11 Weeks

It has been a week since my last post... its been pretty busy! I drove up to Raleigh and then up to Philly with my parents to watch Britt in a Caberet. She did a great job... as always! She did run me ragged through the streets of Philly though. I am sure I needed the exercise though! Here is a photo from the night of Brtts show...

Grandma MiMi and Grandma DeeDee

I have been hanging out with Mom here in Raleigh these last few days. We have been running errands and getting some stuff done before we head up to Columbus tomorrow!!! I can't wait... not looking forward to the drive but can't wait to get there :)

Bridget will be having her baby this week (hence our trip up to OH). I can't wait to meet little baby Hamilton. I remember saying to her, how funny it would be if when she had the baby I was pregnant... and here we are!

We are 11 weeks along today and this is whats going on with the baby:

Our baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden.

She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. I won't feel the baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will I notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming.

 

10 Weeks

Our little peanut is 10 weeks along today. We are into the double digits and there is no turning back! We are about 3-4 weeks away from being out of the 1st trimester. I must say I am anxious for that to come... I am starting to get board of all the bland foods and i am ready to start eating salads again!

How our baby's growing:

Though he's barely the size of a kumquat— a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, our baby has now completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature.

He's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout my pregnancy.

If you could take a peek inside the womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.

In other developments: Our baby's limbs can bend now. His hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. The outline of his spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from his spinal cord. Our baby's forehead temporarily bulges with his developing brain and sits very high on his head, which measures half the length of his body. From crown to rump, he's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, our baby will again double in size  — to nearly 3 inches.

What are we getting into?!?!

I was messing around on a baby discussion board and I cam across a website. The mentioned that it will make you laugh.. Although I cracked a smile, it didn't make me laugh... it scared me a little! The link is http://www.shitmykidsruined.com/

Basically people submit photos of shit that their kids have ruined... some of these photos are very scary!

Some examples:

"I asked my son to bring me the Ipod… in the time it took him to walk across the room, he disabled my Ipod for 39 YEARS.. ill be 79 before it unlocks."

"he ruined my Saturday morning. (note: placement of diaper on floor)"

What are Joe and I getting into?!?!?

Lazy Day

I hope everyone had a great Sunday! It was quite nice for me. This morning when Joe left at 6am I couldn't go back to sleep. I got up and made a fresh fruit smoothie... yummy :) Watched a movie and once it was over I was exhausted so I went back to bed. I think I slept for about 2 hours and got back up. Basically i stayed in my PJs all day and to top it all off we had french toast for dinner.... it was tasty!

I worked on photos for a good portion of the afternoon. I am almost done editing the newborn shoot from last week. Once I finish those I will be working on the wedding from last night. I got an inquiry this evening for maternity photos so things are really looking good :)

Diaper Bag

So I came across Monique on Etsy.com who makes custom Diaper bags and I think I am going to order the bag! http://www.etsy.com/listing/53784515/custom-messenger-style-diaper-bag-or 
This is the example of what thy look like, pretty basic but I love to fabric combos!

The best part is I get to pick the fabrics! So here are the examples... what do you think?

They are in the same color scheme as the baby room we are going for plus one of the fabrics have bees on it :) I just thought I would share with you all!

2nd Drs Appointment

Joe and I went into the Drs Office for the 2nd time today. It was just routine basically. They did take my blood pressure and it was higher than normal, 130/80... that is high for me no doubt. My normal falls somewhere around 112/60 or so. I think it might have something to do with the fact that I haven't walked much because the heat is just too much. The humidity had gotten a lot better so Joe and I went for a walk today. Hopefully the weather either stays the same or gets cooler from here!

We got to hear the heartbeat today... and it was fast! 174 beats per min, don't worry that's very normal! everything is on course for a great pregnancy so that is good news! I don't have any new ultrasound pics today though, sorry!

I was browsing on the internet and saw a cute maternity shirt! Take a look!

GO BUCKEYES!!

