Bump Update

I realized I hadn't posted a bump picture in awhile, so here's the one we put on our Christmas card, which we took at 31 weeks!

32 weeks

These may be the last pictures of Herbie before he/she finally meets the world face-to-face!  We went to the doctor on Friday for what could be our final ultrasound.

Everything went really well and Herbie is getting big - 4 lbs 15 oz, which is the 68th percentile.  Heartbeat was strong - 123 when we started, and 154 once the baby woke up from all of the prodding.

Here you can see Herbie's little arm up by his/her face, and some big baby lips:

We even got a little smile when Alex and I started talking:

Here's a good one of some giant cheeks - I think Herbie got Dad's chubby baby cheeks :)

Only 8 more weeks to go!  Nursery pictures coming soon...

Huge

I have said before that I think there is a time in every pregnancy where the woman goes from being "cute and pregnant" to "huge and pregnant", as in "get the hospital on speed dial 'cause she looks ready to pop."

Well, with 8 weeks to go, it has happened to me.  I am officially huge.  Here's how I know.  In the past four days, at least six people - total strangers - have stopped me to ask if the baby is coming any day now.

First, it was the greeter at church, then an alumnus at the track Christmas party, the teller at the bank, two different guys helping me at Lowes (one guy says, "So, you must be counting the days!")...but my favorite was a guy on the CNU campus today.

He worked there - not a student - and he was on his phone as I came out of a bathroom.  He stopped his conversation, looked at me and goes, "Whoa!!!  Now there's a belly!!  That baby coming soon??"  To which I replied (once again), "Nope, due in February...still two month to go."

We see the doctor for an ultrasound on Friday - wonder how big the baby actually is now :)

Disoriented

Over the past few weeks, lots of people have asked me how I'm handling all of the changes in our life - new home, new work situations, new baby on the way - and I haven't really known how to respond.  I felt so swept up in the chaos of getting everything done, that I didn't have any time to process my thoughts and emotions.

But it's been two weeks (that's it??) since we moved, and I'm starting to feel the weight of these changes more.  To describe it best, I would say I am disoriented.  Between unpacking and reestablishing lives, preparing for the baby's arrival (getting the room ready, getting my body ready, getting my mind ready), trying to prepare for Christmas, and making sure we eat three meals a day and pay our bills on time, I can feel myself getting fuzzy and confused some times.

It is all a little disorienting.

The best evidence of this are all of the lists scattered around my house right now.  Lists are my most favorite coping mechanism for overwhelming days, but now, even my lists are becoming overwhelming.  There are baby-related lists - things to assemble, things to buy, other preparations to make.  There are house project lists - change the dryer vent, hang curtains, organize the garage.  There are shopping lists and work lists and pretty soon, I'll have lists of lists.

You can see how this would get confusing :)

My mantra of sorts throughout this time has been to take one day at a time.  Deal with each day as it comes.  I think God is training me in this particular Biblical principle from Matthew 6: 25-34:

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Decorating the Christmas tree

We may not have everything unpacked (meaning, we definitely don't have everything unpacked) but in the Heacock household, Christmas decorating is of the highest priority, so we took care of that first.

When we got married, Alex and I both got our ornaments from our family collections, which makes decorating the tree particularly fun as we remember and share stories of Christmases past and the significance of the ornaments and what they represented in our lives.  I had some more fun with my camera taking pictures of some favorites.

Alex surprised me with this ornament - we have at least one dated ornament from every Christmas we've been married, celebrating where we live at the time:

This was our Chicago ornament from last year:

My grandma helped me pick out this ornament when my grandparents came to visit me in college:

We bought this one in 2010 when we realized our tree was totally devoid of ornaments celebrating the true meaning of Christmas:

Alex put the star on top:

And voila - the tree is looking cheery and our house is ready for the season :)

Thanksgiving with family

Our lives have been just a little bit crazier than usual for the past few weeks - my boss won reelection, we packed up our entire lives, and we move to VA - but in the midst of the craziness, we took a break for Thanksgiving and spent time with family in Indianapolis.

Usually, I would spend a holiday like this chasing kids around but given the presence of my own growing kiddo, I took this holiday off and instead tried to capture the action with my fancy new camera.  Enjoy!

My mom with my buddy Noah:

My cousin Annie and baby Kate, who is 5 years old now and not a baby anymore!

I played a little hide-and-seek with Harry - found him and caught a picture!

