8 weeks

Okay I have no idea where the last month has gone. Liam is no longer a tiny newborn but a big old chunker! We took him to the doctor 2 weeks ago and he weighed 12 lbs 5 oz; I am sure he is well over 13 lbs now. He was also 23 1/4 inches long and in the 90th percentile for both height and weight! He continues to be the sweetest and happiest baby. He never cries and sleeps great already. About a week ago he started sleeping through the night! He goes down about 8:30pm and wakes up about 4:30am to eat, goes back to sleep until about 7:30am to eat again and then will go back to sleep until 9:00am or 10:00am. I am so lucky! Liam has also started to smile at us and it completely melts my heart. He is so precious and I could just kiss him all day long.
Dad, Cindy, and Jay came out here for several days over Thanksgiving and we had a lovely time. Liam had his first real outing to a Mexican restaurant right down the street. We were even able to walk there because the weather was so nice. He was a perfect angel and slept the whole time. Dow's mom and Uncle Dow joined us for Turkey day and we had lots of fun. Lauretta was so sweet and did most of the cooking. Cindy handled the desserts and we cooked the turkey in the slow cooker my grandparents gave us. It turned out great and so moist. Here are some pics from when they were here:

Thanksgiving 2008

We leave for NC in 2 weeks and I am so excited! My mom has been busy getting all the baby supplies ready for us and Dan says there is so much stuff it looks like they are running a maternity ward. LOL It is going to be so much fun to have a baby in the house for Christmas. I remember this time last year all I wanted for Christmas was a baby; I must have been good this year because I got such a good one. :)

Here are some pics from the last month or so. Can't wait to see everyone in a few weeks!

Liam - 1-2 months

1 month old

I cannot believe that Liam is one month old today! The past 4 weeks have just flown by and the next thing we know he is going to be walking and talking. He is such a good and sweet baby; he really doesn't even cry. When he wakes up in the middle of the night and is hungry he just makes little fussing noises until I wake up and get him. I am very appreciative of this as I cannot imagine what it would be like to be awoken by high pitched crying. He sleeps most of the time but definitely has certain periods where he is very alert. Usually he wakes up right around the time Dow gets home from work and stays awake until we go to bed. He loves staring at the paintings we have on the walls, the lights, or our faces; he was really checking Rufus out last night and I am sure as he gets older he will show more and more interest in the dogs. He is a total chow hound and is eating like a champ. He weighed 8lbs 9oz when we took him to the dr at a week old and then when we took him back 9 days later he weighed 9lbs 11oz; That is 2 oz a day! I am guessing he weighs somewhere between 11 and 12 pounds now as the 0-3 months clothes are starting to get a little snug and I think they are supposed to go up to 12 pounds. We take him back in 2 weeks so I guess we will find out for sure. He LOVES his swing that all my girlfriends gave him. It really is a life saver and allows me to get stuff done around the house. We also have a bouncer seat that he likes and a newborn lounger which has also been wonderful. It is basically this giant pillow that you can lay him in sleep. We have been using it everywhere and carrying it from room to room. Unfortunately he is starting to get too big for it already! The same is true for his bassinette; He loves to stretch all the way out and his feet already are touching the bottom. Looks like he will be moving to his room sooner than I had originally planned! My Mom went home on Saturday and we are definitely missing her! She was so wonderful - cooking, cleaning, laundry, helping with Liam. We sure are lonely now! Well that is about all my sleep deprived brain can think of right now. More next week!

Liam - week 3

Liam - week 3

Week 2 pictures

I am exhausted so I am not going to post lots of details now but I did want to put up some pictures for everyone. Everything is going great! We are exhausted but so in love with our baby boy.

Liam - week 2

Who does Liam look like?

Dow

or

Courtney

Vote in the poll to the right!

Baby Liam's first week

Baby Liam

He's here!

