Big 'Baby J' News!

Yes, that's right! Today we found out our Sweet Baby J is a boy! Weighing in at 8 ounces already and growing every minute. The doctor says that everything looks great and he is developing perfectly. This week he is about the size of a mango and I have started to feel some light movement. Feels a little like someone is blowing bubbles in my stomach.We are just so in love with him and ecstatic to be having a boy.
Here are just a few ultrasound photos from our doctor visit...

Really cool shot of his leg and foot.

Definitely a boy!

Our  little son!! :)

I'm so in love with his little face. I can't stop looking at it.

His name will be Jude Daniel Jackson and he will be loved and adored by many.

Daddy is already loving his little mini-me.

We love you baby boy!!

Nursery Furniture and 13th Week Appointment

So, bad news. The furniture we ordered online for the baby never came so we checked the status online and it had been cancelled. Then we called the company and asked why it was cancelled and they said it was to heavy to ship and no company would ship an item that big or heavy to an APO address (so nice of them to email us and give us a heads up -input heavy sarcasm-). So we only had three options to get nursery furniture for our sweet Baby J.
Get it at the PX (post exchange store on base), which we had already went and looked and they had TERRIBLE quality stuff.
Or... Get it off a website called BooKoo.com (which is like an Army craigslist type site where people around our area post things for sale), which we looked at and there was NOTHING. The few things they did have looked like they were about 20 years old and the sellers wanted a ridiculous amount of money for them.
OR... we could venture out and go to a German baby store which is what we did and WHAT an experience.
It was a long, LONG day but we FINALLY got the baby's furniture. We got it for 700 euro which is about 910 US dollars. With that we got a changing table/dresser combo, an armoire, a matching shelf and a crib that also turns into a toddler bed. And the best part is that it's WHITE. Which is what we originally wanted but shopping online made it hard to get since we couldn't find anything we liked so we had gone with the dark wood. There were a few catches to get this furniture for that good of a price (all of their other nursery furniture sets were about 2,000 euro. Yikes.)... There were a few digs and scratches on some of the furniture, only one person in the whole store spoke English (and it was still a struggle because she didn't speak it fluently) and we had to break down the parts ourselves right there in the middle of the store and had to haul it away ourselves in our moderately sized SUV. Not too easy considering one of us is a pregnant lady who isn't supposed to lift over 15 pounds BUT we got it home (after a fun ride being smashed up in the car like a bunch of hicks who just found gold at a garage sale).

Daniel was having a really good time.

Later that night after working for about 3 to 4 hours straight we got everything put together in the baby's room. We can't really arrange the room yet because there is some spare army issued furniture in the room as well but we should be getting that picked up sometime next week. Once we get everything set up we will be sure to post a picture. But for now here's a picture of Daniel and I after we put the crib together.

And now for the most exciting news! We got to see our wonderful baby today. It was A LOT different than the last time. Instead of trying to figure out what was the head and what was the bum we could see everything. We saw the baby's head and brain, we saw two hands, two feet, two arms and two legs, a bladder, a stomach and a heart. It was wonderful. The little guy or gal was moving all around having a little party. The doctor showed us how the baby was moving it's mouth open and closed and said that the baby is already practicing swallowing even though he or she won't be using it until they are out. It's really amazing to see how much the baby has grown since our last visit. Today I am 13 weeks and 1 day and our little sweetheart is the size of a lemon. According to our downloaded apps the baby is constantly on the move (no longer just twitches) but I still can't feel anything yet. The baby's neck is getting longer and helping the baby's head to stand more erect. Also, according to our apps, the baby is starting to grow hair and eyebrows. Every day our little sweetheart is growing more and more and we are so excited to be this kid's parents.

Thanks for reading and here are a few new pictures of the baby

The baby's chest and stomach, you can see the rib cage.

One of baby's legs, an arm and the hand.

Not completely sure of everything but you can definitely see the baby's hand up above.

Baby's head and little body. The doctor kept trying to get a profile of the baby but he or she kept looking at the camera probably wondering why the heck their home was being invaded. Haha.

 

 

We love you, baby J!

 

10th Week & Nursery Furniture

First of all, we wanted to thank grandma and grandpa Jackson (Jody and Dale) for baby J's nursery furniture. We are so lucky to have them as parents and baby J is lucky to have them as grandparents. They have taken a tremendous weight off of our shoulders in buying the baby's nursery furniture and we couldn't be more grateful. It is an amazing set. It should get here at the latest by next Friday and we are super excited to put it all together in the baby's room. It's becoming much more real and very, very exciting. Thank you SOOOOOO MUCH mom and dad J!

