Happy New Year!

I think it is safe to say that 2009 has been the most awesome year to date, and these last three and a half weeks, while rather insane, have been the icing on the cake. I can't believe my sweet little Lucy is going to be a month old on Tuesday! She is growing and changing so much every day, and I am so excited to see what she does next!Lucy had a great first Christmas! We started off the celebration on Wednesday (the 23rd) by att

ending Lucy's first party! We went over to

Katie's sister's house for their annual ornament party. The Doyle/Darst/Lea/Taylor clan were so excited to meet Lucy and she had a blast (I assume... I had fun so she must have!). She was awake for the first half hour we were there and loved being held by everyone, and then she

slept and cuddled the rest of the time we were there. I even got to eat while someone else held her!

Lucy with Aunt Katie, Uncle Jamie, and Erin

On Christmas Eve, Lucy made a quick last minute trip to Target and to the pet store. She was not a big fan of waiting in the car while Daddy ran in to get doggy food, but she pulled it back together in time to go to Target! We spent the afternoon baking cookies and wrapping presents, and then all of her company started coming in the early evening. I think Lucy loved having her grandparents and great-grandparents around because it meant she never had to be put down... and Lucy loves to be held! Papa Jeff tried to talk me into leaving Lucy to go pick up the take-out Chinese food, but no go. I don't know how I will ever leave her!

Christmas Day was so much fun - just knowing that it was Lucy's first Christmas and thinking about all of the fun Christmases to come. Santa brought Lucy some toys and books, and of course Nana and Papa Jeff spoiled her too. Grandma brought her some cute hand-made clothes. Torrie (Great-grandma) made Lucy a gorgeous blanket. I think the little bit got spoiled (so did I, but this isn't about me!). Lucy actually handled Christmas Day better than Christmas Eve (she wasn't cluster feeding, which was nice for me!) and it was fun to meet Uncle Marc and Aunt Rita too. :)

The day after Christmas we went to the mall (crazy!) and Lucy had a complete and total melt-down. It was so sad, too, because the previous times we've had Lucy out and about she has seemed to love it. I think the holidays were a little bit over-stimulating! I found a nice place to nurse her though (who knew that Nordstrom had a nursing lounge?!) and that calmed her down. Lucy also had her first dinner out at a restaurant that night and she did great at Bocci! I, of course, almost had a melt-down when she started screaming right after getting there, but she calmed right down after I held her and I was able to put her back in the carseat by the time the food came. Go Lucy! Go Mommy! :)

Lucy had a great holiday and is so lucky to have so many people in her life who love her. We've spent this week resting up (she still isn't a huge fan of sleeping at night!) and getting ready for Nana's birthday party tomorrow night. Lucy is excited to meet the Smiths and the Stoudts at the party, and to see her grandparents, great-grandparents, and aunts and uncles again!

Three other quick firsts:

This week (Tuesday), Mommy, took Lucy to Target on a solo trip! This is a huge deal because I have been so nervous to take her out by myself, but we both did great! I bought her a present :)

Wednesday night, Lucy had her first trip to Moe's and she did great there as well! I think the weekly trips to Moe's can continue!

Lastly, Lucy had her first bottle this week! Andrew gave her a bottle and she did a pretty good job! She doesn't love it, but she'll get used to it. We are going to keep trying to give her one bottle a day! :)

Two weeks old!

Little Lucy is two weeks old and she is still just fabulous! We had our two week doctor's appointment and I am thrilled with how well she is doing! She weighs 6 pounds, 11 ounces, so in 9 days she packed on a whole pound! I am so proud of her :) It could be because all the little porker does is eat... but I'll take it. Our pediatrician said Lucy looked perfect and even complimented us on being such relaxed parents. It is kind of strange... I am generally extremely uptight and neurotic about everything, but with Lucy, I am just trusting my instincts and feeling much more relaxed than I thought I would. Of course, I still get stressed out and I hate to see her cry, but for the most part, kudos to me :) It helps that Lucy is a pretty easy-going, happy baby!