Cuddle Bug

Aria just got up on the couch and started cuddling with Baby and I... (She cuddles with baby more than Joe)

Here is a pic....

9 Weeks

9 Weeks along today! Today was a good day. I didn't feel sick at all which was a nice change :) I went for a nice walk this afternoon which helped with some of the exhaustion. The weather is starting to cool off just enough that it is bearable outside. With the humidity I find it hard to walk during the day, best times are before 8am or when the sun goes down. So today was a very nice day for a walk! As for the baby... the update is below!

Our new resident is nearly an inch long — about the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Our baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do her tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Our baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. Her eyes are fully formed, but her eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. She has tiny earlobes, and her mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that our baby's basic physiology is in place, she's poised for rapid weight gain.

Oh Mondays....

I hope everyone had a great Monday... it has been ok for me so far. I didn't have a very productive day. The nausea hes been kicking in. especially with dirty dishes. Poor Joe is stuck doing the dishes when they smell. For example... Joe emptied out the fridge yesterday and so there were smells of onions, tuna, pickles and what not coming form the sink. I felt bad that he had to wash them all by himself! I can handle the simple rinse and stash in the dishwasher but these dishes were just uck!


The exhaustion is getting bad as well. So far it has been bearable but I laid down for 5 min this afternoon and it turned into 1 hours.... oops!


So we finally got our lawn mower fixed! I think it had been a month since the lawn was cut. We are the crazy neighbors who don't take care of our lawn! Once the weather starts to turn I hope to start working on our lawn. We need to rip out the bushes and plant some new ones... what a job this is going to be! The to do list before Baby is getting longer :)

Names for Baby

I have not written lately, it has been a busy and sick last few days. The nausea come around if I am not careful of what I eat, I have to keep it bland and that can be difficult! I had two photo shoots this weekend, a wedding and a newborn. Things are going great with he photography business... I just got to keep it up!

So Joe and I spent some time these past few days talking about baby names... and it took some time but we have chosen a boy and girl name!

Michael Adam James   &   Fionna Gracie-Sue

It is fun to see where our family stands on whether it will be a boy or girl. Joe's Mom thinks it's a girl and my Mom thinks it's a boy... one of them will be right but who?!?!

Baby does not like Chipotle...

I am up in Columbia with Joe this week. He is going to a conference and I am just hangin out here! He mentioned to me that he found a Chipotle! Fantasitc I thought. Joe is not a big fan so figured I would go today for lunch...

I brought it back to the hotel to eat and I get about 2 bites into it and I came to realize that baby just doesn't like it! Ugh! So what did I do... stop eating it? Nope, I ate as much as I could bare (about half) and suffered through the nausea. I couldn't let it go to waste!

Sad sad day!

8 Weeks with Pictures!!!

OK so we are 8 weeks along as of today. The nausea is getting pretty bad. Today I could barely eat anything. What was worse was that some of the nausea was brought on by an empty stomach but there wasn't much I could do. Ugh! It was the first time I got close to actually 'getting sick' so I am sure it's just around the corner... I hope it gets better soon! I would like to go without having to take some meds but we shall see how the rest of the weeks pans out.

Here is the explanation of what is going on with the baby this week:

Your baby is now 5/8 of an inch long, about the size of a kidney bean. New this week: Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. His arms have lengthened, too, and his hands are now flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart. His knee joints have formed, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways.

Joe and I started to take some photos at week 6 so I have posted those below. Now keep in mind... I had a tummy to start out with so what you see is not a baby bump yet... but it wont be long!

Yay... It's positive!

6 Weeks... mostly bloat haha!

7 Weeks

Aria... excited to be a sister!

8 Weeks... I think I am starting to round out just a little!

Joe is back from Tampa

Joe got home from Tampa this evening and he came bearing gifts from Caitlyn, Tracey and his Mom. His mom got the baby his first book, Goodnight Moon! Caitlyn and Tracey got us a bunch of stuff from Target... Duckie sleepwear, bibs, onesies, and a receiving blanket. They are all so cute! Now I have to be patient and wait for the baby to come. Although I am excited I am in no hurry since I have a very long to do list that I want done before the baby. Joe and I are going to need the next 7 months to get ready!

