We are having a .... ???

My cousin Rita sent me the Chinese Prediction calendar last week. I don't put to much thought in to its accuracy mainly because several of my friends tried it before they knew what they were having and it came up wrong.

But heck, let's give it a whirl. So I put in my birthday, and THREE possible conception dates and they all said BOY. Let's not all run out and buy blue stuff just yet.

Many friends who have tried it and put in dates, they came up completely WRONG. But what kind of freaked me out on this particular website that Rita sent, I put in THREE different dates, and they all said BOY. Weird.

Either way we will be thrilled. I know Mikie is captain of Team BLUE, but aren't all men? Many of my friends husbands were all cheering for a boy, and many of them came up with a girl and are so in love. I am praying for a healthy baby. I could care less if it was a boy or girl. 10 fingers 10 toes and a great heart beat and healthy baby.

14 Weeks

From the Bump.com: Baby's now the size of a lemon!
Your adorable little fetus is busy with thumb sucking, toe wiggling, (not so cute but equally amazing) making urine, and breathing amniotic fluid as the liver, kidneys, and spleen continue to develop. Lanugo (thin, downy hair) is growing all over her body for warmth.



Time is flying by! I am thrilled that we are at 14 weeks. We have told most of our closest friends and family, but there are a few people that still don't know. Coach Nancy, Skyra and my Chipotle managers don't know yet! We plan to tell the managers on Cinco De Mayo! After that, we'll probably go public on facebook.

This morning before Mike left for work he said bye to "Baby Lemon" that is what we call the baby. Each week it is the size of a fruit and this week happens to be lemon. I also read it could be as big as the size of your fist!

I guess the major thing to report is that I get up to pee at least three times at night. This is something I am totally not used too! I feel good and the morning sickness has subsided. Aversions are still here and I still don't want chicken.
All else is well!

No Computer on Tummy

Last night Mike turns to me and says, don't put the computer on your tummy. I just don't think that could be good for the baby. What? I have never read this? Where is the scientific proof?

Basically I have come to the conclusion that if he doesn't feel that it is good in his gut, than I don't need either. So from here on out, no computer on tummy. :)

END OF FIRST TRIMESTER.

Yesterday I threw a shower for Shannon and after I was exhausted. I never get tired to the point that I typically admit that I am tired, but yesterday I was T-I-R-E-D. I came home and rested and took a nap for about two hours. Woke up and hung out for a while, before returning to bed. I think my legs hurt because I wore an old pair of sandals. Today, I had to wake up way earlier than normal and head to USF for a guacamole demonstration. This lasted about six hours. I came home and took a nap for a half hour and worked about three more hours. I am trying to listen to my body and rest when needed. Tomorrow I go to Gainesville.

Yes, today is the end of the first trimester. How exciting is that!

*The fetus has grown to about 3 inches (8cm) long.
*Weight approximately 1 ounce (25 grams).
*Bone is beginning to replace cartilage and the ribs are appearing.
*The nose and chin are well defined.
Movements can be measured.
*The child will begin to learn to suck its thumb.
*The child can open and close its mouth.
*The external genitalia are well defined making it is possible to determine the baby's gender.

Shannon Shower for Baby Zander

Today I hosted a shower for Shannon and Baby Zander! It was quite the party with 1905 salad, cuban sandwiches, black beans and rice and of course Shannon's favorite red velvet cake with cream cheese icing. Here are few photos from the party!

Baby and Buster

They say animals have an instinct and if so, Buster's instinct has told him about Baby Higgins. In the first few weeks that I was pregnant, especially weeks 6-8 when I was feeling nauseous, Buster clinged to me. If I was lying down, he would lay right on top. If he was in bed, he would snuggle close to me, not Mike. Lately, he won't leave my side. He needs to be close. Buster has always been more Mike's special friend rather than me. He loves Mike and even when we first got him they were buds. But lately, Buster has really turned a paged and really grown close. I am not sure if dogs truly understand that we are pregnant, but he knows something is up.

Take right now, for example. I am sitting in the recliner chair. He is at my feet, lying directly underneath me on the rug. If I were to move over to the couch, I would put a $100 that he would move and snuggle right next to me.

I can't wait to see Baby Higgins in a roller saucer chasing Buster around. If didn't get the picture then, he soon will.

Today, I am 13 weeks and Baby Higgins is the size of a peach. Feeling great I also had one of my sealants fixed. There was a slight hole and the dentist wanted to patch it up. He said he would give me a shot that he typically gives pregnant women that is OK to have, but I refused it. He said I could just tough it out and not get any Novocain. I chose to tough it out. He drilled in to remove the old sealant, patched it up and I did it all with out being numbed. Who's tough now?

Best Drink Ever

This is the single best thing in my world. Ginger Ale. It helped me get through weeks 6-8. It is so refreshing. I love the ginger in it which is suppose to aid in morning sickness. It is good stuff. I now know why it has thrived over the years.... pregnant women. Today I had two of them. I typically try to limit myself to one, but I had to have another for dinner. Delicious.

