This thing has been in the oven for 20 weeks and it's still not done!?

20 weeks!!!! That's halfway!! Can you believe we've made it this far? It seems like just yesterday we found out I was pregnant! Time has seriously flown by! Anyway, enough chit chat...
We had our 20 week ultrasound yesterday--they check to see if the baby has arms/legs/brain/heart and all that good stuff. The tech said everything looked great! It was amazing that we could see all 4 chambers of the heart. I had no idea ultrasounds could do that. Oh, and she confirmed it was a boy again.
The baby has been super active the past couple weeks. He kicks me quite a bit, but it doesn't hurt. Sometimes it just surprises me. Brandon felt the baby kick a couple weeks ago and while he was kicking last night I totally saw my belly move! It was so incredibly weird! I guess normally, you can't feel the baby kicking on the outside for a couple more weeks but we asked the ultrasound tech about it yesterday and she said it was because I am so dang skinny. I have gained a total of 6 pounds this pregnancy. That doesn't seem like it's been enough. So for the next 20 weeks, I will be accepting cookies, cakes, pastries, and other fattening foods to try and fix this situation (I like chocolate). :) The baby has 10 fingers, which I pointed out to the tech was great because that meant he could play the piano--I was afraid if he only had 3 then we would be stuck with a trumpet player (gasp!). As we were getting our things together, the tech nonchalantly said "Everything looks great, just a little big." I laughed really loud and said, "WHAT!?" {Those of you who I have not talked to personally--I will NOT have a big baby}. She told us he weighed a little over a pound. WHOA!!! HANG ON! A pound!?!? My little pregnancy tracker app on my ipod says the baby should only weigh 10 1/2 ounces. And my baby weighs over a pound!?!?!?!? As you can see, I am quite distraught over this. That is waaaaaaaaay bigger than what it needs to be! And the funny thing is that I really don't have much of a bump yet...so I don't know where this big guy is fitting in my tummy! Anyway, I just have to take deep breaths to try and deal with it.
I have been having some pains in my side all day today. I haven't had anything like these yet, and I haven't been able to find anything about them. I really hope they will be gone by tomorrow.
I have had a lot of trouble sleeping lately and I know it will only get worse with time. I need to get some more pillows!
Oh, another bit of sad news--the ultrasound tech said we don't get another ultrasound! I guess unless my doctor is worried about something. But looks like so far we're doing pretty good so our chances are slim that we'll get another one. Oh well! We were pretty spoiled getting so many so we'll just have to deal with it (although Brandon has expressed he may twist their arm so we get another one).

Brandon takes the LSAT on Monday--be sure to wish him luck (and say a prayer, too)!

Oh, boy...

Well, there ya have it. We're having a boy. Not going to lie, just a little disappointed since my side of the family is very much dominated by girls, but I'm sure by the time October rolls around I'll be mentally prepared. We went to the doctor this morning expecting an ultrasound and turns out that they weren't going to do another one until 20 weeks. We must have been really spoiled at the fertility center because we got one every week over there. To top it off, the doctor wasn't even there because he was delivering babies so all we got to do was listen to the heartbeat again (don't get me wrong, that is fun...just not what we were expecting). So at the office, you can request a gender scan earlier than 20 weeks so that's what we did and they fit us in this morning. Luckily someone didn't show up, so we got their spot! The tech had some trouble getting the cord out from between the legs--she had to push down on my stomach quite a bit (ouch!) but it finally moved out of the way. I can't tell you how excited Brandon is--there are no words to describe that kind of excitement. The tech said as we were walking out, "at least boy diapers are easier to change!" Ha. Funny.
To those of you asking about a name, we have not yet decided. I'm not a fan of the whole naming-your-baby-before-it-comes-out thing. For now, we will call him baby.

17 Weeks

Yay for almost being halfway!! I'm beginning to feel like a whale and have had a lot of growing pains these past few weeks. Nothing too exciting has happened...other than actually being pregnant! We went and listened to the heart beat 2 weeks ago since we were over at the doctor's and it was at 146 which was quite a bit lower than what it was in the first trimester (usually it was 160-170). Our ultrasound is on Monday and we're nearly positive they will be able to tell us what we're having. (You should guess by voting over on the right.) If we do find out on Monday, you probably won't have to wait long before we announce it to everyone! Until Monday, you can enjoy another lovely baby bump picture.

