Room to Grow!

One of the most fun things about being pregnant: buying a bunch of new maternity clothes! They are definitely becoming "a must"...this growing belly can no longer be contained! ;) It took me the longest time to find some things that I like, but I finally did. I've been having fun picking things out and waiting for them to arrive in the mail...it's like a kid waiting for Christmas! My inspiration for a lot of the clothes is our upcoming trip to Mexico; I can't wait! We leave on the 10th, just a little over 2 weeks from now!!! I now have a new cute maternity swimsuit, a bunch of cute dresses, and a whole lot more. My favorite stores: Motherhood, Gap, Old Navy, and Target of course. Can't wait to wear them all...and luckily, there is still room to grow!

Baby Girl Hansen in action

Here is the ultrasound video of Baby Girl Hansen! You can all see for yourselves how active this little peanut is. Notice how she keeps her right hand up by her face, and at one point looks like she's trying to suck on her thumb! You can also see her heartbeat fluttering, which is amazing. A little over a minute into it, you catch a glimpse of her long legs and her feet, which are almost constantly kicking her mama! ;) Hope you all enjoy it (and can distinguish what you're looking at...Brent had trouble at times!) and find it as amazing as we do!

Pink or Blue?

That is the question! And today, we got our answer....pink it is! We are having a baby girl!!! This was a bit of surprise to most of us (Brent, me, my sister, my mom, etc)...we all thought it was a boy. Baby Girl Hansen looks wonderful and healthy, and we couldn't be happier or more relieved! Knowing what I know in my profession, I couldn't be more relieved that she looks healthy: normal sized head, normal spinal cord, normal heart, four limbs...thank you God! Baby Girl is measuring right on target, 19 weeks 5 days, putting our due date at June 7th. Can't wait to meet her! Poor Brent will be severely outnumbered with me, Piper, and Baby Girl! ;)

Our little sweet pea looked so amazing on ultrasound. She is very very active; the official report of the baby's position during the ultrasound was "variable", if that tells you anything! She was moving around like crazy, which she always does! She likes to keep her right hand up by her beautiful face, and she looked like she was trying to suck on her thumb. We were also told she has long legs...wonder which side of the family that comes from! ;) Her feet looked big to me too, which explains why I can feel her kicking me right now! Speaking of which, Brent got to feel her kick for the first time last night...another amazing milestone!

Here are a few pictures of our sweet baby girl! (Sorry they aren't the best quality...I took pictures of them with my phone until I get them scanned.) I will try to get our ultrasound video posted as well so you can all see her in action! Feeling very blessed!!!

19 weeks:

Her girly parts:

Her face, looking straight ahead:

Big hand

Big feet (the better to kick her mama with!):

Our beautiful girl's face:

Almost 20 weeks; excited for a healthy baby girl:

Progress, finally!

I am now entering week 19 of my pregnancy, and in a few ways, I feel like we are FINALLY making some progress! In the last week, my "bump" has really started to pop out. It's nice that I'm finally starting to look pregnant and not just chubby! :) I also think I'm finally making progress health-wise. I hope I'm not jinxing myself, but after a couple of weeks of feeling very sick and puking quite frequently, I haven't thrown up in a week! And I'm feeling better than I've felt in weeks or months! So let's hope I'm finally turning the corner. Last but not least, Baby Hansen is growing just as surely as his/her mama! I am starting to feel the baby move a lot more, and more often. It is such an amazing feeling and, of course, reassuring. And the icing on the cake: finding out the sex of the baby this coming Friday...can't wait! I feel like we're finally getting to the fun part of the pregnancy!!! I'm feeling very blessed and grateful these days.

Since so many people have asked, here is a picture of the "bump", taken at 18 weeks!

Pitter patter of tiny feet

Well, Christmas has come and gone...what a relief! I've been a little bit of scrooge this year. I think it's because I had to work all Christmas weekend, and I still have very little energy to spare. But, before I had to work Friday thru Sunday, I was able to celebrate with my family and Brent's family, which was wonderful. Baby Hansen isn't even here yet, and he/she is already so spoiled...we got so many presents for him/her! Our little one is very lucky! Now that Christmas is over, our anniversary is Friday. It's been four amazingly wonderful, difficult, and rewarding years of marriage, and the next one will be even better as we finally add to our family! I love you with all my heart honey!

So far, things are still going great with the pregnancy: 17 weeks and counting! I'm still exhausted and throwing up occasionally (shouldn't all that stuff be over by now?!), but otherwise everything is perfect. I listen to the baby's heartbeat about once a week at work with the doppler, which is always reassuring for me. (I'll always be paraoid, but can you blame me?) The latest news is I have been feeling the baby move the last few days; what an absolutely amazing experience! The pitter patter of tiny feet (or hands, elbows, legs, whatever!) in my uterus is so surreal and wonderful...I could just lay here all day with my hand on my stomach, feeling that occasional little wave of movement. We are so blessed!!!

Next up: finding out the sex of Baby Hansen! We have our 20 week ultrasound on Jan 14th, and I can't wait...it cannot come fast enough! Most people are think it's a girl, but a few are thinking boy. My personal gut feeling is it's a boy, but we will find out soon enough! Any guesses anyone?! We will also know if our little one is healthy, and I keep praying for an intact spinal cord, four chambers of the heart, etc. I will keep you all updated! Hope you all have a safe and healthy New Year!

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays from our growing family to yours! May all your dreams come true!

Our Little (or BIG) Miracle!

Hey everyone! I know it's been a while since I've updated, but this is well worth the wait! We are thrilled to announce that after 3+ years and 3 miscarriges, we are FINALLY expecting a little miracle!!! Baby Hansen is due to arrive on June 7th! Brent and I literally couldn't be happier! I'm 14 and a half weeks along, and everything is going great so far. It is such a relief to FINALLY make it into the 2nd trimester! More than 1/3 done!

Due to my history, I have had doctor's appointments every two weeks, so we've been lucky enough to see our little peanut many times. A few highlights: the heartbeat has been nice and strong with each visit; at 8 weeks, Baby was trying to suck on his/her toes; at 10 weeks, Baby was moving his/her arms and legs so much, it looked like he/she was dancing; and at 14 weeks, we heard the heartbeat for the first time! It is so amazing to know that it is really happening this time! I've been nervous of course, but the farther along we get, the more comfortable I feel. Now if only the exhaustion and the nausea/vomiting would start to improve! But it's all worth it!!!!

Below is a picture of Baby Hansen at 10 weeks. Sorry, I know the picture is not very recent, but our last few pictures have been blurry. Thanks to all our family and friends who have been praying for us...I know it helped us get to this point! We should know in the next 2 or 4 weeks if it's a boy or a girl, so stay tuned!!!