Kirsten and Mark

We had our second doctor’s appointment today, and lucked out with a second ultrasound! For some reason, they were a little confused and sent the doctor in instead of the nurse we’re supposed to have. I guess they didn’t realize I’d had an ultrasound already because it wasn’t listed.

Dr. Jackson is great by the way. We really like her fun and supportive manner. She’s very experienced with all sorts of unexpected complications, and normal easy deliveries. So, she tried to hear the heartbeat with the hand-held doppler machine, but couldn’t find it. So, she tried another way and there it was. She said the baby’s head is a good size and shape and its heart was going normally.

Then it started moving its hands around! It was sooooooo cute. It was almost like she/he was waving to us letting us know it is growing just right. I even got to see its face in profile and it looks pretty cute to me. Unfortunately we didn’t get a picture this time. Bummer!

Not much has changed in our lives since last week. I’m feeling a bit better. I haven’t gotten nauseated as much, and don’t feel like I need to eat every hour. That’s nice! I haven’t gained any weight since last time either, so that makes me happy. I do like our scale at home better though. When I weigh myself first thing in the morning (supposedly it’s the time to get your “true” weight) I weigh 2-3 pounds less than I do when I’m at the doctor. Oh well.

Since I’ve felt better, I’ve started exercising a little bit more again too. It’s nice that for now I don’t have to worry about burning lots of calories and losing fat. A friend and I are now going to do yoga twice a week. That will be good for us.

We’re getting ready for our trip to Dallas this weekend. I’m excited to meet some of Mark’s family that I still haven’t met yet, and visit with my aunt Melissa and her family. I haven’t seen them in almost two years. I’ve never been to Texas and we’re taking Mark to his first rodeo, so we’re in for some new experiences. I’m also hoping I might be able to finally get some good Mexican food there–it’s been one of my cravings.

This is going to be a well-traveled baby before it’s born. Texas, Utah for Thanksgiving and Maryland for Christmas. By then I’ll be pretty big and likely uncomfortable, so that’s another reason I’m so excited to fly on Virgin American. (See previous posts for details.)

Coming next week: Stories from Texas and further adventures in pregnancy.

Ten weeks is kind of exciting. The baby has finished its critical development and is now focusing on growing and further developing its organs and features. I love looking at pictures of each week, especially the 3-D ones. They’re really cool because you can see what the baby really looks like, instead of what an artist thinks it looks like. I hope at my appointment in a week we get to hear the heartbeat again…and I guess if we’re lucky have another ultrasound, but I’m not holding my breath for that one.

We ended up not having to tell anyone at church about our news. It somehow spread to everyone (well, the young couples anyway) before we had a chance. I didn’t put them on the “Check out our website” email because I wanted to wait a couple more weeks, but someone found out and it went to everyone unbelievably fast. Even people who have been out of the ward for the summer knew when they’d been back 2 days! Oh well. It’s been fun. And, another girl is due a day before me, so it makes it kind of fun.

Mark’s hours at work are starting to be scaled back again, so that is nice. Since I have to eat before he comes home, and I still hate cooking, we only have proper meals on Friday when we go out, and Sunday when I take the time to make something. Thanks Craig for the spinach mashed potatoes. I love them and it helps me get my leafy greens!

On Saturday I couldn’t face the thought of doing my usual errands one more time–bank, laundry, grocery store etc. My ring was due for its 6 month inspection. Since the store is near Orange County, we figured we’d spend the day strolling near Newport etc. Well, after the ring we took a detour to San Pedro where we keep seeing cute apartments for cheap..er than ours. But, discovered the area is not for us. By the time we made it through the traffic into Newport, there was NO parking….I’ve never seen it so crowded. But, Mark reminded me that I don’t usually go there on Saturdays–very true. We ended up driving almost to the end of the Balboa Peninsula, past the shops and ferry. There is a neighborhood of the cutest and coolest beach houses I’ve ever seen. Most of them are huge too. I definitely want one someday.

