Christmas and New Years

Josh and Jaela opening Christmas gifts

Well, Jaela has officially made it through her first major holiday season. She made quite a haul at the different family Christmases, even though she really didn't know what was going on around her. A couple times when we were opening presents, Josh would hold her gifts up to her, but she usually just looked around with a blank stare. Next year will be more fun with her. While I cherished this first Christmas with her, I really look forward to future Christmases, where she will be more interested in it, and I can begin some family traditions with her. I think the only thing she really enjoyed about Christmas this year was the lights. She loved just sitting by the tree or the random strand of lights I had hanging on the wall for her to look at. Roth Family Christmas

Our New Year's Eve festivities were not all that fancy. Usually our congregation hosts a New Year's Eve party, but because we have services the following day, they opted out of a party this year. This was fine with us, because then we could keep Jaela home and try to get her to bed at a decent time. Mom and Dad stopped over for a little bit, and we ate a festive New Year's eve meal of Chinese food. After they left, Josh and I just hung around the house and watched some of the Dick Clark special on tv. I must say, I was not very impressed with the music selection this year, probably because I didn't know half of the singers.

Jae wishing everyone a Happy New Year

Oh, and one last thing, we did have some formal 3 month pictures taken this last week. I kept going back and forth on which photographer to go with, and ended up going with the get your photos the same day photographer. The pictures came out cute, and if you are family, expect a package in the mail soon. We liked the pictures, but would have rather had more options to print different sizes and more variety for our money. Oh well, at least she was super happy in these pictures.

Well, I want to close out this entry by saying Happy New Year! I pray that 2012 will bring lots of happiness, laughter and a closer relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. See you next year!

3 Months!

Jaela-

You are now 3 months old! You are growing up so fast, changing looks and mannerisms each day. At this time, you are now:

-Make eye contact and smile at others

-Giggle and coo

-Sleep 10-11 hours at night

-Roll side to side

-Recognize voices

-Hold onto objects for a few seconds

You love singing songs with mommy and reading books and watching soccer with daddy. You are working at developing your little muscles, as you practice standing on your legs with our help, and trying to sit yourself more upright at time. You are working on hand/eye coordination. You are so adorable, and amazing to us. It is so wonderful to see how much you are growing and developing with each passing day. We pray that the Lord will continue to watch over your growth and will guide and direct us as we care for you and raise you. Thank you Lord for our wonderful blessing!

Back to work and Such

Well, I am officially a working mom now. My 12 week stint as a stay at home mom has ended, and I have returned to my job at the nursing home. I can't believe how fast the time has gone. I honestly thought my first day back was gonna be terrible, because so many people described how emotional they were when they went back to work. I was good-it was hard to say goodbye to my girl, but I didn't cry. I understand that being a good mommy means making sure your child's needs are met. My child needs health insurance, diapers and clothes, so I get those for her by working my job and earning the money to purchase those things. And now that I have tasted a little bit of both worlds, I give props to all the mommies who work outside the home, as well as to the mommies who stay at home with the children. Both ways are important and difficult.But we get through it. I will say, Jaela has been very understanding these last 2 days that I have worked. She woke up right before I had to leave, and gave me a big smile, as if to say "have a good day at work Mommy, I love you." It was the perfect way to start my day.

Actually, one of the hardest parts about going to work this week was being sick. As you may recall from my post earlier this week, Jaela has been sick. Well, I started coughing and such about Tuesday or Wednesday this week. The coughing kept getting worse, especially when I laid down or tried doing things like laughing. On Saturday morning, I decided to be responsible, and go get checked at the doctor's. I thought I just had a bad cold. Come to find out, it was good that I went, because I have bronchitis, that was just a day or so from turning into pneumonia. The doctor put me on some antibiotics and told me to take it easy over the weekend. So, hopefully I will be better on Monday and able to make it through the day without too many coughing fits.