William Linville Pizzitola was born via emergency c-section on October 7th, 2008 at 3:50pm. He weighed 8lbs, 7.5oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. I went into labor during the night and we made our way to the hospital during rush hour traffic. After laboring for several hours, I spiked a very high fever and the doctors decided we needed to get the baby out ASAP. After a mandatory 2 day observation period in the NICU, Liam was given a clean bill of health and all signs of infection had cleared my system. We were finally able to leave the hospital last Friday and could not be happier to be home. Mom and baby are both doing great! As you can imagine, we are exhausted but I wanted to get a few pictures up for everyone. We really appreciate all of your calls, texts, and emails and look forward to catching up just as soon as things settle down a little bit.
We have now been home for several days and things could not be going better. I am feeling 100% better. The pain is very manageable and I can get around a whole lot better. Liam has taken to breastfeeding wonderfully and is getting plenty of food. We took him for his first checkup yesterday and he has already exceeded his birth weight; he now weights 8lbs 9oz. The doctor said this was very good because most breastfed babies do not achieve this for several weeks. We are getting Liam on a schedule and each night it gets better and better. Last night he only woke up 2 times! We are just so in love with him and are so thankful that he is healthy and happy.

36 weeks - ultrasound pictures

From 2008-09-17 36 weeks

36 weeks

Well it sure has been an eventful 2 weeks! Hurricane Ike blew through last week and left Houston in quite a state of disaray. Because of where our house is located, we decided not to evacuate and just "hunker down." We ended up with Dow's grandfather and Dow's dad's outside dog at our house. It was interesting to say the least! When the storm actually blew through it was really scary and really hot! All night long the wind was blowing so hard and it sounded like the house was going to just fall apart. We lost power about 7:30, before it was even raining, and we did not have a radio or anything to have any idea what was going on. Luckily after the storm had passed we were able to hook up a generator and have the tv going and several fans. That made it much more comfortable. Our power came back on the next night around the same time so we were incredibly lucky to only be without it for 24 hours. The majority of people in the greater Houston area are still without power over a week later! I am just so thankful that Liam decided to come during this disaster.
My Mom and Dan were also here last week which was so wonderful! They were originally supposed to fly in on Saturday morning (as the hurricane was hitting) but were able to reschedule their flight for Monday. We were worried that they might not get in because the airport had been closed but they made it. Mom and I were able to get a lot done to get ready for Liam. We got the stroller and carseat, bassinet, and bouncer seat so I am feeling much more ready. I was panicing that I was going to go into labor and we were not going to have a car seat to bring him home in! We were supposed to have our baby shower today but because of the hurricane we ended up cancelling it. I have been out shopping all morning trying to get everything we have left. We also celebrated my 27th birthday; luckily one of my favorite restaurants across the street was open and Mom and Dan took us out. It was so good but I paid the price with heartburn all night. I am at the point now where Tums don't even really help. :) We also got some more clothes for Liam; this baby has got more clothes than he could ever wear. I really hope the next one is a boy so they will get some more use.
We also had a big doctor's appointment on Wednesday. They did an ultrasound in order to see how Liam is positioned and to get a feel for how big he is. Well it looks like he is big; they are estimating that he already weighs 7.5 lbs! They took lots of measurements and basically used some formula to come up with this. I have been researching a lot online and seem to find one story after another where people were told their baby was going to be huge and they turned out to be normal sized so I don't know how much faith I am putting into it. The doctor seemed surprised and immediately started talking about a c -section. This has definitely had me upset because that is not what I wanted. On one hand, I don't want to try and and have a normal delivery, end up in labor for 30 hours, and then have to have a c-section anyway (I have heard that the recovery in situations like this is brutal) but on the other hand I don't want to schedule a c-section only to find out that the baby is normal sized and then regret not trying. I guess at this point we are just going to take it one week at a time. I go back to the doctor on Monday and they will do another Fetal Non-Stress Test (they did one on Wednesday too) where they basically hook you up to monitors and monitor the baby's movement, contractions, heartrate, etc. But there were several good things that came out of all this. We got to see Liam for the first time since the gender ultrasound at 18 weeks. He is so cute! They took lots of pictures for us and even flipped over to the 3-d for a few shots. I have posted the pictures so you guys can see. He looks like he has some pouty lips and some big fat cheeks. We can wait for him to get here so we can kiss on them! The other good thing is that I may have worked my last day! The doctor said she would fill out the insurance paperwork for me to be out until the baby comes. Woohoo! I don't want to get too excited until everything has been completed but I sure am hopeful. Well that is all I can think of for now; he will be here before we know it! Decided to suck it up and take bare belly shots for the last month because I know everyone is dying to know what it really looks like. :)

