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