And now to wrap up this session, I want to include some of the holiday pictures I took of Jaela. It was pretty hard to decide which one for the Christmas cards.

Sick!

Our poor baby is sick. :( For the last 3 or 4 weeks, Jaela has been having a little bit of a head cold--stuffy nose, fussy and such. Before Thanksgiving, we took her to the doctor because of some little bumps on her chest. Today, we returned to the doctor, because she started coughing and sounded a little rattly in her chest. The doctor on call listened to her and said that she has a mild case of bronciolitis. It's not too bad, but if we don't treat it now, it could worsen and turn to bronchitis. She now has to take some Albuterol a couple times a day to help loosen her airways.


While in the doctor's office, I mentioned to him how much she spits up. Pretty much, she spits after every meal, and sometimes it's pretty significant. He said that this can be normal baby behavior, or it could also be acid reflux. When we compared her weight to where she was a couple weeks ago, she had only gained 1 ounce. Because of this, he prescribed some Zantac and some thickened feedings. I don't really like the idea of medicating my child so young, but at the same time, I want her to feel better and continue gaining weight. So, for the next 2 weeks, we will be administering and inhaler and some medicine to her. Hopefully, we will have a happy, well baby after all of this. It feels terrible seeing your daughter sick--especially when she gives you the look of "I don't feel good-fix this!" Poor baby. :(

Snow!

Jaela and her Daddy enjoying her first snow

(p.s.-Josh's beard is especially thick d/t No-Shave November)


Jaela got to see her first snowfall of the season this week. The day started out pretty dreary, with some drizzly type rain in the morning. When I came home from the grocery store, the rain was starting to turn into snow as it hit the ground. By the end of the afternoon, we had a nice little ground cover. When Josh came home, we bundled Jaela up to take her outside so she could see the snow. She didn't show too much emotion either way at this point. However, if she's anything like her mom, she will prefer the sunshine and warm weather over the cold snow. :) Nonetheless, I look forward to winters as Jaela becomes old enough to find the "white stuff" fascinating and fun to play in. Despite my personal disdain for cold weather, I look forward to making snowmen and forts with her. Hopefully, she will be on my team in the snowball fights against Josh!

We have also introduced Jaela to decorating the Christmas tree. In the same week, she "helped" decorate Grandpa and Grandma Cooper's tree and our tree. I think she was more interested in looking at lights instead of watching us put decorations on the tree. Josh tried to have Jaela watch Rudolf, the Red-nosed Reindeer with him, but she was not a fan. Maybe next year. I look forward to Christmases to come, as she starts to show excitement for the different holiday traditions and such.

Little Traveler

Four Generations-Mom-Mom Bussels, Cindy, Josh and Jaela

Jaela has added another state to the list of places she has traveled to so far. This last week, we took her out to Maryland to see Josh's side of the family and celebrate Thanksgiving and a little bit of Christmas too. This time, we traveled by car instead of air. She did awesome in the car ride, which took us a little over 11 hours each time. We chose to drive through the night, in order to keep Jaela on her schedule and decrease the amount of time that we needed to stop. On both trips, she slept about 7- 7 1/2 hours before she woke up and needed fed. After we fed her and changed her diaper, she fell back asleep in the car and remained asleep until we arrived at our destinations.

Jaela did awesome while we were in Maryland. She had some fussy times, but for the most part, she put on extra charm for everyone. She met her remaining 3 great grandparents, along with her uncles, and even some great aunts and uncles and cousins. She was especially charming for Josh's cousin Richard, giving him lots of smiles and coos.

