Baby's first picture!

Here is a picture from our last ultrasound. Just click on the thumbnail and you can clearly see the baby.

This picture is mainly focused on the little guy's head. It is a profile of the right side. You can see his little nose, mouth, chin, cheek, eye, and ear.

Even though we don't know the sex of the baby I am referring to him as a "he" in this blog. It sounds better than using "baby" or "it" so much. I will be sure to post more pictures as we get them.

Enjoy!

Ultrasound #2

Tuesday we had our 2nd ultrasound. The first ultrasound was pretty big because that was how we discovered we are pregnant. This one's purpose was to make sure that the baby is growing normally and that the spinal column is fine. In the United States I think that it is pretty typical to have just 1 or 2 ultrasounds. Brazil does things a little differently. This was the 2nd of maybe 5 or 6 ultrasounds. Healthcare isn't nearly as expensive, so it allows us to do more things like this.

I have seen several ultrasounds on tv and in the movies, but nothing can compare to seeing your unborn child moving around in your wife's tummy. We could clearly see the baby's little nose (looks like mine), ears, arms and legs. We could see the baby's spine and brain and it's powerful heart. Everything looked perfect! Even though it is too early to know the sex of the baby (just finished the 1st trimester) we thought it looked an awful lot like a boy. The doc did say that little boys and little girls look the same at this point. We will probably find out if the baby is a boy or a girl in about 6 weeks.

One of the coolest parts of the ultrasound was when the baby woke up, rolled over, and stretched it's little legs! He/she really got active and started moving around quite a lot. It was pretty amazing. Jennifer can't feel the baby moving around inside her just yet, but this baby looks like it will give her plenty of chances in the near future. He/she has grown to be about the size of a lime (5cm from head to bottom). Speaking of bottom; the baby turned at one point and practically mooned us! It is a natural!

Jennifer is starting to show a little and is looking so cute. I think she is the most beautiful pregnant woman I have ever seen! (Hope you read this sweety!) She is finding that her clothes are tighter with each passing day. Needless to say, she has hit a few online stores looking for a new maturnity wardrobe. She is feeling pretty good; not quite as nauseated but is still pretty tired. I think that she is excited to be moving into the 2nd trimester where things will be easier and she will feel better. We do feel blessed that she hasn't been nearly as miserable as some women do.

Well, this is all for now. I will continue to keep you "posted".

-Tchau

Our little kumquat!

Babycenter.com has great information and gives us a weekly update on the baby's development. Here is what the site had to say about our baby as we begin week 10:

Your baby is no longer an embryo! Though she's barely the size of a kumquat — just an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, she now has completed the most critical portion of her development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in her body rapidly grow and mature. Her vital organs — the liver, kidney, intestines, brain, and lungs — are now in place and starting to function (although they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy). Her liver continues to make blood cells, and the yolk sac, which previously supplied these cells, is no longer needed and begins to disappear.During the next three weeks, your baby's length will more than double to nearly 3 inches. Her head is proportionately smaller now than it was a few weeks ago, but it's still almost half the length of her entire body. Her forehead temporarily bulges with her developing brain and sits high on her head; it will later recede to give her a more human appearance. Each day, more minute details — including tiny fingernails, toenails, and peach-fuzz hair — start to appear on her body. Her fingers are now completely separated; her arms bend at the elbow and curve slightly; her hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over her heart; her legs are lengthening; and her feet may be long enough to meet in front of her body. She is busily swallowing amniotic fluid and kicking her legs.If you could take a peek at your baby this week, you'd be able to clearly see the outline of her spine through her parchment-thin skin. Spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from her spinal cord.

I find the information that I read on the development of the baby so amazing. God is pretty amazing in His design of life. He knows exactly what he is doing at each intregal part of our growth. Jennifer and I love talking about how for 6 weeks the only beings who knew that our baby exsisted were God and our baby. Now the only beings who know if our baby is a boy or a girl are God and our baby. I love thinking that there is already a relationship between our Lord and our baby. I pray every night that the Lord would grow this baby and bless him with health and that he would grow to know and honor the Lord.

I think that the word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:5 is more powerful to me now than it ever has been. "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart..." Powerful stuff! I know that the Lord knows and is blessing our little kumquat.

The Discovery...

I was talking to a friend of mine the other day about how we found out that we are pregnant. He encouraged me to blog the story for everyone to read. So, here is the story of how we discovered that we are having a baby.

On November 4th Jennifer had an appointment to have an ultrasound. I normally don't go to doctors appointments with her, but I knew the location of this particular lab since I had been there once before. So, I drove her and was prepared, with book in hand, to sit in the waiting room.

Jennifer had been in with the doctor for a few minutes when a nurse came out and began speaking with the receptionist. I could overhear them speaking about Jennifer, but I couldn't understand what all they were saying (they were talking in low whispers – in Portuguese). They both looked over at me and asked if I was Jennifer's husband. I nodded and they motioned for me to follow them to where Jennifer was. This made me a little nervous. I was thinking that they found something wrong with her. She had taken a pregnancy test a couple of weeks earlier that came back negative. Being pregnant was the last thing on my mind (it doesn't help that I am pessimistic about health issues most of the time). I walked into the room that Jennifer was in and she said, "I just thought you would want to see your baby!" I was in shock! I couldn't believe it! I sat next to her and watched as the doctor pointed the baby out to us on a monitor.

During the exam, instead of finding something wrong with Jennifer, they had found an "embriãozinho" (little embryo)! Right off the bat we were blessed to see our baby – only about the size of a pea at that point; and hear its little heartbeat! It was an amazing way to find out that we were going to be parents. Needless to say, the rest of that day was pretty exciting. We were on an emotional high unlike any other and I don't expect that we'll come down any time soon.

8 weeks

Well, we've reached the 8th week mark. Jennifer is doing well, but is tired and a little nauscious. The baby is growing into a little person now. According to BabyCenter our baby's fingers and toes are growing longer, her eyelids are pracitcally covering her eyes, and her embryonic tail is just about gone. The baby is about the size of a kidney bean, or roughly a half inch in length. We won't be able to tell the sex of the baby for several more weeks, but the BabyCenter site says that "many moms-to-be say they have an inkling early on - and often they're right!" Right now Jennifer's inkling is that the baby is a boy. Believe it or not, a boy would actually be a little more complicated. We both want a little girl, but will shout for joy either way. I will save the details of the complicated issues that boys bring in Brazil for another post.

Following the Pack

Well, I've done it! I have decided to be a follower and start a blog. I have a lot of friends that "blog" about many different things. I have enjoyed reading all of them, but one couple's blog pushed me over the edge. I would just like to say that Brad and Summer Fuqua are to blame for this. So, once this thing gets going you can direct all blasts and complaints to them. I, however, will accept all compliments!

Actually, Brad and Summer did influence me to start a Blog. Jennifer and I are expecting our first baby and I wanted family and friends to be able to keep up with what is going on. This Blog will be dedicated to our journey into parenthood and will focus on our child once he or she arrives in June. So, stay tuned! More details are just around the corner.