2nd Trimester Ultrasound

Today, in addition to our 19 week doctor's visit, we had the 2nd trimester ultrasound. In this ultrasound they go through the baby from head to toe, measuring everything from skull size, jaw bones, arm and leg bones and can even tell if the baby has a cleft palette or club foot! In addition, it's a chance to make sure the spine and heart chambers look good. The baby wasn't really cooperative during this process wanting to flip around and put it's hand up to cover the face. I found it strange that I could see the baby moving all around and yet can't feel the movement yet... although it should be any day now and I can't wait!!!

The ultrasound tech we had this time was thorough, but I didn't like her nearly as much as the guy we've had twice before. She was pleasant, but not very personable and was very "by the book"... whenever I would ask how things were looking, she just would say "you have to ask the doctor". Thankfully the doctor said all the measurements were normal and that everything looked good! They are estimating the baby to be 9 oz right now, which is right on track.

One thing they did discover is that I have 3 fibroid masses (1 was discovered on my first ultrasound). Two are connected outside the uterus and one is down near the cervix. The only concern with the one at the cervix is that it could block the baby's way out, but they feel it's not a big concern right now. Often these masses either shrink during the 3rd trimester, or the baby is able to make it's way past it during labor since everything is so flexible. They also found a cyst on my ovary, but again aren't too concerned about it since it's fairly common. They are going to have me have an ultrasound every 4 weeks through the end of the pregnancy just to track the size of the fibroids, cyst and baby and make sure everything is ok. Because of my age and the fact that I had some low placenta hormone levels, I was going to have some extra screenings anyway, so now this just makes for more opportunities to see the baby!!!

Below are the best pictures from today... The first is a 4D shot, but the baby seems camera shy! The second is a profile picture, and the last is my favorite... the baby is on it's head (the head is on the bottom, the spine goes up to the right and the butt is on top!)... a position the baby remained in for awhile so it was hard to get some measurements!!!

Afterwards, we headed to my doctor's office for our monthly visit. My sugar level was a little up, so I just need to watch my sugar intake a bit. I'll have a glucose test at 24 weeks to check for any signs of gestestional diabetes. Thankfully I only gained 2 lbs this month (I've gained a total of 8 lbs so far)! I was thrilled with that!!! I was so happy to hear that the baby is growing and that everything looked great!!! I'm looking forward to seeing the baby again in a month!!!

18 Weeks!

As of today, I am 18 weeks along! According to my "What to Expect" book, I've just entered the 5th month and by the end of this month I should be feeling the baby move... I can't wait for that! The baby is about 5 inches in length and approximately 5 ounces in weight this week. The cutest part is that the baby is yawning and hiccuping this week! I'm still feeling great and am definately getting bigger!

The Baby Bump is Growing!

I am now 17 weeks and 2 days along and still feeling great. I feel like in the last week or two I've finally started to look more pregnant and not so fat anymore. And on my flight back from CA on Sunday, the flight attendant said "looks like you are having a baby!"... the first time that someone has acknowledged I look pregnant! It was very exciting.

For those of you who haven't seen me yet, or haven't seen me in awhile, this is a picture I took this morning showing how "Baby B" is growing!!!

The Big 6-0!

Last week I went to CA to visit family and friends, but also to celebrate my Dad's 60th Birthday! I can't believe he's 60 now... you would never know it from all he does! I hope I look that good at 60!

It was so great to see family, especially since this was the first time being home since becoming pregnant. And I'm starting to show so I think it was fun for the family to see the baby bump too!

Mom and I put together posters of pictures of Dad throughout his life. It was fun going through the photo albums to pick out pictures that represented him and all he's done. My favorite was of him at about 18 years old posing with a flexed arm to show off those muscles!!! It was actually one I had never seen before... hysterical!

Mom ordered Dad's favorite pasta from Maggiano's, and make some marinaded chicken, salad and garlic bread. Bethany made cupcakes and put them in the shape of "6-0"... they looked great when we put candles on each one! We enjoyed sitting outside, talking, eating great food and even making fun of Dad some...

