Halfway to One....

Ben is 6 months - I can't believe it!! The time has flown by, but in a weird way, it seems that the only thing that is changing is Ben.....some type of metaphysical oddity - the time goes by so fast that it seems to stand still....anyway, he is getting so big and developing so fast. In the last couple of weeks, his first tooth has "erupted" (all you can see is a little white line where it broke the gum but it was still exciting), he has started rolling from back to belly and is chewing on everything!! He is "talking" up a storm, which includes babbling, shrieking and screaming. There are occasions where he looks like he's yelling at you. He has also started blowing raspberries - mostly he does this when he's frustrated but it's so cute that I laugh every time he does it. I'm sure this makes him more mad......He has really started to become mobile so he is enjoying his walker more and we got him one of those foam put together mats that he rolls and scoots around on. He pushes himself up and lunges so I am convinced he will be crawling before we know it. Ben is also just becoming more of a little person and less of a floppy baby - it's cute how he holds on when you carry him and reaches for you when he wants out of his walker or car seat or stroller.

His 6-month Dr. visit went great - he is growing like a weed and Dr. Coyler continues to be impressed with his motor development. Joel came to this visit even though he knew Ben was going to get shots....Joel did not like Ben getting stuck but he was really a trooper (Ben that is). I leaned over him and hugged him and he cried of course but calmed down a lot faster than he had at the 4-month shots. They stuck him twice in the same leg (ouch!) I didn't get a picture this time b/c he ripped off the band-aid later in the day before I had a chance. Thankfully, his reactions to the shots have been mild to non-existent so Joel and I had plans to go to dinner w/ Andy and Nicole that night and Ben was seeming a little feverish by the cheek to the forehead mommy feel :-) He was acting fine so I gave him a little infant tylenol before we left. Later that night Bridgie felt his first tooth had popped through - on the bottom - we're thinking he will have another any day....he is chewing on his fingers like crazy! He was a bit fussy for Bridgie that night but she did a great job and we had a nice night out - I think that was our first time out to dinner w/o Ben :-) It was also my birthday last week - I love my birthday - I like all the fuss, don't care about being a year older - want to celebrate w/ cake and dinner and at least cards (though presents are nice too :-)) Bridgie started the day by collaborating w/ Annie a big breakfast - she made me eggs and bacon (first time she ever made "real" bacon) and waffles w/ cut-up bananas and a cup of coffee - it was delicious! She was going to make me lunch but I actually made lunch b/c I wanted to show her a "real" steak sandwich - can't explain this but I fry up some onions and mushroom in some crazy and slice up the steak w/ the gravy on top of some bread and then top w/ cheese and put under the broiler - her idea of a steak sandwich was cold steak and butter....we wound up going to Dave & Busters for dinner. Joel was willing to accompany us to Chuck E Cheese which I thought would be good for Annie - I felt bad having to work during the week and then going out the following night so thought this would be fun ....and I wanted to play skee ball :-) We actually didn't know the Chuck E Cheese had been relocated until we couldn't find it....so then Joel suggested Dave & Busters - it was fun but had a lot of games that were more a matter of chance than skill.....Joel left me, Bridgie and Annie and took the baby over to the Disney Store and bought him the talking "Doug" dog from "UP" (Ben's first movie)...we had seen it sometime before but Joel couldn't resist this time :-) This dog talks....it is adorable :-) We will definitely be buying the movie when it comes out on DVD.

So, a couple of weeks ago we went back to NY for the first time in 3 yrs. It was an exhausting trip but all in all I think Ben faired well in the car. He shares his mother's distaste for NY traffic, but otherwise Bridgie did a good job entertaining him - the miserable trip from Manhatten to Plainview took over 2 hrs. Danielle's wedding was nice, but the weather was less than cooperative and I was exhausted so we left the reception early (we had Ben w/ us so it was a good excuse regardless). We got to spend sometime visiting w/ Grandma and Grandpa Stankowitz and even got to see Great Nana. It was so nice to see everyone at the wedding but I wish we had more time. We drove back the Sunday after the wedding and did the whole trip in one day (although that sounds bad, it actually seemed shorter than breaking it up on the way down).

I have an unnatural love of fireworks - Joel does not share my love. I had to go see fireworks on July 4th. I was very disappointed that I did not get to see them in Charlotte last year (bad weather) but Joel did give in to watching them w/ me on TV (thank you Macy's). This year, since it was Ben's first July 4th, I was determined to see fireworks in person.....although we did not put a lot of planning into July 4th, we actually found an awesome spot on the top of a parking garage in Charlotte that put us literally right in front of the fireworks (so far enough away to avoid the smoke). The pics came out pretty well. I made Joel and Bridgie pose w/ me - as you can tell, they were not so happy about this - oh well :-) Of course Ben slept through most of the fireworks (amazingly) but he did get to see a few on the walk back to the car....and I got a picture of him awake on July 4th :-)

I was actually off the Fri before July 4th and since Annie was going to be joining us after the weekend of the 4th, I spent this day going w/ Bridgie to the Whitewater center. Joel was also off but didn't want to go rafting so he was the babysitter. We got there at a little after 11 but couldn't get a rafting appt until 5:30pm so we were ok w/ this (we wound up getting to go on both zip lines and take one of the mountain biking courses - that made me realize how out of shape I am...) but Joel was very worried that I hadn't pumped enough for him and that baby was going to be miserable but daddy and baby survived for about 6 hrs w/o mommy. I am happy that I really didn't miss the baby terribly...not to say that in a mean way but since I am with him so much, I worried that I would have terrible separation anxiety but I had a blast hanging out w/ Bridgie and exploring the Whitewater center. Daddy tried to bring Ben down to the Columbia Zoo but Ben started crying shortly into the ride and so Daddy went home....at first he was disappointed by this but then realized he didn't need to "do" anything to entertain Ben - he is very happy to just hang out on the floor and have you make funny faces at him :-)

As of now, we are planning a trip for next month but we don't know where we're going yet.....will keep you posted on that. As I mentioned, Annie joined us after the 4th (Mom drove her over from Beech Mtn) and in a week, the rest of the FL Coogan clan will be up - they will stop in for a weekend visit and then go to NY and then stop back the following weekend before heading back to FL. We have a busy rest of the month - definitely a trip to Carowind's when Dan comes up.....

