Let's play 'What's between the legs?'

This week's checkup went great. Praise the Lord!! It was a pretty quick, routine visit. The usual blood, urine, weight, blood pressure were taken, and Nurse Judy took an ultrasound to get the baby's heartbeat. As soon as she put the control on my tummy, this is what we saw:

How sweet is that little foot? Just for fun, she measured the foot - 2.23 cm!! Wow, Lord, can your creation be any more amazing? I'm blown away, truly. In our household, "pigs" are special, and we were so happy to see our little one's cute piggie wiggies. They kind of look big, huh? See the thigh at the bottom of the picture, well, then baby Pete proceeded to cross his legs, just like he was having some coffee and reading the paper! Ha! It tickled me. Nurse Judy is not an ultrasound technician, but she said she's never seen that. Heehee. He's so cute. I can't believe how long his legs have grown since 3 weeks ago - and certainly since the precious gummy bear picture from the first visit. The kid likes showing off his feet, huh? Remember how tiny they were then?

The top picture, below shows the heartbeat. Can you see the arm and hand? The baby's hands were up to his face the whole time. This one looks like he's had a rough day. Haha! The bottom picture kind of shows his long legs. Doesn't it look like the face was pointing towards us?

And here's a sweet shot of his beautiful profile. His head is to his chest, very fetal position. Hey, it's comfortable to me, too!

And, as usual, last but not least - what do you think is between the legs?

Our next doctor's appointment is September 14. We will get to see baby Pete's organs and do a "gender check". =)

Brad leaves for India tomorrow morning. I will miss him terribly! Especially as the little guy moves around every day (did you know they sleep on a 40 minute sleep cycle?). He'll be back September 6, and until then, I am pleased to share him with the precious Indian people God has called him to. I cannot wait to go there myself and meet Monica, the little girl we sponsor. Please pray for the team's boldness, effectiveness, health, safety, and unity. Here's the blog they'll be posting on: http://partofindia2009.blogspot.com/

Where did this belly come from?!

All of a sudden I have this belly! This pic was taken at 15 weeks. I'm almost 17 weeks now, and the belly doesn't look much different. When I look down, my belly doesn't look very large, but boy oh boy does it look different from the side!

I'm at that in-between stage of my pregnancy where I can't really wear any of my clothes. A couple of friends (you rock!) have given me some maternity clothes. They're a little too loose right now. So, I've been using the bella band a lot. It's this spandexy thing that looks like a tube top, but you put it over your pants so you don't have to button them. Oh, is it a relief to have! I had friends who were like, "I was able to wear my favorite jeans the whole time I was pregnant with it!" Uhh..... did their hips not expand like mine are? I'm having trouble just getting a lot of my pants ON, let alone having to pull them on and off for the bathroom all day.

Thankfully, I have not been sick this trimester. (I did gag the other day which turned into throwing up, but other than that). Bruce and Nancy are coming to help paint my hallway and pantry - which have smells from the former owners of our house - (THANK YOU Bruce and Nancy!) while Brad is in India. I and the little guy will miss him terribly!

We go to the doctor tomorrow for another checkup. And I suppose we'll see if this little guy still looks like a little....guy. I have gotten very used to the idea of having a boy and hope it isn't taken back! I went to Hobby Lobby to get some scrapbooking stickers the other day and just gravitated towards the little baby boy stickers! I have a little man on the way!!! (i think ;-)

For over a week now, I've been feeling the baby move. It's crazy!! It feels like spasms, and they're mostly on my left, so maybe that's where the baby likes to hang out. I hear in the next few weeks he's going to start growing even more quickly. WOW! I can feel him on and off all day and can't wait for Brad to be able to feel him, too.

Baby Pete at 14 weeks

Our doctor's appt Monday went great. We kept hearing "terrific" over and over again when they looked at the data. Every parent gives a big "Praise God" when hearing such a thing.

I'm feeling a lot better, now dealing with tiredness (still), smells (but better), and indigestion. I've gained a few pounds but still don't really look pregnant - soon enough, I'm sure! Strangely, none of my pants will close, so Brad gets to see me in the "gym outfit of the day" each evening. Haha! Here's a pic in Fort Lauderdale - you can see my tummy poking out a little.

Oh, and yes, our vacation was fantastico!! We had a wonderful, relaxing time.

And now, without further adieu - pics of Baby Pete! I got a 13 minute DVD too, which is so cool. I can't seem to get it in digital form, though, b/c it's a big file! I would love to play it for you anytime though. Some things we saw in the video: the heartbeat (and heard it!), the brain, the spine, little arms moving (we even thought the little one was about to suck its thumb), legs (the baby was sitting cross-legged the whole time), the mouth opening and closing, and the nose. It was truly joyous.

Here's a picture of baby Pete's profile. The little ribcage and hand just make me smile! Can you see its brain? How about the nose? See how it looks upturned? Now, that is mommy's nose. ;-)

Here's where the practitioner is taking the baby's heartbeat. Very strong, she said. If you look closely, you can see a little black mark in its chest - that's the heart!

Here's another profile shot - the mouth is open! Apparently, baby's practice sucking in the womb, and we kept seeing the mouth open and close - it was so precious. At one point, the baby lifted its hand like it was about to suck its thumb. OK, I want this job! You can also see a leg - the baby was sitting cross-legged the whole time.

Now, here's my favorite picture - the baby looks like a little turtle with a darth vadar helmet! And, if you watch the video, the baby reminds you of a turtle, too. It's so neat that you can see both hemispheres of the brain, huh?

Drumroll..... we have a good idea of the gender!! We're not supposed to know for sure for another two months, but the practitioner saw a "structure" (haha!) between the legs! These two pictures are from the bottom of the baby looking toward "his" head. Notice, the baby is sitting cross legged. Now, it looks to me like the structure could be a little foot (OK, daddy, a BIG foot), but when you watch the video, you see three somethings! Don't start buying blue yet!! We'll let you know for sure. But I did change the blog background in honor of this news. Either way, we're so thrilled! And we're thankful you're on this journey with us.