Excellent test results!

Just got off the phone with the doctor. I got my blood work results back from my appointment last week. My Downs Syndrome screening came back negative, which means that I am outside the result window for concern or even more testing (like a super scary looking amnio). As for Cystic Fibrosis, my chances of having a baby inflicted with that are 1/12,000. And then for Trisomy 18 and/or 13, my chances are 1/23,000. So those numbers are really excellent! Of course, nothing is definite, but my doctor has no reason to be concerned from any of our results! Here's to a happy, healthy Baby Lowe!

Tanner Wishes You a Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Lowes! Tanner is having too much fun with all the sweets and treats at the house....he found some antler ears and just couldn't resist. Happy Holidays!

Tanner at 4 and 1/2 years old:

Tanner at 7 months old (his first Christmas, and yes, he got coal in his stocking after this!):

16 week check up

Well, I'm in my fourth month, if you can believe that! I had my 16 week check up on Wednesday, and just had my vitals, weight, etc., checked, met with the doc briefly, and then had some blood drawn. Nothing to report, no concerns, just right on track. The highlight was listening to Baby Lowe's heartbeat! I love that - I could listen to it for hours. Ben and I are going to get one of the home listening devices. I'm so excited to get one of them! We'll get the one where

Ben's parents arrive on Saturday to visit for a week for Christmas. Then John and Tracy arrive for four days on Tuesday. It'll be good to host for once! Ben took a half-day today to get a start on cleaning, etc., as evenings are hard for me to get motivated at all. By the time I get home from work, I'm usually pretty tired. There are a few days a week that I feel pretty good, but generally, the thought of doing more than making dinner, taking the dog out or laying on the couch doesn't appeal much to me. Again, Ben's been great - taking on the majority of the housework. I don't tell him enough how much I appreciate him, but I will start doing that more for sure!

First Kick (?) and Holiday Parties

So last week, I "think" I felt the baby move, kick, punch, stretch or whatever BL is doing in there. It was very faint, but happened about four times right in a row. Little butterfly flutters is the best way I can describe it. However, that being said, it's kinda early to have felt something, or so I've read....still, it's always possible. Everyone I mentioned it to said, "It might have been gas," yet to be honest, I wasn't gassy at all that day. I called Ben at work and told him, and he got just ask excited as me! Then the whole rest of the day and the following day, he asked me if I felt any more, but alas, no...Oh well. Definitely looking forward to BL's first really distinguishable kicks, although I know there will be some later on that will rocket me out of my chair, I just know it.

Ben's work Christmas party was on Friday. They don't do the spouse thing, so Kate and I met up and went out to dinner. Then we headed to Vesta Dipping Grill to meet Shelley and her crew to celebrate her birthday. Kate and I had already eaten, so we sat at their table during dinner and just hung out with them. It was great. Shelley has been dating this super sweet guy, Chris, and he was adorable with her. She seems happy, so I'm happy for her! Kate and I then went to meet up with the rest of the ALPS crew after their party ended. Ben was a tad bit intoxicated, so he was dancing (believe it or not) and rubbing bellies with me. Very cute! He is so excited about this baby, I can't tell you how excited that gets me! His buddy Pat was all about my belly, rubbing it, singing to it, pointing to it. I was laughing. Saturday night it was my work's Christmas party. A five-course dinner at the Brown Palace. It was wonderful! The food was awesome and the room was beautiful. The attire was cocktail, so everyone was all snazzy and dressed up. Both of us were tired by 10 p.m., so we headed out of there, went home and crashed.

Ben left for a one night trip to NY for a client meeting on Sunday and my mom and I went to see Jersey Boys at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. It's a musical about the Four Seasons, and I LOVED IT! The music was great, the guy who played Frankie Valli was amazing. I would highly recommend it to anyone!

Here's a couple of photos of Ben and I from my holiday party - Ben looks so great in a suit, and since I don't travel with him, I never get to see him wear them that often. So enjoy!

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.

Cute baby/dog photo

This came from my stepsister. One of her friends had a baby recently, and she sent me this photo (knowing that we have a dog as part of the family). I cannot wait to see how cute Tanner will be with Baby Lowe. Enjoy!

Welcome Second Trimester!

It's official, I am now in my second trimester. Crazy how time flies. I am 14 weeks, 2 days along. No news to report, which I guess is good. No complications, no worrisome pains, no weird stuff. I think my energy level is starting to come back up a bit, my nausea is really all but gone, and I find myself feeling hungry at weird times, like 9 p.m. before bed and in the middle of the night. I kinda don't feel pregnant, except that I'm just barely starting to show. I am able to wear my work clothes right now, but my jeans are a no go - at least not without leaving the button open and using a belly band to cover the button and zipper. It's actually comfy - no restrictions or tightness!

