Holiday Traditions & Half Way There!

Recently, we went to get our Christmas tree.  It has been a long time since we have done that because in the past Tuna has gotten a tree from his work.  We had forgotten how exciting it was to go and pick a tree, tie it to car, get it home, and get it decorated.  This prompted a conversation about Christmas traditions and things we want to make a tradition in years to come.  So our question is what are some of your traditions...things you do every year or even things you might like to start with your family?  Whether it is as simple as baking the annual "Santa Cookies" or a family outing to the Nutcracker Ballet we want to hear it!  Leave us comments below or on our Facebook pages.  And thanks for sharing!

While you are thinking about it, here is a picture of Tuna securing the tree to the family truckster:

In other exciting news...we are half way there!  Woo hoo!  Today marks 20 weeks and the halfway point.  Of course this prompted a Google search about the whole 40 weeks v 9 months of pregnancy.  We found the site below that determines everything when you enter the due date.  We thought it was pretty cool!

Trimester Calculator 

Lisa has been able to feel the baby moving and kicking since about 14 weeks.  In the recent days we have both seen her tummy move and Lisa has been able to feel the baby move from the outside on a couple of occasions.  She laughs because it sometimes seems like the baby is doing backstrokes...perhaps we have a swimmer on our hands?!  We have also noticed that the baby doesn't really start moving and grooving until after 11:30 am.  Maybe this bodes well for him/her to be a late sleeper?  And will go to bed early, too!  ;)  We can hope, right??

The next appointment is December 29th...a regular check-up and the re-scheduled anatomy scan.  It will be great to see how much our Chickpea has grown since the last scan!

Thanks for reading our blog and we wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukkah in the meanwhile!

xoxo,
Tuna and Lisa

Two Appointments, One Re-Scheduled Appointment, and a Maternity Dress - Oh My!

Hello Everyone!
We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and family.  We spent the day at Aunt Sharon and Uncle George's Milagro Ranch with family and ate way too much!  But that is what the holidays are for, right?

Sorry it has been a while since we updated the blog, so here is the latest and greatest!

November 17th - We had an anatomy scan at a different doctor's office since it was a level two ultrasound.  Basically, it was a closer look at the baby's anatomy.  This is done to check for abnormalities in the baby's development - which there is a higher likelihood of since Lisa is SO OLD!  ;)  Well, after waiting well past our appointment time we finally got back to see the doctor and as the scan began the doctor began asking questions that were quite alarming to us.  As it turns out they had the due date wrong - by a month!  No wonder they were concerned!  They had the due date as April 7th, so when the baby was measuring 15 weeks and 3 days (instead of what they thought was supposed to be 19 weeks and 3 days) they became alarmed.  After we resolved that issue the doctor adjusted the due date and continued with the measurements.  She measured the skull and femur, looked for cleft pallet, and made sure there were 4 chambers in the heart.  She said that preliminarily that things looked good, but because the appointment was too early that she couldn't say anything definitively.  The anatomy scan is supposed to be done between 18 weeks and 22 weeks - so she wanted us to come back in 4 - 6 weeks.  Needless to say we were confused as to why we were sent by my doctor so early as the other doctor clearly indicated that there was no reason for us to have come at 15 weeks.  We definitely had some questions, but were so happy to get to see our little Chickpea again and to get confirmation that he/she was growing precisely on track, to the day!  Below is a profile of the Chickpea at 15 weeks and 3 days (waving, no less!) :

November 28th - This was the usual 4 week check-up appointment.  Tuna was very busy with a big project and did not come to the appointment - and it is a good thing!  The appointment was at 10:45 and Lisa didn't even get back to the exam room until 11:50!  Of course there was another 20 minute wait after that to see the doctor.  All she did was ask questions and use the doppler to hear the heartbeat - it was so loud and strong!  And the doctor was much more friendly and open at this appointment - a big change from the first appointment and reassuring to both of us.  We think that she must not be a morning person and hadn't had her coffee the first time we saw her!  :)   She did look through the files and asked why we went to the anatomy scan so early.  It was explained to her that her office sent us to the appointment!  So after a little digging around in the file she realized that her office booked the appointment based on an April 7th due date versus the true due date of May 7th.  She said that she would re-schedule the appointment, for the right time, and would try to work out paying for the second scan...since we paid for the first.  Well, we are glad to report that we do have a second scan on December 29th and that the doctor's office is paying for it!  We weren't really expecting that - at all! And she was very reassuring that this mistake was not the norm. 

Odds and Ends - The Aggie indoctrination has begun!  Kim and Rich gifted Chickpea with some lovely pressies over the Thanksgiving Holiday - one of which was an Aggie pacifier!  We are sure some of you Longhorns might have something to say about that!  ;)

Lisa has been feeling really great since about 14 and a half weeks.  Still down about 27 pounds she is so glad to be out of the "yuk" phase and is trying to be good about what she is eating.  Although, Guy and Megan's wedding cake was SO worth it!  Speaking of Guy and Megan...they got hitched this past weekend and Lisa needed a dress for the occasion and the first maternity item was purchased.  It definitely made the "bump" more pronounced!

