The "Big" Ultrasound

We finally were able to make the point in our pregnancy where we got to actually spend some time in the Ultrasound room. This was our 3rd ultrasound of the pregnancy, due to some pretty frequent and substantial cramping in the first 8 weeks, the doc gave us an ultrasound then just to show that there was something there. The next ultrasound was because we couldn't find the heart beat, so to calm my nerves we again got to see the ultrasound at 13 weeks. The baby was healthy and looked normal to the doctor. There were 4 chambers to the heart, separation of the left and right parts to the brain, no signs of a cleft lip/pallet, and no major other physical ailments to be seen (knowing of course this does not guarantee a 100% healthy baby.)

Having the ultrasound made the pregnancy so much more real to me. Besides my growing waste line and some fatigue I have had no other side effects or changes as a result of the pregnancy. So actually seeing the baby move its jaw, and appear to be moving it's hand to it's mouth made the lil' thing seem so much more human. Griff and Tyler came along to the appointment and Griff was pretty excited (even though he was trying to act all tough about it). We are happy and excited about the gender of the baby, as it's what I expected it to be all along. Griff was so excited he came straight home and posted it on his face book, which I had to log on and take off because we're waiting for Tylers mother to get a package we put together for her, since it's her first time being a grandmother we wanted to try to make the reveling of the gender special for her.

I can feel the baby moving now, which I must say is the oddest sensation in the world and sometimes catches me off guard when I'm working with a student. Now that we know what we're having I feel like I can start to prepare so much better. Tyler bought a changing table from a coast guard friend and we're planning on getting the crib soon. Slowly things will fall into place. Now we're just waiting to be able to move into a house so we can actually have a room to put the baby into. Hopefully things fall into place sooner rather than later!

Halfway Point

Well, I made it... to the half way point that is. Sage told me yesterday that this is the fastest pregnancy ever and all I could think about was putting into perspective with the school year. I mean yeah we're almost into the 2nd semester already, pretty soon it will be summer. I'm doing amazing with work, not being over exhausted or effected at all by the pregnancy at all, other than being extremely scatter brained, forgetful, and more emotional then normal. Which that part is the hardest for me, choking back tears when working with a kid doesn't really help the counseling process but maybe it's got perks that weren't included in my counselor training. We find out a week from tomorrow what we're having hopefully so we can start planning... names, clothes, baby showers... all the fun once in a life time when it's your first baby experiences (will be my last baby by the way!).

3rd Doctors Appointment

So we had our third doctors appointment on January 4th. It was a very uneventful appointment. Tyler is underway so it was just me that went to the appointment. The doctor let me listen to the heart beat through the Doppler and we talked about if we wanted to do testing to check for abnormalities in the fetus. I also set an appointment for the 21st of January to do our 20 week ultrasound (although I'll be 21 weeks at that point). Hopefully the baby will be immodest enough to show up what the gender is.

So for now just continuing to put on weight. I've gained 6 pounds since my first appointment but 9 pounds since the end of August. The doc says I'm right on track for weight gain and that I should gain 10 more pounds by the end of the pregnancy. Of course I'm not excited about the weight gain but it'll just be more to take care of once the baby is born.