Check Up

I had a doctor appointment on Wednesday. Everything is going well. My doctor says that we have a very active baby. I'll be going in for weekly appointments now until delivery. We are excited & can't wait to meet our little one. Brad thinks it's a boy. I think it's a girl. When we had our ultrasound done a few months ago, it looked like a boy to both of us...but then again, neither of us are trained on what to look for. We were probably looking at an arm, hand or leg?! Who knows.

Week 35

Our Official Countdown is 34 Days!

We had our all day class at Abbott last weekend. The class started at 8:00 am and ended about 3:00 pm. After only being in the class for about 30 seconds, Brad said he was in trouble. The class started with a labor & delivery video. So you can imagine...that was an eye opener at 8:00 am on a Saturday.
We learned a lot from the class and actually got to tour the labor & delivery department.

Lately, the baby seems to move a lot. The information that I've been reading says that he/she will be running out of room and will eventually kick/move less during the last month.
I've been placing the remote control on my belly when I watch TV and the remote just bobs up and down.
We have our hospital bag ready and waiting. Now we're just trying to catch up on a few last minute baby items.

Well, that didn't work...

We've been trying to keep our cats out of all of the baby furniture. Max always seems to find a new way to use it. For the longest time, the cats hadn't discovered the most luxurious item (the crib) in the room until last week.

The sheets on the crib are very soft and we found Max snuggled into the corner of the crib...enjoying his cat nap. This is not acceptable to us. However, if we shut the door to the room, they just paw at the door all night long until we can't take the noise any longer.

So...to keep the cats out of the crib & bassinet, we filled them up with stuff hoping that they would get the point. Obviously not.

A Little More on the Ice Craving...

Okay...so I have to post a little on the ice craving that I've been having. I did a little research and here's what I came up with. There's actually a term for this, called "Pica."

Pica is the practice of craving substances with little or no nutritional value. Most pica cravings involve non-food substances such as dirt or chalk. The word pica is Latin for magpie which is a bird notorious for eating almost anything.

The reason that some women develop pica cravings during pregnancy is not known for certain. There is currently no identified cause; however, according to the Journal of American Dietetic Association there may be a connection to an iron deficiency.

The most common substances craved during pregnancy are dirt, clay, and laundry starch. Other pica cravings include: burnt matches, stones, charcoal, mothballs, ice, cornstarch, toothpaste, soap, sand, plaster, coffee grounds, baking soda, and cigarette ashes.

Could you imagine what people would say if they saw me eating dirt or coffee grounds...yuk! I'm so glad that I don't have any of those cravings. Ice is fine with me...although Brad is getting tired of hearing the loud crunching noise. :)

Father's Day

Happy Father's Day!

Today, we went out for lunch and then went to see the new Indiana Jones movie. It was a horrible movie by the way. Brad did yard work when we got home. After that he put together our new pack-n-play. He also worked a bit on the computer with a few websites he's designing. So, he's been pretty busy today. He's on vacation mode for the next couple of days. He'll be golfing this week and maybe out on the lake with one of his friends.

Week 33

Our Official Countdown is: 46 Days!

Some people have asked how much weight I have gained during my pregnancy. It's hard to say...I was so sick for the whole first trimester & part of the second trimester. And if I don't continue to take my "Zofran" (magic pill) each morning, I still get sick. If I forget to take it, usually I'm all right throughout the day and then all of a sudden, out of the blue, I feel like I got hit by a bus.

Right before Christmas time is when I started to feel the worst. I lost about nine pounds from being so sick. (Any other time, this 9 pounds would have been greatly appreciated!)

My doctor wanted me to gain that weight back very soon. So she put me on Ensure. It actually didn't taste that bad. I usually drank about two or three a day. It really helped to get my weight back to normal and the Zofran helped to get my appetite back. When I was so sick, nothing sounded good to eat.

I had another doctor appointment today. Lately, I've had a craving for ice. I asked my doctor about it and she said that it's usually a sign of iron deficiency. They tested my hemoglobin and I was borderline. So now I'm on a high iron diet. I weighed in at 151, so I've gained a total of 12 pounds...if I start at the pre-pregnancy weight, not when I lost the 9 pounds.

Brad's official pregnancy weight gain is: about the same as mine. :) He's been running around a small lake near our house lately to get back in shape.

Fetal development that is occurring when you are 33 weeks pregnant includes the following:

The average size for a baby in its 33rd week: 5 lbs and 17 inches in height.

Your baby has probably moved into his or her birth position and is ready to go!

Your baby is practicing breathing by inhaling amniotic fluid to exercise his or her lungs.

Some babies have full heads of hair by now; others have only a bit of fuzz.

Your baby has a normal waking and sleeping pattern. Many times, your movement throughout the day will lull him or her to sleep; while you are inactive at night, it is a chance for him or her to be awake and active.

Your baby can listen, feel, and see.

The pupils of the eye can detect light and constrict and dilate.

Your baby's lungs are almost completely matured.

Fat will continue to be deposited on your baby's body for protection and warmth.

Your baby's skin color turns from red to pink.

Baby Shower!

Christy, Jen & Sarah threw a baby shower for me this past weekend and we had so much fun! The shower was in Burnsville at Sarah's condo party room and they had it decorated so cute with baby clothes and pink & blue colors! Sarah & Jen made a few yummy salads & Christy had an adorable cake made with one of our ultrasound pictures on it (it was even edible). We played a few fun games like guessing what kind of melted chocolate candy bar was inside each diaper. We also played a fun game with rice & baby safety pins. In a small bowl was uncooked rice along with little tiny safety pins. During your turn, you close your eyes and dig inside the bowl and pick out the little pins. It is so hard! I didn't pick out any pins!!

It was so nice to spend some time with all the girls. Brad and I are so appreciative with all of the great gifts that we received!

Growing

It's been a while since I have posted a prego photo. I am quite a bit bigger than I was in the last photo.

I'm still able to wear my regular jeans but not much longer.

Week 32

Our Official Countdown is 56 Days!

The baby is moving around a lot. I'm starting to feel the joys of being jabbed in the ribs too. I usually get up a couple times a night now due to either being uncomfortable or having to go to the bathroom. Overall, I'm feeling really good.

When we started working on the baby room a couple of months ago, the first thing to go was one of our spare beds. We ended up bringing the spare bed back to Montevideo this weekend. Since my truck isn't big enough to haul a bed, we ended up going to the U-Haul store and renting a trailer. Let me give you a tip...NEVER go to the U-Haul store on the last day of the month. Wow...were they busy! I guess I didn't even think about it being the end of the month and everyone would be moving & needing trailers. I forgot what day it was! Oh well. We got it all done and hauled back to Montevideo just fine. Although Brad drove half way home going about 80 mph and the speed limit on the trailer said 45 mph.

The weather was really nice this weekend. Brad enjoyed golfing with my dad. I spent Saturday afternoon with my mom and we took a drive over to Marshall. I wanted to stop at a baby store on Main Street, but found out when we got there that it was no longer in business. We went to my aunt & uncle's house and had a nice visit with them.

My belly is getting bigger, so Scott & my dad compared their bellies with mine. I'm winning. I'll have to upload the photo some other time.