2 Months

Benjamin turned 2 months last Thursday. I can't believe how fast the time has gone. I went back to work 4 weeks ago and this week technically started back full-time (though in reality I've been working at least 3/4 time since going back). This week has been crazy because I have literally worked 12-14 hr days for the last 3 days. The deal I made with my manager is that I am off on Fridays (or at least mostly off) until the end of April. This was to make up for the fact that work has been really hectic for the last month and a half. Joel says that the hectic pace now is to make up for the not so hectic pace a few months ago :-) I really wish I didn't have to go back to work at all, but I am grateful to be able to work from home and have the flexibility to continue nursing Ben and take him out when I need to. I will be really happy when the weather stays warm. I'm not a big fan of super hot summer days, but I really don't like the winter. I like winter related activities but would rather visit a place that has winter than be in a really cold enviornment (Charlotte is really not that bad, but you really acclimate quickly to your enviornment and realize that it would be really hard to go back up north now that we're used to 40 degree winters....).

Benjamin had his 2-month check-up on Friday w/ Dr. Colyer who was very impressed with his growth and his temperament. She got to see him coo and smile and was impressed with his new sleeping pattern (9p-3a and then 3:30-7:30a). She checked out a hip "click" I have noticed over the last 2 months and decided to send us for an ultrasound yesterday. The ultrasound tech said everything looked good, but we have to wait for the "official" results to know for sure. The Dr. wasn't really concerned, but figured it made more sense to check it out now than to wait for a real problem to develop when Ben starts walking. And, of course, this visit included 3 shots (and 1 oral vaccine)....Benjamin was very upset about the shots....luckily Daddy didn't come to that visit - he probably would've been more upset than Ben :-) I couldn't get a picture with both band-aids in it, but he had a matching Tweety band-aid on the other fat leggy. :-)

This past weekend, we mourned Wake's loss in the ACC tournament (Ben pooped all over his Wake footie...before I could even get a picture of him in it...that's how he expressed his feeling over them losing...LOL). We did have fun having some friends over - Marshall, Mike, Andy, Nicole, Anna, Jamie, and Nate....what a crowd. We had wings and chips and veggies for appetizers and then had Ribs with Corn on the Cob and scalloped potatoes and a ton of desserts, including a beautiful cake from T.Reids. It was great to see everyone, especially Marshall, who I feel I haven't seen in ages. I think I scared Nicole and Marshall a bit w/ some mild details of the birthing experience....I hope Marshall gets pregnant soon - it would be nice to be able to get the families together though at least they have Whammy to hang out with Grammy :-)

38 Weeks and Counting...

As of Friday I am 38 weeks pregnant...I can't believe how close we are to holding the little baby that has been growing inside me!

So, according to Babycenter: Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb. Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old.

It will be interesting to see what color baby's eyes and hair are. We expect baby to have brown hair, but Joel actually was born with almost reddish hair, which then turned platinum blond before settling on brown....whereas mine started brown and stayed brown....Joel's eyes are blue and mine are brown so that is much more of a mystery. I know my mom has a recessive gene since both Bern and Annie have light colored eyes, but I don't know about my dad....so remember those Punnett squares from HS Biology....if my dad is completely dominant for brown eyes, then I have a 50%chance of also being completely dominant and if I am completely dominant then all of my children will have brown eyes. However, if my dad is simply dominant, then I have only a 33% chance of being completely dominant (based on the fact that we know that I brown eyes so I can't be recessive). So, that's probably enough genomics for anyone reading this...I suppose we'll find out soon enough! :-)

Tonight, Joel is at the WFU b-ball game (vs. Chapel Hill) He wasn't planning on going, but Greg called him this afternoon and said Janet wasn't up to going and asked if he was interested. Of course, he jumped at the opportunity - one, it's a hard game to get tickets to and second, who knows how many more opportunities he's going to have in the near future (that mom is going to let him take LOL).

I put together the swing (it's so cute!) and cleaned up a little bit but that's about as much energy as I have these days. I have gone into work most of this past week because my computer works markedly better in the office than at home (at least when I'm using Access). I am pretty close to finishing up the project I've been working on and think that I can get everything finished this week and then just respond to ad-hoc needs as they arise...until the baby decides to make his or her appearance.

This weekend was pretty busy. On Saturday, Joel went to "Daddy Boot Camp". He even got a certificate of completion. While he was there, I did another round of shopping at Babies R Us and picked up a frame at Michael's (which I'm going to return....I basically figured that out in the parking lot but was too exhausted to go back into the store...and maybe I'll decide to keep it...) and went to the post office to mail out the last of the Christmas gifts (ok, they are REALLY late, but it's the thought that counts, right? :-) ) Those are the same gifts that I tried to mail the weekend before Christmas (and actually get them out in time) and was foiled not once, not twice, but 3 times that weekend. Then, with the holidays and the family....well, I just have not been able to get to the post office since....

I was a little nervous about how Joel would like "Daddy Boot Camp". I told him about it and he voluntarily decided to go, but then WFU had a need for speakers at their "Student for a Day" and he really wanted to go do that....what a dilemma b/c of course they were for the same time on Sat....I didn't want to "make" him go to "Daddy Boot Camp" but of course I saw that as a kind of "once in a lifetime" opportunity....and he seemed to enjoy it, so I'm glad that I "pushed" him in that direction - there will be plenty more opportunities for us to participate in WFU recruiting events (which I would love to do....every time I volunteer they tell me they have too many people...it figures). Anyway, after I picked up Joel, we had lunch at Wendy's and I dropped Joel off at home and then headed to my pre-natal massage at Oasis Day Spa. I have never gone for a massage and I thought this was a really nice treat for myself and also hoping that it will spur on labor (or at least dilation). It was really nice, but I should've used another cushion for under my back b/c I wound up leaving w/ a tight spot in my lower back....then again at 9 mos pregnant, although the massage felt great, the aches and pains weren't gone for long.

Last night, Joel went to the Panthers game (vs the Cardinals) with people from work. I watched part of the game at home but also watched my saved ER episodes (yay!) and some HGTV...typical man, Joel doesn't care for watching HGTV (or at least won't admit it...) so I use those occasional opportunities when I am home by myself to get in as much HGTV (and TLC) as I can :-)

Well, I have a Dr. appt tomorrow morning at 9am. The good news is that I think my massage did indeed spur on some "action" as I was having particularly strong contractions last night and tonight. They are not regular but Dr. Rouse said that the more contractions, the better (apparently this is what starts the dilation process...). I am at least hoping for progress from last week.....

What a Weekend......

Although we spent most of Saturday lounging around the house (much needed after spending 2 yrs of Saturdays in a classroom all day!), I feel like we did quite a bit and quite a bit happened this weekend.

As of Friday, I am 37 weeks pregnant....officially full-term. I am so used to being pregnant at this point that I'm not really anxious to deliver b/c I don't want to be pregnant any more, however the longer I have to contemplate what labor's going to be like, the more nervous I get. Since everyone's experience is so unique, it's so hard to know what to expect, but I am so excited to meet little Benjamin or Madelyn that I think it will be ok (and hopefully no epidural, episiotomy, or c-section....) Baby is kicking, punching and rolling around like crazy - I think he or she is getting ready for a grand entrance :-)

According to Babycenter: Congratulations! Your baby is full-term! This means that if your baby arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away. He weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long.

