One Half Year

6 Months ago today I fell in love with the most precious little boy, whom we all thought was going to be a girl.  I secretly wanted a boy to be my first though ;)

He has grown so much in the past 6 months and I love watching him learn something new every day.  He has so much personality now, and his little gummy smile is just contagious.

As Christmas quickly approaches, it makes me think about all of the traditions we had growing up and the ones that I want to start with my family.  When my brother and I were little, our mom always took us downtown to see Legendary Santa.  We waited in a super long line every year to first see the Snow Princess, and then next to Santa who always knew our names before we even told him.  I guess the big guy really does know everything.  I decided to start the same tradition with Jonah this year.  We even got to watch Legendary Santa come down the chimney.   Here is some proof of our big day:

After visiting santa I was inspired to take more Christmas photos.  Here are my faves:

I am hoping to start some other traditions like yearly handprints on a table runner and reading The Night Before Christmas each year on Christmas Eve.  I also hope to buy him a yearly ornament, and let him pick out his own once he is old enough to do so. 

Jonah's life as a six month old is pretty exciting.  He is weighing in right at 17 lbs, which is right at the 50th percentile.  Much better than his four month time frame when he dropped to the 10th percentile. Yikes!

Jonah is sitting mostly by himself though after a few minutes he gets sorta tired, so I put him in the middle of the boppy pillow for some extra support.

Lots of smiles these days.  No teeth to accompany those smiles, which is ok with me I love his gummy smile :)

When he first sees Derek, Me or our babysitter, he gets a great big grin, grabs our cheeks and pulls our face to his.  So cute!

He is starting to babble.  So far we have gotten "da" "ga" and and attempt at "la".  It's a work in progress.

We introduced the sippy cup...he doesn't quite get it, but he sure looks cute trying!

Bathtime is hysterical.  Jonah splashes so much we often have to refill his tub atleast twice and whomever is giving him his bath should wear a rain coat because we get drenched!  But he has a ton of fun so it's worth it!

Jonah does well with independent play...for about 20 mins.  He will usually play with his toys, sit in his exersaucer or his jumper for about 20 mins then he wants your full attention before he moves on to another activity.  

When he is tired, he chews on his binky.

 

My little hot potato

The joys of being a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and the fun little germies that I bring home to my sweet little boy.  All week I had patients with a high fever and a upper respiratory infection (cough/runny nose).  Guess who my patient was over the weekend?  Yep that's right, poor little Jonah.

Started on Saturday with some infrequent coughing, then in the early afternoon he just was acting "off."  He wouldn't sleep well and was just kind of whining.  I felt him and thought he felt a little warm, not hot.  Maybe he had a low grade temp.  So out came the thermometer, and his temp was 102!!!  Poor guy, I felt horrible that I had no idea.  And come to think of it, we took a nap together and he felt warm while we were napping and he got all sweaty mid nap....DUH!!!! 

So he got some tylenol and his temp came down to low grade.  Then back up again to 101 after four hours, so he got another dose.  Then it was bedtime, I gave him a "cover" dose at 10 pm to keep his temp down while he slept.  Well that didn't do squat since his temp was 102 at midnight.  I sent the hubby out to get some Ibuprofen, even though Jonah is not supposed to have ibuprofen until he is 6 months old.  Since that is in two weeks, and I know that no magical fairies come and sprinkle 6 month magic dust on him, I gave it to him.  It worked great except he was just crabby from not feeling well.  So we "slept" together on the couch with me sitting upright and Jonah sleeping on my chest. 

Today went ok, just a low grade temp until this afternoon and it spiked to 102.8.  He was MISERABLE.  And I would be to with a temp that high.  The good news is that tonight so far he is doing well.  I am hopeful for a better night than last night. 

5 month zipidy do das...

Jonah is so much fun these days.  He loves to laugh and squeal and have a jolly good time.  It is so neat to see his personality develop.  He is growing so much every day and I love watching him learn. Here is what is going on in Jonah's little life these days....

**He rolls all over the place

**He loves to sleep on his tummy with a warm fuzzy blanket on top of him.  And you can never forget his "Hokie" which he loves to rub against his face as he is falling asleep.

**He has started eating solids in an effort to get some extra "muscle" on him since he spits up SO much its hard to keep weight on him.  So far he loves sweet potatos and peas the most.  He loves them all really, though carrots are not his favorite.

