13 weeks and counting....

13 Weeks today! I'm including an updated picture..... I think my "bump" has grown, it's not as "cute" as it was a week ago, and now I just feel LARGE. I've been religiously weighing myself every week and I have to admit that I was pretty proud of the weight I had gained so far and how I had controlled it. At 12 weeks, I had gained a total of 2 lbs, however, now, at 13 weeks, I've gained another 2 lbs (totaling 4 lbs) - TWO lbs in ONE week! Yikes! Guess my appetite really DID make a comeback this week like I thought it felt like it had. Regardless of how much weight I gain though, I will never get frustrated over it because I am happy to put on the pounds if it means nourishing our little one and helping him/her grow bigger and bigger! So Let's see, at this point, the baby is now the size of a peach! To me, one of the most incredible things that I've learned has occurred this week is that our baby's fingerprints have developed! Andy and I were just talking about how teeny tiny the baby's little fingers must be right now and it's so unreal for me to think that they have prints already!! Another "big deal" item for me with being 13 weeks is knowing that this is my LAST WEEK in my first trimester! I'm so thrilled and relieved that we've made it this far in the first trimester and it's been a spectacular trip so far, but I will gladly say "adios" at this time next week for the sheer bliss of knowing I've made it to yet another big milestone marker of being in my second trimester. So onward we go in the last week of our first trimester...

A list

I'm a little emotional right now thinking about the long road that lies ahead of us living here in Texas, when all I want (SOO badly) is to be back in NY right now. In hopes of making myself feel better, I'm going to create a list of all the things that I'm thankful for to help remind me that life is not so bad after all, so here goes:

1) Having this little blessing with us in my tummy right now.

1a) Having sonograms and fetal dopplers to let us know our little blessing is still with us.

2) Having my sweet Delaney with me down here for a best friend.

3) A roof over my head.

4) My husband who supports me.

5) Family who is always there, no mater the distance.

6) The friends who have helped keep me company (and sane) via phone calls, internet, or in person down here - it means more to me than you probably know.

7) Food in our pantry and refrigerator.

8) The internet.

9) Cinnamon and sugar scented candles from Yankee Candle Co.

10) Zero humidity and 70 or below temps (on the very rare occasion here).

11) The occasional gorgeous butterflies that I see in our backyard from time to time.

12) Pennies on the ground.

13) Fresh basil.

14) Good neighbors.

15) Air conditioning.

In doing this list, I'm confirming my realization of how the biggest and most powerful thing that keeps me positive and looking forward to the next day that comes while living here is knowing that each day brings me closer and closer to meeting our little one. After losing our first pregnancy, I know how special and fragile this whole process of becoming a parent is and I don't know if I will ever be more thankful about anything else more than I am about the thought of bringing a child of our own into the world. It truly is a miracle no matter where we are whether we're in Texas or New York or any other place, I know we have been blessed and that is an incredible thing to be thankful for even on the darkest days.

Dark Chocolate.... "Ick?"

I've found a new "love" - dark chocolate. I can't say I'd still choose it over regular chocolate, but I'm definitely liking it!! We had a bag of dark chocolate that was purchased by accident and neither of us have had any desire to open it..... because it's not "milk" chocolate... it's dark chocolate - and dark chocolate typically makes me say: "ick, gross!" - but, surprisingly, it tastes REALLY good to me right now! I gotta imagine that it's part of being pregnant and my hormones doing some very mean things to my taste buds! I can handle the new things that I now enjoy eating (like dark chocolate), but it's very frustrating to now have to figure out what foods I no longer like. There have been many nights where I prepare this great meal for dinner, only to sit down and barely be able to choke it down - the only thing that makes me want to eat it is knowing that our little one needs to eat good food! I just think it's so strange though how the fluctuation in hormones affects my taste buds and the foods I like! The foods that seem to be the most appealing to me are the more bland foods that I might have lived on growing up as a kid like: pb & j, pasta, pizza (usually), eggo waffles, french fries/mashed potatoes - anything potatoes, and I guess that's all I can think of for now........ I think I might go have some dark chocolate, now. :)

Where did they go?

