New Year's Eve (almost 27 weeks)

The last day of this year!! It's hard to believe how fast this year has passed and how much has happened!! 2010 will bring us much change, and we couldn't be looking more forward to it!!

This morning we had another ultrasound and my glucose testing (for gestational diabetes). We first had the ultrasound done.....heartbeat was 146, strong and steady, weight of the baby is 2 pounds, 8 oz!! (measuring about 1.5 weeks ahead of due date), legs were crossed, as per the norm, and with my growing concern of the baby taking after daddy in the head-size department, I asked about the head circumference. Unfortunately for mommy, this baby has a big head!! Ouch! My fluid is holding steady, but still on the low side, so they will continue to monitor me.....more baby pictures :) Baby's head is down already, and the punching and kicking of my insides continues to grow stronger and more frequently! I did pass the glucose test, and my blood pressure is great! Good to know my body has been handling all the Christmas chocolate I've been eating. It's amazing that I've only gained a half a pound since the last appointment...hmmm. Maybe I should write a dieting book: how to eat chocolate, not exercise, and still not gain weight. I'd probably make a couple bucks ;)

Since I'm A- bloodtype and Brian is A+, I go back in 1.5 weeks for a Rhogam shot, then we will go again for another ultrasound in 3 weeks. My mother is still predicting this is a little boy, while we will be quite surprised if "she" comes out a "he." My carpal tunnel in my right wrist continues to grow worse, and my back pain/sciatica comes and goes. All and all this has been quite a pleasant experience and we can't wait to meet our little "Baby K!"

Have a safe and happy New Year!! I can't imagine that I'll be awake for the ball to drop, but we'll be bringing in the New Year at Brian's parent's house, so we are looking forward to seeing them. Until the next update.......in 2010!!!!

Christmas Day!!! 2009

About 4:10am I took one of my many bathroom breaks. I think I have mastered the art of sleepwalking. Anyway, on this trip, I noticed the power went out. Thankfully, about 5 minutes later it came on. Now, the real story is why!?!? Outside, it was freezing, raining, icing, and the wind sounded like a hurricane was ripping through the mountains. Put it this way, the blinds inside our room actually moved and made noises. It was pretty loud outside, to say the least. So, around 8am, the power went out again, and I reluctantly got out of my very warm nest in bed to go see what Santa had left for me. I had Brian turn on the gas logs, and it remained pretty comfy in the main room of my parent's mountain house. My parents got up, and then my brother, involuntarily, joined us :) He was still dreaming of a white Christmas....anyway, we had an awesome, dark-ish, Christmas, and Santa was very good to us. The dogs received many presents, and Callie quickly learned how to open them. After hours of phone calls to the local power provider with no luck getting through, Brian finally called a different number and got through. We were told the power might be back on in 2-3 DAYS! We had lunch, and decided to head down the mountain. The roads, at that point, were okay, and we were freezing in the house. My dad called when we were about 30 minutes from home and said it came back on. Oh well....it was a fabulous Christmas, and hopefully it won't happen next year at Wiggle's first Christmas! Check back in around New Year's Eve, as we have our next big doctor's appointment....ultrasound and glucose testing. Hopefully I'll get some good photos of Wiggles!!

Wiggles' First Snowboard Lesson

Okay, so it was just a little street by the house, but it counted, kind of :)

White Christmas Eve :)

Well, we are up in the High Country, on top of Sugar Mountain. Last weekend they got dumped on to the tune of over 25 inches, so today we had a blast playing in the remnants. We all had a great time, and Wiggles got his or her first snowboard lesson :)
Oh, come on....I HAD to!!

25 Week Check Up

On Tuesday of this week, I went in for a check up. I had been feeling nauseated, dizzy, and faint that morning....so they asked me to come in. I had a scheduled appointment for Thursday (today) so they went ahead and moved it up. Basically, they think I just got overheated and my body was trying to cool off, by borrowing some blood from my head....now folks, I'm already a natural blonde as it is, so we'll just leave it at that ;) I have a small heater under my desk and it was running....I'm cold ALL the time, so I had no idea I could be "overheating!" They ran some blood tests (thyroid, hemoglobin) and did the normal other stuff they do. My blood pressure was a little on the low side of normal, but all was okay. Wiggle's heartbeat was around 150 beats per minute. We checked out fine, and we have our next ultrasound and glucose testing appointment on the morning of New Year's Eve....this is where they will check the amniotic fluid levels and test me for gestational diabetes. Do you think now is a good time to lay off the chocolate?

