As most of you already know, Dana and I didn't eat a Thanksgiving dinner this year.  Instead, I gave birth to our beautiful baby girl, Eva Veronica Nevins.  Obvious contractions started at 8:30pm on Wednesday night, by Thursday morning at 8am we were headed to the hospital.  We arrived to find that I had already dilated 4 cm and this baby was definitely on her way.  At 7:07pm, baby Eva was born, weighing in at 7 lbs 1.2 ounces and was 20 1/4" long.  We heard her first cry just seconds after she was out, I held her on my chest immediately, and of course, proud daddy, Dana, cut the cord.

The joy that came over us in those first moments with her are indescribable.  I have never in my life felt so happy, proud, or astonished at this miracle of life that Dana and I created. 

As for the labor and delivery, we had no major complications and the baby was healthy, so we opted for a short 24 hr stay at the hospital.  Our stay in the hospital went well, and we soon figured out our roles in parenting.  While my main concern was feeding our baby, daddy took on all other duties.  He is an expert at changing diapers, swaddling, and doing whatever he can to make things a little easier for me.  Dana and I have been together for 6 years and I really thought I knew him inside and out.  But, what his daughter has done to him completely amazes me!  He is more amazing than my wildest dreams could have ever imagined.  I always thought I married the world's best man, but now I know FOR SURE that I did :)

Now, a little bit about our baby's name.  Her name is Eva Veronica Nevins.  It is pronounced "Eeeeeva".  We found the name on a baby name website months ago and just hadn't been able to shake it.  We knew right away that it was fitting and that we both loved it.  We tried considering other names, but we always came back to Eva.  Of course, we wanted to meet her first, to be sure that is just what she looked like, which we knew just seconds after seeing her.  The middle name Veronica is a family name.  It has been somewhat of an unspoken tradition in my family to carry on a family name.  My middle name is after my grandma and I wanted to do the same with Eva.  I chose to use my mother's middle name (also after her grandma), which is Veronica, rather than her first because it flowed well with Eva.  And, of course, she is also a little Nevins baby who will proudly carry her family name for at least the next 30 years ;)

(in the hospital, preparing for Eva's first pictures)

Of course, no picture does baby's any justice, for she doesn't usually have this scrunched up face and isn't nearly as big as the camera makes her look.  Regardless, she is still as beautiful as ever. 

To see more pictures from her first week, so far, click here, or on any of the pictures above.

We made it through the weekend with no baby appearance.  But, its not that we weren't trying :)  We decided to test out all the wivestales that came our way and see if they work.  As you can see, they haven't!  But, we did have a fun weekend together trying it all out.  :)  We went out to dinner Friday night at a fabulous Italian restaurant, where I ordered eggplant parmigiana.  On Saturday, we went and got foot massages where I was hoping the masseuse would really dig into that pressure point I needed him to hit, but of course I got the opposite.  I'm sure they don't want to be liable for causing contractions.  On Sunday, we ate Mexican food, but all the spicy food did was give me horrible heartburn!

Along with the wivestales that we have read about or heard from other people, we have also developed one of our own.  We turned Rocky into a chicken.  Thats right, he has been laying on top of my belly day and night and every opportunity he can get.  We are hoping that if he can warm up this baby long enough, she will finally hatch!  :)  I wish I could get a picture to show you just how great it is, but every time I get the camera out, he moves.  I don't think he wants people to know his secret moves.

I know I'm a little too impatient here, for we technically have one more week until my official due date.  But, I'm still crossing my fingers for a Turkey Day baby, and it would be great if you all crossed your fingers, too.  And, feel free to send more ideas how to get our baby girl to want to come soon.  I'll try just about anything at this point.

We have spent another weekend trying to get done whatever we could before baby arrives.  We have the car seat bases in both my car and Dana's truck, cameras fully charged and packed, fully loaded up our freezer with as much food as we could fit in it.  Spent a good hour or two at Costco, filling up our cart so full and high that I could barely see over it.  What else could I possibly do before baby comes?  (Feel free to email me with suggestions, because I need things to do to keep me going....all I want to do is sit and wait, and I'm growing really impatient ;)  haha).

In the meantime, here's a little something for fun.  Dana finally gave me his baby picture so I could see what he looked like as a newborn.  And, then I compared it to my baby picture.  I guess you could say Dana is, and always has been the more photogenic of the two of us...but here you go, check it out and just imagine how cute our baby is going to be!  (I am to the left, Dana to the right, in case you can't tell)

I just can't get over how freakin' adorable my hubby was as a baby, and not much has changed over the years.  Stay away, ladies, he's all mine ;)  Since I've seen the picture, I keep saying to Dana whenever he pokes fun at me and tries to get me riled up "Hold on a second, I have to go look at your baby picture to remind myself why I love you".  haha.  One look at that picture and I can't help but smile and return to him with a big hug and kiss.  If he was smart, he would hide this picture and then pull it out whenever he really upsets me.

