Week 32

4/5ths of the way there! It's amazing that we only have eight weeks left. That's less than two months!!!
Well, Aiden is definitely getting more active (or more obviously so). My belly seems to roll around on its own all the time now. I really need to get out the video camera and record it. It is so sweet to watch, especially when Dan is reading to her. She gets so excited! We've also started doing family prayer time, to help Dan feel more comfortable praying out loud before she gets here. She had been really active before, but seemed like she was settling into a comfy spot when we started praying. It's so funny how she reacts to things. I know it's just mood and tone of voice she's reacting to, but it seems like she has so much personality already!
On the homefront: Dan has a new job beginning March 1st. Thank goodness. It will at least be something until he can find something better. We are still trying to find a subletter and are finishing the application process with the complex we are hoping to move into. As frustrating as this has been, at least baby shower arrangements are under way. And my cousin Jessie is going to take pregnancy photos for me and Dan. She is fabulous with a camera (as can be seen by my senior pictures and wedding photos) So that gives us a couple of things to look forward to in the near future, even if it doesn't make me any less stressed.
Other fun tidbits: We got my cloak finished this past week. Yippee! It is SO much more comfortable than trying to zip my coat. It's also really fun to watch people as I walk by. They either think it's the coolest thing ever, or starting snickering to whomever they are standing by. It's kind of funny... although I'm thinking of pulling out a dish of my pregnancy hormones for one of the wry smilers.
Also, all of our babies at work are steadily getting sick one by one. We're talking projectile vomiting and the most horrendous diapers I've ever seen. It's obviously contagious as it seems to be spreading from one room to another. Hopefully the germs stay away from me. I'm drinking tons of orange juice and sleeping a lot. So I'm at least doing my part to stay healthy. Now if only parents would keep their children home when they're sick, instead of bringing them in when CLEARLY they are still ill. Argh! I understand about being busy, but seriously!!! If you can't make your child's health a priority, you shouldn't be allowed to breed. I don't care how wealthy or educated you may be! I seriously think that it is time to impose some kind of regulation for procreation. I don't care how much it seems to go against human rights. If people can't show more sense than what I'm seeing lately, IT IS TIME!!! And that is the end of that rant.
Well, now for some fun stuff- The weekly preggo pictures!
*When is your due date? April 12, 2010- But I'm pretty sure I can't stretch anymore and the majority of people I've talked to agree. I will just fall over if I get much bigger.

*What week are you in? 32 weeks

*How much weight have you gained? Up 17lbs.- I'll be weighed again on Tuesday

*Do you know the gender of your baby? If so, what? A very active little girl

*Do you have a name picked out? What? Aiden Ryelle

*Maternity clothes? And some of the shirts are definitely getting shorter. That doesn't seem right.

*Stretch Marks? There isn't space for any more




*How are you feeling right about now? I want to do some scrapbooking!

*Have you felt the baby move? I've got to get out the video camera! Maybe tonight...

*Sleep habits? If I could sleep, there might be some habits.




*Any food cravings? I just want to eat everything!

*Anything you loved before that you absolutely cannot eat anymore? Nothing new

*Memorable Moment of the Week: Hmmm... still deciding between the blow out diapers or projectile vomiting from my lap... decisions decisions...

Week 31

Wow this time is starting to fly by! I can't believe another week has already passed. She is definitely going to be here before we know it.
We had a great doctor's appointment this week! The doctors are extremely healthy with all of my vitals and weight gain. Yippee! Aiden's head is already down and the doctor thinks that it's pretty likely that it will stay there until D-Day. This is accounting for my poor ribs and internal organs getting the crap beat out of them. I've tried switching sides and pushing on her, but she is very reluctant to move once she is comfortable. At least we know that she is making progress and that is worth all of the pain in the world. Dan actually got to feel her head at the end of the appointment. After taking all of my measurements, the doctor found her head and had Dan come over and feel. It was pretty cool, though he looked a little taken back that he could feel a portion of his daughter even though she hasn't been born yet. We'll have a couple more visits every two weeks and then it will be one week intervals until she shows up! I can't wait!
Our Childbirth classes are finally over after 6 grueling and exhausting Wednesday evenings. I suppose the classes weren't difficult, but 13hr days are pretty rough. This past class was Baby Basics. Everyone at work was laughing at me when I told them that's the class we had this week (since I work in a nursery). I told them it was for Dan and they thought that was pretty cute. Speaking of which, Dan showed that he could burp, diaper, and swaddle like a champ! I couldn't have been more proud. He did an even better job swaddling than I did! Maybe he can take my place at BDLC once I'm gone for baby time!
That's about it in regards to the baby. We've got a lot of life stuff going on that's making stress a regular part of each day. Hopefully we will find someone to sublet our apartment tonight and then we should have our application approved at our new place by Monday. So then we can get moved over closer to Mommy and Daddy ASAP.
Dan is also looking very seriously for a new job. So please pray that he finds one, that we get all of this apartment stuff worked out and that I'm not affected too much by all of this stress in the mean time. We would definitely appreciate it.
Now for belly pictures!










































