And Christmas Ushers In Our 3rd Trimester...

Wow. What a busy week and a half we've had! The weekend before Christmas, my Dad, Debbie, and Grandma Bennett drove into town from St. Louis. It was a quick weekend, but we were really glad that they made the long trip down. It was the first time we've hosted them at our house or during Christmas. Ed made his first prime rib roast for them and it was excellent.

I managed to only work two days this week (but Ed had to work a half-day on Wednesday - boo). Tuesday night, Ed and I went with Tom, Malinda, and Andy (Ed's Dad, Stepmom, and brother) to see the Lake Lanier Magical Nights of Lights display. I'd never been before and I love seeing Christmas lights, so it was nice of them to invite us to go with them. I felt a little bad for Ed though when we didn't get home until after 2 am and he still had to go into work the next morning.

On Christmas Eve, we drove out to Mary and Rick's house (Ed's Mom and Stepdad) to celebrate the evening with them. We had tasty soup for dinner and Granny's cookies (decorated by his sisters and cousins) for dessert.

Then there was Christmas day... it started with a trip back out to Tom and Malinda's, where we opened presents and ate Tom's omelets for breakfast/brunch. Around 1:30, we drove to Ed's Grandmother and Grandpa Reagin's house, exchanged presents, and feasted on her Feliz Navidad Taco Salad. We were back at Mary and Rick's by 5 pm. James (Ed's stepbrother) made a traditional English Christmas dinner of prime rib, potatoes and parsnips, carrots, asparagus, and Yorkshire pudding. Ed's stepsister Jessica made a cherry and raspberry trifle served with pouring cream for dessert. It was her first time making it and she did a great job.

Needless to say, I was exhausted by 8 pm.

After a day's break for our bellies, we enjoyed another Christmas dinner at Granny and Grandaddy's house. This is my favorite meal of the year. I can't really comment more on that - I love it all, especially the vanilla mousse with raspberry sauce.

Today, we dropped Finn off at our good friends' house. Amy and Griff are graciously dogsitting for us while we're out of town.

Now, I must go to bed. I realize I didn't say anything about Baby Reagin, but I can assure you that she thoroughly enjoyed this Christmas as well. We are now officially in the third trimester. Oh, and after talking to Aunt Carol about it on Saturday night, we actually felt the baby hiccupping for the first time this morning! Our flight leaves for CO tomorrow morning, and I'm sure we will have plenty to blog about after this week, too. Here are a few pictures from our festivities since our last post:

Do we really need a caption here?

The Messick-Tallant side at Christmas on Sat.

The Bennetts at the Reagin's.

The Reagin side on Christmas morning.

TMT Christmas Party 2008!

So, once again, my company Christmas party fell on the same night as Ed's. This year, instead of only going to mine for an hour and then spending the majority of our evening at Ed's party, we opted to stay at my company's event. Well, we were going to try and squeeze in an hour at the end at his, but we didn't end up eating dinner until after 10pm, so it was just better to stay in one place thereafter.

We had a great time. In fact, whether I enjoyed myself or not, Ed had a grand enough time for the both of us. The food was good, the company was even better, and the drinks were free!

It's safe to say that my Sunday was a lot better than his though. But I think that many of my coworkers had the same kind of day as he did...

On to baby-related news: we finally decided on our bedding! We chose a design called Claire Bear by Bananafish. It's adorable - pink and chocolate. I ordered it on Friday and it should come in around the same time as our crib (too bad it probably won't arrive in time for my shower).

Before the Christmas party on Saturday, Ed and I spent 4 hours (that's right, I said 4 hours) registering at Babies R Us. It was very overwhelming and exhausting. Did I mention that we didn't even finish!?! We got to the infant care/breastfeeding section and not only were we out of time, but I couldn't even begin to process all that information after 4 hours of other tedious decisions. I should say it was fun, but maybe scary is a better word for it. We have NO IDEA what we're doing, it seems!

I called Alexis, the best doula I know and my good friend, and she was lovely enough to give me some sage advice. And then bright and early at the crack of 2pm on Sunday, when Ed was ready to leave the house, we went back out again and braved the rest of Babies R Us! I know that technically you're supposed to register at more than one place to give people options, but I'm not sure we can handle another such outing, so Babies R Us may be it. We also checked out some more furniture stores for potential chest of drawers, but we had no such luck. Maybe next time.