Grandpa had the greatest "gifts" of the night... a selection of items that he'll need now that he's entered the "older" part of his life... Reading glassses, Milk of Magnesia, denture cleanser etc. It was hysterical!!!

It was a great party of family and great friends!!!

Matt's New "Baby"

Matt and I have been talking about getting him a new car for a little while now. But after driving his car last winter and having it slide all over the place, I told him I would not allow a baby to be put in that car during the winter! So we got my car paid off early, so we would only have one car payment, and decided to get him a car before this winter. His dream car has always been a Land Rover and even though I knew that is what he would end up with, we decided to look at a few other cars and pretend we gave them a chance!

We were able to find a certified pre-owned LR3 in white just as he wanted at the dealership near our house. We test drove it and Matt was in love. While I was in CA last week, I called Matt and he says, "Guess what? I bought a car!" I was fairly shocked that it happened that quickly but he was able to coordinate everything fast. I was just bummed I couldn't be with him to pick it up! He is just thrilled to have it and it's great for him to realize a dream he's had for so long... he's just thrilled that he can finally afford something like this instead of just dream about it!

Fat... and not with a "PH"!

So I'm in this awful "in-between" stage of this pregnancy, where I can tell my stomach is getting bigger, but I don't yet look pregnant. Instead I just look fat!!! I don't have people asking me if I'm pregnant becaue they aren't yet sure... and you know you never ask a woman if she's pregnant unless you are sure!!! I've started to wear a couple of maternity items I bought because I'm not fitting into regular clothes that aren't lose fitting dresses. I know that this is just a phase, but I'm already ready for it to be over with!!!

Hot Rod Ho-Down

Matt and I have become friends recently with a couple that are big into Rockabilly... Trinnie and Herb. Each year they put on the Hot Rod Ho-Down at Southside Johnny's downtown with a hot rod show and rockabilly music bands all day. It all began when they wanted to put together an event where they could choose the bands they wanted to see. Now it's also their way of giving back to the community. They raise money for a charity of their choosing each year. So Matt and I decided to check it out.

Actually on Friday night we went to Trinnie and Herb's house for a BBQ. The most hysterical part is that Matt saw their son, 3 year-old Vinny, as an allergy patient earlier in the week. Not only was he a great patient being so good during all the skin testing, but calls Matt "Dr. Blowfish"... I think one of Trinnie's friend's told him that was his name so he really thinks it is! When we showed up at their house for the bbq, Vinny came up and said "Hi, Dr. Blowfish!" I was laughing so hard... it was the cutest thing EVER!!!

So back to Saturday... we headed over to Southside Johnny's early in the afternoon to see the car show. It was so much more impressive than I anticipated. There were about 80 cars there from unfinished "beaters" to cars that were works of art.

One of My Favorites

This won Best in Show

Our Favorite

After the car show we headed inside Southside Johnny's, a restaurant/bar, grabbed some lunch and listened to the opening act... they were actually really great. After meeting a few more of Trinnie and Herb's friends, we decided to head out and run some errands and come back later.

We arrived back later that evening where we caught the tail end of a group (I don't remember the name) that was really great. Trinnie was so excited and said they were so great that it took her back to "they day". Afterwards they had a Burlesque Show and Pin Up Girl contest that was a lot of fun. Matt and I headed out, but we had such a great time. Not only was it great to hear some fun music, see some amazing cars, but also to meet some new people. We are looking forward to making this an annual tradition!

Claritin... My New Best Friend!

Thankfully I have not had any morning sickness during the pregnancy so far. Both Mom and Bethany had pretty easy pregnancies so I was hoping the same for me... and so far, so good! The only thing I've noticed the last several weeks is that my nose has been running like crazy, and I've been sneezing about 25 times (no exaggeration!) a day... and I've suddenly started sneezing in pairs almost every time which I've never done before! So strange the things pregnancy do to a body (and I'm sure this is just the beginning!)

