Peek-a-boo and a little "phew"!

Well, yesterday was our big ultrasound followed up by our weekly doctor appointment and both went well.

I was barely on the bed in the ultrasound room when the sonographer quickly reassured me that Baby Z was in fact head-down.
"No doubt about it," she said, pointing to the screen.

Sure enough, I could sort of make out a bit of Baby's profile, with his cute-as-a-button nose.

Because the baby is getting big (no idea on weight right now) and taking up most of the space he has in the belly, we didn't get any great pictures like we had with our previous two ultrasounds. We did, however, see that his spine goes up the left side of my belly, with his little butt up at the top of the belly and his feet dancing away in the top right area.

We saw some fingers and really stared at his face for a few minutes, just grateful he was where he should be. A very, very good sign.

The coolest part of the whole experience was seeing Z's mouth open and close several times in a row. He was either saying "Hi!" to Mom and Dad or he was practicing breathing... how amazing!

At the doctor's appointment, weight was steady, belly measurement was right on track and Mommy's blood pressure was 114/75. Baby's heartbeat was in the lower 130s.

We had a new doctor, Dr. H, who is taking over for the moved-on Dr. C.
Dr. H was quick and to the point, but very informative. Daddy thought she was OK, but Mommy liked her.

Dr. H wanted to do an internal exam (I know, Julie, I was supposed to say no!!!) and it was quick and easy. Results? Something about "barely a fingertip." Dr. H sounded disappointed when she told us that news, but for us that's an improvement, haha!

So, no signs of Baby Z's arrival quite yet, but you never know when he's decided he's had enough of being toted upside-down and all smushed... :-)

Hint: The middle photo is just the little guy's fist up in the air. For the other two, look for the nose and you should be able to make out the rest of the profile.

Overwhelmed in Fort Knox

We had our weekly doctor's appointment on Friday.

Let me start here -- everything is FINE. Baby Z is doing great and everything seems very healthy.

Now let me move on to the part where I semi-embarrassingly admit that I had a total and utter breakdown after this appointment.
It started out like any other appointment... Mommy got weighed (no real gain since last week, which is fine) and had her blood pressure taken (110 over 70). I peed in a cup (I'm quite the professional, thank you very much) and then was greeted by a chipper Dr. J (the only male doctor, whom we've only had once before, early on for a real quickie of an appointment).

When Dr. J rolled out his first question -- has the baby been moving as often as usual -- I answered truthfully.
Well, no, not as often as he had been, but I didn't think it was enough to be concerned about. He was just rolling around or fidgeting while we were in the waiting room.
Dr. J, being a very by-the-books kind of guy, didn't like that answer and seemed concerned. He asked me if when I laid down for an hour if I would be able to feel the baby six times.
I hesitated. I had never tried that, so I didn't really know. I just knew that the squirmy baby who I usually felt every hour or so was much more chilled out, but still fluttering about during the day.

We finally moved past that, opting not to get a non-stress test to check out his movement but to instead keep an eye on baby's movements over the weekend. (Which have been fine).

After measuring my belly and listening for the baby's heartbeat (about 132 beats/minute), we decided to go for an internal exam to see if any progress had been made.

Let's put it this way: My cervix is Fort Knox, at least as of Friday afternoon. No dilation and no softening or "ripening" of my womanly area.
HUGE bummer, but I was prepared for that to be a possibility. Some women take weeks, some take days, some take just hours.

But then, Dr. J told us (after some uncomfortable squeezing around of my belly/uterus) that he wasn't confident that the baby's head was still down (like it had been a couple of weeks ago). Either the baby had flopped around to a new position (he thought maybe he was sideways) or he was just up too high to tell for sure that he was head-down.

So we go for an ultrasound on Wednesday (before our next doctor's appointment) to see what the baby's position is (and to get an idea of his weight!). If the baby is not in the proper position, the doctors will try to turn him around themselves (using some prodding and poking and twisting of my stomach). The deadline to do that is at 39 weeks. Then, if he is in the wrong position, we have to have a C-section.

I know that no matter what, Wednesday will answer a lot of questions and uncertainties for us. And who knows, Fort Knox might crumble down soon.

I'm just hot.
Cranky.
Uncomfortable.
Ready for baby.
And totally overwhelmed.

(I must like this Zachary kid or something!)

We're doing great though and are grateful for the easy ride we've had so far and all of the support along the way.

