Profile: Starting to drop

Well, the baby is getting so big that Laura's belly is starting to droop down a little bit, instead of just sticking straight out. With that in mind, we figured it was time for another update on how Laura's looking:

Active Weekend

Bean was quite active this past weekend. Not only was Bean kicking/punching its mommy dearest, but was pressing so hard that Owen could see my belly move! I was able to feel Bean's extremities through my belly...I think I felt a foot and a knee move across my belly at one time or another. I wanted to grab a hold of Bean's little foot, but didn't want to disrupt a baby at play. I'm looking forward to May when I can hold this little one and see all its body parts that have bumping up against me this past weekend (and I'm sure the weekends to come).

Necklace Prediction

One of my co-workers has had some success in the past being able to predict the sex and number of children a person is going to have by tapping & hanging a necklace over a the person's wedding hand. Yesterday she gave it a try on me, and the results are...4 children in total, first 2 are girls, second 2 are boys. She showed more skeptical co-workers today at lunch and the results were the same. Another co-worker wanted to give it a try and see if it would yield the same results, and the necklace continued to say 4 children, first 2 being girls, second 2 being boys. So, if the necklace is right, we will be welcoming a daughter to our family in just a few short months!

Only 88 days to go!

I need to pay attention to the countdown. The plan was for a wonderful "t-minus 100 days until the due date" post, but that's gone down the tubes. I guess that just under three months will be good enough.

"Bean"

Owen has been enjoying my nickname for the baby this past weekend. I've come to call it "Bean". I know this might sound a little odd, but there is a story behind it. When I was young, my Grandma Bongers would always throw a jelly bean in the bottom of our ice cream cones. I would then sit on the back porch with my cousins and we would guess which color she had given us (I always hoped for red), but we would never find out until we finished the cone.

I now find my self in a similar situation. Everyone is guessing if we are having a boy or girl. We will just have to wait the 9 months to find out what color we will bring the baby home in...blue or pink (this time I don't have a preference)! So, there you have it, Bean Yaklin. :)

For Cyndi:

You wanted a new post on the blog, with a picture. Here you go.

Ultrasound!

So, we had an appointment this morning to get ultrasound pictures. First, the technician said that everything looked good to her, nothing out of the ordinary. The heartbeat was 148. She was able to tell the gender of the baby, but we made sure she didn't tell us, and that she didn't put it in the report. So, the secret is safe with her. If you wanted to know, tough cookies.

Anyway, on to the main event. In the first picture, you can see the face fairly well:


On the second one, the face isn't as clear, but you can sort of see the rib cage on the left:

The third image gives you a good look at the head and spine:

Laura took this fourth picture as a sign that the baby doesn't want us to know what its gender is, because it crossed its legs:


And the last one is the feet. We think we can count all ten toes. Yippee!


We hope you enjoyed the show!

Profile: She's got a preggy belly!

So, it's official: Laura is showing. See for yourself:

Traveling with Baby Yaklin

I am in my 18th week and can now feel movement in my belly from the baby. So far, I have noticed it specifically while traveling. Friday night on my way home from work I felt the baby move for the first time while I was waiting to turn onto the interstate to head home. Saturday I felt the baby move on my decent into Dulles airport and on their people mover. Then today, I noticed the baby moving when I was driving to MD for the conference I am attending this week. Not sure if the baby likes the motion or is getting motion sick, but this is a fun feeling! I will be able to confirm these new sensations during our ultrasound next week, but until then, I'd like to say that I'm finally feeling the baby move! Yippee!

December Doctor's Appointment

So, we went to see the doctor today. There wasn't much in the way of news, but everything sounded good. The baby's heartbeat was in the 140's this time, and the results of Laura's blood test showed nothing unusual. He did scold me, though, for not getting a flu shot yet. He doesn't even like the thought of me getting sick while the baby is developing.

Back to the positive, we set up our next ultrasound appointment for December 18th, so we should have up-to-date pictures to show everybody over the holidays!