19 Weeks- Happy New Year!!

Wow, we are almost halfway there. Although sometimes I've felt like this pregnancy is dragging it does seem amazing that we will meet this little guy less than 5 months!

We have had a pretty crazy '08. After 3 surgeries, countless injections and more tears and heartache than I could have been prepared for we feel so blessed to be expecting our little one. A year ago I never would have imagined what this year would bring but honestly I now can't imagine not going through it all. I think this process has taught me patience, perseverance, and hope and I think I will be a better mother because of it. We are looking forward to an exciting '09! Hopefully we will see some changes for the better taking place in the economy and of course we will becoming parents.

We are looking forward to a pretty low key New Year's Eve. We're heading over to some friend's house and then heading up to the cabin with the Vann family for a few days. Next Tuesday we have our big ultrasound where we will confirm the sex and get the baby's measurements. I'm really excited to be able to see him moving around again. I'm starting to feel him more consistently now. I love feeling him kick and move around and I'm anxious for J to be able to feel him too! I'll post more pics later but here is the belly pic from today at 19 weeks. The little guys is now about 6 in. long and weighs about 9 oz. Mango's are one of my favorite fruits, too bad they really aren't in season because my mouth is watering looking at that one!

A Crazy Christmas!

We are just getting over having the worst snow storm in 100 years here in the lovely Pacific NW which made for an interesting X Mas. Luckily after almost 6 hours of white knuckled driving we were able to make it to my parent's house for the festivities. We had a great time and received lots fun baby things. We couldn't have been more thrilled and appreciative for all of the love and support this little guy is already receiving. We are so lucky! Here are a few pics from the holiday. I'll get a new belly pic on later this week, I know I'm a little behind. Next up...New Years!

Mom, Jimmy & Me on X Mas.

Jimmy trying out the new Ergo...love it!

My Grandma on Christmas Eve.

The little Vann House covered in snow.

My dedicated huband shoveling a walkway for his pregnant wife.

Holiday Baking

We had a huge snow storm today that gave us about 4 inches and now it's in the 20's so looks like we are going to be stuck at home for a while. We stayed in today because most of the roads were impassable so I took the opportunity to do some holiday baking. Don't worry, the baby isn't that hungry! I made it all to give away, although I did have to have a small taste of everything to make sure it was up to par! For recipes check out my food blog.

Then, on top of all the baking I made a really good dinner too! I'm very proud of myself and J was beyond thrilled with the day's events :-)

Alive & Kickin'

That's right, I'm starting to feel this little guy moving around. He's pretty active in the morning and in the evening kicking and jabbing me. It's so fun to feel him dancing in there.

Other than the freezing temps around here this week (we are waking up to temps in the teens which is very unusual for us), we have nothing very eventful going on. We are just getting ready for the holidays and trying to stay warm.

We watched my friend's daughter Nevaeh on Sat evening which is always fun. She is such a sweet little girl and is starting to crawl. She was born on May 30th so she and our baby will be exactly 1 year apart. Here's a pic of Jimmy and Nevaeh checking out the 1st snow of the year.

And, of course here is the weekly belly pic for week 17. I think it's gotten a little bigger in the past few weeks but it's pretty hard to tell.

Last but not least, the fruit of the week which is no such thing this week. It's actually an onion. Onion's are pretty much my least favorite food. Yuck, although my little guy is an onion I won't hold it against him. Hopefully he won't make me cry like onions do!

Don't YOU have anything better to do???

I got a comment on one of my earlier posts that stated "Don't you have anything better to do than obsess about a baby????????"

Um, no...I actually don't!!!! This baby is obviously the most important thing in my husband's and my life right now and probably will continue to be so until the day I die. If you had been through what I went through to create this little guy you might understand but if I am offending you for keeping a blog about my pregnancy then by all means, don't read it. And, certainly don't take the time out of your busy day to comment about it.

Whoever you are please take your negative comments elsewhere...enough said.

He is huge!

I had an appt today and I was able to hear the heartbeat and hear him moving around. When he is moving it sounds like a loud swishing sound on the monitor and he was swishing all over the place. I still haven't felt any definite movement but I'm sure it will happen soon. The Dr. also told me that my uterus is measuring between 18-20 weeks and today I am only 16 weeks 3 days. Oh no!!! I'm going to have a huge baby!! This makes me nervous but it does make sense because I think I am a little big for 16 weeks. Here are some new belly pics taken today. You be the judge, is he making my butt look big...lol!?

