Follow up anatomy scan

As I am sure most of you know by now at our 20 week anatomy scan our son displayed the stubborn characteristics he is inheriting from both of his parents and refused to show the ultrasound tech everything that she needed to see in order to give a total okay on baby development. On that day I scheduled a follow up ultrasound for 23 weeks which just so happened to be today.

At my 20 week scan I had to wait an hour to be seen, the tech never really talked to us, and it just in general was only an "okay" experience. Today's experience was completely different. I was called back only 15 minutes after my appointment time and I had a different technician who was amazing.

She called me back and took me to a different room and the first thing I noticed was that this room had a better monitor for the mother to see than the other room did. We talked for a bit and she made sure I was comfortable before starting the scan. Today's focus was on Sam's heart and on trying to get a clearer picture of his face. Baby boy is currently head down with his little bottom up just below my ribs.

Again Sammy showed his inherited stubborn streak by twisting and turning just enough to block views of things we wanted to see. She did get a clear view of his heart, we saw his brain, we saw the cord (in fact I have a picture of the cord right in front of his nose/mouth and I'm hoping he doesn't do what I did and come out with it around his neck), we confirmed that he is indeed a baby boy, and we took some time to look at his little hands, feet, nose, mouth, and just about everything from his head to his toes.

The highlight for me was being able to see him yawn and being able to tell that was exactly what I was seeing! He is precious already and I can't wait to hold him in my arms. Crazy to think that it could be as soon as 15 weeks!

I really wish Brett had been able to be there but I was able to bring home some really clear ultrasound pictures including a few that are in 3d! That was a huge treat and totally unexpected!

It is hard to believe that we found out we were pregnant back in April (Friday the 13th to be exact).

I actually found out I was pregnant pretty much right at 4 weeks pregnant.

Four weeks late at 8 weeks pregnant we saw Samuel for the first time - it was amazing seeing him then - we just knew he was a tiny little baby blob with a rapidly beating heart.

We shared with our family and friends literally the day after we saw him for the first time in what I think was pretty awesome Mother's Day weekend.

Fast forward 3 months to 20 weeks and we were blessed to Samuel again (well actually we saw him at 12 weeks but didn't get any pictures).

I was amazed then to see him he was no longer just a blob he was an actually baby with boy parts and hands and arms! He weighed 12 oz 3 weeks ago.

Fast forward to today and I saw Samuel again. And this time he was even less blobby and more baby.

It just blows my mind how much he has changed in 3 short weeks he is now 1 lb and 3 oz and I was actually able to see his fingers! He has a nose that I can clearly make out and other features including those adorable little ears.

Actually, looking at the 3D image I see a lot of his father in him specifically around the mouth - Brett thinks I am losing it since they are just ultrasound pictures but I see him in our son regardless.

It blows my mind to think about it and to think when he finally arrives in our arms he will be 5-6lbs bigger and I will be able to see everything more clearly. Today was a blessing indeed and I am eager to hold him in my arms and not just in my womb.

My next appointment isn't until September (which isn't that far off is it?). I have 2 more 4 week appointments and then I switch over to 2 week appointments. It is insane and amazing.

The Name

I just realized that I made the gender announcement and then I never made an announcement like I said I would with the baby's name. The previous post gave it away but here is the official name --

Samuel Angus M

Yes, we are naming him Samuel and yes his initials spell out Sam. Right now we go back and forth between Sam and Sammy.

As for how we picked the name - Samuel is just one that I love and Brett likes it as well. As for Angus well that name has more of a special meaning for me as it is my maiden name. I've always wanted to use Angus as my first son's middle name.

Meaning really didn't come into play for us but I do like the meanings
Samuel means His Name Is God
Angus means One Strength

We think it is a strong name that will grow with our son he can have the nicknames Sam or Sammy and eventually if he desires he can go by the more formal Samuel. As for me I reserve the right to use his full name when he is in trouble because lets face Samuel Angus is a great name to say sternly ;-)

And just for the heck of it a recent picture of the parents to be - the husband can be difficult to run down and keep in one place with a pleasant expression on his face so I typically get one shot at it.


And in closing here is a picture of me loving on my baby bump - I love this little boy of mine so much already.

If you've missed any posts in the past they are easy to find just come straight to And Monkey Makes 3

just random things thrown together

Today marks 22 weeks pregnant with Samuel. It is crazy to believe that in 18 weeks he will be in my arms. (For those that missed it due to my chronic hyper tension diagnosis I've already been informed that I will not be going past my due date.) It is insane! That is roughly 4.5 months! My goal is to have everything ready for Sammy's arrival by the end of November (I will be 37 weeks as of Nov 28). I really don't want to stress those last few weeks about the little things. Thus far we are off to a good start.