Scott playing chess with the grandpas and Jacob:

Alex and Kate, who became good buddies on this trip:

The whole brood and our festive feathered hats, courtesy of Jacob and Noah:

We also got to celebrate my grandpa's 88th birthday, with a special crafted hat - Haley had the vision, and I helped with execution :)

What a blessed time to be together with family and remember how much we have to be thankful for!!

Thankful.

This weekend we found out that some friends who are also expecting are going to have a daughter, but tragically, she has a neural tube defect of some kind that means she won't survive delivery.  My friend will carry their little girl to term, deliver her, and then lose her.  I can't imagine their heartbreak.

These aren't friends anyone who reads this blog would know, but if you'd think of them in your prayers I know they would appreciate it.

Two things struck me as I thought about my friends.  First, God can work miracles, and that is what we are praying for - that God would heal this little girl in a miraculous way.  Second, we were not meant for this kind of tragedy.  We were created for a world without loss or death or even sadness, and as Christians, we know that some day, when God restores the world, we will finally and fully know the lives we were made the live and the people we were meant to be.

I titled this post "Thankful" because Alex and I did have one other thought - we have so much to be thankful for.  So much.  Having a healthy child and a healthy pregnancy is not something to take lightly or take for granted.  We have been so blessed, and when life gets overwhelming, I pray we never forget that.

Look who's 27 weeks old!

I had another doctors appointment today and once again, we got a look at the little one!  This time, I asked if she could do any 3D shots for me, thinking that the 3D might be less blob-like and more human-like at this point.  And indeed it was!

Herbie is 2 pounds, 8 ounces, which is the 62nd percentile for weight, and heartbeat was 146.  Placenta is still considered "low-lying" but the doctor assured me that in most cases, this resolves itself as my belly continues to grow, so nothing to worry about.

If you've had any trouble discerning the features of previous pictures, you won't have any trouble with these!  What do you think - my nose or Alex's nose? :)

Being "Mom"

The other day I had a realization.  Having a baby means being a mom, and being a mom means picking out clothes, making meals, and planning birthday parties for the kid(s), among other important tasks.

I know I'm not breaking any new ground here, but until recently, my horizon for this child was about six weeks.  What I mean is, I have spent a lot of time reading about, thinking about, and planning for the first six weeks.  After all, as parents we will learn a lot in six weeks - how to give a slippery-when-wet baby a bath, what the baby finds soothing, how to effectively walk the dog while pushing a stroller or being strapped to a baby carrier, what the baby looks like and sounds like and smells like.

But then I started thinking beyond six weeks.  And it got me thinking about the kind of mom I want to be.  So I started a list, in no particular order:

• Wise
• Fun
• Creative
• Easy-going
• Empowering
• Engaged
• Loving
• Kind
• Understanding

And then the list started getting long.  I got overwhelmed.  I thought, I don't know if I can be all of those things.  But then I remembered two things.  First, God gave us this child.  Not just any child.  This one.  And he did it for a reason - hopefully that means that we will be uniquely suited to be the kind of parents this child needs and deserves.

Second, when we screw up, when we are not "uniquely suited" and are more just average people who get angry and overwhelmed and careless and thoughtless, there is grace for that.  What a gift.  After all, in the same way that God is molding and shaping me and Alex into the people he designed us to be, he will do the same thing for this child.  God will mold the child - we are just the tools he chose to use.

24ish weeks

Even though I'm 26 weeks along now (third trimester, here we come - eek!), I still wanted to post some bump updates from the last few weeks.

This was when Alex came to visit for my birthday two weeks ago:

And this was at work one day - Leonidas and Herbie are getting along already!  What a good big brother :)

Nesting

I think I am starting to nest.  You know, the process parents-to-be are supposed to go through to prepare their home for the newest, tiniest member of the family.  I'll admit, I was a little intimidated by "designing" a nursery.  I didn't have a vision in my mind, or a theme to stick with.  I needed inspiration, and I've finally found it, in two ways.

First, today I went shopping with my creative, design-savvy friend Katie, and we found some awesome art for the nursery walls!  Art is great, because it will guide the colors of walls, sheets, curtains, etc.  See what you think!

We've got a slightly more sophisticated ABCs poster (still needs a frame) for one spot:

Each letter comes with an uplifting phrase:

And some cute animals to go with it!

I love these, because we've got lots of color choices for the walls (the animals have more colors than you can see in that picture), it's cute and baby-ish and sweet, and it will blend well with the rest of our stuff.

My second source of inspiration was a conversation with my mom about books I liked as a child.  I remembered some (The Hungry Caterpillar and The Velveteen Rabbit) and she reminded me of other favorites (Old Bear and Corduroy).  I got me excited to put these books on the shelves of the nursery, and I started thinking about the baby's room as more than a collection of furniture.  I'm beginning to see a special space where we can spend time together, where we can read these classic stories to our child and have some peace and quiet away from the bussle of our lives.

Refocus

Today I really needed to take a minute to refocus.  I found myself getting bogged down in something small, something I should have let roll off my back but I didn't.  I mulled over it.  I worried about it.  I woke up thinking about it.  Does that ever happen to you?

And so I needed to refocus.  Recalibrate.  Remember what's important and what, really, is not.  There is nothing like baby kicking in your belly to remind you of that, and last night, the baby was having his/her very own boxing match or something, because there was A LOT of kicking and punching.  It was almost like the baby was reminding me of itself, and of what his/her arrival into the world will mean for our family.

It was a reminder that this small thing that was weighing on me was indeed a very small thing compared to the new life we are bringing into this world.  A whole new person will be born, with quirks and personality traits and likes and dislikes all their own, and God has given us the responsibility of caring for this little person while he/she is little and then teaching him/her how to live as they grow up.  And that is infinitely bigger than any small thing weighing on my mind today.

Things I won't miss about being pregnant

As my third trimester approaches (yikes!) and I get bigger and more uncomfortable, I'm sure this list is going to get longer.  Also, compares to many women, including some of my friends, my list is super short.  I have been incredibly blessed with an easy pregnancy, but that doesn't mean it hasn't had its downsides...

1. Acne - there is very little you are allowed to do while pregnant to keep your skin clear.  No effective prescriptions, no over-the-counter treatments, not even certain face washes.  And if, like me, that pregnancy "glow" just translates into extra oily skin, it causes problems in the skin department.
2. Super-charged emotions - this is for real, man.  I don't think I necessarily lose it for no reason (although you'd have to ask Alex to know for sure), but when I do get sad or frustrated or angry, it seems to be...amplified.  And more difficult to control.  Not a welcome combination.
3. Limited sleep positions - once you get into your fifth month or so, you're really only supposed to sleep on your side.  Ideally, it would be your left side.  I actually have gotten ear aches from only sleeping on my left side.  A body pillow can help with this, but I'll look forward to flopping into bed however I feel like it.
4. Increasingly difficult to move - this applies to sleeping (I actually have to support my belly to roll over), bending down (to pick up dog poop for example), sitting for long period of time at work or in the car (my ribs are starting to dig in quite uncomfortably), and walking quickly (I get a side stitch like I just ate dinner and decided to play soccer...just from walking quickly).

I'm sure I'll think of more, but that's what sticks out right now.  But don't worry, the list of things I will miss is way longer :)

23 weeks

Friday I went to the doctor and got to have another ultrasound!  Because of the baby's position last month, they weren't able to get a good picture of the whole spine, which meant this month, we got another look!

Heartbeat: 154 beats/minute, Weight: 1 lb, 4 oz

This time, the baby had his/her hands up by his/her face, in a little praying pose.  We got a good look at the baby kicking and moving around, which was really fun.  In terms of development, he/she is increasingly able to hear sounds and sense movement, so I try to sing in the car and dance in my house often :)

My next appointment is important - I get tested for anemia and gestational diabetes, so we're praying that all of that goes really well!

Bump update - 22 weeks!

Our little munchkin is 22 weeks old today :)  It's been 5 weeks since my last bump picture, so it's time for an update.  I took these on my phone getting ready for work this morning (with Alex in VA, I had to improvise) but I think you'll notice the difference...

That face

I will never forget the first time Alex felt the baby kick because I will never forget the look on his face.  He looked elated, mystified, and beyond excited.  It was a look of wonder, a face that had seen a miracle.  It was an incredible moment for me, seeing that look on his face.  It was a look that reminded me not to take any of this pregnancy stuff for granted.  It was a look that beamed at the miracle happening in our little family.  It was the look of a man who is becoming a dad.

The baby registry

Registering for our wedding was one of my favorite parts of that planning process, so when I realized we got to register for a bunch of baby gear this time around, I was excited.  What I didn't realize is that when it comes to baby gear, it's hard to know what you need.  I mean, who knew you needed different types of bottles with different flow speeds?  I still don't know what a "sheet saver" is or how many I may need, but they exist.

