Boy or Girl? What do you think?

Today was my monthly check up with Dr. Morris. He is so funny, always calls me Bridge and is so nice. He was asking me what I was thinking about the gender, I told him I am pretty torn because in all my dreams it is a girl, but I sort of feel like it's a boy. He said that there are a bunch of women like me that don't want to find out and we talked about how exciting it is. (He really is so sweet!) Then he measured my stomach and listened to the baby's heart beat, it was measuring between 147 and 154. He also went over my glucose test results, which I passed. He said the cut off is 141 and my results were 81. My weight stayed the same, so I'm still down about 20 pounds. He said I'm doing great, the baby is doing great and to keep up the good work! Since I'm in my third trimester (29 weeks and 4 days today!) I will be having my appointments every 2 weeks now, my next appointment is with Mary Jane Dobson (the nurse practitioner) Thursday, January 5th at 9:45 AM.

Good bye 2nd trimester!

Baby Diff is 27 weeks today, the last week of the 2nd trimester, I can't believe it! The 1st and 2nd trimester sure flew by! I've heard the 3rd trimester seems to drag a little bit, but hopefully with the holidays it will help me pass the time. Yesterday I had my 1 hour glucose test. I had the lemon lime drink, it wasn't horrible, but it wasn't the best. She said it was best to drink it cold and to drink it fast, so I put my college skills to work and downed it! The sugar cocktail had Baby Diff doing gymnastics all day long yesterday and into the night. He or she was moving and shaking and not ready to calm down! An hour after I drank the stuff they took about 5 vials of blood and sent me on my way. I'm not exactly sure when I will get the results back for the test, my doctor pretty much only calls when there is something to say. I really hope I passed this test! :) I've heard gestational diabetes is not fun. (Shocking, I know.)

Photo taken 12/7/2012

Kick, kick, kick, we have an active one!

Today was my monthly check up with Dr. Perkins. She is really sweet and super funny. We listened to the baby's heartbeat, he or she kept trying to kick off the little doppler. So you would hear the heartbeat and then a thump, it was very funny. She asked some questions about how big of babies Chad and I were, and then told me towards the end they would have to monitor me so I don't end up having to give birth to a 9 or 10 pound baby (she said the thought of that hurts her!). She told me after my next appointment I will be going to my every 2 weeks instead of every month. Then they gave me the paper work to do my glucose test and sent me on my way. My next appointment is with Dr. Morris on Tuesday, December 20th at 9 AM.

Is that an alien in there?

Chad was finally able to feel the baby kick! The new daddy was very freaked out by the experience. He said, "I don't want to do that again. It reminds me of an alien or something." It was very funny! (Don't worry, he will/has felt the baby kick again, but the first time really freaked him out!)

The baby is super active when I'm laying down and especially when I'm trying to sleep. I've heard that it is lulled to sleep your body movement during the day and that seems to be true because it sure if party time in there when I'm ready to sleep! The kicks are getting stronger as the baby gets bigger and the movements are a lot more often. Sometimes I feel like he or she is just rolling around in there. I have a doctor appointment on Wednesday, we are done with ultrasounds, so I will hear it's heartbeat then and probably find out when I have to take the glucose test.

Daycare, Check!

We picked a daycare! We saw lots of different daycare facilities and we liked a few, but we decided on All Kids Academy in Lutz, Florida near Chad's work. Friends of ours, Pete and Tommi DeMasi also use this daycare for their son, so it was nice to have a personal recommendation. The facility was really nice, super clean, and everyone was so friendly. The staff had been with the company for several years, one lady, Miss Robbie, has been there for 15 years I believe. So starting in April or May (depending on when Baby Diff graces us with his or her presence) they will be attending daycare with their buddy Calvin at All Kids!

http://allkidsacademy.net/Home_Page.php

Baby Diff has a room!

The room is finally put together! We did it! It was another super busy weekend. Friday Chad and I drew the beehive and bees on the wall. Michelle Lebo (a friend of Chad's) was so kind and let us borrow her projector so we just have to trace the images we wanted on the wall! It was perfect.

Saturday the Trent's came over and we picked up the baby's nursery furniture. They were so sweet to help us with that AND help us pick it up in their truck! Then, because they are so awesome, Shannon drew Tigger a head! It was during the process of getting a head for Tigger that Andrea pointed out that the characters were playing "London Bridges" not high-fiving like I had been saying. So, if you Google Pooh and Tigger playing London Bridges the first image is what you see on our wall! How funny is that? I really had no
idea!

