Baby Update

For those of you who don't know (and if the "how big your baby is compared to food" widget didn't give it away), David and I are expecting a baby in January! This accounts for the complete lack of blogging activity for the past few months, and the fact that there's a social networking sites moratorium on the computers at work. :)

I'm 14 weeks pregnant today! I made it successfully and for the most part unscathed through the first trimester. Fortunately, the nausea was minimal and the throwing up was nonexistent, so I consider myself fairly lucky to have not had to deal with that too badly (although it sure felt worse when I was experiencing it). I had my first prenatal appointment a month ago, and David and I got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time then! That was pretty awesome. I wasn't sure exactly how far along I was, so we had an ultrasound to determine that. Here are a few pictures:

This is the side view. I was about 11 weeks pregnant then, so the baby still looks a little alien-like. Can you see the tiny arms?

 This is the top view. You can see the baby's head right in the middle, with the left arm just off-center.

I had my second prenatal appointment today, where I got to hear the baby's heartbeat again and schedule an ultrasound in six weeks to determine the gender! And FYI, we will, of course, be telling everyone what we're having (as far as sex is concerned), but we're not telling you any names. We're picking ones we like, zipping our lips, and presenting the baby to the world with a non-negotiable moniker. Sorry for those of you who were looking forward to some sort of name poll, but this is not a democratic decision: you get no votes, and no representation. It's a dictatorship: two people make the decision, and then tell you, and you like it or suffer the consequences! Just kidding. But seriously. :)

Pregnancy has been treating me pretty well thus far. I have the usual complaints - stubborn acne, lower back pain, fatigue, etc. - but it has its advantages. For one thing, I get to eat more and it's okay, even encouraged, and I get to shop for new clothes. It's also an excuse to go to bed early, leave early, or skip out on things in general. I also get to tease my husband. David will come home from work and say, "Oh man, I am so tired!" and I'll say, "What's your excuse? You're not growing another human being!" He can also claim to be "hungry" or any variation of "moody" (angry, upset, disturbed, etc.) and I can use the same response. It's awesome. :) I do miss some things though, and will probably consume them in large quantities after I have the baby and then not want them for another few months after that. I miss mayonnaise and cold lunch meat and cookie dough and creamy salad dressing and slightly pink steak. Anyone know of a good mayo substitute? I put it on/in more things than I realized and really miss it; is that weird?

Anyway, there's your baby update! I'll definitely post more ultrasound pictures when I get them.