**He loves when I sing "You are my sunshine." It never fails that I can always calm him down with that.

** He still loves to watch TV.  Football and Sesame Street are his favorites.

**Jonah gets the BIGGEST, CHEESIEST grin when he sees one of us for the first time that day.  This completely melts my heart.  I love that he is learning who is who.

**Jonah's favorite toys are his "crunchie," his Pooh rattle, his barbell rattle and of course he still love his keys.  Most recently he loves chewing on one of my rubber spatulas.

**Recently in the bathtub he discovered his, eh hem, penis.  It apparently is a gender instinct to constantly make sure it didn't wander away.

**He also discovered his feet recently too.  He can just barely reach them...poor little short arms and legs.  I don't think he will be bringing those toes to his mouth any time soon.

** He still loves to rock in the rocking chair.

** His favorite books are anything Dr. Seuss.

Jonah's first cold :(

I figured that sooner or later he was going to latch on to one of the many germs that I bring home.  I also figured, that even though he is such a laid back baby that when he did get sick he would respond like his daddy does to illness and have a complete melt down. I was right. 

It started Friday night, I heard a few coughs when he was laying down, nothing major and he wasn't bothered by it.  I figured he was either catching a cold or his reflux was acting up so I gave him some Pepcid.  He woke up once Friday night, a little fussy but able to go back to bed.  A few coughs Saturday morning had me thinking it was a cold coming on.  Saturday night the poor guy woke up around midnight with a super stuffy nose and coughing.  I had to break out the bulb syringe, to which my four month old bug quickly informed me was a form of torture.  He thought he was dying.  I was confident that he was not so I proceded to get the slime out of his nose.  A few squeezes on the bulb syringe, and a dose of tylenol later his sweet little nose once again was clear and back to sleep he went until the morning. 

Since I have only had to vaccuum his nose once or twice, and the cough has disappeared.  Though he is intermittently irritable for no apparent reason, and he is prefering the bottle to nursing, I am hopeful that we are on the upswing of things!

4 Month Favorites

I cannot believe my sweet boy is four months old.  It's hard to imagine that 1/3 of his first year is over.  He is getting so big and so smart.  I love watching him learn new things every day. 

He is interacting with us so much more and his face just lights up when he sees us which warms my heart.

Special things about my boy at four months old:

**He is back to sleeping through the night, we had a rough month when I went back to work, but we figured out that he wasn't getting enough to eat during the day.  Once we fixed that he figured out he did not need to eat at night time.

** He loves to watch the Disney Channel in the mornings while I get ready.  He squeals and coos at the TV.  His favorites are Timmy Time, Agent OSO, and Handy Manny.  At day care he loves to watch Sesame Street, which was one of my favorites as a child too!

** We started cereal, and so far he loves it.  We decided to start cereal early because due to him not getting enough to eat during the day, he dropped weight percentiles at his four month check up.  Though based on his recent weight on my scale, we have him back where he is supposed to be!

** He loves to chew and play with his hands.  They have become his favorite companions.

** Jonah likes to grasp objects and bring them to his mouth to further explore them.  So far he enjoys his Sophie the Giraffe (a squeak toy that I paid WAY TOO MUCH for), his keys, and a rattle.

** Jonah Bug LOVES LOVES LOVES to just play on the floor in front of the TV.  You can hear him squealing and cooing all through the house.  Now he is rolling both ways, soon it will be impossible to keep track of him!

** He still prefers to sleep on his side

** He is enjoying listening to us read to him.  He often gets excited and starts kicking his feet throughout the story.  I love to read him Dr. Seuss books, I think the rhyming words help his brain grow :)

** Jonah loves to stand on your lap.  He is so proud of himself and grins the whole time.

** Bath time is still a good time.  He loves to splash and kick in the water.

** He still loves to be outside.

** He looks more like Derek now.

** He loves to be patted on the back, bottom or leg before going to sleep.

** Jonah still loves to be rocked, though he doesn't hang out in his swing as much as he did when he was new.

** His eyes are still blue.  I'm hoping they stay that way.

3 Month Tidbits

My sweet little guy is a quarter of a year old!  It is so amazing to watch him grow and learn :)

Here are some little tidbits about my best guy at three months old:

**He is sleeping soundly through the night

** He is finding his voice more and more each day.  He coos and squeals a lot and occaisionally tries to laugh but it just ends up turning into a cough.  I can't wait for him to figure it out!

