Baby's First Video

We have a video from today's appointment. It starts at about at minute in so you can fast forward if you like. It is pretty cool to see the little baby jump around!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8tpUw8JC5w

At about 2:00 the baby jumps quite a bit then at 2:30 the doctor points out the arms and legs with the cursor (incase you are having trouble making out much on the screen). At 3:15 the doctor points out the nose.

Exciting News!!

We are excited to finally share the news...

We are expecting a baby on 01/29/10!!!

Please note the next few blogs are in reverse order, I posted them so that people can read from the top down to read how things progressed over the last few weeks. If you decide to continue to read along through the pregnancy, which we hope you will, the newest post will be on the top. Sorry for so many posts today... it had been a busy few weeks!

The story of how we found out:

Please note that Mark's notes are in red.

We knew it might be possible to test while we were on our vacation to Costa Rica so we packed a few pregnancy tests that we were planning to take at the end of our vacation. We had lots of outdoor adventures planned so we wanted to wait to test until those were done so we did not get worried. If you are wondering, we checked with our OB to be sure it was safe for me to zipline and white water raft... she said "enjoy it... it might be the last big vacation you take for a long time." But I must say, I was not too comfortable ziplining, I was a little worried and for some reason was a little nauseated that day.

On one of the last days of our trip (Friday, May 27th) I woke up early and took a pregnancy test, hoping it would be positive and we would have a little celebration while away. However, I fell back asleep and Mark found the test when he woke up(Every guy dreams of waking up on vacation to a preganacy test sitting on the bathroom counter). Sadly, we read it as negative (Using all of my genius medical intellect I somehow forgot that you cannot be "a little bit pregnant" Note to self...if you see a line, no matter how faint, your wife is pregnant. Smile and celebrate!). We were both a little sad and moped around that morning. However, after talking about it a little we realized that we had tested about 5 days early and not to be too upset just yet. We talked about taking another one before we left but I was pretty gun shy. We only had the digital test left and I knew I would be so sad if we saw "NOT Pregnant" show up on the screen, so we decided to wait.

We went on to enjoy the rest of the weekend in Costa Rica and then back in Texas had a great time with some friends at the lake. However, I still had this nagging feeling like something was up. Mark suggested that I not take another test, since he knew it might make us both a little sad and to wait a few more days. Well, I just had to take a test, I had a feeling it might be positive, so on Tuesday morning I woke up and took the test with the lines, again because I did not want to see the digital words "NOT Pregnant." Well, within seconds the second line showed up!!! So I took the digital test and it said "PREGNANT"!!

I decided that I wanted to do something to surprise Mark. I figured you don't get many moments like this so I wanted to make it special for him. I hid the tests and he and I both went off to work. He had class that day so after work I went to the store and picked up some balloons and with some gifts I already had, I set up the kitchen to surprise him. I finished just in time as he walked in the door, here is what he saw....

I highly recommend this book to any fathers-to-be... Mark has really enjoyed it. It is a parody so it is really funny. ( What to Expect When Your Wife is Expanding by Thomas Hill. The book has some great quotes.) The proud Daddy! I purchased these baby scrubs over a year ago and had been hiding them for just this moment!
He looks so cute... and yes he has been reading the books I got him... I am so proud!

Pregnany Tests:

Here are three tests that I took... the bottom one is test I took in Costa Rica on Friday, May 27th (9 dpo), the middle one I took on Tuesday, May 26th (14 dpo), and because I was not feeling very pregnant I took one on Saturday, May 30th (18dpo). If you look VERY close at the bottom test you can see a VERY faint line on the left. Now you see how we misread the test. (Like I stated above...I'm an idiot. A Bachelors degree in Nursing and I can't read a pregancy test.)

Note to anyone out there taking these tests for the first time.... if you see ANY line at all, no matter how faint, it means it is picking up HCG in your system which is only there if you are pregnant... so it is positive. We thought for sure there was no way that was positive. Mark and I both thought we were looking too hard for there to be a line.

Our First Doctor Visit

The first picture of our little baby!!!

The day of the doctor visit felt like it took months to arrive! When I first called the doctor (which was about an hour after I got a positive pregnancy test) the receptionist told me that my doctor would not see me until ten weeks... TEN WEEKS! There was no way I that I would be able to last that long with out a little reassurance that everything was going well. Plus, Mark and I had already agreed that we would not tell anyone until the first doctors appointment. I knew that I could not keep this secret from my mother for six more weeks! So I called my doctors nurse, whom we had been seeing for about two months now, and explained that there was no way that I could wait until July... she was so nice and said that we could come in for a "confirmation of pregnancy" at six weeks.. WHEW! That was much better.