So, I did a bunch of reading, came up with a list of the basics, and figured we could start there.  Armed with my list, we ventured in to Babies 'R Us.  For the first trip, we made the unfortunate mistake of going in hungry, thinking we'd get this errand done before lunch.  Big mistake.  I am adding a new rule to the Heacock Family Rule Book - never EVER put off eating before you attempt an errand that is destined to make Mom overwhelmed and Dad grumpy.

We did cross several basics on the list, and then went back again yesterday to take another pass.  I was even more prepared than the first time, it felt (to me) like we flew through the aisles, and got a lot done really quickly.  On our way out, I asked to make one more stop - I had been pondering registering for a second stroller, and wanted to see it in person.

Alex acquiesced, begrudgingly at first, until he saw the stroller.  It is a Jeep all-terrain limited edition stroller, and it is awesome.  It will be perfect for track meets when sidewalks aren't always available, or gravel roads or practically anywhere that's not the grocery or the sidewalk.

As we walked out of the store, he turns to me and says, "Now all I really want is to get that stroller."  Glad we finally found some baby gear that he can get excited about :)

More baby pictures

Yesterday morning we had our second ultrasound - at 19 weeks along, we are almost halfway, and this is the first time the doctor looks at the baby in great detail to make sure all of the parts are in the right places, etc.

This would also have been our chance to find out Herbie's gender, but we resisted temptation, and the ultrasound tech told us when to look away from the screen, so we didn't catch any accidental glimpses :)

So far, so good - they couldn't get a good picture of the entire spine, so I'll have to go back in a month for another ultrasound, when the baby will (hopefully) be in a better position for them to see everything.

Here are the glamor shots:

Herbie in profile

Herbie turned to face the "camera" - you can see the eyes, notes, ribs, and feet!

These are the baby's little footprints:

He/she looks a lot different (and distinctly more human) than the tiny peanut we saw at 8 weeks!

Busy baby

Work has been bonkers recently, so I have completely neglected my blogging duties, but I've hit a small lull, so it's time to give an update, and this might be my favorite update yet.

The baby is moving (which is not news) and I can feel it (big news)!!!

From what I've read about this "quickening" experience, I think I felt the first movements awhile ago - like little tickles in my belly, unlike any sensation I'd ever had before.  But I wasn't convinced.

Now, the sensation has changed - now, I actually feel tiny thumps inside and I have no doubt that our little guy/girl is keeping busy in there.

So far, I've only been feeling the baby when I was sitting - maybe because he/she is more constricted then - but this morning after I got out of the shower, Herbie was busier than ever.  The crazy part was that I couldn't just feel the thumps - I could see them too, just below my rib cage at the top of my growing bump.  Talk about signs of life!

It was weird, alien, wonderful, and beautiful all at once - this little human being with it's own thoughts and impulses and personality growing inside me, totally separate and distinct from me but also completely inseparable.

I can't get over what a miracle it is, and how little I've actually done to make it happen.  I take my vitamins, try to eat right, get some exercise, and all of those healthy lifestyle choices I should do anyways, but in terms of making the baby grow and making my body expand in the right places and give the baby exactly what he/she needs to become a fully functioning member of society some day - I've done nothing.  What a miracle indeed.

Maternity Jeans

As I said before, I have given in to maternity clothes, and pants in particular.  In fact, my jeans were one of the first things to stop fitting, and jeans are an important part of my wardrobe.  I now have two pairs that fit - one basic boot cut and one straight leg/kinda skinny style.

What makes maternity jeans distinctly maternity is, of course, the waistband.  Turns out, there are lots of styles when it comes to waistbands - I settled for the basic kind that stretches high over my growing belly.  No zippers or buttons to speak of.  They are super weird looking when I'm not wearing them:

But I have to say, they are quite comfortable to wear, and they should last me for the next 22 weeks or so :)

The Bump

Ladies and Gentlemen, this day has finally arrived - we took our first bump pictures :)

Although I've been noticing my thickening waistline for some time now, I didn't think it wasn't looking like anything except some extra pounds, that is, until yesterday.

Yesterday, as I went out to my car for work, my neighbor, who parks next to me and didn't know I was pregnant, looked and exclaimed, "You have a baby bump!"  I do see her a lot, so it's not like she's a total stranger, but if it was enough for her to notice, I figured it was enough to take a picture!

So without further ado, introducing The Bump:

Thursday marks 17 weeks, so we still have a lot of growing to do - in fact, the baby is supposed to double in size in the next two weeks!