Sunday we were up extra early because of the time change, so we took advantage of that and taped off the room and set to work! Our nieghbors, Matt and Kerry work for a paint company so they have been helping us get all the paint colors we needed. Their manager was so sweet and didn't charge us for the yellow we wanted for the other 3 walls. We really lucked out with this project! Chad painted the 3 walls yellow while I set to work on the beehive, bees, and Tigger. After the painting was all done and dry it was still light out (thanks again daylight savings) and both of our football teams were losing so bad, it was painful to watch. So we decided to take advantage of the time and put together all the nursery furniture that Nana and Grandpa Willis bought for us. Wrigley was a huge help that day, inspecting every thing we did. Poor little guy has no idea how much his world is going to be rocked with this baby gets here!

We have the valance and blanket from the nursery set we like so we will have those in the room as well. We are keeping the Disney characters my mom made for me when I was a child on the shelves above the closet. They pretty much go with the Disney theme of Winnie the Pooh. The baby's bathroom is decorated in Mickey Mouse, so they better love Disney! :)

23 Weeks!

Today we had our last ultrasound! Baby Diff was finally being cooperative! He or she was much more active this time, it's little feet would not stay still! It was head down, but that can change since it is only the size of a large mango or a banana squash. He or she has lots of time to flip around and then eventually get right back to head down for the end. Everything looked good, you could really see all of it's features this time. He or she has the cutest little cheeks! Since we do not want to know the sex of the baby our tech had us look away while she looked at where the umbilical was attached. She said she didn't even look to see the gender because she did not want to slip. She told us she could probably guess what it was, but she really wasn't sure. So since she didn't document it, no one knows! Baby Diff is still a little mystery!

After our ultrasound we turned in our hospital registration and then looked into some daycare places. It feels good to cross some things off our to-do list!

We have 3 photos from today's visit. We were able to watch the baby swallow, it was pretty neat. So we have one photo of it's mouth open and it waving to us. (The arm is above the head) The next photo is Baby Diff posing. He or she has their hand under their chin and the other is cupped next to it. Already we have a little diva or ham on our hands! The last picture is pretty self explanatory, it's a foot! :)

Baby Diff 23 Weeks 0 Days

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! It was a busy weekend at the Diffenderfer household preparing for Baby Diff's arrival! Uncle Stewart picked up the queen bed that was in there and moved it to his home and Chad cleared out everything else and put it into the office. Which means the office is in (hopefully temporary) complete disarray for awhile! I spent my Saturday working on painting the Winnie the Pooh mural. The previous homeowners had started this really fun mural, but Piglet and Tigger were not finished and there was large blank areas without grass. Our neighbors Matt and Kerry work for a paint company so they were able to help us out getting all the right colors to finish the mural, so I set to work on Saturday. I did pretty well, but Tigger still needs a head and I've decided to add in a beehive and some bees to match the Carter's Bumble set we've picked out for the nursery. The Trent family will be helping me with finishing all this, I'm really looking forward to having it done! Sunday we ordered the nursery set, most of this was a gift from Nana and Grandpa Willis. It should arrive before November 11th although we won't be putting it together until the mural is done, just another thing to cross off our list! I know Nana and Grandpa Willis are also anxious to see their purchases all set up. :)

Chad and I also stopped at some daycare places on Friday afternoon to get some prices and start checking some places out. The prices are pretty comparable everywhere we've gone, so now we just need to find a place we like! I feel this will be the hardest decision we will have to make and one that will impact us the greatest, especially financially. We have lots of other places to check out, so I'm hoping to cross some off our list on Friday after our next doctor appointment.

Baby Diff continues to go crazy in my belly; it's such a funny feeling! Sometimes it will catch me off guard and I just laugh. Thankfully I can blame my craziness on the baby for now! ;) He or she seems to be quite the night owl. During the afternoons it's pretty quiet in there, but night time is party time! Nana Willis hopes that Baby Diff gets his or her schedule straightened out by the time he or she graces us with their presence! :)

Nursery Set (Thank you Nana and Grandpa Willis!):
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Child-of-Mine-by-Carter-s-Jamestown-4-1-Crib-4-Drawer-Dresser-Changing-Table-Mattress-Chestnut/15939853

The Mural in progress:

Guess who had another doctor visit. . .

