IT'S A BOY!!!!

Yep, it's official!  We are having a little boy this summer!  I am SO excited.  But it was the weirdest feeling.  The whole day I was nervous and anxious, but at the same time I had a peace about it.  Somehow Kyle and I just knew it was going to be a boy.  So I wasn't really surprised when she said it was.  It was more of a relief that my intuition was right!  My reaction was, "YAY!!!!" followed by clapping, haha.  It was such a NEAT experience, though!  Definitely worth the trip and the money.  And the 3D imaging was cool, but I learned that I prefer the old-fashioned 2D.  At least at this point.  I can't wait for my next ultrasound where we'll be able to see pictures of its FACE!  But a week and a half ago, you could kind of see features, but they weren't really pronounced yet.  You'll see in the pictures below...

On Tuesday I will be 16 weeks.  Woohoo!  Right now baby is the size of an orange, but this week he will turn into an avacado!  When I had my ultrasound, they measured him at about 5 cm and weighing about 4 ounces.  So cool!  But according to all my books and research, those measurements put him between 16 and 17 weeks, even though I was 14 weeks at that point.  They also said my estimated due date was June 13th.  So now I'm anywhere between the 13th and the 16th.  His heartbeat was 158.  I forgot to mention this in my last post, but my doctor appointment about a month ago had his heartbeat at 162.  I have another appointment tomorrow, so it will be fun to hear what it is this month.  Anyways, this week the bones in his ears will be forming, which means he can hear me now!  His eyebrows, lashes, and hair are starting to fill in.  Kyle had a dream last night that our baby will be born "with a little bit of hair...not a lot, but it will be there."  Haha, he cracks me up with this whole thing.  It's so fun to watch how excited he gets.  The baby's eyes are making side to side movements and he can even see some light.  Apparently, he is more sensitive to touch now, which means if I poke him he will most likely respond.  I should start to feel him kick within the next month.  It could be any day now!

Here is the nursery BEFORE we painted it and had carpet installed...

And now here it is after!  The paint color, ironically, is called, "It's A Boy!"

Here's a new belly picture from the front.  I'm a few days shy of 16 weeks here....

Belly from the side...this actually isn't the best picture...

This how Baby Kirby is positioned right now.  His head is at the bottom and legs are up at the top.

Ok, here's a 3D one.  His head is up at the top.  You can kind of make out his nose.  His arms are out at the sides, his torso is there in the middle, and then the bottom of his feet are facing you.

In this one you can see his teeth buds!  Of course they're under the gums right now, but there they are!  You can see a lot of his skeletal features here.

I just love this one.  It's like he's waving, "Hi mom and dad!"

This one you can see his profile.  His head is at the bottom and feet are at the top.  I love how you can see the spine so well!  He kept kicking my bladder, which was making me have to pee!  Now I know when I get those sudden urges, he's most likely kicking me, haha.

I love this one, too, because it's a profile of his face and you can see some of his facial features like his eyes, nose, lips, and ears.

Haha, here's the moment we found out it was a boy!  I can't tell what anything in this picture is.  I mean, I can obviously guess some things by the arrow, but it's still confusing.

THIS is the one where I could tell it was, without a doubt, a boy!  His head is up at the top again, torso in the middle, and legs pointing forward.  Then you can see what the arrow is pointing to, haha!

These are all the Christmas presents our son received!  He's already so spoiled! :P  The CUTE towel wrap in the upper left hand corner was sent by my former roomate, Beth.  I just love it!  The clothes were from mom and dad, the frog silky is from my Aunt Cheryl and family, the dog silky is from my sister, brother-in-law, and niece, and the two toys are from Ms. Beth, my friend's mom/mom's friend, haha!  Baby also got 2 books from Kyle's parents and 2 books from one of my students!  What a cute gift!

Until next time...

13.5 Weeks

Well, hello long-lost blog and blogger friends!  I told you I wouldn't be very good about updating. :P  If it weren't for my principal and my former roomate, Katie, the next post might not be until baby is born! :P

I am currently about 13 1/2 weeks right now.  Right now baby is the size of a peach!  It's growing so fast!  I feel like just yesterday it was a blueberry.  Right now the teeth and vocal cords are forming.  The proportions of its body are almost normal.  Its intestines are moving from the umbilical cord into its little body.  Crazy what takes place each week!  In a few days it will be the size of a lemon.  Apparently, I don't know my fruits very well because I feel like a lemon is smaller than a peach.  Eh, who knows!

