Merry Christmas!!

Scott and I hope you all had a great Christmas with your family and friends! And that you got everything you wished for!!

In the last week Scott was able to see my stomach move with the little one kicking away in there. And of course he has gotten to feel more kicks! It really is so cool to see.

At 28 weeks the baby is now about the size of an eggplant, weighing 2 1/4 pounds and almost 15 inches from head to toe. The little one can blink his/her eyes, which now sport lashes. With eyesight developing, Baby C may be able to see the light that filters in through my belly. The eyes have color now, too. Although, it may not be the color he/she ultimately ends up with.

Here is the most recent picture taken Christmas morning.

Bring on the brownies!!

I passed the 3 hour test...no gestational diabetes for me! Out of the 4 blood draws, 2 have to be elevated to be diagnosed as gestational diabetes. The OB's office said none of the draws were elevated and I am in the clear! Woohooo! So where are those brownies?!

Today we are officially in the 3rd trimester. Can you believe it? The little stinker is going to be here before we know it. At 27 weeks the baby is about 14 1/2 inches long and weighs almost 2 pounds, about the weight of a head of cauliflower. Baby's done a lot of growing over the past few months. His/Her length has more than doubled in the past 15 weeks! And that's not the only thing growing—baby's brain tissue and neurons are all developing at a rapid pace. Baby's brain waves are now firing away just like those of a newborn baby.

I have also been able to see my stomach move from the outside. It is a pretty weird thing to see, but very cool! Scott hasn't seen it yet, he has either been sleeping or still at work when I have noticed it. Hopefully he will get to see it soon!

Really? Only one point?!

The crossed fingers apparently didn't do the trick. I didn't pass my 1 hour Glucose test by 1 whopping point. I went in yesterday for the dreaded 3 hour test. Yes, it is as bad as it sounds; sitting in a lab room for 3 hours and getting blood drawn 4 times from my poor little veins. I mean that might sound like fun for you, however, I assure you it was not my cup of tea. So let's just try and keep everything crossed that I pass this test with flying colors. I'll let you know when I hear something!

Wait a minute...98 days?!?

See that ticker over on the right hand side of the screen? ----->

It says that we only have 98 days left....that can't be right. We are in double digits here and I just talked about how slow we seemed to be moving. Hmmm...I guess we have some things to get done before the little one arrives.

I went in today for my glucose screening test. It tests for gestational diabetes and basically consists of drinking a really sweet, flat Sprite-like drink and then getting blood drawn an hour later. Hopefully I pass and don't have to worry about it. If I don't pass I would have to go back for the 3 hour test and that just sounds like no fun. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

At 26 weeks, the little peanut now weighs about 1 2/3 pounds and is about 14 inches long, or about the length of an English hothouse cucumber. The network of nerves in the baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. The baby may be able to hear mine and Scott's voices and all of that yelling at the Saints!

Here is the latest installment of the bump. It is definitely getting bigger!

25 weeks

25 weeks...on some days it seems like this pregnancy is flying by and then there are others where it seems like we have been at the same week for months. Today is one of those days...I could have sworn that last week was 25 weeks, but nope, no such luck. Right now it seems like we are moving at a snail's pace. On the other hand, when you think that we only have 15 weeks left it seems really close!

We had a regular OB appointment today. Nothing too exciting going on...but we did get to hear the heartbeat again. It is still such a great sound! I did ask the Dr. about the baby being so low and he wasn't all that concerned. Just told us some warning signs to look out for and if we started to notice any of them, to let them know. So it appears we are moving right along.

The little one is now about the size of an average rutabaga...about 1 1/2 pounds and 13 1/2 inches long. Who even uses rutabagas anymore?! The baby is trading in the long and lean look for some baby fat and the wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out.

Not a whole lot going on, but I will leave you with the most recent belly pic.
Scott wanted me to mention that if we have a boy, the name Jarrett has been eliminated. Obviously this is due to the play of a certain LSU Quarterback. You just can't have 7 interceptions returned to the house and be honored with a namesake. Maybe we'll have to reconsider JaMarcus? He was pretty good.

My new best friend...and kicks!

