28 Weeks and Counting!

I had my 28 week check-up appointment today and everything went great! I gained 4 lbs, so I'm up to 154 lbs now. But it was my first appointment in a while where my weight gain was right on track (the last few months I've gained about 6.5 lbs) so that was good! I thought all the holiday eating might have done me in, but it looks like we managed pretty well!

Maddie's heartbeat was in the 150s which is good! When the doctor was checking her heartbeat, she was able to tell how Maddie was positioned too which was awesome! At that point, she had her head down, her butt up in my chest, with her legs curled around to my right side - so cool!!

Our next appointment is this Monday, January 5th - the 4D ultrasound! Wahoo!! It'll be so incredible to see Ms. Madeleine again! After that, I have my 30 week check-up on January 14th.

Thank you all again for your continued thoughts and prayers! Maddie and I are doing wonderfully!

Love,
Nile & David

The Home Stretch!

Today is my first official day of my 3rd trimester! It is amazing to think that we'll be meeting Ms. Maddie in about 3 months - we couldn't be more excited! As of this week she is about 2.5lbs and is measuring 15.75" long from head to toe! Still tiny, but so incredible to know how much she's growing!

Here's a belly pic of me taken today too...please ignore the hair, lack of make-up, etc.! David and I are having a truly lazy Saturday which has been wonderful! You're lucky that I made it out of my pjs today! I am so happy to have a true baby bump!


My 28 week appointment is this Wednesday (New Years Eve) and it will be just a check-up. I am excited to hear her heartbeat again though and just know that everything is moving along as it should. The following Monday (January 5th), we're having our 4D ultrasound done which will be awesome! I think that they give us a DVD of the ultrasound, so hopefully we'll be able to post some of that here for you to see! I can't wait to see our beautiful daughter in just a little more than a week!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!

Lots of love and hugs,
Nile & David

Our First Christmas Tree!

We are so excited to have our first Christmas tree this year! In the past we have always traveled at Christmas time, so we have never purchased a tree or anything since we weren't going to be home during the holidays. This year we decided not to travel for the holidays with little Ms. Maddie bean, so we are staying home and got to put up our first tree! And if I do say so myself, it looks great!

We decided to get an artificial tree because it was easier and next year will we probably want an artificial one anyways with Maddie crawling around everywhere (so strange to think we'll have a little one crawling at that point!). It's a great tree though and doesn't look fake at all!

The photo is a little dark (our house has horrible lighting!), but hopefully you can all see it well enough. The tree probably could've used another strand of lights too, but we like the way it looks now and it just wasn't worth the energy to redo things to add in another strand when it already looks great!


This year we're going to be celebrating Christmas with David's mom (Mama Teet) and we are so excited for her to come! This will be the first time that I've seen her in a year, so it's been quite a while! We are all looking forward to some time off together!

Love you all!
Nile

The Two Digit Countdown!

I can't believe it, but as of today there are just 99 days left until Madeleine's due date!! We started out at 266 days, so we've come a long way! I think that after the holidays pass, time is just going to fly by and March will be here before we know it! We've registered for our prenatal classes and will be setting up pediatrician interviews for January.

We also realized that we're not going to be able to use a center-based daycare. The prices in this area are so high! So we've started looking into some licensed home-based daycares. I've spoken to a few already and there are three in our neighborhood that I really liked over the phone! So hopefully one of them will work out for us! I'm going to meet with them and see their homes sometime in January. I'm going to keep calling some others too just in case, but I feel good that I've already found three possibilities!

I received my 3 hour glucose test results back today too and everything was within the normal range! Yahoo!! So no diabetic diet for me!

Love you all!
Nile & David

Sugar, Sugar, Sugar!

Well...I got the results of my bloodwork back the other day and I didn't pass either test! I'm not really worried about either, but I think it may be my first time failing a test! :) My bloodwork showed that I am low on iron, which they said is really common during pregnancy. I wasn't too surprised about this one either since I don't eat a lot of red meat. To help fix this, I'm going to be taking an iron supplement along with my prenatal vitamin each day. They are going to retest my iron levels at 35 weeks to make sure they are ok, and if they still seem low, I'll go up to 2 iron supplements daily for the rest of the pregnancy.