Putting on the Charm for Richard

I'm glad that we were able to take Jaela to Maryland and see everyone. We were blessed by great weather, safe travels and lots of good memories. Hopefully we will be able to return this next summer and maybe take Jaela to Ocean City to introduce her to the beach, boardwalk and Thrasher's Fries. :)

Soccer and Other Notes

Josh loves coming home from work and playing with our little girl. He says he can't wait until she's old enough to play sports and he can coach her team. She recently has become more aware of her surroundings and will attempt to hit objects with her hands and kick with her feet. Most of the time, she doesn't make contact, but when somebody (like Daddy) helps her out, she can. So, the above video just shows Josh playing soccer with her. He gets really excited at the end when she kicks with her left foot. (She starts fussing at the end because she was bored of laying down and wanted picked up)

In other news, we had our 2 month check up this week. Jaela now weighs 11lbs, 10 oz (70%) and is 22 1/4 inches long (50%). Her head is in the 85%, so I don't know if that means she will be a brainiac, or if she just has a big noggin.

It seems like we are having more fussy time again. She fusses sometimes within a half hour of feeding, and will only console if I give in and feed her. The pediatrician just told us to try a pacifier (which she just spits out) and try to keep her from eating until 2 1/2-3 hours in between feedings. I usually try this, but sometimes she just gets so mad. He also said that she should start sleeping through the night here in the next month or so (Hooray!) and after that, she will be more calm during the day. While I do enjoy having my little girl want me to hold her and console her, I look forward to being able to just let her play on the floor for a while. She is growing up so fast. I go back to work in 3 weeks, and I keep wishing it was longer. But nonetheless, bills need to be paid, and health insurance needs to stay active, so I will return to work. At least I will see her at night and on weekends, and will cherish each moment I have with her.

Church Shower

This last Sunday night, our church threw us a baby shower. The people there are so wonderful and so generous. Jaela received a lot of really nice things, from clothes, to diapers and toys. I can't believe how much she received! Many people were thoughtful and gave us clothes for her to grow into. It's so funny to think that these items look huge on her (at least when I hold them up next to her) but I know that soon enough she will be in them and then grown out of them just as fast. I'm just so amazed at how much she grows each day. I can truly see God's work each time I look at my daughter. We are so blessed to have her in our lives, and are also so blessed to have a wonderful, caring and generous church family in our lives as well. We look forward to seeing Jaela grow up in the church, singing praises to God and saying her memory verses. Thank you once again to our awesome congregation!

Look what we've found!

Jaela is beginning to get more and more interesting each day. Within the last couple days, she has discovered her hands. I find her playing with them, sucking on them every once in awhile. Sometimes I think she is just sucking on them because she is getting hungry, but often I think it is just because she thinks they are pretty cool because she seems quite satisfied with them. Nonetheless, this is something new for her, and as a proud mama, I think it's quite cool.

Jaela also has become a fan of lights. She loves staring at bright lights, whether it is from a lamp, a window, or a Green Lantern ring. :) She likes to be carried in a way that allows her to look at the lights, and if the position i'm holding her in does not allow for that, she will push back and tilt her head backwards in order to look up at them.

Watching the light on a Green Lantern Ring

And finally, her other new "trick" is tracking noises. She is becoming more alert to her surroundings, and will try to follow noises with her eyes. We played with a rattle the other day, and she followed the noise with her eyes to each direction, and actually seemed to enjoy it. She even smiled while we were playing.

Watching Jaela grow and develop is so amazing, and I am thankful each day that God has given her to us. I look forward to continuing to watch her grow and the excitement that I will feel with each milestone. It is just so amazing to see God's work in her.

Fussy Baby

Jaela has had a pretty fussy week this week. I think she may be having some issues with gas, or growing or both. She has times during the day where she wants to each almost every hour, and then fusses and spits up a bunch after eating. I spoke with the pediatricians office, and they just said it can be be normal for babies, especially when they are growing-just trying to keep her eatings at least 2-2 1/2 hours. I admit, this is pretty frustrating at times, because it feels like all I do is feed and console. She also has times where I think she is just fighting sleep. A couple times I have just had to place her in her crib and let her cry it out. It's funny-just a couple weeks ago, I was trying to keep her awake during the day, and now I am trying to make her sleep at some points during the day.

