Birth of a baby bump

10/23/12

Houston, we have baby bump!  It's official, Laura is starting to look pregnant...and I'm beginning to notice that "glow" that is often associated with a pregnancy.  Of course, I'm biased, but I think she is the most adorable and beautiful of all the pregnant women I've come across in my years!

My apologies that it's been nearly a month since my last post, but there has been little developments for us regarding baby!  Tonight we had our first visit at the doctor's in nearly a month, and I'm happy to report that everything is going well!!!  Laura was shocked when she stepped on the scale, but the doctor had some very comforting words letting her know that her weight gain has been right on target and is perfectly  normal and healthy for this stage of our pregnancy.  We'll officially be 17 weeks along this friday, and I can't believe how time flies!  It seems like just yesterday we found out we would be parents, but that was already 3 months ago! 

As for her appointment tonight, we were comforted to know that everything is going well and both mom and baby are healthy at this point! The heart beat for the baby was very strong, and I again found myself in awe listening to its heart beat...it's the coolest sound in the world!!! Laura also got some blood drawn tonight for some basic screening for the baby to determine if there are any spinal/neural concerns to be aware of at this point or if there is an increased chance for Down Syndrome. This is a bittersweet opportunity for us because we'll find out if there are any "increased chances" of something wrong with the baby and yet these tests only indicate a chance at this stage with no certainty. For us, this could be great to know everything is looking good or that something is going on...but it's also nerve-racking to wait for the results, which could take a couple of weeks. Regardless, we will love our child unconditionally when it's born, but a healthy baby is the hope of every expecting parent.

Laura has continued to feel better each day, though she is still finding herself quite exhausted most days and can't seem to get enough sleep, no matter how long she sleeps.  Over the weekend, while I was hunting, apparently she had her first bouts with being sick to her stomach, and I felt horrible that I wasn't there to comfort her or help her out when she wasn't at her prime!

As for us, our preparations for baby's arrival have been in the form of car shopping.  With the two of us and Lexi, our car is jammed whenever we hit the road.  Hell, there's barely enough room for a fly to fart in the trunk with the dog's kennel and a few bags.  So, we're looking to upgrade to a SUV.  We've test driven a few, eliminated others, and have found a couple of front runners in our few short visits to several car dealerships.  Laura always liked the Toyota Rav4, but we realized there just isn't enough room in it for our needs since we'll quickly be outgrowing it and it's limited space.  We've found we like the Dodge Journey (it's cross-over vehicle, though it closely resembles a mini-van...I'm not sure if I'll be willing to surrender my man card so early in my fatherhood!) and the Chevy Traverse.  The Traverse is a large SUV and may be too big for us, and that we may fit just fine in a Chevy Equinox, so we'll try to look closer at the Equinox in the upcoming weeks.  The Traverse is out of our price range, but we loved the unique layout of a bucket seats in the middle that could fit 2 kids (potentially) and room for the dog to lay in between, while saving the entire back for cargo with the ability to flip up a 3rd row of seats if we need it them in a pinch.  However, the Equinox could fit our family for the next 5-7 years or so, and if I need my car replaced by then, we could consider a bigger vehicle.  And, for more fun stuff, after I wrap up this post, Laura and I will begin looking at maternity leave forms as we start to plan for our little one's arrival next Spring.  Sorry to bore you...back to the good stuff...

In 2 weeks, we'll return to the doctor for "the" ultrasound...yes, the one where we can determine if we'll be welcoming a baby boy or girl into this world in April!!!!  So, some of you may want to know while others will want the surprise; I'll do my best to not "spoil" it for you through these blogs.  Perhaps I'll post 2 similar entries with one indicating the sex and the other keeping it hidden?!?! 

And with that, I'll wrap up this post.  Again, I'm sorry if you've felt out of the loop over the past month.  The posts should pick up their frequency as we'll find ourselves with more frequent doctor visits in the upcoming weeks, and we'll be noticing more signs of baby pretty soon.  Our doctor says we could be feeling kicks in the next couple of weeks!!!  WOW!!!

Thanks so much for reading my Daddy Diary.  I can't thank you enough, on behalf of Laura and myself, for your best wishes and continued thoughts/prayers you send our way as we await the birth of our baby in just over 5 months!!!