Introducing ..... little Fletch!

For those of you that don't know - Jason's dad, Jason, and Jason's brother have all gone by the nickname "Fletch." I have a feeling that our son will probably follow in that tradition. Yes, you read that right - I said "son." That's because WE'RE HAVING A BOY!!!!

We had an amazing ultrasound yesterday, compliments of Kim (family friend and my old infertility nurse) and one of her friends who is an ultrasound tech.

It was absolutely incredible. We saw the little bean waving at us, scratching his head, kicking, sucking his thumb, arching his back, moving around .... pretty much anything we requested, he did. He's already listening to what his momma tells him. :)

First for some of the pictures:

Hi everyone! Check out those 5 perfect little fingers waving at you! (You're looking at the side of him - so that's also the side of his face that you see.)


Some of the side views, with his legs bent. From butt to the top of the head (so everything but the legs/feet) he measures about 3.5 inches. Right on track!




Just chilling out - with his legs sticking up. You can see his feet here too.


Speaking of feet - here is one perfect little foot!


This one looks like he's peering out at us. That's looking up at his chin/face (you can't see the top of his head very well) and on each side of his face is a hand!


And now for the money shot! She was first able to tell that he is a boy from the side view. Both boys and girls have a little nub sticking out from that view, but the angle is what is important. His was perpendicular which is what means a boy. It was funny - right when we were talking about it he decided to arch his back and start doing what looked like pelvic thrusts. Such a show off.

And if that weren't enough to convince us - here is a shot looking up between his legs - note the little part sticking out in between them. Jason is quite proud. :)


We were pretty nervous trusting something now (at essentially 15 weeks) but Jody has been doing this for years and wasn't questioning it at all. She said that we could go ahead and paint the room blue if we wanted! We didn't go that far, but did buy a few outfits:


And now, if you're still with me - here are some videos from today! Please ignore the talking in the background. Jody's kids were with her so you hear a lot of them.

First, here he is scratching his head and waving at us:



Here you can see his heart beating in his chest (the flickering thing), she points out how you can see him swallow, then he arches his back to show off his goods.



The money shot:



Here you can see his face (it's ok, we know he looks a little bit like an alien right now), his umbilical cord, and then some kicking.



Here is was just chilling with his legs up and then he did some more kicking.



He's sucking his thumb!

2nd trimester :)

The big news since last week is that I'm now in the 2nd trimester! Yay!

"This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck the thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, the facial muscles are getting a workout as the tiny features form one expression after another. The kidneys are producing urine, which releases into the amniotic fluid — a process that will keep up until birth. The baby can grasp, too, and is probably sucking its thumb.

In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he/she measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and weighs 1 1/2 ounces. The body is growing faster than the head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of the body. (The legs still have some lengthening to do.) Ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, is starting to develop all over the body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and the spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel the tiny punches and kicks yet, your little bean's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active."

We took another belly shot today and I'm definitely getting a bit rounder. :)


I didn't update after our appointment last week, but everything was great! I met with the nurse practitioner this time and we found the heartbeat with the doppler right away. (We've also been doing it at home, but it was nice to have a professional do it.) Heartrate is slowing down a little bit and was at about 169.

I found a quiz that I think I might use most weeks when I post my updates. Some of it isn't exactly relevant at the moment, but it will be one day!

How far along: 14weeks, 0days
Total weight gain/loss: -2.6 (overall)
Maternity clothes: Yes to maternity jeans! I can still button my other ones, but it's uncomfortable and NOT a pretty sight. I've also been wearing some maternity shirts, but can also still wear some of my regular ones.
Stretch marks: I don't think I have any yet!
Sleep: I no longer want to go to bed right when I get home. I've been slightly uncomfortable at night, mostly because I'm really trying to sleep on my side (especially the left) as recommended by the OB. I'm looking into buying a Snoogle - it's a body pillow but looks like it works a little better.
Best moment this week: I was actually hungry today! I haven't been getting sick for awhile but I still dreaded meals as I was never hungry and nothing sounded good. Today I was hungry. :)
Movement: Apparently the little bean is moving around a bunch, but I can't feel it yet.
Food cravings: See above - no cravings yet. Although I do seem to really like hotdogs - so maybe we an count that.
Gender: No idea yet! What do you think? Here in a couple of weeks I'll post results to some of the Old Wives Tales and you can make guesses.
Labor Signs: None!
Belly Button in or out: In
What I miss: Alcohol - haha!
What I am looking forward to: We're having an ultrasound this weekend - I can't wait!
Weekly Wisdom: I have no good answer for this one
Milestones: We're in the 2nd trimester!