Lucy's canine brother and sister are so curious about her and are so good with her! Even Murphey, who can be a *little* high-maintenance, is being great with her! They don't like it when she cries and they follow me up and down the stairs all day long! Daisy has pretty much learned not to lick her face (we let her lick her hands because Daisy loves to lick!) and Murphey likes to walk up and smell her head. I imagine in about 6 months or so they are all going to have lots of fun together!

She is growing and changing so much already! She has started having more awake time during the day, going for about 2 hours before crashing for a nap! Her naps are getting shorter, but are still pretty frequent throughout the day. She loves to look at lights and to play with her hands... but more than anything, she loves to suck! I think she might be a thumb sucker when she figures it out. For now, she puts her whole fist up to her mouth and makes the cutest little smacking noises as she goes to town. When she is fussy, Andrew can soothe her by letting her suck on his pinky! We have tried using the soothie pacifier, but she isn't too interested in it yet!

Lucy is starting to figure out day and night I think. At the very least, it is getting better. We are making an effort to be very quiet and still at night and to keep the lights up all day, as I've read that can help the most. I think it is also helping Lucy that we are starting to get out a little more during the day (two trips to the mall, a Target trip, a Swoozies trip, a grocery store run, and her trips to the pediatrician) so she is getting a little more stimulation. She still is not a fan at all of sleeping lying down! Every other night around 9:00, Lucy gets a bath. Then every night, we do lotion and massage, jammies, swaddle, and one last feed. She will go to sleep between 9:30 and 10:00 and we can usually get her in the Snuggle Nest in her Pack 'n Play for this first stretch of sleep. Between 11:30 and midnight she is up again for a diaper change and to eat, and at this point it is hit or miss as to where she will sleep. Sometimes I can get her to sleep in her swing (which she sleeps in FINE all day long!) but usually she just wants to snuggle and be held. Then every twoish hours all night long we repeat until around 7:30 or 8:00. At that point, Lucy has some awake play time, and the whole process starts again! Mommy and Daddy are tired, but we are really super thankful that even though Lucy wants to be held and cuddled all night long, she is really such a happy baby. She will get so excited when we change her diaper and look up at us with her big eyes... makes it worthwhile to be up for 4 hours straight in the middle of the night! :)

It is almost Lucy's first Christmas! She doesn't need anything, but I am still excited to take pictures of her beside her presents and to share her with all of the relatives coming to visit! She is going to get spoiled this week :)

"I'm soooo big!"

My favorite picture to date. She sleeps with her hands under her chin when she's on our chests! What a cutie :)

How I spend the majority of the night. If you're awake, give me a call! :)

Just chilling on the couch. Check out those booties... such cute little alien feet! :)

Cutest baby EVER! Lucy says Merry Christmas everyone!

She's Here!

And she's absolutely wonderful! Perfect. Amazing. Breath-taking. Awe-inspiring. Needless to say, we love Lucy Katherine more than anything in the world. I can't believe that we created this tiny, perfect little person and that she is part of both of us. Holy cow.

On Friday, December 4th (my last day of work, interestingly enough) I went to my OB for an NST because Lucy (although at that point she was still unnamed!) had been very quiet and I am a paranoid freak. They hooked me up to the monitors and we heard her little heart beat and they were able to catch a few moves. She was obviously running out of room! I got home about 5:30 and did not feel well at all so I took a quick nap before dinner. Andrew and I got in the car to go to Moe's about 6:30 and by the time we got there every part of my body hurt and I was majorly uncomfortable. I didn't know this was labor! I left the line and told Andrew to just get food to go and we got home around 7. I still felt bad so I got in bed and tried to just go to sleep. I woke up every 45 minutes but still had no idea what was going on. At midnight, I finally just got out of bed and went downstairs to watch TV. Andrew came with me and we still had no idea why I felt so terrible (haha seems funny now!). Around 2:30, we decided to try to get to bed. He fell asleep right away and I sat up in bed wondering what the heck was wrong with me. At 3 am, I heard a pop and felt a gush... and the rest is history. My water broke, I labored at home until about 7 am, and then we went to the hospital! I got an epidural when I was about 8 cm (I wanted it sooner, but that is a whole different story!), let the baby descend on her own for awhile while visiting with friends, and then pushed her out! So amazing (and that was the g-rated version people... let me know if you want more details!).

