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.