Ballerina Baby-22wks

I LOVE holiday weekends. Any kind of holiday weekend. Really, any kind of holiday. This weekend was especially relaxing (despite the 107* heat) because a family friend had expiring Marriott points and gave them to us for a stay-cation! Yay for not making the bed & picking up! Yay for not worrying about dogs! Yay for not having to make breakfast! Yay for big fluffy beds & cable! Needless to say, even though we were still in Amarillo, it was a relaxing break for the two of us. We watched movies on tv, ran some fun errands around town, enjoyed breakfast outside, took luxurious naps, slept in and stayed up late talking. We had our weekly date night, enjoying dinner out & Pirates of the Carri bean in 3D. (totally worth it ps)

To make our weekend even more exciting....

These last few weeks I've been experiencing all sorts of weird and sometimes tingly, pressure and sensation. None of it painful, though sometimes uncomfortable. I haven't really been able to distinguish what's going on and one google search of my feelings even turned back "Braxton Hicks"...hmmm.... I was having similar sensations Monday morning and instinctively reached down and BOOM there was baby kicking (or something) at me! BOOM, BOOM! I quickly grabbed Adam's hand and put it on my belly-BOOM BOOM BOOM. I asked "That's definitely not my heartbeat is it?" (Sad that I needed clarification for something so obvious, but it seemed so impossible and unreal!) Then as suddenly as she started, she stopped. I spent the rest of yesterday hunting for her kicks and punches, but couldn't feel any. Although, in my bath last night she did two swift rolls which delivered the oddest sensation I've ever felt! Even today I've sat patiently, hoping to feel her, and an hour ago she made herself known...for about two minutes. Such excitement! One mother-friend of mine warned, "Soon you'll just wish she'd stop so you could get some rest!" In the meantime though I can't help but wish to feel her constantly, in love and amused by her tiny ballerina movements.

It occurred to me that I haven't posted a 'proper' baby bump picture in some time, so Adam took a few of me this weekend. (none of which I was crazy about, but oh well) Here are Baby 001 and Mama at 22wks (5.5mo)

I never got around to posting the outfits I got for 001 when my mom and I went shopping, and Adam and I snagged some jammies & two dresses this weekend as well. Out of their sheer cute factor, I feel compelled to post. I am sure this will just get worse as time goes on!

Two More Seersucker Dresses for 001

3-6mo Outfits for 001

(mostly purchased with my mom the day we found out the sex)

Sweet Lil' PJs

PS: I had to get the green long sleeved onesie out of amusement, "Peas on Earth, but NOT on my plate." No telling if her palate will be much like her Mama's but I've never been one for peas, and plan on being understanding! ;)

Spoiled Little Girl

As I previously mentioned, soon after we discovered that 001 was indeed a little lady, my mom & took to the stores to buy her sweet little things. My mother, 001's "G", is the perfect shopper & lucky for all of us, has wonderful taste. Her little granddaughter is sure to be spoiled, as evidenced by her expanding wardrobe by only 20.5wks in utero....

Little smocked dresses, skirted onsies, sweet hats, tea party's and fairies!!! Oh how I can't wait to meet the little girl who will wear these sweet things!

"G"s finds for 001

Wardrobe Addiction

Everyone knows that little baby things are cute, but little baby girl things? It's only been about two weeks, and I think I may have an addiction. My upfront disclaimer is that there are 18wks to go, and there is a good chance that the next 18wks will be peppered with plenty of pictures of clothes. (little tiny, adorable, sweet girl clothes...but still!) I am sorry, but I really can't help myself, and once I've made these adorable purchases, I feel the need to share them with you. Last Sunday Adam and I ventured through several kiddie stores assessing the sales racks and gaining our footing in the land of little people clothes. Our winning store this go round was GapKids, and my favorite find was a little Boston Terrier onsie, looking just like 001 and Adam's pup, Dutchess. (Adam is technically the one who found it, but who's checking)

A comparison for your viewing pleasure:

Our Little Lady

As promised, here are the pictures of our leading lady from her 20.5wk ultrasound. She was not in the mood to have her picture taken, so the only one we have of her face she's attempting to cover herself with her arm.

Little 001

This one got very fuzzy scanning, but it's her head, and her right arm raised.

Foot

(a little fuzzy here, but we could count five cute toes)

Doctor Says...

Today was our 21.5 wk appointment. According to our lab and ultrasound, Dr. Autry informed us that 001 is looking pretty good! Her risks for the genetic screening were low enough not to matter, and from the ultrasound all appeared as perfect as it could. I may have mentioned earlier that we could count her five little fingers and five little toes (at least on one hand and one foot).