Much love!

A tour of the place where you'll be born

As part of last night's birthing class, Scott and I took a tour of the maternity wing and a labor/delivery room at the hospital. It was probably the part of the class we had most looked forward to just to get a visualization of where all this "fun" would take place. Barring any surprise deliveries at home or in a taxicab (OK, our town doesn't even have a taxi), you'll be born at this hospital in Roaring Spring, in a room very similar to the one we saw last night.

It was so strange, and yet perhaps so fitting, to see the fold-apart bed, the baby warming station, some of the tubes and tools that will be used.

Hospitals are a terrifying place to me and, believe it or not, so are most doctors. They mean well and they save lives and do miraculous things, but as soon as I step inside the doors of a hospital, I'm back to the 10-year-old girl who lost her mom in one of those buildings. I'm old and wise enough to know that was a completely different set of circumstances and that this is just a silly fear. (And I really did feel like this part of the hospital was a "happy" place).

Standing in that room, however, I almost immediately felt like I was on the starting line of a huge race back in my competitive running days. I knew the hardest part would be stepping foot off that line, all nerves and shaky feet and doubts and fears, and that soon enough, I'd be in that incredible runner's high, passing girls, doing my best, trucking up a massive hill when that was the last things my legs -- or mind -- wanted to do.

I'm not quite on the starting line yet, but I think I'm definitely warming up, getting mind and body ready for what's to come and telling myself over and over again how much I've put into this moment and how brave I can be when I want something so badly.

And I can only imagine that 'mother's high' of welcoming our son into the world and watching his daddy hold him in his arms.

I've got a great coach, a wonderful support system of friends and family and I know I'm ready for the fight that comes in these mauve rooms with bright lights.

Doctor's appointment today -- fingers crossed for some progress and more good health news!

Not the kind of movie for popcorn eating (OR our second birth class and how it went...)

We had our second baby/birthing class last night.

I always dread going to them at the last minute and wind up getting so much out of them that I feel almost relieved when we leave. I'm not sure what the dread is... if it's just the overwhelming intensity of it all or cold feet or if I'm just a silly Mommy-to-be.

Last night's class was a mish-mash of several things.

We started with a respiratory specialist who spoke about SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) prevention and car seat safety. I think we knew a lot of the recommendations for SIDS (baby sleeping on his back, no toys or blankets in the crib, no sleeping with parents, etc.) but we do have to take our bumpers out of our crib before Baby Z arrives.

Mommy won a diaper bag with some goodies in it from the speaker, so hooray!

We then learned about things we should and shouldn't bring to the hospital for Mommy, Daddy and Baby. We'll probably pack our hospital bag up this weekend (and put our car seat in the car so that everything is in place for Go Time).

We watched two birthing videos -- one of a very natural birth (music playing, happy thoughts, midwife in every scene) and then a more medical birth (hooked up to monitors, mostly nurses, using some drugs, etc.) and talked about those for a bit. It wasn't TOO bad.
OK, I had to look away a few times. But seriously, I should be allowed to because I will NEVER have that view again. Thank GOD.

Then, the best part of our classes so far... relaxation techniques. Mommy really needs to relax. I've been a little stressed out this past week or two (just ask Scott) and so I was thoroughly pleased to hear we'd be getting massages and whatnot at last night's class.

Scott was a fantastic masseuse. I have already begged him to practice some more... I mean, c'mon, we have to be prepared for Baby Delivery Day, right?

At our next class, we'll probably tour the hospital wing where we'll deliver. We also still need to talk about C-sections and drugs. Mmmm.

Have a great weekend! Baby Z and I are planning some de-stressing activities. Like sleep and maybe some massages and some chick flicks and whatever else makes us happy. Daddy's going golfing. :-)

Low-key doctor appointment

We had another of our weekly appointments at the doctor's office yesterday and it was about as boring and uninteresting as possible.

The fantastic news is that Baby Z is doing great! He's still head-down (yay!) and his heartbeat was about 142 (up from last appointment!).

Mommy's blood pressure was 102/68. Weight and belly measurements are right on par, Dr. L. said.

The Group B Strep test came back negative, so hooray!

And that was about it... no internal exam, no dinosaur ultrasound this time. We talked a little bit about introducing the baby to the pets and about keeping my energy levels up (I was feeling a little dizzy the past couple of days) and then that was it!

