Babymoon

It's been a little while since the last update, and as a result we have lots to update on!  Actually, everything here has happened in the past week...we have had a busy week!

Last Friday (my last day of school before the holidays) evening T.J. and I took off for Cocoa Beach, FL for what I like to call our "babymoon."  Basically our last vacation before the little peanut is here!  We flew into Orlando and my dad and Chris picked us up from the airport and took us to their beautiful ocean front condo in Cocoa Beach, where we stayed for a long weekend until Tuesday.  The weather as a whole wasn't great, but we did get some sun and the last day we were there was warm and sunny so we got at least a taste of it before we left!  Here are a couple of pictures from the trip:

On the beach!

Out to lunch on the pier

Photo from the pier (my dad and Chris' condo is basically right behind us right on the ocean)

We also visited the Kennedy Space Center one day.  You can see the rockets launch from the balcony of the condo!  Hopefully one day we'll get to see one!

Next on our list, we went to the MSU vs. Texas basketball game.  Each year over the MSU student's break they hold an Izzone reunion game where former Izzone members can get tickets to the game and relive their Izzone days.  Here are T.J. and I from our 5th row seats!

Even though the Spartans didn't win, we had a good time!

Also this week (I told you there was a lot!) was my 24 week check up.  Everything was good.  Nothing out of the ordinary at this appointment, they basically just measured my stomach and checked the heartbeat (which incidentally is getting much louder and stronger!)  Everything still is going well and right on track.  Baby P has been squirming and kicking a LOT these days!  T.J. can even feel him/her from the outside now!  We did the 24 week belly photo (the 24 week belly is getting big!) in front of the Christmas tree to stay in the holiday spirit.  Here it is:

Finally, in addition to all the great things happening this week, we got some very sad news.  We lost a member of our family this week, T.J.'s dog, Chase.  T.J. has had Chase for around 13 years, and he became a loyal family member to everyone in the Polega family.  He lived a happy and long life, but he will be greatly missed, especially by T.J.  In memory of Chase, here's a picture of T.J. with Chase last spring:

I am sure I'll have another post soon with all the holidays coming up.  Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to all of our friends and family.  2011 is sure to be a blessed year!



Daddy's Girl (or Boy)

Today was a momentus occasion...our 20 week ultrasound!!  It is hard to believe that we are already half way to the little peanut's arrival.  We have decided to NOT find out the sex of the baby.  The only person that knows is the ultrasound tech and probably the doctor, and it'll stay that way until April!   It'll be life's greatest surprise!

If there is one thing I learned from today's ultrasound, it is that this child is definitely taking after his/her daddy!  The baby was NOT cooperative with taking pictures.  Every time the ultrasound tech tried to get a 4D shot of the face, the baby either turned away or put its hand in front of its face.  If you know T.J., you know that he is not a fan of getting pictures taken.  Here is the best 4D face picture we got (sorry, I know these 4D things are a bit creepy).

You can see the hand on the side of the face sort of blocking it, but you can make out most of the facial features and the cute little ear. 

The baby was very active (also like daddy!) during the ultrasound and you could see the legs and arms kicking and flailing aroung like crazy!  I was actually surprised how long the arms and legs are and how easily you could see them.  Unfortunately the pictures won't do justice to what we got to see, but you'll all get to see Baby P in person in about 4.5 months!  Here are a few of the best shots:

 Baby P's feet!

A good shot of the leg/foot

Best full body shot of Baby P.  And don't get any ideas, that's the umbilical cord...not something else!!  =)

Last, but not least, we took a 20 week belly shot.  The bump is definitly growing.  One of my freshman boys said to me last week "Wow, Mrs. P, you're belly is getting big!!"  I told him I would be very offended if I wasn't pregnant, but it was cute.  In comparison to the 12 week shot there's a pretty significant difference! 

I am glad to be getting past the "looking fat" phase and into the "looking pregnant" phase.  I am sure I'll be ready to go back soon enough!!  Thanksgiving will be a blast for me this year because the waistline of maternity pants is very forgiving!!! =)

This day was big in another way...we changed doctors.  My old doc was great, but in St. Clair Shores (about an hour away from our house...I started going there when I still lived on the east side), so we moved to a doctor in Commerce Twp. that my friend Jamie recommended (she's a med student at the hospital I'll be delivering at now).  Everyone there was very nice and it will be nice to have our appointments much closer to home.  We are now certain that, barring unforseen circumstances, Baby P will be born at Huron Valley DMC Sinai Hospital in Commerce Twp.  They took excellent care of me when I had my appendix out earlier this year!

The baby (and they're now measuring my belly too) are still measuring right on with my due date, and the doctor said me and the baby look very healthy and normal!  Sorry it's been a while between updates but with this pregnancy getting further along and the holidays approaching, I'm sure I'll have more to update on in the near future!

