19 weeks & Counting!

Week 19: Mango

So yesterday marked 19 weeks of my pregnancy! Almost to the half way mark now which is very exciting. Just take a look at my ticker- baby Ott is inching along!

Hard to believe our baby is the size of a mango. Next week it grows to the size of a cantaloupe! Wow!

In one more week I'll be at 20 weeks and we will be going back to our next appointment where we will do our big ultrasound and we will get to find out if our Doctor's early prediction of BOY is true or not!

Yep, that's right... at our last appointment our Doctor guessed that our baby was a BOY! He actually said that he was % 95 sure!

Wow, that's pretty sure! We're probably having a BOY!!
Aw, we just can't wait!
We seriously are thrilled and what's even more awesome to find out is that our baby was growing just like he should be! Our measurements were right where they needed to be and the baby's heart beat was still very strong!

So a baby boy. Wow, I was definitely sort of surprised! Not that I had a strong feeling that it was a girl or anything like that, I guess it's just a surreal feeling to find out! It makes it feel really real! Of course certain family members, Brad included have to bloat a little because they were so sure that it was a boy! Most, however, thought it would be a girl, so it was definitely a surprise to most!

We were both beaming and smiling from ear to ear, but wow, a boy? My family hasn't had any boys... I don't have a brother so this is all so new to me. How fun and exciting for us and our family! I can already think of about a dozen things I will get to experience with a boy that I've never really experienced in my life thus far as a girl!









It's been hard knowing, yet keeping it hush hush... It's also been tough knowing and not going out and buying all boy stuff. I've done pretty good for the most part. Only a few little purchases here and there....

Inevitably, my family has not followed the 'wait 'til 20 weeks to buy blue' rule. They've already spoiled our little one!

There are clothes in the closet, receiving blankets in the drawers, little socks, cute little jackets, and even hats. Oh, and not to mention they purchased our crib and even purchased our crib bedding!

Yes, we officially have a nursery in the Ott residence. Our baby's closet is looking a lot like this <----------- It's still in progress, but I have to say that it's getting quite cute in there! Yes, we kept the receipts {just in case our Doctor says it's a girl next week} but yeah- there's no hiding the fact that a nursery is being put together in our house. Can't wait to blog about all the special touches we're putting into our little one's room, and of share pictures of the progress! It's funny how having a nursery in your home makes it feel really real too! Our baby will be here sooner than we know! I can hardly believe that he will be here for all of the special holidays this year like Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas! We are just beside ourselves!









We LOVE our little peanut & can't wait for his arrival!! And yes, I can't wait to dress our baby up in cute costumes like the ones above! Yep, I'm going to be THAT mom!

Bump Pictures! - Updated 3/27/10

12 weeks















14 weeks 1 day
















19 weeks

Our 1st Appointment!

We went to our first appointment on Wednesday of last week! Such a fun day! Brad took the day off of work and mom came too! We decided to go to Zaxby's for some lunch before heading over to the Doctor's office! At lunch we laughed a lot and dreamed of possible baby names and made predictions of what we thought it might be??? The day was so sunny and the weather was absolutely perfect! It was the perfect day!

My appointment was at 1:40. We arrived early thinking we would have to fill out a bunch of new paperwork since my name and insurance has changed since the last time I was there. Surprisingly, it was a painless experience! They made a copy of my new insurance card, and that was it!

Our first ultrasound was quite the experience!!! We saw our baby! It was so so cute! The thing that sticks out in my mind the most is it's little heart that was thumping away! It had such a strong heart beat! And it's body already looked like a little baby! It had the cutest little belly and it's feet were cute too! It was definitely an overwhelming experience to see our baby!!!

As we drove home that day, with the picture of our baby in hand, we all could not stop smiling at the thought of our little one! The weather was so pretty and I remember thinking to myself "wow, I'll always remember that the day that I saw our baby for the first time, it was such a pretty day, full of sunshine"

Here is our picture of our little bean sprout! What can I say, I'm a proud Momma! Daddy is proud too! He already loves that little baby! He's constantly rubbing my belly and talking about the baby and how things will be when it gets here! Life is good!

1st Trimester, Cravings, and Symptoms!

The 1st trimester has been pretty painless for the most part. Aside from being sick as a dog for the first two weeks with a very awful cold, mommy has been doing pretty well.

Sure Ive had sore boobies, awful congestion, a few nosebleeds, and some pretty serious exhaustion. But I'm happy to report that I've had very little morning sickness. My only real experience with feeling nauseous has been in the evenings where I've just felt sort of queezy.

For a while there I was pretty sensitive to smells, especially at night. I had no interest in eating any kind of meat at night time and so therefore I was having to get my protein in earlier in the day. It's shocking how much protein they recommend for women who are expecting!