Does this baby make my butt look big??

I think it might a little! I'm just a little bigger all over right now. I know it is great that I am gaining weight and my belly is getting bigger but it is honestly a little hard to get on that scale and see a # that I have NEVER seen before. I know it's all worth it though!

We had a good weekend hanging out with friends and relaxing at home. This weekend I think it's time to get started on the X Mas shopping. I have done none so far (I feel like scrooge this year) so I'd better get the ball rolling.

I had my first comments from strangers this week on my popping stomach. A stewardess on a plane last week told me she thought she saw it kick! I had to laugh since I've hardly felt him kick yet but at least she knew I was pregnant and not just fat. Also at the dry cleaners today the woman behind the counter asked me if I was expecting. I proudly said "YES!" It's fun to walk around with a pregnant belly. It makes me feel special like I have the importance of a whole human growing inside me. People look at you differently.

I am feeling great, pretty normal, just bigger. Tonight when I was sitting I think I might have felt him for the first time. I felt a little tap tap, 2 times. I don't think it was gas and it was in the spot where his little foot could be. I can't wait to feel more!

This week the baby is as big as an avocado. He is almost 5 inches long and can now hear us! I told Jimmy to watch his mouth now that his son can pick up his voice! He is also now growing eyelashes, eyebrows, hair and toenails.

The Fruit of the Womb

The fruit in my womb is now the size of an orange and is about 4 inches long. Apparently he is moving and kicking up a storm but I have yet to feel any movement. I'm really looking forward to those first flutters or kicks!We had a great Thanksgiving at our house with family. We have so much to be thankful for this year and we were thrilled to host the holiday and share it with our families. It was a small group which was nice and J and I have now eaten our weight in leftovers. I don't think we'll mind if we don't see turkey, potatoes, stuffing and gravy until next year! Here are a few pics of our day.

I took J to Babies R Us for the 1st time on Sat. which was a fun experience. He was having a hard time keeping everything straight (apparently bassinet, boppy, swing, glider, stroller, Ergo, etc. all start to sound the same after a while). It was fun though and now I am looking forward to registering in a few months. Nothing else very exciting going on around here. I am off to San Fran tomorrow morning for my work X Mas party and then we have a pretty quiet weekend ahead of us.

I'll leave you with another belly pic taken today at 15 weeks. I'm starting to look more pregnant by the day!

When life hands you lemons...

I do feel like life has been handing a lot of people lemons lately with the state of our economy but it's hard to be all doom and gloom when you have a little human growing away in your belly! Therefore, I'm making lemonade!

I thought a lemon was smaller than a peach so this must be a big lemon. The baby is now sucking his thumb, breathing the amniotic fluid and is over 3 inches! I am feeling great, just big but my new maternity clothes are fabulous and keep both me and my belly comfortable all day. I am in heaven every time I put them on! We are looking forward to a really nice Thanksgiving at our house with family. Not a huge group which is nice. My parents and brother will be here along with Jimmy's Mom, brother and Heather. It should be a fun time.

Here is a belly pic taken last night at 13 weeks 6 days. The "bump" is growing and I can't wait to feel the little guy moving around. Should only be a few more weeks!

A Milestone

Today marks the 1st day of the 2nd trimester! Woohoo, what a relief. Our chances of anything going wrong have now drastically reduced and after seeing our little guy last week I am feeling very confident about this pregnancy!

We are having a great weekend at home. I am deep cleaning because I neglected the house in the 1st tri when I wasn't feeling great and J is outside dealing with the leaves in the yard. J's mom was kind enough to come over today to help him with the leaves which is so nice of her. I know he really appreciates the help. Usually I am out there helping but not this year and it's a big job!

I'm a little behind on the fruit this week. I got so excited about the u/s pics I forgot about the fruit so here is the big reveal...lol! Today our little guy is as big as a peach and he is forming teeth and vocal cords. He is also starting to practice breathing in and out.

I have some new belly pics I'll put on later this weekend. The belly is growing!

HE is growing!

We just had an extensive u/s to check on our little guy and it appears to be just that...a little guy! The u/s tech she was 95% sure that it is a little boy. Jimmy is beside himself! I'm a little hesitant but the pics really do look like he has his boy parts. We'll get another good look at 20 weeks to be sure. For now, I'm not sure if we can start buying blue or not.