I have two words for you...Elastic. Waist. I mean, seriously, why can't women wear elastic waisted pants year round, pregnant or not?!? These have got to be the most comfortable jeans I have ever remembered wearing. I think I may wear these maternity clothes forever...so don't ask to see my waist band when my child is 2 or anything.
But in far more exciting news than my love affair with elastic....Scott felt the baby move last night! I think he walked over expecting the usual; put hand on belly, wait for a few minutes, and feel nothing, move hand away feeling defeated. For some reason the baby doesn't like to preform on command. Last night, however, I felt a few taps, kicks or punches and called him over. I didn't even have to say "feel that?", he felt the one swift kick before I even said anything. He seemed so excited and wanted to feel more, but the baby was done for the evening. Yay for feeling something though!

This week the baby is about the size of a mango and about 11 1/2 inches long. Fat production is in overdrive and the baby will double in weight over the next 4 weeks. The little one is also starting to pick up noises from the outside world...so the baby will be used to Rocky's ferocious bark once he/she gets here!

22 weeks

Today was my birthday and I can't remember having this nice of a present before. I had my 22 week ultrasound today and seeing the baby move around, sucking "his/her" thumb and swallowing was such an amazing thing to see. It is incredible what you can see...all the fingers, feet, heart chambers, bladder, stomach, etc. Although, the little one was still being a stinker and is down really low so the Dr. had a hard time once again with the head measurements and such.The baby is measuring in at 1lb 1oz and measuring a little ahead at an estimated due date of March 14, but they aren't changing my due date from the 19th. The little one is the length of a spaghetti squash at this point and is starting to look more like a miniature newborn. Baby's little tooth buds are already developing beneath the gums...getting those chompers ready!

I'm finally starting to look a little pregnant as opposed to someone who maybe hasn't been hitting the gym :/ Today was my first day wearing maternity pants so I felt a little more legit!

Election Day!

Obama or McCain?

Half way there!

Well…we're half way home now! That baby is half-baked. 20 weeks in out of 40. It's crazy to think in just 20 weeks, I'll be wearing a clothes pin on my nose, changing a diaper…probably still gagging the whole time. I must admit, even picking up Rocky's tootsie-roll poop almost makes me hurl. I'm in trouble.

Ally is doing incredibly well (knock on whatever ya got) and isn't really showing like some do at 20 weeks. Check this gal out at just 18 weeks... compared to the picture we took of Ally this morning.

Where the heck is the 'big' bump? She's obviously a little bigger than normal, but "where's the beef?"

The books say that our little one is about the size of a cantaloupe this week. The baby is about 6.5 inches long from head to bottom and weighs in at a hefty 10 1/2 ounces. Baby C is practicing breathing and swallowing on a regular basis. The baby is continuing to grow and fill out, with the head becoming slightly more proportional to the rest of the body.

And for those of you who know my Sis out in St. Louis (Jen), she and her husband Andy just welcomed their daughter, Brooke Nicole to the world Tuesday night. Congrats to the happy family!! Here's a picture of Mom and Baby Brooke...hopefully she won't mind us sharing!

19 weeks

19 weeks...wow! The time is seeming to fly by.

The little munchkin is about the size of a mango now. This is a crucial time for sensory development: The baby's brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that the baby may be able to hear my voice now...hopefully he/she can tune out the off key signing!

The baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches head to bottom. The arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of the body now. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on the skin the to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid. Yum!

I have definitely felt some movement!! Just a few little taps here and there, but very exciting! I can't wait for Scott to be able to feel the little one. I feel like I'm in the "fat" stage...I look like I have gained weight, but I don't look pregnant yet. I guess that time will come...here is a picture in the meantime.

So...we have a stubborn baby!

This morning we had a Level II ultrasound. They check the brain, 4 chambers of the heart, umbilical cord, spine, etc. The little one is now weighing in at a whopping 8 ounces and is measuring about 3 days ahead. They were able to get most of the measurements needed, but the baby was head down and all squished up and wouldn't move. They had me get up and walk around, go to the bathroom, poke my stomach real hard but it was all to no avail. The baby was nice and comfy and couldn't be bothered! Doesn't he/she know that we are just checking on its well being? We have decided that we just have a stubborn baby...hmmm, wonder if he/she gets that from mom or dad!?! Feel free to contemplate that too.

The end result was that the Dr. wants to see us back in 4 weeks so he can get a better look at everything. He also said that obviously the baby will be much bigger and the heart should be easier to see, right now it's only about the size of a dime. I'm not complaining though, we get to see the baby again! We scheduled the next appointment in the afternoon, hoping that maybe the baby would be more active. So on November 13th (my b-day), keep your fingers and toes crossed that our baby isn't so stubborn this time around.

