It's a...

HEALTHY BABY!! After all, that is what is most important, right?!? I wasn't scheduled for my 20 week ultrasound until January 7, but since Jon and I are both off work this week, we decided to try to get in a little earlier. We went Tuesday (Dec 29). We got lots of pictures of our little one and were told that everything looks great! What a huge blessing! I haven't felt any kicks, had any sickness, etc, so it was very nice to see our little one moving around and the heart beating as it should (151 bpm). Following the advice of my sister-in-law, I had a cup of coffee before I went. (Fyi... I have had very little caffeine since I found out I was pregnant). The coffee definitely got the baby moving... which was the plan. Both the u/s tech and doctor commented on how active she was. Yes, I said SHE. We are having a GIRL and we couldn't be more excited!!! Now the fun of shopping begins! :)

I haven't updated as often as I planned, and I will try to do better. It was so nice spending time in WI for Thanksgiving and in AR for Christmas. It was wonderful to spend time with all of you that we were able to see, and we hope to see more of you this upcoming year.

Happy New Year!

Love,
Mary Beth

12 weeks

I am 12 weeks along today. I had another doctor's appointment today and everything looks good. I heard the heartbeat (which was fast-- in a good way). After the appointment, I made a few phone calls and then gave my mom the go-ahead to start telling everyone the news. I'm sure the entire city of West Memphis knew by lunch! :) Now that we've started telling people, it's starting to feel more real.

So far, things have been pretty uneventful. I haven't been sick... just tired, but that seems to be getting better.

I'll try to start updating more, both in baby-related news and not.

Love,
Mary Beth

8 weeks

As of yesterday (Friday), I am 8 weeks along. Our baby is growing up a storm and is about a half an inch in length this week. He or she (or "emby" as we refer to him or her) is looking less like a reptile and more like a human. My next doctor's appointment is November 6, and "Emby" is due to join us, under a revised and more appropriate name of course, on May 21.

Love,
Mary Beth

And then there were three

Jon and I recently found out that we are going to be parents!!! We are extremely excited about this new chapter in our lives and we feel very blessed.

I took the first pregnancy test on September 12. It was early in the morning and I was on my way to work. Jon was still sleeping. It came back positive, and I was in shock. I didn't want to wake him up and tell him then... (he's not always in the best mood when he is woken up). I went on to work, unable to think of anything except the positive test. On my way home, I stopped and got another test. I also picked up a card for Jon and a book for "daddy-to-be". When I got home and took the second test, I gave Jon his gift. He never got to the book. As soon as he read the first line of the card, "We're expecting a baby", his jaw dropped. His response (with wide eyes) was, "Really?!?" I cried, while nodding yes.

I had my first doctor's appointment on September 25. I was 6 weeks along at this point. My doctor did an ultrasound, but we couldn't see a baby inside the sac. Thinking that we should have, she sent me for bloodwork to test my levels of hCG. She also mentioned that their u/s machine isn't very good, so it may just be a little early to see anything. I had to get my blood levels taken twice 48 hours apart. The idea is that they want to see the levels double within 48 hours, or at the very minimun increase by 65%. This indicates a normal pregnancy in the correct location. I was also scheduled for another ultrasound at the hospital (with a better machine) on October 1. I received my blood results on Tuesday, Sept 29. The did rise, but only by 55%. She said we would like to see more, but the ultrasound was most important.

On Thursday, October 1 I went in for the ultrasound. Within moments, I saw the baby's heartbeat!! The technician said everything looked great and she took a picture of the baby for me to give to Jon. It was such a relief to see that heart beat!

The next morning (Friday, Oct 2), Jon went with me to the doctor. She did one more ultrasound so that Jon was able to see the heartbeat also. And, she turned up the volume so that we could actually HEAR the heart beating. It was an amazing feeling. Since then, we have been on cloud 9, thanking God and asking Him to bless us on this journey and prepare us for this next chapter.

That catches us up for now. The next post shouldn't be as long. Thanks for joining us on this journey!

Much love,
Mary Beth