Anyway, back to imagination...after the thought of combining both of our baby features, I can't help but think that our little girl is just going to be the most preciously adorable baby ever.  I mean, yes, no matter what, I am going to think she is the most preciously adorable baby ever, but its just fun to imagine her arrival and my very first look at her.  Can you tell I am getting excited?

Now that Dana is back home, we are checking off our "to-do" list before the baby arrives and it is coming along quite smoothly.  While Dana is trying to play catch-up with work, he is also juggling family time with Rocky and I, and making sure the house is baby-ready.  After I spent the entire week icing my back and laying on the couch, I can happily report that I am feeling good again and am able to walk without being in pain.  We went for a walk today and yesterday morning, and oh my gosh, did it feel so good to finally get out and be back to my normal self!  Now, I am also able to get my "to-do" list done as well.  I've organized the baby room as much as I can right now, began packing our hospital bag, and made some fun baby accessories for our little girl.  Rocky did his share as well, for he helped daddy with all of his chores and then tested out his sister's new crib to make sure it was cozy and safe.

The verdict is that, Yes, it is indeed, comfy and safe and ready for our new bundle to sleep in it.  And, Rocky says that if she is ever scared of being alone in there, he will volunteer his cuddle time to join her in her crib ;)

We are also excited to share some of our maternity pictures from a photo shoot we did a month ago.  We worked with photographer, Anjuli McDowell and took many pictures.  It was a fun day for Dana and I and we are happy with the documentation of this wonderful journey in our lives.  Click on the picture to take you to the photo gallery of all the pictures.

Take our survey to tell us what you think...when will little Baby Nevins Arrive?  And, how much do you think she will weigh?  Click here to take our survey!

Well, we are now in the final stretch.  I can't believe it's here!  Its been a wonderful, fun, and exciting journey and now enters probably the longest month of our lives, waiting for baby to be ready to arrive.  I technically have 5 weeks until my due date, so I don't think it will happen any time soon, but 5 weeks is soon enough!  All Dana and I ask for is to have her wait until her daddy gets back from working in Vegas, for he is gone the whole first week of November.  After that, she is welcome to come at any time (sooner rather than later, heehehe).

Dana and I started our Lamaze classes last week.  The first day was just an overview of pregnancy and all the aches and pains that come with it and how to manage them.  We got to meet the other couples in the group, learning what they were having and when they were due.  I am due the soonest in the group, with two other girls right behind me that are due on Dec 2.  The rest around Jan, Feb, and March.  We also got to see that 5 were having girls, 4 were having boys, and 1 is waiting to find out.  So, it was pretty even for the sexes.  That was kind of fun to find out.  Anyway, we have 5 more classes, so I know we'll really be pushing it as far as making it to the last one.  We may have to have our doctor give us an overview just in case we miss the last one.

We went to a Baby Care Basics Class on Monday, where we learned more about bathing and changing diapers.  Since I have more experience in both, we put daddy to the test to see his skills.  As I had already anticipated, Dana was born a pro.  He did great at the diaper changing and even better at swaddling the baby (I think he did it better than me!).  Tonight, we have Infant CPR, which Dana has more experience with, so I will be tested for my abilities.

Anyway, While my Aunt Rhonda was here, we opened the last of the boxes we had in the baby's room to assemble anything that needed it.  We put together the baby swing and bouncy chair, which we have sitting in our living room now.  I look at them every day, feeling like a little kid, just way too excited to try them out.  Come on baby, lets test out the swing!  I just can't wait to see her swinging in it for the first time, I sure hope she likes it!

Oh, and an update on how I am doing...well, lets just say I am feeling really pregnant these days.  The sciatica kicks in way quicker, with just a small walk.  My feet are killing me if I am on them for more than an hour, I have heartburn on most nights, and I can barely get my socks on or tie my shoes.  I'm sure all you mothers out there are laughing at me because you know how much NOT fun the last month becomes.  While I am still loving this pregnancy and can't believe it will be over soon, I understand how it really takes a toll on your body.  I do, however, get the constant reminder of the beautiful little baby inside of me, for I can not only feel the baby's movements and rolls more pronounced, but I can also just sit and watch my belly move around and watch her weight shift from one spot to another.  I love it!

And, now that it is getting to the end, lets see what you all think.  Take my survey to let me know when you think the baby will arrive and how much she will weigh, click here!

Today I had a monthly checkup with my midwife.  For the most part, everything went very well.  With about 7 weeks to go, we are now in preparation mode where  I will start to see my midwife more than just once a month, monitoring the baby's movements and position.  The baby itself is about 4-5 lbs now and about the size of a pineapple.  She is moving as she should be and has a healthy heartbeat, so it seems that she is keeping right on track.  My midwife was also able to tell me the position of the baby.  Her head is facing downward (no breech baby for me :)  ), her back is over to my left side, and the feet and hands are over to my right.  This all makes sense to me because I feel all of her movement on my right side.  And speaking of movement, since the baby is so much bigger now, I am able to watch my belly move as she does inside my belly.  It is always such a great feeling!