** He started rolling from his tummy to his back about two weeks ago

**  I made him a virginia tech blankie that he loves.  It tends to soothe him when he is being fussy.

**  He loves the smell of chocolate (always gets a big smile on his face when mama lets him smell some chocolate

**  Bathtime is a blast and he loves to splash!

**  He loves to watch TV, especially football.  A man after his daddy's heart.

**  I went back to work two weeks ago and Jonah goes to a sitter.  So far we love her, I don't love being away from him but I feel good about leaving him with her all day.

** He is very interested in his hands.  Loves to eat them mostly but occaisionally just sits and plays with them

**  He tends to have a fussy/screaming period in the evenings....we are still learning how to get him to calm down

Busy Busy Baby

Jonah has had a very busy weekend so far.  First while playing with daddy on the floor yesterday, he rolled front to back twice, then repeated it again three times today for good measure.  Before I know it he will be rolling in order to get from point A to point B.

Secondly, after weeks and weeks of chasing his little thumbs, he finally snagged it in his mouth.  The poor guy has been licking his thumbs and his fists for so long, it's sort of bitter sweet that he has finally found his thumb.  Bitter because I dread the dental bills and procedures that "may" be needed in order to correct his precious little smile later on.  And Sweet for two reasons...1) it's super cute when he sits watching TV sucking on his little thumb, and 2) because he slept until 8am this morning all because he was sucking on his thumb (and the thumb is much easier to find over a pacifier when he spits it out and it rolls under the couch). 

Tomorrow will be another busy day as we plan to take Jonah to his first (of many) trip to Maymont to enjoy the beautiful weather.  Can't wait!

2 Months and counting...

Two months??? Well plus an additional week since I have been delinquent in posting on time.  I cannot believe that this precious sweet boy came into our life a month ago.  Motherhood has been such a wonderful journey thus far. 

He is growing great... at his 2 month check up he weight 11 lbs 5 ounces and was 22 1/2 inches long.  He also got 4 shots and an oral vaccine at this visit.  He was a little cranky that evening, but my boy was super strong and brave :)

Jonah is still a sweet boy, who rarely fusses (unless he is hungry or his belly is acting up). 

He is still a blondie and his eyes are definately blue (I was hoping for this!)

He is smiling and cooing TONS.  My favorite times with him during the day is when he wakes up in the morning and after his morning nap.  Here is a little video of my morning fun with him....

Jonah still enjoys his green soothie pacifier (and mommy and daddy enjoy that he enjoys it!)

He is trying frequently to suck his thumbs.  Though it seems as though the thought of thumbsucking is appealing, the actual act does not appear to be.  The few times that we have helped him to find his thumb (yes I know we will regret this later) he seems completely disgusted at the taste/texture of it.

To our wonderful surprise, Jonah tries and succeeds at sleeping through the night every third night or so.  The other nights he tends to wake up at 330 in the morning and stubbornly stays up for a few hours before finally drifting back to sleep.  I am dreading going back to work after those nights.

Jonah loves to sleep mostly on his boppy pillow wrapped in a fuzzy blanket.  I wish that I could let him sleep like this at nighttime, because he truely sleeps better with a cozy blanket, but SIDS is too much of a risk for me to gamble like that.

After two months of a lot of hard work, Jonah is finally receiving 100% breast milk (with a very rare formula top off here and there).

The cats are doing much better with him.  Audrey isn't madly in love with him, but she no longer hisses and in fact has laid beside him quite a few times.  Willow still "protects" him and we call her the guard cat.

Jonah is super strong and has great head control.  He also has started weight bearing on his legs, so I am going to get him and exersaucer so he can continue to practice.

I read to Jonah (almost) everyday.  He really likes Dr. Seuss and anything with black, white, and red illustrations (So far the Olivia books and Horton hatches an egg have been a hit).

We took Jonah to the Watermelon Festival in Carytown a few weekends ago.  He was completely uninterested and slept the entire time.  He has had two outdoor events thus far and has slept through both of them and then some.  The heat really wears him out.

I return to work in two weeks and am so sad that I will be leaving my boy.  Hopefully one day I will be able to stay at home more :)

6 Weeks Old

Yesterday Jonah turned 6 weeks old.  It so amazing to think that 6 weeks ago we were welcoming this precious boy into our family.  I am treasuring every moment with my little man as I am nearing my time when maternity leave will be over and I will have to return to the working world.  Though I am not sure that a stay at home mom gig is in my future, I will say that I cannot imagine working full time forever now that I am a mom. 