Since it is getting close to d-day, I have started packing my hospital bag. It was cute - last night I was looking on Babycenter at some of the discussion boards re: "what to bring to the hospital" and it made me giggle - kind of like a bunch of girls chatting about what to bring to summer camp. Even though it is online, you can hear the tone of excitement and anticipation and it just reminded me of going away to sleep away camp or a school trip.....amazing how those events prepare us for such vastly different experiences :-) Anyway, last week I made probably my final trip to Destination Maternity (it's a great store, but in such an inconvenient location, especially now that school is done) to purchase some underwear, pajamas and nursing sleep bras and then on Friday night went to Target w/ Nicole (we had Andy and Nicole over for dinner - chicken parm and then left the boys to watch b-ball) and picked up another pair of pajamas and a couple of cute non-maternity shirts that will be good for nursing (I have really lucked out this year that long shirts and wrap shirts have been "in" - they are very convenient for my current maternity needs and future nursing needs).

As I began to pack, I realized that I need a couple of last minute things for me and baby so yesterday I went back to Target for a big shopping spree (yes, Target is my FAVORITE store and I have the good fortune of having one that opened in July about 5 mins from my house!). I had a coupon for 10% off what was left on my registry but there were several things that I wanted for baby that had never made it on to my registry, so I went in, added the items to the registry and then purchased them off the registry to use my coupon (yeah, it was a pain in the neck, but saved me a little more than $20 - well worth it!). What we got - the diaper genie, a boppy (I was going to get the Breast Friend but I was annoyed by the strap and decided that a Boppy has a more useful life span), some bottles (just in case we need them before we expect - I got the playtex newborn set that comes w/ like 5 or 6 nipples - there has to be one in there that baby will take!), and some onesies and outfits in size Newborn (everything we registered for and have gotten is 0-3 months and I figured it made sense to prepare in case the baby is smaller than 8 lbs to have something he or she can wear home that actually fits.....the Murphy's Law in me says that even though Joel and I were small babies and my sisters were relatively small babies, I will have the Christmas Turkey, but want to be prepared in case I am blessed w/ a small or average size baby LOL). Once I do laundry today (a load for me and a load for baby), I will have our bags all packed and ready to go...hopefully we will need them sooner rather than later.

Also, in preparation for d-day, yesterday, I installed the car seat. The funny thing is that I actually had to attend a car seat certification when I was a caseworker, but it was before the LATCH system - I was really excited to get to use the LATCH hooks in our car....ok, maybe too excited. It is cute to see the car seat in there - a little strange, but more cute than strange (and of course during my shopping trip at Target yesterday I made sure to get the mirror so I can see baby from the front seat).

In other baby news, this morning I had a Dr's appt. My blood pressure was a little elevated when I got there (probably the coffee and taking the stairs...) but was ok when I left. I actually lost 2 lbs from last week and in the most exciting news I am effacing and dilating.....sounds hot, huh? I am only finger tip dilated and though I know that really doesn't mean much, it is the bit of good news that I need to be hopeful that baby may actually arrive on time (and maybe even early....ok, maybe that's wishful thinking, but Mia was Kathy's first and she arrived early, so I have faith....I am NOT a fan of induction) Baby's heart rate was 150.....it has stayed between 145-150 most of the pregnancy, so I wonder whether Dr. Rouse's prediction that it's a girl is true (based on the old wive's tale) even though my hunch is that it's a boy....hmmm, I suppose we'll find out soon enough :-) My next Dr. appt is 1/12 at 9am Hopefully we will have dilation progress next week (I scheduled a prenatal massage for next Sat - that means that either baby will make an appearance before then so I miss out on my massage or hopefully that will spur some contractions to get things going....)

Also, this weekend, Joel and I became members of a new church. We have been going to St. Patrick's in Dilworth, which is a beautiful old church w/ a school, but after the Christmas mass, I realized that the church itself is not really kid-friendly and wanted to take a look at some other options. Yesterday morning, Joel went online and found St. Thomas of Aquinas right in the University area - we went to the 9:30 mass and really enjoyed the Pastor and everything that is going on at the church so we decided to become parishoners. I thought it was really neat that the church is run by Franciscan Friars as both my great uncle Danny and uncle JoJo are/were Franciscan Friars and I grew up attending events at the house in Yonkers, NY and meeting Friars from all over. The pastor is actually from the NJ chapter, but he had the opportunity to meet my uncle Danny (Fr Charles) in FL - that was cool and made me feel like we had found our church.

Sadly, we also took down our Christmas decorations this weekend :-( I hate to see Christmas go, but I want to make sure that everything is put away before we are consummed by baby :-) The tree is actually still in the living rm since garbage day is Wed, but the ornaments, lights, and stockings are back in storage - it's amazing to think that next Christmas there will be another stocking hanging from the mantle and a little person waddling through the wrapping paper....The outside lights are also down except for one strand of garland lights that is hanging from the garage (my proudest achievement in light hanging this year!). Joel suggested we leave that strand up at least one more night (I think he was sad to see Christmas go too!) I have pretty bummed out about the lack of christmas decorations left after christmas this year, but then last night Nicole and I went to Michael's and it was like I hit the jackpot. I was able to get some new ornaments and outside lights for 80% off...and some wrapping materials and mugs! I must've brought home 10 bags/boxes of stuff and only spent $60 (which $16+ was due to a frame for a stock certificate that Joel purchased and of course was not on sale....despite the fact that all other frames were 50% off - that bugged me but the frame is really nice, so oh well)

As much as I've written so far, I didn't even mention Sat night's auction, dinner at Firebird's (probably one of our favorite restaurants) and a trip to Border's (very excited about my gardening book). All in all, even w/ everything that has happened in the last couple of days, it was a very relaxing weekend :-)

Operation Baby Drop

As of today, there are 30 days to the expected arrival of Baby Levy. Joel sent an e-mail to a mutual friend of ours this morning that inspired the title of this post. He wrote: "Baby Levy is expected 30 days from today...Operation Baby Drop is a go."

Later in the e-mail, he wrote: "PS: We have a blog: http://nclevyfamily.blogspot.com/ We are so chic..."

It was very cute and thought it would be neat to post. I am hoping when baby arrives to export all of the pregnancy blog posts and make them into a scrapbook. Joel makes fun of my time from event to scrapbook, but I am inspired by the digital Disney scrapbook I made for Walter and Angelique and the fact that I finished Dan's scrapbook and only have to add titles to our honeymoon scrapbook....all this year. So, it may have taken me a while for some of these books to get into production, but now that I have the tools and don't have school, hopefully we can get a couple more done (like Annie's baby book....)