Pregnancy Math

SPOILER ALERT: This post contains references to menstrual cycles.  Nothing gross though, promise.  Proceed at your own risk.

When we started talking about getting pregnant, one of the first things we considered was when the baby would arrive.  This is an important thing to know, as it creates a timeline for getting the nursery ready, planning work schedules and vacation time, budgeting, etc.

However, figuring out this ever-important date is more confusing than the movies would lead one to believe.  I had always heard two numbers related to this issue - pregnancy is 9 months long and your first trimester (when people generally start spreading the news) is 12 weeks.  Turns out, neither of these numbers are particularly helpful, or even correct.  12 weeks to a trimester would suggest a 36 week pregnancy.  False.

Side note: my doctor told me that the risk of miscarriage actually drops to almost as low as it will get once you've had an ultrasound to confirm everything looks right, which I had at 8 weeks.

Here's the magic number - 40 weeks.  Everything pregnancy-related in calculated in weeks, not months.  You may think that 40 weeks begins when the magic + sign or double lines show up on the home pregnancy test.  Not correct.  That 40 weeks actually begins from the first day of your last menstrual cycle.  But, you ask, how can this be?  If I had my period, clearly I was not pregnant yet!  And you would be right.  You are not pregnant for the first 2 weeks of the 40 weeks.

They do this because date of conception is very difficult to pinpoint (more on that in an upcoming post).  This means that for women with cycles that are significantly longer or shorter than 28 days, the due date can actually be revised based on the size of the uterus and baby as pregnancy progresses.

Confusing, right?  So when someone asks me, how far along are you?  And I say, 17 weeks, I can see that person calculating in their head how many months that is, when really what they need to know is that is almost halfway to 40 :)

February 7 is coming faster than we realize!

Long weekend

Last weekend, Alex had a few days off a work, which was great because it gave us a chance to hang out with visiting family, and take a little trip to Michigan for a few days.  We have friends with a beautiful house on Lake Michigan, and they generously offered us a place to stay for a few days.

But before Michigan, we spent some time hanging out with these clowns:

Sam and Alyssa brought their boys to Chicago for some deep dish pizza, a trip to the Museum of Science and Industry, and lots of play time.  The adults even got in a game of Settlers of Catan - much to Sam's chagrine, Alex came from behind and won. Again.

Then it was off for a few days of R&R at the beach.  And all of you east-coasters, I'll have you know it does count as a real beach :)  The only thing missing was salt in the water.

The house was up on the hill, with an elaborate set of stairs heading down to the beach.  We had one day of rain, but the next day was gorgeous enough to make up for it.  In the words of Zac Brown, we put our toes in the water, asses in the sand, without a worry in the world, although only Alex had a beer in his hand :)

Doctor appointment

Today we had our third doctor's appointment to check on little Herbie, and everything was great!  It was by far our shortest appointment yet - just spoke with the doctor and she listened to the heartbeat with a little doppler device.

This was the third time we'd heard Herbie's heart beating, but this time was a little different.  In addition to hearing a really strong, regular heartbeat, we also heard these "whooshing" noises.  That, the doctor explained, was the sound of little Herbie squirming around!!!  There was a lot of whooshing, so I guess that means our little guy/girl is keeping busy in there - so crazy!

I'm at 15 weeks now, and the doctor said I'd most likely be able to actually feel Herbie moving between 18-22 weeks, which is right around the corner!

More updates with photos to come - we were in Michigan for a little getaway over the weekend, which was amazing and relaxing.  Plus, I finally broke down and bought my first maternity clothes.  Stay tuned!

Our first baby

No, I'm not talking about the growing one inside me.  I'm talking about this guy:

After all, he is our first baby - just look at him!  Have you ever seen another dog (or any animal for that matter) that likes to be held like a baby?  I took this picture at work yesterday as we got in some quality snuggle time.  Not sure how he's going to handle it when there is a human baby in his spot...hopefully he can step up to the plate and be a good big brother :)  If not, we might be investing in obedience classes...

Daddy Skills

Courtesy of  K-Strat (it's a rap video, so I'm using her rapper name), here's a hilarious video about being a dad.  We're also going to start watching "Guys with Kids" this fall - maybe Alex can pick up some pointers :)

Watch "Daddy Skills" here.

Maternity Clothes

Truthfully, the thought of buying maternity clothes kind of bums me out, at least until there's an actual baby-looking belly to put in them.  But I don't have a bump yet.  For now, I just look like I ate too big of a lunch and bought  pants in a size too small.

