20 weeks and my first New Year’s Eve without alcohol. :) It is well worth it though. Shim is growing rapidly and the movements are getting stronger. And when you look at my stomach while Shim is moving you can see it go up and down. It is amazing! It is such a great feeling to experience the baby’s movements. Below are some pictures of the puppies and I making the best of New Year’s Eve. As you can see, the belly just keeps growing! 
...false alarm. We went to our doctor’s appointment yesterday quite excited to find out if Shim is a “she” or a “him” and to our disappointment, our doctor was not in so they did not do an ultrasound. :( We have two appointments scheduled in January. One is for our regular monthly checkup, which is on Thursday, January 15th, and the other is for our second level ultrasound, which is on Wednesday, January 7th. We are not sure at which appointment we will find out the sex of the baby but as soon as we know, we will be sure to let all of you know. I did get to hear the baby’s heartbeat though. It sounds so cute! Sorry for the disappointment and we will keep you posted! 
On Friday, November 14th I felt the baby move for the first time! It was the best little feeling I have ever felt. I was getting ready for work, humming and putting my make-up on, once I stopped humming the baby gave me four little taps in my left abdomen. I stopped in my tracks and thought to myself…that is something I have never felt before….it must be the baby! So needless to say, little Shimmy kicks it up about twice a day. Sometimes I feel myself waiting for it to happen again. :) Oh, and we got the results from our First Trimester Screening. The results were good 
meaning it is highly unlikely Shim will have Down Syndrome or Chromosomal 17 or 19 abnormalities. Yeah!
Yesterday we had our First Trimester Screening where they do an ultrasound and blood test to check for birth defects. I am not a big fan of this test but my doctor highly recommended it. I decided to look on the bright side and thought it is another chance to see Shim! So I have uploaded the latest picture of Shim for all of you to see. This is a much better shot than the 8 week shot. I am not sure if you can make it out but Shim’s head is to the left and body to the right. It was funny, she began the ultrasound and the first picture of Shim was a side shot. All I could see was the nose. :) Alex and I knew our kids would be screwed and the little profile of Shim proved us right. Sorry Shim…noses are not the best trait in both of our families! We will be getting the results of the test in five days. I will be sure to keep all of you posted! 
Yesterday was our second doctor’s appointment where we were able to hear Shim's little heartbeat! She had trouble finding the heartbeat at first, which made me nervous, but as she made her way towards my belly button, we began to hear the heartbeat. I said to Alex, "I can't believe Shim is all the way up there!” I started to giggle and Alex smiled. It is so surreal in the beginning of the pregnancy but after seeing the sonogram and hearing the heartbeat it is starting to sink in. The doctor said everything seems to be going well so far. We have another doctor’s appointment next week for our First Trimester Screening where I will have another sonogram. I will be sure to keep you updated and hopefully have some pictures for you too!
So I'm 11 weeks and even though my pants are starting to fit a little tighter, I did not think I had a belly yet. But as I was talking with one of my coworkers, she kept glancing at my belly. I did not think it was that much bigger but the more she looked at it the bigger it felt! I tried holding it in, as I have not told my coworkers or my boss I am pregnant yet, but no such luck. I tried to squeeze but it would not budge. Thank goodness I was holding a stack of papers in my hand which I casually placed in front of my stomach to hide the expanding pouch. I guess you could say I am showing a little now.
Jes and Marco came to visit us this past weekend and brought Shim his/her first gift! It is too funny! It is a t-shirt that says "I can't help it good looks are in my genes, just look at my Aunt". Only Jes would think of this one. :) It is so exciting to receive our first baby gift. Thanks Auntie! And since she is so fair, just like our Auntie Susan, she brought gifts for Bruiser and Berkeley too. They were happy their gift was not clothes...I torture them enough with that. Their gift was a treat from Topsfield Fair and they LOVED it!!!! Alex and I couldn't find them for 15 minutes while they were devouring their treat. :)
Friday, October 3rd was our first doctors appointment. It's official...we're pregnant! We were so excited to finally see Shim and the little heartbeat. So far the experience has been so surreal so seeing Shim made it feel a bit more real. We also found out the due date which is May 15, 2009. Of course the baby would be due on a 15th. If is wasn't relative to a tax deadline, I am not sure Alex would remember. :) We have our next doctors appointment on Friday, October 31st so we will keep you posted!
