Happy Turkey Day!

Hope everyone has had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We went to Chris' parents house and had a delicious meal (one that I've been thinking about for weeks now), and we got to spend lots of time with family and the cutest niece in the world. The most important part of the meal (for me, anyways) is always the dressing. It's a family recipe on my mom's side and nothing can beat it. Seriously, it's the absolute best. And for my poor mother, who had chicken spaghetti for Thanksgiving, a picture of the almighty dressing.


This picture doesn't do it justice. And lucky me, I have just a tiny bit to have for dinner later. Yum! Ok, I'm done talking about the dressing. :-) Others probably think the turkey is the best part, and today's turkey was quite tasty, and very moist.

We brought none of that home. And now a picture or 2 of the world's most adorable child, our niece Hannah (21 months).

She was loving her some 'Uncle Kiss' today!


As for the baby, I'm 19 weeks today. I think I felt him/her move yesterday afternoon, which was the first time I've felt anything. It just felt like a little punch right under my belly button. Unfortunately, it only happened once. Jenny (my sister-in-law) was pressing on my belly and talking to the baby earlier and she said she felt it move. I didn't feel that, though. I'm hoping I start feeling him/her move more soon. Here's my 19 week belly picture...it's more like a belly pooch!

And the fruit of the week is a mango!

Vernix caseosa, a greasy white substance made of lanugo, oil and dead skin cells (yum) now coats baby's skin, shielding it from the amniotic fluid. (Picture yourself after a nine-month bath, and the need for protection makes sense.) You might actually get to see the vernix at birth, especially if baby is premature.

We're off to Little Rock tomorrow to spend some time with my mom and dad. Babies-R-Us, here we come!! If only we knew if little one is a boy or girl...probably a good thing I don't know yet...haha! T-6 days until we find out!!

18 weeks....a little late

Week 18 brought a doctor's visit to get the flu shot, and I got to hear the heartbeat again, which is always a great thing! Chris didn't go with me to this appointment b/c I thought I was just getting the flu shot. While the doctor had the doppler on my tummy, the baby moved! Very cool! Unfortunately, I haven't felt movement, at least not that I am aware of. Hopefully soon. He said anytime between now and 20 weeks I should feel it for the 1st time. Oh, and he did confirm that all my blood work (for Downs, spinal problems, trisomy) came back negative...yay! Now I'm just hoping everything on the ultrasound next week looks good! And our fruit of the week is...

Baby's now the size of a sweet potato!
Baby's become amazingly mobile (compared to you, at least), passing the hours yawning, hiccupping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking, and swallowing. And baby is finally big enough that you'll soon be able to feel her movements.

Gross!! And I guess it's not really a fruit, either. What else...I've got a little more of a bump this week. My pants still fit but they are getting tight, especially by the end of the day. Chris and I made a trip to Rogers yesterday with his parents, and I bought a couple pairs of maternity jeans. Gotta wear those on Turkey Day...need plenty of room for that belly to be able to stretch. Haha!

And just for fun, here's a picture of me, Chris, and Baby M attending the Razorbacks final home football game of the season last Saturday. The stands look pretty empty b/c this was towards the end of the game and we were killing Troy. Hopefully Baby M will like the Hogs just as much as it's parents! If we beat LSU Saturday night that might land us in the Cotton Bowl at JerryWorld...that would be super fun!

16 & 17 weeks

Nothing new to report on the baby front. I never got a call from the doctors office regarding my blood work from last week so I assume that's a good thing. I go in Monday for my flu shot (assuming they have them now) and then only a couple more weeks until the ultrasound...yay!! Haven't had any noticeable nausea lately. I'm still in my regular clothes, which is good, but I feel like I'm wearing the same shirts over and over again. It may be time to search out some new ones soon. Oh, and I was in a training the other day in Fayetteville and when we got done I went and checked out a daycare that was close by that I've heard good things about. I wasn't really sure what I was doing or what kind of questions to ask, but I know we need to start looking and get on a waiting list. Kinda scary to think about! Here's a belly picture at 16 weeks, although there's nothing really to see...just a little pooch.

And here's 17 weeks...once again, not much to look at.


This guy at my office has a 7 year old and she came in this afternoon and said 'Kristen, I heard you're pregnant.' I said yep. She said 'congratulations' and proceeded to look at my stomach like, well where is it? Haha. Then she gave me her favorite toy from when she was little. It's baby chicks in eggs (appropriate for my job, right??), and it matches shapes and numbers and makes sounds. It looks a little old, but it was sweet. I think Hannah would probably enjoy it right now. Something for her to play with next time she comes over!

And our fruit of the week is:

Baby's skeleton is hardening, changing from rubbery cartilage to bone, and fat is finally accumulating around it. The umbilical cord is getting thicker and stronger, and those little fingers and toes are now topped by one-of-a-kind prints.

Baby Michaels gets to go to it's last Razorback game while in my belly on Saturday. Maybe the band or crowd will make it wiggle enough for me to finally feel something...wishful thinking! One more win and we're bowl eligible. Yay! Go hogs!

15.5 weeks

We had our 2nd doctors appointment today. It seemed like we waited FOREVER before the doctor finally came in. I know the wait time is b/c it's a big clinic with alot of doctors. I will see a different doctor every appointment, then which ever doctor is on call when I go into labor is who will deliver the baby. I don't really like that aspect of the clinic...I'm kinda partial to my regular doctor. The guy we saw today was nice, too. Oh well. We decided to do the AFP blood test, screening for Down's Syndrome and neural tube defects. Apparently, no news is good news, so pray for no news!! And we also heard the heartbeat...160. What a beautiful sound!! What's the old wives tale? If the heartbeat is over 140 beats/min it's a girl?? Guess we'll see in ONE MONTH if it's correct!! Our big ultrasound is scheduled for December 2, in the afternoon. The doctor said drink Mt. Dew to make the baby active...haha. I can't wait to find out what the baby is so we can start really planning (aka decorating... :-) ). Oh, and the fruit for 15 weeks is an orange!

Baby's now the size of a naval orange!

Continuing the march toward normal proportions, baby's legs now out-measure his arms. And, finally, all four limbs have functional joints. Your fetus is squirming and wiggling like crazy down in the womb, though you probably can't feel the movements just yet.

Not much else to report...just wanted to update about our doctors appointment today!