I'm 28 and I will have been married for 2 years this March. My husband and I work in the IT center of a state university. I work full time and study biology in college, however, that is on hold for a while.

Last August we decided to have a baby. I had been taking Ortho Tri-Cyclen on and off (mostly on) for 11 years. I took my last pill on August 30th and by September 21st.. we had a very positive pregnancy test.

I never had morning sickness. For a few weeks I was constantly tired and hungry, but then I felt better than ever. It took a while for me to feel pregnant at all. Now, at 20 weeks, I have been having some growing pains and aches. I've felt the baby move, but not much. For a long time I wasn't sure what was gas and what was the baby moving.

I love ultrasounds. I have had two, and I couldn't believe the difference between 8 weeks and 12. Next Tuesday, I am going in for my next one, and hopefully we will be able to find out the gender. I'm a little nervous because they are also looking for abnormalities.

My husband has a rare congenital heart defect. When we were thinking about having a baby, we ran this by our future OB, our regular physician, my husband's cardiologist, and later a genetics specialist. They all told us there is no increased risk for deformities in our children, but it is still scary. But even if it is a little scary, I can't wait to see the baby again.

We had our ultrasound Tuesday and the little guy is just perfect. It's a little boy. My husband got a big kick out of the shot proving it's a boy, because even though the little dangle looks small, it is about 1/3 the length of his femur, which is in the same picture. All his organs looked good, and he is about 8.5 inches and weighs 1 pound.

For the second time since pregnancy started, I got an allergic reaction that caused my face to redden and swell. I get fever blisters, which are actually caused by a virus, and apparently my immune system has been reacting this way to the virus. I feel like I'm about to get a fever blister, then instead, my whole face hurts like a sunburn, swells, and itches. After 4 days, I'm finally getting over it today.

My latest goal has been to cut down on fat and sugar. I thought I was doing well, but I kept a journal and realized that almost every day I had either a piece of candy, or a side of French fries, or something. I last sinned two days ago, when I ate a burger. I've read it's important to keep your blood sugar relatively stable for baby at this time.

I have no other complaints. I'm so relieved that he looked so perfect. At 30 weeks, his heart will be inspected more closely because it's so hard to see all the pieces right now. I feel him move pretty often. Last night, I felt it on the outside, with my hand, but of course when I told my husband to try, he didn't do it again. I can't wait until he can feel the baby, too.