It's a BOY!!!

As I'm sure most of you have seen or heard via facebook, we had our 20 week ultrasound last week, and we're happy to announce the coming of our SON, Jonah Jamal Poe!

We are beyond ecstatic at the news! It was an amazing moment, which we got to share with my mom and sister! When the tech said, "and here's the gender. We can see something poking out there, it looks like a boy...", all Jamal could say was "Are you sure?" He had convinced himself it was girl, I believe in order to avoid any disappointment, but I knew it was a boy all along. The tech then told him "Yes, I saw it in the beginning, but wanted to wait until now to show you. It's definitely a boy." At which all four of us became sobbing messes :)  Jamal just laid his head on my shoulder and we cried tears of joy together, for just a moment. The tech finished measuring all the parts of our little one, and explaining to me what was what, while Jamal, mom, and Erin sent joyous texts and calls to everyone awaiting our most exciting news! It was a perfect day!

Since then Jonah has been growing bigger every day, and his movements have become much more noticable, more often, and even more aggressive. On Sunday night, Jamal even got the pleasure of feeling one of his little kicks. It was the first time he had kicked me agressively and repeatedly in the same spot, and he was able to get his hand on my belly before he settled down... It was a precious moment.

It is all so much more real now that I am able to experience his presence all day every day. I feel our bond growing stronger and stronger, it is undescribable! Jamal and I have been doing amazingly well, also. I feel like we're closer then we've ever been. Sharing this experience has been both one of the hardest and most rewarding things to have ever happened to us.

20 Weeks

Until next time... :)

Almost Half Way...

Sorry I don't have a new photo for you today, it was a busy weekend and I didn't get a chance to take a new one, but I should be able to get one up this weekend.

I went to see my midwife on Tuesday for my monthly check-up, and it went really good. Baby's heart beat was super strong (150 BPM) and I was also informed, though I already knew, that my uterine blood vessels are also super strong. I only already knew this because when I'm trying to feel baby movements at night I can feel my heart beating under my tummy and it's super strong. She also told me that baby was VERY active. It was moving around lots while we were listening. This was exciting to hear because even though I feel little baby movements every day now, I still don't feel everything, so I'm always curious as to what Baby is doing in there.

Speaking of movements, it is so cool to feel my little one every day now! Previously I had written about being a little creeped out by it, but it's so NOT creepy! It's just AWESOME! I love it! It makes me feel that much closer to Baby. I can't wait for the movements to get bigger and more distinctive :)

Another exciting thing, at least exciting to me, that happened today, was that when I was putting lotion on my belly after the shower this morning I noticed that I could actually see the inside of my belly button. Ever since my baby bump first appeared, I feel like the growth has been super gradual, and seeing my big belly every day,  I don't notice how much it really has changed. But this morning, noticing my belly button, was a realization of how far we've come! 6 days away from the half way point. My natural belly button is super deep, so it's mostly just a black hole in my tummy, the light never touches the "bottom" or "inside", whatever you want to call it. Today however I could see the bottom of my belly button in all it's glory... haha. It will seem silly, or even gross to some, but to me it was exciting!

So not only are we 6 days from half way, but we're 6 days from our next ultrasound!!! Our chance to finally find out who we got in there!!! These last couple weeks, waiting for this appointment has been the slowest most excruciating wait EVER! Make you sure you get your votes in on my poll before it closes next Wednesday for the big reveal :)

Love you all, stay tuned...

17.5 Weeks - The First Kick

Sorry it's been a little while since I've posted. Work has been crazy for both Jamal and I lately, and we went on a little trip for out 1 year anniversary last weekend, which was much needed.

Things have been going great with baby, in fact I feel a little guilty that I haven't really had any "pregnancy ailments" at all. I get heartburn from time to time, and sometimes my RLS (Restless Leg Syndrome) will keep me awake at night, but other than that, things have been so easy.

Now the I'm well into the second trimester the biggest difference I'm noticing is my truck driver's appetite. I am ALWAYS hungry, although luckily I get full quickly, so I'm not eating like a horse, but it seems like even the thought of food at any time of the day sends my tummy into a rumble.

I have been meaning to start taking belly pictures for a couple weeks now. I want to document all the amazing changes, but I couldn't find the charger for my camera battery for a little bit, so I took the 1st picture today.

17.5 Weeks

It's amazing how much my belly has grown in such a short time, although I still find it hard to think I actually look pregnant. I know that people who know me, and know I'm preggo see it, but I always wonder if to a stranger I just look like I need to hit the gym. In another 3-4 weeks though I think it will be pretty obvious. At least I hope so, since we're almost half way!

I finally broke down this week and got some maternity pants. I found that all my regular pants were juuuuust tight enough to be painful around the belly. Jamal wasn't too happy about me spending the money, we're trying to save everything we can for when I'm not working, but I can't walk around with my pants unbuttoned all day, so it had to be done.

The most exciting thing I have to report is that last night, 4/1/11, I felt the 1st baby kick. It caught me off guard, so at first it took me a second to process. I was lying in bed watching Dancing with the Stars on my laptop. I had my hand on my lower belly when I felt a little punch. It was right on my hand. I've been concentrating so much lately when I go to bed on trying to feel some form of movement, so most nights I fall asleep with both hands under my belly, just waiting for that moment, and here it was. I remembered thinking that from the inside it felt like a jumping muscle, I get those from time to time, but they always last a little while, so I knew it wasn't that. Plus, the way it felt on my hand was to intense to have been anything else. Afterwards I kept thinking maybe it wasn't the baby, but I know it was... and then of course I spent the rest of the night straining to feel anything else. Which, of course, I didn't. I tried talking to it, coaxing it a bit, but it didn't listen to me :) The saddest part though, was that Jamal wasn't home. All I wanted was to share that moment with someone, especially someone as invested in this little thing as I am. I just hope that the kicks will start coming more frequently, and he'll be here to feel and witness them too.

On an end note, we're 2.5 weeks away from our 20 week ultrasound!!! Keep your fingers crossed that our little one will let us see who they are, Jonah or Olivia.

Love you all,

Sal