Drum Roll Please...... IT'S A GIRL!!!!

     As many of you already know, Jon and I had our "20 week" ultrasound, actually we had it done at 18 1/2 weeks.  We had this done last Tuesday and we had already decided that we did want to find out what we were having!  But a last minute suggestion was made from some experienced co-workers of mine and we decided to have the ultrasound tech keep the baby's sex a "secret" from us during the ultrasound and instead write the conclusion on a note card and stick it in an envelope so Jon and I could open it up together at dinner that night.  So we were full of anticipation during the 45 minute ultrasound visit while the 2 ultrasound techs and perinatologist were in doing the exam on our little one.  Everything checked out just great.  The heart rate was 157 beats per minute, the estimated weight of our little one was 261 grams, and all of the body systems are functioning normally.  

     So later that night, Jon and I went to one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants, Cafe Ena, and after ordering we opened up our envelope together, and low and behold- we're having a baby GIRL!!!  We both, of course, are very excited.  Though I think I'm a tad bit more excited than Jon, you know that whole passing on your last name to your son thing.  But we both know that we can't wait to meet and love her!  And as far as names go, we've just been tossing around some ideas, but haven't come anywhere near making a decision.  We'll definitely keep you all updated!

     I didn't post this information immediately because we wanted to call our immediate family and happened to already have some friend get-togethers going on this weekend and wanted to tell those we were going to see in person.  

     The pictures below are me and my belly the same day as the ultrasound, at 18 1/2 weeks.  I want to try to take this pictures every 1 to 2 weeks, for Jon and I to have later, but also so our family on either coast can watch the baby's progression. 

   

Spring Fever!

     Sorry I haven't been very good about keeping my blog updated.  I'm starting to feel spring fever!  All winter long it's so easy just to sit around and relax, it gets dark so soon and it's just too darn cold out to do anything.  But now that spring has arrived I'm busy scheming and planning projects to do around our house and yard.  We currently have a minor roof leak that needs to be fixed along with the corresponding ceiling that has been water damaged due to that leak.  I know, this house is notorious for water problems!  Also, it seems that after the cold winter has thawed our steps leading up to our side door are disintegrating.  So those will need to be replaced soon as well.  And for the first time since we moved into this house I feel the windows are just too darn dirty for me, so I've been pricing so window cleaners, as neither Jon nor I want to brave a ladder climb to clean the outside of our second story windows!

     Our garden is just in the planning stages.  We can see our hostas, lilies, chives and irises popping up through the soil and rock, which is very exciting.  But after having some bad luck with frost last year with our tomatoes, I think we'll wait until Memorial Day to plant the veggies.  We have had good luck with twice a year plantings of lettuce from seed, which I may try to plant tomorrow.  We also decided to go a little greener this year and add a compost bin to our yard.  We have a counter top canister that is charcoal filtered that we had filled over the last week or so (so far no noticeable smell from it!).  And today after strategically placing the compost bin between some shrubs behind our fence line, by the alley, we emptied our canister full of yummy compost into the bin.  It was pretty exciting.  So, hopefully we'll have some nutrient rich compost to throw onto our garden throughout the summer!

     As for our little one, all is well!  I had a check-up on Tuesday and he/she passed with flying colors.  The heart rate seems to always be 150 beats per minute (kind of fishy if you ask me!) and they could tell that our little one was very active and moving around while we attempted to count the heart beat and he/she kept moving away!  And I do think I'm starting to feel a little movement, here and there.  Just a little fluttering, so far, but it's pretty amazing.  On Tuesday we have our ultrasound, yeah!  I will be 18 and a half weeks along and we should be able to find out what we're having.  We're both very excited for that!  So keep posted, we'll let you know as soon as we do!

Bags and Baby Bump

     Well, I'm starting to feel obligated to post a picture of my "baby bump" since the first thing everyone asks, or looks for, is my belly.  As I said before, I don't think I look like I'm pregnant, yet!  I just look like I've been eating very well.  But for comparison sake, here are a few pictures, taken a few days ago at 16 weeks!

   

     And as I mentioned in my last blog entry, I just finished a lovely 6 day "weekend".  I went back today to work after having the last 6 days off.  I had a lot of time to do a lot of fun things.  I had lunch with friends.  We had a wine club get together.  I went to Rochester to visit a college friend.  And I had a lot of time to shop and do stuff around the house.  I even went window shopping for baby stuff, so much fun!  But another thing that I did was take my second of two introductory to sewing classes at Crafty Planet, a craft store in Northeast Minneapolis.  Here I learned how to sew a tote bag, which I'm sure a lot of you are familiar with, see Baby Laene Designs and the Chronicles of LaFrancia.  They are a lot of fun to make and addicting.  So far I've finished 3 bags and have the material cut and ready for the fourth.  I'm hoping to move onto curtains to adorn our windows that have just received new blinds, thanks Lowe's and the suggestion so long ago from the Robertsons!  So I thought I'd just add a few pics of my bags!  Enjoy and I'll keep you posted with the curtain project!

    

    

    

Pluses and Minuses of Working at My Job

     I just finished my forty hour work week in three days and have the next 6 off before cramming another 4o hours in three days next week.  This is how my hours are at my job at the moment.  I work two 12 hour shifts and one 16 hour shift and have the other 4 days off.  This is a definite plus of my job, at least for now.  Of course when the baby comes, I'll be changing my schedule and just doing the normal 8 hours a day, 4 days a week (hopefully)!  

     All of this got me thinking of the pluses and minuses of my job, as a pregnant woman.  My schedule and flexibility in changing it as necessary, is a definite plus.  A minus is that I have to be at work by 6:30am, meaning I will have to search out a daycare that opens by 6am for when I do go back to work after maternity leave.  Another plus is that my scrubs are provided for me.  Not only is that inexpensive and comfortable, but I don't have to buy maternity clothes for work!  Another minus is my exposure risk related to my job, such as x-rays, MRIs, CT scans, fluroscopy, nitrous oxide, anesthetic agents and methyl-methacrylate (all of which I've been able to avoid so far, though I fear things may change as summer approaches and we have less employees around with the summer vacations!).

     The last big plus is my access to medical equipment.  I have to admit I've been eyeing up devices that are just sitting around that may give me any information about my baby.  One device is a doppler, used to find the baby's heart beat.  We have these around to check patient's pulses and I have on more than one occasion used one to find my little one's heart beat!  I also had noticed that the echocardiography machine that we use in our heart ORs looks an awful lot like the ultrasound machine used at the OBGYN office.  So, sure enough I've been sneaking up to that OR and trying it out - and sure enough I've been catching glimpses of the little "skeletor" baby.  It's a little different than the ultrasound at the doctor's office.  The picture seems grainy and much closer up than the machine intended to see your baby.  And it seems I can see bone structure really well, thus the "skeletor" baby, but soft tissue is much hard to see (like noses and lips).  But I have seen his or hers little heart beating, moving arms and legs, the baby's head moving around and maybe even some hiccups.  It's a lot of fun, but I'm definitely no ultrasound tech, so now matter how hard I try, I still can't tell if our little one has little boy or little girl parts!  I guess I'll just have to wait until the professionals do it!