As for me, I am doing well.  I feel good most of the time, so not much for complaining here.  I am starting to get really bad heartburn, though, which my mom says is because I have a baby with alot of hair.  I have been eating Tums on a regular basis and even waking up in the middle of the night to eat them, just so I can get back to sleep.  Because of the heartburn, I have to watch everything that I eat and make sure that I eat much smaller portions when I do eat.  So, it was no surprise that I have only gained 3 lbs since the last doctor visit.  Not a concern from the doctor since I gained so much in the last couple months, and it is typical to taper weight gain in the end.

My doctor did tell me I need to start taking it a little easier since I had a couple days where I was feeling minor cramping for brief moments.  I'm sure after having a week of visitors and wedding celebrating and everything in between, I took on a little too much.  So, now I have to try and take it easy for the next 7 weeks.  It is hard for me to slow down, especially since I have been feeling so good, but when you hear that your baby needs you to rest, you do what you are told.  And, Rocky is always up for a nap or resting on the couch with me whenever I need it, so how could I refuse some good quality cuddling time with my little boy? 

Last Sunday, my close friend, Elizabeth, hosted a Baby Nevins Baby Shower at my house.  It was such a fun day celebrating the baby with all of the great friends I have made over the years since living in San Diego and even had some family there. 

Here is Elizabeth and I:

My other close friends, Dalina, Jen, and Dana came early and helped decorate, contributed to food and mimosas, and made special efforts to help with my day.  I think the team of girls did a great job together....check out the decor!

Elizabeth planned a couple baby shower games.  One was filling in the blanks to nursery rhymes, and the other was to guess how big my belly was by cutting a piece of string for how much it took to go all the way around.  As you can see, some guessed a bit too big:

But, there were a few that got very close...we had 3 winners:

After eating and playing games, we moved the shower into the house because it was in the high 90's and way too exhausting to be outside.  We needed some AC!  I opened gifts in the house, where everyone watched, including Rocky, who wanted to make sure he approved everything for his soon-to-be little sister.

I got so many wonderful and thoughtful gifts from my friends, I just couldn't believe it!  Our little girl is going to be the most stylish little girl ever, for she got many adorable clothes, and of course, some of the great necesseties like diapers, pacifiers, car seat base, and safety kit.  I really couldn't believe how generous everyone was and am sooooo grateful to everyone who came :)

To wrap up the shower, everyone ended with a cupcake made by Jen (white cake and white frosting, yum yum)

The day after the shower, I had a "baby shower hang over".  I was so excited that I got to spend the day with so many wonderful friends that I couldn't sleep that night at all, so I was exhausted come Monday.  I didn't want to do anything but think about how much fun I had the day before.  Thank you so much to all of my wonderful friends and family that made the day so special for me and for this baby girl.  I can't wait for her to arrive so everyone can meet the little girl they were helping celebrate.

Check out all the pictures from the shower here.

As of today, I am officially 7 months pregnant and boy, do I feel it.  My belly is growing so fast that my body is having a hard time keeping up, and I am feeling tired and BIG, which basically sums it all up.  I feel like my walk has turned into a waddle and my energy has stooped to an all time low.  But, I am still loving every moment of it.  The movements I am now feeling are so intense, I can watch the weight of the baby move from one part of my belly to the other in one big roll.  She is getting the hiccups all the time and loves being active in the mornings.  I've started counting my fetal movements, which the doctors ask you to do, giving you 2 hours to feel 10 kicks or movements.  So far, every morning I feel the baby kick or move 10 times in less than 10 minutes.  So, I guess she is pretty active.  Maybe she'll come out running :)

Check me out at 7 months pregnant:

We are getting so close to the end, Dana and I can't believe it is almost here!

After getting back from a weekend in Wisconsin, I started to realize how much my belly had grown in just one week.  I went from looking slightly pregnant, to very pregnant.  Just before I left, I had to tell people I was pregnant before they noticed.  Now, just today, every person that I came in contact with either said "Congratulations", or asked how far along I am.  It's about time I start getting noticed!  Ha!

I had a monthly check up yesterday.  At my check up, I was weighed and gained 9 lbs!!  Wow.  I was a bit surprised, but also know that I have noticed a huge growth spurt as well.  So, I am totaling 19 lbs now.  I can tell that the baby is much bigger, not only for my big belly, but also because I am suffering with a somewhat common pregnancy symptom, Sciatica.  If you aren't familiar, it basically happens when the baby's weight is weighing down on my Sciatic Nerve.  This causes quite a bit of pain in my butt, literally.  And, I sometimes feel slight numbness and charlie horses in my leg, especially at night.  I am hoping that this doesn't interfere completely with working out, for walking is becoming quite unbearable.  I will test it out on the eliptical at the gym and see if that is any different. 

I am also starting to feel very tired, as I was in the first trimester.  I feel like I can't get enough sleep, which may actually be the case, because sleeping at night has become more difficult, too.  I just can't find a comfy spot on the bed.  At this point, I'm sure it's only going to get worse, but it's just part of the process, right?  I've been lucky to have so much energy and feel so good in the last few months, so its just fine with me that I am now starting to wind down.

