18 weeks and it's a GIRL!

Today was our 18 week ultrasound or 'anatomy' ultrasound, where the sonographer spent more than 30 minutes taking pictures of every body part imaginable: heart, brain, head, eyes, arms, legs, stomach, spine, and of course, the 'private parts' -- in our case 'lady parts.'  So, it turns out our little peanut is a pean-ette. Based upon her measurements, our due date is still the same, July 25th. 

The profile shot clearly shows my greatest fear, that she might have inherited the Pfalzer schnoz. This shot was taken after the sonographer jiggled my belly for a couple minutes to persuade her to move. She showed us her fingers and toes which look kinda creepy because you just see the bones.

This is probably my favorite picture from the visit. The doctor felt the need to not only tell us the sex of the baby but to also label her crouch. You're looking at her butt and legs with the arrow pointing to her you-know-what.  Classy. I'll keep this to show her someday.

Since everything looks normal, I think this is our last ultrasound - so no more pictures until you see pictures of her outside the womb.

Until our next belly update...

17 week Burrito belly

According to the 'What to Expect when You're Expecting' book, we have a 'mango-sized' human living in my belly. I'm still trying to decide whether I'm intentionally pushing my belly out or it really is growing bigger. I think I'd rename the first few weeks of the second trimester the 'Are you Fat or Pregnant' stage of pregnancy. Luckily, it's winter right now and I think everyone is expected to get a little soft around the waistline -- in a few weeks though -- I think I might need to switch from my normal pants to something a little more forgiving around the midline.  

Next week will be our 18 week anatomy ultrasound where we find out the gender.... Until then.

New Years Resolution 2014: more pictures and memories

This intention of this blog is really two-fold: 1) to try and encourage me to take more pictures to record Sean and I's adventures a little better and 2) to keep my friends and family informed of the happenings in our lives as much as they'd like to.

I've started diaries/journals in the past and I do a really good job for about 2 weeks, and then, Netflix puts a new TV series on and I fall asleep to that instead of writing.  So, I'll document it, February 1st 2014, Anna Pfalzer starts a new blog -- let's hope there are entries past Valentine's day. 

Most of you know Sean and I pretty well, but for those of you who don't, meet Me:

I am currently a graduate student at Tufts University with hopefully less than 2 years remaining in my Biochemistry program -- although the timing is really dependent on a lot of things, especially the degree to which I mess up or otherwise break equipment in my lab. My building is in the midst of Chinatown in Boston so on a regulated basis, I treat myself to dim sum, pho, and sushi. When I'm not at work, I enjoy running (although not during the winter), BBQ-ing, and some social situations where moderate alcoholic drinking is involved. When I'm at home, I'm probably snuggling with our Boston Terrier, Izzy. Meet Izzy....

Izzy is 8 years old and probably the best pooch in the world. You can ask anyone who's met Izzy, she's pretty darn great and the worlds best snuggler. It doesn't matter if we're gone for 20 minutes or  the entire day, Izzy does a Beyonce-like booty-shake dance every time you enter the apartment.

Meet Sean:

Shortly after moving to Boston, Sean began working at the Central Transportation Planning Staff organization in Boston while simultaneously earning his Masters degree in City Planning from Boston University. He's since completed his program and moved up the ranks in his organization. I believe his title is now something like "Transportation Improvement Manager" or as I call it 'The Q-Tip.' I won't attempt to describe what Sean does, but it has something to do with making it less life-threatening for me when I ride my bike into work. Sean also dabbles with various extracurricular activities including flag football during the warmer months and basketball during the winter. He's also decided that he enjoys biking and often goes for long bike rides outside the city (again, during the warmer months).

Perhaps our most exciting (read: half terrifying) news is that our human family of two is soon expanding to three.... or at least dear God, I hope it's just three.  I'm currently 16 weeks pregnant with something that I've been picturing as a peanut. Currently our due date is July 25th, but as far as I can tell, the doctors have just been eye-balling the size and going along with my own made up due date. To anybody other than Sean and I, I don't look any different and I think that's partially due to the fact that it's winter and I get to wear bulky sweaters anyway. I would compare my belly changes to someone who just consumed an entire Chipotle burrito.  I'll let Sean speak to any emotional changes. 

I think that should be it for introductions... until next time...