30 weeks

Wow - only 10 weeks left! I can't believe how fast it's gone, but now it feels like time is crawling. :) Life has been so busy lately that I haven't had much time to concentrate on the baby - which sounds bad.

To start things off, I went in for my three-hour glucose test, which I passed. The whole ordeal was really long and really boring and I don't care if I ever get my blood drawn again (even though I know I will). The important thing was that I passed and don't have to worry about it. My next doctor's appointment is on Thursday so I think I'll have a better idea of what's going on. I think Thumperette is still growing the way she should - she feels like it. She's becoming very active and kicking me a lot. Although she really seems content with just doing a lot of stretching and rolling around. I had a fabulous baby shower with my co-workers and friends on the 7th. It was so much fun and hopefully I'll get some pics from that soon. I was really touched by how many people showed up to celebrate our new baby. The whole thing made me really excited for her to get here.

Andrew and I went to our Childbirth Preparation Seminar yesterday. That was an interesting experience. I can't tell if it made me more excited for the birth or more terrified - it's a close call. The good thing about the class is that because we did a lot of "practicing" with our breathing and birthing positions, I got a massage all day long - which was AWESOME! It was definitely an eye-opening experience as to what's to come in about two months. The best part was that we got to take a tour of the hospital so we saw the labor rooms. I think that made my day because they were really nice and I think I'll be really comfortable giving birth at the University of Iowa. We got through the class and got our diploma at the end (I'm not really sure what to do with that). I guess I feel slightly more prepared.

In real-life "non baby" world. Andrew went through his orientation for medical school, which was really exciting. He got to go through the white coat ceremony which was really emotional. I was really proud of him and excited for his upcoming journey. All the people he has met in his class so far seem really nice.

So that's about all that is going on right now. I'm getting really anxious for the baby to get here and know that once Andrew starts classes time is going to simply fly by.

28 weeks

Wow, I can't believe how fast time has flown. I can't believe that I haven't updated this blog since 22 weeks! Not too much has actually been going on, up until recently the pregnancy has been pretty uneventful.

Even though we moved to Iowa City in the beginning of June, we've been travelling back and forth to Des Moines a lot for work. It's been really exhausting and I feel that I haven't been able to get the house set up like I want to. As of last Thursday, Andrew officially ended his practice and is now a student again. We're going back to Des Moines on Wednesday and that will be our last week in the office regularly for a while. It'll be nice to have some time to feel a little more settled, but I actually do miss being able to be in the office. Oh well, I can't have it both ways...or, more accurately, Thumperette is making it so I can't have it both ways.

We are getting more settled into our apartment. We got a new kitchen table as a birthday/anniversary gift from Andrew's parents, which was incredibly awesome and I absolutely love it!

So now baby news. As of the moment I hit 27 weeks, Thumperette has been moving pretty much nonstop. I think she likes the attention, but she is getting HEAVY! I look at myself and can't believe how big I am. She is still measuring 100% right on, so that's good. I took my 1 hour glucose test on Friday which didn't go so well. I ate a big plate of spaghetti at 9:30 the night before and I think I was supposed to fast. I majorly failed the test. My level was at 170 and it's supposed to be 140 or below. So today, joy of joys, I had to stay at the hospital for the 3 hour glucose test. The test consisted of me getting there after fasting since 9, getting my blood drawn (#1), drinking a whole bottle of the orange glucose, getting my blood drawn 3 more times every hour, then leaving and THEN I got to eat and drink. I was so tired of being poked by the end of it. I hope I passed. I really don't feel like I've gained an obscene amount of weight. I think the nurse told me at my appointment on Friday that I'd gained 17 pounds which is within the range of normal.

Other than that, I've just been doing my kick counts (she usually hits 10 movements/kicks in amount a half hour at most, so she's pretty active). Oh, here's the recent pic, prepare yourself, I'm huge.

