I know, I know, I know... it's been forever. I'm sorry! Life's been a bit hectic. Let's see.. what to update on first. Last I posted, we found out it was a girl. Well, since then, we've actually had a third ultrasound (totally not normal) but since Anna was such a little squirmy worm, they needed to get some more pictures and that resulted in the tech breakin' out the 3D/4D wand!! It's not the best picture, but it's WAY better than those stupid 2D ones! Of course as soon as the tech put the 3D wand on my stomach, Anna put her arm across her face - diva already. It almost even looks like she's flicking us off.. classy like her mother. (Oh, and to make Tony feel better, the tech checked, and she's still a girl)

She's a VERY active baby - so far Mom, Adrienne MIL and Mandy have felt her move. Mandy was a bit grossed out by it. Haha..

At our last appointment back at the beginning of December, I got a shock of learning that I had gained 13 lbs in the month of November (bad baby!) but they didn't seem too concerned about it, so long as it doesn't continue. Well, we had an appointment this morning, and I only gained another 5 or 6 this month, so we're back to a little closer to normal.

She was sitting sideways(breech) at the last ultrasound and I could feel the hard spots on my sides where her head and butt were, but the other night she was EXTREMELY active and was doing a lot of acrobatics and I had a feeling she had flipped. So we asked the doctor this morning and she felt around and grabbed her head down at the bottom! Then Tony asked if she could show him what she was feeling for and she helped him grab Anna by the head - I thought he was going to pee himself he was so excited!

Now we get to go to the doctor's every 2 weeks for the month of January and then every week in February.. wohoo!

OH!!! AND.... Tony surprised me Christmas morning by having gone out and bought the crib for us!!!! He's the best... honest. So we've got most of the nursery situated.. Mom and I are making the quilt and bumper pads this week. And my aunt and uncle have a mattress that they're giving us. I painted wooden letters hot pink and hung them on the wall this afternoon - it looks cuter everyday!

And honestly, I swear that I can see my belly get bigger each day - and compared to some pictures that I've seen online, my belly really isn't that big! You tell me.. although the pic is from the front and distorts it a little ;-) You can see, no stretch marks on the front yet!! Cross your fingers it stays that way.. the ones on my hips I can deal with later.

PS - Like the crooked line down the "middle" of my belly? Cute, huh?

We're having...

A little girl!!! I still can't believe it.. Little Anna Marie :) The appointment for the ultrasound was not one of the best days - I had a ridiculously full bladder when I got to the office, 1o minutes before my appointment and then had to wait another hour before I was seen! I was in tears in the waiting room because I was in so much pain. Luckily the tech let me partially empty my bladder before we got started. (I definitely would have peed on her table) But once we got started she found the little one right away and started attempting to get all of the measurements she needed for the dr. I say attempted because Anna was less than helpful in sitting still. The entire ultrasound lasted for an hour and included me rolling on both sides in hope of capturing the right images for measurements. Tony was literally crawling onto the table to get a better view at the screen and just could not get over how much you could see! And at the very end she zoomed in on the part between the legs and asked Daddy what he thought it was - he guessed girl and was right! At the time of the ultrasound I still hadn't felt her move - the tech told me it was probably a blessing because she had a feeling that once I started feeling it, it was going to be a 24/7 occurence. Well, as of Monday I have felt her move - A LOT. The girl's gonna be an acrobat or something. I thought I felt some fluttering Monday morning, and then Monday night was jabbed multiple times while laying in bed with either a fist or a foot. And now I write this at 4 am because I got up to pee and evidently so did Anna. She's at her somersaults already today! But the actual feeling doesn't keep me awake - just the thought that that's my daughter in there :)

I can't believe it

We find out the sex of the baby in less than 4 days!! IT'S CRAZY!! I also can't believe that I'm almost halfway through this pregnancy! And as my loving friend Jess put it "Closer to the pain and agony of childbirth" (Maybe not her exact words, but I'm paraphrasing) Thanks Jess. :) I've been having A LOT of stretching going on inside - although thankfully my stomach is not showing any wonderful stretch marks yet. And I've still only gained 6-8 pounds. Baby is 6.5 inches long by now and I think almost weighs over half a pound? I still haven't felt it move yet... patiently waiting on that moment. We did buy one of those "DIY" baby heartbeat monitors the other day - it looks like a discman from the 90's with a foam covered cone coming out the back of it. Haven't had any success with it yet either, but it's still early.. I just couldn't pass it up at the consignment shop for $10.

