Hello Baby!  The past week and a half has been a really happy time because of you!  Last Friday, October 21st, we got to see you for the first time on an ultrasound.  Our doctor’s office doesn’t usually do ultrasounds this early on, but your dad convinced the nurse practitioner to do one because we were going to see your grandparents, Warren and Sue, the next day.  It also helps to have a doctor for a dad so that we can get the best medical care for you.  So here’s our first picture of you –

First ultrasound!

This is just a picture, but the ultrasound was a live video of you.  In it we could see and hear your heart pounding 180 beats per minute.  It was pretty amazing.  I wish I had one of those machines at home so I could check up on you every day.

So the next day, Saturday October 22nd, we brought a copy of the ultrasound and a grandparenting magazine to your grandparent’s house in Bishop Hill, IL.  Before this visit, we hadn’t told anyone other than the OB office staff that I am pregnant.  Your dad handed the grandparenting magazine to Grandma Sue, told her “This is for you, because soon you’re going to be a grandma.  Here’s a picture of your first grandchild.”  I took a picture of Grandma Sue as she realized she was going to be a grandma!

Sue finds out she will be a grandma!

After that your mom went for her first rides on a combine and semi-truck/tractor trailer with a local farmer, Jim Huffman.  His son, Brian, was a groomsman in our wedding.

This past week I broke the news to your Grandma Carol, Aunt Mary Ellen, Uncle Will, Aunt Michele, and Aunt Betsy.  They are all really happy.  Grandma Carol said “Oh my goodness, oh my goodness!  I have been waiting for this news for a long time.”  Your aunts and uncles were all very enthusiastic.  I was surprised by how excited they were, because they are pretty even-tempered most of the time.

I hope you get to know all of the family that we know now.  I have been working on a genogram over the past few weeks, which is a counseling version of a family tree.    Not sure if you can access it with this link. my family genogram It has my immediate family & their kids, all of my cousins, their kids, my aunts & uncles, my grandparents, their siblings, and my great grandparents.  You have a huge family!

Advertisement

Update

Hi Baby!

I just learned today that you are now the size of a blueberry (and about 10,000 times bigger than you were at conception).  I’ve been making sure to take multivitamin and DHA because most of that growth is concentrated in your head as new brain cells are generated at the rate of 100 per minute. Your mouth and tongue are forming as arm and leg buds sprout, and those little kidneys are getting ready to do their job.  You’ve got a heart that’s beating too.  It’s incredible what you’ve accomplished in five weeks!

I have a strong feeling that you are a girl.  I was talking to my mom last week to find out family information for a genogram project for class and she told me her grandma’s name was Stella.  I really like that name.  It means “Star”.  Your dad is not so sure, because previously we had decided on the names Samantha if we have a girl and Cullen if we have a boy.  Now I’m not sure about the name Cullen either, as it has become synonymous with vampires because of the Twilight books and movies.  So we’re still undecided about your name.

Sorry I haven’t written for a few weeks.  I have heard from my doctor that miscarriage is very common in the first trimester and that this is a very risky time.  I do worry that I could lose you at any moment and have been trying to prepare myself for that possibility.  So that is one of the reasons I haven’t written recently.  It’s also the reason we haven’t told anyone that we don’t have to tell that I am pregnant.  I hope I can keep you a secret and that you hang on so Steven and I can bring your ultrasound picture to his parents and my family for a Christmas present.  We are so excited that you are coming and we are thrilled to share the good news with our parents.  My dad passed away two years ago so sadly he will not meet you in person.  At our wedding he toasted with glee that he hoped our marriage would mean more grandchildren!  So his wish will come true.