31 wks

31 weeks!!!

We had a doctor's appointment this week and everything looks good. The baby's heart rate was around 144 bpm and my blood pressure and weight were on track. No specifics needed there, right? ;-) wink!
The nurse practitioner thinks Baby Girl is head up but has told me not to worry about it "yet" since she had plenty of time to turn and in fact could turn as soon as I leave the doctor's office and then turn back. She said that they will look at this very closely at my 36 wk appointment. So...I'm going to "try" and not worry about it yet. Just as long as I get a healthy baby in the end, I'll take her any way I can get her.

Here is the bump pic!

Thanks for the outfit, Cathy!! :-)

"Nice to meet you! I usually wear a shirt."

Yes, these were the exact words out of my lips to my neighbor last week. Oh my. So here's how it all went down.
Last week while Mike was out of town I went for a walk early in the morning, no big deal. When I came back to the house I decided to throw a load of whites in our (awesomely cool...does it make me old to say that about a household appliance?) new washing machine. Since I had on a white Tshirt, I decided to just take it off and put it in the washer with the rest of the whites. I had on a sports bra so I really didn't think twice about it.  Since I was working from home that day I jumped right on my computer and started answering emails. Before I knew it, a few hours had gone by. I was productive with work stuff which felt great but still had on my shorts, sports bra and tennis shoes. It was about 11am so I thought I would take an early lunch and work on putting the crib together upstairs. If you've seen our house you know that the stairs are basically in front of the door...just remember that little point. So fast forward 45 minutes or so, I'm hard a work trying to figure out the directions on putting the crib together and what do I hear, yes, the doorbell.  It hits me, I don't have on a shirt, the door is open, the steps are in front of the door, we don't have any clothes upstairs except a few onsies and I don't think those will help cover up this belly. Oh. Shit. There aren't any other words to express it. I guess I could have just hid but I decided to own my pregnant belly and go answer the door.

Well hello there neighbor lady with your two tiny doggies! So yes, I answer the door. Neighbor lady with tiny dogs looks shocked, her mouth wide open and tries desperately to look anywhere but at me. Then she says, "Hi! I just wanted to say Welcome to the Neighborhood. My name is Debbie."
I just smile a toothy grin and reply, "Hi! it's so nice to meet you. I usually wear a shirt."
Debbie looks pretty uncomfortable at this point but tells me, "it's ok, you were probably just working out."  No lady, I was just chillin in the comfort of my own home with my 30 week pregnant bare belly all out there. But of course I just smile back and her saying nothing.


For some reason Debbie and I started to warm up to each other as we stood on our wrap around porch with white rockers, me in my sports bra, she with her tiny dogs. She told me all about how she knew the previous owners, how she and her husband (Al...yes, I remember, Al was his name) met and have been married for 18 years and perhaps most importantly, that I needed to turn my trashcan around to face a certain direction or the trash people wouldn't take it.
oh heeeeeeckkkkkk no! I had used cat litter in that trash can and it was 92 degrees, that trash HAD - TO - GO. So what did Debbie and I do, we walked to the end of our driveway to turn around my trashcan.  Yes, I was still sporting the sports bra.

At this point Debbie must have begun to feel comfortable with all the glory that is a bare belly of a pregnant lady because she was looking right at me and just talking up a storm. And I guess I was cool with it as well; cool enough to walk to the end of my driveway. Debbie and I said our goodbyes and I thanked her for the trashcan tip. She thanked me for making her feel good about only having a small belly pooch. Just kidding on that last part, we just said goodbye. (Although I do bet she felt like her mid-section rocked when standing next to me and my melon. I kinda think the melon is cute though so WHATEVER DEBBIE! :-))

I came back in the house and immediately put on a shirt, then laughed so hard at myself. Of course then I did what any "can do" woman does...I went back up-stairs and continued to put together the crib.
:-)

I can only imagine what looks I may get at the next homeowners association meeting. Mike should be proud, don't ya think? :-)

30 wk Bump Pic

Hi Guys,
I'm so behind with posts, so sorry!! There is so much I want to blog about...our BBQ/shower, the nursery, the crib, my "welcome to the neighborhood" surprise when I had on shorts and a sports bra...and only that...yes, you'll want to hear this glorious story (shaking head in shame...and slightly laughing), fun upcoming plans, and of course The Adventures of Finn Cat!

