31 weeks 5 days

I'm reaching the end of Week 31!! Whoo hoo!! This past week, Krewson enjoyed a wonderful Christmas riding around in my belly. So amazing that at Christmas next year he'll be nearly 10 months old!

Our baby classes start up next Wednesday, which I'm looking forward to. Supposedly we'll learn all about labor and caring for a newborn. The classes are every Wednesday night through February 3rd. Which sounded just fine until I thought about it a few seconds longer and realized that this is only 3 weeks prior to my due date. We didn't pick the dates of the classes...the hospital did...and man are they cutting it close! Hope he doesn't plan on coming too early!

Krewson's movements in my belly have gradually become bolder and stronger. No more flutters or little pokes. Nope, now my entire belly rolls and distorts and jumps. He apparently does not like it when I put any pressure at all on my abdomen. If I lean against my desk, wear pants with a tight band, or lay my arms or a book on my belly, it doesn't take long before he starts pushing and kicking back. You'll frequently see a book I'm reading bouncing up and down, and the other day I was leaning against my desk and he pushed back so hard that it pinched my skin! Crazy boy.

I tell Dave about my crazy abdomen movements and shapes all the time (and probably much more than he'd like), but it's really hard for anyone other than me to get really excited about it until they actually see them for themselves. Then last night Dave was talking to Krewson with his head near my belly, and suddenly my entire abdomen contorted and rolled and a huge lump shifted from the left to the right. Dave's eyes got wide and he was like, "Was that you or the baby?!?!" I told him it was the baby...he was pretty amazed. :)

Along those lines, I had a dream the other night that I gave birth to Krewson. Then after he was born, I still felt strong kicking inside, so the docs were like, "Oh, you must have another in there." So I gave birth to another son. Then I was freaking out about having two babies when I started feeling more kicking and the docs were like, "Well, there must be a third in there." At that point I really started flipping out. And then I woke up (thank goodness!). And now I'm thinking, it's pretty funny, but I bet Krew was tumbling and kicking me while I was sleeping, and that's why in my dreams I kept feeling kicking after the babies were born. His kicks have yet to fully wake me up, but apparently they're making their appearances in my dreams!

Lets see, what else. My first baby shower is in Charlotte in a little over a week, and I'm pretty excited. I'll definitely give an update on how it goes. Also, I made a simple bedskirt for under Krew's crib last night. That way I can use the underneath area for storage. I'll have to take pics and share. :)

Oh, this past week I thought I was getting my first stretch mark. This pink line all of a sudden appeared on my skin and refused to go away. I was certain it was going to get worse and become stretch mark numero uno. I even showed my friend Sasi at work, and she agreed, "Yep, that's how they start!" Then, after a couple days, it just completely disappeared. I have no idea what it was. I keep lifting up my belly to see if it's making a reappearance, but no sign of it yet. God apparently wants to bless me with a little more time of stretch-mark-free bliss.

I guess the other thing that's really standing out to me about pregnancy right now is the number of Braxton Hicks contractions I get. I seriously get them ALL the time. ALL day long. Sometimes they even make me catch my breath a little because my whole midsection squeezes up so tightly. My mom said she had a lot of these during her pregnancies, too, so it might just be a family thing. They really feel crazy though. Not very comfortable at all.

Alright here's a picture of me and a corresponding diagram so you can see what's going on in my belly right now. :)

Yes, that's right, that baby is huge!!  I just can't believe God expects me to carry this child in my abdomen for 2 more months while he gets BIGGER.  Clearly, God's ways are not my own. (See Isaiah 55:8-9.)

Here is the info from all the pregnancy updates I get.  Read and enjoy.

*He weighs 3 to 5 lbs (4 lbs seems to be average) and is 16 to 19 inches in length (head to foot).

*He's entering a growth spurt. For the next eight weeks, he'll gain weight faster than he increases in length, at the rate of about half a pound a week. His appearance is similar to that at birth, but he will fill out more.

*He is beginning to develop his own immunity to mild infections. If he were born now, he could survive outside the womb and resist some disease.

*Your baby's appearance changes rapidly this week. Most of the wrinkles disappear from his face, and there may be a lot of hair on his head. In fact as the lanugo hair on his body begins to fall off, the hair on his head grows even faster. By week 32 some babies already have a thick head of hair while others have only a few strands.

*Your baby sleeps approximately 90 to 95 percent of the day now. (I would have never guess this.)

*Your blood volume has increased by 40% to 50% during the past 32 weeks. This allows your body to accommodate both you and your baby. This increased volume is also important because it makes up for the amount of blood you will lose during delivery. (Um, ok, scary.)

*You've probably gained about 3 to 4 pounds this month. Don't be alarmed—gaining a pound a week is quite normal during the last trimester because your baby's demand for nourishment increases as the baby experiences the final growth spurt before birth.

*Are you waddling? This is because the ligaments in your pelvis have softened, allowing your hips to spread in preparation for birth.

*As the skin on your belly expands, you may notice numb spots or highly sensitive areas on your upper abdomen or rib cage. (Oh yes.) This is because as your skin stretches, the nerve fibers in it stretch too. This can create extremely sensitive or insensitive areas on the skin, but this sensation will cease once your baby arrives. (Thank goodness.)

