Kick, kick, kick

Kick, kick, kick. A kick to the left. A kick to the right. A kick to the front.

I'll never be this happy to hear Jen's getting kicked.

Oh, that AnnahLilly. She sure has been a kicker of late. I told Jen to let me know when baby kicks, so I've been getting constant barrage of text messages at work:

"Kickin like crazy."

"Kickin again."

"Owwww. Strong kicks."

We got an up-close look at our active girl on Monday at the latest ultrasound. It's such a beautiful sight to see her so full of life in there. Her heart is just beat, beat, beating away. All internal organs are looking great at this point, too. And, oh, those cute little hands.

It just melts my heart. And it melts Jen's, too -- despite the kicks.

-- Brent

Timing

So, when we took our first pregnancy test we started the timer on my phone. In all of our excitement, we never turned the stopwatch off. So, we have known we are pregnant for . . .

2681:13:28
Hours: Minutes: Seconds

Phew. That's a long time.

Ultrasound photos

Dec. 29: 16 weeks, 4 days


Dec. 7: 13 weeks, 3 days


Nov. 17: 10 weeks, 4 days


Oct. 26: 7 weeks, 3 days


Oct. 16: 6 weeks

More than halfway there

Today we're at 20 weeks!!! For most people, that would mark the halfway point. But not for me. Since I'll be induced early, we actually only have 16 weeks to go.

AnnahLilly should be here just before my birthday May 20. I can't think of a better birthday present.

Once again we heard her heartbeat at our latest appointment Monday. All sounded great. She continues to be a squirmy one!

Our next ultrasound is slated for our next appointment, Monday.

Baby name

I know last time around we kept the baby name a big secret. But, we're over that.

So, drumroll please . . .

Savannah Lilly Conklin

We'll call her Annah or AnnahLilly for short. Her name will honor her older sister.

And, if we're blessed with a second daughter some day, that little girl will carry on the Rose name.

Foods I crave

Unlike most pregnant folks, I don't seem to have any cravings. That's a good thing since I developed gestational diabetes at 14 weeks this time around. (Luckily I'm not having any food aversions this time around either.)

But know that I've been denied almost all foods, I'm having very strong cravings. (I'm basically on an Atkins diet and have lost weight instead of gaining it.)

So here is the list of things I plan to eat as soon as baby is born.

Ice Cream
Chocolate Cake
Bread with butter
Fruit
Pasta
Potato Chips

In fact, I think that sounds like a pretty good meal. Can't wait! Luckily we're more than half way there.

Happy New Year

Well, it's 2010, everyone. Happy New Year! Also, Happy 17th Week to Jen!

It's difficult to convey the excitement we hold for this year. There is no doubt it will be the best year of our lives. And we owe it all to a little being that's a touch bigger than an avocado right now.