24 Weeks along...

Today was another doctor appointment and everything went very well. I am measuring 24.5 cm which is exactly where I should be at 24.5 weeks, the baby's heartbeat was 150 bpm, belly measurement is up to 38 inches, and weight is up 12.5 lbs. My belly just gets further and further out there. I am noticing that I can't get as close to the computer desk anymore and definitely can't squeeze between the car and the side of the garage as easily.

The doctor had asked if I had been able to feel the baby kicking yet and I told her the baby doesn't ever seem to stop. Listening to the heartbeat was this whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, SMACK, whoosh, whoosh, SMACK, SMACK, whoosh sound. The doctor laughed saying wow baby is really kicking hard already! So this makes me happy as I feel we have a soon to be soccer player... or maybe a kicker in football for Jim... Sorry Dad - I don't think we have a hockey player on our hands...

Florida Getaway...

Jimbo planned a weekend get-a-way to Orlando, Florida this weekend. We drove to Milwaukee on Friday to catch our flight which was with Midwest... yeah they are 100x better than Northwest. They bake fresh chocolate chip cookies and give you two on every flight... the coach seats are leather and only 2 wide where NWA has three tiny seats. And their meal options were great!

Saturday we went to the Waffle House for breakfast, bummed around the condo, and then our friends Chris and Elaine Bien came down from Jacksonville to hang out. Us gals went to get a manicure/pedicure while the boys found beer... then played some dominos until it was time for dinner... We went to Medieval Times for dinner... What a blast! Very entertaining even though our "Red Knight" did not win... After dinner we went back to the condo and played Cranium and DVD Clue. We were up until 2:30 am playing these games.

Sunday we slept in and eventually made it out for lunch. Then we decided to go to Kennedy Space Center for the afternoon. It was only about a 45 minute drive and was worth it. Here are some pics of the adventure...

Sunday night we got back to the condo late and apparently Baby wanted to let us know he/she was there and wanting to groove... For about 2 hours my belly literally jumped from the kicks and on several occasions Baby kicked about 10 times in 30 seconds in one spot. I narrowed it down to salsa.

This is Hilo after Doggy Daycare...

So this is why we bring Hilo to Doggy Daycare once in a while. He spent all day today playing with the other "big" dogs and is always a bit hesitant to come home with us when the fun ends. But usually he cooperates and by the time we are enroute home, he is curled up and passed out. When we get home he usually goes straight to the family room and curls up on the couch. After about an hour or two we usually see him in a new position. This one is our favorite. He is sprawled out on his back - with his head awkwardly tilted and his cheeks hanging loosely off his gums. He laid there for a good hour like this while we laughed and took pictures. Such nice owners...

Hilo is finally back in Doggy Daycare!

Hooray! With a clean bill of health, having been neutered, and driving us crazy at night because he doesn't want to sleep... it was finally time to bring him back to Doggy Daycare. We brought him last Friday and things went very well. When Jim picked him up from the daycare he was asleep in the car before he even pulled out of the parking lot. He continued to sleep all night long and only open an eye to check out the movement in the room...

Today he is back there again and if you are interested you can check out the dogs playing... He has been moved to the big dog room, Cameras 3-5.

http://www.tailwaggersddc.com/

Finally finished registering...

This weekend was the 3rd weekend in a row that we have been in Neenah, WI. Again, we are never home it feels like so this has been a big change for us. Friday night we hung out with our friends Kristen and Tyler which involved a 3 hour dinner at Koreana's... I had heard they were slow... but it was ridiculous. Good thing the food was awesome. Next we went bowling... this is the second time I have tried to bowl pregnant and I am not a very good bowler to begin with. I blame it on being left handed and not owning my own bowling ball. Anyway, we were able to join the cool kids side and participate in cosmic bowling. I started off great... getting a minimum of nine for the first 6 frames... but as always that quickly ended... The next game I didn't even start off well and by the 4th frame I was toast... belly wasn't having it! Ha ha!

Saturday morning, my girlfriend Mandy came up and we went to Babies R Us to finish adding items. Jimbo kindly offered to watch her 2 year old Eric while we were gone. We had fun playing with the toys, trying out the strollers, and looking at all the cute little kids clothes. Mandy is pregnant with her second and due March 9th. She is having a little girl so it was hard not to go crazy and want to buy all the pink stuff we saw. It was really nice having her along, besides looking a little goofy registering (two pregnant girls)... we were among a number of women out doing the same thing. At one point there were 5 pregnant women and 3 non pregnant women all crammed into the same aisle talking about the bouncy seats. It was kinda amusing watching us manuever around eachother. Next we went to Old Navy to check out their latest maternity section... I found a super cute black dress on clearance that I plan to wear this weekend in Florida. Then we headed home...

We get home to see Jim extremely excited to see us... He then proceeded to tell us his adventures in potty training... You will have to ask him for the story, but believe me it was hilarious. Picture him holding a toddler over the toilet... trying to keep the dog away with his foot... Very funny. He is extremely glad that we are having a newborn and not starting out immediately with a toddler. I am too!

That night we went to our friends house, Barb and Tom, to play board/card games. We played a new card game called Bang. If you haven't ever played it or heard of it, dont' be surprised. It is a wild west themed game that involves strategy, clues, and careful planning to either defend or kill the Sheriff. It was really fun and I would recommend it for those who aren't planning on drinking... because you won't be able to keep up!

