It's a Boy!

Perry was able to figure it out without help from the ultrasound technician. I was quite impressed. I was totally prepared to hear, "it's a girl!" So I was surprised when she pointed out the little boy parts! She said she wouldn't have told us if she was not 100% certain, so I don't think there's anything to worry about. I can start buying little boy clothes again! The little guy was doing lots of moving around today--stretching out his little legs. I felt the first movements last week, but not much since. I really have to lay still and concentrate hard to figure it out. I'm sure he'll start kicking much harder in the few weeks to come.

Here is another picture of his face...

...and here is a view from the side. He's all squished up in a ball. You can kind of see his little leg.
The best news of the day, however, was that there is no shortening of my cervix. Everything looks great. That's a load off of our shoulders. Now we wait for the next ultrasound in two weeks.

THE RESULTS ARE IN...

...and it is...a BOY! I'm actually quite surprised that we were able to find out today. He was sitting in the perfect position for us to figure it out. Everything looks great so far! More to come...

Another girl???

Next Tuesday (the 26th), we have another ultrasound to make sure everything's going well. We MAY be able to find out if it's a boy or a girl. If not, we have ultrasounds scheduled every two weeks, so there's no doubt we'll find out soon. It seems as though everyone--not just Millers--is producing baby girls these days. Will we follow suit? Hmmm. I can tell you that I have a feeling it's a boy--but I also thought our other two girls were boys...so my opinion doesn't count for a whole lot. I did, however, correctly predict Katie would have a girl. So join in on the poll to the right and we'll let you know when we find out!

Take Me to Your Leader

We've made it to the second trimester! According to my pregnancy Web site, the baby is the size of a lemon. Unfortunately, my stomach is already the size of a watermelon. Not quite, but close. Yesterday we had the first of 9 ultrasounds I'll have over the next few months to check on the length of my cervix. So, here is the picture, which makes baby look like an alien. The face is on the right, the tummy on the left. His legs and arms are hidden. We don't know yet whether it's a boy or a girl. I'm guessing at our 18 week ultrasound we'll find out. Scott posted on his blog how people think you're a horrible parent if you don't find out the sex of your baby---well guess what? It goes both ways! I love when people ask me, "don't you want it to be a surprise?" I'm pretty sure seeing our child for the first time in the delivery room is just as surprising whether we know its gender ahead of time or not. They act like you're committing some mortal sin or something. Anyway, if it's a boy, we're going to have to figure out a way to paint half the room blue.

Baby On Board

We've made it to 12 weeks with no problems. Imagine that! I'm really starting to show already which is a good sign, but this in-between stage can get annoying. I just look fat, not pregnant. :P The due date is November 10th, although I will deliver a week earlier than that via C-section. No Brian, I can't hold this one in until the 25th. We'll have lots of ultrasound pictures to share in the coming months--at least 8 or so. My goal is to have Natalie sleeping through the night, or at least sleeping in her own bed through the night by the time this baby gets here. I have 6 months to accomplish that!

Team Natter B!

It's hard to believe that this is what Natalie once endured! I memorized everything about that adorable little face. I remember thinking at one point that I needed to burn it into my brain in case anything happened to her. It's a horrible thing to think, but it's reality when your baby is in the NICU! So here is the requested info about our March of Dimes March for Babies walk in Minot. If you can join us for the walk, we'd love to have you here. Let me know so I can get a team shirt for you! And, if you can, please help us reach our goal of $3000 as a team. You can visit the link below and donate with credit card or check. It's really easy and also secure. And like I said on Natalie's CaringBridge site, no donation is too small. Anything you can contribute is very much appreciated! Thanks from the three of us!
http://www.marchforbabies.org/personal_page.asp?w=201021835&u=teamnatterb

Awww...Ain't He Cute?

He just needs the little hat to complete the picture. This picture on the left was taken as we met the newest member of the Lori Olson family--Abby the cat (below).

Natalie loves cats, and they seem to love her; but since Perry is allergic to cats, it's nice that Grandma and Grandpa Olson have cats at their place! Abby reminds me of my cat when I was a child, Butterscotch.

Natalie's working hard to learn how to eat from a spoon! For the past few days she's done really well with minimal gagging!

In other exciting news, we have been named the ambassador family in Minot for this year's March of Dimes March for Babies walk, which is April 4th. I'll have details later on how you can help us raise money...we're hoping to raise $3000 this year as a team. I know we can do it! The gender poll ended in a tie...6 for boy and 6 for girl (2 Dolphins). I had a feeling that would happen!