Thank you all for your support and for reading our little blog.  We are scared, excited, overwhelmed, nervous, and still in denial about this whole thing.  Your kind words and comments mean more to us than you will ever know!

xoxo,
Tuna and Lisa

The "Motherload"

We had a wonderful surprise on Friday night.  Lisa's mom surprised us with a shopping spree for baby items!  It was an overwhelming thought at first, but we quickly wrapped our brains around the idea.  We all loaded up in the car (Tuna, Lisa, Frankie, and Bonna) and headed to Target for all of the fun!

Admittedly, the task was daunting and Tuna kept picking out clothes that were toddler size, but we got the hang of it.  It was also tough to ignore all of the adorable boy and girl outfits.  But we vowed to stay strong and stick with neutral items.  We also bought blankets, towels, sheets, and a variety of bath products.  We were so surprised at how small the newborn diapers were!  Holy moly!

We have already put the items in the drawers and below are a few pictures:

 (check out the giraffe footies...SO stinkin' cute!)

We had a great time shopping and can't thank "Grummies" enough for the wonderful surprise! 

We also got a package in the mail from Lisa's college roommate, Lisa.  See the picture below:

Rock Chalk Jayhawk!  We (well, Lisa actually) can't wait until the baby is big enough to wear it!

With all of these fun things it seems like all we need is the baby, right?  ;)

Upcoming...we have a level 2 ultrasound tomorrow and it will be so great to see more detailed pictures of our chickpea!

Until our next update thanks for reading and keeping up with us and our journey into parenthood!

xoxo,
Tuna and Lisa

Appointments and Ultrasound Pictures!

Just to catch everyone up to speed here are the appointments we have had and ultrasounds we have had done.

For starters Lisa's OB/GYN no longer practiced the OB part of that title, so she had to find a new doctor (which was very sad).  We decided to find someone in Katy and simply went to the BCBS approved doctor list.  To be totally honest, Lisa chose the doctor because she was in an all female practice, and well, the doctor had graduated from KU Medical School (Rock Chalk Jayhawk!).  So off to a new practice we went...

Our first appointment was on October 3rd.  Lisa was still really, really sick and felt like roadkill.  But nonetheless we were both excited!  Lisa did the usual, height weight, blood pressure, etc. and we finally met the doctor.   Needless to say she was "all business" and not overly friendly.  But, we both have complete faith in her ability - so we are going to stick it out with her.  After Lisa had the most uncomfortable pap of her entire life we were rewarded with an ultrasound of our 9 week old "Chickpea".  As the ultrasound first started Tuna asked the doctor if the speck in the "pouch" was the baby.  So cute!  So now, the Chickpea lives in the "pouch".  When the ultrasound first started it looked Chickpea was doing the funky chicken!  We measured right on track, the heartbeat was strong, and everything looked really good (see pic below).

At this first appointment there were a lot of questions being asked of us; one of which was whether or not we wanted to pursue genetic testing.  We decided to do an ultrascreen to check for the presence of any genetic disorders.  The doctor emphasized the importance of the test due to Lisa's "advanced maternal age".  We decided to have the testing done and if any concerning results came back we would cross that bridge at that time.  But we definitely wanted to know.

Our second appointment was on October 26th.  Tuna had a big job going (YEAH TUNA!), so Lisa went to this appointment by herself.  This appointment was a check-up and the screening.  The exam was just the basics and a chat with the nurse practitioner.  Lisa loves the nurse practitioner and she has made it worth staying at the practice.  Then the ultrascreen began - it involved a finger prick and an ultrasound.  The tech who handled the appointment was looking for the baby's neck to measure as this is a part of the NT screening.  One of the main things this measurement would indicate is the possibility of Spina Bifida.  Chickpea's heart rate was 154 and  everything looked good.  Funny enough, the baby was moving around at first, but then performed a "rollover"and was in an awkward position.  This made the tech's job tough in that she was having a hard time getting the neck measurement.  She was pressing really hard on Lisa's abdomen and asked Lisa to shimmy around on the table to try and wake the baby, but Chickpea was having none of that!  When Tuna heard this he said for sure the Chickpea took after Lisa in that she does the exact same thing if he has to wake her up!   When Tuna saw the ultrasound he couldn't believe how much more room Chickpea had taken up in the "pouch"! The ultrasound below shows Chickpea's uncooperative, curled up, slumber pose!

  Fast forward to this Wednesday and we found out that the genetic testing was negative and everything looked really great!  We are so happy and so relieved!

Our next appointment is November 17th and it is a Level 2 ultrasound.  It will be really great to see nice, defined pictures of our Chickpea.  We are so excited and will resist the temptation to possibly find out what the sex is!  We have our next doctor's appointment on the 28th of November.

