We hope you all had a Merry Christmas! Scarlett, Jon, and Bun went to Osky for Christmas. Scarlett's sister Sam and her Grandma teamed up to make a quilt that they presented to Scarlett (which made her cry... it was so cute!). This quilt had the same animal patterns that her and her sister had on quilts when they were babies. The pictures of the quilt will be coming later.

We are one week away from the ultrasound and we are going to find out if Scarlett is holding a hamburger or hot dog bun. Then we won't have to "wonder" anymore. So we are starting a list, we would like all of you to cast your vote for what you think it will be. Opa Ruggles told us he thinks that he is 80% sure it is a boy, and his name should be Marshall. (We hadn't thought of the name before and liked it...so if you have any more name ideas keep them coming because we are still finding names we hadn't considered). Auntie Sam has changed her vote from a boy to girl, and Oma Ruggles refused to comment. Great Grandma Lillian told us to wait and not find out, but that is not going to happen. We are going to be traveling to Freeport to see Jon's parents in a couple days, so they have a couple days to figure out their final votes. As far as what we think, Jon has changed his vote from a boy to a girl. Scarlett still thinks it is a girl as well.

Scrlett has been feeling Bun move around more the past few days. A couple hours ago she let out an "ouch!" out of nowhere. Bun had kicked her harder than it has ever done, and continued kicking for 20 minutes. Jon tried feeling to see if he could feel it as well, but everytime he went to feel, Bun calmed down. He hopes this means that Bun likes Daddy more.

Cookies, divinity, and pretzels... oh my! Scarlett has been working hard on goodies to take to Osky for Christmas. It has taken most of the week, but they are delicious! Christmas can't come fast enough. Scarlett still wishes for white Christmas. Jon says that the current snow will last, but a new dusting might be nice, as long as driving won't be a problem.

Christmas presents are purchased (mostly) and wrapped (almost).

Bun is growing as was expected. At the last appointment Scarlett weighed in at exactly the same weight as she did before she was pregnant. Not to worry, Dr. Olson says that weight gain won't be needed until after the 6th of January, but some Christmas goodies ought to help. Despite movement on the scales Bun is popping out more and more each day. Jon asked this morning if Bun doubled overnight when he saw Scarlett this morning. The bump is growing nicely.

More news on the Bun and the bump to come!

So we had the baby appointment yesterday. It was very short as it was just a checkup. Dr. Olson felt and determined that Bun is growing at exactly the right pace. Scarlett is now 16 weeks and 2 days along. We heard the heartbeat again. This time it was much stronger and a little slower coming in at 152. Next appointment set for January 6th is the ultrasound. Dr. Olson asked if we wanted to know the baby's sex. We do want to know and will be finding out at the next appointment. Yeah!

In other Bun related news we went out this last Saturday and found a rocking chair at Stuff Inc., a very good consignment store here in town. The chair fits Scarlett well. It was hard to find one that is tall enough as it turns out that Scarlett is long legged. It is very comfy and is another piece of Bun furniture to cross off the list, Check. (photos at the top)

More news to come as we get closer to January 6th!

For those of you that were hoping to hear about the doctors appointment, you're going to have to wait another couple days. As you all experienced, Jack Frost nipped our rears. We woke up Thursday and saw schools were cancelled from here to Odebolt. Jon checked the road conditions on the website and it said that travel was not advised. Jon ended up calling the office and rescheduling for Monday.
We are very jealous of Bun these days, having a nice warm home when going outside.

Bun and Scarlett are having a checkup this week on Thursday, hopefully the snow storm will push past us by then. Nothing too big going on with this visit, the doctor is just going to take a quick look to make sure everything is doing ok. The next appointment in January will be a big one. That is the ultrasound.
We just saw a neighbor with their little girl playing in the snow. It was very cute and made us think about what it will be like in a couple years. Scarlett has been happy seeing the snow, knowing that she will get a white Christmas.
Scarlett is starting to feel Bun move around more when she sits really still. Jon has tried to feel for Bun, but has had no luck yet. Hopefully soon he will be able to share the joy of feeling Bun. Thats all for now, thanks for keeping up with us. More to follow soon.