As for this weekend, my Dad, Debbie, and Grandma are driving in from MO for a visit. They've never seen our house before, so we're very excited. Plus, we haven't seen them since July, when I was only 2 months pregnant, so we're excited to show off the baby belly.

And on that note, I need to get back to helping Ed get the house ready. Will blog again very soon, I promise. I know that I've slipped a little since the new camera broke (which, by the way, is in the process of getting fixed, so we should have it back really soon).

Offtopic: A little Holiday Cheer!

This video has been making Katie laugh and the Dog Bark for the last few days. I thought I would share it with you just for fun.

My apologies for putting up a non-baby centered post. We will get one up later this weekend (read Sunday night). We are working daily on getting her nursery ready to go!

Watch the whole thing, he gets "better" as he goes. Enjoy!

We Bought a Crib!

Okay, so I know we're behind in our updates, but we have good reason. I am absolutely obsessed now with getting the nursery designed. I have been driving myself and Ed crazy for the last two weeks (at least) trying to decide which crib we wanted to buy (and if I must be honest, the bedding, too).

Well, finally, we picked one. We had narrowed the list and widened it back out again at least three times. Every time someone tried to help, it only made me more uncertain about the decision. It eventually came down to three dropside cribs, which I felt I needed over a stationary one because of my height issue. At the last minute, I almost changed my mind about that, too. But Ed was my rock and held steady.

We ended up driving out to Acworth, which is an hour away from our house and went to this small family-owned store. She offered us the best price we'd seen yet on Ed's favorite crib. And since the other ones I liked were all in off-white colors like antique white and crackled cream (which Ed doesn't like), we went with that one. So we are now the proud owners of a Bonavita Hudson Dropside Crib in Classic White!

Hours later, after driving all over GA attempting to find dressers to match, it occurred to us that we currently have a sanded-down antique dresser taking up space in our garage. So today, we drove to Lowes, bought white paint (which we hope matches well enough), and Ed spent a few hours this afternoon painting away. One more coat, some possible distressing, and a clear coat later, and we'll have our second piece of furniture for little Baby Reagin's room.

The bedding is another beast. It's safe to say that we have it narrowed down to three (or so) options. The woman from the crib store is going to be calling me early this week with some pricing on them, and we hope to have a decision made by mid-week. This means that all we'll have left to do, design-wise, is find a tall dresser, pick paint colors, and paint. Well, there's that other little thing, too... emptying out the 'nursery' and re-inventing our guest bedroom, so we can actually make a room for the baby.

My next step tonight is going to be coming up with a guest list for my first baby shower and figuring out which shower games I'd like to play (and not like to play). So I probably should get on with that task, as it is getting late...

One more thing though: oddly enough, this keeps coming up this week, so I guess I should mention it. For all inquiring minds who want to know... Ed and I do believe that we have settled on a name for our little girl. It's only been a week since we came up with one that we both adore, but ironically enough, we've been asked at least five times since then if she has a name yet. We're sorry to say though that we haven't changed our minds about keeping it a surprise, so you'll just have to wait. Sorry!

Hope everyone has a great week!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I just wanted to write a quick post to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all of our friends and family watching us over the internet. Katie is very excited to eat all of our usual thanksgiving food, but then I made her pout when I reminded her that she is limited on storage space now that babygirl is taking up most of her stomach. For the past month, I have been eating off her plate when we go out because she can no longer eat full portions (I know where the daddy-weight comes from now!).

I, however am looking forward to eating everything in site at both Grannie's house and Aunt Cindy's family gathering. I hope everyone surrounds themselves with as much good food and family as they can this year!

23 Weeks

Well, we're overdue for an update, so even though we don't have much to share, we decided to at least give you all a picture and some brief words.

Ed and I had dinner on Friday night at his mom and stepdad's house along with his two sisters. I got to pick the dinner and because of that, we all enjoyed homemade macaroni and cheese with some veggies (the baby likes mac and cheese!).

