37/39 weeks

Depending on what you go by we're at 37 or 39 weeks. The original due date puts us at 37, but the doctor finally now agrees with me (baby has been measuring ahead the whole time) and thinks we're really at 39 weeks. She's weighing in at almost 8lbs and her head is at over 40 weeks gestation. That's making me a little nervous! I really don't want to have a c-section! At my appointment on Wednesday, the doctor told me that I am almost 4cm dilated! I'm hoping that means she's coming soon...but you never know.

If I make it to my next appointment on Wednesday we're going to talk about inducing. :( I'll keep you all posted!

Well...

...I just came from the doctors and baby is weighing 7 lbs 5 oz and I am 2 cm dilated. Craziness. The doctor has taken me out of work because she doesn't really want me to go into labor right now. According to the original due date, baby will be 37 weeks on Monday, which is considered full term. So, we're trying to make it that long!! Hopefully we'll last a little longer though.

It's hard to believe how fast this pregnancy has gone. As I was sitting in the waiting room, I saw women coming in for their first appointments and scheduling their next for 4 weeks later. It was so surreal to think that I'll have had the baby by then! I can't wait for her to be here!!! :)

I will keep you all updated as things progress further!

34...er...36 weeks?

Well folks, we have one big baby on our hands!! Our little girl is now measuring at almost 37 weeks gestation and 6lbs 6oz! Very large considering most 34 week babies are 3-4 pounds! And that both Derek and I were between 7 and 8 pounds at birth. No one in my family has ever had a baby over 8 pounds!! I have felt that my due date was wrong from the very beginning (and she has been measuring 2 weeks ahead the whole time) but they refuse to change the due date. I asked my doctor about it because I'm really worried that she's going to get too big and I'm not going to be able to have a natural childbirth like I want. Dr. Miller seems to agree that the due date is off and that I should just be ready for her to come anytime. Great. For those of you that know me, I like to be prepared and now I don't feel prepared at all. The chances of her coming before the end of the semester are much greater and I'm not sure what will happen if I'm not there to do the grading and other such things that are necessary of me as a GA. I'm trying not to worry about it because it's out of my hands, but sometimes that's easier said than done.

I also had an ultrasound done at this appointment, but I don't have any real great photos to share. She was locked in with her head and face down so all you can see are her massive amounts of hair!! :) Yay! The technician couldn't believe how much she already has!

Other than that, mom and baby are both healthy and doing well. I'm struggling a bit with ligament pain which makes it difficult to walk long distances and lift my legs to get into bed, car and shower. But we're managing and we've only got a few weeks left!! :) Crazy!

31 weeks!

Wow...9 weeks left! This pregnancy has gone SO fast! I know a lot of women say that the third trimester drags, but for me, it has been flying! It doesn't help that almost every store I go in already has Christmas things for sale!!

Last weeks doctors appointment went very well! Our little girl is weighing in at 4lbs!! Her weight and her measurements are all ahead of schedule (by almost 2 weeks) so we're all wondering if she might come early. The ultrasound showed that she has a decent amount of hair already and it will only keep growing at this point. I'm so excited! I think that it's so cute when a baby has hair! :) Here is an ultrasound picture for you to see:

You can see her face (with her cute little nose) and it looks like she's about the eat her fist! :)

I still haven't gotten very big, but you can definitely tell that I'm pregnant (finally)! Here I am at 30 weeks:

I can't wait for our little girl to get here!! :) I have another appointment next week (32 weeks), so I will post after that. I will leave you with this picture of Lucy and I. She wanted her picture taken too!!

26 (almost 27) weeks

Wow...it's already been almost 6 weeks since I last updated. We are now closing in on the third trimester. Along with the third trimester comes bi-weekly visits to the doctor (instead of monthly), swelling of the legs and feet, a return of the exhaustion from the first trimester and an expanding mid-section. :) I have been very lucky so far in this pregnancy to be on the smaller side. I still haven't "popped" as they say, but I am waiting since I know it's going to happen here one day soon.

