It's a BOY!!!

Today was the big day - and it was wonderful! Baby Koch is officially a boy - hooray! We are beyond thrilled!

At the ultrasound, the technician checked out just about everything - we saw the major structures like the brain, heart, stomach, kidneys and spine, but my favorite part was watching the little munchkin move around. She got a great video of him doing a little stretch - it was early in the morning - and I'll try to post it in a little bit. We saw his profile several times and could pick out the little nose and lips - I swear I think he already looks like Shay :)

His head and abdomen measured at 21.5 weeks and he was estimated to be 14 oz, which is a little big, but they did not officially move the due date. However, she said baby boy could be here anywhere between July 6 and 16.

We do have to go back in three weeks for another ultrasound - when she was trying to get a look at his heart chambers he was curled up in a ball and his arms were blocking her view. She poked at my belly trying to get him to move but he wouldn't budge. She said it's most likely nothing to worry about, so I'm just excited that I get to have another ultrasound soon.

Now on to the fun stuff - I am so excited to start picking out things for the nursery, settling on a name, and finding cute little boy clothes. Thank you for all of your calls and emails - we are so blessed to have wonderful family and friends to share our joy with!

Love you all,

laurie

19 Weeks

Most of you know that my favorite food in the world is homegrown tomatoes, so it will come as no surprise that this might just be my favorite week – this week the baby is the size of a large heirloom tomato! Baby Koch weighs 8 ½ oz, is 6 inches long, is sprouting hair and may even be able to hear now!

I have been feeling the little peanut moving quite a lot now, and I love it! Shay even felt a pretty good sized kick this week. He/she is especially active when I’m sitting at my computer at work, when I lay down at night, and at the end of my yoga class.

A few days ago we went to the ER for another amateur ultrasound. The last time we went, we thought we had a pretty good idea of the gender of the baby, but now we’re more confused than ever! The baby has grown so much that everything looks pretty crowded in there, so we didn’t get the confirmation we were hoping for. Next week's big ultrasound can’t get here fast enough!

I definitely have a belly now and people have started noticing that I’m pregnant. Our little 4 year old neighbor ran down the driveway with his eyes wide and put his hands on my belly and said “Is there a baby in there?” I said yes, and he said “Why?" I didn't have a good answer for that, so he said "When is it going to pop out?” Well, I guess it's going to pop out this summer!

18 Weeks - Bell Pepper Week!

Baby Koch is 18 weeks old today! He/she is about 5 1/2 inches long, and about 7 ounces - about the size of a bell pepper. Two exciting updates - first, I have definitely started feeling him/her move! Yesterday morning before I got out of bed I even felt a kick from the outside of my stomach. I'm so excited because that means Shay will get to feel the kicks soon! The second update is that my energy has definitely come back this week. Yay for both!

One drawback to all of this - I have definitely got a bad case of "pregnancy brain." I have always been a bit absentminded, but it is on a whole new level now. Exhibit A, the picture above. Tuesday night I started taking off my (very dark) nail polish, and obviously something distracted me, because in a meeting Thursday morning I realized that I had one dark hand and one light hand. At least I have a good excuse for my craziness now :)

Only two more weeks to go until the big ultrasound! Hope you are all doing well!

Ultrasounds

One of the nice things about Shay's job is that he has access to ultrasound machines. We haven't had an "official" ultrasound at my doctor's office since I was 8 weeks, and since my insurance only pays for two and we want to have a good one for the big 20 week ultrasound, we skipped the usual 12 week one at the office. So it's been very nice to have access to a machine!

Even though we're not sure exactly what we're doing, we've gone up to the ER several times when it's slow to take a look at our little peanut. Here are some pictures from the latest trip. It is so fun to see him/her moving all around - especially because until recently I haven't been able to feel much movement. Enjoy these pics courtesy of my own personal amateur ultrasound technician!

17 Week Update

I had my 17 week appointment yesterday and everything was great! I am measuring right at 17 weeks, blood pressure and iron levels are good, and I have definitely gained some weight this month...and I am pretty sure I gained it all in the past week.

The best part of the doctor's visit was when Dr. LeBel listened for the heartbeat. She found it right away and we could hear it swoosh-swoosh-swooshing. Then we heard a "thwack" and then nothing. Dr. LeBel said "you've got a little stinker in there - when I find the heartbeat he/she kicks at me and swims away!" We were both laughing for about three minutes as she would move the doppler around looking for the heartbeat, find it, then get kicked and have to look for it again. I don't know...I think this baby is taking after its daddy already! The heartbeat was in the 150s, which is right on target for 17 weeks.

In other news, I am busy trying to get the nursery ready. We are going to post our guest room furniture on Craig's List this week and try to get the room cleared out and ready for all the baby stuff! I have been online investigating nursery options in practically all my spare time. It's so fun to look at all the nursery options! Oh, and the best part - for my early Valentine's gift Shay got us a Roomba! For those who don't know, it's a little robot that vacuums your house - it is awesome! I have been so tired and hate to do housework anyway, so little Roomba is now our new best friend. It was an awesome gift for a tired pregnant lady :)