Wow, this is boring

We had our baby shower on Saturday, and it was a really great time! Lots of friends and family made it, even family I haven't seen since the wedding! I think there were close to 40 people total!
And of course, we received lots of helpful and wonderful baby gifts, some we had asked for, some are beautiful handmade items, all them are so very appreciated!

Here are a few of the many pictures. :)

Nicholas's Mommy and Daddy

Opening a gift with cute clothes in it.

Instead of a greeting card, guests each gave Nicholas a book to start his own library. Here Pete reads one of them to the party.

Yup, that's the father of my child... Don't I look thrilled? ;)

A little gift for the parents, for after the baby is born... :)

Nancy looked beautiful. She sure put a lot of work into the party for us!! Thanks again!

The Dietzens. Beth also put a lot of work into planning the party and Jon helped out during. Emmalee was just adorable as usual.

Sis-in-law Jill, the 3rd party planner! :)

Me. Wow.

We had a 3D ultrasound today, and got some pretty decent pictures! Here are a few of the sharper and/or cuter ones. :)

Cute face.

A great profile shot.

He's pointing up at where the tech kept poking him with the viewer, heh.

He's holding on to his own foot!

Wide open mouth. :O

Chubby lil cheeks, just like Dad...

We had another ultrasound on the 11th. The placenta has started moving away from the bottom, so that's good news!
It showed it's still a boy, and still just one (sorry Nancy) in there. Will post the new pics (which are exactly like the last ones, a foot, an alien face...) when Pete gets them scanned in.

The blood glucose test that they routinely do at the beginning of the 3rd trimester came back positive for Gestational Diabetes. I met with a diabetes specialist and a dietitian today, and got a machine to check my blood sugar level 4 times a day. It means poking a finger for blood, and I think they are going to be pretty sore pretty soon! But if I keep to the meal plan they recommend and my levels stay normal, I won't have to take any medication. I had several family members, including my Mom, who had diabetes, so I was at high risk to develop it during pregnancy and am not surprised I did. It's only a couple months, not a real big problem to deal with. Should clear up as soon as I deliver.

Nancy, sis-in-law Jill, and friend Beth have scheduled our Baby Shower, and I'm actually getting excited for it. It will be fun to celebrate Nicholas with many friends and family, and will really be such a help to get some baby supplies (the lil buggers need tons of stuff!!). My natural inclination is to jump in and help plan, but I will try to stay out of their way! :)

Can't believe we are already to the stage of the pregnancy where we see the midwife every 2 weeks instead of once a month. It's really going by much faster than I anticipated, and that's a good thing. :)

We are signed up for natural childbirth classes through the birthing center we had hoped to deliver at. Our midwife highly recommended them (over the hospitals classes), and we are happy to go there. But they don't start til the 3rd week of Feb, so I am slightly nervous about 'last minute', heh.

I think you are now up to date. If anything changes, I'll update again.

Spent the afternoon with Pete, setting up baby registries at Target and Babies R Us. The kid may be teeny tiny when he gets here, but he's gonna need an entire house full of stuff!!!

I think we should just get a floor pen like we have for the ferret, and let the kid free-range it. Save us a lot on diapers! ;)

Me before baby

Me at Halloween, about 18 weeks. Pretty big...

Me at Christmas, 26 weeks. I gotta make it to 40?!

Over the last few days, I've had several episodes of 'seeing stars' floating around me. It's happened in the shower, while reading, when sitting at the computer, and cooking. I called my midwife this morning, and she asked me to come in to check it out.

After a full exam to rule out major issues, she told me what I'm experiencing is most likely a happy side effect of the perfect combination of craziness going on in my body. Pregnancy causes decreased lung capacity, and meanwhile increases the need for oxygen. The fluid volume of my body has increased over 50%, meaning my heart has to work extra hard, and the pressure in my eyes has increased right along, too.

Basically what's happening is my system is going on overload.