But, as frustrated as I get while trying to calm her down, I can't help but just want to hug my child. I know that she can't help it, and that this will get better eventually. Before I know it, I will have different frustrating situations with her--potty training, homework, chores, boys... So, even though my daughter cries for what seems like forever, I cherish every moment. Because, as the song goes "it won't be like this for long." How can you not love this girl?

Social events and a funny story

So, Jaela is already quite the little social butterfly with quite the busy calendar. We have been so busy that I haven't had time to document them on time. Anyways, when she was 3 weeks old, Jaela attended our church's doll party. It was such a cute event for the little girls. The girls (2nd grade on down) took their dolls to the church on a Saturday morning for a "slumber party." Everyone (mom's included) wore pajamas. There were different stations for girls to check out, including one where they made coloring books about their bedtime routine, one where they played put the pacifier in baby's mouth (like pin the tail on the donkey), a craft station where they made pillowcases, and a snack station, which included items for their dolls. All girls got play money for each station, which they turned in for prizes at "baby Target." The time was finished up with a story by none other than Jaela's grandma! The girls all had a great time, including Jaela (she slept most of the time, but I'm sure she enjoyed it)

This is the cute "bedroom" where the girls got their pictures taken

Where's Baby Jaela version of Where's Waldo

Jaela also was able to attend her first ever "pumpkins and cheese" party. What is pumpkins and cheese you ask? Basically, it is a pumpkin carving party, where the main food course is nacho cheese. Lisa provides the house and the cheese, and we all bring our own pumpkins and food to dip in cheese. This year, we had chips, taquitos, french fries, breadsticks, pizza and pretzels to name a few. The pumpkin carving was also super fun. Everybody did so good on their pumpkins. Josh and I look forward each year to attending this party, because it is good, clean fun with some of our best friends.

My little pumpkin with her pumpkin

san antonio story

(over) A month already!

I can't believe that our miss Jaela is already 5 weeks old! She is getting so big and changing looks every day! This month has flown by so fast. Time seems to fly faster by having a kid. I know every parent tells you to cherish the time with your kid, because they don't stay little long, and before you know it they are 16 and driving, etc. I really can see what they mean. But anyways, now that I have that out of the way, on to Jaela updates...

Like I said, she is growing like a weed. At her 2 week check up, Jaela was already 8lbs, 9 oz. I stepped onto a scale today at home with her and it measured her between 10-11 lbs. She is starting to outgrow many of her newborn outfits and is wearing 0-3 month clothes for the most part. Her neck is getting a little stronger, but she still head butts you sometimes when she tries to hold her head up for too long.

at Uncle Robby's wedding

Also, Jaela has already made her first major trip. Last weekend, we flew down to Texas for her Uncle Robby's wedding ceremony. I was pretty nervous about flying with a baby and the whole travel experience, but she did pretty awesome. As long as I fed her during takeoff and landing, she was fine. She must have been excited to go on the trip, because the night before she woke up at 1245 and didn't fall asleep until 330, which was about the time Josh and I needed to get up to leave.

on her first plane



One little story about our time in San Antonio: Friday and Saturday were pretty much busy with wedding stuff and etc. Sunday, our family decided to go to San Antonio on the River Walk. When we arrived there, I told Josh to change her diaper before we started walking around. As he was changing her, I heard him go "Oh no!" and start laughing. He said while he was changing her, he heard a toot sound and then saw poo fly right past his shoulder onto the back of the seat in front of them. As he was laughing about this, then Jaela decided to pee also. Between the two of us, we managed to grab diapers and blankets to capture all the fluids coming out of our precious little girl. We couldn't help but laugh. I guess that's a welcome to parenthood for us.

First Week and A Half

Just thought I would post some pictures from Jaela's first week and a half of life. So far, things have gone pretty good. She has her nights and days mixed up a little bit, but it's really not that bad.