He was moving around and amazing to watch. He has 10 fingers and toes and looks like a real baby. What a sight to see. He was measuring at 13 weeks 1 day, so a little ahead of schedule and was almost 3 inches long with a heart rate of 153 bpm. He is beautiful and healthy!

My belly is growing by the day and I'm sure that I look huge and extremely pregnant, although everyone around me begs to differ.

Here he is, I think he looks like a little Jimmy! What do you think? Do you see the "boy parts?"

I've been a bad blogger!

I've been tagged on 2 different blogs but haven't gotten around to responding. So here we go...

This one is from Hannah
THE 8'S


8 Favorite TV Shows
1. Lost
2. So You Think You Can Dance
3. The Biggest Loser
4. Big Brother
5. John & Kate Plus 8
6. The Hills (I know, it's bad)
7. Gossip Girl
8. Kath & Kim


8 Things I did yesterday (Not a very exciting day)
1. Held Nevaeh
2. Took the dogs for a walk
3. Made dinner
4. Worked
5. Felt Nauseous
6. Ate
7. Showered
8. Lots of laundry

Favorite places to eat (kind of weird right now because I want weird things)
1. The Game
2. Anything Mexican
3. Quiznos
4. Red Robin
5. Pagliacci
6. Olive Garden
7. Taco Time
8. My own kitchen


8 Things I'm looking forward to
1. Holding my baby!
2. Kissing my baby!
3. Smelling my baby!
4. Finding out the sex of the baby
5. Thanksgiving at our house
6. Christmas with my family
7. My belly popping out so I look pregnant instead of fat!
8. Going to bed

8 Things on my Wish List
1. A beautiful Nursery
2. New carpet upstairs
3. A new railing
4. A better economy
5. A healthy baby
6. A front porch
7. New Bedroom Furniture
8. A vacation to a warm climate with my husband


And this one is from Natalie
Tag 4*4


I am supposed to go to my picture folder and open up the 4th folder and pick the 4th picture, then post it.
So here is the picture.

My sweet Dad practicing his Grandpa skills in Cannon Beach this summer with the dogs. What a fun summer get away with my family. Dad, next year you can carry a baby instead. We won't put the baby on a leash, it won't smell bad, and it won't bark at you!

Another Day, Another Fruit

A PLUM!! That's right, in the past twelve weeks our baby has gone from poppyseed to plum. That's quite the growth spurt! We are out of the 200's with only 196 days until my due date and the little one is in our arms. I am still feeling better with more energy and I feel like time is starting to go by a little faster than it did in the beginning. My clothes are getting tight but although my belly is getting bigger I can still wear my normal pants. Almost all of the baby's systems are fully formed. It now looks like a real, little human.
Here's another belly pic taken at 11 weeks 6 days. I can definitely tell a difference from 2 weeks ago! I know it has a long way to go but it looks huge to me :-)

Lots of leaves and no more shots!

On Friday J gave me my last shot! I can't believe it's over. It feels weird to not have to do anymore but of course I am thrilled. Below is a pic of the needle J has been jabbing into the muscle of my bum, full of thick oil...gross! We'll have to do these again someday for baby #2 but for now we can put them behind us.

On another note, our backyard is so full of leaves it is ridiculous. I think about 75% of them have fallen now. We are going to my parents house for the weekend so they will have to wait until next weekend to be raked and bagged. Hopefully by then they will all be down and we'll only have to do it once. Just in case you don't believe me...

We went to the cabin last weekend and it was a nice relaxing get away. It's actually nice to get away from the cell and computer for a few days and just watch movies and play games. We are so lucky to have the cabin and I can't wait for our kids to enjoy it!


I had my monthly appt with the ob this morning and she did a quick u/s. It was so amazing. The little one was moving all around, it's arms were moving up and down and it's little body was squirming around. It looked like a real baby with limbs and big belly. Next week we have a big u/s where they will look at the baby for quite a while and take all of it's measurements. I can't wait to be able to watch it for a while. I'm starting to feel a lot better. Last week was tough with nausea and headaches but I've been feeling good the past couple of days and I feel like my energy is coming back a little as well.

A little lime

What does a lime remind me of? Hmm...a margarita, a nice cold corona, maybe a tequila shot??? These actually all sound awful to me right now but someday I will long for a nice, cold, lime margarita on the beach somewhere tropical. I can dream right?