*When is your due date? April 12, 2010- But I definitely think it will be a bit sooner

*What week are you in? 31 weeks

*How much weight have you gained? Up 17lbs.

*Do you know the gender of your baby? If so, what? A little girl who's geared and ready to go!

*Do you have a name picked out? What? Aiden Ryelle

*Maternity clothes? actually look normal on me... how weird

*Stretch Marks? No new ones I don't think, but they are still an awful sight!

*How are you feeling right about now? Ready to clean, pack and send out applications/resumes for Dan

*Have you felt the baby move? Well, we really just watch her move now. I need to video tape!

*Sleep habits? Well, I thought pillows helped, but now I'm not really sure...

*Any food cravings? I just want chocolate covered doughnuts. I know they are horrible for me, but I can't help it! Two boxes in two weeks. That is BAD!!!

*Anything you loved before that you absolutely cannot eat anymore? I had never tried them before, but miniolas are definitely off of my eating list. I tried a slice and nearly puked like a first trimester champ!

*Memorable Moment of the Week: Dan doing so well during the Baby Basics class. I couldn't be more proud of him!

Week 30... 75% DONE!

I can't believe that this whole journey is already 75% over. We only have ten more weeks to go. It's so hard to believe that we are going to meet our little girl in just a couple of months. It's so exciting! After seeing Rachel and Brad's pictures with Ella, I just can't wait to see my little girl. I'm so happy for them! I can't wait for our turn!!!
This week has been great! We found out that we will be moving to Gosport, hopefully by March 1st. We found a complex with awesome townhouses and WAY less expensive rent. I can't believe our luck! We've got a few people that are supposed to be looking at our apartment next week. So hopefully we will have someone in our apartment and we'll be into a new place by the first. It will be a perfect amount of time to get the place ready for Aiden! Yay! I can't wait!
We also had our breastfeeding class this past week. That was very informative and funny- Dan was definitely a little out of his element. So he felt the need to be funny and try out the breastfeeding positions for himself! I definitely don't think my arms are long enough for the cradle hold. Argh! What I would give to have longer appendages! I guess I'll figure something out... I'm thinking pumping during my student teaching is going to be difficult to figure out too. I never left the room except to puke last fall. I don't know how I'm going to manage leaving for 20minutes every few hours. Any suggestions?
Aiden has been extremely active this week! She has definitely been letting me know that she is quickly running out of room. I keep waking up in the middle of the night with her kicking my bladder, as if to say "Hey mom! It's getting crowded! Can you help me out?" So of course I do (like I really have any choice). As I've said before, I don't think we are going to have ANY problems getting her to let us know when she needs something. Something else that I thought was great was that she is really responding to music. I went to the opera with my friend Natasha last night and Aiden was going wild!!! It was so funny. Especially when the music was very dramatic, she would kick a whole bunch. I'm so excited! She will at least be a music enthusiast from what I'm feeling, and, heck, she's got the genes. Maybe she'll be a musician too! I definitely wouldn't be disappointed. So for a future career she's looking to be an opera singing, ninja ballerina. I guess she'll have to go for one of those create it yourself majors. Hehehe!
Anyway... on to belly pictures!



I definitely have a pointy belly. I think it's so funny. I wonder if anyone else has ever had such a pointy pregnant belly...











From the side. Yes. I swear I'm not swaying more than the average pregnant woman. My stomach actually sticks out that far from the rest of me!









And the forward shot. I will definitely be happy to have my curves back after all of this. But I am somewhat attached to my belly's pointiness.









*When is your due date? April 12, 2010

*What week are you in? 30 weeks

*How much weight have you gained? Up 14lbs.

*Do you know the gender of your baby? If so, what? A little girl!!!

