Gender Reveal BBQ

We decided not to find out what the sex of the baby was with the doctor. We wanted to find out in a special way with our family so we decided to have a BBQ. Our midwife, Christy went along with it and secretly wrote down the sex, put it in an envelope and sealed it. We waited for a week! It was soooo tempting to know the answer was right in our hands.... but we were good and didn't look ;)

After a long wait the day had finally come. I started getting nervous for some reason but it soon turned to excitement! For a little friendly competition, when everyone arrived I had them choose TEAM BOY or TEAM GIRL and write down their name on a chalkboard. The teams ended up being even. Of course, I was TEAM GIRL and Jeff was TEAM BOY!

After eating some grub it got a little chilly so we moved things inside.

We couldn't wait much longer so dessert came early! Yay!

I gave my (trusted) friend Meranda the envelope earlier that day and she filled the cake with the answer for us in PINK or BLUE frosting. The anticipation had been building all week and my hormones kicked in so I had to take a second to keep from crying. We cut the cake together, it was BLUE!

Yay, a boy! It took a second for reality to sink in, we were going to be raising a little Jeff, God please help me! It is so awesome to know we will be expecting a baby boy soon and couldn't be happier.

I wish I wasn't wrong JUST for the fact that Jeff rubs it in my face everday that he was right! Oh well...Let the shopping begin!

Ultrasound 12 Weeks

Yay!

Good Bye First Trimester!

Yay, only half a year left! Saying it like that makes it sound sooooo long. I keep telling myself that the upcoming holidays will make the 2nd trimester go by fast, hopefully I am right.

Monday was the start of week 14. Three weeks ago we went to our 2nd appointment and also had an ultrasound. The baby is right on track as far as growth and the heartbeat is normal. I compared the pictures from the first ultrasound to the last one...what a difference a month makes! You could actually see the baby's little arms (more like stubs, haha), torso, and BIG head. The head looks a little alien like right now but the body should catch up soon. Christy, our midwife actually said that if the baby cooperates we would be able to find out the sex during the next appointment!!!!!! I am counting down the days, 10 to be exact, until our 3rd appointment. I have heard if you drink orange juice an hour before it helps to make the baby move more so we could have a better chance. Keep your fingers crossed! We also have the option to have a prenatal screening for down syndrome and a few other things as well. I think we will opt out though. Christy mentioned a lot of times they come back false positive. I have had a few friends who received a positive for down syndrome. They went through many tears and counseling to prepare themselves, but she was born perfectly fine. We will love the baby no matter what and would rather not stress about it until we have to.

The baby is about the size of a peach right now. It's kidneys are now producing urine, which releases into the amniotic fluid. The baby can frown, squint, grasp and possibly suck it's thumb! Lanugo, an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair is starting to cover it's body. My uterus is starting to move up from my pelvis, I can actually feel where it is now. I can feel it when I bend to my left side or stretch my tummy. It has pushed out my stomach a teeny bit so I definitely can't suck in anymore...there's no room! I can still button up my pants (if I am standing) but I don't think for too much longer. Before I sit down I have to unbutton my jeans and I feel like a heffer when people catch me doing it ;) It's okay though, like I've said before and always will, it's worth it! The nausea has calmed down a lot and I can actually stay awake the whole day now! No more afternoon naps or crashes. I still get headaches pretty bad but I think sugar causes a lot of them so I am going to have to cut down on the sweets! Damn! I am starting to enjoy cooking again so I take advantage of the good days.

On another note, I can't wait for fall. I love baking pumpkin goodies, caramel apples and canning all the yummy fruit and veggies for the year. Halloween decorations will be going up soon and we always have 2 or 3 parties to attend (no alcohol, for me!). I can't decide what I want to be though, gets harder every year. I have been taking advantage of the cooler weather by going on walks with snorkey, or sitting outside and reading. Hope you all are doing well, thanks for listening!

P.S. I will be posting the ultrasound pic tomorrow, sorry!

