Pictures as promised!

dad in training .....

10-10-2-2-1

So much has happened since my last post. Tim finished his test, we enjoyed a great weekend in Clearlake taking in a Rascal Flatts concert to celebrate the completion of his Masters, Jon, Emily, and Ella came out for a visit, we had our April 12th appointment, and went through a slight scare with our little peanut.

We had a pretty short appointment on April 12th. Tim and I went in with the doctor, asked a few questions, listened to the heartbeat, and I took an Alpha Fetal Protein (AFP) blood test. Well, yesterday I received a call from Kaiser's genetics department. Apparently, my AFP test came back positive. The AFP test measures for increased likelihood of Downs Syndrome, spine abiffita, and neural tube defects. If the test is positive, there is a possible increased risk of the above mentioned conditions. I knew this test was precautionary and that results could be affected dramatically if my due date was miscalculated (I have thought my due date was not entirely accurate since the beginning). Anyhow, Kaiser scheduled me for an ultrasound today to check out our little peanut piece by piece.

Tim and I showed up at the ultrasound with my mom. The procedure lasted about one hour and was quite possibly the COOLEST thing I have ever seen. We were able to see the blood flow in the womb, all the vertebrae, the organs and all of our peanut's little digits. There were 10 fingers, 10 toes, two ears, two eyes and one penis!! Yes, you read right, we are having a boy! There was no mistake that a stem was on the apple!

Tim and I were considering keeping the sex a secret, but I caved in the end as many people predicted I would (Tim didn't really care either way). We are, however, going to keep the name a secret so don't even try to pry that out of us! I have attached the G-rated picture of our little peanut. No fallice pictures of our boy on the Internet, thank you!

The doctor moved my due date from September 29th to September 21st. The ultrasound tech thought the due date should be somewhere around September 16th given the measurements (which, is closest to my calculations). However, we are going with the 21st for now! They said I am 18 weeks along and that is why the test came back positive - my levels were too high for sixteen weeks, but were within normal range for 18 weeks. I knew there had to be a good reason for why I am as fat as I am! LOL! All in all, the best news is that everything looks good and the baby appears to be healthy.

Anyhow, things are starting to get back to normal for us. We are both fighting off a nasty cold right now - probably induced from stress detox! But overall, life is pretty good!

I hope everyone is doing well!

Love ,

Jenn

P.S. I will post pictures of this past weekend as soon as I get my camera back. Jon, Emily and Ella were out from Virginia and we had a blast enjoying time with the whole family!!

Bye Bye Beer Gut!

Well, it has been awhile since I have given an update... things have been pretty busy for Tim and I lately. Tim's Master's test is this Friday and we have been anticipating the completion of that chapter in our lives!

I am feeling great! My energy is definitely back and I have enjoyed resuming my normal activities. This past weekend I finished tiling and grouting our bathroom. In a couple of weeks I will wire a new ceiling fan and light fixture in the bedroom, lay baseboard, and (hopefully) get a head start on the nursery! Although my energy has returned, I have noticed my stamina is not what it used to be. I am trying to take things slow on the weekend, but find myself completely tired out on Mondays!

My next appointment is on April 12th - I don't think anything too stellar is happening on that day. Of course I will get to hear the heart beat on the microphone thingingy (later discovered that it is called a "Doppler"). Our big ultrasound appointment is on Friday, May 4th. I am really looking forward to getting a decent picture of our little peanut! Tim and I have yet to decide if we are going to find out the sex of the baby.

Anyhow, that is all for now. I was going to post a picture of my growing belly, but I am in my PJ's and haven't brushed my hair since I got out of the shower about an hour ago.... yes, I am a lovely sight right now .... trust me, I am doing you all a favor!! I will say, that I think I am growing out of the "beer gut" phase .... I am starting to look like a pregnant lady! Hooray!

Ta Ta, I will update after my appointment next Thursday!

Jenn