A Few Things...

I am now 34 weeks pregnant. Not 19 like the little Widget baby to the right is saying...I can't fix it, no matter how hard I try.

Our little girl is doing really well. She's a regular mover & shaker! The Olympics are really interesting to her, especially gymnastics, since she seems to try to imitate all the movements we see on tv. We really like to watch all the belly movements!

We had our 34-week Dr. appointment on Wednesday. Things are coming along well. I had been having pretty strong & frequent contractions and was worried that I was starting to dilate, but I'm still closed for business! The doctor doesn't like all the contractions I had, so I've been ordered to "relax" and "stop stressing". So, I am trying to take it easy. You all can help out by not stressing me out! : ) Baby's heartbeat was still in the 140's, going strong. I'm measuring right on track.

On a related note...I'm going to have to stop working soon. I'm really trying to hold on for as long as I can, but I'm just getting so exhausted and uncomfortable. My goal is 2 more weeks but we'll see.

And finally, we're moving!!! Alex & I are renting a condo not too far from my parent's house, and we love it! We move in a week (YIKES!). We're both looking forward to getting settled in and having this checked off our "Things To Do" list so we can focus on other things...

like having this baby!!!!!!!!

30 Weeks?!? Holy Moly!

This week I hit the 30-week mark. Unbelievable! On one hand I feel like I've been pregnant FOREVER (especially on those 95+ degree days), but on the other hand I feel like time has just flown by.

I am well into the 3rd trimester, my last one. Overall things are going well. I have the "normal" 3rd trimester gripes. I'm tired all the time, my belly hurts from stretching, my legs are swollen from my knees to my ankles (shockingly, my feet are NOT swelling yet), I'm a bit emotional (Alex would probably put me on the "highly" emotional side of the scale), and I'm not sleeping well at night because of hip pain and a stuffy nose. Congratulations--I'm a normal pregnant woman!

I had my 30-week check up this morning. As expected, my doctor told me that everything I'm experiencing is normal and that everything with me and the baby look great! Baby P's heart rate was 154, right around where it always is. I'm clear to travel to MI next week, and I'm good to keep working as long as I feel up to it. I'm on "every-2-weeks" appointments now. Eventually I'll go every week.

Oh yeah! I forgot the most EXCITING part...I passed my Gestational Diabetes (GD) test!!! Every pregnant woman gets tested between 28 and 30 weeks for GD, and it was my turn last weekend. I had been monitoring my blood sugars for weeks with a glucometer and everything had been normal, so I expected no problems. But you just never know and I was a little worried. We got the results that I passed and I couldn't be happier!

Baby P is still an active little baby. We're convinced she's going to be a Ninja warrior! They say I'm supposed to be able to detect her sleep patterns, but I'm pretty sure she never sleeps. Well, it's either that or she 1) sleeps at night while I'm sleeping (in which case, I can say my baby already sleeps through the night, yay!), or 2) moves while she's sleeping. In any event, Alex & I really enjoy watching the Baby Show!

No new pictures...yet! My belly is quite large and I know everyone wants to see it, but we always forget to take pictures. Maybe I'll have a new one up this weekend...STAY TUNED!

More Baby Pics!

Alex & I had a 3D ultrasound last Saturday. It was incredible!!! We were able to see our baby's face in such detail. She's beautiful!





We have a CD with 53 (!) pictures, so here are a few. You have to see these... (click on the pictures to see them larger, hit the back arrow to return to our blog)

AMAZING!!! She looks a lot like my baby pictures, but her profile in some of the shots (especially the 2nd one above) she looks EXACTLY like Alex.

Belly Pictures

I know, I forgot to add pictures of my ever-expanding belly. Sorry! Better late than never. These were taken over a 3-week period. I'm bigger now, I'm sure, because they are a few weeks old already!

Ignore my yucky hair & make-up...these were taken after getting home from work. I promise I look a lot cuter BEFORE I go to work!

