Belly Pics

Some of you have recently asked for pictures of the ever expanding stomach. Marvel away.....

4D Ultrasound Pics

We had a 4D ultrasound done last weekend for our own amusement and to see if we could get a closeup look at Bagel (yes, that's STILL the working name). Apparantly, the timing wasn't that great as he was in the middle of his afternoon nap and his arm was covering the left side of his face for most of the session. The umbilical cord was also in the way so the tech had a few obstacles to work around. And no amount of turning side to side or walking around persuaded him to change positions. I even tried jumping up and down and trust me, there's nothing more amusing (or pathetic) than watching an almost 8 month pregnant woman try to jump! However we were able to get a few good shots and all in all, were very glad we did it. Its incredible how detailed these things are - he looks like an actual person now which makes it seem that more real.

Here are a few of the best shots. I call the top one 'the thinking Bagel' - he's in the thinking man pose with his hand on his chin.

31 Weeks

This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. He weighs about 3.3 pounds (try carrying four navel oranges) and is heading into a growth spurt. He can turn his head from side to side, and his arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath his skin. He's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

I PASSED!!!

Just got the call from the drs. office and I passed my 3 hour glucose test. My heart almost stopped when I picked up the phone - I was sure they were going to tell me I failed and now have to totally alter my diet for the rest of the pregnancy and kiss having anything sweet for the holidays goodbye. But luckily, just the opposite. In Anne's (the RN at the office) exact words "Now go enjoy Christmas." God Bless Anne!! Boyd also thinks Im now going to devour the unopened pint of Ben & Jerry's that's in our freezer. I would never think of such a thing.

Third Trimester

Well, I'm officially in the third trimester. It's really hard to believe that I only have a little less than 3 months left. And I have a feeling with the holidays here, it is going to fly by! Here is what the little one has been up to in week 28:

By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

We have also been busy - we ordered the furniture for the nursery last week so that's a BIG thing we can mark off the list. My friend Dana also loaned us a bassinette so we'll at least have a place for the baby to sleep for the first few weeks. The nursery is still a work in progress but it's getting there.

In other not-so-exciting news, I take mt 3 hour glucose test tomorrow so wish me luck. By the way, this fasting thing sucks - and it's only been 2 hours!!

I FAILED!!!!

So I got the call today from my drs. office and I failed my 1 hour glucose test I took yesterday. Even worse, I only failed by a measely 2 points! What's next, you might ask? Well, I get to trek over to Quest labs and take the 3 hour test. And the best part is I can't eat for 12 hours before the test. I blame the peanut butter chocolate bars I made for Thanksgiving. And the fact that I scheduled the test the Monday after the most glutonous holiday of the year. Basically, I have no one to blame but myself and things could be worse, but then I wouldn't be able to vent!! By the way, the PB chocolate bars were really good!!!!!!!

26 WEEKS and Counting....

So I'm 26 weeks as of Saturday (funny how you now track time in weeks - everything is how many weeks?) here's what Bagel is up to:
Your baby now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber), from head to heel. The nerve pathways in her ears are developing, which means her response to sounds is growing more consistent. Her lungs are developing now, too, as she continues to take small breaths of amniotic fluid — good practice for when she's born and takes that first breath of air. If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days.

I love how these baby websites and books compare the growing fetus to fruits and vegetables. An English hothouse cucumber?? Are you kidding me?? I'll never look at a salad the same way again. And I have no comment on the last sentence - who knew? Of course, Boyd believes our child will be an overachiever in all areas - including fetal development. Go figure....men!

Nursery Progress

No, this isn't a picture of our nursery.

But, we did start to tackle the nursery this weekend. Up to this point the bedroom was being used as an oversized closet - filled with boxes of things that we had no place to put or couldn't figure out what we wanted to do with. We were able to get rid of some things and moved most everything else to the attic. Then we took down the Jaguars border that had been an eyesore ever since we moved in. It felt really good to tear that off the walls!! Next, we'll tackle the paint and installing the beadboard. I took some 'before' pictures and will post them soon. In the meantime, here's a picture of the bedding we've selected. We're not getting everything pictured - that would be slight ocean overkill! But we really like the bedding and may paint the walls in a similar blue color w/ the white beadboard. Did I mention how excited I was to take down the hideous Jags border??

Visitors

My good friend Jessica and her daughter Grace (aka the smartest 3 year old on the planet) paid us a visit on Monday. They were in town for a funeral and stayed at our place. It was great to see them both since I haven't seen Jessi in over a year and Grace was an infant the last time I saw her!! All in all, it was a great visit - although too short. Jessi is 4 months pregnant so we had to take a picture of both of us and our expanding stomachs - I won the prize for the biggest.

Ultrasounds

So to date we've had a total of 4 ultrasounds - one in the very beginning when I switched doctors, another in August (we heard the heartbeat for the 1st time), the big one in September where we learned he's a HE (no question) and a level II u/s last week. The level II was more detailed than any of the previous ones. It was done after they discovered a small choroid plexus cyst on the baby's brain in September - but luckily, the level II u/s confirmed the cyst had cleared up on its own, which they often do. Needless to say, we were relieved to know everything was OK for sure. Here are a few pics from each of the ultrasounds.

Here we go....

So I thought about starting a blog shortly after we found out we were expecting. Well, for those of you who can do the math and know my love of procastination, it should come as no surprise that it's 4 1/2 months later and I'm just now getting around to starting this.

I thought a blog would be a good way to chronicle this new adventure and provide our family and friends (especially those who live out of town) a way to share in the experience. So here we go.....

This is definitely going to be a 'learn as we go' type of thing so feel free to make suggestions, point out what we're doing wrong, etc.... I guess the same could be said for the other 'experiment' we're about to tackle (aka parenthood) so the same rules apply. My husband is definitely the more technically savvy one so go easy on me in the beginning.

Hope you enjoy reading about our lives in the next few months and looking forward to hearing from you.