Merry Christmas!

Hi to all!

This will probably be a final blog before we start our journey to GA.

I got some good news today...I received A's in both of my classes. I am so glad they are both over!! Not the most fun semester. Now, I get to enjoy being pregnant, working on the nursery and other things that need to get done and not feel guilty about not reading my MKT or ECON books. yay!

So, Sunday we start our 3 day trip to GA. I am super excited about seeing my Grandad and Kathy and Jon Sunday night and about spending Christmas in Dublin. I haven't seen my parents or my brother since I've been pregnant and am looking forward to seeing them. I have a hunch that I'm going to cry when I see them because I have found that the fun holiday emotions topped with pregnancy hormones are making me very sentimental. I may just be a blubbering mess the entire holiday season. You'll look at photos and think "Why does Lauren look red, blotchy, and swollen in every photo?" The answer- she was a happy, pregnant, blubbering mess. Anyway, I digress...
I have to admit I'm a little anxious about trip. I wish we could go from Fort Worth on Sunday to Dublin on Monday without having the 20+ hrs of driving. Someone please invent a speedy travel doodad so I can make that possible- ha! The reason I'm anxious about the trip is staying comfortable and hydrated without having to stop every 1/2 hour or so. Keep your fingers crossed that my bladder and Mike's sanity survive the trip! Duncan's sanity too- luckily he loves the car, but 3 days is a long time!

I will do my best to try to keep you posted as the holiday progresses.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!

21 weeks

Tomorrow I will be 21 weeks. My belly is definitely sticking out though some people say they wouldn't know if they didn't know I was pregnant. I don't mind, I know, and I love feeling the baby move all the time. It has been quite a quick change. Last week regular pants fit, this week, they don't. Belly has gotten too big! :)
So, the fun news about the baby is that his taste buds are developed and studies have shown that he tastes the food I eat through the amniotic fluid and will like foods that I expose him to. So, good thing I ate Indian food Saturday night, got to start em young! :)
Tomorrow Mike leaves for AGU in San Fran. He'll be back Saturday, just in time for us to leave for GA on Sunday. Peanut and I will miss him!

20 weeks- the baby's sex

Today I'm 20 weeks. I have a belly that sticks out enough that people notice and I'm feeling pretty good. I have taken 18 week and 20 week photos, but can't seem to download them on to our new computer. I'm hoping that I'll figure out soon.

This morning I had to wake up early to take a final exam for my managment class. I think I did ok, but I have to be honest, my mind wasn't really on the exam. It was on 2pm when I would be in the sonogram room seeing our baby. So, I'll skip ahead to the appointment.

Sonogram went really well. The baby weighed 1 pound, had a heart rate of 141 bpm, and looked beautiful. The size of the baby actually made the sonogram lady and the doctor second guess my due date. They were thinking about moving it up a week, but then decided that the date of April 27th is good and probably the most accurate. The baby moved quite a bit in the end and I think it had a good time showing off for us. We got to see all external and internal organs including the 4 chambered heart, kidneys, bladder, brain, etc. It also moved so we could get a cute photo of its ear. One of my favorite parts was that the baby had a nice big, round belly. I smile just thinking about tickling that belly!

In additon to seeing everything, we got to hear the heartbeat again which sounded strong. We also got to hear it have the hiccups which was very high pitched and cute. I could not feel the hiccups, but know I will be able to feel them soon enough. After the sonogram, we met with doctor for general check-up and chat. He was very pleased with my blood pressure and weight gain. If I remember what I gained last time I have gained 8lbs so far. The cool part to that is that 1 lb of that 8lbs is all baby!! fun fun!

So, I know at this point you are all dying for me to tell you the sex of the baby. However, I'm not going to tell you, I'm going to let the photos do the talking for me. We have a good crotch shot so you should be able to tell right away if it is a boy or girl. Of course, I'm going to post other photos in front of it to prolong the anticipation a little bit more.

Enjoy! Just in case it is hard to tell the photos are (profile 1, profile 2, full body, ear, foot, and sex)

Da, da, da-da....It's a ...

BOY!!!!

Successful Shopping Trip

Yesterday I drove to El Paso to pick Mike up from the airport. Knowing that he would be late getting in due to weather (snow in Houston- can you believe it?!?), I went to the mall to do some shopping. I was a little worried b/c the goal for the night was to find some maternity clothes. However, a very small Maternity Motherhood was able to help me spend some money. I was able to get a pair of jeans, black pants, and 2 tops. I think the sales ladies were a little disappointed that I only bought 4 out of the 20+ items I tried on, but I can still wear some regular clothes so why spend alot of money now. I am very happy with the 4 items and plan to get a lot of wear out of them.
In addition to my successful shopping adventure, we had a good time in Babies R Us today. I was very glad that it was a smaller BRU b/c it was a bit overwhelming, but we took it one step at a time and it was a very successful trip. With a lot of big items taken care of, I'm looking forward to filling out the registry with the small (yet still important) stuff. We did see some really cute little girl and little boy items and I'm looking forward to adding a little pink or blue to the registry!