At some point, I'm going to have to break down and buy those stretchy waisted jeans, but that time hasn't quiiiiite come yet.  However, I did make the most important purchase to fit my soon-to-be baby belly - a bigger Bears jersey!

Alex demonstrated just how well he knows me the other night as we walked by the Reebok outlet.  He said, "hey I'll bet Reebok jerseys are on sale now that they're no longer official.  Want to go buy one that will fit your belly through football season?"  It was an offer I couldn't refuse.  I may not have any pants that fit well, but at least I'm ready for the Bears!  That qualifies as maternity clothes, right?

2 years

Two years ago today, Alex and I got married and forever joined our lives together as one - what a great day :)  Looking back, I thought we had a lot going on in that year leading up to our wedding - we both got new jobs, moved to Chicago, planned a wedding, bought a condo, and got married.  My grandma passed away just two weeks later, I went through my first election on the campaign, and Alex got a different job.  It was a busy time.

When all of that subsided, I remember thinking, now things will settle down for awhile.  Now we'll have some consistency, and we have had that.  We've had time to decorate our place, pick up a new (for us) car, make some great new friends, and make fun memories with old ones.  But just two quick years later, and we're embarking on the biggest adventure yet - Herbie.

I wonder if, two years from now, I'll look back at this time and think, that was the calm before the storm that is raising children.  Or maybe I'll look back and have trouble even remembering what life was like before Herbie.  Or maybe we'll be getting ready to embark on some new unforeseen adventure.

Whatever we're facing, I am so blessed to face it with Alex.  There is nobody I'd rather go through life with.  I guess that's why I married him :)

My first baby purchase

Well, technically it's not my first baby purchase (I bought a onesie and a bib to make our announcement to my parents...more on that another time), and technically it's not just for the baby buuuuut my motivation for buying it now was all about the baby so it counts.

I bought my first DSLR camera.  I wanted a camera that would take great pictures, and not cost a gazillion dollars, so I decided on a refurbished Canon EOS Rebel T3.

I learned a lot about cameras after much online research and some advice from a photographer friend.  Basically they all said, buy a camera body you can afford because unless you are a professional photographer, you'll never use all the bells and whistles, and save your money for good lenses, because that's what will affect the picture quality.

I chose Canon over Nikon because I liked the way the buttons were laid out better.  Really scientific.  Now I just have to learn how to use the darn thing before February so I can capture our little bundle of joy in his/her full glory :)

Meet Herbie

Ladies and gentleman, I am pleased excited ecstatic to formally introduce the newest member of the Heacock household - Herbie :)

Herbie is the little nugget currently taking up residence in my belly.  This picture is a little out of date - I was eight weeks along then and tomorrow marks the end of 13 weeks - but because it's Herbie's first photo, I had to share.

Over the next 27 weeks, or however long it takes for Herbie to join the world, I'm going to chronicle our journey together here, both for posterity's sake and also because I've already found out a lot about being pregnant that no one tells you before it happens, so this is my extended public service announcement.  Some of it is informational, some is miraculous, and some may be a little gross - consider yourself warned :)

To kick things off, I'll start with a miracle.  When that picture was taken, there were also sound effects - we could hear Herbie's very strong and very regular heartbeat - 162 beats/minute to be precise.  After just eight short weeks, our baby had its very own heartbeat, completely separate and and distinct from mine.  I almost can't even fathom it - that there's a new heart beating inside of me - but it's definitely there.  I've heard it twice.  And besides sharing some space in my belly, I haven't done a thing to make it happen.  Absolutely miraculous if you ask me.

Family Fun

So I sort of missed a month of blogging - whoops! But I'm back, and I'll try to be better :)

Last weekend, my parents and I traveled to Indiana to celebrate my aunt's dad's 98th birthday (my cousins' other grandpa)! Alex couldn't make it because of work commitments, so it was just me and the 'rents.

We had such a good time together, even though it was only one night. Here's the birthday boy (Harry) with my mom - we got him beer for his birthday. What else does a 98 year old need?
Baby Harry (named for Grandpa Harry) is getting so big...literally! He is an adorable fat baby who loves to be picked up. He's starting to learn our names, which is just too cute for words.

The twins are already 6 1/2 - Saturday was their half birthday :) They too are getting big - some day soon they will be too cool for monster games and sitting on laps and hugs goodbye, but for now I'm going to enjoy every fun crazy minute I can get with them!

And here's the whole crew - so glad we were able to be with them for the celebration!