Saturday, March 22, 2008

Taking it Easy!

We're happy to report that everything is going really well! Sarah has been officially resting for ten days, and is so far only a *little* stir crazy. She's been keeping herself busy with books, movies, and craft projects - the latest of which is making sock monkeys for the baby. She's also spent a lot of time researching baby "stuff" online. For those of you who have asked, we have taken advantage of Sarah's free time to finish our registry, and included a link in the left-hand column of the blog page. What a process... who knew that there were so many baby items out there? We've decided on a monkey theme and a color scheme of baby blue and walnut. Even though we're months away, it seems as though July is fast approaching. There are so many preparations to make before the little man arrives, and we are loving every minute of it!

If we learn anything new at our next doctor's appointment on Monday we'll post another update. We don't expect to get any real news until our 30-week ultrasound on May 13th. We'll probably be given the date of our scheduled C-section shortly after that appointment, which will help everyone who wants to make travel plans!

Mommy Update:
- Always game for any good book or movie recommendations, as she has a ton of time on her hands to fill now!
- Slowly slipping into Ryan's nocturnal schedule since she doesn't need to wake up early, but still far from going to bed at 6am!
- Is lucky to have such a great family and group of friends that are visiting, emailing, calling, and sending goodies her way!
- Will be tackling a knitting project next, hopefully ending up with a hat and booties set for when we bring the baby home!

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Look at that Belly Grow!

Our month five preggie photo shoot revealed an even BIGGER belly than last time... not sure why it's so shocking to see the expansion every month, but it is! Here are the shots from months three, four, and five, composited together so you can compare how much has changed!





We had a doctor's appointment yesterday to review the results of our 20-week ultrasound. The baby looks AMAZING and is growing perfectly in every way! Unfortunately, there's a bit of a complication for Sarah, called placenta previa. Due to the risks associated with this condition, the doctor ordered her to immediate bed rest for the duration of the pregnancy - working, traveling, and even taking the dog for a walk around the block are all off limits. It's certainly not the original plan that we had in mind, but if this is what we need to do to give our baby boy the best chance of a healthy delivery, so be it! The doctor said that he runs into this condition every two or three years, and in each of his cases if the mothers held to the recommendations of significantly limited activity, everything ended up as a happily ever after! We'll keep everyone posted as we learn more.

Mommy Update:
- Feeling a bit nervous about the placenta previa, but following the doctor's orders to the letter with the support of her incredible husband!
- Can't help but be uplifted every time she feels her strong little boy kicking... he even woke her up the other morning with all of his movement!
- Excited that Aunt Mary will be coming out for a visit in May, and can't wait to see everyone else and share in this experience with them!
- So grateful for all of the support, encouragement, and optimism from everyone... it really does a gal good when she is surrounded by such positive, caring people!

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Latest Pics of Baby Boy!

As promised, here are the latest ultrasound pictures! The appointment took a long time, as the doctor measured everything from the ventricles of his heart to the bones in his arm. One of our favorite pictures is this one, where the little man gave us the "thumbs up" sign:



He was moving around a lot, and as mentioned in the last post not interested in posing for pictures! While it's not as clear as the last round, here's the best of the profile shots:



The latest round of belly pictures will be shot tonight and added in the next few days. We also wanted to thank everyone for joining us on this journey - we can't tell you how much all of your excitement and enthusiasm means. Our son will be born into a world full of people that love him, and we are forever grateful to all of you for that!

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

It's a BOY!!!

Very exciting news today - we learned that we will welcome a baby boy in July! The doctor's visit went really well, and our little man looks fantastic! We learned that he is camera shy, though... every time the doctor attempted to get a good profile shot he would turn his head away. Ryan will break him of that habit soon enough after he is born! He was also positioned in such a way that most of his body fell in a shadow, so the ultrasound pictures aren't great this time. We'll be sure to post the best of the bunch within the next few days!

Mommy Update:
- Getting bigger every day, feeling well, and enjoying the second trimester much more than the first!
- Excited to add one more male to her house full of boys (she's already outnumbered by Ryan and Max)!
- Feeling lots of kicks and movement lately, and looking forward to when Ryan will be able to feel them, too!
- Finding that those famous San Francisco hills are getting harder and harder to climb!