At first I was worried that I wasn't hunched over the toilet 24-7, but now I'm just feeling very blessed that I'm not having to go through that!
Have I had any cravings you ask?

Why yes, yes I have. You see, anyone who knows me knows that I'm much more of a salty cravings kind of girl than a sweet cravings kind of girl!

Well, during this 1st trimester, I seriously have had the worst cravings for sweets! Ice cream, little debbie cakes, oreos, cookies, you name, I've wanted it!

I justify those snacks because I normally eat them with a tall glass of milk and I tell myself that I'm getting my dairy/protein in!

Now that I'm eating for two though, I have to say that I have been more cautious of trying to get all of the food groups in! I've been eating pretty good for the most part, except for the occassional sweet treat!

Big hearty salads, fruits and veggies, dairy, lean meats, and of course pastas and whole grains! Its a challenge to get in all of those food groups, but I try my hardest! I'm also taking a great pre-natal vitamin! I've decided to take it at night instead of in the morning! For some reason that works best for me!
I feel pretty good about how I've been eating! What I'm also really enjoying is all the fresh fruits I've been eating! I love oranges so much!!!!

That's another thing I've been craving a lot lately! FRUIT! Tangerines, oranges, anything citrus!!

I've also really enjoyed anything citrus smelling! My sister got me these great citrus scented hand soaps! I just love them!

I'm happy to report that my sniffer is on overdrive! There are smells I'm loving and smells I'm hating! More on that later!!!

Oh that reminds me! I should probably talk about the things I've given up! Diet Coke and caffiene in general would be at the top of my list!
I used to drink A LOT of Diet Coke and although I realize there was nothing good about that habit, it was seriously something that I thought would be difficult to let go of!

Luckily, I've had no problem at all letting go! I've replaced my diet sodas with lots of water, and even have come to love seltzer water with a squeeze of lime or lemon! It's so refreshing!

From time to time I'll drink a sprite if we're out at a restaurant, but for the most part it's water, seltzer water, or juices! I'm not sure if I'll ever go back to diet sodas! I always knew they were awful for me, but it took getting pregnant to let them go!

As the 1st trimester comes to an end, I'm excited because I know that there are only good things to come!

We're Going to Have a Baby!

So I was thinking that it might be fun to start a baby blog to share our pregnancy journey as we prepare for our little one to arrive! Tomorrow marks the day that I transition from the 1st trimester to the 2nd trimester and we could not be more excited! As we move into the second trimester, I thought I might give everyone an idea of what's been going on thus far!

The end of last year was a time for big changes for us. October we got married, and by December we were expecting! I went off my birth control following the wedding and we were hopeful that I would get pregnant soon, but I think we were both surprised that I got pregnant that soon! I guess we were just lucky!

I was pregnant by early November/late December! And although I had a feeling that I could be pregnant based on some symptoms I was experiencing {utter exhaustion & sore boobies} we didn't take an official test until my period was 5 days late. It was the week of Christmas and I was making some changes with my career, and well I figured I would just wait it out to see if my period came.

My period was due to come on a Wednesday. We went down to Brad's family's house on that Friday to celebrate Christmas and all the while I just had a strong feeling that I was pregnant! But instead of running out and picking up a test down there, we decided to wait until we arrived back home to take the test. I wanted to find out at home, not while I was traveling! So Sunday evening we came home, we picked up a test and I took it!

POSITIVE!!! Without a doubt the test was POSITIVE! There was no waiting, there was no analyzing the test, it was positive without a doubt. I was so shocked to see the results pop up so quickly! The instructions said it would take 2 minutes.

I WAS SO HAPPY!

I said, "babe, um come here" and then I showed him the test! His face was so sweet and excited! It was an absolutely priceless moment! We hugged and kissed and were absolutely elated. It was such a overwhelming feeling!

There was a lot of happiness in the room that night and a little bit of shock! We were going to be a mommy and a daddy!

Before I took the test, Brad was setting up our brand new tv that we had received as a gift from my parents. Although we decided to wait until the 1st trimester was over to make the big announcement to most, we knew we wanted to tell our parents and siblings right away!

My parents were heading home from picking up a relative from the airport and I decided to call them. I didn't tell them on the phone. Although it was hard not to, I definitely wanted to do it in person. Even though it was late, somehow I managed to lure them over to our house to come and see the tv all set up in our living room! I'm so sneaky!

As you can imagine we were beaming! My mom was thinking "wow, they really love this tv" Well, after a few minutes admiring the tv, I said "well we have some news" and my mom's face just lit up! She said, "oh I think I need to sit down" or something like that! I said something along the lines of "i'm pregnant or we're going to have a baby" I'm really not sure how it came out!

They were estatic and definitely SHOCKED (in a good way)! They were so caught off guard! It was a great night! We went to sleep that night feeling happy and overwhelmed! We were going to be parents!