And we have a name...

I edited my first post from today, I don't want to spoil it here for those who haven't had a chance to read the rest.

It's a beautiful, healthy...

...baby GIRL! We are so thrilled to know that we are going to be bringing a sweet daughter into the world in just a few months. She is doing well; her organs are all where they should be, her heart is beating away at 145 BPM and her estimated weight right now is 14 ounces, which puts her right on target growth-wise. We are going to name her Kayla Anne.

The sonographer started out by getting shots of her head and face, measuring the placenta and the fluid around the baby and measuring her head. She even looked at her brain. Then she went to look at her heart, and Kayla "started to wake up." We got to see/hear the heartbeat, which is always a wonderful sound, no matter how often I hear it. By this time she was up and moving around, and starting to irritate our sonographer a little bit as she tried to get pictures of her major organs. Then finally she went for what we were really there to see. Even she was surprised to see a girl in there! According to her, she rarely sees girls as active as our little one is. Finally she just needed to examine her spine, which was a major feat. I had to roll on my side, cough, roll back onto my back and cough again just to try to convince her to wriggle into the right spot. Then Kayla wouldn't lay still long enough for her to get the pictures she needed! It was a little bit funny.

Bottom line though, is that everything looks good and our little girl appears to be healthy. I was once again amazed at how much she moves around. I feel her pretty often now, but watching her kick on the monitor and NOT feeling it made me realize that I'm in for quite a ride when she starts running out of room in there.

I didn't imagine that I could love this baby any more than I did when I found out I was pregnant, but I already do. I can't wait for her to be born so I can tell her how very much she is loved and how happy I am that she's my daughter. (The meaning of Kayla is "pure and beloved." I can't imagine a more appropriate name for her.)

20W5D

PS - we pick up our new car tomorrow!

Half way there...

So Saturday marked 20 weeks, or the half way point in my pregnancy. It's still so hard to believe that this is really happening some days. I'm still feeling the whole gamut of emotions; joy, elation, anticipation, fear, anxiousness. There is still so much left to do, and I already feel like I'm running out of time to do it! The compulsive planner in me wants to have everything already in the room, washed, organized, put away, powered up and ready to go. Then again, if that were the case, what in the world would I do for the next 4 1/2 months? I'd continue to go crazy wanting to do more stuff, just as I am now most likely.

This weekend was another busy one; we like to pack as much as we can into our days off. Saturday I went and bought myself a second pair of jeans, a new cookbook on "Once a Month Cooking" (full of recipes that freeze well so I can have home made meals at hand all the time, even when I'm too tired or busy to cook) and a car. Well, the car is more for Shaun, and we haven't actually bought it yet, but it should come in sometime this week.

In reading over other people's thoughts on baby seats and travel systems, I found a lot of forum posts complaining of the seats being too large to fit in the back seat of coupes. Since Shaun's coupe is 11 years old and feels like it could be on its last leg anyway, we decided now was as good a time as any to trade it in. SO - later on this week we should be driving off the lot in our brand new 2009 Ford Focus sedan. My review of the brief test drive we took is the same as many you'll find on the internet or in magazines. It's a typical, boring American car, but it has plenty of pep, lots of great gadgets for the price (including the SYNC system for the iPod and Bluetooth connectivity to our cell phone(s), a power moon roof, ambient lighting inside and we'll get 6 months of Sirius satellite radio for free) and is backed by a reliable name in an industry with an uncertain future. I can't argue with a dealership that will give us free state safety inspections for life, and every fifth oil change for free either. It will look pretty much just like this:

We did some more clothes shopping with Shaun's parents on Sunday; his mom felt like she needed to buy me some more clothes for work, and who am I to argue? I got two dresses and two more shirts. That ought to hold me for a while. I just hope it starts to warm up soon so I can wear the dresses without freezing to death when I walk out the front door in the morning.

Anyway, I suppose that's all that's new and exciting for right now. I'm trying not to hold my breath for the next three days until we get to see the grapefruit baby again, and hopefully get to see the sex. Of course, there will be a big update after that appointment. Until then...

20W2D

Mango Baby has a place to sleep

So here we are, 19 weeks plus down, just under 21 to go. It's hard to believe that pretty soon more time will have elapsed in my pregnancy than we'll have to go until the baby arrives. It's also really thrilling; I still have nearly 5 months to go and I'm jumping out of my skin to meet the little one. I am so impatient!

This long weekend was pretty good for the new family. We had a nice Valentine's day dinner at Iron Hill, even though Shaun was still dealing with the cold that I passed on to him. We spent a lot of time relaxing and just hanging out watching movies, but Monday we made a trip to Babies R Us to find that our crib had arrived for us to take home.