Today, we went crib browsing throughout GA from Douglasville all the way to Jonesboro. Here's what we learned: there are hardly any stores that sell cribs. Online, perhaps, but in stores - not likely. Even Rooms To Go Kids doesn't sell cribs. What's up with that!?! So basically, we were left with choosing between Target and Babies R Us (the first two stores we went to, by the way, which means that we didn't even need to go across town like we did...). We didn't end up making any solid decisions, but we do think we'll go with an espresso finish over a white one (which was our second choice, but Ed has concerns about scuffs and crayons in the future on white furniture).

We need to come to a decision soon though because Christmas is coming faster than we're prepared for and then my baby shower is in January, so we have to be registered sometime really soon.

Speaking of the holidays, it's highly likely that I am more excited about Thanksgiving this year than I've ever been before. I can't wait to eat all that great food! (Although Ed was kind of a 'debbie downer' when he reminded me that I won't be able to eat half as much as I want to.) By the way, before we can even get to Thursday, Ed's birthday is on Tuesday, so this is a good week for us. If you have any good present ideas for him, let me know (I kind of dropped the ball on this one).

Enough for now... will probably send another update this weekend. HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYONE!!! (We know what we're thankful for - how about you?)

Ultrasound, Round 3!

Katie had another regular appointment this week. She got another recording of our daughter's heartbeat. While there, we learned that we were supposed to get another ultrasound this week. Our accidental perinatologist wanted to double check one more thing, so we excitedly got to head back in!

Babygirl was feeling a bit camera shy this session. She was constantly squirming around - which made measurements tricky at times. Our technician managed to get us some blog-worthy shots as usual.

She has done a lot of growing in the past 2 weeks. She now weighs 1 lb and is 17cm long from head to rump (its hard to measure leg blips when they are scrunched). I don't know if I was imagining things, but it seemed like she was noticeably bigger, and it was much easier to see details in the heart and some other organs. We got to see black spots for both her stomach and bladder, as well as a very clear section of her brain. I really enjoyed watching the heart flutter away.

I think this might be the last of the ultrasounds. I don't know how typical later term ultrasounds are, or how necessary they are. There is always a chance we'll break down and get one of the 3-d ultrasounds in a few months. If any more are scheduled, we'll be posting them in the usual place.

All too often, I will daydream about all the things I want to do with my daughter. If you see me space out (which I often do) I am probably planning fatherhood. So far, I have gone to a tea party, taught her how to ride a bike, played pooh-sticks, played catch, and scared her first boyfriend away. I have seemed to gloss over poo diapers, spitup, sleepless nights, temper tantrums, and all the other mundane threats people remind me of when I talk about being excited about being a dad. Somehow, I am looking forward to all of that, too. (Katie, please remind me how much I was looking forward to it when I am grumbling about it in the future.)

During the car ride home from Fort Lauderdale, I heard giggling coming from my wife. I looked over at her, she had a huge grin on her face and was tapping on her belly. More giggling. More tapping. I asked her what she was doing. 'I am playing with our daughter.' She was kicking back in response to Katie knocking on her home. I could have watched that for hours. I hope she'll play with me like that soon.

Wedding Delay

Sorry for the delay in posting, but we have a good excuse. Our good friends Andy and Ashley got married in Fort Lauderdale last weekend. We had to drop everything and head to Florida for 4 days!

The wedding was beautiful. We had a great time hanging out with Andy, Ashley, Dusty, Kelly, and friends and family.

We're so happy that they finally made it official. It's about time!

HALFWAY THERE!

As the title so eloquently states, we are officially halfway through with the pregnancy. I don't have a lot of pregnancy-related news to share, so this blog entry may just ramble for a minute.

On Wednesday, Ed and I are flying (one-way) down to Ft. Lauderdale for one of his best friends from high school's wedding (he was one of our groomsmen). We will be driving back with his other best friend from high school, Dusty, and his equally pregnant wife, Kelly. (They are our good friends who are due 3 days before us.) Ed likes to joke that the 12-hour car ride is going to be a 14-hour tour of highway rest stops... but what he doesn't realize is that it will probably be more like a 15-hour joyride, considering that our OB told us we have to stop every 2 hours for walking and restroom breaks (I use the term 'joyride' very loosely here).

