D-Day is Set, Let the Countdown Begin!

Steve and I found out at our last appointment that we are going to have a Cesarean section. This is in part due to my narrow pelvic arch. We could have chosen to attempt a vaginal delivery, but the doctor warned it could be very difficult or impossible depending on Parker's size. Right now he is measuring a tad big for his age (2.5 lbs). We believe that a scheduled c section is what is best for us and our little Parker. So......March 3rd is our big day! Given that we don't go into labor early this will be Parker's official birthday. Now that we have a "date" we are even more excited and scared. I have been watching as many episode's of the Baby Story as I can in hopes of catching a bunch of c section births. My goal being that I will become desensitized to the whole process. I have never had to go to the hospital or have surgery so I am a little nervous about going into an OR filled with a ton of people in full scrubs and masks. Although, I am sure that by March I will be so excited to meet Parker and not be pregnant anymore that I wont care about any of the scary stuff. Right?

4D Ultrasound-27 weeks 5 days

Steve and I got to see our precious little Parker again at our 4D sono appointment this week. This time he looked a lot more like a real baby. He has filled out a great deal and all of his body parts are proportional to one another. It was very cool to feel and see him move at the same time. Our tech got some pretty good shots, but they are still a little distorted from the fluid surrounding our little man. It was so exciting to see Parker again and for Steve and I, rejuvenated the reality of what is going on inside my belly. I cant fully describe how awesome it is to know that you have created a living being with the person you love and it is growing inside of you! It is when I stop and think about the magnitude of what is going on that I feel truly blessed that Steve and I are able to experience all of this!

Here he is rubbing his sweet little eye.

Peace, man!

Parker fell asleep at one point during our session, but the tech jostled him around enough to wake him up.

As you can see he was not so happy when she woke him up.

Those are definitely his daddy's feet!

26 1/2 Week Belly Shot

I know this picture is a little shocking, but it is my reality:) I am feeling more and more like Humpty Dumpty every day. It was against my better judgment to post this, but quite a few people have demanded a recent picture so here it is............

Family Shower

Over Thanksgiving weekend my mom graciously threw Steve and I a baby shower in honor of Parker. It was a wonderful day filled with love, laughter, and lots of baby goodies! Having everyone together was very special and solidified how anticipated Parker is by all. Steve and I are truly grateful for all our family and the support they provide. It was a memorable day that we look forward to telling Parker about in the future!

Here are Steve and I opening one of the many wonderful gifts we received!

Fischer joined in on the fun, too!

This is a rocking a chair I had as a little girl. My mom sent it from Colorado to my dad in Florida to restore. Seeing this beloved chair again brought tears to my eyes. It looks absolutely beautiful and I cant wait to see Parker in it one day!

21 weeks and counting

I am proud to say that I have finally begun to feel Parker move. I have spent the last four weeks concentrating so hard on feeling movement that I have driven myself crazy! I wasn't convinced any of the sensations I was experiencing were actually Parker until this week. His movements are now very apparent and quite frequent! Currently, he is said to be about 11 inches from head to toe and weighs approximately 12 ounces (about the size of a large banana.) Parker is most active around 3pm and 9pm. They say that by this age babies have begun to form their sleeping schedule so it is likely he will be awake around these times once he is born. Last night was an exciting one as Steve was actually able to feel Parker move. We were sitting on the couch and I commented that Parker was going crazy, Steve quickly put his hand on my belly and POW Parker gave his daddy his first kick. Steve was in awe of what he felt, it was a very cool moment:)
As you can see, I am now obviously showing. I have found this to have both its advantages and drawbacks. I am relieved that strangers are now commenting on my pregnancy and are inquisitive as to how far along I am. Friends and acquaintances now enjoy running my belly whenever they see me. Some people find this a annoying, but I do not. I think it is really endearing! The only drawbacks have been the sharp pains I have been experiencing in my lower abdomen. The doctor explained that this was very normal and is caused from the separation of my abdominal muscles. My back has also been flaring up quite a bit. I have an appointment with a chiropractor today so hopefully he can work some magic. Other than these two minor things, I am feeling great! Our next appointment is the week of Thanksgiving so my mom will be able to join me. She will get to hear her grandson's heartbeat for the first time, which will be pretty special. Until next time.....

Happy Halloween!

Steve and I helped throw one of dear friends, Christa a 30th Birthday/Halloween Party. We dressed up as Britney Spears and Kevin Federline. At the party there were a number of people that asked me what I used to stuff my belly. They were surprised to find out it was a real belly with a real baby inside. It was the first time either of us have dressed up for Halloween in a really long time so it was a ton of fun. The party was a great success!

Dr.'s Appt-20 weeks

We are now 20 weeks, 3 days, which is more than halfway until the big day!!!!!! We went to the Dr.'s on Tuesday for our 5-month appointment. Our doctor went over the results from our Anatomy Sonogram and Quad Screen blood work. Everything came back completely normal!!!! This is exciting news as it is the last major testing we will have. The only thing I have left is my glucose screen for gestational diabetes, which will take place in another 6 weeks. Below are a couple of pictures from our anatomy sonogram which we had last week. We are thankful Parker wasn't as modest at our sneak peek sonogram as he was during this session. He had his legs crossed the entire time and we wouldn't have been able to find out his gender. I guess he figured that once was all we needed to see:)

Visit with the Fennimans

Steve and I traveled to Tallahassee for the Miami game and to visit with Desiree and Erik. We had an amazing time. On Saturday, Desiree and I got our fill of fried pickles at Po Boys and Steve and Erik got their fill of beer and football. All were happy:) Sunday, Desiree and I spent the majority of the day bumming around talking about all our pregnancy experiences while Steve and Erik escaped for some man time on the golf course. It was such a great weekend and we are so excited for football season next year when we can come back with Parker and he can hang with his buddy Crosby.

