GORGONZOLA

We declared last Saturday “date day” - dedicated to finishing Christmas shopping, making our 9th annual trip to the Festival of Lights at the Zoo, and spending a night downtown at the Conrad Hotel.

Of all the fun we had that day, the highlight was definitely our lunch (***insert “hungry pregnant lady joke” here***).  It was a rainy day, so we went to a cafe called Petite Chou that has the most delicious tomato-artichoke soup.  But the lunch was not a highlight because of the soup - it was because of our waitress who so nicely informed me that I could have gorgonzola cheese on my salad J

As I have quickly learned over the past few weeks, there are lots of foods that are recommended to avoid while pregnant – soft cheeses being one. To note, whoever made that rule is public enemy #1 of pregnant women everywhere... but I digress.  So, when I ordered an iced tea (in lieu of my beloved sauvignon blanc) and asked for my salad to be served without gorgonzola, the waitress almost knowingly said, “our cheeses are local and pasteurized, if that is a concern for you.” I wanted to hug her - but instead chose a more tactful approach of gushing over how much I appreciated her help.  She politely smiled and went on to express words of congratulations.  It was such a kind approach: non-invasive, sweetly assuming, and so celebratory.  

I have been thinking about our waitress ever since that lunch and I find myself hoping that I can deliver a similar sense of grace when I meet other moms-to-be.  Of course, if I ever need a lesson or reminder, I know where to find my favorite waitress on the planet ... and that gorgonzola cheese. 

FIST-PUMP

Ladies + gents, we have a FIST-PUMPER! 

This Wednesday we had another check-in with the doctor and another ultrasound. The biggest shock was that our little "duck" looked like … a baby! Not at all like the duck-shape that we saw just two weeks ago! There is a very distinguished head, two arms, two legs, a big belly, and a developing brain! If you zoom into the picture you can even see two eyes, a button nose, and itty-bitty fingers! The heart is still beating strongly & proudly … and apparently our baby enjoys dancing to the rhythm of that heartbeat because *he* was bouncing all over the place thanks to developing muscles + reflexes!  The right arm was repeatedly waving from his head back out to his side. It was like he was (i) waving at us, (ii) patriotically saluting, or (iii) fist pumping.  Probably some funny combination of the three J 

We have been calling the baby *he* lately because that feels more real than saying *it.* We plan to be surprised in finding out the gender, so we’ll be anxiously waiting until July to find out whether *he* is really a boy or girl!

We are entering our 11^th week and that means Baby P is the size of a fig. It also means we are only one week away from finally sharing this news with Jonny’s brother, our extended family, & our friends!!  WE CAN'T WAIT FOR THE BIG REVEAL! 

KUMQUAT

We just got home from an action-packed few days in Cincinnati!

Our first stop was on Wednesday evening to see Jonny’s parents so we could reveal our news. Driving to their house we had butterflies – so much excited energy and anticipation of their reaction! We took the same approach as with my parents and showed them our Christmas card options. Debbie didn’t pick-up on the “baby hat” picture at first, but after dropping a few hints she realized the little hat in the picture meant that we are pregnant! The room erupted in big hugs and lots-and-LOTS of excitement!  As the night continued, the idea that a baby would soon be joining us became more and more “real” for all of us --- we are both so fortunate to have wonderful families who care so much about us and who are making this moment so special! Sharing the news with Jonny's brother Sean is next and we can NOT wait to see him in two weeks when he returns from Switzerland! 

Thursday & Friday we each had really fun holiday parties for work and on Saturday, we celebrated our beautiful friends, Andy + Bennett, at their baby shower.   I experienced all three events through a different lens this year. The baby shower demonstrated so much love for the Farrell’s as they start their new family – they both seem so at ease and so happy – and it is exciting to think about sharing our joy with others in the coming months!  We are also getting a lot of questions from close friends & coworkers about when it will be time to start a family.  Normally we field those questions with a laugh, but now we’re answering with “we hope to!” Little do they know, we are both bursting-at-the-seams wanting to tell everyone the news!  Two more weeks and we can shout it from the rooftops!