How far along? 12 Weeks and 6 days

Weight gain/loss: I am about 225, I have lost four pounds since I have been pregnant thanks to morning sickness.

Maternity clothes? None. Everything fits better than it did before.

Stretch marks? They have been there forever. So no new ones that I can tell.

Sleep? Great. Crazy dream last night about me losing my cell phone at a vegas casino.

Best moment this week? Telling my co-workers

Food cravings: M & M's are great.

Gender: Dreamed the other day had a 'baby' no gender specified in dream.

Belly button in or out? In

Movement? nope, too early

What I miss? Feta Cheese

What I'm looking forward to: throwing Shannon's shower this weekend for baby Zander

Weekly wisdom: Al is well.

Milestones: bathroom breaks in the middle of the night. I always slept through the night, since I have been preggers, I get up at least once, and sometimes twice.

Food is just not the same.

So I don't like chicken. Ever since Baby Higgins took residency food has been challenging. Chicken is the enemy. Sometimes if I think about chicken I can just get nausea. So why did the chicken cross the road? To get the heck away from me!

For the last several weeks, food has been hit or miss. I don't like to cook any more. When I go out to eat, the menu does not even look the same. At Outback, I ate a baked potato and salad. Food is just not the same.

Down the aisle at Publix, I passed on many items. Of course chicken, but I also high tailed it right passed the seafood. Just weird things just don't sit right or I should say the thought of them just makes me weak in the knees.

We also have a new fridge. I can now sleep at night knowing that hundreds of dollars of food is not freezing. Today when the guys came to drop off the fridge, I had to unload it quickly. We got most of it before they came, but I needed to get the last bit out right when the arrived. So I was hustling right along and the jelly stuck to an old jar of salsa. They next thing I knew the entire salsa fell to the floor and shatter. Broken glass, old salsa not a good combination. I had to quickly pick it up and then clean all the debris that hid behind the old fridge. Meanwhile the Lowes guys were taking my front door off the hinges in order to get the old fridge moved into the garage. Everything is now in place. Tonight we went to get groceries to fill it up. We realized we had not been to Publix in more than a month.

2nd Photo Shoot

We had our 12 week sonogram on Thursday, April 15th. Here are the stats from the apt:

Baby Heartbeat- 141 (during sono) 160 (when doctor did it)
Cystic Fibrosis test- Neg
NT Scan- first phase measurement good. It is a 3 part test that includes another sono and results from the blood the drew yesterday)

Kim's blood pressure- 100/64
Kim's weight- down two pounds, which is normal because of all the nausea from first tri

At first the baby would turn to the right position. She tried doing the sono externally, then internally. Then she had me empty my bladder and try internally one more time. After some pushing on my tummy and doing a little wiggle of a dance, baby Higgins got in the right position for the test.

We also saw Doctor Butler. She was very sweet. She reviewed all the previous blood work, checked me for swelling. At our practice you get to meet all the doctors so they can get to know you. I am still hoping for Doctor Cohn to be able to deliver if possible, but you really can't guarantee that.

Our next Appointment is May 13th.

Telling

We broke to the wonderful news to our parents in mid March. We actually tried for several weeks to get both sets of parents together. But since that was almost impossible we had to tell them separately.

We told Lisa and Chris first when they came to Tampa to visit. The twins were about to go to bed and asked if they still said their prayers. We went through everyone,"God Bless Uncle Mike", "God Bless Brady", Belle, and Aunt Kim. After we went through everyone... I slipped in "God Bless your new baby cousin who will be coming in 8 months."

Then the next day when John and Judy came over to go to the strawberry festival. Well, before we all hurried in the car to go, I invited John and Judy to sit for a moment and we were trying to get Brady and Belle to say, "Aunt Kim Baby". Well, they were struggling and Lisa gave Brady a small baby doll. He gave it Judy and he did say "Baby" and Judy echoed, "Baby, yes that is a Baby" Then Lisa said that is one baby where is the other baby. Hoping Brady would say, "Aunt Kim." He didn't. So then I turned to Judy and said... "I have the second baby." She was confused and then, I said again... I am pregnant and have the second baby. Then tears and excitement came flowing. It was so exciting!

Then we told the Kutsch's. Well, the background is that Jack and Liz were planning a big dinner event for the church. Liz had lists and were getting all organized this morning. We totally blindsided them with the best news and they were shocked...

7 weeks ago

We had one of the most amazing days of our lives...


Since then we have been so excited. Every day has been adventure...

* Love ginger ale
* Had a stretch of three days where all I ate for dinner was peanut butter and jelly.
* Don't like Chicken any more.
* From about week 6 to week 8 had all day sickness
* Have great stories from telling our parents and siblings.
* At six weeks, the beta number was 52,324
* At the first ultra sound baby's heart beat was 148.

Overall we are very blessed and just thrilled.