Caribbean Cruise and 22 week Ultrasound

Hello again...

We just returned from a 6 night Western Caribbean cruise...do we ever have to do that again?

More importantly, time for another ultrasound. This one is 22 weeks + 1 day. Only good news, all anatomy within normal limits, the little guy is 11 inches long and weighs 1 pound 3 oz (539 grams). Every ultrasound so far has given the same due date: April 14, 2009.

And here's what it looks like on the outside, live from Chacchoben Mayan ruins south of Tulum, Mexico:

It's A...

SPOILER ALERT!

For those who do not want to know the sex please stop reading and go back to reading about the economic collapse, or Perezhilton, or Chinese Democracy....

This is a profile shot of the baby's head! Everything looked good in the ultrasound, all organs present and in correct size, no surprises at all!

That's actually a left foot, but who am I to say?

OK, the final picture says/shows it all!

Of course we're most grateful for the uneventful course of the pregnancy thus far, and that the baby is growing normally and appears to be completely healthy. Nevertheless, we are ecstatic to be expecting a baby boy!

We're still alive!

I just realized it's been ages since we updated on here. The past month or so has been relatively uneventful pregnancy-wise, just growing (and growing!) at this point. I have been feeling really good lately and I am hoping this feeling will stick around for a while. In the past week I have started to get comments about my belly so I guess it must be becoming apparent, which is kind of nice. Although I did get my first "Oh my gosh, you are so big!" comment today..... uhhhh.... thanks, I think. I would like to take a moment to just let everybody know, this is never a good thing to say to a pregnant lady, NEVER. I have started to feel the baby over the past week which is so surreal! Mostly I feel flutter type feelings or a swimming type sensation and occasionally I feel what I can only describe as popcorn-popping. It's the most amazing thing ever and I so look forward to these feelings becoming more prominent and consistent.

Anyhow, on the the non-pregnancy news front, life has been good. Chad and I recently traveled to Monterrey, California where he presented at a conference and I enjoyed a few days of R & R. Our trip was a nice break from the day-to-day grind, and we even got to visit with a few of our future Coeur d'Alene partners.

Our "big ultrasound" also known as the anatomy ultrasound is scheduled for next Thursday, so stay tuned for some big news on the boy vs girl debate... hopefully! I have had this "boy" feeling since I first found out I was pregnant, but who knows, I suppose we'll just have to wait and see. We will be thrilled with either a baby boy or girl and are mostly just hoping for a healthy baby with 10 tiny toes and 10 tiny fingers.

Here is the latest picture of the baby belly, taken about a week ago, at 17 weeks gestation.

2nd Ultrasound Today!

We had another prenatal ultrasound today. The baby continues to do well and is growing right on schedule. Heart rate was 143...which may be predictive of sex...but no indication yet based on ultrasound images. Kari is doing better too, the fatigue and nausea have thankfully abated. Next ultrasound is not for another 6 weeks so make these pics last!

October is here...

Can you believe it's already October? We can't. October marks the 1/4 of the way there mark for Chad. It's hard to believe that he will finally be finished with residency in just 9 short months. The next 9 months are going to bring a lot of change in our lives... in 3 months Chad will finish his time at the university hospital FOREVER and move onto the last 6 months of residency at the VA hospital. In addition we will be placing our townhouse on the market come January and hoping it sells (fingers crossed!). In 6 months our baby boy/girl will be making his/her appearance in the world, and we are sure this will be the biggest change yet. And in 9 months we will be packing up and moving to Coeur d'Alene to start a new chapter in our lives. I suppose there is nothing more we can really do but hold on and enjoy the ride. Although I am a strong supporter of prior planning prevents poor performance, so plan and plan we will do!

Life around the Peterson household has been kind of ho hum lately, Chad and I are both recovering from a nasty cold/flu virus, of which he took the brunt. For the most part I am feeling better and nearly back to 100% but he's still a bit of snotty/coughy mess. Dora is going a little stir crazy, with all the rain it's been impossible to get her to the dog park lately. In good news though, the baby seems to be growing and I am for the most part feeling good, the first trimester symptoms seem to be a thing of the past. I have more energy and less nausea and my appetite seems to have calmed down... which is a good thing! One more week to go and we will officially be out of the 1st trimester which also means this pregnancy is already 1/3 of the way over, which seems so surreal to me. We have a second ultrasound coming up on Thursday this week for a genetic screening, hopefully we will get better pics to share.

Below are some belly pics for your viewing pleasure, the first was taken the day after we found out I was pregnant at 4 weeks, please excuse the blurriness. The second was taken today at the 12 week mark. I wouldn't say that I have a baby belly yet, but I have definitely lost my waistline, if anybody finds it let me know!

First Ultrasound Today!

We had our first prenatal ultrasound today with Dr. Burgoine. There really is a growing fetus (just one!) in there, and he/she waved his/her little hand at us during the exam. Everything looked good, measurements are right on track for 11 weeks, heart rate was 153. Pic below!

The jitters...

Our first OB appointment and u/s is scheduled for tomorrow at 1:30 pm. I think it's safe to say to say that Kari is slightly anxious/nervous/excited for the big event! Will post again after the appointment with details and hopefully a sonogram picture!

Do you think it's to early to tell if it's a boy or girl?

Padre and Madre Peterson Celebrate 40 years!

This evening we celebrated the 40th wedding anniversary of Ron and Sandi Peterson, AKA Chad's Mom and Dad. We, along with Chad's sister, Melissa, took M&D out for dinner and dessert at Mama Mia's Trattoria downtown. I think it's safe to say that a good time was had by all! But not too good of a time for the Mommy-to-be! It is wonderful to have such a great role-model of what marriage should and can be... we hope to somebody celebrate our 4oth wedding anniversary, heck, who knows, maybe even a 5oth!

Congrats again and again Ron and Sandi!

Our First Anniversary!

We celebrated our first wedding anniversary by trading 100-degree Portland heat for 50-degree Pacific City fog at the Inn at Cape Kiwanda, and our favorite Pelican Pub. Dora came with to celebrate with us.

Becoming Grandparents!

This past weekend we celebrated Chad's birthday at the Cheesecake Factory...and warned all grandparents to be of what is ahead. Everybody was very excited, especially Grandma Sandi:

Pregnancy Buddies

Kari recently returned from a trip to LA to visit her BFF (Best Friend Forever) Kim who is also newly pregnant, expecting 1 week before we are. Kari is excited to have somebody to endure pregnancy symptoms with.

8.8.08 BFP!

That's Big Fat Positive in the language of The Nest. As in, Big Fat Positive Home Pregnancy Test. Yes, we are expecting our 1st child, EDD 4/19/08! We are so excited, nervous, happy, and anxious to meet him/her! Evidence: