More ultrasound pictures

On Thursday we had our big exciting ultrasound, and I haven't had much time to reflect until now. We already announced that we're having a girl, but I didn't get a chance to discuss the visit in more details. I'm also going to insert a few more photos in this post so that you readers will get a chance to see what we saw!

We've already posted the "money" shots you'll see above. These are the ones that are currently on the fridge. You can see that the nugget/grape in my belly actually looks like a baby! Weird.

The ultrasound experience was sort of like what you'd see in the movies. I sat on the table and the nice ultrasound lady squirted some goop on my tummy. I thought it was going to be cold, but actually it was rather warm.

There was a big video screen on the wall so Jeff and I could watch the whole thing on a flat screen TV. For about 25 minutes she pointed out what she saw, took pictures and made notes. She wasn't allowed to make any determinations, just tell us what we're looking at.

 

Some of what we saw was easy to identify (look at the foot in the picture above!) while sometimes I had no clue what I'm looking at. For instance, I have no idea why she could tell it's a girl, but here's the photo that gave us the big news. 

We saw everything: kidneys, feet, hands, bones, what looked like a bicep muscle (just like mom!), the heart, aorta, blood ventricles, the spine, the brain; everything. 

 

After we were done, it was time to sit in the waiting room for a bit so that the doctor could tell us what she saw, and let us know if she had any concerns. Jeff had to go back to work, so I waited on my own convinced - as always - that the delay meant bad news. 

When Dr. Hardesty came to see me, she was happy to report everything looked great. There was no cause for concern, and Baby Parker is just the right size for 20 weeks. As for my belly still not really looking big, she assured me that soon baby is going to have nowhere to go but out. So we'll see. 

 

 

 That's the scoop! We can rest assured now that what's inside there is actually a baby, and can also start using the pronoun "she." As for names, you'll just have to wait.

It's a...

GIRL!

Just got back from a very long doctor's appointment, but all the news is good. Everything looks great, and we're having ourselves a girl.

Much more to say, but gotta get back to work! Also more pics, but start with these!

No news today

Due to some confusion at the doc's office--namely they only do ultrasounds Wednesdays through Fridays but for some reason I was scheduled to come in on a Monday--we have no news to report today.

Jeff and I met at the doc's office, and due to baby brain we were an hour late.* I was extremely upset because I thought I'd blown it and we'd have to wait because of me. Turns out we did have to wait, but not necessarily because I was late for my appointment. They were able to squeeze me in, but they don't do ultrasounds on Mondays.

"Did you tell them you needed to schedule an ultrasound when you made the appointment?" I was asked.

"I told them I needed a 20-week appointment and figured they'd be able to take it from there," I replied. "The doctor was standing there when we made the appointment... so-"

She nodded in affirmation that this made perfect sense and yes, they should've scheduled my 20-week scan for a day when ultrasounds were available.

Anyway, since I had screwed up first I wasn't too upset, but of course we were very disappointed. Of course we want to share the news as to what we're having, but we also just want another peak inside and get more confirmation that everything is going OK with Baby Parker.

So, Thursday, Dec. 26th at 12 (not 1PM!!) we'll return to the doctor's office for our 20-week ultrasound, and will then report back!

Stay tuned-

*Sidenote, I truly do blame the baby brain for the tardiness, because I'm never late. I've had a lot of doctor's appointments in my day, and never have I ever just gotten the time wrong. The annoying thing is that it was actually right in our calendar, but wrong in my work calendar. And, they send me confirmation e-mails (like a week in advance, but still). When I came in an hour late and told the lady I was late she asked if I received those e-mails and I embarrassingly said yes, I get them. In fact, Jeff is the one who texted me at 12:30 and asked why the calendar said the appointment was at 12. Ugh.

Baby's first Braggin' Rights

Our nosebleed seats!

This weekend, we headed down to St. Louis to visit our friends Kelli and Alec, and also to watch Illinois play Missouri in the annual Braggin' Rights game. We've gone to this game once before, and it was a great time. Unfortunately, Illinois was on a 4-game losing streak, so there were some nerves.

We had a great visit with our friends, and we went home with a bag full of maternity clothes (yay!). Kelli is also pregnant, so even though her bump is about twice the size of mine, it was fun to have a pregnant lady cohort for the weekend. We had pregnant lady sushi (all cooked) and half a glass of wine (don't judge). There was lots of eating, frequent trips to the bathroom, and an early bedtime.

