#12 from previous journal

I'm 18 weeks pregnant today, and I have come to a conclusion...I am giving birth to a Little Debbie Swiss Cake Roll. Yep, that's right. It's no longer a baby in there, but a chocolate pastry. YUM! I went through an entire box in 3 days! I just can't get enough of them!! But I'm going to slow down because I don't want to start gaining unessecary weight. We have had beautiful weather here the past couple of days, and it is supposed to continue throughout the weekend. I love this time of year! I've got all the windows open in the house, and the ceiling fans on low. Ahhhh...Beautiful!! Coal (my cat) must think so too because he is stretched out in the middle of the floor catching a sunbeam and taking a nap. My belly has really started to POP this week! It's kind of exciting because I've started feeling more movement. It has went from little flutters to more like thumps. I love it! Last weekend Aaron put together the crib and the changing table in the nursery! I think he might put together the armoire this weekend, and then the furniture will be done!! Then we get to start decorating! I'm so excited about that. I will post pictures of our progress. I also need to take some belly pics so you all can see how much I've grown. I guess that is all for now! Hope everyone is doing well!

#11 from previous journal

Hi everybody!! Today is March 20th, and I'm 17 weeks pregnant...and it's the first day of spring!! It is crazy to think that this time next year I will have a 7 month old baby...spring will never be the same again. It will always be a little bit sweeter! I am having a great pregnancy. I have only gained three pounds so far, and I'm still in my regular jeans, I just have to wear them pretty low under my belly. I seem to be carrying high, and I've heard that that means it is a boy. I hope so, but I will be happy either way. I'm really ready for my doctor to schedule our gender ultrasound!! I'm so impatient! But time really is flying by...maybe too fast because I still don't think we are ready. But we will do what we have to when the time comes. I just hope this baby bakes as long as it is supposed to and comes out as healthy as it can be. Hope everyone is having a great start to spring!

#10 from previous journal

Well, we had our appointment with the genetic counselor at the cancer institute today. I really didn't get any new information, except that insurance will not pay for the genetic tessting. That was bad news because I was hoping they would pay for it, but you know how insurance goes. But the good news is that the testing is not nearly as expensive as we thought it would be originally. So, we are probably going to get it done so that we can be reassured. The testing constists of a simple blood test, then it will be sent off to a lab either in Maryland, Boston, or Pennsylvania (whichever one knows the most about this disease). It will take about a month to do the test, and it consists of two parts. They look for the mutated gene in the first part of the testing, then if it comes back negative, they have to do a second test to make sure thats it is negative. If the first test comes back positive, then there is no need for the second part of the test. I am waiting for the genetic counselor to call me back with the information on which testing center I should use, then we can make the appointment to get my blood taken and sent off. The benifits of having the test done are that I will be reassured if I do not have the disease, because then it can not be passed on to my children. And I won't have any reason to continue with the screenings that I have to have done to look for tumors. It will also tell me if I do have the disease, and then the cancer institute will set me up with a specialist to follow my case so that we can catch tumors early enough before they cause problems. So that's the story for now. I will update when I know more. Everything has still been going great with the pregnancy. My next OB appointment is April 3rd. I will update soon!

#13 from previous journal

Well, I went to the perinatologist today, and they decided to go ahead and do the ultrasound! I'm 18 weeks and 6 days...and tatertot is a girl!!!! And best of all, she is healthy as can be!!! She was so cooperative during the whole thing, and she was really dancing in there! She weighs exactly 8 ounces, and there is no doubt that she is a girl! The doctor said that she is exactly as big as she is suposed to be and everything looks perfectly normal. We couldn't be happier!

#9 from previous journal

Okay guys, I had a doctors appointment today and everything looks great with baby tatertot!! We got to hear the heartbeat, but barely because the little booger kept jumping around like crazy!!! The docotor said that the heartbeat is in the 150's - 160's. She couldn't get an accurate reading because it wouldn't be still long enough. But it was really exciting to hear that everything is doing great so far...I just can't wait to find out what it is!!! We are hoping to find out the first week in April but we shall see!! I think it's going to be a girl...but I really don't know. Aaron is hoping for a boy, but really we don't care either way as long as it is healthy. I got my quad-screen blood test done to test for down's syndrome and other diseases, so we should get the results in 2 weeks. I think everything is going to be just fine. Hope everyone is doing great!

#8 from previous journal

Hi everyone!!! It's been a little while since I've made updates...but here I am!! I have been feeling a lot better since the first trimester is over with. I have so much more energy and a much better appetite! The weather has been so nice here, so I think that has a lot to do with my moods too. I have started feeling some random flutters in my tummy...baby tatertot likes to move!! But they are just flutters and I really have to pay attention to notice them. I have a routine OB appointment on Monday the 6th of March, so I will let you all know how that goes. I also have an appointment with the cancer genetic couselor on March 16th. I will update on here to let eveyone know how things are progressing. We have picked out the furniture for the baby's room!!!! We already have the crib, and the armoire and changing table are on layaway. I can't wait to find out what it is so we can set up the nursery. We have got it almost all the way cleaned out, all I need to do is get the rest of the junk out and vacuum and shampoo the carpets, then we can really start working on it. I think we might try and paint, but we haven't decided yet. I will post pics of our progress! Hope everyone is doing well!!!