Pictures from inside me... Eeek!

**Warning this post contains pictures from inside me**

So most of you have read my previous posts, hopefully, and will understand my disclaimer on this post.  I fully understand that ultrasound pictures creep some people out as they do not want to see inside of people they barely know.  I'm trying to be mindful of that while sharing my Little One's second photo shoot with y'all.  I won't bother showing you the first session as it really just looks like a blob instead of a baby.

But first a little background on these pictures.  We went for our monthly check-up around 11.5 weeks.  After waiting in the waiting room for about 45 min, we were called back to see my doctor.  We go through all the routine questions and information exchanging, then my doctor pulls out his doppler and says we're gonna take a quick listen to the baby's heartbeat.  So I lie back and stare at the "comforting" butterflies in a tree picture that cover his florenscent light.  I am preparing to hear the whooshing sound of my Little Ones heart any minute and actually have the thought that this is the first time that picture doesn't remind me of something unpleasant.  A few minutes go by and I can't hear anything.  A few more minutes go by and I still can't hear anything. 

At this point I look nervously at my doctor who is concentrating very hard trying to locate the Little One.  I glance at Mike who is completely unaware of the panic rising in me.  This should be routine right!?!  Did I miss something?  Surely I would know if something bad had happened in between.  So I try to concentrate on the picture and trust my doctor to tell me when I need to be panic'd.  A few more minutes go by, still static.  My doctor finally tells me after about 10 min that he thinks he found the baby for a few seconds, but that he wants to send me to ultrasound. His exact words were, "I'll sleep better tonight, and you'll definately sleep better tonight if we just take a quick look". 

So off Mike and I go to wait for the ultrasound tech to come and get us.  Let me tell you, time is tricky when you're fighting panic!  Those 10 minutes felt like a lifetime.  I could barely talk to Mike at this point because I'm concentrating all my efforts on praying that everything is ok.  And I don't want to voice what is really going through my head.

The very wonderful ultrasound technician takes us back and is super comforting and supportive.  We get things rolling and almost immediately there is Little One having a party of his/her own!  I'm talking kicking, punching, twirling, just having a ball in it's own little world completely oblivious to the panic that I'm encountering.  I'm sure to him/her my accelerated heartbeat was just dance music.  Or that's what I'm choosing to believe, anyway.  After the three of us had a giggle at the antics of our baby, the technician lets us hear the heartbeat, a healthy 188. Then she asks us if big feet run in our families, not to my knowledge we both say, but then she shows us it's feet and they do look proportionately large.  Oh well, Little One's healthy that's all that matters to us!

So our very nerve wracking appointment ended up with a great outcome ~ an unexpected ultra sound and pictures of our Little One which I will now share with y'all.  God is good!

This is our baby profile at 11.5 weeks.

This is the back of our baby, you can see it's arm in the air like it's waiving.

The infamous foot and leg.

Our crowning jewel of this session, the baby with it's foot propped up maxing and relaxing.

I hope y'all have enjoyed these pictures, we sure have!  We won't have another ultrasound until our 20wk check up. (Hopefully, if Little One will co-operate next time)  At that point we will given our baby's gender in an envelope which we will reveal to all of you after our "Gender Reveal Party" with our families.  Hope everyone has a wonderful day!!

My Current FAQ's

Let's kick things off with my Frequently Asked Questions:

When are you due?
February 20, 2012 (although I'm kinda hoping I'll be a day late so the birthday would be 022112)

So that makes you how far along right now?
14 Weeks, 2nd Trimester (3 months pregnant for those who believe pregnancy is 9 months, 4 months pregnant if you're a mom and realize pregnancy is really 10 months long (40weeks))

Are you excited!?
Yeah, I'm getting there.  I spent my first few month's going back and forth between terrified and "ok".  I'm starting to get to the excited phase.  I really struggled at first with the thought of FOREVER.  There's no going back.  There's going to be a person in this world who will call me mom and my decisions will mold him/her FOREVER.  Yikes!  That's a really long time with no alternatives.  Not that I'm not ready, but it is FOREVER.  No matter what age he/she will be, he/she will still be my child.

How do you feel?
For the most part I've had a relatively easy pregnancy so far.  I never had morning sickness, and from what I've read I think I would've encountered it by now if it was going to be an issue.  I did, however, have the fatigue that comes with growing a person.  There were several lunch hours spent in my car taking a nap just to get through the afternoon.  My bedtime has gotten earlier and earlier, I've felt like Sleeping Beauty, only I had stupid work I had to go to and couldn't stay in bed all day. (I really do love my job though, it was just pregnancy exhaustion and hormones)

So, are y'all going to get married?
We've been talking about it.  My thought is, this is such a huge adjustment for me, that I need to get through one life change at a time.  I've always envisioned my wedding a certain way and I want the opportunity to plan it the way I want to.  Right now I'm in baby planning mode and it's stressful enough.  Yes I realize we're not doing things "traditionally" but we've been together 4 years, I know he's not going anywhere and neither am I.  This baby will have both parents that love each other and him/her.

What did your parents say?
Well first off, I'm not a child, I have my own job with benefits, I pay my own bills, I'm responsible and self sufficient, etc.  On that note, both my parents took it really well.  It took my mom a couple of days to process it and I think that's normal and to be expected.  She's always like babies and I knew she'd be excited once the shock wore off.  Now she is on board and has taken me shopping for maternity clothes and is ready to be a grandma again.  However, when I told my dad, he completely surprised me!  His smile kept growing and growing and growing until his face was nothing but a smile.  So I'm pretty sure he went right to being excited without having to process it. 

Have you told your boss yet?
Well, I actually had to tell my boss right away.  I have a history that put me in the high risk category in early pregnancy.  So I had to take several afternoon's off for testing until everything was confirmed and it was in the right place.  My boss loves children and has been excited for me all along.  In fact, he really wanted me to tell everyone straight away, but I swore him to secrecy until I was ready at 12 weeks.  Then I wore in my new maternity shirt that says "New Mom February 2012".  When no one noticed for the first hour, he went around and asked people to check out my shirt and the news spread like wildfire.  All of my co-workers are super supportive and happy for me.

Any cravings yet?
The only things I've really craved are fresh fruit and pancakes.  I begged Mike to take me to IHOP one Friday night when he got off work and looked forward to it all evening.  He was happy to oblige and now we go every Friday night around midnight.  It's our little "thing" and it's really meant a lot to me to have that time with him indulging our Little One (<-- What I call our unborn baby)



Oops ~ I forgot one!
Do you want a boy or girl?
I really don't have a preference as long as the baby is healthy!  For me, I think it would be easier to start with a girl since I can relate better.  But Mike really wants a boy since he already has a wonderful daughter named Haley.  I saw this on a kids room sign and it kinda fits for this question: "We'll get what we get, and we won't throw a fit!"  If I slip up and every now and then and refer to the baby as a boy, it's only because Mike is trying to will this one to be a boy and always says "he" or "him".

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog!  I have set up this page to post updates on Mike and I's pregnancy.  In my experience there are people on Facebook and other social media websites that have no clue that the whole world doesn't care what week they're in or their progress throughout pregnancy, nor do they want to see pictures from inside of you.  I have been one of those people hiding friends post because it begins to feel like an assault when you just want to see an upcoming event or what your non-pregnant, non-new mom friends are doing.  Plus, pregnancy can be a very sensitive subject for those who are trying to conceive or are having difficulties in their own lives.  I want to be sensitive to those people, but also have a way to share my excitement in this adventure guilt free.  So I hope what I have to post will be interesting to you, if not then I understand that I'm not the most exciting person in the world ~ haha!  Hope you like it!