About the Mommy!
Name: B
Age: 24
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
First Child: YES!

About the Daddy!
Name: A
Age: 24
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Blue
First Child: YES!

Finding Out!!
What day did you find out?: Christmas 2008
How did you feel when you found out?: Shocked (because I thought that cycle was a bust), Excited, Shocked, Excited again!
Who was with you?: Nobody knew I was testing right then, but my husband was in the next room, and my sister and BIL were staying at our house.
Who was the first person you told?: My husband! I yelled for him to come into the bathroom.
How did they react?: He was in a little bit of shock (like I said, we thought that cycle was a bust!), but grinning ear to ear and kept asking "Are you sure?" "It says PREGNANT?" "Really?" :)
How did Daddy react?: Well, I already answered that, but I can go on to say that my older sister (who is also pregnant) and BIL were staying with us that week, so I went and woke her up to show her the test and she was very excited for us as well!

Telling the Grandparents!!!
How did your parents react?: I called my mom right away and she was very happy for us, though she wanted me to verify the pregnancy with a blood test soon.
How did his parents react?: We told them 2 days after Christmas by giving them "an extra gift we found under the tree" that was 2 onesies with grandparent quotes, and a picture of the positive digital test. They said they already knew because I wasn't drinking on Christmas.. but I WAS drinking on Christmas because I didn't test until that night and thought we were out of luck that cycle. It was funny.
Are they helping with baby names?: Not really.. A and I wanted to make that decision ourselves.
Have they bought anything for the baby yet?: My mom has offered to buy all the furniture for the nursery, but we haven't ordered it yet. A's mom bought me a maternity outfit and a set of onesies/pants that say "Daddy loves me".
How often do they call to check on you?: A's parents ask about every week or so, I see my mom everyday so she just gets daily updates.

About the Pregnancy!!!
When was your first appointment?: First ACTUAL appt was Jan 27.. but I had already seen my OB several times before then for Hyperemesis and had already been hospitalized in labor & delivery twice by that point.
When is your due date?: Sept 1
How far along are you?: 18 weeks 5 days
Pre-pregnancy weight?: 135ish
Weight now?: 140ish
Have you had any ultrasounds?: I have had 4 so far: One in the hospital at (what we thought was) 8ish weeks, one at my OB's the very next day to verify what the hospital saw (we were then bumped up to 9weeks), the NT Scan at 13 weeks, and the big anatomy scan at 18w2d. We will have another u/s at 22w3d.
Have you heard the heartbeat?: Three times via ultrasound and once via doppler.
What was the heartbeat?: The first 2 u/s showed HB in the 170s, NT Scan showed 140's, Anatomy scan showed high 130's.

Sex of the baby!!
Are you finding out or will you wait until birth?: We found out at our anatomy scan.
What do you want?: Neither one of us "wanted" either sex, just a healthy baby.
What does Daddy want?: See above, but he always said he had a feeling it was a girl.
What do you think you are having?: I always thought it was a boy.
Have you had your big ultrasound yet?: Yes, at 18w2d!
If so, what are you having?: A BEAUTIFUL, HEALTHY GIRL!
Are you and Daddy happy with what you are having?: We are thrilled, really couldn't be happier!!!

About the birth!!
Do you know what you are taking with you?: To the hospital? My husband, my laptop, my camera, my bag..?
Who is going to be with you?: My husband will likely be the only one in the room, if my friend K (who is due the same day!) hasn't had her baby yet, she may take birth photos for us.
Are you going to videotape it?: Nope, but I hope to have photos taken of the process. (None below the belt though!)
Natural or Medicated?: I go back and forth on this.. I want to say natural, but I am not opposed to getting an epidural if I feel like I need to.
Do you think you will need a c-section?: I don't think so, and I'll hope not. My mom delivered 4 babies naturally, no drugs or anything.. my MIL delivered 4 babies naturally, my 2 SILs had wonderful birth experience with their 4 kids, and my sister had a wonderful birth as well. If genetics has anything to do with it (I know, every woman is different!), than odds are in our favor that all will be well.
Will you cry when you hold your baby for the first time?: I guarantee it!
Do you think Daddy will cry?: Yes. I think so.
Do you know what you will say to the baby when you first hold him/her?: I haven't really scripted anything..haha.. but I'm sure we'll both be in a state of shock and just tell her how much we love her.
Are you scared about the labor?: Sometimes, I worry about the pain and how well I will tolerate it, other times I am very confident in my body's ability to handle the birth.