22 weeks

It's been a while since I posted a picture of myself, so I thought I'd go ahead and do that. Little Thumper-ette has been a busy girl growing. I now weigh a hefty 110 pounds, which brings my total weight gain thus far to about 14 pounds or so. I've been trying to think of what I want to do for the nursery decor, but it's kind of hard to think about when the room is currently being used as my office and is full of boxes. I'm still really tired, but I'm not sure if that's just from the traveling or the pregnancy. Anyway, I'm waiting for Andrew to go get some dinner because I'm starving right now and he ate all of the chips in the house.

20 weeks!!

SO I'm finally getting around to updating the blog. Things have been so crazy with moving and trying to get organized and commuting to Des Moines and back that I have been simply exhausted. I had wanted to put up a post about our new place but it's still a "work in progress" so as soon as things are starting to look a little less "disaster zone" I'll post some pictures of that.

Last week we had our 20 week ultrasound and appointment. We were definitely more geared up for the ultrasound. I took some advice and ate a Reece's Peanut Butter cup a few minutes before the ultrasound so the little one was all raring to go. I don't think the ultrasound technician appreciated that so much. After all the measurements were taken and everything was looking normal, she asked us if we were finding out the sex today. Now, Andrew and I had been debating over whether or not to find out. I had come to the conclusion that he would look at the ultrasound and figure it out and then wouldn't tell me. So we told that story to the technician and said we wanted to know. So, she got a nice shot of the rump area (I really wish she would have given us the picture so I could post it, but Andrew said that it wasn't appropriate or something - I don't know). She asked Andrew what he thought and he said that it looked like a girl to him and she immediately said, "Yep, looks like a girl to me too." I wish I could have shared their opinion, but I had no idea what I was looking at so I'm just taking their word on it - they both sounded pretty confident. So, we're having a healthy baby girl. It was very exciting and fun to share the news with everyone. I think we still haven't recovered from the shock of it yet. Once again, I wish I could post the "proof of girl" picture, but she didn't give me one, she did give me these:

Here's her profile, she's sucking her thumb







Here's her little foot and then next one is her face, but it looks a little scary to me.





Andrew got a great early Father's day present the other day when she kicked hard enough that he could feel it. Prior to that I was the only one that could really feel her move, but he's felt it a couple of times now. She usually kicks a lot after some sugar. :)

So that's the highlights for now.

19 weeks!!

Not much is going on with the pregnancy recently. Just keep "going on autopilot." We took possession of our condo in Iowa City yesterday and are prepping for the move on Friday. So my next blog post will be live from Iowa City! :)

I took this excerpt from Pregnology.com:

19 weeks pregnant
Your baby's crown-to-rump length is 5.2 to 6 inches this week. Your baby weighs approximately 7 ounces and will increase its weight more than 15 times between now and birth!

Most women can feel their uterus about a half of an inch below their bellybutton at this point of pregnancy. If you turn to the side, you can really tell that your body is changing! Most women have gained up to 14 pounds now and only 7 ounces of that is your baby! The placenta weighs about 6 ounces and the amniotic fluid that surrounds your baby weighs 11 ounces. Your breasts have increased in weight by 6 ounces each and the uterus has grown to 11 ounces! You may be gaining weight in places other than your abdomen and this may be affecting your posture and sleeping habits.

One of the most amazing aspects of your baby's growth and development is that of the fetal brain. Your baby's brain is one of the first organs to appear. Your baby's oversized head shows the brain's importance in his development. Because the nerves that connect the muscles to the brain have grown into place, your baby's movements are consciously directed. Your baby's ears stand out from the sides of the head and the buds for your baby's permanent teeth appear. Your baby's arms and legs have reached their relative proportions and his feet are approximately one inch long.