To finish off this long post, here are some pictures of Cali loving on the baby one night. She really did get all curled up and hugged my belly all on her own.

Baby is a peach!

For some reason, this is my favorite week so far - either because I like peaches, I'm finally feeling better, or because it means I'm just about in the 2nd trimester!

"Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, veins and organs are clearly visible through the still-thin skin, and the body is starting to catch up with the head — which makes up just a third of the body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long and weighs nearly an ounce."

I love that our baby has fingerprints!

We happened to have a peach in the house - measuring just under 3 inches one way - so very close to the size of our baby! It's crazy to hold it in my hand and picture the baby that size.


Like I mentioned at the beginning, I'm almost out of the first trimester! You'll read anywhere between 12 and 14 weeks. One of the websites I frequent says it's when you hit 13 weeks, 4 days (dividing 40 by 3) - so we'll go with that one. That means that on Friday I'll be in the second trimester! I have no idea where the time is going!

I'm feeling so much better these days. I hardly ever get sick anymore and I'm not as tired as I was. I guess my biggest complaint would be that I've had a headache everyday for the past 4 - but I think it's more sinus related than pregnancy related.

I have my next appointment this week - it should just be a quick in and out - pee in a cup, check the heartbeat on the doppler, etc. Unless something else worthy of noting happens, I probably won't blog about it.

We took another belly picture this week - but it's not really worth posting. There doesn't seem to be much difference between now and 3 weeks ago. (Although I think 3 weeks ago was bloat, and this is more baby bump.) I sent my mom the picture and she said that I looked "fuller." I think she was just trying to be nice.

That's all for now!

Camping

Jason and I wanted to take a little mini getaway - so we went camping in Brown County this weekend. We really enjoy going and the weather was great this weekend.

As we were packing up the night before, Cali decided she wanted to go with us.


Our campsite all set up! You can't really see it, but the hammock made it's first appearance this year. It was one of the best things we had at the campsite. Jason did a great job on my Christmas present!


The baby and I posing in front of the tent.


Obligatory self portrait


The hammock in use. We just loved having it!


On Saturday we went hiking and drove around the park. The views were great!



Saturday afternoon we drove to Jason's parent's house and used their pool for a few hours. Such a great way to cool off! Then we went into Nashville where we both enjoyed huge scoops of ice cream.


Both nights we had some great food over the campfire. Potatoes with cheese, corn on the cob, hotdogs, hamburgers, smores ... not all at the same time!


This was Jason "helping" as I cut the potatoes.


Yummy corn on the cob!


And some great potatoes!


Saturday evening we were tired from an activity filled day and just sat around and played some cards. Such a great weekend!

Jason's birthday and Buffett

Like I mentioned in a prior post, we ARE doing things other than just waiting for the baby. :)

Jason turned 29 on August 4th. We kept the celebration pretty low key, but the kitties were excited to wish him a happy birthday when he got home.




The next week was the Buffett concert. We went with Anne, Kyle, and 4 of their neighbors. It was a great crowd and such a fun night!





I enjoyed a bottle of sparking grape juice. Somehow it just wasn't the same.

Baby Bean Cupcakes

We had a great dinner with some friends a few weeks ago and were surprised with some "baby bean cupcakes!" Annie is a wonderful cook and blogger and just posted about the cupcakes. Go check it out! (And check out all of the other recipes she has on there - lots and lots of good ones!)
And on a side note - they even sent us home with a box of some of them. They didn't all make it - the baby told me that it was time to eat another one before we even got back to the house. (And yes, I'm blaming the baby.) :)

Here is a link to her blog! Annie's Eats

12 weeks

Sorry I'm a few days late this week! I wasn't feeling well on Monday, and in proof that we do have other things going on in our lives besides waiting for the baby - we went to the Jimmy Buffett concert last night. (Not nearly as much fun when you're the designated driver!)

Anyways, our baby is a plum this week! (I would like to see a lime and a plum next to each other - I always thought a lime was bigger.)

"The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, toes will curl, eye muscles will clench, and the mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squrim in response although you won't be able to feel it. Intestines, which have gorwn so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into the abdominal cavity about now, and the kidneys will be excreting urine into the bladder. Meanwhile, nerve cells are multipyling rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously."