Belly Photo!

Wow, look at that belly! Looks a little weird on the picture, but maybe that's just me. Anyway, we'll hit 15 weeks tomorrow!! That means only 5 more weeks until we can find out what we're having. Maybe, hopefully, possibly sooner, though. We have a checkup near the end of the month and if they do an ultrasound we may bribe them to see if they can tell that it's a girl ;) We finally started cleaning out the piano room and tackled cleaning the desk. That was quite a chore! Now it's time to clean out the closet and make room for more baby stuff. Not much else has happened in the past week. We are just enjoying relaxing (me more than Brandon) and the warm weather. We are still trying to get rid of the organ, so if you know anyone who knows anyone who knows anyone who really is dying to get an organ (who does that?), let us know. Otherwise the baby will be sleeping on the organ bench when it's born. 

13 Week Checkup

Well, we went to a new doctor today. It was very interesting. He was...an interesting guy to say the least. We got another ultrasound and the baby is looking more and more like a baby! The subchorionic hemmhorage is still there...and still bleeding out. The doctor said the bleeding will stop at 20 weeks. That seems like forever away!! They didn't really tell us anything new that we hadn't already heard before. Oh, except that they are moving my due date up 3 days to October 25th, but that really isn't a huge deal. Morning sickness has pretty much been non existent this week, which was a huge relief. I only got nauseous a few times (mainly when Brandon was cooking........). This week is finals week, and oh boy, I am ready to be done! I have 3 more performances this week plus 2 finals and then freedom for the summer!! We are so excited that the weather is so nice now--Brandon is already planning a camping trip with the neighbors. We don't have another appointment for a month, but I may decide to update next week or the week after depending on how things are going. They may have little to do with the baby....like cleaning out the piano room to make room for the baby or something along those lines. Until next time!

It is official! Baby Riches will be here in October!

Well, we are at 12 weeks so I can officially announce that we are expecting! The end of the first trimester is over!! We are so excited that things have gone so well up to this point and we have faith that come October, we will have a beautiful baby girl (um, I mean Brandon will say boy...but I say he doesn't have those maternal instincts like I do) Anyway, we had our doctor visit today, and she said everything looks perfect! She could still see a sliver left of the subchorionic hemmhorage but it actually took her a little while to find it. I was so excited to finally have a regular ultrasound! And it was surprisingly clear, contrary to what we thought. Today was our graduation day from the fertility center, so we will be seeing a new doctor next week! The doctor said she wants a picture of the baby when it's born and everyone who works at the clinic was so excited that we were on our way to bigger and better things. We are a little sad to leave, though, because that means we won't get another ultrasound until 20 weeks! Luckily we got a Doppler so we'll be able to listen to the baby's heartbeat once in a while for some reassurance. This past week has been a really rough one as far as morning sickness goes. It didn't help that I had the flu on Thursday, but today was totally different and I felt the best I have in a long time. Maybe it's the fact that I only have 4 days of school left...I don't know. But anyway, until next week! I really hope the doctor we chose is a good one!

Cheerio, darling

Wow, what a day! So all day yesterday, I was having some pains in my stomach. I wasn't sure what they were, but they hurt pretty bad. I decided to eat some cheerios, because those always make me feel better. It was a really strange feeling I was having, but I just kind of shrugged it off and went about my daily activities. (I did take a nap for all you that were worried about me...) We tried calling the doctor a few times to see if they could tell us what the pains were, but no one answered, so we had to wait until this morning to call again when there were people in the office. We got an appointment early and headed in. We were a little nervous, but these weren't the same miscarriage pains I had had before. So we got in to the ultrasound and she had to stick the awkward thing up me again (even though last week she said we were done with it!!) and  she about jumped out of her chair!! I couldn't see the screen from where I was laying, so I exclaimed, "What!?!" She turned the screen to where I could see it and I about jumped off the table! I couldn't believe my eyes! Brandon was laughing in the corner of the room with a confused look on his face and then it just got silent. I mean, how do you tell someone that the baby they have been carrying for 11 weeks has turned into a cheerio??? I surely wouldn't know how to do it! Obviously there wasn't a heartbeat, so she just kind of put the ultrasound stick away and stared at us. I never knew that eating that many cheerios would turn it into one!! I guess we will definitely have to name it Lester now. 

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