New things!

It was Bill's ingenious idea to give his mom and aunt's a mission for Baby Raynor.  Their first mission was to find baby books and Veggie Tales DVD's.  At Bill and Gwyn's B-day party a few weeks ago, they accomplished their mission as we received several books and DVD's.  Now I can read to Baby Raynor when he arrives and he will be very smart!
Their second mission was to pick up some diapers.  April started the trend and purchased a whole case of the super cute denim jean diapers that Huggies makes.  This past weekend, we received some more diapers from Troi and Gwyn, as well as (what I like to call) a toy doughnut stacker, a bib, and a set of receiving blankets. Woohoo!  Baby Raynor will needs lots of everything- so we definitely appreciate their giving in starting our diaper stock!
This week, Bill and I discovered that the BEST time to go shopping at Target is July 4th night.  If there were crickets in the store, I'm sure that I could have heard them.  It was totally deserted, and the perfect time to create a baby registry.  Unfortunately, though, a big storm was passing by, and we had several hiccups with our scanning device.  It took us over an hour to register for baby items, and we weren't even able to register for everything.  I guess I'll just have to have more fun adding them online! 
Yesterday, I headed to Southpoint- which is a great area near Durham with a fantastic mall and shopping centers around it.  There I registered at Babies R Us.  It was really fun to just take the time and look around and scan lots of things.  This was the first time in my life that I think that I have spent 2 hours in just one store!  Bill was at work, and didn't go on this extravaganza with me- and it was probably to both of our enjoyment that it worked out that way.  He is very supportive and is great to be there to give advice, but he simply is just not a shopper.  He'd rather do it all online.  I also purchased our baby boy's first batman onesie and monkey sleeper (very cute, if I do say so myself).
So, we are now registered at Target and Babies R Us.  It takes alot of effort to register for baby stuff (much more than registering for a wedding)- alot more research to figure out what might work best and what has the best reviews.  Although clothing and cute stuff is definitely welcomed, I just hope that people check out our registry when buying stuff for Baby Raynor.  Really, though, any help in getting ready for our baby boy is greatly appreciated!

The best thing about registering, though: all of the fun little samples and coupons that you receive!  Such fun!

It's A....

Last week we had another Dr.'s visit.  Although the doc. was 2 hours late (he was in a car accident), we were as excited about this visit as we were the first one- this was the appointment where we could find out the gender of our baby.  As soon as the doc. slathered me in gel and placed the ultrasound monitor on me, he immediately asked if we wanted to know the gender.  Two seconds after we said that we did, he said IT'S A BOY!!!  We were super excited to hear the news! 

Although it didn't matter whether it was a boy or a girl, I had a sneaking suspicion that it was a boy.  The only slight concern at this point in the pregnancy is that the placenta is laying low.  I don't have placenta previa, just a low lying placenta.  The doc. said that usually the placenta will shift upward as the baby grows, towards the greater blood supply, and that it will not go any lower.  I will have another ultrasound at 28 weeks that should give more detail as to whether or not it has shifted.  If it hasn't shifted, there is a greater potential for a C-section.  Right now, baby Raynor has lots more growing to do, and we have no real worries.

On to the reveal...

This weekend we had both sides of our families over for our annual 4th of July celebration.  While we had a scheduled Dr's appointment for the week after the 4th, we asked the doc. if we could do it the week before, and thus we did.  All along our families thought that our Dr.'s visit wasn't until the week after the 4th.  So, Bill and I decided that we would tell our families this past weekend (since they would all be together and would know at the same time)- what we were having.  So-I had ordered a cake from Blue Moon Bakery in Cary, and had the inside icing tinted blue.  Right before we served lunch, I grabbed the cake from the refrigerator and had Bill's mom to cut in to it.  Once the family saw that it was blue icing, the screaming and excitement ensued!  They all seemed very extatic to have been a part of that very special moment with us!  (it didn't hurt that the cake was pretty tasty too!)

Updated Due Date!

I almost forgot to add to the previous post that there is an updated due date.  Our Dr. had taken two ultrasounds - one said that we were due on November 17th and the other said November 13th.  So the Doc said this time that the due date is November 15th.  Really what that means is...nothing.  The baby will come when it's ready to come (which is what I say, not the Doc.), but if it is more than a week later than the 15th and the baby hasn't come yet, then I will be induced. 

18 weeks prego and doing great!

We had another Dr.'s visit this week and everyone is doing great!  We heard the heartbeat (142 bpm) again, and we hope that at our next Dr.'s appointment that we will be able to determine the gender of our baby!  In a few weeks I have some time off of work, so I hope to begin decorating the nursery then.  Fun times!

This week I realized that I am not going to be able to do be Superwoman for the next few months (at least).  I was on my feet all of Thursday and Friday afternoon, and then I helped Bill move some new furniture into our home last night.  Needless to say that I am thankful for Friday nights and Saturday mornings so that (for now) I can get some good rest!  I was totally exhausted!

Another Dr Visit, Another Picture

Hello everyone, Erin and I had another Dr visit on Wednesday 20 April, 2011.  When he walked in he asked Erin if she ever smiled - that he can never tell what she is thinking?!  Then he turned to me and said he can always tell what I am thinking.  The Dr. said this was just a check to make sure everything was going well with us.  He said he likes to do another ultrasound but since it wasn't mandatory he wouldn't charge us for it.  This time we could see a head, body, and little arms.  The Dr. said everything looks perfect so far.  In the picture the head is down and to the right, the arms are just visible nubs off the body, and you really can't make out the legs (which Erin said was just like a duck - she loves this duck metaphor). Anyway, wanted to upload the picture for you all.  Thank you for sharing in this special time with us! 

So tired!

So, we are following the pregnancy on babycenter.com, and it states that it is very common to feel very fatigued and to have trouble sleeping during the first trimester.  I am sooo experiencing both of those!  Just exhausted almost all of the time!  I suppose this is how it will be for the next two years!

Our first ultrasound!

If you look in the black area, you can see the spot that looks like an upside down little duck- that's our baby!  (it's lightly marked wtih two little + signs) It's the pic at the bottom of this page.