The most exciting thing is that THIS THURSDAY we get to find out if it's a boy or girl!  We are SOOOO excited, nervous, anxious, thrilled.... It will be a big deal!  We've invited both of our mom's to go with us.  We are going to a place in Columbus called Ultrasona.  They can determine gender as early as 14 weeks.  AND, if they're wrong they have a money-back guarantee.  So that tells me they know what they're doing and I've heard nothing but great things about this place.  I've known lots of people who have gone down there and I've never heard of anyone being told the wrong thing.  So I have lots of hope and excitement!

Friday is our last day of school.  Then we're off for 2 weeks (until January 3rd).  So my plan is to get the room painted, have the carpet installed, and start our registry.  I figure while I've got the time off I might as well get some things ready.  I'm kinda shocked I haven't really done much of anything yet.  I remember when I got engaged, I went out and registered 2 days later.  The wedding was 8 months away.  Now the baby will be here in 6 months and I haven't started a single thing....

And THAT'S where my wonderful friends and family come to save the day!  My former roomate, Lindsay, sent me these DARLING Ole Miss booties!  I'm starting to think Baby Kirby might just leave the hospital dressed in Ole Miss apparel.....

And last weekend my grandma and grandpa came down from Michigan to celebrate Christmas since we will be staying here this year.  And these great-grandparents came bearing gifts for the unborn!  I was really surprised and did not expect this at all....

Until next week....

"Come and meet...those dancing feet...on the avenue I'm taking you to...."

42nd Street!!!!

Ok, so I decided I never do much for myself anymore.  I've been running crazy the past few weeks.  Parent-Teacher Conferences, trying to get ready for the holidays, doctor's appointments, cheer practice, cheer pictures, and tomorrow I'm teaching a "Harry Potter" class at the OSUM library!  Which I'm SO excited about, btw.  And then I'm leaving straight from OSUM and driving down to Westerville because my girls are going to a basketball cheer clinic at Americheer.  Then we're doing a team dinner on the way back to Marion.  So all that to say, I've been insanely busy and I've felt really down because I haven't really gotten to do anything relaxing and fun.  SOOOO...PHS is doing 42nd Street as their musical this coming spring.  They've opened it up to ANYONE 14 and over.  So the first big dance number will be tons of people from the Pleasant community (teachers, alumni, parents, etc.).  We had our first practice last night and it was SO fun!  That's the most relaxed I've been and the most fun I've had in quite a while!  I just loved it!  Now keep in mind, I was in this same show at the Palace Theatre (community theater) a couple summers ago.  And it is my FAVORITE show, especially to perfom in.  AND, a couple good high school friends of mine are part of this!  Holly is choreographing and April and Andy were there!  So it's just gonna be amazing.  I talked to the director (the fabulous Dory Traynham) and asked her if she was going to mind there being a 6-month pregnany lady on stage, and she said, "Oh no!  Not at all!  It'll be great!"  So I guess I'm in the clear!  Little Baby Kirby will be performing before it even enters the world!  I have my tap shoes on at the moment.  I just had the soundtrack playing on my iPod and was trying to dance through what I could remember of the first number.  Let's just say I'm a little out of breath!  It's insanely good for me, though. 

On another note, tonight Kyle and I went to Lowe's (imagine that) and picked out carpet for our bedroom and baby's bedroom.  We're tired of cold feet in the morning (our entire house is hardwood, minus the bathrooms and kitchen).  And we thought some good carpet would be good for our little one to play on and not bump their head.  Plus, I'm tired of cleaning the hardwood floors.  It'll be so much easier to run a vacuum and be done.  No more vacuuming, dust mopping, then wet mopping....uggg....such a pain.  I also picked up some paint samples, because I'm hoping to paint over Christmas break, too, once we find out what we're having.  I'm planning on moving all the furniture out of that room over Christmas break, too (or sooner, depending on when the carpet gets installed...but we're aiming to have it done during break when I'm home).  Here's what the baby room looks like now (it really is a mess...I'm sorry...this is what happens when you're never home for more than 2 seconds before going to bed):