Around 6am today, Brian was in the closet picking out his outfit for the day. I asked him to come over and feel his child kicking. I think his exact words were too R-rated to post on here, but it was close to, "Holy Crap!" I said, yea, you ought to feel it from the inside! Wiggles must have had an early morning kickboxing class inside my uterus. As a matter of fact, I think Wiggles was taking make-up lessons all morning.....this child was VERY active today, and those muscles are getting bigger and stronger. Can't wait to get the breath literally knocked out of me :)

Finally, Wiggles wiggles for Daddy!

For some time now, I've been able to feel Baby K from the outside, but I have to think it helps that I can feel what's happening from the inside also. Well, either shy or stubborn, this child will NOT kick Daddy's hand! Everytime Brian has put his hand on my belly, movement has stopped. So, finally last night, he was able to feel some bumping around in the ole oven! That made his night! I can only imagine we'll start feeling stronger movements over the coming weeks, as I enter into the third and final trimester. Whoa. Things just got real!!!!

Birthday Dinner

Embarrassed during happy birthday song.....













Brit & Madi
Cheesecake Factory Birthday Dinner

Another Year.....Ugh!

They say age is all in your head, but I'm pretty sure it's in your body also! Tomorrow is my, *sigh*, 37th birthday. 36 is still considered to be in your mid 30's, so I have no problem with that. I guess because 37 is very close to 40, it's hitting me hard! So, tonight about 20 of our closest friends are meeting us out for a birthday dinner. I'm excited about that part, at least. It's the aches and pains of pregnancy and aging that I'm not so excited about. I mean, it's in the single digits up in the mountains, and all I can think about is snowboarding, something I am not going to get to do for the first winter in, well, ever! So, I'm thankful that I'm having another birthday, because the alternative wouldn't be fun! Happy birthday to me :)

Belly Pics

Birthing Class?

About a month ago, I signed Brian and myself up for a Intro to Pregnancy type class....mostly for people who have just found out they are pregnant, but since the class is only offered on Wednesday nights, and since Brian has had softball EVERY Wednesday night since this past summer, this was our first available time. Plus, next Wednesday we are supposed to get a tour of the hospital, where to go, what to expect, etc. On "the day" this will certainly help direct us while we're freaking out about having the baby!

I looked at the directions and instruction sheet several times, to make sure I knew where we were to go, and when to be there. So, it says for us to arrive promptly at 6pm, 5th floor, classroom #1. We get there right at 6pm, and go down to classroom #1. A lady is holding the door open, and we meander in. I was intimidated because the classroom was nearly FULL already! But strangely, it was full of just women, and none appeared to be pregnant. We were stared at, and quickly we backed out of the doorway. We wandered down the hall confused, then Brian found classroom #2, and peeked in. This room had about 5 couples in it, and the ladies were pregnant. Yay! In we went and got settled.

Our instructor was funny, and helpful. We were to introduce ourselves, tell when we were due (answers varied from about 18 weeks to 30 weeks), and then the instructor went over some picture boards of varying stages of pregnancy. We talked about aches, pains, and discomforts of pregnancy. She also went into detail about each additional class that is offered through CMC (Charlotte Medical Center). She kept stating that how after each of these classes we could tack on a hospital tour. Well, since I thought we were getting one next Wednesday through this class, I was confused. I had to ask.....well, come to find out, Brian and I had sat through the wrong class all along, thus the classroom confusion! The class we had signed up for was the previous Wednesday, and the tour was on this night. Everyone got a kick out of our mistake, but turns out the class we were in was better than the one we signed up for :) and we'll just get our hospital tour in one of the other classes later on.

We plan on taking a childbirth prep class (including breathing techniques, lamaze, what to expect at the hospital, postpartum, etc)., an infant CPR class, how to correctly install a carseat, and Brian may take the dad's only, "Daddy Bootcamp." :)

Wiggles....

Sometime early this morning, we had a thunderstorm. Our girls, Emma and Callie, wanted to go out to potty, so Brian took them out in the rain. Callie must not have liked the boomers, because she came back pretty quickly. I was awake, at this point, and so was Baby K. I was lying on my right side, and all of a sudden, I felt this sharp pain in my intestines, or something in there! Baby K kicked the heck out of me, and then did it again. A little while later, I felt like Baby K was doing acrobatics in there. Flip after flip. What could be going on in there? Well, until further notice, Baby K is going to be referred to as "Wiggles."

