Week 17

This past week I got to spend a lot of time with my new niece. My sister and her husband drove down from New Jersey because John (my brother-in-law) had a conference in Charlotte.So while her husband worked, my sister, her daughter Brooke and I spent some quality time.

Most of the time we just watched Brooke sleep, fed her and tried to keep her from crying. Now at a month old, there are already big changes from when she was just born. She was more alert and aware of her surroundings and she had longer periods of alertness without screaming (a big improvement).

The highlight of the week for me was Matt getting to meet his new little niece. Seeing him with a baby girl made me really excited for when we get to meet our own.

 Here are just a few pictures from the week:

XOXO 

Lisa

Our 16 Week 3D/4D Ultrasound

I mentioned in earlier posts that does we opted to go to an independent ultrasound tech who specializes in gender scans. I wanted to share some of these incredible first looks at our daughter through the miracle of technology.

XOXO

Lisa

It's A Girl!!!!!!

Monday we went to an independent ultrasound technician and found out that we are having a bouncing baby girl!! We are so thrilled!

This was our gender announcement:

XOXO

Lisa

16 Week Doctors Appointment

Most doctors appointments after the first one are pretty uneventful.

Today was our 16 week appointment which consisted of peeing in a cup, hearing the baby's heartbeat on the doppler -  a strong 140bpm! - and talking breifly with our bubbly, southern doctor about our next stages of testing.

Two weeks from now we are scheduled for a speedy visit with the nurse practitioner to complete our testing. As I mentioned in a previous post, at around 12 weeks you will decide to either do or to forgo early testing for Down Syndrom, Trisomy 18 and Trisomy 21. Our results came back with a 1/10,000 chance of our baby having any of those conditions which is pretty much the best result you can hope for. The next phase of testing comes at around 16 weeks and is called the Sequential Screening, because the two tests are used in combination to get a full picture of your baby's fetal development and overall health. The sequential screening checks for gastrointestinal problems, neural defects such as spina bifida and a few other similarly devastating conditions.Our doctor seemed very unconcerned about this testing as our preliminary results were so good, so it is all really just a precaution.

In a month we will have our most exciting appointment, the gender scan! Most doctors do this around 20 weeks which at this point seems like a lifetime away. To remedy this a lot of couples opt to find an outside ultrasound facility to find out a few weeks earlier. We have an appointment at a place 30 minutes from us that a friend recommended. So in one week we will know if we are having a little girl or a little boy!

XOXO

Lisa

Brooke Talia Shiner

On May 15th, 2014 at 6:45pm, weighing in at 8lbs 10oz and 21" long my niece was born.

Brooke Talia Shiner

A week after she came into the world I flew up to Hoboken, NJ to meet my new niece and spend time with my exhausted sister. I spent four days there holding her, watching her eat and sleep and was just in awe of this tiny person. I also got some great practice with changing diapers. Before Brooke I had never really spent any time around a newborn and all of a sudden I became very aware of how much preparing I would have to do before my own little one arrives.

Thankfully my mom is a baby whisperer and not only raised three of her own children but as a doctor and a nurse has delivered and cared for hundreds of newborns in her lifetime. She was in the room for my niece's birth and is already vying for position in the delivery room when my time comes.It will be nice to have a helping and knowledgeable hand around when our time comes and I know my parents will be thrilled to have a grandchild so close by.

Holding Brooke and watching her in her first few weeks of life definitely gave me a better understanding of the demands of a new baby and I am certain that Matt and I will be able to handle it, with a little help of course. Thankfully my sister Sarah and Brooke will be visiting us in the next few weeks down here in South Carolina so I can get some more practice with changing diapers and soothing a screaming baby.

XOXO

Lisa