Week 20 - Halfway there!!!
Mommy caught a pretty nasty cold this week. It's the 3rd cold she's had since pregnant and since she can't take medicine for the symptoms swears she'll never allow herself to be near a sick person again. It's not fun.

Week 19 - May 7th 2004
This week was a very important week, it was the week of Joni's 2nd and 3rd ultrasound. It was such an incredible experience. Joni has grown to be so complex already.

The u/s technician was very helpful and informative although when Charles told her we planned to videotape the u/s she said we weren't allowed. Still the u/s was amazing. Joni was so graceful, so perfect, so peaceful and SOO BUSY!! The technician asked which of us was hyper because Joni was moving big time. I think it is due all the singing and music and dancing that goes on in the Isbell house! Joni was so busy, it was hard for the technician to get a picture. We did get a few of them though and put them up on the Baby Pics page.

During the u/s we got to see everything. Joni flipping around, Joni moving her arms and her legs. We even saw her open her mouth a couple of times. We saw her face, upper torso, rib cage, spine, ear, toes, fingers, little feet, everything. And of course we found out Joni is Joni...a girl!! It was such an emotional and surreal time, that the little active wonderful being is just growing and doing and moving already.

The purpose of this second trimester ultrasound is to check on Joni's major organs and make sure there aren't any markers for chromosomal or neural diseases. During the exam, the nurse said everything looked great and the Dr confirmed that he didn't see any problems. So we both are breathing a little easier now. We can finally just focus on preparing our world for our baby girl.

We also had another ultrasound that same day after the Dr found out the technician wouldn't allow for us to videotape the u/s. He decided to do it himself and provided a tape. Unfortunately, this time, Joni was a bit tired of being in the spotlight and hid her face in Sheilas pelvic bone. In addition, Dr was working on a new machine and couldn't figure out all the knobs and buttons! But we appreciated the thought even though the u/s came out nowhere close as amazing and clear as the first one. But I don't think the images we saw and the feelings we felt will leave us, it was all too amazing. We do have the 2nd u/s of the day on the website under the Baby Pics link if you want to check it out.

Like I said earlier, this was a big and exciting week. We are so excited that we got a little intimate glimpse of our little one and we can't wait to see and learn more.

JONI'S U/S STATS: weight-10 ounces | beats per minute - 144

Belly TP Squares: 8 and 3 quarters.

Week 18
Grandma and Grandpa Dallas made a trip down from Cincinnati to check in on everyone for the weekend. They all went out flower shopping and planted some new pots and beds around Cottage Isbell. We had great fun. We put the pics from the visit online so you can get a good look at Mommy's expanding waistline. Whoa Nelly!!

Went to the 18 week checkup at the OB/GYN. Baby Is' heartbeat was at 150. The Dr recommended Sheila to go to a chiropractor about her back pains. Sheila and Charles will investigate it.

Sheila and Charles up the frequency of walks around the neighborhood a week.

Belly TP Squares: 8 and a half

Week 17
Daddy was woken up to the horrified screams of his wife as she discovered a stretch mark on her belly. It was false alarm, she had scratched herself in her sleep, but a horrifying moment it was indeed.

Mommy's belly has moved up and out, the baby doesn't feel so low now. Mommy starts to measure the circumference of her belly using the very technical and complex toilet paper method.

Belly TP Squares: 8 and a quarter
TP Type: AngelSoft

Week 16
Mommy rediscovers the magic of the body pillow, starts to rest easy again. Mommy gets a big belly overnight. She and Daddy love it.

Week 15
Still having the sciatic back problems. Walking, rolling out of bed, standing long, lying down all hurts. Belly is to the point where Mommy can't sleep on her stomach anymore, she has problems sleeping on her side because of her back and her hips.

Week 14
14 week checkup. Lab tests look great. Dr. checks the baby's heartbeat and says it's soooo strong. CJ still kicking, still going strong. Mommy goes to her rheumotologist, he says her joint pain may get better when pregnant, Mommy's not so convinced.

Week 13
Mommy swears she feels a flutter, Daddy thinks it's some other kind of body function, but Mommy knows it was CJ wiggling hello!!

Mommy joins the Mom's In Motion class, a water aerobic class designed for pregnant women. Great workout and lots of fun.