3rd Trimester Just Around the Corner...

I'm such a horrible blogger... It's been over a month since my last post. Not a whole lot to report, as my pregnancy so far has been SOOO easy! I feel so spoiled. Jonah has treated me so well so far, but I have a feeling he's compensating now for what is sure to be nothing but craziness in a few short months.

The most exciting thing at this point is the wonderfully huge belly I have now... It's just so rewarding seeing it grow and knowing baby is just getting bigger and bigger every day. As much as I'm enjoying being pregnant, I'm so anxious to finally see his little face.

The last couple weeks have been the worst of my pregnancy ailments, which has been mostly heartburn. It seems like at about 4:00 every afternoon it starts creeping up and then attacks me on and off for the rest of the night. Tums or a glass of milk definitely help calm it a little bit, but nothing really makes it go away.

I also had 2 rounds of acupuncture for my back pain last month, and now it is, for the most part, completely gone. This was super relieving for both Jamal and I, as my back had been keeping me awake at night, and that just takes a toll on everyone.

The other cool thing going on lately is my exercise routine!!! Since we joined LA Fitness I've been able to go to the gym a couple blacks away from my work and skip all the traffic driving home. It's been awesome that 3-4 days a week I'm able to get an hour work-out in and only get home 20-30 minutes later than I would if I headed straight home after work. The other awesome benefit is that my consistency is starting to pay off in a couple different ways... 1) I'm sleeping so much better now because my body is so much more exhausted when bedtime comes around (this is always of course contingent on whether or not Jonah is feeling like a break dancer at 10pm) and 2) My weight gain is starting to plateau. This is the most exciting, as I'm clearly gaining baby, but losing some of the 20lbs extra I had before I got pregnant. It's AWESOME!!! :)

Here's a new belly picture, as well as some of the cute things we've got for Jonah over the last couple months! Thanks for tuning in... more to come soon as we're starting into the 3rd Trimester on June 9th!!!

24 Weeks

"Put a bird on it..." We found this at Saturday Market :)

He's all set for his 1st Yankees game next summer...

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

A Sigh of Relief

We made it to the second trimester! Now we can breath a lot more easily :) Not that we were worried, but once you get to this point the risk of miscarriage decreases by like 98% or something like that.

We had another doctor's appointment this morning, and we got to hear the heart beat this time! It was so cool. I'm a low risk pregnancy, and haven't been too concerned about complications, but that additional conformation brings me a sigh of relief.

Being my first baby, everything is so new. I've read about everything you can read, and I feel pretty "book" smart about the whole thing, but the reality is, everyone's body is different, and my curiosity is peaking. I feel like the last 2 weeks have been so calm. I haven't noticed any changes at all, which is so different to the weeks before when it seemed as though every day was different. I'm so anxious, for lack of a better word, to experience the next step in all of this. Within the next 4 weeks I know that my belly is going to change dramatically. I'm showing a little now (I'll start taking weekly pictures here soon), but I know that by the end of the month it will really be visually obvious that I'm pregnant, and haven't just been eating too many doughnuts ;) I'm really excited for that part.

All my co-workers with kids are telling me that this is also when I should start trying to pay attention to my belly and see if I notice all the little movements my little angel is making. Baby was very active this morning as we were listening to the heartbeat, which is so exciting to me. I can't wait until I'm noticing those movements. On the other hand, I'm kind of weirded out by the whole idea of feeling baby move. I can't help but think of cheesy sci-fi movies with parasites or aliens living inside someone and literally "crawling" beneath their skin. In my head I know this will be a cool thing, not a icky thing, but my imagination likes to get away with me sometimes.

Thankfully this last week has been the beginning of getting my energy back. I haven't been as fatigued lately, and I've been much more cheery and productive at work. Not that I was slacking off, but I just feel like I've been getting more done and in a more organized fashion.

The other thing that has been boggling my mind lately is the mere fact of how connected my baby is to me already. Not that I'm feeling the connection as much as I'd like, but that my baby is feeling connected to me. I've read that by now baby has learned my voice and my heartbeat. This is so crazy to me. I think what's harder for me to wrap my mind around is the simple fact that these things about me will comfort the baby. I've never thought about the way that another person or thing will feel about me. I mean I do think about how people feel about me, but not like this. Even my little sister Molly, who's almost 2, is stand-offish with me sometimes. I know she knows me, though she probably doesn't know she loves me yet, but with my baby I'm going to have this other being who knows and recognizes me in every way. A person who is comforted by me and me alone in a way that no one else can. The love I feel has been overwhelming for me, but now I'm pondering about how that love will be reciprocated and that blows my mind almost more than anything else.