But...it's 10pm and I'm a little tired so I'm just going to post my 31 wk bump pic. Well actually I was 31 1/2 weeks but who's counting. :-)
Mikey took this pic on Saturday morning and I had only been up for a little while so no judging my awesome hairstyle and non-existent makeup.  ha! Oh who am I kidding, I don't look that different than at any other time. hahaha!!!

 On another note...30 weeks pregnant means we are on a 10 week countdown...holy moly!!!!
Hope everyone is doing well.

Weekend update

Hi there! It's been an eventful couple of days...full of fun and well, a little not so fun. Let's start with the not so fun just to get it out of the way. While away for a conference at work, I ended up with an upper respiratory infection...ugh, it really zapped the energy from me and I almost completely lost my voice. However, I'm getting over it thanks to some antibiotics and distraction. ha! I also had a bit of car trouble coming home from the conference. First, I couldn't get out of DC (thanks one way streets and stand-still traffic) and THEN my tire only had 9 lbs of air in it (it should have 35 lbs). Turns out I had a packing staple in my tire and had to get a new tire. But I guess it all worked out like it should have...the traffic made me stop and ultimately find my tire that desperately needed to be changed.
So on to the good:
- My wonderful friends hosted a shower for me and Mike this past weekend. It was so great; a fun time with friends, yummy food, cute decorations (the favors were "Baby Jackson" koozies...are you kidding me, so freaking CUTE) and just all around made us feel so loved. We are so lucky to have such great friends and family. I will post pictures from the shower later this week when I get some from family and friends.
- I was able to spend a weekend with my dad and Cathy in northern VA. It was lots of fun and nice to spend time with them. AND, they helped me out a LOT with my flat tire...so thankful Daddy caught it before it blew while I was driving.
- As part of the shower weekend, many of my good friends from VT that live out of town visited...Holly, Katie & Ryan, Jaime, Gina all traveled to the Burg...thanks guys! And speaking of traveling, my sister Megan and her boyfriend AJ drove from DC to be here...SO awesome!! It was so much fun!
- While I was out of town my mom helped me get started on the nursery...thank you so much Momma! It's now painted a sunny yellow! Mom also painted an antique dresser I want to use in the room, suggested curtains and other accessories and is helping me chose the bedding. Thank you Momma!!

More to come on the nursery. :-)
Mike and I are very thankful for all of the love of our family and friends!

The Crib is Here!!!

Woohoo!!!!!!!!! I will post pictures soon...I just might have this sucker put together this week!
yay! yay! yay!

oh and the nursery is painted...we're letting the sunshine in with a happy yellow room.

29 weeks

Last week in the twenties...ahhh!!! If only I could still say that about my age. :-0 Today I'm 29 weeks and little baby J is an active little girl. I had orange juice this morning for breakfast and she was a wild woman...seriously, I could feel her move around constantly for about an hour afterwards. It actually is pretty awesome to feel her moving around so maybe orange juice is my little trick to get some momma/baby time.

Update on my glucose test from last week...I passed!! woohoo!!! That orange drink was GROSS but I put my big girl pants on and took it down like a sorority girl doing a kamakazi on her 21st birthday. :-) Ha, no not really. It took me 5 minutes to drink it. :-) Here I am right before my sip-fest.

So, I had to wait until Monday for my results but I passed and do not have gestational diabetes. They told me my levels were within a normal range but on the low end and I should try to eat a little more protein every two or so hours. hmmm, that one will be a little tough but I think I'll try those little packs of almonds.