I just had the 26 week ultrasound done and our baby girl is growing very nicely. The technician said that at the rate she's going, we are likely to have an 8 lb. baby on our hands. She said that our little girl is all belly right now, weighing in at a whopping 2lbs 4 oz. She even had a full stomach, which you can see in the ultrasound pictures. Derek couldn't go to this appointment so my mom and sister came along. They had a great time and kept commenting on which features of theirs the baby had. Haha :) This time I didn't drink any OJ to wake her up, but she was wide awake on her own and was even kicking the technician. Here's a great shot of her foot as she kicked:

Here are the others from the ultrasound:

If you look closely at the this next one, you'll see what looks like a black circle in the middle of her belly. That's her full stomach!

We are down to almost 90 days, which may seem like a lot, but as stores start to stock Christmas items, it doesn't seem that far away anymore! I will post again soon as I'm having more and more appointments now to fill you in on. Hope you are all well!

21 weeks

Wow...this pregnancy (and summer) have been going so fast! It seems like we were just finding out about our Christmas present! :) And now, it's time to go back to school again.

Since the last time we posted we had our 18 week anatomy scan and everything looks great. 10 fingers, 10 toes, her heart, brain, and lungs are all clean and developing well. And as you can tell from the use of pronouns, we found out that it's a little GIRL! :) We are so excited! It has been very hard to not spend a fortune on all those adorable little girl clothes! Heather goes back to the doctor again Wednesday but we won't have another sonogram until September at 26 weeks. But here are some pictures of our girl at 18 weeks.

In the first picture, her spine is so clear. It was better during the sonogram though, she was moving like crazy!! They told Heather to drink orange juice before coming and that would wake her up (since our appointments are so early) and it definitely worked! :) For those of you that have been asking for belly shots, here are 2. Heather is just starting to feel like she's actually showing.

16 weeks

21 weeks

In other news, Derek received a promotion at work and is now working on a new project. He is very excited and is going to be working better hours, finally! No more coming home at 9:30pm. This will make things a lot easier once the baby comes, since Heather's classes are in the evenings.

We will try to keep you posted as best as we can. :) Before you know it, December will be here! CRAZY!

16 weeks pregnant

It's hard to believe how fast time is flying! I am 16 weeks pregnant and will be starting my second year of grad school in just a couple weeks. This summer has gone too fast!

Baby (or the Bean, as Derek and I affectionately call it) :) is doing very well. I am now able to feel the baby kicking and it has been kicking quite a bit. Especially around the time that mommy wants to go to bed. It's such an amazing feeling though. Quite different from what I'd imagined. I always thought it would be weird and feel like there's an alien or something in you, but it's actually comforting. Up until this point, you just had to have faith that everything was ok. You had to wait for that once a month doctors appointment to hear the heart beat. That's been the hardest part for me.

We're really looking forward to our next doctor appointment on the 28th. It's our next sonogram and if all goes well, we should be able to find out the sex of the baby. :) Derek and I thought we would wait until the baby actually came to know if it's a boy/girl, but the anticipation is killing us and the grandparents-to-be (as well as other family members).

I'm just starting to pop with my belly, so I will start adding pictures soon so you can see. :)

Hope you're all doing well!

SURPRISE!

Hi Friends!

We hope that this post finds you all happy and healthy! It's hard to believe that it's already July and that the summer is almost over! :( We have had a really busy summer here in Binghamton and a lot has changed for us! The biggest change though, is that we are expecting a baby in December! SURPRISE! :)

Trust us when we say it was a surprise for us as well! Heather had been told by doctors for years that she would never have children, so we did not expect to be able to have children of our own. After several sonograms/tests we have been told that the baby is healthy and everything is going "picture perfect" so far. Heather has been doing well. She suffered from nausea during the first trimester, but now that we are into the second, she is feeling much better. We feel so blessed and thankful to have this amazing gift!

