baby gut

i'm not sure if it's "officially" made an appearance. seems like in the morning it's a bump but by the end of the day it's turned into a gut. so here's my 18 week belly shot, actually it's closer to 19 weeks. i've decided it's impossible for me not to make a silly face when taking pics of myself. this pic will give you an idea of what's to come. i'll have to check and see if my camera has a remote. if you could have seen what i went through to get the photo: placing a stand-in lamp for focusing, running back to the camera to focus and set timer, running back and moving the lamp and posing in less than 10 seconds. it was a pretty funny sight to see and i have a feeling it'll get harder the bigger i get. i'll be a pregnant blur by the time 40 weeks rolls around.

yesterday i had my official ob appointment. i stepped on the scale and i had gained a whopping seven pounds in the last month! of course i was a bit confused cause the day before i weighed myself at home and had only gained two pounds. so your guess is as good as mine as to how much i've gained. my appointment was pretty uneventful. we got confirmation that baby westphal is still a boy. he said everything looked good except that my placenta was a little lower than he'd like to see. so i was diagnosed with low-lying placenta previa. the doctor didn't seem too concerned. he said it would probably migrate upward the further along i get. i'll have to be closely monitored and have another ultrasound in four weeks to make sure it does. seems like me and the ultrasound machine are becoming fast friends. the doc did do a quick 4-D ultrasound. unfortunately the baby's arms were blocking his face but you can kinda make out some of his features. hopefully next time we'll get a better pic.

on target

i absolutely love target. i ordered the baby bedding a few days ago and it arrived yesterday. i wanted to go somewhat gender neutral just in case we switched teams. and i wanted it to be modern and chic. it's gorgeous and i'm very happy with my purchase. i can now make some progress on the nursery, namely painting the walls. today i ordered the crib and matching dresser. i'll share that purchase later. i feel like we are starting to make some progress getting prepared for bbw (baby boy westphal). tomorrow i'll post today's doctor's appt. along with a long overdue belly shot. i finally have something to share. i'm amazed how things just pop out of nowhere. ;)

it's an...

alien! see i wasn't exaggerating when i said the baby looked like an alien last ultrasound. and now i have the proof! ;) last thursday i went in and had another ultrasound done at the free clinic. the main purpose of my visit was to have a gender scan. it was still a bit early, 16 weeks 6 days, so there was a possibility we wouldn't see anything or the baby wouldn't cooperate. fortunately the baby was ready to reveal it's secret. so without further adieu here is the money shot everyone has been waiting for.

i know it's always difficult figuring out what is what in these pics so i went ahead and labeled as much as i could to make it a little easier. what you're seeing is a shot from the underside with the baby's legs spread eagle. the little red circle is baby westphal's bits and pieces. so we're pretty sure it's a boy. i asked the ultrasound tech if she could give me a percentage, like 75% boy 25% girl. she told me she's about 95% sure it's a boy and she'd be quite surprised if i was told otherwise.

next tuesday i go in for my official ob appointment where i will be getting another ultrasound to hopefully confirm what we already know. i did go and get a few outfits after i found out. i refrained from going overboard and kept all my receipts just in case. here's one last pic to share. a profile shot.

rebirth

okay, a bit on the dramatic side. i finally finished all the twilight books and can now continue on with daily life. my first priority was to upload all the photos from the last 2 weeks, i guess it's almost 3 now. time sure does fly. included but not limited to is our trip back to illinois/missouri, a few pics from the boone derm picnic and adrian and katie's visit to the high country. i have a few pics on a disposable camera i have yet to develop so they should be coming soon as well.

things should be getting back to normal around here. and either later tonight or tomorrow i'll update the baby status.

where are you?

i've been sucked into the twilight series. returning home from illinois last week, i picked up the first book at the airport. finished it in two days and i promptly went out and bought the second book. finished new moon last friday but have had to refrain from reading since we had a busy weekend. music festival, company picnic and a visit from adrian, katie and lily occupied my time. today i went out and bought the next two books, eclipse and breaking dawn. i needed to insure i had the fourth book handy when i completed the third. yeah, i'm a bit addicted. edward cullen has become my new legolas. i'm such a sci-fi nerd. i went from elves to vampires. so sad.