Jonah continues to grow quite well and at his one month checkup weight 10lbs 4 oz, up from his 8 lbs 1 oz at birth. We have moved away from most of his newborn sized clothes and are in 0-3 months and 3 months  He is very alert and has begun to interact with us.  While we have gotten smiles from him since birth, we began true purposeful smiles about two weeks ago when he was about a month old.  Jonah continues to love his pacifier, but he only wants it when its convenient for him.  In addition to loving his pacifier, Jonah loves to eat.  We have actually had to gently "regulate" his intake as he seems to think its Thanksgiving every day and that he can eat the entire turkey all by himself...6 times a day.  His eating adventures have brought us into the realm of reflux...which is definately aggravated by his over eating. 

On a much sleepier note....in the last six days he has slept through the night three times.  Though I knew that he was fine, that first night I think I woke up more confused than concerned.  At first I couldnt figure out if the clocks were right, or if he screamed his head off in dire hunger and I just hadn't heard him.  Nope, he was just snoozing :)  I am definately not one to pass up sleep so I am surely appreciating the solid hours of snoozing!

It's a BOY!!!!

To our COMPLETE surprise, we welcomed sweet baby boy Jonah Lewis Cannon into the world on June 16, at 10:08 am.  Jonah weighed in at 8 lbs 1 oz and 19 inches long.

It has been a very busy 2 and a half weeks, hence the reason there hasn't been any posts announcing his arrival.  We spent 4 days in the hospital after Jonah was born via cesarean for being breech, and then we had family with us for about a week after we were home. 

We are starting to adjust to the life of having a newborn and the every three hour feeds that come with it :)  We are breastfeeding and bottle feeding as breastfeeding came with some unexpected challenges which we are slowly but surely overcoming.  Jonah had some weight gain issues in the beginning which have since resolved.

A little about Jonah....

He is a blondie :) and has a widow's peak which we think he got from his daddy before he lost all of his hair :)

We couldn't have been blessed with a sweeter, more laid back baby.  We typically do not hear a peep out of him unless he is hungry, has a yucky diaper, or unless we are changing him (he is still in the stage of hating being naked).

Jonah can sleep through front row seats at a Metalica concert.  He gets that from his mama, but that boy sure can sleep through just about anything.  He was like that in my tummy too, which is what got us admitted to the hospital one day for 24 hour observation on the heart rate monitor.

He likes to do EVERYTHING on his side.  Sleeping, eating, sitting in the bouncy seat, and even when we change him.  He did sit sideways in my tummy for nine months which is probably why he enjoys this position so much. 

Our nickname for him is Jonah Bug.

His bottom half is extremely noisy....sort of earth quakes in his little britches...something else he gets from his mama ;)  The flip side is that he is not a great burper, and will only do so about 40% of the time.

He loves his soothie pacifier, but only when the time is right.

Jonah HATES the buckling in process of getting his car seat, but once he is buckled in, it is lights out and he is completely asleep until you take him out.

Derek thinks he looks like the creatures from "I am Legend" when he cries.  He kinda does.

Jonah loves to sprawl out on his daddy's tummy while they hang out on the couch together.

50% of the cats love him, and 50% well, could do without him.  Willow loves Jonah, and has since become a much more loving cat since we brought Jonah home.  Audrey on the other hand has not handled Jonah's arrival so well.  Initially she hissed at him whenever she saw him, which has been gradually decreasing, but none the less we have to keep a close eye on her.

And he loves to listen to you talk to him.  I can't wait to start reading him stories!

And squeeze......feel the burn ladies....

I've decided, Pregnancy is just weird.  And as a first time pregnant person, I have no clue what is going on with my body most days and if what I am feeling is normal. 

You hear all these things from friends, the internet, and message boards about everyone's experiences and what they are feeling and since no two people are alike, you automatically begin to scrutinize every little twinge all over again.  Just like the first trimester. 

