Lucy and the Snow

My dog, who does not like to be wet, LOVES the snow! It was too funny to watch her this afternoon.

eating snow

chasing the ever-elusive snowball

Let the Guessing Begin!

*Updated with a couple of belly shots.

We had a doctor's appointment this morning and all was well. We got to listen to the heartbeat (164 bpm) and could even hear the baby moving around! Dr. F asked if I had felt the baby move yet, which made me feel less crazy about thinking I had felt something in church yesterday. For about a 10 minute period during the sermon I could feel an occasional gentle tap in my lower abdomen. I can't wait until Eric can feel those movements from the outside. :)

Our next appointment is the BIG ultrasound where we'll get to find out if we're expecting a boy or a girl. Eric would really like a girl and I'm indifferent, as long as the baby is healthy. I've made a poll over to the right where you can make your guess. I even thought I'd help you out by including some old wives tales below:

• Take the number of the month that you conceived and add it to your age at the time of conception. If the total of those two numbers is even, it's a girl.--GIRL
  
• Baby girls don't like to be held by women expecting a boy.--BOY


• If you have acne while pregnant, it’s a girl.--GIRL


• If you see a “V” or “branches” in the white part of your left eye when you pull it down, you’re having a girl.--BOY


• If the dad-to-be gains weight while you are pregnant, it’s a girl.--BOY


• If you had a smooth pregnancy with no morning sickness, it’s a boy.--BOY


• If the heart rate is over 140, it's a girl.--GIRL


• Chinese Gender Predictor--GIRL
  
• Take a wedding ring and attach it to a thread. Hold it over mom-to-be's belly while she is lying down. If the ring swings in a strong circular motion, you will be having a girl. If it moves in a to and fro motion like a pendulum, you will be having a boy.--GIRL
  

Here are a couple of pictures that may or may not be helpful. Notice the difference in the belly? The first picture was taken showing my usual not-so-great posture and the next picture is of me standing up straight and sucking it in a little. I don't know which one would be considered more accurate. Eric insists there's not really much of a difference.

So there you have it. Be sure to make your guess--more people guessing=more fun!

Sad Day

I think my Chi is experiencing a slow death. When I tried to use it this morning the power light would cut on and off. I think it has something to do with the rotating cord. . . .So here I sit at school with semi-straight hair pulled back in a sloppy ponytail. I guess I know what I'll be shopping for this weekend. :(
Here's a question for you: Do you have a flat iron you absolutely love that is not a Chi? What is it and where can I find it?

14 Weeks

I've officially made it out of the first trimester! Here's what BabyCenter has to say about our baby this week:

Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another.

In other news your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells.

On a sad note, some of you know that my 87 year old grandmother passed away rather suddenly a little over a week ago. She loved Jesus with all her heart, so I can find comfort in that. However, what breaks my heart is that although she already had a few great-grandchildren, our baby would have been the first that she would have been able to see and hold on a regular basis. She was excited about that prospect.

How are you feeling?

That's a question I've been asked a lot lately. Honestly, I have nothing to complain about. I haven't experienced any of the horribly unpleasant or scary pregnancy symptoms, such as morning sickness or spotting. In fact, I have been feeling so well that when I went to the doctor last week I told him that I was afraid there wouldn't be anything there when he did the ultrasound. He assured me there would be, and thankfully he was right. :)

So what have I been experiencing?

Bloating! Not long after I found out I was pregnant I noticed my pants were feeling tight. I knew this obviously had nothing to do with the lentil bean-sized baby. I don't guess I'd ever really been bloated before, because it took me a while to figure out what was going on. Enter my friend, the BeBand. I started wearing it about a week ago on days when my dress pants felt snug and it makes a world of a difference!

Acne! About a year before I got pregnant my dermatologist put me on some wonderful medicine. . .too bad the medicine is a big no-no when you are pregnant. At the very beginning of my pregnancy my skin was actually relatively clear. I had read about women whose skin clears up with pregnancy and I thought I was lucky. Boy was I wrong! In the past week or so the acne has come back and I can't really do anything about it. :( If anyone has a suggestion about what to do, I'd be willing to give it a try!

Restlessness! I wake up several times during the night trying to get comfortable. I flip from side to side and even onto my back, but I can never seem to stay in one position for very long.

Laughing fits! I suppose I can blame this on hormones. Last week I was trying to tell Eric a story about something funny that happened at school. Once I got the story started I could not stop laughing. I laughed so hard that I began to cry; I literally had tears streaming down my face. The same thing happened just the other day when we went to see a play at the community theater. The scene was funny, but I apparently thought it was extremely hysterical, once again to the point of tears. I'm sure the older man who was sitting beside me must of thought I was crazy! Have any of you other mommas experienced this?

Those are the biggest effects of pregnancy that I've noticed so far. Ask again in a few weeks, and I'm sure I'll be able to add to the list. Tomorrow marks 12 weeks, 28 to go! :)

By the way, thank you so much for all of the congratulations on the last post! It means a lot to know that y'all are excited and praying for us and the baby.

Our BIG News!

Your guesses were right, we are pregnant!

Yesterday Eric and I went to our very first doctor's appointment. It was a little awkward at the beginning with the pelvic exam and all, but once we were able to see the baby on the screen and hear that hard working little heart it was totally worth it! The doctor confirmed what the nurse had originally told us; I'm 11 weeks along and the baby is due on August 11. He said everything looked great and scheduled me for several future appointments, including the BIG ultrasound on March 9th. Here are the two pictures we got of the little one:

The baby's head is at the bottom and you can see a little leg and tiny foot sticking out towards the top. It's hard to see in this scanned photo, but on our original you can count the 5 little toes!

This is a shot from the ribs up. Once again the baby's head is at the bottom and you can see the arm bent at the elbow with the hand towards the face.

If you want to hear more about how I told Eric, read on. . . .

On December 1st I found out I was pregnant. I wanted to tell Eric in a memorable way so I insisted that I really wanted one of my stocking stuffers early. I told him I'd give him one of his gifts in return. I opened my gift and posed for the camera, then it was his turn. I set the camera to video so I could record his response when he first saw the Texas Rangers onesie I had secretly bought. His reaction was great! Take a look:

**I apologize if the video is not working. Blogger is having issues; hopefully it will be back up and running soon!

After I showed Eric the pregnancy test he was super excited. He had to leave for work just a few minutes later, but not before telling our dog, Lucy, that she's going to be a big sister. :)

We are very excited to finally be able to share our big news with everyone! Now we just need to think of a nickname for the baby. Any suggestions?

Priceless

What kind of news could possibly elicit these reactions?

my parents

the in-laws