Today I had my monthly check up with Dr. Morris, my regular OB/GYN. I had lost a few more pounds, which was nice to hear! The baby is doing really well, we listened to the heartbeat through the little Doppler machine. Dr. Morris said the heartbeat was between 140 and 150. He said as the baby continues to grow the heartbeat will slow down a little bit and not to get worried. I also got the test results back for the spina bifida test. Baby is 100% healthy and shows no risk, so that was more good news!

Dr. Morris scheduled another anatomy ultrasound for November 4th since the baby wasn't cooperative last time. He also asked me some questions about my hospital registration (I haven't done it yet), if I was going to take birthing classes (not planning on it), if I was going to take a hospital tour (yes, at some point) and if I picked a pediatrician (I have asked around but that was it). He said no real hurry, but to start looking into and deciding on things. So next time Chad goes to an appointment with me, I will make him go with me and register for the hospital tour. Since my doctor's office is in the hospital it's pretty convenient! And Dr. Morris recommended a pediatrician that comes to St. Joe's Hospital that he likes and can release the baby from the hospital when it's time to go home.

My next monthly doctor appointment is Thanksgiving week, Wednesday November 23rd with Dr. Perkins. I've met Dr. Perkins awhile ago on a brief visit.

Shake it baby!

Now that Baby Diff is 19 weeks (and 2 days!) he or she wants to know they are here! I've been feeling Baby Diff randomly off and on but today was the day that it has been pretty constant. It makes me laugh when I feel the little movements. I really wish Chad could feel the little one moving around, but eventually he will! I feel the baby the most when I'm sitting or laying down, not when I'm walking around. It's not really the "butterflies" I was envisioning, but it sure is an odd feeling!

Target - Good Times!

After our doctor appointment today we decided to go to Target and start our Target registry. Target was not nearly as overwhelming as Babies R Us! We had fun picking out the infant seat, stroller, and pack and play that we really wanted. We messed around with the displays, pushed the strollers around, and made sure they we could close and open them with little struggle. We picked out some books and toys that we liked as well. We had fun registering together, and looking at all the little outfits, both of us think the baby is a boy so we were looking at all the little boy clothes. It makes it all so real, all these tiny little things will be used with our tiny little baby! We can't wait!

19 Weeks and Growing!

Today was a fun 19 week ultrasound visit! This was "the big one" to determine the baby's gender and go over everything to make sure the baby is growing on target. The ultrasound tech measured all of it's bones, his orbits, diaphragm, cerebral cavities, etc. When she measured the baby's thigh bone it was 2 and 1/2 inches! So tiny! According to The Bump, Baby Diff is the size of a mango. It was crazy to see this perfect baby, but so tiny! He or she has perfect bone development and so far, it's head size is right on target! Chad was worried that our baby might have a larger head than normal! :) We have lots of photos from this visit.

The baby is currently in a breech position but the tech told us that he or she has plenty of time to move around and get into the right position. In fact, she said that the baby was a little to small to see some of the things she needed to see, so while this was suppose to be our last ultrasound we will have another one scheduled after our appointment with Doctor Morris on October 21st. The tech should be able to see the rest of what she needs to verify, including gender. Baby Diff wasn't willing to show his or her goods, so they don't know the gender yet either. So, it looks like he or she wants us to be surprised, at first we thought it might be stubbornness, but really he or she is just helping his or her mom and dad out!

Baby Diff 19 Weeks 0 Days

Babies R Us Fun!

Chad and I had some down time and my mom reminded me that our first shower was a little 2 months away. We decided to head to Babies R Us and start looking around to see what we liked and didn't like. We put lots of things on the registry so we could go back and read the reviews or what people thought. Babies R Us was pretty overwhelming, so many options and choices. We picked out the nursery set we liked, it's called Bumble by Carter's. We thought all the bees and yellow would go perfectly with the Winnie the Pooh mural already on our wall in the baby's room. We still have to go back and finish the registry, but we gave it a good start!