My glucose levels were also "slightly elevated"...they weren't skyrocketing, but they did come in a little over the acceptable level, so I am going to be doing the 3 hour glucose test this Wednesday. The 3 hour test is the definitive, tell-all test. I go in at 7:30am that morning and drink the substance and then they'll draw my blood every hour for three hours. The crappy part is that I can't eat anything that morning and I know I will be more than starving by the time I finish the test at 11am! I'm happy they are testing for it though and I know it'll be well worth it...if only my stomach can survive not having breakfast for one day!

I have known a lot of people who didn't pass the one hour glucose test but did pass the three hour one, so I'm not too nervous about it. And since my levels were just slightly elevated, and not through the roof, I think I'll do ok. I'm not sure when I'll get the results back, but I'm hoping I'll hear something by Friday of next week (December 12th).

On a totally separate note, we had the nursery painted this week and it looks great! I'm excited to get all of the furniture in place and start putting the room all together! As soon as we have things somewhat there, I'll be sure to post a photo!

Today is also Papa Bob's birthday - happy birthday dad!!

Hugs and smiles,
Nile & David

Registry, Oh My!

We are officially registered! Yahoo!! It was really fun going through the store and picking out what would be Madeleine's! We were kind of surprised though at just how many baby things there are! We had walked into Babies R Us thinking we had it all together...checklist in hand of what we need to get, notes on the recommended products, etc...that we were totally ready and prepared to register...and we still got hung up on things! Thank goodness for the Baby Bargains book and all of their reviews on baby products - that has been a lifesaver! There are a lot little things to think about...but I am complaining, because I am so incredibly thankful for all the conveniences we have today - I know our lives will be easier because of them! We had a great time though and can't wait to make a home for Maddie!

If you want to take a peek, there is a link to our baby registry on the left, just below the countdown ticker.

Hugs and love,
Nile & David

24 Week Appointment

Madeleine and I had a great appointment today! Her heartbeat was right on track at 157 beats per minute...and she was squirming all around! The doctor found her heartbeat right away, but about 5 seconds later she lost it because Maddie was moving all over! She found it again easily and said that it's great that she's moving around and the beats per minute are good. Yahoo!!

My tummy is measuring right on track too at 24.5 weeks. I also gained another 6.5 lbs since my appointment 4 weeks ago! They said my weight gain is right on track and I'm now at 150 lbs. I don't feel like I've gotten much bigger since my appointment four weeks ago, but that weight must've gone somewhere!

I had my glucose test/diabetes screen today too and they are also checking my iron levels to see if I need to take a supplement. I should get those results back tomorrow or Thursday. I am hoping that the glucose test is ok, because I really don't want to have to do the 3 hour version!

I've been feeling Madeleine move a lot more too and her kicks are getting stronger. David has been able to feel a few of her stronger punches which has been really neat! A lot of times she turns shy when Daddy places his hand on my belly though...she will have been kicking for a couple minutes and then the moment I put his hand on my tummy, she gets quiet!

My next appointment is scheduled for December 31st and I'll be 28 weeks then. This will be another check-up (no ultrasound) and then after that I'll start going every 2 weeks until I hit the 35 week mark. We also scheduled a 4D ultrasound for January 15th (30 weeks), which will be amazing!

Love to you all!
Nile & David

Photos of Madeleine!

Here are our 20 week photos of Madeleine! In the first one, she is looking right at us, with her head on the right and her body on the left. About half way down her head, you can see dark areas on either side that are here eyes and the bright white area in the middle of her face is her nose. In this photo, it looks like she doesn't have a neck connecting her face and abdomen, but it's there somewhere! The two smaller round circles on either side of her abdomen are her arms. Isn't she beautiful?!


