Meet Baby B

Lofton and I had our doctor's appointment this afternoon. The ultrasound lady was not very personable, but nonetheless we got to meet Baby B which was (and still is) super exciting. The baby looked great and the heart rate was around 161, which the not-very-nice-lady said was "very strong." I was so fascinated with watching the baby on the screen I didn't pay great attention to what she was saying, I thought she said the heart rate was 65. Luckily (for once), Lofton was paying excellent attention.

Oh, and super brownie points for Lofton being a fabulous husband! After five weeks of ginger ale, I couldn't stomach another sip yesterday at school. I made an emergency call to Lofton who promptly arrived with lemonade, sierra mist, and green tea. The lemonade worked wonders! Here's to being nine weeks on Friday and hoping this sickness goes away...

Baby B's first picture

A glimpse into the future

Thanks for the email Mamie. This is clearly a glimpse into what our house will be like in 7 short months!

Finally!

I have fabulous news! Dr. Alverson's office called today and they want me to come in for my ultrasound next week. Praise the lord, we don't have to wait until March 12th. Wednesday afternoon, at 2:30, we finally get to meet Baby B. Clearly, Baby B still doesn't look like a baby, today in fact he is the size of a dime, but we are eager to meet this new little person. And we are SUPER excited to get to hear the heartbeat.

No need for alarm, Dr. Alverson doesn't think anything is wrong. After having my hormone levels tested this week he thinks I might be a bit further along than we originally thought.

And in other news, I woke up this morning with a gut. Not a round pregnant stomach, but a pudge. Lofton (of course) thought it was hysterically funny... until I pointed out that our stomach's now match. Seriously, don't mess with a hormonal pregnant person about her weight. I fight dirty.

Time flies...

The weekends go too fast! We had a wonderful (but short) visit with my three favorite people this weekend. Nothing like a visit from the Buckley’s to pep me up.

Mom and I ran some errands yesterday. I had to find some flats to replace the ones I borrowed (or stole) from sweet Autumn. Standing in heels all day is hurting my feet. Anyway I found some replacements as Belk’s. Seventeen dollars, what a steal!

Not a bargain however are the “Preggie Pops” I bought in an attempt to lessen my queasiness. A bag of six randomly flavored suckers was like ten dollars. I know, it’s only ten dollars, and really I didn’t pay for them my mom did, but still, they’re suckers. (I totally sound like Rice, don’t I? He doesn't like to pay more than ten dollars for a nice shirt!)



This is what the website claims, “Preggie Pops are naturally flavored and specially formulated lollipops made for pregnant women. For generations, women have sought out certain natural therapies to ease morning sickness. As healthcare professionals, we have developed a solution: convenient, delicious, high quality and all natural lollipops. Preggie Pops offer relief via a combination of essential oils, aromatherapy and our unique delivery system. In addition, our Preggie Pops alleviate dry mouth, provide quick calories and energy during labor, and are an overall soothing and comforting way to address the needs of pregnant women. Preggie Pops are also drug free and healthcare provider recommended.”

I was looking for a miracle cure, but alas, I don’t think there is one.

Tomorrow starts another week of work. I’m debating telling my kids the news. I feel like I’m holding out on them!

More to come later…

The end of a long week

Baby B has had a big week. It is amazing how fast development occurs. Tuesday,Baby B could have fit on the end of a pencil eraser, today he is the size of a coffee bean. More importantly, our heart started beating this week.

Did you know? The baby's heart beats 65 times a minute to circulate the newly formed blood cells.

Also we developed arm and leg buds. It's a little odd, the pregnancy journal described the arm buds as looking like flippers. Flippers remind me of dolphins, and that is not a good baby visual.

I'm still feeling sick. Mainly at night now, which is unfortunate for Lofton, but is great for work. Other than that we are just anxiously awaiting March 12th when we get to hear and see the baby for the first time. I had my first a baby dream last night. It was girl. Maybe it's an omen!

Jake

In our continuing quest to "prepare" the dogs for Baby B's arrival, we have been attempting to let them spend time out of their kennels when we are home. For those of you that are not aware Jake and Raleigh's room is now going to become the nursery. Anyhoo, Lofton came home from work yesterday in a foul mood, which coincidentally matched my morning (not really because it happens all the time) sickness enduced bad mood.
After much discussion over what I was not going to cook for dinner we decided to make a quick fast food run. We left Jake and Raleigh out to sleep, but closed off the living room (Jake thinks the couch is his bed and when Lofton isn't around he likes to lounge under the quilt with his head on a throw pillow).
We returned approximately fifteen minutes later to find the dogs waiting for us by the back door. They however were not alone. Jake was accompanied by a wrapper from a Ciabatta loaf I had purchased at Kroger on Saturday. The loaf was about 16 inches by 6 inches, and located on the counter pushed up against the wall. The sight of Jake with a shredded bread wrapper was possibly the highlight of the past week. I searched the house thinking surely he did not eat that whole loaf of bread. But, in fact he did. There were no crumbs or discarded pieces to be found, only the shredded wrapper and a large dog that need to be let outside to go to the bathroom.

And so it begins...

And so it begins... our family of four (Yes, the dogs will always be considered our first children.) is becoming a family of five. After "official" confirmation from Dr. Alverson on Wednesday, it appears that baby Beasley will be making its way into the world sometime around October 9th.
A few amusing tidbits for those of you who haven't had daily phone updates:
First, I took seven pregnancy tests. I know, that's a lot. And probably a few ( 4 or 5) too many, but I need daily confirmation until I saw the doctor. Waiting from Friday to Wednesday was TORTURE. Second, Dr. Alverson already thinks I'm wacky. I asked about being induced. It's a little early, I fully realize that, but I have always had this bizarre fear of going into labor in public. And also, Debbie and Rice (Nonna and Buck) live far away. Clearly they have to be here. Anyhoo, Dr. Alverson said it is totally a possibility, but we could wait awhile until we made that decision. As we left his office, he shook Lofton's hand and said, "This is going to be a fun 8 months, buddy." I sensed a little sarcasm, but that's okay. Third, yesterday was a big day for Baby Beasley. Melissa (my long lost neighbor whom I miss desperately) said that I had to buy a specific book called "The Pregnancy Journal." It is fabulous. Once Dr. Alverson told me my expected due date I counted backwards and labeled the days. Now every night Lofton and I can read about Baby Beasley's growth specific to the day. For example, Thursday was the first day I thought "Wow, I'm really tired." Literally when my kids came back from PE at eleven I wanted to suggest we nap until lunch. Unfortunately math prevaled (sidenote- elapsed time is not fun to teach third graders). The amusing part is that when Lofton and I read about Baby Beasley's development that night the book said, "It has been an important day in the development of your baby's heart, bones, muscles and spinal cord." To which Lofton replied, "See baby, that's why your so tired." "Seriously Lofton? The baby is the size of a sesame seed."
And so it goes... the next eight months are going to be an adventure, but one we are so excited and feel so very blessed to be on.