There's a Baby in There!!

Well, it's official...we are pregnant!!!  Mike and I had our first appointment with our OB GYN on Monday, February 22nd. We chose Dr. Roberts as he has either delivered many of our friends babies or is currently caring for them while they are pregnant. He also has a Blacksburg office that is convenient and he delivers in the Carilion Radford hospital which is fairly new and the birthing suite are VERY nice. I was there when Cathy had her baby Gordon there and it's seriously nice...I was impressed.  Back to the appointment...After many questions, talking with the doctor, and the womanly yearly exams (of which Mike replied, "Being a woman sucks"; oh and FYI, he was sitting at my head), it was time for the ultrasound. And there was our baby!!

The baby' is upside down...its head is down and to the left.

Dr. Roberts thought everything looked great!! The only surprise was that he didn't think I was quite as far along as I had thought. (Which doesn't make sense since I know when I last had my period but I guess it has more to do with ovulation...that's probably TMI, but it seems like more of an educated guess than anything else...and I can deal with that!) My new due date is September 29th, 2010. This is also Mark's birthday which is very fun!! 

The baby's heart rate was 185 bpm...all good according to Dr. Roberts.

Mike and I were blown away to see the first picture of our little one. You could clearly see the heart beating which was amazing. At one point the doctor said, "did you see the baby wiggle?" Cuteness. I then had a LOT of blood drawn and as many of you know, Brooke and needles don't really see eye to eye. But the nurse completely rocked it and it wasn't so bad. The total appointment took 1 1/2 hours...a long time for our mom's who were patiently waiting for phone calls about the granbaby. :-)

And of course Mike and I celebrated in style...with lunch at PKs.

Here is the Daddy-to-be with the first picture of his baby...love them.

We couldn't be more thrilled, blessed, amazed, shocked, fortunate and loved. Today I'm 9w4d.

Skype it!

We just finished an awesome Skype conversation with Mike's parents...SO cool! Here's a pic!

There will definitely be more of this to come...a great way to feel like you're really talking to each other. AND to see any baby progress. :-)
I've Skyped with my sister Jenn before and at work but this is the first time with Mike's parents. We will definitely continue this!
Time for the Olympics...USA! USA! USA!
Love,
Brooke

8 weeks

It's been a relaxing weekend here in the Burg...yay for that! I am 8 weeks (as of last Thursday) and things are going well. Any changes to momma? Well yes, namely bloat.
Dear Bloat, Please leave me alone. You are making me feel pretty "blah" and not at all "cutesy preggers". Love, Brooke
Just check out the pic (not a great one, but you get the picture)...wow. Bloat much? Whatever, it's for a good reason! :)

Also, I may or may not have had a moody spell. I blame the bloat. :-) Love you Mikey!
Other than that, things are going great! My sister-in-law Jenn had her 24 week appointment last week and my good friend Hope has her 26 week appt (might be her 27 wk) next week. How exciting!!! They are both having little boys. :-) ahhh! Hope is actually having twin boys!! I'm sure I'll keep giving you Jenn and Hope baby updates along the way.
My first appointment is next Monday, February 22nd so not too far away. I'm really looking forward to hearing the heartbeat!
Oh, and in other fun news, our little baby received its first piece of mail this weekend...a Valentine from Godmomma Annie!  The little one got a baby sized and oh so soft hokie, perfect! Thank you Annie!! Annie also sent treats to our little kitty Finn which he has LOVED. And the best part, the mail was made out to Mike, Brooke, Little One and Finn Jackson. ahhhhhhhhhh!!!! Melt my heart! I seriously teared up (which is not unusual when I get mail from Annie. She is amazing and writes the most thoughtful and loving cards you could ever get. I'm serious. She should have a side career with Hallmark.
I'm off to start making the sugar cookie dough for Hope's shower in a couple weeks!!
Much Love,
Brooke

ANOTHER round of snow!!!