I've been thinking a lot lately about just how much this little girl has already done. A few months ago, we went to her first concert together - Jack Johnson. That ended up being an experience I wasn't entirely expecting, as I swear I left feeling just a little more mellow due to all the less than legal activity occurring everywhere around my group. We also went to her first Braves game with Ed, where we had dugout seats (very cool) - we even got to enjoy this with my cousin Doug, who happened to be in town.

We've experienced a number of dance and dance aerobics classes together, and even one jazzercise class. We've trained with a personal trainer, which baby realizes is not Mommy's favorite thing to do. We worked as the House Manager for a dance concert last weekend.

We voted together last week - a horrible experience in which we stood outside in 38 degree weather with only a hoodie on (my jacket no longer fits) for 2 hours in the windy cold. We danced so much to keep warm that I ended up needing to use the restroom for half of my wait as well.

Also last week, baby and I were most fortunate to be invited to attend the New Kids on the Block concert with my friend, Joanna. All three of us had more fun that night than I've personally had in a year. (Ed thinks I must've had a really dull year.) I thought it would be enjoyable, but I had no idea how much fun it would be to act like a 13-year-old (er, pregnant?) fool again! We left with a 'Step by Step' onesie to commemorate the occasion.

Who knows what else we'll do together before she's here...

Have a great work week - I wish it could be as short for all of you as it will be for us!

PS - Please keep my aunt in your thoughts tomorrow as she undergoes a procedure for her recently diagnosed cancer.

Scanned Pictures

Here They Are!!!
Pictures of Baby Girl Reagin at 20 weeks!
I tried to label as much as I could without getting in the way of the pictures.

Major development!

We FINALLY made it to week 20... that means Ultrasound time!

The first ultrasound a few months ago was great. We were thrilled to see Baby Reagin's heart flashing on the screen and it looking all limabeany. Watching the ultrasound today was one of those "I have to sit down moments" for me. Our little baby is floating around, moving arms and legs, and turning very frequently! Everything was perfectly formed, proportioned, andwe are still on track for the 3.21 delivery! I was floating around all day today, I am so excited!

We had a little drama getting the appointment. It seems that the ultrasound technician at our midwife practice had surery and was not yet cleared for working again. If the Perinatologist practice inside the Women's center absorbed the ultrasound appointments today so we could meet our little baby. If they hadn't have done that, we would have been forced to wait in excruciating anticipation to find out the gender of the baby. Fortunately everything worked out in the end.

So, on to the actual appointment. The first words out of the technician's mouth were "do you wish to discover the baby's gender?" I don't know which of us said yes first, but I know I could hardly contain my excitement. I wanted the tech to go straight for the groin, but she made me wait... We checked out the four chambers of the heart, looked at bits of the brain, stopped several times to take measurements all over, looked at blood flows, counted toes, then finally we got down to business!

Tech: "See those three dots right there?"
Ed: "Yep."
Katie: "No, but I'll take your word for it"
Tech: "That means you are having a GIRL"
Katie: "YES! YEEEEEE! JUST WHAT I WANTED! YAAAAY HONEY!"

I really don't remember what I said. At this point I am completely content and happy to know that I am going to have a daughter.

Katie and I haven't really gotten to sit down and talk about much yet. We both had to go to work today, and she is house manager at the Zoetic Dance performances this weekend. I am sure we'll go buy some cute pink everythings this weekend to celebrate.

Pictures: I got all rushed at the end of my day today at work, so I didn't scan in any of the stills from this morning. I will put a separate post up tomorrow with them.

I will leave it to Katie to update when our next appointments are. Thanks for following along with us. March really cannot come soon enough. I really want to hold my baby girl in my arms.

3 Years and Counting!

Sorry I haven't updated the blog sooner, but I was waiting for our anniversary to pass, which it did last night. Ed and I have officially been married for 3 years. This time 3 years ago, we were probably drunk at a resort somewhere in Mexico! Oh how times have changed...

I wanted to post a lovely picture of us from last night, but there were no lovely ones to be found. Now, if we wanted to post a scary one, well, that could've been done. So I guess if you want to see this happy couple, you're just going to have to visit!

Ed and I had an excellent anniversary, beginning with the perfect dinner (for which we had a $25 coupon that we bought for $4) and ending with part of the movie Baby Mama and a slice of our replica wedding cake (that the pastry chef from our big day was nice enough to provide for us complimentary).