And baby already has its first gift!  One of my old roomates from college, Katie, sent this to us!  We were SO excited (especially me!):

 
Tuesday right after I get out of school, Kyle and I are heading up to Michigan.  We're staying at my grandparent's pretty much the rest of the week.  On Wednesday we going to Frankenmuth!  We decided to start a family tradition.  We're going to go up every year and enjoy a free day and start buying pieces to a nativity scene, since we don't have one yet.  Well, we have one, but it was tiny and like $5. :P  Since we're starting our family, we figured now would be a good time to start doing fun things like this for us to enjoy.  Baby Kirby will be enjoying the chicken dinner at the Bavarian Inn, even though it can't see all the sights just yet!  It sure will enjoy the food, though!  Then it's family time on Thursday and Friday!  We'll come home either Friday night or Saturday morning.

Right now I'm about 10.5 weeks.  Little one is now a fetus, not an embryo!  The eyes and nose are clearly visible and baby tooth buds are forming.  Baby's wrists and ankles have formed and you can tell apart fingers and toes.  AND most of its joints are formed. Bones and cartilage are forming and its knees and ankles are starting to take shape.  Funny, its elbows are already working!  Its genitals have started to form (I can't wait till my kid reads that part one day...I can hear it now..."MOOOOMMMM!!!!  Was that necessary?!?!  That's weird!!!).  Bahahahaha...my first aim at embarrassing my child. :D  The nervous system is responsive and internal organs begin to function.  The lungs, stomach, kidneys, and intestines are developing.  The heart is almost done forming!  Oh, and of course, baby is the size of a prune right now!  This time next week it'll be a LIME!  My clothes are getting tighter and tighter.  I actually had to go out and buy some maternity pants this week...just "lounge-around-the-house/exercise" pants, but still...  My t-shirts are a little too tight around my belly.  I guess it depends on who you ask and when...most people are really starting to see my belly pop out and I've had just a couple people say they can't tell a difference...grreeeaaatttt....just what I wanted to hear....am I really that fat?!?!  Actually, this week I've had quite a few people want to feel it, which is cool and weird all at the same time.  I love it, though, haha!  All I know is I have proof it's growing!  My sister could definitely tell, and Kyle definitely can.  He gets so excited everytime he looks at my belly.  It's kind of cute. :)  He always talks about my "baby belly".  "Look at how big that baby belly is getting!  Oh my gosh, I can't believe that baby belly is already that big!"  And it's not like I've been eating a lot to put on pounds, considering I've lost 7 pounds currently.  I'm gonna guess that's gonna start turning around soon since I'm starting to finally eat again.

Ok, it's Friday night....and "Shrek" is on....and I kinda want out of these tap shoes now....I'm out!

What is this thing attached to the front of my stomach?!?!

Well, this is interesting!  I feel like it kinda came out of nowhere!  A co-worker explained to me the reason I'm showing already is because I'm so SHORT!  Omg, it makes total sense.  Here I was freaking out, but now I know it's because baby only has room to grow out, not up and down!  But you asked for a pic of the bump, so here it is.  Btw, in the future I most likely will not include my face.  Anyone who knows me knows how much I HATE pictures of myself.  You're lucky this time.... ;)

But on another note, I'm a couple days shy of 9 weeks!  That also means I'm heading into my last month of the first trimester.  This week the baby is about 1 inch, the size of a green olive.  Its facial features are becoming more distinct and starting to look more like a baby (this is all from the books I'm reading).  Tiny muscles are starting to form this week, which means it's starting to move its little feet and arms!  I won't be able to feel it for at LEAST another month, though.  Its fingers and toes are about complete.  Its eyelids almost cover its eyes and its nose has a shape now!  And the diaphragm is developing this week.  It's so weird and cool and exciting!  Next week (in case I don't get to update), baby will be the size of a prune, and then a LIME!  It's growing so fast!

Until next time...