Things are still just moving along nicely. My stomach is getting harder and I can hardly wait for another 6-7 weeks when I will feel the little one moving around. Last night we watched history be made and I thought to myself, this is probably one of those events that I will always remember where I was and what I was doing when it happened. For me it was eating salad with Italian dressing (I've been craving it, something about the vinegar) laying on the couch with my husband and thinking about the world I will bring our child into. Regardless of whether America made the correct decision or not this is an exciting time and I feel lucky to be able to live through it.

Today I am 11 weeks and the baby is the size of a lime. It is growing really fast right now and is developing teeth buds, hair and fingernails! So amazing!

Voting for Victory

Our little one took it's first trip to the polls today. His Mom and Dad voted for the president who will be in office for the 1st 4 years of his life. Now we are anxiously watching to see what will happen. It will be fun to someday tell the little one that he was part of this important historical event, albeit it's only the size of a prune! Hope you all made it out to vote today too!

1st Belly Pic

You're forewarned...there are many more to come! I've had some requests so here it is in all its glory at 10 weeks 2 days. At this point most of it is still bloat (or that top ramen that I HAD to have for lunch). Although when I lay flat I can feel my uterus in my pelvis. It kind of feels like a hard tennis ball. My uterus is now a little bigger than a grapefruit and the little one is supposed to triple in size in the next 3 weeks. I love how I can now feel and see the changes happening in my body. I honestly can't wait until I have a nice, round baby bump! I've been waiting for a long time for it. Happy Halloween everyone!

10 fingers and toes at 10 weeks

I'm 10 weeks today and still feeling pretty good. Just the same nausea and exhaustion that can be dealt with. The baby now has fingers and toes that are separated. I can't wait to see them in the next u/s. The baby is the size of a prune which I think is a little gross. I think they could have chosen a fruit that isn't all shriveled up but oh well, it's probably pretty accurate. The baby is probably a little shriveled and wrinkly! Nothing else to report, pretty lazy here at the Vann household. Other than the enormous amount of leaves that are falling in our backyard and need to be picked up we don't have much going on this weekend. We are ditching out of all of our Halloween parties because it sounds like too much work. I keep telling myself that my energy will come back in a few weeks and I hope it's true!

Shooting up in the bathroom!

That's right, I'm now officially a bathroom druggie! At J's office no less! Yesterday morning I was getting ready and J had already left for work when I realized we had forgotten one very important detail of our Friday Morning routine...the progesterone shot. I called J and rather than make him come all the way home I decided to pack up the meds and go to him. I loaded the syringe, quickly finished getting ready and ran out to his office. There was no where to do it except for the men's bathroom and luckily the office wasn't very busy yesterday morning so there weren't that many people around. I had to just lean over the sink and he stuck the needle in my bum. It was definitely one for the records. Only a few more weeks of these and we're done for good. Hopefully we can do the rest in the comfort of our own home!

On another note, in case any of you men out there were wondering, this is how you give your pregnant wife a heart attack! This is where I find J today when I look out the window! Great, just what we need are more Dr's and hospitals. Luckily he finished without a scratch and I was very happy to see him climb down that ladder for the last time!

9 weeks 1 day...but who's counting?

I hit the 9 week mark yesterday! Only a few more and I'll graduate to the 2nd tri and I'm really looking forward to that. All is normal on the home front. We had an uneventful weekend last week and I'm looking forward to another one this weekend. I'm exhausted so I'm really happy just hanging out at home as much as possible these days. You'd think that since my bedtime is now between 8-9 I'd be rearing to go during the days but miraculously I'm still tired and the nausea doesn't help! Our next u/s appt isn't until the 19th of Nov. so we have another month to wait to see our little guy again. By then it is going to look so big! I can't wait to see it moving around in there and see all of its little features. Apparently this week our little olive is starting to really look like a baby with distinct facial features.

We Graduated

That's right we graduated from the infertility clinic on Friday. I have mixed feelings about this. It was a little bitter sweet. I feel like we really got to know our nurses and our Dr. and we really enjoyed them. On the other hand, we are now normal! I am having a normal pregnancy and I'm no longer classified as an infertile or an IVF patient. Although I will always be infertile and it is a label that will stick with me for the rest of my life and has also forever changed me, I can now for the time being, move on and join the rest of the normal fertiles at the OB for the rest of my pregnancy. When we were leaving the fertility clinic on Friday they told us to be sure to bring our baby in and show it off and I said I'd be back in a few years so we can have #2! I know I will always have a special connection to this clinic. They have given me the greatest gift and they are also harboring our 8 little embryos that will someday become our future children.

