Dr. Appointment - Month 4

Hello All!
Yesterday I had another monthly appointment. We were only there for about 15 minutes, but it appears that all is still well! We heard the heartbeat again, and it's beating along at a steady 158-160 bpm. My blood pressure is good, and I've only gained 6 lbs so far (though it seems like 16 at least!), so things seem to be moving along well! We also got answers to some questions we had, including whether or not it is safe for me to help paint the baby's room. My doctor's initial response was yes, it's okay as long as the room is well-ventilated. Steve breathed a sigh of relief, and made a comment about me bugging him about having to do all the paint work. Well...then my doctor changed his tune and said (with a sly grin) that on second thought, I probably shouldn't do any painting at all. It's good to know that he's on my side! Since the appointment went by so quick, Steve & I stopped off at McDonald's to enjoy some pancakes before he dropped me off at the office. :-)

Our next appointment will be in one month. We are scheduled for an ultrasound on 3/19. If baby cooperates, we will be able to find out if we need to start buying onesies in pink or blue. Can't wait for that! We then meet with our doctor again on 3/20 for another routine visit.

As I mentioned in the last posting, I'm still feeling great! I had a bit of dizziness and migraine-like headaches earlier in the week, but my doctor reassures me that this is normal; my body's way of telling me to take it easy.

It has been baby central in our lives lately! Not only because of our own baby-to-be, but it seems like there are babies all around us:
- Within the past 3 months, two of my co-workers welcomed new additions to their families ( first babies for both).

- Within the past week, one of Steve's co-workers welcomed his first baby girl, and my mom's friend Kathy became a Grandma for the first time to a healthy baby boy!

- My high school friend Tara is expecting her second baby, a girl, any day now in New York!!

- Further down the line...I know of at least 4 other Iowa Central employees who are expecting around the same time as me, and Steve's cousin Shelly will welcome her first baby just a few weeks before me!

What a BABY BOOM!

Well...that's about it for this time around. I'll try to come up with some pictures to share for week 17. Until then...take care!

Week 16

I just realized today that I skipped putting up a post during week 15...I guess that's probably because nothing too exciting has been going on. It could also be because we've been having very nice weather (for Iowa) lately, so I'm spending more time outdoors with the dogs when I get the opportunity.

I've been feeling really good! Other than feeling fat instead of pregnant, all has been well! I'm not quite into maternity clothes yet...but I'm very close. Fortunately, I think I'll be able to wear many of my tops for a while. Pants are another story! I moved the buttons over on a couple pairs of my favorite pants, which has worked for a while. There aren't many stores that sell maternity clothes around here, so my plan is to go to OldNavy.com to order some maternity pants this week.

I don't have any new cravings so far. However, I did get my share of sweets over the weekend! Steve made me a caramel cake with chocolate frosting for my birthday on Friday, and then my friend Darci dropped off some fun cookies on Valentine's day. I've also been promising Steve that I'd make him some caramel corn since I didn't make any at Christmas, so I did that yesterday. I know that I need to watch my sugar intake...but it was a hard task over the weekend! It's time to get back on track! This week I will start heading back to the gym, which is something I've been missing! I hope to be able to work in 3 days/week on the treadmill/elliptical, and then 2 days of yoga at home. I've been told that if I keep up the exercise routine that labor & losing weight after will come easier for me. Sounds good to me!

One of the things Steve and I have been working on at home is trying to figure out what to do with the baby room. We think we have the bedding picked out, so now we have to figure out how we're going to paint the room. Once we make a final decision, I'll post pictures on the blog! My goal is to get the painting completed during Spring Break, when I have time off from work. After that is done, we'll be able to buy the baby furniture...which will make it even more real!

