32 Weeks and a Nelson nose!

Today we are 32 weeks and moving closer to a baby each and every day.  We had an ultrasound on Monday which showed that the baby looks very healthy.  It weighs 3.5 lbs. and is measuring in the 40th percentile for size.  The stenographer told us not to expect an 8 or 9 lb. baby, but more a 6 or 7 lb. baby (I can definitely live with that).  We also found out that the placenta traveled just barely enough, 2 cm from the birth canal, so I may not need to have a c-section!  2 cm is the cutoff and my doctor looked at the ultrasound pictures and said she was fine with the results.  So now I'm a little relieved that I don't automatically have to be sliced open.  


The last time I had an ultrasound the baby was sprawled across my stomach, but we saw that it's head and face down now, which is a very good thing. I'm not sure that this explains the freaky alien-type movement you can now see in my stomach from across the room, but I'm very excited about all the good news we received. We also requested a 3D ultrasound to see the face a little clearer, so here's the cutest picture that we got.  Note that the baby definitely has my nose!

We visited a daycare that we both really liked today.  Once the baby is born we have to be invited in for an interview and to see how our child interacts with the other children in the room.  So far there are 19 children on the waiting list for the fall, and I think only 2 open spots.  We have to figure out a way to get that spot!

31 Weeks and we own a car seat!

This week marks 31 weeks down....the time keeps getting shorter and shorter until we have our bundle of joy!  We finished our last birthing class on Valentine's Day.  Spending a long day at work and then 2.5 hours at the hospital is not what I call a fun day.  What I didn't know is that Dan snuck home with 2 dozen red roses while I was still at work before I drove to class so I would have a surprise when I got home.  I was certainly surprised!  Look how beautiful they are!

We had our 2 week appointment on Friday (we now have to go every 2 weeks until April, and then once a week until the baby is born) where we found out that I lost another 2 lbs. in 2 weeks.  That means I've lost 4 lbs. in 4 weeks instead of gaining weight.  Now we can all see that my stomach is getting bigger so they think the baby is fine, but we go for our 32 week ultrasound on Monday so they'll take measurements to make sure he/she is growing at a good rate.  Based on the immense kicking, punching, and moving, I'm guessing that we're ok.  The doctor that we saw "prescribed" me daily milkshakes.  I probably won't be doing that because of the whole lactose intolerance issue, but I'm able to eat regular food without feeling sick and am starving all the time, so hopefully I'm back on track.  


Friday marks the last day of school for a week, which means vacation!  Unfortunately we won't be going anywhere since Dan has to use all his vacation time for when the baby is born.  We are going to see Cirque Eloize at the Flynn on Saturday night which should be a good time.  Liza and I will be making a trip to Target and hopefully I'll be relaxing and catching up with some friends. There is always getting organized for the baby...


We purchased our car seat this week, so is Baby O should decide to come at any time, at least we have that.  It's the #1 rated car seat right now, so we feel pretty good about it.

As far as the baby goes, it's over 16 inches long and weighs about 3.3 lbs. and is heading for a growth spurt. Imagine walking around the 4 navel oranges to compare the weight.  Now we just play the weight game as the little one starts to really plump up.   The nurse at our class told us that the baby is now starting to recognize mom and dad's voices, so Dan started talking a lot more to my stomach.  Whether it's coincidence or not, the baby always starts to kick when he's chatting with the bump.


This week the top of my belly button is gone, although the picture doesn't really do it justice to how creepy it looks.

30 Weeks

    

This was a big weekend for the Nelson family.  Anthony and Marlies came home to celebrate Liza's birthday (she's now 24) and to Super Bowl it up with the Packers/Steelers game.  Saturday we had a little dinner party with Liza's friends for her birthday and then drove home in the crazy "Thundersnow" storm.  Sunday we all prepared food at our house and had some cool peeps over for the Super Bowl.  It was tense at times, but the Packers pulled off a win.  There was a LOT of excitement in our house that night. Marlies even made Packers helmet cupcakes to bring the spirit.

Today marks 30 weeks of the pregnancy.  Not much new is happening now except Baby O keeps getting bigger and heavier.  Now it's 15.7 inches long and weighs almost 3 lbs.  Again the weight is compared to a head of cabbage.  The baby's eyes are still developing and they are seeing at 20/400 right now, which means they can respond to light but only see objects a couple of inches in front of them.  I'm assuming right now these objects are their hands and feet.

Speaking of hands and feet, I'm feeling those more and more each day.  Right now baby is laying sideways in my stomach on it's back.  I experienced a new sensation this weekend of kicking and hitting at the same time.  The baby seems to move all the time and sometimes I feel like it's going to kick right out of me.  

Next week is our last birthing class...yeah, we're spending an evening at the hospital for Valentine's' Day, how romantic!  I'm sure we'll go to dinner together some other time.  We also have vacation coming up in two weeks.  Unfortunately Dan has to work the whole week so that he can take paternity leave to be with us once the baby is born.  So, we won't be doing anything exciting except having our 32 week ultrasound.  If anyone's free during the days, I've got no plans...hint, hint!  Oh yeah, we're going to convince my father to start helping us paint the nursery and assemble the furniture one of those days.  Dad, is any day good for you?! 

Quickly losing my belly button:

29 Weeks

So excuse the photos...today we had a snow day and I didn't go to work so I'm not as dressed up as I normally am.  This past week has been ok as far as how I'm feeling.  I did all I could do to get through my fabulous birthday dinner with my family on Saturday.  My stomach is constantly hurting, I'm not finding any food that sits well with me, and being out in restaurants seems to make it worse.  I've been living off soup, crackers, gatorade, and water for a little while now.  My ultrasound came back "perfect" as the report said that I got in the mail, so now what?  My OB said that sometimes you just have unexplained pain that can't be found.  I kind of wanted to hit her after she said that.


This weekend should be fun.  It's the Super Bowl!  My father and brother are two of the BIGGEST Packer's fans in the world, so Anthony and Marlies may be coming home for the weekend for the game.  That means that Dan and I will be hosting a Super Bowl party, which I'm excited about.  I wanted to do something but I didn't want to have to drive anywhere.  Liza's birthday is also on Monday, so it will be a double celebration.


This past week the baby has been kicking like crazy.  I haven't really noticed my stomach moving from the outside all that much, but today it looked like I was popping corn with golf balls.  The baby's getting bigger each day, and this week it's weighing in at 2.5 lbs, the weight of a butternut squash.  It's over 15 inches long from head to toe, which is pretty long.  Apparently I have to start major calcium intake as this little one needs over 250 milligrams of calcium per day for the hardening skeleton.  We'll see how creative I can get being lactose intolerant.  


We've decided that over February break we're going to try and get the nursery painted and the furniture set up. I guess you never know when Baby O could come, which means we have to get on the car seat purchase as well.  A little tidbit that Dan learned today while helping a neighbor shovel their car out is that one of our neighbors is pregnant with their second child, whose due date is also April 21st.  To make it even weirder, their first child was born on August 30, 2008, our wedding day.  Maybe things will work out and we can carpool to the hospital!