11 week baby appointment

As I've mentioned before, my 11 week appointment (which was yesterday morning) with the doctor was both something I was both excited and nervous about. Andrew came with me, and someone watched Marcail and Donovan for us.

As my doctor moved the doppler over my lower belly, we waited with expectancy to hear a little heartbeat. But we heard nothing. My doctor took a few minutes to slowly inch her way way across the belly, and a little up and a little down. Nope, still nothing. My heart was pounding so hard, and I kept thinking, "I can't do this all over again!," as I was fighting back tears. Finally Dr.Cassidy said, "We might need to take you to an ultrasound just to see what's going on in there." It was a replay of my last miscarriage, and my mind was swimming.

She took one last quick swipe across my belly, a little higher this time. "Oh! There it is!" she exclaimed and flashed me a huge smile. She hovered the doppler over the heartbeat and said, "I'm just going to keep this here a minute and let you enjoy that sound...." I finally breathed! : ) The sound of the baby's heart was so beautiful. It was music to my ears and a huge relief to my heart. Our little baby was doing just fine. The heartbeat was steady and strong, 163 beats per minute --- which means it's a girl : ) Haha! No, I'm just teasing Andrew because he thinks its a boy : )

Thankful for Thanksgiving

In less than two weeks, we are headed out on a loooonnnng road trip; we are going back to the Carolinas for 2 weeks during Thanksgiving! We'll arrive late on Monday, the 23rd, and head back on Friday, Dec. 4th.

I am SO excited and find it humorous how many times during the day I become thrilled just thinking about it : ) Andrew is hoping to actually have a vacation where we get some down-time, but with so many friends and family to see, I wonder how much down-time we will really get : )

For those of you that want to see us, email me and let me know what days/hours work best for you. Most of our schedule for the 2 weeks is unplanned and open. My guess is that with our schedule being so open and flexible, its easier for us to fit into your calendar, than the other way around.

See you soon!

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

So here is a photo of my 9 week pregnant belly. I wasn't kidding when I said it was HUGE already --- normally, this is what I look like at 4-5 months, not two. Earlier this week, my lower back was hurting so much, I could hardly walk; my theory is that there has been so much growth on my front, that my back muscles couldn't adapt quickly enough.

Nonetheless, I am sooooo happy that the baby is apparently growing so well!