I have one son, Quinlan.   I'm 26 years old and have been living with my boyfriend since June 2008. I work full time in the vitamins / bodycare section of a natural foods co-op (http://www.newleafmarket.coop) - an amazing workplace with great people and great benefits. We weren't really trying to conceive - it kind of just happened, and quick too...but either way I am so excited and happy to have my little boy! I found out on September 15, 2008 after taking the first pregnancy test. Just to be sure I took another one on the 19th - still pregnant! Quin is long and skinny and a very happy newborn (though he is a bit demanding sometimes).


10/09 First picture of the little one - 8 wks - though you can see the egg sac very well (smaller blob). In the center of the baby is a bright outlined area - that was the heart! We could see it beating in the ultrasound, which was awesome to see.
10/14 - Today I heard the heart beating for the first time!
10/19 - Told my immediate family - surprisingly mom was the happiest of all!
10/27 - Received a call from OB's office, I tested positive for the genetic mutation for cystic fibrosis.
10/30 - Another regular OB checkup, this time with Chris in tow. Lost a pound, so no excessive weight gains yet. Had another ultrasound - baby has a big head right now compared to the body, hehe. We once again could see the heart beating (still haven't measured it oddly enough), and the visit in general was a pretty quick in and out (less than 30 mins). Probably no new images to post until around 20 weeks.
11/3 - Received Chris' blood work results today - he was negative for the CF genetic mutation, yay! The possibility of our baby having CF is now 1/1200 - super small!
11/23 - Definitely experiencing mood swings - my only really bad symptom I've had...oh and a few headaches (which I was prone to anyways).
12/2 - Almost definitely felt baby kicking earlier today...I think I've felt it before too, but I'm still not 100% convinced! lol - either way it stopped me in my tracks at work for a few moments.   Felt more flutters this evening, not anything super powerful obviously but definitely out of the norm - I love it.
12/4 - Saw the kiddo! Down to 232 weight wise (at my first OB visit I was 235), and the doctor says everything is looking great. Very fast visit again. When we did the ultrasound the baby's head was ALL in the picture, haha - front of the face view - so we got to see its (still no gender ><) eye sockets, bones in the face, etc. Heart was beating fine (stole a glance at my charts, 150 BPM was the rate). Thrilled about it all - I love my baby!
12/22 - Quick visit; scheduled my big ultrasound (Jan 15th!). Lost another pound. Doc says baby has a very strong heartbeat; 145 BPM. No ultrasound peek today (boo), but after we come back from Michigan I get two days in a row of ultrasounds woot!
1/5 - First kick I felt from the outside   I think baby has been getting hiccups!
1/6 - First kick daddy felt from the outside - DEFINITELY must be hiccups, baby moved at regular intervals for about three or four minutes!
1/14 - It's a boy! Specialist at the hospital didn't see any further cystic fibrosis indicators, so we're officially closing the books on that issue. We did spot a little "white spot" in baby's heart, which could increase the risk for Down's Syndrome, but other than that we saw nothing that indicated that either, and my blood test for Down's came back negative...so we're closing the books on that too   I shouldn't have to go back to the specialist! I still have more ultrasounds tomorrow, but the one I had today was very in depth...my due date according to baby's size is on the money. He is about 1lb in weight already!  
1/15 - Nothing new at today's ultrasound, minus the fact that he was being stubborn (again)! Yesterday he couldn't be still; today he decided ultrasound time was hibernation time! The tech poked my belly for twenty or thirty minutes, but he was being totally uncooperative and wouldn't move - he was laying in a position that made it hard to get a good look at his heart. Yet, like I said, nothing new was found today that we didn't see yesterday...it was just fun watching my little guy up on the screen for a while. Daddy enjoyed it too ;)
1/16 - Mommy and Daddy agree on a name...Quinlan Michael, yay. Quinlan is Irish (per Daddy's request, and I loved it as soon as I saw it), and Michael is my father's middle name as well  
1/20 - 22 and a half weeks, regular OB appointment - everything looks fine. I gained 2lbs back up to 233, blood pressure was great, doctor took a fast look at Quin and said alright everything's good...four weeks of no doctor's appointments now!
2/3 - 24 and a half weeks - Quin kicks almost all the time, it's really great. I'm impatiently awaiting my next OB appointment 2 weeks from today! My mom has already started buying things for him: diapers, a little laundry basket, a couple of outfits (green and brown with monkeys on them!). My grandmother also bought about six outfits in great condition from a yard sale.
2/17 - Doc's appointment, same old same old - given lab work for glucose test, will do it next Tuesday when I'm off. Heartbeat was 145 BPM, blood pressure good, weight is still right around 233.
2/24 - Took glucose test
3/10 - Doctor's visit. Glucose test passed, yay - pretty much my last worry is now gone. Blood pressure good, weighed 234, so still one pound less than my first doctor's visit. The heartbeat was good, not sure on the BPM this time, but the coolest part was getting my tummy measured.   The doctor says it's measuring two weeks ahead of my actual due date! Everything's growing normally. I think I'm on every two weeks' appointments from here on out!
