We are in the double digits!!!!

Today marks 26 weeks til Ava's ETA!!! This means that we are now in the double digits...98 days and counting YAY! Jennifer took these picture of me while I was making my daily lunch visit. Yes I do sit in the floor to eat my lunch lol... it won't be too long before I will not be able to get down there though so I'll have to go to pulling one of Mr. Gunby's chairs out of his office to make my visit.

I am waiting on some pictures from Tim's dad and Vivian to upload from Christmas... it was a busy two days with all of the driving and eating, but it was worth it. Can't wait til next year when we have little Ava to tag along with us!

26 weeks...preggo quiz

* How far along?: 26 weeks
* Total weight gain: 15 pounds
* How big is baby?: according to babycenter.com she is the length of an English Hothouse Cucumber and should weigh around 1 2/3 pounds
* Sex: Girl!
* Maternity clothes?: I bought my firtst official maternity shirt Thursday
* Stretch marks?: not yet
* Sleep?: Still can't get enough!
* Best moment this week? listening to family talk about their excitement for Ava's arrival
* Movement?: all the time!
* Labor signs?: nope
* Belly button in or out?: In but I can tell that it won't stay that way
* What I miss: lying on my back
* What I'm looking forward to: buying the crib this week hopefully
* Words of Wisdom: Um I'll have to get back to you with this one...can't think of any off of the top of my head

Ava's First Christmas Ornament

Just had to share this with everyone...Ava's first Christmas ornament courtesy of her Aunt Jenn! Isn't it just too cute!!! I can't wait to get home and hang it on the tree:) 

Thanks Aunt Jenn we love you!!!!

First MAJOR craving hits hard

First major craving has officially hit...I MUST have an ICEE pronto and apparently they are not just readily available like they were back in the day...UGH!  And NO a frozen Coke  or cherry Koolaid frozen drink thing will NOT work!!!   I am on the hunt and thanks to Facebook status replies I think I have found some good prospects for where to get one!!!!!  

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

This post is completely un-baby related BUT the above tree is the very first tree that Tim and I have ever went and actually picked out and brought home and decorated together. This is our third Christmas together and it is the first Christmas that I have not had to beg to decorate! This year I was actually not motivated at all and Tim was all "We got to have a tree!"...He is normally so bah humbug (sp) about Christmas. So here is a picture of it in all of its glory...of course presents will be placed under it:) Merry Christmas everybody!!!

24 weeks...Preggo Quiz

* How far along?: 24 weeks

* Total weight gain: 15 pounds
* How big is baby?: according to babycenter.com she is the length of an ear of corn
* Sex: Girl!
* Maternity clothes?:  I havent had to buy one piece of maternity clothing!!! Not yet anyway:)
* Stretch marks?: not yet
* Sleep?: Still can't get enough!  Never have gotten that second trimester burst o' energy...
* Best moment this week? I can tell that she responds to Tim's voice... she starts to move around when he is talking and doesn't stop until he stops:)
* Movement?: Yep lots and lots...I think I felt her having hiccups this morning
* Food cravings?: Today I wanted an ICEE but apparently they don't really sell those anymore:(
* Labor signs?: nope
* Belly button in or out?: In but I can tell that it won't stay that way
* What I miss:  lying on my back
* What I'm looking forward to: Tomorrow's doctor's appointment
* Words of Wisdom: Um I'll have to get back to you with this one...can't think of any off of the top of my head

