Images of Our Little Peanut

We went in for a 3d/4d ultrasound yesterday. Here's some stills that we received. You can see her yawning, crying, pointing and even in the last pic, praying!!

We get to "see" Peanut today!!

Just random little tidbits about my Peanut...

Today we are heading back to the 3d/4d ultrasound place to get another scan done. We really enjoyed the first one, and although it's not covered by insurance, we think it is worth every penny. They're all about getting good shots of your baby and providing as many pictures as possible. We also opted to get a DVD of the entire ultrasound and I'm sure that we will be doing that again. Be sure to tune into the blog this weekend or Monday as I'm sure we will be posting some pics!!

Another thing I thought I would mention (only because it's so crazy to me), is that now Peanut is getting to the point that we can feel individual body parts. There are times that I could swear me and Peanut are shaking hands! Just before I started writing this blog, I'm pretty sure that I was able to identify almost every one of her body parts. I also got as close to holding her as one could possibly get at this point as I had her head in my right hand and her butt in my left. It's so freaking cool!!

We've also started to read to Peanut per the suggestion of a librarian here in Chandler. Granted, she was talking about after they are born, but we figured it's never too soon. Peanut usually becomes very active when we read to her and I'm of course "sure" that she is reacting to my voice. Probably not, but it sure makes me feel special :)

I can tell you this, I'm absolutely screwed.

It's a Girl!!! (and 3D-4D pics are crazy awesome)

So Peanut's been a little modest with us for the last couple of ultrasounds so we thought we'd try to get an even better view and made an appointment with a place that could do 3D-4D shots. Unfortunately, we still weren't able to get a clear "4D" shot of the goods, but now two separate ultrasound techs have told us they are 99.9% positive that we're having a little girl :)

We are so excited it's crazy!! We were of course happy to have either a girl or a boy, but just knowing for sure what we're cooking is nice. Now, I will say, we're going to hold off a bit on any purchases until we have another confirmation ultrasound in about 9 weeks and the reasons are two fold - still no absolute money shot and the biggest reason, we've read on too many message boards about couples being told that they were having a little girl at 19 weeks only to birth a boy 20 weeks later :) I mean, the techs did say 99.9% right?

The best news was that our lil' Peanut passed the anatomy scan with flying colors. She's growing right on target and all of her internal organs are looking fabulous.

Enjoy the pics and we'll of course post more pics as we get them (you can also be on the look out for a video as well)...

Boy or Girl? 15 Week Ultrasound

So what do you think, boy or girl??

Our Week 13 Ultrasound!!

S/he really put on a show this week. Best part of the video is when s/he scratches his/her knee :)

Week 12 Ultrasound

We had our 12 week ultrasound yesterday and just like every ultrasound before, it's a bit tense until you see the little heart beating. Fortunately this time we saw the heartbeat right away and even got to check out our baby's brain, spine, kidneys, etc. It still amazes me that a little human no different than me, just a bit smaller, is growing inside of my wife. Enjoy the video - it's truly amazing.

Thankful Thursday - Energy & Motivation

Know what time it is? It's thankful Thursday time! We all have so much to be thankful for and we love to take this opportunity just to write down each and everything that comes to mind. as I mentioned, I no longer have the "linkytools" but I invite you to share your thankful blog in the comments section. Without further ado, here's what we're thankful for:

Mandi's List:

I'm thankful that we get to see peanut today. We are at week 12, so peanut should really be looking like a human these days and I'm really hopeful that he'll be moving all over the place. Plus, Ronnie wasn't as the last ultrasound, so I'm thankful that he'll be there and that he'll get to see our little peanut first hand, instead of through a video I made for him! I am so thankful that there's the technology to see my little baby while still in my belly.

I'm thankful that I have the energy to get up and walk every morning and to get a workout in in the afternoon. There are several days when the afternoon workout is dreadful, but I'm very thankful that I've had the energy and motivation to get to the gym. I find that working out helps me feel better about the climbing numbers on the scale.

I'm thankful that we got to spend time with Josh and Chrissy Tuesday night. We haven't had the chance to get together for the last few weeks since we've been traveling and they've been traveling, but Tuesday evening we went to their house for burgers and hot dogs and got to bond over some quality Wii sports competition. I always love time with them and am so blessed to have such a wonderful brother and sister-in-law!

I'm thankful for my husband's ability to make me feel loved, wanted, appreciated, and sexy. I'll be honest - gaining weight, getting a belly with no "baby belly", acne, bring super bloated etc etc have a way of making a girl feel a bit insecure. But my honey has been working overtime to compliment, encourage, and build me up. I am so blessed to have him!!! I'm just so thankful to have him in my life, and I'm so thankful that peanut will have such an incredible man as his/her daddy!

Ronnie's List:

I'm so thankful that Mandi and I have stayed motivated to workout. We've both had energy towards the end of the day to make it to the gym about 99% of the time that we're in town. Like I mentioned in yesterday's blog, it's certainly easier to stay motivated when you have a fine woman willing to work out next to you...and it's cool that Mandi is there too! (Like that one babe?)