Names!!
Do you have a name picked out?: Yep.
Girl names: Camryn Louise
Boy names: Would have been Landon Michael.
Is your baby going to be named after someone?: Middle names are passed on from me and A (per family tradition), first names are not after anyone.

Other Random Questions!!
Have you felt the baby move?: Yep!
What race(s) will your baby be? From you and Daddy?: We are both as white as they come.
What was your first symptom?: Sore breasts, quickly followed by extreme nausea and vomiting.
Will your baby have God-Parents?: I don't know yet...
What is the baby's room theme?: Just Pink and Brown polka dots.
What was the first thing you bought for the baby?: Before we were pregnant, we already had a couple cloth diapers, a Moby Wrap, and a diaper bag (all from clearance sales or Mama Bargains). Since getting PG, we bought a few outfits for both genders, and since finding out she's a she, we've bought 4 more girly outfits.
Will you cloth diaper?: That's the plan.
BFing or Formula?: I hope to be able to BF, but I will not beat myself up over it if we need to switch to or supplement with formula.
What is your favorite pregnancy book?: What to Expect When You're Expecting has been fun to read, and Baby Bargains (not really a pregnancy book) has been a big help!
What do you look forward to doing again once you are no longer pregnant?: Eating without having to worry about getting sick! Shopping without having to sit down because I may pass out. Drinking Wine. Sleeping more then 2-3 hours at a time (though I know that still won't happen for a while). Wearing jeans that actually have buttons and zippers.
What physical features do you hope baby will get from Daddy?: His gorgeous blue eyes, and straight teeth.
What physical features do you hope baby will get from you?: I haven't given that one as much thought...
Is he ready to be a Daddy?: Yes, he is! :)
Are you ready to be a Mommy?: Absolutely.

We're seeing PINK! Everywhere. Already.

We decided on crib bedding. And I looooove it. It is so simple, and so pretty. Camryn will love it! :)

I can't seem to add a photo for some reason, so here is a link.

We are only getting the bed set, and the blanket. We will be making our own lamp shade and valance (because I didn't care for the ones they offered), and we are skipping the diaper stacker, mobile, and wall hangings.

I know a lot of people feel like bed sets are unnecessary because they feel you don't use the comforter and bumper. Well, folks, we will be using both of those items. The comforter will be draped over our glider and we will use the bumpers until Baby Camryn is standing up in the crib. Terrible parents, I know. 

After deciding on the bedding, we also decided on how to complete the painting in the nursery. Over the crib, we will paint a pink block and add the brown scalloped border to match the bedding. In the middle of that block we will put our vinyl wall words, "I love to watch you laugh & smile.. I love to watch you dream." That is a lyric from one of our favorite songs by Wade Bowen. :) Around the rest of the walls in the room, we will paint a horizontal pink stripe. I can't wait to see it all come together!!! 

This is what I've been waiting for.. forward momentum!! Now we can shop with a purpose.. that purpose being our precious daughter. We aren't just aimlessly perusing baby websites and stores anymore, we are planning and preparing for the arrival of our princess Camy. 

Feels good. :)

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!

So today was our big anatomy scan, and Mommy was wrong... We're having a girl. I don't know how I feel about my "mother's intuition" failing me so soon, but Daddy sure was proud he got it right! He's known from Day One we had a Little Miss in there.. and right he was! 

Our precious baby girl was bashful (and lazy) at first.. and wouldn't let us get a peek at the goods in the beginning. So the ultrasound tech, who we both love, said she'd get all the measurements first and try to wake her up in the process.... but Little Miss just wouldn't have it. She was comfy just how she was, and she wasn't going to budge! It took some serious poking and shaking and Mommy coughing and pleading to get her to twist a little bit.. but even then, we only got a shot of her little baby bum. 