4 Months!

Baby Diff is 16 weeks today, the big 4 months, and is now the size of an avocado according to thebump.com. I'm still in regular clothes and not showing, probably because of the amazing weight loss I've had since I've become pregnant (thank you morning sickness!). I'm starting to feel much better, I think the morning sickness might be finally dwindling away. I've developed a love for veggies, particularly green peppers, it's odd but I can't get enough of them! I'm also easing back into the fruit world as well, I'm even letting Chad convince me to start drinking milk. These are pretty big steps!

I am becoming more and more hungry in the past week or so, which I've read is pretty normal since Baby Diff will be or is going through a growth spurt and doubling his or her weight and inches. I'm sure I'll find myself into maternity clothes soon enough. There is a little prediction that mother's of baby boys eat more than mother's of baby girls. They said something funny in What to Expect When You're Expecting about if you find yourself bellying up to the fridge with the hunger of a teenage boy, you will probably have a boy. All these little predictions are so fun to me!

It will probably be another month or so until I actually feel Baby Diff moving around since I'm a first time mom and have no idea what it feels like, but it will sure be interesting to feel that! Baby Diff can start to hear my voice now, so I guess I should start practicing not saying bad words :)

Another Doctor Visit!

This was a really quick visit to the doctors office today, I think it took me longer to find a parking space! I met with Dr. Solomon today and she was super nice! The baby is higher in body now, near my belly button. We listened to the heartbeat through the Doppler machine, it was a bit slower this time, if you could call 140 beats per minute slow! The baby is 100% healthy and I was told there was no risk of downs syndrome.

I have to go sometime in the next week for more blood work test. This time they are testing the baby for spina bifida, they testing the levels of AFP (alphafetal protein) in my blood. If the levels are really high there is a chance the baby might have spina bifida, however, I'm not worried. We will get those results at the next doctor appointment with Dr. Morris on October 21.

October 7th we go in for the anatomy ultrasound. I verified how it is handled if you don't want to know the sex of the baby. Then all the ladies in the office told me that a surprise is so much more fun and since they will all know if it is a boy or a girl, they promised not to tell.

Oh, and I got the hospital registration forms to fill out. They gave me a choice if I wanted to deliver there (St. Joseph's Women's Hospital) or TGH (Tampa General) which I didn't know we had a choice. I still picked St. Joe's. I think we have to set up a tour soon too, just in case the baby comes early I guess.

2nd Trimester, here we come!

The first trimester is over! It was hard keeping the news of baby diff a secret, especially on days I wasn't feeling the best. It was fun "coming out" to the world and letting them in our exciting news! We spent many days making phone calls to our families and close friends to let them know before the big Facebook announcement. We told all of the family members, which was a huge task, mainly we just told Grandparents, Aunts, and Uncles, tracking down all of our cousins would have been way too many minutes on the cell phone bill! :)

The morning sickness has not magically gone away like I was told that it would, it actually almost seems as if I'm getting a little worse. Maybe it is just like the big final send off before I enter the 2nd trimester bliss! Either way, I'm patiently waiting for the sick feelings to end, I have noticed my energy increasing! My bedtimes of 7 PM are almost behind me, I've seen 9 PM a couple times this week (look out world!). Currently I am not a fruit or veggie fan, so perhaps I will develop of love again for these as I move towards the 2nd trimester, we shall see!

Baby Diff is 12 Weeks and 5 Days!

Today was fun at the doctors office, it was so cool to see Baby Diff just hanging out. It wasn't moving around a whole lot at first, it might have been sleeping, so the doctor was pushing it with the ultrasound wand. It was laying facing out and she needed it to lay on its back for some side profile photos and turn around so she could see the back of its neck and spinal cord. That is how they did the Nuchal Translucency (downs test assessment), they measured the back of it's neck on the ultrasound and then took some of my blood through a finger prick (that wasn't that fun). Then they will come back with a risk assessment, but we aren't worried about it or anything. Here is a website that explains the test:  http://www.babycenter.com/0_nuchal-translucency-screening_118.bc

The baby was being really stubborn and when she would sort of get it to turn, the baby would like flutter back to where it was comfortable (facing out). She kept laughing about how stubborn it was being (not sure where it would get that from!) It was so cool to see it's little arms and legs! It put it's left hand near it's mouth a couple of times, while I'm not a promoter of thumb sucking, it was cute to see. It better get it all out of its system while it's in there! ha ha!

The heartbeat was 152, Chad said it sounded like a horse hoofs because it was so loud and fast. You could see it beating on the ultrasound, it was pretty cool, it flickered so fast! The baby is measuring to the exact size it should be for 12 weeks and 5 days. Everything is great and looks good!