That's all for this week!  Happy New Year everyone!

30 weeks 4 days

Krewson continues to grow and grow!

I went in for my 30 week checkup yesterday, and everything looked good.  When the doc listened for his heart beat, the strongest signal was in my lower-left abdomen.  I asked her if she could tell which way Krew was laying, and she said she was pretty sure he was head-down already, with with his back curved on the left side of my body.  She said the bump I've been feeling in my upper abdomen is probably his butt.  So cute. :)

She also said my uterus is measuring almost 2 centimeters larger than average at this point.  Apparently they'll keep a watch on it, and if I continue to measure large a little later in the pregnancy then they'll do an ultrasound to make sure he's not getting too big.  She didn't say what comes after that, but I'm assuming that if he does look like he's getting too big then they'll induce me early.  Which would just be crazy.  You always focus on that 40-week mark and assume that's the end, but in reality you have no clue.  It could definitely be earlier, and I need to keep that in mind! :)

In the meantime, as long as he's healthy and growing then I'm content. :)

Here's my 30 1/2 week pic:

And here's what the baby websites have to say about Krew this week:

He's about 16 inches long head-to-foot and weighs about 3 lbs.

From this week on, your baby will continue to gain around 1/2 pound a week until shortly before birth. So he will gain about two pounds this next month. (Remember the average size of a newborn is about 7 ½ pounds and 19 to 21 inches long.)

Chances are your diaphragm is feeling a little cramped these days. Okay, a lot cramped. That's because your uterus is pushing up against it, crowding your lungs and making it more difficult for them to expand fully. The result: Your body is spare on air, and will be until your baby drops near the end of pregnancy in preparation for birth. Your baby, however, is happy as a clam since he gets all the oxygen he needs through the placenta.

He now almost fills up your entire uterine cavity and his arms and legs have grown much plumper, thanks to the continued growth of subcutaneous fat.  Your abdomen may be aching as it swells and your rib cage and pelvis may be sore as the baby gets bigger and fills up all the space you have available. It's a wonderful thing that your baby is growing so well, but it may not feel that way. You will find yourself with lots of aches and pains from the pressure and the decreased amount of room in your abdomen.

If you are feeling uncomfortable sitting, try to be more aware of your posture.  As your baby is becoming bigger and bigger by the week, you will find yourself slouching more.  Trying to maintain proper posture will help relieve some pain.

He's now processing information, tracking light, and perceiving signals from all five senses.

He's also putting in longer stretches of sleep, which is why you're probably noticing more defined patterns of awake (and moving) periods and sleeping (pretty still) periods.

Some babies suck their thumbs so vigorously while in the womb that they're born with a callus on their thumb.

Until next week!  Merry Christmas!

29 weeks 4 days

29 weeks and 3 days! Whoo hoo!!

Here's a pic of how I look this week:


What the pregnancy email updates have to say about Krewson this week:

He is about 15 inches head to toe and weighs about 3 lbs.

Space is getting really tight for the baby. He will have his knees tucked up to his chest now all the time in the 'fetal position'.

All 300 bones in the little one's body are present and accounted for now, though some of them will fuse after birth, leaving a grand, lifetime total of 206.

Your baby is now able to hear your voice and the voices of other family members and even make a distinction.

Much of the lanugo — the soft, downy hair covering your baby's body — is beginning to disappear now because both fat and the brain are regulating your baby's body temperature (so no need for that furry coat anymore).

He is able to use all five of his senses, hearing sounds and seeing bright lights in his mother's environment, and tasting, touching, and even smelling the amniotic fluid surrounding him.

His toenails have grown and are completely formed.

Lately I've been paying a lot of attention to his position.  He tends to keep his back on the right side of my belly and then I can feel his kicks and flutters from his hands on the left side.  I can't figure out if his head or butt is at the top of my belly, but whichever it is, I love to play with it and push it side to side. (I'm sure he just loves that, haha.)

I'm really having a pretty easy pregnancy right now. My biggest annoyance is probably the rib pain I get several times a day.  You'll regularly see me trying to stretch my body out so my uterus stops jabbing into my ribcage.  It can be quite painful!

I thought I'd share some pics of the nursery...it's definitely coming along. :)  We are in the process of ordering vinyl sticky paper so Dave can put a design on the wall behind the baby's crib, and I'm thinking of ideas for images/words I'd like to frame and hang.  We also need to put the handles back on the dresser and I have to get all the baby clothes and supplies organized.

As you can see, the color of the room looks quite different depending on the lighting.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the baby clothes are definitely stressing me out.  Just to give you an idea, here are some pictures of what I have to go through:

A completely full hamper.


A pile in the crib.


A pile on the edge of the crib.


An additional pile in the closet, with some outfits already hung.

And I haven't even had a baby shower yet!!! I am very blessed, I know, but the amount of clothes we have already is just craaaaaazy. I am pretty excited to dress my baby in all of them, though. :)

28 weeks 6 days

I'm trying take a weekly picture at this point since my belly seems to be growing so rapidly. So here is a picture at 28 weeks 6 days:

And here is an image to give you an idea of what Krewson looks like in there:

Yup he's getting big!!