I feel bad having to work with the girls here, but today they made chocolate chip cookies and then at about 4:30 we left to go ice-skating. Annie has only been ice-skating one other time - last year when she came to visit for Christmas. This year, I thouht it would be fun to bring them to the outdoor rink on the Green: WBT's Holiday on Ice. It was fun. I think Annie drove Bridgie a bit crazy and I felt bad I couldn't get on skates, but they had a good time. It was frustrating trying to get a picture to capture the twilight sky and christmas lights, but at least I got a couple of pics of them skating.

This morning I had an 8:30am Dr appt. I managed to drop Joel off at work, run into Target and pick up Bridgie's comforter and pocketbook (at least I know she'll like the comforter) and get to the Dr's office for the appt. Didn't have the results of the GBS test yet, but doesn't matter much unless I go into labor between now and next week - my next Dr. appt is 12/29 at 9:30am. It was an uneventful visit....aside from the fact that I gained a lb from Friday....officially 200 lbs...that is terrifying.....the dr said a lot of my weight gain can be attributed to the fluid in my legs and feet, so hopefully that will subside quickly after delivery. It will be nice to be able to actually go out on a walk again...and I'm sure Graham would like that too! :-)

Last night, Chrissy and the kids came over for dinner. We had Chrissy open her Christmas gift, which she loved (and then had to call Kevin to apologize). The kids couldn't open their gifts yet b/c it would ruin some Christmas surprises, but we had to have Chrissy open hers. We decided to save ours from them for Christmas....

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve - I can't believe it! I don't really feel prepared and I have to work - I will probably put in about a half day. Dan and Bernadette should be arriving in the morning - last we heard they weren't on the road yet, but should be leaving shortly. It's nice to be able to hang out w/ the family - I just wish they didn't have to leave on Sat and lived a bit closer.

35 Weeks - Firing Position

Wow, what a busy week! We did pictures on Tuesday, hospital tour on Wednesday, and Labor Support class on Thursday - whew! Definitely feels like we're in the final stages of preparing for baby's arrival.

It was strange to go on the tour of the hospital. The hospital was really nice - reminded us of some of the fancy hospitals in NYC, and I was really pleased with the L&D and postpartum accommodations, but it was hard for me to really separate myself from that of a medical assistant in post-partum (back from my college days) to that of the patient. We spent a little while outside the nursery and I just remembered bathing new babies, doing pictures and bloodwork and getting babies ready to go home. It felt almost like an out of body experience - like I didn't really feel like I was going to be the one having the baby instead of the one taking care of the baby....it was strange. However, it was nice to see that all of the rooms are private and the dad accommodations are quite nice. So far I'm happy that we're delivering there.....I'll be sure to let you know how it actually goes!

The Labor class the following night (last night) was much more "real". It was good to practice some of the laboring techniques, but the class felt like it went so fast (it was 2 hrs long). I'm not sure what I expected and if I will ever feel prepared, but the instructor also gave us the book for the Prepared Childbirth class. We were supposed to go to that class first, but couldn't get in until the 28th. After talking to Joel and looking at the book, we decided that it won't add much value (especially given my hospital experience). Joel is going to Daddy Boot Camp on Jan 10th - I hope that he enjoys it!

Joel and I went to dinner at La Dolce before class last night - he's gone there a number of times for lunch and really wanted me to go. I had these really good mushroom ravioli! Also last night we stopped in The Milky Way, which is in the medical plaza where we had class. We found a really cute white knit cap, socks, and receiving blanket w/ WF on them - Go Deacs!

This morning I had an appointment with Dr. Rouse. She checked the baby's heart rate and measured the baby and actually felt my belly to make sure the baby was in the right position. The good news is that baby was head down and she showed me where the baby's shoulders, back, and legs were. We had a hunch that we were feeling little feet in my right rib-cage, but it was neat to have our hunch confirmed. I told Joel after my appointment that baby is in "firing position". I don't think baby has "dropped" yet, but I realized that my rib pain has finally subsided to almost non-existent (it only took 3 months!) I also got my GBS culture while I was there - fun, fun. I hope that comes back negative b/c otherwise I will need antiobiotics during labor....can't do anything about it, so we'll just wait and see. The next couple of weeks are kind of strange to schedule Dr. appts with the holidays - I'm actually going back on Tues, Dec 23rd at 8:30am (usually she doesn't get in until 9, but she's coming in early to fit in all these mommies to be). She said that in the next week or so she will check to see if I have started dilating yet (I'll keep my fingers crossed things move along quickly at this point....) I will be seeing Dr. Rouse every week from now on....only 5 weeks to go.

Tomorrow, Bridgie and Annie are flying in from FL. Between visiting with them and Christmas shopping, I'm sure next week is going to fly by! By the time Christmas is over, we'll be at less than 30 days till baby's expected arrival.

Today I am 35 weeks. According to Baby Center, Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

33 Weeks - Dr. Visit

Today, I am 33 weeks pregnant. It seems like all of a sudden the pregnancy is accelerating...I can't believe there are only 7 weeks left. It seems like we just found out....how time flies. That also means that next Sat (the 13th) is our last day of school!!! We have been working on our MBA almost every Saturday for the last 2 yrs and amazingly that has gone just as fast. It'll be nice to not have to worry about school once the baby is here. I think there are a couple of reasons why it feels like the pregnancy is going so fast now that we're in the home stretch. One, we've been counting down the days for school to end and not realizing that baby countdown is taking place at the same time; also, I think that the reality that Joel and I are about to become parents is setting in. We are so excited, but I think we're also in a slight state of shock.....we walk past the nursery and look in and can't believe in less than 2 months there is going to be a real live baby in there....and we'll be the parents. I'm not really nervous about being a mom...it's more like I can't believe it's finally happening. I think Joel is a little more nervous about being a dad, but I think he's going to be great. Yes, life will change, but I think w/ a few exceptions that the changes are only as big as you make them. Obviously there will be more stuff and less spontaniety, but all in all we can do just about everything that we've been doing (I suppose that's also because we're not crazy active people...).

