12 weeks!

So happy to be 12 weeks today!! I always thank God for another day and another week! I can see the 2nd trimester just around the corner! Praise be to God!

I have been looking forward to making our pregnancy announcement on Facebook for at least 4 years -- and today was the day! I know it sounds petty and silly. But there's something about celebrating the news with everyone I know that just makes it all even more exciting! Not to mention, we didn't want to keep it a secret forever. And this was a good way to introduce our news so I can start posting things like "ugh, I've got heartburn" or "yay! Babies R Us is having a sale this weekend!" It's the little things... :-)

Speaking of heartburn, I officially started experiencing that for the first time in my life around week 10 or 11. But this week it has been in full force. I have still been having lots of round ligament pain as well. It just feels like lots of pinching & pulling, which means my uterus is growing -- and that makes me happy! My nausea seems to have gone away, for the most part. I'm sure I will get some random bouts here & there. But I am hoping the 1st trimester icks have left the building for good! I never actually vomited, so I was very blessed in that respect. I consider myself very lucky!

On Monday, August 13th, I have a followup OB appointment. The OB will probably just talk to me and listen to the heartbeat on the doppler. I also have my NT scan, which is where they measure the fluid at the back of the baby's neck. This is a relatively good indicator of whether or not the baby has Down Syndrome. I'll be honest... I really scheduled the NT scan because I'm just anxious to see our baby on ultrasound again! Yes, I also want to check and see if our baby may have problems or not. But it's not going to make a difference in how much I am going to love him or her. The advantage to having the test done is so we can be well prepared, in case we do have a child with special needs. And I'm hoping that the baby will do some tricks on-screen like suck its thumb or wiggle around so I can get it on video. Shawn will not be able to make it to the appointment with me, so video is crucial. I'll make sure to post it here as well, so no worries!

Every day I have Shawn find the baby's heartbeat on the handheld doppler that I purchased. I have been trouble finding the heartbeat myself lately. But Shawn is usually able to find it within 1-2 minutes or less. I guess this baby is going to be a Daddy's boy or girl! Sometimes the heart rate does not register on the doppler, so I'm not always 100% sure of what the bpm is. But, as long as we can hear something that is twice as fast as my own heartbeat, we feel good that everything is going well!

In about 3 weeks (Monday, August 27th), we will have our gender scan at 15 weeks! I can't believe it's coming up so soon! There is a chance that they may not be able to tell the sex. If not, I will just keep going back every week until they can see it. If we do find out that day, no one will know -- not even my family! Well, that is until we go to Tyler for Labor Day weekend. We plan on telling the family when we're all together. I'm excited to keep them in suspense -- especially my mom! *evil laugh*

Here is my 12-week bump pic: (please excuse the ghetto booty!)

Please excuse the ghetto booty!

And here is Baby Kirby's 12- week update:

By now, your baby weighs a full half-ounce and is about the size of a large plum. Most of his systems are in place, though there's still plenty of maturing to do. For one thing, his fetal digestive system is beginning to practice contraction movements necessary for eating, and his bone marrow is busy making white blood cells — weapons against germs once he's out of your safe haven. The pituitary gland (at the base of the brain) has started producing the hormones that'll enable him (or her) to make babies of his (or her) own in a couple of decades or so.