So, now thanks to my in-laws and my parents, we have a crib and a glider in the nursery. The dresser/changing table should arrive in a week or so, and we'll have a completely furnished room. It's amazing to see it coming together, and I'm so thankful for the help and support of our families. More than anything, I'm really glad that we're able to get this done now while I still have some energy to help get everything put together. (It's also nice to have something to occupy my mind while waiting for the big day next Wednesday.)

Here's the little mango's room with the furniture so far...

19W2D

18 week appointment

Last night's appointment went pretty well. My weight is still climbing at a pretty good rate, and my blood pressure was up a bit again, but neither the nurse nor the midwife said anything about it to me. I guess I'm OK.

The baby's heartbeat is strong, "in the 140's" according to the midwife. She couldn't get a reading for more than a few seconds this time, since the baby was much more active than last time around. Every time she got the heart beat, the little stinker would move and she'd lose it.

I made my 22 week appointment, so I guess there wasn't much else to say! I'm feeling more regular movement out of the little one, and I feel good. For now, that's my biggest focus. As long as I feel OK, I am going to trust that everything else is happening as it should.

Now if I can just make it through the next 2 weeks without losing my mind wondering...

18W5D

Is cold season over yet?

So here I sit, in the midst of my second cold in as many months. How I manage to come down with this crap whenever a special occasion is approaching is beyond me... but somehow I do. At least it wasn't the flu. I didn't want to hear "I told you so" from the masses who told me I needed to get a flu shot this year, which I resisted.

Besides wanting to just lay on the couch and wish for death, we had a pretty good weekend. Shaun's birthday gift (a Logitech universal remote) arrived and is now set up and working great. I love that I can sit down in the living room and push one button and the system will set itself up for me to watch a DVD. No more fussing around with 3 different remotes and figuring out which input I need to change where first. Saturday we went to Babies R Us with Shaun's parents to get our crib, and ended up having to order it. Why in the world they wouldn't stock even one of these things is beyond me, but OK. Whatever. We'll be going back to pick that up when it arrives in 7 - 14 days. The mattress is already sitting in the room and waiting. I'm so beyond excited to get some more "stuff" in that room. Right now it looks so nice, but so bare. Like we just decided to paint an empty room for something to do.

Saturday night's dinner at the Accomac was also fantastic. I wish I could have tasted a bit more of it, but what I could taste was excellent. Shaun seemed to enjoy his as well. Our desserts were especially good - I had cherries and almonds jubilee, flambeed tableside and served with vanilla ice cream and white chocolate mousse. It was amazing. Shaun had Bananas Foster, also flambeed tableside. If nothing else, it was a neat experience. I don't think we'll rush back there any time soon, but it was fun.

Besides the cold, the sweet potato and I are doing well. The baby is definitely growing and starting to push all my insides around. I could really feel the decreased stomach capacity on Saturday. I have never gotten full on fine dining, but I wasn't sure I was going to be able to manage dessert Saturday night. I'm also back to running to the bathroom all the time; as I've been telling everyone, it's as though the baby has found my bladder and thinks it's a really awesome waterbed. I'm sure it seems like a good idea from in there.

I see a midwife this Wednesday, so I will check in again after that appointment... then the count down is only 2 weeks until we get to see the baby again! I can't wait.

18W2D

Pics Album

I question my good judgment in sharing this, but I have now set up an album for all of our pregnancy related pics, including my belly shots to date. No fat jokes please...

Clicky Here for Pictures!

Busy weekend

After Friday's excitement, it seems a bit unjust that I really have no news to post today. We were pretty busy this weekend with hanging our new bedroom TV and spending time with our friends for the big game. The back pain is starting to set in here though, so I'll likely be doing less in the not so distant future.

I have felt a few more tweaks coming from the little stinker, but nothing quite as strong as Friday. I think the coffee I had that morning got him/her moving. I'm tempted to try that again, but I don't want to get back into old habits now. For today, I am sticking with my green tea, and I will have coffee again on Friday morning, like I normally do.

Again, there isn't much else going on other than counting down to the upcoming appointments. With the plans we have for the next two weekends, it should go quickly. Shaun's birthday is this Saturday, so we are going to the Accomac Inn for dinner that evening. He has been dying to go somewhere that makes real Banannas Foster for dessert, and I finally found a place! The following Saturday, we'll be having our Valentine's Day dinner at Iron Hill. I figured something a little more casual was in order for this year. Now to figure out gifts... I hate this time of year sometimes. ;-)

17W2D