Hello everyone!

So let me start by saying that is was so great to actually meet some of you!! Who would have thought that last week while I was writing the latest blog, I would end up making plans to come to Canada!!!  Well it was wonderful and I'm very grateful that I got to meet some of Peanut's prayer partners!

This week we are working on finishing 11 weeks. Peanut's fingers and toes are continuing to develop and form into individual little piggies.  :)  Hair is forming and the silly thing is that Peanut's head is half of his/her whole body length! Peanut's body is straightening and lengthening and the baby is now doing somersaults in my tummy! (But, I still can't feel it yet...about 4 or 5 more weeks they tell me).

There doesn't seem to be as much to report this week even though I know lots is going on in there! Lol  Oh, and I forgot to tell you last week:

Jerad and I had been talking and we decided we were going to find out if we were having a boy or a girl. At our appointment last week, I asked Liz when we would get our first "picture" of the baby and she said she likes to wait until about 19-20 weeks for the first ultrasound. She asked us if we were going to find out what we are having.  At the same time that I said yes, Jerad said no!! I looked at him and he said, "What? I changed my mind!" So there you have it. We are going to spend the next 30 weeks in mystery!!!  Which the more I think about is going to be even more fun than if we had found out.... So you all will have to keep me posted on whether you think it's a boy or a girl!!

Ok, we need to go eat...talk to you soon!!

HEARTBEAT!!!!

Hello Ladies!! So here's the weekly update...

By the end of this week I will be a full 10 weeks pregnant! This week Peanut is nearly an inch and a half long (or 4 centimeters...) and the fruit of the week is an apricot! Bones and cartilage are forming and knees and ankles are developing.  Peanut's arms can already flex thanks to new elbows! Peanut started moving around last week, but this week will start kicking! The tooth bud fairy will visit this week and assist with the arrival of Peanut's little choppers which are developing under the gums. Toenails and hair are also growing this week.

The truly exciting part of this weekend happened at our doctors (midwife) appointment today! Jerad came with me and I needed to have a full head to toe check-up.  Not to gross anyone out, but they checked a urine sample and the good news is the three things they check for were all negative! (For anyone wanting to know more info: They check for sugar to see if you may have diabetes induced by pregnancy.  They also check for ketones which if they find, show that mommy may be dehydrated or not eating enough.  And they check for protein to make sure that your blood pressure is safe and that your kidneys are functioning correctly. So everything is good and we are healthy!!) So then Liz (our midwife) pulled out the doppler (the little machine they use to find heartbeats!!!) and put the gel on my tummy....she warned us that it's pretty early to try to hear a heartbeat and she usually can't find it so we shouldn't be disappointed if we didn't hear it.  But I knew God would let us hear it....AND WE DID!!! It was probably one of the most amazing experiences in my life so far. About 180 beats per minute, our little Peanut is such a miracle.  I'll never forget the look on Jerad's face when he heard our little one's heartbeat and looked at me...

Thanks for your prayers this week!!!!

9 weeks along....only 31 to go!

So, this is my first blog on the baby's webpage! I find it amusing that my baby has a blog before I have one...just proves this baby is already a very interesting person!  At this point I am nine weeks pregnant, although some sources would argue this and say I'm eight and a half.  But either way you look at it this baby is getting bigger every day although by looking at me you wouldn't know it yet!!!! YAY!  :)  This week the baby's "tail" is completely gone, and yes, I said tail.  Jerad was looking at a picture of an 8 week old baby in one of our books the other day and very sweetly said, "Honey, are you aware that we're making a dinosaur?" So the exciting news this week is that little "Dino's" tail is gone! Peanut is about an inch long (about the size of a large grape for those of you who identify with the fruit terms...) and weighs less than an ounce. And I have no idea right now how that relates to grams, sorry Canadians.  Some new organs are forming this week: the liver, spleen and gallbladder...and Peanut is already moving even though I won't be able to feel him/her for quite a while yet.  The update with me is that I'm TIRED!!! I love naps.  I haven't really had any cravings except one: cream of broccoli soup, but I'm not sure I can pin that on the pregnancy-Shayna, I know you understand!  I'm not consistently nauseous but I have had some occasions where my tummy has not been very happy...today for one, was not a good day.  Thank you all for your prayers! It is such a blessing to know that this baby is already loved by friends who have never even met us....yet!  It's time for us to go to bed, we have more growing to do!!!!!

So this is Shay here (the bestie lol). As I set up this blog for Shanna, and the baby I have affectionately named "Peanut", I thought I would get things started by showing a pre-baby belly picture. This picture was taken in the summer of 2008 and I can't wait to see what the belly will look like at the same time next year!! Also, I assure that Shanna's actions in this picture will be saved exclusively for me when I am being sassy and never will poor peanut see this side of Mom. :)