Week 19

So, yesterday started week 19, and the only thing on our minds, is January 6th. I think that we are starting to feel the anxiousness of finding if the baby is going to be a boy or a girl. It is a different kind of anxious, one I can't quite figure out yet. But I know that we are ready to find out, so that we can begin to really prepare for the babies arrival.

We have been asked how the news will be spread, for those not in attendance. I am sure there will be plenty of phone calls, text messages, emails and website updates taking place that Thursday afternoon.

Houston....we have Pickles and Ice Cream

Yep, Week 18 started with...Pickles and Ice Cream. They were specific requests on my grocery list for tonight. Week 18 is kicking off with that age old craving. As weird as I think it is, that is what she wanted, so, it's what she got.

We think she might have given the head cold a kick to the curb, but the congestion might be here to stay for a while. But she has had a little more energy. We have both been off all week, and she has not spent the majority of her time on the couch. which is great.

We got the office done, so we have started moving her stuff from her scrap booking room down to the office. It won't be long before we start to renovate the scrap booking room into Baby Rhoads' room.

Week 17

I think today started Week 17. What is it like...worse than the ones leading up to it. Andrea has had a head cold for going on 3 weeks. She has exhausted all of the options the Dr. gave her for trying to put an end to the cold, with no real success. Her boss sent her home from work today, around 2 PM. It is now 6:15, and she is still asleep. We are hoping that she will get to feeling better soon, or the next 5+ months are going to be really long. Maybe having next week off will help too. We are both off, and my goal is to get some of her stuff moved out of her scrap booking room into our office on the main floor...since her scrap booking room will be the babies room. Once January 6th is past, I have to get to work on getting that room ready. That is just one of the things on my long "To Do" list.

2.5 Billion

2.5 Billion, that is the average number of times the human heart will beat during its life. But the most important one, was the one we heard at 5:24 PM yesterday. It was the first time I got to hear the heartbeat. And it was a very special moment. One I won't forget. It was a nice end to the longest Dr.'s appointment yet.

the next appointment is January 6th, and we will be able to find out what the baby will be at that appointment. We are really looking forward to that one, it will be here before we know it.

Second Trimester, here we come...

Thursday kicked off week 13. That means, the first trimester is over, and we are on to the second one. And the energizer bunny did not arrive with new batteries for Andrea. Actually, I think it has gotten worse. It is 1:56 PM on Sunday, she is asleep on the couch. And won't be happy about it when she wakes up. She has tried the last two days to avoid the couch, she will get up and sit at the dining room table in the morning, sit on the floor, sit anywhere but the couch. Looks like the couch found her. She did get a lot of the Christmas shopping done this morning...all online, it must have worn her out.

On other aspects of her being pregnant...the food issues seem to have gotten worse. She has lost her appetite, and has lost at least 4 pounds, which has not made the doctor happy. She can't decide what she wants, then when she does...doesn't eat much, or changes her mind mid way through the meal...case in point:

Last week she decided that she wanted to got to the Olive Garden to eat...I was concerned, the garlic and smells of an Italian joint have been her nemesis...but we went anyway. About 4 bites into the salad, she had the look of someone who was no longer happy to be, where they were. Our food arrived, I quickly ate mine, she picked at hers, and we got out of there as fast as we could. I was surprised our dine in order, did not turn into a take out order. I am sure our waitress thought we were nuts. We won't be going back there, and we won't be ordering take out either...the leftovers are still sitting in the fridge...which reminds me, I need to throw those out.

That's all for now. I have to go tend to my homeade spicy Chex Mix in the oven.

Week 11...has arrived.

And it looks just like week 6,7,8,9 and 10. Which is why there has not been an update. We are really hoping that week 12 arrives, and turns the energy switch back to on...or at least shows up with a case of Red Bull or Jolt Cola. But week 12's arrival is a milestone in the process, so in all seriousness, we are looking forward to it...we just hope it brings the energy back.

What's for Dinner?

Seems like a straightforward question, right? Seems like one that we have all answered, usually with some amount of certainty. Not if your are pregnant.

Now, I have heard of women being pregnant, and developing a severe distaste for certain foods, sometimes foods that were favorites before, and I have heard about pregnant women developing odd tastes for food combos that a typical person might find disgusting. But when only certain foods sound good, and that is constantly in flux, and the mind is incredibly indecisive...that presents an interesting challenge.

Yesterday afternoon, it was approaching dinner time, we were driving in the car. I asked, "What would you like for dinner"? Because dinner has been a challenge that last few weeks. A wavering appetite, and an indecisive mind do a problem create. So, it has been up to her, and I try to roll with it. Anyway, she says, a baked potato and salad...no wait, hard tacos...a few minutes pass, no, I want those bread sticks from the Olive Garden and THAT salad. No wait, I want some Andouille Sausage, a favorite of ours, no wait...I dunno. We ended up back at hard shell tacos, at EL Azteca. But this is becoming a common discussion...and makes us both dread that daily question..."What's for Dinner?"

Off to the Doctor's office we go!

This afternoon we had another doctors visit. Well, a visit with the mid wife anyway. We were a little early, so, never missing an opportunity, someone took a nap.