On Sunday:
Jim = Football
Dee/Hilo = Movie Marathon

22.5 weeks along

So since the last post my belly has already grown 2.5 inches. I am now at 34 inches around and am up 9 lbs... Once again, here are the pictures... as my friend Mandy puts it, I am huge compared to Christmas! She is pregnant with her second and has been extremely helpful. Today she went with me to Target to register for the "must haves".



In the last week, Baby has been moving often. Jim has been able to feel the kicks a few times, but mainly it has been fun for me. I notice that during meetings at work, baby seems to move more when loud male coworkers talk... I often wonder what Baby thinks of our discussion and find it difficult to concentrate on the meeting. Night time is the best by far. Usually when I read I put the book on my belly... I think Baby realizes this and then kicks in that direction to make the book slip... As I fall asleep I will push on different parts of my belly to get Baby to move. And almost always Baby does. And then with the usual 2:30 am bathroom break, Baby is rock 'n' rollin. Although I enjoy this immensely, it is starting to show at work. I definitely am getting in later than usual and it isn't because I am working out at the gym.


As for working out, this week I have started a new program. It is called, "You are pregnant, cool it". So I am down to M, W, and F. And maximum of 30 minutes cardio... tomorrow is Day 2 of this plan but I can already tell having today off was very refreshing. I have also picked up aqua jogging. And if you haven't tried it, you can't knock it. I have never been so sore from a 20 minute workout in my life! And literally it doesn't feel like you are doing much when you are the pool. But believe me you'll notice the next day. I am told this is the best exercise for pregnant women because it takes the extra weight off of your joints. I can handle that!

So baby is an early bird!

I have been waking up each night around 2:30 or 3:00 am since I think October. And this morning I was in for more than just a visit to the bathroom. After crawling back in bed I felt something weird going on with my stomach... partly thinking I had eaten something horrible and it was reaking havoc on my digestive system I tried to roll over... but it just got more noticeable and then it dawned on me... I pushed back on the spot and just as I thought... it pushed back... and when I pushed in harder... baby pushed out on the opposite side... CRAZY! This is the first time I have felt the baby since back in December so it was quite exciting. I laid there for about 5 minutes pushing various spots on my stomach and then started laughing which woke up Jim. So I grabbed his hand and put it on my belly... he was still half asleep and not sure what was going on... then he belted out "WHOA that is weird!". For the next 45 minutes this continued. After about 15 minutes, I was thinking okay you can stop now it is only 3:15 in the morning... however baby wasn't about too. So I just laid there... Definitely tired today from the lack of sleep but so excited to have been able to finally feel the baby REALLY kick and punch!

A Nice Little Saturday... without Bed Bath and Beyond!

This weekend was quite productive... Those who know us well and most likely our neighbors whom NEVER see our cars on weekends can agree that Jim and I are always driving somewhere for family gatherings or a wedding. In the last year, I believe Jim and I stayed in the Fox Cities a whopping 15-20 weekends. So these "home" weekends are very precious when they do happen! This weekend was one of them. Friday we made dinner and cleaned the kitchen getting rid of as many things as we could off the counter tops and reorganizing our bar area. Saturday Jim made a trip to the dump and I began cleaning the upstairs... getting it ready for a nursery. I was able to get the crib together all by myself (well needed Jim to help me tip it over a few times) but it wasn't too difficult and definitely one of the things I enjoy.

Then it was time to pick up Hilo from the vet... he was neutered on Friday. :( Next we installed a ceiling fan we bought with Abby and Aaron's gift card to Lowe's. It originally was intended for our bedroom... however the fan was HUGE! Thankfully it works awesome in our family room which also needed some additional lighting. Sunday was very much the same with Church followed by breakfast and then more shopping. We finally selected the tile for our 2nd bath upstairs which means Jim has 90% of the go ahead to tear apart the bathroom. Now we are winding down... Hilo is finally getting more energy and very upset we can't feed him his usual amount of food... thankfully tomorrow he will be back on his normal routine!

Definitely Popped!

So coworkers are now starting to stop me in the hall or cafeteria to ask if I am pregnant. So I think that means I have finally popped! Ha Ha. And because this is so I felt the need to do some measurements along with the belly picture. Officially the belly is 32" around and I am up 6 lbs. Jim has helped me gain some weight too during the first half of the pregnancy... and we will leave it at that! Attached are the most up to date belly pictures although it might be hard to tell how big it is getting since the shirt is covering my back. Believe me it is growing! Feeling great though, the cold is finally gone!

20 Week Ultrasound

Today we went for the 20 week ultrasound. HOW COOL! The tech spent over an hour getting the images she needed and for the most part Baby cooperated. We saw the heart beating, all the chambers of the heart, the aorta, the umbilical cord, the placenta, the spinal cord, the brain... it was very very cool. She took measurements of the leg and arm bones, the dimensions of the head, length of the spine... in total Baby is 6.5 inches long. And at 60th percentile for weight. I think it was 10.5 ounces... but can't remember exactly. Everything looked right on track for 20 weeks. The entire ultrasound took over an hour. At first, the baby was quite still and that helped her get a lot of the pictures right away. Then she wanted the baby to move so she could get face pictures and all we could get was the baby kicking and waving both arms. Very funny to see. Finally after laying on my one side and then turning onto my back, baby decided to cooperate. My girlfriend Emily scanned these photos in for me. Very cool to see the 3-D images...