Snips, snails & puppy dog tails

So, here's the promised update! Our appointment on Tuesday was so fun -- even if it was long, due to the doctor's office not putting us on the ultrasound schedule. But they fit us in, and everything went well.

First we met with Dr. Smith and he listened to the heartbeat and answered what few questions I had. Then, after a wait, we met with the ultrasound tech for a little while, and below are the pictures. The tech said our little guy was really fun to photograph -- he cooperated by getting in all the right positions for her to see him and take pictures. And he was really active -- she had to keep following him around as he moved all over the place. It was really comical!

Profile shot: His head is on the right -- see his nose sticking up? He has his hand up near his head, and his body is wrapped around. The bright white line to the bottom left is his spine, and his leg is up close to his body.

Face shot: Here he's looking right at the camera -- see his little eyes, nose and chin? Again he has his hand up near his head -- the white line at the top is his arm. The curved white line is his spine.

Foot shot: Here's his little foot! :) Looks like he has all of his little toes!

Isn't he cute?!?! :) I decided not to post the "money shot" -- no need in embarrassing him before he's even born! He's growing at just the right rate -- he measured at 21 weeks and 2 days, and I was at 21 weeks 1 day. His heartbeat is 158 bpm, and he weighs 14 oz.

I, on the other hand, have officially gained 10 pounds from my first doctor's visit, and my wardrobe has almost completely changed. Thanks again to Heather for passing on her maternity clothes!! I've been feeling fine, but yesterday we were out opening our baby registries for about 3 hours, and I'm still recovering -- I can't believe how much it wore me out!! It was lots of fun, though! There is so much cute little boy stuff out there!! :)

On a side note, if you click on the photos, they'll come up bigger on the screen. Also, I've fixed it so you can make comments without having to sign in to anything.

The results are in!

OK, for those of you dying to know ...

we're having ...

a ...



BOY!!

More details on our fun doctor's appointment coming soon!

Weekend Update

I've been feeling the baby moving around daily since Father's Day. The little one probably started a few days before that, but it was on Father's Day that I knew for certain that it was him/her kicking me. It's a feeling that's hard to explain if you've never felt it before... it's pretty neat though! I find myself thinking, "I did feel the baby today, right?" or "OK, there's the daily kick, we're still going strong." It would be weird at this point NOT to feel something.

This past week, baby Hylton decided to wake me up with the most powerful kicks I'd felt yet. It was really something! Monday night, I was in that time between awake and sleep, just starting to doze, when all of a sudden I was being kicked like crazy! I didn't know if David was awake, so I didn't nudge him, just laid there in amazement. A minute later, I could tell David was awake, and he felt a little bit of the "after shocks."

The top photo at right (I haven't figured out how to add photo captions yet) was taken May 16. I felt like I had a belly, even though no one else did! The second photo was taken June 9 when we were in the Outer Banks for a friend's wedding. You can't see much, but it's a good picture of me! :) The third picture was taken June 27, when I was 18 1/2 weeks along and sporting my new haircut (although this isn't a very good picture of my hair!). I've been wearing mostly maternity clothing for a while, especially pants and skirts -- my wardrobe has shrunk dramatically in the past month or so! Another thanks to Mom for taking me shopping, Mom-in-Law for my new outfit, and Heather, Bree and Patty for the hand-me-downs! They've helped tremendously since money is extremely tight right now!

I weighed myself yesterday and am hovering around the 10-pounds-gained mark, but the official weigh-in will be Tuesday. Yep, Tuesday!! It's so hard to believe that I've passed the half-way point and we may soon know the sex of our baby! We're still debating on if and when to tell everyone if we're having a girl or a boy :)

Take our quizes at the top of the page to let us know what you think!!

First View

I don't think anyone's actually seen this photo ... sorry about that! We didn't mean to keep it from anyone, but it really doesn't show much :) This is the first ultrasound I had on April 15. In the bottom photo the baby is in the blur on the bottom -- like I said, not much to see! But that first image really hit home for us -- it was pretty exciting to see our developing baby on the screen!

So that was my very first appointment with Dr. Smith. He's the same doctor Heather (David's sister) had, and I like him a lot. He's very easy to get along with. At that first appointment, the baby measured 1.6 cm from crown to rump and the heartbeat was 154 beats per minute. All in all, a very healthy baby!

Besides seeing the heartbeat and the ultrasound as a whole, I also had the usual blood work done. The next appointment on May 13 was exciting in that we got to hear the heartbeat for the first time -- it was a healthy 173 beats per minute. I had gained 2 pounds by the second appointment.

Our third appointment with Dr. Smith was June 17. I had gained 6 pounds by this time. We heard the heartbeat again -- 158 bpm -- but otherwise it was a quick trip to the doctor's. Dr. Smith talked to us about the blood work that could be done to test for different things that could be wrong with the baby, but we opted against it -- we figured the results wouldn't change anything and there was nothing that could be done if it came out there was something wrong (if the results were even right) so we didn't want to put ourselves through it.

David has been with me at all the appointments, which has been very nice -- of course, I'd be worried if he wasn't :)

A long time comming

Well, I've been meaning to start this blog for a long time now, and as we approach the half-way point of the arrival of baby Hylton I figure this is as good a time as any! I wanted to have a place where friends and family far and wide could read about our experiences as we prepare to become parents for the first time.

As of today, I am 19 weeks and 4 days into my pregnancy and I've gained around 8 pounds. My next doctor's appointment is July 15, and that's "the big one" -- we should be able to tell if we're having a boy or a girl!! The debate is raging between the families, so hopefully this will help :) We're just hoping for a beautiful, healthy baby. It will be fun to find out before the baby's born so that we can decorate the room and narrow down the name selections.

I now have a part-time job at a near-by church, and it's something I wouldn't mind doing after the baby's born. I work 9 a.m. to noon every day, which leaves plenty of time for Mary Kay!

I'll be posting photos on here of my growing belly as well as ultrasound photos and anything else baby-related. I'll try to write regularly so that this blog will be up to date.