My doctor measured my belly, listened to the baby's heartbeat and discussed the near future of the baby's arrival.  She told me everything was perfect and going right on track, which is a great thing to hear. 

And, now that it is getting to the countdown, Dana and I have began to start thinking more about what we would like to do to prepare for the baby arrives.  We have signed up for a few baby classes including Lamaze, baby basics, and infant CPR.  We will be starting those in just a few weeks.  I can't believe it, she really is almost here!!

After spending a couple days with my dad, we headed up to Ashland for a baby shower/family BBQ that my mom threw at her house.  It turned out to be a beautiful day with wonderful people.  I had a really great time seeing all my family, eating good food, and opening gifts from everyone who attended.  Luckily, everyone kept in mind that I was traveling, so they bought items, shipped them to my house, then included a card to tell me what they sent...how perfect!  Here is my brother, showing how proud he is to be an Uncle to the baby girl in my belly:

My grandpa and I:

Here is my baby shower cake, made by the infamous Terri Stephenson...this cake is so me!  And, boy was it delicious (pretty sure I ate at least 5 big pieces)

Of course, I only have only one person to thank for being so thoughtful and hosting a great party, the soon-to-be Grandma Judy:

And, probably my favorite picture from the night, a pic of all my girl cousins who I love as much as sisters.  They are all amazing and mean so much to me, so to have us all together was the best gift of the entire weekend:

To see the rest of the pictures from the shower, click here.

Now, next weekend, my friend, Elizabeth will be hosting a baby shower in San Diego to celebrate with all the friends I have made over all the years that I have lived here.  I can't wait to see them all and celebrate with food, friends, and baby shower games....woohoo!

I am finally ready to show off the baby's room.  I hope you like it as much as I do because I think it turned out just beautifullly!!  It is the vision I had, reflecting my personal style perfectly.  I don't have a before picture to show, but I don't think you need it so see what I did to the room.  The room is a bit small, so it was hard for me to get full views, but this picture is the angle from the doorway as you walk in:

And, this is the wall opposite of the crib:

I made the framed butterfly pictures myself, along with the butterfly collage on the wall.  I applied gold butterfly decals and then attached other butterflies in between for the 3 dimensional effect.  I combined some gold branches and butterflies together for the valance above the window, which turned out great, then added a vase on the dresser with some fake orchids, butterflies in branches, and a light up cherry blossom that I got for a gift from my friend, Megan.  So, what do you think?

So it is official, I am now 6 months on the dot, meaning I am now entering into my third trimester.  Can you believe it?  I can't either!!  Whoa!  The days of waiting around are now over and it is preparation time.  Once the crib arrived and was put together, I worked hard at getting the baby decorated exactly the way I wanted. 

The pregnancy itself has been going very well.  On most days it is really even hard for me to believe that I am pregnant because I have been feeling so good and really do almost everything that I did before I got pregnant.  The only daily reminder is feeling the kicks and flutters inside.  I switched to taking my vitamins at night, which seems to have helped in my not getting sick anymore, its been about 2 weeks now that I haven't had to run to the bathroom because I thought i was going to lose it. 

This little baby has already been getting spoiled, especially by all of her grandparents.  She's gotten everything from clothes and toys to all the essentials, including our new stroller (thanks Mom and Dad Nevins for the stroller).  It makes us feel so special to know that although we are so far away, everyone is thinking about us during this special time.  And, in just a week and 2 days I will be headed on a plane ride to Milwaukee to begin the baby festivities, where my mom is throwing me a baby shower.  The time is approaching so quickly and I just am so excited! 

Here is a picture of my 6 month baby bump:

And, as of right now, the baby is suppose to be about 2 1/2 pounds.  It's hard to imagine what that would be like, but I just keep thinking about my little boy when we first got him.  Rocky weighed in at 2 1/2 pounds as a pup....I have a little Rocky in my belly :)

I had my 4 week check up today, which is my opportunity to hear our little girl's heartbeat and make sure that my body is treating her good, giving her everything she needs.  As I am always hoping, everything was good and well.  Blood pressure was good, fetal movement is good, heartbeat is in the 140's...and, After a long weekend of eating tons, I was not surprised to see that I gained 6 lbs from last month.  So, now I am totally a 10 lb weight gain.  Before I went in, Dana said to me that he could see my belly has gotten so big that it has to weigh about 10 lbs...well, I guess he was right :)  I am also feeling stronger movements from our little girl.  Her kicks and jabs are much more obvious and some days I can feel her all day long.  I think Rocky is starting to feel them, too, although, they aren't strong enough to get him to move away.  He still likes sleeping right next to her.  Hopefully that means they will be best friends when she actually arrives :)

It is fun having a noticeable belly now because it has striked up conversations from many mothers.  I enjoy hearing the different experiences that all mothers have through this whole process.  Here is a picture of me and my baby belly over the weekend:

Other than the baby in my belly, I am still anxiously awaiting the arrival of our crib.  We should be getting it at the end of the month.  Once it is here, I will put the rest of her room together.  I am starting to get a little impatient for I have almost everything I plan to use to decorate.  I think once it is put together it is going to look so beautiful!  Our little girl is just going to love it, well, I am going to love it for her.  I realize it really won't make much of a difference to her. 