Our next appointment is next Friday with the only male doc, Dr. J. We have another birthing class tonight!

Now if only the humidity would go back down again...

Tall like his daddy

We had our first of hopefully not many weekly visits with the doctor Friday and it went great.

We had Dr. L, who I've been calling Doc Cheerleader for her REALLY peppy personality and high-pitched squeals. Dr. L was a little more tame today and was really thorough and calming for parents who are just about to boil over with excitement.

Without going in to too much detail, we had our first internal exam since the beginning of the pregnancy. Really, there were two goals to that: to do a quick test for Group B Strep (different from Strep Throat... it's an infection that 25 percent of women have and it's no big deal to them... but it is a big deal to baby during delivery, so knowing you have it just allows the docs to administer an antibiotic during deliver) AND to see if anything's going on down there (dilation, effacing, etc.)

The results of my test will be available at next week's appointment.
And basically, we're not ready for anything to happen quite yet.

Baby's heartbeat was at 128, which is good for this time frame because babies' heartbeats typically decrease at the end of the pregnancy. (Anything between 115 and 160 is good, Dr. L. said).

Mommy's heartbeat was 100 over 70, so still really good!!!

Baby also is head-down (yay!) and will likely stay that way for the rest of the time. His head is way down low, with his spine curling up my left side of my belly, butt almost near the top center area, then legs and arms curled up in the fetal position, with his feet just under my right ribs. He hasn't lowered yet, but that will probably happen in the next week or two.

Because he hadn't lowered, the doc wanted to be positive about his position, so we got to enjoy a couple of minutes of the dinosaur ultrasound machine in the room. We saw his face... eyes and nose!... neck, spine, stomach and bladder, little legs and feet.

Dr. L was able to estimate his size. She said he's reeeaaaaalllllly long and probably weighs about 5 1/2 pounds. Babies grow about 1/2 a pound a week from here on out, so if we go five more weeks until our due date, he could be about eight pounds. We'll just have to wait and see...

And if you haven't noticed the time, yep, Mommy can't sleep again. We'll see if we can get a 5:30 a.m. nap in. :-) Right, Baby Z????

Have a great weekend... we're looking forward to a visit from Favorite Cousin Dan!

Inhale, hee hee (Mommy learns how to breathe)

We had our first childbirth preparation class tonight at the hospital where Zack will be born.

I was a bit nervous going into it, to be honest, probably because I wasn't sure how many of my questions would be answered, how many of the blanks would be filled in and in how graphic a manner.

Plus, Scott and I each worked long days and he had to be up at 3:30 a.m. today, so I was a little worried one or both of us would start snoozing.

But it went really well (and we stayed awake!).

We were originally supposed to participate in the June classes (there are four classes in each session) but got pushed back when that month's classes filled up far beyond a comfortable capacity.
There were about 10 other couples tonight, so it was a good number. Most of them were around our age, although we're one of the earliest due dates in our class. (And yes, Dr. C., Scott agreed that I was one of the smallest bellies there! Go abs!)

Our teacher, one of the obstetrics floor nurses, began with some basic pregnancy symptoms (I had them all) and then a general overview of some pre-term/term labor symptoms (I think the Braxton-Hicks contractions are the only ones of those I've had so far).
We watched a video that was not the R-rated, no-blurring, too-much-info version video but a much tamer intro to what's to come next class for sure.
Then, we got to the fun part of practicing some breathing on the floor. I can relax really well but am not a good hee-hee'er quite yet. All in due time.
At one point, we had to focus on an object to try to relax our breathing and slow the number of breaths we take in a minute. I chose the coffee pot in the room, came up with an entire scenario of me pouring the coffee from our pot at home, what it smelled like, how warm it was, adding my creamer... and yes, did relax my breathing. And upped my desire to cram coffee down my throat in a couple of months when I'm able to. :-)

It was a fun experience overall.
I don't feel overwhelmed like I thought I might feel (or like I have been starting to feel these past few days). Instead, I felt a bit calmer leaving the hospital tonight.

I'm wiser, I'm only going to get more prepared in these next few weeks (both at home and at classes) and I have a great coach and partner.

Scott is not just amazing at counting breaths in a minute or keeping me calm and relaxed. He has made stressful or painful moments fleeting with a funny joke or a warm hug. He has taken so much burden off of my shoulders by taking care of things like laundry, dinner and dishes.
And we have a deeper and better love for one another now than at any other time in our relationship.
I'm so lucky.