We apologize for the informal nature of the announcement, but we knew once we started to call people it would be all over Facebook. Good news travels fast. :)

We will do our best to keep you posted with news, pictures, etc as the pregnancy develops!

Derek & Heather

Wow...

I can't believe how bad I have been at updating this!! Life has been so busy lately, I just can't seem to find the time to update you on the new things happening in our lives. :) Since last time, I have celebrated my 24th birthday, gone to Saratoga and conducted 2 concerts. Derek is now a shift manager at Dunkin Donuts and is applying for graduate programs for a Master's in Education. He is very, very excited about getting a Master's degree, teaching and basically just being able to do something other than work at a fast food restaurant.

I briefly mentioned going to Saratoga. My father was honored as the Athletic Director of the Year by the NY State Athletic Directors Association. My whole family (minus Derek, who had to work :( ) went up to Saratoga to be there for the banquet and support my father. It was a wonderful ceremony and I am so proud. I truly am a "daddy's little girl" and am proud to say that he is my hero. I only hope that someday I will be like him.

While I've been crazy with school work, Derek has been crazy learning this new position at Dunkin Donuts. He's not really sure if he likes it, but the pay and hours are good, so he's trying to stick it out. Hopefully the application process for graduate schools will go smoothly and we will hear back soon. I know that he would really love to return to work in his own field! If you think of it, we would appreciate your prayers over this process!

Our little "girl", Lucy, is turning 4 months old in just a couple days! It's so hard to believe. She is getting so big! She is full of energy and keeps us very busy (if we weren't busy enough already). :) Here is a picture of us on my birthday.


Aren't we cute? Here's another adorable one of Lucy that I couldn't resist posting.

I hope that those of you that read this (although I don't think there's anyone - showing by lack of comments) :) are well. Happy Easter! The Lord is Risen!

Lucy...

is getting so big!! :) It's hard to believe that she is now almost 9 weeks old and we've had her for 3. Time has flown! She is house-trained and we are working on her with the crate and leash. She doesn't particularly like either of them. She is incredibly vocal and makes some of the funniest noises! Here is a new picture for you:

She's trying to play shy, but she is anything but!

In other news, I am now back in school which has been quite an adjustment. Leaving Lucy at home after spending almost 2 weeks home with her is hard! School is going to be good this semester. My schedule isn't too crazy and gives me lots of time to do what I need to do without getting stressed out. I am also going to be doing a lot more conducting...finally! I am doing the Overture to Don Giovanni with the Symphony Orchestra for the March concert and then Les Preludes for the May concert. Along with that, I also am still conducting the String orchestra. It's so much fun!

Derek is doing well. He's still applying for jobs and trying to find something that's full time in his field. Just when we think he's found something, the job disappears or they find someone else. It's so frustrating and I just keep praying that he'll find something sooner than later.

My sister's wedding is quickly approaching. This past Sunday we went to David's Bridal in Elmira. She found a dress and bridesmaids dresses that she liked. She is going to be so beautiful!! I've been doing a ton of planning. The couple shower, bachelorette party and possibly a quasi-lingerie party. Also, I'm making their invitations and helping with other details. It's definitely keeping me busy, but I love doing it! :)

Well, I think that's it for now.

A new member in the family!

Derek and I have been waiting so long to get a puppy and finally it's time! We are so excited to finally have a puppy of our own!





Lucy is a black lab/golden retriever mix and was born November 28. She is from the same mother as my sister's dog, Rosie. We are very excited to see if she will be similar to Rosie (they have different fathers). Rosie's father was a chocolate lab and Lucy's is a black lab. We fell in love with her so fast! When I picked her up she gave me a kiss and then snuggled right in and fell asleep. I was mean and woke her so Derek could have a turn holding her. She quickly discovered the strings on his sweatshirt and had a great time trying to figure out what those were! :) She officially comes home this Saturday, so we will have a lot more pictures to post then.

We hope that you all had a wonderful holiday season! I will post later to tell you more about our Christmas and New Years fun.