Lucy is doing wonderfully. She is a champion eater now (good thing, since she is such a little peanut). She was born at 5 lbs 14 ounces, weighed 5 lbs 7 ounces at 4 days old, and was up to 5 lbs 11 ounces by 6 days old. She is a little confused about days and nights and does NOT like to sleep lying down, but putting her in her WONDERFUL swing the past two nights has helped us all to catch a few consecutive hours of shut-eye. Andrew is absolutely amazing with her and does a great job of calming all of my crazy irrational worries. Oh yeah, and her umbilical cord stump fell off yesterday at 6 days old!

Now... check out these beautiful pictures of the love of my life!

Just Born!
Peaceful sleeper :)

Time flies!

... and that is why it is 330 am on Sunday night I am just now getting around to updating this old thing. Working full time, my ridiculous committee responsibilities, getting everything ready for baby, visiting friends, and finally recovering from the flu, I haven't had any free minutes!

So here we are - two weeks from D day. Holy smokes! We are so, so excited to meet baby girl and know that she could make her grand entrance any day now! We did finally (better late than never) take a childbirth class, just in case the fairies can't make it. It was great - the instructor was informative and fun and we met some other fun couples too!

I have been pretty lucky pregnancy-wise. I like to say that I suck at getting pregnant but I pretty much rock the being pregnant thing! :) The following is a re-cap of the great Pig Debacle - more so I remember than because I expect any of you to read this! Right around the time of my baby shower (Oct. 10) I started getting a virus. I knew I had picked it up from one of those grimy little first graders and didn't think much of it. It hung around for about 2 weeks before I finally sucked it up and called my OB. They had me come in, but it was obviously viral so I didn't have many options. On Thursday, Oct. 22, my class had a field trip. It was lots of fun, for everyone except the kid with the 103.1 fever! WHAT - STOP THE PRESSES!! So we sent fever boy home, and his mom emails me the next day that he and his two brothers all have H1N1. Great. That Friday (Oct. 23 for those keeping track) was a teacher workday and I was feeling super rundown. I figured it was just the stupid virus, but I called my OB anyway because I still wasn't any better. They did a flu swab and listened to my chest and sent me on my way. Here's where it gets fun!
That night, Russ and Ginger arrived from Maryland to visit for the weekend. We had grand plans of going to the state fair and Halloween shopping and the like. We went to dinner and I was really feeling lousy. I seriously ate like 3 bites and felt like my head was in a bubble the whole time. Right after we got home I said goodnight and went to bed. The next morning (Saturday now, are you keeping up?!) I woke up and felt terrible. Mom and Dad were supposed to come to go to the state fair with all of us, and when they called at 800 to say they were leaving, I told them to stay home because there was no way I could go to the fair. Andrew was entertaining Russ and Ginger and I thought extra sleep would be enough. When he came upstairs to check on me, he wanted to take my temp because he said I felt really warm. Sure enough, it was 101.5 and climbing. I started freaking out and then realized I hadn't really been feeling Girl Tad move around. Again, awesome. We called the on-call OB who wanted me to get to the hospital, so we headed off. We thought some IV fluids would be enough, but to make this very long story much shorter, they ended up admitting me to keep on eye on Girl Tad since she was thinking about getting out of the oven. Lots of fluids, some steroid shots, several different contraction-stoppers, and a bad experience with ginger ale later, we got to go home Sunday night, and it still took about two weeks for me to feel "better." Not fun. But a great story! :)