34 weeks

I know, I know, it has been way too long again! In my defense I will say that I have been doing a decent job of taking belly photos just not a good job of posting. If you looking in the slide show in the top left corner you can see pics from the last few weeks too. Ok, so looking at this most recent picture I officially feel enormous. It actually looks like I am holding my stomach up with my arms when i am really just trying to smooth over my dress so you can see everything. I think the baby is supposed to be somewhere between 4 and 5 pounds at this point but I am thinking Liam may be a little bigger. We go for an ultrasound in 2 weeks and I am really excited to get to see him again! It has been almost 20 weeks since we saw him last and I know he has been doing lots of growing and changing. We went to the doctor today (I have been going every 2 weeks lately) and she said she thought he was in a transverse position which basically means he is sideways. She said he should turn in the next 2 weeks and decided which way he wants to lay so in addition to his size, they are also going to check his position. Hopefully he will put his little head down and we can avoid a C section! Other than that, everything is going well. I am very tired all the time, have constant heartburn, and am generally just uncomfortable. I have no idea how I am going to last for 6 more weeks getting up in the mornings and going to work. I am really not sleeping very well at night which is very hard for me. I have to sleep kind of propped up at night in order to fend off the heartburn enough to get any sleep. I wake up several times a night and have to get up to pee and then have a really hard time going back to sleep. My mind turns on and starts thinking about labor and all the things I still need to do before Liam arrives! The time has been going by so quickly and he will be here before we know it! My Mom and Dan are coming out in about a week and a half for my birthday and I am really excited! I am hoping we can do any last minute shopping to get everything ready. I think I am going to back my bag for the hospital this weekend too, just in case. Well that is all I can think of for now... hopefully I can try and remember to check back in next week!

29 weeks

I can't believe it has been 3 weeks since my last post! I really do not know where the time is going. At the beginning of my pregnancy time seem to drag on and it felt like it took forever for another week to pass; now the time is just flying by!
We had a great trip to St. John. It was so nice and relaxing. We spent a lot of time hanging out by the pool at our villa and on the beach. We did an Ocean Runner trip to Willy T's and Yost and between Woody's and Skinny Legs, we ate more cheeseburgers than I have probably eaten in the last year. We also got to see some old friends (like Shadow, Island Tom, Chad and Todd, and even Lindy and Greenie)and celebrate with Tony and Ziya (they are getting married any day now). I will see if I can get some pictures from Courtney and post a link.
We got our new camera! I think that was a big part of why I haven't posted. It is a Canon Powershot and is basically the 2008 version of the camera that broke. I love it and can't wait to use it to take lots of pictures of Liam!
Not much new to report with the pregnancy. I did have a doctor's appointment this week and everything looked great. So far my pregnancy has been completely textbook and complication free. Let's just hope the last 10 weeks are that way as well! I finally found out the results of my GD test and I passed! I was a little nervous because they never called to tell me either way and I just hoped that meant everything was fine and was able to confirm when I went for this last appointment. I am hoping we will get another ultrasound before Liam arrives but am not so sure that will happen. The doctor said maybe we would do another one closer to my due date to check on his position and size but that we would just have to wait and see. I am definitely getting bigger, as you can see by the belly shot. It is difficult to get comfortable in any position other than laying down. My lower back continues to hurt and I feel like I have to pee every five minutes! I ordered some new tops because I could not longer squeeze into the prepregnancy ones but my most comfortable options right now are my few maternity dresses.
My mom booked her ticket to come out here for Liam's birth and I am really excited about that. Dow has been great about everything but for things like this you just need your mama! She booked it for a few days before his due date and is staying for several weeks. Now we just hope that he cooperates and doesn't come early!