Today our “duck” is 10 weeks old and the size of a kumquat. I don't have the first clue what a kumquat is, but it's a fun word to say.  Each week I try to eat the food that describes the baby's size - a sesame seed, a lentil bean, a kidney bean, a grape. Those were easy.  I guess this week I'll have to go on a kumquat-hunt at the grocery store! Our baby is also is about one inch long and is growing fingernails. I have been trying to imagine how small the fingernails must be if the whole body is only an inch!

I go back to our doctor this Wednesday and will hopefully be able to hear the heartbeat again! BOOM-BOOM-BOOM! 

HEARTBEAT

On Nov. 28^th we had our first appointment with the doctor and our first ultrasound! I had been talking about how out-of-my-mind-excited I was for this appointment since the day we scheduled it. But when the day finally arrived, something changed - I was nervous. I didn’t know what to expect. Would everything be OK? Had I done everything I could to keep our baby (and myself) healthy over the past few weeks?  Would our baby’s heart beat strongly & proudly in declaration of its intent to join us in this world as our beautiful son or daughter?

As the technician prepared to do the ultrasound, Jonny held my hand tight – the reassurance I needed to know that everything was going to be OK. And as it turned out, everything was more than OK … everything was perfect!  We learned that at 8 weeks along, a baby's heart is considered normal if it beats more than 115 beats per minute. Our baby’s heart rate was 156! Below is a video of Baby P's heart beating - strongly & proudly: 

We also learned that our baby is about 1/2” long – about the size of a pinky fingernail. This is hard to fathom, especially considering that the baby was the size of a sesame seed 4 weeks ago. And we were given a due date: 07/07/13

The technician gave us some pictures of the baby and Jonny said he/she looks like a duck (can you see the resemblance in the photo below?). So, we’re now referring to beloved Baby P as our little “duck” – quack quack quack. 

YOLO

I just re-read our first blog from FOUR weeks ago. As I sit here wondering how a month could have already passed us by, I realize how much has already changed in our lives!

The 1^st week after learning of our great news, I tiptoed everywhere and researched every little symptom I was experiencing.  The 2^nd week, I realized that tiptoeing makes you crazy so I fell back into a routine – exercising, going out with girlfriends (no wine drinking J), and appreciating the little symptomatic-reminders that our baby is growing bigger with each passing day. The 3^rd week was a very exciting week because we were finally able to tell some very important people about our news – my parents and my brother!

We had been planning our Thanksgiving trip to Captiva Island, FL since February and it had finally arrived! Jonny and I were squirming in our seats on the plane because we were SO excited to share the news with my family, who now live in California. The timing was perfect and we felt so fortunate that we could tell them in person! We hadn’t been together more than 5 minutes before Jonny and I started executing our plan to deliver the surprise news – we could not wait! We shared with them some photos that we want to use for our Christmas card this year and one of the photos showed us holding a little baby Santa hat. After seeing that photo they said “this is definitely the best one, but what’s up with that little hat?” Tears filled my eyes as I emphasized that it was a BABY Santa hat and my Dad said, “Are you PRE…?” He couldn’t finish saying the word before we were all crying, laughing, and giving each other a huge family hug! Everyone was VERY surprised and oh-so-happy! 

The remaining 9 days on Captiva Island were better than we could have ever imagined – so much love and excitement and sunsets and imaginative chatter about how much fun we have ahead of us! There was a little shop on the island called “YOLO,” which stands for “You Only Live Once.” But my Mom creatively changed it to “Your Own Little One.” Now the Warzala family calls the baby “YOLO” – just adorable!  

This baby is so much bigger than the two of us. Not only will the baby create two parents, it will also create four grandparents and two uncles --- a united family of nine J  We can’t wait to share the news with Jonny’s parents and his brother, Sean!

The 4^th week was definitely the most thrilling week so far because we had our first ultrasound! ... details in the next blog!