Belly Shot, 17 weeks, 3 days

As promised I have posted another belly shot. My belly is becoming more and more obvious everyday. I am just starting to feel like strangers may think Im pregnant without me telling them.

Introducing.........................................

Parker Stuart Mitzel

Steve and I went for our routine 4-month check up and our quad screen blood work. Our doctor so graciously offerred us the option of getting a sneak peek of the gender of our baby. Our anatomy sonogram is scheduled for Oct 16th which is only two weeks away, but we could not fight the urge to find out early. We couldn't have made a better choice. Yesterday was one of the most amazing days of my life. Not only does it solidify that we are really going to have a baby, but now the baby has an identity. Now I don't feel quite so strange talking to my belly. Instead I can talk to and address Parker! There has been much deliberation over choosing just the right name. Parker and Anderson have been two boys names that we have loved from the beginning and Stuart is my dad's name and was always going to be the middle name if the baby was a boy. Last night Steve and I decided that Parker just fits. We couldn't be more exited and thankful of our beautiful baby boy.

I have attached some 4D pictures below. For those of you that aren't familiar they can be a little startling. They show a great deal of detail but the fluid surrounding the baby will often distort the image. The skin is still very transparent so you can see a lot of his bones, too. The shadows on his head are where his head is touching my uterus, he doesn't really have a hole in his head:)

Here is Parker rubbing his eye with his little legs crossed.....So cute!

Here he is waving to his mommy and daddy for the first time:)

Here he is touching his toes!

Finally, Parker sucking his thumb just like his mommy did as a kid. Lets hope this bad habit doesn't stick!

All is Well!

Steve and I had a doctor's appointment today, which served as follow up to our initial lab work and Nuchal Translucency test. All the lab work back came back great and the NT didn't indicate anything abnormal. Hooray! We also got to hear the baby's heartbeat which was a whopping 144 beats per minute. According to the old wives tale this is indicative of a boy. Speaking of which, our anatomy ultrasound is scheduled for October 16th so if the baby cooperates we will know if blue or pink is in their future. Steve and I can hardly wait! Momma's doing good, too. I am 14 1/2 weeks and weighing in 5 lbs heavier than at my last visit a month ago. I am going to start prenatal yoga and will hit the gym again next week, which should help counteract my veracious appetite. All and all, the Mitzel clan is doing great!

R & R in Marquette

Steve and I went to Marquette, Michigan to visit Steve's grand-parents over Labor day weekend. They live in a beautiful home right on Lake Superior. We spent the long weekend enjoying great company and spectacular surroundings. They have an incredible flower garden and an indoor pool. We certainly took full advantage of both. We were in bed each night by 10 pm and had at least one nap a day. It was wonderful and truly relaxing. We also surprised Steve's grandpa and Jenell with the news that they are going to be great grandparents; they are thrilled. Steve and I went home with about 20 new outfits that they so graciously bought for the baby. We cant wait to go back.

Our Second Ultrasound-12 weeks 4 days

Today, Steve and I went to the doctor for what we thought was going to be a 3D ultrasound as part of our Nuchal Translucency test. While we didn't get the 3D ultrasound, we were equally excited to see how much our baby had grown. Not only could you distinctly see fingers, arms, and legs, but our little baby was on the move! It looks as if the baby inherited the Brazier legs; they looked sooo long! Steve was ecstatic daydreaming about their future basketball career. It was also quite apparent that he or she did not like getting nudged by the ultrasound wand. Every time the tech would push down on my belly the baby would move to the other side my uterus. We were amazed at how much the little tike moves. Steve was shocked that I could not feel any of this going on; I too am a little surprised that there is so much activity going on inside my belly. It was an amazing visit and experience. We are passed the dreaded 12 week mark and our baby appears to be very healthy and normal. I cannot wait to meet this little person growing inside of me. This entire experience is incredible.

First Belly Shot-12 weeks, 3 days

To please my mom and Desiree I have posted a belly shot. While this may not look like much, it is 10lbs worth. This 10 lbs has kept me from wearing any of my pre-pregnancy clothes and enough to make me feel really fat! As the women from Pea in a Pod explained, I am at the awkward stage when all you want is for people to know you are pregnant. She tried to talk me into some t-shirts advertising the fact, but I didn't quite feel ready for that. Enjoy!

29th Birthday!

Steve surprised me with a weekend getaway to the Don Cesar for my birthday. It was a blissful weekend. We laid out in the sun, were pampered in the spa, and ate some wonderful meals. As you can see, Steve used this down time to catch up on his pregnancy reading--"Pregnancy Sucks for Men". Thank you, Jami and Jason for this great book!

Our First Doctors Appointment- 8/14/2007

Here is the first picture of our sweet little baby. According to his/her size and the size of my uterus, he/she is approximately 9 weeks and 1 day old. We are anticipating his/her next photo shoot, which will be in 3D. We are having our NT sonogram on 8/28 so stay tuned for an up close and personal picture of our "bun in the oven".

Steve and Emily

Welcome to our baby blog! Steve and I are venturing on the exciting journey known as pregnancy. We hope to use this post to keep friends and family involved in this wonderful time in our lives. While Steve and I were not planning to start this journey so soon after our nuptials, we feel very blessed and are elated to begin this life changing journey together. The stork is planning to make his drop on March 9, 2008!