26 weeks

Oops! I really had intentions of posting each week on Wednesday but all of a sudden I realized it was Friday! I had a doctor's appointment this week and had my gestational diabetes test. I had to drink this orange drink that basically tastes like a melted popsicle. It was pretty gross and it made me feel really awful. I don't know if I passed or not yet but I am a little worried back on how bad it made me feel. They said it could take a week to find out so I guess I will just worry about that when get back from St. John. Speaking of which, we leave tomorrow! Our flight leaves at 6:45am but it will all be worth it as soon as I see that blue water. We are both so excited about a week of relaxing. Other than that not much is new. The dogs are great and we are just anxiously awaiting Liam's arrival!

UTA - Our camera just broke! You can see in the belly pic that it looks a little weird and now all of a sudden it won't work at all. The screen is full of lines and when you take a picture it basically comes out completely blank. So that may be the last belly pic for a while :(

25 weeks

I was so off with all my postings that I have decided to keep it simple and post on Wednesday because that is the day I actually "graduate" from one week from the next. So here I am today at 25 weeks, only 15 more to go! It has been a good week. We got to hang out with Bob last weekend and went over to our good friends Tim and Heather's house on Saturday for some time by the pool. I was looking really pasty so I am glad I got the opportunity to get in the sun. It was lots of fun and we are looking forward to going back for the 4th of July. Dow had his wisdom teeth out on Monday and is doing great. I really can't believe how well he is doing; I was preparing myself for the worst because I know I didn't handle it very well and I was about 12 years younger when mine were done. He really has had zero pain and no swelling. I am so impressed and thankful that it went so well.
There have not been any eventful pregnancy developments this week. I am starting to not sleep as well and have a harder time getting comfortable. Getting up from a laying down position is definitely more effort than it has been so far. It is definitely getting harder and harder to get up and go to work in morning. Oh, I did have to take off my 2 bands and now I am just wearing my engagement ring. My fingers tend to swell and they were just getting too uncomfortable. Liam is moving and kicking lots and it is funny to see my belly move on its own. Other than that we are just counting down the days until St. John!

more nursery pics

It pretty much looks the same as before but there is stuff on the walls now. The flash really washes everything out so I will try to take some one weekend when it is still light outside.

23 weeks

I really have no idea where the time is going because I would have sworn that I just posted last week. But when I logged on it has been well over 2 weeks! I feel REALLY pregnant these days. You can see by the latest belly shot that I am undoubtedly pregnant now. Dow says that I am starting to do the pregnant waddle. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that my back has been hurting a lot. I am blaming my chair at work for the time beeing but I am sure the extra weight I am carrying around does not help either. Other than the backaches I am feeling really great. I have not been tired at all lately, actually quite the opposite. I have found that no matter what time I go to bed, I wake up before 7am. Of course the workday is much harder to get through if I don't go to bed early but sleeping in seems to be a thing of the past for me. This has shocked me the most because I usually LOVE sleeping in. I guess it is just my body's way of preparing me for what is to come!
I finally hung all the stuff on the walls in the nursery and will post pictures. Dow is in Napa this week with our dear friend Bob (hence the belly pic self portriat). I have been a little sad and jealous that I didn't get to go. I just do not have the vacation days to spare not to mention the fact that it would be torture to go to the country's best wineries and not be able to drink the wine! But, we are leaving for a week long trip to St. John on July 12th so that is definitely giving me something to look forward to!
I had a doctor's appointment last week and all is well. So far everything is progressing just perfectly. I have definitely started to make up for lost time in the weight gain department. I gained 5 pounds last month! I have really noticed a significant increase in my appetite lately. When I wake up in the mornings I am starving. I have really had some ice cream cravings and we definitely keep the freezer stocked. Cookies and cream is my favorite. Dow has been very sympathetic in helping me eat it. :) I have to go back right before our STJ trip to do the gestational diabetes test so I hope I pass!
Well that's about all I can think of right now (did I mention that I have no short term memory)? More next week!