In the second one, you can see her profile. Up near her face, there are five little white dots that form a line and those are her fingers (she had one hand up in the air for this photo!). Just beneath her fingers are the outlines of her nose and mouth. On the far left of the photo, you can see her thigh coming up. The very top of that is her knee and then her calf was pointing out from there, but is cut off by the photo. Also, you can see a white line along the bottom contour of her abdomen and that's her spine.


We are so in love!
Nile & David

Madeleine's Heartbeat

During our 20 week appointment we were able to record Madeleine's heartbeat. Just click on the arrow button beneath the photo if you want to listen to it! Her heartbeat was measuring right on track in the 150s (per minute).

Enjoy!
Nile & David

Drum Roll Please!

We had our 20 week appointment today and found out that we're having a girl!! Wahoo!! We are so excited! I didn't think I'd feel shocked because I had been anticipating this day for so long, but I do feel this sense of disbelief and that it's all sort of surreal actually knowing what's in there!

The ultrasound tech was able to get all the needed measurements and everything was right on track. We were able to see just about everything on the baby which was so cool...spine, ribs, hands, arms, legs, feet, stomach, kidneys, heart (and its four chambers!), head, brain, eyes...you name it! I love modern technology!! I am on vacation this week from work, so I'm not able to scan in our ultrasound photos, but I promise to post them as soon as possible! She is already adorable!

My blood pressure and all my stats were on track too. I made up for lost time last month, and gained 7 lbs this month! They weren't worried by it at all and I'm right on track with where my weight gain should be.

So...in about 4 more months, we'll be welcoming Madeleine Louise West to the world! Madeleine ("Maddie") is a name that both David and I really liked before we even started talking about our favorite names. So that one was an easy pick for us! We are using the French spelling of it too which gives a nod to David's French Canadian/Cajun heritage. Madeleine is also the spelling for the French butter cookies, and this Madeleine will definitely be the sweet cookie in our lives! Her middle name is going to be Louise, after David's grandma. Louise is just such a wonderful, caring, loving and incredibly sweet woman! We will be lucky to have a daughter that grows up like Louise!

My next appointment is on Tuesday, December 2nd. This appointment is with the OB (no ultrasound) and I'll do the one hour glucose test at that appointment too. For that I have to drink an incredibly sugary substance and then wait and hour and have a blood test done. The test will tell them how well my body is processing sugar and my likelihood for developing gestational diabetes. At this appointment, they'll also test my iron levels to see if I need to start taking any iron supplements.

So, that is our news for now! Yahoo for a healthy and growing baby!

Love you all,
Nile & David

Belly Pic!

Well, Saturday marked the start of my fifth month! It feels like my pregnancy is going so slowly and at the same time, I can't believe I'm already in my fifth month! Just two more weeks until we find out the gender - we are can't wait!! Both sets of parents think it's a girl, so we shall see!

Here's my first belly pic for you all to enjoy! This picture marks how I looked at the end of my fourth month and beginning of the fifth. I have a terrible profile, so don't look too hard at that! I am starting to wear regular maternity clothes and love how comfy they are! It's much better than trying to make my old pants fit, even with the life-saving invention of the belly band!

Love you all!
Nile & David

16 Weeks and Going Strong!

This morning was my 16 week appointment! David was able to come with me which was awesome! He heard the baby's heart beat in person for the first time (I had recorded it for him at my last appointment) and he kept me very calm!

My big worry going into each appointment is that they won't be able to find a heart beat, but they found it right away and it was in the 140s! Thank goodness! After that, nothing mattered! I've gained 2lbs since my visit 4 weeks ago, which was less than I thought I would've gained. They say as a general rule of thumb to gain a pound a week, which means it would've been normal to be up 4lbs. They weren't worried at all that it was only 2lbs though. So, now I have an excuse to eat more!

