Baby Pic!

This is the first photo op we have had of the little bean! Brad and I were truly amazed to see it on screen and to hear the heart beat! We could actually see the heart pulsing on the screen... I cried of course as soon as I heard the little sound. The babe is just about 1 cm tiny! The heart rate was 136 and my due date was moved just a few days back to October 12th. The doctor seems to think that everything looks good at this point. We will probably wait a few more weeks to unleash the news to the masses, just to be safe, but we both feel much less anxious now that we have seen what is going on in there. Hearing the heart beat was a real assurance. I wish I could have an ultrasound once a week! I am tempted to buy or rent one of those machines that will let you listen to the heart rate at home! The next ultrasound won't be until 20 weeks - so we have a while to wait to see the babe again. That ultrasound will be 4D (which should be really neat) and will hopefully determine the sex of the baby. I still feel like it is a boy - but there is a 50/50 chance, so who knows?! According to an old wives tale - it may be a boy at that heart rate, but we aren't quite convinced just yet. We just hope we have a healthy babe in October and we can't wait!

Glad to be home!

WHEW... the trip to California last week was exhausting at best. We traveled all over Southern Cali. to meet with vendor's. Let's just say that morning sickness (more like all day sickness) does not mesh well with riding in the back seat of a Chevy Impala for 4 hours each day. The days were long with traveling and meetings (which were actually very productive) and I found myself in bed each night at 8:00, homesick! Worst of all - the long return flight in a middle seat was not conducive to my frequent trips to the ladies room! My problem lately is that nothing sounds appetizing. I have been eating lots of salads and fruit. I suppose my cravings could be worse, but don't worry - I also adore the thought of ice cream and bread! So anyhow... it is great to be home, but I think I am going to try to limit my business traveling for now as I proved that I am a bit of a wimp.

It has been a relaxing weekend at home with Brad and visiting with fam. My brother flew in on Saturday to surprise my Mom for her birthday. We enjoyed some time at the spa today and brunch at Gratz Park Inn - thanks Chris! I will post something Tuesday night as I have a doc appt and ultrasound Tuesday morning! I can't wait to hear the little heart beat!

The Shopping Adventures of Aunt Mills

Brad and I received our first tribute of gifts for the little bundle yesterday from none other than "Aunt Mills." She is excited to say the least, so much in fact that I think she believes she is actually having sympathy pregnancy symptoms! Ha! It was fun to find a UPS box waiting on our door step last night and knowing it was from Mills, I could not wait to see the contents! There were several cute items, most importantly a "Bah" for the babe... (for those of you who don't know Mills, a "Bah" is a lamb in the form of a cuddly stuffed animal.) This new "Bah" actually resembles a lamb and is the cutest, softest thing, unlike Mills' 28 year old pile of rags, otherwise known as "Bah." Sorry Mills - but its true! THANKS Mills -you made my day! Such cute little things to admire... she must have gone shopping as soon as she heard the news and not a second later!

OH - check out the babystrology thing that I added on the right side of this page... it is a little strange, but really neat to see how the little babe is growing - in a few weeks it will actually resemble a babe! I will post another update next week sometime... for now same ole, same ole with me. Still very excited, as you can tell, though very tired and quite finicky. I am traveling next week on business to California,Tuesday thru Friday. A little nervous about being away from home this early in the game, but I am sure there is nothing to worry about.

To the very few of you that have actually heard the news and are reading this blog, I really appreciate your well wishes and support and we are looking forward to being able to share the news with ALL of our friends and family. It is tough to keep this one a secret! I can't wait until Feb. 26th comes and goes... let's hope we hear a healthy heartbeat and then I can relax and enjoy the ride!

Happy Valentine's Day! xoxo

P.S. - Random, but has anyone ever heard of "Bella Bands?" See pic below... they are contraptions that are supposed to help you fit into your pre-pregnancy clothes longer. Strange I tell ya, but perhaps it is worth a shot during that in between period that most women say occurs anywhere from 8 weeks to 13 weeks when your clothes are snug, but you aren't ready for maternity clothes. It seems that these bands are all the rage. There is so much to learn! http://www.ingridandisabel.com/

1st Doc Appt

I decided to send this out to all of you gals (and Christopher) that have already heard the news! Again, please just keep it under lock and key until we get word from the doctor that things are good in just a few weeks.

The first OB visit went well, but was rather uneventful. I spent most of the time asking questions and being told about all of the fun and interesting things I can't do for the next 34 weeks! The doctor ordered a ton of routine labs, so much of the time was spent getting poked and proded. I go back Feb. 26th for the 1st ultrasound - which is when we will hear the heartbeat! The doctor told me today that after they are able to locate the heartbeat, the chance or risk of any issues drops dramatically to less than 5%. So... we will remain tight lipped until that point and assuming that everything goes well, we MAY decide to share with some other extended family and friends. I really hope to hold out until 10 weeks before it is truly public news, but I love to share good news! Your thoughts and prayers are much needed and appreciated during these next 6 weeks especially!

I am starting my 6th week or technically I am 5 weeks and 2 days. The EDD (estimated date of delivery) is October 15th (which is Ellen's Birthday!)

It's true, but shhhhhhh!

So we decided we would not tell anyone until 10 weeks... which translated into telling our immediate families ASAP and now we have already agreed to tell close friends only. It is still quite a bit early to sit back and relax or make it public, but we decided that we wanted the support of our closest friends. Even though it is early in the game, we are thinking positive thoughts and ask for your love and support and prayers! We are thrilled... but not nearly as excited as our Mother's! We are happy to share the news with you all, but for now - please keep the news to yourself or amongst yourselves as we have yet to tell some close family members and friends and goodness knows I am not ready for Danville just yet! We hope to let the cat out of the bag in early March, around 10 weeks - pending doctor's approval, so until then we ask that you please keep the great news on the quiet side.

We got this news on Super Bowl Sunday! I was getting ready to get in the shower and thought for some reason I needed to take a test... no crazy symptoms other than being really tired with a headache that sent me home from work last week. I wasn't really late, but thought WHY NOT? I was of course shocked when 2 pink lines immediately showed up on the test screen... it hardly took 10 seconds, much less 3 minutes! I immediately started yelling for Brad - thank goodness he was home! But he could not hear me because he had his noise cancelling headphones on - so I ran to find him. I think he was annoyed I was slapping him on the shoulder rapidly and mumbling something that he must have eventually understood... We both kept running into the bathroom to check the reading. Brad's first reaction was "what does that mean?" and then shortly after "wow. there are definitely two pink lines!" He immediately went to change and suggested that we go buy more tests before we got too excited... I think this is probably everyone's reaction, even though most of us are trained to know that there aren't really any false positive's! So we ventured out to Rite Aid and purchased the expensive, digital tests. The next one I took immediately read the word "pregnant" leaving little to the imagination! The hardest part was getting dressed to go to the Super Bowl party at Brad's brothers house and not telling a soul! Since then I have taken another test... just for further confirmation! We had entirely expected this process to take quite a bit longer, so while we are SO excited, we were also pleasantly surprised that it happened right off the bat!

From what I can calculate... I am wrapping up my 5th week now and will start #6 on Sunday. From all of the nifty calculators online, I estimate I am due around October 12th. I have a doctor's appt Monday morning and hope to find out more then. I am feeling good, other than being exhausted and a tad bit queasy from time to time. Let's hope that doesn't get any worse! For now - I am happy going to bed at 9:00 and often napping during lunch. Now I know why I have been so run-down the past few weeks!

From time to time I will post updates and ultrasound pics etc. to share with you all. If you want to visit this page periodically to check on us, please do!