Nursery Pictures

Please ignore the junk and the clutter. We have not hung anything on the walls yet and still need to find homes for certain things but it is coming together very nicely. Everything looks even better in person and I am so excited about how it is turning out. Dow keeps saying that this is the nicest furniture in the whole house, and I have to agree. Having a nursery in our house is making it all seem very real!

21 weeks

I have been a very bad blogger lately! I really don't know where the time has gone. I feel like we have been so busy and I have lots to report. Let's see, we spent all of last week in NC and it was just wonderful. My girlfriends threw me a surprise baby shower and boy was I surprised! I will see if I can get some pictures from my Mom or Grace to post. It was so lovely - gorgeous flowers, lots of great food from the Village Tavern (and some home made goods by Erica and her mom), decorations, a cake - the whole 9 yards. We got lots of cute little boy stuff and an aquarium swing that I really wanted. Oh, I completely forgot that I haven't even posted his name on here yet. We are going to name the baby after my grandfather who passed away about a year ago. He was such a special person to Dow and I (and pretty much anyone who knew him) and we really wanted to honor him as well as give our little boy a name to be proud of. His name will be William Linville Pizzitola and we are going to call him Liam. At the shower my grandmother gave me a framed picture of my grandfather when he was a little boy and it really meant a lot to me. I have the perfect spot picked out for it in the nursery. Which leads me to my next exciting tidbit... All of the nursery furniture has arrived! It looks so great. I am still waiting on the bedding and the valence (they should come on Monday) and I will post pictures as soon as I get it all set up. The furniture and the chair are even better than I could have hoped so I am so thrilled with how it is turning out. While in NC we also went to my brother's high school graduation in Alexandria, VA. The weather was so pretty and we had a great time in Old Town Alexandria. We got Liam his first smocked outfit (which I am obsessed with by the way) at this cute little boutique.
Let's see what else... Liam is moving around quite a bit these days and I can really feel it. I had been feeling slight kicks here and there before NC but right towards the end of the trip I really started feeling him kick a lot. Now I am feeling him at least several times a day. Dow even got to feel him kick the other night. It was really cool and makes it all seem so real. I am still feeling very good in general. My back has been hurting me a lot and I think it is just something I will have to deal with from here on out. Dow has been very sweet about giving me back rubs when I need them. Well I am off to play in the nursery a bit more. I will post pics and anything I forgot tomorrow.

It's a...

BOY!!!! It was amazing and we are both so thrilled. We are not ready to share the name just yet; we are still working on it. But hopefully very soon. They took lots of pictures and even some video today so I am going to post these as web albums rather than individual pictures. Look for the links below. One album is all still pictures, one is videos, and one is 3-D images. I personally think the 3-Ds are a little scary but lots of people have told me that. The ones you see online are usually much later in the pregnancy when the baby is fatter and not so skeletony. The videos are incredible. There is one that you can even see him opening his mouth and swallowing. There is no debating that he is all boy!!!!

