100 Days! / 14 Weeks

Well the Bun made it through a hectic week, as did Nicole and Chris. We have officially moved and are happy to report that it went very smoothly thanks to some help from our amazing friends and family.

Nicole did make it through this week with one minor complication: she had her first pregnant vomiting experience. She ate a piece of pineapple and as the juice was running down her throat she thought "this isn't good." She was right. A few seconds later and a couple of ounces lighter, she felt great again. Nicole also got in contact this week with a woman who does classes on the Bradley Method. This is our planned route for child-birthing and we're looking forward to taking the classes in May.

Chris did not vomit this week. So that was good. He is also on a pregnancy book dry spell. Seriously, if anyone has suggestions for good books, let him know. Chris also had the great idea to move while Nicole was at work and thereby keep her from trying to do too much or lift anything too heavy. It worked like a charm.

The Bun turned 100 today! 100 days, that is. At 14 weeks the thyroid gland

has matured and our baby is producing hormones which will be used throughout his or her life. If our Bun is a boy, the prostate gland develops this week and if the Bun is a girl, the ovaries move from the abdomen to the pelvis. Our little one may have learned to suck his/her thumb by this point! Our child's bones are getting harder and stronger by the day! Our baby's skin is very transparent still. Lanugo (very fine hair) covers the baby's body and will continue to grow until 26 weeks gestational age - Generally this will be shed prior to birth. Its purpose is to help protect baby's skin while in all that water! Our baby is 3.42 inches (8.7cm) long and weighs about 1.52 ounces (43 grams) - approximately the weight of a letter!

(Sorry we didn't put up a picture of Nicole yet. That will get updated tomorrow.)

Week 13

The Bun has been pretty well behaved over the last week. He/she made Nicole a little dizzy a couple of days but nothing too bad. Nicole's week went especially well because she got to eat Chinese food more than once. (It was delicious.)

Nicole and Chris both have been trying to glean information from people who already have kids over the past week. Kyle and Carly (cousins who have two kids with a third on the way) were in town this last weekend and they had some good conversations about an array of topics. If anyone has advice on a specific topic or on something that you consider to be a great resource that we should read, please let us know. We are always looking for more help. We know that we don't know what we're doing.

This week the Bun's fingerprints have formed on his/her fingertips, his/her veins and organs are clearly visible through his/her still-thin skin, and his/her body is starting to catch up with his/her head — which makes up just a third of his/her body size now. If we're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Our baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce.

We're going to start to post a picture of Nicole and the Bun every week so that you all can track the progress. Well, at least we'll try to remember to do it.

We love you all so much. Feel free to leave comments on here. We'd love to hear from you.

We're starting a blog to document our pregnancy!

Hey, all. We're starting this blog to document our thoughts, our feelings, and the going-on(s) as we embark on this incredibly exciting journey.

Right now, Nicole is almost through her first trimester and things are going splendidly! We had our first appointment on Wednesday, January 6th. Seeing the baby for the first time on the ultrasound was so amazing. It was literally (and yes, we mean literally) indescribable. Nicole cried through the whole thing. The pictures don't do it justice. We got to see our little Bun moving around and see and hear his/her heartbeat. Nicole thinks that the Bun was punching. Chris calls it flailing.

Right now the Bun measures about 2.5 inches from crown to rump and weighs between three-tenths of an ounce and half an ounce. It is fully formed, from tooth buds to toenails, and his/hers job now is to continue getting larger and stronger for the rest of the pregnancy.

Nicole has felt like her first trimester has been relatively easy. She's gone through a little bit of nausea, but nothing too extreme. She has definitely been more tired (hello, 8:30 bedtimes), but has felt pretty healthy overall.

Chris has been reading whatever he can get his hands on about having a baby. He's read Dad's Pregnant Too! by Harlan Cohen, The Expectant Father by Brott and Ash, and has read through some of the classic What to Expect When You're Expecting. (Consequently, while Chris has been reading pregnancy books, Nicole has been reading books discussing finances.)

We look forward to updating you on everything that happens as we journey through this. Thanks for all of your love and support.