It's Definitely A...Boy or Girl!

We had our 18 week ultrasound today and found out the baby is definitely a boy or girl!

Okay, well, maybe we actually knew that already, but I this is the ultrasound scan during which people usually find out the baby's gender :-) We, however, are not.  This is a rare plan these days--so rare, in fact, that in my OB/GYN's practice, which includes five doctors and hundreds of patients, there are only 3 or 4 other women electing not to find out the sex, according to the ultrasound technician.  We feel good about our choice, though, after debating for many weeks (and right up until we went into the ultrasound room!) and are excited about the great surprise we're going to get come May/June.

I started feeling the baby move very sporadically about two weeks ago, but because the first movements feels like odd little flutters or bubbles couldn't be 100% sure it was the baby.  That all changed just last night!  As I was trying to go to sleep, Baby T was apparently waking up!  This time I could tell that the flutters were definitely Baby and most likely kicks, as they were repetitive and in the same spot.  I felt Baby again after getting up to use the bathroom around 1:30/2:00 a.m. and he or she was wide awake--therefore, so was I for the next ten minutes or so!  It was so exciting, and I can't wait until Travis can feel the movements, too!

Baby T is weighing in at around 8 ounces and measures around 8 inches long!  Baby is really growing!


Baby Tyson at 18 weeks 5 days looking...pensive?

Little fist tucked under chin and thinking hard!



Today's ultrasound was the routine 18-20 week fetal development scan.  This is the time when they check that all is going and growing well, and our little one passed with flying colors.  The technician pointed out to us Baby's stomach, bladder, kidneys, heart (all four chambers), cerebellum, umbilical cord, nose, lips, toes, and fingers.  The only thing she kept quiet on was the sex.  We made sure as soon as we walked in to let her know we are waiting to find out the gender, and she recommended that when I check in for all future appointments that I remind the nurses so that no one slips up and spills the beans.  We got several pictures and had a DVD made of the 15+ minute scan.  There is a definite crotch shot in the video after the tech showed us how Baby had his/her legs stretched up over his/her head, but neither of us can tell the gender from the view.  Hmmmm....maybe that means girl, since there's nothing obvious to see?  Although, so far, all the people who have told me their guess based on the previous ultrasound photos think Baby is a boy. LOL. We shall see.

Anyway, below find Baby Tyson's 18 week photos and some video clips of today's scan...



Baby Tyson in profile...

 During the first half of the scan, Baby T had feet tucked up under the bottom.  The tech said we actually might've had a tough time if we had been trying to find out the baby's sex because of the positioning.  But then at the end of the scan, Baby T stretched those little legs up over his/her head!  Must be flexible like Mommy ;-) and it looks to me like Baby T has Daddy's gorgeous high arches--this would especially excellent if Baby is a girl!  Dancer feet!

Baby T folded in half!

And once those legs were all stretched out, we were able to see a perfect little footprint! 



Baby T's first footprint!

[In advance, I apologize for the video quality!  These videos are just cell phone uploads, because we don't have our DSL line to the new house yet, so I couldn't download a DVD ripping program.]

Below is a sectioned scan of Baby's heart...it was amazing how detailed the images were...The tech showed us each of the four heart chambers, each just fluttering away the entire time!

In this video, you can see how Baby T was positioned with legs stretched overhead at the end of the scan.  And at the end there you can see Baby as though he/she is sitting on a glass top table, so let us know what your gender guess is!

This clip shows Baby T just a kickin' away!  So that's what those funny little fluttering feelings are!? I can't wait until they are hard enough for Travis to feel, too!

And in the last video, you can see a little kick and then the ultrasound tech marking the place where the umbilical cord connects to Baby's belly!

So that's it!  Baby Tyson is looking good and right on track for a late May/early June arrival!  Hope everyone has a great end to the holiday season!

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Sorry we have been MIA for a little while, but things have been crazy around here!

December came stampeding in with a laundry list of tasks--some wonderful and holiday oriented, others, not so much.  Just a few of the things we've been up to this month:

• Christmas Shopping
• Brii battling bronchitis
• Quickly followed by the Flu for both of us
• Brii's Vidalia Ballet Christmas Concert
• Christmas in Zebulon with my family
• Christmas in Perry with Travis's family
• MOVING!

Things are going well, though, and we are getting settled into our new apartment.  Pics to follow, you know, just as soon as we're finished unpacking :-/

We spent a lovely Christmas with our families, though poor Travis didn't get much time off work this year.  I went up to Zebulon to be with my family as soon as I was well enough from the Flu to drive.  This, of course, meant I was leaving two men to finish packing and move my house, but...I tried not to let it bother me too much. :-) By the way, "Many Thanks!" to Trav's best friend Mike for helping us move (again!).  It was wonderful to spend a few days before Christmas with my family--having a five year old around to be excited about Santa with always makes the season more special.  My sister and I spent far too many nights staying up late and far too many mornigs sleeping in, and it was just what the doctor ordered!  My Mom kicked off our first annual "A Christmas Story" Christmas.  Just like our favorite Christmas movie, we ate Chinese food and opened presents!  We had a ridiculous amount of food for lunch, from lo mein to broccoli garlic to crab rangoons to General Tso's!  Our tradition is now established for Christmas Eve and looks promising to continue in years to come.  It was fun to have something different to eat over the holidays and even more fun to share it with many of our friends and family.

The silly pink Christmas tree at my Mom's! Decorated with candy canes and silver jingle bells!

