17 weeks!

Checking in again....

How far along: 17 weeks today!

Symptoms: Nausea is gone , heartburn is back with a vengence, low back ache comes and goes, round belly continues to grow. Sore boobs and round ligament pain. Oh and varicose veins!

Total Weight Gain: Still at 1.5 pounds total (remains a 4.5 pound loss since the positive test).

Maternity Clothes: It's all I wear. Surprisingly, maternity clothes have come a long way. There are some really cute things out there!

Stretch Marks: Nasty little suckers!

Sleep: Seems to be getting a little better despite the double bathroom trips each night.

Best Moment This Week: Finding out that Baby H is a BOY!

Movement: I felt a few flutters while relaxing in Hawaii.

Food Cravings: Still hating chicken but am doing much better in the food department.

Belly Button: Still in.

What I miss: Hawaii and so does Baby H.

What I am looking forward to: Planning and decorating the nursery, oh how I cannot wait!. Feeling Baby H kick!

Milestones: Finding out Baby H's gender.

How is Daddy?: Excited he will be raising a son and all into selecting the perfect crib!

How are the Grandparents?: We invited them all to the gender ultrasound and everyone had a blast. Now that they know its a grandson, it's just a matter of time before the buying frenzy begins!

Stranger Encounters: So every stranger predicted a girl and they were all wrong! I encountered a few people in Hawaii who were interested in my growing belly but thankfully none of them were interested in copping a feel. Phew!

Brought to you by the letter "B"

Yesterday, after a long flight home from Hawaii, we had an outside ultrasound to determine Baby Holloway's gender. Brent and I, along with my parents, my sister, sister-in-law April, and Brent's parents made the trek to Stork Vision in Atlanta. I drank what seemed like a bathtub of water on the way as well as a coke (I needed to make sure Baby H was awake). Little did I know, all that water wasn't necessary and I'd have to make 3 trips to the bathroom before the ultrasound was over. It took about 45 minutes, 3 positions and lots of jumping around on my part to get the baby to cooperate. Finally Baby H let go of its inner shyness and....

That's right, a boy! Brent and I will soon the parents of a little baby boy. We are so thankful for a healthy baby and couldn't be more excited for all the fun (and frustration) that lies ahead.

Here are a few more pictures from the ultrasound:

Baby H looking right at us.

I think I'm in love

Another face shot

I love this!

Spine in perfect order

Waiving at his family.

Now the fun part begins! Time to decide on the nursery and get to work!

15 weeks!

Checking in again....

How far along: 15 weeks today!

Symptoms: Nausea is gone , heartburn is much better since I stopped eating anything tomato based, low back ache comes and goes, round belly continues to grow. Sore boobs and round ligament pain. Oh and varicose veins!

Total Weight Gain: 1.5 pounds total. Still a 4.5 pound deficit since the positive test.

Maternity Clothes: It's all I wear. Surprisingly, maternity clothes have come a long way. There are some really cute things out there!

Stretch Marks: Nasty little suckers!

Sleep: Still tossing and turning. It seems the only time I get great sleep is about an hour before the alarm goes off. Still making two potty trips per night.

Best Moment This Week: Preparing for Hawaii!

Movement: I felt flutters again while walking the dog. Great feeling!

Food Cravings: Food aversions are getting better by the day. I ate chicken once and it didn't kill me. However, I don't want it again.

Belly Button: Still in.

What I miss: Forget wine! I miss sleep!

What I am looking forward to: Finding out the gender of this baby (5/25), decorating the nursery and feeling bean kick!

Milestones: Officially in the 2nd Trimester and over the hump of morning (all day) sickness!

How is Daddy?: He actually spoke to the baby the other day. :)

How are the Grandparents?: Ecstatic! The first grandchild for all four of them. I think this baby could be spoiled...They are all going with us to the gender scan. Prayers we find out what this baby is or I'm going to have a room full of disappointed people!

Stranger Encounters: I'm adding a new category. What is up with random folks rubbing my stomach and making gender predictions? Just this week, I had two encounters. One, a lady in the lobby of my building. Two, one of the cleaning ladies felt me up on the elevator without even asking! Both predicted that bean is a GIRL.

Sugar & Spice or Snakes & Snails

In just under two weeks, we have an ultrasound to determine if Baby Bean Holloway is a girl or a boy. I was very smart in my scheduling. The ultrasound is set for the day we return from Hawaii. Oh have I mentioned we are going to Hawaii? We are Aloha bound this Saturday morning and will spend 10 glorious days soaking up sun and relaxation. I figured the vacation would keep my mind off the gender scan and the gender scan would make me want to return from paradise.