Now that we have arrived at 38 weeks, I am really really ready to meet my baby. I am VERY uncomfortable and move like a beached whale! We have finished everything for the nursery and bought everything the kid could possibly need. I have my long-term sub lined up at school and most of my plans are filed and ready for her to take over. Speaking of school, the parents in my class and all of the kiddos had a shower for me last Friday (Nov. 13). It was super fun and very well-organized. They kiddos got to play games, there was cake, and there were presents! I was overwhelmed by their generosity :)

This weekend, we bought a video camera so we can easily upload videos of our cutie onto this blog. Andrew is going to make a movie of the completed nursery (WAY cuter than the video that is on here) so I will put it up whenever he finishes! I have properly nested and I feel good that my house is clean and in order. I even cleaned out the cabinets under our bathroom sinks - I've never gotten the itch to do that before! We had the car washed, vacuumed, and the interior cleaned. I know it sounds lazy to say we had it done, but seriously at $12, you can't really beat that! It would have taken me all day! I have been walking, walking, walking every day, but not really buying into too many of the other old wives tales that supposedly induce labor. People keep asking me if I am ready, and I am! I am so excited - it is like waiting for the best present ever to come, but you don't know when it will arrive! I also get asked a lot if I am nervous. At this point, not really. I am way more nervous about being the best mommy I can be than I am about delivery. I am sure I will get nervous when I get to the hospital (although, actually, after spending some time there I am feeling very confident and secure in our hospital choice!) but my excitement outweighs any nervousness 1000 to 1.

Without further ado, my hopefully last "weekly" update. I told you I would suck at updating this thing! :)

How far along? 37w6d

Total Weight Gain? 14 pounds

Maternity Clothes? Even those are starting to not fit. Seriously. I. Am. Huge.

Stretch Marks? Nope. Thank you for asking.

Sleep? Insomnia has overtaken my life. It is almost 4 am now. I am awake. I have been since 230. This is going to not be fun at 515 when it is time to get up for the day to deal with 22 crazy first graders! Last night I woke up for good at 430. It is kind of cruel joke Mother Nature plays. You are all big and giant and exhausted, yet sleep does not come easily. And don't say "This just prepares you for when the baby comes." At least when she is here, I will have someone to keep me company in the middle of the night! :)

Best Moment this week? There have been lots of best moments of the weeks since I've updated this thing. For this past week, and I realize how trivial this is, but I guess getting our diaper bag. I agonized over the decision and I love, love, love the one I chose!

Food Cravings? Granny Smith apples, Moes, Ritz crackers

Sex of baby? Baby girl

Belly Button? It is officially an outie!

What am I looking forward to the most? Baby Girl's arrival! Seeing her face, picking out her name, being a mommy... :)
Milestones? Just trust me that we're making some progress!

Who wants to see my belly? I am warning you - it is giant! She has definitely dropped WAY down too so I look a little bit like I am going to lose my balance at any second. Which could happen :) Notice Murphey staring at me like he has never seen anything this giant before. Thanks buddy!

Baby Shower!

This week flew by and I never got to make a post to tell you all about my awesome baby shower! First, girl Tad got some absolutely wonderful things and she is so super lucky and spoiled already! It was nice to have so many people there, both in person and in spirit!
My BFF threw the shower at her mom's house in Durham, and three days before the shower her mom fell and got a compound fracture in her collar bone. ooops. It still turned out to be a great day and I am glad that her mom was still able to be a part of it all!
We didn't play too many stupid games, we ate good food, and we had a delicious cake. And of course, all the attention was on me and Girl Tad. I call that a perfect party!
As soon as I get the pictures, I will add them!

Also, expect a weekly update soon - you won't believe how HUGE I've gotten. She is a growing machine. They say that she will add 1/3 to 1/2 of her birth weight from here on out. Holy crap - where is she going to fit??

Who Wants to See Our Nursery?!