3/24 - Today we saw Quin briefly! He's getting so big...he is definitely head down (I suspected as much, almost ALL of his movement is right at the top of my uterus), and definitely measuring 33 weeks instead of 31! So I'm still looking two weeks ahead, but I'm not going to change my due date from May 22 until the doctor says I most likely will deliver early. Blood pressure and weight are the same as last week basically. Baby's heart was beating same as usual, around 145 BPM. I'm really excited...I could easily have him in the next five to seven weeks!
4/7 - Strep B test taken today, will get the results at my next visit on the 20th I imagine. Quin was active as usual when we peeked at an ultrasound; my weight is up to 236, only one pound higher than when I started.   Everything is looking great. Biophysical US on Thursday morning yay!
4/9 - Ultrasound looked fine at the hospital - he's nearly six pounds already, and the specialist estimated that at delivery (if I go full term) he'll be around 8 pounds! He's still definitely a boy, lol. If I had a scanner I'd post the pictures I have - the tech even did a few shots in 3d  
4/19 - Baby shower!!!! We had a great time; my mom took a ton of pictures, which I won't have to put on here (no scanner  ), but it was a nice, laid back affair that didn't last forever (I'm terrible with being the center of attention, but I think I handled it pretty well). I got a crib, bouncer, travel system, enough diapers and wipes to last a few months (seriously, TON of those), a good bit of clothing and bedding items (including the cribset I wanted off Amazon and it's SO gorgeous and soft!!!), and the softest, cutest baby blanket ever from Carter's (it's light blue with satin trim and little elephants embroidered on one corner of the trim...LOVE it)...honestly it's probably my favorite piece of all lol. I got so much more too, but either way it was a huge success!
4/22 - Doctor's visit. I tell you, love my doctor, but his staff in his office (especially the receptionists) are quite stupid. I've been on every other week appointments for a while now, and today when I signed in I was told that I wasn't scheduled back until May 5th. I was like, "Uhm no, I was told today." Anywho, my group B strep was negative. Baby looked great, has a big old head   He's had hiccups three times today >_> which is somewhat normal, he usually only has them twice at the most...either way the doctor is pretty pleased with everything as am I! Now down to once weekly appointments...we're getting close  
4/30 - At the doctor again - he says he'll be checking my cervix next week for progression (finally! lol). BP was good, no protein in my urine, weight was the same as last week. Baby's heartbeat was 142 BPM. They found traces of mucous plug in my urine, so hopefully that means things are starting to move along on their own! He says if I want to be induced he will at 39 weeks, though I am going to try to let labor come on naturally before any induction.
5/4 - WIC appointment, got added on. We are flat broke, so it's nice to be able to go and get a few things we actually needed and not have to pay for them   We just ran out of milk before my appointment, were low on eggs, etc...now we have a few things to hold us over until Thursday (and it makes less things I have to spend money on when we do go grocery shopping then).
5/7 - Doc's appointment...I'm between 2 and 3 CM dialated, woot! I seem to be slightly spotting after being checked, which I imagine is normal (it's not a lot of blood, and I imagine my cervical area is a bit tender again right now, especially with the whole being prodded thing). He said the baby is laying very low in my pelvis and believes I'll go into labor before my appointment next week - I'm so excited and can only hope that's the case! Gained about 4 lbs since Monday's WIC appointment, lol (236).
5/8 - Quin passed biophysical w/flying colors. Specialist says he's around 7lbs...
5/9 - Lost some more of my mucous plug today, nice icky snotty glob lol.
5/11 - Feet started swelling   Will bring up at my appointment on Thursday (5/14).
5/14 - No more progression since last week. Uneventful visit. I have to go again next Wednesday.
5/20 - Bleh. No progression, perhaps even a slight regression? I don't know. I'm sleeping awful lately - I was up at 4 AM last night scrubbing my damn kitchen floor of all things (on my hands and knees no less...it NEEDED it though, it was gross). I need to sleep so badly, this is two nights in a row of horrible sleep. I just either wake up and can't go back to sleep or, last night, I couldn't fall asleep. Either way. Quin needs to come out  
5/24 - Overduuuue  
5/25 - Woke up to contractions at 5 AM! Quinlan Michael Lowe is born at 4:12 PM at 7 lb 9 oz and 20 and 3/4 inches long  

Quin's weight:
Birth - 7 lb 9 oz, 20 & 3/4 in. long
At discharge from hospital - 7 lb 1 oz
5/29 - 7 lb 5 oz
6/1 - 7 lb 8 oz
6/4 - 7 lb 13 oz! 21 in. long!
6/10 - 8 lb 4 oz, 21 1/2 in long
7/2 - 10 lb 3 oz, 22 1/2 in long - so big!!!
7/29 - 11 lb, 11 oz, 24 in long  

8/17 - Little man is getting so big. He can giggle now along with his big smiles and wants to sit up already (he can't of course do it on his own, but with a little help he loves sitting straight up and holding his head up)! I love him so much...

Quin's next appointment is going to be near the end of September - 4 mo check.
Next WIC appointment is 9/2.

hey!!!! how are you and the family? I bet Quin is getting so big!