December 29, 2010: Holiday Wishes from ours to yours!

December 24, 2010: MERRY CHRISTMAS FRIENDS AND FAMILY!

I feel like I am overflowing with joy this year! God has blessed us in so many ways this year- Our family and friends are in good health, Cory married an amazing woman and mother and we now have 2 new nieces and 2 nephews, we get to see our sweet niece Julia Claire pretty often and love seeing her grow into a smart and adorable little girl, we have loving and supportive parents and siblings, we have great jobs and hobbies that are fulfilling, and we have been given a little miracle that we are continuously thankful for. We hope this finds each of you having a wonderful Christmas full of family, love, laughter, and your own little miracles...whatever they may be.

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11 weeks

Our sweet little love bug...look at that sweet profile and perfect toes!

these are 4D pictures, really cool how the doc can probe in and show me the placenta and umbilical cord and how it all fits together...technology is amazing!

I'm 11 weeks! (1st Trimester)

How many weeks/days remaining: 29 weeks

Expected Due Date: July 15, 2011

Next Dr. Appointment: January 19

Size of baby: Baby Jex is the size of a large lime...2"

Baby Heartbeat: 180 BPM (right on target!)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Lost 2 lbs. I was dumbfounded because I have been eating everything in site and the doctor said I need to gain 6 by the next visit..I need to be +4lbs from my beginning weight. How come when you try not to gain weight it packs right on and when you are actually trying to gain weight it just won't happen. Dr. said I am fine for now but to focus on eating more. Looks like I need to move back into the Phi Mu sorority house for a few weeks.

Maternity Clothes: Not yet

Gender: We will find out in 8 weeks

Sickness: I wish I could post the same thing I did 2 weeks ago but unfortunately I got my fair share of sickness...I have been flat on my back sick this week. Nauseated every evening around 8...then the past few days hourly sickness through the entire night accompanied that. Dr. prescribed Phenegran and that has helped the past 2 nights but I still feel very uneasy. Dr. said he thinks this will subside in Tri2...2 more weeks!

Workout: Working out 3-4 times a week with the exception of this week and being so sick.

Movement: Not that I can feel however during the sonogram Baby J started kicking its legs and moving its arms. Simply amazing!

Sleep: Really hard to fall asleep because of the nausea however most nights I sleep through the night.

Pregnancy Highlights: Genuine Sympathy-- when I was sick I got so many kind words and messages from other woman who had been there, encouraging me and letting me know about their pregnancies. One of my friends even brought me (all the way from TN when visiting for the holidays) a few boxes of nausea decreasing candy and chews that worked for her. Women, and MEN, have been so understanding and thoughtful.

What I miss: Still miss that clear skin...and fresh (raw) tuna. But that's about it.

Cravings/Aversions: I still crave Baked Potatoes and oranges or anything citrus. Sweets, ice cream, chicken, and fish don't look appetizing at all.

Symptoms: Sickness (boo!)

Best Moment this week: Seeing our sweet little baby on Wednesday complete with fingers and toes. When Baby J moved around right after I said "this little baby better have grown something amazing in the last few days for how sick it's made me"..I knew it had a great sense of humor. Seeing that tiny little miracle was the highlight of 2010, BY FAR!

2 Steps forward, one step back...

Zach's dad was in town for a few things today so I told him to bring his work clothes and I was gonna put him and Zach to work. It was such a nice surprise to come home at lunch to all the Jex men, including Kellen, awaiting their duties. Man I could get used to this whole "not lifting a finger" lifestyle that accompanies pregnancy. I was so proud of us for being proactive and moving furniture around between the rooms long before the baby gets here so we don't leave it till the last minute. The tasks at hand were:
1) Disassemble bunk beds in back bedroom
2) Disassemble queen bed in 3rd bedroom (aka nursery)
3) Put one of bunk beds in attic and reassemble the other one in the 3rd bedroom (aka nursery).
4) Reassemble queen bed in back bedroom
5) Get rocking horse out of attic that Zach's dad hand made in college

Well everything was going great and beds were getting moved, rocking horse came down (and may I say it is the cutest thing I have ever seen)....and then
BAAM... [insert Zach's scream].

I ran into the hallway from the back bedroom and screamed up into the attic..."Zach are you okay" and then from the attic I hear Kellen say...."ohhhhhhhh s*it". I slowly walk into the nursery hoping not to see what I am expecting to see and sure enough...2 long legs hanging from the ceiling, braced only by one crossbeam that caught Zach at the knee and was preventing him from falling another 13 feet to the floor. I can't go into detail about the next few minutes because I think my body blocked it out for the babies sake. All I know is Kellen helped hoist him up from the hole without managing to fall through with him and I was so relieved. Zach came down with a sore neck but no scrapes or bruises (yet) and no broken bones...again all thanks to that one little crossbeam that prevented the major SPLAT. As soon as we realized he was okay I just wanted to punch him for being careless because I need him for a very long time and so does this baby...now is not the time to go hurting himself. But I realized it wasn't his fault...we was after all carrying a huge bed frame in a dark attic. So I guess you can say Zach escaped death yet again.... now we just have to get a sheetrocker over here the week of Christmas...right! I know it may seem silly but today made be so grateful it was not worse and it made me feel so thankful for a healthy husband to "carry" half of my load in life, I don't know what I would do without that guy!

