April 21st!

The day we will find out FOR SURE, if we are having a little Mackenzie Paige, or a little Landon Forrest!

My OB doesn't know me very well. He was going to make me wait until May 11th to find out the gender! BAH! Are you kidding? By the time I was 14, I was already picking out the car I was going to drive when I got my license. He really thought I could wait 2 whole months to find out??

So I took it upon myself to research some private ultrasound companies who do early gender scans! Unfortunately, there aren't any places really close by. So we will have to travel about an hour away, but it will be well worth it! We'll get a 15 minutes session, 4 photos, gender determination, and a DVD of it all to take home! That will be so nice to have. 10 years from now I can show my son or daughter what they looked like when they were inside of me! And the greatest part of all of this is that if for some reason, baby is uncooperative, we get to come back at no extra cost! The appointment is set for April 21st, and I'll be 16 weeks and 6 days!

It will be so nice knowing for sure what we are having. Then the fun can really start!

Nuchal Translucency Scan!

Today could not have gone more perfectly!

Everything looked awesome. No markers for Downs Syndrome, or Trisomy 18. Will get my bloodwork back in about a week but the Dr. said she would see no reason for it to come back abnormal.

Baby was SO active today. At first, he/she was asleep, and it scared me. But then the tech got the heartbeat and I got to hear it for the first time. Strong, and loud and 157 bpm! After a few pokes and prods, and me laughing, baby woke up and would NOT sit still for anything!!

It took the tech about 45 minutes to finally get the measurement she needed for the neck. But I didn't mind. It meant I got to look at my child longer! Baby also kept "hiccuping" too cute!

The only slight abnormality they found was that I have Placental Lakes. Basically it just means my placenta has a few pockets of blood in it. It's nothing to worry about and the Dr said it usually clears up by 22 weeks. They want to keep an eye on it though because it could mean not enough blood is getting to the baby, and could hinder growth. Very unlikely though as they check my blood flow and it was perfect, and baby was measuring right on target!

The tech really didn't want to take a sneak peak between the legs. But as she was taking measurements, baby was positioned just right and I caught a glimpse....It looks like were having a.......Not gonna tell! HAHA!

We got some awesome pictures, which I will post soon. Next appointment is April 11th...J's birthday!! And we go for our BIG anatomy scan on May 11th...Seems so far away...Maybe I will look into a private scan for an early gender scan!!

And here they are! We made one beautiful baby!

11 weeks and 3 days

I am so glad today is over. Not because it wasn't a great day, but I am so happy to finally be able to relax!

I had my 3rd appointment today! I have been so nervous up until now because I hadn't seen the baby since 7 weeks. I know far too much about pregnancy, and I know what can happen in those short 4 weeks, even after a heartbeat is detected. I kept having these horrible fears that the Dr. would tell me there was no heartbeat and the baby had stopped growing weeks ago.

Thankfully, it was the exact opposite!

We couldn't hear the heartbeat on the doppler, as it's a little too early yet. So they brought in their ANCIENT sonogram machine. I was holding my breath the entire time. They fired it up and right away I saw the baby, and how big he/she had gotten!! Phew..okay, so at least the baby had grown! And then I saw the heartbeat! Nice and strong at 160 BPM. Thank you God!! Right after I saw the heartbeat, the most amazing thing happened. The Dr. moved the wand around and the picture became a bit more clear. I was able to see the baby's tiny little arms....reach out and stretch and wave to me!! AH! I started to laugh (and cry) and as I laughed, the baby would jump and move around some more. The dr. said "Look! he's saying Hi Mommy!" I of course lost it and cried such happy tears.

That was such an amazing experience. I wish I could have taken a video with my phone but everything happen so fast. I'm measuring exactly right, to the day. So 11 weeks and 3 days with a due date of September 30th! Everything looks great!

I can't believe this is really happening. I mean, I know I'm not 100% out of the words...but the chances now of something happening are less than 1%. I certainly have an angel or 2 watching over us...I know just who they are! Daddy...Your grandbaby will grow up knowing what a wonderful and special Pop-pop they had. Even though they can't see you, they will know that you have and will always be there to watch over them. Thank you for this wonderful blessing!

Buddah Belly

I seriously look like I'm 6 months pregnant. I don't know wheather to love it, or hate it! I'm only 10 weeks!

I've always heard bigger girls take a longer time to show, but I don't know how much I believe this anymore. I really think we show faster. I mean, we already have a bit of a belly, it probably just starts rounding out and hardening a little faster!

Strangers are starting to ask me when I'm due and I sometimes feel inclined to lie a little and say June or something sooner since I obviously look further along then I am. But it's not like I can help how fast my belly grows!!!

I'm starting to wonder if there is a hidden twin in there!! I mean, I'm showing rather quickly, my HCG levels were extremely high for how far along I was...Hmmm...Maybe the sonogram just couldn't pick up on the other baby since it was such a crappy machine. OH LORD. J would pass out. I would pass out. My mom would be thrilled. She is CONVINCED it's twins. Who knows!!!

All I know is that I am 10 weeks pregnant, I look pregnant, I definitely feel pregnant, and It's all starting to feel very real now.

Oh lord, here come the tears.....

I'm finally a mom.