I think my stomach muscles are changing or moving. Last night I went to quick jump off the couch and whoa, can't really do that anymore! I noticed throughout the night (during my many occasions of getting up to use the bathroom) that it's definitely more of a struggle to roll over in the bed and climb out. Isn't it kind of early for this?! Maybe not, I don't know - I'm not all that large yet, so I'm just surprised that I'm already changing the way I'm moving around. It's like my stomach muscles are just gone. See ya!

Happy Father's (-to-be) Day!

It's Father's Day today - Happy Father's Day to all of the Daddy's out there! This is the first one we have (sort of) celebrated! Andy has always had "his girl".... Delaney, but we never really recognized these days as holidays. We knew we were expecting for Mother's Day this year, but it was still really early, so we didn't really "celebrate"... I'll have my first Mother's Day (with our little one here!!) next year! We're still somewhat "cautiously expecting" this pregnancy, and therefore, are still aware of what could still happen with this little guy/gal that's with us right now, so we haven't really officially made a big "to-do" with Father's Day, but Delaney wanted to make her Daddy a card.... so she and baby (along with "Mom's" help) made Andy a card. I traced Delaney's paws with pink and blue marker (she didn't like it too much, but of course will go right along with whatever silly thing I force her to do), and then I had to improvise on what our baby's feet might look like right now and I drew those (they came out much larger than I anticipated.... hopefully our child doesn't have that large of feet right now!!), but it works! ;) Delaney and I gave the card to Andy this morning in bed, then we headed out to Starbucks for breakfast. Andy also got his first Father's Day gift in the mail the other day from his mom and dad (Grandma and Grandpa-to-be) - the gift was two bibs; one in blue and one in pink that each read: "I love my Daddy" on them. Very cute! They have been set aside in the baby's closet for now and we're looking forward to having a little one here to actually use them soon! We stopped by the outlet mall this afternoon and often got sidetracked looking at baby clothes. We haven't purchased anything yet ourselves for little baby Barnes, but we are both itching to start buying either cute little dresses or handsome little jackets for our little one - I am dying to know which one it'll be. I think if we did end up finding out the sex of the baby though, it would be SO dangerous for us. I, alone, would surely break us with all the fun stuff that I would not be able to resist buying! That day will come someday, regardless of when it happens, I'm sure!

12 weeks and counting....

Today I'm 12 weeks... or 3 MONTHS pregnant! Yay me! :) Only 28 more weeks to go. I can imagine once I (finally) hit the 20 week point that the time might just snow ball away, but I've heard differing opinions about that from veteran moms, so we'll see. Andy and I are just amazed at how BIG our little "bun" has all of a sudden become in the last 2 weeks. The baby has doubled in size within the last 3 weeks - so incredible! My growing baby belly is proof of that. I think if I wear shirts that are tight fitting enough (like in the picture above), you can definitely tell I'm pregnant.... though it is still just a little baby bump. The "book" says that the baby is about 2 1/2 inches long (and about the size of a large lime) right now and most all of the body structures are formed - they will just continue to grow/develop from this point on. I get so anxious every week to read about what is happening to our little one at that time. Right now the baby's reflexes are developing - things like the baby's fingers and toes will start to curl, eye muscles will clench, and the baby can make sucking movements with his/her mouth! So unreal to me! I am anxiously awaiting the day that I will feel this little guy/gal move. Sometimes at night or in the morning, I'll lay in bed very still on my back and try and determine if I feel anything..... sometimes I think I can - but it's either the baby .... or gas, and I gotta imagine it's, unfortunately, most likely gas at this point. They say that you really could feel the baby this early though if this wasn't your first pregnancy because you know what the initial little wiggle abouts feel like, so I keep trying really hard to see if I can determine a right jab from a involuntary grumble in my tummy, but it has proven to be hard to determine! Two more weeks and I will officially be in my second trimester. I cannot even begin to explain how great that sounds to me. I'm so thankful to have this little one with us right now and I'm so hopeful that he/she will only continue to keep growing and amazing us every week.