Give Bun a break, Give Bun a break, Bun is the size of one Kit Kat finger! This is the size from Bun's crown to rump. Bun is also practicing breathing right now, so soon Scarlett will feel hiccups. She has been feeling flutters recently as well. Scarlett is now in week 15, and they say that it is expected for her to have a cold as her immune system is down and nasal passages swelling. So Scarlett is right on schedule as she is sick, Jon is hoping he does not get it, and if he does...well, he can take more drugs than she can!!

Hello all!

This past weekend was Thanksgiving and we had a good time. There was family and lots of food. Bun was acting up a little bit and making Scarlett feel ill, but it is all part of it.

Scarlett is beginning to wonder whether she is one of those lucky ladies who is going to be ill the whole pregnancy. Marianne told her on Thanksgiving that she was sick the whole time with each of the boys. Does this mean that Bun could be a boy? No one seems to know.

When we ask most people what Bun will be, they don't know. Scarlett is still leaning towards girl, but not enough to comment. Jon is still unable to tell. So we continue to look for both boy and girl names.

Scarlett is learning for the first time what it is like to be sick and pregnant. She caught a cold while either at Thanksgiving or shopping and has been sneezing and dripping since. We hope that she will feel better soon, but in the meantime Jon is being very helpful by getting Kleenexes and orange juice.

The crib is here! Bun has a bed. Saturday Jon put it together with very minimal help for Scarlett, mostly consisting of unscrewing nuts from bolts as he held up three parts at a time. The crib is safe, sturdy, beautiful, and best of all here. We are very excited to have something bought for Bun and to have one less thing to do on our lists.

This week is Thanksgiving and we are looking forward to it a lot. Jon is having Thanksgiving food at work tomorrow and has requested that Scarlett make a pie. This will be one of three pies she is making. The other two will be going to the Turf's Thanksgiving.... earlier she made Grandma's cranberry relish and froze it to be thawed for the big day. This is the way that Grandma does it after all.... but mostly this was because she had time and energy earlier.

A special thanks to Darell and Marianne for letting us borrow the large food processor so we didn't have to make it a cup at a time like last year. It took several hours last year and only about 20 minutes this year, much improved.

For your enjoyment we have posted photos of the crib. Enjoy!

Sorry for the delay, but we're still here! A few things have happened since we last wrote. Grandma and Grandpa Overturf came over on Saturday to meet Bun. We showed them some of the things that we were looking at to get Bun, and Scarlett and Grandma selected some fabrics to make a quilt. They then had a very nice hour long chat in the Hobby Lobby checkout line. After lunch, they helped us order a crib for Bun. (We are expecting it shortly!) It was a very nice time, and we were glad that Scarlett was feeling well and had some energy that day.

The next day, Scarlett felt pretty tired from the previous busy day. She rested while reading about where Bun was at in development. She read that Bun was at the point where it could start hearing, so Jon proceeded to play more guitar and Scarlett played piano and we sang to the baby. We also have been reading The Cat in the Hat and Harry the Dirty Dog to Scarlett's belly everyday as well.

We have been having a rough time the last couple of days trying to figure out what Bun wants Scarlett to eat. Not much has been sounding good to her. Hopefully this will pass very soon.

Since we know for sure, as sure as one can be that there will be a baby, we have told the whole family. So let me take this opportunity to welcome all the new readers to our journey. If we have not had a chance to talk to you in person yet, and you know who you are, we look very forward to talking at Thanksgiving and will be at Chris's with bells on.

We are entering the home stretch of the first trimester and will officially be in the second on Saturday. Bun has been acting up lately. Scarlett has been feeling quite ill which is considered normal at this point. However, this is supposed to ease off around week 12 (Saturday) to week 14... so hopefully she will be feeling much better very very soon.

Scarlett is starting to get brief moments of 2nd trimester energy, as she did some major house cleaning yesterday on her day off while Jon was at work. She was very tired after finishing though.