We were blessed my Grandparents J buying Sam a crib and changing table and Grandparents M buying his travel system. Since then we've bought the majority of our cloth diapers (some are incredibly cute my current personally favorite are the cow print and the Tennessee Titans print). Sam's nursery bedding has been bought, we have some wall decorations to start going up, and he even has his first soccer ball.

Now I'm working on his clothing. Considering how differently babies grow - who knows how long he will be in new born clothing or even the 0-3 month clothing. I've elected (for the most part) to take advantage of our base yardsale page and I'm already finding some amazing deals. Yesterday, I collected some clothing which included some adorable things like an overall set including a little plaid shirt and a sweet little blue jean jacket. Tomorrow I'm being blessed with a bag of clothing (for free!) that will range in size from newborn to 12 months. I also won a bet with B so I have a little extra spending money this month and so I am going over to look through some more baby clothes. The most, so far in my second hand shopping, I've spent an item was a set for $2 the cheapest (other than free) were some adorable onsies and sleepers for $0.25!

This pile right here is everything that I bought second hand yesterday. It came in at roughly $25!

I think that is an amazing deal since I know for a fact some of those sleepers alone range in price from $15-20!

I can not wait to see Sam's tiny feet in those sleepers with the different animals on the feet. My two favorite are the monkeys which you can see as well as another sleeper that the bottoms are shaped like footballs.

But this little guy right here is my favorite purchase yesterday. I went to this wonderful lady's house (who is due a week before me with a little boy so it blew my mind she was selling this jacket) and managed to pick it up for $0.75! This is the same place I picked up some adorable onsies/sleepers for 25 cents and that includes a couple sesame street onsies.

I know it is tiny (0-3 months) but Samuel is going to look adorable in it the few times he gets to wear it. I'm half convinced this needs to be part of his coming home outfit but Brett is not.

Though I did have moment yesterday when I held up a newborn sleeper and realized it stretches from my collar bone to my lap. I do realize that Sam will be curled up in the fetal position but to think he will come out being able to wear that was a bit..unnerving.

Now we just need to get a pack in play (preferable one that is a little higher so we can put it near the bed and I don't have to be up and down a billion times during the night to breastfed him), a boppy, and I'd love to get this Graco 2 in 1 Swing. Basically, it is a plug in swing but you can remove the seat and it becomes a bouncer that operates on batteries.

As for Sam he is doing very well. At the 20 week ultrasound he weighed 12 oz so I expect he is on target of a pound (or more) at this point. I have another ultrasound next week to finish measuring/looking at his heart and to get better views of his face. (That is of course of my little soccer player manages to stay still long enough.) He has, over the last 3 or 4 days, become incredibly active. Kicking and punching harder and harder. In fact Saturday night I was able to feel him punching on my lower stomach for the first time. He is definitely most active at night but does move a great deal, it seems, when Brett and I game together.

As for me. Well, as of this morning I'm still down 7 pounds from my starting pregnancy weight and I'm fairly certain the 3 pounds I've regained are all Sam/baby stuff. I, overall, am feeling good and I really enjoy feeling our son move around. I was put on blood pressure medication last week because of some high readings at my appointment. I think most of it was environmental and McDonalds (so just fyi don't eat McDonalds within a couple hours of a BP reading). But whatever the case I've been on medication for a week and a half now. Hopefully, this will allow us to go longer without having to be induced but I will do what I need to to protect Samuel and myself.

I suppose I am done with this today. It was a little more long winded than I intended it to be.

Chloe and Dash have an announcement

I suppose, for the very few of you, who are unaware of exactly who Chloe and Dash are I should give you a little background. Chloe and Dash are two of our fur children. They are our dogs and are incredibly spoiled and rotten. Chloe is a beautiful flat-coat retriever and Dash is a loveable chocolate lab. Chloe is a Frisbee addict and Dash goes crazy when you pull out his red ball.

These are our rotten furbrats and we wanted to include them in the big family announcement. But first here is a more recent picture of our little one.

I am going to guess by this point you all are tired of being teased, taunted, ignored, and other things? Okay here we go.

Wait for it....just a moment longer!

Yes friends and family we are having a little boy. A little boy who is measuring right at 12 oz as of today. I go back on August 22nd for a second ultrasound to look at the things that they couldn't see because we are growing the next David Beckham or at least that is what the husband is hoping. lol