Barbies or GI Joe???

Our 20-week ultrasound was on Monday, and our tadpole was cooperative.... Are you ready?????

Our tadpole is a GIRL !!!!!

Yes indeed, we are being blessed with a little girl! I can't believe it - it's still crazy to actually be calling our tadpole a "she" after weeks of using "it" or "he/she". Both Matt and I are very happy, and it's making us think of so many different things now. Before, we would try to think about how our baby would be, what kind of personality it would have, what sports it might like, and we could only think of neutral things. But now, knowing it's a girl, it's all more specific - will she be a tomboy or a princess? Will she enjoy watching football with her dad? Will she like doing creative projects with her mom? Will she want to play soccer or softball or prefer gymnastics or dance instead? All kinds of things to wonder about. But it will all come in time - and she can choose to do whatever she wants!

The funny thing is that all this time, I was so sure that we were having a boy. So my little stinker is already throwing me for a loop :) I'd better get ready for a lot more of that!

Oh, and our apologies to the Hatfields and Millers - it looks like Landen and Robert will have to be the lone boys on either side of the family for a little bit. It will now be 4 girls to 1 boy for the Hatfields, and 6 girls to 1 boy for the Millers. Craziness! Definitely more Barbies and playing dress-up than super-heroes and GI Joe!

But what's more important than the question of boy or girl is that our ultrasound looks good so far, and we think that she's a healthy little one! We have a heart that's pumping well (we saw all 4 chambers of the heart! I still can't get over that!), a beautiful spine (you could see every vertebra so clearly!), two arms, two legs, feet, toes, hands, stomach, kidneys - you name it, we saw it! It was truly amazing. We'll find out more details on how healthy she is when we talk to our doctor on Tuesday, but we haven't gotten any phone calls yet that say otherwise. So, so far, so good. As for whether or not she has 2 well-developed hips (a concern of Matt's and mine considering Matt was born with hip displasia), we won't know anything until she's born. The ultrasound tech (who is actually a good friend of mine!) told us that at this stage, all of the baby's bones are not really connected well and haven't completely calcified or fused, so there's no way we could look for hip development. We'll just have to pray for the best!

We definitely have an active baby though. The whole time during the scan, she was moving all over the place, and the tech couldn't get her to stay still for some measurements. Then she'd get stubborn and stay still, but at a bad angle to see what we needed to see. Then she'd start moving and shaking again. I think we might have another gymnast on our hands!

I don't think that we'll have any more ultrasounds, unless something unexpected comes up, so that was the last time we get to see her until November. A little bittersweet, but I'm content though with the frequent kicks that she's giving me -it's such a good feeling just to know that she's there!

1. Face profile - looking up

2. Right arm w/ a fist :)

3. Spine (head on right facing down & back; she's kind of curled upside down)

We've got movement!

It turns out that baby Hatfield really WAS making his/her presence known last Saturday! Starting around last Wednesday, the gentle pokes have steadily increased in frequency, and are happening at all times of the day. Our tadpole is already a mover and a shaker! I have to admit it's a little bit of a strange feeling, but also so wonderful ;) It's like he/she is saying "Here I am mom!", but not to the point yet of "Get me outta here!". I haven't really been able to feel them from the outside, so I don't think that Matt can feel them yet. But they seem to stop every time I put my hand on my belly to feel. I just get the biggest kick out of it when they do happen...

Big news of the day - we are at the 20 week mark!! Halfway!!! Oh my goodness - as soon as I say that I get stressed. Let's keep thinking that November is far away....

While we were out today, Matt and I took our first trip to the baby section at Toys R Us! Babies R Us was a little far to go (and we didn't want to completely overwhelm ourselves just yet), so we took a look-see at the small selection at Toys R Us. We got some ideas as to what's out there, but mostly were just looking. I did notice Matt looking longingly at the race car bed... we'll have to wait a couple years for that :) Next time we go will be at the super-store, but we have to be armed and ready with a list, recommendations, and some specific ideas. Babies R Us scares me on a normal day... how am I ever going to decide which 1 of the 14 pack-and-plays to purchase?

I started looking online today for some nursery ideas too. Right now I'm thinking of a neutral pallet, with green or yellow walls, and then accesorizing with bedding/wall art/decor for a boy or girl. That way we could use the same room for baby #2 without too much extra work. But I did see a cool idea with a light blue-grey that would work with pink, blue, green or yellow accessories. Mostly, I just want a calm room - not too pastell-y, and not too frilly (I'm so NOT a frilly person!). But we'll see. I think it will also depend alot on once we definitely know if we're having a boy or girl - then we can add some personality :)

Looking forward to Monday - it's our big 20-week ultrasound!!! Can't wait to see our healthy tadpole moving and shaking on the screen :) My friend Brandy is an ultrasound tech and is doing the scan for us. I can't wait! We'll fill you in on the details soon enough :)

Happy Week 19 !!