The best treatment for it when it happens is to lay down on my side (or lean back in my seat if not near a bed) and concentrate on long slow deep breaths. I should try to relax as much of my body as I can, and stay that way for about 30 mins. Then, if I haven't eaten in the last 3 hrs, I should have a snack, as low blood sugar can trigger it, too. If I'm tired, a nap is recommended, as exhaustion can be another factor. And avoiding unnecessary exertion is always a good idea. (and good advice at any time!).

Apparently, it's a 'not common', but fairly 'normal' result of having my body taken over by my little parasite.

If the episodes become frequent, don't clear up by following the above advice, or I pass out, I should go directly to the hospital for further evaluation.

Ah, pregnancy. It's such a magical time!

Our lil' alien at 20 weeks gestation. Hoping the next pics are a bit, um, cuter... :)

I had my first mammogram last year. I will continue to have them. The chance of death from an undetected tumor scares me a helluva lot more than the chance of getting a 'false positive' and having more tests.... My 2 cents.

I heard back from Cat Tail Farms in Webberville. They are a sanctuary for FeLV positive cats, and they have a place for Vincent! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!
I just need to have him neutered, and they can take him in.
I am so relieved! I was so worried about what we were going to do about this sweet lil guy!
Here's some cute pics Pete took.

We are finally moved into the new place, bed, cats and all. Pete worked his butt off to get it done! Thanks for the help Nancy, Jon, Beth and Em.

Elizabeth Leach (Dec 2 1924-Oct 14 2009)

Rest in Peace, Aunt Betty. You were one of the best people it has been my privilege to know. We will all miss you so very much.

I would like to remind you all to get both flu shots this winter. If you don't care if you get sick, ask yourself if the kids with asthma, the eldery shoppers in line at Walmart, or the pregnant woman by you in the restaurant care if THEY get sick.

The point in preventing the spread is NOT just to keep YOU from getting sick, it is to protect those who are vulnerable from getting sick, too!!

Don't be that selfish, please.

(YES, it's safe! Your chances of side effects are a billion times smaller than your chances of flu complications!!!!!)

We took their advice, and contacted a midwife who works through a local Drs office. She had availability, and when we interviewed her, we both liked her. So we will be forced in to a model of care the insurance company wants, and will have to use a hospital, something we really didn't want, but at least we will be able to see the same person for every visit, and she will be the one delivering the baby. I guess that's better than just skipping it, and delivering in the emergency room....

We had not intended to live there, we wanted to buy something closer to Pete's work (in Grand Rapids) but of course can't do that 'til at least one house sells! Moving out of this house to that one, then to a 3rd new place seemed like a pointless step. But now there will be 3 of us... The house we live in now is a bit bigger in sq feet, but the layout is restrictive. Only 2 real bedrooms, and one bathroom. The other is a 2 story Colonial, with 3 bedrooms, 1 1/2 bath, and a full finished basement. It also has a bigger yard, and a really nice deck. Plus, (and maybe best); after a major flood disaster a couple years ago it was completely rebuilt from the basement floor up. EVERYthing in it is new from the drywall, to flooring, to fixtures (except the water heater, which we need to replace before we move in). AND it has a dishwasher, which I can't wait to use. :)

We are assuming it still won't sell for sometime to come, so now it kinda makes sense to go there. (If it sells, we will happily move on, for sure). We will likely list Pete's house for sale as well, but have kicked around the idea of renting it to a friend as well. Or maybe both, heh...

We took a big car load of stuff over there today, including most of the baby stuff we've gathered. We put what we had in the baby's room, and I think it's going to be cute. And purple, of course. Pete's Aunt and Uncle have offered us the essentially unused baby stuff they have, including a crib, changing table, stroller, highchair, etc. They bought it all new when their daughter had kids because they live several states away and it was more practical to have a 2nd set up than to try to transport essentials when they visited. Of course it then was hardly touched, and the kids are too big for it now. Sweet. Free stuff ROCKS!

So sorry, Tigers. I know you always lose when we come to your games, but we are still going to attend... You'll just have to work harder to win your other games, right?

A VERY VERY HAPPY 40TH TO MY FAVORITE TWIN SIS NANCY!!!!

I'll take 20 if you take the other 20!!!

Advertisement