23 Weeks...Prego Quiz

* How far along?: 23 weeks
* Total weight gain: 10 pounds (last time I was at the doctor...will definitely go up when I go to the doctor next week)
* How big is baby?: according to babycenter.com she weighs about as much as a large mango
* Sex: Girl!
* Maternity clothes?:  I love the bella band!  It is awesome!!! I havent had to buy one piece of maternity clothing!!! Not yet anyway:)
* Stretch marks?: not yet
* Sleep?: Still can't get enough!  Never have gotten that second trimester burst o' energy...
* Best moment this week? Timmy finally feeling her move & it was completely random;) I've been telling him "come here she's moving" and as soon as he puts his hand down she stops...This time he just randomly came and put his hand on my tummy and started talking to her and she moved!!!!!
* Movement?: Yep...around 6 am and 11 pm seems to be when she is most active right now.
* Food cravings?: Still Roast Beef and Cheese from Arby's and as much fruit as you can give me:)
* Labor signs?: nope
* Belly button in or out?: In but I can tell that it won't stay that way
* What I miss: Clear skin, wearing contacts, and lying on my back
* What I'm looking forward to: Next Tuesday's appointment with Dr. Umana...always love getting to hear/see what's going on with my little girl!
* Words of Wisdom: "Ask people not to spend lots of money buying her clothes. Ask them to spend money helping you buy diapers in all different sizes."

Ava from the outside...22wks

Timmy has left for Illinois once again so I am left without a camera, once again, UGH! I didn't want to wait until next week to post a new bump pic so I figured that I would just take one with the cellular...its a little fuzzy but I think it shows that Ava is surely growing in my tummy:)

Ava Elizabeth - 21wks2days

She looks like a little human now!!! This picture is from my appointment with Dr. Stauffer's office last Wednesday. I have officially been released from Dr. Stauffer's care because our little girl is just "beautiful" as the doctor expressed to me:) She is growing perfectly according to them and we only need Dr. Umana to look at her from here on out unless he sees anything that worries him at any future appointments.

prego quiz

* How far along?: 20 weeks
* Total weight gain: 10 pounds
* How big is baby?: depends on where you look...the length of a banana or one nice-sized boob lol
* Sex: Girl!
* Maternity clothes?:  I love the bella band!  It is awesome!!! I havent had to buy one piece of maternity clothing!!! Not yet anyway:)
* Stretch marks?: not yet
* Sleep?: Only complaint is that I can't get enough...
* Best moment this week? being removed from high risk status!!!!!!!!!
* Movement?: Yep!  Especially in the morning after I've had my cup of hot chocolate:)
* Food cravings?: This week I have wanted a Roast Beef and Cheese sandwich from Arby's...had one Saturday night and one Monday for lunch and I'm trying to keep myself away til next week lol
* Labor signs?: nope
* Belly button in or out?: In but I can tell that it won't stay that way
* What I miss: Not much...maybe lying on my back??
* What I'm looking forward to: Seeing my sisters for New Moon Friday!!!
* Words of Wisdom: Not sure that I have received any this week...

Halfway there!!!!!

Yesterday marked the official halfway point for Ms. Ava's e.t.a. YAY!  So what's up with her this week according to the web gurus???
According to http://www.hisboyscanswim.com/dads-pregnancy-guide she is the size of one nice-sized boob lol... I'm assuming that the nice sized boob that they are referring to is one of the ones in the picture that they provided...


Pregnancy Week 20: 
Mmmm… Memories.  This
week your baby is now the
size of one nice-sized boob.

According to babycenter.com she should look something like this...

and she should be the length of a banana from her head to her heels.

And for those of you who are wandering here is what she is making my tummy look like...

and without a shirt....

I had my twenty week appointment with Dr. Umana today, and it went really well.  Dr. Umana officially changed me from a high risk pregnancy to a normal pregnancy YAY times two!!! My weight gain is right on track...I have gained 9 pounds since my last appointment so I am up to 116 now.  He says that I should gain another 20 or so pounds, and he would really like to see me get to between 130 and 135 at the least.  The fundus measured exactly on target.  Most importantly to me the heart beat sounded perfect!  We didn't do an ultrasound today because I had one just two weeks ago, and I go to see Dr. Stauffer next week where he will do another thorough ultrasound, so there was no reason for one today.  Oh and he had reviewed all of the blood work and measurements that Dr. Stauffer's office did a few weeks ago and he was just as pleased with the results as Dr. Stauffer was.  So all in all today was a very good day for me and Ms. Ava.

