New Years Eve

Happy New Years! Jeff and I spent a relaxing New Years Eve having dinner at a favorite Italian restaurant nearby. We spent most of the time discussing possible names for our little peanut. While no final decision has been made, we are getting close! Sorry-- you'll have to wait until she's here to find out what we decide! We're currently relaxing at home with the dogs waiting for the ball to drop. We hope all of our family and friends are enjoying the last evening of 2008!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas! We had a wonderful and relaxing Christmas with both Jeff's family and my family. It's hard to believe that 2008 is almost over and our little girl will be here in a mere six weeks! It's the home stretch! We're standing with our dogs... Garth is sitting on the left while Brutus is shaking his head on the right.

Looking good!

Now that I'm nearing my due date, I've been seeing my doctor every two weeks (soon to change to once a week). She's delighted as to how well I'm doing. I am on target with my weight, belly size, fetal heartbeat, and fetal movements. The weight is the biggest relief as I've been working hard on my diet from the dietitian. I've become a professional on counting carbs, but boy do I miss a heaping plate of pasta with a brownie for dessert!

I know that I am getting closer to the goal of 40 weeks because it's getting a little bit harder sleeping at night. Poor Jeff has to share the bed with me and about a zillion pillows! Nevermind the stray dog who tries to sneak into bed during the night for extra warmth! I can get comfortable until I get up for one of my many bathroom breaks or until I need to flip sides.

The most aggravating thing about my pregnancy is hand numbness. Anytime during the day or night, my hands start to feel like they are going numb..that is until I move them and find a new position. My doctor assures me that this can happen and not to be alarmed. Even though I am not swollen, there is enough edema that is 'pinching' my nerves and can cause numbness...although the legs is more common. This is the only thing that has caused some annoyance at work!

So, besides the occasional ache, pain or numbness, I am blessed with a healthy pregnancy. She should be a happy girl in there! I enjoy her kicks and movements. I feel as if this is my special time to spend with her! She'll be greeting the rest of the world before you know it!

December baby shower

This past Saturday, my best friend (Sarah) and my mother's best friend (Tobi) hosted our first (of two) baby shower in Medina. Everything was perfect-- the food was yummy and the snowflake and pink decorations looked wonderful amidst my parents Christmas decorations. We can't imagine the time and effort that it took to have such a wonderful shower. It was good to celebrate with our close family and friends..some of which we have not seen in awhile. We can't thank everyone enough!

(Tobi, Myself, and Sarah) (My Mom, Myself)

It's funny to be getting more and more baby things! Our little nursery is filling up with clothes, stuffed animals and diapers! I spent most of Sunday putting things away and sorting clothes and blankets that need to be washed....all in anticipation of our little one's arrival. Even the dogs are wondering what all the fuss in the nursery room is all about. They've learned to wait patiently at the door until being invited in-- something must be different about this room!

(Left: my mom, me, Sarah, and Sarah's mom)

(Right: some of the yummy food that both Sarah and Tobi prepared)

Dietitian visit

This past Thursday, Jeff and I met with the dietitian at the Maternal Fetal Medicine Department at Toledo Hospital. It was well worth the hour long visit. After turning in my food journal that I was told to keep for a couple of days, she helped to construct a food plan that would balance the carbs, meats, veggies, and fats that I should consume in a day. More importantly she broke this down to each meal and snack time. I now know what to eat at each meal...and how to make it through the holidays without overloading on carbs and desserts (although it still will be tempting to go overboard!). A diabetic diet really isn't as hard as I thought it would be. I'm also thankful that I won't be needing to monitor my blood sugar at this time (thank you to all of you who offered help with monitoring!). My doctor is confident that if I am able to manage my sugar alone with diet, we won't need to start monitoring at home. My next appointment with the doctor is December 8th, so I'm counting on a good appointment!

My 28th week pregnancy belly shot is taken in my OSU work scrubs. I've given up wearing dress clothes to work and now strictly wear scrubs. They are large and comfortable! It's almost like working in pajamas. You can see Garth in the background. He's recuperating from surgery.. he had a couple of fatty tumors removed. We've now nicknamed him 'mummy man'.

Diabetes

As most previous pregnant women know, doctors test for diabetes around the 26Th week of pregnancy- as pregnancy can interfere with a woman's sugar levels, making her temporarily diabetic. The test is actually a screening for the 'real' test... which isn't much fun. The screening consists of drinking a sweet orange drink and waiting one hour for a blood draw. If the results show that your sugar is nice and low, you are off the hook. But if you 'don't pass' your diabetes screening test, then you get to have the 'big test'. After failing my one-hour screening test, I was off to the big four-hour glucose tolerance test.

