Halfway Point

We have lots of news to share! First, Adam and I took out the amazing yet horrific pump a week ago tonight and so far so good. I have been a thousand times better and have even gained back the 13lbs I lost in addition to a pound or two on my own (not all in the last week mind you). Great news, even if getting on the scale makes me frown now :) I've felt so good in fact that we had a very busy weekend, including Adam's Holiday party. Ironically, we were chatting on the way how noone has really rubbed my belly like you hear so much about once the baby belly appears. So I went from noone really rubbing my belly to NFL players rubbing my belly....too funny! Then we got an exciting phone call late saturday night from Caren and found out early sunday morning, 12/21/08, that our niece, Allison Danielle, made an early appearance. She is absolulely adorable. We can't wait to meet her and post some pictures of her in our next entry. :)

Today, we are 20wks and 2 days and had our big ultrasound where they check all of the anatomy and give you the option to find out the gender. Baby J was doing toe touches and sucking fingers and was active as could be as usual. Even Adam can now feel some of the many movements I feel throughout the day. We are happy to announce that Baby J is 11 ounces and 9 inches long with all necessary parts! Though we know many of you might be disappointed, the parts you're most curious about will remain a mystery until our little one makes his/her arrival. Feel free to give us your best guess as wondering is such tremendous fun for us. We are halfway there and since the first half of this pregnancy seemed to drag along for us, I have a feeling this second half will go by much faster since I'm feeling so much better. FINALLY!

Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We miss all of you!!!

Thanks, Becky, for the awesome T-shirt!! (Click pictures to enlarge)

See you soon, Ally, Lauren, Caren, Jim & Elayne!!!! :)

Pump it up

Today we're 19 weeks and Baby J is kicking and tumbling away enjoying life on a daily basis. I, on the other hand, felt the final straw not too long ago and finally accepted my Dr's advice and had home health come out to provide an anti nausea 24 hour a day pump. What neither Adam nor I realized was that the nurse wasn't going to do the heavy lifting (i.e. sticking me with a needle), it would be Adam's job. We didn't know what we were signing up for with this pregnancy, but I'm happy to say that the pump has helped tremendously and we both hope to not have it too much longer. I'm very hopeful that by 20 weeks (7 days and counting) we'll be officially over the hump. Please keep your fingers crossed for us!

Today, we had a total BABY DAY. We started by going to our first of a few hospital tours which was an incredibly eye opening experience. Adam got to see a "conehead" for the first time. We continued the baby day by registering, going furniture shopping and holding a friend's newborn. Needless to say, we are a tad overwhelmed, but, there is a light at the end of the tunnel :)

The pictures included are of my new heavy medical companion with my bruised and battered belly and of Adam's first present from Baby J. He deserves an award for all that he's done and continues to do to take care of us, so Baby J and I found this shirt for him. We don't know what we would've done for the last few months without him. He's been Husband of the Year for a while, but he's now added Daddy of the Year to his long list of credentials. We will be forever grateful. Oh, and evidently, these are my really comfy pjs..... :)

Definitely a Taurus

Today, we are 17 weeks and while the first trimester troubles remain with us, I am excited to say that I'm fairly sure that I can now feel our little one doing the flips and crazy movements we've seen during our ultrasound. We had a doctor's appt on Wednesday and while we were trying to listen to the heartbeat again, it was really muffled and irregular at first so I asked the dr why it sounded like that and she said the baby was moving. Apparently, our child is as hyper if not more hyper than his (easier than his/her) mother and father combined :) The first time I thought I felt Baby J move was a few days ago and it felt like a tiny movement or flutter, but I wasn't sure. Now I've felt it several times and am fairly sure I am in for a long haul with this kiddo, as when I'm still, he seems to be moving a lot! I'll take all your kicks and flips little one if only you would help me out with the nausea! We keep trying to broker a deal, but it seems that Baby J doesn't like my terms yet. We definitely have a Taurus on our hands (just like his mama!) :) Happy Birthday (tomorrow), Courtney!!!

