Whew... she's still a GIRL!

We had our next high risk OB appt. today with Dr. Bonebrake. It was such an interesting appt! The tech came in first to take all the measurements, starting from head to toe of our little bean. After the measurements, she gave us an approx. weight: 5 lbs!! I am 32 weeks, and all my baby books say around 4 lbs or little more, so we have a big girl! She was also measuring in the 82nd percentile for growth! Nothing out of the ordinary, and nothing to worry about, but the tech said I must grow 'em big! :)

We also got to see her "practice" breath, which was cool, and her belly was full of amniotic fluid, which is good too. Her heart looked good, got to count the "digits" on her hands and feet, and the placenta had moved up and in perfect position. She even has a little bit of hair at the back on her head!

Then the tech said she wanted to try something, and switched to a different kind of u/s wand. Once she did, I saw the most awesome thing in the world... our baby in 4D!! She was squirming around a bit, nuzzled right up against the placenta, and making faces at us! We could see her eyes flutter open, but only for a brief moment. I was in love!! She had her left arm across her face, most of the time, but after some prodding and poking, we got her to move it and got some amazing pictures.



Profile - who's nose is that!?



Foot!



Finally moved her arm... that thing on the right side of the picture is the
placenta.. she's using it as a pillow!



Making faces at us!



Whoops... arm back in front of her cute lil face!

Dr. Bonebrake then came in to take a look and he said everything thing is looking great! She is head down, and that makes sense since I feel her kicking the crap out of my ribs! We talked about inducement at 39 weeks, but he's hoping maybe I will go on my own before that. There is a higher risk of c-sections when you have to induce, so obviously, he doens't want that for anyone. So he told me to start talking to her and tell her that somewhere around 37-38 weeks would be perfect! :) I told him I will start talking to her right now!

He also said that he feels comfortable "releasing" us from his care, if we are comfortable with that, or we can go back for one more look in 4 weeks. Tommy wants to go back just in case, so we head back Dec. 28th. Fine with me, just another time to see her!

Oh, and I think we narrowed down an name to Elizabeth Rose.... stay tuned!

31 week OB appt.

Same ol, same ol'..... she's doing great! Measured at 34 weeks, heartbeat was strong and steady in the 150's, and my blood pressure was 130/64, which was great. So it's all normal! Go back to her in 2 weeks, and I have my last high risk OB appt. next Monday. It's getting close!

This past weekend, my mom came over and helped me go through ALL the shower gifts and get them organized so I can see what I have and what I still need. It felt sooo good to get it all organized! Now I need to start washing some things, and figuring out what I need to buy. We got a few giftcards from the showers, so it should all be good! I have so many cute girly things... I am so thankful for all my friends and family that got us the gifts, and the friends that are donating things to us too. Babies are expensive, so every little bit helps!

We are going to look at a dresser/changing table tonight. Then I painted one of our unused dressers white this past weeknd, so that will be ready to go. So all we need for big furniture is our crib and a glider! I'm getting excited! 8 weeks at the latest to go!! :) :)

30 weeks!

I can't believe it, but I made it to 30 weeks! Yipee!! So far so good, no major complaints. Just have the normal-at-this-time aches and pains in my back and legs, and speaking of legs... my lower legs, ankles and feet are now starting to swell. FUN! I officially have a cankle! :) I try and prop them up at work as much as I can. I also need to go shoe shopping this weekend to see what I can find to wear for winter. Only 9 more weeks to go at the latest.... seems so soon!

How Far Along? 30 weeks

Total Weight Gained/Loss? +20 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: My pants are starting to get tight.. might have to shop! :)

Sleep? It's getting harder to get comfortable, but when I do sleep, it's good!!

Best Moment of the Week? Sitting in childbirth classes and Tommy reaches over to lay his hand on my belly and just kept it there...

Movement- This girl is trying to kick her way out. Sometimes I see my entire belly move!

Food Craving- Coke (never drank it before!)

