10 Weeks

Tom and I had our 10 week appointment today. It went really well. Baby Bean is growing right on track, measuring at 10 weeks 3 days and having a heart rate of 177. All of my blood work came back looking really good as well.

At the last appointment we were given the option to do an Ultrascreen Test (click to get more information). In a nut shell this is a test performed in the first trimester of pregnancy that screens pregnancies to identify those at increased risk of having Down syndrome or Trisomy 18 or other chromosomal abnormalities. Tom and I had been sitting on this for two weeks now and had to make the decision today. The specialist we have been working with highly recommends it to all her patients but my regular OB only recommends it to certain patients depending on their situation. We are showing nothing but a healthy pregnancy so we struggled for a bit about this. It is so hard not to just do what the doctor's suggest. Being a person that likes to be prepared and know everything about the situation you would think that I would want the test, however, that isn't the case. I felt as though I was talking my self into the test. Tom asked what my gut said. It took a little sorting out but this is where I landed........We are so blessed to be on this journey. We have prayed for so long to fulfill God's will for us and that in His time we would be blessed with a child. We have placed our faith, hope and trust in Him to this point so that is where we will stay. No matter the challenges that come with this child, we were blessed to be Baby Bean's parents and we will love him/her with all our hearts.

So because we are not choosing to do the test we have been released to Dr. Khandalavala (aka - Jimmy or Dr K.). I am so very excited to be back in his care. We are so grateful to Dr. Doherty and her staff who helped us begin our journey but Jimmy has been my doctor for years and I have grown to adore him and his staff.


So here is our latest and last photo of our Baby Bean for awhile. She/He is looking more and more like a little human each time we see her/him.

A few fun notes........

Cravings.........Popsicles, Clementines, Pickle rolls, Taco Bell

Aversions............Still having issues with Chicken

Interesting fact.............Tom telling me about where we are in our pregnancy from what he has read. He is going to be a wonderful and knowledgeable dad!!

How I feel...........more and more pregnant by the day!!

Next Appointment..........January 7, 2009 for my first appointment with Dr. K

Christmas Blessings

I hope that you all had wonderful holidays!! The Ahern/Wilson clan had a fabulous Christmas. Over the past few years we have developed our Christmas tradition.

Christmas Eve we go to Tom's Uncle Charlie and Aunt Vicki's house and eat, eat, eat. We have a range of things to eat but we always have our staples....fish fry, cheese potatoes, shrimp salad, and my contribution Won Tons. This Christmas Eve was extremely special to us because we were able to announce that we were expecting to Tom's extended family in person. It was a pretty amazing and hilarious chain of events. I started by telling Tom's Aunt Shelly and Aunt Vida and then let it spread from there. There were lots of cheers and tears but it was Grandma Jane's reaction that was priceless. I think she thought everyone else knew and didn't tell her. In the midst of her cheers and tears she kept asking why no one had told her. It took a little bit but we finally convinced her that she was finding out with everyone else.

After spending time at the Gegzna household we went to the 9:00pm service at church where I had the privilege of leading worship as a vocalists with two other Bethany worship leaders. It was an absolutely uplifting service. We had wonderful music. I soloed my Mom's favorite Christmas song which I tried to surprise her with but she spoiled it by asking. We also were given the gift of watching 5 siblings ranging from 5 to 16 get baptized. They each gave a testimony as to why they wanted to baptized and just amazed all of us. It was an awesome way to end the evening.

Christmas Morning depends on the year. This year was our year to host my family so Beth, Randy, and Ethan traveled to join Tom, my Mom and me at in Omaha. First in the morning we headed to Tom's parent's house to open presents. I always love when I get to see both my niece Ayla and my nephew Ethan at the same time. We were blessed with wonderful gifts but I have to say that my favorite items have to be work pants with stretchy waists. After spending the morning with the Ahern's and Splonskowski's, Tom and I went back to our house with my family to open our gifts to each other. It was really fun to see Ethan open his first Christmas presents. We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out watching movies. It was great to spend time with my family. We ended the day with a fabulous Prime Rib dinner at Tom's parents.

Here are a couple of photos of Ayla and Ethan.
We are still yet to get a photo with them both looking at the camera.
This is Ethan's new drum. He loves to tap on things so I think he is determined to be a drummer.

2008 Blessings Bring New Life in 2009

With the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009 we bid farewell to a year full off many blessings. We are so excited to close the 2008 year with the wonderful news that we are expecting our first baby in July of 2009. We have prayed for quite some time that we would be blessed with the miracle of our "Baby Bean". As Tom and I reached personal milestones throughout this last year, the timing couldn't be more perfect. We thank God each and every day for this amazing blessing. We are about 9 1/2 weeks along and doing really well. We are currently under the care of a specialists who monitors fairly closely for the first trimester. We go in every two weeks to have blood work and an ultrasound. This isn't because we are at risk it is just simply their protocol. We will stay with her for about 2 1/2 weeks longer and then we will go back to my regular OB. I have to say that we are currently a little spoiled in that we get to see Baby Bean every two weeks. I have been going through many of the good and not so good parts of being pregnant but I have to admit that each time I experience either the good or the bad I am filled with so much gratitude and happiness. Sometimes I can't believe that we are here and preparing for a baby. Tom and I have been having fun telling our family and friends, looking through name books, reading about what to expect, and documenting our experience.

Pictures to share.......

This is our 6 week ultrasound. It was awesome to see the first picture of our little "spot". According to the nurse Baby Bean was already an over-achiever because we were able to see the heartbeat. It was enough to take both of our breath away.

This is our 8 week ultrasound. It is amazing how much Baby Bean grew over the past two weeks. The baby is starting to look less like a "spot" and more like a baby. Not only did we get to see the heartbeat at this appointment, we were able to hear it. I have to admit that it brought tears to my eyes. Tom made comment to how fast the heartbeat was but the nurse assured us that it was a very healthy heartbeat.

So I will leave you with a few notes about our journey this far........

First Cravings.........Hot Dogs, Popsicles, & Clementines

First Aversions............Chili & Chicken (if I see it before it is cooked)

Hard Moments so far...........Food Week at work - oh so many smells mixed together

How I feel................Blessed, Excited, Happy, Emotional, and Exhausted but loving every moment.

Next Appointment..........10 week appointment - December 30, 2008