I read somewhere else that this week is when, if we could see the baby, we might see his/her fist opening and closing up by the face. So cute! I wish, along with the ability to hear the heartbeat at home whenever I want, that we could also SEE the baby whenever we want.

Food wise, I am feeling SO much better. I still have a few food aversions, but for the most part am eating again. Eating so much that Jason decided to tell me one night that I can't "use eating as two as an excuse because you're only supposed to add 300 calories a day when you're pregnant." Maybe I should take that pregnancy book away from him. :)

I'm still in the in between stage of regular clothes and maternity clothes. I did go through and clean out my closet to make room for the maternity clothes. Between garage sales and some awesome friends loaning me things - I don't think I'll have to really go shopping.

That's it for now!

Want to hear our baby's heartbeat?

We were able to record our baby's heartbeat yesterday! Here it is at 11 weeks, 2 days. It seems to fluctuate between 175 and 180. Sometime in the next week or so the heartbeat will slow down and eventually level out probably somewhere between 130 and 160ish. Hopefully the video works!

11 weeks

"Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long and the size of a lime, is now almost fully formed. Hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under the gums, and some of the bones are beginning to harden.

The baby is already busy kicking and stretching, and the tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as the body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that the diaphragm is forming."

Not much new to report. I think the "morning" sickness is starting to get better. For awhile it was all day, every day. I still have bad days, but last Friday and then again today were great days. Not one nauseous moment, and I was actually able to eat!

Unfortunately constipation has hit in full force, so that's fun. In fact it was quite fitting that last week was "prune" week because I actually bought prune juice to try and help. I poured it into a glass, smelled it, starting gagging, and promptly dumped it out. So much for that home remedy. :)

I think that's it for now! The end of the first trimester is getting closer!

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh

That was the sound we got to hear today - the amazing "whoosh whoosh" of our baby's heartbeat. I had my next scheduled appointment today with Dr. B. It was a different sort of appointment - I'm so used to long, in-depth ones - and I think this one we were only there for about 10 minutes tops. Enough time to get my weight, a urine sample, a new prenatal vitamin prescription, a prescription for Zofran (an anti-nausea med that will hopefully let me eat again!), AND to hear our baby's heartbeat on the doppler.

Dr. B put some jell on my belly and then used the small little hand held doppler to find the heartbeat. It took a few minutes (which were the LONGEST few minutes of my life) and then we heard the obvious sound of the heartbeat. I can't even begin to explain how happy we are!

Next appointment is in 4 weeks - for the most part I'm a normal patient now!

Prune week

Baby is the size of a prune! With bones and cartilage starting to form and vital organs beginning to function, baby is making major progress. Body length will almost double in the next three weeks, and arm joints are now working. (Soon, legs will start working too.) Tiny nails are starting form on the fingers and toes.

I'm most excited about the nails beginning to form. If the whole baby is the size of a prune, can you imagine the size of the fingernails??

This past week has just been "ok." The nausea got worse, to the point where one day I didn't keep down one single thing that I ate. I've been avoiding taking anything, but finally decided that it would be better to take something so that I can actually eat. I started taking the vitamin B6 and half of a unisom at night (suggested by my OB.) It seems to be working, at least a little. I'm still nauseous but I can keep food in.

We have another appointment this week with the OB and they're going to try to hear the little bean's heartbeat on the doppler. It could possibly be too early, so if we can't find it then we'll get another ultrasound.

We've been talking a little more about names and I think are about 90% sure on our first names for both a boy and a girl. (Hey, we've had a long time to think about this already!)

I'm still the same weight, so I'm happy that I'm not losing anymore. Even though I haven't gained any, we did realize this week that I have the start of a belly. At this point it's still probably bloat, but it's still exciting to see the difference.

Here I am at 6w4d:


And just over 3 weeks later at 9w5d. I honestly was not pushing my belly out! It was later in the day though, so that probably explains some of it. I think in a few weeks I should graduate from just bloat to a true bump. Until then, I'm still happy with what I've got!

A martini? What's that?

This week baby Fletcher is the size of a martini olive. My dad would be proud. :)

"Your little embryo has now officially graduated to fetus-hood. Adding to the excitement, a Doppler ultrasound device might be able to pick up the beating heart. With basic physical structures in place and increasingly distinct facial features, baby is kind of starting to look like...well...a baby!"

