21 Week Update

I was 21 weeks along on Friday.....here's what is going on with Jay!

Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. You may soon feel like he's practicing martial arts as his initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to his activity as you get to know him better. In other developments, your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now.

Introducing Our SON!

John Worden McGowan IV

"Jay"

Here's the handsome little fella! The ultrasound went great last week, it just took a little longer because little Jay here wouldn't cooperate. Minutes into the ultrasound we found out he was a boy, as shown in the bottom picture of the ultrasound! The top picture is of his profile, the second picture is of his face, and the third picture is of his little boy parts. After many attempts to get the pictures she needed of his spine, the tech finally had me lay on my stomach for about 15 minutes to see if Jay would flip over. Thankfully he eventually did and we were out of there in a little over an hour. Obviously I'll get a lot more information from my doctor when I go to see her next month, but the tech said that my due date (April 3rd) is right on track and he's about 14 ounces. We are just so thrilled to know we're having a boy and can't wait to meet him! Now the REAL shopping can begin! We already had a "boy" nursery and a "girl" nursery picked out. So now that we know what we're having, we know what nursery to start putting together! Here it is, hopefully our back bedroom will look like this by the time Jay arrives!

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

John Worden McGowan IV "Jay"

Pictures and more info to come later, just wanted to get the news out there. Things look normal and we're still on schedule for April 3rd. We're so happy and excited about our little man!

Happy 3rd Anniversary!!!

It is amazing how fast time flies when you love your life so much! Three years ago today I married my best friend, the man of my dreams, and the person so I had been able to turn to for so many years. I still get a smile on my face and tears in my eyes when I realize how lucky I am to have found John. I knew it after our first date, when we said "I love you" after only dating for 2 weeks, and after 6 weeks were already talking about marriage. And now we're starting a family together.....I hope that everyone that is married feels the love and joy that I do each time I look into my husband's eyes. While it seems like so long ago that we got married, looking at pictures takes me right back. So Happy Anniversary Sweetheart! Thank you for being in my life as long as you have, for being patient while I dated a lot of losers in college, for being there to pick up the pieces of my broken heart time after time after time, and for finally showing me what love and relationships are really like. I have loved being your wife for the past 3 years. I can't wait for what is to come for us not only in the next few months, but for the rest of our lives.

I love you John!

November 19, 2005

This day I will marry my friend, the one I laugh with, live for, dream with, love.

5 Month Dr. Appointment

Went to the doctor today for the monthly check up. She said everything is still looking great. My blood pressure was good and weight is still good too. I was up 4 pounds from last month, but I'm attributing some of that to the jeans and boots I had on! There is no way it can be the two trips to IHOP John and I have taken the past two weekends!!!! Whoops.....

Baby sounded great on the heart monitor today. 154 beats per minute and moving like crazy! It seems to be the most active between 10:00am and 11:00am each day and then again around 9:00pm at night.

Can't wait until Thursday to see this little person again and to stop calling it "it".

Halfway There!

Well we've passed the 20 week mark and we are into the second half of the pregnancy. I go for my regular monthly appointment tomorrow and Thursday is the BIG REVEAL! Look for a post to find out what we're having! Here is the 20 week update....

Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.)He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).

And...I can't believe I'm doing this, but here is a picture of me at 20 weeks. I feel so huge I didn't want any pictures taken of me, but I know I'd regret it later if I have no pictures to show my kids one day of mom big and pregnant! I didn't even let John take it, I set the camera timer and did it myself when we wasn't home! Oakley was giving me some weird looks....but then again, he probably just needed to be taken out! So...be kind with your remarks. I feel like the whole tummy popped out in the past 2 weeks (although those boobs popped out the day we found out we were pregnant!) and I'm still adjusting to my new shape!

BUT....I will say, I still look mostly normal in "non maternity" clothes. I can pull off a regular t-shirt with maternity jeans or khakis and look somewhat like myself. Here is one of my very often worn outfits these days......PJs!!

Also, if you're wondering why I'm posting during the day, I am home today. I was called for jury duty but by 8:30am I was already excused and on my way back home. When the judge asked if anyone had any reasons she needed to hear about as to why they couldn't serve jury duty this week I went and told her how the BIG REVEAL is this week. Thank GOD the judge was a woman and understood and sent me home with a "medical excuse". So....I got a very much needed day off to catch up on grading papers and spend some quality time with Oakley. Needless to say, he's happy I'm home today too so he doesn't have to spend the day in the laundry room! He's been sprawled out all day, following the sun as it shines through different windows in the house. He's just too cute!

19 weeks....a little late posting!

I was 19 weeks last Friday....and just getting around the posting the update. On Saturday I went back up to College Station with Mom & Dad to watch the Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma game on Saturday. My poor Aggies.....its just not our year! Then after the game I went straight to Buffalo Wild Wings and met John to watch the Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma State game. Not quite the exciting game we were anticipating, but still, its another W in the win column! My family will be torn a bit on the 22nd when Tech plays OU. My brother, his wife, and John all attended Texas Tech. My mom and grandma are HUGE OU fans. I've got my fingers crossed Tech wins so they can be the Big 12 South champs instead of you know who......

So here's the 19 week update. This Friday marks the halfway there mark!

Your baby's sensory development is exploding! Her brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that she may be able to hear your voice now, so don't be shy about reading aloud, talking to her, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you.Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

Week 18 Update!

18 weeks down.....the weeks just keep flying by! I felt the first movements in my tummy this past weekend too! We went to a sports bar to watch the Texas Tech vs. Texas football game. By far......best football game I have EVER seen! I've never seen my husband scream so loud! I don't know if it was all the noise or if we have a future Red Raider on our hands (please be an Aggie, please be an Aggie) but I felt the first "popcorn popping" sensation during the game Saturday night. I haven't felt anything again, but I'm sure more is to come. Here is what is going on with our little one:

Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.