It is still a work in progress, but check out girl Tad's beautiful pink and green nursery!! It is hard to tell, but the walls are an awesome light green color. Her bedding is super bright pink and white, and her furniture is "cider." I love how it is coming together!

Cleaning out the Nursery!

That's what we did today! We might even paint tomorrow... I will post pics if we do. I think Andrew is starting to feel some of my anxiety - we have to get it finished! I will be fully term in 9 weeks... holy smokes! And my due date is only 12 weeks away :)

I had a regular appointment on Thursday, the last of the monthly visits. I will go every 2 weeks until 35 weeks and then start going every week. Everything looked great with girl Tad and with me - good bp, good pee, good weight, all around we are perfect!

Girl Tad has been moving around like crazy. She loves to hang out right in my ribs - there is always a foot right under my right rib cage. We have definitely been able to feel some actual body parts poking out here and there which is cool and creepy at the same time. The kids in my class are even starting to notice her movement patterns if I am wearing a fitted shirt. It is pretty funny!

Andrew and I toured the day care that is right beside my school last Friday. If I work next year (still many discussions away from deciding about this one!), it is REALLY where I want her to be. We put her on the waiting list for next fall, and we are pretty sure that there will be a spot for her in August. However, we are really hoping that a spot will open up before March so she can just start there when I go back to work after my maternity leave. It isn't too likely though (they only take 6 infants) so we have been researching our other options. We actually got an email yesterday from the Primrose School that is close to our house so we will be checking it out this week. I worry about her being all the way in Durham because it is a good 25-30 minutes drive from my school and Andrew travels so much. I would just feel so much more comfortable with her right near where I am. We'll see how it all turns out!

This week, girl Tad weighs 2 pounds and is the size of a head of cauliflower. Her brain activity continues to increase too... big shocker there! I am sure her brain is quite active :)

How far along? 27w5d

Total Weight Gain? 12 pounds

Maternity Clothes? Almost completely. Even my regular gym clothes are getting tight - I think I am going to have to switch to Andrew's t-shirts for the gym.

Stretch Marks? Nope. Although my stomach is super itchy and I think that may be a beginning sign. I have added in another daily cocoa butter application, but I think it may be out of my hands. **fingers crossed they stay away**

Sleep? I wake up multiple times a night and switching positions is kind of a production. Totally worth it :) She always moves around when I wake up at night, as if she is telling me to get comfy fast!

Best Moment this week? Seeing our friends from VT who haven't seen this massive belly since June. They had such nice things to say!

Food Cravings? Still spicy food, clementines, granola bars...

Sex of baby? Baby girl

Belly Button? Still the number one object of my fascination. It is so gross. Completely flat, and the top is starting to poke out, especially if I have just eaten. Andrew thinks it looks like the knot on a balloon. It is also SUPER itchy all around it. Ew.

What am I looking forward to the most? Painting the nursery and setting up the crib. Picking out cute accessories for our little girl. And of course, meeting her!
Milestones? I don't know if this is a milestone or a best moment this week (and I really don't know that anyone cares), but we got an AWESOME deal on a great breast pump. The Medela Pump In Style Advanced is supposed to be one of the best, and the one we liked best retails for about $280. The one a step above the one we liked best retails for about $330. Somebody at jcpenny.com made a huge mistake and marked down the pumps to an incredible $149.00. Someone alerted me to the great sale, and I ordered it immediately (the step above one - the Metro bag if anyone REALLY cares). Less than an hour later, they were marked as "currently unavailable" but my order had already been processed. It shipped 12 hours later and was here on Thursday. What an incredible score and huge money saver!

And now for my belly... check out how big it is getting! I look exhausted because I was! I have been working some insane hours these first few weeks of school and I come home ready to crash. But you get the idea!

Hello Third Trimester!

Holy cow! We have officially entered the third trimester! As in, only 92 days until my due date! Eeeeek! We are so close to Girl Tad's arrival... and there is still a LOT to do! Like... pick a name?! Still working on it folks, give me some time. I am the most indecisive person in the world, and I am supposed to pick a name for my kid?!?! It could definitely take awhile!