Baby is well! :)

Yay, yay, yay!  I've had 2 appointments and another blood test since my last post 2 weeks ago.  I've been feeling all in all pretty well.  I've had some mild crampiness, but nothing excruciating or unbearable.  The worst part has been I've just not been feeling like eating.  Everything sounds gross and it makes me feel like I want to throw up.  But it's getting slightly better and I'm slowly starting to eat more again.  I've lost 5 pounds since I found out I was pregnant.  I know that will go away and that I will gain more, haha...it's just part of it!  No big deal!  Anything for my little jelly bean! :)

Appointment #1 was just a review of our family history and talking about what to expect and how things will go and progress.  And then we met with the financial ladies and fortunately our insurance covers everything!  We were very excited and relieved!

I have now successfully made it through 2 blood tests...and I didn't even pass out!  I'm starting to get a LOT better with all this medical stuff.  It used to be I'd pass out at the THOUGHT of anything that might hurt or any sort of needle.  Now it's almost like it's no big deal.  Woohoo!  I'm a big girl! :)

Today we had our first "official" baby appointment.  After waiting an hour, we got to go back and SEE and HEAR our baby!  It was the coolest, and most emotional thing.  One of the biggest, most incredible moments of my life.  There it was!  This tiny little human-being.  So cute already!  I could just tell, haha!  (One of my fears is having an ugly baby...it was one of my sister's biggest fears, too...I think I got it from her :P)  And perhaps the two COOLEST things ever was SEEING the heart beat!!!  It was like its little lungs (it looked like lungs on the machine) were going in and out so fast!  It was actually MOVING!  Then she turned up the volume and we HEARD its heart beating!  Its little heart is beating 152 beats per minute.  That just warms my heart.  :)  More and more tears rolled down my face with everything I saw and heard.  I just stared in amazement.  I even recognized the head!  Its limbs are still kind of difficult to separate, but I think I can see the arms sticking up a little bit.  I'm measuring between 7.5 and 8 weeks.  THE OFFICIAL DUE DATE IS JUNE 15th!!!  Oh my goodness, it was just so cool.  I will never get over that moment.  I know there are many more to come, but that one starts all the good memories and sentimental moments!

Next appointment is in 4 weeks...until then, here's the first pictures of Baby Kirby! :)

A New Chapter

Well, dear friends, it's true!  I am pregnant!  It's hard to believe right now!  I also feel like I'm walking on eggshells, trying to be so careful.  I'm so nervous about everything being ok.  But God will take care of Kyle and me and our little baby.  :) 

I found out in our home (via home pregnancy test) on Tuesday, October 5th.  I went back to the store to get more because I didn't believe it and I thought something was wrong with the first test!  Lo and behold, 3 tests later (over 3 days), they were still all positive!  I went and had my blood test on Thursday, October 7th and talked to the doctor that Friday to find it, it was true!  I am indeed expecting! 

I have to admit, the hardest thing thus far has been keeping it secret/telling people in the "right" order.  I never, ever knew that could be so difficult.  The funniest reaction was from my cheerleaders - it took a second for my words to sink in and then they just started screaming. :)  For the staff, we had a teacher-inservice day on Monday, October 18th.  I was presenting a little mini-workshop for our new Promethean boards and decided to do a "Top 5" list of why they should learn to use their board...with the #1 reason being that I will be in and out a lot this year due to appointments and other pregnancy situations!  It's been so fun, yet so stressful for some reason.  I always fear what others think of me, so the planning and timing were a huge obstacle for me.  But it's done and out in the open now!  Looking back, I don't know how I could've changed anything or done it any different, although I wish there had been a better way.

Of course, telling family was the most fun.  I called Kim that first night from home because I panicked and didn't know what to do.  I called mom the next day because I was nervous about my blood test and needed a pep talk.  I told my dad at the Friday night football game by showing him my "battle wound" (a.k.a. needle mark) and that led him into all the right questions. :P  My extended family was contacted by phone, in which my grandpa thinks I should have twins because "we haven't had any of those yet."  I called many of my Mississippi friends, which was fun.  Beth seemed to already know I was pregnant somehow. ;) All in all, it's been a fun experience so far and Kyle and I are blessed to have such wonderful friends and family.

So the reason I'm blogging is to keep far-away friends and family updated on everyting.  By no means is all this super-important, and on average you'll be lucky to get a post a week. :) 

The first doctor appointment is Wednesday, October 20th, so I'll be sure to post that evening! :)  Stay tuned and please say a prayer or two for us. :)