Saturday, Baby Parker got to attend its first Braggin' Rights game. This isn't the first Illini bball game for the nugget, because we were pregnant during the Bradley win a couple of months ago. However, the Mizzou game is verrrry different. It's a full stadium and a loud environment, and Baby Parker spent a lot of time punching me in the gut either due to the crowd or due to my nerves- who knows.

What I do know is that I got to wear my cute new shirt that Kelli bought for me when I first told her I was pregnant (see photo below). And I also know that Illinois snapped the streak and we got the win!! It was a tense game until the end, but Illinois pulled out a 1-point win. That means that Baby Parker is 2-0 at Illini basketball games, a trend that we hope continues.

We're back at home now, relaxing as we prepare for tomorrow's exciting ultrasound! It's a good thing we were busy this weekend, because I would have a hard time waiting.

Go Illini!

Me in front of the Brett Hull poster at the Scottrade Center in my adorable shirt from Kelli. Baby Parker is saying "I-N-I." Get it? HOW CUTE IS THAT?

Are you going to find out?

Yes, yes, and yes! One of the first questions I get when people find out that I'm pregnant is, "are you going to find out the sex?"

Usually the very first question is, "how are you feeling," to which I often respond with a shrug and a "fine." I've mentioned a few times that I'm pretty lucky to not have a lot of symptoms. Other than the stray hiccups at weird times and the slightly engorged belly, there isn't much evidence that I'm pregnant at all.

After we've covered that topic, I'm asked if we're going to find out the sex. The answer, as I mentioned above, is YES! I truly admire all of those women who can wait the full 9 months to find out what they're carrying, but that's just not our bag.

You see, I'm a big planner. I need to know as much information as possible as soon as possible, so the earliest I can find out the sex the better. I can plan accordingly in terms of names, the nursery, etc. etc. I don't have to wait so I'm not going to!

The good news is, we're going to have the answer in a little over a week, and I'll share it right away. A week from Monday, we get to go in for our 20-week doctor's visit, and there is (finally) going to be a trip to the ultrasound.

We'll get to take a peek inside and see what's going on in there, which means there is a very good chance we're going to find out the sex as well.

Stay tuned, and I promise this blog will be among the first to know.

If you've got a guess, feel free to post in the comments...

18 weeks and counting

Yikes. I left that picture up of my stomach for way too long. And looking at it, I can see that I have grown a tad since the last photo shoot. Pics to come eventually.

Unfortunately, not all that much has changed. I'd like to buy this shirt...

But I suppose it could be worse! I can still go to the gym and go for long walks when it's not freezing outside. I don't have a lot of trouble sleeping, even though for the most part I'm trying to avoid sleeping on my back/stomach. 

In some ways it's nice to be preggo during the winter, because now is the time to hibernate as the snow falls outside. However, on the flip side I have to wear constricting pants instead of cute little summer dresses. 

Speaking of pants, I am very grateful that Grandma Porton (still waiting to hear what names the grandparents want to use!) took me for a much-needed trip to purchase maternity clothes. She can start spoiling Baby Parker by spoiling this mom to be.

While I can still wear my current clothes there are a few problems:
1. They're not comfortable.
2. I can't button them.
3. When I use the rubber band trick it looks weird.
4. I can combine the rubber band trick with the belly band, but that makes going to the ladies room an annoying experience. And it can be really HOT.

So that means it's time for a shopping spree.

We spent the day driving around from maternity store to maternity store, and I came home with some pants, shirts and a hideous swimsuit with a frilly skirt. I think we may need to revisit the swimwear idea. Also, for some reason the perfect pair of leggings seemed to elude us.

During our travels, we also popped in to Buy Buy Baby, which had me darn near hyperventilating. So much more to think about once this baby actually comes out into the world. But for now, I want to focus on wearing pants that I can button.

Beer belly update

Still just looking like I had too many nachos...

Here's what we're working with at week 16:

And for fun, here are closeups at 14 and 16...

14w4days

16 weeks

Unfortunately, the pictures aren't exactly the same... so the comparison is a bit hard. But they look sort of different, right?  Hmmm...