Sorry that I'm a day late in posting this - I started to feel pretty bad last night and actually stayed home sick today. I think I'm starting to get a cold and that topped with not being able to eat much and probably not drinking enough - made for a pretty bad night/day. So I stayed home today, slept a lot, drank a lot of water, managed to eat - and am feeling better.

I went garage sale shopping with my mom over the weekend and bought a few maternity shirts. I don't need them quite yet, but at $1/each I'm pretty happy with the purchase. I also have a pair of maternity jeans (not wearing yet) but I have been wearing a bella band. It's sort of like a tube top that I can wear over the top of my jeans so that I don't have to keep them buttoned. I still can button them, but the bloat causes them to be pretty uncomfortable by the end of the day. I haven't gained any weight yet, in fact I'm still down 2 lbs.

I've been pretty hormonal lately - there is something in most every tv show, commercial, and song on the radio that will make me cry.

Jason and I have also already started to talk about names. Nothing official obviously and I'm sure we'll change our mind several times between now and then, but we do have a leading boys name that we both love.

So that's it from here! Our next appointment will be next week and we'll hopefully be able to hear the little bean's heartbeat on the doppler.

The kitties are also excited about the baby on the way

You know how I mentioned that I'm always tired? The kitties are enjoying this little symptom - it means they have someone to lay with all the time. :)


Speaking of the kitties, they're pretty excited that we have a baby on the way. Well, at least Cali is. We've noticed in the past that when we have little kids over she just loves it. Pickles likes to watch from a distance. Cali likes to be right in the thick of things - she'll let them pet her, hug her, try to pick her up - she just soaks up the attention. We babysat our friend's little boy Gavin this past weekend, and once again Cali was right by us the entire time.

I'm in love :)

We were lucky enough to see our little bean again today! I called the OB office this morning to make sure they knew that I started on the Lovenox yesterday per the hematologist recommendation. While I was talking to her, we decided that as I start the Lovenox it would be a good idea for me to come in and have another ultrasound and make sure things are still looking good.

Jason couldn't come with me, so my mom got to come see her future grandbaby. Everything was just perfect! Measuring right on track, heartbeat is now at 160 (wow! Mine is only at about 60!), and the little raspberry is starting to look more like a little baby. The head is is on the left side and then the little white area showing up on the top middle is the start of the arm! I tried to label them in the 2nd picture.





Who knew that we would love something so tiny, so much!

Raspberry week

"Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from the baby's hands and feet, eyelids practically cover the eyes, breathing tubes extend from the throat to the branches of developing lungs, and the "tail" is just about gone. In the brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. You may be daydreaming about your baby as one sex or the other, but the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether you're having a boy or a girl. Either way, your baby - about the size of a raspberry - is constantly moving and shifting, though you still can't feel it."

There isn't much new to report for this week. Still fighting the nausea and still really tired. Something that isn't new, but I don't think I've mentioned, are the crazy dreams I've been having. I have some sort of vivid dream, that I remember after I wake up, just about every night. And wow, are they weird! The other night I dreamed that Jude Law (haven't even seen him in a movie lately) was our roommate and he was making us eat couscous (which I've never had.) Anybody that interprets dreams want to tell me what that means??

No OB appointment this week, but I did have one with a hematologist today. During my infertility testing we found out that I have a mutation of a gene that can potentially cause blood clots. It's not guaranteed that it will, but to be safe and prevent any issues I have been on baby aspirin every day since December. I am now stopping that and am starting on Lovenox (a blood thinner) today. It is safe and won't harm the baby, and could help prevent a miscarriage. They typically don't find out about this gene thing until after someone has a few miscarriages, so we're thankful that we found out beforehand and can do something to help prevent it.

So just call me the human pincushion for the next 9 months - I have to give myself a shot in the stomach everyday until 6 weeks after I deliver. Luckily I had lots of practice with shots over the last year!

That's it from us for this week!
Love,
Laura, Jason, and the baby raspberry :)

This is how I feel

Baby Blueberry

This week our baby is about 1/2" - the size of a blueberry. "Baby's brain -- both hemispheres! -- is growing fast, generating about 100 new cells every minute. Arms and legs are emerging as joints start to form, and a permanent set of kidneys (baby's third!) is now in place."

