THUMP-THUMP THUMP-THUMP

Steve and I heard our little guy or gal's heartbeat this afternoon, for the first time!

The doctor found it right away with his little doppler machine, and it sounded so strong. I'm at 14 weeks today, and the baby is now 3-4 inches "crown to rump" and weighs in at an ounce! It might be possible at this point to tell whether the baby is a boy or girl....but we're not going to find out:) although several people I know have dreamt that I give birth to a BOY-- mommy and daddy included. Interesting...
To vote for BOY or GIRL now, get your cell phone and press *328....hahaha, just kidding.

I'm feeling good, I got my cheesesteak for dinner last night:), I almost choked when I saw my weight on the scale at the doctor's office, I'm wearing some of Steve's clothes around the house, and we are eagerly awaiting the joys of the second-trimester!

Thanks so much for the continued prayers on behalf of this little miracle!

Cravings

Pregnancy cravings are interesting. The stereotype has the husband running out in the middle of the night to pick up pickles and ice cream and chop suey and pastrami sandwiches. Well, Steve has not had to make any midnight runs to WaWa as of yet...which is a good thing. But I find myself wishing for a really outrageous craving, just to feel like I'm truly taking advantage of being pregnant.

True, I did enjoy cheddar cheese and baby gherkin pickles on a regular basis for a couple of weeks, and Steve did run to the grocery store once to get me 10 cans of soup when I, nearly in tears, bemoaned the fact that I just couldn't eat dinner because I wanted split pea soup and we didn't have any....but that's not in the same ballpark as NEEDING to eat something really wacky. I almost expected it to happen, but maybe I should be relieved that it hasn't....yet. My wonderful husband shouldn't have to make late-night trips to the store until it's for something truly necessary, like Pampers:)

Second Trimester, Here We Come

Now that I'm showing (from certain angles) Daddy took a couple belly-shots yesterday afternoon on my way out to Rachel's bridal shower! My advice to the bride-to-be and her fiance Ryan? Don't wait too long to have a baby:) This pregnancy thing is a blast!

P.S. If I look a little tired in the picture, it's probably because I am! The baby doubled in size the last two weeks and Mommy is feeling it:)

End of the Beginning

I'm in the last week of my first trimester!

Nausea is decreasing and the appetite, for better or for worse, is increasing! A trip to Camden Yards last night proved this: A few weeks ago, all of the mingling ballpark smells forced me and my stomach to leave the stadium before the game ended. Last night, all of the smells simply made me day-dream about cheese fries, funnel cake and Boog's Pit Beef. I think I'm back to normal!! Go O's!

Daddy and Mommy are already enjoying a rather obvious belly-bulge...Mom Mom Wilson had to take me maternity-clothes shopping this past weekend. Elastic waists are a wonderful thing.

What's going on during week 12? The baby has almost doubled in size in the last 3 weeks; the crown-to-rump length is nearing 2 to 2.5 inches, and weight should be around 0.4 ounces. (I wish that we could follow Tom Cruise's example and buy our own personal sonogram machine to keep up with the baby's growth from day to day, but I suppose we'll have to be content with reading what it probably is at this point!)

Few structures are left to be formed in the baby (it's been a busy 11 weeks!!) but those that are already formed continue to grow and develop. Fingers and toes are separated and have tiny nails on them, hair is beginning to grow, digestion and glucose absorbtion is possible, the production of hormones will begin soon, and it is becoming more apparent whether this little one is a girl or a boy! Of course, if all goes according to plan that little tidbit of information won't be revealed until the last push in March!

The baby's nervous system continues to mature, and as the sonogram revealed to us already, the baby already reacts to some stimulation. I wish I could feel all those tiny kicks and flips!

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...

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!