This is what we are thinking for Kyleigh's bedding....

IT"S A GIRL!

It's been a whirlwind of a week. I hate that I am just now posting our exciting news! Kyle and I went to the doctor last Wednesday, July 22nd for an ultrasound to determine the sex of our baby. Ever since we had our ultrasound at 12 weeks when they told us they thought it was a girl, I just knew deep down that we were going to have a baby girl. Kyle on the other hand has been holding out for a boy. On Tuesday, the day before our ultrasound I asked him what his gut feeling was, He quietly replied, "I think it's a GIRL." Our gut feeling was right, IT'S A GIRL! Kylie/Kyleigh was sleeping during our ultrasound. At one point the tech tried to wake her up and she would streach her precious little arms like she just wasn't ready to get up and play! It was so precious! We were able to see Kylie/Kyleigh's stomach, bladder, spine, all 4 chambers of the heart, her fingers and toes, and her facial features. Everything looked great!

It just so happens that I had been working late last week, and Kyle made it home before me. When I got home Kyle had gotten the cutest little outfit for our baby girl. Not only did he get her a dress, but little socks to match. Kyle loves Puma shoes, and the socks are made to look like puma shoes. I have to say, I think it's pretty cute! I think she has her daddy wrapped around her finger already:)

Kyle and I have decided to name our precious little girl, Kylie/Kyleigh Rae Kuepker (We can't agree on the spelling of her first name, but I am sure it will come with time.) We are naming her after her daddy, and her maternal great grandfather, Ray Etheridge. She is being named after two amazing men whom I love and admire very much. I can't wait for her to learn more about the men she is named after.

We are now at the beginning of week 19. I went yesterday for a check-up with the doctor. The nurse was checking to find her heartbeat and Kylie/Kyleigh kept moving every time the nurse would find it. It was so cute! The nurse had a grin on her face the whole time and laughed about Kylie/Kyleigh playing hide and seek with her!:) We were able to get a good heartbeat 2 different times- at one momment it was 153 bmp, then when she finally settled down it was 143 bmp. Both great numbers. My belly has grown 2 inches since last month. We are now measuring 20 inches! I can't believe we are almost half way!

Here we are 17 weeks. We are almost half way there! This week was a little rough, I had a cold most of the week which made sleeping very difficult. If I laid on my side, I couldn't breath. On my back, I could breath, but I know it's not good for baby, so needless to say, I didn't sleep very well. We finally went to our wonderful pharmacist Trey Maharrey on Saturday and got some meds that made me sleepy. I was finally able to get a good nights rest. Thanks Trey! I am feeling better now, and I'm so glad! I love being pregnant, but it's no fun being sick and pregnant!

We've been searching for baby furniture and bedding for the past few weeks. We are not sure what to do concerning the furniture. We found a set that we love, although we didn't the price! Should we bite the bullet and spend the money for nice furniture that converts to a toddler, then teenager, or should we just get a basic crib? We can't decide what to do. We may have found the bedding that we like. Best of all it comes in both pink, brown and white... or blue, brown and white. I think it will look great with the way we are wanting to paint the baby room. Speaking of which I need to post a picture. We have the bottom half of the room finished. We are just waiting until next Wednesday so we know what color to do the top half!:)

We have pretty much narrowed down our names. Although we do not agree on a spelling for our girl name, and we have 2 middle names that we are trying confirm down to one for a baby boy. We will post our names once we find out what we are having:) Only 9 days till we find out!!

Saturday, July 4

Baby's first Fourth of July... this picture is taken just short of 16 weeks.

July 1, 2009 15 Week Check Up

We went in this morning for our 15 week check up with Dr. Conrad. We were told this would be a pretty lengthy appointment with a lot of information to take in. I feel like it turned out to be a pretty lengthy wait more so than a lengthy appointment. I am very glad that Kyle was able to arrange his schedule at work to attend this appointment with me. We went through several questions, blood work, and consults concerning what all we have to look forward to. We talked a lot about the hospitals and which one would best suit our needs. Kyle and I are leaning towards delivering at Crestwood due to their one on one care, and the fact that it is just next door to our doctor's office! We plan on touring the facilities in the near future, and confirming our decision based on our tour. After all the talks and tests, we were finally able to hear the baby's heartbeat. I was a little worried at first because it took awhile to find the heartbeat. The nurse would find it then loose it very quickly- the baby kept moving every time she would find it. It's a very active thing! We were finally able to get it to stay still and listen to the amazing sound of the precious baby inside me. It had a strong heartbeat of 150 beats per minute. They measured my belly and it measured at 18 inches. Dr. Conrad said that everything looks good, and to come back in 4 weeks for an ultrasound for determine the sex of the baby! I made the appointment for Wednesday July 22. (a little less than 4 weeks) We wanted to find out before our trip to Florida for Bryan and Brooke's wedding. 20 days to go until we find out if it's a boy or a girl!!

June 24, 2009. 14 weeks.

Here I am at 14 weeks. Pregnancy so far has been fairly easy. I have not had any of the sickness that are usually associated with pregnancy, nor have I had any issues with smells, or certain foods. If it weren't for my growing belly, I'd feel completely normal. At times it's hard to believe I'm really pregnant. It's reassuring to hear the heartbeat and know there is a precious baby growing inside! I have been a little sleepy, but that is an easy problem to solve, and should be getting better any day now. I just started wearing maternity clothes. I've been shopping for awhile to find them on sale, because there is no way I will pay full price for a pair of jeans I'll only wear for a few months. I'm sure that doesn't surprise many of you since I am such a thrifty shopper.
I just recently joined the Publix's baby club. I received my membership in the mail today. It was so excited to rummage through all the goodies- A huge book full of great information, and lots of coupons. The best part about being a member of the Publix's baby club... it's completely free... and they send you coupons from time to time!
I broke down earlier today and painted the bottom half of the baby's room. I have been wanting to do it ever since we bought the paint. (Kyle and I found Behr paint on sale the other day so we picked up a gallon of brown to paint the bottom half of the room. We'll get the top color once we find out if we are having a boy or girl.) I've been wanting to do it for weeks but was concerned about the fumes. After talking to many of you, I decided it would be ok as long as the room was well ventilated, and only did a little at a time. I am very pleased with the results. I'll post pictures once I get the room cleaned up a little bit. It's been our catch all room since we moved in, but I'm gonna have to kick it into gear and get it ready for baby!

June 8, 2009. Our 11 Week Check Up

Kyle and I went in this morning for our 11 week check up. We thought we were just going for a normal check up, but they ended up doing an ultrasound! When we went in 4 weeks ago our due date did not match up with the measurement of the baby. We were a week off. The orgianl ultrasound put our estimated due date at December 27, 2009. We found out today that we are actually 12 weeks and they have moved our due date up to December 21, 2009. The baby measures 5.31 cm, with a heartrate of 160 beats per minute. We were able to see many different features on our ultrasound. We could see the baby's eyes, nose, mouth, hands, feet, knees, and rib cage. They were even able to show us a feature indicating the possible sex of the baby. The tech did warn us not to paint rooms because it is still really early on and things have not completely developed. We will have another appointment in two weeks.