I promise a more detailed post after our doctor's appointment on Thursday - I will update with the nitty gritty that I know you all crave!

23w1d and our baby is an over-achiever

I would expect nothing different from her though! I had my monthly appointment today and everything looks great with Girl Tad. She is measuring 6 days ahead, so 24 weeks exactly. What can I say... she is as anxious to meet us as we are to meet her! Andrew and I both had a brief moment of freak out today when we realized that we have only one more monthly doctor's appointment, and then they jump to every 2 weeks, and then every week! It seems like time is flying by!

She has been amazingly active the past 2 weeks, and it is so amazing to feel her moving around. She is kind of stubborn, though, so Andrew has only been able to feel her once. Every time he puts his hand down, she stops moving! He must have a calming effect on her! :) I have been seeing her move at random times from the outside too, which is pretty neat. This morning, she kicked 4 times in the exact same place and my stomach poked out each time. It was really cool.

Girl Tad is still nameless... but we are working on it! It is HARD to pick a name for a baby! We want her to have a classic, but not old-fashioned name. I also don't want her to have to be known with her last initial throughout elementary school, so we are looking for something that is not overly popular. We will be narrowing down the top contenders soon enough!

I am already proving what an organized and non-scattered mommy I will be by forgetting to register for child birth preparation classes. Oooops. Just in case the fairies can't make it (I am convinced that magical fairies are going to come get her out!) I want to be prepared. I was looking on-line to sign up today and realized that ALL of the classes are full. I called the scheduling lady and she was nice enough to put me in an already full class that starts the very beginning of November. It meets twice a week for 2 weeks, for a total of 8 hours. I also signed up for our birthing center tour (October 6) and our breastfeeding class (October 20).

Other exciting news: my wonderful BFF Katie is throwing Girl Tad and me a baby shower! I am so excited and so lucky to have her. October 10th will be the shin dig and it is sure to be a classy affair!

Baby Girl Tad is still growing like a little weed! It is so exciting to me (for some strange reason) that she weighs over a pound now! She is about to start packing on the chub! My updates are kind of whack now because one has gone to monthly (this month your baby is the size of a papaya) and the other says she is the size of a large mango. Wasn't she a mango 4 weeks ago?! Either way, I can definitely tell she is getting bigger and next week I am excited to see the changes in my little eggplant :)

Now the nitty-gritty:
How far along? 23w1d (and baby girl is measuring 24 weeks)

Total Weight Gain? 8 pounds, only up .2 pounds in 4 weeks (and I swear I am eating Mom!)

Maternity Clothes? Yep! My regular shirts are getting too short so I have some longer maternity shirts that are lovely. I also bought 2 non-maternity fold-over waist skirts at Target that are sooo comfy - I think they will be my staple when school starts.

Stretch Marks? Nope. Thank you Palmer's Cocoa Butter.

Sleep? I wake up to pee at least once a night. I am finding it harder to get comfortable. Murphey uses my belly as a pillow. It is pretty funny.

Best Moment this week? Seeing Baby Girl move all over the place INSIDE!

Food Cravings? Anything spicy. Seriously. Hot sauce = YUM. I am such a cliche!

Sex of baby? Baby girl

Belly Button? Seriously getting ready to pop out. The top is completely flat and it is SO shallow. Andrew things I am obsessed with it and he may be right. It is the weirdest thing ever.

What am I looking forward to the most? Andrew feeling her move more consistently. It is the coolest thing ever and I know he is excited to feel her more and more!
Milestones? Getting started on our nursery. She has beautiful furniture and bedding picked out. I am ready to paint and start decorating. Also 24 weeks is known as viability week, which means baby girl has a good chance of surviving outside the womb if she were to be born. Don't get any ideas Girl Tad - we want you to keep cooking!

