30 Weeks- wow!

(This picture was taken at 28 weeks) It's hard to believe I've reached 30 weeks already. This pregnancy seemed to drag at first, just waiting on the next test/ultrasound. But the more "safe" everything became the quicker it's gone. I had an OB appt. yesterday. Everything continues to check out well. My belly is now measuring at 32 weeks, although my Dr. assures me that I'll likely be having an average size baby. She thinks he is probably just stretching out right now. In 2 weeks I'll have a 4D ultrasound to measure how big he is and also to see what he looks like! That will be so amazing! We're really looking forward to it. We're also having maternity pictures taken in 2 weeks with Curtis and I and baby belly. I think it will be fun. Who knows if I'll ever have the opportunity to be pregnant again so we may as well enjoy it and document it while we can.

I've had 3 amazing baby showers so far. Two with family and friends backhome and one last weekend with local friends/family. They've been SOOO fun and such a blessing! We're so blessed to have so many supportive friends and family members who have shared this journey with us. We continue to feel so blessed to have the opportunity to have a baby and can't say enough how much we've appreciated all of you and your continuous prayers though it all.

The further along I get the more anxious I get to meet this little guy. What will he look like?What will his personality be like? Will we be able to figure out the whole scheduling thing? Will I be able to nurse successfully? All these questions. . . We're just eager to see how it goes.

26 weeks

This past week I had another OB appointment. Everything is going so well, it's almost strange how easy it's been after getting past the initial fertility struggles. My blood pressure is good, weight is good, no concerns, the baby is growing on track with a perfect heartbeat. :) We couldn't ask for more! I am starting to feel him more and more. Not just kicks, but movement in general. I can feel him turn or roll at times. Recently I feel him move to one side or the other and it creates a hard lump in my belly. Then, looking down, my belly is assymetrical. It's crazy! It's so amazing. This pregnancy thing has been great on my body. Too bad it took such an ordeal to get here.

Tonight we picked up the new dresser/changing table at Babies 'R Us. We're anxious to get the nursery all together. Right now it's all painted and the crib is put together. Curtis just needs some help getting the dresser up the stairs. Now we need a small bookcase and some kind of chair. It's all so fun! It's hard to believe I'm almost into the 3rd trimester. We are so grateful for God's graciousness to us through all of this. He is So Good! :)

Getting bigger and better- 24 weeks

My belly keeps getting bigger and this little one keep getting more active. It's so awesome to feel him move and so often. He is quite the little dancer sometimes. :) We've narrowed down the names to probably 2. I doubt we'll decide for sure until we see him face to face.

Today we had the nursery painted. It looks really good! It's blue on 3 walls and brown on one wall to match the bedding. So far we have the crib and last weekend ordered the dresser/changing table combo. It's all coming together. :) We currently have several showers planned. Two will be the weekend of Nov 8th and 9th with one on Saturday with Curtis' family and the other on Sunday with my family/family friends. Then one here in Indy on Nov 15th for Indy friends etc. And then one more with work on Dec 1st. It's all so fun! I love parties. . . Hopefully all of you have received invitations to at least one shower. If not, let me know.

Overall I'm still feeling good. I do tire quickly. Last week I tried to clean my whole house and kind of overdid myself and had a little back pain for a couple days. I guess I'll have to pace myself a little better.

21 Weeks

Here are my belly pics from 20 weeks. I keep getting bigger every day, it seems. I'm still feeling great. I did start feeling him move as of Sept 1st. It started out as little gas bubble feelings that was hard to distinguish as a baby moving. With each week I'm feeling him stronger and stronger. Now it's no doubt that I'm feeling little kicks in there. He seems to be most active after I've eaten a meal and then sit or lie down. Curtis was even able to feel him move this past weekend. It's pretty amazing!!!!

We're starting to get more into the planning mode now that we know this is a little boy. We've got a few names that we keep coming back to, but still nothing for sure yet. I went to register with my sister's help a couple weekends ago. A lot of those little things, I have no idea what I need so it's nice to have someone who's been there and can offer some practical advice. We registered at Baby's R Us and Target. I also got a book called Baby Bargains which is helpful to tell you what you need, what you don't and what brands are good.

We both are sort of in "nesting" mode. I think more so it's realizing all the home improvements we want to get done before we have less money and less time. So, we're having an electrician come in to do some work this weekend so we can put up a light in our dining room and ceiling fans in the upstairs bedrooms. And, we'll be having someone come in to paint----which we've been putting off for a while. And probably will have him do the baby's room as well. I think we've decided on a "theme"- not of characters, but colors using light blue and chocolate brown.

It's all so exciting!!!!

18 week ultrasound

Today I went in for my next appointment. Curtis went with me, of course, since I would be having an ultrasound. All along we've been thinking that this baby would be a girl. . . . .well. . . . he fooled us. IT'S A BOY. There's no doubt about it. :) We were surprised, but excited. Curtis keeps getting more excited the more he thinks about it- all the "boy" things they can do together.

But, most importantly the baby looks perfectly healthy and everything is measuring just as it should. We are just so blessed to be able to HAVE a child. Period. We feel so honored that God is seeing fit to bless us with a baby.

Now the fun begins. . . names, nursery etc. . . . . We've decided, though, that once we pick a name we won't be sharing it with anyone until he's born. You'll have to wait in anticipation. :)

I'm continuing to feel great! Even some of the tiredness has gone away. I'm starting to feel fat, though and am pretty much in maternity clothes full time now. But, that's all fun too. Too bad the new wardrobe isn't useful for more than 4 or 5 months. Oh well. I'll post the next set of belly pics in a couple weeks.

16 weeks and growing

As you can see my belly is continuing to grow. I don't really realize how much until I see the photos of myself and compare to a month and 2 months ago. I think it's awesome! And to know there's a baby growing in there is just amazing. I think we're still in awe by the whole thing. To realize all this IVF stuff is panning out to be a real baby- what a miracle. God is SO good!

Yesterday I did some shopping for maternity clothes. I was getting to the point of having one pair of shorts, one pair of jeans, one pair of khaki's and limited shirts that still fit. So, now it's nice to have some clothes that I can breath in. . . it's nice.

In 2 weeks we find out the sex of this baby. I go in on August 29th for my next appointment and ultrasound. So, we're eagerly awaiting that day. :):) We're kind of thinking it's a girl, but we'll see. :) I'll keep you posted. :)

13 weeks

Yesterday I had my 2nd appt. with my OB/Gyn. Overall, everything looks great. She's amazed with how well I've been feeling. We were able to hear the heartbeat externally which was awesome! I'm right on the cusp as to whether or not the heart would be developed enough to hear it audibly externally, but we could hear it loud and clear. The rhythm was steady, no skips. . . . perfect. :) 165 bpm. I scheduled my next appointment for August 25th when I will be 18 weeks. I will have another ultrasound and should be able to determine the sex of the baby.

I'm beginning to outgrow some of my clothes. Many of my pants/shorts don't fit well anymore. Today I bought a pair of shorts- a size too big to get me through the summer- and a pair of khaki pants that roll up to capri's. Those are actually maternity, but fit well and should get me through fall. It's kind of fun to begin buying some new clothes, but I'm kind of a awkward size right now to find items that fit and will be useful a few months from now. I'll figure it out as I go. :)

I talked to my boss about the fact that I want to take the full 12 weeks for maternity leave and then return part-time 2 days a week. He did not seem surprised and expected that is what I would do. So, that is a relief to be getting that figured out. Also, my sister offered to watch this baby when I return to work part-time. That was a major answer to prayer!!!! So, it seems all is coming together! God is good!!! :)