Getting ready . . .

The past 6 weeks have FLOWN by! I've really started to feel pregnant and even look it now which is pretty exciting. Minus the nausea in the 1st trimester, I've had an uneventful, easy pregnancy so far! Over the past 4 weeks I've noticed that I get pretty intense heartburn in the middle of the day no matter what or when I eat. I'm pretty sure that will continue to be an annoyance as KJ and my belly get bigger. I've got my fingers crossed that all this indigestion means that Kader will have a head full of hair when he is born. We had a doctors appointment at the end of October which went well. They measured my belly for the first time and listened for the heartbeat--nothing too exciting, but reassuring to know that everything is moving along like it should be. The next appointment is the first week in December, I'll be 28 weeks at that time and I'll have my gluecose tolerance test which screens for diabetes during pregnancy. They haven't mentioned any further ultrasounds, but I will ask if maybe they can schedule one after that visit! If not, Kirk and I might pay out of pocket for a 3D ultrasound.

The "flutters" from the last post have turned into full fledged nudges now! We've been able to feel KJ moving around by placing our hands on my belly for 4 or 5 weeks now but are most impressed with the "waves" of movement over the past 3 weeks that you can actually see on my belly at times (usually when I am laying down or sitting). It's amazing to know that our baby is big enough and strong enough to make those movements. It's so reassuring to feel those movements first thing in the morning when I'm waking up and then at night when going to bed. I already love this little one so much, I can't imagine how much that will increase as time goes on! I cannot wait!


Curtains, crib set and crib mattress, basket on top didn't come with set!

Bedding pattern up close

Over the past 2 weeks we've gotten a lot accomplished for Kader's room. We've ordered and picked up his crib, dressers and bookshelf as well as registered at Babies R Us. Kirk was a trooper while I looked at everything single thing in the store. Who knew babies needed so many things. . .and were so super duper expensive!! I found a bedding set last week that I've fallen in love with and purchased and even found matching accessories at various places around town. I went to Lowes yesterday after work while Kirk was in the woods hunting with Matthew and picked out some paint swatches that may look good in the baby room. Right now I'm thinking a pale yellow or possibly a very light blue for the room--tomorrow I'll make the decision and we'll buy the paint!! I've also purchased a few outfits/clothing, but have been instructed by multiple people to stop buying clothes because I will probably get a lot when I have a baby shower. I'm trying to slow down, it's just so fun!

Body shots! Doesn't that sound exciting?!

Over the next couple weeks we plan on painting (hopefully! It's good to set goals, right?!?) and putting the baby's bedroom suite together. I am looking forward to getting the room together and registering for a birthing class. With each step we accomplish, the closer we get to KJ's arrival.

Thank you all for your continued interest and enthusiasm. We are loving every moment of this wonderful, life changing event and are so blessed to have wonderful families and friends to be sharing it with.

Love to all,

Kirk, Tiffany and KJ (Kader)

Drumroll please. . . . .

We had our big ultrasound this past Monday in which we were hoping to confirm the gender of Baby Revels. . . . . and if you haven't figured out what the result was from context clues so far we are having a little BOY!! We are ecstatic! The underlying purpose of the ultrasound is to check on the baby to make sure everything is growing on target and that there are no obvious defects seen. Baby Boy Revels got a clean bill of health! His heart, kidneys, lungs/diaphram, digestive tract, brain/spinal cord, etc., looked healthy. Praise God! This most recent ultrasound may be our last, but the Nurse Practitioner who I saw (whom is a friend I went to graduate school with) said she might be able to sneak in a growth ultrasound in a month or two since I'm using inhaled steroids for my asthma during pregnancy and this could affect baby's growth.

Over the past week or so, I've started to feel some of the baby's movements. The first few times, I brushed it off as gas bubbles but as they started to come more frequently and I wasn't having any gas, I figured that it was our Little Man letting us know he was in there! The "flutters" are hard to describe, but I've thought of a good way to tell others how it feels. Do you remember blowing bubbles as a child and catching one in your hand and it popping? The baby's movement feels like a bubble popping in your hand! I mostly feel the baby after I eat. I can't imagine how it's going to feel once he gets bigger and stronger! I can't wait!!

I've added some pictures from our most recent ultrasound for you all to check out:


These pictures shouldn't need an explanation! :)

This little boy is already acting like his Momma.

At night I sleep with my arm above my head--Love it!

Nice profile view. He's scruntching his lips.

Mouth open, where's that tongue?

Acrobatics in utero.

2-D face shot.

I've noticed over the past week that my belly has grown a little bit, especially when I was getting the pictures ready to post to the blog. I can still fit into a select few of my pre-pregnancy jeans, but broke down and bought a few pairs of maternity jeans last week for when I can no longer squeeze into my current attire--I'm thinking it's not going to be long at all! At the most recent OB visit I found out that I've only gained 2.8lbs since I got pregnant...AMAZING. I feel like I've gained 10 already. The way the weight has been redistributed is totally different than how my body usually carries extra weight. The Nurse Practitioner said that this weight gain was okay, but I definitely needed to make sure that I was eating healthy, frequent meals. I'm proud to say that I'm probably eating the most healthy diet I've ever eatten right now. I think that some of the lack of weight gain in partly due to working a lot right now! I will probably slow down with working at the start of the New Year. I've heard diapers aren't cheap, so I'm working as much as possible while I still feel up to it!

A few belly shots :)

Kirk was feeling left out. . . so I wanted to include him in on the excitement!

