22 Weeks

I hope you all had an awesome Thanksgiving. Dustin and I certainly did! We spent a night in Yoakum and attended three Thanksgivings in two days (Dustin's parents, the Wyatts, and the Ehlers/Brandls), then ran home to have another Thanksgiving at our house (our first!). We had my mom's side of the family over, and it was a blast. Everyone pitched in on the cooking and my mom stayed late to help me clean up. I have the best family ever!! :) We have one more to go to on Sunday (the Hahns) which gives us a nice break from eating too much turkey.

Another highlight for this week was seeing Southern!! We finally had our sonogram appointment at the doctor's office on Tuesday. It was amazing. He was sleeping while we were there, so we couldn't see too much of his face (he was using the placenta as a pillow) but we were happy with what we could see. We got to see him stretch his arms up around his head as he slept and got to witness one yawn. We also got a cute picture of his feet crossed at the ankles. My mom said I always used to cross my feet when I was a baby, even when she was pushing me in my swing.

His heartbeat was at 151, and he weighs about a pound and a half. We're happy to report that everything is progressing normally. The sonogram tech checked on his lungs, heart, kidneys, etc. and things look great. We also got to see his full stomach!

Here's a clip of baby Southern fast asleep:

21 Weeks

So we went to the doctor's office yesterday for our sonogram and found out that it's a...... BOY!!!!! :)

Things were pretty crazy at Dr Geldernick's office though. I got off of work and drove there in plenty of time for our 1:30pm appointment. Dustin, however, got out of his class at 12:50pm but had to wait for the other coach to make it back into the classroom to relieve him before leaving. So he didn't leave Seguin until almost 1:10pm. I waited in the parking lot for him so I wouldn't run the risk of starting the sonogram without him. I was feeling very guilty about being 8 minutes late to the appointment as we walked up to the front door... only to find the door was locked! I immediately called the office and was told by the answering service that they wouldn't be back from lunch until 2pm. What?!? My appointment was set for 1:30! So we thought about leaving for a little while and coming back. But then another pregnant lady (her appointment was at 2pm) came walking up, so I didn't want to lose my place in line. We were very anxious to get the sonogram!

So we waited, and around 1:50pm, the nurses drive up. They pile out of the car with to-go boxes in hand. They apologise for the wait and unlock the door. We make our way inside and sign in. Our name was called within 5 minutes. I am taken to be weighed (a little more than last time) and they take my blood pressure (a lot higher than last time!). We then wait for the doctor. It feels like FOREVER! We kill time by playing Rock, Paper, Scissors. Dustin bets me that if he wins, it's a boy... I won. Then I won 2 out of 3... Then I won 3 out of 5.

Finally the doctor makes it to our room at 2:10pm. She said they had a delivery this morning and had to push back all the appointments which is why we're starting so late. No problem, I say. We're finally going to get to the sonogram! She proceeds to rub ice cold sticky goo all over my belly and fires up the sonogram machine. We then see a little throbbing blob on the screen. That's the heartbeat, she says. She moves the wand and we start to make out something that resembles a blob with limbs. Here's one leg, she points. Here's another. And here's something in-between them. Dustin and I both are shocked! Did she just say what we think she said? And then she's called out of the room. We are left looking at the blob with legs. I am still covered in goo. Dr Geldernick then rushes back into the room, hits a few buttons on the sonogram machine and tells us that someone is bleeding, she must rush to the hospital for an emergency C-section. She's sorry, but we'll have to reschedule for the full sonogram later. Dustin and I are in shock. Dustin manages to ask if she's sure it's a boy. She says yes, that's she's positive and to start shopping for blue stuff. She then rips something off of the printer and hands it to us as she leaves. It's the blob with legs picture. We're stunned. I wipe the goo off of me and sit up. We're both silent for awhile and then ask what next?

We make our way to the front desk and tell them what happened. They have no openings this week. The first possible time we could get is in a week, next Tuesday (the 25th) at 4pm. We're disappointed but then realize that we will be on the other end of the stick in a few months and are comforted by the fact that our doctor will drop everything and rush to help us when it's our time to deliver a baby.

We get into the car, and I stare at the baby's picture again. I finally realize what I'm looking at. The baby is sitting right in our view. We can see his bottom and two legs and the proof that it's a boy. Great... not a photo to show the family. We still want to travel to Yoakum even though we don't have our sonogram DVD and our only photo is X-rated. We want to tell as many people as possible in person. So we did. We'll just have to wait to show the baby off at Thanksgiving.

Everyone was thrilled. We got to visit some parents and grandparents last night. (Or should I say some grandparents and great-grandparents?) My dad predicted a boy. It was half and half with my friends at work, with some predicting a girl. But they were all super excited to hear the news. The poll on this blog got it right, with the majority voting for male.

And we've decided on his name: Southern Jeffrey Wyatt. Can't wait for next week!

20 Weeks

We're headed to the doctor's on Tuesday! I'm super excited. Hopefully the baby will cooperate with us and not just give us a booty shot. Dr. Geldernick mentioned something about a DVD the last time I was there, and I think she meant that we would get the sonogram on DVD. That would be awesome!

The baby's been active this past week and the week before. I can feel him/her squirming around. I can feel it the most when I'm laying down in bed. So far we haven't been able to feel the kicks on the outside of my tummy, but I'm looking forward to when he/she gets big enough for that. We went to Cougar Staduim last night to watch my hometown team, good ol' YHS, play in their first playoff game. They won by a large margin, and it was fun to see all the Yoakum gang. Some of my family came up, so we got to sit with them. The baby was excited about the game too. I could feel him/her dancing as the band played. :)

Well, I'll let y'all know when we hear the news!

19 Weeks

Still no news about the baby's gender... but I am happy to report that we will find out in exactly 2 weeks from today! I just can't wait to find out. Then we will seriously start deciding on a name, we can start planning the nursery, and we can do some registering for baby goodies!! :)

I plan on turning my 2-weeks notice in at work this week. I'm looking forward to having some time to myself before baby and to have time to get things ready at the house. We have so much to do before the baby gets here! And another good reason for me to be at home is the flexibility to make my own schedule. I've been hungry all the time lately, so I'd rather eat a few small meals and snacks throughout the day than just 2 large ones. And I've been getting backaches in my lower back and my feet swell when standing for too long. At work, we only have 5 chairs. (There are 10 tellers.) So I'll be able to sit down and put my feet up at home without having to worry about fighting over a chair. I know I'll miss most of my co-workers, but I sure won't miss all that stress!

Paw-Paw

Our child missed out on meeting one of his/her awesome great-grandparents. Jackson Edward Ehlers died on Friday, October 31, 2008 around 1:00 in the afternoon. He will be greatly missed.