Sweet Lambie

So, I've been doing some browsing on the internet and catalogue to start getting some ideas for a nursery theme. I need to find something neutral that will work for either a little boy or a little girl, and in my mind I'm thinking neutral = plain. Right now, I THINK I've decided on: lambs! Lambs, I think, are the perfect fit for both a girl or a boy, and they're white - so my neutral/plain desire is fulfilled! :) I found this bedding at Potterybarn Kids so far and I really like it. Right now the room is painted a light aqua blue color. My thought is that if we end up having a boy, we'll keep it blue, and if baby Barnes ends up being a girl, we'll just have the nursery painted shortly after she arrives. Either way, this bedding will match whatever color wall we choose. We both like the peachy/pink color used in the picture - but I can't imagine painting the room PEACH only for us to have a boy that could have had a blue room! Decisions, decisions! If we had a Potterybarn Kids down here, I think I would be paying them a visit every single day right now just to wander around and imagine it all inside our little nursery!

The Bun is Growing!

11 weeks, 4 days - Today I think I look noticeably pregnant! Without currently having a job, I don't typically have a reason to get dressed up and wear "real" clothes (like I would to go to work or out somewhere) , so I've been mostly hiding out in skirts and athletic shorts each day. Well, today I put on a pair of "real" shorts with a fitted tank top and quick checked myself in the mirror only to be pleasantly surprised that I actually have a baby belly! It seems to change throughout the day... as the day goes on my stomach gets bigger, but it's definitely there! I also think I started to feel the hardness of my uterus the other day, too, which means it's growing along with baby inside. My noticeable belly may have given me my first taste of "nesting," too! Without a basement in our new house to store stuff in, the room that will be the nursery has become the perfect place to put those extra things we have no other spot for. I cleaned out the closet and organized it with all of the gifts we've already received for the baby (we've received more things than I thought already.... this kid is going to be spoiled!!), and started finding new homes for the other things in the room too. I'm having fun trying to visualize what the room will look like 1 year from now..... and having trouble deciding whether I think it'll be pink or blue!

My Baby Bump...

I started taking some photos early on at 4, 6, and 9 weeks to see how my belly is starting to grow and it is coming along a little bit!

4 Weeks

6 Weeks

9 Weeks

There's a bun in the oven!

We are more than excited to announce that a baby Barnes is on the way! As, I become closer and closer towards the end of the first trimester (with no issues!) I'm starting to get more and more attached to the idea that we're actually going to have a baby. We're still cautious about the pregnancy and are being realistic in knowing what could happen, but we're also thankful for the blessing that we have and hopeful that we'll both be given a very nice Christmas present this year. Our estimated due date is January 2, 2010 - a New Year's bundle of joy! Today I am 11 weeks, 2 days. We have been to a few prenatal appointments and baby Barnes has even made his/her first video/photo appearance in an ultrasound already! Everything looks great so far, and we're hopeful that it will remain that way.

We've heard the baby's heartbeat twice now at the doctors and it was the sweetest sound. I wasn't getting my hopes up during our sonogram, and was hoping that maybe we'd get to see the baby's heart beat, but I didn't expect to hear it, too! However, as soon as the technician put the ultrasound machine up to my stomach, you could instantly hear that strong heart beating a lovely: "whoosh, whoosh, whoosh" sound - it was so strong that I thought it was my heart, at first! It was the most incredible thing for us to experience to date - realizing that we created this human being that already has a perfect sounding heart thumping away in there, eventhough its still only weeks old in the womb! Hearing that sound was absolutely music to my ears and I cannot get enough of it!

Both times that we've heard the heart beat, the heart rate was at 172/min - which is considered strong! The old wives tale suggests that a baby's heart rate of 140/min or above indicates that you're carrying a girl, and 139/min or below indicates a boy. We'll just have to wait and see on that one. Andy has talked me into waiting on finding out the baby's gender until we deliver... it's going to be a loooong wait! Although, as much as I'm dying to find out whether I have a son or daughter in my belly, I'm starting to agree that it might be kind of fun to wait it out!