28 weeks 3 days

The third trimester has begun!! I am now 28 weeks and 3 days pregnant. Crazy.

I had my 28-week checkup this morning. I ran through the bagillion things that have gone wrong with my body over the last month (random stabbing and cramping pain after urinating, pelvic/groin pain, sudden severe UTI last Friday night...) and the doc seemed less than concerned with all of it. So I guess things are just fine. :) I also gave blood for my glucose tolerance test...prayers that my slice of toast and cup of cottage cheese this morning didn't mess it up, because I sure don't want to go back for a 3-hour exam. (And just for the record, the doc's office told me to eat a normal breakfast...but I still have this fear that it is going to mess up my glucose levels somehow and then I'm going to be stuck there with them sticking needles in me every 10 minutes for 3 hours.)

My uterus is measuring 28 cm now, which is right on target. And Krewson is wriggling around like crazy. The doc seemed somewhat surprised by how much movement he was making during the exam. She made several comments about what an active baby he was. As she was trying to listen to his heartbeat, my stomach was bumping all over. After her remarks, I felt a twinge of pride in my unborn child...like it's my first glimpse of his personality, ya know? Of course I may not feel so joyful about his never-ending energy when he's mobile and ripping our house to shreds. But for now I will cherish it. :)

On another note, Dave and I finally got the baby room painted this past weekend. We also put up the valance that my mom made and put on the cushion covers for the glider, and I really like how the room is looking. :) I will have to take pictures and share. Dave is in the process of selecting supplies from online so he can make his design on the wall behind the crib. I can't wait to see the finished product.

Speaking of baby rooms...for any of you moms out there...any suggestions on how to sort baby clothes? I've got a dresser and a closet. And no idea what to put where. Every time I go in to organize it, I get frustrated after about 5 minutes and have to leave the room. And this isn't normal for me. I'm normally quite the efficient organizer. But these baby clothes have me stumped. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. :)

And for anyone interested in Krewson's growth stats, the baby websites say that at this point he is probably around 15 inches long head-to-toe and weighs around 2.5 lbs. Pull out a tape measure and check it out. He's getting big!

27 weeks 5 days

Here's a pic of me at 27 weeks, 5 days:



:)

27 weeks 4 days

Today Krew and I played together for the first time. :) 

He had some body part (I don't know what it was) shoved into my upper belly.  So I pushed on it.  And he moved it to the left.  So I pushed on it again.  And he moved it to the right.  Then I pushed on it again.  He moved it further to the right.  I pushed again, and he moved it away for a second then surprised me with a bump lower in my stomach. 

He apparently got tired of the game because the body part is now MIA.

It was entertaining while it lasted. :)

27 weeks 3 days

Krewson's recent developments (according to all the online info I read):

*He now has his eyes open, blinks, and responds to light.
*His lungs are developed enough now that if born, with intensive care, he'd have a very high chance of surviving, with a 50% chance of not having any serious long-term complications.
*He weighs over 2 lbs and is 14-16 inches head-to-toe.
*While sleeping, he goes through the same sleep stages that we do.
*Within the last couple of days, he's begun jutting his butt into my upper abdomen on a regular basis. Then I'll feel little jabs somewhat nearby, which I'm assuming are him kicking his legs. My belly continues to visibly bump and move all over the place. It also continues to entertain me during work meetings.

We went to Indiana last week and received a ton of cute clothes for Krew from my parents, my grandparents, and my friend Jessica.  Krew's wardrobe will not be lacking. :) My mom also made the valance and chair cushion covers for his room, which look great.  Once we get the room painted, I'll share pictures.

Alright that's about it for now.  :)

25 weeks 3 days

Things are going well on the pregnancy front these days.  Dave has been busy painting all of the nursery furniture, which is coming along nicely.  I took "before" pics and will share everything after it's all done.  I'm pretty excited to be putting the nursery together.  And a little anxious.  Just around 3 1/2 months to go!

Here are some tidbits I've collected this week from the various pregnancy update resources I have:

*Feel like you're carrying the Karate Kid with all the kicking going on? Your baby is actually practicing all kinds of movements that will eventually be used in life on the outside — including pedaling against your belly, a sort of prewalking skill. (I've been feeling this lately! It's crazy! When I lay down at night on my side, it feels like he's "running" against the side of my body.  In a location I didn't think he'd be able to reach.  Very crazy indeed.)

*Your baby measures about 9.2 inches from crown to rump and weighs almost 2 pounds now. Its hearing is fully developed. As the fetus reacts to sounds, its pulse increases. Your baby will even move in rhythm to music.  (Awesome, I want to feel my baby dance!)

*During the remainder of your pregnancy you will grow about a ½ inch per week. If you have been watching your weight throughout your pregnancy and have been sticking to a balanced diet, your weight gain should be between 16 and 22 pounds.

*About 4 out of 10 babies born now may survive (with intensive care ervices). 