I am also getting really excited because in less than a month, I will be traveling back to Wisconsin to see my family and celebrate the baby with a baby shower at my mom's house.  The baby will get to hear her grandma and grandpa's voices so she can recognize them when they come to visit when she arrives.  My friend, Elizabeth, is also throwing me a shower here in San Diego two weeks after that to celebrate this little girl with all of my friends.  After sending out the evite, I have been excited to see all the girls that will be showing up...through this whole pregnancy process I haven't seen many of my friends, so it will be so nice to get them all together at once place to hang out for the day.

Lastly, in just two short weeks I will officially be 6 months pregnant and getting in to my third trimester.  Can you believe it?  The time is going by so fast!!  And in just about 3 short months, baby will be here!  Whoa!  I feel like there is so much to do to prepare us for being parents and yet the time is approaching so quickly...

After adjusting the days to get on track with my new due date (Nov 30), I am officially 5 months pregnant tomorrow!  It is crazy to think about it because I am now over the half way point...whoa!  Good thing I still have 4 more months because I don't even feel like I am prepared yet, but are you ever really prepared?  Probably not, from what I hear.  Anyway, the pregnancy right now has been going very smoothly.  I still do get sick and spend some time with the porcelein god in the mornings (about 3 days a week), but once I relieve myself of whatever needs to come up, I tend to start feeling better for the rest of the day.  I still have my energy and am pretty active during the day.  I am at the gym 3 days a week and spend the rest of the days walking 2 1/2 miles through our neighborhood with Rocky.

I was excited because while I was working at my friend's boutique last week, a woman asked me if I was expecting.  I was so excited that she asked.  Turns out she was expecting as well, so I'm sure she had babies on her mind.  Many other people have already begun celebrating our little girl as well.  We have received some fun packages in the mail of little onsies, sleepers, blankets, and other clothes.  I was so excited about them that I have already washed and folded them into drawers, getting ready to dress our little girl.  My mom also surprised me with a box filled with things that she kept from when I was a baby, including the outfit I wore home from the hospital and my baby book.  It was so fun to read through the book and see everything my parents did in preparing for my arrival.  One of my favorite things to read was a peice of paper that my dad was writing my mom's contractions on.  The nurse had asked him to write down the time every time my mom had a contraction and my mom included it in the book.  It made me think about how my parents, too, were doing it all for the first time once, and it was with me!  I could tell their excitement was exactly what Dana and I are feeling.  My dad also sent me a package and included a CD that read "listen and enjoy".  At first I didn't know what it was, but when I popped it into my computer I heard a collaboration of recordings of myself when I was little.  The beginning was my crying as a baby, then talking to my dad, then saying my ABC's and 123's.  It was so cute to hear and brought tears to my eyes instantly.  It is hard to believe that both of my parents have held on to these precious things for the last 30 years.

So, a little more about Baby Nevins.  She has been much more active lately.  I've been feeling her kicks much stronger now and more frequently.  Sometimes I can just sit and watch my belly move around while she moves.  I'm not sure that is a feeling I can ever sick of.  I'm pretty sure she's been having some growth spurts as well.  The other day my lower belly was hurting for quite a while.  It wasn't in a way where I was concerned to go see the doctor, but more a feeling of stretching and stabbing.  I did, however, call one of my cousin's to get affirmation that it was ok and normal.  It was bothering me for so long, though, that I thought for sure I was going to balloon over night.  It's hard to tell if one day made a significant difference, but I definitely know she's in there :)

Anyway, here is a pic of my belly at 5 months:

Here is a general picture of what is going on at 21 weeks:  You can see the baby is so close to being fully developed

Today I had a check up with my regular midwife.  We went over the results from the ultrasound, listened to the baby's heartbeat and went over any questions that I had.  First, we did a weigh in.  I have now gained 4 pounds overall, which I am no longer worried about.  The doc said that was very healthy and there is nothing to worry about.  It was good to hear it from her.  She looked over the ultrasound results and everything was normal, normal, normal.  Good, good, good!  She did say, however, that my baby measured to be about 3-4 days different than what we originally thought.  So, she moved my due date from November 26th to November 30th. 

Other than then my doctore check up, we do have other exciting news.  Yesterday morning while we were still laying in bed, I started to feel the baby kick.  While I have been feeling the kicking for a while, I wasn't sure how long I was going to have to wait until Dana could feel it.  But, in the morning, I put my hand on my belly and felt it from the outside.  I immediately grabbed Dana's hand and rested it in the same place.  Sure enough, about a minute later, he felt the kick.  But, nothing more after that.  Then, last night, she was moving around more than I have ever felt before.  I rested Dana's hand on my belly for about 10 mintues and he could feel all the movements and commotion that I could feel.  It was such an amazing moment that we got to share.  I think it made Dana very proud and excited, for it did for me.