I'm very thankful that my foot seems to be getting better. I was able to go on quite a few long walks while I was out of town, but I still am not to the point to where I'm ready to run. I really hope this progress continues because I get more and more jealous of the people on the treadmill every day that I see them.

I'm thankful that we get to celebrate Easter this weekend with the family. Mandi and I love hanging with any family that we can get and this weekend it happens to be the Tucson Crew. One of the things we're most excited about is being able to bring desert. We always try to come up with something creative and are still looking for some kick booty recipes. You guys have any suggestions?

So, what are you thankful for today?

11 Week Ultrasound

Just recently we went in for our 11 week ultrasound. I don't think Peanut was too happy that we were disturbing him/her and it took some "encouragement" to get him/her moving! Make sure you watch around the 6 min mark to really see some action in the womb :)

First Friday: It's a Human...

...and it MOVES!!

Yesterday's ultrasound was by far the coolest yet. Our little peanut has graduated from looking like a seahorse, to looking like a real, live baby! We could instantly see little arm and leg buds and peanut actually has a visible head - in fact, a head that made up about 1/2 of the body (which we're told is normal, but scares me to death for the labor! If peanut has Ronnie's head, it could be very interesting!) Also very cool was the fact that this time you could see the umbilical cord, and watch the blood flow through it. It's little heart was beating even faster now - at about 178 beats a minute. The beating almost appeared in tandem with the blood flow through the umbilical cord.

And while all of that was so incredible to see, the most amazing part was that our baby was MOVING!! Yup, at just 9 weeks and 2 days, peanut was moving. We watched in amazement as it's whole body would wiggle, and as the little arms and legs would punch and kick. We're attaching a video, so you can see the wonder that is a tiny baby moving. You'll have to watch VERY closely though, because the movement isn't noticeable if you blink or aren't focused.

All in all, it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life - I think even more exciting than seeing the heartbeat for the first time. Something about peanut actually looking like a baby AND moving made it all so real.

2nd Ultrasound Update!

Yesterday, Mandi and I woke up nice and early in anticipation of our second ultrasound. If you guys remember from a couple of weeks ago, actually last week, we had our first ultrasound at about seven weeks pregnant. At that time our little peanut was about the size of a blueberry, which come to find out was about 9 mm, and we're proud to report that he/she is now about 15 mm! We went in with some of the same emotions that we did last week not exactly knowing what to expect and hoping for the best. It's always an interesting feeling when they first start the ultrasound because, at least in our experience, the first thing we see is what looks to be an empty black sack. It must be the way that the ultrasound instrument is pointed at first because now we're two for two in that empty black sack containing our little baby.

We were able to see the heart beating fast again, this time 167 bpm and our doctor informed us that right now our baby is mostly made up of his or her heart. Everything else is very normal and he is very pleased with the progress. Mandi definitely has less bloating in her stomach and is visibly more comfortable when walking, sitting or standing. The decrease in the bloating of the belly is most likely due to some of the fluid in her ovaries and cysts, following the egg retrieval, are now starting to lose fluid. We are now expecting any bloating from this point going forward to be a result of the baby which is bloating we will take any day of the week. So all in all, it was a very good second ultrasound and we couldn't be anymore pleased with the results. Check out our little seahorse below!

We are also able to meet up with some friends of ours in the CF community that we have had the opportunity to hang out with before near their home turf. We met up with the Koblers (Brian and Jen) for the first time in San Francisco at a CF concert series event last November or so. This time they alerted us that they would be in Scottsdale taking in a spring training game between the Giants and Rockies. They were nice enough to invite us along and of course we jumped at the opportunity to hang out with them and take in a ballgame. Neither Mandi or I have ever been to the ballpark in downtown Scottsdale and I must say it was quite a treat to be in such a nice facility. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate with us yesterday as it was overcast the entire day and it was raining before even the first pitch got off. The rain continued to pick up throughout the game and eventually the game was stopped in about the fourth inning with the Rockies handing it to the Giants. Luckily, the ballgame wasn't really the reason we were there.

We were there to hang out and talk with some friends of ours and had baseball as icing on the cake. Since the game got out early, we all headed to lunch to hang out and chat some more. Mandi and I love being able to get to know others in the CF community that we often exchange e-mails, Facebook messages and chats on CysticLife with but rarely get to meet in person. It's so nice to be able to "put a person" to just the face or the name that comes across our computer screens many times in our daily lives. The Koblers are no exception as they are very warm and friendly people who are fun to hang out with. As a bonus, we also got to hang with Grandpa Kobler and Brian and Jen's daughter, a young little cyster named Riley. She is as cute as a button and was definitely entertaining while we are all inhaling our pizza. We absolutely cherish opportunities like this and were very blessed to be able to hang with the Kobler clan today!