Joel came with me to the Dr. appt yesterday (next Dr. appt is Dec 19th). He was still on vacation and I worked from home, so it worked out well. Dr. Rouse had an emergency at the hospital so she was running late, but it was a short appt nevertheless. Baby's heart rate has started to decrease (it was about 140 this week and will come down to the 120's by birth) and Baby measured at 34 wks. I gained 5 lbs!! I couldn't believe it b/c w/ all the exercise in Aruba and the fact that I haven't been eating any more than I was pre-pregnancy.....oh well, such is pregnancy. Since baby measured a little bigger than my weeks, I will say that the extra weight went to baby - I just hope baby doesn't keep this up. I haven't been walking to the office b/c of my shortness of breath and swollen ankles, but I will have to start doing some walking.....also at the Dr. appt, Dr. Rouse said that she will do a quick u/s at about 36 weeks to see how baby is positioned (we don't care how long it is as long as we get a picture! LOL). Joel also asked if the tech for the 18wk u/s wrote the sex of the baby in the chart. Dr. Rouse said that it was in there, but it said, "Do Not Reveal". Of course, the curiosity is killing me, and I know Joel wants to know, but I do still want to wait. It doesn't make sense to have come this far and then find out....we'll see how the final u/s goes. :-)

I've become increasingly uncomfortable over the last couple of weeks. My feet have been swelling to the size of grapefruits if I sit or stand for a long time and baby does a lot of rolling and swaying - I think he or she is trying to stretch out the living quarters in there, but my lungs, intestines and bladder are not crazy about that idea. I am glad that baby is very active though - pretty much any time I sit back and wait, baby moves, almost on command that I need some reassurance that baby is doing ok in there. As uncomfortable as I am, I am looking forward to the delivery more so to decrease my overall level of anxiety than to ease my discomfort (though that will be good too).

As far as baby news, according to Babycenter: "This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds (heft a pineapple) and has passed the 17-inch mark. He's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and his skeleton is hardening. The bones in his skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for him to fit through the birth canal."

7 Months - Dancing Baby

Today, I had a Dr. appt with Dr. Rouse. Good news is that I passed my glucose screening test and all of my other bloodwork came back normal. The baby's heart rate was 145 and measured just right. Bad news is that I found out that this awful burning sensation on the top of my right rib-cage is the result of inflamed cartilage on my rib-cage and there is really not much I can do about it. Dr. Rouse said it's pretty common and the result of the baby pushing up under my rib-cage. I'm hoping it will go away soon. My next Dr. appt is on Nov 19th (I go every 2 weeks now).

In other news, baby has decided that he or she likes to do the cha-cha in my belly, especially around 5am. I can't believe how much baby is moving - it seems like within the last week, baby has gone from a couple of kicks and a lot of swishes and rolls to almost constant kicking and punching and moving - I wish I could see inside there to see what baby is doing! At about 1:30 this morning, I could've sworn that baby was moving both sets of legs and arms in every direction possible!! I'm getting really excited to meet baby - there are still 3 months, but it seems like it's coming up really quick.

This past weekend, we went to Babies R Us and picked up the valances and crib bedding. I set up the crib skirt and bumpers, but need to wash the sheets. I will post pictures of the nursery as soon as I get it all set up. We only have a couple of things left to do or get before baby is born. After Babies R Us, we went over to Concord Mills and did some shopping. I got a couple of shirts at Old Navy and a sweatsuit. Their maternity section left little to be desired, so I just rummaged among their regular stuff to find what I could to cover my ever-growing belly. It may just be the style of clothes this year, but for shirts, I'm finding that I'm having better luck w/ non-maternity shirts than maternity shirts because the maternity are wide, but not necessarily long, and I have a long torso, which means that even in some of the maternity shirts, my belly is starting to stick out the bottom. Right now, I have almost every size possible, from S to XXL (my new zip-up sweatshirt). It'll be interesting to see what I actually put away with my maternity clothes and what I decide to keep with my regular clothes. The funniest thing is that I've become so used to my big belly now that I can't even remember what it was like to not have this big belly......I am constantly looking at people, especially other women and wondering what my body will look like after baby.....I suppose we'll see soon enough!

We found Joel jeans at the Polo store for $20 - they were just on a random clearance rack - we were really excited b/c the jeans that he had were getting too big and needed to move on to Goodwill. The Polo jeans not only fit well, but they are a much lighter denim and super comfy. I found a maternity pea coat at the Motherhood outlet - a coat was something that I was realizing I was going to have to buy b/c baby is due so late in the winter - I just hope I get to use it w/ the next pregnancy. I didn't find anything for me at the GAP, but I did find 2 pairs of cotton pants for the baby. I had gotten these really cute long sleeve onesies at Walmart, but realized I didn't have any bottoms, so I got a pair in white and navy blue. Slowly but surely I've been picking up baby clothes - I've been buying 0-3 months - may have to get some NB stuff just in case baby is on the 6-7lb side (which is what I'm hoping, but I know if I buy NB stuff, I will wind up with a Christmas Turkey....didn't want to jinx myself!).

Speaking of Christmas, I definitely need to start Christmas shopping. Joel wanted to go to Conocord Mills so he could go to Circuit City and fondle the new Cannon 50D. It is a nice camera, but we have a nice camera. Recently, Joel also started looking at new laptops. Luckily, he discovered that the IRS says the usable life of a laptop is 3 yrs, so now he feels he can't justify buying a new one (at least for another year and a half). Therefore, he has moved on to looking at cameras - I wonder what the IRS says about the usuable life of a digital camera. We have a nice camera.....but both of us do like the digital SLR - we'll see, maybe not for Christmas, but maybe after baby is born.

As of Friday, I am 28 weeks pregnant (7 months). This is also the beginning of the 3rd trimester!! According to Baby Center: By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

Only 12 weeks to go!

24 Weeks

Welcome to the change of season.....Joel and I both have the sniffles and feel just generally lousy. I am 6 months pregnant....I know - there is still not a belly picture of me up on the blog....I keep saying we're going to get a picture - preferably Joel and I together and something always seems to happen. Yesterday, I had a dr. appt. It was a routine visit - baby's heart rate was 150 and the fundal height (the distance from the pubic bone to the top of the uterus) was 26. They measure this distance to track fetal growth and to see how baby's size compares to the due date. The fundal height should be about equal to how many weeks pregnant you are. I am almost 25 so 26 is pretty close, means the baby is a little bigger than expected. Although I was happy that I only gained 4 lbs - this is "avg" but my last 2 visits I was closer to 6 or 7 and in the "above avg" range. Dr. Rouse also gave me a flu vaccine and scheduled my glucose tolerance test. My next dr. appt is Oct 21st. This is when they will do my glucose test to make sure I don't have gestational diabetes as well as a regular visit. I think basically from now on, I'll be going to the dr. every 2 wks. Luckily, the office is close to home and the visits are short. I asked about a 3rd trimester ultrasound and they said that they don't schedule one due to the insurance companies, but they generally wind up doing one near the end to determine positioning and size prior to delivery. At this point, I don't care so much about the ultrasound - I just want to meet the baby! :-)

In the world of baby news - According to Baby Center: Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

I also got an e-mail yesterday that expanded on what's going on with baby: The lungs aren't the only system that's gearing up for air intake. Your baby's nostrils, which have been plugged up until now, are starting to open this week. This actually allows your little one to begin taking practice breaths. (Of course since there's no air in there, your baby is really only "breathing" amniotic fluid, but it's the practice that counts, right?)