XOXO

A nursery takes shapes

So last time we talked about the nursery Jennifer and I had just spent the night before removing the man stuff and were about to begin the wonderful journey of painting...duh duh duh.
I really wish that Tim had not taken our camera because no one will ever really understand the transformation that this room will have made once it is all finished!  So Tuesday night we cleared out all of the man stuff, Wednesday night we deglossed furniture, Thursday night we painted the first coat of paint on the furniture, Friday night was a night of rest so that Jenn could attend the wonderful Spongebob Squarepants party for her precious nephew Blayd, Saturday was spent painting furniture, Sunday was spent moving furniture around and painting the walls, Monday was a much needed night off, Tuesday night was spent doing a second coat on half of the room's walls, and Wednesday (which was Veterans day so our office was closed) was spent finishing the second coat on the walls and putting all of the furniture back into some kind of order.  
WOW that was a lot of work!!! Of course it was all worth it...Jenn helped me on every single day that I just listed so many many thanks to my homegirl for that!!! Sue came over on Saturday and helped me price cribs, removed some border and painted some furniture.  Jenn's friend, Chyna, came over on Saturday to help with some painting and again on Wednesday to help move the furniture back to a semi normal state.  And of course I can't leave out our very own little Peytone-rouge and her friend Heather who came over on their day out of school and helped finish up with that second coat of paint on the walls.  Thanks to all of you guys who helped... you are life-savers!!!!
Some previews of the nursery....Drum roll please.....

This picture encompasses pretty much all of the colors that I will use in the nursery...

New wall paint...newly painted black furniture, brushed nickel hardware, and white and light pink accents.  Jenn and I spray painted some AWFUL 1970s lamps that Tim had and I made stencils for the initials and TADA!

I found this cute white baskets with pink and white swirl fabric at Michaels...it looks so good with the black dresser!

There is still work to do, but it is all coming together...will post more as it progresses!

Until next time...

XOXO

19 weeks

So here is what our little girl looks like all cramped up inside my tummy this week...

And a short synopsis of what is going on with her this week according to babycenter.com....

Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

And for those of you who aren't exactly sure what an heirloom tomato looks like (I'm thinking she is closer to the size of one of the big ones lol)....

And a definition for those of you who aren't quite sure of the difference in a regular tomato...

Heirloom tomato cultivars can be found in a wide variety of colors, shapes, flavors and sizes. Some cultivars can be prone to cracking or lack disease resistance. As with most garden plants, cultivars can be acclimated over several gardening seasons to thrive in a geographical location through careful selection and seed saving.

This is about all that I have time to post today.  Promise to post more later.  Tim is still in Illinois for the "big hunt" so he has the camera.  He should be back by the time I hit the 20 week mark (next Monday!) so I will post a bump pic then:)

XOXO

And a Room Idea Was Born...

The pictures above are my inspiration (inspiration being the key word) for little Ava's room.  I found them on a random website while doing research on nursery ideas.  I began my search through hundreds of pictures and when I came upon these it was like the heavens opened lol...  I love the neutral wall color and the black furniture with the white and soft pink accents!!! The only thing that I will definitely be leaving out is the crazy diamond chandelier ...its just TOO much for a nursery in my opinion.  I'm also looking for a pink toile to do the bedding in (haven't decided if I am going to make it myself or buy it...hmmmm).

So once an inspiration was found it was time to start working on bringing it to fruition!  Tim and Marc left Monday morning for what Tim referred to as "the big trip" to Illinois/Missouri for two whole weeks...this leaves me with lots of spare time on my hands and gave me the opportunity to turn what once was the "hunting room" into a little girls' nursery...lol poor Timmy:)  He did officially give me his permission to clear the room on Sunday afternoon so I don't feel soooo bad about removing all of his man stuff and pretty much saying "this has to go."

Jennifer (my amazingly wonderful "buttercup") came over last night, and in only one hour we had sorted and removed ALL of the hunting stuff/fishing stuff/collector cards/sentimental stuff from the new nursery!!!! I was SO proud of us.  So tonight begins the real work... we will wipe the furniture down with a deglosser and begin the painting YAY!  I will keep you guys informed as the nursery transforms...

