8 weeks - Thanksgiving

Bellyot: The baby is growing at an amazing rate — about a millimeter every day — and now is the size of a large raspberry. Our little berry is looking a lot less reptilian (even though she has webbed fingers and toes, her tail is just about gone) and a lot more baby-like these days, as his/her lips, nose, eyelids, legs, and back continue to take shape. The heart is beating at the incredible rate of 150 times per minute — about twice as fast as mine! And even though I can't yet feel it, he/she is now making spontaneous movements as he/she twitches his/her tiny trunk and limb buds.

As you can see from the picture above, I had another ultrasound this week. I love how our little berry looks like a gingerbread man, how perfect as the holidays are quickly approaching! Bellyot's heartbeat is measuring in at 179 beats per minute. This baby has a strong heartbeat - thank you God!

Mommy: I'm feeling so relieved and love seeing our little bean (berry) on the big screen!! There is NOTHING more awesome than seeing your baby's heart beating. What a miracle!! I know we will have many amazing moments like these but this is the beginning of our exciting journey to parenthood! It makes my ALL DAY sickness more than worth it! Only 32 more weeks until we meet our little bundle of joy!! I also took an "illegal" bootleg video of the ultrasound that was left on the screen when the tech left the room. (hehe) Click on the link to view. It's AWESOME!

We had such a great time telling our families!! Since our family did not know we were trying for a baby, it came as quite a surprise. lol Here's how we did it:

Telling my family: The night before Thanksgiving we told my parents that we got them a little something from Louisville. We had a Christmas ornament made that said: "We're expecting, Due July 2010" along with a grandparents Thanksgiving Day card filled with a few ultrasound pictures. They opened it and my Mom started to cry and my Dad had the most classic face of SHOCK. Needless to say they are very very excited to be grandparents! My uncle Jack was also in town and staying with my parents so he also found out that night. He's exited to be a Great Uncle for the 10th time, lol. We told the rest of my family at Thanksgiving dinner the next day. We had given my parents buttons that said "Proud Grandmother" and "Proud Grandpa" that they wore to dinner, it took about 5 minutes for someone to actually read it and they said, "What does your pin say, Scarlett? Proud grand -whaaaaaaatttt??!!!" LOL I said "Yup, we're having a baby!" It was really funny!

Here's a picture of what we gave them:

close up:

Telling his Family: We told his family at Thanksgiving dinner, pretty much the same way, we said we had gotten his mom a little present in Louisville. We gave her a book called "Grandma and Me" and a grandma Thanksgiving day card full of ultrasound pictures. This book is special because it was one of Chris' favorite books as a child. What a perfect way to tell her being that it's about going to visit Grandma! She unwrapped it, read the title and started jumping up and down in excitement and started to cry. She asked, "are you really" and I said "yup" and she's exclaimed, "Im going to be a grandma!". It was super fun to see her reaction. Since his sister, Megan, stayed in California for Thanksgiving we told her by sending 3 text messages. The first one an ant farm, the second the Ants in Your Pants game, a picture of her actual Aunts and then she asked if I was pregnant and I said Yes! and sent a picture of the ultrasound to her. It was such an exciting day!

Here's a picture of what we got his Mom:

Daddy: He's getting so excited! Seeing the ultrasound really makes it real!! We've started talking about names ... so far we've got a boy's name: Elliott Kurt. Still working on the girl's name.

7 weeks

Bellyot: I am growing fast!! The head, heart, spinal cord, and some of the larger blood vessels begin to form. As these blood vessels form, the heart begins to pump fluid through them, and our baby's first red blood cells are created. Our baby is about 7 - 9 mm or 0.27 - 0.35 inches in length, (approximately the size of a grain of rice), and weighs about 1/30 of an ounce - less than a breath mint

Our baby's brain, bladder, tongue and esophagus are all developing and transforming, while the eyes are moving to the front of the face and his tiny eyelids are forming. The bones of his tiny limbs have started to form and all of your baby's major organs - heart, intestines, kidneys, liver, lungs and pancreas -- are forming and growing. In fact, our baby actually goes through 3 sets of kidneys during development with this week's development, being the second set.

Both the hand plates and the genital tubercle are present this week, but you can't tell whether it's a boy or a girl by sight at this point. Nasal pits are also forming. In my womb, our baby has already become active swimming around inside the amniotic sac and kicking.