I'm officially 18 weeks and 5 days - just 7 more days until the ultrasound! I still haven't felt the baby move per se, but I have been experiencing an interesting sensation in the same area whenever I stand up from sitting for the past three days. I've decided that it's the baby letting me know that I've been squishing it for however long I'd been sitting there!

Ed and I are going on the hospital tour this weekend and we're very excited about it. This should settle any questions I have about laboring so far from home. And, thanks to our wonderful neighbors, who just had their baby last weekend, we've just discovered that my insurance covers a breast pump. So, yay, money that stays in our pockets!

Well, that's good for now. Don't be surprised if you don't hear from us again until next Thursday... and by now, you should know why!

Have a great weekend!

Babybeat vol. 2

Well, we've had an exciting few days. Nana came in town to visit and witness the growing baby bump for the first time this past weekend. We did all sorts of mother/daughter things like go maternity clothes shopping, get mani's and pedi's at the nail salon, and watch Sex and the City. We only roped Ed into that last one, too! I was sad to see her go on Sunday evening. We even cracked more than a few jokes that we weren't going to be taking her back to the airport and she'd be stuck with us for a while.

Today, Ed and I went back to the doctor's office for my monthly checkup. We heard the heartbeat again - this time, it was only in the 140s, which if you follow the wives tales, indicates that little Baby Reagin may be a boy... We'll just have to wait and see. Only 2 more weeks!

My midwife said that my belly was measuring exactly as it should. And I've only gained 3 pounds since last month. I thought for sure that with all the pizza I've had lately it'd be much more than that! So good news there.

We declined to have the extra blood test that screens for possible Down syndrome (among other maladies), since the test is known to have a high rate of false-positives and we wouldn't want to go through that unnecessary stress (nor would we do anything with 'bad' news anyway).

The more we visit this practice, the more excited we are about delivering way over at Northside-Forsyth. It just seems like a really nice place. There's always a kind man in a golf cart offering to drive you to wherever you're going, and the new Women's Center seems really spectacular. And that's just from the lobby. We can't wait to get our tour to confirm our expectations. Yes, the drive is long (and I don't want to even think about how long it will feel when I'm in labor), but if the facility is anything like I think it is, the drive will definitely be worth it. Plus, I really like both of the midwives that would be delivering the baby, and you can't ask for much more than that.

Anyway, that's enough for now. Here's my latest Baby Bump Picture. I can't believe how much has grown since July - my belly and my hair!

Some weeks you just get through.

Well, Katie and I have had quite a week.

Momma and the baby are doing fine, but we had a slew of bad news and sad tidings. Amongst other developments, we are one family member short at the Reagin household. Our pet Rosie has moved on to be with her brother. We are all very sad that she will no longer be around to steal the warmth from our seats every time we get up.

Katie's brother Adam came to stay with us for a few days this weekend, so we took the opportunity to organize all of the baby goods we have so far. There are a lot of Grandparent donations already on the shelves and we still have 5 months to go! The outfits are still yellow and green... but we'll know what colors to focus on after the next ultrasound on October 30th.


Nana is headed into town later this week. We are going to try and have some more of our baby prep done for her arrival. Our office is going to become the baby's room, so we need to figure out how to get our mammoth desk into the guest bedroom, and still have a guest bedroom. We are also beginning to baby-proof cabinets as we shuffle the house around. I guess both of our nesting instincts are starting to kick in.

That's all we really have for this week. My next post will be much more upbeat, and come with fabulous pictures of the growing baby-belly, and in 2 weeks, we are due for the release of Babybeat vol. 2!

14 Weeks, 3 Days

Hey Everyone, I hope the past week has been good for you all.

This week was definitely better than the last, however, it was a tough week still. While we were able to bring Rosie (the cat) home, we were feeding her around the clock every 3 hours with a syringe (and bringing her back and forth to the vet during the daytime every day). It was more rough on Ed because the vet let her sleep in her litter box towards the end of the week and he didn't want me handling her since we still couldn't bathe her. So he took the night shifts alone the last few nights. Finally, she started eating on her own and things have been much better since. We've been using the feeder now, so we don't have to get up anymore. Because of that, yesterday we were also able to start leaving her at home during the day and it seems to be going fine.

