26 week update!

Hello dear friends and internet, the Lovelace fam has been busy! Not only have we been growing like a weed, but we got to see Baby Love and had maternity photos taken! It's been a busy photo-filled week(s) -- excited to share some pictures on the blog, for those who aren't already inundated by way of facebook (Hi Dad!)

We celebrated Valentine's day by having our photoshoot on Saturday with my charming and awesome friend and photographer, Travis (www.traviscurryphotography.com), had a romantical steak dinner on Sunday, and some flowers came to my office on Tuesday!

I loves me some multicolored roses!

I also can't live without instagram...another gift of the Iphone!

We spent the rest of the week getting our celebration on, in anticipation of getting another sneak peak at Baby Boy Lovelace! We did ye olde "Wednesday Night Special" at our local 3D joint ($70.00 for 20 minutes of fun, a ringing endorsement!) as a gift to ourselves. Or maybe I was obsessed and decided we should go. It's amazing to see how much he has grown! 

Check him out, in all his glory!

Get a load of this cutie!

I am very strong #Team Lovelace with this kiddo's profile...Glenn's family has a prominent brow-bone and HUGE beautiful eyes, and I think the forehead/eye area is all Glenn. 

Glenn says he looks like he has a mustache in this one

Always covering his little face, but look at those cute lips!

Our one and only "face on" shot

Even the directly "face on" shot I am seeing Lovelace in the forehead/eyes and bridge of nose area...he may have a bit of me in his nose and lips and chin shape. 

Cute little tootsie -- 2nd long toe = All Lovelace!

And one last side profile shot

I know ultrasounds (even the 3d versions) are creepy as all get-out, and I am the first to admit they all can look pretty damn similar...but it is fun to try to discern features from each side of the family. Having a hard time seeing much of "me" in these photos - but love that he's looking like his papa!

And because you all know (or do now) that I am crazy, I did some combos with our newborn photos. I unfortunately don't have good versions of mine due to an unfortunate accident with vomit on my face right after I was born with a resulting rash ...butttttt here's an idea:

my verdict : my lips/chin - everything else Glenn!

All in the eyes! Look how cute baby SGML was!

So yes, it was totally worth it to get these images and see Mr. Baby Man dancing around and showing off on screen. The ultrasound tech this go round was leaps and bounds better than the last and really took her time AND more photos than she really had to. No complaints here!

This week was really good for me workout-wise....I got to spend some time in the sun and get some Vitamin D and have stayed in the gym sweating on my best friend the elliptical. Glad to say I am feeling really quite wonderful health wise....of course we all have our Jesus H. Christ on a Dirtbike I'm Huge and the Scale says WHAT?! days but more often than not I crave working out and really do feel a sense of calm afterward. 

25 weeks  5 days? 

Could it be that the rampant huge amazonian growth is over and I am about par for the 26 week course by now? I don't feel "AS" out of control as I had been, but maybe people are just becoming kinder and not telling me I look as big post 4 & 5 months preggo? 

How far along? In the photos, 25 weeks 5 days...I am currently 26 weeks 5 days. Still Johnny-On-It with the upkeep around here. 

Total weight gain: I worked out 4-5 times this week and have been tracking like a mofo...oddly I was at 20 lbs of weight gain, but it can randomly jump to 23....the scale reads at 170-173 at different points of the day. Yes, I weigh as much as a male athlete these days. I OWN IT...ALLADIS bump and subsequent poundage. Even if my dad did tell me I look "pleasantly plump". Let's make better word choices, pops. 

Maternity clothes? Lil Erin was right. Eventually the long sized shirts just don't work and you have to switch to some maternity gear. I know this because my lengthier of sleepytime T's and workout clothes have the base of my bump popping out all over. It's really ridiculously attractive. Still holding strong and refusing to buy any tops though, and making do!

Stretch marks? Nope, and holding strong. My skin elsewhere is still that of a hormonal teenage boy (if I weigh as much as one, I may as well have awesome skin like one too, eh?) I broke down and bought some Mederma because I am fearing scarring with this crazy odd series of blemishes and it makes me want to itch my face off. 14 weeks to go. 

Sleep: Falling asleep on the couch sometimes..Glenn knows if I pass out to let me just sleep until I wake up (often times at 4-5am) and I transfer to bed. I get all the sleep I can when I can. Often times I am antsy and can't just "try" to go to bed like a normal person, so whatever works, works. 