And I'm so excited for Little Baby Z.

Sweet stuff...

P.S. -
We were officially told the WONDERFUL news that Momma has passed her glucose test to look for indicators of gestational diabetes!

The goal is a number below 140. After drinking the syrupy concoction and waiting an hour, my blood work from a couple of weeks ago showed a level of 111 -- very safe!

I've gotten the green light to continue to eat and drink as I have been... and Doc C. even suggested a beer or glass of wine to celebrate! (I told you we liked her!)

So hooray!
I'm sweet enough and so is baby... but not too sweet!

Doc C gets head-butted

We had another doctor's appointment last night and all went very, very well.

Weight gain by Momma: Very good, though we will no longer be sharing numbers. :-)

Belly measurements: A "perfect" rating from Doc C.

Blood pressure: A perfect 100 over 60.

Baby's heartbeat: Around 145, typical for our little man so far.

Only concern: A lower back pain and simultaneous cramp-like feeling... we were told this is "very normal for around this time." So yay!

Daddy's question: "Is there any way you can restrict traveling all together? (Someone must be dreading the upcoming New Jersey drive more than me!) Doc's response: "Sorry, dad. Can't restrict it. Just drive safely and take a long break every two hours."

When the doctor (this is our second time with this particular doctor, due to a rotating schedule you have to undergo at the practice with all 5 doctors and she's turning into our favorite for her laidback personality, straight answers and yes, the high heels and short shorts she wears that just make us smile...) was getting the baby's heartbeat, she first exclaimed that she had been kicked/punched/head-butted or butt-butted and that our little guy was very, very active. She then started rockin' out, totally dancing along to the heartbeat.

We feel like dancing when we hear that, too. :-)

Momma's favorite part was when she was told that all the ladies in our birthing class (which starts in July) will be extremely jealous of my "tiny little belly" and that the reason I'm all belly and pretty contained are my "awesome stomach muscles." I'd like to take this time and thank my college cross-country coach for those RIDICULOUS plank and ab exercises he made us do for hours every week... and for keeping up with them over the years. I also think laughter, lots and lots of laughter, is responsible for tight abs. So, not-yet-mommies, work on your ab muscles! Your pregnancy will thank you!

We were surprised when she scheduled our next visit (this time with B, the midwife I've been seeing since moving out here) not for four weeks and not for two, but for three. So, we'll keep busy until June 25 with baby showers, time with friends and lots of fun memories.

Thanks for the well wishes and happy thoughts! Keep them coming, please!

What's up, doc?

Baby and I had our monthly doctor's appointment this afternoon.

Daddy stayed home and missed his first appointment during the pregnancy so far because he's been under the weather, making close friends with the toilet today. We decided his presence was not good today.

At our doctor's office, you're asked to meet with every one of the doctors in the group. We've seen the midwife, my doctor for the past few years a couple of times already and had a previous appointment with the only male doctor, Dr. J. Today, our appointment was with one of the lead doctors, Dr. L. She definitely has a great bedside manner, although at times it was a bit over the top. (I think I referred to her as Mary Poppins at one point to Scott).

Dr. L had an assistant with her today who was less Mary Poppins but still smiles and good bedside manner.

We had a great appointment, with lots of good news...

Mommy has gained 20 pounds so far this pregnancy!!! I couldn't believe it, but the doctor was quite happy with that number, especially since we're more than halfway.

Blood pressure was good -- 100 over 60.

Our doctor said everything on the ultrasound looked great... all of the organs were developing on schedule and our little man seems to be quite healthy and happy.

The Little Man's heartbeat was lower than it's been at previous visits (at 143 today) but the doctor said it's well within the "good" limits and will likely go up and down for the rest of the pregnancy. Our little boy was moving quite a bit during the heartbeat check-in and the doctor was really happy about that, too, saying he's pretty content.

So we have a healthy Momma, a healthy baby boy and lots of good news.

I said my prayers and thank-yous the second I got in the car after the appointment today. Usually I have Scott in the room with me to share smiles or shoulder shrugs with, so it was a bit lonely without him today. I got belly rubs from him when I got home, so the baby and I felt much better right away.

Speaking of baby, he just started kicking/punching/weightlifting/pitching in a corner of the belly just now. I think he's saying "hello" to all of you. :-)

Much love!