10 Weeks!

I can't believe it has already been 10 weeks , it is so fun reading how the baby is developing each week- so thought I would share! Most of this info is from www.babycenter.com. The baby is 1 1/4"-1 3/4" long from crown to bottom and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce. That is so tiny but it already has tiny fingers and toes! It has now completed the most critical portion of development , the embryonic stage. Now is the beginning of the fetal period , a time when the tissues and organs in it's body rapidly grow and mature. Vital organs — including kidneys , intestines , brain , and liver are in place and starting to function and make red blood cells instead of the yolk sac which is now disappearing. All the organs will still develop more as I get farther along.

If you could 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 thin skin. The baby's limbs can bend now. It's hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over the heart , and the feet may be long enough to meet in front of it's body. The outline of the spine is clearly visible through translucent skin , and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from the spinal cord. The baby's forehead temporarily bulges with the developing brain and sits very high on it's head , which measures half the length of it's body. In the coming weeks, the baby will again double in size — to nearly three inches!

I really hate calling our baby an " IT ", so it will be nice to finally find out what the sex is. As far as how I am feeling, I am bloated and some of my clothes fit a little tighter. They say in about 2-3 weeks I may need to start wearing maternity clothes. WEIRD. I really can't wait to start showing and feel the baby move , it will seem a little more real. That's it for now. Thanks for caring! Love ya.

First Ultrasound Was A Success!

It's been almost 2 weeks since the last post, SORRY! I have been pretty crunched on time lately, we left for Flaming Gorge the same day as our first appointment and have been GO, GO, GO ever since! I can't believe how tired I have been as well. I get home from work, have dinner, NAP for 2 hours, wake up for a bit then go to bed again. The days are so much shorter when you are makin' a baby!

So, the first appointment went great! We were a little nervous not really knowing what to expect and crossing our fingers for good news. It was a surreal feeling walking into the hospital knowing that it was actually happening, we are seriously going to have a baby. The doctor was really nice and knew what he was doing (I am still not sold on him just yet for natural birth so we are meeting with a midwife today to check out our options). When ultrasound time came around we were so excited to hear that little heartbeat. It was amazing. We didn't hear it at first but saw the little chest fluttering in and out. Not as many tears flowed as I imagined but they did make an appearance. He turned up the volume and it was a perfect, strong little beat! We couldn't take our eyes off the screen. It's hard to imagine sometimes that it's really in there growing and moving.

I had a dream last night about a little baby boy. He had fair skin, blue eyes and light blonde hair. I was making him giggle. Not sure if that means anything but we will see. I've had a strong feeling it's a girl since I found out, pretty much everyone else thinks so too. My mom and only two other people have said they think it's a boy , oh and Jeff too! He will be happy with whatever we get though. The doctor said the hearbeat was a little slower and that there is an old wives tale that says if the heartbeat is fast it's a girl, slow it's a boy! Immediatly Jeff says "Yes!".

The pregnancy has been really smooth so far, I am lucky. I am nauseated most of the day but haven't actually had to throw up yet. I get headaches and backaches sometimes, nothing I can't handle though. I do have a weird symptom, Jeff thinks I made it up. When I cook a meal I don't really want to eat it, I get nauseated just thinking of making dinner. I feel perfectly fine when someone else makes it or we go out to eat, even if it's the exact same thing I was going to make. I guess it seems a little far fetched but being pregnant does weird things to your body! Thanks for listening, love ya!

Thank you!

I can't believe it finally happened. I love saying it out loud, " I am pregnant!" Sometimes it doesn't seem real, but it is!!!!!!! The day we found out was honestly THE happiest day of my life. After trying for so long it felt so good to see a positive+, you couldn't wipe the smile off my face. Jeff is very excited as well, I can't wait to go through the whole process with him. Hopefully I don't get too hormonal and FREAK him out! He will be a great dad, very supportive............hopefully understanding as well(wink,wink).

We have had such a warm, awesome response from all of our family and friends. It seems like they are just as surprised and happy as we are! Everyone keeps asking for updates, so I thought I would do a small blog to keep everyone involved in our little baby to be's progress. I probably won't post every day, maybe a few times a week. Our first appointment is next Thursday, the 11Th. Can't wait! I will post photos!

Thank you so much for all of your support and love. Family, friends and most of all my love, Jeff. Thank you for being there for me when I needed you the most. For all the tearful conversations and breakdowns. Thank you for being a calming presence, giving me hope that we would have a baby one day. It was all worth it. Love, Amber