What a Cutie!!

Yesterday was the anticipated 20-week sonogram! I went to the radiologist with a very full bladder so that the placenta was pushed closer to the front of my belly, making it easier to take some measurements of the baby.

It was an amazing moment when Steve and I first saw our baby once the sonogram began! The growth since my last sonogram 11 weeks ago is astounding!! We saw a perfect little Deterding, with the most adorable profile in the world. And of course, I'm not just saying that because I'm the mother...I really do have the world's cutest baby. See the picture above.

First the radiologist took measurements around the baby's head, stomach, and the length of the femur (thigh) bone. These measurements determined that the baby was 20 weeks, 6 days and the due date remains on March 28th. I asked why the femur was part of the equation, and it was explained to me that since it is the largest bone in the body, its rate of growth in the fetus is used to determine age, the possibility of Down's Syndrome, and other things as well. Interesting.
Other things checked out where the spine, blood flow, umbilical cord, heart chambers, and kidneys. It was also determined that the little guy or gal weighs in at 13 oz.! Almost to a pound! (yes, it's true, we still don't know the sex of the baby).
We watched the baby kick, swallow, move the arms, and even repeatedly attempt-- and then succeed in-- finding and sucking the thumb! It was so neat to feel the baby kick me and watch it happen on the screen at the same time!

Can I get a sonogram every week?!
What a miracle!
Isn't God so good??

I'm feeling pretty good, although fighting a little cold that just makes me more tired than usual. I feel the baby kicking and moving around every night now, usually beginning at around 10pm. We've cleaned out most of the other bedroom, and I'm looking forward to turning it into the nursery! Daddy had to clean most of his clothes out of the closet in the baby's room, and Grandpa Deterding helped us move out the furniture! My next regular OB appointment is next Wednesday...and I'm thankful that weigh-in is before Thanksgiving, rather than after:)

Daddy Felt the Baby!!

Today was a very exciting day for the baby's daddy. I (Steve) felt the baby for the very first time!!!! It started kicking Heather this afternoon and also later this evening. I was able to just put my hand on Heather's stomach and feel it kick. It sort of just felt like a little "thump." It is hard to believe the baby is kicking in there. We are going on Tuesday for our second sonogram, which I am really excited about.

On the Move

Month four will be completed this very week!

According to a trusted source (from my New Mom reference library of baby books we have all over the house!), the baby is rockin' and rollin' in the womb--although I haven't felt any "fluttering" baby movements myself-- sucking thumbs, wiggling arms and legs, and practicing how to breathe, swallow, and suck.

And all of a sudden, it seems that my little "blackberry"-sized baby is now more of a little "navel orange", as far as size comparisons to produce go. Wow!

This weekend, Steve and I are looking forward to celebrating Homecoming weekend at Grove City College.
I'm sure that Uncle Matt will be surprised to see how much his neice or nephew has changed his sister in the past couple of months!
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I've been blessed by an outpouring of generosity from many family members, friends, and members of our church family...offering maternity clothes, cribs, books, labor classes, links to parenting resources online, baby clothes, and more...what a blessing to know that our baby is already taken care of in so many ways, even before he or she is born! God is good!

We've Reached the Half-Way Point!

Twenty weeks today

I had a dream last night that the baby was pushing his or her face and hands against the inside of my belly, and I could see the outline of the features behind my stretched skin...crazy. And then my dream-baby started extending legs and arms so that by belly was shooting out several inches to the left and right, and I had to keep pushing limbs back into place! I can interpret this dream: I want to see the baby moving from the outside!! Hopefully the real-life experience won't be so graphic as my dream:)

I continue to feel little "quickenings", as the medical world calls fetal movement, periodically throughout the day and especially at night.
Today I plan on making my ultrasound appointment, and we just can't wait to see how much our child has changed in the past 10 weeks!!

19 Weeks

This FOUR MONTH BELLY SHOT was taken at Ryan and Rachel's wedding! Congrats!

Life has been busy as October drew to a close. Our home was broken into while we slept last Tuesday night, and our beloved new Nikon digital SLR camera is no longer with us! We also lost my laptop computer, another digital camera and tripod that was in the camera bag, and some memory cards. All in all, Steve and I exclaim a resounding "God is good!" We are safe, the baby was still safe in the womb, and nothing of lasting value was taken from us.
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal."
Still, we are hoping to claim insurance money and replace the camera in time to capture those precious moments once the baby is born.

Speaking of baby Deterding, I'm beginning to count down the days until I'm five months along! Can it be that I'm already half-way though the pregnancy? I sat on the floor in the "other bedroom" tonight, planning out a nursery in my mind's eye. It was absolutely beautiful! Donations from friends and co-workers continue to trickle in, including a baby rocking chair and some more tiny, tiny clothes. So small! Another tub of maternity clothes was dropped off as well. I'm felling rather well these days, with only occasional weariness and nausea. I feel silly sharing this, but the most exciting change in my body recently is this:

I can now see the bottom of my belly button!

You can only understand the significance of this if you knew what an extreme "inny" I've had all my life:) I've never seen the bottom of my belly button.

What the Obstetrician Has to Say

"Looks good."

That's about all I have to go on after today's OB visit! However, I left the office with a referral for a sonogram!! FINALLY. We're so anxious to know what the baby looks like at 18 weeks...so much has changed since the last sonogram 2 months ago. Like bones, for instance. The baby now has bones! The little one weighs in at a hefty 5-6 ounces...and soon I'll be more than happy to report the exact crown-to-rump length! Furthermore, it's been said that the uterus is now the size of a cantaloupe (these fruit references in the books are cracking me up!). It's feeling like it, that's for sure. No more sleeping on the tummy. I tried jogging across a crosswalk this afternoon, and it felt a little awkward in the midsection:)
This weekend, we'll see how agile I am when I put on my dancing shoes...my husband and I will be floating around the dance floor at the wedding of two good friends, Ryan Hall and Rachel Short. I'm so excited for them! Congratulations!
It will also be a good oppourtunity to get a 4.5-month belly picture...

Before I sign off, I want to share another example of the Lord's provision: just the other day Steve brought home a big bag of baby items from a secretary at AACS! We now have some clothes, a baby carrier, and a swing.

Week 17

I haven't been a very good blogger recently. I was waiting for something "new and exciting" to happen. In the meantime, Coach Steve has been finishing up a winning soccer season, we've started purging the house of unnecessary "stuff" to make room for baby, and we had a great time visiting the alma mater for Homecoming-- where my dear friend Keely's fiance was "Creeked"! Engaged men at Grove City College are attacked, carried to Wolf Creek, and dumped in the muddy water. It's a glorious tradition, and the Homecoming crowd made quite an audience. Congrats to Keely and Kevin (pictured in the orange towel after he emerged from the water)!

Well, on Friday something "new" and "exciting" happened in the car on the ride home from a movie in Columbia....


I felt little baby hands and feet wiggling around!!