Update

Yesterday we visited with the specialist. Robert and I were excited about this visit because we were having another ultrasound but yet not excited because the doctor is very "different", if you know what I mean. He's terribly difficult to read, especially when he's explaining things to you or asking questions. Luckily, before we saw him a nurse did our ultrasound. She was great!! She told us everything she was looking at and why, which was completely different from our first visit with the doctor. As she was looking, she was telling us that everything was looking great and that we had a beautiful baby. *Hehe, we liked hearing that but really how beautiful can a baby be on an ultrasound? Don't get me wrong, Robert and I already think he's beautiful but certainly she was just saying that to be nice.* So after she had looked over everything, taken measurements, certainly confirmed Collin is in fact a boy, and told us that we were right on schedule for our projected due date she said that the doctor would be in to do an ultrasound and visit with us.

So he came in and we did another ultrasound. Like our last visit, he didn't talk the entire time he was looking around which I found rather annoying. Could you at least say something about our baby?! He finished up and told us that overall Collin's kidneys were looking good. However, his collecting system was dilated a bit, not to the point of concern but it was a little dilated. The collecting system is where his kidney is connected to his ureter (sp?). Now, he went on to tell us that he has a theory that boys always have dilated collecting systems because of progesterone. He also said that if they had taken an ultrasound of my kidneys when I first found out I was pregnant that my collecting system would be dilated because of the increase in progesterone. As you can imagine, he's telling us all this and Robert and I are just listening trying to figure out is this a problem? should we be concerned? or is he just throwing out all this doctor jargin and getting us worked up for nothing? All the while, he is looking at us as if we should be saying something or like we are receiving terrible news and should reacting a certain way, while we are simply trying to process what exactly he's telling us.

Therefore, I point blank asked him, Is he ok? Should we be worried about this? He said no, everything is looking good and that telling us about this dilation is going to cause us more worry than is probably necessary. Ok, thanks mister! However, he does want to see us back in 5 weeks to make sure that it hasn't become worse. If it doesn't change or gets worse throughout the remainder of my pregnancy, Collin will need to have an ultrasound right after he is born to see how his kidney's look and then we'll go from there. If the dilation improves, that's great. Nothing more will need to happen. I say all this to say, overall Collin looks good. He has two arms, two legs, 10 fingers and 10 toes. His heart looks good. His brain looks good. Everything is working properly. But he has a slight dilation of his collecting system, which the doctor is expecting to not be an issue. Overall, we have a healthy little guy who likes to move and grove inside his momma's belly. If you think about, though, please keep us in your prayers, specifically that this dilation is indeed nothing to worry about and goes away on it's own.

21 weeks

Week 21. We had lunch with our small group today which was so nice because it has been way too long since we've all been together! The only thing is, is that Robert and I are the only ones waiting on our little guy to arrive. Everybody else was there with their babies. Needless-to-say, Robert and I left there saying to each other, "We're very ready for Collin to be here with us!" "Is it March yet?" Just a little longer and then we can snuggle with our little one.

We go to the specialist tomorrow for our follow up appointment. Everything should go well and this should be our last appointment with him. Although our doctor did say not to worry if he decides to see us again. I guess he likes to follow his patients pretty close, even if he doesn't see anything abnormal. He just likes to make sure everything stays normal. I must admit, as long as everything still looks good tomorrow, I wouldn't mind going back again because that means we'll have another ultrasound and see our little guy growing!!

Exciting news!

As some of you know, Robert and I have been seriously looking for a car for the last few months. However, we have wanted to be wise in our decision and not live above our means, especially with our little guy coming. So, we have been a little picky and haven't budged from our price range which has made finding what we're looking for a little difficult. God provided for us though, and yesterday we bought a 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4X4!! Woo-hoo!!! This is very exciting for us because it moves us one step closer to being prepared for Collin to join us! Thank you God for helping us to be patient and wait for You to show us which vehicle to buy!!

On a different note, we have slightly changed Collin's name. Just the spelling of his name, that is. Most of you know my family and how we all love to tease each other, all in good fun. Well, my dad and grandpa have especially been teasing us about Collin's name and calling him colon. Not good! So we were all at lunch yesterday for my mom's birthday and Collin came up. We were talking about the spelling and how Robert and I had decided to spell it with only one 'l'. Unfortunately, this just convinced my dad and grandpa all the more to call him colon. So after much thought and consideration, we have decided to spell his name with two "l's" so as not to cause confusion that his name is Collin and NOT colon!! Ahh, gotta love family! :)

Halfway there....20 weeks!!!

That's right...I'm halfway there!!! YAY!!! One exciting thing happened last night. I was sitting in our recliner just lounging and Colin was moving like crazy. So I put my hand on my belly to see if I could feel him from the outside and I most definitely did. So then I though, "Hmm, I wonder if I can see him kick yet?" So I lifted my shirt and just watched my belly for a little bit. Sure enough, I saw, and definitely felt, the little guy kick!! That was so cool!!!

19 weeks and getting bigger

Well, I'm 19 weeks along now, technically 19 1/2 but hey who's counting. Although it may not look like it from the picture, I'm certainly getting bigger and bigger and things are becoming more difficult and uncomfortable for me to do. Simply putting my shoes and socks on is VERY uncomfortable and I'm sure it's only going to get worse!! While I can't get away from wearing socks, I have found my most favorite, comfortable pair of shoes and, Praise the Lord, they are slip ons!!

18 weeks and a nursery!

Well, Sunday I began my 18th week. Yay!! Things have been going well so far. I'm feeling good and I'm feeling Colin move!! Oh man do I love that!! I have even felt him on the outside a couple times. That's a new development...within the last day or so. Unfortunately, I'm not feeling Colin move enough to know when he's most active or what gets him moving around so Robert hasn't felt him yet. Poor guy. He's so excited to feel him. During the day when I talk to him on the phone he's constantly asking "Have you felt Colin?" and when he comes home from work it's "Have you felt Colin?" Needless-to-say, I am very, very excited for him to feel Colin moving around!

We have accomplished so much at our house within the last week! I love it! All of you who know me know I love organization. I mean love it!! So I have very anxious to start preparing our home for Colin to join us. Last week my mom came over and helped me completely and totally reorganize our kitchen. Oh boy was that a ton of work!! Much more time consuming than I had imagined!! But, it was very much worth it! We now have an official linen closet, which I had been using as our pantry because our kitchen does not have one. Our office is now Colin's room and our guest room has converted into a guest room/office. I'm so happy with the changes!! We even bought a crib, changing table, and swing which we have all set up in his room. Luckily, we already had a dresser that will work just fine for our little guy! No painting has been done in the nursery yet, but we still have time for that. It's just so fun to have his room set up. I find myself going in there and looking at the furniture and clothes we have thus far and daydreaming about our little guy! :)

Anyway, here are some pictures of my growing belly and our nursery thus far. Hope you enjoy them!