*Do you have a name picked out? What? Aiden Ryelle

*Maternity clothes? are the best

*Stretch Marks? I'm starting to get over it. Who's ever going to look at my belly again anyway? Right?

*How are you feeling right about now? I'm ready to do some packing!

*Have you felt the baby move? She's dancing on my organs, ribs, whatever she can find to connect with

*Sleep habits? What sleep? I just lay in bed pretending...

*Any food cravings? Yum....rootbeer, orange juice, It's really just fluids right now. Isn't that weird?

*Anything you loved before that you absolutely cannot eat anymore? I'm kind of starting to not like cream cheese.

*Memorable Moment of the Week: Watching Dan trying out the nursing positions during our breastfeeding class. Did I mention that I love him?

Week 29

I can't believe how close my due date is getting. Now that Rachel is about to have Ella, It's my turn to delve into the ending stage of pregnancy fun. It seems like time is flying.
This week has been a lot more of the same fun we've been having. We had another doctor's appointment this past Tuesday. It went perfectly fine. I've gained another pound. So the doctors are quite pleased. I'm measuring up well and Aiden's heartbeat is going strong. What I thought might be a lump, was just my chest being its now hormonal self (sorry if TMI). So that makes me feel better. Overall, we're looking good.
Dan's been going through the Shel Silverstein collection during our "reading to Aiden" time. Although we're hoping to instill a love of literature early, this will mostly likely also influence her to have a very cynical nature...Oh Shel Silverstein. How we love you.
She has definitely been active. The girls at work have had opportunities to feel the moving belly (which they were excited about). She has been moving so much lately that I almost feel exhausted from all of her activity. I know that doesn't really make sense, but I can't explain it otherwise. It's kind of tiring to have such an active little person inside of you. I can't wait to see what all of this movement turns into once she's out in the world (dancer? gymnast? or karate master? I suppose we will see...).
In other news, Dan and I are looking to sublease our apartment and either rent somewhere closer to mommy and daddy with a bit cheaper rent or purchase a small home (which is option #1). We've had a few nibbles on the subleasing front. Hopefully we will find a reliable person to hand over our apartment to soon. I think we may be going to look at some homes on Tuesday. Hopefully we will find a great little place and can get it checked out and moved into. I'm hoping we can get everything settled by March 1st. This would give us a month and a half to get everything all prepared for Aiden. Yay!
That's about it for this week. On to baby belly pictures:




Oh how I miss my feet...











Uck! Dirty mirror. Sorry.















Side shot. I can't believe how big my belly has gotten!








*When is your due date? April 12, 2010

*What week are you in? 29 weeks

*How much weight have you gained? Up 13lbs.

*Do you know the gender of your baby? If so, what? Who's thinking about gender? I've got a karate master. Top that!

*Do you have a name picked out? What? Aiden Ryelle

*Maternity clothes? Yay! Comfy!

*Stretch Marks? make me want to cry

*How are you feeling right about now? hungry

*Have you felt the baby move? Did I mention she's a karate master?

*Sleep habits? Ugh. I lay on my side, she settles into my ribs. I sleep on my back, I can't breathe. I lay on my stomach, and I wake up only to realize I was dreaming...

*Any food cravings? Rootbeer. I've restrained so far, but what's a healthy substitute for rootbeer?

*Anything you loved before that you absolutely cannot eat anymore? Just the afore mentioned foods.

*Memorable Moment of the Week: Being kicked so much it wore me out! How weird!