*Look who's looking. Your baby's eyes — which have been closed for the past few months (so that the retina, the part of the eye that allows images to come into focus, could develop) — are beginning to open.  What this means is that your baby is able to see what's going on now (unfortunately the view in your uterus isn't all that exciting). But do try this at home for kicks (baby's that is): Shine a flashlight at your stomach. Your baby might kick in response (as in: "Get that light out of my eyes!").  (I read somewhere that this could hurt the baby's eyes, so I think I'll resist.)

Krewson has definitely been keeping me entertained lately with all his movement.  In fact, yesterday I was sitting in a work meeting when I felt him start to go crazy.  I looked down, and it looked like there were fireworks going off inside my belly.  It was bumping and bulging all over the place.  I started to get embarrassed, so I tried laying my arm over my belly to hide it.  No use.  My arm started bumping all over the place.  I didn't know what to do, so I just kinda tried to look around and pretend nothing was happening.  It was actually quite humorous and it took a lot of self-control to keep my face straight.  And now, even as I write this, I look down and you can see my belly wiggling all over.  It's so amazing.  I wonder what he's doing in there.

It also amazes me when I feel all the places he can reach now.  Sometimes I will feel his movement way down near my pubic bone and other times it will be up near my lungs.  I'm also feeling on my left and right sides, like all the way over at where you bend when you bend straight to the side.  It makes me wonder where all my internal organs are currently hanging out.

In terms of pregnancy pain, I'd say my biggest complaint is that my sciatic nerve appears to be pinched and so I have constant tension above my right butt cheek.  It feels like I need to crack my back or something, but nothing removes the pain.  Sometimes if I stand or sit wrong, it will shoot pains all through my back, so I have to be careful about not making any movements that are too quick.  I asked the doc about it and he said there's not much I can do other than Tylenol and a heating a pad.  So I will just deal.

I also appear to have a mild case of diastasis recti, in which my abs have separated.  When I flex my stomach a certain way (which happens to be the way most people get up from laying down, roll over, etc.), my stomach forms a triangular shape when you look down from above.  When I'm flexing, you can stick a couple fingers between the two hard halves of my abs in the area around my belly button and it's complete mush in the middle. It's somewhat freakish.  I've read online that if I do the type of movements that cause the triangular shape, it can actually make it worse.  The link I provided above ("diastasis recti") gives the following precautions:

Avoid all activities that place stress on the midline, that stretch or overly expand the abdominal wall through everyday activities, exercise or inhalation techniques.

Some Types of Movement to Avoid
•Movements where the upper body twists and the arm on that side reaches backward, such as during a tennis serve.
•Exercises that require lying backward over a large exercise ball.
•Yoga postures that stretch the abs, such as “cow pose,” “up-dog,” all backbends, and “belly breathing.”
•Most traditional abdominal exercises that work the exterior abdominal muscles, such as crunches and oblique curls.
•All exercises that cause your abdominal wall to bulge out upon exertion.
•Rising from a supine position by rolling up and twisting at the same time. Instead, roll first onto your side, and then use your arms to help push yourself up to a sitting position.
•Lifting and carrying very heavy objects.
•Intense coughing while your muscles are unsupported.

So, um, that leaves me with about two abdominal exercises I can do.  Awesome.  In the meantime, it's pretty entertaining to show my friends the triangle on my belly and offer them the opportunity to feel the giant gap between my ab muscles.  You can feel straight to my insides...I suppose you'd be hitting the uterus. I just hope it doesn't start bulging out like they've said it can.  I don't want a perma-triangle preggo belly.

Alright, well, to finish off the post, here is a pic of me at 25 1/2 weeks, and also a diagram showing what my insides supposedly look like right now.  Enjoy. :)

24 weeks 5 days

I think Dave and I found a daycare!!  I am so relieved.  We just went and checked it out this morning.  It's called Kiddie Garden, and it's run by a couple mothers who decided to open a small personal child care service.  They rent a townhome exclusively for the daycare and have designated rooms for different child age groups.  It's just a bit out of the way for Dave on his way to work, and actually could be on the way to work for me too if I didn't mind going that way. (The interstate in that direction gets very backed up and can add 10-30 minutes to my trip depending on the morning.)  It definitely wasn't a giant, fancy, brand-new, gleaming day care, but it was comfortable and personal.  I really liked the lady who would be taking care of Krewson, and the place seemed very safe and sanitary.  They follow all of North Carolina's daycare regulations, and they're CPR-certified.  There are usually only a couple infants there each day, and it seems like they get a lot of personal attention.  And most of all, the cost is over $450 cheaper per month than where we thought we might be taking Krew.  What a relief.  All we have to do is put down a $50 deposit and we have a spot secured.

Thanks so much to Breanne for letting me in on this little Kiddie Garden secret.  And thank God for answered prayers. :)  Now Dave and I can have a little bit of breathing room with our finances!