18 week 2 day ultrasound pictures

3-D pics from 18 week ultrasound

18 week ultrasound videos

Baby Bedding Favorites

Baby Furniture

17 weeks

It has been a really great week. I ordered the first item for our nursery, a glider and ottoman. I am so excited about it! I have been eyeing these ever since I even started thinking about getting pregnant so it was exciting to finally be able to make that purchase. They went on sale and I just couldn't resist. I ordered it in a sage gingham print so it will work for either sex. If you click on the link and choose the "fabric ottoman" from the drop down window where it says "pick a product" it will show you a picture of it in the fabric I chose. It should arrive right before we leave for NC.
I have also been looking at lots of baby furniture and baby bedding and have pretty much narrowed it down to a boy and girl favorite. My boy favorite is called Treasure Island and I love the theme for obvious reasons. My girl favorite is called Beach Cottage and is along those same lines of an island theme. I think we will go ahead and order the furniture this weekend. There is one store in the greater Houston area that has it on display so I am hoping we can go look at it tomorrow just to make sure it looks as good in reality as it does online. I will post a picture of it. When we got home from work this evening we attempted to move this old couch in our study out to the curb but Dow just couldn't do it on his own. It is a sleeper sofa and it is really heavy. We are having all Dow's family over next Saturday to announce the sex of the baby and are hoping they will lend a hand. :) I am very anxious to get the future nursery cleared out so I can start nesting but it will take quite a bit of rearranging.
Let's see, what else is new... well I feel like I am really showing now. It's funny because rather than being mushy and flabby my stomach is now pretty hard. I think it is combination of the baby growing and my organs shifting upward. Things are getting a little tight in there. I can't even imagine what it will feel like at 9 months! I have been feeling some pain/ discomfort in my stomach that I think is just normal stretching. There is something called round ligament pain that I have been having when I sneeze or I get up too fast. It just feels like a shooting pain for a few seconds and then it goes away. I have not felt the baby move yet but it definitely feels like there is something in there. It feels a lot like I have just constantly eaten a huge meal. I also ordered a maternity bathing suit for summer this week and it is so cute. It makes me very excited for our trip to St. John in July.
I am counting down the minutes until our ultrasound next Friday! The way I look at it there are really only 4 days because the weekend doesn't count and will go by quickly. We are so excited! We finally came up with a boy name that we both really like; we have had the girl's name from the beginning. So when I do my post for next week hopefully I will be sharing!

16 weeks

I don't have much to report this week. I have been feeling very well in general; I just get tired pretty easily. Last night I fell asleep at 7pm. :) This past weekend we went to a little fair/ festival in La Porte (where Dow works) and that was fun. I had been craving a snow cone for sometime and was finally able to satisfy that urge. It was fun to look around and see all the people with their little ones and think about how this time next year we will have one of our own! I am so ready to find out what we are having! Only 2 more weeks now. After Maggie sent out her cute pictures of baby Jack, I spent the majoity of the day looking at smocked outfits online. It will be fun when I can actually order one! We have a guy coming out this weekend to give us an estimate about putting a covered patio on the back of our house. We think it will really make the backyard a more inviting place and it will give the dogs a covered place to be when they are outside. I have a feeling once the baby comes they will be spending a lot more time in the backyard than they are used to. We also have a date night planned to go out to dinner and see "Baby Mama." I'm excited!

15 weeks

I passed my test!!!!! It is such a relief to have that over and done with and now I can kick back and enjoy the fact that all my favorite TV shows are coming back on! Seriously, I will not be signing up to get any more licenses while I am pregnant.
We had our dr. appointment on Tuesday and everything went well. It was a pretty uneventful visit but we did get to hear the baby's heartbeat - 152 bpm. She measured my belly and said that everything was progressing perfectly. Everything came back normal on all my blood work and on the other tests. I did find out that I have type O- blood (I have always wondered what my blood type was) which is the universal donor. I can give blood to anyone but can only receive blood from another O- person. Apparently most people are + so I am in the minority here and normally it has no affect on your health except during pregnancy. I will not take the time to bore everyone who does not wish to read about the rh factor but here is a link if you want to learn more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhesus_blood_group_system
Basically since I am negative Dow had to get blood drawn to find out what he is. If he is negative, then the baby will be negative and nothing needs to be done. If he is positive (which he probably is) then I have to get several shots to prevent the baby's blood from mixing with my blood. It was nice that I was not the one getting poked this visit! :)
We were able to set up the BIG gender ultrasound for May 16th. I was pretty bummed because I had hoped to have it on May the 9th and this is a whole week later! It seems trivial in the grand scheme of things but I have been waiting long enough! The doctor was out of the office several days and they had a hard time scheduling the ultrasound and a doctor's appointment right after. I can't wait to find out but I guess I have no choice but to wait another week. The poll sure is looking like it's a boy. I still think it is a boy but my mom said she thought my sister and I were both boys, so I guess the mother's intuition is not always right!
Other than that there is not much to report. I have been feeling really good except for a few minor headaches. I have really vivid dreams at night. Random, I know, but it has been something I have really noticed lately. I am really excited about just being able to enjoy my pregnancy now. I feel like I am showing a lot more. It sort of seemed to happen overnight and this morning while I was getting ready for work I was like, "where did this come from?" I'll let you be the judge and will post a picture once Dow gets home and can take it. :)