Sweet 16

Today marks the 16 week mark for our little peanut.  I had my 16 week check-up today and T.J. was able to come with me.  Good thing, because we finally got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time.  T.J. said "It just sounds like a windy day!" in reference to all of the background noise, but then it became clearer and he said "Oh wait, now I hear it!!"  It was an exciting moment and only made it all the more real that there is actually a little one in there!!  The heart beat is at about 147 beats per minute, which is right in a normal range (T.J. says it's like a hummingbird).  We also took a 16 week belly photo tonight:

The bump is still small, but definitely there now, I am really starting to notice it!!  T.J. was even a good sport and tagged along with me to the mall so I could buy some maternity clothes last weekend (well, I shopped for clothes, he checked out the tools at Sears).  Basically none of my pants fit comfortably anymore!
I haven't felt any movement yet, but all the baby books tell me it's coming in the next 3-4 weeks.  I am really looking forward to experiencing that moment!!  Our next checkup is around Thanksgiving and is the big 20 week ultrasound!!  We are looking forward to that and all the other great moments Baby P will be blessing us with!

Future Spartan

T.J. and I finally went to our first MSU football game together this weekend.  It was State's homecoming and we beat Illinois to go 7-0!!  We are very proud of our Spartans, and I know Baby P was excited too!!  :)  A few pictures of the day...

TJ, me, and our "Future Spartan"

MSU Wins!!!

I have been feeling much better lately sickness-wise, still very tired most of the time but with my 5 a.m. daily wake up and draining job, I doubt the tiredness will ever pass!!!  I'm going for my 16 week check-up next Monday, so we'll have another update then!

Another Baby's Shower

This post is not so much about OUR baby, but about Mike's baby!  We had a shower for Georgia Ann Rose over the weekend at our house.  Much thanks to Chris and Aunt Debbie for helping out with food, prizes, etc.  It was a nice intimate gathering and everyone got to meet Georgia!! 

Georgia and Aunt Emily

Alison, Jenny (Georgia's mom), and Mike

Fitting for Mike's child to have a guitar shirt!

We were lucky the weather was perfect to sit everyone outside.  We would have been cramped in the house!

Fitting after the previous day's Spartan victory!

Proud Grandpa with Georgia and Isa

Mikey and Georgia

Georgia was looking particularly stylish in the outfit her Aunt Emily got her!!

All in all it was a fun day and great to catch up with family and friends!!!  Thanks to everyone for coming! 

Here's Looking at You, Kid!

I went for my 12 week check up at the doctor's office today.  It feels very good to be at the end of the first trimester.  Being the worrier I am, it is nice to have the piece of mind that the most delicate days of this pregnancy are almost over!  Much of Baby P's major development is complete and now all he/she has to do is get bigger and stronger!  The doctor checked for a heartbeat today and we unfortunately couldn't hear it.  Cue slight panic from me, even though she assured me that it was normal to not be able to hear the heartbeat this early on.  The bonus was I got an unexpected ultrasound out of the deal!  We could see the heart beating, the baby is still measuring right with my due date, and everything looks good.  The coolest part is that you can actually tell it's a baby now!!

The baby was looking right at us and you can see the head, body, arms, and you can kind of see the legs at the bottom.   It was very touching and exciting to get the first real glimpse at the little peanut looking like a human.  T.J. says he/she looks like a Wii character.  :)

With hitting the 12 week mark, we (well, I) also decided to start the progressive belly pictures.  There isn't much there yet that you can see, but most of my pants are feeling pretty tight so I can feel it!

T.J. put me over to the left side of the frame, because he said he wanted to leave space for the belly to grow.  :)  We are getting more and more excited to meet the little one!

Baby's First Gifts from Mom & Dad

In the last week or so, T.J. and I both bought our first gifts for the baby.  It wasn't really planned, it just sort of happened.  Here is what we got:

You can probably guess which gift is from who.  I got this cute little outfit from the clearance rack in Target.  I couldn't resist the little lion feet, and although it might be a little boy-ish I think it's neutral enough for a little boy or girl.  A few days later T.J. came home from Meijer with his first gift for the baby, a mini MSU basketball.  It'll probably be a while before the baby will be able to use this, but T.J. thinks our child will be dribbling by 6 months.  I'm sure in the months to come we'll get a lot more things to get ready for the little peanut, and we're looking forward to it!! 

The Beginning of Our Journey!

Bear with me, this is my first time doing a blog!!  We thought this would be a good way to keep our friends and families up to date on what's going on with our expanding family!!  We discovered that we were pregnant with "Baby P" (a.k.a. Marv thanks to T.J.'s dad, Tom) on August 11, 2010.  Incidentally 11 is my lucky number!  I took 2 tests just to make sure that one wasn't wrong and they both turned out positive!!

As luck would have it, I was attending a bachelorette party for our good friend Jessica that weekend.  It was a long night of pretending to drink!!  We were finally able to tell our parents, then many friends and family the next weekend at Aaron and Jessica's wedding.  The cat was out of the bag!

Today (August 31st) we are 8 weeks along, and got our first ultrasound!  T.J. was able to come with me and we got the first photos of our baby!  Dr. Flom says that everything looks good, the baby is measuring within a week of my 4/12/11 due date, and we got to see the little heart beat!!  It's sort of just a blob right now but he/she is growing fast!

 You can see in the 2nd one that the baby is about 11.1 mm long right now. Pretty tiny!  I have been feeling VERY sick and have lost 2 pounds since my visit 2 weeks ago.  I got a prescription for some medicine that will hopefully help me feel better.  We will continue to post updates as they come along.  My next Dr. appointment is on September 27th and the next ultrasound will be at 16 weeks, probably near the end of October/beginning of November.