Once we woke her up, the mid wife went over a couple of tests that they like to do, at a later date, but she wanted us to talk amongst ourselves at home to decide if we wanted to do those tests. These are tests for Down Syndrome, Spina Bifida...things of that nature. We had discussed them a bit, but for us, knowing would not change anything, other than the amount of worrying that could be done pre-birth. I don't think we will be pursuing any of those tests.

Then it was time for UltraSound #2. In our case, a bit early. But we did get to see the heart beat again, and confirm growth.

Follow the finger, it points to the new life form currently known only as Baby Rhoads.


So that was today. Mom to be is resting on the couch...and if I am not careful, I will burn dinner, so, I better go take care of that.

Hello Week 8

Week 8...looks a lot like week 6 and 7. It is 8:05 PM, and a certain someone is already asleep. She calls it a nap...we will see if it turns into regular sleep. I feel bad for her though, despite her best efforts, she has no energy. And I think it is contagious.

We have a doctors appointment Wednesday, standard blood work, and she remembers them saying that they would do another UltraSound, and that we would be able to actually hear the heartbeat. That would be cool.

What's in a Name?

When people find out you are going to have a baby...the second, third, or maybe fourth question is always; "Have you thought about a name yet?" So far...no. We won't agree, we know we won't, so right now we are not debating...or some might say arguing about it. Why, well, we don't know if it will be a boy or a girl. So, we figure if we wait until we know what we are going to have, we can cut out a few million names right there, and that should make it easier on us. Right now, this baby will just be known as "Baby Rhoads", and probably will be, right up to the day it is born. But lets hope that we can agree on something before then.

Entering Week 7

We have entered week 7, by all estimations, yesterday was 7 weeks and 4 days. So far, knock on wood, the dreaded sickness had not been an issue. We are both quite thankful for that...because morning sickness for her, would just induce sickness for me. So far, she only has the desire to sleep all day...and one might think, I could live with that, but she has grown quite tired, of being so tired. Maybe soon she will regain her energy.

A tiny heart beat!

Monday October 11, 2010

It was time for the first ultrasound. The doctor estimated that Andrea was close to 8 weeks pregnant, and it was time to check for a heart beat. We showed up at the doctor's office on that cool Monday morning, a little nervous, a little anxious, and very ready to see a heart beat.

We were rewarded. And relieved. We saw a heart beat, and only ONE heartbeat.

The technician took measurements of itty bitty tiny Baby Rhoads, and determined that Andrea was only 6 weeks and 4 days along. Much to her chagrin. She liked the idea of being 8 weeks along...that meant she still had 6 weeks to go before she could see the end of the changes she was going through now.

The first Ultrasound...the two + signs represent the two ends of the baby.

Telling The Parents

When you find out that you are going to be parents...especially for the first time...a few million things run through your head. All the things you have to do to get ready, all of the things in your life as you know it that are going to change...and, how do we tell our parents.

First would be Andrea's mother, Charles and Nana, we always knew they would be first. We decided to go visit them on Thursday October 7th, and to keep them off the scent, we said that our visit was to celebrate our own birthday's, Andrea's a couple weeks late, and mine a couple days early. After dinner, we told them that we had a couple of gifts from our trip to Tennessee the weekend before. Little did they know...our big news was contained in those two little gift bags. Inside was a frame that informed them, that baby Rhoads was COMING SOON! After a few seconds of disbelief, and the shock wore off, they were excited, and wanted to know the whole story, how long had we known...and when was Baby Rhoads expected.


Next would be the Rhoads family, who were about to find out that they would be grandparents for the first time. On October 9th, after spending the day at a gallery opening, we were all at our house, and had just enough time to break the news before heading off to dinner. We again disguised our intentions under the veil of gifts from our trip to TN. This time, we told them that we had some tacky T-Shirts for them, in keeping with the tradition that our own grandparents started many years ago. The T-Shirts however, informed them that they would soon be grandparents. And once again, it took a few seconds for them to understand fully what we were trying to tell them, and once they did, the tears of joy were falling. I still don't think that my dad has come to grips with it, he keeps saying that he is not old enough to be a Grandpa. Sorry dad, you are plenty old enough.


Next would be Andrea's dad, Diane, Uncle Ronnie and Andrea's brother and his family. Thankfully, we were already getting together with all of them on October 10th for lunch. We went back to her dad's house for cake and ice cream, and set up a family photo. After getting a couple of good pictures, then we changed the countdown, instead of saying "Cheese Burgers", we yelled out "ANDREA'S PREGNANT!" No one believed us, and Alicia wanted to cut to the chase, and find out if we were kidding. We weren't. We filled them in on everything, and got them up to speed, and told them to get ready, Baby Rhoads would be here before they knew it.


Now they all knew. They might not believe it yet. But they will.

And That Makes Three

The Date...September 23rd.
The Event...we found out we were going to be parents for the first time.

And That Makes Three.

With so many family members and friends that might keep an eye on this little ones trip into this world, we thought this would be a good way to make it easy to keep everyone up to date. And maybe give us a place to remember this new adventure we are about to embark upon. We will try to keep it up to date as much as possible, with pictures, and our thoughts about the whole experience.