We met with Dr. Young and he listed to the heart rate through a doppler machine, it wasn't as loud on there, but still measured at 152. He told us everything looks good and the baby looks right on track.

My next appointment Thursday, September 22nd for the test results and to hear the heart beat again through this doppler machine. I don't go back for the next sonogram until Friday, October 7th. That is when they will know then whether it's a boy or a girl, although we won't know until around March 2nd!

Baby Diff 12 Weeks 5 Days

Baby Diff is 7 Weeks and 3 Days!

The ultra sound tech was so much more helpful today! The baby is a little blob, but she pointed out where the heartbeat was, what was the baby and what was the yoke sac. (Even after looking it up I'm really not sure what this yoke sacs function is, but its there!) The heartbeat was 140 beats per minute and was much louder this time! It was neat to see the small flicker on the screen.

I met with Dr. Young for the first time and he went over all the blood work (and I mean ALL the blood, there was like 15 vials!) I had to give on the 14th. Everything looks great! I'm 100% healthy and the baby's levels are increasing normally! He told me that I could go ahead and start telling my close family and friends about the baby.

Baby Diff 7 Weeks and 3 Days old!

6 Weeks 5 Days!

We heard the baby's heart beat today! It was so exciting! It was really faint, but it was there! The baby just looks like a little blob, not very exciting because we couldn't see much and the tech wasn't pointing anything out, so we just stared at the blob on the screen. Because it's our baby, it's an adorable blob of course!

We met with the Dr. Perkins, although we waited FOREVER, the doctor visit was about 10 minutes. They gave us paperwork to get blood drawn to test for everything under the sun and the baby's HCG levels again. It was asked if I could go the next day so they wouldn't have to move my already scheduled doctor appointment on the 18th.

The next appointment is considered my "first" pregnancy appointment now that they know the baby is alive and kickin'!

Baby Diff 6 Weeks 5 Days

Baby Diff is 5 weeks and 5 days!

I called my doctor today because the cramping I was feeling got a little more intense. They wanted me to come in to make sure everything is okay. So I, sort of, got to see Baby Diff. It's pretty much a tiny sac because I'm only 5 weeks and 5 days along. I have a cyst on my right side ovary (which is bigger than the baby!) and that is what is causing a lot of my pain. However, I was told by the nurse and my doctor that this is a good sign, the cyst sort of feeds the baby until I start feeding it. I guess not everyone feels the pain from it, lucky me.

I met with Dr. Morris. He told me that the baby is high in my uterus which is a really good sign. I have to get blood work drawn tomorrow to test my HCG levels and then again 48 hours later to verify they are increasing at the appropriate levels. This will also indicate how the baby is doing, and he said, "tie up any loose ends."

I will go back on the 13th at 1:00 for another ultra sound and appointment.
They are hoping that the baby will be far enough along that we will be able to see the heart beat through the sonogram. (Yay!)

No Baby Diff Photo at 5 Weeks 5 Days

1st Anniversary

Cutting our top layer of our wedding cake

Chad and I are so excited to be celebrating our first anniversary and our little miracle! We had a great time at the beach with our family and the Anderle's. I didn't do as much drinking as the rest, but it was great hanging out at the beach every day! Even got in the pool AND built a sandcastle! Who knew he could be such a beach bum! :)

Cheers to our first anniversary!

Cheers to Megan's 21st birthday!

Chad loving the beach!

Our private pool and beach walkway!

Our catch crabbing. Thank you Uncle Jack for showing us how to crab!

We're Pregnant!

I had an idea I was pregnant so Chad and I went to the local Nags Head grocery store to get a test to verify what I was feeling was right. While I took the test Chad went to play pool. When I found out I was pregnant I called Chad to tell him to come up to our room in the beach house. When I told him I was pregnant, Chad kept saying, “Really? Really? Really?” I was still pretty shocked too, so I just stood there! Then my mom yelled up that we had to leave for the restaurant. We then went to dinner with everyone to Captain George’s Seafood Buffet.

After dinner when we got back to the beach house we followed my parents into their room and told them our big news. We were still pretty shocked, so I guess our telling them was pretty comical. After we told my parents we told Megan and Billy. They thought something was up when we followed my parents into their room.