21 weeks

So I have finally started to feel the baby move! I teach patient's all the time that it's common to not feel the baby move until 20-22 weeks but I've still been impatiently waiting to feel my own! What an awesome feeling!

21w4d

Here is a belly shot from last night. We went to see How the Grinch Stole Christmas the musical. I would like to say it was great but honestly I slept through 3/4 of it! How embarrassing! It was like my mom watching a Harry Potter movie, she slept through every one of them in the theaters. John enjoyed it though. I guess next time we'll aim for the afternoon show time.

Name Ideas

We got a post card last week with a couple of name ideas. And when I say "a couple" I mean 47 all starting with a J. It is hilarious! The problem is that we don't know who sent it. The card is from Yosemite but we can't think of who has been there recently. The postage info is smeared so we can't tell where it was post marked from. I initially thought it was from Bill and Elizabeth because this is definitely something they would do but the handwriting isn't either of theirs.

Who knows...maybe the baby's name will come from the card. I'm thinking Jacobina or Jenkins.

Anatomy Scan

So last Friday John and I had our anatomy scan. Maybe wasn't so cooperative and kept hands/feet in front of the face the entire time. They did see some choroid plexus cysts in the brain but this is actually fairly common and always resolve. They are only concerning if you find other abnormalities with it, which we didn't. Everything else looked great. We did turn our faces when they looked down below so we wouldn't accidentally see parts. I'm pretty excited that I didn't get a glimpse and still don't know what we are having. I love the idea of surprise!

The picture is kind of hard to interpret but you can see the face with eyes, cute nose, and mouth. The part below it is actually placenta and not body. And then there's umbilical cord to the right of the face. Hopefully we will get some better face pics soon.

The Belly Pics Begin...

So, here is the first of the belly pics. Just this week I've started to feel like there is really something there and not just awkwardness. It still amazes me that something is growing in there!

18 weeks

Cardinals WIN!

The night of the World Series Final Game we met some friends, John and Rita, at a bar to watch the game. It was unbelievable! It was so fun to be in a packed bar with only Cardinal's fans and everyone yelling and cheering. This series has definitely been one of the coolest experiences I've had while living in St. Louis. I became such a Cardinal's fan during this series that John now thinks we are having a boy. His reasoning is that there must be something with testosterone in me making me a sports fan.

17 weeks

So I let the blog slip for a while...let's face it, we all knew it would happen! I meant to scan myself last week but life was crazy and didn't get to it. And now I'm afraid if I look I'll see the baby parts which we have agreed to not find out. I did manage to squeeze in a brief prenatal appointment last week and got to hear the heartbeat which is still the best sound. We scheduled our anatomy scan for next Friday so more pictures to come then! I know Maybe is growing well as I steadily grow out of all of my pants. Thank goodness my job puts me in scrubs everyday!

14 weeks

Can you believe it...I haven't disappeared for 6 months! Here are the 14 week pics of the Baby G.

Maybe is growing like crazy. It still kind of weird's me out when I put the ultrasound on and see that this is inside of ME. I'm so use to looking at everyone else's little people that I still can't seem to believe that this is really happening!

12 weeks

Another milestone...we told work. I thankfully have a really supportive class who was completely willing to make the schedule changes necessary. I will get 6 weeks maternity leave and will graduate on time (as long as everything goes ok). John unfortunately will only get 1 week paternity. But he should only have a few weeks left of residency when I come back from maternity. Here is Maybe's latest picture. We had our first prenatal visit on Friday and our OB scanned me afterwards. This was John's first time to see the baby and he was so excited to see it bounce and move...it has arms and legs! (I know it isn't an IT, but really what else do you call it at this point!)

We celebrated Jon and Stephanie Seccombe's wedding last night. They were both so happy! Steph looked absolutely beautiful! We can't wait to deck night soon!

10 weeks...Announcement Time!

2 weeks ago we headed to Dallas for Brian and Rosie's Wedding! It was such a beautiful wedding and they both couldn't have been happier. Miss Cate, who has grown into a little girl overnight, was an adorable flower girl.

The night before at the Rehearsal dinner the margaritas were flowing which required some crafty glass switches since we hadn't yet told anyone. After dinner Mom and Dad had everyone back to their suite to continue the fun. John and I managed to grab Mom, Dad, Carolyn, Lanny, Brian, and Cate to share the news. We had made a photo book of all the ultrasounds to show them Maybe grow.

It was SO nice to finally tell everyone! Dad instantly left the room and told everyone in the suite! I guess you could say he's excited to be Papa to more grandkids. We then spent the rest of the week spreading the news

10w0d

We drove to Norman for the day to tell John's Mom and Dad and Granny. They were all so excited! We got to tell Austen and Jennifer on a trip to Fort Worth to see them and Brooks "The Carter." Some people we couldn't tell in person, like Tina and Brad. I had written a card telling them but of course I never actually mailed it so we texted them picture of the letter being opened.

So the news is out! Watch out, we just might be making a blogging come back!

8 weeks

9/8/2011

So, we have made it 2 more weeks without managing to spill the beans to anyone. Not that we haven't wanted to! In fact a friend who I had talked very openly with during the whole trying process called today to ask a favor but the first thing she asked was "Do you have any news for me?" and I so badly wanted to say YES!! WE ARE PREGNANT! Instead I just said "Not yet." John talked to Austen and Jennifer the other night and told them we have some news, they instantly said "Julie's pregnant!" but he lied and said no, the news was actually that we got season tickets to the Frogs. They said that every time we call they are hoping for the pregnant news. We are actually going to tell them when we are in Dallas for my brother's wedding!