Best moment this week: Let's have a best and worst, shall we? This week lead to some major dramz by way of the facebook (where all ridiculous drama starts, no?) that opened up my eyes to how opinionated and hormonal we all are as women. Parts of it were laughable, some moments were frustrating, and feelings were unintentionally hurt. I guess it's nice to have an outlet to share opinions and watch what unfolds. The best part of week? For sure getting our maternity photos done! I will have a separate blog in reference to this soon, but holy cats am I impressed and SO happy we went ahead and captured this moment in our lives! I truly feel that every woman should get an opportunity to feel beautiful while jocking a womb monkey and have the photos to show for it! A sneak peak here:

look how fancy we are!

Miss Anything? A sense of calm....the closer we get the more antsy and restless I feel. TV is boring, the internet browsing and blog perusing make me yawn, and I am not interested in any books. I feel like I "should be" doing something, or that time should be moving faster. I miss alot of my friends in PA and NY and appreciate all the support they've provided...thankful for technology & social media to stay in touch. 

Movement: Feeling him more and more each day...my abdomen has been feeling "heavier" and per my ultrasound he is head down with his feet towards my ribs (mostly the right side). We had dinner with friends and he was active enough for the majority of our group to feel him kick...seeing their faces react to this was awesome! I love his little "love taps" throughout the day. This is why preggo women are rubbing our bellies all day long. 

Food cravings: Lately SMOOTHIES. Hello strawberries, blueberries and raspberries, nice to meet you...now get in my mouth. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really...although baby boy's growth has been making my ribs hurt (especially after I eat)

Gender: #teampenis

Labor Signs: Nope, nope, nope

Symptoms: Feeling pretty fantastic other than gross acne, rib pain, and sometimes I think I look super tired in the morning. 

Belly Button in or out? So awkard and weird. It is still an innie but a flat innie and if I flex parts of it pop out. EWWWWWWWW

Wedding rings on or off? on. (Someone asked about this - the question is whether or not you have had to take rings off due to swelling yet)

Happy or Moody most of the time: I had one day earlier this week where I felt super tired and just not very "present" even though there was no need to feel moody. Hey, hormones are a bitch. 9 times out of 10 I feel as pleasant as a basket full of kittens so I can take a foul day here and there. 

Looking forward to: Our little "babymoon" in NYC. Glenn has somehow never been to NY, so we are taking a quick trip up next weekend to stay in Times Square like tourists and see a show at Madison Square Garden. This is part of a surprise Christmas gift from Glenn, and I am looking forward to having a special weekend just for us!

see you in the not so belated future!

It's a BOY!!!!!!!!!!

Glenn and I knew as soon as we were pregnant that we definitely wanted to find out the sex. I know that it can be special to await that magical surprise but....I'm a planner. I like to KNOW things for the sake of knowing them. In fact my biggest pet peeve is NOT knowing something, I am loathe to surprises. So, that being said we researched just how soon and how to go about the business of knowing. 


Looking at wives' tails - results were mixed.....


Timing of sex - On or close to ovulation date = BOY
Chinese Gender Calendar = BOY
Baking Soda Method - GIRL
"Show your hands" wives tail = GIRL
Carrying low = BOY
Craving sweets = GIRL
Bad skin breakouts = GIRL
Necklace and ring swing test = BOY
No morning sickness = BOY
Heartrate over 140 = GIRL


Of course I always felt from the get-go that this baby was a boy. Maybe because I had an idealized view that the boy "should come first" to be the bigger brother for future siblings, or to carry on the family name. I just "felt" boy the majority of the time. Sometimes I got inklings of girl, but we felt so strongly pro-blue that we picked three top names for boys and could settle on approximately 2 that we even sorta liked for girl. WHEW. 


With all that said, we would have loved and welcomed a daughter into this world too, but a bit of me was certainly relieved to find out we will be having a son. The thing is, having been a girl all my life, I know the struggles, insecurities, societal pressures and everyday baggage of being a girl. Do I love being a girl? Of course, I just think my anxiety over parenting would be magnified thricefold should that happen as baby number 1. Of course boys will have their own special trials and tribulations and we will cross each as we get to them -- I can't wait for this experience!

Without further ado - the sonogram "goods"

two little legs and the money shot

This is obviously not a 3D image

Side profile of little face

Waving saying hello again!

And our personal favorite, as created by a friend from college....Baby Boy Lovelace getting his Steelers pride on!

We are so thrilled to be the parents of a little boy, and this knowledge has brought us even closer to this little person we haven't "met" yet but love so much. Onto the fun shopping and color scheming and naming!

Cheers to 12 weeks!

