Hello all,

Sorry I’ve been neglecting the blog. Things have been pretty busy for us lately. Our house flooded a few months ago, we’ve been traveling, etc. Everything is going well. While we had the carpet out of the house we painted most of the house. We painted the baby’s room a green color.

We have pretty much settled on a name. Jackson Cash. We have already started calling him that! So far, we have some clothes for him (courtesy of our loving families) and his crib in his room. It’s a beautiful big crib with a changing table. We are working on picking out his bedding and decorations for the rest of his room.

Last Saturday we attended a breastfeeding class at TX Women’s Hospital. It was very informative and we are going to plan on breastfeeding the baby. It’s amazing the benefits it provides! God really had it all worked out. This Saturday we have an all-day childbirthing class. We get a tour of the hospital, so we are looking forward to learning more.

Sarah is officially in her last trimester and the baby will be coming in less than 3 months. Keep us in your prayers! Check Sarah’s facebook page for photos of her ever increasing belly.

I’ll try to stay on top of this blog as much as possible!

God bless.

So, we went and had an ultrasound to determine the sex on April 13th. I took the day off and our appointment was at 9:00 on Medical Center in Webster. So, we made our way an stopped at the Valero to get Sarah some orange juice to get the baby to move. Once I bought the o.j., a mountain dew and some kolaches, we made our way. We ended up at the wrong building because of some outdated information on the internet, but we finally ended up at the office.

We waited for a while and were called in. The tech squirted the goop on Sarah’s belly and the ultrasound began. Well, the time to find out the sex came after some searching around. The tech asked if we were ready and Sarah knew exactly what it was, but I was having trouble seeing it. IT WAS A BOY!!! Words can’t descibe the feeling. We were both overtaken by emotion and began crying instantly. I think I was more of a mess than Sarah. Immediately my mind started racing to everything I wanted to do with my son. So, I snapped back into reality and continued the rest of the ultrasound.

They checked for many warning signs of abnormalities and/or defects, but everything looked fine. Brain, heart, fingers, toes, kidneys all looked great. They told us at this time (19 weeks) that he should weigh about 9 ounces, but as of right now, he’s 11 ounces!

We had the ultrasound put on DVD and it was a truly awesome experience. We got out of the office and immediately started calling and texting everyone. Then we went to Baby’s R Us to start looking around and getting ideas. Then we ate lunch at Red Lobster and shopped at Old Navy and actually bought him some clothes!

After that, it was time to rest after an amazing, emotional day.

How your baby’s growing:

Your baby’s sensory development is exploding! His brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that he may be able to hear your voice now, so don’t be shy about reading aloud, talking to him, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you.

Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. His arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of his body now. His kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on his skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

Your baby’s skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and she’s around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop.

 

On April 13th, we go have another ultrasound to determine the sex of the baby! We are very excited and can’t wait to find out what’s in store. Also, Sarah has an appointment next week so I’ll post details about that visit.

I know I skipped week 14, I’m a slacker. Here’s the update for week 15.

I’m slacking again, so I copied this from a web site we’ve been using during the pregnancy.

Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She’s busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she’s likely to move away from the beam. There’s not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds. Finally, if you have an ultrasound this week, you may be able to find out whether your baby’s a boy or a girl! (Don’t be too disappointed if it remains a mystery, though. Nailing down your baby’s sex depends on the clarity of the picture and on your baby’s position. He or she may be modestly curled up or turned in such a way as to “hide the goods.”)

Fingerprints have formed on the baby’s tiny fingertips, its veins and organs are clearly visible through the still-thin skin, and its body is starting to catch up with its head — which makes up just a third of its body size now. If you’re having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce.

Sarah had her appt a few days ago and got to hear the baby’s heartbeat for the first time. I was unable to go with her, but her mom got to go, so I’m glad she had someone to experience that with. This will be my mother-in-law’s first grandbaby, so it’s really a joy for me to see how much her and my father-in-law are excited about this baby. Anyway, the heartbeat sounded strong and Sarah just had some bloodwork done.

Apparently, wordpress charges to upload audio files, so unfortunately I can’t share the heart beat file just yet. I’m working on it.

I don’t know why I didn’t post this before, but we came to a decision about the hospital vs birthing center option. After some lengthy discussion, we decided that Sarah is going to have the baby at Texas Women’s Hospital in the Medical Center.

Sarah is still going to try to have the baby naturally, but just in the hospital for this first baby. We learned that there are suites at TX Women’s that you can rent for post-partum. Apparently, they look like a hotel room and you get a lot of perks if you stay in them. They are extra, but that will all get worked out.

Sarah also found a good OB/GYN. It was her cousin Mikah’s doctor. Sarah has been to one appointment and really liked the nurses and the facility. She has an appointment today for an “OB workup”. Today, the baby’s heartbeat should be able to be heard.

I will post an update after I hear from Sarah about her appointment.

Here’s the development update for week 12.

The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. The baby’s fingers will soon begin to open and close, its toes will curl, its eye muscles will clench and its mouth will make sucking movements. If Sarah were to prod her stomach, the baby would squirm in response, but she wouldn’t feel it.

The baby’s intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into its abdominal cavity about now, and its kidneys will begin excreting urine into its bladder.

Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in the baby’s brain, synapses are forming furiously. Its face looks unquestionably human: Its eyes have moved from the sides to the front of its head, and its ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, the baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.