We had an appointment with our actual OB today and absolutely 100% LOVE her. Dr. B is amazing and is just what I need. We started the appointment out with an ultrasound and heard the most amazing sound - our baby's heartbeat!! I thought we'd just see it again like we did last week, so this was such a surprise. The woosh woosh of the beating heart was the most beautiful sound we've ever heard.

Here is a picture of our baby! The arrow is probably pointing towards the back, but as far as where the head is, that's anyone's guess. It's hard to tell but the baby is sort of curled up at this point. Sort of reminds me of a roly poly.



To help sort of figure out what you're looking at, here is a picture of what the baby looks like at this stage.


There haven't been many changes since my post last week. Still pretty exhausted and living in a constant state of nausea. I've been reading up on tips for the "morning" sickness so hopefully something will help soon.

I've had some tugging in my lower belly, which is normal seeing as my uterus is apparently now twice the size it was just 5 weeks ago. Another interesting little tidbit is that I now have 10% more blood than I did before I was pregnant. This and the extra fluid being processed in my kidneys explains why I'm waking up in the middle of the night to pee. I think Jason and I may have to switch sides of the bed so I can be closer to the bathroom - I hear it's only going to increase from here!

That's all for now!

Estimated due date

I realized that I have forgotten to mention something pretty important. Our EDD (estimated due date) is 2/22/10. So not too long after my 30th birthday - happy birthday to me!! :)

Our baby is a sweet pea!

So this week Baby Fletcher is the size of a sweet pea. "Growing like crazy, baby is starting to sprout eyes, ears, nose, cheeks and chin. Those little hands and feet- still webbed like paddles- might wiggle by week's end, the heart is beating (almost twice as fast as yours!), and blood is starting to circulate."

.25 inches - that's so tiny! It's amazing to me that we've already seen the little heart beating. I have been carrying the ultrasound picture with me in my purse (hey before that it was the pregnancy test!) just to keep looking at it to make myself believe this is actually happening.

Although frankly, my "symptoms" should be telling me that enough. Before we knew/right afterwards I mostly just had a headache and was burping a lot. (And actually that week before we knew, Jason kept laughing at me in the evenings and calling me a boy with all of my burping.) Since then the headache has gone away, I've started peeing more, and our baby has started to let me know what foods he/she does NOT want. Sometimes it seems like pretty much everything. I struggle in the mornings and again in the afternoon. And sometimes around dinner. And when grocery shopping. The past few days it seems that anytime food is involved, I start gagging. It's not so much that I can't keep down food I eat, but that I have a hard time even getting to the eating point. I tried talking to baby this morning. "I like food. I like to eat. Please be nice to me." So far that hasn't helped. I will say that as of right now, fruit and graham crackers/peanut butter are my friends. I've also been pretty tired and just lay on the couch most evenings.

I had an appt today with the OB Nurse Educator to go over things I need to know/what to eat/rules/etc. Example - don't clean the litter box. Jason has been wonderful and started doing that right when we found out. I also got tons more samples of prenatal vitamins. We will have yet another ultrasound next week and our first appt with our OB (hereby known as Dr. B.) I've heard such great things about her and can't wait to meet her.

So that's what's going on! Now it's time for a nap. :)

"Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans"

Jason and I have some wonderful news to share!!



We're having a baby!!! We found out about two weeks ago and couldn't be happier (or more surprised!) Jason wasn't home when I tested so I made a tshirt that said "baby" and waited for him. I'm pretty sure his first reaction was saying "No way!" over and over again. We've been living in shock ever since that night!

It's so hard to actually believe that this is happening to us! We had gone active with our adoption agency just a week and a half before we found out. (So yes, we're "that" cliche!)

I've had a few blood tests and 2 ultrasounds so far - the most recent was today. Today was the most beautiful and amazing experience - we got to see our baby's heart beat! Below is a picture from the ultrasound - it shows the gestational sac, the yolk sac, the fetal pole (the baby), and the heart! Just amazing!



Our first family picture!


There will be many updates to come!

Let the waiting begin!

As of Wednesday morning, we are active with our adoption agency! This means that all we do now is wait for a birth mom to pick us, while trying to be as patient as possible. (Easier said than done!) The agency sent us a copy of our 5 page bio last week and we absolutely love it. As long as we meet her specific criteria, they’ll give a copy of the bio to each birth mom. It includes a “Dear Expecting Mom” letter, 2 pages of text about us, and then 2 pages of pictures. It’s hard to portray who we really are in that short amount of space, but we think the agency did a wonderful job. We also have a small profile on the agency’s website under featured families. (See picture below.)

