Third Trimester, round 2

The second half of this pregnancy has absolutely flown by! (I definitely could NOT say the same about the first half-- I basically spent the summer laying on the couch while watching Ellie entertain herself, pushing Ellie away from the toilet when I needed to puke, and just generally feeling lazy, tired, and nauseous. Plus, the nausea lasted about a month longer than it did with Ellie-- all the way to week 20!) Anyhow, it's hard to believe that I'm now in third trimester, and still feeling pretty darn good, especially compared with last time.

*I'm not nearly as uncomfortable as with Ellie- I carried her so high I felt like I couldn't breathe.

*I've had some heart episodes like last time, but no panic attacks since I now know that I have a harmless arrhythmia that is exacerbated by the extra blood flow in pregnancy.

*My back has not hurt at all. PRAISE THE LORD!! I have been so lax in exercising and haven't done my water aerobics or been to the chiropractor at all during this pregnancy, so it's all just GRACE.

*I've been sleeping well. With Ellie I would end up sleeping an hour on the couch, an hour downstairs in the recliner, an hour in bed, and then just rotate. I'd sit cross-legged on the couch with my head resting on the back of the couch and actually sleep like that because it was the only way to get comfortable with my back pain. This week was the first time I slept on the couch for a couple of hours, but it was more due to pregnancy insomnia and having a lot on my mind than actually being uncomfortable.

*We actually got some maternity pics this time (taken at week 28)!

*I'll be full term in like SIX weeks. Yikes. SO much that needs to happen between now and then (wrapping up both part-time jobs for maternity leave), but I am SOOOO excited to hold our baby boy!

Girl or Boy?

Mommy: Do you think the baby is a girl or a boy?
Ellie: Buh.
Mommy: Do you think the baby is a boy or a girl?
Ellie: Guh.
(Notice in each case it was the last thing she heard that she repeated.)
Mommy: Do you think the baby is a girl?
Ellie: Yeah.
Mommy: Do you think the baby is a boy?
Ellie: Yeah.

Hmmm, gender confusion, much? :)

We find out this Tuesday!!!

BabyB2.0: 16 weeks!

Well, the official announcement (everyone knows it's only official once it's on Facebook) took place about a month ago, but here are the pictures anyways.

We announced to our family while we were in FL for Ana's graduation. Currie took a family picture and said "Say cheese", then he took another one and said "Say Abby's pregnant". Everyone was quiet and probably confused, plus I don't think everyone heard him, but eventually it started clicking and we got this reaction. :)









And, here's what the baby bump currently looks like at 16 weeks:



Four weeks from today we find out what we're having!!! :) A

It's the Final Countdown...

Today seems momentous given there are only TEN days left until my due date. I've started saying "next Thursday", which seems so weird after saying "Jan 28th" for almost 9 months.

So I've been getting the "Are you ready?" question for a couple of weeks now, and the answer is still, most definitely, no! :0 Not because I'm not ready to meet her... I can't wait for that! But, we've been renovating our bathroom for over 4 weeks now, and there are still tools and dust everywhere, not to mention projects that still need to be completed. I've been chronicling the renovation on FB for my fam, so you can see the pics here.

We've had a very busy month of getting ready: weekly dr. visits, 2 prenatal visits w/ our doula, lots of projects revolving around getting the nursery ready, trips to BabiesRUs for the last minute necessities/exchanges from shower gifts, lots of baby girl laundry, finding a pediatrician, writing a birth plan, making checklists for our hospital bags, etc., etc. I have had to do all of this in moderation 'cause if I stay on my feet too long my Braxton Hicks kick in and my stomach gets super tight.

I am really hoping and praying that this baby comes at least a week late so that we have time to be more ready. And, the later she comes, the less time I'll have to go back to teaching at the end of the school year. I envision that being a very difficult 6-8 weeks with a newborn, given I have to get up at 6 am to teach regardless of how much sleep I'll be getting! I know that labor can start at any time (I've been thinking about that fact for the last 2 weeks already), but so far I've had no indication that she is ready yet. She hasn't dropped; in fact, I still get comments about how high I'm carrying her, and how small she is. To me, this is a good sign- my sub is ready to go the minute she gets my phone call, and my students are prepped that it can be any time now, but I am still really hopeful that I can squeeze in a couple more weeks of teaching before the Big Day.

Of the things I'm looking forward to (aside from getting to meet and hold my daughter, obviously!!), surprisingly enough wearing my normal clothes ranks pretty high up there. Also, not having to sit down after 20 minutes of activity due to the fear of going into early labor; not having to guess what labor will be like or when it will happen; seeing family who will come to visit; having help w/ the house projects that didn't get done in time; and BETTER sleep, though perhaps not more. Sleep has been pretty elusive these last months as I wake up numerous times during the night due to back pain. My body just isn't used to this extra weight... So, shedding these extra pounds and being able to breathe easier sounds really good about now too.