A woman I work with has offered us her son and daughter in law's 4-1n-1 crib, dresser and changing table when they move out later this month. Their son is getting a "big boy bed" when they move into their new house. I was a little weary at first with it being used, but then Tony was talking to her yesterday and she said that they bought it at Penney's and paid $$$. I've looked on Penney's website, they have REALLY nice stuff! So we're going to go out and look at it in like 2 weeks. We've still only painted the base color in the nursery and as soon as we do the ragging on the crib wall I will post pictures of the beautiful color. (Or you could just come visit and see it in person!) ;-) TTFN!

Ok, ok, ok...

So, it's been over a month since my last entry - sue me! I've been busy making a baby, what have YOU done?? ;-)

I am officially into my 17th week and other than my boobs now being D+'s and officially being able to wear my maternity pants sans safety pin, life's been pretty uneventful. Tony was kind enough to take me bra shopping this past weekend - let me tell you that it was HORRIBLE!! I haven't been able to wear a bra with an underwire for years - they poke my underarms and now that I've got boobs growing out my armpits, I really didn't think that would be a good idea. So, try finding a D bra with no underwire - they officially look like your great grandmother's and they are so not comfortable. I finally settled on one that Tony actually picked out, bought two, only to wear it all day yesterday and want to rip it off because it was so uncomfortable. I talked to a co-worker who was recently in my shoes and she said I'm going to want the underwire for the extra support because pretty soon these puppies are going to feel like they're dragging on the floor. NICE! So, I guess it will be another trip to the outlet to try on underwires!

On another note - the baby is officially about as big as your outstretched palm. About 5 or 5 1/2 inches long and weighs about 3 oz. Crazy huh? I still haven't felt it move - although all books say I should be feeling it anyday. I've definitely got the baby belly going on now and it seems I'm steadily gaining weight. We have our next doctor's appointment next Wednesday (Oct. 1) and then two weeks later go in for our second ultrasound to see if it's a boy or a girl!!! YAY!!

If I happen to feel some kicks or punches, you'll be the first.. well, probably more like 4th to know!! :)

Sorry..

I know it's been a while, and I'm sorry. We've been crazy busy!! We went on a little vacation to my grandparents' house in Central PA to try to unwind before school started back up again. We went to Indian Echo Caverns, Lake Tobias and Knoebels!! We've agreed that all three places will be regulars on our list of things to do with our kids. Then we came back, and started getting my classroom ready for the new year. Tony moved all my furniture for me so I didn't have to do much, and he's already warned just about everyone that if they see me doing ANYTHING I shouldn't be, to yell at me. Nice, right?? Haha..

So, I'm officially in my 12th week. Next week is my last of this trimester!! CRAZY and scary all at the same time. After next week, I'm officially 1/3 of the way closer to childbirth. Blah! Could have done without that thought! My belly is starting to "pouch".. nothing major, but enough that I definitely notice it more than I used to. I was doing really well with the weight gain, til we went to grandma's. I love that woman, and I love her cooking even more. Needless to say, we had some type of pasta three times that week. Not to mention her delicious apple cake and pineapple apple pie. So I'm 3 lbs over where I should be, but I figure, it could be worse!

We go to the doctor next week, and we'll get to hear the heartbeat!!! We're going to be sure to record it on our cell phones - it will be my new ringtone, no doubt. Until then...

Baby's First Picture!

7 Weeks, 4 Days

Well, it's official, not only do I have most of the normal pregnancy symptoms, we have photographic proof that there's an alien in my belly! (Well, maybe not an alien, but look at that picture and tell me that's not what you see!) Haha.. I was hoping the picture would be a little clearer, but we'll take what we can get.