As of yesterday (Saturday), we are at 19 weeks!! One more week until we're at the halfway point... I can't believe it! So far, everything is still going well - I'm still feeling good, and Matt and I have started thinking and talking more and more about what we need to do to get ready for our tadpole. November is going to come quickly! Actually, we both got a rude awakening last week when we had our friends visiting with their toddlers...not that the kids were difficult (they were angels and so much fun!), but that our house is FAR from being baby friendly. Free-standing wine rack with full bottles of wine in the family room (too bad I can't help to fix the problem by drinking them!), decorative glass vase on the fireplace hearth that is perfect for tipping over, glass top kitchen table, and head-height coffee tables with pointy corners that are just welcoming the toppling toddler learning how to walk. Matt has concluded that we just need to cover our house in bubble wrap, and that should do the trick. I guess that's another life change in getting ready for kids - not worrying about broken things, and realizing that your beautiful coffee tables will ultimately have a gazillion scratches and teeth marks on them.

Another pregnancy update - I'm showing! I think my belly looks huge when I look in the mirror, but then I see ladies at 9 months pregnant, and I'm pretty small still. This past Friday, I made my first maternity clothes purchase. It wasn't the best shopping experience - my local Target had slim pickins when I really needed a black skirt at the last minute, but I did find one. I can't tell you how comfortable I was the whole day wearing something that did not have a defined waistline! I can still wear my regular pants at this point - but mostly with alot of help from rubber bands and safety pins :)

Another baby milestone - I think I felt a baby kick! After dinner on Saturday night, I felt a couple small inside pokes. It was very gentle, and I haven't felt much since then, so I hope it's what I thought it was. But I like to think that the tadpole was trying to tell me that he/she really liked the cheeseburgers and onion rings that we made for dinner :) We'll see if we get any more pokes this week. I'm really excited that I might actually be feeling the baby move!

I must be going - I already dozed a bit watching Mythbusters earlier tonight, and I swore that I was going to bed early. I'm quite tired after our busy 'house' day this afternoon - Matt and I wall-mounted our bedroom TV, and then tackled our beast of a walk-in closet. The good thing is that the closet is clean, and Goodwill is going to be very thankful with all of the clothes we are donating. Matt still thought I could have parted with a few more pairs of shoes... but men just don't understand anything about a woman and her shoes :) I WILL leave you though with our first belly picture for the blog! Here's my before shot (technically at 12 weeks, but I hadn't grown a bit - the tiny bulge is my pants buckle), and today's picture at 19 weeks. I think my shirt is making me look bigger than I really look, but what can you do? And I'm not looking wonderfully photogenic either...

Before........... and at 19 weeks

A sad start to last week...

I shouldn't wait so long to update this blog (I get longwinded under normal circumstances), but it's been a pretty hectic week for us. While alot of great things happened in the past week or so - some not so good things happened too. Sadly, Matt's uncle passed away last week after battling cancer. You'd have thought last October that he had at least 20 more good years ahead of him - he was so active and so full of life - but cancer is an evil and unfair disease. He was a good man, good husband and good friend to everyone – those he’d known for years, and those he had just met the day before. We'll miss you Uncle Jack...

Girl or boy???

We thought it would be fun to take an unofficial poll to see whether all of you thought baby Hatfield would be a girl or a boy! Check out the right sidebar of the blog, and plug in your answer to get in on the fun. No prizes - just personal pride for knowing you were a really good guesser :) We plan to find out at our ultrasound in 2 weeks - June 22 - that is if the tadpole cooperates!

One of the best days ever...

Last Wednesday, we had our 17-18 week doctor's appointment. At this point, I pretty much live for each doctor appointment, which sounds strange, but I kind of feel like it's the only way that I really know that there's a baby in there! I've been weighing myself weekly, and according to my Wii Fit, I haven't gained anything since March (I know - not the most accurate scale around!). Also, I haven't felt any kicks at all. And even though my pants can't always be buttoned and I'm just starting to show a tiny bit - you could easily blame that on bloating or chocolate milkshakes :) So, when you go to the doctor, hear a heartbeat, and can confirm that it's not the milkshakes making you fill out a bit, it's a good thing!