Daddy's first time changing her diaperAbout a day old

With her first ducky--she is her father's child


Bundled up after getting a sponge bath Meeting Pop-Pop for the 1st time

Meeting Mom-Mom for the 1st time

Jaela and Grandma Cooper

Meeting the Green Lantern
Love this picture!

Can I end this post by stating that I LOVE motherhood?! This child is such a blessing to my life, and I am so thankful that God has given her to me!

First Love

For all of you parents out there, I know you understand the phrase "love at first sight." When you see your child for the first time, that is the exact feeling you have. I don't understand how anybody could look at their child and not feeling anything for them but unconditional, uncontrollable, overflowing love.

My first glance at Jaela was only that--a glance. The doctors showed her face to me, and Josh got to briefly hold her and show her to me before they took her to NICU. As stated in my earlier posts, my diabetes caused the doctors to take several extra precautions. One of these was wisking my child up to NICU for a few hours to make sure that her blood sugars regulated on their own. Those few hours were the longest hours of my life.

My recovery time took awhile, as we had to wait for the epidural to wear off properly. I had a few bouts of feeling short of breath, but my O2 sats were fine. I also had some pretty decent shaking, which is perfectly normal according to the nurses.

So finally I was brought out of recovery and taken to my room. We got all settled into my room, and the nurse called up to NICU to see when they were ready for us. Finally about midnight, they said that Josh and I could go see our baby. As we went up, our anticipation grew stronger and stronger. We came to her room, and got our first good looks at her. She was perfect: cute chubby cheeks, big beautiful eyes, dark black hair, and a nice loud set of lungs.

I really can't imagine not having her. My life feels so much more complete with her in it. Even with knowing that we have some long nights ahead, with numerous frustrations and dirty diapers and spit up, I still look forward to raising her. She is such a blessing in our lives and we are thankful each minute, hour and day that we have with her.

Jaela Rae is Here!

We would like to announce the birth of our beautiful daughter, Jaela Rae Burton! Our precious gift from God was born on Thursday, September 15, 2011 at 9:14 pm. She weighed 7lbs, 15 oz, and was 19 1/2 inches long. (Sidenote:apparently 15 is our family number. Josh and I were married on 4/15/06, and she was born on 9/15/11--if we had realized the time in the operating room, we could have tried to get her official birth time as 9:15 as well) Anyways. She is absolutely gorgeous and we wouldn't trade her for the world.

The remainder of this post is just details about her labor and delivery day. Read if you want, or skip it-I just wanted somewhere to post it.

Because I am diabetic, my OB-GYN has taken several extra precautions to ensure that Jaela would be safe and healthy upon delivery. One of these precautions was to induce labor, so that she would not get too big in the womb. At my last doctor's appointment, she said that the baby was probably about 8 1/2 lbs and had some broader shoulders. She also said that my cervix was only about 1cm dilated, so she decided to have me admitted to the hospital Wednesday night to receive some Cervidal to soften the cervix and then begin Pitocin on Thursday morning.

Wednesday night was pretty uneventful. The nurses gave me the Cervidal and then we just waited until morning. I did not sleep well all night, mostly because of anticipation. The true fun began on Thursday morning. My doctor and the nurses said my cervix had softened overnight, but not really dilated. Dr Blackmon (OB_GYN) wanted to speed the process as much as possible, so she started Pitocin and broke my water in the morning. The contractions began, and I labored pretty much all day. Throughout the day, I started having stronger contractions, as well as increased back pain with each contraction. I planned on going throughout labor and delivery without an epideral. The pain continued to increase, so I finally asked for something to take the edge off. The nurse gave me Nubain, which really didn't do too much for the pain, but did make me very sleepy. I finally got to the point where I was beginning to feel pretty sick, my back was hurting more and more and was getting very sleepy. Finally, I told Josh that I thought I needed an epideral. I couldn't get any relief by then. The nurse checked me and said I was still only about 6 or 7 cm dilated. The anestestiologist came in and administered the epideral to me. I didn't really feel it or even care, as I was half asleep at this point.