Week 9 Bump Update

I will try and do these every few weeks and maybe more than that when I start getting really pregnant.

I'm 9 weeks, 4 days! (1st Trimester)

How many weeks/days remaining: 30 weeks, 3 days

Expected Due Date: July 15, 2011

Next Dr. Appointment: December 22...second sonogram!

Size of baby: Baby Jex is the size of a prune...1.5"

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Lost 1.5lbs but don't you worry I have been eating like a 300lb truck driver. My theory is this lil baby must be a Jex Boy and requires A LOT of nourishment just like his daddy.

Maternity Clothes: Not needed yet however I just grabbed a loot from the Gap on Cyber-Monday just in case the bump creeps up on me. Oh and I got a maternity swimsuit at Target because it was on sale and I fully intend to be a 8-9 mo. pregnant beached whale in a pool most of next summer. Also my friends Laura and Kim are loaning me some maternity clothes because they rock!

Gender: Won't know until February. A friend here is planning a gender-reveal party so you are all invited! We want to find out at the same time our family does! I think it's a boy but I am slightly hoping for a girl so she can borrow her cousin Elle's wardrobe....it is slightly insane and fabulous! Lisha went from hoarding markers and paint pens in college to hoarding adorable baby girl clothes as a mom.
Sickness: None...yet. Thank God!!! I am a pitiful sick person! I don't always feel so fabulous right before I go to bed but wake up feeling normal. Zach said God gave me the short stick on vision and hearing so the least he could do is give me a great pregnancy.

Workout: Working out 3-4 times a week. Still doing Turbo Kick but at a much lower intensity than I used to. Would love to still be running but it is way too cold outside!

Movement: Won't have any for a while...Sweet Pea is too small.

Sleep: Like a log as always. I am grateful for every night it stays like this because I know the day is coming soon where sleep is hard to come by.

Pregnancy Highlights: It's been great so far, if all of my pregnancies are like this I might have 10 kids. Loving how quickly my hair is growing and it is thicker than usual! You have to understand, I was born with the thinnest, finest hair so this is a huge perk for me!

What I miss: Clear skin.
Sometimes I miss Dr. Pepper and Sweet Tea, I gave up caffeine altogether. The other night at a party someone brought milk punch...my favorite holiday adult beverage and it was killing me that I could not have it.

Cravings/Aversions: I crave Baked Potatoes- I literally could have them for every meal. Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches are always yummy in fact I have one every night as my second dinner. I cannot stand the sight of grilled chicken or fish. Ewww. It's crazy because we used to eat Chicken every other night. I have to eat every 2-3 hours, not because the Dr. told me it was healthy but because I literally will rip someones arm off or resort to dog food as soon as hunger hits. I can go straight from not hungry at all to insanely hungry in 2 seconds flat.

Symptoms: Hunger, Bust has grown a size-boooo! At this rate I am screwed!, Sleepiness- not during the day but around 9pm I feel like I have been drugged...I was a night owl, not anymore.

Best Moment this week: There are a few: Zach told me for once in our lives he can't keep up with me and my eating. Zach dreamed we had triplet girls....hahahah. The same night I dreamed that I was in labor and we had a healthy baby- and at birth HE had red hair and freckles and was so cute.

Happy 30th Zach!

2 posts in one day...can you tell I am procrastinating from getting into the art studio and doing a million things.

this is Uncle Zach "eating" Julia Claire's arm...she just loves him and giggles so much! Sorry it's fuzzy I am terrible with the fancy camera.

On December 8, we celebrated Zach's 30th birthday! The day started with a huge breakfast of eggs, bacon, buscuits, fruit (not sure who was happier me or Z...I love eating big breakfasts these days) Then that night Kellen and Becky came in town and we all went out to Pearl Street for dinner!! It was so yummy and Julia Claire was the happiest little munchkin at dinner! While we discussed everything you could imagine about babies, birth (according to Med-school Kellen), pregnancy, and everything else to expect... Jules sat there quietly eating her blueberries, ice cubes and clattering about animals and stars. I hate to be partial but I think she is so adorable and growing into the prettiest little girl!