Just as the tech was starting to apologize and say "I hate to send you home not knowing what we've got here..." Little Miss turned just enough to flash us the money shot! 

She was most definitely a SHE! Apparently she didn't want us leaving that room doubting her femininity! Thank you for that, Baby Girl. Now there is no question about what you've got going on, and Mommy and Daddy are thrilled to bits!! 

After she finally turned, the tech took a few more minutes taking pictures of our baby's sweet little face (she was finally giving us a good profile shot as opposed to the alien frontal view!), and about that time she put her hand up on her forehead. The tech pointed out, "Look! She's sitting just like her Mommy is now!" because I too had my hand up on my head. It was really ironic timing, but really funny! Like Mommy, Like Daughter! 

Apparently she sleeps in the same position as me too, knees curled in to her chest and one arm straight up under her head... that's how she spent the first 20 minutes of the ultrasound, and that is how Mommy loves to curl up! 

After lots of debate on girl names over the last few months, we finally decided on a name - last night! 

Our precious angel will be Camryn Louise. Camy. Camy Lou. We're in love. 

For the last couple weeks, our plan has been to reveal the gender to our families on Easter by making gender-themed Easter baskets and including a framed ultrasound picture. However, as soon as we knew we had a baby girl squirming in there, we were just busting at the seams with excitement and wanted to tell the world NOW. So we headed right to Target and got what we needed to make a girly Easter basket: pretty white wooden basket with pink and green cloth lining, pink grass, a little stuffed bunny with pink ears, a bag of pink Hershey Kisses and a pink polka dotted frame. We rushed home, printed off a copy of the ultrasound, assembled the basket and headed to find A's parents. We couldn't wait to share the news, and loved seeing the excitement on his mom's face (his dad was in a meeting at the time). As soon as I stepped out of the car with the basket she yelled "A GIRL?!?!" and just giggled. It was so cute. They already have one 6 year old granddaughter on that side, but she was followed by 3 grandsons in a row - so everyone is excited to have another girl in the mix!

My mom knew about our appointment this afternoon, and not 5 minutes after we walked out of the doctor's office, she was already calling my cell to ask. At first I told her she would just have to wait until we got over there to tell her in person, but she would't have it... she was really trying to get me to tell her on the phone and tried giving me some sob story about not feeling well and needing to go to bed, not being able to stay awake and wait for us.. please, B, just tell your mother what you're having so she can do a happy dance and go to bed a happy Nona! She knows I have about.this.much will-power with exciting secrets such as this... and she's right.. so I spilled it on the phone. She was just as excited, and even though I wish we could have told her in person, it was still fun to hear her gush about having another granddaughter! :)

I'm so relieved that all went well today. That our sweet baby girl is measuring perfectly and all her organs are right where they should be, doing what they should be doing. The only things we need a better look at are her heart (we saw all 4 chambers, but couldn't get a good measurement the way she was laying) and the end of her spine (because of the way she was curled into a ball). So we get to have another peek at our princess in 4 weeks to try again. I can't wait to visit with her again, and to see how much she grows between then and now! Its amazing to me that at our first official ultrasound, at 9 weeks, she was 2.32 cm. At our 13 week ultrasound she was 7.37 cm and today she was 16 cm!!! She more than doubled in size, head to rump, in 5 short weeks. What will she measure next time??

We were given a DVD of this ultrasound and haven't had a chance to watch it yet.. its on the agenda for tomorrow and I can't wait to see her again. I love having the printed pictures of her to stare at everyday, but I am so excited to get to see her wiggle whenever I feel the need to. I get to see her squirm in protest to the ultrasound tech trying to wake her up, I get to see her put her hand up by her sweet little head, I get to see her open her palm wide open to wave at us, I get to see her cute little baby b

um - I just love getting to see her!!! 

Do you want to see her? Here are the pics we came home with today:

Here is the obligatory alienlike frontal face shot, with her big round belly

Here's a closer look at the front of her face (a little creepy, eh?)

Here she is with her hand by her head.. Hi Mommy and Daddy!!

Check out this wide open hand, and all 5 beautiful fingers!!