24 weeks 4 days

Well I'm over 6 months pregnant now!  How crazy is that. :)  I had my 24-week prenatal appointment yesterday and everything was fine.  Krew started moving around during the dopplar, and we had trouble hearing his heart because all we heard was the "swoosh swoosh gurgle" of his movements. He settled down after a bit and the doc got a good listen.  After my next appointment, I start going to the doctor every two weeks.  It makes me excited, because that means we're on the definite home stretch. :)

Our friends Emily and Sion are due to have their baby girl tomorrow!!  Last I talked to Emily (this morning) there was no word of Ellie making her appearance, but I know that Sion and Emily are quite anxious. :)  I can't wait, either!  Here's a pic of me and Emily this past weekend...her at 9 1/2 months, me at 6 months.

Some information on Besido Krewson's latest developments, based on various sources:

* He's about a foot long head to foot and about 1 1/2 lbs.  (I'm thinking our Besido might be a bit bigger than that. My uterus yesterday measured 26 cm, which is 2 cm bigger than average.)

* He may put on as much as 6 ounces this week. That is 1/3 of his total body weight. That is comparable to a 130 lb. woman gaining 43 pounds in one week!  (Pretty impressive.)

* The lungs are gaining blood vessels now, preparing them for taking over the task of getting oxygen into the blood stream.

* He is working out his own waking and sleeping periods, and they won't always coincide with yours. That explains the tap dance routine at 2 am.  (Ah, yes.)

* Unborn babies respond to music, so go ahead and expose yours to lots of different types. See which ones your baby likes the best. (I think we're set in that department...he's been listening to music for quite some time now.)

I also wanted to share some pics of some items friends/family have purchased for us lately.

First, there's the little onesie that Jaclyn got me from Target.  (You can read about that shopping trip here: 22 weeks 4 days.)


Isn't it so cute??

Then, while we were in Florida for Dave's ultimate frisbee nationals, my grandma gave us two more outfits.


So sweet.  I like the hat. :)

Finally, my friend Vanessa (you can check out her blog over at Blue Ridge Baby) made us a little cap to keep Krew's head from getting cold.  She knitted it herself, which is pretty impressive. :)



Thanks so much to everyone for all the gifts!!

I've also made some personal purchases for Krew as I've seen things on sale online.  I'll have to share those in a future post. :)

23 weeks 3 days

I'm thinking that our little Besido is going through a crazy-fast growth spurt right now.  Nothing about my midsection feels normal.  In fact, sometimes it downright hurts.  My skin feels like it might snap from how tightly it's stretched, I'm finding it hard to breathe, and I'm also getting rib pain.  (I looked this up online, and apparently it's normal despite the fact that none of my reading forewarned me it might happen.  Check out the article here.)  And you know that feeling you get when you've eaten way too much and you feel like you might explode and you just can't wait for some of your food to digest so the pressure goes away??  Yeah, well, apparently pregnancy feels like that 24/7.  At least for me.  Who would have known. 

Top that off with plantar fasciitis in my left foot (I guess due to feet expanding, extra weight, etc.?), nightly heel pain, daily swelling in both feet, indigestion, acid reflux, back pain, and difficulty bending over or getting up from the floor or laying down, and you've got yourself one officially-pregnant Kara.  Whoo hoo.

Is it worth it?  You bet.  Am I enjoying it?  Eh...not-so-much.  At least not right now.  Maybe I just need some more time to adjust.

It is pretty cool, though, how much I can feel now.  Today I felt actual body parts, not just a kick or a bump or hiccups.  Like I put my hand on my belly and felt something hard underneath, and then the hard thing moved across my hand.  It just about made me squeel out loud.  It is sooooooo weird.

Oh and I had read that the baby can startle from a loud noise, but I hadn't experienced it yet.  Then, this morning, I started the coffee grinder, and all of a sudden little Krew started kicking and wiggling like nothing else.  It made me smile. :)

I've now gained between 7 and 8 inches in my waist at my belly button.  That doesn't sound like much, so maybe a picture would be a better representation. :)  Here is my 23 1/2 week belly:

Quite the change from below, at 7 weeks!!

And it's going to just keep getting bigger...

22 weeks 4 days

Krewson has started getting hiccups almost daily, and I love it. There's this rhythmic "bump bump bump" that I can even feel from the outside by pressing my hand on my belly. It's so awesome. I just read about them in a pregnancy email I get, which helped confirm that that's what I'm feeling. :)

"Have you felt a light, repetitive thump thump thump in your belly yet? Soon you may feel the odd sensation of your baby having hiccups. When babies swallow a little amniotic fluid, they sometimes get hiccups as a reflex. Some babies hiccup a lot during the second and third trimesters, often daily, while others do so only once in a while. Both are normal, and a charming reminder that yes, there really is a baby in there."

It was funny the other day...I think he had hiccups, and so I was pressing my hand on the left side of my belly to feel all the bumps.  Then suddenly I felt a kick on the complete other side of my belly.  It caught me off guard...it's amazing how big he is getting!

The other thing I really enjoyed reading this week was the following:

"Unborn babies at this stage typically like to lie in a transverse position (or crossways inside your belly), with their feet and bottom on one side, and their head on the other side. Your baby's placenta is now processing about 1 litre of blood per hour (or 50 pints every 24 hours) and by 40 weeks this increases to about 12 litres per hour (600 pints in 24 hours)."