We have just finished dinner of mac and cheese, one of the few things that Bun continually likes. For dessert, Scarlett is enjoying some Wheat Thins with hot sauce.

Oh the joys of pregnancy!

Today we went to Cedar Rapids for our second appointment, yeah! We actually met the elusive Dr. Joy Olsen and find her to be really nice and down to earth. We love that. It turns out that she is a very very busy lady and we have had to bend more to get appointments in the future, but so far so good.

At the appointment Dr. Olsen did a basic check over Scarlett and determined her to be doing very well indeed. Bun is growing and so is Scarlett (although you can't see it much) to accommodate the new resident. All of Scarlett's tests came back for the good, no HIV, no diabetes, no thyroid problems or anything else. They checked for blood type. Scarlett has O+ which is a good thing. This means that there will not need to be any extra shots because that is the universal donor... even if Bun gets something like AB- all will be well.

The most exciting news by far is that we heard the heart beat today. When Dr. Olsen first put the device on her tummy we heard a slow and calm heart beat... that was Scarlett's, but then we heard a rapid heartbeat that sounded most like an on-coming train, chuga-chuga-chuga-chuga-choo-choo! That was Bun!

Great news is, once you can hear the heartbeat there is less than 2% chance that the baby will not make it full term. It is official, there is going to definitely be a baby!

We set up two appointments to come... the next is just another checkup scheduled for December 10th and the next is very important.... on January 6th we will be having the ultra sound... which means we will get to know the sex! Yeah!

That is the news for now. Stay tuned as there is sure to be excitement ahead!

We're back!!! Sorry about the delay. We have been busy, and there hasn't been much new going on lately. Today, Scarlett got sick for the second time since being pregnant. She had just gotten to work and it hit her almost instantly. Luckily she was able to make it to the bathroom in time. Scarlett and Bun are feeling a little better now, but since the tummy is empty Bun has been very hungry even after eating lunch.

Jon and Scarlett are getting excited for the appointment next week. We should be able to listen to Bun's heartbeat. We are also excited because we are going to be getting together with Grandma and Grandpa Overturf. We look forward to discussing babies and families with them.

Sorry we don't have anymore news to report right now. We should be getting more news soon.

We took our first step at preparing furniture for Bun's room today. We went to Lowe's to buy some paint to paint over the John Deere green dressers. Photos to come later. That's right mom & dad, you may get your space in the work room back!! We chose a darker blue, not that we are thinking its a boy, but becuase it will work with the themes we are thinking about making Bun's room.

In other news, Scarlett is getting some "pregnancy spots" freckles. Also, this week, Bun is working hard at forming boy or girl parts. So Bun will know what it is, but won't tell us! Bun already has a secret it is keeping from its parents. Naughty Bun!

The doctor gave us a list of do's and don't do's we have been reading up on. Some of it is common sense like no smoking or booze. One thing that doesn't make Scarlett happy is she won't be able to partake in any egg nog this holiday season...but Jon can have all he wants! She also can't have things like hot dogs, deli meat, or can't do tummy exercises. However, she can have pickles, A & E dip, and ice cream (not necessarily at the same time...yet) so all is not bad. That's all for now, feel free to leave any questions or comments.

Well we went to the doctor yesterday, yeah! The first visit down, several more to go. At the doctor we talked about family history, any genetic problems, and current health for both Scarlett and Jon. All signs point to a healthy happy baby as far as the family background and heath goes.

After the initial visit we had some lab work to do. First they gave Scarlett a flu shot. This part was not so bad. Then they needed to drawl blood. The first visit they drawl blood to test and make sure that the mother does not have any serious illness. They are going to run several tests, thus, they need a lot of blood. They had to get three vials. In case any of you know, Scarlett does not do well with needles. Yes, it is true, they took Scarlett's blood and she fainted. All is better now, but her pride is a bit bruised.

All is well. The next doctor appointment is November 10 at which point we will actually meet the OB Dr. Joy Olson. Stay tuned for more baby news!