Back on the baby front... We have another appointment for a third ultrasound next Thursday and we will for sure keep you guys up to date with the process. We're just praying for continued normal results and that our little seahorse grows and grows and grows until eight months from now that we're able to hold him or her in our arms. We feel so blessed to be able to go through this experience so far virtually unscathed and are just hoping that this trend continues. We know that it is ultimately in God's hands and we have the ultimate faith that He will provide the perfect outcome. We thank you guys so much for following along with us on this journey, checking in, sending us encouragement and just letting us know that you're there for us.

Thankful Friday?

Since we didn't post a Thankful Thursday blog yesterday I wanted to make sure to get one up today. It actually felt kind of weird not putting one up with all that we have to be thankful for. I invite you to share what your thankful for in the comment section below or leave a link to your Thankful Thursday post!

Mandi's List:

I'm thankful that we got to see our little peanut this week, and that it's healthy, with a heart beat and growing to at the right pace. It's crazy how much you can love and appreciate something only 9mm long!!

I'm thankful Ronnie got out of the hospital and is feeling good. His PFTs aren't quite where we want them, but now it's just a matter of getting to work. I'm SO thankful we've gotten out and gotten right into our workout and healthy eating routine. It'll get his PFTs up and hopefully keep my weight down ;-)

I'm thankful that my only real "craving" lately is oranges. It could be much worse - with a sweet tooth like mine, who knows how much ice cream and snickers I could down (mmm caramel), but oranges I can handle! Who knows if it's a true pregnancy craving, but man, oranges have never tasted so good.

Ronnie's List:

I'm thankful to be out of the Hole. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the Hole for what it does for me and my lungs, but I'm never sad when it comes to saying goodbye. Sure we bring our own blankets, pillows, towels, microwave and coffee pot, but it can never feel just like home, a home that I happen to love.

I'm thankful for the great news from our first ultrasound! We were told that the little peanut is right on track in development and, although it's early, everything seems to be on the up and up. It's always a bit nerve wracking heading into those things and the fact that we left with nothing but positive news is something to be very thankful for.

I'm thankful for March. March is a time for many things that I love. Awesome weather. March Madness. Grandma's birthday. Mark's birthday. Wildcat basketball. And I'm sure a host of other things that just isn't coming to mind right now. I have long held that belief that March is my favorite month ever and I'm happy to report that that belief still stands.

So the question is, what are you thankful for today?

Blueberry with a Beat

It's a bird...it's a plane...nope, it's a BLUEBERRY with a heartbeat. 7 weeks pregnant today, our little peanut is about the size of a blueberry. We had our first ultrasound yesterday afternoon, and man was it an incredible experience. As soon as the nurse got into "position" we could see our little peanut (yes, I did say peanut, singular) all cozy in my tummy. It took another moment for the nurse to get it into focus and then, incredibly, we could see the flicker of the little peanut's heartbeat. It was unbelievable! I don't know if I fully took it in because I just sat there ecstatic that there was something in there and that it had a heartbeat. But I was completely in awe that God has placed something to tiny in my belly, and has created it in a way that it can already have a heartbeat. Completely mind-blowing. I wasn't ready to stop looking at my little bean when the nurse moved onto my ovaries, but I figured she'd give us another chance to see our baby before it was all said and done.

So then it was onto my other baby-makin' parts. My ovaries look pretty good. They aren't too, too big, but they are covered in cysts (which I understand to actually just be the follicles filled up with fluid). The cysts are quite large, and to be honest, a bit alarming, but the nurse said it was nothing to be concerned about and that they'd resolve on their own (I guess the fluid just gets reabsorbed). She did say that it actually can be good for the pregnancy, though, because they "help support the pregnancy" by producing hormones. She didn't seem at all alarmed, so I'm not letting my mind wander. She did take measurements of many of the larger cysts and I assume they'll be monitoring them over the next few ultrasounds.

I am excited to share that our little 'nut is measuring exactly as it should (exactly 6 weeks 6 days, which we were yesterday) and the heartbeat was "perfect" at 169 - that little heart was flickering like mad!

We will have another ultrasound next Monday, and all will continue to cruise along as it is now (hopefully). I did find out that I should hold off running (I think in part because of the cysts), so it'll just be walking and the elliptical for me until after 8 weeks. I will be on the Progesterone until who knows when. I thought that I'd be done next Tuesday (based on what I was originally told) but it sounds like it may be longer than that (but who knows, I didn't ask questions, I was too excited about my 'nut).

Below are our first two pictures of our baby!!

Mandi's Eggs Are a-Cookin'!!!

We headed to our doctor's office to take a peak at Mandi's eggs, or as we call her Mother Hen, just to make sure everything is on schedule. It was a very important step as all that is IVF relies on the eggs developing at a normal pace. If they develop to slow there can be issues and conversely, if they develop to fast you may be having some problems. Worst case scenario - everything looks off and we have to cancel the cycle. To say Mandi was excited (see worried) about this appointment would be an understatement. As always, we'll try to give it to you in our own words first and then you can hear the expert talk it below. Seriously though, check out those ovaries!!!