WOW! There's a baby in there!

Wow! What a difference a week and better ultrasound equipment makes! 

Today we went in for a higher-resolution scan and some testing. Everything looks great, so that's a relief. And WOW! The baby actually looks like a baby now! 

Steve keeps calling the baby "he," so for identification purposes, we'll refer to the baby as "he." (I really prefer not to call my child "it!") 

He currently measures 5.9cm, with a heart rate of about 160 beats/min, which we got to hear for the very first time.  He was squirming all around at first. That was hysterical. And then I guess he got sleepy and decided to take a nap. The technician kept thumping my belly to get him to move around, but he wasn't being disturbed. (Stubborn like dad!) But finally we got some movement and the tech was able to measure all of the necessary parts. Too early to tell if it really IS a "he" yet. We certainly can't wait for that. But today's experience was fascinating and wonderful! Totally looks like he's driving in there! 

It will probably be a few weeks before we get to check in again. But hopefully we'll get another ultrasound when we meet the OB (Dr. Hsu) next week. 

Happy Cinco de Mayo! 

Approaching The Second Trimester

Well, we're in week 11, and so far so good. We've had the opportunity to watch the baby grow week by week since we've been seeing Dr. Kan for ultrasounds every Tuesday. But now that we're closing out the first trimester, our weekly visits are done. It's nice to reach this milestone, yet we will miss our weekly "visits" with the baby." Now I'll begin seeing a regular OB. We are grateful for everything Dr. Kan and his staff have done to help us make this little baby.

We can't wait to find out if it's a girl or a boy so that we might finally start taking the "names" talk seriously. If she's a girl, we're in good shape. But if he's a boy. We're in trouble. Steve and I can't seem to come to any agreement on a boys name. So...we're certain that must mean it's a boy! I know he's hoping I'll come around to Steve Jr. But that's not going to happen!

At any rate, I'm feeling fantastic. Weeks 7-10 were a bit rough. The nausea was intense, as was the lethargy and sleepiness. But I think the worst is behind me, and I've been feeling fine this past week or so.

My belly has definitely begun to grow. I'm not really into the "belly picture" thing. But we'll see how things shape up further on down the line. Right now, I think I'm going to be a "DON'T TOUCH MY STOMACH" kind of pregnant lady. We shall see!

As always, big things are in the works for the Berecz family. We'll know more next week, but Steve is looking at some potential job moves that would mean a positive change, and possibly new home for us. But we've been down this road before. So, we aren't really putting any eggs into any baskets just yet. So stay tuned! You never know what's right around the corner!

We're excited to watch the PSU men's volleyball team play Pepperdine here in our back yard (UCI) this weekend for the National Championship! We saw them defeat Ohio State last night- a wonderful thing! We got to watch the game with all of the families and friends of the team, most of whom we met at the "Meet & Greet" Steve planned this week with the team. It's such a treat to have them out here. Regardless of the outcome (which we sure hope is a National Title!) it's been a lot of fun.

Work is going fantastic for me. I'm working with two interior designers, writing for Kitchen + Bath Business and Wood Digest magazines on a regular basis, and have begun working with a kitchen and bath specialist PR agency, Duehr & Associates. It's keeping me busy and is the greatest situation I could have ever dreamed up! (Especially those weeks when I wasn't feeling very well.)

We continue to view every day as a blessing and are enjoying this exciting time in our lives. We feel very fortunate and continue to pray that 2008 shapes up to be as fabulous as we believe it will.