17 1/2 weeks

We went to Iowa City for our monthly doctor's appointment yesterday. I'll be relieved next month when we don't have to make the 2 hour drive for the 15 minute appointment. :) We saw Dr. Ward instead of Dr. Elson because Dr. Elson had to take care of her sick daughter. I liked Dr. Ward, which made me feel a lot more comfortable with the UIHC in general. I know that the chances of Dr. Elson actually being the one who delivers our baby is really low because it really just depends on who is there. Meeting Dr. Ward made me think that all the doctors at UIHC are really nice so I could have any of them deliver the baby.
It was a really quick appointment. I got my vitals checked which were all ok. I'm up to 106 pounds now so the little one is definitely playing his/her part in that. I'm right where I need to be on all my measurements so that made me feel good. Thumper's heartbeat was good and strong at around 153. Dr. Ward told me that my pregnancy seems to be running on autopilot - which I think is probably a good thing. Andrew made sure to ask Dr. Ward about the legitimacy of "pregnancy brain" because he evidently had doubts that that was a real thing. She assured him that it was and that it gets the worse during the third trimester. So I guess I won't be doing anything too mentally straining during that time because it sounds like it won't turn out very well for me.
Other than that, things continue to go well. I'm feeling Thumper move everyday - today in particular. He/She doesn't seem to want to hold still today. It's really exciting to feel that little tickle and know that everything is still ok. We have an appointment for an ultrasound on June 10th and we can find out the sex of the baby if we want to. We still talking that one out. :)

Second Trimester!!!

So I am OFFICIALLY in the Second Trimester! 15 weeks and 2 days - to be exact. I am no longer sick - which is awesome! I'm still tired from time to time and I am definitely suffering from "pregnancy brain" because I can't concentrate on anything it seems. But I'm happy that things are still progressing normally and I am constantly looking to what the next day will bring.

Andrew and I bought a home doppler so that we could hear the baby's heartbeat. We just got it tonight so we HAD to try it out. It took a little getting used to and it took us a couple minutes to find the heartbeat...but we found it! :) We heard a little "swish swish swish". The monitor put it at 120 - which is still great and normal...although I'm wondering if we had the settings right - plus it kept getting interference from my stomach which was annoying. :) Nonetheless, I was relieved to hear it because I was definitely having an "I don't feel pregnant" day. As opposed to Tuesday when I was having a "I feel like a blimp and I want to eat anything that holds still" day.

I had Andrew take a picture of me to capture my "15 weeks!" I also weighed myself and I'm a healthy 103.5. :)So I've put on about 5 pounds so far in my pregnancy. :)

13 weeks!

April 23, 2010 - Prenatal Testing

We took a quick trip today to IA City to do the first part of the prenatal testing (the later part can't be done until later in the second trimester). The first round of testing pretty much just consisted of an ultrasound and getting more blood drawn (I'd hardly recovered from the last draw!). The ultrasound was once again amazing. Thumper is enormous now! He looks like a human baby now. He was being difficult and moving around so the technician had a hard time getting him to hold still long enough to get a good picture for us, but she managed to get one. She said that everything was looking great from what she could tell. Even though I'm only 13 weeks and 2 days, Thumper is measuring 13 weeks and 6 days!! I guess he's in a hurry!
We won't find out until all the testing is done what the results are - which makes it hard. But Andrew and I are optimistic that things will be fine.

April 8, 2010 - 1st Dr.'s Appointment

Today Andrew and I traveled to Iowa City to meet with our new OB/Gyn, Dr. Elson. I don't think I've been to the UIHC in about 15 or so years so it was a new experience for me. We did all the preliminary stuff with the nurse and then got to meet the doctor. She was absolutely wonderful! I felt so comfortable around her and she answered all of my questions. She did a physical examination (which was NOT the fun part) and we got to hear Thumper's heartbeat again. She said he was in the 160s. She said that as long as the baby didn't get too big, I should be ok to do a natural birth, which is what I want. (Actually, what part of me wants...the other part of me was like, "What? You mean you aren't going to just knock me out and wake me when it's over?") Dr. Elson's last piece of advice was for me to get an H1N1 shot because it was "making a resurgence." I'm not sure if that was true or not...or if they just had a surplus of vaccine that they were trying to get rid of. Either way, I got an H1N1 shot - which hurt...a LOT...for DAYS.
And if that wasn't enough, I had to go do lab work. They took 4 BIG VILES of blood to run tests on. I don't think I've ever had that much blood taken at once!