14 weeks

I just realized that I never really posted anything for 13 weeks - oops! I think I posted the pictures and then I forgot to write something a few days later. Oh well, time seems to be going by much faster now that the nausea is gone. Or it could just be that I have been very preoccupied by studying for my test on Monday. It's down to the wire now and I am starting to stress. I am taking a class today and tomorrow, will study all weekend, and then take the test on Monday. AHHH, the pressure! I cannot think of a worse time to have to be dealing with this. I sure hope I pass but at this point I am just ready for it to be over!!!
I am very excited about hitting the 14 week milestone because that means I am now officially in the 2nd trimester! It just feels good to be a point where I can tell everyone (or tell a few people and let them spread the word for me). Let's see, what else is new? I found out that my ice cream headaches were actually migraines so that has been really fun. I have had 2 pretty bad ones where basically all I can do is lay in bed with all the lights off and not listen to the TV or have anyone talk to me. The most recent one pretty much lasted the whole weekend. I did some research and found that is fairly common for women to get their first one during pregnancy. Tylenol is about the only pain killer I can take and that really does nothing for the migraines. I just hope that this does not continue after I have the baby. I talked to my Mom and she said she remembered getting one or two while she was pregnant but never again after. Hopefully that will be true for me as well. So far my pregnancy has been very similar to her pregnancy with me.
I am definitely in maternity clothes full time now - not the shirts but the bottoms. I got lots of cute, essential items from Gap Maternity and am feeling much more comfortable. I think most of the things I got should get me through my entire pregnancy. Eventually I will need the shirts as well but for now I am just wearing a select few tops that are loose and long. I guess I can't think of much else to report. We go back to the doctor on Tuesday for my monthly check up and I guess we will find out the results of the NT scan. I am hoping I will be able to schedule the BIG ultrasound at that point as well!!!!

then and now

Okay, so I can't say that I am pleased with the change that has occurred in my body in the last 2 months but I am documenting it nevertheless. The first picture was taken at about 4 weeks, pretty much right when I found out I was pregnant. The other picture was taken tonight. I must say in my defense that Dow took that one from a really unflattering angle (he got down on his knee to take it so it was basically shooting up at me). For next week's picture I will be sure not to make that same mistake. Well you can definitely tell that my waistline is growing!

Pics from the ultrasound today!

I didn't think they were going to give me any pictures but the tech was so sweet and she printed me a few. The ultrasound was incredible and I got to see everything about the baby (except for the sex). It really looks like a baby now. It was moving all around in there and was SO cute. As you can see in the pictures, he/ she is up-side-down. :) If you click on the pictures they will open larger in another window.

12 weeks

Not much to report this week. I think I am starting to feel better! The nausea seems to have tapered off a little bit and I am hoping that in the next few weeks it will disappear all together. I have been getting headaches this week so I guess you trade one thing for another. It feels like the brain freeze you get when you eat too much ice cream too quickly except that it doesn't go away. I sure hope this is not something that continues.
I bought my first maternity items this week! I got a pair of bermuda shorts to wear on the weekends and they are so comfortable. I also got this thing called a belly sleeve that allows you to wear your normal pants but you can unbutton/ unzip them. It is basically like a tube top that just goes over your middle section to keep your pants from falling down and to smooth out everything under your shirt. I wore it on Friday to work and it was functional, but rather awkward. I have been wearing my nice stretchy, forgiving dresses to work everyday but Friday's are jeans days. Last Friday, I could button my jeans fine, it was just a little uncomfortable when i was sitting down for a long time. All mine are very low rise and the waist hits right at my growing uterus. This Friday, I tried to put on the same jeans and it was just too uncomfortable! I had to use the band. I think it would be good if you were standing all day but I am constantly getting up and then sitting back down and it would bunch up and ride up or down so I just felt like I might be exposing my self all day. It was also weird because no one at work knows that I am pregnant and I was constantly messing with it. I feel like a couple of the girls that sit near me might have a suspicion now. After that, I went online and ordered lots of bottoms from gap.com. I figured I can try it all out and return what doesn't work. They had lots of cute things on sale. I think I will be fine with my shirts for now but the bottoms are definitely getting too tight.
I have to take my series 65 exam for work on the 21st and I am dreading it. It has been almost impossible to study because I am not supposed to do so during the work day, but when I get home at night I just way too tired. I was planning on studying some this weekend but I left my book at work! Next week I am going to have to really crack down and study during my lunch break or I will never pass this thing. I will feel so relieved once this thing is just over!
I have my ultrasound on Monday morning so I will be sure to post the results once I find out. I also need to post a belly picture but have been hesitant because I feel much more fat than pregnant at this point. According to the scale I haven't gained any weight but my stomach is definitely growing!