So this week, out of no where, and without any signs of illness whatsoever, my intestines decided to have a nesting period and clean themselves out.  It was weird and random over the course of about three days.  I have heard tons of "stories" that sometimes your body does this before labor in preparation for the big event.  Well that subsided and today I think I started having some mild contractions.  Atleast from what I can gather they are contractions.  I never experienced anything that has been described as Braxton Hicks contractions (to the best of my knowledge).  But today I started with somewhat of a pattern of these menstral like cramps, would last about 2 mins and over the course of the past hour, I think I have had about four.  They are not particularly painful, but definately a few moments of discomfort, then it goes away.  I can walk and talk through them, so I don't believe that I am entering into a true labor like pattern.  Just weird. 

Oh and my oldest cat has been truly glued to me today...which is particularly strange since I am in the company of a toddler all day and my cat does not tend to hang around a whole lot.  Willow has even tolerated the young tike petting/pulling at her so long as she is laying by my side. 

Will certainly keep you updated if anything progresses, though I don't think it will.  Just likely the body starting to prepare itself.

WE....ARE....FAMILY (song to the tune of the Sister Sledge 1979 hit)

I find it both very entertaining and interesting the morphism in the meaning of the word "family" as your life progresses.  As a young child, its whomever you reside with as you are growing up.  When asked by your kindergarten teacher to draw a picture of your family with your favorite crayons, these are the people who are lucky enough to make it onto that white sheet of paper.  Usually this means, that in addition to the humans you live with it is also the cat, the dog, and the goldfish too.

As you grow and mature, while the core family unit remains the same, you begin to welcome many other people in and out of your family unit.  Friends, classmates, boyfriends, girlfriends, a mentor, or a coworker.  Then comes your ultimate family unit, the one your children will draw with their favorite crayons.  However, just as recent as a year ago, my family drawing was much different than it is now.  Derek and I have two cats whom we absolutely adore, and he and I along with these two spoiled furballs, we were a family. 

Now my family also consists of someone who is not yet here.  Still a few more weeks til we get to meet this little one, but it is profound how much this child is already impacting our life.  All of those "families" that I had growing up did not play the same role as my new growing one.  I easily made decisions that did not involve or require me having to think about their impact on my "family."  Now every decision I make, I find myself taking the time to think about how my decision will impact my child.  Amazing how just a year ago I would have never thought about a large decision impacting my cats, despite that they are family.

The aches and pains...I mean joys of growing a human.

So this is the end of my sleep I suppose.  Atleast for the next 18 years is what I hear.  I have been trying to get comfortable with sleeping for weeks with no luck.  When I wake up (every hour to either flip or pee) my hips feel like someone took a sledge hammer to them.  If I didn't know any better, I'd start worrying about a pressure ulcer.  Due to my impressive bump (which currently measures 11 weeks ahead!!) it is impossible for me to sleep in any other position than directly on my sides or on my back.  And I really only prefer one side, but have to turn because of the pain. 

My other dilemma is this pregnancy induced carpal tunnel.  Apparently all of the extra fluid floating around in pregnancy puts added pressure in the small area of the wrist called the carpal tunnel, and this causes numbness and tingling in the hand, wrist, and arm.  Fortunately, I don't experience this irritating sensation of pins and needles/numbness all day.  It is only when I am in a sitting position and when I sleep.  And it is only three fingers on my right hand.  You'd be surprised how disturbing it is to your sleep to wake up to a numb hand....all night long.  I used to be able to get it so subside in different positions, but recently that is no longer helpful.  However....I have potentially found a resolution.  Many years ago I had surgery on my left wrist and was given a splint.  Last night I got the bright idea to put the splint on my right hand.  Al beit it fit a little awkwardly since it was made for the opposite hand, it gave me some much needed relief.  I only had one very minor episode of numbness the whole night. 

Now if I can just figure out how to make my side of the bed a water bed to ease my hip pain.......

I didnt fall of the edge of the Earth...I swear.

You would think that with as much available time I have right now that I would be posting something new every day.  I think with the recent changes in life I must have just needed some time on my own for some reflection.  I am back to me now and and learning to enjoy the life of no job :)  However, I certainly could enjoy spending the extra funds on this precious baby to be. :)   :)   :)

Speaking of precious......

Here is our sweet baby at my 29 week appointment.  Looks like me don't you think?  Definately has my nose and mouth.  Technology is so amazing.

So Life's updates in the past two months or so since I posted. 

1.  I was put in a different employment situation than I had ever anticipated, but beginning to accept that God's plans are not always what I had planned, and I am ok with that.

