20 weeks

So today marks a milestone in pregnancy! We're halfway there! I'm 20 weeks today and now 20 weeks away from meeting our baby. I've realized that when we take these pictures in the morning, I should probably put some make up on first. I'm looking a bit rough!

I couldn't resist putting in a picture of our four-legged furry baby. She's so freakin' cute! And she's a GREAT puppy. Seriously. I brag about her all the time, but Brent and I lucked out with the most laid back, smartest puppy EVER.

Anyway, I digress....

Monday also marks a HUGE milestone...we have the ultrasound to find out the sex of our baby. Brent and I discussed whether we should find out. I think he always wanted to find out, but I was the one that was wavering. Not a lot of wavering, but wavering enough that I couldn't make a decision. In the end, we are going to find out the sex next week. We have our ultrasound on Monday and I think we're going to have the doctor/tech write down the sex on a piece of paper and put it in an envelope. That way, Brent and I can have a more private and special moment when the sex of our baby is revealed. I'm sure there will be tears. I'll probably cry too. Ha!

Is it a boy? Or a girl? Stay tuned....

Lacey

Brent got a "new" camera for his birthday in April. Really, it's my dad's camera that he is retiring as he wanted a smaller, more compact camera, so Brent lucked out and got his digital SLR camera. Sweet!

I took some pictures of Lacey out in the grass a few weeks ago. This is one of my favorites:

18 weeks

I was at a home visit a couple days ago and the grandmother asked if I had any kids. I replied "No, I'm not, but am pregnant with my first baby." She shrieked with delight and said "I thought so, but didn't want to say anything in case you weren't." I was just overjoyed that someone who didn't know I was previously pregnant noticed that I was actually pregnant and not just fat!

A picture of my baby bump at 18 weeks.

Everyone at work now has a baby bump showing so it's fun comparing bump sizes with everyone. If I hadn't shared before, there are 4 of us in my office, not just the early intervention department , but in my immediate office, that are pregnant. We are separated by 7 weeks total. Our due dates span from mid August to my due date October 6. It's crazy (and we're giving our supervisors a heart attack!), but fun to talk pregnancy and babies with other ladies.

Lacey

So I haven't talked about Lacey in a while. Guess this whole "baby thing" has my mind preoccupied. Which is kinda true, but Lacey is a huge part of our life. We LOVE this puppy. She is the best puppy. Really, she is. She is smart as a whip and learns quickly. Plus, she's so darn cute! Who wouldn't love that sweet puppy face that just loves you unconditionally?

16 weeks belly pic

16 weeks

Yesterday was my 16 week OB appointment. In general, these appointments aren't as exciting as I initially thought they'd be. This is how it goes:

• The nurse wants me step on the scale and I always request that I use the bathroom first. I have to get rid of any excess weight I can!



• While in the bathroom, I then have to pee in a cup, which is always an intesting task to complete.



• I emerge from the restroom and then take off my shoes and step on the scale backwards as I DO NOT want to see what I weigh. I only want to know if there's a problem with my weight and if I need to change my diet/activity level. Otherwise, I'd like to stay ignorant of my weight and weight gain thankyouverymuch.



• Nurse asks me same questions as previous appointment and takes my BP.



• The MOST exciting part of the appointment, of course, is hearing the baby's heart beat. It's about 30 seconds of wonderfulness! That's the highlight of the appointment - those 30 seconds. (I did record the heartbeat on my phone, but having difficulty trying to upload it to the blog. Blah!)



• Nurse leaves. The doctor then comes in asks if I have any questions, which i only a have a couple per visit. I'm not a worry-wart pregnant woman, so I'm an easy patient, I think anway.



• That's it. Apointment is over.

Next appointment, however will be the BIG one! We get another ultrasound and we will get to find out the sex of the baby! Now, that is CRAZY!

13 weeks

Today I am 13 weeks - officially out of my first trimester and into my second trimester! Just think, this is often the time that most people start sharing this big secret they've been concealing. I can't imagine holding in this huge secret this long and JUST now telling folks. I don't want to think of me as a bad secret keeper, because I am, I'd like to think of it as wanting others to share in our good news.

This week, the baby is about the size of a peach.

The http://www.thebump.com says "Your fetus is forming teeth and vocal cords... savor this, their non-functional phase. Baby is approaching normal proportions, with a head now only one third the size of the body. Intestines are in the process of moving from the umbilical cord to baby's tummy. (Much more convenient.)"

www.babycenter.com says "Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head -- which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce. "

Having a Baby

So, the word is out. We are facebook official. Brent and I are having a baby! No matter how many times I've said it and in different ways, it's still weird to hear those words. Last week we had an ultrasound (nothing is wrong for those who know that we had an early ultrasound at 12 weeks) and immediately, the image of a baby popped onto the screen. I was completely taken aback. I don't know what I was expecting to see, but we saw arms, legs, body, head...a real baby. I couldn't help but shed some tears as I realized what was actually happening. The estimated due date is October 6. Perfect time of year to have a baby...fall, cooler weather...plus, I'll most likely be off on maternity leave until the first of year. Wahoo!

New Normal

On Monday morning, we started our new "normal".

My parents left Monday morning to go back to KC around 7:00 a.m. Afterwards, Brent and I looked at each other as to what to do next. We now have to to try to juggle "puppy duty" with getting ready for work. As anyone knows who's had a puppy, they can't always be trusted when unsupervised. And we're just letting her roam the living room area now before be given permission to roam the whole house at her leisure. So, someone needs to be down in the living room attending to Lacey while the other person is upstairs getting ready.

Everyday seems to be a different dance as we have different schedules each day.
Monday, Brent was home with Lacey all day. So that made it easy for me to get ready. But I kept checking in on Lacey stepping out on the landing to look down on the new puppy. That seemed to slow me down a bit.
Tuesday morning Brent and I were both out of the house early, so Lacey was crated alone for several hours before Brent came home around lunchtime. That was sad to hear her whine as we walked out.
Wednesay Brent left at 6:30 while I had to juggle getting ready and puppy duty alone. You know how I solved that? Crate. I thought she'd whine the whole time, but I was shocked that she only whined for several minutes and then entertained herself.

We'll see what the future dance will look like...

So far so good though.

New Addition

We have a new addition to our family! Brent and I are now parents to a new puppy! I introduce you to Lacey.

We are told her mom was part Boxer/German Shepherd and her dad is supposedly a lab. I think that's the default breed...lab. She has been an absolute delight.

We adopted her from a shelter: www.circletail.org . One of Brent's patients, Sarah, volunteers at circletail and had been telling Brent that when we were ready to adopt a dog, she'd be happy to assist us. And assist us, she did. She introduced us to our sweet Lacey. I have to say, it was love at first sight for both Brent and I.

The ride home was like taking home your baby from the hospital for the first time. I sat in the backseat with LAcey while Brent drove. I couldn't keep my eyes off Lacey as she perked her ears at the sights that she could see and the bumps she could feel. The sweet puppy slept on my lap the entire way home. It's a 50 minute ride too! Precious!

My parents were here for Thanksgiving when we brought her home for the first time. They tried to give us a hard time about adopting a puppy ("are you crazy?!"..."they're so much work!"..."they chew on everything!"...), but once they met her, I think they fell in love with her too! They've got a grandpuppy! Hee hee!

Right now, she's asleep beside me on the floor in the living room.