Today Ashley is 10 weeks and 4 days, the baby is about the size of a lime at this point and we are a week and a half away from being in the second trimester. She is starting to show a little bit as you can see by the photo and according to all the books and apps, this week the baby should be forming hair follicles and nail beds (interesting..). Only about 6 more weeks (hopefully) until we find out the sex of the baby. We couldn't be more thrilled! Most people we have asked have guessed that it is going to be a boy except for the grandparents who unanimously agree that it will be a girl. We will see!

The baby is no longer an embryo and has officially become a fetus! The brain and nervous system are rapidly developing and, although we can't feel them, this rapid development is causing some uncontrolled movements and twitches. Also the baby's heart is almost fully developed so next time we go into the doctors office and get a sonogram (02 May) we will be paying close attention to see if the heart beat sounds any different from last time. We are excited to go back and will post all pictures we get from that appointment.

Thank you all for reading and being interested! It means a lot to us and we enjoy sharing this wonderful time and incredible experience with the people we love. We will talk to you all again in a just under three weeks and from the second trimester!

First Appointment & Ultrasound

Hello everyone! Today we had our first doctor appointment and it went wonderfully. Basically, we were asked a few questions about family history and Ashley had to take a urine test and have about six vials of blood taken. The best part was that we got to see our baby for the first time. It was hard to make out anything except the head and heartbeat. The doctor said everything looked normal and said our due date is accurate. Looks like November 6th is the day! :) The heartbeat was so amazing to see. We also got to hear the heartbeat and it made everything feel surreal. It sounded so fast but was a beautiful and comforting thing to hear. Needless to say it was a very good day for us. Our next appointment is on May 2nd and our third appointment is on May 29th. Our doctor was really nice and told us the earliest we can find out the sex of the baby is at 17 weeks so we will hope that baby J will cooperate and let us know ASAP. :)

In the images it's hard to tell whats what, but in the first picture you can see the baby's head pretty prominently. The last picture at the bottom you can see the baby's heartbeat.

 

 

Today, Ashley is 9 weeks and 1 day according to the due date. The baby is now that size of a prune. She is constantly eating blueberry bagels and sweettarts. We are so excited and are rapidly becoming more aware of all we have to do. We are looking at cribs right now and trying to make a list of everything we'll need. If you have any suggestions of things that new parents (especially new fathers) need to know we welcome your input, whatever they may be (anecdotes and personal accounts welcome!).

Thank you all for your support and we are looking forward to keeping all of you updated on any new information we receive.

P.S. Be on the lookout for the Facebook announcement coming soon! :)




Approximate Due Date & First Appointment

Hello loved ones! Today I went to the health clinic on base to get the ball rolling with military confirmation of our pregnancy and to get started for putting a request in on an OBGYN visit. They took me in and I did the classic and always lovely "pee in a cup" test and waited anxiously in the waiting room for my name to be called. About 30 LONG minutes later, I was called by a nurse and taken into a room and the first words out of her mouth were "Congratulations! You are pregnant." (which we already knew but nice to have professional confirmation as well). At that point she had me fill out information and took my vitals (which were all excellent) and gave me a packet and a whole lot of information on pregnancy, a list of things to avoid, information on birth plans and so on and so forth. We even got a military official letter.


Hooray!!

Since finding out we are pregnant things have pretty much been the same as usual. Slight changes include meat aversions, pasta aversions, weeping to Willy Wonka, a constant growling tummy and some sleepiness.. 
Although, Baby J has made it quite clear that he or she does not care for cucumbers, he or she does love all kinds of fruit, chocolate milk and anything sour. :)


According to my due date, November 6th, 2013, I am 6 weeks and 4 days pregnant today. The baby is the size of a blueberry and has a heartbeat. Baby J also should have little nubs as arms and legs at this point and the brain and spinal cord are rapidly growing every day. We are already in so much love with this little baby and can't wait to share more with you in the weeks to come! :)

The Big News!

Well, today was the big day! Nine days late and feeling quite suspicious. Woke up early this lovely morning, assuming a negative pregnancy test was on the horizon... Low and behold....


Oh my!



Unfortunately, Daniel just left for field training a week prior so I had to pick up my jaw from the floor on my own and decide how I was going to break the news. A few hours later Daniel called me on a break and we talked for a few minutes. Telling each other how much we missed each other (ew, barf, I know) when he told me he couldn't wait to get home to me in 13 days. Now originally I wanted to wait to tell him in person... But after the realization that I still had 13 more days to hold in the secret of a lifetime, I blurted out "Daniel, I can't do this! I'm pregnant." In which he responded "holy shit baby! Are you serious?! Oh my god!! Hughes! West! (which are some of his friends in his platoon) come here! Ashley, say it again!"

Needless to say, this dude was thrilled. And I am beyond ecstatic. :)

I know there is absolutely no change in my body at 5 weeks and 4 days in. However, I had to take a picture of my tummy on the day we found out I was pregnant.. This one is for the books!

"Sweet Baby J"