Our Little Gummi Bear...

What an experience! I've been nauseous, lost my appetite, and more tired than I ever thought possible—but I'm loving every minute of it! Jesse's been so supportive. He makes "us" (baby and me) breakfast, lunch, and snacks every day to ensure we're eating healthy. He does the grocery shopping, cleans our home, and even personally delivers flowers to me at work—all to keep us stress-free, happy, and rested.

Today, we had our second ultrasound. Again, we were counting down the days until we could see our baby. In the full body ultrasound, Baby Shirley's head is near the yolk sac with little arm buds sprouting below. As Jesse says, Baby Shirley has a Cabbage Patch doll's head with a gummi bear's body.

Full Body Ultrasound July 22, 2009

From head to hiney, Baby Shirley measures 1.94 cm.

Measurements Ultrasound July 22, 2009

Then, the most amazing thing happened. We could hear the heartbeat! Words cannot describe the overwhelming emotions and the instant unconditional love that comes from hearing the baby's heartbeat for the first time.

Heartbeat Ultrasound July 22, 2009

Just the Beginning...

Friday, June 19th started the beginning of this beautiful journey. Jesse awoke to a pee stick waving in his sleepy face as I was jumping up and down with excitement. As soon as he saw the positive result, he got a glass of water and waited patiently for me to take another test. (We are part of the less than 1% that has experienced the false positive test.) With a second positive test and a confirmed blood test, we discovered we are pregnant!!!

A little over two weeks later...and we finally got to meet our baby and see the heartbeat! Baby Shirley is 6 weeks and 2 days old and due around February 27, 2010. As Jesse says, we're high on life and know it's only going to get better from here.

First Ultrasound July 8, 2009