Today was a very special day for Dana and I.  Being that I have been completely worried about my baby and wanting everything to be ok, today was like a god-send,  it was our big ultrasound.  Not only were we excited to see the sex, but most importantly, we really wanted to see that it was really in there and growing like it should be.

The whole process began with the ultrasound tech taking a look at my cervix and all that other stuff that wasn't very exciting...but, as she moved the wand over my lower abdomen, we started seeing baby parts.  The baby was moving so much that the lady could barely get a good shot of anything, but you could make it all out.  You could see the little heart beating, including the little ventricles.  We saw the hands moving, the mouth opening and closing, the brain, and of course, the most exciting part--the sex part.  Ha!  We could see clear as day that we were having ourselves a little baby girl.  The moment was so touching and something that I will never forget.  My heart had always felt like it would be a girl, but to hear the lady say it, it made everything so real.  I think within a minute of hearing the sex, Dana started spitting off like 5 different girl names.  It was so cute and funny.  I could tell he was really excited, too.

I can't express the feelings of relief and joy.  My emotions took over from that point on and I have been on a super high.  To see 10 fingers and toes, its just a joy!!  And speaking of fingers and toes, she already takes after her daddy.  It looks like they have the same feet, heehee.  Now, lets just hope hers don't grow to a size 14 like her daddy. 

Since we didn't have time today, we will be spending time on our date night tomorrow to celebrate our little girl by buying a little something special for her.  I'm thinking a little dress and a baby book.  By the advice from a friend, I will try my best not to get too overwhelmed in the baby store.  But, it feels good to start planning for our precious daughter.  Pink baby room, here we come!!

Below is a pic of our baby's profile and my belly at 20 weeks :)

Check out the progress I've made through the months.  Can't wait to see what the next few months have in store.

After many days and weeks of worrying and waiting, we were finally able to confirm a healthy baby girl.  Dana and I are so happy to be sharing this wonderful experience together and glad that we have so many supportive family and friends in our lives.  As soon as I have the time, I will post some scans from the ultrasound, but until then, help us celebrate our little baby girl on the way.  :)

To hear more about our ultrasound experience and see the ultrasound pic and my belly, click here!

After having a hiatus of pregnancy symptoms, I had quite a reassuring weekend. A few weeks ago, a friend of mine lent me a baby heart beat monitor for reassurance, whenever I needed. I used it once right when I got it, to hear a healthy heartbeat of 150. Then, when my mom and brother were here, I wanted them to hear it, but I had a hard time finding a good one...although, we did hear it a little. But, over the weekend, the store line went a something like this. I wanted to hear the baby's heartbeat again, so I layed down and found it right away. It was very strong and still beating at 150. Soon after that, I started to feel some slight movement. I thought maybe I was making it up, but no, I felt it again the next day. It hasn't happened often, but I do notice it is usually at night when I am lying down. The movements are a little slower and feel like someone has there hand inside of me and are swiping their finger across my lower abs. I can't wait to feel more baby moves!

I have also been back in the gym, where I can weigh myself.  On Friday I got on the scale to see that I gained 2 pounds!  Woohoo!  Hope it wasn't a fluke.  We'll see for sure in another week and half when I go to the doctor again.  Then, on Saturday, I went shopping for clothes and noticed whenever I put on a shirt I could see my belly sticking out a little.  I thought maybe it was just the types of clothes I was trying on, but then yesterday, I got ready to go to the gym and my belly was totally visible.  Yay!  I went to the gym wearing tight clothes and I just couldn't stop looking down at my belly.  It made me smile so big.  Then, just to have some added assurance, I tried wearing a couple different pair of jeans yesterday and they just were not comfortable anymore, a little too tight around the belly area.  I know, I know, I should be posting a picture, but I am working today and didn't have enough time before I left the house...so I will post one with my next pregnancy blog.   Sorry.

In other news, in just a week and a half we will be finding out the sex of the baby.  I can't believe with the baby still being so small they will be able to see those little sex parts :)
We are very excited.  Of course we are happy with whatever the sex may be, but Dana and I have contradicting opinions as to what it really is.  I'm feeling girl and he's feeling boy.  I can't wait to see who's right!  What do you think we are having?  I would love to see what everyone thinks...I have a survey up to see what everyone is feeling, you can take it here.  Please take it.  It requires that you have an account on our website, but the account doesn't do anything except allow you to leave comments or take the surveys on our blog.  It doesn't go to anyone else.  I really want to see what everyone thinks!  Click here to take the survey
As soon as we have seen the ultrasound, we will be sure to tell everyone the exciting results.

We go to the doctor on July 7th for our big ultrasound, making sure the baby is growing healthy and well, and we will be finding out the sex of the baby!  I can't wait to find out, I'm ready to get into the baby room and start painting.  :)  Take our survey and tell us what you think we are having:

Click Here to Take the Survey: Are We Having a Boy or a Girl?