So I guess that wraps things up! We are super excited to be bringing a little boy into this world and look forward to all the changes ahead in the coming months. I can't wait to go shopping (I haven't bought a single blue thing yet!!) and start preparing the nursery. Kirk is super happy that he will have a little boy to do masculine things with! I can't wait to have a little Momma's boy! Most of all, we are so thankful that God has blessed us with yet another reassuring ultrasound. Next week we will be to the half-way point. Wow, how time flies! Please continue to send your prayers and blessings our way.

We love you all and are so grateful for all of your support and excitement thus far!

Love,

Kirk, Tiffany and Baby KJ

4 Months Down, 5 Months to Go!

Sorry that it's been so long in between posts! The good thing is that most of you already know what's going on...this will just be to refresh your memory. Today I am 16 weeks and 6 days pregnant....how time flies! I can only imagine how it will once baby is here crying, hungry, needing diapering, etc. I can't wait to find out!

We had our most recent ultrasound on August 24th to check for chromosomal abnormalities. The testing was in conjunction with bloodwork taken the same day to assess risk for abnormalities. The ultrasound looked great so we waited until September 3rd to get the bloodwork results, which looked good. Overall the risk for abnormalities is greater than 1: 23,000 which are wonderful odds! I was worried about birth defects because of all the radiation I received as a child especially to my reproductive tract. In the early 80's they didn't shield patients when they took x-rays. Since women are born with all the eggs they will ever need in life, I was very concerned that some of these eggs would be damaged. So far, we've been blessed with good news though so my mind is definitely at ease. During the ultrasound the baby was not cooperating! The baby was flexing and extending his neck and turning towards my back making it hard for the ultrasonographer to get the measurements. She got me to flip on my left side hoping to coax the baby in a more favorable position. In the meantime we were able to get a few shots of the baby that we will share with you. Since the baby was moving so much the 4D images aren't as good as the first ones.

We had our most recent doctors appointment/check-up on September 1st. This was a super quick visit (except for the part that we waited for 45 minutes to be seen) and the doctor just came in and checked the baby's heart rate. The heart rate was in the 160's and strong. Prior to that visit I purchased a doppler so that we could listen to the baby at home. It took me forever to find the heart beat the first few times, compared to the OB that came in and got it on the first try! I've gotten much better now because I've figured out that the baby likes to hang out on the right side mostly. Also when we are listening you can hear the baby's movements as well! It's truely amazing to know that there is a little baby growing in there! Kirk and I still in awe everytime we listen.



Baby is turned facing my backbone

Baby already likes to relax with his arms about his head like his Mommy


Can see the umbilical cord pretty good....could never get a really good look in between the legs!

Baby waving "Hello"

Good view of spine-everything looks good!

Nice view of belly and face/head. The two little black spaces in the head are the ventricles of the forming brain! Very cool!!




Since finding out we were pregnant, all of my friends who've already been pregnant encouraged me to take belly pictures weekly throughout pregnancy. We started doing this about week 7 or so. I've added weeks 12 thru now...I've started to show a little in the past few weeks if you look closely! I'm super excited to see what the coming weeks and months will do to my belly and the rest of my body!! Hopefully the pregnancy induced acne will subside soon...who would have thought that a grown woman who never had problems with her skin would have such a time with it as an adult! Hormones are a crazy thing!

Over the last month, we've completed construction on the nursery and it looks fabulous! (Thanks Travis!) I wasn't on board with the nursery idea in the beginning but warmed up to it about a week before construction. Now the the room is complete I can't believe that I didn't want it in the first place! This will save a lot of stair climbing for the first year. I cannot wait to start decorating and customizing for Baby Revels. We are most definitely going to paint the room and I'm hoping that experience will inspire me to add more color to the walls throughout the house--although I've heard painting isn't fun....

I've attached a few pictures at various stages in the construction process. Oh yes, also during the construction we added hardwood floors to the living room-which I am super happy with!

Looking into the living room

Our bathroom window and soon to be baby's closet

Looking into our living room window

Window which has been cut out to be a door

Notice the curious kitties!

Window now into a door from our bedroom and closet in progress

Hardwoods down!!

Door leading from the living room to the nursery

Living room door open

Entrance from living room

Closet and our bathroom door on left

Leading into our bathroom

Kirk and I go back for our "big" ultrasound on September 28th.

All pregnant women get this ultrasound around 18-20 weeks to screen for any abnormalities and to make sure the baby is growing appropriately. We are MOST excited about this ultrasound because hopefully the baby will cooperate and we will finally be able to determine if this truely is going to be a little Kirk and a mini Tiffany! We are ecstatic to find out. I cannot wait buy this baby atleast one outfit and start planning the nursery. Our friends Jeff and Ashlee will have their big ultrasound the week before us, so we are very excited for them and hopefully Baby Register will be cooperative during the ultrasound!

We are so blessed to be surrounded by lots of pregnant friends also supportive families and friends alike! Thanks to all of you for your support thus far, things are bound to get much more exciting in the coming weeks! We'll definitely keep you posted.

Love to all!

Tiffany, Kirk and KJ

KJ's First and Second Photo Shoot and Nursery

Kirk and a few of his guys started "demolition" on the porch before Travis started doing the "technical" stuff!

First Ultrasound

8 weeks and 4 days

Not much to see, but it was good to know that there was only one little baby in there and that it's heartbeat was good. What a miracle!

Second Ultrasound

KJ 11 weeks 3 days

These ultrasound images are amazing. I fell in love at this visit. It was so overwhelming to see the baby moving all around inside me although I still can't feel anything.

Taking Bets: Boy or Girl?

This is my most favorite picture. Having images in 3D makes things look so real!