The Day of the Doctor Visit:

When Mark and I arrived for our appointment I was so nervous. I had heard so many horror stories and I just wanted everything to be okay. I was lucky because Mark was very supportive for the entire wait. My doctor (Dr. N) was out of town so we were seeing another doctor in the practice. We waited in the room for what seemed like forever until Dr. R came in to introduce himself. He was so nice and very comforting. I thought I was at 5 weeks and 6 days so he explained that we might not be able to see the heartbeat that day. He said he would take some measurements first and then turn the screen for us to see. I felt like I held my breath until he said "I see a very healthy pregnancy"... then I could not stop grinning! Mark and I looked at each other and were SO happy. We were also able to see the heartbeat which was a huge relief!! That little flutter on the screen was one of the BEST things I have seen in my life! Mark and I learned that once you see the heartbeat your chance of a miscarriage drops significantly, so now we only have a 5% chance of having a miscarriage. Dr. R also let us know that we might want to be cautious and not tell anyone until 12 weeks. We knew we wanted to tell our parents but we decided that we would try to keep the news as close as we could until we hit the 12 week mark. As I write this I can not wait until 12 weeks... which should be about when you are reading this entry. :-)

Dr. R also said that the baby was measuring about 6 weeks and 3 days... which is about 4 days further along than I think I am. He said he is allowed to be off by 7 days but now my due date is January 29, 2010. Although I hear that this date will move around a little as my appointments continue.

After the appoitment Mark and I had lunch to celebrate our little baby... we could not stop talking about that little flutter of a heartbeat. It makes the expereince so real and so much more amazing! Now I just CAN'T wait to tell my parents and Mark's parents!!

Here is the side of our little baby...

Telling Our Parents (Part One)

Well like I said before Mark and I had agreed that we would not tell our parents until after the first doctor visit. Mostly he was worried about something going wrong and us disappointing anyone. We could/can not imagine having a loss and wanted some reassurance that everything was looking good for the pregnancy.

We setup dinner with the parents under the idea that it was to celebrate Mark's 30th Birthday (which we of course did). Mark and I had made cards for our mother's that said "Happy Mother's Day... GRANDMA" and inside there was a note from the baby (see above and below picture). Early in the dinner I said that Mark was supposed to mail the cards and had forgotten to do so before we left for Costa Rica so we were sorry but here they are... so we watch as the mom's opened their cards. It was VERY cute to see their reaction. My mom opened her's first and just keep looking at me and then looking at the card... it was so cute! Then Mark's mom opened her card and just started smiling. I think we caught both moms off guard!! They both were so happy and then they had to explain to the Dads why they were so speechless. We also had the picture of our ultrasound, so we were able to show them our little baby the size of a blueberry :-)

We received many congrats and they let us know how excited they were... and there were a few tears. It was a PERFECT response! Mark and I could not be more excited to finally be able to share the exciting news.

We are so lucky to have such wonderful support from our parents and so much love!! We know they are going to be AMAZING grandparents and we look forward to sharing this journey with them.

Here is a group picture after dinner.

Here is the note that was inside the card:

Telling our Parents (Part Two)

The first birthday dinner was with my parents and Mark's Mom and Step-Dad... his Dad and Step-Mom were out of town for the week. We had planned dinner with them for the following week and one of the nicest restaurants in Dallas and were very excited to share the big news with them!

The night for dinner finally arrived and we could not wait to fill them in on the big news. We sat down and ordered some champange for the table. Mark's Dad made a toast to Mark's birthday and as he finished Mark went to cheers them again and said "to you... Grandma and Grandpa"... they were very excited and congratulated us!

They were so happy and throughout the rest of dinner went on to tell us how excited they were. They had lots of questions, which was great, we really enjoyed sharing the last couple of weeks and all of our upcoming plans with them. I feel so blessed to have such wonderful in laws in Mark's parents! I could not be more excited for my baby to have so many wonderful grandparents in Mark's Mom, Dad, Step-Mom and Step-Dad.