I can't wait to see what everyone thinks :)

I went to my second doctor's visit today.  As you can tell, I'm still not really showing much and haven't even gained a single pound yet.  My stomach has a little bump that I notice, but I'm still fitting in all my clothes.  Still really looking forward to the day my pants aren't fitting anymore.  I want a little buddha belly to rub :)  Anyway, way more exciting than that is that we got to hear the heartbeat today.  It was so neat to listen to the pulsing of our little baby's heart.  It makes it so easy to picture the little bugger hanging out inside my belly.

The pregnancy itself is starting to go really well.  After being horribly sick for 2 straight months, I now only have small moments of nausea and sickness.  I have much more energy and feel very motivated to do things throughout the day.  I still take regular naps, but I feel way better when I am awake.  In fact, I've been feeling so good that it was starting to become hard for me to even believe that I am even pregnant.  So, not only was hearing the heartbeat exciting, but it was very reassuring.

Once Friday is here, I will officially be in my fifth month.  I can't believe how time goes by so fast.  I feel like this journey has just begun.  Aside from buying a really nice rocker off Craigslist, I haven't even started to shop for baby things.  I think buying the house has taken up alot of that shopping time...but, even more so, we don't find out the sex for 3 more weeks, so I think I want to wait for everything until I know what we are having.  We are very excited for that day to be here.  I think Girl all day long, but the only baby dreams I have had so far have been with a baby boy.  What do you think it is?  Hmm.

And, although I haven't begun shopping for baby stuff yet, we have a very excited grandfather who has already begun his baby shopping.  We got our first package in the mail today and it was from my dad who sent his grandson, Rocky, a stuffed toy for his belated birthday, and a whole bunch of baby stuff for the little one in my belly.  We got toys, pajamas, booties, and more.  When we opened the package, we immediately got butterflies in our stomach.  This was for our very own little baby. Even though we haven't begun on the baby's room, we have already started a collection of items for it in the closet.

So thats about it in a nutshell...I'll probably be blogging much more as soon as there are more significant changes.  Hope you enjoy!!

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I am 3 months along and dying to get that baby bump. Whenever I say that to a family member who has had a baby, they laugh and say, it will come and all at once, so watch out. Ha!! I am feeling a little better these days. I get bouts of energy and less morning sickness. So, I feel like I can function for at least a few hours a day. I still nap almost every day and spend a little time hugging the toilet, but its not nearly as bad as it has been. I've been able to find enough energy to spend a little time in the gym a couple days in the last week. That's been really nice, considering that I haven't been able to step foot in the gym for over a month. I've weighed myself only to see that after losing a few pounds from being so sick, I really haven't gained anything back. I'm finally eating again, though, so it shouldn't take time for the scale to start tippin'.

According to all my baby books, my little peanut has grown to about 3 inches and the size of a peach. I can't imagine...where is it hiding? I mean, my belly does protrude a tad bit, but only Dana and I can notice it, once I put normal clothes on, you can't see anything.

I just went in a few days ago to take blood tests to look for any abnormalities that we should be concerned about. So far, so good. Our next appointment isn't until June 14th, so I have a month before we find out any more news. Right now, we know that our due date is November 26th, which is the day after Thanksgiving. And, ironically, my mom already took her vacation time to visit us for the holiday, far before she realized that she may be able to witness her first grandchild being born. We will find out the sex of the baby on July 7th...a day I can't wait for. We aren't taking bets yet, but I'm feeling a girl. Not sure if its because my mom influenced me to think that way, but I'm going to believe her. Dana thinks its a boy. I guess we'll find out who's right soon enough. I have to admit, if it is a boy and looks anything like Dana, especially when he was a baby, then we will have the cutest darn baby ever. My man might be handsome now, but his baby pictures just make me want to melt. He was such a cutie!

Here is a comparison of this month from last month.  Of course, there isn't much of a difference yet.  I'm sure that will be coming soon enough.  :)

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My mom has wanted to be a grandma for far too long and I think everyone knew about it. So, I knew that when I told her, it would be a huge surprise and something so exciting for her that she wouldn't be able to contain herself. The big reveal turned out perfectly. I took the picture from our ultrasound and framed it in a picture frame that said something like "Grandchildren are the best part of life", I wrapped it in tissue and included a mother's day card. I mailed it to her, but made her promise that she wouldn't open it until Mother's Day and she had to be on the phone with me. She promised, but as it turned out, she was planning on visiting my brother that weekend and he happens to have a web cam. So, I thought it was even more perfect. She brought the gift with her, unopened, then when I got home Saturday night we hooked up the webcams and started talking to each other. Dana, Rocky, and I were on one end and my mom, brother, aunt Mary Kay, and Cortney on the other end. I told her to open her gift. I was so nervous I could barely sit still, my legs were shaking and I couldn't talk, I just froze. The second she opened her gift she knew what it was. She said "oh my god! Really? Are you? Really?" and I started crying and said "Yes, its true, we're having a baby." She was in shock, giggling, squealing and smiling so big she didn't know what to do, and quite frankly, either did I. This was the first time we revealed our big secret and it was almost scary and so surreal.