Ok, without further ado...the 29 week bump pic.

oh and one more thing...
HI MEGAN!!!!!!!! :-)

28 weeks

We are now full gear into the 3rd trimester...woohoo! It's so exciting to be at this stage and know our little one will be here before we know it. Now remind me of this excitement to be in the 3rd at the end of August when it's hot, humid and I'm 4 weeks further along. :-)

Here is a 28 week bump pic...and no, those are not pre-pregnancy jeans. ha!

I have my glucose test tomorrow morning so everyone think "not sweet" thoughts.

Pics of Baby Jackson

Today we had another ultrasound to see our baby girl. We've been told that 28 weeks is a great time to see your baby because they are old enough to have a little "chub" in their faces and look cute but aren't old enough to be smooshed and running out of room.  So even though this ultrasound was not medically necessary (which we are thankful for by the way!), I decided I would really like to see my little one again and have the ultrasound. Mike is in training for his new job out of town so my Momma graciously came with me.

But...our baby girl wasn't exactly in the mood for pictures this morning so the ultrasound technician had a bit of difficulty getting good pics of her face. Basically, Baby Girl was holding her leg above her head and refused to let go. The ultrasound tech tried for almost an hour to get her to let go of her leg, but to no avail. So I guess my baby girl is a bit stubborn...SHOCKER, right? :-)

So let me tell you a bit about all of the tactics our ultrasound tech tried to get her to release her leg:
- Shaking the belly
- Poking the belly
- Using a small device to "buzz" my stomach...basically a small vibration and noise
- Having me turn on my side
- Drinking 1/2 a regular Coke (NASTY!!! Ugh!!)
- and the finale was the best...are you ready for this? I got down on all fours in the floor to try and use gravity to make the baby move. It was freakin' hilarious! Mom and I were laughing SO hard. We'll spare you the picture of that lovely scene.

But, none of these tactics worked. Baby Girl was happy in her foot over the head position and wasn't having anything to do with moving/cooperating. I hope this isn't an indication of what her teenage years are going to be like, hmmm.

Here are some pics...look closely to see her adorable little face. Yes, I'm her mother and I can already say she's adorable. :-) In a couple of the pics you can make our her arm and leg, the umbilical cord and the placenta. But between all of those "parts", you'll catch a glimple of our beautiful baby girl.

Check out those lips (definitely a Mikey addition). It's possible she has a nose kind of like mine. AND, she already has CUTE chubby cheeks.

Baby girl is 2.8 lbs and all of her organs are functioning properly according to the ultrasound...thank goodness!
It was SO wonderful to see our little one. I couldn't wait to call Mike and tell him all about it.

I really should have been more clear...

...in my last post. The "Big News" was that Mike started his new job yesterday. It kinda sounds anti-climatic now...sorry for not being more clear. I'll stop with the "teasers" and just tell you all any news directly. :-)

Last night the baby girl and I went for a walk with our friends Hope, Lisa and their three little boys (and Lisa's puppy Hannah). It was so much fun! We definitely looked like the Momma Brigade...one single stroller, one double stroller, one dog, two mommas and one preggers. No one would want to mess with that situation; we have wipes, binkies and milk...and we're not afraid to use them! Thanks for the walk ladies!

So what's new with us?

Well, I'll tell you what's new...Mike started a new job today! He is an Enterprise Consultant with a software company in Charleston, SC that focuses on productivity software for non-profits.

Mike has really enjoyed working at VT and especially working with University Honors...it is a wonderful program with phenomenal people and we have gained so many friends from Honors. I know it was a difficult decision for him to leave VT, but I'm confident this is an incredible opportunity for him. I have no doubt he's going to blow them out of the water down in "Chaaaaaaalston"...yes, that's how it sounds when people that live in Charleston, SAY Charleston.  Me personally, well I like to pronounce the "r" in Charleston. :-) That's how we roll in the great state of WV! :-)
Ok, but back to Mike's new job. He will be working out of our home and traveling often so we'll still be living in the Burg.  And if I know Mike, he'll still remain very involved at VT and with Honors in particular.
So Congratulations Mikey!!!! I'm very proud of you!

H-O-T-T-I-E!!