Friends and Family

Two weekends ago, our cousin, Becky, came to visit and took good care of me while Adam was away on his overnight work trip. She helped me pick out my first maternity pants. Then this past weekend, we went to Atlanta and saw lots of friends, a few of which are also expecting. We went to Michelle and Matt's Baby Shower and I went to Jacki's ladies only Shower. Adam and the guys had the opportunity to "practice" fatherhood. It was a wonderful weekend. Adam and I really miss being close to family and friends so it was really nice to spend some quality (though short) time with everyone. We miss you all and think about you often! Baby J enjoyed "meeting" Trey, Cooper and Olivia (Michelle's baby belly, Jacki's baby belly and Shelley's baby belly). All three of those little ones are due in January. We can't wait to meet them in person! We're excited to be in Atlanta for a week in December to welcome our new niece/nephew into the world!!! Baby J is 15 weeks in the pictures from Atlanta. If you want to see my baby bump, since it's now definitely there, feel free to click on the pictures to get a close up view. :) HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Grandma Elayne!

Baby J's Debut

Today, we had the privilege of seeing Baby J onscreen. Now, we're more convinced than ever that this child has serious defiance. The ultrasound technician needed the baby to be in a certain position in order to obtain specific measurements and none other than our baby (yes, the one who hasn't been listening to our plees to stop the "morning" sickness) refused to comply. Shocking. We were however treated to almost an hour (versus 5-10 minutes) of Baby J flipping around like a gymnast, bouncing here and there and jumping like crazy. She (much easier than he/she) continually sucked her thumb, waved her arms in the air, and kicked her legs up. I think I might be in some serious trouble when I can feel all this in a few weeks. I'm actually really looking forward to that. :) Adam took many an illegal video which includes many of the actions described above that he edited and attached below. We both agree that we're really in for something with this crazily active baby. We are in love already. This ultrasound has made Baby J much more of a reality for both of us.



Currently, Baby J measures just shy of 3".

Music to our ears

Baby J is officially 13 weeks today and while the "morning" sickness hasn't completely subsided, there have been a few better days here and there. We continue to hope for more and more good days. On Wednesday, we had a dr's appt where we were elated to hear Baby J's heartbeat. It's an incredible sound, though it's still hard to believe it's something we created. We attached a video so you could listen too. We also added some tunes to the bottom of the website so you could listen to one of our favorite songs (Baby J's too). Enjoy.

First Belly Pics

This is the first belly picture we've taken, not that there's too much there. I'm kinda at the stage where people looking at me wonder if I'm putting on weight. Ironically, I've lost weight since I found out I was pregnant.....haven't gained an ounce. Baby J must be more than 50% Rodriguez to give me such intense morning sickness, however, since I'm at the end of the first trimester (and have tried acupuncture) we're hopeful that morning sickness is on its way out! Keep your fingers crossed for us! Maybe then makeup, fashion, cleaning and errands will regain their importance.

Spreading the News

We headed to Florida to meet Baby Graham, Kelly and Brian's new bundle of joy in Daytona. We continued our tour de Florida in Melbourne, Boynton Beach, and Miami to surprise our family with our big news. We got our immediate family picture frames with a picture of Baby J's 8 1/2 week ultrasound and watched them process the fact that there was a new family member on the way. It was priceless! Watching the faces of Grandma Sharry, Grandpa Wayne, Grandpa Les, Uncle Eric, Great Grandpa Nano, Great Grandpa O and more extended family and friends realize we were having a baby brought tears to eyes everytime. We were able to share the news via the phone with Grandma Elayne and Aunt Caren, Uncle Jim and cousin Lauren along with the rest of our family. "Aunt" Courtney also got to join in the fun. Noone was expecting our big surprise so that made it all the more exciting!!! :) Flying to FL to share the news with our family has been a definite highlight for us.