The 16-week appointment

Well yikes, who knew that being pregnant could be quite so uneventful. I suppose I should relish this time now as it won't be this way forever, right?

So today we went in for our 16 week appointment! We saw Dr. Hardesty instead of our usual doc, because in the practice we visit there are three different doctors who rotate the duty of delivering babies (which doesn't include my normal doctor, Dr. Butler).

Dr. Hardesty was lovely! She looked younger than me and was friendly and enthusiastic, so that was nice to see.

Basically, all I did was step on a scale and ask her a barrage of questions. In the beginning I was worried I wasn't gaining enough weight, but that fear has dissipated. It seems I've gained a whopping 8 pounds so far. Apparently that's not a lot, but it seems like a lot! Especially because I'm only halfway through month four. It didn't help that today was a "hungry" day and I'd already eaten a ton. Oh well.

After the weigh-in, she checked to see how I was feeling, and we decided that I wanted to get straight to hearing that little heartbeat again before we proceeded to my questions. She informed me that sometimes it can take a while to find it, so I shouldn't worry.

Of course I worried! The first time it took Dr. Butler about 10 seconds to find the heartbeat, and I'd say it took Dr. Hardesty about 30. I watched Jeff's face the whole time who put on a nice big (fake) grin as we waited. Although, I noticed he wasn't actually looking at me. Finally, there it was.

That little whoosh, whoosh, whoosh that I can now recognize as the heartbeat. Dr. Hardesty smiled and packed up her equipment, and I asked if she had measured it or not. Because I had read that it's supposed to be measured (yes, I'm probably an annoying patient)! She smiled and politely told me that she's done it so many times she doesn't have to count, she just knows it's at about 150, which is perfect. Alright!

That was it. I asked some questions and got some free pre-natal vitamins and was sent on my merry way. It's nice to hear the heartbeat again and know that he/she is still in there growing, but it would've been great to get some visuals!

Just one more month to go, and we'll get to have an ultrasound, and get a peak at our little grape, who is now the size of an avocado. At that point we'll be able to post pics and report the gender, so stay tuned!

Nope, not showing yet

For those of you folks in other cities wondering... nope, I'm not showing yet. Well, I feel like I've got a bit of a beer gut going, but overall the world can look at me and have no idea that I'm carrying a baby in my tummy.

If you're keeping track, I'm at 14 weeks (and 3 days). It's a weird time, because I don't really have any symptoms, and my outward appearance has barely changed. If you look closely you may see a small, tiny bulge in my stomach, but it just looks like I had too many chips and biscuits on our U.K. trip.

According to the all-knowing Internets, this isn't strange at all for a first-timer. Some people commented that they didn't show until about 18 weeks! That's a month away! It's certainly a funny feeling worrying about the fact that my stomach isn't any bigger, since I've been programmed since a young age to desire a flat tummy.

Jeff and I have been recording the belly growth, just in case. Partly to see if there is any change, and also because we may want to have this visual representation for years to come (of my fat belly!).

Here I am at 14weeks and 5 days... Hello beer belly (or rather, pizza belly)!

Pictures from the United Kingdom!!!!

Look at us in front of Buckingham palace!

Here are all of our pictures from the Babymoon. Keep in mind Baby Parker was there for the whole trip!

We're baaaaack!

We've returned from our excursion to the other side of the pond, and from what I can tell we're all in tact! We had a fantastic trip, and really did our best to live it up in what will most likely be our last big outing before Baby Parker arrives in May.

I imagine Baby Parker had a great time, but probably didn't really notice anything was different. On the whole, the baby didn't slow me down at all. The only big annoyance was that I needed to visit the loo rather regularly. It gave me the opportunity to bless many different shops, pubs, castles and cathedrals throughout the UK.

Another plus was that I got a ton of exercise. We walked everywhere!! Including up about 320 steps to the top of a cathedral in Durham, but it was worth it for the fantastic view.

Of course we visited many, MANY pubs throughout the United Kingdom, and I even treated myself to a glass of wine or two (shhhh). I also enjoyed my fair share of chips and interesting flavored crisps. Luckily, the UK was more vegetarian friendly than I had anticipated.

Thanks to Anni and Kamal for being fantastic hosts and tour guides! The trip wouldn't have been nearly as fun without their company.