Speaking of breathing - I think the baby had hiccups the other day...it was really cute. I wish I had a little video camera to see what's going on in there. Last night, I could swear that baby was trying to punch or kick his or her way out through my belly button. Sometimes the movement is more like flutters or tumbling, but every once in a while I get these really strong kicks. I like feeling baby move around - so far baby is up a lot more than I expected (they say in utero baby sleeps as much as a newborn - this baby better start sleeping!).

I can't believe how fast it's going. Work has begun on the house - the new carpet is already installed and tomorrow they start painting. We are also getting new hardwood installed in some of the rooms downstairs. It is very exciting! There are a couple of things I would like to still do, but we're making progress. Right after we decided to go ahead w/ the work on the house, I got an e-mail that said now is the time to do stuff around the house so it's done before baby is born - talk about good timing! :-)

The weather is starting to change - the leaves will probably start changing in the next couple of weeks - the weather is more mild in NC than NY, but I love the fact that we still get the change of seasons! We need to take more pictures!!

23 weeks - Playing Matchmaker

I am 23 weeks pregnant - almost 6 months! I can't believe how time is flying - it's almost October and I feel like summer was just starting....I wonder if life will seem to move just as fast once baby is here, or whether school is part of the reason why the days, weeks, months seem to be just vanishing before our eyes.

So, playing matchmaker....Joel's friend Mike left this past Saturday but before he left, we had a single girlfriend of ours over for dinner.....Mike is still in school, but will be done in the spring and will be in a position to relocate. We'll see what happens - they seemed to hit it off, but obviously need more time (and us out of the way) to get to know each other. I made bbq ribs and smashed potatoes for dinner. That is usually my first "get-together" dinner - I think the second is usually london broil....or lasagna. Funny how that works out. I actually cooked just about every night last week - it's a lot of work, but I definitely prefer it to eating out.

Joel and I have spent the last few days deciding on carpet / wood / painting (all 3 guys have come to the house today for estimates) for upstairs / downstairs. One of the best parts (aside from the finished product) is that in having to pack up everything to prepare for the carpet installation, it'll hopefully help us organize and get rid of some stuff that we really don't need. Yesterday, I spent several hrs putting together another shelving unit for the garage and re-organizing and cleaning up the garage (our car used to fit in there.....). It looks really good - I was hoping to finish it last night or tonight, but I need to finish an online test for school.....how exciting.

As for baby news - I feel pretty good - will continue the physical therapy for at least another week. I did my yoga tape on Saturday - hoping to get that up to at least 2 times per week. Also picked up a pilates tape that I want to try. I think a lot of my back/leg pain can be attributed to not only the pregnancy but just being out of shape :-) Baby has been moving around a lot - I tried to find the heartbeat with our stethoscope last night, but couldn't find it - maybe next week. A doppler is a lot more sensitive and depending how baby is positioned, may be a couple more weeks before I can hear baby w/ the stethoscope. I have a dr's appt next week (Oct 7th) - interested to see how much I weigh and when I have to get my glucose tolerance test - I am trying not to become a pregnant hippo, but not really obsessed about the weight gain...curious how big baby is....

According to Baby Center this week: Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb.

The Halfway Point - 20 Weeks

Today, I had a Dr. appt with Dr. Rouse. It was fairly uneventful but she did check to make sure I wasn't having pre-term contractions because I've been having some abdominal pain the last couple of days - she said that everything looked fine and is likely just the added weight on my back and my belly.....speaking of which I've gained 14 lbs - a couple more than I expected at this point, but definitely in the "normal" range. I've actually been feeling pretty good about my crazy changing body the last couple of weeks - I'm at the point where I really feel pregnant and proud of my belly (and boobs) and not just fat :-) Luckily no stretch marks yet.....I keep watching for them though (and proactively buttering up with cocoa butter - even if it doesn't work, it feels good!) On one hand, I can't believe that the pregnancy is half-over, but on the other hand, I can't believe I still have half to go....at least school keeps us busy enough to not really pay much attention to the time. I'm sure it'll be here before we know it (along w/ Thanksgiving, the last day of class, and Christmas)!!

On Sunday, we had Kathy, Sam, and Mia over for an early supper / late lunch. It was great to see them again and to find out Kathy is definitely staying home w/ Mia and not going back to work (we had a hunch, but it wasn't confirmed :-) ) I am really happy for her, but obviously jealous :-) I am probably going to work for a couple more years to help pay off student loans and then will get to stay home with baby #2!! Mia is getting so big - she just turned 6 months - it's amazing how fast it goes and quickly they become independent. Kathy told me that after they visited, Mia started really rolling back and forth from tummy to back and back to tummy and sat up unsupported. It's amazing how much they change and grow during the first year!

As of last Friday, I was 20 wks (5 months) pregnant. There is a lot going on with the baby now - according to Baby Center: Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. By now, your baby swallows at least several ounces of amniotic fluid each day — not only for hydration and nutrition, but also to practice swallowing and digesting — skills your baby will need as soon as he or she arrives in your arms. And keep this in mind: The taste of the amniotic fluid differs from day to day depending on what you've eaten (spicy enchilada one day, sweet carrots another). And that smorgasbord of tastes won't be lost on your baby. That's because your little one has very developed taste buds already. In fact, researchers have noted that babies who were exposed to certain tastes in utero via the amniotic fluid were more eager to eat foods with that same taste after birth.

Well, only 20 more to go!!

17 wks and Dr. Visit

Today, I am 17 weeks pregnant. Tonight, my mom and 2 of my sisters - Bridgette and Annie are coming to visit. They are flying into Greensboro and then driving down to Charlotte (I don't understand why the small airports have better fares than the big city airports....). Anyway, I figured I would catch everyone up on the latest Baby Levy details while I'm waiting for them to arrive (now that the house is cleaned!).

On Tuesday, we had a visit w/ Dr. Rouse. This was the first time that we had an afternoon appt and it was very frustrating b/c as we learned last semester in Operations, the longest schedule delays occur later in the day as the delays from all of the other appts during the day accumulate. We were supposed to be seen at 4:15 and we were in the exam room and ready but I don't think Dr. Rouse came in until right about 5 (Andy and Nicole were scheduled to come over at 6 which complicated our schedule even more, though the Dr. is only about 5 min from home). We heard the baby's heart beat - it was in the 140's, which is in the "boy range", but we're not sure what to make of it b/c all of the other appts have been in the morning - this was the first time that we were seen in the afternoon, so maybe baby was resting. :-) I scheduled my ultrasound for Aug 28th and will then see Dr. Rouse again on Sept 12th.

