10 Weeks

So you are 10 weeks now! This past week was quite tiring for me. I coached volleyball in the morning and taught a summer school course in the afternoon. Needless to say I was worthless in the evenings. I guess I need to get used to it as school is starting in a few short weeks. I can hardly wait for Wednesday, August 4! This is your next doctor's appointment and we get to hear your little heartbeat again! I feel like I am starting to show a bit and have a little pooch. I call it the "phantom pooch" because it is not as visible in the mornings, but by afternoon and evening I look like I have eaten a big meal! I am so ready to have that little baby bump! Here are some things happening with you this week in your growth and development:

*you are barely the size of a kumquat

*you are little over an inch long and weigh less than a quarter of an ounce

*your swallowing fluids and kicking up a storm (Not sure if I have felt those yet)

*some of your most vital organs are in place and starting to function

*your tiny nails are forming on your fingers and toes

*you are beginning to grow peach-fuzz hair on your skin

*your limbs can bend now

*the outline of your spine is clearly visible

I still find it hard to believe that all of this is going on inside me. You truly are a miracle and we can't wait to see you at our next sonogram!

P.S. I introduced you to some of the best cheese pizza this past week from G and D's in Columbia when we went to visit your gma and gpa Thompson. YUM!!

(www.babycenter.com has more information and pictures of development at 10 weeks)

Reading, reading, and more reading

Well I definitely have enough reading material to learn all I need to know about being pregnant! Of course the pregnancy bible, What to Expect When You're Expecting, was one of the first books we bought. Although a little overwhelming at times, it has been very helpful! I thouroughly enjoyed reading Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy. Such an easy read and she doesn't sugar coat anything. A must read for any other pregnant women out there. We also bought Baby Bargains which I have yet to open due to all the anxiety it may bring. HA! It talks about all the different baby things we will need for you, from bottles to strollers. Not quite ready to open that one yet. Your dad also has some reading to do. He is not much a reader of books so I am sure sometime around the 8th month or so they will be opened! He also ordered me the Parenting magazine so I can have even more material to read! I will try and read as much as I can until your arrival. Although I have a feeling that the motto of a first time parent is "live and learn" and no matter how much I read there will always be something that I didn't know. :)

9 weeks!

Today you are about 9 weeks! I am very much looking forward to our next doctor's appointment on August 4. I can't wait to hear that little heartbeat of yours again. This week you are about the size of a grape and you weigh about a fraction of an ounce. Can you believe that? Some other things happening to you this week:

*your heart is finishing dividing into four chambers and the valves are starting to form

*your teeth are starting to form

*your organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear

*your eyes are fully formed but your eyelids will be sealed shut until around 27 weeks

*you have tiny earlobes and your mouth, nose and nostrils are more distinct

All this and you are the size of a juicy grape although you have taken on the name of "Bean." I just can't seem to call you "it" so for now you are just "Bean." :)

(I have found this wonderful website that tells you all the different things that are developing week to week with the baby. The website is http://www.babycenter.com/. Click on the pregnancy tab and then click on the week. So interesting!)

Blah, bleck, blah, ugh.

Sooo I have really been feeling all the signs and symptoms of what the lovely first trimester of pregnancy can bring. When doctors and books refer to the symptom of "morning" sickness being only in the morning, that is just ridiculous. For some maybe, but for me I have had "all day" sickness. Not so much physically getting sick (which I have a few times) but feeling like I could all day! Fun, huh? My appetite has gone out the window and if I ever have to see or taste another saltine cracker, it may be the death of me. :) Your dad has been wonderful through this whole thing. I usually can cook us some lovely meals at night and plan ahead as to what we will be having the whole week. Not now. My appetite is day to day and nothing sounds good. Here are a few things that I have found tasty while pregnant with you:


*mashed potatoes


*pizza


*peanut butter and jelly sandwiches


*Pringles


*Spaghetti O's (gourmet meal at its best)


*pasta


*chinese food (your aunt got me hooked on Pei Wei)


Are you seeing a pattern here? CARBS!!! That is all that has sounded good to me. I typically eat way healthier than this but fruit, veggies, etc. have not sounded good at all. Of course there are some things I can't eat while pregnant with you. And of course I have been craving some of these things. I can't have:


*sushi


*most fish


*lunch meat (I crave Jimmy John's ALL the time)


*caffeine (never been much of a caffeine drinker, but now I want it)


I am hoping once school starts back up the joys of the first trimester will be behind me and I will be back to eating a regular meal not loaded down with carbs. I have also been extremely tired. The kind of tired where you can fall asleep standing up. All for the best though because I know you are developing and growing each day!

Breaking the News

Your grandmas reading their poems and checking out the onesies!
Your grandpa finding out the news!

This was one of the biggest secrets we have ever had to keep. I am not a good secret keeper (I will have you talk to my friends Courtney and Kacy when you get older and they can confirm this). We gradually started telling a few people at a time because we couldn't stand it! It took everything I had not to shout, "We are having a baby!" to anyone and everyone who would listen. We really thought about how we were going to tell your grandparents and immediate family members. The creative teacher side of me came out. Since we were 99.9% sure you were conceived in Florida while on our family vacation, I decided to get some onesies to break the news. We bought each of your grandparents onesies that read, "What happens in Florida. . . doesn't always stay in Florida." (I will have your dad explain what this means to you at a much later time). I also found a really cute poem online to share the news of you. Here is the poem below:

I do not have a face to see,
Or put inside a frame.
I do not have soft cheeks to kiss,
I don’t yet have a name.
You can’t hold my tiny hands,
Nor whisper in my ear.
It’s still too soon to sing a song,
Or cuddle me so near.
But all will change come February 25th,
That’s when they say I’m due.
I’m your new grandson or granddaughter,
I can’t wait till I meet you.
All I ask between now and then,
Is your patience while I grow.
I promise I’ll be worth the wait,
Because of all the love we’ll know.
So what I have to give you now,
Is a wish to you from me.
I cannot wait to be part
Of this wonderful family!

Needless to say there were lots of tears of joy when everyone heard the news about you!

Our first doctor's appointment

This day couldn't have come sooner! We were looking forward to seeing you for the first time! Your dad took the day off work to go to our first OB appointment on Wednesday, July 7. We were not sure what to expect. On this day I found out that you were only 6 weeks and 5 days old. Less than a centimeter big!! We went into the sonogram room and couldn't believe what we saw and HEARD!! Your heartbeat! A strong 120 beats per minute. It brought tears to my eyes. Your dad really couldn't figure out how something so small could be so alive inside me. Everything checked out great and we found out that your official due date is February 25th!

And then there was three. . .

Your dad and I on the pirate cruise in Florida!

We had been trying for you for a few months now. After returning from our family vacation to Florida (you will get to go with us next year) I decided to take a pregnancy test. The exact day was Saturday, June 19. Well. . . after taking one and finding a positive result I took another. POSITIVE!! I ended up taking four, all with positive results! I just loved seeing that little + sign. :) I couldn't believe this day had arrived! Your dad wasn't at home at the time, and as soon as he got home I told him the news. "SWEET!" were his first words. The minute we found out he liked to refer to you as "Jr." :) We waited to tell anyone the news for awhile. We wanted to let the news sink in for the two of us first. Our world as we know it was about to change!!!!