Mark had never eaten at Ruby’s the signature diner on the edge of the pier. We had to stop. But, the closest parking we could find was 8 blocks away…..so we walked along the boardwalk all the way, in the heat, wearing normal clothes. I so wanted my swimsuit on right then. Since Ruby’s either 1. doesn’t have enough staff, or 2. their staff is really slow, it took 15 minutes to get our food, when only 3 people were ahead of us in line. This was a problem, since we only had 1 hour on the meter, and it took about 25 minutes to walk. So, we had our shake while waiting for the food. Then ate the fries on our walk and waited to eat the hamburger till we pulled into 7-11 to get drinks. Not the nicest way to experience it, but oh well. It was a good hamburger!

That was nice, because it is very hard for me to find anything appetizing…though I do like Mac & Cheese. We get the Easy Mac since it’s easy and fast. Toast with peanut butter has become my morning breakfast too. I hope this part over soon–and so does Mark.

Check back next week for an update on our appointment!

Wow. Thank you everyone for your great comments, emails and phone calls of support and excitement. We really appreciate all of you and look forward to sharing our journey toward parenthood with you. We’ll try to update the site weekly with our thoughts, feelings, exciting things that are happening and all of the crazy things we’re sure will happen in the next 7 months–and beyond.

Here’s a picture of our test…I had forgotten it was digital, so when it suddenly popped up “Pregnant” I was a little surprised, but excited. At my call, Mark ran in from the other room and the look on his face was priceless–a mixture of shock, excitement and fear. We thought about putting this picture first, but liked the other one better.

A lot of you asked how I’m feeling…..pretty good actually. Luckily the toilet and I haven’t become inseparable. I did feel very nauseated beginning in week 4–a bit early–but it mostly went away by last week. My appetite was also in full force during the beginning. I was contstantly hungry–and I began to like cheese. I still need to take plenty of snacks with me to work, and eat throughout the day, but it’s not as bad as before. Mostly, the only time I feel sick is when I’m really hungry, or smell/see something gross. Mexican food has always been my favorite, but I can’t seem to get enough. I eat it for at least one meal about 4 times a week.

But, I do get really tired. It’s eased up a little bit as well, but by the time I get home from work I want to take a nap. And go to bed at 9:30. On the weekends naps and I are very good friends. There is no going to a movie that starts after 8 pm either. Apparently it takes a lot of energy to grow another person. Who knew?

I’m happy to report my clothes still fit. Probably because my pants are all lower on my waist, so they fit below my stomach. By the end of the day I think I’ve gained 5 pounds. It tends to go away by morning. I’ve only really gained about 1 pound so far. (This is according to our bathroom scale, but I don’t know if I trust it. I look much more than 1 pound heavier.)

We’re excited to have a couple of friends who are pregnant too. Two of us are leaving the “no kid” group. Paige is 7 or 8 weeks a head of me, so it will be fun to have someone a little farther along to see what I’ll be like.

Mark is really excited. It was at his insistence that we posted our announcement last week. I made him wait a week since our appointment, and he was having a hard time. He has been great so far–giving in to my spontaneous cravings (like HAVING to have Papa John’s pizza one night, or Chipotle the next) and comforting me when I burst into tears when I’m annoyed or frustrated.

I just find it fascinating to learn about how much the baby grows and develops each week. It’s kind of amazing that by this week–7 weeks after conception–it has all of it’s major functioning organs, joints and facial features are forming.

Out here in Los Angeles, it’s common for parents to think their children are the cutest in the world and could be the next big movie star. There are casting agents and photographers everywhere.

We hear that some doctors are getting in on the action as well and taking pictures of babies in the womb! Can you imagine, seeing a baby before it’s born? Well, here’s a picture we saw yesterday. What do you think?

We think star quality for sure…but then again, we’re his/her parents….

Debuting March 18, 2008