2.  I have pretty much finished the nursery.  The Virginia Tech theme turned out to be a hit.

There are some additional items in there now that aren't included in the pictures, but I am quite proud of myself thus far!

3.  The baby kicks and plays all the time, though I am not so sure its the most active baby in the world.  I do love feeling my little love taps on the inside.  At my last appointment they confirmed that the baby is breech (meaning butt down instead of head down) so this is why all of my kicks have been in my pelvic region.  At night time though, when I lay on my side, the baby kicks more on the side.  Which helps Derek to be able to feel the baby move.  As far as the baby turning....yeah there is still plenty to time for the baby to get in the right position, but to be perfectly honest, I could care less.  I know that there are some moms out there that
"need" to have a vaginal birth in thier book of life experiences, but I am not one of them.  If this baby decides not to turn, never fear, I am sure we will get this kid out one way or another.  I am not opposed to the slice and dice option a.k.a C-section.  In fact, based on stories from those who have experienced both, the slice and dice option seems to be a bigger hit anyway.

4.  I have ventured into the world of every 2 week appointments with my OB.  Which means that this baby will be here before we know it!  As of now, I am 31.5 weeks, so based on my early induction, this baby should be here within the next 7-8 weeks.  Phew!!!!  That feels like it is right around the corner!  Though I will say that I am happy to have this baby any time after 35 weeks....will take 34 if the baby is anxious!  I am not particularly uncomfortable at this point (I know this can change very quickly) but I am anxious to meet our little one!  And since the baby will be born in June, and not the peak of respiratory season, I'm comfortable with a little early :)  Once I hit 36 weeks, I start weekly appointments with my OB.  :)   :)   :)

5.  I start weekly appointments with my Perinatologist at 32 weeks.  So that means I have an ultrasound every week from that point on.  Due to all of my health issues (the diabetes, the hyptension etc) they want to keep a super close eye on this precious life.  Which is fine with me and lets me see this baby very frequently.  The ultrasounds that they will be doing from 32 weeks are called Biophysical Profiles (BPPs).  Basically its a checklist of criteria that the baby has to meet during a certain time period.  It looks at 5 different components, for a total score of 10 points.  Here are the different components:

• Non-Stress Test  This is looking to make sure that the baby's heart rate responds appropriately to different things.  They want to see 2 or more increases in HR by 15 beats per minute.
• Breathing One or more breathing movements during 30 seconds.
• Body Movements  3 or more movements of the arms, legs, or body
• Muscle Tone One or more extensions and return to flexion of the hands, arms, legs, or neck.  So basically stretching and returning to a ball  :)
• Amniotic fluid Atleast one pocket of amniotic fluid measuring 2 cm.

So I get to have this done each and every week, with each one taking about 45 mins to an hour.

6.  I have been shopping at consignment sales like a crazy woman.  I LOVE IT.  And I figure, why not buy used, as long as it is in great condition...this baby is not going to care how many people wore something before they did.  I can definately see myself waking up early on Saturday mornings and rumaging through yard sales to catch the best deals.  My mom would be so proud!

7.  We picked Godparents for this precious life and those siblings that follow in the future.  You never know what could happen from day to day and we wanted to make sure we chose a couple that share in the same morals and values that we do when it comes to children.  I know my brother Scott and his wife Kim would raise our children just as we would if we were no longer here on Earth.

8.  Last but certainly not least, I and my two best friends have been planning my baby shower.  We are having it this weekend and I could not be more excited.  I can't wait for everyone to touch and love on the belly and wish it well.  Oh, and the gifts are great too!  I'll post pictures after!

So that's our life in a nutshell since I have been MIA from my blog.  And here is one more picture for your viewing pleasure.  Me at 31 weeks......

What a tear jerker.....

You would think I know better than to sit around watching "A baby Story" on my days off, but clearly I am glutton for punishment.  It gets me every time, the mama pushes, a baby comes out and lands on her stomach...and the tears start rolling.  I know this precious life inside of me still has atleast 14 weeks to grow and thrive, but every time I watch this show I get just a little more anxious to see our little one!

