Thursday November 10, 2011 - 20 Weeks

I have officially started feeling my baby girl moving around in my belly! It is so exciting! At first I thought I could feel a little something but I wasn't sure. It's not very consistent yet but when I lay on my back at night in bed, I can feel a little movement. It doesn't really feel like flutters that everyone talks about. It mostly feel like little pushes. Every night now I get really excited to see if I can feel her move. I can generally feel a little here & there. I can't wait until it gets more consistent!

Sunday November 6, 2011 - 19.5 Weeks

Rich and I have officially decided to name our baby girl Tatum Elizabeth Strauss. We mulled over lots of different names but we both have loved the name Tatum for a long time and I have always loved the name Elizabeth. It sounds beautiful together, Tatum isn't a common name and also not a weird, uncommon name, so we are really happy with our choice! I hope she likes her name as much as we do!

Wednesday November 2, 2011 - 19 Weeks

As everyone can tell from the image above, we found out today that we are having a girl!!!! We are so thrilled! We had the ultrasound today and she is measuring perfectly on everything. Thank you, God! It was such a wonderful feeling today to see our baby on the screen and to see her little heart beating away.    We just bought a new camcorder to start filming everything and Rich wanted to film the ultrasound session but the technician wouldn't let him. We don't know why but we of course obliged, begrudgingly! ;) It was so great to see the baby's brain, heart, kidney's, etc for the first time. She now weighs a whopping 10 ounces! We both breathed a sigh of relief when we saw that she is doing just fine. At the end of the ultrasound, the technician asked if we wanted to know the gender, and we told her yes! She started probing around and I could tell instantly that the baby was indeed a girl but I didn't say anything just to be sure. The technician then said, "It's a girl!" and Rich and I both got tears in our eyes instantly. He said, "Are you sure?" and the tech told us that she would not tell us anything unless she was absolutely certain. So, we are definitely having a girl! We were both very overwhelmed with emotion but Rich especially was. He was so convinced we were having a boy and I think it was just a shock for him. He couldn't be more happy! This little girl will have him wrapped around her little finger. He is such a softie anyway and I just know that she will melt his heart. I'm so excited for little pigtails, bows in her hair, little tutu's, dresses, and all things girly! I know there will be lots of shopping in our future! After we left the doctor's office, we called our parents, siblings, etc. right away and everyone is so excited. Rich was just so choked up with emotion that he couldn't really talk on the phone to his Mom or sister. It was the most precious thing ever. :)

So now we can start planning the nursery and register for baby items. My sister-in-law, Melissa will make the nursery bedding for us. I need to start looking for fabric that is perfect. I don't know how we will decorate just yet but I'm sure there will be lots of pink! We are beyond excited for this precious little girl to come into our lives. She will be so loved and protected by us. We will provide her with a great life filled with lots of love!!

I am definitely in maternity clothes right now. My belly is getting bigger and bigger. People are starting to notice that I am pregnant now. I have purchased some cute clothes to get me through the rest of the pregnancy. I didn't want to buy too many. I would rather spend money on my baby girl! I'm sure this will be the story of the rest of my life!! :)

Here's a picture of my baby bump right now.