I've also had some close call's at work. I had to step out of the same case TWICE because I was about to pass out. Everyone asked and I just kept saying I haven't been feeling well today. Thankfully I had a mask on to lie behind. This weekend on call I had to have a nurse get me some Reglan because I was having trouble functioning with the nausea, but lied and said that I had some bad cafeteria for lunch...I guess not totally a lie.

Soon enough we will get to share the news! Until then I have intentions of scanning myself every 2 weeks or so especially at the beginning so I can give a picture to family and they can watch Maybe grow. Plus it's a perk of the job having easy access to an ultrasound machine. So Tuesday I snuck the ultrasound (had to lie and say I was scanning a nurse). I just love knowing that everything is ok and hearing that heart beat!

Anyway's, here is Maybe's latest shot. Growing right on track!

Only 2 more weeks until we go to Dallas and tell the families! But, how to tell everyone? If only I could ask you all for advice!

Well...maybe!

8/24/2011

Some of you that know us well know that we are planners. I decided in 2nd grade I wanted to be a doctor. So when we decided it was time to start working on the grandkids that had been ordered we chose the perfect timing so that we would be due with the perfect timing to deliver. And then we watched that "perfect" timing fly out the door. Little did we know that the real perfect timing was to come...and it has!

Fast forward 2 weeks (of wondering and waiting to find out if this would take or not) and I squeezed in for a secret ultrasound.

(The first of MANY ultrasounds to come!)

And that tiny little bubble inside the black is our new little Goodwin! It even had a tiny little heartbeat. I smiled from ear to ear as I heard that sound. That sound we had planned for, and then got when we were least expecting it.

When we had a scare (way before we were trying) and I wasn't drinking one morning at boozy breakfast (that's right I said morning, we go for breakfast and mimosas on our last night of night float each week) a friend asked if we were pregnant and I said "Maybe." She replied "you have a Maybe Baby?!" Each time when I told John I was late he would ask if I was pregnant and I would reply, "well, Maybe." And the name Maybe has stuck ever since. While we have no intentions of calling the baby Maybe, for now that's the little one's nickname.

And so this marks the return of our blog...except I'm not posting it yet! We haven't told anyone other than our OB and the sonographer who agreed to scan me in secret (gossip travels fast around that crazy place I work!). We have been so eager to tell, but yet still so nervous as we are still so early. So I'm hoping to blog without posting and will then post all of these once we are ready to share the news. Hopefully this will help us keep our secret until it's time!

Vacation!!

So John and I just got back from a week of vacation. Let's recap the busy break:

- I had shoulder surgery (I'd been having pain for over 7 months; been through physical therapy, steroid injections, and rest...nothing worked. So on Thursday before vacation I had shoulder arthroscopy and spent the rest of the break in a sling. John has gotten VERY good at putting my hair in a ponytail since I can't reach (feel free to tease him about this!)).

This is a close as I got to taking pictures of the very attractive black sling I am sporting.

- We traveled to Dallas for Fred (John's brother) and Misty's wedding. The ceremony was at the Dallas Arboretum and was beautiful. The reception was awesome with the margarita bar. Misty has 2 girls, Ryan and Skylar, who just loved John and would pull him around saying "watch John!"

Beautiful couple

Handsome boys

Skylar, John, and Ryan after the ceremony

- We stayed with Carolyn, Lanny, and Miss Cate while in town and had so much fun. Cate has grown so much since I last saw her and is just full of personality now. She loves to color, read, play, and of course watch the Mickey Mouse Show (I couldn't get that damn song out of my head for a week!). She also loves to have the big kids (especially John) sit at her table with her to color.

She is too cute

"Look how I can fit my whole fist in my mouth!"

Family Picture

Aunt RoRo, Cate, and Carolyn

Cate loves to help Carolyn around the house. When Carolyn said "let's vacuum", Cate when and got her own vacuum.

And she had to have her own cloth to help dust with.

He fits so well at her table!

- We got to see Brian and Rosie's new house (so awesome) and played X-box kinect. Cate even got in on the action. FYI - Brian just had his thesis paper published as the cover article of Cell Magazine! Yea Brian!

Carolyn and Cate playing the Xbox kinect

John and Cate watching everyone dance.

- We made a day trip to Fort Worth in order to meet 3 week old Brooks Carter Watkins ... aka "The Carter." Austen and Jennifer are such proud parents and Brooks is adorable. Even John couldn't resist.

So cute!!

- Next we traveled to Hot Springs to see my parents. John had dropped the pups off at their house on his way to Dallas and they had a blast in the deer woods (we call it this because my dogs always seem to find deer "parts" to bring back to the house...yummm).

Please don't call animal control, but yes this is 3 dogs crammed into a kennel. Sammy didn't seem to mind, Annie was a great pillow.

- We hosted a baby shower for Tina Marie, my best buddy from high school. She is 32 weeks pregnant and looks great! Parker Shane got all sorts of cute gifts and clothes. I can't wait to meet him!

Diaper Cake I decorated...I must have some of Carolyn's creative gene's after all.

Bag of goodies Carolyn monogrammed with Parkers name. There were bigs, diaper cloths, changing pad, diaper holder, carrier cover, and more!

Door wreath I made

String of onesies

Sarah and her beautiful Parker Anne

Adorable cake with blue inside

The hostesses with Tina, her mom Debbie, and the soon to be great-grandma Panice Jeters...I mean Janice Peters

- My mom officially retired from her role as Manager at Hot Springs Internal Medicine. The employees threw a Margarita Party for her complete with a salsa bar, Margaret-rita's, and Purple Peggys. I am so proud of her!

- All in all, it was a great vacation full of family and it was so great to see everyone!

Cate

So I was doing my usual blog hopping and came across this picture of Cate. What a cutie! I can't wait to see her at the end of this month. It has been too long! (I'm excited to see everyone else too, I promise).

Love you sweet Cate,

Aunt JuJu