One, Two, Three, KICK, One, Two, Three, KICK

I finally got to feel this baby move this past weekend.  Those first movements that you notice are so peculiar, it's truly like something inside of you just moved.  Which is another thing that makes this whole thing real.  I get the best movement when I am sitting on the couch, feet on the floor while I'm typing on the computer.  I suppose I am kind of squishing the poor thing :).  I did get a really good kick last night while laying in bed.  I have not noticed much when I am moving around, I am not sure if it is because the baby isn't moving or because I'm moving too much to notice.  Who knows.  I am enjoying the gentle love taps from my little one for now.....I am sure I'll change my mind when he or she is up under my rib cage :)

I have made leaps and bounds on the nursery this weekend.  The area rug is down, the curtains and blinds are up and I have finally finished sewing the bedskirt.  The crib is to arrive today, which depending on the time of its arrival, I hope to have it put together tonight.  My game plan is to finish pretty much everything in the nursery this week while I am on vacation.  We'll see!

Half way there

I recently crossed over the half way hurdle and am currently striding through the pregnancy world of constantly getting bigger and bigger.  I love it!

There have been lots of interesting ongoings since I last posted, which has been nearly a month.  Some are for the better and some well, I could live without for sure.  The better has been starting on the nursery linens.  As many of you know we are doing a Virginia Tech themed nursery (GO HOKIES!!) and I am sewing everything myself.  A project that I started a few weekends ago.  The interesting thing is that I have not touched a sewing machine in about 20 years, well before my mother passed away.  So needless to say when I dug out the 30 some year old Kenmore sewing machine, I was certainly nervous.  Thank goodness for my co worker who know what they are doing to show me a little bit, and bless my mother for keeping the original manual that came with the sewing machine.  I don't have a whole lot completed, but you can see the curtains below (I haven't hung them in the nursery yet, so please excuse the fire place!)

One of the things I could have lived without, but did enjoy the beauty of was the amount of snow we have had in the past few weeks.  This amount of snow is just unheard of in Virginia, much less the Richmond area.  We got about 4-6 inches around Christmas time, then about a foot a week and a half ago, topped with an additional 3-4 inches of ice and snow less than a week ago.  It was beautiful though.

Yesterday we got to have our 20 week ultrasound.  I love getting the opportunity to see this precious baby.  We did not officially find out the sex, as we told the tech that we did not want to know.  However, at this visit they have to measure all body parts and look at the genitalia anyway.  While she was measuring the leg bones, I am fairly confident that I saw a "hamburger" which would insinuate a girl.  While she looked at the genitalia, Derek and  I looked away and then a few minutes later she was looking that the baby's feet and said "and here is her foot" when she had been saying "the baby."  So who knows.  It could just be me making things up since we have felt that it was girl from the beginning. Of course we will love this baby no matter what.  Who am I kidding, I am already in love.  Who wouldn't be with this face.....

Couldn't have asked for a better anniversary gift.  We will be celebrating our first year of marriage in a few short days on Valentine's Day.  What a blessing this past year has been for both of us.

Watching the garden grow

I often forget to post these little pictures, so if you hang on the edge of your seat waiting to see how this baby's size compares to your favorite fruit or vegetable...I appologize.

 

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

So all of the literature states that it is possible to hear the baby's heartbeat with an at home doppler at the earliest 10 weeks, but at 12-13 on the average.  I completely gave up at 13 weeks.  I figured that my extra abdominal fluff would inhibit me from hearing it.  After all I spent like forty bucks on the thing off of ebay, I shouldn't have expected miracles.  I totally bagged it when a good friend of mine who is two weeks behind me, and much thinner than myself was also unable to find her own baby's heartbeat. I figured that I would just reside to hearing it at doctor's appointments and Derek would have to wait until ultrasounds.

I was piddling around on one of my pregnancy sites that has message boards and another June mama posted that she found hers this evening for the first time at 17 weeks.  I was reinspired.  I dug out the box and the gel, Derek gave some inspirational words to our baby, and I tried.  And tried.  And tried.  I turned left, I turned right, I scrunched my belly, and I puffed it out as far as I could.  Nothing.  As since the beginning, I was able to find my own heartbeat without a problem, in several places infact.  Then I had a GENIUS idea.  I always feel lots of pressure when I lay on my stomach, so I thought, why not...I haven't heard it in the seven weeks that I've been trying, what's one more position?

Within five minutes, I FOUND IT!!!!!  I yelled for Derek to come quick, and since my doppler has two earphone jacks, Derek was able to hear it too!  A wonderful, steady, 160 beats per minute. It was so amazing and a true blessing!  We are so thankful for this baby.