Every time I see her I feel like she has grown so much I wish we could just freeze time but also it is so fun hearing her talk and learn and she is really taking in the world. Let's just hope she wasn't absorbing any of the dinner table convo! Then it was back to our house for ice cream cake! It was a wonderful night and I think Zach liked spending his big 30 having a low key night with a few of his favorite people! For his big 30, I bought Zach a couch for the study...we got a call the day it was supposed to be delivered saying we were entered into a drawing with all the purchasers from Thanksgiving weekend and we won a flat screen HDTV!! We never win anything and I was so excited. So now we have a new couch in the study and a flat screen in our bedroom!

Outpouring of Love!

Since we found out we are having a baby we have gotten so much support and love from family and friends and I had to share some of the cutest little "gender-neutral" gifts we have gotten for Baby J and other really great reading material. Thank you all for the sweet cards and messages. It has been so much fun and we are just 9 weeks into the adventure. 31 weeks to go!

Let's start with the first 2 little gifts for Baby Jex. I bought the Led Zeppelin Onesie online months ago as soon as Zach and I decided we were gonna "hava a baby". As you might know this is one of Zach's favorite bands of all time so we had to make sure our lil punkin' was rockin out too. Then if you are a Ross you know how we love sock monkeys. There has always been a special one named Ezra that dad gave mom when they were dating and then for Cory and Alicia's wedding mom and dad gave personalized monkeys to all the kids to signify that even though their last name is not Ross, they are still Ross monkeys...so we had to grab this sweet lil Sock monkey beanie from the Gap.

For thanksgiving, Mom and Dad aka...Papa and Gram (or whatever name they settle on) gave us these sweet little winter boots. I am just in love with them and how darn small they are. It is hard to image the "olive-sized baby" growing in my tummy will be able to fit into these in one year.

This week the sweetest ornament arrived from Aunt Franny and Uncle Tim and the kids. I remember when Franny got pregnant with JT, she had an ornament made by the same artist and it had stockings on a mantle and then an extra one for Baby W. She gave them for gifts and that is how she told the family. I was so excited to unwrap this because I know every year when I hang it I will remember how excited we were the Christmas of 2010.

Becky sent me this AWESOME skin care line called Belli! It smells so awesome and it came with lotion, exfoliater, stretch mark oil, and more! I have not had a need to use the oil yet however I have contemplated using it on another region that is growing by the hour :)

One of my favorite gifts we have gotten are helpful and hilarious books! Alicia and Cory sent Zach this book...I hope he finds a few helpful hints in it. I might even have to write in my own little additions!

Within days of telling McShane I was having a baby the most hilarious book showed up on my doorstep...the Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy. I will refrain from quoting the book in case I have any readers with a weak stomach but this book keeps me laughing! Zach will look over at me in bed as I laugh out loud and I simply look at him and say "you don't want to know". Thank you so much Lauren, you know me too well! I have to give Lauren a HUGE shout out for the 8 page typed document she sent me. I actually told Lauren before we told our parents or anyone else because when she got pregnant she was a person trainer in NYC and I had a million questions for her and I didn't want to stop working out for the next 4 weeks until we told everyone. Questions like "Can I still work out?" "If so, is it safe to do the same workouts I am doing now" "Why do people say you can't do crunches" and on and on. So Mrs. Fabulous Over-achiever typed up a novel quoting statistics from medical boards and the American OBGYN association (or something to that effect) and laid to rest all the rumors and guided me in a safe direction with workout examples! How awesome is that...if only she lived about 14 states closer to drag me off of the couch and make me workout on my lazy days.

So like I said, thank you again for all the well wishes and love these last few weeks! We feel so blessed and know baby J is going to be so loved!

It's Baby Time!

We are so excited to finally be able to let the cat out of the bag and shout from the mountain tops...."WE'RE HAVING A BABY". I still can't believe it since I have not had too many symptoms (crossing my fingers and knocking on wood it stays that way), but it became a reality to us 2 weeks ago we had our first sonogram and the little bambino looks great. Heart beat was strong-117 BPM (I guess that is the reason I become winded just walking upstairs) and the little bean was measuring exactly (to the day) the estimated age. We are just over 8 weeks now and the sweet pea is due on July 15, 2011. So stay tuned for more exciting news as Baby J progresses and YES we are finding out the gender for all of my crazy family members who think we should wait and let it be a surprise...haha riggggght. In case you forgot, I am Mrs. Planner/decorator/mapper outter/ monogrammer/picture painter/nursery dreamer upper....I have a folder on my desktop full of nursery ideas I came across over the past year or so. There is no way this baby will enter this world with a bedroom that is anything less than inspiring, stimulating, and totally dreamlike...or at least that is what I am envisioning :)

Thank you to all of our family and friends that have been so wonderfully supportive and have shared in our joy. We have felt so surrounded by love and hope these last few weeks that I know Baby J will be coming into a blessed life with so many people that love him or her.