We are so excited to be at this point! We’ve started slowly buying some things for the baby, which has been so much fun. It’s hard for someone like me, who likes to plan, because we have no idea when this will happen, or how much notice we’ll actually have. We don’t plan to do much until after the baby is actually here, but will have some of the basics. After one of our very first meetings with the agency, Jason and I went out to Babies R Us and bought the first outfits for our baby. It’s hard to even explain the way we felt when we got to do that. Since then I’ve picked up a few other sleepers/onesies that I just couldn’t resist. We’ve also looked at bedding and have a boy and a girl set in mind. Both have the same color green in them, so we plan to go ahead and paint the nursery sometime soon. We also have most of the nursery furniture taken care of. We’re going to use a dresser/hutch that we bought on Craigs List, and through the amazing kindness of friends, we now own (although don’t have possession of yet) a crib and changing table. We are also going to use the cradle that my grandpa built before I was born.

Other than that, we’re just going to try to stay busy. Our local hospital offers a parenting class, specifically for adopting parents. It’s called “Parents at Last!” We can’t wait to take that!

We’re also trying to get everything in order for our adoption garage sale. We’ve been amazed at what people have already donated for us to sell. If anyone else has anything that they just want gone from their house, please let me know! We’ll come pick it up from you! Right now the tentative date for the sale is July 10th/11th.

I hope everyone is doing well! We’ll keep you updated of anything that happens. Please keep Jason and I, our future birth mom, and our baby in your prayers while we wait.

Today is our class!

After a crazy few weeks of physicals, background checks, gathering pictures - we turn it all in today! We have an all day class at the agency and will 2/3 of the way done afterwards. And then on Monday they are coming to actually do our home visit -eek! My mom has been awesome and has been over this week to do the cleaning, while we worked on the paperwork. And then we'll wait! It will be about 3-4 weeks before they finish the bio and the homestudy report, but then we'll be active. And then we'll wait some more! :)

Our big news!

The big news in our world is that Jason and I are going to adopt a baby! As some of you know, we have been trying for quite a while to have a baby, with no luck. We've been seeing a reproductive endocrinologist for the past 18 months and along with several tests and some basic treatments we have done 7 IUIs (intrauterine insemination cycles), an IVF cycle (in-vitro fertilization) in November, and just recently we had a FET (frozen embryo cycle.) Obviously none of those worked, and we were to the point that surrogacy was being discussed.

Over the last few months, we've had lots of decisions to make. Adoption is something we've had in the back of our heads for awhile, and since December it has been something we've really been leaning towards. The big turning point for me was Christmas Eve. We were at mass and a little boy (4 maybe?) sang a solo in Silent Night. His dad was sitting in front of me videotaping and it just became too much for me. Finally, being pregnant wasn't as important – being parents, having the family, videotaping our kids at a Christmas program – that is what we want. Obviously I'm going to miss the experience of being pregnant and that makes me sad, but once we bring our baby home, that part isn't going to matter anymore.

We've interviewed several agencies and picked one a few weeks ago. We're actually 1/3 of the way done with our homestudy! We had A LOT of forms to fill out, had basic physicals, several background checks, and had to get some reference letters. We’re also answering several questions and gathering pictures that will all be a part of our bio, which is what the birth mother will pick us from. We had an office interview last week, will have an all day class at the beginning of May, and the actual home visit a few weeks after that. If all goes well, we’ll be active around the end of June/beginning of July – and at that point will be “paper pregnant”!

We're planning to adopt a domestic newborn, so it's anybody's guess on how long it will take. Our agency has great placement rates though, and their average wait time is 9 months. Still, for some it could take 3 years – which is a scary thought. For others it could happen after 5 days – which is also scary (but obviously exciting too!)

While parts of us are still grieving the loss of a biological child at this point in our lives, we're so excited and hopeful for the path we're about to go down. We actually feel like we’re expecting, even though we don’t know the “when” of it. It's amazing to actually believe that we ARE going to become parents. :)

Long time, no post!

I've been slacking in the blogging department - sorry! I actually have some pictures to post - since Christmas we've been skiing, went to a winery, went to a casino, celebrated my mom's birthday, my birthday, my sister's birthday, my brother's birthday, and finished several crafty projects. I have pictures for all of those and maybe one of these days will get them posted. I'll try to get better about posting on here!

Merry Christmas!