So, that was our first visit. I'm very happy with the doctor we chose and am happy to be having the baby at the UIHC. Our next step is to go in for the prenatal screening on April 23rd. I'm excited for that because we'll get another ultrasound!

March 23, 2010

Today was our follow up ultrasound with Dr. Young. We took a red eye to get home from Hawaii so we were both EXHAUSTED! Andrew actually suggested that we reschedule but I was like, "NO WAY!" So back we went to the clinic...and back I went on the exam table. The nurse was looking at the screen, then she smiled and said, "Everything looks great." I couldn't believe how big Thumper was! He somewhat resembled a baby! He was still measuring right on and had a strong heartbeat of 168 bpm. I laughed really hard after I saw the heartbeat which must have excited Thumper because he started dancing for us! All of a sudden it dawned on me that, "Oh my god, that's inside of me!"
We met with Dr. Young who looked at our pictures and said that everything looked great and sent us on our way. :) So we left MidIowa Fertility. I'm so grateful for everything that they did for us. They were so wonderful and accomodating to what our wishes were for our family!

March 9, 2010

Today we went for our first ultrasound after the blood tests. I was so nervous because all we had to go on was the blood tests but, stupid person that I am, I went on the internet so I had a plethora of things in my head that could possibly be wrong. We got in the exam room and the nurse did her thing and was looking at the screen. She took a little bit looking which made me nervous and then turned the screen so I could see. She said that there's one baby and everything looks just how it should. Evidently, "how it should" mean a little grain of rice that looks nothing like a baby. She measured "Thumper" and he was measuring right on and had a heartbeat of 121 bpm. I was amazed to hear the heartbeat. It was only a couple of thuds but, wow.

So far, so good. Now we're off to Hawaii for 10 days and then we have a follow up ultrasound when we get back.

A New Adventure

It all began on Sunday, February 21st. I woke up to the most pleasant surprise of all. As most people know, we have been trying to conceive for almost a year now, so it really was (hopefully) a matter of time. Nevertheless, it was still a complete shock when the test popped up "Pregnant" in about a minute. The entire time I had been preparing for getting pregnant, I thought of a bunch of cute ways to tell Andrew that I was pregnant. I guess the shock of seeing the positive test was enough to make me forget about that and I went tearing into our bedroom (at 7:30 am on a Sunday) to my sleeping husband and began yelling at him (he says I yelled, I prefer the term 'strongly urged') to put on his glasses and look. He looked at the test and then at me and after a pause said, "You're pregnant?" I think it's taken us both a little while to get used to the idea. We immediately called the doctor's office and set up a time to get my blood drawn.
While we waited for the results of the blood test, we decided to go for brunch. I wasn't hungry at all so it was kind of a waste to take me to an all-you-can-eat brunch. We were about 3 blocks away from home when I got a call from the nurse. (Just an FYI here, the calls you get from the nurse telling you that you aren't pregnant and the ones that tell you that you are have the exact same tone to them so it's really hard to tell what the outcome is.) The nurse told me that my Hcg level was at 850 so, in her words, I was "definitely pregnant." Then came the difficult decision of whether or not to tell. I'd read warning to not tell about a pregnancy too early. However, Andrew and I are both horrible at keeping secrets - especially good ones, so we opted to tell our families. The response was wonderful and we felt so loved. :)
On Tuesday I had a follow up blood draw to test the levels again. Dr. Young called me early afternoon to let me know that my level was up to 1300 so everything looked great. The next step is my ultrasound on March 9th.

So far, my symptoms haven't been too bad, but just bad enough to make me feel like crap most days. Everything seems normal and I'm still getting used to the idea that I have to make sure to take care of myself for the baby. We're still so early in this pregnancy so we're are still nervous that everything goes ok.