The combination of Nubain and epideral put me out for awhile. I remember hearing people's voices and them telling me to move my toes or fingers occasionally, but other than that I didn't feel anything. They said my heart rate and blood pressure started to drop a little, and the baby wasn't moving as much as they wanted. Because of this, I had to wear an oxygen mask for awhile. I think it scared my parents a little when they stopped by to see how I was doing.

Around 8 oclock that night, one of the doctors on call (Dr Bhat) came in to check on me. I was still only about 7cm dilated. He looked at my belly and me, and told me that he was scared that my pelvis was going to be too narrow to deliver the child. He then said that he felt the safest measure was to go ahead and perform a c-section. We agreed to it, and the team started working on getting us ready for the operating room.

Finally, they wheeled me into the operating room for surgery. Dr Bhat had been replaced by another doctor on call. I couldn't feel anything, but I thought that the room smelled like burnt popcorn--the nurse said something along the lines that skin can have a strange smell. Within a few minutes, we heard the doctor say, "that's a big baby." And then those magical words: "It's a baby girl." Josh and I looked at each other with surprise, excitement and joy all in one. I wanted so much to see her but couldn't yet. Josh went over to the table by the baby and started telling me how amazing she was. I asked him to describe her, and he told me that she had dark hair and chubby cheeks. I asked what she looked like as far as a name. He told me not Callie, which was one of our names we had. He then said maybe she looked like Jaela. I had liked the name Jaela before, so I agreed to it. Our baby had a name.

We were so excited to finally be through with labor and delivery, and to know what our child was and give her a name. We thanked the Lord for the blessing of safety during delivery and a beautiful, healthy child. We fell in love with her immediately and continue to grow in our love for her each passing day.

Last Night At Home

Tonight is our last night in the house without a baby. We head to the hospital tomorrow afternoon/evening to get checked in, and will start the induction process on Thursday morning. At my last doctor's appointment, she said that I was only 1 cm dilated, so she wants me in the night before to start on Cervidal to soften my cervix and prepare my body for labor the next day. It's weird to think that this is all finally happening. The child that we have prayed for and have watched grow through my changing appearance is finally arriving.
I'm super excited about these next couple days, but I admit I'm pretty nervous as well. I just pray that the Lord will grant safety to us all throughout the labor and delivery process, and that my child will be healthy and well. I can't wait to hold my child, but then I also feel like I'm not ready to place it in the doctor's hands to care for it. I feel there's another whole new feeling of anxiety getting ready to take place. I also know that I will miss feeling my child move within me. I have grown accustomed to the movements, and have connected with my child through rubbing my belly and talking to it (Josh has also done this) I've heard other mom's talk about how they miss that feeling, and now I think I understand.
Overall, I am truly excited and ready to meet my child. I can't wait to know whether it is a boy or girl and be able to address it by it's name. I can't wait to see whose eyes, or chin or ears or nose it has. I am so glad that the Lord has decided to bless us with this child and this experience. I pray that we will be able to serve Him through our parenting adventures.

Please pray for us that this labor and delivery will go well, and that we all will be safe and sound. And please pray for us as we begin our lives as a new family. We hope that our lives will be a blessing to God and those around us.

Almost Ready for Baby!

