Monday, March 24, 2008

Updates abound!

I'm sure everyone's been waiting for some back-story here, since the last post came out of nowhere. Yes, we are pregnant. Wee P, as we're calling him/her temporarily, is due to make a debut around September 29th. It was a surprise, though a nice one. We were planning on waiting a couple of months, but as we've come to say, "God trumped us." We're super excited, as you can imagine, as are both families. This will be the first grand-baby on Neal's side, and the third on mine. Needless to say, this is going to be one spoiled child!

The pregnancy has gone very well thus far, and I can't complain at all. I only had a touch of nausea here and there, a little indigestion, and a few headaches. Nothing like what some women have, and I know how blessed I am. We're starting our 13th week today, which is the last of the first trimester. I'm already mostly over the little bit of morning sickness I've had, and though I still get tired easily, I'm feeling almost 100%.

We've seen our little one twice now. Our first doctor's appointment was on Valentine's Day, which is where we got to see and hear its little beating heart for the first time. The baby was barely over 1 centimeter long from head to bottom! We were both beyond ourselves, and Neal was nothing but grins. Our second appointment was just this last week, and though we weren't scheduled for another sonogram, it's still a little early to pick up the heartbeat without one, so they went ahead and did another. This time, we got to see our little one moving! And was it moving! The doctor had a hard time getting good pictures because of all the gyrations! At one point, we finally got a few good pictures, and Wee P decided to turn completely around away from us. I think s/he was done with being poked at that point. It was really neat to see though. S/he is now about 3 inches long. You could see the joints forming in between the bones, as well as the eyes and nose. The first picture we saw, an arm was up around the head, and you could see all the little bones inside the hand! Our next appointment will be at the end of April, and we have until then to decide if we want to know the sex, or if we want to be surprised.


This was the best picture from our last sonogram...



Sorry about leaving that last post for so long. I wanted to make sure we got the announcement on there before I left for the US again. That's right, I went back home to visit for a month, while poor Neal had to stay behind for work. He didn't like being a bachelor again, even temporarily, but he managed, and was extremely happy to have me back home again.

It was a great visit. I got to spend much more time with the families, and got to spend Stephen's birthday with him. I did some house-hunting while in Knoxville, but alas, the housing market there has unfortunately not come down from its bubble at all, and we decided against buying right now. I also researched Obstetricians while there, because it looks like I'm going to be moving back home to have the baby. We're concerned about driving around here, as well as several other safety factors, and are working on the process of getting me moved back to the US at some point this summer, so that I can be back home and around family to have the baby. Unfortunately, Neal will have to stay behind, but he will get 30 days of leave to be with me at the birth, and a couple weeks afterward.

Finally, we have a fourth addition to our family now: an eleven week-old beagle puppy named Trajan. I got him while I was visiting in Memphis, and he's been a great little guy. He's a beautiful puppy, and has a great personality. He's definitely full of energy, but is also very smart, playful, and loving. He loves to cuddle, and fits right into our family. We got him eleven days ago, and he's already learned to sit, knows "no" and "down" well, and is working on using the bathroom outside. Luckily, we have tile floors. He sleeps mostly through the night now, and is just adorable and fun in general. He's a great companion.

Unfortunately, his eyes got messed up, but here's little Trajan at home in Italy...



I believe that is all the updating that I needed to do. We love and miss you all, and hope everyone's doing well! We'll keep you updated!