I realized I haven't updated about my pregnancy since the "Adventures in Third Trimester" post, in which I had several health scares/issues. Thankfully all of that has been much better- fewer heart racing episodes, fewer panic attacks, and no worries about gestational diabetes. It has really been a very healthy end to the pregnancy and I feel surprisingly good; just a bit uncomfortable at times, which is to be expected at this point. So thanks for listening to my ramblings. Soon we'll be updating with pics of our sweet, baby girl. And, we'll finally be able to share her name! It's been fun to keep people guessing, but I've discovered that I am too much of an extrovert (read: verbal processor) to like keeping secrets!

Project: Get Nursery Ready

Day two of Christmas break and we have seen a lot of progress already! We had a very kind friend come over and paint our whole nursery!! Plus, he put our crib together for us!




http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=131529&id=500377983&l=1dfe5aa7e6

Thanksgiving 2009

My brother's friend from church agreed to take these pictures for us after the service...I think they all turned out great!!



Just the kids...


The whole sch-bang! Yes, all 11 of us stayed in my brother's 3 bedroom house. I was thankful that my bros slept on the air mattress in the kitchen, my bro and sis-in-law slept on an air mattress in my nephew's room, my parents slept on the pull out couch, my aunt & sis slept on the guest bed, and WE got the master suite. :) Perks of being pregnant, I guess. Anyhoo, I was very grateful since sleep is a rare commodity these days!

Adventures in Third Trimester

OK, so it's been a rough few weeks as I've hit 3rd trimester. Several things happened all at once:

First of all, I started having episodes of racing heart and feeling very light-headed/faint. Fortunately, I had an episode right when my OB walked into the room and he was able to observe my heart rate go from 158 to 77 within the space of about a minute. He referred me to a cardiologist who then took an EKG and put me on a heart monitor for 24 hours. I was hooked up to 5 electrodes and had a pager-like thing that I had to sleep with. Of course, I did not have a major episode while the monitor was on, so this week I'll go pick up a 30 day monitor that I will activate when I start having an episode. They believe I have something called SVT that is a type of arrhythmia. It's not life-threatening, but can be serious, because if it lasts for more than 10-15 min. the baby wouldn't be getting enough blood.

Second, I failed my one-hr. glucose test which meant I had to do the three-hr. glucose test to determine whether or not I have gestational diabetes. I HATE NEEDLES. I mean, HATE. So, I was pretty nervous since they do 4 blood draws in the space of 3 hours. The Lord really gave me peace and I did pretty well at staying calm. They let me have a room and just lay down the entire time and listen to my iPod. Currie also came along and kept me company. The good news is: I passed!! Hallelujah. I didn't even want to think about having to check my blood sugar four times a day (like my co-worker who has GD).

Third, I am pretty sure I am having panic attacks. I think this has been brought on by the racing heart episodes, and the fear that it will happen when I'm driving, etc. So, Thurs. morning on my way to work I had to pull over twice onto the shoulder and lower my seat so that I wouldn't pass out. I walked straight to the nurse's station once I got to school and I was white as a ghost. My pulse and blood pressure were normal and she said it sounded like it was brought on by anxiety (I'd had a good breakfast, all my tests had come back normal, etc.). Since then I've had several other episodes of feeling pressure in my chest, like I can't get my breath, and like things are just closing in on me. At this point I don't know if the heart thing causes the anxiety or the anxiety causes the heart thing! I don't feel like I'm worried about things, but when I sit back and think about the major changes that have happened in our lives since Aug. they are pretty significant (new house, still settling in, TONS of projects to be done, unknown future plans if Currie doesn't get into the PhD program, new baby, etc.)!

Anyhoo, I got a much-needed break this weekend. I flew down to FL to see my fam and boy did I get the royal treatment! My aunt arranged for my 2nd cousin (a massage therapist who specializes in prenatal massage) to come to our house and give me a massage. My mom treated me to a pedicure (only the 2nd one I've ever had in my life). I got to go to the beach each day, we ate out, visited, and shopped. Here's some pictures of my "solo babymoon". :)

4 generations (one in utero) together

Breakfast at IHOP

The beach was SUPER windy each day, but to me it was heaven.
The picture is so foggy 'cause of the salt on the camera lens.
Whale at the beach...

I like big bellies and I cannot lie...

26 weeks

21 weeks...and growing!!

Our Sweet Baby Girl

This is the view we were looking at when we got the news!!
Poor baby, her first embarrassing photo and I'm posting it on the internet...

These two are profile shots. I don't think they're especially clear, but cute, nonetheless. :)


Here's where she decided to wave at us! She has such a cute little arm muscle, huh?! :)

And, finally, my personal FAVORITE. The ballerina pose...notice the pointed toes!

19 weeks

Ha! I tried to button my jean jacket tonight and it will barely close. :)

I still can't seem to get a decent picture that actually reflects what I look like, but here's the best of the not-so-great options. Excuse the clutter, we just moved in. :)

First Belly Pics

Well, if you check this blog w/ any frequency, you've probably already noticed a couple recent additions: "tickers" to countdown until Jan. 28th, when we hope to meet Baby Bishop (otherwise currently known as Bito)!!!

So, Thursday we hit the 15 week mark and I've begun to document the belly growth. We discovered that it's really hard to get an accurate view, 'cause in person my stomach seems a lot bigger, but this is as good a shot as any (I promise, Mom, I'm not pooching).