The Best News

I just got off the phone with Kali. For those of you who do not know Kali, she is a friend from Boston and Mike and I went to her wedding in India. She now lives in Houston with her hubby, Paras. They have big news- she's pregnant!!! Yay, yay, I'm so excited for both of them! Imagine me doing cartwheels all over the house, because that is what I'm doing in spirit. Ok, if you imagine that, you also have to imagine the crazy black dog bouncing for joy too, because that is what Duncan would do if I was doing cartwheels around the house. ha!
The funny part to all of this is that she was pregnant when I called to tell her about my pregnancy, but it was very early and she wasn't telling anyone yet. So, the whole time I was talking she wanted to say "Me too", but did a good job of holding her tongue.
Kali is at 13 weeks, so she is 6 weeks behind me and if I do my math correctly that makes her due sometime mid-June. Kali, please correct me if I'm wrong.

Kali and Paras- congratulations!! Mike and I are so excited for you and can't wait to hear all about the fun to come! Yes, I'm about to cry (hee, hee), tears of pure joy! Hoorah!

Tests and Next Appt

So, just wanted to give everyone a quick update...
We got our test results back for down syndrome, cystic fibrosis, etc and all is normal. This is obviously wonderful news and really relieves some worry. It just adds to the excitement that grows every week! Along with the belly and boobs :)
Our next appt is Tuesday Dec 8th. This includes a sonogram and hopefully the baby isn't feeling too shy so we can find out the sex. Mike and I have placed bets, I say girl, he says boy, even though we really have no clue and we will both be thrilled with either. So, feel free to make bets amongst yourselves if you want. 50% chance is pretty good odds, well, kinda. We'll let you know next week!!!!

19 weeks

I am really frustrated with maternity clothes right now! I ordered pants and dresses from Old Navy and out of the 4 pants and 2 dresses only one pair of pants are a possibility. I say possibility b/c I'm not 100% sold on them. I'll try them on again tomorrow and see how it goes. All the others were very big. Unfortunately for Mike, this means that we'll need to shop for maternity clothes when we are in El Paso this weekend. He gets a weekend of baby and maternity shopping after he returns from DC. Sounds like fun, huh? Guess I should let him pick out where we go for dinner.

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

To all...hope you had a great Thanksgiving!
Mike and I went to DC with Mike's parents to visit his sister, Lindsey. It was a great time! Very busy, but fun! Plus, the food was incredible. This is very important for a pregnant lady. We also got to have a fun evening with our friends Sam and Emily Coyner. I haven't seen them since I left Florida so it was quite the reunion. So good to see them!!
The unfortunate thing is that I brought home a cold. Today is a little better, but I was hoping for a quicker recovery. Right now, I'm thinking I might even have to stay home from work tomorrow. We'll see...
To give you a quick update about baby stuff. I did take a belly photo while in DC, but the camera is in DC with Mike so it will be a while before I get to post any photos. My belly is definitely protruding and the baby is moving quite a bit! It is very exciting! I did receive maternity clothes that I ordered from Old Navy, but haven't tried them on yet. I ordered 2 types of pants and am hoping that at least one will work b/c I think it is about that time.

I'll write more soon- off to take a nap

17 weeks

So, a lot has happened in the past couple of weeks...
Mike is now a rock star with his bike (see previous post)!
Duncan, the dog, has (I think) started to notice something is different. He always wants to be next to me, touching me, on me, etc and has become even more protective of me when I am alone in the house. This is sweet and annoying at the same time. However, it has made me realize that he will be a good protector when the baby is here. He loves kids and I can totally see him sleeping outside the door or under the crib (depending on where we want him) while the baby is sleeping.
Boobs have continued to grow, as well as hair and nails.
Skin is looking better- less breakouts and more smooth.
Belly has started to show. People at the office have commented, but if you didn't know I don't think you would notice. I do find that I run my hands over my belly quite often so observant people could figure it out. (I will post a picture tonight)
Today I started a water aerobics class. It was me and two older ladies and it was fun! I plan to go 2 days a week and am hoping they will start an evening class. Keep your fingers crossed! I also ordered a new swimsuit- the old one-piece just wasn't quite as comfy as it used to be. :)
Today we are going to buy a 2nd car. We decided the poor Truckito just isn't reliable enough for precious cargo. We are keeping the pilot and buying a Honda CRV. The dealer is giving us a great deal so we felt like we couldn't pass it up.
The big news...I have felt Peanut move!!!!! Last night was the 1st night I felt Peanut move and realized what it was. The last movement was so strong that I actually felt it with my hand a little. Of course, when I ran over to Mike the baby quit moving, but it was so amazing. I now know that I have actually felt Peanut move before, but I didn't know that was what it was. I have felt Peanut move quite a bit this morning before lunch and am hoping it continues. It is so fun and kinda tickles!
So, that is all for now. Hope everyone is having a good week!