This Thursday is our next appointment. I don't think it will be anything new - but we will get to hear the heartbeat again, which is always exciting and emotional! I'm not scheduled for an ultrasound - that will come in March. We should be able to tell the sex of the baby then...which is what everyone seems to be waiting for! :-)

Overall, it's still surreal to me that there is a baby growing inside! I do look forward to finding out what we are having...but I think I'm more excited to feel the first flutter or kick. I think that will make it all seem more real to me.

Week 14 Cravings

Start of 2nd Trimester

I don't have any new baby news to report. All is still going well. Tuesday will be the start of my week 14, which means I am officially starting my 2nd trimester. I can definitely tell that I am getting my energy back. I actually stayed up until 10:45 last night! (versus my typical 9:30 bedtime these past few months)

On Saturday, Steve and I traveled to Des Moines to do some looking around Babies R Us. It was mind boggling, seeing all of the different items there are in that store! Who knew there were enough different types of pacifiers to take up one entire side of an aisle! Ha! We did find some things we like, including a crib and changing table. We didn't buy anything yet since we haven't even started clearing out the baby's room. I think that will be a Spring Break project next month if anyone would like to come help us paint! It was fun trying out the different strollers - but also very confusing! It seems like every brand is completely different, with different buttons, levers and gizmos that keep baby strapped in tight! After giving the different brands a try, (and after Steve nearly broke one right in front of the saleslady) we found that our favorite is made by a company called Chicco. All in all, it was a fun day, and we were able to start a list of things that we like, along with things we'll know to avoid, for when we start to get ready for baby.

I don't have any baby pictures to share...so I thought I'd share some pictures from the Jackson Christmas...Here's a picture of me and my niece Ashlyn (taken by my niece Courtney). Can you believe this is the same almost-three-year-old flower girl from our wedding 11 1/2 years ago?It's amazing to look at our family picture every year and see how much all the kids have grown (especially the 2 boys in the back...I don't know what they are standing on, but their uncle Darren is no match for them on his tip-toes in this picture! Ha!) It is exciting to add a few new faces to our family photo this year too! Jim's wife Jodi, and her two daughters Rachel and Emma joined us this year. We're all so happy to have them as part of our family!

Stay Warm!!!

12 Weeks!

Yesterday (1/22/09) we had our 12 week appointment. Steve and I were both nervous and excited since this would be the first time we would hear the heartbeat. Up until this point, we've kind of been on eggshells, not really knowing whether/not there really is a baby inside me!
Well...there sure is! We heard the beat-beat-beat of the baby's heart at 166 beats per minute!! We then had an added surprise...the doctor brought in the ultrasound machine and we got to see the baby again. That was a very surreal moment, mostly because we could see the baby bouncing around, twisting and turning...but I did not feel a thing! This picture is not as clear as the last one, mostly because it is from an external ultrasound. I placed a box around the baby, and the line points to his heart. Like I said, the baby was wiggling around a lot, so it was hard to get a good picture. According to my baby books, the baby should be about the size of a small lime.

Now that I am at the end of my first trimester, another thing I am looking forward to is SHOPPING for baby! I can't wait to go to stores like Babies R Us for the first time and just wander around to see all of the fun baby items out there. I'll also have to start shopping for maternity clothes soon. You cannot see physically that I'm growing, but I can definitely tell my pants are getting tighter & the curve of my waist has pretty much vanished. UGH!

Our next appointment will be February 19, which will be right at 16 weeks. I don't think we'll be able to tell the sex until after week 19...but we will do another ultrasound, so I'll have more pictures to post!

Best Christmas Gift Ever!

Happy New Year!
It will definitely be a happy and exciting one for me and Steve. This year we got our Christmas gift a few weeks early when we found out we're having a BABY!!!!!