That's her beautiful profile, curled up with her knee at her chest.. comfy!

Another shot of her precious profile and her knee curled up!

And the only shot we could get of her girly bits. 

(It was easier to see the 3 lines in real time.. 

trust me, they're there!)

Isn't she just the prettiest thing you ever did see?

We love you Baby Camryn!

PS: Here is the Easter Basket we gave to the grandparents (A's Side)

Hi Daddy!

Sweet Poppy, I am so excited to see you in a couple days! I really cannot wait!! A tiny little part of me is sad that you will lose the nickname we've come to love, because we can then start calling you by your real name... but that's okay. I'll be thrilled to know what to really call you, and thrilled to be able to move forward with our preparations for you! :)

As of yesterday, your little flutters and tickles and movements have progressed to pokes or jabs or kicks. Instead of a little tickle or a funny shifting feeling.. I can feel a quick jab here, and poke there and I LOVE IT! Last night, after eating a big bowl of oatmeal with quite a bit of brown sugar on it, you got to kicking me like crazy! At one point I put my hand on my belly just hoping I'd be able to feel you on the outside and share this with your daddy, and I could!!! You kicked my fingers!!! Daddy rushed over and put his hand on my belly, then you got stage fright. Daddy gave up after a couple minutes and went back in the kitchen, and not 20 seconds later you started poking me again.. Daddy ran back and waiting again. Nothing. Finally, he just sat down next to me and held his hand there, and when I kinda pressed his hand down a little harder, you poked him!!! He got all wide-eyed and asked if that was you or me (your daddy is silly like that sometimes) and when I told him it was you, I could tell he was so proud. I am so glad you finally invited your daddy in on this adventure! I can't wait til we both can feel you everyday. I haven't felt you poking around yet today (but I have been really busy with your cousin), so I am about to eat something sweet to see if I can get ya dancin' in there! :)

We love you baby. Happy 18 weeks in there. 

See you in just a couple days, love bug. 

17 weeks, 1 day

Isn't that crazy? I remember when saying "7 weeks" sounded like a big deal! Saying 17 weeks makes me sound so... pregnant! :)

The most exciting update I have to share is that I can now sporadically feel Poppy wiggling around. I say wiggling around, but really it just feels like I'm being flicked from time to time. The first movement I felt was last Monday (right around 16 weeks) while I was sitting on the couch, hunched over the laptop. I felt what I thought must be the "flutters" everyone talks about and it definitely made me stop what I was doing and stare at my bellly, willing Poppy to move again. After a minute I felt it again... and a few minutes later I felt it one more time. It was so strange, but so exciting, and its hard to describe the feeling. I get why people say "flutters", but I don't feel like that accurately describes the sensation.. I felt like I was being tickled with a feather duster for a second. It didn't feel like a kick or punch, it didn't feel like bubbles popping, it didn't feel like a lava lamp (as I've heard these first movements described)... it was just a quick, fluttery tickle with a feather duster that wasn't soon followed by gas - so we were convinced it was Poppy letting his existence be known in a way that doesn't involve me perched on the bathroom floor, finally! Yay!

I didn't feel any other definitive movement again until Saturday, when I was laying in bed reading at my sister's house. I had just downed a glass of Pineapple-Orange-Banana juice and I guess Poppy was on a bit of a sugar high. I was feeling pokes and tickles and movement for a good 15 minutes. I was convinced A would be able to feel from the outside so I called him in there, but sadly he could not. He looked like he had really gotten his hopes up about it, and then when I told him Poppy wasn't moving anymore - he looked pretty disappointed. But this is about the time my BIL could feel movements with their baby, so I keep telling A it will happen soon!

Then the last time I felt Poppy move around was last night as I was making some envelopes for my sister's baby shower invitations... either Poppy really likes Arby's Roast Beef Sandwiches, or he really doesn't like it when I lean against my craft tables for hours at a time. I don't know if I should tell him 'I'm Sorry' or 'You're Welcome'.. but I do know I so enjoyed feeling him wiggle. And I really hope I soon start feeling him on a regular basis.. not only when I sit just right or consume crazy amounts of sugary beverages. 

