21 Weeks and over the hump

Yes, today marks 21 weeks. Over half way to the 40 weeks until the buzzer says "ding" and we get to meet Miss Ellis. The "bump" is getting bigger by the day. The doctor says that everything is right on target, including my weight which I was very happy to hear. Putting on 13 pounds in the last 5 months is a little unsettling, but it was good to hear that the doctor said that's perfectly normal and right on pace for my height and pre-pregnancy weight.
Miss Ellis is kicking like crazy now. I can literally see my belly moving up and down as she is does her round-off back handsprings every day. I tried to video it yesterday, but again, she got camera shy. Enjoy the belly pics!

It's a ............... GIRL!

Some of you probably have already heard the news, but on Monday, December 22ND, we found out that we are going to have a little girl! Daddy (Jason) is thrilled, he was really hoping for a baby to be "daddy's girl." I'm so excited too!

We made our way to the doctor's that morning around 8:30am, with my mom, Sue, following behind in her car. She came along, not only to get the news with us, but also to accompany to the only place one can go after hearing such news....Babies R Us! We waited for about 30 minutes before being called back to the ultrasound room. The nurse, who was a total pro at the ultrasound machine, applied the quintessential sonogram "goop" to my belly and began her hunt for Baby Ellis. Within seconds we could see hands, legs, feet, a cute little head and face. Many of us have seen ultrasound pictures like the ones posted here, but it's so neat to see the baby actually moving around "live" on the screen. Yet another wonderful confirmation of the life that is miraculously being knit together inside my belly. Finally...the moment of truth. The nurse maneuvered the magical ultrasound wand to show the "underside" of Baby Ellis. In the picture below, you will see a tiny white arrow pointing to Miss Ellis, showing that it is, indeed, a girl! It was so neat to see the nurse locate her little heart, kidneys, bladder, and so on. Of course, I had no idea what I was looking at, but boy was it cute! Another thing we discovered during the ultrasound is that Miss Ellis is VERY active! She would hardly sit still to let us get a snapshot of her. I'm not sure if she's going to be an athlete or if she's just camera shy. Either way, she was a movin'. The best part of the whole visit was hearing both the ultrasound nurse and Dr. Weise tell us that everything look perfect! She's approximately 13 1/2 ounces in weight and all of her "parts" look just as they should. Praise the Lord!

After the appointment, Daddy headed back to Warsaw for work and my mom and I headed off to Babies R Us. Who knew there were so many cute things for little girls??? It was so much fun and I must say that Miss Ellis will have quite an impressive wardrobe for an infant. :)

As far as names, we haven't officially decided yet, but we have a few in mind. We would like to use my middle name, Jane, which is also my mother's middle name. We like Norah, Reagan and Hannah, but again, we are open to suggestions.

3D Ultrasound

My friend Sheena sent me a link to this really neat website that has 3D photos of the baby in the womb. This is what our baby looks like right now, 18 weeks.
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.ehd.org%2Fprenatal-images.php%3Fthum_id%3D436%26cell%3D6%23content"
Enjoy!

Ladies and Gentlemen...we have movement!

Yes, that's right! On Thursday, December 4th, I officially, without a doubt felt Baby Ellis move for the first time!
I was working at Dad's (Craig's) office, filling in for his secretary. The day had kind of slowed down so I was reading some news articles on the internet, when Baby Ellis decided it was time to make his/herself known. It was not just a little tap or "gas bubble" feeling as they say, no this was a statement! With one huge sweeping motion of a limb (foot or fist, I don't know), Baby Ellis pushed from the left side of my stomach, all the way to right! It about took my breath away. What kind of statement this young fetus was trying to make, I don't know. One friend thought he/she was swooping his/her arm from one side to the other as if to say "Ta-Da! I'm here!" Jason thinks it was merely the youngster practicing his/her Agassi backhand or Crosby slapshot. No matter what the child is trying to tell us, one thing is for sure...he/she IS there! And that's a very comforting and exciting feeling!

I had heard that I would feel the baby much sooner than anyone else would be able to, so I didn't have my hopes up that Jason would be able to feel any thing just yet. However, last night, while we were laying in bed, Baby Ellis was on the move, so I grab Jay's hand and he was able to feel a few tiny kicks! Yet another wonderful feeling! I feel like it made things even more real to Jay...well, that and the fact that my waistline is expanding by the second!

Hope you enjoy the 18 week photos! T-minus 2 weeks until we know the sex of the baby!