25 weeks or 6 months Pregnant

Okay people, its time for some new photos!! I am really starting to feel huge and I know I have a long way to go yet. The baby is moving around like crazy and you can see it move from the outside now. I am still feeling great. So I am very thankful for that and the headaches have subsided also! I am hungry a lot more often and I often out eat Jeff, and that's not an easy task ;) It is becoming more and more real everyday and we are trying to prepare ourselves as best as we can for this life changing event.

My hormones have taken a drastic swing lately! I can be laughing one minute and crying the next for no apparent reason. That is hard to deal with sometimes, especially when you know in your head that nothing is wrong but you just can't stop your emotions. I have tried very hard to make living with me easier for Jeff! Hopefully I am not driving him nuts yet because we still have 3 months to go! Well, Hope you all enjoyed this post. We have another Dr. appt on January 6th and I will update you again then!

19 Weeks Belly Shots

Here are some updated shots of the belly and the baby from the outside :)

19 Weeks Ultrasound

Okay, we went to the Dr's office today for our 2nd ultrasound. It was amazing as you can see from the pictures!! They can get so much detail. They told us that the baby is currently positioned breech, feet first. We are hoping it will turn before its time to deliver. We are keeping a positive outlook on it, we have a lot of time before then. The baby is 10 oz. in weight at this time. I was a little surprised by this because my books say it should be around 8 oz but I guess that isn't too far off. No, we did not find out what the sex was. We want it to be a surprise!! Just praying for a healthy happy baby at this point. Well that's about all the additional news we have right now. Our Dr's appt isn't until Dec. 2nd, so I would imagine we will get more information at that time when the Dr. looks at all the ultrasound photos.

15 weeks 3 days

Okay so here is an updated belly picture! I am starting to get to the point where my jeans aren't fitting very well and have gone out and purchased some of those leggings that seem to be in fashion at the moment. Maybe I'll luck out and be able to get away without having to buy much maternity wear!! My morning sickness and fatigue have faded away and I am feeling much better! I am no longer sick and have my appetite back now. I am feeling much more energetic and have started back into more physical activity. I have been walking more and started doing some simple leg exercises.

I have gained a little bit of weight and I am now back up to my pre-pregnancy weight. I am not sure how I am not weighing more than my pre-pregnancy weight when looking at myself in the mirror, and I have to believe I must have lost some muscle mass which is motivating me to get more active. I have also started to break out in my face quite a bit!!! No fun! I guess I traded the morning sickness for the acne on my face. I have started back onto the Arbonne skin care and hope that will take care of it. We will see. I have also noticed that I am getting headaches almost daily or every other day. From what I have read it must be due to the hormones I am experiencing. I have been able to avoid taking anything for them up to this point and hope to keep it that way. The doctors say I can take Tylenol but I prefer to avoid it if possible. I have to be careful about cooking or doing dishes, anything that causes me to be standing with my back hunched over for a long period of time. My back will start to tighten up and almost feel like muscle spasms. The only thing that helps when it gets to that point is to lie flat on my back. My father-in-law gave me a back support to use in the car and it is extremely helpful. I have no back pain at all when traveling!

Well, that's about all I have for now....We'll keep filling you in as we get closer!

First Ultrasound 12 weeks 4 days

We are so excited to introduce you to Baby Hirsch for the first time!! We were completely surprised to find out at our first appointment yesterday that we were going to have an ultrasound done. We were able to see the little one on a big screen in the doctor's office and I have to tell you it was a very moving experience. I have seen a lot of ultrasound photos in the past but it was so much different when it was ours! The doctor measured the baby and said everything looked great and confirmed the size of the baby corresponds with our initial due date of April 10, 2010. He let us watch for quite awhile while the baby squirmed around A LOT~ Jeff actually asked the doctor if that was the baby moving or if he was moving the camera because the baby was moving so much. The doctor said it was definitely the baby and that we have "a very active baby." No surprise I'm sure to those of you who know Jeff and I well :) Some of our friends believe the baby was practicing some of Jeff's infamous dance moves ;) Seeing the baby finally really made the whole experience a lot more REAL! We also got to hear the heart beating. We are amazed and so happy and excited!
Okay, so now to the good part. I'll try to explain to you exactly where the baby is in the photos. The first photo is further away and just shows the heartbeat at the bottom. The next two photos are the same photo. If you look directly at the center you will see a round structure with a little dot in the middle. That is the body and where the heart is. To the left of that is the head, another round structure. To the right of the body are the legs which are curled up under the baby so you can just see a little bit of them and near the head and the body is a white line which is one of the arms. Isn't it beautiful! I know some of you are still trying to make it out! Lol. Its kinda like one of those pictures you stare at for a long time and then eventually a picture pops out at you! Well, thank you for your time and support! We will keep you posted on more up coming news and events!!