Dana had planned his mother's surprise a little bit differently. Knowing that this would be his mom's 8th grandchild, he thought he would question her as to how many grandchildren she had, but then we thought that would be too simple. So, we changed it to how many great-grandchildren Dana's grandma had, which would make her think a bit. We thought the family was going to be together all day, so we thought we would be sharing the news with everyone. Nothing really turned out according to plan, but it was still a very joyful experience. We wished Dana's mom a happy mother's day as she was driving over to church to meet with the rest of the family. Dana asks "how many great-grandchildren does grandma have?" and she said "I think 42." Dana says "Are you sure its not 43?" She says "No, I'm not sure. It could be 43"....Oh no! That was not the response we were expecting. So as the conversation went back and forth for a bit, I finally said "How do you know its not going to be 43?" and she says "Well, I don't know. Are you trying to tell me something?" Yes, we are!!! We are having the 43rd great-grandchild!! She was so excited and emotional and so were we. Dana's dad was in the background saying "What? Is Brooke pregnant?" Yay! After our talk, we let them go to church, then called back later to tell the rest of the family.

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We've made it to 8 weeks with barely any change in our regular routine. Although, I am starting to feel nauseous and a bit lethargic. Still working out as usual, and actually beginning to wonder when the symptoms are going to start? Its my first baby, after all, so I am excited for this whole experience. We finally had our first visit with the doctor. We were nervous and excited all together. We were hoping the doctor only had good things to say and we would finally see the heartbeat that we heard would be noticeable at this time. We wanted to see that there really was something going on inside me. Sure enough, just as we hoped, the doctor said everything looked great. We got to see our first ultrasound, including that little itty bitty heartbeat.  Below is the pic of our first ultrasound.  The pic to the left shows the measurement of the baby, the one on the right just shows the baby.  And, for those of you who can't see it, the baby's head is to the left, torso to the right.

The baby was 1.5 cm long and looking on par in size with when we thought the baby would have been conceived. Having experienced that doctor's appointment made everything very real to Dana and I. We were happy, proud, and so excited. To celebrate, we treated ourselves to Joe's Crab Shack for some yummy crab.  Below is my first pregnant belly picture.  Of course, I'm sure you can't really see much, but the rounding of my belly has begun just a little bit.  Its enough that I notice it, but Dana doesn't see it.

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As of today, Dana and I just found out that we are expecting our first baby! We could not be more excited. And what a surprise to the two of us. As this blog post is written, I will tell you, it is actually June and I am writing as my memory remembers March 21, the day we had our positive pregnancy test. This is how we found out: Dana and I went hiking this Sunday and had a great day. I remember having more energy than I usually do, leading far ahead of Dana (where we usually keep the same pace, or I'm falling slightly behind).

We weren't ready to end our day after the hike, so we started looking around at open houses. When we got home that night, Dana became determined to start house shopping seriously and find our new home. He eagerly got onto the computer, searching for the best agent to help us start the process of house shopping. He started looking at houses for sale and lined up our first home tour. I decided to take a shower. In the shower I had this huge realization that not only was my period late, but my body was a little different than what I knew to be normal. I am lucky to have a body that is very consistent in its behavior, so I am very in tune when something is different. As I added everything up in my head, I thought, Hmm, I wonder if I could be pregnant.

So, as I got out of the shower, Dana is yelling through the door about houses he has found, and all this stuff, but all I am thinking is "How am I going to get the pregnancy test out of the hallway cupboard without him noticing?" If I was pregnant, I wanted to find a way to surprise Dana with the news. So, I just kept him focused on the website of houses for sale, grabbed the test, hurried and peed on the stick, then rushed it to my sewing room to wait for the results. My heart was beating so fast, but I went and sat next to him on the couch, waiting for the 2 minutes to go by. He's talking about houses, and I can't hear anything he's saying, I'm so excited and nervous and man, those 2 minutes took forever!! I finally run back to the room and see what I think is a plus sign, but it was so faint, I didn't know for sure. Rather than keep it in, I basically ran out into the room and said "Guess what!", He said "Well, you're not pregnant, so what?" and I showed him the pregnancy test. He was shocked and excited, but he too didn't know for sure that it was positive.

So, we thought we better take another one, and this time use the digital ones that either say "pregnant" or "not pregnant", that way we couldn't screw it up. I couldn't go to the bathroom again so I started drinking a ton of water...well, not such a good idea, because I was so diluted that the test said "not pregnant". We decided to wait again until the next morning to take another, and sure enough, it came back positive!!! Now what to we do? Well, I made my first doctor's appointment, which turns out, you can't see them until 8 weeks for that is when they can see the heartbeat to know the pregnancy is viable. 8 weeks!! Such a excruciatingly long time to wait.

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