And now.... the belly! We went to Nags Head for the week of our anniversary and this picture was taken after I trudged up the dunes at Jockey's Ridge, hence the wind-blown look! :)

Meet our Baby GIRL!!

Baby Tad is a girl!! We couldn't be more excited, she is absolutely perfect! The ultrasound tech gave her soaring marks (What can I say, she is a perfectionist like her mommy!) and she is 100% healthy. Andrew and I are already so in love with her! I get giddy every time I think about the fact that the baby growing in my tummy is a SHE baby! She doesn't have a name yet, but we are working on it! I can't wait to start buying her little tiny pink things... she is going to have a closet full!

We now PROUDLY introduce you to our beautiful daughter... she is absolutely amazing!

Tomorrow, Tomorrow!!

Tomorrow is the big day! FINALLY! Patience is a virtue I do not possess! :)

Not only am I super stoked to hopefully get a money shot of Tad and start doing some serious shopping, but I am also really excited to see him/her again. At this ultrasound they are going to check all of Tad's vital organs and make sure everything is developing properly. I am sure they will find a very large brain! :)

Speaking of milestone developments, research has shown that babies at about 19 weeks gestation are beginning to hear. As soon as I read that, I started talking to him/her directly. I may have even sung Tad the famous banana song. (Don't know what I'm talking about? Call me, I will sing it for you!) Feel free to call and I will let you talk/sing too!

Tad is growing away - I hear I can expect to get bigger and bigger. S/he may be moving around in there, but I am having a hard time distinguishing movement from bubbles! This week, Tad is THIS big.... much more appetizing than a turnip or onion! (Its a mango people!)

How far along? 19w (holy moly, almost half way there)

Total Weight Gain? Official weigh in tomorrow - my new love of vanilla ice cream with blueberries and granola may affect the outcome! :)

Maternity Clothes? Still just pants... and bathing suits!

Stretch Marks? Nope. I don't want to say too much for fear of jinxing it!

Sleep? Again, what?! I do sleep with an extra pillow under my bump now. Super exciting, I know.

Best Moment this week? Duh. Hopefully finding out what parts Tad has... and seeing him/her again. Also we are going to order our nursery furniture this weekend. (I will post more about nursery plans soon!)

Food Cravings? Peaches, Carnation Instant Breakfast, Egg Sandwich (Plain egg, salt, pepper, wheat bread). YUM!!

Sex of baby? 22 hours to go!

Belly Button? Still "shallowing" out. Ew.

What am I looking forward to the most? Tomorrow's ultrasound (I bet you didn't know that!) and SHOPPING for baby Tad! Believe it or not, I haven't bought ANYTHING yet. I plan to remedy that this weekend in a major way. (Mom is coming!!)
Milestones? I bet you can't guess!

Wanna see a pic of my bump? The look on my face is because it took the camera awhile to take the picture - I was kind of over it!

17w1d

... and exactly 2 weeks until we know if Baby Tad is a boy or a girl. Is it just me or is time crawling by??

I sign up for multiple baby email newsletter things (basically just to clog my inbox since I don't really get any other emails!) and two of them always compare the baby's size to a fruit or veggie. It was cute when baby was the size of a blueberry and a raspberry. A lime was a big favorite for my friend Katie (I think that was 12 weeks). So yesterday I get the 17 week emails, and do you want to know what these silly websites are comparing the size of my beautiful, sweet baby to? A turnip! Gross... my poor baby. Don't worry - we won't call you Turnip. I quickly, quickly go to check the other site, thinking they would compare my baby to something much more desirable... and this is what I get:
An ONION!?!?! Seriously... and I LOVE onions. But let's think of something a little sweeter! :) It was, however, very exciting to read that Tad now has distincitive prints on his/her tiny little fingers and toes. And his/her skeleton is turning to bone, which seems like a pretty important developmental milestone. All in all, a big week for baby Tad, the turnip, er, onion.

I have been seeing this weekly survey on some blogs that I follow, so I thought I would give it a whirl. Because I am lazy, I probably won't do it weekly, but it will be fun every now and then!