In other (not-at-all-exciting) news, we are very impatiently waiting for some blood work results to come in! Last Thursday I was informed by my previous employer that one of the twins had just been diagnosed with Fifth's Disease, and that the first question from their pediatrician was if G had been around any pregnant women. She had in fact.. me! I had just kept them that Saturday afternoon/evening. I was told to promptly call my OB and tell them I was exposed, so I did. My OB wanted me to come in immediately for a blood test to detect whether or not I am already immune, and whether or not I've been infected. Apparently if you are before 20 weeks pregnant, you and baby are at a much greater risk of not only being infected with the disease, but also suffering what can be very severe complications (ie, fetal heart failure). I was told that if I came back positive for Fifth's Disease, I would be referred to a perinatologist for close monitoring for the duration of the pregnancy. Of course, all the information I was given sent me into total panic mode.. but a lovely woman on my local baby message board told me that even if I was infected, there was only about a 30% chance the fetus would be infected as well. So that's a 70% chance that IF I got the disease, the baby would be perfectly fine. I was also told by the lab tech that most adults are immune from prior exposure and don't even know it... so we are really hoping I am immune! And if not, we are going to pray that Poppy is in that strong 70% category! 

I had the blood test on Thursday and was told to expect the results Monday -- here it is WEDNESDAY and they still don't have my results in. I have called twice this week with no luck, and if I don't find out by tomorrow, someone will get an earful from this worried, pregnant mama!!! 

I'd like to end this on a happy note - so for one, I made a huge online order for some Old Navy Maternity clothes! Can't wait for that glorious package to arrive. And lastly, we find out if Poppy is a Landon or an Emmeline one week from tomorrow!!! YAY!!!

Lots of Baby Progress, baby.

Well Poppy.. you've been at it again. Making Mommy sick. 

I struggled through the week, feeling nauseous every day but managing to breathe through it and convince myself I-Would-Not-Get-Sick-Again. Then it hit me today... and hard. 

I don't know if I let myself get a little dehydrated during the week, or if I ate something that just set off my tummy... but today has been awful.

I feel okay right now, but certainly don't feel like tackling the endless list of to-do's we've created for ourselves by me being lazy and nauseous all week long. 

Guess the laundry can wait yet another day. Its not like I fit into anything anymore, anyway.

Today was a particularly bad day for me to get sick. 

Yesterday would have been okay  - I didn't have any real obligations.

But today we had a Cloth Diaper Consult scheduled with the amazing owner of diaperlicious.com (Mar). 

I managed to make it through the consult, but  not without needing to sit down a few times and not without 2 instances where I really thought I was going to pass out. Both times my heart started racing, my hearing got a little fuzzy, and I broke into a sweat - but I didn't want to make a scene and I really wanted to learn about the cloth diapers, so I didn't say a word other than "I'm going to sit down for a minute, keep going...". 

I survived though, and walked away with a wealth of knowledge on this whole CD concept. 

I'm really glad I made myself go to the appointment, and I am so glad Mar is such a CD Genius!!

So, that's a step in the right direction for planning for Poppy - getting an idea on where to start with his/her little heiny.

Some other exciting baby progress is the nursery. We are finally (fiiiiinally) done with the brown paint and white chair rail. It looks GREAT, if I do say so myself. And I think this is the first painting project with Andy and I (between our 4 residences and many painting adventures) that didn't end in disaster AND didn't involve and whining and complaining about how much we both hate to paint. 

For some reason, knowing that we were painting to prepare a special room for our long-prayed-for baby made a world of difference. We worked together (where as I usually try to weasel out of painting!) and we had such a good time. We talked about where the crib will go ("honey, our little babe will be sleeping right here by Christmas!!") and where the rocker go ("Babe, can you imagine sitting in this corner reading Landon/Emmeline a story or rocking him/her to sleep?"), where the dresser will go, how we will decorate the walls, etc. It was really a great experience. I loved seeing Andy take so much pride in his work, and hearing him talk about what lies ahead. :)

This picture was taken before the chair rail was painted white.. here it just has primer. It stands out much more now, really pops beautifully against the brown. :)

All we need now is to know if we are growing a Landon or an Emmeline.. then we can keep trucking on with the nursery setup. Bedding is picked for either/or, furniture is picked, decor is decided on - we are just in a holding pattern until April 2nd when we should be able to get a peek at the goods!! I cannot wait!!!