My blood pressure was also good at 110/70, so nothing to worry about there. The OB did say that in my urine last time was a very small amount of the strep-b virus that they normally test for towards the end of the pregnancy. She said that about 30% of women have this and that it's nothing to worry about. The presence of it can come and go in urine samples, but since I had a really small amount already, they are going to just assume that I have it and give me antibiotics for it at the time of delivery so that nothing is passed on to the baby.

So all is good! Yahoo!! Now the 4 week countdown begins to November 3rd to see if we're having a girl or a boy!

Thank you, as always, for all of your love and prayers!

Love,
Nile & David

Our First Nursery Purchase

Exciting news! Last night we made our first big purchase for the nursery - the crib and dresser/changing table! We are so excited!

The furniture is a lot cuter in person, but this photo gives you an idea of the style. And no big surprise, the furniture is a deep chocolate brown! Who would've guessed?!


It will take about 2-3 weeks to come in and we're hoping to have it set up before my family arrives in early November. We'd love for them to be able to see and then to be able to show it to David's family when they come to visit in December.

To finish out the room, we are planning on getting a low cubbie bookshelf that will go on one wall under a window, and will be filled with baby books and stuffed animals. In the far corner of the room, we're going to put a rocking chair or glider and then hope to add a little toy chest/storage bench for the toys the little one will play with. It's going to look so great!

Monday is my next appointment and it cannot be here quickly enough! I am really looking forward to hearing the baby's heartbeat again so I know everything is going ok in there!

Love you all!
Nile & David

My First Pregnancy Sighting!

Our CEO's wife came into the office today for a visit and asked me if I'm expecting! Oh my goodness!! That is the first time that anyone has asked me that or been able to tell! It was a really neat experience. She said she could tell when I was sitting at my desk that my belly was bigger than normal and noticed it when I walked by her as well. So exciting!! There's no real bump there yet, but my whole torso has widened and kind of thickened. Hopefully the bump will make it's appearance soon!

Hugs,
Nile

Hello 2nd Trimester!

We've made it!! Today is officially my first day in the second trimester! Wahoo!! I know there aren't any new guarantees as of today, but I am so thrilled that we've made it to this landmark! We couldn't be happier! One trimester down, just two to go!

I think we're going to celebrate this milestone by browsing our first baby stores this weekend! We haven't gone in any so far, not wanting to jinx anything, so it'll be really fun to look around!

Here's what's going on this week with our little bambino...the baby can now squint, grasp, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his/her thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, the facial muscles are getting a workout as his/her tiny features form one expression after another. The kidneys are producing urine, which will be released into the amniotic fluid — a process that will continue up until birth.

The baby is also stretching out. From head to bottom, he/she measures ~3.5 inches — about the size of a lemon — and weighs 1.5 ounces. The body's growing faster than his/her head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, the arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of the body, but the legs still have some lengthening to do. The baby is starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair all over his/her body. And 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. Even though I can't feel any tiny punches and kicks yet, our little one's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

My next appointment is in about 2 weeks, on October 6th. This appointment doesn't include an ultrasound, but I will be able to hear the baby's heartbeat again with the doppler. My blood pressure and weight will also be checked during the appointment and I'll do the follow-up bloodwork to continue testing for abnormalities.

Thank you all for your prayers, love and support! We have made it to the 2nd trimester and are so thrilled!!

Love you all!
Nile & David

The Results Are In!

I received the results of my NT (nuchal translucency) test back today and I am well within the normal range for everything! Our chance of the baby having downs syndrome is 1 in 2,105 and our chances of trisomy 13 or 18 is 1 in 9,123!

The reason that my chances for trisomy are lower is because it is not as common an abnormality as downs syndrome. I asked more about my downs syndrome number because even though they said I was within the normal range, the number scared me a little bit (since it was so much lower than the trisomy number). They let me know that based on my age alone, the chance of having a downs baby is 1 in 421. When you combine my age with an average bloodwork result and ultrascan measurement, my chances would be 1 in 304. So the fact that, with all my factors combined, my chance is 1 in 2,105 is great...I'm 5-7x less likely than the "average" person my age to have a baby with downs syndrome. So all is good!