After our Dr. appt Andy and Nicole came over. After dinner (reheated lasagna), Nicole and I went to Hancock fabrics (finally! we've been trying to get there for at least a month now) and picked up the fabric for the curtains for the living rm - it was expensive but probably not much more than I would've paid to buy them already made - I picked out a light brown suede for the valances (the couches are a light blue suedeish fabric) and then a striped sheer that matches the stripes on the pillows almost perfectly. We also stopped in the new Super Target - it is great having it so close!

I enjoy the process of making the curtains and it's nice to get exactly the fabric you want. I also decided to re-do the curtains on the side-lights - after I cut up the curtains I bought, I realized that I could've done it a lot neater and nicer, so for another $10, I bought a new set and fixed them. The sidelights are both done and 2 of the valances for the living rm are done. After I post this, I am going to try and finish the 3rd and get them all hung up - the most challenging part of hanging these is that it's a bay window and I'm trying to even all of the valances perfectly even - the method that I used made this particularly challenging, but now I know for next time. I also have some strips of the brown suede left that I'm going to save in case I want to make ties for the sheers. I will probably start work on the sheers next week or the week after. Definitely "nesting" in preparation for the baby - it'll be great to have the house in order and be done w/ school just in time for baby's arrival :-)

In baby news, according to Babycenter: Your baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop.

I should be able to feel the baby move any time in the next couple of weeks - it is strangely exciting - I wonder if I will really know what it is when I feel it or if I will just think it is my gurgly intestines that are getting increasingly squished as my belly gets bigger - I'm starting to wear my maternity clothes more and more and this will likely be the last week that I wear my jeans for a while. We went out on a ride on the motorcycle the other day (and I got a fancy blue and white helmet) -it was a lot of fun, but you have to get used to it. We just rode around some of the backcountry roads by the house - probably won't be able to do it too much longer, but it will be nice when the weather is a little cooler (though I am grateful for the drop in humidity and temperature this past week!).

I will post some pictures after the weekend - we are planning on doing some school shopping and going to Carowinds. I can't go on a lot of rides, but I am looking forward to the water slides and seeing Bridge and Annie get the last "bang" out of summer!

15 weeks

I'm officially 15 weeks as of yesterday....5 weeks to the halfway point! This has been an exciting week. I'm definitely starting to show so on Thursday I told my manager that I was pregnant - I wanted to tell him before it became obvious what was going on!! Anyhow, the most ironic part is that his wife is also pregnant - she is due Jan 22nd and I am due Jan 23rd! We have a lot of men and women who have recently welcomed babies into their families so it's just expected that it will happen to the next person sooner or later. My contract technically expires Dec 31st, but I don't think the fact that I'm due in January would impact them moving me to a permanent position. It seems like it would be more difficult to hire and train someone new than to live w/o me for 8-12 weeks. Interestingly, we also found out that a wife of one of our classmates is pregnant and she's due Jan 13th. Apparently, April was a very fertile month!!! Speaking of school, we have a final tomorrow and then a project and a paper due next weekend and then a take home final and then we are done w/ another semester - only 1 left! We haven't made an official announcement re: the baby, but would like to do so soon.....I found out today that Joel told one of our friends, Dan, and he said that I was definitely showing and wanted to find out when we were going to tell the others. The problem is that I am actually interviewing for a permanent position and even though it is physically becoming more obvious - it could just be that I'm developing a bit of a beer gut.....to the average person at least. Anyway, we're hoping to find out about the job in the next week or two and then release the news.....

So, in baby news...According to Babycenter: Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam.

I think every week I am amazed a little more by what's going on in there. I have a dr's appt 8/12 and then will have an ultrasound 2 weeks after that (I CAN'T wait for the ultrasound, but still not sure if I convince Joel not to find out whether it's a boy or a girl....)

My mom and my sisters are coming up in 2 weeks, then we're going to Williamsburg and then my Dad is coming down (and my friend Hellen from Maxwell will be stopping by) - whew - it's going to be a busy month!

So, Is it a girl?

This morning I had a doctor's appt. Joel came with me and we got to hear the baby's heartbeat on the doppler, which was very cool!! It was a very quick appt - all she did was look at me, ask me how I was feeling and listen to the heart beat. (Next doctor's appt: August 13th) The baby's heart rate was 164 and Dr. Rouse remarked that this is supposedly in the "girl range". This is based on the wive's tale that a heart rate higher than 140 indicates a girl and a heart rate lower than 140 indicates a boy. (I googled pregnancy wive's tales) There is a small amount of science in this wive's tale as a girl's heart rate is somewhat higher than her male counterpart, however, they say that this does not happen until after birth.

The funny thing about all of this is that last night Joel and I were driving home in the car and I was having a lot of gastrointestinal discomfort and said that the baby had to be a girl if she was already causing me this much trouble (in a study of mom's hunches regarding what they were having, they were right 71% of the time!!). Hmmm, interesting. Now, I really don't care whether it's a boy or girl, but obviously having helped raise my three younger sisters probably leans me toward wanting a little girl :-) This story gets even more interesting because if I buy in to these wive's tales, there are 2 more that indicate that this baby may really be a girl. First, they say during pregnancy your skin is supposed to be glowing and clear, but over the last 2-3 weeks, I've had more pimples than in years....apparently acne is a sign of a girl baby. And the last wive's tale is that if you are carrying a girl, you crave sweets and if you crave sour stuff, you are having a boy....well I am definitely craving sweets, but this was the case before I was pregnant, so maybe this one doesn't hold much weight. :-) I guess it's time to call in Mythbusters......LOL!

If you want to take a guess the baby's gender, date/time of birth, or the weight/height of the baby, check out our pool at www.expectnet.com - our game is called levyfamily_plus1 (or click on the banner below).

Due Date Changes....AGAIN!

I had my first "real" visit with the Dr. today. Joel came with me because we were hoping to hear the baby's heartbeat. Well, after the weight, bp, and peeing in a cup, the dr. tried to find the heartbeat with a Doppler. These are notoriously unreliable, so I wasn't too concerned when she couldn't find it. Like I mentioned in a previous post, I was ok with the baby hiding for the Doppler because that would get us the ultrasound that we really wanted. So, the baby decided that he would be incognito so after the exam, we got to go to the ultrasound room. And there baby was, really easy to see.....definitely the crystal skull we were expecting and it was really cool to see the baby's heart beating (it was measured at 150). I scanned in the picture, but it really isn't as good as seeing it in real-life....there was actually quite a bit of detail, surprising considering the whole ultrasonography field itself.

