The Artistic Belly

This is our attempt at more artistic photo of my belly. It's not a side shot, which may show a more defined difference in my shape. But, you can see how beautiful the shots will look as we take them month after month in a sequential manner for a more elegant view of how the baby grows. I've been told that it is the size of a lime, measuring only 2 inches in length. Because I'm slender what you're seeing as a baby belly is the uterus becoming more pronounced since I don't have much room to hide it. The baby is already squirming and busy kicking furiously, though I can't feel a thing. Chris agreed that after seeing the ultrasound of the baby busy doing backflips and karate kicks, that it definitely has his genes. As one of our friends jokingly put it about our future parenthood... our kid will definitely be a poster child for Ridalin.

Just an FYI for those who don't know: the baby's due date is October 9th.

At 12 weeks, you can barely discern the tiny baby bump. Our friends would argue that one day I was pregnant and the next day I wasn't, depending on the clothes I wore. I can definitely tell the difference, as my once flat, well-defined stomach is now rounded smooth and slightly protrudes. Not to mention the fact that none of my pants fit anymore. 

A coworker of mine told me about a wonderful maternity item no woman can live without...the belly band. Sure enough, this simple elastic, nylonly-thingy covers over my pants and under my work shirts allowing me to continue wearing my old pants (unbuttoned) for a few more weeks till I'm big enough to fit into maternity pants. To my co-workers it just looks like I'm going for the popular 'layered' look.  What a fabulous gadget!

12 Weeks and going strong

For those of you who may not know, Chris and I had found out we were pregnant back in November of 2008.  Our excitement was short-lived as we lost the baby at 7 weeks. We were devastated and the months following that event were emotionally trying to say the least. So, when this past February I discovered I was pregnant again we were overjoyed. Our excitement this time around has been tempered due to the previous loss.  So, we waited to tell our extended family till we were at least 9 weeks and had seen two ultrasounds.  The joy of hearing our baby's heartbeat was indescribable - like music to a mother's ears. Chris grinned from ear-to-ear and I began to cry from both relief and happiness. 

At 12 weeks, our obstetrician could hear the heartbeat even stronger at 160 beats/min. With complete dead-pan humor, he added, "hmm. 160 beats. Congratulations, it's a girl." To which, both Chris and I gaped and asked, "Really?" He just smiled and chuckled, "No, it's just an old wives' tale. I just like doing that." Well, I guess we'll see if there's any truth to that.