Yes, that is a tattoo of a lotus on my belly. I got it on our honeymoon; it's a "wedding" tattoo. Can't wait to see how big it gets. Having a bit of nausea, but no where near as bad as it was in the first trimester. Also feeling a bit uncomfortable as my belly really starts to get in the way. Not feeling any movement yet, but all the books, sites, and my midwife say I should start feeling that on the 20th week. Looking forward to it!

Could swear I felt a little movement the other night, but it might just be wishful thinking. Since this is our first, I'm not quite sure how the movement is actually supposed to feel. I guess I'll know it when he/she really starts a-kickin'.
Bill is a good dad already, taking care of me when I don't feel well and making sure I get enough rest and eat right. He can't wait to find out if it's a boy or girl.

Half way there!!!
I'm definitely feeling movement now. The little one gets really active right when I'm trying to go to sleep at night. I swear he/she is doing summersaults in there!
Scheduled our ultrasound, which will be in August. Can't wait to actually see him/her and find out the gender.

Much more movement this week, and it's getting stronger. Although, every time Bill puts his hand on my belly, the baby stops moving, and he never gets to feel any movements. They're playing games with each other already!

As I'm sitting here working at my desk, the baby's moving. I'd like to think he/she's grooving to the Curtis Mayfield coming out of my speakers, but I doubt he/she can hear it that well. Sitting at my desk has become a bit difficult. My chair is rock-hard, leading to a bruised tail bone--which hurts all the time, even when standing. I've had to get a special pillow. I finished the baby's second afghan last weekend, so with my Mom's quilt and the hand-me-downs from Lee & Apryl, we're set for blankets!

Feeling great, but tired, as usual. The baby moves around a lot now. I had my check-up Monday. We're both healthy as a horse. My uterus measured 25 cm long! The baby is getting big, fast. I think he/she's going through a growth spurt. Speaking of he/she, take our poll--is it a boy or a girl?
I've begun to crochet a jacket for the wee one. In the nursery images, you can see the last afghan I made hanging over the rocking chair.

Bill finally got to feel the baby kick earlier this week. Last night he tried speaking directly into my belly and got a big response; the baby kicked in the direction of Bill's voice! I, of course, broke into tears of joy over how tremendously cool that was!

Not much to report this week. The baby is still moving around a lot during the day. The kicking has gotten so strong that it's actually starting to hurt sometimes.

Still not much new to report. These are the dog days of pregnancy, I guess. I have my last 4-week prenatal visit today. They go down to every 2-weeks now, which means we're getting closer to delivery-- 91 days left until my due date! I will be starting my 3rd trimester at the end of this week.

We traded in our Civic for a CR-V this weekend. You never know how small your car is until you try to put a car seat in it. We have to be able to fit the dog and the baby, and the CR-V was a perfect compromise and a great deal.
Check back this Saturday to see the ultrasound image and find out if we're having a boy or girl!

These photos were taken at the doctor's office. Dr. Buchanan is so nice! The baby wouldn't let us see if it's a boy or girl, but we did get some great images of the face. It looks just like Bill, I think.

See the ultrasound images.

Not much to report other than feeling very sick this week. I think it was food poisoning, though. I was sick for 2 days.
I'm bored with being pregnant right now. I guess this is a great lesson in patience, which I've never had much of.
We have another ultrasound appointment Friday the 23rd. Hopefully the baby won't be shy again. We'll keep you posted.

The doctor says it's a boy! We're very excited about knowing, but you can never be 100% sure with ultrasounds. The baby's abdomen measured 29cm--up from 24cm 2 weeks ago. He's growing very well, and I must say he's got quite a strong pair of legs!

We had our first birth class this week. It will be very informative, I think. Bill is already less nervous about the birth after having seen a video and remarking, "It wasn't as gross as I thought it would be."

We had our shower this weekend. Check out some of the images. Thank you all for the gifts and support!
At my prenatal appointment this week, the midwife told me the baby's head is very low, which I guess means he's starting to descend. He still kicks like a Rockette, though!

I finally had some time to update the site!
As you can see, I've gotten much bigger. I even have stretch marks now. And, we've already had one occurrence of false labor. That was a bit scary since it's still a couple of weeks too soon to go to the midwives's birth center. Oct. 8 opens the window for safe delivery with a midwife. We're wondering if Joey wants to come out soon, which would be fine with us. We just want him to wait until he's offically full term on Oct. 8 so that he's healthy and we don't have to go to the hospital to give birth.

So we're in the home stretch now, and so is my belly. The stretch marks are really showing. Joey's movements have slowed a bit since there isn't much room in there for him anymore, and he is still in perfect health as far as we can tell. As for me, I'm trying to get as much rest as I can between the bursts of energy I get now, which I spend cleaning and "nesting." 10 more days until my due date!

Basketball anyone? I never realize how big I am untill I see it from the side.
Today's the due date, but I doubt he'll make an appearance. I'm already 75% efffaced, but not dilated at all. I guess there are 24 hours in a day, but something tells me he's just not ready to come out yet. I hope it's soon, though. My patience is wearing quite thin. Sometimes I feel like he may stay in there forever. (Hey, it could happen! Read this!)

Still pregnant, but 80-90% effaced and about a cm dilated. It should be any day now. We have until the 13th to deliver at the birth center with a midwife; after that we'll have to go to the hospital for an induction with the OBGYN.
Come on, Joe. Get your butt in gear, clean up your womb, and come out already!