23 Weeks

This week baby weighs just over a pound and measures the length of a mango. Definitely feeling the belly this week. I've had some people say my bump looks bigger than how far along I am, and some people say I look small for being past the midway mark. My midwife attributes my possibly "showing" sooner due to scar tissue buildup from an emergency laparotomy (what surgeons do when they have no clue what is wrong with you) when I was 20. Either way I'm feeling healthy and happy and just amazed at how much this little guy/gal is kicking these days. Baby kicked so hard this afternoon I actually had to pause for a moment to catch my breath. It's really such a unique and truly amazing feeling. 

The best Mango we could find living in a landlocked state.

22 Weeks

Baby has officially hit the one pound mark and measures around the length of a spaghetti squash. Can't believe there are only 18 weeks left until we meet our little one. Seems like it's gone by so fast! Big progress this week - Patrick felt the baby move. Finally! It's not consistent yet, but soon enough the little one will be kicking him in his sleep (or so I've heard).

Baby at 21 weeks

Just a quick post tonight. We got to see our baby for the first time today. Patrick knows the gender. I do not. And we are very happy that way! Now how adorable is that profile! The tech said everything looks healthy as far as she could tell and that the little one is measuring within a day of its estimated due date (Christmas Eve). The whole time during the ultrasound it was moving its hands all around and kicking its little feet. Patrick almost didn't get to learn the gender because the little one wouldn't cooperate and kept turning around. It even stuck the umbilical cord between its legs. Such a little rebel already. Couldn't love it more.

21 Weeks

At 21 weeks, the baby weighs 3/4 of a pound and is the length of a carrot. This week we have our first ultra sound! We've been debating back and forth about how to handle finding out the gender of the baby. We've gone between gender reveal parties to finding out during the ultra sound. 

But we've finally decided (with less than 24 hours to go)! Since Patrick wants to know much more than I do (I'd be okay with waiting until it's born), he is going to find out and not tell me. Then in October when my lovely sister is in town from Portland, we will have a baby shower/gender reveal where I and all our family and friends get to find out. I'm excited because I love surprises. Patrick's excited because he will have a special secret with the baby for the next couple months. I just can't wait to finally see a picture of the little carrot. 

Due to popular demand, I've included a photo showing my face this time.

New Personal Blog!

As you can see I haven't posted to this blog in quite some time as my new professional blog now resides at: www.alisiaduganz.com/blog (please check it out for updates on my wedding/portrait work!). Since I have some big personal news and am going to be posting lots of pictures, I thought I'd revive this blog and transform it into my personal photo blog. I am going to leave up my old Alisia D photography photos but everything I post here from now on will be of a personal nature, so don't say I didn't warn you!

In case you didn't know, Patrick and I are expecting our first child in December! December, 24th, to be exact. Since we passed the milestone week 12 (when the chance of miscarriage vastly decreases), Patrick has been taking weekly photos of my growing baby bump. Since I haven't posted any yet, there are going to be a bunch on this post. But from now on it will be once a week (hopefully).

You'll see that after week 13, each belly photo is paired with some kind of food. This is because I get weekly emails from various baby websites comparing the baby's length to various types of fruit/veggies. I thought it would be cute to incorporate that into our photo shoots, and so far I've loved the result! Some of the comparisons don't make a whole lot of sense to me, but it's been fun.

 At 13 weeks, the baby is the length of a pea pod from crown to rump. Finger prints are now formed on the baby's tiny fingers.

14 weeks, the baby is the length of a lemon and can make facial expressions.

Week 15, baby is the length of an apple (or Apple) and can now sense light.

Week 16, baby is the length of an avocado and its eyes and ears are nearing their final position.

17 weeks, baby is the length of an onion and its skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone.

18 weeks, baby is the length of a bell pepper. This week I felt baby move for the first time!

19 weeks, baby is the length of an heirloom tomato (or a couple smaller homegrown tomatoes?). Baby may be able to hear now. Lots of guitar playing and reading ahead.

Half-way point! Baby is now measured from crown to toe instead of crown to rump, around 10" long. Banana size!

Hope you enjoyed these photos! All photo credit goes to my wonderful hubby and second shooter extraordinaire, Patrick Duganz. Stay tuned for next week.