Our little blessing was totally unexpected! As many of you know, we have undergone infertility treatments over the past few years with no luck. We decided to take a break from treatments, and I haven't been on any medication or anything since March, 2008. In fact, we were planning to go back & take the next big step in January...but I guess we won't have to do that now, will we?? :-)

It was definitely exciting to share our news with our immediate families over the Christmas Holiday. I made "Grandma's Brag Books" for each of our moms, and included the following picture, along with a "Congratulations!" tag. Needless to say, they were both estatic! We were in Kansas when Steve's mom opened hers, and fortunately my brother-in-law was filming the Georgia Christmas festivities when my mom opened hers. So we got to see the reaction of both moms. It was great! This will be my mom's first grandbaby, which is fun...and for those of you that know her, you can just imagine what she's already picked up for the baby on her Georgia shopping adventures! Ha!

Our current due date is August 3, 2009. It's not very common to have an ultrasound picture so early in a pregnancy...but I had had some cramping when we were in Vegas, so my doctor wanted to make sure that the baby's "environment" looked OK (which it does!). This worked out great for my reveal! (This picture was taken at 6 weeks...so he's grown a little bit. According to my books, he's now about the size of a large olive! Of course, we don't know what we're having yet...but for some reason I've been referring to the baby as a he. We'll see!)

My next appointment is on January 22, which will be my 12th week. We will get to hear the heartbeat for the first time, which we are both excited about! We've seen the little peanut's heart flickering on the ultrasound...but hearing it will help to make it all seem real!

I've always held in my heart and BELIEVED that God has a plan for us, and that he would bless us with a child when we are ready. After waiting for so long, we can hardly believe that the time has come!

Because of the excitement, along with our trip and the busy-ness of the holidays, we did not get Christmas cards sent out this year. So we now wish you a
Wonderful New Year, and Happiness for You and Your loved ones!

Las Vegas - Final Full Day

Wednesday, December 10
On our final full day in Vegas (see days 1-3 below), we decided to walk the strip and see what kind of free entertainment we could find. We started out by going south, to the New York, New York hotel. This is where we originally had planned to stay, so we wanted to check it out and see if we were missing anything. But really, once you get inside a casino, they are all pretty much the same! They do have the roller coaster that winds around the casino, but it was closed for maintenance, so we didn't get to do that. Instead we spent a few dollars on some slots. Not much luck in NY NY!

NY NY's Brooklyn Bridge

Steve in front of NYNY Hotel

We then crossed the street to the MGM Grand, to see the lion habitat. We got there just in time to see 2 lions and their trainers come out to play. They are such beautiful creatures!
After the MGM, we made our way back to our hotel, for lunch. We also did some shopping in the Miracle Mile Shops, which are attached to our hotel.

(view inside the Miracle Mile shops. The hotel used to be the Aladdin, so that's what the theme of the shopping area is like.)

That afternoon, we headed to the north, on our way to Treasure Island to watch the pirate show. Unfortunately, once we got there, we found that the show was closed for maintenance (a common trend in Vegas during the month of December). So, again, we fed our money into a few slots instead, and left the TI with less than we went in with!

On to the Mirage to see the volcano. THIS attraction, fortunately, was not closed, and was an awesome display! We could feel the heat of the volcano from where we stood.



(some views from the strip)

After the volcano, we meandered along the strip, stopping at Cesar's fancy Forum Shops, and then the Bellagio shops, where I got to visit my first Tiffany's store. Even though I didn't leave with a little blue box, it was fun to dream as I looked at diamonds, silver and gemstones in all of the beautifully lit cabinets. After Tiffany's, we continued to make our way through the Bellagio to the Conservatory. They had a beautiful Christmas display, which was made up of all natural elements (kind of like the Rose Bowl floats).


(This is the ceiling in the Bellagio lobby - made completely of blown glass. Stunning!)

After viewing the fountains again outside the Bellagio, we made our way back to the Miracle Mile shops for dinner, and then retreated to our room (after spending my last $10 on a slot machine!)


(This isn't the slot machine I'm talking about...but it's the first one I tried & won $15 on my first pull!)

Overall, it was an excellent trip! We can't wait to make our way back to Vegas and the NFR soon!