Last week, I attended a lecture given by a master healer in the holistic healing community that I'm a part of. The reason I mention it is that she made a reference when she found out I was pregnant that I must be having a girl. (Don't ask me why - it happened very fast and I didn't catch her reasoning, although it could have something to do with my lovely skin tone right now...). So that's the third person to tell me that she thinks I'm having a girl (and this one holds even more clout to me than any of the others). I guess we'll see... For the record, I haven't had anyone guess a boy yet, but there's plenty of time still. I'm sure once my belly has made its full debut, people will be giving me their opinions left and right.

On Sunday, Ed and I met up with Amy and Griff and their sisters at the Marietta Fair. We were all there strictly to eat fair food (healthy, right!). Here's a list of the foods consumed by the 6 of us (we did share often): a gyro, chili/chili slaw dogs, polish sausage, corn dogs, ribbon fries with ranch dressing and cheese, lemonade, homemade soda, caramel/candy apples, saltwater taffy, and funnel cake. I'll let you take that in for a second...

We also walked through the petting zoos and watched some pig races, but the highlight was obviously the food!

Speaking of food, I don't think the baby likes Thai food - we went to a Chinese food restaurant to celebrate a co-worker's birthday today, and the Masaman Chicken did not go over well. When you also take into consideration that my pants were too tight (they're coming your way, Kelly, and I just got them), I was not feeling great this afternoon. I literally had to take a walk outside midday to try and help myself (it didn't). I ended up going home at 5:00 instead of 6:00.

Anyhow, enough for now. Will post again soon.

BabyBeat Vol. 1

Press the play button for today's recording of Baby Reagin's heartbeat. Katie and I are so thrilled. Finally hearing the baby today was really special for us.

The new offices for our midwife's practice are really nice! We can't wait for the Alpharetta office to open up so we don't have to drive all the way to Northside Forsyth - but you can't skimp on quality when it comes to Mama and Baby!


For the Geeks: I downloaded the voice recording from Katie's phone, converted it from .amr to .mp3 via an online conversion site. I then edited the 8 second clip into a 12 second loop (took out some volume variation from me moving the phone around) using Audacity. I then uploaded it to some spare webspace I have (available to those who know me) and used the code from this page to embed it in this post.

One Trimester Down... Two to Go!

So last week was a rough week for us, which is why we didn't post. Rosie had an unwanted, unscheduled playdate with Finn while we were at the grocery store the Sunday before last, and things did not go well for her. Finn didn't physically hurt her, but the vet described what happened as a mental breakdown resulting from trauma (this did not reinforce our confidence in our parenting, that's for sure).

She was hospitalized from Tuesday morning until Saturday night. She just layed on her side, refused to even lift her head or acknowledge our presence when we were right in front of her, and wouldn't eat or drink. I went to visit her on Thursday night and she was laying with her head in the back corner of the cage and had the most depressing vacant look in her eyes - she wasn't even Rosie. This had us convinced that she would not be coming home. They had begun force-feeding her as well (we like to call it syringe-feeding though - it sounds more pleasant).

Well, on Saturday evening when we went in, expecting the worst, she perked up when I got to the front of her cage and walked towards me. She was nuzzling my purse to get more affection and just seemed more like Rosie again. So we took her home. We're still working on getting her to eat by herself (she will occasionally eat a tiny bit on her own). Feeding her round-the-clock every three hours is turning out to be really good practice for March, I must say. Every day, we take her back to the vet for them to board and feed her while we're at work. This is still a work in progress. We're playing it by ear, hoping she'll start eating normally again in the very near future. But she is doing considerably better now. We'll keep everyone posted on how it goes.

Now, here's the good news. First, we finally finished the new bookshelves (yay!) They look so good! We do still need to go back to IKEA and purchase the glass doors for the middle cases (better for when baby comes), but I think they really add to the living room. By looking at that room, it actually looks like grown, responsible adults live in our house!



Second, and even more important: Ed and I had my doctor's visit this morning. Not only am I officially through with the first trimester (as of last Saturday), but WE HEARD THE BABY'S HEARTBEAT!!! We even recorded it on my cell phone, thanks to the thoughtful advice of my midwife. So Ed's trying to get it uploaded onto the blog for the few people that would be excited by that news. I have another appointment in 4 weeks in which I'll hear the heartbeat again, and then... six weeks from today, we'll go in and find out what the gender of the baby is! That's October 30th for those of you who are keeping track.