I love having a general idea of how he's laying in my belly.  The transverse position explains why I felt hiccups on one side of my belly and the kick on the other. :)

Pregnancy symptoms are really going pretty well.  I get swelling in my feet and ankles at night, which stinks, but hasn't really caused any pain yet.  I do have to be careful to not wear tight shoes or socks.  I also get horrible heel pain...my heels throb at night.  I have to wear slippers or crocs around the house any time I'm on my feet.

I guess the other news is that my belly has expanded to the point where I'm nervous about wearing my pre-pregnancy shirts.  I'm scared that I'm going to stretch them and then not like the way they fit after the baby is born.  So, I'm doing my best to switch to wearing all maternity clothes (unless I have pre-pregnancy clothes that don't get too stretched when I wear them).

Oh, also, my friends Jaclyn, Ashley, and Michelle visited this past weekend, and they brought a baby gift for me and Dave...a movement and sound baby monitor!!  I was so excited to open the gift...the movement monitor is something I wanted but didn't want to have to purchase on my own.  In case you're not familiar with them, the movement monitors sense baby movement, including breathing.  If all movement stops for 20 seconds or more, an alarm sounds.  So, essentially, it alarms you if your baby stops breathing.  This helps limit the number of times you run into the nursery and quietly stare at your baby until you see his chest rising and falling (which I can envision myself doing quite a bit).  This particular model also has a sound monitor, which works like any other baby sound monitor.  I'm pretty psyched about the gift. :)

Also, while us girls were shopping (which we did a LOT of!), Jaclyn and I fell in love with this one particular baby boy long-sleeved onesie. After arguing with myself for quite some time, I decided that I shouldn't spend any more money on baby clothes right now.  Well, Jaclyn couldn't handle walking away from the onesie, so she went back and grabbed it and bought it for Krew.  It was sweet. :)  I'll have to show a pic of it in another post, since I haven't had a chance to take a picture of it.

Alright, well, Dave and I are flying down to Florida tonight for his ultimate frisbee nationals, so I probably won't be doing any more posts until next week.

God bless!

21 weeks 4 days

Last night Debbie gave us an adorable stuffed animal alligator for Krewson that she picked up at Ikea.  It totally fits our personalities...Dave and I think it's great.  And it makes us giggle, hehe. 


Dave said we had to put the alligator on a pillow "like he is hunting" (???). Haha, um....ok, hunny. :) So here is the "hunting" alligator. :)



Isn't it so cute?? And the colors will go well with what we're doing in the nursery. :)

Thanks for the gift Debbie!

21 weeks 3 days

Krewson now weighs about a pound!! He has hair and eyelashes and can hear our voices. And if I poke my stomach to wake him up, he'll often respond with a kick. It's fun being able to somewhat interact. :) He also loves to bounce around while I'm eating, which is entertaining.

Last Tuesday night I felt my first kick above my belly button, and it really threw me off. I had NO idea he was taking up that much of my abdomen already!! But sure enough, I pulled out a ruler and measured the length that the doctor said my uterus was measuring right now, and it went to about an inch and a half above my belly button. Crazy!

Here's a little tidbit I read about the umbilical chord a bit ago and found interesting: "The umbilical cord is so well engineered that the blood stream travels at four miles an hour and completes the round-trip through the cord and through the baby in only thirty seconds."  Pretty impressive, huh?   I love learning things that they don't tell you in all the normal pregnancy books. :)

Other than that, I guess the big news lately is that Dave and I purchased the mother of all strollers...a Bugaboo.  Dave found it in the Charlotte Craigslist listings.  I was pretty against buying it at first, but he talked the seller down on the price quite a bit to the point where it was hard to turn down.  Plus they had purchased a bunch of extra amenities that were included with the price.  Dave was itching for a nice stroller anyway, so I gave in.  We'll see what I think.  The stroller is apparently supposed to do just about everything.  You can read about it here: http://www.babygizmo.com/news/bugaboo.php.

To finish out my update, here are a couple pictures (and slightly different angles) of my current baby belly.  Enjoy. :)

20 weeks 3 days

I finally took the time to take pictures of all the clothes I got in my $30 tub off of Craigslist.


This is all the clothes I got in the tub.  You can see them in batches below. (Click on the pictures to see a more close-up image.) :)












Isn't that a crazy amount of clothes?

We also received some cute baby items from some friends of ours, including clothes, toys, and baby towels, which was greatly appreciated.  You can see them below. 


On another note, I wanted to share the state of my disappearing belly button.  As you can see below, it's getting pretty flat!!



My view. :)

And finally, a tidbit I read today that I found interesting:

"Now that his digestive system is fairly sophisticated, your little one can swallow amniotic fluid, which makes for a surprisingly nutritious drink that helps fatten him up. The steady fat gain will help keep him warm, while the act of swallowing preps his digestive system for the hard work it will do once he's born. He can taste what he ingests, thanks to taste buds that have developed on his tongue."