Matt was able to come with me this time, and I could tell he was a bit nervous overall. But what man wouldn't be at the ob/gyn? I was just excited because he would finally get a chance to hear the tadpole's heartbeat. Turns out I've gained 4 lbs overall (didn't think I'd ever be excited about GAINING weight), so that made me feel good. And then after a few questions, it was time to take a listen. A few waves of the doppler wand, and there it was, a beautiful strong heartbeat! 153-157 bpm. I looked at Matt, and his face was priceless - he just lit up like I've never seen before, and he was just amazed. We really just wanted to keep hearing it, but the appt has to end at some point :) So, the doc stopped, and then looked at us and said "You know, we have a couple extra minutes - let's take a quick peak". I was like "WHAT?!?!? - of course!!". We were not expecting to SEE the tadpole, so it was a very good surprise! And the last look we had at 6 weeks, it was just a kidney bean, so we were excited. When the image of our tadpole came up on the screen, I completely teared up. Matt was speechless. Everything was so clear - there was a baby in there! We saw its face, spine, arms, hands, legs - and it was moving around too! At one point, he/she lifted its arms and gave us a two handed wave (like when they do the wave at baseball games). It was awesome! Our doc said we could know the sex if we wanted, but I wasn't quite ready yet - we'll wait just a little longer 'til our big ultrasound in 2 weeks. But I can't even put into words how wonderful and exciting and just miraculous it was to see our baby, looking like a little human, growing and moving inside of me. And to think that this beautiful life comes to be from the most basic of beginnings, and just becomes such a complex and perfect living thing all on its own... okay, I know I'm getting all science geek and philosophical, but I can't help it, that's me. In short, I fell in love all over again.

So overall - it was the most wonderful day, and the most beautiful thing that I have ever seen. I don't think I'll ever forget it. I just can't wait until next time - 2 weeks and counting...

Our new adventure...

For those of you who don't know our history, Matt and I met in 2004 and were married in April 2007. After almost 2 years of being 'just us', we are now in the throws of preparing for 'just us - plus one'. Yep - we're pregnant!

Right now we are 17 weeks along (4 months and change) and due on November 7th, 2009. We are so very excited, but also so very nervous too, since we know from many of our friends - this is going to completely change our lives forever, but in a good way :) So alot of this blog will be baby stuff, and updates on how we're getting ready for the big day so we can keep all of our friends and family near and far in on all of the fun!

So our new adventure in pre-parenthood has begun! Maybe we'll start with answering some of the most common FAQs...

1. What were your first words when finding out that you were pregnant? "Oh my goodness!" and "WOW!" (with big smiles on both of our faces...)

2. Do you want to know if you're having a boy or girl? Yes

3. Do you know yet if you're having a boy or girl? No, but Mommy has a feeling...

4. How is Kim feeling? I'm feeling great! I thankfully avoided morning sickness, so besides the initial bouts of exhaustion and early morning dizziness during the first trimester, I feel pretty normal. We'll see what happens in the next few weeks though...

5. Is Kim showing yet? A little bit :) I'll be posting pictures as we go along - don't worry!

6. Have you felt the baby move yet? I don't think so, but I can't wait! Of course I'll be thinking differently in a couple of months when it's playing soccer with my ribcage.

7. Do you have a pet-name for your baby-to-be? We lovingly refer to our baby-to-be as our "tadpole". Even though it doesn't look like a tadpole anymore, the name has just stuck. Besides - it's cute!

8. Do you have any names picked out? Not yet, but you won't find out anyway until the tadpole arrives :)

9. So, the baby is due right in the middle of Ravens football season and Matt has season tickets - what will he do if Kim goes into labor on game day? Checked the schedule already ;) The Ravens are in Cincinnati playing the Bengals the weekend of Nov 8th, so we're good so far. Now if the tadpole arrives a week early, I have a feeling there will be a last minute ticket available :)

10. Are you sure you aren't having twins? Yes!

So, we're on our way! We've had three doctors appointments already - 9 weeks, 12 weeks, and today at 17 weeks. I'll save the update of today's appt for another post. We've had one ultrasound, but that was at 6 weeks, so he/she didn't look like anything but a small kidney bean. We'll have our big ultrasound sometime in the next 2 weeks though. But so far, I'm healthy, the baby is healthy, we've heard a strong heartbeat, and everything is looking good! I still can't believe that this is happening though. It's just amazing. But we have so much to do to get ready! I keep thinking that November is so far away, but June has crept up and bit me in the butt, so we'd better get ourselves in gear. We're almost halfway, and the only thing we've done is figure out which room will be the baby's room - nothing else! We have a long way to go....

Welcome to our blog!

Hi everyone!
Welcome to our very first attempt at blogging. Since there are some pretty exciting things happening in our life right now, we thought that we'd set up this site so that we can keep all of you (near and far) in touch with what's going on! Just bear with me on my new high-tech adventure... Matt is 10 times more tech savvy than I am, so this is a big deal for me :) For those who know me well, you can believe that it was taking me forever to try and think of a creative (but not corny) name for this blog. As you can see from the title I settled on, it's a work in progress... :)

Enjoy!
Love, Kim and Matt