It's a beautiful, beautiful beautiful boy

The first of many of life's mysteries has been answered. This little tyke crumpled up in my abdomen for the past five months is indeed a beautiful boy.

As amazing as our first ultrasound was, yesterday's appointment was simply breath-taking. Our little guy was not shy by any means and our ultrasound technician was 100 percent certain of his gender.

So now we know that we are having a son... and for everyone else, a grandson, nephew, grand-nephew, and, in the case of Ms. Olivia, a prom date in 16 or so years. :-)

Out on the ocean sailing away,
I can hardly wait,
To see you to come of age,
But I guess we'll both,
Just have to be patient,
Yes it's a long way to go,
But in the meantime,

Before you cross the street,
Take my hand,
Life is just what happens to you,
While your busy making other plans,

Beautiful,
Beautiful, beautiful,
Beautiful Boy.


But now, let's get to even more important things.
Our baby looked so good. Everything was measuring at or a week or so ahead of our due date, which is fantastic. He's either going to be a big ole boy or (hopefully) an EARLY boy! :-) (But not too early of course).

We saw both kidneys, his diaphragm, stomach, leg and arm bones, individual fingers, his brain (!), the entire length of his spine and his happily beating heart (and all four individual chambers!).

We are blessed beyond belief that everything looked healthy. That's more important than any gender, for sure. I can't tell you how nervous I get just before our doctor appointments and ultrasounds. There's just no guarantee in this whole experience... but a lot of love, hope and support. And finger crossing.

So now, we're tossing around boy names.
And Scott's making big plans for our retirement plan -- aka his son, the all-star left-handed baseball pitcher.
And I'm just letting the word "he" roll around my tongue a few more times.

Here are some photos of our little man: (please don't mind the first little porno shot!)

Thump, thump

Our doctor's appointment went really well -- and so quickly -- today. It pays to be the last patient in the door on a Friday, I suppose.

I have officially gained 12 pounds since our first visit. Being as we are approaching the halfway mark and my doctor's goal for me is to gain between 25 and 35 pounds, I think we're doing really well.

My blood pressure was fine as well -- 92 over 60 for those who understand (unlike me).

My only complaint going in to the appointment was more frequent headaches that have been making it hard for me to concentrate... or open my eyes most mornings. I've had migraine issues since early college, but I knew ways to keep them in check. Ways that aren't working in the pregnancy. I was told at our first appointment that my headaches will either entirely disappear throughout the pregnancy (hmrph, I wish!) or would continue/get worse. They're worse. The pregnancy-allowed Tylenol hasn't been cutting it either.
Our nurse today told us that sometimes low iron levels can cause that, but that my recent tests showed an iron level of 12.9. (Good is between 12 and 16, so that's fine, especially for someone who's had anemia issues in the past).
The doctor then suggested (surprisingly to me and Scott) that we put some caffeine back in my diet (I quit pretty much cold-turkey in December) and that I consider going to a chiropractor (which I didn't know was allowed for us expectant mommies) since something might be out-of-whack.
For now, we have a prescription that we're going to try out for a few days. (It's baby-safe, don't worry).

Now, thanks for your patience, but I know you all just want to hear about Little Baby Z. Well he/she is doing great!
We heard the heartbeat, which was in the 150s today. (Again, a perfect number!)
It was interesting because the doctor kept getting my heartbeat and the baby's heartbeat mixed in together and she said that it might have been that she found the umbilical cord -- how cool is that?!

Now the REALLY exciting news...
Our GENDER DAY (aka the fetal ultrasound) has been scheduled for March 26th. So, my birthday present to Scott (whose birthday is March 29, hint, hint!) is to let him know if he's having a baby girl or a little boy. We're really excited of course and welcome any guesses or hunches you might have.

Our next doctor's appointment is in early April -- and by then, Baby will be more than halfway through its journey and will be kicking the crud out me!

And as a final thought -- Baby Z has gotten some more outfits lately.
Debbie and Calvin (Scott's parents) got us a pack of pink onesies and a pack of blue onesies the other day -- they're very neutral!
Uncle Paul got Little Baby Z an outfit from Brazil on his most recent business trip -- can't WAIT to see it.
And, our newly-engaged friends Ashley and Tyler got the baby a Jacksonville Beach (in neutral red) bib during Ashley's recent trip down south.
Thank you all!

Much love,
The Zooks!

