20 weeks

Has it really been 5 months???

We have had a pretty exciting week. Most people thought it would be a girl, so most people weren't totally surprised with the news, but it has still been exciting and fun to share the news with everyone.

After our appointment last Friday, I was completely exhausted, so Saturday night my parents took Dave and I to one of our favorite restaurants, Bonefish, for dinner to celebrate the news. Afterwards, we walked across the street to Carter's and Osh Kosh to load up on clothes for our baby girl. We probably have about 20 outfits ALREADY. Also, a friend of Dave's from work has 3 little girls and his wife brought in 2 bags of baby clothes and 1 bag of maternity clothes for me!

check out this girl's wardrobe after only 1 week!!!

(I haven't washed the "donated" clothes yet, so they are not included in this picture...these are all brand new) :)

Mom and I have been scouring Snellville, as well as the internet, for the perfect fabrics to make Ryan a baby quilt...and it is not cheap! Dave's mom is getting us a cradle, so I think we will try to make the bedding for it as well. We bought a pattern to make the crib bedding ourselves and Tuesday my parents bought us a crib!! Dave is planning on setting it up this weekend...he is just as happy as a clam, grinning from ear to ear pretty much constantly. :)

We started a registry at Babies 'R' Us, but it is still a work in progress. I have a lot of the major items added to the list already, but there are so many little things, like shampoo and soap and burp cloths that are making my head spin. Oh, and I pretty much hate every high chair ever made.

The baby is kicking now, but not hard enough or frequently enough for Dave to feel it. At the gym Wednesday, I noticed for the first time that the baby is starting to effect what I can and can not do...my belly gets in the way of some of the exercises I normally do, so I have to modify my movements. She is actually kicking right now...I suppose she is saying hello to you all :)

We have a doctor's appointment on Monday, so we will let you know how that turns out.

Here is my 20 week picture...I have a farmers tan from Dave's kickball double-header last Sunday, and Tonka scratched the mess out of my arm at the vet this week...so all in all, my arms are looking pretty awesome.

Have a great week!

~Robbi (& Ryan too)

IT'S A GIRL!!!

Well, we had a big, big day today! We went to have THE ultrasound, and it's a girl! The ultrasound was the neatest and most miraculous thing. We could see the baby moving around, and at one point she was trying to grab her foot...it was really cute. The technician even commented on how much of a squirmer she is, to which I replied "tell me about it!"

The doctor had nothing but positive things to say about the ultrasound. Everything is absolutely perfect so far, and they told me to just keep doing whatever it is that I am doing!

The heartbeat was right on par at 155 and she weighs 12 ounces! The doctor even said that it looks like she is a week ahead of schedule of the due date that my doctor gave me, so maybe we will have an August baby after all!

Here are all of the pictures that they gave us...I swear they are all different, even though some of them look a lot alike!! I can't believe how big she is already!!

Face profile

Face profile

Face profile

3D image of face (being bashful and covering her face with her hands)

Face profile

Face profile

Okay, so this one is another 3D of the face with her hands covering it, but look to the left in the picture...I see the hairline, eyes, eyebrows, and the top of the nose of the Virgin Mary...or the Mona Lisa...either one.

Another 3D of the face with hands up

Another 3D of the face with hands up

Face profile

Face profile and hands with fingers open

Another face profile and hands with fingers open

Looking at the "lady parts" (right to the right of where it says 'girl')

a foot!

the feets!

A freaky front view, her face is to the right, belly to the left, and arms up holding her ears

Another view of the "lady parts"

I think I felt a few kicks last night, but since I don't really know what they feel like yet, I can't say for sure.

I am not sure if everyone knows the name we have chosen yet, but her name is Ryan Ella Sullivan. I thought of the name Ryan when I was in 6th grade or so, and still love it to this day. (Lucky for me, Dave loves it too!) And my grandmother's name was Ruth Ella, so that is where Ella came from.

Oh, and here is my 19 week belly picture!

We are so excited, and are so glad to share the good news with you all!

Have a GREAT weekend!!

Love,

~Dave, Robbi and Ryan!!!

18 weeks

Yesterday mom and I finally cashed in our spa gift certificates from LAST Mother's Day and spent the whole afternoon at the spa. I got a prenatal massage, which was basically a total body rub down, a facial, a manicure and a pedicure. With my back pain, I was hoping the massage would be deep tissue, but that's okay - it was still relaxing!

