down and the placenta is away from the cervix which is good. He or she was being a "stinker-butt" according to the technician and facing towards my back so we couldn't get a good profile picture of his/her face. The picture below is the best we got...its of the baby's face straight on. Some say it looks like an alien, but I think it's beautiful. :)

If you need help deciphering it...it is a close up of the face. The bigger darker area is his/her brain cavity, underneath that on either side of the face are two eyes with a nose in the middle and the mouth just under that. Do you see?

Here is another picture. Harder to tell, but it is of it's face with it's arm next to its head (on the left side of the picture).

During the ultrasound, the technician showed us all the parts of the baby...well, not the private parts, cause we don't want to see them yet! It was great, she pointed out both sections of both arms and both legs, both kidneys, the heart and all it's 4 chambers, the brain, the spine, the ribs, the aorta and renal arteries, the stomach and the fluids in it from the baby swallowing the amniotic fluid (like it should) and the full bladder (he/she needed to tinkle). We also got to see the umbilical cord, and the lips/nose (although i couldn't make those out). The technician looked there and was able to tell that the baby does not have a cleft lip. She also showed that the spine was fully formed which is great.

After the ultrasound, the technician turned off the machine, lowered the table, etc and worked on putting information in the chart while she answered our questions. Just before us leaving she said that she would look at the baby again to see if he/she had moved so we could get a profile shot of the face. Unfortunately (and fortunately though), it looks like the baby takes after me and is lazy in the morning and was still resting in the same position. She tried wiggling my belly to wake the baby, but he/she is a sound sleeper I guess...hopefully the baby keeps that up after birth! :)

I loved having the ultrasound. I said that I could stay there looking at the baby all day! She wouldn't let me though...sigh! Hope you enjoy the pictures half as much as I do!

It's been a while...

It's been a long time since the last blog. I was traveling around all summer and got back to FL a couple weeks ago and have been super busy since. I think I will be that way until the baby comes...well...after too, I'm sure.
We went to the doctor on August 5th, the day after we got back to Florida. At this appointment we got to hear the baby's heartbeat again (Cory for the first time in person) and I got a blood test done to check for Spina Bifida and Downs Syndrome. I got a call this week saying that the bloodwork came back fine and everything looks great! We have an ultrasound scheduled for this Wednesday (August 20th). I am sooooo excited to see the baby again! I am now 19 weeks pregnant and we haven't seen the baby since our 9 week appointment! I am so excited to see how he/she has changed. It doesn't even seem real that the pictures that I see in books of a baby at 19 weeks is like the baby that is growing inside of me. I can't wait to actually see him/her!
Overall I have been feeling really well. I still get real tired sometimes and have gotten some headaches and have been having trouble sleeping due to my back hurting (and all the trips to the bathroom), but overall, I can't complain! I can't believe that the pregnancy is about half over. Time is really flying.
Here is a picture of me at 19 weeks...
While I'm posting pictures, here are some others from this summer...

Heres me and Cassi on the 4th of July...
Here's me and Cory tailgating at the Buffett show...
Holly and her parents at Buffett...
While in PA, Cory's parents threw a baby shower for us. Here is a picture of me and Cory from the shower...
and me and Meg at the shower...
and Kiley...
So that's all the pictures for now. I'll post more on Wednesday...pictures of the baby!! Enjoy these for now.