Until next time...

XOXO

18 wks

Here is our little girl at 18wks old! I can't believe how much she has changed since my appointment with Dr. Stauffer just five days ago!!! She is actually starting to look like a baby now:) I think I fall in love with her a little more each time I see here...Jennifer says that I need to turn the crock pot up to high so she can come out soon lol...
XOXO

Its a GIRL!!!

Yep we are having a little GIRL (Ava Elizabeth Webb)!  The little thing you see in the middle is a combo of an arrow pointing to the girl area and her umbilical cord:)  I was a little confused by that myself so I thought I would help you out with that...
This is the first u/s that Tim has been able to attend and he was so cute asking the u/s tech to look at the head again to make sure it was ok and then look at the heart again to make sure its ok...lol...she finally had to just say the doctor will be coming in to look too.  Dr. Stauffer assured us that everything looks GREAT, and then proceeded to give Tim some fatherly advice on raising a little girl:)

Just wanted to leave you with a picture of my little princess' face and fingers!
XOXO

17 Week Bump

I know I'm a little behind on posting a new "bump" picture...but here it is:)
All of the pregnancy websites say that the little bambino is around the size of an onion this week and my uterus is nearing the size of a cantaloupe. Kinda makes me feel like a produce stand with all of the fruit and veggie references lol...but I understand that they are easy things to reference so I guess I can go with it.
On a more exciting note, I officially felt the first "movment" yesterday!!!! I have been feeling some fluttering around here and there, but yesterday I felt real movement!!! It was so exciting and I find myself just ready for it to happen again and again:)
Tomorrow is my u/s appointment with the maternal-fetal medicine doctor to finish up our genetic testing. Wish me luck and keep your fingers crossed that we could possibly find out the sex!
XOXO

What's happenin...

Today I am officially 17 weeks!

Nothing has changed for me though, BOOO!  I still have morning sickness 5-6 out of the 7 days per week, YUCK!  I'm still fighting this awful acne, and I am still awaiting the energy that is supposed to come to me in the second trimester.

The boys left Thursday afternoon for their second weekend trip to Illinois and it has been heaven at 3519 LOL.  I truly do enjoy MY quiet hunting vacations!  I mean no man roaming about the house making mess after mess to clean up...no breakfast/dinners that MUST be cooked...no need to get dressed or put on makeup and look decent...ok I should seriously stop here or someone is going to get worried about me:)  I promise I'm not suffering from any kind of depression, but it is nice (especially right now when I am completely exhausted anyway) to have a few days to myself.

I don't remember if I have mentioned having to meet with a genetics counselor because of what happened with little Madison (the little girl that Robyn lost 2 yrs ago)...anyway I had to have two sets of blood work done for them (one in the 1st trimester and one in the 2nd trimester) and then I had to have two sets of ultrasounds done (one in the 1st trimester and one in the 2nd trimester).  Well Beth, the genetics counselor, called on Friday to let me know that my blood work came back fine (they tested for everything from down's syndrome to spina bifida).  I have to go in this Thursday to do the second u/s, and as long as everything looks good on that front then I will be released from their care, YAY!!!

Well that's about it for now...I will post u/s pics from Thursday as soon as possible...oh yeah and I will work on getting a new bump pic...

XOXO

The ultrasound that almost didn't happen...

Ok...the Dr. told me at my first appointment that he wanted to check things out at 16 weeks rather than waiting for 20 weeks so I made an appointment for this morning.  I got there at 8:00 and went back to have my bloodwork done, then saw Lauren (who informed me that she just found out that she is pregnant...YAY) for my nurse interview, then went back to the lobby to await my ultrasound.  About five minutes later the receptionist calls me to the window and asks me why I am waiting.  I told her that the doctor wanted to do an ultrasound due to previous pregnancy related issues.  Five minutes later the Ultrasound Tech comes and gets me and informs me that she can find no reason to do the ultrasound today because the last one looked normal.   I told her what the doctor explained to me at my last visit and she informed me that the doctor was not in but if I wanted to then I could wait on him to get there.  So of course I planted my little butt in a chair in the lobby and waited on the doctor to come in.  I had already decided that if the doctor wasn't in by 10:00 then I was just going to have to leave and go to work, but at 9:55 the tech came out and got me to come back and do the ultrasound.  
Baby Webb is VERY active!!  He/she has a good heart rate and everything else looks normal so far.  We did not find out the sex today....BOOOO!!!!! I think that there is a possibility that the tech could have figured it out, but she was angry because I was right and she was wrong so she did not really try BOOOOO again!!! Anyway, here are the pictures of little Baby Webb at 16wks1d.