Fun weekend

This weekend was a fun weekend! On Saturday Mike biked 60miles from Carlsbad to Roswell. This exceeded his goal by 10miles and I'm very proud of him! I don't think he will do this again, but how neat is that!
So, while he was pedaling hard, I was shopping in Roswell. I was finally able to get to Target and start our registry. This was the first time that I was able to really look at baby stuff in person and even though the small Target was very limited I was able to get ideas and pick out some stuff that I think we will need. Looking online has been very overwhelming so this was a big step for me. I also looked at maternity clothes and found that Target in Roswell is not the way to go. I did buy a bellyband to hold up regular pants that you can unbutton/unzip. I think it will work out really well.
In other news, I had my first food spill that somehow bypassed the gigantic boobs and landed right on the belly. I laughed b/c I figure I better start getting used to it and better start leaning over the plate a little better.
Next post will be 17weeks! woohoo!

Booby Fairy

So, I figure after 16 weeks it is time to report on the booby fairy. If you are a male member of my family and do not wish to read about the growth of a body part other than the belly you may not want to read this entry. :) I am putting in this entry b/c it amazes me how much other parts of your body start to grow when you become pregnant...hair, nails, and yes, boobs!
The booby fairy came to me very early on in my pregnancy and after a quick growth from a B to C cup, the boobs have kept on growing. I was perfectly happy with my B cup and am now more than happy to be a full C cup. I don't know what I'm going to do with the ladies if they keep growing! ha! I actually have shirts that don't really fit anymore, not b/c of the belly, but b/c of the boobies. There are times when I put on shirts and go "where did these come from"! It is crazy and amazing!
Now before some of you get too excited and think "maybe I should get pregnant b/c of the boobs", let me warn you, this growth does not come without side-effects. Luckily the pain has subsided but there were days in the beginning where I dreaded taking a shower b/c the water hurt. Just image trying to wash yourself and dodge the water at the same time- funny mental image, right?!? I'm sure I looked hilarious. Luckily, my good friend Marylea told me all about the booby fairy so I was prepared with sports bras. ML- that was the best piece of advice and I don't think I would have made it this far without the sports bras! Future preggers- 24/7 support is the best way to go!
With all this being said, I look forward to seeing how big the ladies get (Mike too ;)). Right now, I look at it as a challenge..."No, they can't get that big can they?!?!"

Happy Birthday Mike!

Today is Mike's Birthday! So far I think he's had a good morning, which included a surprise present from Dale....a cheetah print snuggie!! Mike has been wearing it around the office all morning- hee hee!

Happy Birthday- Peanut and I love you very much!

15 weeks + some

So this post is a little late, but I wanted to include the information from our 2nd Doctor's appt. Before I get to that...I've continued to feel well and have stuck to my new workout routine. I've taken tonight off because my legs are super sore from squats and lunges. I hope I can keep up the momentum. Ok- now I can talk about the appt. So, I'm amazed again at the efficiency of this office. I did not have to wait for anything and was in and out in ~1hr. There is no way we would have this in the Carlsbad group. Very sad, but very true. Yesterday's appt was pretty simple- pee in a cup, meet with Doctor, get blood drawn, head out. My bloodpressure is good and I've only gained 2lbs so that is good too. I have attached a photo of my belly. Not much to see, but you can tell that I have gotten a little bit thicker. I got to hear the heartbeat again which was very exciting, but it was only for a short time. My Doctor can be a little too business-like sometimes. I'll wear him down ;) The bloodwork was partly routine test and partly to test for birth defects and syndromes. Mike and I decided that we want to know everything and want to prepare ourselves and the doctor for any complications that might arise.
So, the neat thing about today's visit (2nd neat thing after hearing the heartbeat) was visiting the labor and delivery ward at the hospital. It is so NICE! Private rooms with sofa beds for partners, other chairs, in room nursery for the baby, separate nursery for baby when you need rest, etc. It didn't look or feel like a hospital- so homey and warm. We were very impressed and felt like we will be in good hands when the time comes.