On a sidenote, Terra's blog had me all worried that I'd go in and they'd weigh me, then promptly ask, 'What are you eating!?!' But in today's case, I actually lost weight from the last time I was there. Guess all that fresh-cut fruit, juice, milk, frozen pizza, Snickers mini ice cream bars, and Italian Ice has been serving baby and I well!

That is plenty for now. Will try to blog more at the end of the week to make up for last week. Have a good one!

12 Weeks Pregnant

Hey, Everyone. I don't have much new information to add to this entry. I am officially 12 weeks, which is exciting. I haven't been feeling great this evening - I think I waited too long to eat. Ed would want me to tell you that the hormones have been in full swing this weekend, too!

I went back to the endocrinologist this week. It was my second visit at this new practice and my first actually meeting the doctor. I really like him so far, which is a far cry from my last endocrinologist. I'm quite pleased I decided to switch. My levels are still good, so everything will be staying the same for now with my thyroid medicine.

Mom told me tonight that she's trying to come in town in the beginning of next month, so we'll be looking forward to that. We'll try to make the house presentable for company...

I bought my first maternity clothes this week - 2 dresses. We had a co-worker's wedding to attend on Saturday and I really didn't want to mess around with making something of mine work (I can't close my pants anymore, so things take a little more effort). I've worn them both already and I really like them. One is pink and black and a co-worker asked if there was some kind of correlation between my choice in colors and the gender of the baby. She thinks I'm having a girl already, so I think she was just trying to add more fodder for her theory. I wanted to include a picture of Ed and I from the wedding (and me in my new dress), but we forgot to get a full body shot.

I took a prenatal yoga class this weekend, too. It was my first yoga class in a long time, but also my first prenatal yoga class. I really liked it, both for the yoga and for being within a group of all pregnant women. At one point, we were all standing sideways watching the instructor demonstrate something and I noticed that every single one of us had our hands on our hips. It made me smile.

On a less happy note, we missed the UFC fight this weekend that was actually IN TOWN. Not only did we not get to attend it, but we didn't even get to watch it. Our friends went and had seats on the floor, about 8 rows back. They were supposed to call us today and tell us all about it, but we haven't heard from them yet. They Tivoed it, and we're supposed to watch it with them this week sometime. So we're trying to avoid hearing how the fights came out. (You're all surprised I love this stuff, right?)

Not much going on this week, but we'll still update the blog at some point. Hope you guys all have a great week.

Our First Entry!

It's official -- we have a baby blog. I am already 11 weeks pregnant and counting. And by the looks of our most recent photo, I'm starting to show. This first picture is from our trip to Pensacola in July when we found out we were pregnant... not so flat anymore (but hey, it makes the girls look smaller, so that's a plus!).

The pregnancy has been going well so far. People always want to know if I've had morning sickness and I usually say 'not really.' I've gotten queasy. There was one week in which multiple mornings in a row I got whoozy and faint-feeling. But for the most part, I just have a digestion problem. My digestive tract has never been up to par, pregnancy or not. But now... the food just sits. So I feel pretty gross most of the time. But it does keep me from overeating on many an occasion, so that's good.

I had an early ultrasound at 7 weeks to check out some one-sided cramping and everything was fine. So we got to see the little kidney bean, giant umbilical cord and all. Really, that's what Baby Reagin looked like.

I go back to the doctor in about two weeks, and we get to hear the heartbeat for the first time. Then, at our next appointment (in October) we should get to find out what the baby is! We liked Terra and AJ's idea, so we're pretty sure we won't give up the name of Baby Reagin until s/he makes an official appearance. By the way, for those of you who don't know, the baby is due on March 21st. Hence, 3-2-1-Baby. You won't forget our due date now, will ya!?!

Did we mention that Dusty (the Best Man at our wedding) and Kelly are pregnant, too? They're due 3 days before us. We might go to the hospital to support them during their delivery and never end up leaving!

Anyhow, that's enough for now. We'll keep taking pictures -- not sure how often we'll post them, but we'll add a new blog entry at least once a week, so stay tuned. Have a good 4-day work week!