Can I tickle the baby?

This weekend was a real whirlwind for me and the little bambino.  I left Saturday around lunchtime to go to the big T-Town for some family time.  First stop was to see Cam and little Jacks (so sad Jenny wasn't there, but completely understand her need for "me" time).  This was my first time visiting with Jack Jack, and let me just say that he has got to be one of the cutest babies EVER!!!  He actually let me hold him and play with him for a little while before he decided that he wanted to go back to Da-da.  It was so sweet getting to see my little Cam with his very own baby!  I know, I know, he is not my Cam anymore and he definitely isn't little, but to me he will always be the baby brother that my mom and dad never gave me.  So we caught up on family gossip and I left him to make my next stop.

Jacks (I know he is just too cute right??!!)

Ok, my next stop was my mom's house where my nephew, Ethan, had been not so patiently waiting on me and "the little baby" to arrive.  As soon as I got out of my car I heard the pitter-patter of little feet running to the back door.  I was greeted with a four year olds face plastered to a glass door yelling "Aunt Ashley is here!!!".  Apparently, he had been waiting on me since he woke up that morning:)  As soon as I opened the door he informed me that he was going to spend the night with me and Uncle Tim.  Then the questions began...  Robyn had already explained to Ethan that a little baby was growing in my tummy and he couldn't wait to lay the questions on me.  The first question was "Aunt Ashley, can I hear the baby?"  He pressed his little head to my tummy and said "yep, I can hear the little baby alright."  The next question was "can I tickle the baby?"  He proceeded to barely rub his finger tips on my tummy real fast.  Then he said, " can the little baby hear me?"  He proceeded to put his lips right on my tummy and move them back and forth, then quickly pressed his ear to my tummy and looked up to me and said, "yep, it can hear me."  Needless to say much of my visit with Ethan this weekend consisted of talking about "the little baby".  He is soooo excited!  Sunday he informed me and Tim that we should name "the little baby" Nemo, because he had a fish named Nemo and it was an awesome fish so if we named "the little baby" Nemo then it would be an awesome little baby. I really enjoyed seeing his perspective on it all!

We also let Ethan carve a HUGE pumpkin that Tim brought back from his trip to Illinois last weekend.  He wasn't really as excited as I thought he would be about it, but I think that was because Tim had already cleaned all of the gooey pumpkin guts out, and he didn't get to make a mess with it.  Shortly after the pumpkin carving I had to take them back home:(  I always hate that part!

Me and Ethan with the HUGE pumpkin

On the ride home Ethan asked me if I was going to give my little baby to them to keep once it grew big enough to come out of my tummy.  I explained that we had to share the baby, and he did not like that concept at all!!!  He immediately said "Mommy we have to have a little baby RIGHT NOW!"  Robyn reminded him that she had just had surgery and she couldn't have a little baby right now, but she would get on that mission ASAP.  He wasn't really pleased with that answer, but he didn't complain.  

Well, that's all for my eventful weekend.  Tomorrow is my 16 week check-up with the doctor.  They are supposed to be doing an ultrasound to check on everything YAY!  Keep your fingers crossed that bambino cooperates and we can find out if its a boy or a girl...I will post pics as soon as possible:)

XOXO

From the Beginning

So as you may know by now Tim and I are expecting a little bambino (ETA April 5, 2010).