Our little raspberry is growing right along and it's heart rate was up to 162 bpm. It is actually growing ahead by 3 days which puts me at 8w4d today. I can't believe we are this far already. It feels so much more meaty to be able to say 8 or 9 weeks, it is actually becoming real! I'm a little worried that our baby is growing so big so fast, although he is still so small. Jimmy weighed over 9lbs when he was born and this scares me to death. I'm not sure if the husband's weight when born has anything to do with how big your baby will be but It's on the list to ask the Dr. If we do have a huge baby it's all Jimmy's fault! It definitely has nothing to do with those cheeseburgers I've been craving!

I swear I already have a little baby bump. I had a head start with IVF on the weight gain but I have a feeling I'm going to be showing pretty early. I'll take our 1st baby bump pic this week so you can see what I'm talking about.

Here is a pic of our little bean as of Friday. We are so in love!

Growing a baby...

Everything is going perfect so far! My symptoms are minimal and I'm feeling pretty good. I'm still ravenous and it hits me quickly. All of a sudden I get a feeling that I need to eat NOW and I get pretty queasy if I don't but as long as I keep food close by I'm fine. I have to keep reminding myself that I'm growing a baby. It's little systems are forming and it already has hands and feet that are waving around.

We had our 1st appt at the ob-gyn this AM and all is well. We saw the baby again via ultrasound and it's little heart was beating. We have another u/s at the fertility clinic on Friday when they will measure the heart rate and we will be able to see the little raspberry in more detail. I love having all of these appts so I can keep an eye on this little bean and make sure it is growing right on track!

This weekend my parents spent the night on Friday and brought us a little package of fun baby stuff, a maternity shirt and a bella band. On Sat my mom and I went shopping and my dad and Jimmy went to The Man Store (Home Depot) and looked at a few things for the house. On Sat. night we went over to our friends Mark and Janna's house with Morgan & Nicole and the precious girls, Sophie and Ella. They are just the sweetest little things and getting so big! Here are a few pics of the little rascals!

The joys of pregnancy

I couldn't be more happy about my nausea, exhaustion and bloating. I've been waiting to feel this for a long time. I feel so blessed to have our little blueberry growing away inside of me. I tried to imagine being pregnant so many times and it always seemed like such a far off thing for me. I can't believe it is actually here and I thankfully have the symptoms to prove it! Right now our little bean is the size of a blueberry and is forming over 100 cells every minute. I could sit around and daydream all day about what is happening inside of me. I just love it!

Not much else going on in the Vann household lately. Just lots of baby talk. We have our 1st ob appt next Tuesday and I'm hoping they do an u/s so we can see the little guy (or gal) again. J and I want to thank you all for your well wishes, congratulations and kind words. It's been a long journey and we feel so blessed to have so many great friends and family members supporting us.

One Bun!!!

The wait is over. I feel like this week had been dragging because I have been so anxious for our ultrasound this morning to find out what is going on inside of me. The news...we have 1 strong, healthy, growing little baby inside of me. It was measuring 2 days ahead at 6 weeks 1 day and it had a strong little heartbeat. We are thrilled! Our lives just became so much simpler! Although we had really become used to the idea of 2 babies we are so happy to have 1 little bean to bond with. My due date is May 28th and we will go back in for another ultrasound at the fertility clinic in 2 weeks. My 1st appt with the obgyn is on Oct 14 so we still have quite a few appts coming up. Hopefully we will have several more chances to see our little baby soon! Below is a video of our ultrasound this am. If you look closely enough you can see the heartbeat!

And the survey says...

Well if I believe the majority of you, we are for sure having 2 babies. The results are:

1 baby- 6 people
2 babies- 33 people
3 babies- 3 people (confused)

Only a few more days and we will know the answer!

In other news, I got to stop my daily injection in the bum of progesterone yesterday. We will now only be doing them once a week until November. I am thrilled and am so excited to not be limping around anymore because my bum is sore.

I'm still feeling good. Tired and hungry but good. No sickness or weird symptoms. I hit the 6 week mark on Sat and that is usually when the sickness kicks in but maybe I'll be one of the lucky ones!

Let's take a poll...

How many babies do you think are growing inside of my belly? I'll post the results in a few days. Only 1 more week until we actually find out!

An appleseed!

Just in case you were wondering...my little embryo is now the size of an appleseed and looks like a tadpole. This week its brain is forming. No wonder I'm so hungry. It takes a lot of energy to make a brain!