It's a...

Watch the video to find out!

Baby She or Baby He?

Tomorrow, Thursday afternoon, we have an ultrasound where the doctor will check to see if Baby D is a he or she! Hopefully I'm carrying a little exhibitionist and we'll get to find out! Check here tomorrow night to see if we know!

How are YOU doing?

Contrary to popular belief, there have been many cool things about being pregnant so far: an excuse to sleep in, an especially cuddly pooch, tiny baby gifts...the list goes on! But one of my favorite things is the new importance placed on the question, "How are you doing?"

Usually used as a deflection or small talk, this simple phrase is no longer without meaning. I get asked this a lot, and each time, it means more to me than the time before...because people REALLY mean it when you're pregnant. They are genuinely concerned about my and Baby D's well being! It's really quite honoring! And I've noticed (or maybe I'm ignoring the "don't you know what small talk is" signs...) that people want to hear an actual answer. Now, I'm not sure they'd want to hear any gruesome details, but I haven't really had any so far! I've been blessed by a very mild pregnancy and have no complaints so far!

So, if you know any pregnant women, be sure to ask them how they're doing, and mean it! It will make their day! And, if you've asked me, thanks! It made mine!

Oh, the Car (Actually, Van)!

Yet another step in preparing for Baby D! We've bought a minivan. Oh, yes, we bought a minivan. So I guess that seals it: we've got the house, the dog, and now the minivan. It's the American dream!

We've been considering another vehicle for a year or so now, and the necessity of it has grown as we're anticipating having Baby D, and myself looking at other jobs that would require some driving. We knew we wanted a minivan or small SUV. Our good friend Rich Perrine runs an import car dealership in town, and we asked him to keep an eye out for Honda Odysseys, Toyota Siennas, or Chrysler Town & Countries. He e-mailed about a week ago, saying he had a couple that would be perfect! So yesterday morning we went in and signed for it.

The stats: a 2003 Toyota Sienna CE. Five-door wagon. Gold. Cloth interior. 59,000 miles. The Sienna is the top-rated minivan by Consumer Reports, and they're known to run for up to 200,000 miles. The previous owner took very good care of it, and Rich had it serviced completely before he turned it over to us. So we hope that this one will last us a while!

We'll let you know when we come up with a name for it.

Oh, the carnage!

Beth and I have been wondering, as of late, how Maeby will adjust to Baby D. We feel pretty confident that she will get along fine the baby; she's always been great around kids. She's very gentle and loving and protective. So we're not worried about that. We're more concerned about how she'll adjust to not being the center of attention around the house. She's already gotten more cuddly with Beth since she's been pregnant. And lately she's been a bit more demanding for attention. She'll stand and huff at us while we watch T.V., or sit by the door demanding to be taken on a walk. One form her attention-seeking takes is the complete destruction of her stuffed animals. Yesterday I was cleaning up the house, and came upon a graveyard of toys. It seemed like a horror movie: fluffy bunny heads rolling everywhere, stuffed bears without arms, sea creatures reduced to empty shells. So, I had to take a picture.

If this is as desperate as she gets for attention, we're not worried.

A Post From Mama D

It's taken me a while to feel like I'm really pregnant, because I don't really look like it now. I look puffier, and like I had a nice steak dinner (which is the only thing I ever want to eat, if you're looking to take me out to dinner), but not preggers, yet. I'm sure as soon as I do, the novelty will wear off quickly!

I'm in my 16th week, and a few weeks into my 2nd trimester already, and I haven't really blogged at all about my experiences thus far...I promise to keep it PG, kids, and not too gruesome. But, really, I think I've had it pretty easy.

I found out for sure I was pregnant as early as you can; two weeks after conception. We went through a fertility treatment, so I was well-tracked (which satisfied the color-coded daily-planner part of me nicely). The exhaustion hit almost immediately, and naps became a necessity. And those that know me well know that I HATE naps...but I was soon using them as pure sustenance. And, speaking of sustenance, food became an interesting issue. I felt queasy most of the time, but never threw up (until the night I tried fancy prescription pre-natal vitamins), but felt most sick when my stomach was empty. So I pretty much ate a few bites of food every hour of the day. That got old real fast.

I haven't started wearing maternity clothes, other than the Bella Bands, which I still don't really get...although I can imagine getting a lot of use out of them just for support and hiding any stretch-marked skin later in my pregnancy. They're basically a tube of spandex you wear under your shirt that hold up your pre-maternity pants, unbuttoned, so you can wear them for a longer time.

But, now the magical 2nd trimester is here! All the books speak of it as the true pregnancy promised land, where you glow and feel beautiful and have loads of excess energy and grace, where health and well-being abounds and nausea and forgetfulness are things of the past! Why wouldn't we all want to live in Second Trimesterland? Well, because I haven't found it yet. When I do, I'll send you a postcard.

Other than that, we're busy making plans for the nursery, and I'm attempting to practice grace and humility when people (of all ages) give me pregnancy and parenting advice. My friend (and new mom to beautiful baby girl Maddie!) Kim gave me the best advice of all, however. She introduced the phrase "What worked for us..." to be said before any advice-y sounding sentence. Let's all take heed of THAT brilliant advice! I know I will be!

Guess who...?

...it's Baby D! Hey, there, Baby D! Glad to see you again!


These are pictures from our latest ultrasound, this past Thursday. Baby D is measuring about 9 cm long, and beginning to really look like a baby. Check out the pictures below: you can see facial features, arms, and legs. On the video monitor, we could see the heart beating - just a tiny little flashing dot, but it's beating away!

Beth is into her second trimester now. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers over the past three months. Less than six months until Baby D-Day! Keep up the prayers!