Completely thrilled to have crossed this milestone - after 12 weeks, and a visual or audio of the heartbeat, all systems are go! We went to the GBMC Harvey Institute for a Nuchal Translucency screening to make sure Baby Lovelace was a healthy grower at 11 weeks 6 days. 


It was a great experience! Glenn's sister is an ultrasound technician and was pleased we were going to be seen by Dr. Jari and her team (who went to school in Pennsylvania where Regina works with one of Dr. Jari's colleagues). I think it gave us a little bit more "visual time" to share this tidbit with the technician.


Everything looks great! The Nuchal Translucency measurement is at 1.5-1.6, and baby is completely healthy. Anything 2.8+ is a marker for Down Syndrome or other chromosomal abnormalities. We got a good half an hour or so of time looking at Baby, and the technician was very thorough with detailing the heart, arms, and legs as well as taking many measurements. 


I apparently follow directions too well, the technician said my bladder was ginormous and let me "release" about a cup and a half to be more comfortable. In that time baby had flipped upside-down! It's crazy to see how much they move around. I can't wait to start feeling those movements in these upcoming weeks!

We also shared the news with the world, aka FACEBOOK! It was a very exciting moment to tell everyone, and the enthusiastic feedback makes me smile! It's nice to see how much love is out there for a new baby.

Baby Lovelace's big debut...eating a "burrito" like Erin said :)

12.5% of  my facebook friend population is excited, ha! We also told our respective jobs, so it is good to have that cat out of the bag, or the baby out of the bunting as it were....my boss was supportive and offered to call HR to get me some feedback on the maternity leave policy (as it has been at least 5 years since anyone was pregnant at the company). I am curious and excited to see how the rest of the company will react to the news! One thing is for sure, at least everyone will know what this bulge is, and why I've been drinking all that gross decaf coffee. 

little teeny wiggle worm 

Below is one of my favorites, because you can see the full development of the hand, much like baby is waving at us! Sup Ya'll?! See ya in May!

The shot on the left is taken sorta "head down" so you can see the arm waving, and to the right we see Baby "giving us 5" . I have upcoming standard prenatal visits, and next ultrasound is the anatomy at 18-20 weeks! Stay tuned!

ULTRASOUND!

Sorry for the belatedness (avid readers, the 2 of you...Hi Mom! Hi Erin!) but finally an update! We went for our first ultrasound (it's been a long 10 weeks ya'll!) on October 27th. We were scheduled for a 7:30am appointment and were in lickety split. The actual process took about 10 minutes!


The whole thing flew right by. I was so glad Glenn was present for it, and had a good view. When she put the scanner right on my abdomen she found the baby in about 30 seconds. The best view I got the whole ultrasound was in that first few seconds. Baby bean was dancing around, kicking and fist pumping! It was amazing to see how much movement was actually happening, since I'm too early to feel anything. I sorta thought the baby was just chilling in there, taking a snoozer and thinking about future stock options...but oh no, little fetus of Love is ska-dancing up a storm!


Our quiet, fast-moving technician Janine took measurements of the baby (right on target at exactly 10 weeks, so due date is May 24th, although I know the night I ovulated was September 3rd so I say May 26th), my ovaries, and the yolk sac, and I don't know what else? I say I don't know because again, this provider was less than forthcoming with details. COME ON. I am not sure if it is the state of Maryland, and perhaps it's more of a booming metropolis  with high birth rates, but these first time appointments aren't the Hallmark specials I initially had anticipated/hoped for.


She didn't spell out what was the heart, or where the brain was (pretty obvious for us to figure out), but because my head was cranked in such a way, I had to look uncomfortably over my shoulder to see anything...so I didn't get as much viewing time as I would've liked. Glenn said he could see the heart flickering! Heart rate was at 163 beats per minute, which babycenter reflects as being about average for 10 weeks along (160 to be exact).


She did take a photo for us (after lambasting us for bringing a camera....boo) which now is proudly framed! Behold, the first photo of Baby Lovelace!

Black dot in head = brain! Its little hand is by its face, that's that "beak" sort of area

Janine said the baby looked great and measuring on pace for 10 weeks and then promptly turned off the machine and told us to have a great day. 


We went to the classiest Bob Evans available (read: across the street from my job) and grubbed on some fantastic pancakes and bacon. We both stared at the ultrasound picture and tried not to get syrup on it and took turns suggesting (and turning down) future names. After seeing the baby's image and hearing the heart rate was 163, for whatever reason my brain said "girl" but the rest of my body is still screaming "boy". Only about 7-10 weeks until we can officially find out!

A belly full of baby and pancakes = joy

Dad's belly is full of bacon