Happy holidays!

Andrew, Amanda, and the baby bump wish you a very merry Christmas and happy holidays.

26 weeks

26-week ultrasound

We had a repeat anatomy scan at 26 weeks and all looks great! The little guy is actually measuring about a week ahead, except for his head which is 2 weeks ahead in size (ouch!) and everything looks normal. He nows weighs approximately 2 1/2 pounds. They had to do a repeat scan because they couldn't see certain features clearly last month. This may be the last scan for a while though if everything continues to go well.

The baby has been kicking up a storm and at times you can see Mandy's belly twitch as he kicks! Mandy prefers the ones that kick at the surface to the ones that are aimed at her bladder. He gets particularly active in the evenings (of course when she is trying to sleep!). Other than lack of sleep and some lower back pain, Mandy is doing well. Some swelling did start this week though, so the wedding ring had to come off!

Meanwhile, on the outside we are busy preparing for his arrival. The nursery is painted and ready to decorate in our chosen jungle theme. We have the glider put together (thanks Mom and Deb!) and the crib and dresser are currently in boxes, awaiting their inevitably difficult construction. We also have the car seat ready to install. I'm sure that will be almost as difficult as the dresser/crib construction!

We have also been stocking up on cloth diapers and we took our first baby prep class ("Cloth Diapering 101"). Mandy is way too excited about these diapers, but we have some super cute printed covers! We are scheduled for labor and birthing classes, infant care class and breastfeeding class in January at Aultman. We are also planning to choose our pediatrician soon. It's going to be a busy few months before he arrives!

The major ultrasound! All is revealed!!!!

Finally we reach the moment of truth.  On Thursday Amanda went for her major ultrasound.  She is now 21 weeks along.  At this point, the doctors want to inspect the baby with the sonogram camera to make sure it is healthy and well developed.  They also check to see if the baby is a boy or a girl.

The good news is our baby appears completely healthy.  The ultrasound technician inspected all the vital organs and body systems of the baby.  She also looked at the baby's size and weight.  Our little bugger is weighing in at 1 pound now!  The heartbeat is within normal range, as is the baby's size.

So is it a boy or a girl?

Hold your horses!

Amanda is trucking along and is feeling pretty good.  She has some body aches from all the stretching and expanding, but nothing too bad.  The baby is starting to flutter about and kick.  I even felt a kick on Amanda's tummy this afternoon!  My first kick!

That's great, but is it a boy or a girl???

Good things come to those who wait.

Amanda and I went to Babies 'R Us on Saturday and went berserk.  We spent 3 1/2 hours in there gathering items for our baby registry.  The staff members were amazing.  They spent so much one-on-one time with us and answered so many questions.  We are totally stoked about all the baby gear we are hoping to get.  We've already picked out a crib, a stroller, a high chair, a car seat and a bunch of other accessories.  Crikey, babies are expensive!

To view our baby registry, find us at Babies 'R Us.

So you still want to know if we're having a son or a daughter?  Watch the video and see!

18 weeks and counting

It's been a while since my last post.  It seems that early in the pregnancy there was constant exciting updates.  Under Dr. Mooney's care we were getting sonograms every two weeks.  Since moving into the second trimester, the major updates occur much less frequently.

We are now in our 18th week, and I can tell you that things are moving along well.  We graduated from Dr. Mooney.  He was our reproductive gynecologist whose main focus was getting us pregnant.  Dr. Mooney saw us through the first trimester.  We are now under the care of a team of doctors and nurse practitioners at Atrium OB/GYN in Canton.  They are doing a wonderful job.  They are very kind and very thorough.  They spend lots of time with us and never make us feel rushed.  We haven't conducted an orientation yet, but we are fairly certain that we will deliver the baby at Aultman Hospital in Canton.

Mandy has had health screenings for herself and the baby, and both the mum and the bub seem to be in excellent health.  All genetic screenings indicate that the baby is healthy.  It is growing at a good rate, and its heartbeat is normal.  Mandy's insulin levels are good.  The nausea has been gone for a few weeks now.  (Thank God!)  Now Mandy complains of back and hip pain, leg numbness and difficulty sleeping.  Oh, the joys of pregnancy.  She has been assured that these symptoms are common and they are only going to get worse as the baby gets bigger.  Joy.  All complaining aside, the pregnancy is going well, and there have been no complications to be concerned about.  We are very blessed.

Just this week I began to notice Mandy's belly pop!  There is a definite bulge happening there.  Mandy is even noticing some fluttering in her tummy.  She is confident that she is starting to feel the baby kicking.

So is it a boy or a girl??????

We don't know yet.  The baby is just getting to the age where an ultrasound can detect the baby's sex.  Our ultrasound appointment is scheduled for October 25.  Let's hope the baby cooperates and poses proudly for the camera with its legs wide open.  :-)  We will let you know what we are having as soon as we know.  Stay tuned!

12 weeks, 6 days

We've gone public!!!  

Amanda and I are sharing our amazing news with the world.  We are having a baby!!!  We've been hanging out to tell everyone but wanted to get through the first trimester.  Today marks the first day of our second trimester!  We are now 13 weeks pregnant.  Our due date is March 5.

Many of our friends know that the road to pregnancy was long.  We have been trying to start a family for a couple of years.  After many disappointments, we met with Dr. Stephen Mooney of Reproductive Gynecology, Inc.  Dr. Mooney placed Amanda on a crazy cocktail of fertility medications.  The medications were rough on Amanda, causing her all kinds of physical and emotional stress.  Even with the fertility medications, Amanda and I experienced many disappointing months.  Then upon taking a one-month vacation from the fertility treatments (June), we of course become pregnant!

Sonogram at 12 weeks, 6 days
(click to enlarge)

The pregnancy has been extremely successful.  The baby is developing perfectly and appears to be in great health.  Amanda and I have been getting sonograms every fortnight.  The baby's size, heart rate and physical development appear perfect.  Amanda has suffered her fair share of "morning" sickness, although it should really be called "all the time" sickness.  Dr. Mooney kept her on a couple of medications to supercharge her pregnancy.  These medications have wreaked havoc on most of Amanda's body systems.  However, today Dr. Mooney took her off these medications and said we no longer need them as we enter the second trimester.  What a relief!  Hopefully Amanda will quickly begin to feel better.  It's been ages since she's had an appetite or could even tolerate most of her favorite foods.

Today Amanda had her third sonogram.  The baby is growing like a weed and is very active.  The baby is now 78mm in size (3 inches) and can be compared to the size of a peach.  The heart rate was 154 bpm.  All measurements indicate a perfectly healthy and normally-developing baby.

We are graduating from the fertility clinic and will transfer to a traditional OB/GYN for the remainder of the pregnancy.  We found a wonderful clinic called Atrium.  At around 20 weeks we will be able to determine the baby's gender.  And, yes, we do intend to find out!  I will post the news here when I find out.

We are super excited that Amanda's mum is planning to fly here from Australia in February to attend the birth.  Amanda will plan a baby shower in mid February so that her mother can attend.  (Yes, that's cutting it close, but we really want her mum to be at the shower.)

Below you will find a video I took at Monday's sonogram appointment.  Our Aunt Deb accompanied us to the sonogram.  You can really see the baby move!  He/She has a few good dance moves, if I may say so. Amanda and I will update this blog as the baby continues to grow and learn new dance moves.  :-)