Back to the due date issue. Well, when Dr. Rouse measured the baby on the ultrasound, the machine dated the baby as 8weeks 4 days instead of 10 weeks 4 days. I am not surprised by this given the unreliability of the original due date calculation, but it is frustrating for the sake of my blog and for the fact that I am already trying to rush this pregnancy along......also, Dr. Rouse said that my uterine size felt smaller than 10 weeks, so she was reassured by the ultrasound. So, back to 8 weeks pregnant - this is the wrong direction, but at least everything else looked good. I go back to the doctor July 16th and I guess we'll see how things are progressing then. Wow, this is a slow process!

My new due date is 1/23/09. I'm not going to change my previous blogs, but the last 2 weeks will be somewhat repetitive with the next 2 weeks - bear w/ us and in a couple of weeks, it'll seem like we're actually making progress! The whole thing makes me realize that I really have no clue what's going on in there because I couldn't tell the difference between 8 1/2 weeks and 10 1/2 weeks, though Dr. Rouse said that my nausea may get worse again before it gets better....ugh!

Tomorrow, I am going to hang out with Nicole. We haven't finalized plans yet, but I think our focus is going to be on curtains. I want to start working on valences for the office and then I have to deal with the living rm and guest bdrm (I might get a package bed in a bag for the guest bdrm that has a valance in it!). This is all part of my goal of getting the house organized and decorated before baby (at least now I have 2 extra weeks!) :-)

Going to the Dr.

So, today was my 2nd dr's appointment, though I

didn't actually see the dr. I went in and sat w/ Dana, the med tech and filled out a bunch of information regarding family hx and personal medical hx and then had to go to the lab to get blood drawn, which was unpleasant but relatively quick and painless. I go back in 2 weeks - June 17th and have my first REAL appt w/ the dr. - I think Joel is going to come along too - hopefully we will get to hear the heartbeat! Today, when I was at the dr's, they did send me home w/ a goody bag, which had a book from the American Association of OB-GYNs about pregnancy as well as a couple of magazines and the registration information for the hospital. I think today was kind of a turning point - the pregnancy suddenly seems REAL and moving full steam ahead.

I talked to Alicia last night and she offered to hang on to her pack and play and swing and play yard for us - we're hoping to get up to see them sometime this summer and pick up the goodies - I am hoping to get our house fully organized and "de-junked" before the baby so that we have room for all the furniture that seems to accompany these little ones.

This past weekend we went to see Mia, Kathy and Sam's baby girl. We had lunch w/ Kathy and Sam and got to catch up w/ them a bit - they both work at Deloitte and Joel used to work w/ Kathy - we haven't seen them in over a year!! Mia is 3 months old. She is so tiny and I was holding her and just looking at her little fingers and toes.....I have probably held thousands of babies, but this was the first baby that I've held since finding out I was pregnant and it was completely different - I just couldn't believe that the little kidney bean growing inside me (babycenter.com likes to use food to describe fetal size) would come out looking like this....it really is amazing. I don't care if I have a girl or boy, but right now, my main concern is that it's a smaller baby - 7lbs max.....I will keep my fingers crossed :-)

This weekend we also had a chance to go hang out at the Domazos residence. It was great to see Andy and Nicole - we helped them get their patio set together and took the dogs for a nice walk around the development. I've really enjoyed building friendships in Charlotte - for the first time I feel like my life is settled.....aside from STILL being in school.....and I suppose it won't be settled for much longer......as Sam put it, "everything changes".....I think I understand that but I suppose that you have to live it to truly understand!

Unfortunately, the latter part of the weekend I came down w/ an awful stomach bug, which after talking to a couple of people seems to be going around. Work was miserable yesterday, so I was happy to work from home today. I'm feeling better, but unfortunately still nauseous - which will likely hang around for a couple more weeks - I've figured out that as long as I keep eating I feel ok, but obviously my dr. and my wardrobe will not be fond of that idea.....I guess I will have to figure out something else.....

Tomorrow I am going to try Yoga for the first time. I am going with my friend Marshall if all goes as planned...it'll be good to see her and share the news, which seems to be spreading like wildfire :-) (BTW- I told Erin last night) Yoga is supposed to be good for pregnancy - I will share my experiences in the next couple of days. ;-)

First Dr.'s appointment

Do I feel pregnant? Well, the last couple of nights, I have been waking up between 3 and 4 am with terrible gas pains.....a little nausea, but mostly flatulence - found out that often accompanies, or replaces, the famous "morning sickness" - who knew? Joel says, "gas for 2". :-) Otherwise, I wondered if the insomnia was due to the anticipation over the Dr.'s appt.....

So, I had a 9:15am appointment this morning. Joel had a meeting he couldn't move far enough to allow us time at the Dr. office and to get back to work and I had meetings the rest of the week, so we decided there would be plenty more interesting appts for him to escort me to. The funny thing is that I was just at the Dr. on the 9th for an unrelated reason, so I joked with Dana, the med tech, "I like you guys so much that I had to come up with a reason to come back" :-) Anyway, I had been drinking water all morning, knowing that whether I had taken 1 or 100 home pregnancy tests, they would make me pee in a cup. As my mom could tell you, I've never been able to pee on demand, but this time I was prepared. Dana weighed me and took my blood pressure while we waited for the pregnancy test - not surprisingly, it was positive. She asked me for my LMP.....I had no idea.......I knew it was around the first week of April - right after I started at Bank of America, but didn't know the date. In January, I started keeping track on a calendar using all of these symbols for my period, ovulation, sex....so that we would know all of this important info if I got pregnant, or when we started to "try" to get pregnant. Well, then I changed jobs and in the shuffle - I stopped keeping track - it figures. Needless to say, April 10th was a good guess, which made me 5 wks 6 days pregnant with a due date of Jan 19, 2009 (let's see how many times that changes). I was disappointed by the remainder of the appt - not even an exam, just some paperwork regarding what to eat / not eat, what meds I can take (my allergies are KILLING me - I stopped the Rx last Sat and apparently I can't take anything except Tums and Tylenol until the 2nd trimester) and found out that my insurance likely doesn't cover an ultrasound until 18wks!!!

Next appts: June 3rd (family hx and blood work - won't see the Dr.) and then June 17th (first official visit w/ the Dr. - we may be able to hear the heartbeat! - she said that she used to do an u/s during this visit, but the insurance companies are only allowing them if there are signs/symptoms of a problem, such as ectopic or miscarriage). And the insurance companies wonder why people don't like them! 18wks!!! I can't believe I have to wait that long! I was hoping to reduce my pre-natal anxiety w/ this Dr. visit, but w/o even an exam, that didn't happen - if anything, I am more in tune to every pull or ping in my abdominal region (lucky for the baby, so far it's only gas......not so lucky for Joel) LOL