Third trimester

I had been away for a girls weekend to Minneapolis, when I returned home I was welcomed with this bright cheery bouquet of flowers with my milestone reminder. Wow, time is flying! I had anticipated this being a long 9 months, but in reality, it has moved along quite quickly. It was so nice to come home to flowers. This is a habit Im hoping wont soon be forgotten. 

We had an ultrasound last week to reevaluate the location of the placenta, as well as a regular OB appointment. Everything went great. The placenta has moved and the baby is 2lb 9oz, placing it in the 52 percentile. The Perinatologist placed me in the 'normal' or 'boring' category, something I have not been in in nearly 18 months. When he said this I felt like the word 'normal' bounced around in my brain for a good 3 minutes. And then it sunk in, what a great feeling. I can sit back and cruise until the baby is here. The OB appointment also went well. The heart rate was 138 this week and I passed my glucose test. I now go in to see the Doctor every two weeks. 

Im hoping to finish up the nursery in the next couple of weeks. Ill post before and after pictures as soon as I do. 

One of the Lucky Ones

The crib is complete!

We picked out the crib several weeks ago and waited until we were both ready before purchasing it. I was so excited to see it all come together, but had plans with some girlfriends, so thought we would get to it the following day. Much to my surprise, when I returned home from my dinner plans, I found the crib completely assembled. I was thrilled! It looked great. I couldn't have asked for a better surprise.

I have a great man on my hands.

Our baby is so lucky to have a daddy like Dave. He is patient, kind, smart, curious, and humble (among many other great qualities). I often reflect on Dave's life and my perception of it. I cant imagine how it has changed in the last 3 years. He had been a man on his own for so long, doing things according to his own agenda, on his own timeline, here is is now, prepping for a newborn. It is hard to believe he will turn 50 two weeks before the baby is due. I will say first hand, he has handled the changes quite well. He is so accommodating and (usually) has a smile on his face.

I dont say it enough... I love you, Dave, and cant wait for this next adventure.

Here are a few pictures of Dave hard at work:

Big Bump!

Ugh, belly pictures, something I have completely dreaded throughout the pregnancy, but my lovely sister keeps insisting I take a few here and there. I hate to admit it, but she is right...I know I would kick myself if I ended up with no photos. So, above is a shots of my belly at 6+ months. Wow, six months already, I cant believe how fast this is going.

Everything continues to move along as planned, I had my 24 week appointment last week and I am measuring right on. The baby's heart rate remains right in the middle of the acceptable range at 145.

We have started to make some big nursery progress as well. Dave painted it a few weeks ago and we ordered the glider on Monday. We have a crib picked out and plan to purchase it this weekend. It felt to me like Dave was dragging his feet a bit on the bigger purchases, so I backed off and decided to follow his lead, I knew he would come around in his own time. Like clockwork, he felt the baby move last night for the first time, so now guess who is anxious to buy baby furniture!? Yep, he came around...I knew he would ;).

Thats about it for now...will update when I have more.

Surprise shower on Captiva Island

Jill, Suzie, Becky and Leanne

I have the greatest friends, I am so lucky.

I flew down to Florida a couple of weekends ago to meet a few college friends. We were all in the mood to get some sun, and Florida turned out the be the perfect spot. We were on Captiva Island, which was very quiet. This was actually perfect for us considering two of the four us were pregnant. Leanne is 7 weeks ahead of me and is expecting a girl in April.

After dinner on Friday night we congregated around the patio table and the girls surprised me with baby gifts and cupcakes. It made my weekend. They had several of the items shipped to my house, which made coming home and collecting the packages really fun.

Thank you to Leanne, Jill, Stacy, Emily, Maggie and Becky! You are the bestest friends a girl could ask for. I cant wait for our next get together, you all mean so much to me.

Leanne and I with the "gender neutral" cupcakes..

Sneak Peak

We had our 20 week ultrasound today, which was really cool. Dave, Maggie, Isaac and I got some great looks at the baby. Isaac was not planning on being there, but due to some circumstances, he ended up coming. It was really great to have him along, to see his face and hear his thoughts. At one time he commented on the baby's big teeth, when I looked at the screen, she had a perfect shot of the baby's spinal cord displayed. I can totally see where he would cross the two. When the tech was taking 3-D photos, she commented on the baby's nose and lips, then looked to Isaac and said, "wow, this baby looks just like you!" How bizarre, but it makes sense.

We were both nervous about accidentally finding out the gender, fortunately the ultrasound tech was very good about keeping it a secret. I have had a boy inkling all along. I have had countless boy dreams and many of the heart rates have been low normals (I know this is an old wive's tale, but its something I cant get out of my mind). I just feel like its a boy, however, after seeing todays pictures, Im not so sure anymore. I am torn.

The baby's measurements are all perfect, and it's weight is in the 70th percentile. The placenta is low, and has been all along. If it stays where it is now, they will do a c-section, but the Doctor is confident that it will move in the next few weeks. She wants it to move 1cm, which is really doable. I have a follow up ultrasound at 28 weeks to make sure it moves as they are anticipating.

Butterflies!

What a winter we have had, it has been so incredibly mild (except for the short cold spell this week). The warm weather seems to concern Dave. Whenever I say how great it is, he grumbles with thoughts of global warming, wanting snow, and looking forward to shoveling (yuck). I on the other hand, cannot get enough! I have a goal of getting Kenzie out for good long walks on my days off of work. Fortunately, my mom was in town for several of them. It was great to have the company, and to have a reason to get together during the week.

My mom and I were walking on the bike trails shortly after Christmas when the ever so common baby topic came up. She asked if I had felt any movement yet, to which I replied "no, not yet, but I'm hoping to soon." She then went on to describe the sensation she had when she felt Maggie and I move for the first time. She said it was in November and she had just pulled up to the house they would be buying in the near future (the house I grew up in, where they still live today). There it was! "It felt like butterfly wings fluttering against the inside of my cheeks," she said. The expression on her face when she described it was of pure amazement. After this conversation, I was ready, anxious to feel exactly what she was talking about, who wouldn't be after a description like that?! It all sounded so cool, and would finally be my proof that I was pregnant (besides the ultrasounds and growing belly, of course).

Fast forward several days, I was sitting on Maggie's bedroom floor composing an e mail, when I noticed something, so subtle, but so there. I was 17 weeks. I told Maggie, she immediately said, 'oh for sure, you are right in that time frame, make sure you blog about this!" It seemed it was gone as fast as it had arrived. I wanted more, which I got the following night when I was lying in bed before falling asleep. I told Dave, who was thrilled, I knew he would be.

Today marks 19 weeks and movement is now a daily thing, for me anyway. Im excited for Dave to feel what I'm feeling, hopefully in the next few weeks.

15 1/2 weeks, but who's counting?

It is hard to believe Christmas is just around the corner. Things have been busy, (and fun!) around here. We have held Christmas as a turning point, a baby turning point that is. We are anxious to get going on the nursery, which we will begin "sometime after Christmas," so... as early as next week already...EEK! I am actually really excited to see the transformation of our second bedroom, stay tuned, I'll definitely post before and after pictures.

I have been feeling pretty good. I am still off work due to lifting and activity restrictions placed by my OB. I have been off for three weeks already, and Im antsy to get back. I have appointment on December 27th, so I'm banking on some good news. My stomach is starting to move outward and Im looking more pregnant each day, although to those that don't know, Im sure I just look as though I have put on a few Christmas pounds. In Maggie's words, I "just need to get over it," I am, after all, growing a baby in there! 

On that note, I think Ill go have another Christmas treat ;).

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!