Mommy: I'm feeling pretty sick and trying to keep food down. I feel SEASICK! Doctor has suggested that I start off my mornings with a Whey protein shake to ensure Im getting enough nutrients and protein to the baby. He did say not to worry too much because the baby only needs approx. 6 ounces of food. BUT eating frequently should alleviate some of the nausea... let's hope! Right now I can't even think about eating something. I'm sure that will change once the 2nd trimester rolls around. haha

Daddy: Chris and I are both very anxious to tell our families next week at Thanksgiving ... we can't wait to see how excited they will be for their very first grandbaby!!

6 weeks down ... 34 to go (or maybe only 31)

Bellyot: The first heartbeats have begun! The baby is now an embryo and is about 1/17 of an inch long. Growth is very rapid this week. The umbilical cord develops. The eyes and ears begin to form as well as an opening for the mouth. The heart has begun to pump blood and most of the other organs are well under construction. Buds form on the body that will become the arms and legs. Exciting week!

Mommy: I'm in my second month of pregnancy!! I've been feeling OK, still feeling a lot of nausea but thankful when I do as I feel like our lil bean is letting me know he/she is doing just fine! Unfortunately, I'm spotting (something I've had since the day I found out I was pregnant) but the Dr, nurses, "What to Expect", and WebMD assure me this is "normal" and I'm one of the 25% of women who experience this. I personally believe that I am being cheated ... I mean isn't one of the perks of pregnancy that you don't get your "friend" for 9 months or more. Oh well, all that matters is that our baby is doing well and the spotting isn't hurting anything. Please God let our baby bean be strong and healthy!!

Exciting event of the week: Our first ultrasound on Thursday 11/19!! I will be 6 weeks, 6 days. YAY!!! We can't wait!

Daddy: Chris is SO excited to be a Daddy! He was ready to register for baby things the day we confirmed our pregnancy. As I mentioned in the first post, Chris has added the "What to Expect" application onto his iPhone. I love how he looks up random questions I have within seconds of asking them and he tells me when it updates him for the week about what the baby will be doing/growing and how I might be feeling. Its so sweet! He has also been reading up on his new camera... oh yes, the camera I said he couldn't have until we were pregnant ... well, open mouth insert foot ... within days of my positive blood pregnancy tests he had already selected his new camera. Since many of you knew about my rule regarding him getting his new camera, we couldn't tell anyone that he got it because it would give it away, lol. I can't complain, this just means we will have amazing pictures of our lil Prince or Princess annnnd it works out that we found out just in time for it to be a joint birthday/Christmas present too. hehe Chris is an amazing husband and I know he will be an awesome Dad! This week he has done so many of the chores and catered to my every need!! Thanks to my spotting I have to spend most of my days with my feet up, drinking lots of water, and just waiting for June or July to come! He also bought me a beautiful arrangement of flowers with a very sweet card. I thought it was hilarious that the card was addressed to "Baby Mama" ... haha!

We're having a BABY!!!

Yup - you read the title correctly!! We're Pregnant!!!! Chris and I are going to be parents!! Our due date is July 9, 2010! You might all be thinking, "what ... that is YOUR birthday month?!" While that is true, I can't think of a better person to share it with than my own son or daughter!! This just means really good summer vacation / birthday trips! Not to mention that both of my grandmothers are/were born in July as well as some of my best friends. Its a GREAT month and now it will be even better!

Chris has already nicknamed our baby bean "Bellyot" and keeps chanting "Boy Boy Boy, big tall boy!" ... We've had names picked out for a while now and the boy name is Elliot Kurt, which is where he gets the "Bellyot" nickname from... While he says he wants a boy, we are both praying for a healthy and strong baby no matter if it's a boy or a girl!!

We found out on October 27, 2009 while on a work trip that I went on with Chris to Louisville ... yes, this is my new favorite city!! To honor the city we found out in, being the home of the Kentucky Derby, I bought a stuffed animal horse that we named "Winnie" (the sound a horse makes)... although "Bellyot" won't be able to play with it for a long time because it has beady eyes, lol.

Things we've done the past few weeks:
1. Tried to keep a secret - its hard!!
2. Chris put the "What to Expect" app on his iPhone (awww he so cute and BEYOND excited!)
3. We bought the "What to Expect" book for me
4. Bought a pregnancy cook book
5. I've been unsuccessfully trying to keep food in my stomach.
6. Briana and Allison let me borrow pretty much every pregnancy book ever written (thanks girlies).
7. We told our families on Thanksgiving!!

While I love my dear dear dear husband, he says to me on Saturday (11/7) after a rough brunch experience: "I wish people knew already, I want to make fun of you on Facebook for running out of restaurants!" Gotta love him!

Thank you in advance for your prayers and good wishes as we start our journey to parenthood ... please pray for our baby bean, Bellyot!

With love,
Connie and "Bellyot"