So, this past Monday, after fasting overnight, I went to the lab. This time, I got to drink a fruit punch flavored drink (Glucola) with so much sugar that I swear a straw could stand upright in the bottle! I had one blood draw before my yummy (ha!) drink and then three more each hour afterward. Needless to say, it wasn't very much fun but luckily I found out that the lab had free wireless for my computer:)

Yesterday my results came in. I had failed again but not by much. I will be seeing a dietitian to help me construct a healthy low carb/ no sugar diet. While my doctor isn't quick to diagnose me with gestational diabetes, my results are still disappointing... especially with all the upcoming pumpkin pie and mashed potatoes! But, I am eager to do whatever I need to as untreated gestational diabetes can lead to excessively big babies who may be difficult to deliver. But worse, many women with gestational diabetes will become diabetic again later in life... something I never want to have!

October getaway

Jeff and I just returned from a week long trip to San Diego. We had a wonderful time soaking up the sun and enjoying the some of the sites that the city had to offer. Most days were a perfect 80 degrees but boy was the sun hot! My poor hands and feet were swollen during the days we did a lot of walking and I think my ankles disappeared into my feet/legs. I am lucky not to be pregnant during the hot summer months!

Aside from touring an aircraft carrier (the retired Midway)and taking a harbor cruise, we found plenty of time to catch up on some napping and lounging by the pool...in the shade though! It was a good time to relax and getaway before I get too uncomfortable to travel and before our little girl comes along!

It's A...

It's a girl! After our ultrasound on Tuesday September 23rd, we found out that we are having a healthy baby girl! We decided to include our parents with the exciting news. Jeff and I felt that it would be fun to let them in on our little secret before spreading the news to the rest of the family and our friends. So now, we are starting to pick out nursery furniture and working on a color theme for the new room...there will be pink of course! As for names, you'll just have to wait until February!

The ultrasound revealed a healthy little girl. All of her bones and organs are forming correctly. We even got to see the four chambers of the heart beating. She is right on for all of her growth requirements. We guess she is perfect!

We've included a picture of our latest ultrasound. She's pointing with her index finger as if to say she's number one or she's looking at us. Regardless, it was too cute not to post!

Movement

After my doctors appointment on the 11th, Dr. Kanios assured me that by the next month's appointment I would definitely be feeling the baby move. Boy was she right! Our little peanut has been moving around like crazy for the past 5 days. While I'm the only one to appreciate these flutters when I'm quietly relaxing, Jeff likes to tease me that it's only gas! I'm going on the record that it's just not so! Our little one is just a mere 6 inches long (according to our baby book), so it's easy to understand that I'm the only one to enjoy the little kicks and punches. I do look forward to sharing future kicks with Jeff.

Healthy Appointment

I just had my 18 week (and 1 day) appointment this afternoon. All is going well. My doctor has been very happy with my weight and health. My previous blood work has returned, revealing no concerns with neural tube/ spinal defects. One less thing to worry about! Our next ultrasound has been scheduled for Tuesday September 23rd at 2:30. While this will allow us to check for organ and bone development, we should also be able to determine the sex of our little one. So, check back in a couple of weeks as we share our big news!!

Starting to show

I'm officially running out of clothes that fit yet I'm not ready for maternity clothes. I'm in limbo! While I expected problems buttoning up some pants, I wasn't expecting to fill out so much in the buttocks area! Apparently this is a sign that we are having a boy along with the fact that I haven't experienced any morning sickness (but the Chinese calendar says it's a girl!). Regardless as to the sex of our little one, my belly is getting itchy and I'm putting on tons of thick lotion to keep from rubbing my stomach like a Buddha! Jeff has been helping me apply my 'belly butter' each evening. By eighteen weeks, I've already gained 12 pounds so I've got a lot more weight and itching to go!

First pictures

After arriving home, I had my first visit with the nurse and several weeks later, with my OB- Dr. Kanios. We found out that our due date is February 11th, 2009! Two weeks earlier or later is still considered normal. Since it was still a bit early to hear a heartbeat, we had an ultrasound done so we could see the heart beating. Beating it was...a mere 162 beats per minute! You can hardly make out little arms and legs (the baby's head is at the left and is face down). At this appointment I am 8 weeks and 5 days.



My next ultrasound was to rule out some potential chromosomal abnormalities (the test was negative for Downs syndrome). At the 12 week 5 day mark, the little guy had grown to about 3 inches. We could even see the little fingers as the baby bounced around- enjoying the temporary room. One second, it was jumping around, the next second, it had fallen asleep making it difficult to have it move to the appropriate position for the test. Over 30 minutes later, we were able to move the baby into the right position! (You can see the head is at the left.) Hopefully my next ultrasound (20 weeks) will let us see if it's a girl or boy! But, the baby will have to cooperate yet again!


I'm still feeling very good but very tired. Luckily, Brutus and Garth are always up for a good, long nap and an early bed time!

We're Pregnant!

The day we left for our Ireland and Scotland trip, we found out that we were expecting our little peanut! What a wonderful surprise. Of course, I wouldn't be sipping Guinness at the pubs but instead I had something more exciting to do...to take care of our new little one!




Luckily, I felt very good the entire trip...no morning sickness! And, if you plan to be extra hungry, then a cruise ship is the place to be.