11 Weeks

2 more weeks left in the first trimester! Can't believe we're about 1/3 of the way there...

We had an appointment with the CNMW today, and got to hear baby's heartbeat! They said it was between 166-170 beats per minute, which is right on track for this stage of development. Everything else checked out just fine today as well (blood pressure, my weight, etc) and we are scheduled for an ultrasound on October 11 to assess risk markers for Down Syndrome and the Trisomies. I don't have any real concerns that any of that is going to be high risk, but I am looking forward to having another chance to see baby and get some updated photos to share!

Speaking of photos, I do have a belly update! The update is, regular pants really just don't fit any longer...I broke down and bought some maternity pants tonight. I am looking forward to lounging in elastic waisted bliss for the next 6 months or more, though, so it's not so bad!

I'm cautiously crossing my fingers that the past few days are an indication that some of the nausea may be subsiding...it was pretty constant and unpleasant during 9 and 10 weeks, but I'm feeling a bit better the last 2-3 days it seems. I am however eating my weight in smoothies - I told Matt this child is probably going to hate smoothies by the time he or she can eat semi-solid food! But at this point, I'm going to go with whatever works and sounds at least minimally appetizing!

10 Weeks

My weeks turn over on Thursdays, so today is 10 weeks on the dot. I have not been great about getting weekly pictures of the belly, but honestly it's not very cute to look at these days! In general it seems to be getting thicker and possible a bit rounder, but more in a That chick might wanna work out a little more, or go ahead and lay off the Dairy Queen kinda way, at least to the casual observer. That said, I'll see if I can get Matt to take some tonight after work, to document the current state of things bellyish.

For the first few weeks, I thought maybe I'd breeze through this whole first trimester thing without too much of a problem...little to no nausea, some tiredness, but nothing a nap or two couldn't fix, and otherwise nothing much to show for the fact that my body is busily growing the beginning of a person. But, about a week ago I think the hormones may have started to peak, and I feel much more like a 1st trimester pregnant person might...more consistent nausea, both at the beginning and the end of the day, total exhaustion (in the I may have taken a nap in my office the other day, or fallen asleep outside on the bench waiting for Matt to pick me up at the end of the day kind of way), and one episode so far of actually puking :(. At least I know this means things should be going as expected, and I keep reminding myself that many a pregnant woman has it FAR worse, so I should be thankful this is all there is so far.

I am very excited that today is the first day of autumn - as you all probably know it's my absolute favorite season, and even though it is forecasted to be 90 degrees today, I'm feeling like the season is changing in front of my eyes. Last night there was a large harvest moon rising in the sky, and our pumpkins were finally ready to be picked from the vines. Driving into work this morning (albeit a frustratingly long trek today with traffic) we could see that the fields of corn are browning out, and the soybean plants are taking on a beautiful golden color, which was gorgeous in the early morning misty sunlight. My personal goal for the end of this week is to get outside with my camera and document some of this beautiful season unfolding in front of me. I've put it out there, and hopefully I will hold myself accountable! Pictures to come :)

Anyone have any favorite fall recipes they are excited to make? It just may be the one and only thing that sounds good to me on a given day, so share! And think of the baby :)

xoxo,
Tanya

First Ultrasound!!

We had our first ultrasound today, as the title suggests :) According to the measurements (and my own calculations which I assume to be quite accurate if I do say so myself...) she determined we are at 8 weeks today actually. Baby has a strong fast heartbeat, and everything looked great! So the new due date is 4/21/11. I like it! Here are some pics of our offspring :)

Top pic: Head on the right, limbs all out

Bottom pic: head to the left

So anyway, that's the main update for today! Not feeling super ambitious about the writing tonight, so this is what there is! She wants me back in 3 weeks, so we'll get to listen for the heartbeat again then!

Football Saturday!

8 Weeks

Yesterday was the Michigan season opening game at the Big House, and baby Smith was along for the tiring ride. We tailgated with some work friends of Matt's before the game, and then got to the stadium early for all of the "Rededication Game" festivities. All that walking made me short of breath, so we had to take frequent breaks just to rest...who knew something the size of a raspberry would take it out of me? I even got a few pics, so for your viewing pleasure here you go.

Tailgating

We walked over to the section where we had tickets Senior Year - such a great place to watch the game! And you can maybe, just maybe, see the beginnings of a "baby bump". Or maybe it is just from the previously mentioned tailgating.

Belly Shot from before the game, and before tailgating. It was never super flat to begin with, but I can't suck it in any more!

I have plans to do a more creative maternity photo series but I haven't quite figured out what I want to do, so stay tuned. Check this blog out - his 2 series are tabbed at the top. http://pacingthepanicroom.blogspot.com/ Of course I'm nowhere near as talented, nor will I be taking my own shots, but I'd love to have something creative to look back on this time. We'll see what I can come up with...

love to you all,

Tots & Baby GB (that's Gummy Bear for this week)

Dinner options

Tonight's dinner ended up being:

- one soft serve ice cream cone

- a handful of pringles, original flavor

- one bite of pork tenderloin, which, *Gag

- cooked carrots with brown sugar and butter

- a bowl of mashed potatoes with melted cheese

- a glass of milk

I guess I wasn't going for a totally well rounded list of food groups, but I'll take whatever sounds minimally appetizing!

Still no pics - will work on that this weekend, especially since it's the first home Michigan game! GO Blue! You better believe this little peanut will know his/her roots!

Breaking the news

Well, I've been meaning to get a blog up and running to keep our nearest and dearest abreast of the goings on in our lives, and this seems like as good a time as any! We have slowly been leaking the news that Matthew and I are going to be parents sometime in April 2011! At this point, the due date is April 16, 2011, but it's still early enough that that is subject to change. I have been feeling pretty well overall until this week (7wks 5days today) and in general my primary "symptom" is just fatigue. I sleep so much! I do have some passing waves of minor nausea, but nothing that has me running for the BR or anything, so thank goodness for that! We have an appointment scheduled with our Certified Nurse Midwife on 9/9/10, and hopefully we will get to see the little gummy bear on ultrasound then!

I will most likely post the "belly bump" pictures as there is something to see, but for now there's just not much to look at! I need to rope Matt in to take some pics soon, though, so I can remember what I once looked like before things get crazy :)