The belly.....

So I have had a lot of picture requests for the belly. I am really not liking any of these pictures (and fankly they really aren't doing the belly size justice, according to Jasen- as it looks much bigger in person), but I promised I would post some pics, so here they are. I have one from 12 weeks, 13 weeks, and then the now 16 weeks (took that pic yesterday). Sooooo excited to be nearing the half way mark! :)  I'm feeling so much better now. The nausea has pretty much been gone since the 14th week and my energy is almost back to normal (however I still need about 11 hours of sleep each night). Now I'm just dealing with growing pains that seems to make it uncomfortable to sleep at night, and back pain that makes it bad to be sitting for more then a couple of hours.

We ordered the crib, which Jasen's mom has graciously helped us purchase. :) The brand is Spot on Square which is a low VOC, non-toxic paint, no formaldehyde, made in the USA crib. Since it is low VOC and not a zero VOC, we'll get it together and let it do most of its off-gassing before the baby is here.

With having now announced the expected bundle of job to pretty much everyone, here are the top questions we've been getting....

1. Are you going to find out if its a boy or a girl?

- No, we will most likely not be finding out if it is a boy or a girl. :) (If you want to know why "most likely" we can have that discussion off of this blog). It is going to be a surprise! Which is great because it lends itself to gender neutral infant gear and that will make it less expensive having a second baby which could obviously be a different gender than this one (won't have to purchse all new crib bedding, etc). Although I have to admit, the gender themed infant "stuff" is quite abundant. I find it a little bit obnoxious, mostly the girl stuff. Perhaps that is because I wasn't a "pink" kinda girl growing up. But, nonetheless, there are "gender neutral" items online and in stores! So, we are looking forward to our gender neutral nursery!

2. Is Matt excited about the baby?

- Well, in a word, YES! Matt is extremely excited about the baby, even more so than I had expected. He is really hoping for a little brother, and he says "I can't wait to teach him things!" However, I think he will be excited about a girl as well, as last night we told him about some girl names we are considering and he was praciticing using all of the names, hehe. :) And for those of you who have seen Matt around little ones, including Toddlers, he is really great with them! He will be an amazing big brother!

3. Have you thought of any names?

-Here is what I have realized about telling people what names we are considering.....they want to tell you exactly what they think about that name. Which, I must say, isn't so nice if we LOVE a name, and then an important family member says that they don't like it at all. So, I think for the most part we will keep the name sharing minimal.  :) We are really involving Matt in the naming, and so far I think he finds it really fun. He will even pull out a magazine and read us names out of it, and then we all say yay or nay. Its really cute.

I think those are the top three....post me some of your questions and I'll respond! :) Mom will be going with me to my 20 week appointment just before Thanksgiving! (Ps- after posting those pics, It looks like I'm carrying high....hmm.....my Mom could be right that it is a girl......

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes......

Yay!!! Jasen and I are expecting a baby!! I am almost 14 weeks along (five more days...which marks the END of the first trimester). My due date is April 12, which is actually our wedding anniversary....so, easy to remember. As Uncle Tom pointed out, April is a great month for Trutter birthdays. :) Ben, myself, and Uncle Tom all share that birth month! I have to say that so far it is has been a rough first trimester (so much for taking after my mother). I have had terrible morning sickness that lasts all day long and fatigue that is like nothing I've ever experienced before. I think the food issue has been the most challenging, and now I'm to a point where almost nothing sounds good, especially anything I make. If I make it, it is even less appealing! I'm hoping that relief will greet me in the second trimester! :)

I have had some requests for pictures, but quite frankly, there aren't any that are even remotely flattering (in my opinion). Perhaps in a few more weeks it will look more like a baby bump. ;)

We broke the news to a lot of the family when we initially found out the good news in the beginning of August. Although it was really early to do that, I was in Illinois when I found out and I really wanted to tell my family in person. :) It just isn't as much fun over skype! I have uploaded the video footage of Grandma Trutter finding out that she will finally be a Great Grandmother! Unfortunately, the angle of the video isn't the best, so never mind my back side! :)

I have had two prenatal check ups and so far so good! I broke the news to my boss and colleagues two weeks ago and it went much better than I had expected.....and I was very relieved to get that over with. My career is really important to me, but so is my family, so I'm happy that my boss agreed to let me return from maternity leave as part time. What a relief!

I'm planning a flight back at Christmas time pending how well I'm feeling. I will be about 25 weeks at that time, so it should be fine. I just wish I wasn't flying by myself. :( Unfortunately, Jasen has only two days off for Christmas, which really isn't enough time to go back to Illinois with me. Anyway, I am really looking forward to seeing everyone! Mom is coming out for Thanksgiving, so I'm really thrilled about that and can't wait to see her and do some baby shopping together!