I feel like the annoying girl who ALWAYS talks about her baby/pregnancy, but I just can't help it. I daydream all the time about what life will be like in 6 short months when I can have my little angel in my arms. What it will feel like to breastfeed, what it will be like to have a connection that is unmatched by anything else on this planet. When you're going through something like this how can you not talk about it all the time? How can you not let it consume you? I hope that no one is getting fed up with me, I'm thinking it's only Jamal at this point, although he's just as excited as I am.

I'm hoping to have more to report more often now as bigger changes are on the way. Like I said before, I plan to start taking weekly belly pictures soon, and will get those on here at the least.

Pray for us... this journey is crazy, and not always easy, but it's the biggest blessing of our lives and I'm so happy to share it with all of you.

Official Due Date September 7, 2011

Monday, February 14, 2011. Valentine's Day. What is the best gift I could get? How about pictures of my Little Angel and an official due date!

8:30am Jamal and I go in for my second ultrasound, ordered by my midwife, to get to the bottom of my mystery due date, and find out how big our precious one is. I had been so anxious up to this point, me thinking I was 9 weeks, the midwife thinking I was 10 weeks, then saying based on our previous appointment that I'm more likely 7-8 weeks. Much to my surprise, and in the best way, we were both wrong. Baby Poe measured in at 10 weeks 5 days! Even further along then we both thought! Not only was my anxiety relieved, but even more relief came in the fact that I'm now only 2 weeks away from my second trimester!!! This sure made breathing a little easier.

Seeing baby last week was amazing, but yesterday surpassed it all! Being on a full size ultrasound machine, we could see all of baby. Head, body, arms, and legs. Baby was moving around, and "waving" at us, we could even see the fingers for a split second. I was so overwhelmed. I started to cry when the ultrasound tech left the room. It was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen. My tears then of course provoked Jamal's tears, and we were both two blubbering messes for a moment. It was a really special moment for us.

Here's the new photos we got:

Here's the little "wave" :)

Baby Poe is on the way...

Ok, it's official. We've shared with the world (i.e. Facebook), that we're pregnant. I'm writing this blog, inspired by a friend who did the same, to share our joy with our loved ones near and far.

For us it began on January 3rd, 2011. Being 5-7 days late I decided I couldn't wait another day (against Jamal's wishes) to take a test, and confirm what we'd been hoping and trying for for the last 9 months. I woke up early before Jamal and snuck into the bathroom. The test was positive instantaneously, and I snuck back into the bedroom to show Jamal. We were both elated.

We slowly started telling a few select people, mostly only those who had been side-by-side with us through all the trying. Mostly our immediate family. Jamal had hoped to wait longer and do more of a "big reveal", but I was too excited and ruined some of his plans. Sorry, babe.

A couple weeks went by and I went in to meet with a nurse, get all the "need-to-know" baby info, go over my family history, and so on and so forth. After that, the excitement and anticipation of the first REAL pregnancy appointment grew daily, and the 3 weeks we had to wait inched and flew by all at the same time.

Today was FINALLY that day. First the doctor tried to listen for a heartbeat, but couldn't find it. She said not to worry, as my uterus could be tilted back, or the baby could just be in the back and hard to hear. She did however want to do an ultrasound, just to confirm everything was good. Then, she couldn't see anything with the regular ultrasound and I started to get a little anxious. After this she did an "inside" ultrasound, and we finally saw our little peanut.

It was the most amazing thing to see. The head is on the left, the little body on the right. What you can't see in the picture is the little heart in the middle beating furiously. Then, the most amazing thing happened. Right on cue, our little peanut wiggled it's little bottom, and I was done for. Knowing your pregnant is an amazing feeling in and of itself, but actually seeing your little being is a feeling I can't describe. It was this total rush of instantaneous, completely unconditional love like I've never felt. I've spent the whole day with a smile plastered to my face. My heart is so full!!! This is a journey I've been praying and waiting for for almost a year now, and after experiencing the first of many indescribable moments to come, I am beyond elated.

As of right now, my due date is TBA. Both the doctor and I are most likely wrong in how far along I actually am, me thinking 9 weeks, her originally thinking 10 weeks, based on my last menstrual cycle. She said that from the ultrasound she would guess between 7-8 weeks, so not as far along as I'd hoped, but I will have another ultrasound next week to take measurements and confirm. She also said that my uterus is in fact tilted back, so I'm anxious to see how that affects everything, if it does at all.

I'm so happy to finally share this news with those of you who didn't already know! This is a moment we have been anxiously waiting for, and so far, it has surpassed any and all expectations I may have had.