I got some VERY much needed maternity jeans yesterday as well. They are SO much more comfortable than trying to wear my regular jeans with a rubber band holding them shut.

One week from today, we will be finding out if we are having a boy or a girl!! SOO ready to find out!

We are heading out in a few minutes to spend the weekend with Dave's brother and his family. In a hurry, no picture today :( sorry!! Gotta run!!!

17 weeks

Yesterday marked 17 weeks! We had our 4 month check up on Monday, the 22nd, and everything looks good. It was a pretty routine visit - she measured my belly and answered some questions we had. We also heard the heartbeat again, which is perfect at this stage - in the 160s.

We have an appointment on April 9th to get the "BIG" ultrasound and find out if we are having a boy or a girl.

Yesterday at physical therapy, a woman told me she has correctly predicted the gender of all 11 of her grandchildren, and she told me it will be a girl. Another lady did the "nail on a string" trick over my belly and said it would be a girl. But a few weeks ago, a lady told me she was positive it was a boy because of "how I am carrying the baby" (I am carrying forward and low so far) ....everyone at PT is kind of invested in this pregnancy :)

The baby has been moving around a LOT this week, especially in the past 3 days, and I fully expect him or her to start kicking the you-know-what out of me any day now. I am not sure what I expected it to feel like, but I know this is definitely NOT what I had in mind. I am sure I will get used to it eventually, and it won't bother me as much. I think we may have an athlete on our hands!

Eating is getting harder for me...I am starting to be more picky and not wanting to eat very much at a time. Before, EVERYTHING sounded yummy, now, as I sit here and think about it, I can't think of one single thing that sounds appetizing.

Here is the weekly belly picture!

Have a great week!!

~the Sullivans

16 weeks today!

Hello again, everyone! It is a beautiful, warm, sunny day here in Georgia (FINALLY!!), and I am 4 months to the day today. My clothes are fitting snuggly, and I had to purchase my very first maternity clothes this week. I had saved up all of the Target gift cards that everyone sent me for Christmas and for my birthday, so if you sent me one, THANK YOU!! I bought 2 dresses and a BeBand - it is a band that you wear around your belly with your regular pants unbuttoned, and it keeps your pants up - genius! Here is one of my dresses - I think I may try to do all of my weekly photos in it, so I always look the same...maybe we can do a flip book at the end! haha :)

I have been sleeping fairly well this week, and I am not as hungry all of the time anymore (although I am still hungry more than usual.) The only real complaint that I have is that my left hip is killing me. It makes it hard to get around sometimes, and I have to take breaks often and rest...Lord please just don't let me do the pregnant "waddle"!!

Dave came up with a good system for talking about the baby. We don't like to say "it", so we rotate from him to her. One day we say "he is awake" and the next day we will say "she is hungry".

We have bought a few things here and there that are unisex, like a baby bath tub and some wooden blocks. We also have been getting books here and there to read to the baby. I have come to realize that there are SO many crazy baby toys out there! I know that babies need stimulation, but some of these toys never stop singing or blinking! I have been looking at the more simple toys, like I had when I was a kid. It really doesn't matter at this point anyways... all the baby needs for a while is a place to sleep and food!

That's about all for this week. The blog will be updated on Fridays from here on out, as that is the beginning of my pregnancy week...so keep checking in on us when you can!!

Love, the Sullivans

almost 15 weeks

So a lot of people have been telling me that I need to update this blog more often, and I hope to be able to do so from now on, it's just that not much happens in the 1st trimester that is really "noteworthy".... just think of it as "No news is good news!"

I am out of my 1st trimester and into my 2nd. Friday will be 15 weeks! I joined a gym and have started working out (taking it pretty easy though!) I want to be as strong as I can when it comes time to deliver...I have ZERO pain tolerance, and I just think that the stronger I am, the easier the delivery will be. Plus, I would like to keep my weight gain down!!

Also, a lot of people have been asking for a belly picture. Until now, there really wasn't anything to show, but in the past few days it has become obvious that there is a bump forming...I only have one pair of jeans that still fit when buttoned.

This was taken first thing this morning because my belly seems to grow throughout the day the more I eat! Speaking of eating, it boggles my mind how tired of eating I am! I typically need something every 2 hours, and it can be a challenge to come up with 7 meals or snacks a day that are not plain old JUNK food! There are so many people in the world who do not have enough to eat, and here I am complaining about having to eat too much...I definitely do not take any of it for granted.