Food aversions- Some smells are bothering me.. like taco meat

Morning sickness?- No! Just bad heartburn

Gender- Still a girl!

Labor Signs- Nope

Belly Button- Still an innie, but slowly rounding out

What I miss- being able to put on my socks with ease

What I'm looking forward to- My last shower is tomorrow, Nov. 15th!

Weekly Wisdom- Don't drink too much water before bedtime! I was up 3 times last night! :)

Milestones- My swelling ankles and feet... welcome to the third trimester!

2nd childbirth class

Thursday night, the 12th, we had our 2nd childbirthing class. We got to watch the "stages of labor" video, which was basically following 3 gals and they journey through the 3 main stages of labor. I was soooo hoping they would show the actual birth... I wanted to see the guys in the room squeem! :) They did show it, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Tommy was a trooper and didn't have any smartass comment to make about it! :)

After that, we went to 4 "stations" around the room to practice different laboring positions, using different tools: birthing ball, massage, sitting possitions, and again breathing techniques. It was very interactive and fun, and got to talk with the other couples in the room.

29 week OB appt.

Just got back from my 29 week appt... and all is good! We listened to the heartbeat, which really sounded good and strong, and more clear this time than maybe others. Maybe not, but I think it sounded great! She measured me ahead again, measuring at 33 weeks! :) OK, I don't think I look that big, but hey, better than being too small!

I go back for another appt. in 2 weeks with her, and 3 weeks to see Dr. Bonebrake, my high risk OB.

This little girl is a kicker!! She is very active, and Tommy got to feel some pretty big kicks a couple nights ago that just made him smile. It's the most wonderful thing to see him so happy about it too. Can't wait to meet her in person!

First childbirth class

We had our first of 6 child birth classes last night. And it looks to be a fun class! There are 8 couples in it, so it's fairly small, which is awesome. Our instructor is very nice, and we had a good time. We talked about the anatomy of a pregnant woman and the discomforts of the 3rd trimester. We also got to get on the mats on the floor and practice some breathing excercises for labor. We laughed alot, asked questions, and got a great book full of info.

The funniest part was when our instructor passed around a chart that shows the dilation of the cervix in acutal size, from 1cm to 10cm. Tommy's reaction when he saw the 10cm one was "Whoa! That's a HUGE hole!" The class all just laughed. It was pretty funny. He's a good sport... and I hope will get lots out of this.

Next week we get to watch the video of an actual birth. I have a feeling Tommy will be a little squimish, but I think that will be all the guys in the room. It should be interesting! :)

H1N1 shot

Well, after much debate, lots of research, lots of tears, and talking to both my high risk OB and my regular OB, Tommy and I decided I better get the shot. I was sooo hesitant to do this, since it's a new vaccine, and there have been no studies on it and how it may affect the baby, but it was determined for me (who has very weak lungs due to childhood asthma) that it would be far more risky to NOT get it, than to get it. The CDC is also recommending pregnant women get it, whom are considered high risk for complications due to a compromised ammune system.

Douglas county health department had their first public clinic today, and so I went... and got the shot. I feel fine and the baby is moving all around, so things are good. There were a lot of other pregnant women there too. It made me feel a bit better!

So here's to health this winter!!

Family shower

I had my first shower on Sunday, Nov. 1. It was family members only, and we had so much fun! The crew from South Dakota couldn't make it, but the Grand Island and of course Omaha crews were here. My 3 sister-in-laws (Stacy, Jill and Shelly) hosted it, held at Stacy's house. We had a cake made by Jill's dad (awesome!), great food and really good punch! It was a girls party, and there were about 12 or 13 of us. It also got up to 72 degrees that day, which was great for November!

We got lots of good girly stuff, and man, it makes it all so much more real!
Here are some pictures:















My sister in law Jill is so talented, she is the one that drew that picture for the nursery... that made me cry when I opened that one! And that last picture is a diaper cake that Stacy and her friend put together... soooo cute!

I have such a genarous and loving family, I am very lucky.