At my next appointment on October 6th, they will do another round of bloodwork which will test again for these three abnormalities as well as spina bifida. I'll then have a final set of bloodwork done at my 20 week appointment (November 3rd) which will retest for everything again. The results of the three tests combined will give us a result with 95% accuracy (this initial test alone has an 85% accuracy rate).

So things are looking good and we're well within the normal range for everything! Thank you for all of your prayers!

Now I am just anxious for Saturday to get here...my first day in the 2nd trimester!

Love you all!
Nile & David

Wahoo - Good News!!

Today I had my 12 week appointment and it has been the best day! The appointment started off with an ultrasound, which will help determine our chances of the baby having downs syndrome, trisomy 13 or trisomy 18. The baby was being a little stubborn and not quite getting in the right position, and at the right angle, for the measurements they needed to take but the ultrasound tech was really patient and was able to get everything she needed. We should have the results of this test in about 7-10 days.

The ultrasound tech said the baby is growing right on track and the heart beat was at 159 which is normal. We were able to see the individual fingers and toes which was so amazing and a view from above the head where you could see the brain! She said that seeing individual fingers is a good sign, as most babies with trisomy 13 have their fingers together and in a fist. So that was good news!

Not only was that awesome news, but she then went on to take a look at my fluid pocket...and it is gone!! 100% completely gone! I couldn't believe it! I told her I had been praying that it had gone down, but hadn't at all expected for it to have resolved already. I asked her if it had just gotten a lot smaller or maybe moved somewhere else, but she said it's totally gone and has been reabsorbed by my body!! Oh my goodness!! We couldn't have asked for better news than a growing baby and NO pocket!! Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers!

Now, for the fun stuff...photos!! These photos aren't as clear as I had hoped, but she gave me a lot of them so I can't complain too much! I'll do my best at deciphering these for you, but you may need to squint and use your imagination a bit too!

This is a photo of the bottom of the baby's foot, with the toes pointing to the left and the heel on the right.
On this one you can see an arm, hand and fingers (the all white areas are bone).

A full body shot with the head on the right, a hand in the middle (almost looks like he/she is sucking their thumb) and legs on the left hand side.

And one more full body profile, just for the fun of it!
My next appointment is on October 6th (I'll be 16 weeks and 2 days) for just a meeting with the doctor. I'll get to weigh in, have my blood pressure taken and listen to the heart beat with the doppler.

Thank you all again for your love, support and prayers! We are so happy!

Nile & David

9 Week Ultrasound - Growing Strong!

I am happy to say that the ultrasound went pretty well today! Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers! The little bean is measuring just a day behind at 9 weeks, 4 days and its heartbeat went up to 182! Yahoo for a strong baby! The best part of the ultrasound was that I got to see our little one moving around! It was waving it's arm, saying "Hello, I'm doing good in here!" and was even scooting it's butt around (I couldn't see the legs, but the lower half of the body was shimmying around!). It was so neat! And I was able to hear the heartbeat again which is just the coolest sound in the world!

The pocket is still there and pretty much the same size, but I'm glad it's at least holding steady. The one large dimension (length) is the same size as before, but the other two dimensions (width and depth I'm assuming) have gone down a tiny bit, so we're hoping that means that my body is starting to reabsorb the pocket. She also said the pocket may have moved a little more "south" which is good too...when they're positioned down there (rather than up "north"), she said the chance for a miscarriage is less...wahoo! I'll take that!

So, my next appointment will be September 9th....these next three weeks will feel like an eternity! I will be filling them with prayers and positive thoughts! I will be 12 weeks at that point and will be having an ultrasound done that evuluates for your chances of the baby having downs syndrome or trisomy 13 or 18 I think. So during that ultrasound, they will also evaluate the pocket again and hopefully it has gone way down by then! The ultrasound appointment is at 9:45am on the 9th, and then I go back later that day at 1:30pm to meet with a doctor (and get weighed, etc.!). Depending on how things look during that appointment, we'll make a gameplan as to when (or if!) I need to come back in for more follow-up ultrasounds.