Jon has been being very protective of Scarlett lately. Yesterday, Scarlett was going to drive to Osky to be with her mom for the day. Jon decided he would drive her so he could make sure she was ok on the trip. Some of you might say he was being overprotective, but he ended up being needed as Scarlett's eyes were being very sensitive to the light and hurting her. She had to cut her trip short so we could get home; her eyes were shut the whole way home.

Her eyes felt better today, and we did some fun window shopping because of it. We found the stroller we want to take bun around in. Scarlett noticed it had owls on it, and was drawn to it. We knew it was perfect when we saw that it could convert to an infant stroller where we could take the carrier out of it. It can also be a toddler stroller, and the carrier is also an infant car seat. Being the Good Eats fans that we are, we knew AB would be proud that we found a multi-tasker. Catch a new episode of Good Eats Monday at 8, 7 central only on Food Network!

New news: we will be seeing the OB on Tuesday at 10 am. Yeah! We can't wait to start the process with a doctor. It feels weird that we have had so much time in the pregnancy and the doctors don't even want to see us yet.

It is flu season here in Iowa City. Jon got his flu shot to help with keeping the bug out of our house. Scarlett went to get her shot, but the clinic warned that there is mercury in most flu shots for preservation. On Tuesday when we see the doctor we will get one for Scarlett that does not have the preservative in it to be safe for Bun!

Scarlett is still feeling under the weather with Bun. We think that there is a cold on top of the morning sickness. As most cold medicine is a no no for pregnant ladies we must have faith for this too will pass and we will be blessed with a beautiful baby in months to come. For now, orange juice and rest are helpful tools.

The morning sickness has returned with attitude! Scarlett hasn't felt this bad since we first found out she was pregnant. We are less than a week away from meeting the ob for the first time. We will discuss family histories and meet the staff at that time, and then have the first check up a couple weeks later. Stay tuned as there will be much more to follow.

Now that we are in week 8, Bun is now the size of a lima bean. The eyelids are forming as well. Another development is hair follicles are starting to form. Will the baby have brunette hair like its daddy? chestnut hair like its mommy? or red hair like its grandma and the Van Dovers?

Today Jon, Scarlett, and Bun traveled to the apple orchard in IC. It was beautiful there, but a little chilly. The apple selection did not look too good. We think it was a little late in the season. They looked pretty well beat up. However, we did try their infamous apple turnovers. All three of us determined they were delicious; the best turnovers we have ever had.

Jon and Scarlett have been brainstorming about how to decorate our 2nd bedroom for bun. Here are our ideas so far:

- Western/Cowboy

- Space/Planets

- Planes/Sky

- Snoopy/WWI Flying Ace (any fun things you can steal, I mean take, I mean borrow from work Grandpa O?)

Scarlett has also been looking at baby crafts, although she hasn't found too much that has interested her yet.

Darn you Auntie Sami! After hearing about chocolate pickles, bun thought "yummy!" Maybe Jon will have to drive to the store to get chocolate (ummm...chocolate pickle fondue)

Not much news today. Scarlett is feeling less and less sick, but remains really tired. At least we don't have to have crackers next to the bed anymore. This is a good thing.

Scarlett is now in week 7 of pregnancy. The baby is forming it's tongue as well as defining fingers and toes. Bun is approximately the size of a grape and will double in size this week. Bun is moving around, although you can't feel it. In other baby development the baby is making it's own blood type now and has a fully functioning digestive system.

Bun is very busy!

(picture is an example of baby foot at the end of week 7)

Yesterday we took a tour of St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids. We heard good things about it from our friends, plus or doctor, Dr. Olson, is associated with it. They have one of the best premature care centers for babies in the state and were one of the first hospitals in the country to be awarded for their family centered practice. So, family members are treated as part of the whole process as well as the mommy. Jon would get to stay in the suite with Scarlett and even gets meals when she does. For those of you who were there it is very similar to the room that Holly had when Emily came into the world.