The medical center we use is part of Texas Tech's teaching hospital, so there are often medical students coming in during our appointments. Today was no exception, and a sweet young lady was a part of our visit. What made today a little more unusual was that she came in ahead of

Dr. Autry to ask me questions, measure my pelvis to the top of my uterus and measure baby's heartbeat. All was well until she went hunting for the heartbeat. After several minutes of static and finding my heartbeat twice, Adam kindly told her where he had seen them successfully find baby's heartbeat at previous appointments. Me thinks he pointed it out more to end my panicked looks then to aid the medical student, after she left the room he said "the moment she said she was going to search for the heartbeat I was like 'oh great, and she has no idea what she's doing, Kaitlin's going to freak out'" (Have I mentioned how much I love that he can anticipate my emotions?) PS: Her little heartbeat was up from the ultrasound from 156 to 159.

In scale tipping news....while I will not disclose my weight gain thus far, it is not looking good so far as to how hard I'm going to have to work to get it all off. I've decided to believe my sweet husband who tells me I don't look nearly as big as the scale says, but oh! To go in today and see I've gained 8lbs in the last month!!! My thyroid was a problem we had gotten under control before getting pregnant, but my entire pregnancy every time we do a lab, it comes back that the medication I'm on is not keeping up with my thyroid dysfunction. Today was no exception, and I received a call from my nurse that we'd be increasing my thyroid medication again to try and get my thyroid working like it should. Thankfully he has told me he has no concerns at this point about my weight gain. In two weeks I get to go in for my RH shot--"YAY!" which I attempted to explain to Adam today only to read up on later and realize I had no idea what I was talking about. Woops. :)

Funny how doctor's visits, which are normally something to avoid, can become something you enjoy and look forward to. It's nice to have good news about our little sweet!

Family Visit

Before we knew 001 was a little lady, mom & dad came to Texas for the first time in two years and it was sooooo good to see them! Adam & I had last seen my mom in January, but it had been a whole year since we'd seen my dad!!! Ridiculous!

Obviously, since they are deeply deprived of good Tex-Mex in the DC area, we ate Mexican about....four times! (**Note** Mexican has made me sick just about all pregnancy lol, but sticking with taco salad seemed to be the answer this time) Besides visiting us and celebrating baby, my parents were also spending time with my mom's high school best friend who graduated with her in DC but happens to live in Amarillo. Yes, it really is a small world. The whole week went by way too fast, and while I always hate goodbyes my hormones had me crying more then even I expected this time! Hopefully we'll fit one more visit in with them before 001's arrival in October!

Me & Mom

Mom & Debbie

Adam, Me (little lady 20ish wks), Dad & Mom

A GIRL! A GIRL!

It's official! Baby 001 is a tiny, little lady! Measuring at 10oz and with a heartbeat at 156, our little girl is 19 weeks away! We scheduled our ultrasound for when my parents would be in town so we could treat Mom to joining us as a belated Mother's Day present. It was so much fun to have her in there with us!! Our ultrasound was very patient, and appreciated how badly we wanted to know which was lucky because little lady is a modest gal. The ultrasound tech jostled my tummy to try and urge baby to move around, then had me roll on my side for awhile, finally she had to ask me to go to the bathroom and try jumping up and down to "make baby angry enough to move." You see, our dear girl had delicately crossed her ankles and pulled up her knees as to make it impossible to tell if baby was a she or a he! (As Adam said, "Our baby is stubborn? Well there's a shock...") The jumping seemed to work and we were able to get a few snapshots of proof that we are indeed having a little lady!

I have admitted from the start that I would much rather our first baby be a little girl, I just don't fancy myself a good mother for boys and I was so overjoyed to hear that we'll have our little girl! I had teary eyes when she told us, "Look, that's definitely a little girl!" and could hear the smile in Adam's voice as he said just "Awesome" and laughed. My mom was excited too, and while we were still in the room started talking about Sak's Baby Burberry and Rothschild Coats! Obviously after a celebratory lunch Mom & I had to go shopping for little lady, and bought as much pink outfits and smocked dresses as our little basket could hold!

Weeks before baby's reveal, I had fallen in love with some VERY girly bedding and felt

compelled to buy it. I held off, even though I just had a feeling that baby was a lady. Sure enough, Tuesday night found Adam and I picking up the baby bedding I had been admiring for weeks and we set it up in little lady's crib last night.

Little Lady's Crib

Inside the Crib: Bumpers & Sheet

PS: For those of you we promised a video of the ultrasound, the tech told us that Texas Tech would no longer allow video in the ultrasound rooms but we promise to upload pictures of little lady later