If you can't say anything nice...

Actual things people have said to me in the last two days:

1. I just don't see how you can be more than a month from your due date, how much bigger can you get!?!

2. You must be in one of those rapid growth phases of your pregnancy because everytime I see you, you are noticeably bigger!

Really, is it necessary to tell me those things?

Oh yeah and the heat index is 105 degrees today. Super!

p.s. both comments came from women in my office, women who have children. Aren't we supposed to stick together or something?

32 week update

Our internet at home isn't working so I can't post any pictures right now, it should be fixed later this week and I'll get some nursery pictures up then. Haven't had any more contractions since last weekend, I think baby girl got the message that it isn't quite time yet. I am now having weekly appointments and last week's went well. I'm 32 weeks now, so at the most it will only be 7 weeks until we get to meet our girl, can't wait!

Baby gets confused...

So we spent all day Saturday getting baby's room ready. We put togther the crib, moved around furniture, washed her clothes, etc. It was a fun day. That night as I was laying around (I mean accomplishing a lot of important tasks) I started having contractions. They never got to be too painful, but they were pretty regular and consistent. I really hesitated calling the doctor because of my fear of sounding crazy or being annoying to them, but eventually I did and he suggested that I come in and get checked, just to be safe. On the way to the hospital I convinced myself that I was imagining the contractions and was just worried. You see, we lost William the same week we got the room ready for him so there were all sorts of weird thoughts occurring in my head, like "I jinxed this healthy baby by preparing her room!" Anyway, we got to the hospital and I got hooked up to the monitor and guess what? I was actually having contractions, I'm not nuts! They checked my cervix and it is still closed tight and there was no leaking of fluid so after about an hour on the monitor they decided to give me an injection of something (I forget the name but it starts with a T) and that stopped the contractions. I got to go home with instructions to rest on Sunday. No big deal. Dr. Bedia said this is normal for being 31 weeks pregnant and might happen again. After much thinking about it and wondering if I did something to cause the contractions, I realized that baby just got confused. I mean we spent the whole day getting ready for her, so logically she thought it must be time to come out. We've had a nice long talk about how she needs a few more weeks in the cooker and I think things will be fine from here on out.

isn't she cute?

Here are some new ultrasound pictures from our appointment today. I thought I would be freaked out by the 4-D pictures, but they are really cute. Dr. Drake thinks she looks like Mike, which thrilled him! Everything looks good, the little chunker is weighing about 3 lbs. 11 oz. and all other development looks great. We continue to be a mixture of excited/nervous/impatient to meet this little girl.

Well, May was a very busy month so this is likely to be a lengthy post. The month started off with me in quite a funk. Mother's Day was really tough for me and as my pregnancy neared the timing of when I lost William I kind of withdrew from everyone. So, if you are one of the people whose phone calls/e-mails I didn't return I apologize. However, I am feeling much better and have since had many exciting events to take my mind off of my own anxiety.

The biggest event was the birth of my nephew, Oliver Ethan Wells on May 22, 2009. He arrived 9 days after his due date by C-section as he decided to flip into a breech position after labor had been induced. His mama (Amanda) was brave and beautiful through it all and he is extremely lucky to have such loving parents in Charlie and Amanda. We got to be in town the day he was born and got to spend some precious time with the new family at the hospital. It was all I could do not to steal him and bring him back to Iowa and I can't wait to see him again in August. Here are a couple of pictures.

Me, Oliver, Annie (my sister) and Charlie (my brother and the proud Daddy)

Oliver Ethan Wells just a few hours old

Also while we were in Kansas my Mom and sister hosted a lovely baby shower for me. It was really nice, the food was great, and I had a great time. Thanks guys. While at the shower I had my Dad take a belly shot, so here you go Jessie.

One of the guests at the shower was Jordan, my very best friend from middle school/high school. She drove up from Oklahoma with her darling 7 month old son Will and spent the night with us. It was so special to be able to spend time with her, and Will is hands down the happiest baby I have ever met. He laughed and smilied constantly and completely fell in love with Mike. It was really sweet and made me excited to watch Mike as a Dad. Thanks for coming Jordan, love you!

My final bit of exciting news is that we have another new member of my family, my cousin John and his wife Lindsay welcomed their son John Thomas (Jack) into the world on May 26th. We got to go meet him last weekend and he is seriously cute. He has the longest arms and legs of any newborn I have ever seen and looks an awful lot like his Daddy. Lindsay and John are doing a great job as Mommy and Daddy and we are very happy to have Jack in our family.

So, there you have it. I must say that all of these new babies are making me very impatient for this little girl to get here, although I know she needs a few more weeks in the oven. As Mike says, we are hoping for at least medium-well if not well-done.

As for this little girl, things are progressing very well. I am at 30 weeks and am growing rapidly. I have another ultrasound scheduled for this Thursday, I'll post pictures if we get any. We are getting ready around here, bought the car seat this past weekend and are going to get the nursery in order this weekend.

Thanks for checking in!

sorry...

I'm here and I whole-heartedly apologize for the lack of recent updates. Lots has happened and I promise to do a detailed update tonight when I get home from work. In the meantime, everything is great with the baby so don't worry.

updates...

Everything with Baby looks good, we had an appointment last week and things are continuing to progress as they should. She is kicking like crazy these days which is a wonderful comfort to me. It really makes me realize how small William was because at 30 weeks, he never kicked as hard or as frequently as this little girl. At the time I had nothing to compare it to. It's fun to lay down and be able to see her kicking (I never got to do that with William). She is most active after lunch and at night. I am also realizing how little William was because of how huge I am. I have been getting lots of comments about how I've "popped" and I am already bigger around than I was at 30 weeks with William. At our last ultrasound (which was April 7) they stated that she already weighs more than William did when I delivered at 30 weeks. (I'm currently 25 weeks). The doctor says my weight gain is right on track (8 pounds) and that I am growing as I should. It seems funny to me that my perspective is so much different this time around. When I was pregnant with William I was kind of excited by the fact that I wasn't getting very big because the doctors felt like things were fine and I was excited not to be gaining too much weight. This time I welcome the giant belly! Our next ultrasound is next Thursday (05/07/09) I'll try and post a new picture at that time.
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Also, my brother Charlie and his wife Amanda are expecting their first baby (gender unknown) anytime now. She is due May 13, but is already dialated a little. Please keep them in your prayers for a safe and healthy delivery. I'll be sure to let you know when there is any news!
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Another update: I HATE RAIN! This in itself is very sad for me because rain and thunderstorms used to be favorites of mine. However, recently every time it rains outside, it seems to rain somewhere in our house. We have had roofers out several times and each time they do a temporary fix and then it rains somewhere new in the house. I am afraid the ultimate solution is going to be quite expensive! Oh, and in case you were wondering it rained ALL weekend and is supposed to continue ALL week. Awesome!
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That's all for now.