It was an emotional day for Jon in particular. He was happy that they are prepared to care for ill babies, but a little scared maybe at the idea that Bun would actually need to use the services. As part of the good stories to come out of their unit they have photos of children who have grown up perfectly healthy since they graduated from the special care units. Some of the children were in their teens. This makes Scarlett feel secure about the care Bun will get upon arriving into this world.

There are several classes that the hospital offers for free. There are several more than plain Lamaze classes. There is one just for Jon called "Daddy Bootcamp" for daddy's only taught by a daddy who has a child of his own three months or younger. Jon is more than excited to be a daddy. Yeah, we are defiantly taking that one. :-)

So we took a couple of days off from the blog. The computer connection at Mama Donna's are not ideal and we forgot the computer in Iowa City. So we will catch up.

This past weekend we went to Oskaloosa where we had birthday celebrations for Jon, Scarlett, Patty, and Donna. Grandma Lil made a wonderful meal. Scarlett and the baby liked the mashed potatoes and gravy the best. It could be because Grandma puts half and half in the potatoes, but we think that there is probably a secret ingredient or two which makes Grandma's the best in the world.

While in Osky we had several discussions with Scarlett's family about their experiences with pregnancy and babies. Some stories such as walking on the day of birth to babies refusing to move in the mommy until month 7. New news on what the baby is hoped to be... as we know Donna wants a girl, but Aunt Pat wants a boy! Who will win?

Scarlett did well this weekend. She walked and ate normally with the whole bunch. Watson the basset was even more close and protective of her... we are wondering if he knows he will be an uncle soon. All this excitement must have exhausted mommy and baby because the morning sickness was back with a passion today. Rest is recommended for all.

In exciting news three people have new names. Donna and Ron have decided on names to be called. They are going to be Oma and Opa, meaning Grandma and Grandpa in Dutch! Cute! But better news is the baby has a nickname....the baby is "bun"... as in bun in the oven or be a good bun and let Scarlett sleep through the night.

That's the news for now! More to come from Jon, Scarlett, and Bun!

We have determined that pregnant women should not watch Paula Dean as everything is beginning to look good.

Sorry we missed yesterday. Both of us were tired and feel asleep once we got home. Marianne has shared that she wanted mashed potatoes and chicken when she was expecting. Scarlett also has a hankering for mashed potatoes.

For Scarlett's birthday Jon took her to Texas Roadhouse. Mashed potatoes with gravy were a big plus. However she lamented on the decision to get chicken instead of steak as she is supposed to eat all meats well done and did not want a dried out steak. Salad was also a huge hit as it is pleasant to the pallet, healthy, and cool to the touch.

Jon and Scarlett have also started the massive project that is finding a name. Ever the teacher Jon decided that we should use Venn diagrams to make it easier.... for those of you who have been away from school for too long. A Venn diagram is drawling two locking circles, like rings in a magic act, putting what both like in the link and what doesn't match in the outer circles. We put the names that both of us like in the middle to help us narrow our search. It's a work in progress, but it is fun!

The Cravings Have Begun!!!

Jon made his first trip to the store today to buy pickles! So far she has been wanting foods that are vinegary. (Is that a word?)

Scarlett also tried on her first pair of preggy pants. They had her try on a false belly as well so she could see how the pants fit in different stages.

Baby still likes fresh air, but it is starting to get cold outside, so it is harder to spend time out there.

We also set up an appointment to go tour St. Luke's Birthing Center. This is the hospital we are thinking about having baby in. The appointment isn't until next week, but we are looking forward to it and are very excited!!

Hello All!

It is a blustery day in our hundred acre wood. The maple tree outside the house is beginning to have the leaves change, but is still quite a ways away. Scarlett is still feeling sickly, but was actually able to take a very small walk around the parking lot today. She looks forward to the 2nd trimester as they say you get some of your energy back and morning sickness is gone in most at that point...so, the middle to the end of November.

Today Jon and Scarlett were talking about how to decorate the baby's room. So far we are looking for ideas for uni-sex as we don't know if it is a boy or a girl yet. Grandma to be, Donna, called today and voiced her wishes for a Granddaughter, although I am sure that she would love a Grandson just as much.