Morning Sickness

It seems like almost everyone deals with morning sickness in some form or another. Those of you who haven't yet or didn't, consider yourselves lucky! The best way I can describe morning sickness for those of you who haven't experienced it, is nausea. You know the feeling you get when your stomach is empty and growling but you can't stand to think about putting anything in it! Also a similar feeling to having the flu. Don't let the term confuse you though, just because its called morning sickness does not mean it only happens in the morning. As a matter of fact, I have experienced this most commonly in the middle of the day around lunch time.
All in all I would have to say I have been very fortunate up to this point. I have had some morning sickness but certainly not to the point of actually making me vomit. I have had a lot of advice from friends and family and have found that if I keep something in my stomach I am much less likely to have the very sick feelings. At first I tried drinking Vernors, a ginger ale, this helped a lot and I would drink one before lunch so my appetite would be better. Then I realized that I was adding an additional 150 calories to my diet (you only need about 300 extra calories during pregnancy) for each soda and no nutritional value so I decided to search out some additional remedies. The next thing I tried was ginger cookies, I know not much more nutritional value, but I didn't need to eat as many to get the soothing feeling. I ate saltine crackers to keep something in my stomach when nothing sounded good. I also found that if I ate more frequent meals I was more likely to keep my appetite. I have found that if I eat dinner early I will get hungry right before bed. If I don't eat anything I may be nauseous when I wake up. So if this happens I try to eat something before bed. If I wake up feeling sick in the morning I know I have to force myself to eat something so I will have a yogurt because its nutritious and easy to get down quickly.
The biggest thing for me is to try to eat healthy even though I may not feel like it. I try to keep a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables handy. Quite often I will find myself losing track of time while I am away from the house so in this case I keep granola bars in my purse for a quick snack. My most favorite unhealthy food is pizza, but since I have been pregnant I cannot eat it. Even if I just get a vegitable pizza to try to keep it less greasy and more healthy my body seems to reject it. About 30 minutes later I am sick and regret ever trying to eat it. This experience has made it easier for me to eat healthy because I want to avoid feeling bad later. I still have the occasional Ginger Ale when it gets really bad but I try to leave it for a last resort.

September Month 3

Okay, the moment you have all been waiting for :) The first belly shots. I have gotten an aray of comments on my belly. Some people think I am not showing at all yet and some people think I am showing quite a bit. I think it depends on the day (and what I've eaten!) I have actually lost a little bit of wait so far in the pregnancy. I have had a little bit of morning sickness but not enough to make me physically sick. I have to attribute the weight loss to

changing my diet and not knowing what I feel like eating (most of the time).

I have to admit, the belly photos are a little embarassing! But....I know that is what I look for when I am trying to keep up with a friend or family member who is pregnant, so here you go. I'm sure I'll get more used to it as the pregnancy progresses and its always fun to have those pictures to look back at and keep track of the pregnancy. I'll keep you updated as we grow!!

Due Date

Based on all of the Due Date calendars available online we have figured out our prospective due date to be April 10, 2010, exactly one week before Jeff's birthday. Hopefully we will have a beautiful baby to welcome to the family and the baby will be able to give its daddy the best birthday present he has ever had! I am happy about the time of the year we are due! Hopefully we will be able to enjoy the summer with a couple of months under our belt as new parents!