Catching up before Claire arrives....

So it has been a really long time since I updated this blog...but I think now is a good time since I am basically just waiting for Claire to arrive. So much growing has been going on in the past few months as you can see in the pictures. Overall I have really enjoyed pregnancy and all the things that come along with it....especially permission to take as many naps as I want. =) Working was tough but I made it through. Jeff has been an absolute trooper through it all nurturing and loving me no matter how tired, cranky, unbelievably hungry, or demanding I have been.

I would say that the hardest thing about being pregnant is following your heart and making decisions that are best for your own family rather than doing what is the social norm. We have prided ourselves in staying open minded and doing what feels best and most comfortable to us. For the most part, everyone around us has been very supportive and encouraging. Our families have been awesome and we couldn't have made it this far without them.

We are really really excited about the pending brith experience that is coming up and couldn't feel more prepared. Both of our mom's will be here with us and we hope to have Kelly and Camri here via Skype. We invited Grandma to be here as well but it will depend on if she is up to it when it happens. Once Claire arrives, we will definilty let everyone know as soon as possible. I can't wait to share the story of her birth!

Until then, we wait. =)

IT'S A GIRL!!!

Today was the day. We had an ultrsound that revealed our baby is a GIRL. Her name is CLAIRE ELIZABETH and we are very very excited. It seems like we have been waiting forever to find this out. I had been feeling all along that it was a girl but it is nice to have some confirmation. She was very cooperative for the ultrasound showing us the important stuff right away. She moved around some and opened and closed her mouth a few times. So now we look forward to enduring these last few months of pregnancy and preparing for our birth experience. We are half way through our Bradley classes and learning more than we could have imagined. We will be travling to New York City in February for one last little getaway as just the two of us.



Cooperative Claire!



Opening her mouth...already!?! It is going to be a chatty 18 years.

Who does Claire look like? It is hard to tell at this point.

Claire is thinking "hmmm.....mommy, are you planning to eat breakfast today?"

Keeping with the good news...Jeff recently got a new job that he starts on January 7th. He will be an Investigator with the Department of Health. This is great news for us since there is a small raise involved and his office will be even closer to home. Congrats to my hard working husband!

New Date and Amazing Photos

Well due to some special circumstances, Jeff and I elected to have an ultrasound yesterday to make sure that everything was going okay. The Midwife says everything looks good but I will need to go back on pelvic rest for a few more weeks just to be safe. So I stayed home from work yesterday and today but hope to return tomorrow.

Jeff and I were excited about getting to see the baby since it has been 7 weeks since the first one but we were shocked at the difference. Last time at 6 weeks, we saw a circle with a heartbeat. But yesterday we saw a live moving fully formed baby. It was amazing, we could not believe what we were seeing and it made all of this seem very real.

This ultrasound suggested that our approximate due date is April 29th which is four days sooner than the first ultrasound. So that would make me 13 weeks 5 days along today. Hello second trimester......goodbye tired nauseating boring first trimester!!

Oh and yesterday also happened to be Jeff's birthday so he was very please to be able to see the baby on his special day. Happy Birthday DADDY!

Please enjoy the amaxing 2D photos. I have been staring at them since yesterday.

 The image above is the baby facing forward, notice the arms up by the head.

 The images above and below are profile. To me this looks like a very peaceful sleeping baby. Notice the hand up by the face and the legs at the bottom. Again, we are just amazed and actually starting to believe that there is LIFe growing inside me. =) Let the planning begin!!