So cool. :)

19 weeks 6 days

Last night I purchased a 20-gallon tub of baby boy clothes off of Craigslist for $30, and holy jackpot.  Krewson is set.  Talk about bagillions of little onesies and outfits and sleepers.  Ages 0 through 6 months, and most of them in great condition, too.  (There were a few I put in my Goodwill pile due to stains.)  There were even some cute overalls and pants in there.  And a couple caps and bibs.  It took me three whole loads of laundry to get through them all. Crazy!!

I also purchased a Bumbo off of Craigslist last night.  For any of you who are now wondering what a Bumbo is, let me enlighten you:

This, my friends, is a Bumbo.  You stick your baby in it so he can sit on his own once he can hold his head up.  Parents rave about them...I guess babies really like them because they can sit propped up and see all around. Hopefully Krewson will share in the enthusiasm. :)

19 weeks 5 days

I made my first clothing purchase for Krewson last night.  Ever since we found out he's a boy, I've found myself wandering into the little boys' section in every store and digging through the clearance clothes.  We've got to start somewhere!

Last night I saw this adorable little newborn onesie with a hippopotamus on it for $2.  Then I found matching little brown sweats for $2 also.  I couldn't resist...had to make the purchase. :)


You can't tell from the picture, but the outfit is so itty-bitty!!


I like the hippo. :)

19 weeks 4 days

Dave got to feel Besido Krewson move two days ago!!! I was so excited. :)  It's nice to get to share the feelings with my hubby!! We were watching a movie together when I felt the baby start to wiggle, so I told Dave where to put his hand.  Krew gave him a couple good kicks.  It was great!

On a separate note, today we purchased our car seat for Krewson from Albee Baby.  After a lot of researching and reading, we decided we preferred the Graco SnugRide in Milan.  I found it on sale on Albee Baby, and after much discussion, we decided it'd be best to just go ahead and purchase it.  I can't wait for it to come in the mail! (Although I'm not quite sure what I'll do once it arrives...stare at it?)

Here's a picture if you're interested:

19 weeks 2 days

I felt the baby move from the outside for the first time yesterday!  I was sitting down in the morning when I felt him start to wiggle, so I stuck my hand on my belly.  Within a few seconds, I felt a couple bumps on the palm of my hand.  It was so exciting!!!  I can't wait until Dave gets to feel him.  It's so surreal.

He's been quite the squirmy baby lately.  I feel him quite often now.  In fact, on Saturday as I was driving to Charlotte, he was twisting his body in some crazy way that kept putting a really weird pressure on my bladder.  I didn't even need to use the restroom, but I was sooo uncomfortable!  I have no doubt it's only going to get worse.  But at least it's so exciting and comforting to feel him. :)


Here are a few tidbits I picked up from various websites:

**This week, eyebrows and head hair are growing.

**The baby now sleeps and wakes at about the same ratio as a newborn, which is approximately 6 hours awake and 18 or so hours asleep per day. When the baby sleeps, it characteristically settles into its favorite position or 'lie.' Some babies always sleep with their chins resting on the chest, while others tilt their heads back.

**From week 14 to week 22, the placenta weighs as much as, if not more than, the baby because it must deal with the metabolic processes of nutrition. The fetal organs are not yet sufficiently mature to process food.

**Generally, the baby will be born about 147 days (plus or minus 15 days) from the time the mother first feels the baby move. (This puts the baby's birth at February 10th, plus or minus 15 days.   So from January 31st to March 2nd.  I sure hope he doesn't come on January 31st!! That's too early!!  He needs some fat on those bones!!)


And, finally, I wanted to share the most recent additions to our ever-growing collection of baby supplies:


We purchased this changing table off of Craigslist for $40, and it came with the pad and three Pottery Barn pad covers (pink, green, and blue).  We're going to paint it to match the crib. (You can see the crib here.) I think (hope) the curved design of the sides will help it blend with the crib. :)


This is a bouncy seat my mom and dad are letting us borrow. I think it's pretty cute. :) It also lights up, vibrates, responds to the baby's movements, and plays non-annoying sounds (score!). Pretty cool. :)


And finally, here is a swing to match the bouncy seat, also being lent by my parents. Once again, a very-much-appreciated item!! I've heard swings can be great lifesavers.

Our collection is coming along!!  Dave and I are going window-shopping tonight to figure out what type of stroller/carseat combo we want.  (Travel system or separate items?  What brand?  How much do we want to spend?  What are important features??)  I'm kind of excited to go. :)

18 weeks 6 days

Man I'm excited for this little stinker to be born now.  Like I'm really psyched about it.  I just can't wait. :)

But since I have to wait, I thought I'd share a few pregnancy tidbits from www.welcomebabyhome.com:

**Your total weight gain at this point is between 8 and 14 pounds. Of this weight, only about 7 oz is your baby. The placenta weighs about 6 oz, the amniotic sac weighs another 11 oz. The uterus weighs 11 oz; your breasts have increased in weight by about 6½ oz each. The rest of the weight you have gained is your increased blood volume and other maternal stores. Your heart is working twice as hard as it did during your pre-pregnancy days due to your vital organs increased needs for blood. Your uterus and skin need twice as much blood as they did before you became pregnant and your kidneys need 25 percent more.**  (My weight gain is probably around 8-10 lbs at this point, depending on what time of day you measure it.)

