22 weeks...and HE'S KICKING!!!

I have been waiting for these kicks for a while now! I have friends who say they felt their babies early and late, but right around 21 weeks I started feeling tiny little kicks. I felt some fluttering around the 20 week mark, but no actual kicks. Well,...this week he's running a marathon in there. I can actually see my stomach jump a tiny bit in places where I feel the kicking. He's extremely active, which I guess I am thankful for! I may not be so thankful when I'm 30 weeks and trying to sleep:). But for now at least, it's the most precious feeling in the world.

The baby this week is around 11 inches long and weights right at a pound. We've come a long way! I can't imagine him being so big...but of course, we have a while to go. It is deathly hot in Atlanta, but I'm not yet obscenely uncomfortable. Luckily I'm not huge yet. My belly is growing a little more each week (or my husband would say each DAY!). Taylor is still a bit weirded out by how hard the belly is. I keep reminding him there's a baby in there. He got to feel the kicks a few nights ago and hear the heart beat on the prenatal heartbeat listener. He is still getting onto me about all the baby clothes I'm already getting! Baby Boy Lutz will be well dressed!:) My mom is already addicted to buying baby clothes with Ella, so now she just has to venture to the baby boy side too! It's just too fun to buy those sweet little clothes.

Everything seems to be going quite well with the pregnancy! We are thankful he's healthy and growing on schedule. My next appointment is July 9th - the glucose screening. I have no idea what this means, but I'll let you know the results! Hopefully I will get some more belly pics up before then to show the progress!

20 weeks...HALF WAY THERE!!!!

We just barely made it with the 20 week prego pics! Tomorrow is 21 weeks, so I wanted to update with the progress. This belly is GROWING! Baby Boy Lutz (still unnamed) is 6 and 1/2 inches long and almost weighs a whole pound:). He's the length of a banana apparently! I'm sure he's the most precious thing in the world too. I can't beleive he is so big! Still no kicks that I can feel due to the placement of the placenta, but I can certainly feel him moving and bouncing around...and I still feel the fluttering which I love.

I'm allowed soft drinks if I space them out, but I still try to limit them. Lately though, if I allow myself one, I feel the baby moving like CRAZY! I will try to keep myself from overdoing the soft drinks just so I can feel him.

So here are the latest pics...the belly is HUGE!

IT'S A BOY!!!!!!!!!!!

So we are a little late posting:)...but it's a beautiful baby boy! We found out last Wednesday and have been yelling the news ever since. We are so blessed to be having this baby, and Taylor is absolutely thrilled that we are having a boy. This will be a whole new journey for me seeing as how we are a family of GIRLS!!! But how exciting! Now we get to start picking names...which we do NOT agree on whatsoever...it's just too hard to a pick a name your child will have the rest of his life!

I am posting some pictures to prove he's all boy! We got to see every little bone and organ growing and developing in his body...and everything looks perfect. He's growing right on schedule. He likes to hold his arms up at his face like he's stretching, and he's ACTIVE!!! She said once I start feeling those kicks...they may be brutal! He's just absolutely precious already, and I can't wait to meet him in October! Thank you all for your support, love, and prayers! We love him so much already...and know he will be surrounded by so much love when he's finally here!!!

BOY or GIRL?????

We find out tomorrow. Wow I can't believe we've come this far already! 20 weeks and we are halfway there! I'm feeling really good and haven't gotten too big yet thankfully. I just wanted to post a quick update with a few 18 week pictures that were late and say tomorrow is the big day! We find out at 10:30 AM and will keep everyone updated!

And a few of my beautiful niece's visit!!!

16 weeks and counting

This is the part where the pregnancy gets REALLY REAL! My belly is starting to grow, and though I haven't actually felt the baby yet, the stomach shows that he/she is truly there! It's so neat for us to watch it grow and read each week how the baby is growing and developing. Since the joke now is that people want to know the "fruit of the week"...the baby this week is the size of an avacado! Who knew??

I had a doctor's appointment last week, and had a little scary moment. The doctor wasn't able to locate the heartbeat with the monitor, but said she could hear him or her moving quite a bit! So the baby just wouldn't sit still long enough to have the heart beat audible. So, I got an unexpected ultrasound! I was SO upset because after seeing the heart beat was fine (heart rate was 140), the ultrasound tech looked at me with a grin and said, "Do you want to know the sex?" I almost screamed! I said that I couldn't without Taylor being with me...much to my dismay! But, if a mom's instinct is anything at all...it certainly could be a boy. Now of course in 4 weeks I will eat my words if they tell me it is a girl, but I will be more than thrilled either way. But yes, I proved to myself I could actually show restraint!

So...here is the much awaited belly pic! I wasn't thrilled with the ones we took, but at least with this you can see a bump is moving in! I will take more this week and post them for weekly or bi-weekly progress!

Oh Sweet Baby Ella Rae

My sister, Lindy, finally had baby Ella on Tuesday morning, May 5th, at 10:55 AM. She's been in the world for not even a week and I love her more than I could ever imagine! She was 8lbs 8oz and 21 inches long...pure perfection. I feel so lucky to have been there when she was born, but miss her so much it hurts! Lindy will be bringing her down to visit on May 30th...so I'm counting the days! Until then...here is beautiful Ella for your viewing pleasure:)

Ella a few hours after birth

Ella and her grandpa

Me and my sweet Ella

Mommy and Baby

All ready to go home!

She's a beauty

Nana giving her love

14 weeks

Our baby is the size of a LEMON!:) According to my babycenter updates, our baby is now 3 and a half inches long, about the size of a lemon. They sum it up a lot better than I can, and they prefer to use the male gender as of now:

Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb. Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb. In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces.

I don't know how I feel about the "your baby can pee" part, but how exciting! I can imagine our baby making little faces...and can't wait to see the expressions! Unfortunately, we do not have an ultrasound at the next appointment, but only have 6 weeks to go until we find out...BOY OR GIRL??? The general concensus is boy, but we have a few holding out for a girl. I will be absolutely thrilled either way...THRILLED!

On another note, Ella Rae is getting ready to grace us with her presence! If Lindy does not go into labor on her own, she will be induced this coming Tuesday! I just can't wait to see my little niece. She will be so beautiful. I will post pictures just as soon as I have them!!