And, last but not least, our newest picture of the bambino! This one is a little harder to decipher than last weeks...I think the baby might have it's head tucked in (chin on his/her chest) so it's hard to differentiate the head from the body. You can see a little arm popping up (a white "stick" about half way down the body)! It almost looks as if his/her legs are crossed too (Indian style), but I'm not sure if that's the placenta or the actual legs!

Thank you all again for your prayers and support! Please continue praying for all three of us!

Love you all!
Nile & David

Our 8 Week Update

I just got back from my ultrasoung and things went pretty well! I had a really nice technician who worked with me. We saw the fluid pocket and it is the same size as last Friday's...so the good news is that it hasn't gotten any bigger. When she measured the pocket, I was able to see where it was...it was sort of making a backwards "C" around the right hand side of the gestational sac. So it looked thin, but long...but at least it hasn't grown!

On the other hand, we were able to see the baby and it has grown and is right on track! So it's also good that the pocket isn't affecting the baby's growth. The baby measured at 8 weeks, 5 days which is exactly what I am, and the heartrate had gone up to 176bpm which was great!! So fluid pocket aside, all things are looking good! Oh, and this time, they did the ultrasound using a wand on top of my tummy so I was able to hear the heartbeat - it was so amazing!! We'd been able to see it flicker on the screen before, but had never heard it, and it was so awesome!

On this picture, you can see the baby's head on the left (even a little nose!) and the placenta floating up towards the top of the gestational sac. We are so in love with this little one already!

The ultrasound technician suggested that I come back in next week for another follow-up and then maybe every few weeks after that. I told her that the OB had mentioned coming every month, but I would much rather come more often than not (even if the ultrasounds can't help anything, it puts my mind at ease to know what's going on!). So I have another ultrasound appointment on Thursday, August 21st, at 2:15pm.

Thank you all for your prayers and support! Please keep praying for us and that as time passes, the baby will keep getting bigger and the fluid pocket will start to get smaller. I am hoping that by next week maybe it will have started to shrunk a little bit!

We love you all!
Nile & David

My First OB Appointment

I met with my OB's office today and a very nice doctor there. We spoke about my fluid pocket and he really did not seem concerned. He said they see these frequently and isn't really worried. He asked that I schedule an ultrasound with their office this week, so I'll be going in on Thursday at 12:15pm for that (instead of going to my specialist's office). He said, from there, he would recommend coming back in 4 weeks unless something happens where I begin bleeding a lot, have cramping, etc. He said it's good that I'm not bleeding and that the baby's growth and size isn't being affected by the fluid area. He also said that I should stop taking baby aspirin (I had started taking this back in June to help me get pregnant)...as the baby aspirin has the opposite affect of what's needed for this. So, I will be stopping that right away and hopefully that will help us see a positive difference by the ultrasound on Thursday. I am also going to try and see my acupuncturist, as there are some "stop bleeding" treatments that he can do that will also hopefully help all of this.

So, I am going to try and follow my doctors lead and not be overly worried! He reiterated that I need to take things easy, so I will be doing that as much as possible too. I am just praying that the ultrasound on Thursday shows that things are heading in the right direction (pocket is smaller and baby is still growing as he/she should be).

Thank you all for your prayers, love and support! I am praying we have great news to share with you on Thursday!

Love you!
Nile & David

A Scary Day

Well, yesterday was an emotional day!  On Thursday night I had a tiny bit of bleeding.  I wasn't totally surprised by it because at my last two ultrasound appointments, they let me know that I have a pocket of fluid in my uterus and women who have that may experience spotting and bleeding.  I still didn't like that it happened though, so I called my nurse on Friday morning and went in for another ultrasound.  The good news is that the baby is still going strong - great heartbeat and size!  The bad news is that the size of the fluid pocket has grown.  Between my first ultrasound appointment (July 28th) and the one I had on Thursday, the size of the fluid area had remained stable at 29x15x19.  So that was a good sign that it hadn't gotten any larger.  However, at Friday's ultrasound, just a day later, the pocket had grown to 48x13x20!  Not so good!