Week 28

Week 28 apparently means the recurrence of an old enemy, Nasal Congestion! I've had a cold/sinus issue that has come back every month for the last three months (I guess we can blame pregnancy for that). So, it's back in spades. The doctor told me to take a Z-pack and hopefully that will get rid of it. My cousin Jessie has suggested I try some essential oils in a steam bowl and visualize healing light surrounding me. Two different and hopefully effective methods and I don't care which works as long as this goes away! I also have a Neti pot coming my way on Monday. If it's not cleared up by then, I think I'm going to need it! Hopefully this will all be gone very soon. I'm going to look at homes in Bedford with my friend Natasha tomorrow and Tuesday with Dan (as well as our next Dr. Appt!). We have dinner plans for Monday with Sara and Nick and I'm trying to arrange a get together with a couple of girlfriends later in the week. Please pray for my health, so that my life can resume at full speed! I'm getting tired of taking time off of work! Plus I don't want to have to reschedule another childbirth class. I was so sad to cancel this past week :-( But Bloomington Hospital labor and delivery are REALLY strict on who can even be in the ward. Did you know that they throw burning crosses and holy water at people who come in when they're sick?
Life hasn't been all head cold though. Dan and I got to watch Aiden doing some acrobatics in utero yesterday. She was VERY active! Before Dan got home, I watched my belly move on its own for a full 30sec. which is a record! Dan came home and got to see a little bit too. Maybe she'll still be in the mood for some major movements on Sunday and the family can see it too! Some friends at work have been hoping to feel a kick. Mindy got to feel one the other day, but poor Ina has been out of luck. Maybe next week she'll be up for some dancing time while I'm at work! When you work at a daycare for young children, everyone loves a pregnant belly :-)
Celebration Memo: I think we finally have a date set for the baby shower! Please clear Saturday, March 6,2010 on your calendars! I'm not sure about time yet (early afternoon, probably). But it will be a grand time and I can't wait to see all of you! It will be here in Bloomington. So hopefully that will make travel easy for most of you. We tried to find a place in the middle and since it's my apartment complex's clubhouse, it makes travel EXTREMELY easy for me, which will be nice since I'll only be about a month from delivery at that point.
Wow! I can't believe it's getting so close! I think I only have 80 days from today. Isn't that crazy!?! Aiden will be here before we know it and I don't feel very prepared... hopefully that will change as we get more settled and get the major nursery furniture put together. I can take care of a baby, no problem, but it will be a lot off of my mind once we have everything together and ready to go.
Well, as a sentimental send off for this blog, my father has informed on his birthday (He's the big 53 today!), when my 53rd birthday comes around, my little girl singing to me will definitely be a highlight. It's always nice to know that I can make his day. I can't wait for my little girl to do the same thing :-)
Now that we're done crying, onto the belly pictures!


Front of the belly. As awkward as weight comments generally are, I got a rather nice one the other day. A friend told me that I looked so nice with my growing belly. I haven't gained the
"girl baby weight". So it just leaves me with a cute, albeit obviously growing belly. It's always nice to hear that I'm a cute pregnant lady :-)













From the side, in the "Oh my aching back" pose.














From the side, in the "tender mother" pose











Mommy view: I think Caina was feeling a little left out. So she wanted to be in the picture too!










*When is your due date? April 12, 2010

*What week are you in? 28 weeks

*How much weight have you gained? Up 12lbs.

*Do you know the gender of your baby? If so, what? GIRL!

*Do you have a name picked out? What? Aiden Ryelle

*Maternity clothes? They make things so much easier

*Stretch Marks? I think some of them might be fading... most likely wishful thinking...

*How are you feeling right about now? stuffy

*Have you felt the baby move? Oh yes! She's a very active little girl. I think we'll be seeing feet and elbows before long :-)

*Sleep habits? Still not going so great. With the congestion, it just makes it worse. I keep waking up feeling like I haven't slept at all.

*Any food cravings? fried chicken. yes, I know it's not good for me...

*Anything you loved before that you absolutely cannot eat anymore? I don't think I'll ever be able to eat babaganoush again

*Memorable Moment of the Week: Watching those amazing acrobatics!

Week 27 and GOOD NEWS!