Finally I had enough and asked Matt what I can take (so handy having a doctor in the family!). After checking his iPhone medical app he suggested Claritin. Although he doesn't necessarily think I've developed any allergies (although that's not uncommon during pregnancy apparently), he thought the Claritin could help with my symptoms... and of course, the doctor is right!!! I can finally get through my day without going through a box of Kleenex! We are hitting up Costco to get it in bulk so I've covered the rest of the pregnancy!

And Baby Makes Three!!!

For those of you that don't know already, Matt and I are thrilled to annouce that we are pregnant!!! I am 14 weeks along and have been feeling great so far. The due date is February 1st. And we are NOT (I repeat NOT Bethany!!!) going to find out the sex of the baby. I figure that it's my "reward" for labor and it gives Matt his "15 Seconds of Fame" when he goes out to tell the family the sex and the name chosen. We are just thrilled.

We can't wait for the changes in store for us up ahead. Both of us have wanted children for a long time... even before we met each other! So now that it's a reality, it's so amazing. Next week we've got our monthly appointment with my doctor.

Above is a picture from our 12 week ultrasound. I love how you can see the baby's leg kicked up and it looks like he/she is just kicking back and relaxing! Keep up to date with the pregnancy with this blog!

Flower's First Visit

Last weekend Bethany, Ryan and Shaye made their first trip to Colorado. Everyone was a little worried about how Shaye would travel since she had never been on a plane and is not used to sleeping in other places. They arrived on Friday afternoon and it was great to hear that Shaye had slept through half the flight! Surprisingly, she seemed comfortable with me pretty quickly... maybe she does remember me! We got home, put Shaye down for a short nap and then headed off to the America the Beautiful park. It's a great park, with lots of kids playing for Shaye to watch (she is a serious people watcher!!) and lots of fun!

Saturday morning we headed to the zoo... I was really looking forward to seeing Shaye's reaction to feeding the giraffes and having them so up close. But as I learned over the weekend, Shaye is more interested in watching the people around her. Although with my help, she did feed a giraffe!

After returning home for her afternoon nap, we headed out to the Garden of the Gods. It's a beautiful park and we drove around and got out a few times to check it out. Then we headed over to our favorite Mexican place, Amanda's Fonda, for an early dinner.

Sunday we headed to Downtown Colorado Springs and Old Colorado City. We checked out the shops and grabbed some lunch. We were expecting rain, but it turned out to be a beautiful day... so much for weathermen! After Shaye's nap, we headed up to the north end of town and went to the Air Force Academy. We skipped the Visitor Center (not too exciting anyway), and just went straight to the Chapel and surrounding area. Luckily the Chapel was still open... although they only conduct official tours during the week, it was great that we could still check out all 3 levels. It's truly impressive!!!

Monday, we (without Matt since he was back at work!) went to Golden where the Coors Brewery is located. We took the tour and then arrived at the Lounge, where you get to taste up to 3 free beers! Ryan really loved the Batch 19, which was a resurrected recipe from before Prohibition. They are in the testing phase right now, but it seems to be popular and it sounds like it'll be on the grocery shelves sometime soon! Afterwards, we walked around the town and ate some lunch. Luckily we were able to time it all so that Shaye could take her morning and afternoon naps in car. Tuesday they were headed back home and thankfully Shaye slept through half the flight again! She did such a great job sleeping here in the Pack n' Play, going down easily for naps and at night. Shaye also had a great time interacting with Nate. The moment she laid eyes on him, she was fascinated! She would crawl around and chase him around the house, although Nate was not too thrilled when she tried to pet him and it turned into more of a slap in the face than petting! He spent the rest of the weekend keeping his eye on her and keeping his distance!

It was a fantastic trip and we loved having them around. It's so nice that family is just a quick 2 hour flight away... makes it much easily for them to visit! We can't wait to have the Flower's back!!!

To see all of the pictures Bethany and Ryan took of the trip, check out this link (there are some really cute ones I didn't include!):

http://picasaweb.google.com/bnetro/TripToVisitAuntieColoradoSprings#