A Century Ride and Baby's Kicks

It was a great weekend here in Little Rock. We had two big events this weekend. First, on Friday afternoon, Rob and I were sitting on our front porch, relaxing and reading. I was resting my hand on my belly (it's a good spot for that), and I felt a kick through my belly on my hand. Up until that point, I had only felt the little kicks from inside. So, Rob placed his hand on my belly and waited....and waited...then, after a few minutes of nothing, we both quickly looked at each other in amazement. I had felt the kick from inside, and he had felt it from the outside. It was so neat. Such a great moment!

Then, on Saturday, Rob participated in his first ever century ride, the Big Dam Bridge 100. He and his friend Jeff started from North Little Rock around 7:30 AM and cycled a loop through Little Rock, Conway, Satillo, and back. Rob only got into road cycling about 2 months ago, so he hasn't been training very long. I was so proud of him for finishing, and I never imagined that he'd finish in such good time. I was at the finish line waiting for him, and he finished the whole 100 miles in 6 hours and 12 minutes. It's such a huge accomplishment, and I'm so very proud of him. Check out the photos below.


Rob is on the left in the black jersey; Jeff is on the right in red.
This pic was taken as they approached the finish line.


Here's Rob immediately after finshing. He's so happy, as you can tell.



And here's Rob and Jeff with celebratory beers.

Rob and I are pictured below. I'm SO proud of him.

18 Weeks and a New Friend

I'm now 18 weeks along and really feeling our little boy move around. His little kicks and movements feel kind of like tiny bubbles popping in my abdomen. It's a very vague feeling still, but it's reassuring nonetheless. I love knowing he's being active in there.

My mom and Warren sent Baby Boy Baker his very first stuffed animal last week - a monkey! For those of you who don't know, Rob and I have been calling our little one Monkey as a nickname for a few months now. So now our little Monkey has his own monkey! It's too cute.

And here's my big 18 week belly...

My next appointment is October 10th. I'm hoping to have some fun ultrasound photos to post at that time, and maybe I'll even have a video clip of our little one! :)

It's a....

Baby Boy!!!!

We had a great appointment today! I was finally within the normal range for weight gain, blood pressure good, labs good, heartbeat sounding strong, and we had a wonderful ultrasound! Our little boy was moving his little hands all around. It was so amazing when we first saw him. I had no idea the picture would be so clear.

I've posted the ultrasound pictures below. The first is the bottom shot! This shows you his two little leg bones, his rear, and his penis! It's definitely a boy! You can also see his little hand in the distance, beyond his rear end. Too funny.

The next photo shows you the side view. You can see his head on the right, his little spine along the top, and a little arm stretched up over the side of his head. We are so excited about this precious little boy. It's really so wonderfully strange that this little guy is inside of me right now!

15 Weeks

OK, I'm finally caught up with the present. I just decided to start this blog, so I had a lot of filling in to do.

This pic was taken last night, and I am 15 weeks along. My work pants no longer button, and my jeans are too uncomfortable to button! I'm really getting a belly now.

I'm feeling much better these days. I haven't had any nausea in more than a week, and I'm getting some of my energy back! I talked to Bridget yesterday, and she said the same.

I have another appt next week, and we might be able to find out the gender of our little one. I can't wait to see the ultrasound. This time it will really look like a little baby.

13 Weeks and Listening to the Heartbeat.

Well, here I am at 13 weeks along. Finally through the first trimester, and the nausea and exhaustion are waning.

We had another OB appt, and we were able to hear the heartbeat with the doppler. It was amazing. Everything seems to be progressing well, except I need to work harder to gain a little more weight. I lost a pound since my last visit, but it's been hard to eat a lot when I haven't been feeling well. I'm confident that I'll be feeling better now, though, and hopefully my appetite will return.

Caroline suggested that I start taking pictures every couple of weeks, wearing the same clothes, and standing in the same position. So this is the first of many I'll take in this outfit. I hope I don't outgrow the pants! It will be fun to see the progression of my ever-growing belly.

July 11, 2008 - Ultrasound and Anniversary Weekend

July 7, 2008 was our one year wedding anniversary! We planned to celebrate by staying at the same cabin we got married in one year ago. But first, we had our first ultrasound. On July 11th, we went to the OB. I was at the end of my 7th week. We waited, holding our breath, until she finally saw the little heartbeat on the ultrasound screen! It was so wonderful! Just a fast little flicker on the screen, and we knew our baby was doing alright in there. Below is the ultrasound picture. We are the proud parents of a microscopic fuzzy dot, but a dot with a heartbeat! :)

The next few pics are at the cabin and at Steel Creek. This one immediately below is me, standing on the same rock where Rob and I had a wedding portrait one year ago, showing my almost 8 week belly.

Two Work Conferences and More Big News

The day after we found out about our soon-to-be little one, I flew to Clearwater, Florida for the Social Marketing conference. My co-worker and friend, Emily, was there with me. We had a great time at the conference. We managed to squeeze in a Tampa Bay Devil Ray's game, and, luckily for us, they have an indoor stadium. So we only got soaked on the way in!

After that conference, I flew to Altanta for the CDC Evaluation Summer Institute. While there, I stayed with Bridget one night, and then with Lindsay 2 nights. The last night I was there, Bridget and Julie stayed with us also. It was so fun to have a little reunion with my girls! Only Caroline was missing from our group! And the really great news, Bridget is pregnant too!!! She's two weeks ahead of me. So, in the pics below you see all of us girls, and then Bridget and I showing off our very newly pregnant bellies. Bridget is 7 weeks along in this pic, and I am 5 weeks.

June 17, 2008

So, it was really too early to be testing...but thanks to these new fancy tests that can detect lower levels of HCG, I was able to test before leaving for work conferences for a week. More than anything, I wanted to find out while I was home with Rob. I would have hated to tell the good news over the phone.

So, I tested the day before I had to fly to Florida, and the test was positive! I ran downstairs to tell Rob, and we were both so excited. The baby is due sometime around February 23rd, and we cannot wait!

St. John

Rob and I went on a lovely 10 day vacation to St. John in May/June 2008.

St. John was so perfect. We stayed at Maho Bay Camps, a wonderful little eco-friendly camp complete with a lovely beach, friendly staff, and great vegetarian food. The little hut we stayed in was so cute, too. We did a lot of hiking, kayaking, and snorkeling, and a lot of being lazy on the beach, too. I actually finished four books while we were there! And we went snuba diving. It's like scuba, except you don't carry your oxygen tank on your back. It floats above you on a raft. It was a great trip, and shortly after we returned to Arkansas, we got some great news! : )

Why on earth do I need a blog?

I don't, really. I'm sure I have nothing interesting enough to say to justify actually sharing with the whole world via blog. However, since my family and friends are so far away and spread throughout the world, and I'm here in Little Rock expecting my first baby, this is the best way to share pictures and updates with those I love.

So, here goes...