Our little Kidney Bean

8 Weeks and Counting!

Kim signing on for the first time with exciting news that our precious gift was seen for the first time today by James and I and our doc.

I have known Dr. Dixon for a while now and greeted him this morning with a, "Hi Stranger!" He excitedly introduced himself to the proud father of what he called our lima bean. James says he is really cool. Down-to-earth and straightforward, I know Dr. Dixon will do his best to make our journey special and comfortable.

So, back to the baby. The estimated date of delivery (EDD) was confirmed for February 14. I'd rather not label the day according to its holiday, because it makes me think of pink, red, purple and all things girly, and this is not exactly how we envision welcoming a handsome fella' into the world if you know what I mean. Of course, it will be impossible to know the gender until 18-20 weeks, and we certainly aren't favoring one gender over another. We simply want a healthy child.

Hearing and seeing the heartbeat was a lot of fun. Golly, does it move fast or what!!! I haven't smiled so big in a long time. James' face was the best - such love in his eyes. Also, it was surprisingly easy to make out the head and arms in the picture. Extra gladness swept through me in knowing that the size of the body does eventually catch up to the head, which is ginormous right now. As the brain develops a lot this week, wish me luck in eating a lot of good brain food.

All in all the visit went well. Dr. Dixon said not to be concerned with gaining or losing weight right now because I am a healthy person. He was glad to hear I was able to stomach skim milk with cereal this morning (and I was ecstatic because I couldn't imagine being lactose intolerant for 9 or more months!). As for an ant bite I received over the weekend that swelled up larger than a golf ball, he decided it was in our best interest to prescribe an antibiotic. It won't affect the baby and without it I risk greater infection, which could affect the baby. Luckily, it's a small capsule. For those of you who know I have had foot pain for the last 5 or so days, Dr. Dixon also cancelled out the possibility of a clot. He says it is likely a bone or ligament injury. Unfortunately, no antinflamatories are possible. So, we will monitor it and if the pain worsens or persists, may look into a perfectly safe steroid shot.

Our next appointment is the first week of August with my second-choice doctor since Dr. Dixon is on vacation. I am very happy about this as well, since I would like to meet any doctors who may be on call during my labor prior to the pain and pushing.

Next up on the mom-to-be to-do list is scheduling a dental cleaning and exam. Wish me luck - the offices are really hard to get into here. Scheduling an appointment for sometime in the second trimester shouldn't be too tough, but it is still nerveracking because I know healthy teeth and gums are VERY important. I also will be needing new eye glasses or at least new lenses, since my perscription has changed and the fatigue has made contacts less desireable (more work).

Well, James and I need to run to the store for my weekly Ginger Ale run (and new pumpkin pie craving). We will try to find a way to upload our sonogram pictures soon.

Thanks for tuning in! We love and miss you all!!!!