Week 18 - Photo Included

Today starts week 18 of the pregnancy!!! I am including a photo that was taken today since everyone keeps asking to see one :)

I only have a small baby bump right now although have gotten big enough that my clothes are not fitting right anymore. I have a Dr.'s appointment on Monday and am curious to see how much weight I have put on and not to mention a little excited about hearing the baby's heartbeat again!

I am also including a weekly update on how the baby is growing (keep in mind this website refers to the baby as a boy although we do not know what we are having) Enjoy the update....

How your baby's growing:
Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born.

The Gummy Bear

Our first ultrasound was scheduled during my first appointment. When I went into the doctors I was 8 weeks pregnant. Ok, so all of our friends first ultrasounds, that are early in their pregnancy, result in a photo of a little bean that the Dr. circles and says "here's your baby." So, I was expecting to also see a little bean. You can imagine my surprise when they turned on the machine and showed me this:

The technician said, "Wow! Your baby is pretty developed for being only eight weeks." She then showed me its little arms waving at me and its cute little legs. It was pretty amazing. We got some really good photos of the little tyke! The kid already likes to get its picture taken :) It is going to fit right in with the Vaupel and Tarwacki family!!

So, after the ultrasound was taken they moved me up to 12 1/2 weeks because the baby was so developed. Overall the first trimester went very smoothly - no big sickness or real issues. We have been blessed!

After telling the family about the pregnancy over Easter we started calling some of our close friends to spread the news. One of our friends saw this photo and said it looks like a little gummy bear. She suggested that if it is a girl we name it Gummy Bear Tarwacki. Thanks for the suggestion Lauren! We will add it to our list of baby names :)

We're Expecting

Let the adventure continue. We are on to the next chapter of our life. Over Easter we gave our families a fun Easter card:



Needless to say it was a fun surprise to share. So yes, we are expecting!! Our anticipated due date is October 15, 2010. I will post a few updates along the way so those of you who are not close by can stay tuned in to all the latest happenings. Enjoy!