How far along? 17w1d

Total Weight Gain? about 3 pounds 2 weeks ago... so maybe 4 or 5?

Maternity Clothes? Just pants - I still rock my regular tank tops.

Stretch Marks? Nope. Andrew keeps me pretty well stocked in Palmer's cocoa butter, so hopefully that will do the trick.

Sleep? I am not quite sure what this is asking. Yes, I still sleep! :)

Best Moment this week? I *might* have felt Tad on Friday. I don't really know what I should be feeling, and it certainly wasn't a kick or anything, but a tiny little flutter. I am on the look-out (feel-out?) for more!

Food Cravings? Quaker Chewy Granola Bars, Strawberries - Yum.

Sex of baby? We find out sooooon!

Belly Button? This question prompted Andrew and I to look at my belly button more closely. I think it is getting more shallow, and he agrees. Kind of gross, actually.

What am I looking forward to the most? Our big anatomy scan in 2 weeks - not just to find out the gender, but I am really just super stoked to see Tad again. S/he is a cool kid!
Milestones? I guess the maybe movement moment!

15 weeks!

Ok, I was going to try to update this thing every Tuesday as our "week" changed, but I already fell off the wagon. In my defense, the last week of school is insane and I was exhausted every night last week!

We had our monthly doctor's appointment today (I call it my "normal pregnant person" appointment). It was pretty ordinary, which I am not complaining about at all! I have only gained 3 pounds so far, which my OB said was great. In fact, he said I could gain about 5 more. Woohoo... bring on the queso! We listened to Tad, he answered my questions... pretty normal!

The exciting part was scheduling our anatomy scan!! Andrew and I are pretty lucky that we have gotten to see Tad 4 times already - that is way more than "normal" pregnant people get to see their babies! At 6 weeks, Tad was just a blog with a tiny flickering heart. At 7w2d, we could see and hear the heartbeat and make out arm buds and leg buds. At 8w1d, the arms and legs were very clear and we could make out the heartbeat without the doctor pointing it out! :) Our NT scan at 12w2d showed us that Tad really is a baby and not just some alien in my belly... those are the pictures you can see in the video. Well - at our anatomy scan, not only will the check the chambers of Tad's heart, his spine and brain, but they will be able to tell us if Tad is a boy or a girl!! July 15th - 3:30 EST. Mark your calendars people - I am stoked!

One more thing: Remember how I said I had only gained 3 pounds? Well check out this picture! Being five feet tall certainly makes baby bellies pop out sooner! (Taken at 14w4d)

So... here's Tad!

We thought blogging might be a good way to keep everybody involved in the life and times of Tad, so here we are! Welcome to the 21st century everyone!

It looks like we're having a baby! I can't speak for anyone else, but I am so stoked to meet this little person. S/he is totally worth the wait. :) We will post pictures and updates on this blog and hopefully you will all feel in the loop with Tad.

He's doing great so far! We got to see him last Thursday at our first trimester screening. He was being stubborn and a ham (who does that sound like?!), dancing all around and not getting in the right position to get the necessary measurements, but he eventually settled down. He is quite the head butter, and I think he may may be cursed with the Katz nose. Still, by far, the cutest baby I have ever seen. We got the results from the screening and it looks like Tad is at a very low risk for Down's syndrome and Trisomy 13 - s/he looked perfectly healthy!

Andrew let me buy a home doppler, so I am very lucky that I can hear Tad's heartbeat whenever I want. For someone as paranoid and neurotic as me, it has been a lifesaver. Most nights before bed, we listen to him swish, swish, swishing away. It is pretty amazing. The heartbeat stays pretty consistent around 163 bpm, which is perfect for where we are.

I can not even put into words how lucky I think we are to have this baby. I know s/he is going to be amazing - and we are excited to take you all on this journey with us!

We leave you with a little montage of Tad. That is actually his heartbeat in the background... we recorded it! Soooo cool :)