Saturday, March 31, 2012


Pregnancy Survey

How far along? 12 weeks
Total weight gain: -1 pound
Maternity clothes? I've bought a few pairs of maternity pants, but it was really warm this week.  I've been wearing the belly band or using the "hair-tie" trick.

Stretch marks? none yet!  Anyone have any miracle creams?

Sleep: No trouble sleeping here...I'm usually ready for bed by 7 pm.
Best moment this week: Telling my family our big surprise!  Andrea figured out the clue with the pink and blue cake I made for dessert.  :-)

Miss Anything?  Nope...nothing!
Movement: Not yet

Food cravings:  Fruit, crackers, macaroni and cheese
Anything making you queasy or sick: meat (the smell or sight of it), coffee, alcohol (the smells)--UGH!  Nothing really sounds that appealing to me. 
Gender: Mystery...Should we find out?  Still undecided...

Labor Signs: No....thank goodness!

Symptoms: Nausea, tiredness.  **Update on my rash (mentioned last week).  I went to a dermatologist.  He said that I likely had an allergic reaction to the prenatal vitamin AND I had a viral rash.  I had been sick two weeks earlier with a stomach bug I caught in school.  The rash typically hits about a week after you're feeling better from the virus.  AND it can take up to 4-6 MONTHS to disappear!  Luckily, it is starting to go away already.  It better be gone by April 19th when we head to Turks and Caicos! 
Belly Button in or out? in
Wedding rings on or off? on

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy & EXCITED....It's so nice that we were able to share our news with my mom, dad, nick, Andrea, and Matt.  We also Skyped Molly and called Tim.  They all can't wait to be grandparents, aunties, and uncles!

Looking forward to: Telling Joe's side of the family when we go up to Boston in 2 weeks.  I know they will be SO excited.  This is the first grandbaby on both sides!

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Baby Dustin is On The Way!



We are so excited to announce that Baby Dustin is on the way!  We found out in January that we are expecting our first little peanut on or around September 26th, 2012.  We kept it a secret for a long time, but I wanted to document everything along the way so that I didn't forget anything!  So, I'll be using my blog to share pictures, thoughts, questions, and asking advice of all of you over the next six months.  Make sure to stop in often, and I'll try to make sure I update it at least once a week. 

Finding out we were expecting...
This is kind of how the life plan works, right?  We move back to New Jersey to be closer to family and friends.  We buy a big house with four bedrooms.  We need to fill it up!  I was wondering if I could possibly be pregnant, and I decided to take a home pregnancy test at 10:00 pm on January 23, 2012.  It came back positive.  (**NOTE--This also happened to be my very first day at my job as a 2nd grade maternity leave teacher.  Ironic, huh?)  JB was on a late-night phone call for work, and he was taking FOREVER to get off of the call.  Finally around 11:15, I heard him hang up the phone.  I walked into his office, and inconspicuously videotaped his reaction.  It was priceless.  I don't know that I'll ever be showing our child his first reaction, but I am happy to report that he has gotten used to the idea that we are going to be parents, and he is more excited than freaked out now.  :-)

Monday, February 6, 2012
I had my first OB appointment.  At this appointment, I took a urine pregnancy test, and it obviously came back positive.  (I had already taken 3 at home, so I was pretty sure this was the case.) I had a lot of bloodwork taken for genetic testing.  Then, I sat down with the nurse, and we went through a very thorough family health history for about an hour.  Finally, I walked out of the office with a big folder of pregnancy literature and a giant bag of prenatal vitamin samples.  (More on the prenatal vitamin debacle later...)

Thursday, March 1, 2012
I had my 2nd OB appointment with an ultrasound at 10 weeks.  JB came with me to this appointment, and it was amazing to see that there was actually a baby in there!  The ultrasound technician was very sweet and answered all of our questions.  She also sent us home with a ton of "first" pictures.  My doctor's office does both regular and 3-D ultrasounds.  I have to admit that the 3-D ones kind of creep me out.  I think they will be better when the baby is a little more developed.  The heartbeat was strong at 164 beats/minute, and the ultrasound tech said that everything looked perfect.  Baby D. is growing right according to schedule and hitting all of the milestones. 

Check back tomorrow for the Week 11 picture!  Thanks for going on this exciting journey with us...