"The white death is among us!" That's what Mike say's to tease the folks who freak out when we're supposed to get an inch or two of snow, however, this winter the freak-outs were warranted. Blacksburg was hit with our 3rd big snow of the year this weekend. Yes, we've had more than a foot three separate times since the middle of December...it's wild! We evidently have more snow in the Burg than there currently is in Anchorage, Alaska...weird! Mike and his friend Canter shoveled our driveway and walkway so we could get out without a problem...big strong guys! :-P

We didn't get hit as hard this time (1 ft isn't that much, right? :-)) as Northern Virginia. They had over 2 feet! Yesterday was my Daddy's birthday (Happy Birthday, Daddy!) and they were without power the entire day!!!! crazy!!! 

Maybe the Olympics should be in VA this year?

Last Thursday (2/4), I was 7 weeks along. Woohoo! I have been feeling nauseous here and there (some days worse than others) with some light cramping but nothing too bad yet. Usually some crackers make me feel better.  No real craving unless you count my one night of MUST have bean burrito from Taco Bell. Yes, I know that wasn't good for me, it was so good though. Meat hasn't sounded very good but I'm making an effort to eat some for the protein. Overall, I'm feeling really good!

Week 6 - A snowy weekend together

Mother nature is laying it on us this year with the snow!  We had our second large snow of the year this past weekend with 10 inches of powder covering Blacksburg (and this is less than our 15 inches in December, ha). This made for a cozy weekend in the Jackson house, just me, Mikey and Finn.



I took a 6 week pic, but not sure why since I look the same. Oh well, it's documented!

Still no symptoms other than a few little cramps. Oh and one of the most fun parts, we got our first gift for Baby Jackson! Mom and Mark brought us a baby blanket that was made for me when I was born (and was brought home in, christened in, etc.). What a wonderful surprise!  Mom and I also went to Once Upon a Child (this store is SO awesome...very gently used baby items) to check out the goods. Our little "browsing" session turned into a few purchases. :-) A VT sweatshirt for either a boy or girl, a yellow gingham and white eyelit outfit for a girl, and a pair of overalls for a boy. So much fun!!!

Finn

Mike was given our baby kitty Finn this year for Christmas from Mom and Mark. I have never seen him so excited (except when we got married, right Mikey? :-) Beuller? Beuller?). Finn was born (around) Halloween and was dropped off outside of a local vet in Christiansburg. They nursed him back to health and momma rescued him for Mikey a couple days before Christmas. Mikey officially became a kitty daddy on Dec. 27th and has been in love since. We have named our kitty Finnigan, "Finn" for short. I have to say, I've never been a cat person, I like dogs! BUT, I am 100% in love with this little guy. He is SUCH a love bug and cuddles up next to you. He's also playful but never scratches. He will, however, attack your toes when he's fired up. Finn has a toe fetish. Here a few pics.

Our sleepy little guy with Mikey right after we got him, he was around 2 months.

 He really is obsessed with toes.

Look how big he's gotten in just a month's time!

A man and his cat.

So we added Finn Jackson to our little family before we even knew of another addition soon to be joining us. He is breaking us in to "parenting".  We seriously love this little guy. He's cuddled up next to me as I type this, seriously.
Finn is around 3 months.

Week 5 - Hello, is something really in there?

So this post if published a little later then when I was actually 5 weeks pregnant, but I wanted to make sure I captured it. At week 5 I really felt completely the same...I was even hoping to get a symptom of some sort so that I could "feel" pregnant.  Looking back, that was crazy talk. :-)  I'm feeling great! And I've included a pic at 5 weeks...a "baseline" pic if you will. Any bump you see is me having enjoyed the holiday's a little to much. ha!

(notice Finn having a field day with the mirror, ha!)

We have only told our parents and siblings the awesome news at this point. We will tell more and more family and friends as the weeks progress.

Baby Jackson, you may only be a tadpole at this point, but we're so excited at the thought of you in our lives come September. Keep growing strong!