11 weeks

We had our second doctor's appointment this week and we were able to hear the heartbeat! It took the nurse a while to find it and I was really nervous but finally we heard a very faint and rapid beat. She said it was about 160 beats per minute, which is good. They also preformed a PAP and took LOTS of blood. I am not very good with that but Dow was great at holding my hand and keeping me from passing out. I go back on April 7th for another ultrasound specifically for the Nuchal Fold test which, in combination with more blood work, has about a 96% accuracy rate of predicting Down's Syndrome. We also elected to do a Cystic Fibrosis screen which the doctor recommended. They basically test me and if I am not a carrier then there is no chance of the baby getting it (both parents would have to be a carrier of the gene). She said to go ahead and do it with the first baby and then you never have to worry about it again. I am really excited to get to the see the baby again because I think it will look a lot more like a baby this time; unfortunately, they don't allow anyone else to come with you and they don't take any pictures for me to post. :( We also found out that we will have the big ultrasound at around 17 or 18 weeks where we will be able to find out the gender. That will be in early May and I cannot wait! I am dying to find out!
Since everything went well yesterday, I think we will start telling people in about 2 weeks. It keeps getting harder and harder to keep all to myself. It has been really nice that all the family knows. I don't know how people don't tell ANYONE until they into their second trimester.
I have been feeling pretty sick lately and have thrown up most nights in the past week. The doctor said that most people feel better around 14 weeks so I am definitely ready for that to come. Dow has been very sweet and has been sleeping in the guest room some nights so that I can get enough rest. Since I have become pregnant, I have a really hard time going back to sleep if something wakes me up and he usually gets up during the night. When I don't get enough sleep, I am pretty much dysfunctional (those who know me well know this was true before pregnancy but ESPECIALLY true now). I have not been feeling too emotional in a weepy way but have noticed that I have a much shorter fuse lately. Things that normally would not faze me get me all riled up like, traffic, work, etc.
Well that's about all I have to report for now - more next week.

pics from first ultrasound

10 weeks

I am a little over 10 weeks today and the morning sickness is in full effect. It actually has been much more night sickness for me, feeling the worst just before bed; but this has really worked out very well for me. As the antithesis of a morning person, I can't even imagine having to get out of bed in the morning if I felt awful. My clothes are starting to fit a little tighter but have not bought anything maternity yet. Luckily, I have become pregnant at a time when all the shirts and dresses are very forgiving and I have been able to wear things that are not form fitting without looking obviously like I am trying to hide my expanding waist.
We had our first appointment at 6w6d and they did an ultrasound. We were able to see the tiny baby (who Dan affectionately dubbed Peanut) and the heartbeat. I will post the pictures but there is not much to see. It looks a lot more like a tadpole than a baby. We go back to the doctor on Tuesday when I will be 10w6d. I am hoping they will do another ultrasound but from what I have read, I don't think they will. My official due date is October 15 so it looks like we will have a little pumpkin baby!
We really haven't told anyone other than our family. We plan on waiting until the first trimester was over to tell everyone, but it is getting hard! Only 2 more weeks or so to go!