In late March we found out that we were going to be parents. I was way super excited about the news, and Joseph was too, but he was also kinda nervous about becoming a parent. Understandable...taking on complete responsibility of another human being is a lot to think about and try to digest...thankfully we get 9 months to fret and plan and prep for it :)
We went in for our first appointment in mid April, when I was 9 weeks along. I decided to go with the midwives that are here in town. I wanted a bit more freedom when it came to wanting a more natural birth, and to be completely honest, I wanted to see a female doctor.
The midwives are great by the way, and I feel like I am getting great, personal service with each of my appointments. Anyway, with the visit, we got to see out little baby for the first time and we got to hear his heartbeat.
We also got a huge surprise, was that there were actually two tiny embryos nestled inside my uterus!!! Sadly, only the one had a heart beat and the other was considered a non-viable twin, and I was told that it would dissolve and vanish within a few weeks. I have always wanted twins, so it was sad to have been so close to it. I had my tears, but in the end Joseph and I are grateful that we have the one healthy baby still.
Here are just a couple of the ultrasound pictures that we got with that visit. One is a back view of him, I believe, and the other is a side view of the little guy...I love how you can see his itsy, bitsy foot and hand!!!!
Because of the 'vanishing twin' I needed to go back in for another check up earlier than I normally would. The midwife just wanted to check to see how it was dissolving and how well the other was developing. So here is the ultrasound that we got from that visit. This was at 10 1/2 weeks. I couldn't believe how much he had already grown. In the picture you can see the umbilical cord already up near the top.I had several other visits, ones that didn't include ultrasounds, sadly :( Everything continued to go great, and our little guy just kept growing. Joseph and I were just waiting anxiously for the appointment that would tell us what gender our baby was going to be. Both of my parents, and several others thought it was going to be a girl, mostly because the baby was charting higher heartbeats, which apparently is more common for a girl. Joseph and I were happy with whatever, this being our first child and all that, it really didn't matter much to us. I had asked Joseph several times which one he really wanted, and he would always respond the same way, "A girl would be cute, but a boy would be fun."
After so much waiting, the 20 week appointment approached, and we waited anxiously for the news. Here was the magic shot that we were waiting for!!!! IT'S A BOY!!!!!! Way super excited about our little bundle of boy that we are going to be getting!!!!
Along with finding the gender of the baby, the midwife took a million and a half measurements to make sure he was developing on track, and then printed us a ton of the ultrasound shots that she took. Here are some of our favorites. There is a really good profile of his face and upper body...Joseph swears he has my nose...and then there is a frontal view of his face...love the hand up under his chin in the "Thinker" pose!!! We also got a good side shot of his arm and leg, and I love how his leg is all bent and ready to kick...and believe me he does!!! And then, one of my more favorites, the one of his little foot...just so precious!!
We decided on the name Ethan Ervin for our little boy. Ervin is Joseph's Grandpa Huckbody's name, and so we thought it would be nice to use it, and Ethan is just a personal favorite of mine. It was pretty fun to call the parents and siblings and tell them the great news of our little boy. I also am just way happy that I can say he and him and use his name instead of always having to say baby or it.Since that appointment I have had a couple other visits just to check the heartbeat and make sure that everything is growing properly. My last visit was my glucose test visit. An hour before the appointment I had to drink this nasty tasting glucose stuff and then they took my blood at the appointment. This is done to test for gestational diabetes. Turns out that I don't have to work about that since the numbers were right where they should be, and they also said that I wasn't anemic, so that was good to find out. So far we haven't gotten any more ultrasound pictures since the 20 week appointment, but more should be coming soon...at least I hope so.
With just 10 weeks left now I can't believe how fast the last 30 have flown by. Every week seems like a new adventure with new aches and pains and fatigue like nothing else. Right now Ethan has turned so he is head down so he is putting a little bit of pressure on my lower back which makes it ache most days, but it's survivable. And then there is the fact that my bladder doesn't hold as much as it used to, so the bathroom and I have become very good friends lately. I started feeling him kick or move about around 19 or 20 weeks along. Back then it was just gentle flutters and nudges, but now he pretty much kicks and shoves all of my insides around and has even kicked my ribs a few times. He has also gotten to the stage of stretching, which feels super funny, and looks even funnier when I watch my tummy!!!
Joseph and I are so happy for our little guy and we can't wait to actually get to meet him in a few months. Thanks to all of you that have encouraged me along the way and that have supported us in this amazing adventure of parenthood!!!
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