Brian is hoping for a soccer player....

For weeks now, I've been feeling Baby K flip around in the ole "oven." Just this past week or so, I've been able to feel a little from the outside, and Brian has been trying his hardest to "cop a feel." He thinks he might have felt a little kick last night, but can't be sure. I have an anterior placenta, which means it's a good cushion between Baby K, and my belly! It's located on the front wall of my uterus (whoa, that is some pretty personal info!!!) Anyway, because of that cushion, it makes the movement a little harder to feel from the outside. We'll keep trying, but I'm thinking pretty soon, our future soccer, basketball, football player is going to be kicking mom so hard that I'll be miserable. Sure hope it's a boy, if indeed Baby K turns out to be a football player :)

Belly Pics

Belly Pics

Belly Pics

23 Week Ultrasound

Today we visited the doctor's office to re-check the kidneys and my amniotic fluid levels. The baby was very active, and had the hiccups when we first got there....as seen on the ultrasound screen. The kidneys checked out fine, and were working properly, which was a relief! Normal fluid levels, at this point, should be anywhere between 10-20, and mine is at 13, so still on the low side. They will continue to monitor me every two weeks to make sure Baby K is growing normally, and this means we'll get more pictures for our baby album

They measured Baby K's legs and arms, and we were told they were both measuring on the long side. I'm growing a future basketball player, which will make Grandbob (future nickname?) very happy! Although, we were also told the belly was plump and happy, so a possible football player? New weight....1 pound, 7 ozs!! Mom might need to go on a diet!! Baby K is measuring one week ahead (24 weeks), as has been the norm. The doc wants me to continue to take it easy and drink lots of fluids, but everything so far is looking healthy! The heartrate was 146, and Baby K, as usual, was very shy, or possibly irritated. Everytime we tried to get a good picture, Baby K's arm would cover his/her face.

19 Week Ultrasound

Today was the ultrasound where they could finally check those heart chambers out! They were able to do so easily, as Baby K is just growing by leaps and bounds, and so am I!! The tech showed us the 4 heart chambers, and we could see them beating. It was so amazing how in detail you can see such small organs. They also checked the kidneys, bladder, fluid, etc. I was told everything looked great, EXCEPT, my amniotic fluid was a little low, and there was a little fluid sitting around one of the kidneys. While we were watching, Baby K had a full bladder, and then expelled that bladder, so we know at least one of the kidneys is functioning. The doctor told us, at this point, this is totally normal, and most babies correct this problem on their own. They weren't concerned, but would like for us to come BACK in for yet another ultrasound in 4 weeks. The kidneys are about the size of a dime right now, so as they grow, whatever is not allowing the fluid to go through should grow and correct itself. As far as my fluid goes, they told me to take it easy, relax, lie on my left side as much as possible, and drink lots of water. Praying everything checks out fine at our next ultrasound. In the meantime, daddy gets to help me around the house, and give me lots of back massages, as my back is really starting to feel this extra weight. So far, I've gained (ugh) 16 pounds...the baby was measuring 20 weeks, 1 day, and weighs 12 ozs. Heartrate was 140 & 148.

It's getting harder, especially in the evening, to move around. My lower back is achy, and I'm having some pelvic and sciatic nerve pains. I did break my pelvic bone in a snowboard contest in the late '90's, so that may have a little to do with it. My weight gain & blood pressure are all great right now, and I have had no swelling. I have had some pregnancy induced carpal tunnel in my right wrist, and wear a wristbrace at night. Looking forward to seeing Baby K one more time, and hoping he/she cooperates at the next appointment and gives us a good picture!!

16.5 week ultrasound...the "gender" ultrasound

This was an exciting day for the grandparents!! My mother, and Brian's parents, all came to join us at this ultrasound. None had ever seen an actual live ultrasound before. Talk about the dark ages when Brian and I were born!! We got to the doctor's office, and got hit with a bomb....I wasn't as far along as I'd thought, and they said they probably wouldn't be able to see what they wanted to. The purpose of this ultrasound was to measure the chambers of the heart, and to tell us the gender, had we wished to find this out. This appointment is generally performed between 18-20 weeks. Brian's parents had driven ALL the way from Radford, VA solely for this appointment. We opted to go ahead with the ultrasound, and hoped they could get what they needed.