This little one came as a HUGE surprise to us.  The past weeks have been a whirlwind of confusion/surprise/being freaked out for the both of us.  In May of 2007 doctors told me that I would never conceive on my own, so of course when I found out that I was pregnant a million things went through my mind.  Mostly, OMG what in the world am I going to do with a baby??!!!  I don't really know if I'm supposed to tell people that this is how I felt, but it is, so I'm telling.


Because of everything that I went through back in 2007, we decided that we would keep everything to ourselves until after the first ultrasound and confirmation that all was ok in the womb.  Of course doctors do not want to see you until you around 8 wks unless you are having some trouble so we sat on wait until September 29.  At this appointment, according to my LMP, they estimated me to be 7wks6days (you can even see that at the bottom of the little ultrasound pic) but after some initial measurements they realized that I was indeed 13wks1day.  So I asked lots of questions like how could this be??? Why did I have a period in August if I was pregnant?? etc, etc, etc.  They assured me that having a period so close to when I conceived is normal and that this had no bearing on the baby, and most importantly did not mean that anything was wrong with me or my little one.  Dr. Umana did decide to keep me as high risk until at least 20 weeks just to be on the safe side, and he gave me this cute little speech about calling him if I felt any unusual pain or had any bleeding.  "If you need to call me at 2:00 a.m., then please just say, this is Ashley Gilbert Ectopic, and I will know who you are and meet you at the hospital."  So until I reach 20 weeks that is me Ashley Gilbert Ectopic!


So I plan to try and keep everyone updated with pics (baby bump pics and ultrasound pics), weird cravings, weight gain, etc.  I have been reading up on pregnancy blogs and I find it really neat that everyone can keep up with whats going on with mom and baby with just a click of the mouse!  Its truly amazing what technology has brought us these days!  Especially when I have people all over the U.S. (from Washington State to Florida) wanting to keep up with everything...so here is my solution to keeping you all in the loop:)


So I never weighed myself pre-pregnancy and prior to going to my first doctor's appointment I am really not sure of my weight, but I guesstimate around 105 so I am using that as my starting point.  First doctor's appointment I weighed in at 107.  So Dr. Umana has informed me that I should gain around 30 lbs.  Apparently, even being 13wks1day preggo I was borderline underweight according to my BMI so that means I needed to gain weight anyway.


As for cravings, well I did crave pomegranate smoothies from Dunkin Donut one morning, but those hopes and dreams were crushed when I was informed by my faithful friend, Jennifer, that they discontinued the pomegranate smoothie??!! I was like WHAT!!!???  I quickly got over it and moved on to tacos from Taco Bell.  Actually I am really not sure if that is actually a craving or just something that appeals to me.  I have an aversion to meat.  Yep, me the double cheeseburger queen has an aversion to meat!!!  Taco Bell has been good for me because as you may very well know, they do not utilize their meat very much. So fruits and veggies have been my thing.  Oh and Honey Nut Cheerios have been a life saver in the mornings (not too sweet but just sweet enough, and not too heavy but enough to satisfy hunger, and I can carry a little Ziploc bag around with me at work so if I feel some queasiness coming on I can pop a few).  Oh and Kraft Mac & Cheese.  Yep the original kind in the blue box...this one has killed Tim because he is a Velveeta Shells & Cheese type of guy, but hey I am still able to actually cook him dinner at night so I think he is just thankful for that lol.


Morning sickness is lingering, and I'm starting to think that it may never go away UGH... but it is limited to once while I am getting ready normally so I guess I can live with that.  The worst part is that if I don't eat dinner before 8:00 I cant really eat because for some reason I get a type of weird night sickness too.  I say its weird because it only comes around when I eat past 8:00 p.m.


My next appointment is Tuesday, October 20, because I'm supposed to be at 16 weeks by then and due to my being considered high risk, Dr. Umana wanted me to be seen again before 20 weeks (which is when he would normally schedule the next appointment).  Keep your fingers crossed because we may be able to find out the gender on this visit!!!


Keep you posted on any new events, and I will try to get baby bump pics up every week - every two weeks (no promises though).


FIRST ULTRASOUND!!!

13wks1day 
14 wks

XOXO