Latest Baby pictures

Week 29.
We had a 3D/4D ultrasound done this weekend. This was just for fun, not medical. we wanted the pictures of baby and we could also schedule it for a weekend that both our parents were in town so that the grandparents got a look at their new grandbaby. We still didn't find out whether it's a boy or a girl because we still want to wait. We did find out our baby is bald though! So much for the old wives tale that heartburn means you're having a hairy baby. Our baby decided to sleep through the whole ultrasound though and no amount of poking, jumping, and stretching could convince her/him to wake up. I couldn't do the traditional sugary orange juice drink to wake up baby because the doctor just diagnosed me with gestational diabetes. I tried a couple sips of Mike's coke but apparently it wasn't enough to get baby going. We still got lots of cute pictures though. Here are a couple of our favorites. If you want to see more then just follow this link to the ones on facebook http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=202330&id=662435043&l=33a03567dd

Here is baby smiling.


Here is baby sticking out his/her tongue.


Here baby is using his/her foot to scratch his/her ear. Clearly our baby has already been influenced by our dog. =) You can also see the baby's hand. Both the foot and hand were covering the face. Baby was being shy.

a couple of videos from the 19 week ultrasound

Mike was in charge of the camera during the ultrasound and he got a couple of good clips of Baby moving around.

19 week ultrasound photos

We had our big ultrasound at 19 weeks. Here are the u/s pictures. We also took some video and pictures with our camera that I'll post a little later. This is the profile view of Baby Cross. Baby is currently breech, which explains the kicking pattern I feel (lots of movement on my sides). Baby currently weighs about 10oz which puts him/her in the 66% percentile. I think that's a good spot. He/she can be an over-achiever on the growth chart after he/she is born.


This was a great shot of baby waving to us. Our baby showed feet, legs, arms, and hands during the ultrasound. Not too much of his/her face though, mostly kept his/her arm across the face.



Here's the top of baby's head. I asked the tech if our baby would be as melon-headed as Mike and right now the baby is pretty average. If it stays that way then we'll be able to find hats to fit Baby's head!
A view of the nose and lips with everything formed properly.


Here's baby's heart. It has 4 chambers and is beating like it's supposed! Yeah! Baby's heart rate was 150bpm.

And Mike and I had decided not to find out whether Baby is a boy or a girl. We're going to wait and be surprised! So far we've successfully made it through two ultrasounds without finding out. We know that we'll have at least one more ultrasound as we're going to have one of the 3D/4d ultrasounds for fun in Christmas when both our sets of parents can come. So there will more pictures to post of Baby then.

updated Baby pictures at 18 weeks

We've had some updated pictures recently. I got a surprise ultrasound when I went in last week. Baby had been moving everyday for a couple of weeks, but then I hadn't felt any movement for about three days. So the doctor had a look just to make sure everything ok. Of course everything was, and I would have been fine with just a doppler of the heart rate - but I'm not going to turn down a chance to look at the baby! It was a quick ultrasound, but her are the pictures. Baby looked great. He or she had turned around to the back which was why I couldn't feel him or her. Baby turned back around the next day. Mike would like to feel the kicking but he/she isn't quite strong enough for that yet.

Here the baby is looking at you. On the left you see his/her face turned toward you. You can see the eyes, nose, and lips. Baby was opening and closing his/her mouth the whole time. You can also see the belly turned somewhat and one arm on the side with a little fist! So cute! Baby was kicking and moving during the u/s which was also neat to see since the last ultrasound he/she was moving but was just kind of wiggly.


Here's another look. Baby's head is on the left looking down and that's his/her spine in the back. Baby is kind of curled up in this one. We also saw the baby's heart beating and it was a healthy 130bmp. That's our baby at 18 weeks old.

Baby Furniture

We bought our baby furniture a few weeks ago. We found a set that we liked at Babies R'Us but we weren't in a hurry to get it. We haven't decided for sure yet if we're going to move and so we weren't interested in getting something, hauling it upstairs, assembling it and then moving it. However, BRU decided to have a trade-in sale that would allow us to get 25% off the price of the crib. Since they don't have frequent sales we decided to go ahead it get it. Plus, by opening their credit card we got an additional 10% off the set and got a $100 gift card to use in the store. It was really just too good a deal to pass up. We were hoping that the furniture would be on back-order but it wasn't. We'll be picking it up this weekend but leaving it in the wrapping in our garage until we decide whether or not we're moving. Here's a picture from the website though so you can see what it looks like. We bought the crib and the lower 6-drawer dresser. The dresser we can use as a changing table. Also, we got the full-bed rails as the crib converts to a toddler bed and then to a full size bed. To see the look in a room setting you can follow this link: http://www.babiitalia.com/html/bi_ham.html#

Changes in our family

We are pleased to announce that Apollo will be a big brother. The new little one will arrive around March 1 and will resemble Mike and me rather than Apollo. Mike and I are really excited. So far Apollo doesn't seem that interested in the ultrasound photos. I'm sure he'll pay more attention when the baby arrives.

We had our first ultrasound at 8 weeks where our baby mostly resembled a healthy blob.
We had a second ultrasound at 10 weeks. Here my doctor describes the baby as a teddy bear. It was exciting to watch the baby move his/her arms and legs!

Josalyn Marie Gross

Josalyn Marie Gross born at 12:46. She weighed 7 lbs 4 oz and was 19 inches long. Everyone is doing well!

Mike's birthday!

Mike's birthday was a week and half ago. He turned 35 but he's pretending he didn't. It unintentionally turned into one of those celebrations that never ended, which in my opinion is a good thing. I always enjoy celebrating my husband. His actual birthday was Feb. 6 but the party didn't end until Valentine's Day.
Bryan and Amanda had a ceremony down at the courthouse the afternoon of Feb. 6 so we planned to wait and celebrate his birthday the following Saturday. Bryan and Amanda and everyone went to dinner at the Cheesecake factory after the wedding though and Bryan said it was fine to tell the waiter that it was Mike's birthday. By the way, they brought Bryan and Amanda's cheesecake out on a platter that said congratulations in chocolate syrup. It reminded me of the way the did our dessert at the Commander's Palace on our anniversary this past year. So they brought Mike an ice cream shot with a candle and sang to him. Their rendition of Happy Birthday was much better than the one at Joe's last year. And of course, the next day was the Superbowl and so we had a annual Superbowl/commercial watching/celebrate Mike's birthday party at the house. So there was more cake, singing, and celebrating.
This past Saturday was all for Mike. He got breakfast in bed. I made the banana stuffed french toast like we had in Jamacia. It's just too yummy. We went to the gym and then spent some time in the hot tub before I sent Mike for a massage. I decided after the past year we had that he need some extra relaxation and scheduled him for a full hour and half. He came home feeling much better and got to watch a good OK State - OU basketball where, based on the cheering and score, OK state solidly trounced OU. That made for a happy husband and happy husband always equals happy home. Then we went out for dinner and I even picked the restaurant. It happens about once a year where I'll voluntarily make the decision without him forcing me. =) Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate with the after dinner plans though. I wanted to take him go Kart racing and it was just too cold. We'll have to go another time when it warms up some. Mike decided we should go ahead and start celebrating Valentine's though and picked a movie for us to go see. But that's a separate post.
Mike was properly spoiled and enjoyed his extended birthday celebration. There is nothing I like better than loving on Mike and showing him how special he is to me. Besides, he's not too happy about turning 35 so at least we could start the year on a high note and hopefully make it a little less traumatic for him. I'm not sure I'll be that nice though when he turns 40!