They gave me paperwork telling me to drink FOUR glasses of liquid an hour before my appointment in order to fill my bladder and be able to get the best picture. So since my appointment was at 2:30, I chugged 32 oz of water at 1:30. Well, we got to the office a little early because I was hoping to be able to sit in the waiting room and let my bladder fill. Well, no such luck. They took me back 15 minutes early. Then, as the girl is pressing the wand thing all over my semi-full bladder, she says "Your bladder's not quite full..." Well no shit! I told her that my appointment wasn't for another 15 minutes, so she went and did some other things, came back and starting looking for my ovaries, and cervix and such. Then she started pushing that damn wand over my now FULL bladder. Wow did that hurt!!! She showed us an image where you could see this flickering - it was the baby's heartbeat. It's beating at about 171 beats per minute. She said that was good. Finally, she printed out two copies of the best picture she could get of our little munchkin. :) We should be going back in about another 10 weeks to make sure everything is fully formed and to *hopefully* find out the gender!!! (Let's just hope he or she isn't being modest that day!!)

Next journey... doctor's appointment next Friday for my physical.. internal and external. Let me tell you how excited I am for that!! NOT!

The Journey Begins

Sorry I'm a little late, but we've been busy!!

We had our first appointment at the OB-GYN on Wednesday. It was with a nurse though, not with one of the doctors. Linda, the nurse, was amazing. Super nice and answered any questions we could think of. She went through the regime of questioning about family history and the date of my last missed period. She took out her little wheel thing that calculates the due date. Tony was like a kid in a candy store! He was so fascinated by it, she gave it to him!! What the hell are we going to do with that? Haha.. I love him though.

She also went over everything I should and shouldn't be doing and reasons to call the office or hospital.

She also gave us a bag full of all kinds of goodies! Free magazines and coupons for other freebies like diaper bags and formula samples. It was like Christmas in July!

Lastly, she set up our first ultrasound (it's today!!!) and the first appointment with the doctor for my physical. (Oh joy) That's next Friday. She also sent me for a complete blood work-up.

I had shown up at the dr's with a full bladder just in case, but of course I didn't need it. When we got to the Wellspan for my bloodwork, I bee-lined for the bathroom to relieve myself. I went in to have my blood drawn and after the girl was done, she informed me that I'd now have to pee in a cup. AHHHH!! I had JUST gone 5 minutes before! Lucky for me, I'm pregnant and that means I can pee on command (even after just going). By no means did I fill the cup, but she said it would be enough.

I know need to go to drink 4 glasses of water so that my bladder is at FULL capacity for the ultrasound in an hour and a half. I just hope I don't pee on the table. I'll fill you in on the details of that later. Wish us luck that it's only ONE! :)

First Things First

Chances are, if you're reading this, Tony and I have recently informed you that we're expecting!! And we couldn't be more thrilled.. and nervous, and anxious.. the list is neverending.

I am currently in my 7th week - only 33 more to go! Ha.. that sounds ridiculous. 33 more weeks.. who even talks in weeks in such large increments? I'll tell ya who.. pregnant women!

So far, I have been fairly blessed with an easy start on this long road. Yes, it's true that I can't make it through a day without a nap, and I am unbelieveably irritable, and I pee every hour.. oooh! And my boobs are getting HUGE! Too bad they're too sore to touch. Sorry hubby.. you can look, you just can't touch. I've only felt queasy on two days, and one of them it went away after I ate something - I'm just hoping that's a clue to an easy pregnancy.

We told our parents the first week of July. My parents were speechless and Tony's were, well, shocked. They're all very excited though. My mom has already bought fabric to recover the bassinet she used for my sister and I. And my sister has apparently bought something for me, but she's being really secretive about it. We shall see..

Our first appointment is next Wednesday - July 23. Only it's not even with the doctor.. just a nurse. I guess I get to be poked and prodded and interrogated about my life. I have 2 or 3 pages to fill out before I go too. She is supposedly supposed to schedule our first ultrasound that day too!! I just cannot wait to hear the heartbeat and see the baby on the screen - maybe then it'll feel real. Until the next time there's something exciting to post.. I'm going to get back to reading a ridiculous amount of parenting/birthing/pregnancy books. :)