And the last bit of progress to report is the growth of Mommy's belly. 

Eek. 15w4d belly. 

This was during the painting adventure.. ie, no shower yet for the day, and no makeup - hence the below-the-shoulder shot!!!

We love you Poppy, more and more each day. Can't wait to visit with you in 18 short days!!!

Post 2 of 2...

Oh, sweet Poppy.. I love getting to hear your heart beating. 

I don't know why I still become a ball of nerves before each of my appointments, but I do.. and every time I get to hear or see your healthy little heart beating away, all those nerves are washed away. 

Today we heard your heart on the doppler for the first time, as opposed to on the ultrasound. While I certainly miss getting to actually hear and see it beating, it was reassuring none the less when she put that doppler to my tummy and found you right away!

The doctor showed us your NT Scan results, and I was (we were) so happy to learn that you are as healthy as we have hoped! She showed us where your risk was without the scan, and just how far down your risk was after we learned your NT measurements and checked Mommy's blood! You now have less than a 1 in 10,000 chance for Downs or Trisomy 13 or 18. We are so happy, Poppy.. really, over the moon! Those results are just what we have been praying for!!

The best part of the day, though, was getting to schedule our anatomy scan. Me and Daddy are so eager to know more about you (mainly whether you're a Landon or an Emmaline!!), so we can't wait until April 2nd when we get to see you again!  I hope you decide to wake up for us that day, and wiggle around enough for the tech to get some great pictures of you! Do us that favor, okay baby, and cooperate for just that hour! :) 

In other pregnancy news, Mommy is back up to her pre-PG weight, which is great! I lost 18 pounds during that few weeks when I thought you must hate me, Poppy.. but luckily you've changed your mind since then and now allow me to eat! 

Daddy was sad to miss this appointment, even though it was pretty anticlimactic compared to the last few. But he can't wait til April 2nd - he's already requested the afternoon off to spend it with you!

Hope you're cozy in there sweet Poppy, and developing well!

We love you very, very much. 

Can't wait to see you again, sweet baby.

Kisses from Mommy! (and Daddy, too!)

Interesting...

I have an OB appt later this morning, so this may be a 2-post-day. Brace yourselves. 

I keep seeing these "birth horoscopes" floating around the boards, so I finally answered the questions myself to see what mine would say...

Here it is folks... 

"The day you deliver, outside will be foggy. Your baby will arrive in the mid morning. After a labor lasting approximately 25 hours, your child, a boy, will be born. Your baby will weigh about 9 pounds, 14 ounces, and will be 18-1/2 inches long. This child will have medium amber eyes and a lot of auburn hair. "

WOW. 

Um, 25 hours of labor? My SIL delivered her first baby in 3 hours, start to finish, water breaking to delivery.. 3 hours. According to this horoscope, I won't be so lucky.

A boy? YAY! (Note: I would have the same reaction to see "a girl".. but I have had a feeling its a boy, so thats fun to see!)

9 pounds 14 ounces... sweet mother of pearl, thats a big baby. My niece was 9lbs11oz, and I know my mom delivered 4 rather large babies.. so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. And lets not forget, Poppy has already proven to be an over-achiever. 

Amber eyes.. very possible. Auburn hair.. very possible.

Guess we'll see in about 6 months just how accurate this online clairvoyant was/is.

NT Scan Update...

