Great News!

Here is the newest addition to our family! It may not look like much but its a new little baby that Jarod and I will be adding to our family. This was taken at 8 weeks so its super small and they were measuring the length so you they are looking down on it but you can kind of see some little limbs if you look close. I am now 12 weeks along (and still sick so don't ask-hopefully we won't have a repeat of last time, my children just love me so much they can't leave me alone for one minute of peace-oh well). Our due date is January 15, 2010. We are going to the same clinic we went to before and love them. They are so nice and accomodating and try to make me feel better as much as I need. I will also be going to see a perinatologist (a doctor who specializes in babies in the womb). I will go to them for my 20 week ultrasound since they have a higher quality machine and are more apt at looking at babies in the womb. We may see them on and off after that in addition to our regular doctors appointments. I will have more frequent doctors visits as well, right now I am going every 3 weeks (mostly for my sanity) and we will increase the frequency as I get farther along. Once I am 32 weeks I will also start doing Non-Stress Tests (NST). This is where they hook me up to a fetal monitor and record the babies heart rate for a half hour or so at a time. It helps them see what is going on with the baby and make sure they are staying healthy. They will also check the fluid levels frequently with an ultrasound as I get farther along. Its reassuring to have so many things that we can monitor and make sure are ok, but its a little stressful too. We will probably induce me so that I can be monitored the whole time I am in labor. We haven't set a date or anything for that but will see how things progress and how I am doing as time goes on before we set anything in stone. I am trying to keep my anxiety in check and its been difficult sometimes. Since I can't feel the baby move yet I start to freak myself out and worry that something is wrong. One great thing is I received a fetal heart monitor in the mail yesterday. There is a great foundation called Tiny Heartbeats (their website is http://www.tinyheartbeats.org/) and they give heart monitors to mothers who have lost babies free of charge. These are doctor grade monitors, which usually cost several hundred dollars, but they let me borrow it during my pregnancy and I just send it back after I have the baby. They take donations-if you need a good charity to give some $$$ to- and also doctors offices can donate monitors so ladies, please pass this on to your doctors. Jarod and I were able to find the heartbeat last night and it was so reassuring (now I don't have to call my doctor's office everyday freaking out). We will make sure we keep everyone posted on our happenings. They are going to let us find out the sex of the baby early (because they love us so much at our clinic and they have an ultrasound tech in their clinic) so in a few more weeks we will know. I have an appointment next Wednesday and than the next one will be 3 weeks after that and that is the appointment we should be able to find out so only about 4 more weeks!