20 Weeks ... We're Halfway!

You're at the halfway mark — congratulations! Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel —the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure,measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.)

He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).

Info from www.babycenter.com

Its a ....

... Girl!

After having a great Christmas with our families Ed and I had our 20 week appointment and ultrasound on 12/26! We were very excited!

They took us back for the ultrasound first ... everything appears to measuring out just fine and our little one is measuring in the 50 percentile. Shes not a little peanut anymore ... weighing in around 10oz! She said that everything with the brain and spine were looking great. It was amazing to see how her head and spine have formed over the first 20 weeks. The heart was still pumping away like it should. We saw where the stomach and bladder were forming. We saw her flip around a few times and still not feel anything! She was being very shy ... she was breeched and had her legs crossed. It was hard to determine the gender, but the tech stated that she saw three lines that leaned towards a girl. Didn't see any little boy parts sticking out. So we are now preparing for a little pink in the house!

We then were seen by one of the doctors and he stated that her heartbeat was around 153bpm. Our 24 week appointment was set for 1/22 ... after our 28 week appointment we will be seen every 2 weeks!

We then headed out to Montgomery to celebrate Christmas with Lynn and Jerry, Mary Beth, Mom and Pop ... also known as Mildred and JJ. We were able to spread the good news to Mom and Pop who were very excited.

Merry Christmas!

Just wishing everyone a Merry Christmas from The Lashes!

We have our 20 week ultrasound Friday and hopefully our little one is ready to show us who they are!

18 Weeks!

Weekly update:

Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

Info from www.babycenter.com

Belly Photos!

We had our last appointment on 12/9 ... everything is going according to plan. They took some more blood for our 16 week testing and we got to hear the heartbeat again. This time we were told that the heartbeat was around 150bpm. We were able to set up our next appointment and the 20 week ultrasound. Next appointment is 12/26 at 8am ... at that time we should be able to determine if Baby Lash is a girl or a boy?!?!

Here are some belly photos from week 12 and 16 ... I'm not a big fan of the 12 week photo, but it will give you something to compare the 16 week too :)!

12 weeks on 11/3/2008:

16 weeks on 12/1/2008:

16 Weeks ... We Are Almost Halfway!

Another weekly email:

Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.

Info from www.babycenter.com

Our next appointment is 12/9 and at that visit we should be able to set up our 20 week ultrasound ... at that appointment they should be able to determine whether we are having a boy or a girl! We are so excited and will be sure to keep everyone posted! Here is a photo taken at 11 weeks ... I'll work on getting the 12 and 16 week photos up this week!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Its been a busy week! One of my good friends from high school, Christina, got married last weekend and everything was beautiful. After the wedding we were able to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa Connell to celebrate Ed's 28th Birthday! On Sunday we had a nice family visit with my family, my moms sisters and their cousins. My mom and I did a little furniture shopping before Ed, Mary Beth, and I headed up to Pittsburgh for the Lash Thanksgiving. While up in Pittsburgh we were finally able to spread the news to the rest of the family. Everyone was very excited!

I wanted to show everyone the cute little bibs I bought a few weeks ago ... they were just too cute to pass up! And yes, they are from Carter's!

14 Weeks and Counting!

Welcome to the second trimester!

This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.

In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

We had another doctors appointment last week and they said everything seems to be going great. We got to hear the heartbeat again and right now that is the only way I know that there is a baby in there! Otherwise I am still doing great ... I did have to start shopping for new clothes! There is a little visible bump. We have one more appointment before we have our second ultrasound. The ultrasound will be around the last week in December and at that time we should be able to tell what gender Baby Lash is!! Oh and I'll try and post some "belly" photos later this week!

Happy Anniversary to Grandma and Grandpa Sullivan and Grandma and Grandpa Lash!!

Info from www.babycenter.com

12 Weeks and We've got Reflexes!

The weekly email:

The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.

Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long, about the size of a lime, and weighs half an ounce.

Info from www.babycenter.com

We are 10 weeks!

From my weekly email:

Though he's barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature.

He's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy.

If you could take a peek inside your womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.

In other developments: Your baby's limbs can bend now. His hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. The outline of his spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from his spinal cord. Your baby's forehead temporarily bulges with his developing brain and sits very high on his head, which measures half the length of his body. From crown to rump, he's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.

Info from www.babycenter.com

Introducing .. Baby Lash

Ultrasound taken October 2, 2008 .. we were 7 weeks and 3 days



We went to the Dr's office today so they could draw some blood and run all of those good tests. Hopefully all will come out well! But before they did all of that they attempted to find the baby's heartbeat. After a few minutes of probing around she was able to locate it and Ed and I were able to hear the heart beat for the first time! Words cannot even describe what we felt .. it was awesome! Our next office visit is in 4 weeks and we are moving right along!

Yes, we're expecting!

That's right, you read it correctly! We are expecting our first baby! We are surprised, excited, shocked, and nervous all at the same time.

It's still early, but, we wanted to share the exciting news with our friends and family. As of today we are 9 weeks and 2 days pregnant! We actually found out that we were pregnant on September 11, 2008 when I came home with several pregnancy tests. We had several exciting and fun filled football weekends ahead of us and I needed to know. There was no question, but Ed insisted that I take another test just to be sure. We made our first appointment with my Dr. on September 12th where they confirmed that we were going to have a little one. We were so excited, but hated that we could not share with anyone. We kept the news to ourselves for several weeks ... that has been the hardest part!


Our first ultrasound was October 2, 2008! It was so amazing to see such a little thing, heart beating strong, on the screen that would eventually become our little one. She confirmed that our due date would be around May 18, 2009. Ed and I were finally ready to tell everyone the great news and spent the next several days, Ocotober 2nd-5th, driving all over Georgia telling the future grandparents and aunts. They were all very excited for us, which seemed to help with the shock that was still setting in ... it was a great weekend!

So far the pregnancy hasn't been too bad ... keeping my fingers crossed. I have not been sick, just very tired and a little sick to my stomach feeling. Hopefully that will pass in the next few weeks. Wish us luck- I'm still not really sure what to expect at this time! We promise to keep everyone updated on the website as to all of the happenings for Baby Lash!