Proud Pappa!!

I could not resist any longer and Fred gave me the okay to post this image. I think this is the cutest picture in the world. This is a picture of Fred holding the pregnancy confirmation on the morning we found out we were pregnant. As you can tell, he is a very proud future dad and has been terrific during our pregnancy. It is actually really funny to us because I have become extremely forgetful and Fred remembers almost everything! Role reversal at its best!!

The Mover and Shaker!

Fred felt the baby for the first time this past Monday night. It was really exciting for him to feel its movements. He said that it felt like a pulse. Now every night before bed, we can feel It-A moving around - almost punching the top of my belly. On Thursday morning, I was on my side and felt It-A practicing its vertical - honestly, I thought the baby was taking a step forward, then jumping into the air!! If the baby keeps this up, it's vertical will be much higher than our (Fred & me) combined vertical of 2 inches!! The books says that earlier, the baby was wriggling and floating around but now its movements are more deliberate. It-A can kick and do somersaults. It can also suck its thumb and hiccup at this point!!!

Interesting factoid: The umbilical coid is so well engineered that the blood stream travels at four miles an hour and completes the round-trip through the cord and through the baby in only 30 seconds!!!

It-A heard the Tams last night for the first time - ours too! This is a picture from a photo booth they had at the wedding we went to. We did a little dancing ourselves!!

I have had four dreams of the baby's sex - one that it is a girl and 3 that it is a boy! Fred had a dream that it is a girl. The funniest dream I had was recently. I was looking at It-A's most recent ultrasound and I saw a "you know what!" This is obviously not the case but it is crazy how your mind plays games with you.

We are working on names but that has not faired too well. It is hard to decide!!

The baby is now over 7 inches long and weighs over 12 ounces. My belly is growing as well as other body parts!!! To get an idea of It-A's size, its thumb is about as long as the finger nail on my pointer finger (quarter of an inch)! I will update with some new pictures soon! 134 days to go!

Half Way There!!!

Today we start our 20th week which is half way there!! It is hard to believe how quickly time flies. I felt the baby move for the first time on Friday, October 12. There was a slight tap in the lower right hand side of my abdomen. Then, just a few minutes ago, I felt a slight flutter!

As you can see in this picture taken a few weeks ago, the baby is growing!! I cannot see my toes which is REALLY weird!!

18 Weeks, 108 Days...22 Weeks, 158 Days to Go!!!

We are now 18 weeks along or 108 days pregnant - pretty wild!!! Below is a list of It-A's developments:

- can hear!!!

- is 6.5 inches long and weighs almost an ounce!!

- eyes are on the front of the head (not on the sides) and color determined

- mouth palate, nose, and ears are formed

- baby is moving its arms, legs, blinking, swallowing, and sucking!!

- baby can curl its toes, move its feet inward and outward, make a fist, grab, and move its thumbs

- Will the baby have pigeon feet like Holly or duck feet like Fred - or maybe they will be straight!!!!

- toenails and fingernails are growing from the nail beds

Here is an ultra sound from 16 weeks. It-A is sitting up and down and giving everyone a high five or fist. You can also see the toes!!!

Introduction: It-A

After seeing the fun things our friends create and share on their blogs, we thought it would be fun to create one for ourselves.

After finding out that we were pregnant, we decided that we needed a name for our unborn child. We came up with It-A a.k.a. It Alexander which is derived from Itty Bitty (It-a Bit-a...!!). We intentionally made the name not extremely likable to ensure that it would not become a nickname!!

As most of your are aware, we are not finding out the chromosome make-up of our child (sex, gender, whichever you prefer) and are looking forward to the wonderful surprise. So, we hope that you enjoy our blog! The image to the right is from our first ultra sound. It-A is 9 weeks old and you can see her/his arms and legs labeled "A" and "L."