I love hearing the old wives' tales about how to determine the baby's gender. Here are a few of the predictions I have received:

• Chinese Gender Prediction Chart says GIRL;
• I'm carrying the baby high, which says GIRL;
• My feet aren't colder than they were before I was pregnant, GIRL;
• I won't eat the heal of a loaf of bread, GIRL;
• Dad-to-be hasn't gained any weight, GIRL;
• Morning sickness early on, GIRL
• No major chest enlargement, BOY;
• Sum of my age at conception & month of conception are even, BOY;
• A needle and thread held over my belly moves in circles, BOY;
• Craving salty foods, not sweet, BOY;
• Craving fruit over meat, GIRL;
• Baby's heart rate was over 140, GIRL.

So 8 out of 12 predictors say its a GIRL. My dreams tell me its a BOY. Guess we'll have to wait and see!

While we wait to see what Baby Bean Holloway truly is, let's have a little fun! Leave me your prediction for boy or girl, along with a name suggestion for your chosen gender in the comment section. I can't wait to hear it!

Spilling the Beans...

Let's back up to the story of how we shared the news, shall we?

As I said in my earlier post, I took a home pregnancy test on Saturday, February 27 around 5 am. I immediately see a "PREGNANT" sign and do a little happy dance. I made an appointment with my reproductive endocrinologist for Tuesday, March 2. Brent and I went in that afternoon and had a blood drawn. I had to wait an entire day to get the results! The numbers came back in the 1200 range. We scheduled another blood draw for March 4 only this time I made the appointment early in the morning so I could get the results the same afternoon. Crystal, the best.nurse.ever, called around 4 p.m. to let me know that my HCG levels had done exactly what they should, as they were now at 2500. It was official! WE ARE PREGNANT! Oh did I mention this was also the week of Brent's birthday? What a fantastic gift!

We decided we weren't going to tell our parents until Easter dinner. We were hosting dinner at our house and both sets of parents were attending. The first person I told about Bean was my dear friend Shea. The next people to learn of the addition were Coy & Mandi. We celebrated Brent's birthday dinner with them as we always do, and there was no keeping the secret when I had to refuse an order from the bar! Next on the list was my sister (because I can't keep a secret from her) and Brent's sister and brother-in-law. Next up was my brother and sister-in-law (who've requested to be called Aunt Apee and Uncle Hou) and my friend Jennie (who is 5 weeks ahead of me in the expecting game). So much fun to share the news but we couldn't wait to tell our parents who've been dropping not so subtle hints about wanting to be grandparents.

Caption reads "Hatching soon, a bundle of joy,

will it be a girl or maybe a boy?"

Brent's parents came into town the Saturday before Easter. This meant I had to keep it a secret for the next 24 hours. So despite my overwhelming food aversions and non-ending nausea, I managed to pull it off and even prepare Easter dinner. I had planned for weeks how I was going to tell them. I had an idea to put a pink & blue PEEP in a stuffable egg along with a little message. I had the camera ready to go. The real task proved to be keeping Homer (my FIL) out of the Easter goodies until dinner time.

We said grace and then I told everyone to open their Easter gifts. I was so thankful to capture their reactions on camera. As expected, our mothers figured it out first and both let out a little shout of excitement. It took our dads a few minutes to catch on. Homer's first words "Are you serious?" They couldn't be more excited, unless of course, they were us!

We passed around our two ultrasound pictures and soaked up every bit of the Easter we will never forget!

13 Weeks!

How far along: 13 weeks and 3 days.

Symptoms: Nausea (much better but still brought on by annoying odors), heartburn, low back ache, round belly.

Total Weight Gain: 1 pound as of this morning. That means I'm still down 5 since the positive test.

Maternity Clothes: Just about everything I wear is now maternity with exception to a few shirts.

Stretch Marks: I noticed the first one today. Ugh.

Sleep: Most nights are spent tossing and turning despite being exhausted.

Best Moment This Week: Hearing bean's heartbeat for the first time!

Movement: I felt a few flutters last week. Nothing regular yet.

Food Cravings: I'm still having issues with food aversions (mainly meat, especially chicken). I do have sorbet every night.

Belly Button: Still in.

What I miss: Wine.

What I am looking forward to: Finding out the gender of this baby, decorating the nursery and feeling bean kick!

Milestones: Almost to the end of the First Trimester and I made my first baby purchase this weekend in Florida!

How is Daddy?: He couldn't be more excited. He's willing to help do whatever when I'm not feeling up to par and goes out of his way to make sure I am comfortable. He's going to be the best dad ever.

How are the Grandparents?: Ecstatic! The first grandchild for all four of them. I think this baby could be spoiled...