27 Weeks

Hello Everyone,

Only 13 more weeks to go! It seems like a long way away, but also way too short…I still have so much to do. We are excited to come home for the shower next week and are looking forward to visiting with everyone. I was just looking at the temperature in Troy today…with the wind chill it feels like -1 degrees F…burr. I need to make sure I have a winter jacket that still fits! The temperature here has been averaging highs in the mid/upper 60’s and lows in low 50’s and upper 40’s. Tim and I haven’t seen snow since Christmas of 2004!

The baby weighs about 2 pounds and is close to 15 inches from head to toe. She can now open and close her eyes, and sleeps at regular intervals. I am still trying to figure out when those are. I feel her movements, especially when we are getting ready for bed in the evenings.

Tim and I cleared all the stuff out of the front bedroom to make it into the baby’s room. We made the usual multiple trips to Home Depot to make and install extra shelves in the baby’s closet. They turned out really nice. We hope to put fresh/higher quality paint on the walls the weekend after the shower.

Tim and I went to a Chamber music concert this past weekend held downtown at Rice University. It was really nice, and something different than TV or the movies. Our fourth and last Childbirth Preparation/Lamaze class is this Thursday night. Overall I think the both of us have gotten a lot out of it. I signed us up for a child care and breastfeeding class in March. My next doctor’s appointment is Friday. I will be taking a routine glucose screening test to test for pregnancy diabetes. Overall things are going well. See you soon.

Love,

25 Weeks

Hello Everyone,

Tim and I have been really busy over the last 2 weeks. We have slowly, but surely been working on baby registries at Babies R Us and Target. We have been reading consumer reports, talking to neighbors and friends about what they use and what they don't, and then trying to agree on the colors. Tim seems to have a thing against the colors purple and pink. He doesn't want to buy anything too girlie I think. Not me though... at least she should have girlie clothes.

We had our first baby class (Prepared Childbirth/Lamaze) last Thursday. It is a four week, one night a week course for just over 2 hours and includes a hospital tour. I am not really sure how I feel about the instructor yet, but I am leaning towards an exhausted, weird, but experienced woman. So far, Tim and I have learned about what happens during a normal/average labor and delivery and that sitting on the floor for two hours with only one worn out pad and a pillow can really make your butt and for that matter your entire body sore the next day. My homework assignment is to find a focal point (an item to concentrate on while in labor) and ask two women to describe what they remember the most about their labor/delivery from my generation and another generation.

Other exciting news... Tim bought his first brand new car! The gas mileage in his Ford Lightning truck was killing him and the truck is not the easiest and safest vehicle to be hauling a baby around in. Tim picked a white 2008 Chevy Malibu 2LT with Titanium interior. He really likes the car and I think he looks good in it.


The baby is doing fine and is really practicing those soccer kicks. Sometimes concentrating, for what seems like an eternity, on the same spot. I bet she'll be a good striker with that aim. She is about a pound and a half and just over a foot long. She is starting to fill her loose skin with baby fat and the color and texture of her hair are defined. I wonder if she will be a blonde or a brunette. I am doing okay, besides the sore spots from the baby power kicks and punches and the occasional heart burn, I just feel like a fat me. Tim and I are looking forward to coming to Michigan the weekend of February 9th for the baby shower. Hope all is well.

Love,

23 Weeks

Hello Everyone,

We had our first doctor’s appointment and ultrasound of the New Year this morning. The baby is still a girl! Thank God…I had a dream the other night that they made a mistake and I wasn’t having a precious little girl anymore. She has plenty of surrounding fluid to perform her numerous acrobatic feats and is now a whopping 1 pound 5 ounces. That is more than 2 ½ times larger from the last ultrasound, less than 6 weeks ago. Her weight is charted right on the average line. She is moving all the time. I can’t seem to calculate when her naps are. It really makes it hard to sit still at work. Tim has now felt the baby movements…for a while there I didn’t think he believed me when I told him the baby was kicking.

It seems however, that my weight gain has been extraordinary as well. At 23 ½ weeks I have gained a whopping 20 pounds; 8 pounds in 4 weeks! It could have something to do with all the Holiday snacking and treats. I need to get back into my routine. I read this is the time when most women gain the most weight and that it starts to slow down in the 8th month and you really don’t gain much at all in the 9th month. Hopefully that is true or I will have to be rolled into the Hospital in April.

Here are some snap shots during the ultrasound. It’s a little hard to see exactly what you are looking at, but give it a try. She was positioned with her back against my back, facing towards my belly button, an laying across my abdomen. She was moving around a lot and seemed to be ticklish.

This is a head shot (upper right). She is looking at us and has her right arm next to her face.

Here is a profile shot. Her mouth is open.
This is a butt shot. Her legs are across the top and bottom/middle of the picture. The 3 white lines means it is still a girl. You might have to double click on the picutre to see it.

Okay, here is one more that I think I can describe... Here is a picutre of her hand in front of her face. The technician thought she was sying no more picutres please. We probably will not have anymore pictures of the baby until she is born. We hope you all had a great Christmas and wish you a Happy New Year.
Love,