Below is the dessert our waiter brought out to me... he was very sweet. He even had a candle in it for me to make a wish for the baby! ( So the baby has been a big secret for the last 12 weeks...except for random waiters and bartenders. Lucky them for sharing in our big surprise. I'm I supposed to tip extra for that? )

Our Second Doctor's Appointment

We had out first "official" doctors appointment which was the second time we had visited the doctor while pregnant. Dr. N was back in town so I was glad to be able to see her and get to share the good news. She is such a great doctor and wonderful lady. Dr. N made everything sound easy and just sat and visited with me about the pregnancy. We had another ultrasound and were able to hear the heartbeat... it was beautiful music! ( I love seeing my wife smile!)

After some more calculations it looks like my due date is now January 29, 2010!! So he or she will be another January baby just like his or her mamma.

The next checkup is on July 24th! I can't wait to get in and see another glimpse of our sweet baby!!

What is in a Name?

What is in a name... a lot of very important people!!

Mark and I have had many long discussions about the name of our baby... and these converstations started LONG before we were pregnant, even before we were engaged. When Mark and I first started dating he let me know that if he had a son he wanted to name him James Elliott LeClair. Mark's Grandfather (PopPop) is James Robinson Elliott, Jr. and Mark's uncle is James Robinson Elliott, III. Mark adores both these men and very much looks up to them. I am so proud to be a part of their family and to have them as role models so this name easy to agree on!

So we were already set on the name for a boy so it just came down to the discussion on a name if we had a girl. When it was time to really discuss names it was easy to settle on some names of those we loved. We have decided on Rebecca "Becca" Anne. My mother is Rebecca and she always said she always wanted to be called "Becca" but it never caught on. Anne is after Mark's grandmother Ann Elliott. We had first chosen Rebecca Elizabeth, Elizabeth is Mark's mother's and his grandmother's middle name, but Mark felt like Rebecca Elizabeth was quite a mouthfull. We only hope that if we have a daughter she is as amazing as these wonderful women!

So those are the names of our little one... now we just have to find out the gender of the little plum.

Mark's uncle James Elliott, III and his wife Patti with us on our wedding day.

My Mother and I on my wedding day.

Us with Mark' Grandmother Ann and James Elliott, Jr. the night before we were wed.

Mark with his sweet Grandmother Ann Elliott at Christmas.

Intelligender Test

Above are the results from our Intelligender Test... it says Boy! We received the test as a gift from one of my girlfriends (thank you Meg) and were excited to take the test. However, knowing the track record of the results for this test we were banking on it having about a 50/50 chance of being correct. I think so far it has said boy for most of my close girlfriends and four have had girls and two have had boys. So it might actually be more likely that we are having a girl! It was still fun to take the test and wait on the results... but we won't be painting the nursery any time soon!! ;-)

We had received some advice from friends to treat the test like a nuclear bomb because you can not move or shake it while the test is going on. You should have seen Mark and I trying to do this and follow the 10-step instructions enclosed all at 6am.

Below is the test showing the girl side... I would love to hear from anyone else that took this test!!

Today's Doctor Appointment

Today Mark and I had first appointment with North Texas Perinatal Associates. Dr. R was fabulous! He was so nice and took his time answering questions and checking out our baby. This ultrasound of our baby was for some genetic testing. They measure the back of the baby's neck and everything looks WONDERFUL! Mark and I were so happy to hear the good news. We were also able to see so much more of the baby including the arms, fingers, legs and even the nose. Our baby was jumping around the whole time is was so cool!! They even gave us a video of the ultrasound which we are uploading right now. We hope to have it up later this afternoon so you will have to check back!

We also asked the doctor to guess at the sex and he said I can't go out shopping yet but he was 98% sure it is a little GIRL!!! We could not be more thrilled!!! We have so many friends with little girls that we are excited to add another playmate!! Our little girl will be lucky to have such great friends! Plus, the way the Dad's look at their little girls is amazing, I know that Mark is going be wrapped around her little finger!! We get another look at her in five weeks so we will have him double check before I finalize the nursery colors. ;)

We feel so blessed that everything looked so good this morning and that our baby is growing very well! It is amazing how much the little one has grown in just a few weeks. I know this means I will soon be growing too.

We are now off to lunch with all the Grandmothers-to-be to share the good news and celebrate with them!!

We hope you have enjoyed reading a little bit about the last few months of our lives. Please check back as we update throughout the pregnancy... and don't forget to leave us a note that you were here!!


Here are some more pictures from today!