Photos to come soon! We'd love to show the little grape the many places it visited while still in the womb...

Next Halloween

This is Jeff's plan for Halloween 2014:

Babymoon

We're going to England! Since this will most likely be our last trip without a little one (save for the few weekend jaunts to Champaign for sporting events), we've definitely got to make the most out of this one. Now, one of us won't be able to sample the local vino selections, but that will just save us money!

The trip was planned before we knew that we would be pregnant, though we did hope that this might be the case. Luckily, the timing worked perfectly as we're right past 12 weeks. We've confirmed things are going as plan, and the next doc appointment isn't until two weeks after we return.

And, it's nice that we're going to a country where we can safely drink the water, and the healthcare isn't hard to come by, just in case.

So off we go across the pond, the first time for both of us. Our last big hurrah and money muncher, before our minds will be preoccupied with daycare, bottles, onesies, etc.

We also get to spend time with our dear friends, who have been out of the country since August. They're aware of our news, and it will be fun to celebrate.

My friend Kelli, who is on her second baby, is the one that introduced me to this fabulous term Babymoon. It totally fits, and I'm very grateful that we are lucky enough to take one!

We'll be back on Nov. 10! Stay tuned for some fun pictures.

The magical heartbeat

Today was a magical day, with the high point being able to hear the sound of our baby's heartbeat. We got to see the little bugger at 8 weeks, and then for the past 4 weeks we've had little evidence to believe that the nugget is continuing to grow as planned/expected.

Well, today all that changed. We were lucky enough to see the heartbeat at 8 weeks, but today we got to hear the magical tune of our baby's heart beating away. The actual listening to the heartbeat was a lot less climactic than I thought it would be, but exciting nonetheless. The doc just put something on my tummy and held the speaker up in the room. At first I didn't hear anything (I always think the worst first) but then there it was. Kind of a zoom, zoom, zoom sound letting us know that Baby Parker was alive and well.

What this means is that the baby is doing what it's supposed to, and that we're passed the scary point in the first trimester. It also means that we have been given the go ahead to spread the word that this is happening!

No more sneaking around pretending to drink, because the cat is out of the bag. No need to make up excuses for why I don't want to spend the weekend at a football game, because being pregnant is the best excuse for everything!

In case you're wondering, I have not started to show at all at this point. I feel like my stomach looks bloated and round, but more like I ate too much at lunch than an actual baby is growing inside there. But in a few weeks, all that will change! Then not only will our friends and family know, but everyone who sees us walking down the street (well, me walking down the street) will know that we're expecting!

It's fun to have the confirmation, and it's even more fun to share. Stay tuned for exciting news as it arrives!

The big brother

In about 7 months, this guy is going to be a big brother.

I don't think he's going to be happy about it, but sadly he doesn't have a choice.

Luther (the big brother)

He's been an only child for nearly 7 years, so sharing cuddles and attention with someone else is going to be a big shock.

We'll do the best to make sure he knows that he's still loved, and perhaps if he's good he can babysit one day (kidding).

Welcome to our blog

Welcome! As of today, October 5th, we are exactly 8 weeks and five days pregnant. On Monday, we'll be at 9 weeks. Now, this blog is currently unavailable, because 8 weeks is way too early to tell anyone.

But we're bursting at the seams, so we wanted to get started. This blog is for our friends and family to find out where we're at, how we're doing, and what's going on with the peanut in Zipporah's belly.

Some of you may or may not know that getting to this point was a bit of a struggle. If you're interested in hearing more you're welcome to ask, or you can visit our other, secret blog, www.thefutureparker.blogspot.com. Now that we've found success, that blog has been abandoned. THIS blog is just for the happy, exciting posts.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, I can't promise how often we'll post, and you're welcome to visit as frequently or infrequently as you'd like. This way, we can post all the exciting stuff without annoying everyone on social media who doesn't care. Sure, we'll post a few things here and there on the ol' Facebook and Twitter, but most of the information will be here.

If you're reading this, then we've probably made it to 12 weeks. Phew!

Stay tuned for exciting updates, pictures and news about the future Illini fan that we're currently incubating. We can't wait to report more.

- Jeff and Zipporah

Positive!

The first bit of evidence that we're having a baby...

But of course that's just the beginning.