As of tomorrow we will be 8 weeks along! Look for an 8 week update tomorrow!

Flu Shot

So yes I did it! I took myself to Walgreens and got myself a Flu Shot... all by myself. Hard to believe I know.  I have never gotten a flu shot before because I try and stay away from needles as much as possible. The Doctor said that she strongly recommended that I get one so I did it for our little peanut.

First Dr. Apt.

Ok so this is a few days overdue. I got caught up in editing photos so I am just now getting to it! On Thursday Joe and I went in for our first Doctors Appointment. I think Joe felt a little out of place!

The first thing that happened once we were called back was that we were going to get the ultrasound done. I kind of thought that was weird since I have never been to a doctor's apt where they didn't the your blood pressure and weight right away. I wasn't complaining of course cause I was so excited to see the baby!

I had forgotten to mention to Joe the the first ultrasound would be internal. So when we went into the room and she showed us the instrument that was going to be used I could tell Joe felt a little awkward. I can usually tell cause he starts to ramble and tell jokes to crack the tension. All I could do was laugh a little! He is too cute!

I read somewhere that for ultrasounds I was suppose to have a full bladder so I made sure to go to the apt well hydrated! Well as it turns out I am suppose to have a full bladder for ultrasounds; except for the first one. Haha of course! No big deal because I needed a urine sample anyway so I got that our of the way early. After that we got started with the ultrasound. It was so neat to be able to see the baby! Of course it was too small to see the details but is was still fascinating to know that the baby is there and growing!

The baby measured 8.8mm (sooo tiny!). That is approx 6weeks 6days along. According to my ovulation I had calculated us being 7weeks 2 days along. Just a few day difference so we are keeping the April 19th 2011 due date. If the baby continues to measure slightly smaller they might adjust the due date. Once she measured the baby we got to heart the heart beat. I was not expecting her to have me hold my breath so I was a little surprised but not too hard to handle. The baby's heartbeat was 127 beats per min. She said that it may go as high as 180 so we shall see!

After the ultrasound they took some blood. Now for those of you who know me I don't do needles... but I did surprisingly well... ask Joe and he will agree. I think I was just too happy seeing the baby I wasn't going to let the blood thing get me down. My eyes were closed and she poked my left arm and she says... hmmm no I've got no blood coming out of this vein. Haha I thought she was just kidding! She was aware of my fear so I thought she was just playing around. I opened my eyes and nope.... no blood! UGH! So now onto my right arm. Luckily that vein produced some blood otherwise I think I would have just given up.

We went into the room to talk to the doctor. I usually see Dr. Mitchell but today we got to meet the other woman in the practice, Dr. Norton. She was very nice and both Joe and I liked her. I am still anxious to have Joe meet Dr. Mitchell though! We had a great conversation and got all our questions out so it went well!

Joe and I go back in 2 weeks. Hopefully Joe will be able to go with me. He will be on duty that week so we will have to see what we can work out.

Ultrasound Guide

Here is a guide to what you are looking at! I hope this helps you all! You can kind of see the definition of the baby. If you look closely you can see the head in the upper portion and the body below. The head is nearly the same size as the body.

First Baby Pics!

Here are the baby utrasound pics from today! I will add more to the post later once The Ohio State game is over!

Bumble Bee Baby

So I think I mentioned in an earlier post about the bedding Joe and I saw at Babies R Us. So it is no surprise that we are thinking a bumble bee theme for the baby's room. I just got an email this morning for a new bumble bee bedding set by Geenny. Check it out


http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002ZBDK54/ref=pe_57510_16725110_pe_vfe_t2


What do you all think? I still think I am leaning towards the Carter collection because it has so many matching items but I thought I would post this on there!