Baby girl finally has a room

This room is proof that you dont need a lot of space to have a baby :) This room is a walk through room. When you reach the top of our stairs, our bedroom is on the left, and this room is on the right. You walk through this room to get to the bathroom, and my older daughters room. 

Are you ever DONE preparing? I think not...

What is that REALLY annoying saying? The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry? Well.. I don't know what mice and men have to do with plans, but our plans have gone awry. 

Here was the BEAUTIFUL grand plan.

24 Weeks- the size of a Baseball mit!!

We've reached a really crucial point in our pregnancy, one which I'm feeling quite releived about. With modern medical technology, our beautiful baby girl would have a chance to survive if she were born now. (Don't take that as a hint to come early, baby!!)

We're halfway there, baby!!

I am now 20 weeks, 2 days. We have reached the halfway point in the pregnancy, and it's actually a little bittersweet for me. I have SO enjoyed being pregnant, and am sad to think it's halfway over... I find I have to remind myself that we will have more children (God willing) so this won't be the last time I get to have this awesome experience.  I have been feeling really great lately, with ZERO sickness, however I have had lots of heartburn with really anything I eat.

Found a slightly older pic...

During my 10 week hiatus from blogging because I was well, lazy, I forgot that I had taken another "profile" shot at 12 weeks..Can you say HELLLLLOO Bloat?!... So nothing much to say here, except heres the photo :)

19 weeks, and a HUGE Announcement!!

Look at that belly!!! I am 19 weeks, 3 days, and feeling GREAT!!!  Don't you all just love my sweater? Yeah, I do too.. I love it even more because it is so telling of things to come. You guessed it.

Outings of a large variety

This week has been a pretty exciting week for the Cook Family! We came out of hiding to the rest of the world, and it felt GREAT to share the news. We just love our friends so dearly, so it was VERY hard to not spill the beans immediatly.  We are so vey blessed to have such supportive and loving friends. 

Friday was an unexpectidly FUN day for Justin and I.  During my morning drive to work, WIOV (local radio station) They said "text us now to win tickets to see Sugarland tonight!" Well, you can see where this is going! 5 minutes later I was on the phone with the station confirming my information, and by 7pm Justin and I were at the Allentown Fair seeing Little Big Town and Sugarland!! It was such a great show!


Also, I have begun my weekly bump photos.. heres the first!

8 Weeks- and feeling a little green...

I am now 8 weeks, and we have begun the exciting process of telling family :) Our family is pretty spread out, so It's taking us a bit of time. We hope to hit the last of them this weekend :) 

In the meantime, I am SO excited to give an update from last week.  Justin and I went for my first ultrasound, and it was amazing! We were able to see the little beans heart flickering away with a good healthy heartrate of 143.  We are measuring right on track for our Easter Sunday delivery.  Our ultrasound tech was having a difficult time getting clear shots of the baby, as it was lying against the placental wall (apparently its ALREADY being difficult; go figure), so our photo isnt the most beautiful photographically, however it's the most beautiful thing we've ever laid our eyes on!



How far along? 8 weeks

Symptoms: Exhausted still, and having more waves of nausea smack me in the face.  I'm also learning that if I want to get ANYTHING done at home after work, I need to do it right away. If I come home and sit on the sofa like I want to do, I will never, and I mean never get back up.   

Baby: The babe is now 5/8 of an inch long, and has webbed fingers and toes (how cute!).  In the brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming all the neuro pathways. 

Loving my little blueberry! 7 weeks

Apparently my little bean is growing arms and legs this week, and has doubled in size, up to a blueberry!! Justin and I go for my ultrasound tomorrow, and I know Im feeling high feelings of excitement, nervousness, and anxiety. 

How far along? 7 weeks

Symptoms: Still VERY tired. Yesterday, Sunday, which is the day I ususally get my heavy duty housework done, was instead spent on the sofa watching endless movies.. Every time I got up to clean I was just exhausted.  Then the very predictable sickness hit me midafternoon :(

6 Weeks, and a lentil!

Baby:
There is some major growing going on this week! The nose, mouth, and ears that I will spend so much time kissing in eight months are beginning to take shape. If I could see the baby right now, I'd find an oversize head and dark spots where the baby's eyes and nostrils are starting to form. The babies heart is beating about 100 to 160 times a minute — almost twice as fast as mine— and blood is beginning to course through the babies body. Right now, my baby is a quarter of an inch long, or about the size of a lentil!

47 ways to announce pregnancy on Facebook

I stole this list from an online article, and added a few of my own. Enjoy!

1. …is pregnant…….what’s your excuse?!
2. …has a baby in her belly.
3. …is thinking of names.
4. …is looking up baby names.
5. Riddle: What bounces but should never be dropped?
6. Riddle: What gets a shower but doesn’t get wet?
7. Change your profile picture to your pregnancy test or ultrasound picture and write (Name) is wondering how observant people are these days.
8. …has a bun in the oven.
9. …is pregnant <3

Healthy Momma makes Health Baby, right?

I don't know how meals and dinner time go in your house, but at ours, I TRY to plan two weeks of meals every other Saturday when I do my big grocery store trip. I surf the newspaper circulars, look whats on sale, compare to my recipie book, and make my list. I never assign meals to days, but I know that during this week, I have food items to prepair "x" meal.  Now that I'm pregnant and trying to do the best I can at providing nourishment, Im trying to make a more concious effort at these plans.  Thanks to Dr. Google, I have found what "they say" is a recommended amount of calories, proteins, fats, and fiber.   The USDA even has this VERY cool tool that takes your height weight and due date into acocunt, and provides their suggestions. try it here!http://www.choosemyplate.gov/mypyramidmoms/index.html . 

4 weeks, and a poppy seed

I am now 4 days into the know. Four days ago, my life changed forever just from one simple test.  Thus, I begin my weekly bump updates :-)  


Baby:
Right now thebaby is an embryo the size of a poppy seed, consisting of two layers: the epiblast and the hypoblast, from which all of her organs and body parts will develop. 

The primitive placenta is also made up of two layers at this point. Its cells are tunneling into the lining of your uterus, creating spaces for your blood to flow so that the developed placenta will be able to provide nutrients and oxygen to mygrowing baby when it starts to function at the end of this week.

Opps I did it again.

No, Im not talking about Roxy the dog....  Im talking about something MUCH MUCH bigger than that.. Actually, its quite small right now... much smaller than a grain of rice.  Yes, you probably have guessed it by now;  Justin and I are pregnant!!! This post will be the story of how we found out, and the blissful days that followed.   Just as a fair warning to all, I will mention body parts, body functions, and peeing in this post.  You have been warned.... :)