When I spoke to my nurse about it, she gave me a good explanation of what exactly the fluid pocket is and the ramifications of it...

"The area is called a sub chorionic bleed.  It occurs in many pregnancies early on and most of the time resolve on their own.  As the placenta begins to form, there is sometimes a space or pocket between the placenta and uterine wall that can accumulate blood.  Most of the time, as the placenta grows, these pockets flatten out and form a good seal with the uterine wall.  On the other end of the spectrum, occasionally the pockets expand and a good seal is never achieved and a miscarriage can occur."

So, needless to say I am worried!  On the positive side, the odds are in my favor and a good majority of these situations resolve on their own.  On the down side, seeing the pocket grow in size wasn't what we wanted to see happening.  We are trying to stay positive and focus on all the good!  Needless to say, this baby has strong Pfaff/Dorian/Bordelon blood in it...we're going to fight this!  

I have an appointment with my OB on Monday for an exam and initial meeting, so I'm going to get his thoughts on this as well.  I will also be going back to see my specialist on Thursday for another ultrasound, so we can see what changes the pocket has made over the last week.

Please pray for us!  Please pray that our little bean continues to grow in size and strength, and remains unaffected by this pocket.  And that my body responds as it should, and this pocket flattens out and doesn't get any larger, so that a good seal is made with the uterine wall.

Thank you again for all of your love, support and prayers!  They mean so much to us, especially at times like this!

We love you!

Nile & David

Our Bean is Growing!

We got to see our little bean again today! And this time, he/she is actually looking like a bean! It's amazing how much our little baby has grown in just over a week! The ultrasound went perfectly...the baby's heartrate has gone up to 156bpm and the baby measured 7 weeks, 4 days (1 day behind)...so we are on our way! With this appointment, I have officially graduated from my fertility specialist and am now in the hands of my OB! I wish I didn't have to leave my fertility specialist so soon...I love the whole office...but I know it's a good thing that I am able to move on to my OB (who is also great!). The ultrasound tech snuck my doctor a print out of the ultrasound, and after I had gotten dressed and we walked out, my doctor handed me a card that had our ultrasound photo in it, along with a congratulations note from the team at the office! I thought that was really sweet!

On Monday, I have an appointment with my OB's office just to go over my medical history, have an exam done, etc. Then I'll have an ultrasound done the following Tuesday (August 19th) at which point I'll be 9 weeks and 2 days. The baby will have doubled in size by then! After that, our next ultrasound won't be until 20 weeks (first week of November) when we can tell the baby's gender!

Thank you all for your love, support and prayers!

Love you,

Nile & David

Our Baby's 1st Picture!

We saw our little bean for the first time yesterday! We went in for my first ultrasound (at 6 weeks, 2 days) and were able to see our little one and his/her heartbeat going strong! The heartbeat measured 122bpm and we were told the average is 120bpm, so we're right on track! The baby measured about 5 weeks, 6 days but they said it's normal to be off a few days (either way) from how far along you really are. So we are all good! The doctor said everything looks exactly like it should for this stage! Our next ultrasound is on Thursday, August 7th. By that time, I'll be 7 weeks, 5 days so we'll be able to see a lot of growth! By that time, the baby will have doubled in size!

I've posted our first ultrasound photos too - we're already in love with our little one! The photos are a little hard to see and decipher, so here's our best shot at it! The black "hole" is the gestational sack and inside that you'll see what looks like a diamond engagement ring floating at the top. The ring part of that is the yolk sac that provides nutrients to the baby and the little "diamond" on top is our baby! And he/she is certainly going to be our diamond and treasure!
Thank you all for your support, prayers and encouragement! Please continue to pray for us and our little bean...that he/she continues to develop and grow as he/she's supposed to and that we're able to remain calm and enjoy every minute of this blessing!

Love you all,
Nile & David