11 weeks!

Well, I officially 11 weeks along now!  I can't believe I am already almost through the first trimester.  I've been doing pretty well lately.  I still have the morning sickness and am pretty tired all the time, but I wouldn't trade a minute of it for anything.  I'm loving this whole experience.  Garrett and I went to see the OB for our second appointment yesterday.  It was another successful visit.  The first thing the doctor said when he saw us was to Garrett... he said "you got yourself a good one".  And, then he said "I have nothing but good news for you today."  All my blood test results came back perfect.  We were so happy.  To make things even better, we then we got to listen to the baby's heartbeat again.  It was beating at a great rhythm and doctor said all looks and sounds great!  Hearing our baby's heartbeat will never get old!  I love it!  Here is my growing belly...

Also, This last weekend my favorite (cousin Sarah) went to a consignment show and picked me up some really adorable sleepers, onesies, and baby gowns.  One of Garrett and I's favorites is the Bucs sleeper that she found.  I laughed when she said "it's perfect for a boy and well if it's a girl just throw a bow in her hair and go with it" LOL.  You know that is exactly what we'd do!  She also got some cute yellow ones because she knows I love yellow.  She knows us too well!!!  Below are pictures of just two of the gifts she picked up for us.  Thank you Sarah!!  Love you!

TheBump.com has to say this about our baby's progress... (can you believe (s)he's already this big?!)

your baby's the size of a lime!

Your fetus is about 1.6 inches long, and she's got about a 1:1 head to body ratio. She now weighs in at about .25 ounces.

your baby at 11 weeks

• You can't see it, but she's moving fluidly and gracefully in there.
• Her skin is see-through, but she's on her way to looking more like a baby.
• Her fingers and toes aren't webbed anymore.
• Tooth buds, hair follicles and nail beds are forming.

10 weeks!

I can't believe I am almost into the second trimester!  Time is flying by as I knew it would.  I'm kind of glad that it is flying by because I'm ready for the morning sickness to go away and massive amounts of eating to be not so massive, lol.  I hear that the second trimester is the best one.  I cannot wait to begin experiencing that!  This last week hasn't been much different than the previous weeks... still have the morning sickness, still eating quite a bit, and I'm still extremely exhausted by time I get home from work.  However, my belly is definitely growing... haven't figured out if it's the baby yet or the food, haha; Garrett says it's all baby (he's the best at making me feel good about my growing belly since I believe it just looks like a chubbier belly than I'm used to on me).  I cannot wait to begin wearing maternity clothes because my clothes (particularly pants) are really starting to fit pretty snug.  I actually received my first sets of maternity clothes from my wonderful mama and mother-in-law.  I love how comfy they are!  I got two pairs of pants and three cute shirts.  One shirt I really can't wait to wear is my Eeyore maternity shirt that says "my idea of happy hour is a long nap" and that is ohhh so true!  Well, here are the latest pictures of me at 10 weeks... enjoy!

And, here is what theBump.com has to say about our little baby...

your baby's the size of a prune!

Now, she's about 1.2 inches long and weighs about .14 ounces. Her body length will almost double in the next three weeks.

your baby at 10 weeks

• Baby has working arm joints, and her cartilage and bones are forming.
• Her vital organs are fully developed and they're starting to function.
• Her fingernails and hair are starting to appear, too.
• Plus, she's swallowing and kicking in there. (Can you believe it?!)

Mohawk

Check out Cambrie's pretty sweet mohawk, lol :)
The hair goes up when either scared or when happy while you scratch her back or belly... it's the best!

This One is Unfortunately Blurry, but Love the Front View!

Now the Mohawk is Starting to Go Down...

Love Both of These Girls!!

Cambrie's hair goes up as Garrett scratches and then goes down when he stops, etc...

9 weeks!

Now 9 weeks along and still having some morning sickness, but all in all not too bad.  The worst thing this week so far has been having a sore throat and congestion on top of the normal morning sickness.  Fortunately, compared to what I've heard some people have had, I've got it pretty easy.

I am still eating like a horse.  I honestly think that Garrett's least favorite thing about this whole new journey is not getting my leftovers :)  He used to always eat his portion and whatever I was unable to finish... but not of lately.  I believe I could and sometimes do out eat him.  From the pictures you can probably see I've gained weight and I do believe it's all just from eating too much :(  I'm looking forward to the day I can actually see what looks like a baby bump and not something that can just be mistaken as "chubbiness".

P.S. These baby bump photos may get fun and creative... Garrett thought it'd be "cool" to have the rhino in this week's pictures.  And, they aren't too bad I reckon'.  I figure if he's going to take pictures, I'll let him have fun with them too; then it's fun for both of us!  Who knows what the future pictures what the future ones will entail.  Can you tell he wants a boy??  It's okay, if it's a girl, he's fine with that too, but the only pink she'll be seeing is pink rims on a four-wheeler. :)

Here's what theBump.com has to say about our baby at nine weeks:

your baby's the size of a green olive!

