Baby Boy T...

So the newest installment of pictures aren't as cute as they usually are (in my humble opinion); I guess that's what happens when you let a guy do the sonogram... he was very matter of fact and gave us more of the "Halloween view" of the baby's face (aka his skull) rather than his sweet face like my doctor usually does. But we were happy to see him under any circumstances! It was amazing to see how big he is now, he looked more crowded this time :) His body is much more proportional, as you can see his head and body are closer in size now (rather than the noggin-dominant configuration of four weeks ago).

The sonographer saw fit to outline the boy parts so that we would be able to show everyone the evidence! (I feel bad for the poor guy having all his business on display, I hope his modesty wasn't too offended.) According to the measurements taken, Baby T is right on target for his age, he already weighs 3/4 of a pound... he's our "three-quarter pounder"! The guy took a quick look at one of his lateral ventricles (an important structure in the brain), the stomach, nuchal fold, femur length, etc...and told us everything looked fine. I suppose we'll get the official report from our doctor at my next appointment. When I asked if he was on track for our due date, he said it was right in between the old one(March 19th) and the new one (March 25th) so no changes there.

It's hard to believe that the pregnancy is almost half way over, we can't wait to meet our little guy. We bought his first outfit on Friday night which says "little version of daddy," (which is what I'm hoping for... a mini-Stephen) so cute and so tiny! There was also another one at Old Navy that said "I'm new here" which I thought was adorable, but I'm trying to practice self control when purchasing baby items... really trying. We are starting to seriously consider names, now that we have a gender to concentrate on. I'm still learning towards Jacob Langston but we still have time to mull over all our options. It's a big decision, naming someone for the rest of their life... we're just hoping we give the poor guy something that he can live with from childhood to adulthood without too much embarrassment! That's all the news from us, hope everyone is well!

The Baby Belly...

This picture was taken after a long day at the hospital in Tyler... but it will have to do! Can't wait until Friday to see our little one again :)

The Baby Update... 161 days to go!

I had another appointment on Monday, it's amazing how quickly the 4 weeks have flown by since the last one! The doctor seems very pleased with the way the pregnancy is progressing. The nurse had no trouble finding the baby's heartbeat this time, it was a vigorous 155 beats per minute... we may have an active kid on our hands! She also measured my fundal height (which is the distance between the pubic bone and the fundus, or top of, the uterus) which was 16 cm, which is about on target for my 17 week status.



I also gained three pounds since the last visit, which my doctor was happy with. I was worried it would be closer to 10 pounds since I had a HUGE, decadent meal for dinner the night before (prime rib, lobster, asparagus and garlic mashed potatoes)! But my appetite has definitely picked up lately, I MUST eat every three hours now or the hunger quickly turns into ravenous without warning. This hunger has already become pretty annoying while on the wards but I've been carrying snacks with me and I grab a bite when I can. I've been lucky on this rotation, I've been with very thoughtful doctors who give me breaks.



Onto exciting boy/girl news... we did not get a sonogram at this visit like we were hoping for, BUT it turns out they'd already scheduled the anatomy sonogram for us. It will be next Friday (apparently that's the only day they do them), so with any luck, our little one will forget his/her modesty, just momentarily, so that we can find out if we're having a boy or a girl!! I can't wait to buy his/her first outfit... and to be able to have some more direction on names. We're still open to any and all name suggestions :) That's our update... hope this finds all of you well.



You're 17 weeks pregnant... 161 days to go

Your baby weights about 5 ounces now, and he's around 5 inches long — about the size of a large onion. The umbilical cord, his lifeline to the placenta, is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby can move his joints, and his skeleton — until now, rubbery cartilage — is starting to harden into bone. Some of it will remain cartilage for years after he's born. A newborn's skeleton has 300 parts (a combination of bone and cartilage). As your child grows, some of these parts harden and fuse together. By the time your baby reaches adulthood, he'll have just 206 bones.