Again, the ultrasound technician was awesome. She explained everything she saw, and again, we all thought she had a wonderful imagination. We actually saw the baby CHEWING?!?! What in the world could the baby have in there? A carrot? In case you don't already know, we have opted not to find out the baby's gender, so we hoped the scope stayed "above the belt!" They also did an alpha fetal protein test, and wanted to see the kidneys. The test came back negative (great!) and the baby, now known as "Baby K", had his/her legs crossed! Like, nah, nah, na, nah, nahhhhhh.....I'm not going to show you anyway!! At the conclusion of the appointment, I asked the tech if she knew the sex. She said she knew almost right away. WHAT? HOW? Wow, she is a professional!!

13 Week Ultrascreen Testing

The ultrascreening appointment has a very important purpose, especially for mother's-to-be like me, with an "advanced maternal age!" It is to determine the risks and chances of the baby having Downs Syndrome, and Trisomy 18, along with other chromosomal anomalies.This was the most long and gruelling 5 weeks of my life!!! I have anxiously anticipated this appointment, and was excited and nervous for this appointment. Luckily, Brian was able to be there for moral support, and of course, to sneek a peek at our "bean," who we were now referring to as "peanut." Well, this little booger was VERY active....so much so, that our appointment took a long time. Heartrate, 155. The ultrasound tech needed to measure the amount of fluid behind peanut's neck, the nose cavity, and the organs. It was hard to do, but the ultrasound tech was awesome. She explained what we were looking at in detail, and we thought she had a great imagination , as some of the things she said she saw, looked like blobs to us! Previous to this appointment, I had some blood drawn and sent off. The results were back, and the ultrasound tech entered the ultrasound results into the computer, along with the blood results. We were told I had the chances of a 20 year old for any of these chromosomal problems.....our nerves were relaxed, and we went out and celebrated with some wine! Okay, not really, but we were so relieved, and felt very blessed.

12 Week Impromptu Ultrasound

Although we had an ultrasound scheduled for September 21st, for our Ultrascreen testing, I called in this morning to come get checked out. I woke up and literally did not feel pregnant anymore. NO symptoms, and everything I had been feeling just went away overnight. I was concerned even more when we tried to use our at-home doppler system (to hear the heartbeat) and couldn't find the heartbeat. My doctor's office told me to come in and they would be happy to check the heartbeat for me. I went in around 10:30am. Because I have what's called an "anterior placenta," meaning it's located on the front wall of my uterus, I have been told that it will take a little longer for me to feel any movement from the inside. Also, this makes it harder to find a heartbeat. So, when I went in, the nurse was able to find the heartbeat, but she wasn't satisfied with just that....she snuck me in for a surprise ultrasound!! This was the only appointment Brian has missed, and it was just because I was just running down the street to get checked out. We didn't expect this awesome surprise!! Anyday I can see my little booger, is a good day!! The baby was dancing around like crazy, heartbeat was 160, and measuring 12 weeks today!! Next appointment for the BIG testing is on Monday!!

7.5 Week Ultrasound

This was our first ultrasound, with this pregnancy, and we were SO nervous, anxious, and hopeful. The date was September 16, 2009. The last time we were in that room, we were told the heartbreaking news that our baby had stopped growing around 6 weeks, which was followed by a miscarriage. To boot, the ultrasound technician was the same lady we'd had before, so I immediately told her I would only accept good news this day! As soon as she squirted the warm ultrasound goo on my belly and placed the wand on it, we saw a little baby bean, squirming, AND the heart was beating......WHAT A RELIEF!! It was our lucky day. Not only did we get to see the heart beating, but we got to hear that awesome, whoosh-whoosh, sound. The heartrate was a strong 168. This was only the beginning of our adventure, and many worries to come......

We're Pregnant!

On July 23rd, 2009, I found out we were pregnant! Earlier in the week I had visited Charlotte Eye, Ears, Nose, and Throat because I thought I had a sinus infection. In fact I did, and was prescribed some antibiotics. At the conclusion of my appointment, I mentioned there was a slight chance I could be pregnant. Could I really be? There was no way....that Thursday, at the urging of my good friend, Celeste, I took a pregancy test. The same thing had just happened to her friend, and she found out she was pregnant. Well, it was too early to test, or so I thought, and it was late in the evening....I had an extra test lying around, visited the little girls' room, and waited.....

Rub my eyes....is that a pink line I see? Brian was at the Whitewater Center bike riding, so I had to consult with the girls (aka, our dogs). They agreed with me, and here it begins.....when Brian got back home, I gave him an "early" anniversary present. He looked at the test, looked at me with a sly grin, and said, "really?" We had NO idea this was the beginning of our adventure....