Since the little pumpkin was so curled up, we really didn't get any great pictures. Most of the shots we have are of the back where you can really see the spine and sometimes a leg or an arm.See what I mean about being scrunched up in there? The baby's head is towards the bottom and you can make out the cute little profile, if you look hard enough. See the little nose and lips?

The Dr. thought this pic resembled the statue "The Thinker". You can see the spine, back of the head, arm and it's hand curled up by the side of the face.

See the resemblance? Such a smart little cookie already!

The baby is now about the size of sweet potato and is passing the hours yawning, hiccuping, rolling, kicking, twisting, punching, swallowing and sucking. I *think* I have felt some movement for about the last week, but nothing that makes me believe it's the baby 100%. Hopefully in the next few weeks we will have some good solid kicks that will be undeniably baby.

Rewind to 12 weeks

On September 4th we had our Nuchal Translucency Scan. This is a screening that helps to assess if the baby might have Down Syndrome or other chromosomal abnormalities and must be done between 11-14 weeks. The test includes an ultrasound as well as some blood taken from me. During the ultrasound the Dr. measures the clear/translucent space in the tissue behind the baby's neck. They like to see that measurement below 2.5 and our measurement was 1.48! So everything looks good on that front. Of course no test is 100%, but it shows that our odds are greatly reduced.

We got to see the baby on a big TV screen for a good 45 minutes. It was amazing to see how much the baby had grown from our last ultrasound. The baby actually looked like...well a baby. The little pumpkin must have been somewhat sleepy because the Dr. kept having me cough and was poking my stomach to try and get the baby to move around a bit more. In the end they got the measurements needed and some great pictures.

The picture above is from the NT scan. And by the way, that is the baby's hand by its face, not a big nose. Then the Dr. switched over to 3D for awhile. That was very neat to see but the baby was a little more alien looking.

We love this little baby no matter what it may look like on an ultrasound...alien or not. The baby at this point was about the size of a plum and almost all of the baby's little systems are fully formed.

This was also an exciting day because we started to tell people about the pregnancy. I mean we wanted to shout this secret from the rooftops, a big secret that we had been keeping for almost 2 months! Sorry to have kept it from you all for so long, but it was so great to finally feel confident enough to tell everyone.

Tomorrow we have our BIG 18 week ultrasound, so check back tomorrow evening!

Baby's first pictures

So...because we started this blog a little later than expected we want to jump back to show the baby's first snapshots.

The picture above is from 6 weeks 1 day. The little sweet pea is tiny, but it's there. It was the first time we got to see the heartbeat and we were both so awestruck. It is so amazing to see a baby the size of a grain of rice with a little heartbeat flickering away. At this point the baby was about the size of a sweet pea.

The next picture is from 9 weeks 1 day. The baby had grown tons and now looked like a little gummy bear. The arm and leg buds were starting to grow and can be seen. Right behind the baby's head is the yolk sac which provides the nutrients until the placenta starts to take over at about 12 weeks. At this point the baby was about the size of a green olive.

Those are the first two pictures of baby Crayon...more to come soon, so stay tuned.

Crib Shopping on a Fall Sunday

Although we still have several months until #1 arrives, we found ourselves shopping for baby furniture this weekend. And can you believe I did this while NFL football was going on?? To be honest, I needed to get away after LSU's nasty little loss on Saturday to the Gators. That will not be a bedtime story for the little one.

But at least I know where the bedtime stories will take place now. We bought a crib, dresser and hutch yesterday! As most of them do now, the crib transforms into a toddler bed, then a daybed and eventually a full size as well. So we're set through the teen years. And then we'll PUNT the child off to college. That's the plan at least. So without further ado here is the set we purchased:

First Post!

We were going to start this blog/journal awhile ago, but have become slackers. So our first post comes at you being 17 weeks and 3 days along. I have been very lucky...I didn't get sick at all (knock on wood) and have been having an easy go of it so far.

We had a Dr.'s appointment on Wednesday and everything is trucking along. These appointments aren't terribly exciting. They basically consist of peeing in a cup, getting weighed, talking with the Dr. for a bit and then my favorite part, hearing the heartbeat. It still get us every time! It is such an amazing/awesome/exciting sound to hear.

Anyways, we thought this would be a good way to keep everyone up to date on what is happening. Please check back for new posts.

Love you all,
Ally and Scott