We had Thanksgiving dinner with my mom, Kari, Uncle Roger and Aunt Suzy at my mom's house. It was nice and quiet. Too much food! But everything was really yummy and we enjoyed it. I was sad to miss most of the family, but everyone was doing their own thing this year. Friday morning we drove up to Estes Park to see Connie, Stacey and Danny, Pat and Paul. We watched tons of football, movies and did plenty of puzzles. After being so tired and worn down for the last two months, it was so nice to go up there and have no obligations, no alarms, no nothing, except relaxing, catching up and digging into those puzzles. Oh and the leftovers weren't bad either! We ate way too much again! We took some shrimp cocktail for Friday during the CU/Nebraska game (they almost pulled it out....) and I have to admit it was the best shrimp cocktail I've ever had! Their cocktail sauce was the best any of us had ever tasted. I highly recommend it.

Sunday we drove back home, and Ben put up some more Christmas lights on the house. It looks so good! He did such a great job. I just laid on the couch, and did some laundry. He treats me well, to say the least! Tanner got way too much people food off the plates of everyone at Connie's cabin, so he had some serious diarrhea and vomiting when we got home Sunday, but he seems to be better today. Then of course, one of the cats threw up this morning, so maybe Tanner was actually sick and not just spoiled rotten.

Hope everyone enjoyed their holiday! Looking forward to hosting my in-laws for Christmas!

No news, just a weekend update

Nothing new in baby land, just spent the weekend relaxing and not doing much of anything! I am still feeling tired, although at certain times during the day I do feel better and have more energy. The doctor said from this point on out, in general my energy level will be up, but I will have good and bad days along the way. Ben and I walked Saturday and Sunday, up to and around Cheeseman Park by our house. A nice hour long walk. Tanner loves it - he chases squirrels the whole time and is in heaven!

Really, nothing to report, just didn't want to leave the blog un-updated for weeks like I have been. Thanksgiving is Thursday - I'm so excited for turkey! Then we head to Estes Park for the weekend to visit Connie, Stacey and Dannie, Pat and Paul....more relaxation, right up my alley. Ben plans to fish, so hopefully it doesn't snow the entire time.

We did watch Tropic Thunder last night - it was surprisingly funny! Tom Cruise is hysterical in it, I think he is the funniest part of the whole thing. I was a bit shocked at his crudeness and language, but then again it's a movie, right! And he dances to rap, which is totally had me laughing. I just kept thinking to myself....what must those Scientologists think of this?!?! All in all, I would recommend it, we enjoyed it! It's a bit crude, bloody, etc., but it is a true comedy.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

12-week doctor's appt. and ultrasound

Ben and I went to our 12-week appointment and ultrasound yesterday. It was great! First the ultrasound - got in the chair, pulled up my shirt, got squirted with some gel, and it was on! Once she found BL, we could totally tell it was a baby - no longer a gummy bear or peanut looking thing. Complete and total love! A real baby! At first BL looked like it wasn't moving much, and the ultrasound tech was taking various measurements. Then all of a sudden, you can see two little legs just kick out super fast. Kick, kick, kick!! (Future soccer player in the making!) Then back to being still. The tech kept doing her measurements and pointing out all the features (we could make some out on our own, some we couldn't). After a while, BL was being stubborn (knowing it's father, that's not surprising....), so she'd use the wand and push on my belly a little bit and then BL would move some in reaction. I loved it! Here are some photos:

This first one shows BL with its head down and to the right, stretched out, legs to the top left. You can make out both hands too! This is the best shot by far.

This is a shot of baby in the same position, but turned a little bit so you can see the spine. Legs are stretched out again. Very cool! This is a shot of baby waving! Yes, if you look closely you can see a tiny hand, four fingers and a thumb...

We met with the doctor after the ultrasound and just did blood pressure, weight, etc. I gained 4 lbs. my first trimester - right on track. Normal weight gain the first trimester is anywhere between 3-5 lbs., so I'm good to go. She went over the measurements the ultrasound tech took and everything looks great! BL did measure at about 13 weeks, even though I was just at 12 weeks, but the doctor said that this ultrasound is not generally the most accurate, so no change in due date. Last thing was a finger prick and blood spotting test. Five small spots of blood on paper, which constitutes our first genetic screening. The blood results combined with some of the measurements the tech took either indicate a higher risk of certain diseases (namely Downs Syndrome), which may or may not call for additional testing down the road. Next appt. is Dec. 17. It'll be a fast appt., just one blood draw for more genetic screening, my vitals and listening to baby's heartbeat. Next ultrasound will be mid-January at 20 weeks. We're supposed to bring a DVD so they can record the ultrasound - we are super excited for that one!

Ben and I concluded the best part of yesterday was watching the baby kick around so much. I'm shocked that I can't feel a thing - BL is really having a party in there! Must be all the Mexican food I've been eating and craving. Oh yea, we are also both feeling like this is a boy. Up until yesterday, I really thought it was a girl, but those long chicken legs look too much like Daddy's legs to belong to a girl....unless she turns out to be 6'2" or something. And the baby is really stubborn - didn't move on queue - stubborn like Daddy.....and probably just as cute!