So, I obviously have not been good at updating this blog. My goal is to be much better once the baby is born.(I will have a much cuter subject to talk about then) But anyways, here is the update on progress and most asked questions.
When is Baby Burton scheduled to arrive? As of this date, I'm not exactly sure. We are currently 37 1/2 weeks, and my doctor told me at my last appointment that she would like to deliver somewhere around 38 1/2 weeks. However, she also said that my cervix was not dilated or anything yet, so that might change our timing. I see her again this week, so hopefully I can get a better answer.
Will you be able to deliver normally? I think that's the plan at this point. There still is some risk for C-section due to the diabetes and possibility that my baby will be too big. Also, it might depend on what my body is doing.
How have you been feeling? So far, so good. I get tired at the end of the day and winded at times, but for the most part things have been good. I haven't really had much swelling, except for some in my hands (I took my wedding bands off about a month ago)
How has the pregnancy affected your diabetes? My sugars have definitely been harder to control, but my endocrinologist has been pretty pleased with how my sugars have been. Hopefully that will mean a healthy baby!
Does the doctor think you will have a big baby? At our last ultrasound, they told us that our baby was already about 6lb, 12 oz. and had a bigger abdomen than its head. I have to admit, it sounds like my baby is bound to be big, but the doc also tells me that my abdomen is measuring normal size. So, I'm not sure what she really thinks.
Do you know the sex of the baby? Nope--we want to be surprised! (And no, we don't have names picked out either)
Does the baby move a lot? Oh yes! Especially at nighttime when I sit on the couch, or during church services. There are sometimes that it feels like the baby is trying to climb out through my stomach. But I love every minute of it :)
Are you excited or nervous? Both! Josh and I are still getting used to the idea of us having a baby. It's weird to think that we will bring home a baby in about a week or so.

All in all, this pregnancy has been pretty good. I can't really complain about anything. The worst thing is just the amount of doctor's visits I have. (I currently see her twice a week for non-stress test procedures, to listen to the heartbeat and feel the movement) But I look at this way, each test and procedure is another opportunity to hear my baby or see my baby--I am blessed. :)

Updates!

So, life has been crazy busy lately, and I actually forgot that I had started this blog. So, anyways I thought I would give an update on how things are going.
-The baby is definitely growing. It's either that, or I really need to workout more. :) I can still fit into my jeans, but there are a lot of other pants that just won't button anymore. My work clothes are even getting pretty tight. It must mean that it's time to go shopping (if I ever find the time.)
-Things are developing pretty well right now. We just went to Indianapolis this last week for our high risk appointment with a targeted ultrasound. That was the most amazing thing so far. They showed us our baby, and all it's little organs, such as the heart, kidneys, and brain, and it's little feet and hands (10 fingers and toes--we counted!) The doctor down there said that they cannot see any major birth deficits so far, and that i should just continue monitoring my sugars pretty well. We don't need to return to Indy, unless my OB recommends it. Right now, little Burton weighs 11oz, and is about 6 1/2-7 inches long, with a heart rate of 161. We have 4d ultrasound pics--when I have time to scan them, I will post.
-Our next big appt is in 2 weeks, when we have a fetal echocardiogram performed. Please pray that things will go well there.
-Our nursery still looks like a messy office. We still have to go through everything and find new homes for all my craft and office stuff. At least we still have time for that. We did decide, however, that we are changing the decoration of the nursery. Originally, we were going to have a Winnie the Pooh decor, but are now leaning away from that. We haven't decided on anything permanently yet.
Overall, we are still very excited, anxious and nervous about our addition. September seems like a long way away, but I know it will be here before we know it.

We're Growing!

So, by now, you may have heard our big news: We're having a BABY! Josh and I are expecting our first child on/around September 24,2011. We are very excited, and can't wait to meet him/her. Feel free to follow our blog, where we will update you all on the baby's growth and development, as well as pictures of our little one upon it's arrival.

Before we leave this post, however, we will update you on our doctor's visit today. We are currently 11 1/2 weeks along, and went to the doctor to hear a heartbeat. At first, the doctor searched for a heartbeat, but wasn't finding one. I started getting a little nervous about this. But then, she had us move to another room to see if something was interfering with the signal. When she checked again, we were able to hear the heart beating, nice and strong. She said everything sounded good, and the baby's heartrate was 150. So far, so good. Now we just wait another month for our next appt. (Let the countdown begin)