Spoiled Baby

We received LBD's first gift this weekend! My mom stopped at Carter's after work on Friday and picked us up a bunch of gender-neutral baby things. And then today, when we met her, my dad, and baby sister to drop of my brother and sister, she bought a few books, too! Of course, I took pictures of everything and it's all  just too cute! LBD isn't even three months along and he/she's already being spoiled!

duck plush/rattle

duck blanket (so soft)

4-piece set with two onesies, pants, and hats

animal pajamas

hooded towel

card

card inside

Baby Einstein book

"A Book of Sleep" by Il Sung Na

"Tumble Bumble" by Felicia Bond

Thanks Mom and Dad!

Name Game II

We've done it! We've finally come to a decision on LBD's name if she's a girl! Thanks to help from my brother and sister, Matt and I have come to agree on Erin. Going along with the last Name Game post, her middle name will be Nicole, so she will be Erin Nicole.

Yum and Yuck

Cravings

• bagels
• fruits
• carbs
• veggies
• potatoes
• carbs
• Taco Bell
• carbs

Aversions

• sweets
• soda
• pizza

Tidal Wave

We released our big news on Facebook today! It's only been about three and a half hours, but we've already received tons of congratulations from friends and family! We're so happy and feeling so grateful for all the wonderful people in our lives!

10 Weeks

We had our second doctor appointment today! We talked to a nurse practitioner and she did my pap smear (ugh) and an ultrasound! All of my blood work came back healthy, nothing wrong with me. The ultrasound was amazing! We saw LBD, who's now the size of a kumquat or Habanero pepper, and even saw the heart beating! We got five of the ultrasound pictures, but I only scanned one of them:

I also had a flu shot which is safe during pregnancy, was free, and is recommended to help protect LBD. After our appointment, we stopped at the park to take pictures again:

We're going to break the news publicly (aka Facebook) pretty soon! We've been telling friends and family that we want to know before seeing it on Facebook for a couple weeks, though.

Name Game

Matt and I have been tossing around names for LBD, both boy and girl. Last night we narrowed down the boys' names and came to a decision. The finalists were Alexander, Anthony, Christopher, Ryan, and Zachary with the final decision being Anthony.

My father's family started a tradition of giving the father's first to their son as his middle name and I would like to continue that. (My brother is Devon Paul, my dad Paul Anthony, my grandfather Anthony Stanley.) Matt had some reservations at first, but I've convinced him that it's not making the baby and "mini-me". So if LBD is a boy, he will be Anthony Matthew, after my paternal grandfather and his father.

As for girls' names, we're still widdling that list down. We haven't been able to agree on very many names which is making this really difficult. I love Abigail and Madison, neither of which Matt is fond of and he likes Zoe and Rachel, neither of which do anything for me. But we've managed to agree on four names that we can both live with: Erin, Kathryn, Quinn, and Rachel. I'm really pulling for Kathryn, but I like Erin and Quinn as well. (Rachel is a nice name, but doesn't really do much for me.) Either way, her middle name would be Nicole, after Matt's sister.

When my mom was pregnant with my sister, Hannah, I helped her and my dad in choosing names. (Hannah, obviously, and Jacob if she was a boy.) The middle name for a boy would have Paul, following the tradition, but they weren't sure about a girl middle name. I suggested Lynn, which is my middle name, in following what my mom's mom did. All three of her daughters have the same middle name: Marie. My mom went with the idea and so Hannah, as well as my baby sister, Olivia, both have the same middle name as me. So Matt and I chose Nicole as a middle name for any girls that we may have.

9 Weeks

I saw this great photo on Pinterest (of course) and Matt and I are going to create a similar collage. This is our inspiration:

We stopped by the park yesterday morning before heading up to Boston to meet up with some friends to take the first two photos. We're nine weeks along almost, so we went with a grape (the size of LBD):

8 Weeks

Matt and I went to my first doctor appointment today! We met with one of the nurses at the practice and went over the basics of pregnancy. We discussed what to expect, what to eat and not eat, exercising, as well as tests that were available. I'm not sure about the testing, but we have a few weeks to decide. The doctor said that ballet was fine, but no jumping and try to keep my heart rate under 140. (I took this week off from ballet and...no spotting. I was right!)

The nurse said that I'm about eight weeks along, but that they would confirm that at our next appointment in two weeks. After our chat, we went downstairs and I had blood drawn for them to run tests. We'll get the results back at our next appointment!

Possible Solution

So I started spotting again today, but I think I figured out why. Both this week and last week I went to ballet on Wednesday as well as going to the gym. I'm pretty sure that this is what is causing my spotting. I have no cramps or any other bad signs with it and ballet can be pretty intense. I'm going to talk to the doctor about it next week when we go.

Queasy

So instead of getting sick in the morning, I have been feeling nausea after almost everything I eat. I've been trying to eat smaller meals throughout the day so that I don't get sick so often. Luckily I haven't thrown up yet, thought. It's the small things.

Parents First

Matt and I (and LBD) went home for the weekend to see both of our families and give them the good news! Saturday we saw my parents and siblings and we broke the news to them! My parents were so excited! Mom cried a little (of course) and Dad started adjusting to the idea of becoming a grandpa. Sunday we saw Matt's parents and sister and told them as well who were also excited! We're asking our parents to keep it to themselves until after our doctor appointments, though, when we make sure that everything is okay with our little one. Matt's sister and my baby sister are looking forward to becoming aunts, although my sister Hannah is a little hesitant. My brother is just hoping for another boy in the family.

I was still lightly spotting today, but it's really slowed up so I'm not so worried. No cramps or any other pain either.