I called the doctor's office yesterday to find out our test results: NO GESTATIONAL DIABETES! I cannot express how relieved I am about this news. Thank you to everyone for your prayers, good vibes, and encouraging thoughts. I know they really made a difference! Now we can just focus on working out this whole anemia business (I am now taking 650mg of supplement each day plus a prenatal with iron added) and having a healthy end to this pregnancy and a healthy start for Aiden.
Speaking of little Aiden, she has been quite the mischievous fetus lately. She is in the mode for exploring new territory previously unavailable- namely, my ribs! Can I express how much it hurts to have a baby in your ribs? Not really. It's a pain that won't go away, as much as you encourage it to do so. This is made all the more difficult when you have a very stubborn unknowing child creating them. She definitely lets me know when she is unhappy with something I'm doing. I am no longer at liberty to stand up for more than half an hour without taking a sitting break. I guess she is comfier being a molded and squished... Well, at least we'll never have to wonder whether or not she needs something. She will definitely tell us!
My Braxton Hicks contractions have also more frequent. I can usually tell when I'm having one now, which is nice. This gives me a chance to sit down and drink some water before they get too bad. If I don't, they get really uncomfortable. I had them for about 20+ minutes the other night. They lasted so long, I thought I was having preterm labor and started timing them. Fortunately they went away once I sat down and had some water. So nothing to worry about!
In other news: My fingers have now gotten too big for my wedding rings. I'm so sad, but I'm keeping them on a chain around my neck at all times. Maybe it's silly, but I really don't want to go into labor, forget them, and have the baby without them with me. I feel very naked without them on and I'm already going to be naked enough when we have this baby!
The kids at work are still very excited that I'm having a baby. Nearly every day I have one of them coming up to me to feel my belly, ask about her, or tell me what they know about babies (a lot of parents are pregnant with second babies right now). It's just so cute. One little girl came up to me the other day and said "You have a baby in there" (referring to my belly) "We can't see her. Just like we can't see mommy's baby. She's hiding. We'll get to see her when she's done." She was QUITE matter of fact. It was Super cute! I just love working with kids this age.
We had our second birthing class this past week. We finally started talking about more personal labor issues (medication and such) which is what I've really been interested in talking about. And as painful as I'm sure this whole thing is going to be, I think I'm going to take that rather than the giant needle being place between my vertebrae. Even Dan felt uncomfortable with that, and he doesn't have to have it done to him! I think we'll keep our options open, but at this point I'm saying no drugs unless I ask for them. I will use my breathing/focusing/relaxation techniques/positions and hope for the best. Who knows, maybe it will go relatively quickly (relative in this instance meaning 15hrs rather than 24+). I'm sure that it is a definite possibility that I may change my mind when my eyes are bulging out of my head from the pain, but maybe I can be a big girl and at least hold out for a while. Or maybe use an IV, still looking into that. I'm not really sure that I like that option better, considering some of the side effects. Any suggestions? I'd be happy to hear them!
Well, I guess I've rambled on enough. Time for some belly pictures!





It's getting SO big! I'm pretty sure I'll be bigger in the front than I am tall by the time Aiden gets here.










Finally put together an outfit that shows off the bump.












A little view from the front. Wow, I miss having a waist line.










*When is your due date? April 12, 2010

*What week are you in? 27 weeks

*How much weight have you gained? Up 11lbs. Making up for lost time I guess! The doctors didn't say anything about it. So I guess that's fine. It's just hard to watch that scale go up and up.

*Do you know the gender of your baby? If so, what? A very mischievous little girl

*Do you have a name picked out? What? Aiden Ryelle

*Maternity clothes? Yes please!

*Stretch Marks? Hahaha... let's move on...

*How are you feeling right about now? slightly more energetic

*Have you felt the baby move? All the time. Especially when Daddy reads to her. She LOVES it!

*Sleep habits? Not so good. I keep waking up at about 3am or so. Whether or not I have to pee does not really seem to affect this.

*Any food cravings? I just want to eat. ALL THE TIME!

*Anything you loved before that you absolutely cannot eat anymore? Well, I'm not such a fan of pickles lately

*Memorable Moment of the Week: Hearing our good news! NO GESTATIONAL DIABETES!

Dr. Appt.

We had our six month check up yesterday morning. We got all of our questions answered (Yes. Those were Braxton Hicks contractions I was feeling) and had a fairly normal visit. Aiden's heartbeat was at a healthy 140-150 bpm, which is good! From now on, we'll be going to the doctor's office every two weeks for check ups.
Downside to the visit:
This was the week that my glucose testing was to be done. Although the blood draw was the least painful of my life, the phone call I got later that day wasn't so great. Not only am I anemic, which means I have to start taking iron supplements, my glucose results came back abnormal.
So we went to the hospital first thing this morning to do a more extensive glucola testing. This involved sitting in the lab for four hours, being stuck with lots of needles, and having to drink something way worse than the original glucose drink (twice the sugar!). I had to have my blood drawn every hour for four hours. We brought lots of stuff to do, but I ended up being sick from the drink. Headache, nausea, fatigue. So I slept the whole time while Dan sat next to me and read a book (he's so good for going with me). We should have the results by Friday. So we would definitely appreciate prayers, good vibes, and encouraging thoughts while we await the results.
Hopefully they will come back normal. If not, it will mean that I have gestational diabetes. This means a greater possibility of complications (high birth weight, hypoglycemia, high blood pressure, etc) and a lot more monitoring and frequent dr. visits.
Like I said, hopefully it will all turn out to be nothing. But at least we'll know what to be prepared for come delivery time.
I'll write the regular weekly post tomorrow, but must be off to bed for now.