Fun Weekend

So, this posting doesn't have much to do about the baby. However, it does tell you about the 1st weekend where I actually had energy to do fun stuff. Saturday I did lots of fun things around the house- laundry, picked pecans, watch the Gators kick UGA's butt!, and made homemade chicken noodle soup. I'm very proud of the last item b/c it is the first time I've ever made broth from scratch. I am not Suzy Homemaker so anything like this is a big deal for me. Plus, it was probably the best chicken noodle soup I've ever had, if I do say so myself. ha! Sunday, Mike and I went on a nice hike to Devil's Hall in the Guadalupe National Park. This is one of the only places to see fall colors in SE New Mexico and it was gorgeous (See attached photos). 2 of the photos show geologic features- 1) the natural staircase and 2) Devil's hall. The hike was 4 miles roundtrip and we packed in water and snacks and just took it easy. When we finished we were definitely ready for our sandwiches that were waiting on us in the car. The hike really hit home that I can exercise and I should while I'm feeling up to it. The 1st trimester I did NOT feel up to it and I'll be honest, I enjoyed using the pregnancy as an excuse not to do it. However, not any more! So, I'm going to work really hard to incorporate yoga, walking, and other exercises into my daily activities. Wish me luck!

14 weeks

Oops- realized today that I didn't publish this post....
Today I'm 14 weeks along, which means I'm now in the 2nd trimester-yay! Peanut is now the size of a lemon and can make facial expressions, suck his/her thumb, etc. I have not felt any movement yet, but should within the next couple of weeks. I can hardly wait!
My nausea is gone and I'm learning that small meals are really the way to go. I'm so used to eating 3meals a day with maybe a snack that eating small meals is hard. I feel like I'm eating all the time!
We have our next appointment with Dr. Mooney in Roswell next Wednesday. We are both ready for the chance to hear heartbeat again and just get an update that all is still going well.
I have gained a couple of pounds, but everything still fits well. I am still using a rubberband on the button of one pair of jeans to give me a little more room, but it seems to work ok. No one notices unless my shirt raises a little and I think they'll get over it! ;)

My new discovery

Pomegranate seeds! I had some yesterday and they are so tangy and good. Will have to go get a pomegranate soon so I can continue to enjoy them. I think this could be a good and bad thing! I guess it is better than wanting ice cream or chocolate. Pomegranate and chocolate- now THAT could be good! hee hee!

13 weeks

Tomorrow I'm 13 weeks, which means I'm almost in the 2nd Trimester- yay! On Sunday, Mike and I went to Target to buy a few things and, of course, walk through the baby section. We didn't stay in it very long b/c it is overwhelming, but we did start to get some good ideas about car seats and strollers. My favorite part was feeling the soft the blankets (why don't they make these for adults) and looking at the teeny-tiny socks and booties!

Attached are 3 photos of our baby at 10 weeks. The best one is the one where "Peanut" is sticking his/her foot out. Enjoy!

Background

I am currently 12 weeks along and have a due date of April 27th. I did not know I was pregnant until about 6 weeks along because my 1st 3 tests all came out negative. However, it turns out that the tests were lying to us. The second set of tests became immediately positive and it has been a thrill ride ever since!
I consider myself very lucky because I have not had much sickness. I will not call it morning sickness b/c mine happened in the evening. In particular, I've had a strong avoidance of salads and still have that a little today. I'm hoping it goes away soon b/c I love salads! In addition to my evening nausea, I've been extremely tired. At first, I was annoyed by this, but as I started reading about what my body was doing I decided to give myself a break and enjoy the nap time. I have finally started getting my energy back and am enjoying it! I also now have a little bit of a belly. Nothing that anyone else will notice, but enough that some waistlines are a little snug. For the 1st time in my life I'm actually excited about pants that don't fit properly! ha! I hope to start a photo log of my expanding belly for those who are interested.
The first big decision we had to make once we found out I was pregnant was to pick a doctor. I had been going to a doctor in Carlsbad and was not completely happy with the practice. In addition, we've had friends give birth in Carlsbad and report back with some startling results. I will not go into details here, but we decided to try a practice in Roswell, which is ~1hr away.
Our first appointment was September 28th with Dr. Mooney (love the name) and were immediately happy with him and his staff. He is very friendly and is a straight shooter. He has delivered other women from Carlsbad and is willing to meet us in Artesia (only 30mins away) for regular appointments so we don't always have to drive to Roswell. We had a little worry when he could not hear the baby's heartbeat, but after a sonogram showed us our "peanut" which waved to us, we were worry free! I'm hoping to attach the photos of peanut so you can all see him/her.
Since the appointment, Mike and I have been on cloud nine and have had fun sharing our news with family and friends. We do feel a little overwhelmed when we think about it all, but I think that is normal. If anyone has any advice on baby gear, books, stores, etc please feel free to post it.

Title

I realize that the title of the blog may be a little confusing for some...I can hear it now, "You have Duncan so you've been 3 for a while". Well, the title "Becoming 3 Humans" didn't sound so good. I know we live near Roswell, but I didn't want to have a title that sounded so alien. In truth, Duncan has been our 1st "baby" for a while now. However, he's now got a playmate on the way and I'm looking forward to seeing how he reacts to the new addition.