16 Weeks and Counting!

I've been really resistant to taking pictures of my stomach up to this point. However, I figure I've got a pretty good excuse for showing off my expanding waistline these days. So, I finally let Marc take a picture, which we will try to do a few times throughout the pregnancy. I think it's pretty obvious now that I'm not just eating too many Christmas cookies!

I've started feeling the baby move around a little bit, too. It only happens every once in a while and I can feel it only if I am very still, but it is such a great feeling knowing there is a little person bouncing around in there. We had a doctor's appointment this morning and we heard the baby's heartbeat. It was going at a nice 140 beats a minute--which we were told is about average. Our doctor used the word "perfect" again which I am beginning to love him for. There is no better word to say to expectant parents!

We have the "major" ultrasound on January 8th--which is when we'll finally get to find out if we're having a boy or a girl. Although we could probably find out now, we're going to wait a little while so that there is less room for error. We'll definitely be posting those pics as soon as possible.

And for those of you who are keeping track, we are actually 16 and not 17 weeks right now. We thought we were a week later, but the doctor told us one of the original ultrasounds probably gave us the correct age. So, our due date is now May 16. In the long run, it really doesn't matter much, but it's nice to know.

Happy Holidays!!!

-Amanda, Marc & Baby

Here's our friend Matt's interpretation of the ultrasound photo....

Marc & Amanda are having a baby!

Yes, it's true. We're having a baby! It has been impossible to keep it a secret these last few weeks, so for those people who don't know yet, we're about 13 weeks along. Our expected due date is May 16. And, yes, we are definitely finding out the sex of the baby as soon as we can (which won't be for at least another month and a half or so).

We are both very excited, although it still seems pretty surreal to us at this point. We have seen the baby three times now, along with a tiny little flicker of a heartbeat. We just had our last appointment on November 6 and wanted to make sure everything was going well before we told everyone. According to the doctor, everything is progressing wonderfully (he used the word "perfect") and we have every hope that we'll be meeting this little guy or girl in about six months.

Above is one of the better ultrsound pictures we got on the 6th. Marc took matters into his own hands and brough the digital camera with us. The baby is now about 7 centimeters long and actually looks more like a little human being than the tadpole we saw in the other ultrasounds. We were able to see a little spine, legs, hands and even some facial features (although they're still very fuzzy). The baby is really active right now and was really moving around a lot during the ultrasound (making it somewhat difficult to get a good picture). Although the picture does not do it justice, you might be able to make out what looks like a little baby silhouette (with added graphics courtesy of Marc).

So, since we already consider ourselves to be pretty hip parents, we thought we'd start a blog of our baby's life from the very beginning. For those of you who are unfamiliar with blogs, you can submit comments by clicking on the word "comments" at the bottom of each post. We'll try to post an update every few weeks or so. Of course, we completely understand if you're not as totally captivated in hearing about every last detail as we are in telling you about it. We'll send you the link as we update it, but reading is, of course, totally optional!

Also, you might notice on the right that we've posted a link to a site called Kaboodle with some pictures of baby stuff that we like. Click on the word "Baby" at the top of the list to go to the full list on the Kaboodle site. This list is as much for us as it is for anyone looking for gift ideas--we just thought it would be a cool place to keep track of cute baby stuff we want to buy. And for all those pro parents out there, please let us know if there is anything essential that you couldn't have lived without. We are completely clueless as to what to expect and, if we were left to our own devices, our kid would just have a lot of cute stuffed animals and toys and nothing to sleep in, poop on, or eat.

And for those of you who might be wondering...although Marc and I do not share the same last name, we've decided to go with Rossi for the baby's last name. Oh, and we're taking suggestions for first names so, if you have a good one to share, we'd appreciate the input!

Here's a shot of some cute onesies that Grandma (Sharon) bought pretty much the minute after we told her we were expecting. And, no, we're not having twins. Check out the elbow pads on the boy's onesie...

Until next time.....Amanda & Marc