The Keene Family

We had our third ultrasound yesterday in Bellevue. It was amazing! The baby was very active - kicking and moving its arms and head. The ultrasound tech said she rarely sees babies so active this early. We got to see lots of profile shots, like the one above, as well as feet, legs, arms, and even a great hand shot with all the bones. The purpose of the ultrasound was the nuchal translucency test to measure for our risk factor for birth defects. We will get the official results in about two weeks. The tech said that based on my age and what she saw today, she would guess our risk factor is very low. Highlights: Baby's heart rate was 168 bpm S/he is 45 mm from crown to rump S/he measures 11 weeks, 3 days (4 days ahead of before) We also went maternity/baby scouting at BabyStyle, Mimi Maternity, and Babies R Us. I got another Bella Band. It turns out, the one Sarah got me fits great and makes life soooo much easier for my 28.5 inch waist. It is no longer uncomfortable to sit down in ...

Even though we said we wouldn't get anything for the baby until after the New Year (and our families have had great self-control!), we ended up with just a few things. The baby got a little Harley t-shirt in his/her stocking. Then our god-daughter, Aly, got the baby a whole bag full of bath essentials, including a police officer floating duck. Aly will turn 1 year old tomorrow, so it's kind of hard to get upset at her for wanting to get our baby a Christmas present. :) The most tech-fun present is a new Flip video camera . Oddly enough, Jim and I both got one for each other "for the baby"! It is a tiny camera (about the size of our digital camera) that takes upto 30 minutes of video. Then it plugs straight into a computer with a USB connection, and the editing/sharing/uploading software is all built in. The best part of this is that family and friends near and far will be able to see video clips of baby's first day, first smile, and more without a lot of work. Si...

Twice this week I've put on pants that are too tight in the waist now. Mostly it's things that sit right below my belly button and were snug to begin with... So I stopped by My Second Closet , a consignment store right by my house that I've heard sells maternity clothes. I was just curious if they'd have anything good. It turns out they have one rack of maternity tops and one rack of pants/skirts, and a lot of it is size XL, but the prices are really good. I looked through the racks and tried a few things on. I ended up getting a pair of Old Navy cords and another pair of Old Navy jeans, plus a pretty blue V-necked sweater, all in my size. The whole shopping trip cost me about $15, so Jim was happy. :) I'm excited to wear all of it because they fit now and will stretch to fit for awhile. I'm hoping to borrow a lot of maternity clothes, but it was fun to get a few things today.

Tonight we took the first of many pregnancy pictures. Look, I have a little bump! My waist has grown two inches (28 now) and I weigh 125 pounds. I realized that what I thought last week was morning sickness was actually just being too tired. This week I've been sure to get eight hours of sleep and have felt great every morning. I'm still making sure to eat breakfast first. I also bumped up my number on our Sleep Number bed, and now I only wake up to go to the bathroom once a night. Ah, the glory of the Sleep Number bed. I had a short check-up this week. My labs last time were great (good news, I'm HIV negative... duh) and all the results were normal. Our next ultrasound is scheduled for December 28th. It is for the neural translucency test to check for abnormalities that may indicate a disability. It is pretty standard procedure. It's at Overlake in Bellevue, so Jim and I are going to go maternity clothes shopping afterwards at Bell-Square. I think I might get a Bella B...

Yep, that's right, I think my body has officially decided to be pregnant. Last night I woke up every three hours to go to the bathroom, and couldn't go back to sleep for awhile the second time because I felt gross. Every morning I eat a few Cheerios in bed and then shuffle downstairs to make breakfast, which smells disgusting (even though it's yummy food). I gag my way through part of the meal until my stomach remembers how hungry it is and lets me eat in peace. Then I feel fine for at least three hours... when I get hungry again, and the whole thing starts over. Today my friends Sarah and Kim brought me some yummy Pad Thai for lunch on our way to Seattle. It tasted sooo good in my mouth... but my stomach didn't like it. So I couldn't even eat half of the meal. Bummer! This all sounds pretty dramatic. Okay, so it's probably not nearly as bad as some other women get, and it's not so bad. I've only had to eat breakfast with my head on the table twice. :) I...