Travis came up on Christmas Eve, picked up his Beef Lo Mein and presents and set about helping Santa at my Dad's house.  My brother, sister, and I read "Twas The Night Before Christmas" and put out chocolate chip cookies and milk for Santa and nine carrots (eight reindeer plus Rudolph) for the reindeer.  Then we jumped in bed, covered up our heads, and Santa Claus came that night!  Christmas morning was beautiful and so much fun.

The stockings on the mantle and Christmas tree at my Dad's.

Around lunchtime, Travis and I left for Perry to spend the rest of the weekend with his family.  Walking into Grandma and Grandad's is always a treat during the holidays--as soon as you open the door, the smell of Grandma's delicious dinner rolls and hot noodles and mashed potatoes makes your mouth water!  We were so grateful that Travis's sister Emily, her husband Eric, and our two beautiful nieces were able to come from Iowa for Christmas (and Emily's birthday!).  It is amazing how quickly the girls are growing; you could see major differences in Lili just in the three to four weeks since Thanksgiving!  By the way, for a fabulous read, you can follow their family's blog at EricAndEmilysAdventures.blogspot.com.  That afternoon we had our family Christmas and opened gifts from Santa, Travis's parents, and all the siblings.  After dinner, we had Christmas with the rest of the family, which included much laughing, tearing of wrapping paper, and even more cleaning up!  I am so grateful to have such an amazing set of in-laws, and I always enjoy the closeness of their family that my spread-out-all-over-the-country-family doesn't get to enjoy often.  The next day was Emily's first 29th birthday!  As tradition indicates, we ate lasagna and salad for lunch and enjoyed angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream for dessert!  Baby Tyson (that's right, the baby, not Brii) had two helpings of cake, but for some reason, still is not wild about lasagna (it's the second food that made me sick during the early weeks of morning sickness and I haven't been able to eat it since :-(   ).  Overall, it was a fantastic Christmas filled with great fellowship, laughter, joy, and love.

Our nieces, Lilian (top) at 3 months, and Gabriela (bottom) at 20 months.

Trav and I came back to Statesboro on Sunday evening, and I got to spend my first night in the new house!  The unpacking is daunting and going slow, but we're getting there!  My goal is to have all of the unpacking finished by the time I go back to work on the 10th.  Eek!  I will post pictures of the new house as soon as it's presentable.  In the meantime, if anyone wants to come down to the Boro and do it all for me...well...that'd be great!

Yep! We're pregnant!

As my sisters-in-law have done before me, I am extending the Tyson line--of blogs.  Thus begins our blog to document the pregnancy, birth, and everything thereafter of our first baby!

The news went viral on Thanksgiving Day. 

We decided early (at 4 weeks) that we wanted to wait until 12 weeks to share the news.  We told my Mom at about 7 weeks when she visited for a weekend, because afterall a girl needs her mom and who else was going to answer all those pregnancy questions that aren't in the 18, 362 books I've read?  Thanksgiving seemed to be the perfect time to tell everyone else, especially as that would allow us to tell our parents in person.

The night before Thanksgiving, we gave my Dad a card saying, "We are looking forward to a great and delicious Turkey Day--all three of us! Love, Bah, Travis, and Baby."  He read the card, loved it, and started to put it back in the envelope.  I couldn't help myself, and said, "Are you sure you don't want to read it again?"  After scanning the card twice more, the message there finally sank it and the grinning started!

On Thanksgiving Day, Travis not-so-subtley gathered his family for a "family picture."  He had the camera set to video so that we could tape everyone's reactions (I'll post that video as soon as I have time and know-how), in leiu of saying "Cheese" suggested everyone say, "Brii's PREGNANT!"  The faces were great.  Emily and Eric immediately understood and got up to congratulate us.  Grandma and Grandad were waiting for the flash or camera click and continued to sit, grinning at the camera.  And in true Tyson fashion, Travis's Dad said, "Is this true?"  Serves Travis right for constantly teasing everyone.

We are so excited and even more excited that we can now share our anticipation and experience with everyone!  I promise to write more soon, but as many of you know, we are in the process of moving, I have a Christmas show Thursday, and Christmas is around the corner.

Here I think I will take a leaf out of Emily's book and pre-answer the inevitable questions:

• Yes, we planned this pregnancy.
• We found out just before the 4 week mark.
• We are 16 weeks along and unless our due date changes in the future, we go up a week every Saturday.
• I have had a healthy dose of morning sickness--I lost five pounds between 4 and 8 weeks and four more pounds over the week of Thanksgiving.  As of my 16 week appointment today, though, I have gained one of those pounds lost back...slippery slope...
• From14-15 weeks my stomach went from flat to tiny little bump.
• Yes, I will take belly pictures.
• I am beginning to feel better as I move into the second trimester.  The sickness has been gone for days at a time, though the thought of lasagna still makes me queasy. 
• And finally, the most asked question of all: no we do not know the sex and no we do not plan to find out.  Our ultrasound at the end of December (at almost 19 weeks) will give us the option, but we are 99.9% sure we want to leave it a surprise.  We realize (because people have already been giving us a hard time) that this is not the most common way to go anymore, but ya know, there are so few really good and positive surprises in life these days, and this is one of the best you could ever have!

Baby T's pictures so far:

Baby T at 8 weeks, first ultrasound. My friend Breeze said, "It has a rump!"

Baby T at 12 weeks, second ultrasound...I was amazed at what a huge changes occured over just 4 weeks!

Also 12 weeks...check out the little fingers in the top middle!

Brii Belly at 12 weeks (sorry for the picture quality--a great digital SLR is on the short list of "push presents!" ;-) Who needs jewelry?!)

Brii Belly at 15 weeks...

I can suck it mostly in if I try really, really hard and hold my breath for about a minute.