First Belly Photos

I'm currently about 15 and a half weeks, and people have been asking for some belly photos (Shaleigh, here you go). I will try and take a photo or two each week to post on here. I am not looking so pretty - just back from swimming. I've decided that maybe I'm not too keen on taking these belly photos - my back is all out of whack and these photos don't look natural at all. Oh, and I'd just eaten dinner, so I'm full....Maybe we'll have better luck next time...

Cats

Pat forwarded this video to me and it reminded me of our cats. Milo in particular - he's been known to swipe at strange dogs and even us when we walk by and he wants to play. I could definitely see Andy getting a little persnickity about something like this though. Enjoy....



Another note about the cats - I am wondering if they can sense that I am pregnant? Here's the back story - literally. I was doing the elliptical two nights ago and at the end of my time, I got on the floor and did some stretching. My back has been bothering me since about the time I found out I was pregnant, thanks to the hormone relaxin, so if I lay flat on my back for about 5 minutes, it gets all stretched out and aligned and I feel much, much better. As I was laying on my back, Andy crawled up on top of my belly and rubbed his head back and forth on my tummy. Now I know you don't know our cats as well as Ben and I do, but he's NEVER done that before. I don't know about you, but tells me he can either smell, sense, feel or smell something in there....weird, I know. But it was totally cute! I went downstairs and told Ben, who proceeded to roll his eyes and me and call me crazy. Still, I'm starting to think Andy has figured it out. As for Tanner and Milo, that remains to be seen.... What do you think - can cats, or any pets in general, sense when their mommy is pregnant? Post your comments to let me know what you think.

It's OFFICIAL - We are pregnant!

Okay, Ali is actually the one who is pregnant, but Ben is just as much at fault! We found out near the end of September and have gradually been telling people. We were planning on telling my extended family at Thanksgiving, but it sounds like we are all doing our own thing with other extended family, so here I am breaking the news....for family, I'll follow up with an email encouraging you to view our blog.

I am a few days short of 12 weeks today. We are due May 31, and we're going to wait to find out the sex. We want the movie moment -- it's one of the last great surprises in life, so we're willing to wait it out. I guess that means we'll be shopping for lots of gender neutral things in greens, yellows, and creams. But we're fine with that!

I've been feeling pretty good in general. The one thing your friends who have been pregnant before don't tell you is how TIRED you are during your first trimester. That really is my biggest complaint. I've gotten good at napping on the weekends, sleeping in when I can, and generally just taking it easy. I have had some nausea and queasiness, but to this date I have not thrown up once! Thanks Mom (it's genetic)! Ben and I have been pretty good about walking, I really want to try and stay as fit as I can during the pregnancy. I'm going to start swimming here soon as the weather gets colder, and then next spring its on to prenatal yoga!

We have our second ultrasound next week (12 week ultrasound). Apparently, at that time, you can make out more of Baby Lowe's ("BL") features, so we are super excited to see it on screen again. I'll post a photo below of our first ultrasound. Ben and I both got teary eyed at the sight AND sound of BL's heartbeat - such a moving moment. One of the highlights of my life so far.

I'll keep you posted on the pregnancy, I promise!

Baby Lowe pictured at 6 weeks, 3 days (Oct. 8, 2008, which was our two year wedding anniversary!). You can see the heartbeat imaging at the bottom of the first photo. Double click on the photo for a larger shot.