Our next appointment is March 22nd, and we are not sure whether or not we will be able to find out the gender, but we are really looking forward to finding out so that we can start buying the things this baby will need. A lady told me the other day that she was sure that I was having a boy because of how I am carrying the baby. I have also read that you will have a bigger appetite if it is a boy...no shortage of that...so...I give it a 50% chance of being a boy :) hehehe

Still no nausea or sickness. I had a dizzy episode Monday night - I woke up about 4am to use the restroom and I could barely walk. It was strange because I didn't FEEL dizzy, I just couldn't walk a straight line and I almost fell over several times. Dave got up and helped me walk into the kitchen and he fixed me a glass of water and gave me some fruit to eat. I felt fine for the most part after that, so we just assumed my blood sugar dropped since I hadn't eaten. I had my mom drive me to physical therapy that morning, just to be safe, and I had my physical therapist take my blood pressure twice while I was there. It turned out to be nothing...but it was a crazy feeling!! (note to everyone reading this: please don't get all crazy and worried and make me regret posting this story! It really turned out to be nothing!!)

OH! And I decided to stay with my doctor and deliver at the small hospital!! I took Dave to see Walton Medical and take a tour and for some reason, it just seemed much better this time around. Maybe it was because Dave was there with me, or maybe I could just tell he was fine with it, and that was reassuring. I am actually looking forward to it now. The staff is so personal and one on one, and I am so glad I have decided to stay with my doctor - she is fantastic. My mom and I went to tour Eastside, which is a bigger hospital much closer to our house, and it just seemed so cold. It was nice, but I definitely did NOT get a warm and fuzzy feeling. Walton seemed much calmer and Eastside made me feel too institutionalized...

In the end, I decided I would rather have a small, older hospital with a one-on-one doctor and personal care, than a fancy big hospital and just be another patient....I mean, this isn't just ANY baby I will be delivering! ;)

Well, it is this baby~mama's bedtime!

Love

~Robbi (and Dave too...even though I can hear him snoring in the bedroom!)

Doctor dilemmas...

Well, I am 11 6/7 weeks today (12 weeks tomorrow) and I had my 2nd OB appointment this morning. I got to hear the baby's heartbeat again, and it sounded like a real heartbeat this time instead of inaudible static. That was really the only exciting thing that happened....pretty routine visit (sorry, no new pictures), but all looks fine and dandy so far.

I am really bummed because I have a GREAT doctor, who is very personable, has a great staff, and has a private practice (so she would be my ONLY doctor the whole way through AND on THE day).........BUT......she only has privileges at Walton Medical, which, if you are not from around here, is....umm....let's say it is LESS than nice, and it is quite old and very VERY small. It is the trailer park of hospitals. But, the upside to it being so small is that you receive very personalized care, but if ANYTHING goes wrong, they are not equipped to handle any kind of huge emergency.... am not PLANNING on having any type of emergency, but it really isn't in my hands! Plus it is 30-45 minutes from our house.

SO...now I have to start all over looking for a new doctor. The problem with that is that I live in metro Atlanta, and 99.9% of the OB/GYNs around here are part of a huge group practice...meaning that I am just another patient, a number. I want to find ONE doctor, not have to see a new face and explain my entire life story every time I go for a check up.

My mom and I took a tour of the L&D at Eastside tonight, and the facility looks nice, but the staff was a bit of a mess. The best thing Eastside has going for it is that it is so close to our house, maybe 10-15 minutes because of Snellville traffic. I have been hospitalized 2 different times at Eastside for about a week each time, once in 98 and once in 2000, and as far as hospitals go, it was great, and I felt like I received excellent care.

So, this is my dilemma....and I am pretty sad about it all, not to mention that I have had some pregnancy "moments" emotionally lately, including a huge mess of a crying fit yesterday because of some design work I am doing for a client. Dave is being very patient with me and is very supportive, so that is a huge blessing.

The #1 question people ask me, oddly enough, is if I have been sick at all....it is just a little weird when you tell someone you are pregnant and the first thing they want to know is if you puke a lot or not .... so, in case you are also wondering, no...no I have not been sick one little bit. My mom said she was never sick during either of her pregnancies, so maybe it runs in the family :)

However, poor Dave is sick. Not throwing up, just a cold I think. Dave never gets sick, but this is the 2nd time he has been sick since we found out we are expecting....oh the irony.

Well, that's about it for now. I will keep the updates coming as soon as get any new news!

~Robbi