Online resources say that the best guesser for baby gender are the mother-to-be at 71% accuracy at her guess. The second best bet is 5 year olds. So maybe we should ask our nieces and nephews what they think.

As for everything else in life we are undecided. We would be just as happy with boy or a girl and have preference reasons for both. Maybe it will be a boy and a girl, twins! That was a joke, Lord. One baby is fine :-)

Scarlett went online today to look at all of the old wives tales about how to tell if baby-to-be is a boy or girl. She said most of them say girl, but then a disclaimer follows that says...results accurate 50% of the time. This scares Jon a little bit because he is worried because we are having an easier time coming up with boy names than girl names. If any of you have any ideas of names you like let us know. You may come up with one we haven't thought of.

Other than that, Scarlett is still feeling sick all day, she actually got sick today...first time since we found out she was pregnant. Jon continues to worry about her and wishes he could share some of the burden.

Scarlett is still feeling sick today, especially when she is moving around. We ran a couple errands, and ran into Laci Wickenkamp and her family. They gave us some helpful suggestions on what helped them when they were pregnant. We are planning on trying them out to see if they will work.

Scarlett also found a doctor to go to. She went online and read about a doctor who is totally awesome and usually is hard to get into. Her name is Dr. Joy Olson and she is in Cedar Rapids. We gave them a try and sure enough there was an opening. We have set two appointments, the first one in late October will be kind of like an orientation, where we will meet the staff, get a tour of the office, and talk about family histories to determine if there is an immediate at-risk need. A couple weeks after that, on November 9th is when the first check-up will be.

As the philosopher Bill Cosby once said, "My wife and I were intellectuals. So we had to research what others do naturally." This is our philosophy as well. Being natural born researchers and educators we have been reading up on what to expect. Specifically, the book "What to Expect When You Are Expecting", the number one book recommended by specialists and parents alike... The book says that at this point the baby is developing the very beginnings of the nervous system and actually has a heart beat. From the outside all that is obvious is that Scarlett has lots and lots of morning sickness as well as exhaustion. Growning a bundle of joy is hard!

At this point we have told the family and friends. Anyone of which that has been pregnant before has their own remedy for morning sickness.... So far there are three things that help a bit, Preggie Pops prized for their healthiness and easily carried in a purse, Gatorade prized for its fluid properties and electrolytes, and Town House crackers. Grandma Lil says that crackers helped her way back in the 40s and continue to work today.

Stay tuned for more to come!

Welcome to Turf's Tummy Tribune, the blog and updates for Jon and Scarlett's bouncing bundle to be! Seeing this is our first baby experience, we thought it might be fun to keep everyone informed this way so you can track our progress by pictures and stories. Heck, maybe this will even get Grandma Lil to get a computer (not really, but we can hope). As a request from the masses, this blog will be co-authored by Jon and Scarlett.

As I am sure you know, since you are reading this, Jon got a super-special birthday present this year. After about a week of feeling crappy, Scarlett wondered weather she had bad allergies, Swine-Flu, or maybe even she was pregnant. Well, when Jon woke up on his birthday, Scarlett showed him a home test that said "YES +." We got it confirmed later that day by the doctor. We are going to have a baby!!!!!

Now we are both so happy, nervous and getting ahead of ourselves, but most of all still having trouble believing it is real. Scarlett continues to feel sick and Jon continues to worry about her. Today we found a wonderful product called "Preggie Pop Drops". They are throat lozenges that magically get rid of morning sickness, for awhile, and they are organic and taste good too. Hopefully this will help, but in the meantime we can just be happy with the knowledge that this will pass and is for a greater purpose.

At this point the doctor is guessing that she is probably about 4 and 1/2 weeks pregnant. Meaning... at a rough guess she will be due around May 25th. At the next doctor visit, in about a month and a half, they will find out exactly when she is due.
We hope you have fun tracking our progress and look forward to the day we bring the baby home!