**Your waste system is working doubly hard and that includes your sweat glands. Progesterone will increase your sensitivity to CO2. Your body responds by working harder to expel CO2 from your system and so your rate of respiration increases.** (And yes I do sweat a lot now!!)

**Your body is retaining more fluid and that means more weight to lug around. The volume of your blood increases by around 40%. The increase in blood volume can be more from blood plasma than from red blood cells. Feelings of tiredness can be attributed to pregnancy anemia known as physiological anemia. You will need more red blood cells to maintain your hemoglobin levels and for that you require sufficient iron.**  (Ooooh.  Interesting.)

**Lower blood pressure is very common during pregnancy. This is the result of your heart having to pump larger volumes of blood each minute to keep up the extra demand on your body. Dilatation of blood vessels causes the lower BP.**  (Yup, I got the low blood pressure.  105/53 when I was sick, about 2 hours after nearly passing out.  I wonder what it was when I almost passed out!)

18 weeks 5 days

Well, now that we know Besido is a boy, I guess we can start calling him by his real name...Krewson. :)  Dave had picked this name out for his son long ago, probably before we were married.  It's his mom's maiden name.  I was happy to comply, as I think it's a pretty cool name.  We're going to use Krew for short. The middle name is still to be decided on.  We're having a hard time finding something that flows the way we want.  I'll let you know when a decision is made. :)

Yesterday at the doc's office, I weighed myself while we were waiting to be called back for the ultrasound.  I've been ravenous lately, so I was a little nervous about what I might see on the scale.  To my shock, I hadn't gained any weight since my last appt.  Nothing in two weeks.  I'm like, "Holy cow, where has everything I've been eating been going???"  The only thing I can come up with is that our little boy requires an insane amount of food.  Just today, I had a giant glass of milk and a piece of high fiber toast in the morning.  By 10 am my stomach was growling horribly (and I was actually hungry far before that).  So I ate another piece of high-fiber toast with peanut butter.  Still hungry.  So I ate another piece of high-fiber toast with peanut butter.  Still hungry.  I'm like, this is ridiculous.  I'd been drinking tons of fluids all along, too.  I didn't let myself eat anything else until 11am, at which point I gave in and pulled out some soup and chips and salsa.   I'm eating these items slowly, hoping they'll last me a little longer than the bread.  I'm about halfway through the bowl of soup and I think my stomach is finally starting to feel full (which will last for about, oh, 5 minutes).  At least I'll feel satiated for a short while.

On another note, this pregnancy also appears to be killing my teeth.  I'd heard that women tend to start getting more cavities when they're pregnant, but I never worried about it happening to me.  Until I went to the dentist on Tuesday because of tooth pains.  Lo and behold, I have two, possibly three, teeth that need fillings.  I'm not exactly thrilled about this.  I barely ever get cavities.  I had one when I was really little, like third grade, and then I had a bunch at once when I was older because my sealants on my molars leaked (which means the cavities were unavoidable and had nothing to do with my personal hygiene or brushing habits).  So I wasn't sure whether to be disappointed in myself or not when I found out on Tuesday that they need to drill into my head in several places.  I think I'm going to vote no, that I shouldn't blame myself.  If anything, I've been healthier lately in regards to my teeth.  Less sugar, less coffee, stringent brushing.  So I think I'll blame the pregnancy.  Yay for raging hormones and a baby sucking all the calcium out of your body.  Pregnancy is AWESOME!!!

But really, now that I've seen Krew and we know his gender, I feel like I can identify with him more.  He's more real now.  And now I just want him to come out and be born.  I want to see him again and hold him.  I feel like 5 months is forever to wait.  I'm sure it will fly by, because there is tons to do before then, but man I wish it was closer.  If anything, I wish I could go have an ultrasound every week so I could look at him and watch him grow.  It's like you get this little peak at what's coming, then you just have to wait.  And wait.  You have a baby, but he's unreachable, because he's stuck inside of you.  How bizarre is that.

At least I have his kicks to give me a little pick-me-up.  They're getting stronger and more frequent now.  Definitely not all the time, but I usually feel him at least once or twice a day.  Sometimes there will be a whole series of kicks and I get really excited.  He's actually quite the active kid.  He was moving all around during the ultrasound, making it hard for the technician to get good pictures.  So once he's stronger, I'll probably be feeling a lot of movement.  Which will probably be fine with me. :)

18 weeks 4 days ultrasound

Say hello to our little...



boy!!! :)



From the front, looking at his face and little belly.


From the side, he has his legs pulled up in front of him.


His little feet. (So adorable!!)


Scary pic of his eyeball. I think he has Dave's eyes, hehe.


A picture from the front again, showing his heartbeat (~148 bpm).


And the moment we were all waiting for...looking at his rump and legs from the bottom, with his little goods floating in between. :)

 Everything checked out healthy.  All his organs were in place, he was a good size.  The technician said he might be a little above average, with a head-to-butt length of around 6 inches.

So there's our baby for you. :)