We can't believe how fast time is flying!  Wow!

Much love to you all!
xoxo,
Tuna and Lisa!

"It's About Time..."

First of all, we would like to thank everyone for your kind messages, texts, calls, and comments.  It means the world to us!

Now back to the story...

Many people have wondered why it is we "waited" to start a family.  We'd like to say that it was an intentional decision, but the truth is - life had other plans for us.  Here is our story...and sorry if it gets a little TMI and a little long...but it is our story!

We were never really a couple that knew that 2.5 years after we got married we have a little boy and then 3.5 years later have a little girl.  We did know that we really wanted to spend time together building our relationship before we ventured on that path.  Soon after the 9/11 attacks we - as many people did - began examining our own lives and what was important to us.  We decided at that time that we would forgo any sort of birth control and just "see what happens".  Well, nothing happened (like we had to tell you that!).  In 2005, it was decided that Lisa would chart cycles and see if everything was normal - and after 4 cycles all appeared to be OK.

After more trying (since everything was normal according to the charting - as confirmed by Lisa's OB/GYN) in 2007 it was decided that surgery might help things along - and hopefully get rid of an extremely painful "Aunt Flo".  So, in August of 2007 Lisa had a D&C, HSG, and hysteroscopy - with the intention of getting a look inside and cleaning things up a bit.  As it turns out, her uterus was not only titled backwards, but was also completely folded in half!  Additionally, stage 3 hemorrhagic endometriosis was discovered and removed.  These two conditions made conception virtually impossible (we think about all the wasted money on birth control pills!).  So Dr.Wilson "cinched up" Lisa's uterus so it was in a correct position and we were told that if we were not pregnant in 3 months that we would need to come back and we would discuss other options, such as an IUI.

We had a long talk about that and we both were in agreement that we did not want to pursue that route.  We both agreed that we were perfectly OK with "us" and if I child was meant to be a part of our life then it would happen for us when the time was right.  And if it never happened then we were OK with that too.  We absolutely enjoyed each others company and if was just us (and our puppies, too) we were just as happy.  As fate would have it, in October of 2007 Lisa decided to go to work for her dad at the end of the school year.  We both decided that it was not fair to him for her to go in there and immediately take time off, so things were put on hold. 

Over the last year, we decided to throw caution to the wind and start trying again...and on Monday, August 29th, we got the news that would change our lives forever - we were going to be parents!  The timing was a little funny in that Tuna has just recently started his own landscaping company and Lisa has her internship in the Spring and is graduating with her masters in May.  Plus we have a super-busy "BBQ/Rodeo Season"  between now and the due date.  But the month of April gives us a little breathing time before baby arrives!  Ultimately, we feel like this pregnancy has been such a blessing in multiple ways!

UPDATE - We are 14 weeks along today and Lisa is feeling really, really good (hopefully we didn't just jinx it!).  Early last week was a little touch and go - but we feel like we are over the "yucks".  We know, without a doubt, that it is due in great part to everyone's thoughts and prayers and we cannot thank you enough for that!  Love to you all!

xoxo,
Tuna and Lisa

We Are So Excited!

Hello Friends and Family!
We have decided to start a blog because our life together is about to change!  As some of you already know, we are (finally) expecting a bundle of joy!  We are ecstatic and well, honestly, scared out of our minds!  As of today we are exactly 13 weeks along and all appointments have indicated that everything looks really good.  Our due date is May 7th (Tuna's brother's birthday!), so we will be welcoming a Taurus into this house of Virgos! 

What we hope to do with this blog is keep anyone, who is interested, up to date with everything that is going on.  Some entries may not be too thrilling while other entries might be a little more exciting (well, at least to us).  In the days to come we will post "our journey" to get to this point and everything that has gone on since finding out that we were expecting.  Until then, here are a few of the common questions that have been asked and their answers:

1. Will you find out the sex of the baby?  We will not be finding out the sex of the baby prior to delivery.  There is one of us that would like to, but he got overruled!  :)

2. Do you have names picked out yet?  Yes and no.  We have middle names pretty much decided for a boy and for a girl, but the first names are still "in committee". 

3. Will you be telling what the name choices are once they are decided.  Nope.  :)

4. How has Lisa been feeling?  Horrible would be an understatement.  Morning sickness (that lasts all day long) set in at exactly 6 weeks and has made itself at home.  Down almost 30 pounds, the wardrobe selection is quite limited...but the doctor is giving until 14 weeks to get everything back in order before we start looking at other alternatives.  Please pray that the "yucks" subside ASAP!!

We are so excited to be on this journey and to be sharing it with you.  We know that many people have known and have been wondering if it is OK to say anything and the answer to that is YES!

Please look for more updates in the near future as we progress along in our journey.

Thank you for sharing in our happiness!
Much love,
Tuna & Lisa