She's gaining steam! She measures around .9 inches and weighs about .07 ounces

your baby at 9 weeks

• This is a milestone. She's no longer an embryo -- now she's a fetus!
• She's developing more distinct facial features.
• And she might now have a strong enough heartbeat to be picked up by a fetal doppler.

8 weeks!

Well today Garrett and I got to experience our first ultrasound! :)  It was such an exciting moment for us both.  We got to actually see the little guy or gal that is currently growing in my belly (yep, no twins for us).  We also got to see and hear its heart beat for the first time!  It was an incredible moment and something I know that I'll never forget.  The heart beat at 171 beats per minute and you could see it thump with every beat!  Our baby is currently 1.98cm long, which puts me right at 8 weeks and 4 days.  So, my official due date is April 14th.  Here are some pictures from today.

Because I have had my first ultrasound and now know exactly how far along I am, this means you get to share in our journey as I blog each week's growth of me and our baby!  Yep, going to let you watch me grow too, as much as I really don't like showing my stomach at all.  However, I know this is an experience that I will want to look back on and see the change and I know that a lot of my friends and family have also requested that I document the growth.  So, here you go :)  This is me at 8 weeks and 4 days.

 

your baby's the size of a raspberry!

Now she weighs in (yay!) at about .04 ounces and measures about .63 inches. This week, she's growing about a milimeter each day.

your baby at 8 weeks

• You can't feel it yet, but she's moving those arms and legs like crazy!
• Her fingers and toes are now only slightly webbed, and her tail (yes, she had one) is gone.
• Fun fact: her taste buds are now forming.

friends are like stars...

"Friends are like stars... you know they're there even when you don't see them."  That is oh so true and Stephanie has been there always and it was so great to FINALLY get up to visit her after not seeing her in 12+ years.  We always do keep in touch via phone and email, but have been unable to see each other; that is until this last weekend.

Seeing as labor day was a four-day weekend and I have been communicating even more than normal with Stephanie (it's been a big/great year for both of us with garrett and i just getting married, us now expecting, her kids recently celebrating bdays, and karley getting baptized, etc), we decided we would take full advantage of the long weekend and go visit them.  I am very glad that we did!

It was like Stephanie and I never missed a beat.  Garrett got to meet the "Stephanie" that he hears so much about and we both got to meet her family (husband wade and three kids karley, amanda, and reed).  I've heard of them and read of them through phone calls, emails, and pictures, but it was nice to finally see them in person and get to know them.  Wade and Garrett hit it off immediately, sharing hunting, fishing, nascar, and a little bit of everything else you might be able to think of in common.  And, her kids were great!  They  were so well-behaved and a joy to be around.  They made me look forward even more to watching our future family grow.  I can't wait til our little one comes along and they get to meet Stephanie and her family.

Karley is 8 years old and so mature for her age.  She is an absolute a joy to be around.  She and I hit it off right away even though she beat me just about every game of hangman, lol.  She sure is a smart little one.  I also believe that she is a spitting image of Stephanie.

Amanda is 5 years old with such a big personality that I absolutely loved.  She even drew me a picture.  That meant so much to me.  Her and Karley both love to draw like Stephanie and I did at that age.  They certainly are talented at it as well.  Also, Amanda looks almost exactly like Stephanie looked the first time I met her (we were five then!).

Reed is a 2 year old little ham.  He immediately clinged to Garrett.  They enjoyed playing tractors with each other and wrestling.  He's a strong one and definitely gave Garrett quite the workout keeping up with him, haha.  He loved it though and I also enjoyed sitting with Reed while looking at his baby pictures, listening to him point out "mama" and "daddy" every time they came up in the pictures, hehe.

All in all, I can not describe in words how grateful I am for a friend like Stephanie and I only look forward to growing more in our friendship and seeing each other again (hopefully with not nearly as much time in between visits).  Here are some pictures from the weekend.  There are a lot, but I could not leave any of them out... love them all and they go along with some awesome memories from the weekend that will definitely stick with me.  (Stephanie... feel free to download and steal any or all of them!).

Wade and Reed... He passed out right at the end of lunch

Garrett and Reed Playing Perfection

Stephanie and Reed (eating a brownie)

Reed sporting his daddy's UNC hat... just a little big

Now switching to the camo hat

Amanda and Garrett

Stephanie and I... all smiles!

Love her!!

Playing tractors with Garrett... You can't hide Reed :)

Stephanie, Karley, and I

Karley and I playing hangman... She's quite the opponent, lol

Playing Chutes and Ladders with the kids

Want some quiet... just plug the kids in, lol

The girls will definitely love this face

Such a CUTIE!

Amanda... a little cutie indeed!

Karley... such a pretty young lady

Stephanie, Reed, and I our last morning together... gonna miss them!