It's a......

.....GIRL!!!!

We had our first ultrasound appointment on December 28th! I was 16 weeks and 5 days at the time. It was AMAZING to see our baby girl! All the detail...her little hand waving to us, her feet, spine, and seeing her heart pumping were priceless.

The technician said everything looks great! The baby looks really healthy and so does the placenta! The technician measured the baby and said she was about 7 ounces and her femurs were a little long! She must have gotten a recessive gene because neither Jose nor I are very tall. ha!

After our ultrasound appointment we decided to go to Babies R US to start our registry! Boy was that a long and tired process. So much to get (I don't know where its all going to fit in our house) and so much that as first time parents we don't know. The annoying thing was when I went online to see our registry I was able to see customer reviews for the products we selected...and most of the products got really bad reviews in terms of function or safety for the baby, so I ended up having to switch a lot of the things we registered for.

17 Weeks

Here I am at 17 weeks pregnant! The baby is the weight of a turnip. I again had my brother photoshop a picture of a turnip into the photo because I didn't want to buy a turnip and not use it. I think it would have turned out better if my hand was like the peach photo.

Here's a second photo of me at 17 weeks (without produce..ha!) because the photo with the turnip didn't show my belly very well.

16 Weeks

Here I am at 16 weeks (picture taken 12/24/10)! The baby is the size of an avocado. The baby doesn't weigh much though; still less than 1 ounce!

"Find the Little Fish in the Big Fish Bowl"

Yesterday Jose and I had our third midwife appointment. Everything went well and we got some questions answered. She said that all my symptoms are normal and I should get some relief from the nausea soon and regain my appetite. She also said my growth is right where it should be. Because I'm right where I should be, my midwife is pretty positive that we only have one baby! Yay! Since Jose's family has a history of twins on both his maternal and paternal side, there has been a question as to whether I'm carrying one or two babies.

We also got to hear the baby's heartbeat again! We heard the heartbeat at the last appointment 4 weeks ago and the heartbeat was in the 150 bpm range. My midwife found the baby pretty quickly last time also. However, this time, she couldn't find the baby for a little while. She says it like trying to find the little fish in the big fish bowl, since the baby is still relatively small. She scanned my stomach going up and down in rows looking for the baby and then we heard the heartbeat for only a few seconds before the baby swam away! So she started talking to the baby and looking for the baby again. This time the baby decided to stay still for us and we got to hear the heartbeat for more than a few seconds. This time the heartbeat was in the mid-140 bpm range. I was initially worried when she couldn't find the heartbeat, but my midwife said its the technology not the baby. The fetal doppler that detects the heartbeat can detect movement. She was detecting a lot of movement while she was initially looking for the baby. I thought it was so funny when we heard the baby for only a second before it swam away. I just imagine the baby in my uterus is like a little pin ball bouncing and swimming around in there. ha! too funny!

14 Weeks (A little Late)

Here I was at 14 weeks pregnant. Still not much belly yet. My mid-section looks a little thicker overall though. I actually think I look bigger at 14 weeks than I do at 15 weeks. At 14 weeks the baby is the size of a lemon. Although, based on the produce we typically get, I think peaches are a little bigger than lemons. Oh well.

13 Weeks (A Few Weeks Late)

As you know, I'm now 15 weeks pregnant, but Jose and I started taking pictures of my growing belly at week 13, so I thought I would give a little recap.

So here I am at week 13. Not much yet! The baby is the size of a peach. Since it was December when I was 13 weeks and we live in Buffalo, NY peaches are not available in the supermarkets this time of year. So we got a little creative. I posed like I was holding an imaginary peach and had my brother, Michael, my go-to computer/photography expert photoshop an image of a peach into the photo! ha! I think it turned out great!

A Year Full of Blessings!

We have had quite the year...between me finishing law school, passing the NYS bar exam, starting MBA classes at Niagara and finishing my first semester, and not even to mention everything Jose has been busy with, from working 3 jobs to playing football, softball, volleyball and basketball in rec leagues....phew...it has been a busy year.

And now...Jose and I are excited to announce that we will be welcoming a new member to the family in June 2011. I am 15 weeks pregnant with our first child and we couldn't be happier! The first trimester was very difficult for me. I was nauseous nearly the whole time and had aversions to many foods, causing me to lose weight. Although I didn't actually throw up much, I just didn't want to eat a lot and felt miserable the whole time. Now with the second trimester in full swing, we were hopeful that my symptoms would ease up, but the nausea and gas has still been in full swing, and I've been throwing up more too. It didn't help that I was sick after Thanksgiving either with the flu.

Here I am at 15 weeks pregnant! The baby is the size of an apple! If you look closely you can see a small belly starting to show!


But it will all be worth it when we have our little bundle of joy with us in June! My midwife says the baby is doing well and is strong and we have another appointment this coming Tuesday, so we are hoping and praying for more good reports from the midwife! We have an appointment on December 28th to get our first fetal ultrasound. At that point I will be 2 days away from 17 weeks. We are excited to get a glimpse of our baby and want to make sure that he or she is growing and developing properly. We are also anxious because we should be able to see if the baby is a boy or a girl!

We are so thankful for all that we have been blessed with! We have so many opportunities and are surrounded by wonderful friends and family! It's sometimes hard not to get caught up in the day to day trials and tribulations of everyday life. It's especially nice this time of year to reflect on the year that has gone by and realize how blessed we really are. We are thankful everyday for our lives together, all the freedoms we have and the wonderful blessings God has bestowed upon us. And we can't wait to meet our latest blessing! Here's to 2011! Can't wait!