After a little scheduling drama, we had to bump our appointment from Tuesday morning to Wednesday afternoon. I was a little bummed about it because I had literally been counting down the days/hours for 4 weeks. But everything worked out, and I only had to wait one extra day. I survived, believe it or not. ;)

The scan was wonderful. Poppy slept the entire time, only moving in protest to being prodded by the tech. But it was still absolutely amazing to see how much s/he has grown in just 4 short weeks. Not only grown lenth-wise, but developed into an actual little person! S/he went from 2.32 cm at our 9wk scan to 7.37 cm yesterday!! And from looking like a kidney bean with tiny waving arm and leg buds, to a PERSON. A little tiny baby.. with long legs and arms with elbows and hands and fingers. We could see his/her toes, the profile of his/her sweet face, with that cute little nose. We could the spine and the brain and the stomach, and of course that miraculous little flicker of the heartbeat. It was just incredible.
What was funny was that this little baby of ours slept completely stretched out the entire time - legs extended, feet crossed (just how his mommy likes to sleep, FYI!). The tech mentioned that we will be in trouble if this baby always likes to kick back that way.. I can't imagine what that will be like when s/he's running out of room in there and attempting to sprawl out that way! Yikes!
Towards the end of the scan, it looked like Poppy was stretching his hands out for a minute - but I like to think he was waving at us!
His/her heartbeat was a little lower this time (though still completely normal). It was in the 170s for our first 2 ultrasounds around 9 weeks, but yesterday it was in the 140s. Perhaps my ease in saying he/him all this time actually means something, if you go by that old wive's tale about heartbeats and gender (above 150 = girl, below = boy).

In other news, Mommy had been feeling phenomenal for a couple weeks. I was able to eat (mostly) normal foods, acutally get up and get ready in the mornings, get out and about from time to time.. it was great. Then I woke up yesterday sick again, out of nowhere. It was very disappointing to go from thinking we were beyond that yuck-stage, to dashing to the bathroom once again - but today is going much better so maybe yesterday was a fluke?

Poppy, it was so wonderful to "visit" with you yesterday. Me and Daddy were talking about you all afternoon/evening and we are so so grateful to know you are still thriving in there. We love you so much and can't wait for all the exciting things to come in the next few months/weeks/forever.

13w2d

What was I afraid of?

Maternity Pants are wonderful!!!

I was so dreading shopping in the maternity section. I tried both "the rubber band trick" and using a Bella Band in order to cling to my final days of pre-pregnancy pants. That worked for a solid, oh, 4 days. 

I wasn't so much a fan of the rubber band trick... cuz this mama has to pee all.the.time and I got sick of wrestling with the rubber band around my button each time nature called! I loved wearing the Bella Band, even though it did feel a little funny at first walking around knowing my pants were not buttoned. Eek. The only downside of the Bella Band was that I ordered one in brown.. and not many things I wear to work matched it. Oh well.. I'm a nanny. I am judged by 2 year olds all day, who really could care less if my "under shirt" matches my tee-shirt. Thank goodness!

However, by the end of this week, my tricks just weren't cutting it. 

I had to do it.. I had to give in a invest in some maternity pants.

This early in the game, I didn't want to spend a small fortune on clothes I may only wear a couple months, so A and I headed to Target. I was surprised with their selection, as I've heard mostly negative reviews.. and we went home with 2 pairs of capris: one denim, one khaki. 

Today was day one in the new pants, and man oh man - they are soooo comfortable!!!!

Why was I afraid of this? This is awesome!! 

And much to my surprise, they don't even look very "maternity"-y. :)

As if this admission didn't spell it out clearly enough.. Poppy is definitely becoming more and more obvious around my middle these days. And I really have a hard time convincing myself its just bloat.. its there all the time, morning - noon - night. No matter what I eat, how often I use the restroom, how much water I drink..  there's no mistaking it, I have a belly. 

At just over 12 weeks. I never would have guessed it would start popping out this soon! 

But I guess thats what I get for not working on my abs for the last, um, 3 years. :::blushes::: Nothing to hold me in, I guess. ;)

As far as our dreadful morning sickness goes, I am now going on a week and a half vomit-free. 

Hallelujah!!!!!!

I still take my meds like clockwork, and I'm still afraid not to.. but I have been eating much more, and feeling pretty good throughout the day. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you Poppy!!!

I am so glad I can now just focus on our little babe in there, and enjoying this pregnancy.. rather than always mentally noting where the nearest toilet or trash can is!

This side of pregnancy is much more pleasant!!! :)

We see Poppy again in 4 days and we can-not-wait!!!!

Hope all is well out there with everyone.

Love you Poppy-Babe! :)

12w3d