Oh yeah! How do you like the new layout??? I thought since we were having a GIRL, we should have more of a girly layout!

Enjoy!

Another appointment, all's well!

I had my 23-week appointment this morning. On top of the usual 1-hour earlier wake-up time to make our appointment before work, I only had about 4 hours of sleep the night before. We had some bad storms and our electricity went out at 2:59 am and didn't come back on until 5:30. That meant no a/c...and it's hot here in the STL. So, I didn't get a lot of sleep.

Despite all the sleep challenges, the appointment went well. I'm doing fine -- experiencing normal pregnancy stuff: discomfort, slight swelling of the feet, etc. AND Baby Girl is doing great! All the results from our big ultrasound in May were completely normal. We got to hear the heartbeat again. Baby P was so active that she kept kicking where the doctor placed the Doppler on my belly! :) It sounded like "woosh woosh woosh THUMP!" Our baby sure is entertaining!!!

We have our next appointment July 2nd. I'll be 27 weeks and entering the 3rd (and LAST!) trimester...I can't believe it!

Oh yeah, I guess I should talk about how weird it is that complete strangers ask about my pregnancy! When am I due, how am I feeling...but the WORST thing I hear is how MISERABLE I'm going to be this summer!!! Gee, thanks. I kind of figured it would suck, but could I get a little encouragement??? :) I am already not looking forward to Summer in St. Louis, let alone going through it big & pregnant. Did I mention it's supposed to be 92+ degrees tomorrow? Good times. Oh well, I'm trying to stay positive and remain COOL! I'm drinking so much water, I'm going to float away.

I have belly pictures, but they're on the other computer so I'll add them this weekend!

About the name...

We've already had several people ask us if we have a name picked out yet. So, I thought I'd talk about it here.

We do not, 100%, have a name picked out. And, if we did, we aren't telling! A few months ago, Alex and I had "the talk". Do we find out the sex of our baby? He didn't want to at first because he wanted to be surprised. I wanted to know because I am a planner. After much discussion, we decided to find out for the first baby and be surprised the next time. We also decided that we wanted to keep the baby's name private until she was born. There are several reasons...

• We've already told the world we're having a girl, we'd like the name to be a surprise.
• We still have a LOT of time to figure out a name...it's such a huge decision, picking a name she'll have for the rest of her life, we don't want to rush it.
• We might change our minds a few times...I'd had a girl's name in mind for about the past 5 years, but now I don't like it. We don't want to tell everyone one name, and then decide to change it later.

And the best reason (one we'll probably say a LOT to our child(ren) over the next few years) is:

• BECAUSE WE'RE THE PARENTS AND WE SAY SO! : )

So please don't take it personally if we don't tell you the name, we're not telling ANYONE! I can assure you that we won't pick out a weird name, we're not crazy. Alex & I are too "normal" to name our child "Fallulah" or "Posey" or anything like that.

It's a...

GIRL!!!

Our appointment today was AMAZING! She was really active and not shy at all. The very first picture shows the girl-parts (they're circled). She loves her hands and we saw them in almost every picture. We saw her rub her eyes, make kissy-faces, and yawn! So cute!

I can't believe how much you can see in these ultrasounds. We were able to see her brain, heart, stomach, spine, and all her arms and legs. She looks good and seems healthy. She kept flip-flopping around in there, so we've got a gymnast on our hands!

Alex & I are thrilled! And it looks like my gender-prediction was right again.

Yesterday was my first Mother's Day. It was quite memorable. Our electricity went out at 6 am!!! It didn't come back on until about 2:30. My dad and Alex made me and my mom yummy breakfast, and then we opened cards and presents. My mom made me a beautiful bracelet with the baby's birthstone. Alex gave me a (much-needed) spa day for today. It was awesome! I got a pre-natal massage, a facial, and a mani/pedi. I definitely feel pampered. Overall, it was a great day!

So, enjoy the pictures of our BABY GIRL!!!