Thursday, August 31, 2006

We Have a Due Date!


Alright, you'll be sure to guess this one:
It's the anniversary of the end of the Spanish Civil War!

...oh, not sure? OK, I'll give you another hint:
It's the same day that marks the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island!

...dont' recall? Maybe this will set off the light bulb:
It's my cousin Brandon's birthday, as well! (11th!)

Those are the only historic milestones I could come up with...our baby is officially due on MARCH 28th! To be honest that seems like a long time to wait, but it must be a pretty good estimate...

According to the fancy sonogram machine, the baby is 3.3 centimeters long, head to rear end, indicating that I'm 10 weeks and one day along in the pregnancy.

Steve and I got our first look at our child this afternoon...the image flashed up on the screen, showing a wiggling baby with two perfect little arms waving around and a tiny heart thumping away. What an exciting moment that was!! That good-looking little Deterding is gracing the front of the refigerator at this very moment...and we included it above. The top picture is a profile shot, with the baby looking to the left; in the bottom picture, the baby is looking right at you! You can see the little arms and legs!

I am starting to feel a little less sick and a little less tired these days, and the doctor reports that everything is looking good. We were lavished with gifts by my new favorite receptionist at the doctor's office when I was making my next appointment. We received a free Similac bag with Powder Singles (believe it or not, they now put infant formula in those single-serve packets to add to water...just like the Nestea packets you can shake into your Dasani...who knew?!) and a $200 off certificate for the baby's cord cell banking, should we decide to have some umbilical cord blood cells saved. This is a procedure I wasn't aware of before I started reading baby magazines in the OB waiting room...

Thursday, August 24, 2006

A Visit from the Tooth Bud Fairy

We're into week 10, and the baby is already developing little tooth buds. Of course, if he or she takes after Mommy's side of the family, those teeth won't be breaking through for quite a long time!
The stomach and kidneys are up and running, and we're busy building bones and cartilage, knees and ankles, and eye lids! I never realized how such a tiny little person (only 1.5 inches long) could take so much of my energy to build! What a miracle this whole process is!

Steve and I are in awe of God's handiwork-- His perfect, precise design in the creation of His children. I still sit and wonder at the ways my body is changing to meet the specific needs of the baby day to day, week to week. And, of course, we've only just begun!

Speaking of changes in me, does an increase in the consumption of gherkin pickles and cheese meet a specific need of the baby's? haha.

Next up: the Doctor is in search of the elusive heart beat on Thursday the 31st!