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 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. :)

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!

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 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. :)

16 weeks 3 days

I had my 16-week appointment today, and it went well. :)

The doc said my uterus was measuring right in line with what would be expected for this time...it was about 16 cm long.  (Supposedly the number of centimeters should approximately match up with the number of weeks pregnant you are.)  I got to hear Besido's heartbeat, and it was just beating away.  The doc said it sounded very good, and she said she thinks Besido is a girl.  I asked why, and she said because the heartbeat is faster, between 160 and 170.  I had read online that some people claim that girls have faster heartbeats, but I was surprised to have the doc suggest the same.  In any case, I was just very happy to hear a healthy heartbeat and hear that Besido is growing well. :)

The doc asked if I still wanted to opt out of the screening procedures for abnormalities such as down syndrome, and I said yes.  There is no way that Dave and I would be willing to abort the baby, no matter the results, so I didn't see the point of getting the tests done.  But then I asked if any of the findings could be fixed.  She said the only thing would be that if I showed positive for spina bifida, then they would do a planned c-section and be prepared to do surgery on the baby immediately after birth.  Well, I definitely preferred that over not being prepared.  I asked how they would do the screening and if it would cost me any money, and she said they would just do a blood test and that insurance would cover it.  So I decided to have them do that screening, only.  I'm really not concerned, I assume Besido is fine, but if it was free and safer for Besido, I thought it'd be best.  So I let them stick me and take some blood.

The other exciting news was that the doc said I could come back in two weeks for my ultrasound instead of waiting for my next appointment in four weeks.  I was pretty psyched.  That means we can find out Besido's gender in just two weeks!!  (That is, of course, as long as he/she doesn't sit with his/her legs crossed the whole time.)  So mark your calendars for September 30th...it'll be a big day. :)

*********
Update to this post:

About 5 minutes ago, just about 30 minutes after I wrote this initial post, I felt the baby move!!!  I was in Kristin's office talking to her and her boss, Jessica, and all of a sudden I felt this little bump-bump across my lower belly.  I looked down and sure enough, it was right where my uterus would be.  I completely interrupted their conversation and was like, "Oh my gosh!! I think I just felt the baby move!!!!!!!"  I described it to Jessica, and she was like, "Yup, that's it."  I was soooo psyched.  It was the coolest experience ever!!

Way to kick, Besido. :)

13 weeks 1 day picture

Well I'm in my second trimester now!! Yay!! :)

I'm not quite sure what happened or why, but I completely popped over the last week. All of a sudden I can barely fit a single pair of my pants or shorts on, even with the help of the bella band. Last weekend I could still hold them shut by zipping them most of the way then using a hairband around the button and through the button hole. This weekend I couldn't zip them even an smidgen. It's just crazy. I'm so grateful I've gotten a ton of maternity pants from friends, because I would be at such a loss otherwise.

Yesterday I went through my pre-pregnancy clothes to pack away what I could no longer wear and clear out the room for the maternity clothes I've acquired. That included pretty much everything except my really long stretchy shirts and shirts that flowed at the waist. Even some of my t-shirts for working out had to be packed away, because with my belly sticking out so far they no longer reached my pant line and had turned into crop tops.

So here are the pics. Besido is officially showing.

PS If you want to see all the belly pictures, go to the right-hand column under "All the happenings..." and click on "Pics."