Baby's age

Duh.
In my haste to write about squirming body parts and warm goo, I forgot to tell you the estimated gestational age and whatnot - you know, the whole reason we had this appointment??!

Well, nothing too exciting.
Today, we were at 13 weeks, 4 days.
Baby was measuring at about 14 weeks, 2 days. So, technically, we gained *ALMOST* a week, but really, nothing changed. The due date likely won't change and like I said in the earlier post, everything looked really good, so that's the important part.

There, now you know everything. Or everything that I know.

:-)

Say "cheese!" BabyZ!

Little BabyZ certainly was ready for its close-up today.

Scott and I went to our first ultrasound, an unexpected surprise brought about from the doctor saying I felt like I might be measuring big at our appointment last week.
We happily took the surprise.

I had butterflies in my stomach last night before bed and a huge smile on my face this morning when I woke up.

My full bladder and I laid down on the table in the dark room, with Scott at a chair to my left and a lovely lady and her very important computer screen to my right. The warm (I always thought it was cold!) gooey liquid quickly covered my abdomen area and a wand-like object was pushing hard on said full bladder and poor Baby Z.

Images immediately came up on the screen.
"Just checking your uterus size here..." came a mumble.
"Oh, found the heartbeat..." a moment later.

It was just amazing.
I hadn't expected so many details in the images; so many movements from the baby.
At one minute, the baby's body was all scrunched up, with its legs crossed at the bottom of its body. Then, with some pressure on my stomach, the whole baby bounced upward and in the next image, the legs were straight out and an elbow was bent as if striking a pose or waving hello.

We saw the heart moving with the 150 beats per minute. There are no words.
We saw a big ole brain in the big ole head! (No offense, baby!)
We saw individual bones in the one hand.

Just one tear slipped from my eyes. I had just peeked over at Scott who didn't even look at me; his gaze was glued to that screen and his face looked so peaceful and content. A quick turn to my right to see that bouncing baby in my stomach and that was it. I allowed that tear to trickle down onto the pillow and at that moment it became very, very real.

There is a human being inside me. A child. A bit of love.
A huge, great future.

Next doctor appointment is March 5. The gender ultrasound should be at about that time, too.

Enjoy our photogenic baby!

Mommy wears leopard print

BabyZ, I never doubted you, but now I believe in you with all of my heart.

Today, Scott and I heard the glorious sound of our baby's heartbeat.

We went to our doctor for our second appointment this afternoon. Yet again, the doctor we were scheduled to see was busy delivering a baby at the hospital, so we had some waiting room time to kill.

My blood pressure was good (90 over 58, a little lower than the last visit but still good) and weight was right on target (8 pounds gained so far!).

Then it was the baby's turn.

Dr. J. said because of how early we were in the pregnancy, the baby would be very low in my abdomen, about two inches past my belt line. So, I unbuttoned my jeans and realized in horror that I was wearing a silky pair of leopard-print underwear.

Let's pause.
These are my bridesmaids' fault. For my bridal shower, they had a really funny skit where they got me different pairs of underwear to symbolize different moments in my relationship with Scott... a white thong for the honeymoon, pink and blue for having babies, and then larger and larger as the line continued. Well, suffice it to say, the leopard-print underwear is one of the few pairs I own that fit comfortably anymore.

So, Doc J. got to enjoy what probably looked like a little too-wild momma-to-be. Lesson learned.

Then a slightly scary part...
the doctor couldn't locate the baby at first. Around and around that lower area he pushed with the instrument as my heart beat a little faster and then altogether stopped in worry.
But then he moved up a few inches and almost immediately, we heard the woosh, woosh that meant Little BabyZ was so healthy. We enjoyed the heartbeat for a couple of minutes. It was measured at 160, which is a great number.

Then the doctor told us that because of where the baby was found and then on how big I felt, he thought we might be closer to 16 weeks rather than 13 weeks.
A three-week difference!!!

So, we scheduled an unexpected ultrasound for Tuesday to get a more accurate grasp on the baby's size and expected due date. We might be moving from an August baby to a July son or daughter.

Or Momma might have just been enjoying too many awesome (and large) lunches. Or every kind of meal.
Or perhaps this baby is just one big ole heffer. :-)

Even if it remains at our Aug. 13 date, we're still so happy and so very blessed. That heartbeat is the most amazing thing I ever could have imagined. I feel as though I exhaled today for the first time in two months.