Week 29

I'm not sure if the picture does it justice or not, but I am feeling pretty huge these days!  And the scary part is I have another 11 weeks of growing to do before this baby is born!  We had our 28 week appointment earlier this week and found out that I passed the glucose screening test, meaning that I do not have gestational diabetes and don't have to do the follow up glucose tolerance test.  Yay!  I did have low iron levels though so I have to start taking another iron supplement, but that's not a big deal other than maybe making me a little more tired (which is not good on top of 12 hour workdays).  The baby has continued to be pretty active which is fun for us.  : ) 

We worked on our Babies R Us registry this weekend and Joel was quite a trooper!  Then we headed back to USA Baby to look at strollers again.  I think the stroller decision is almost as difficult for me as the name!  There are just SO many options out there and they all have their benefits and drawbacks.  At this point I think the front runner is the Baby Jogger City Select (http://www.babyjogger.com/city_select_lp.aspx), which is extremely versatile... you can use it with the seat, carseat adapter, or bassinet (if you purchase it), and the best part is with the purchase of a second full seat it actually becomes a double stroller when you need it to.  You can put it together in over 20 different combinations too (and the second child doesn't have to always look at the back of the other seat)!  Even though we are only having one baby now, we know so many people having to purchase a double stroller now that they are having their second, so we are thinking maybe it's a good idea to go with this one which we will use as a single now and a double later so we don't have to purchase a whole new stroller in a couple/few years when we have #2?  A lot of friends have also recommended the Bob, which we love and could jog with, but I'm not sure it has all the functionalities I want in my everyday stroller, so we may end up purchasing one of those as well down the road if we decide we do want a jogger. 

I am going to try to update the blog more often than once a week (and also post more pictures other than me standing in the living room) once work slows down a bit, but for now here's the week 29 update from What to Expect/pic from Baby Center: 

Unsightly yet harmless, varicose veins are simply swollen blood vessels that often surface on your body for the first time during pregnancy, especially if your mom or grandma had them. You may have a mild case (minor achiness and swelling) or you may be unlucky enough to experience real pain and bulging blue veins, usually from the ankle to the upper thigh. There are things you can do to alleviate this veiny situation, including watching your weight, keeping your blood flowing, and avoiding heavy lifting. And speaking of heavy lifting, your baby weighs nearly three pounds now and measures about 17 inches. Though she's getting pretty close to her birth length, she still has to chub out a bit. In fact, over the next 11 weeks, she'll more than double — or even come close to tripling — her weight. And as she grows and room in your womb gets tighter, you'll be less likely to feel those big kicks and more likely to get poked by an elbow or jabbed by a knee.

Week 28

It has been an exciting week for us!  The baby has been extremely active ever since I started feeling her move and kick and this was the first week to start really paying attention to and recording the kick counts and the first few days I was counting 10 kicks in just a few minutes, but on Wedneday she seemed to be much less active.  The kick count register from the doctor says to call the doctor right away if you can't feel 10 kicks in an hour when she's awake and I was only up to about 5 whenever I tried on Wednesday.  Thursday morning she continued to be less active so I called the doctor to inquire what to do and whether or not to be concerned.  The nurse said I could come in and listen to her heartbeat to be sure she was ok, but I was so busy at work I decided to wait until later in the day to reassess.  When I called back in the afternoon the nurse told me to come in, then called back a few minutes later and said that I actually needed to go to Labor & Delivery at hospital to get checked out.  I was not expecting that reaction at all and was really hoping everything was ok!  I headed over to the hospital and got hooked up to a fetal heart monitor and a contraction monitor and the nurse said they needed to monitor the baby's hearbeat for awhile.  Well long story short, they think the heart monitor I was hooked up to was faulty because it kept jumping to a higher heart rate which they said could be a sign of the baby having a heart arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat) so they sent my doctor in to do an ultrasound.  Thankfully the baby was doing just fine and she looks perfect!  The doctor checked her heart, brain, movement, amniotic fluid level, lungs/practice breathing and she looks great!  Afterward they hooked me up to another heart monitor just to be sure and everything was fine.  And, I'm happy to report that the baby is back to being crazy and kicking and moving all over again.  : )

I also had to do my glucose screening test to screen for gestational diabetes (which entails drinking a really sweet yucky liquid then waiting an hour and having your blood taken)  and I have an appointment on Wednesday to go over the results with the doctor.  I hope the results are good, meaning no gestational diabetes and not having to go back for the glucose tolerance test which means drinking twice as much yucky liquid and having my blood taken every hour for 3 hours!

Joel and I took a trip to Palm Springs this weekend with his parents for a little getaway!  It's such a nice trip because it's only two hours away but you really feel like you're on vacation and can disconnect and relax.  We played golf on Saturday and went to dinner and then brunch on Sunday follwed by a little shopping before heading home.  I wasn't sure how the golf would go for me with the baby belly, but it was actually fine and we had a great time.  I hope we can sneek in one more Palm Springs weekend before the baby arrives! 

Time to catch up on Surivior from last week before heading to bed, so I'll leave you with the Week 28 update from What to Expect.com:

Your Baby in Week 28 of Pregnancy:  Your baby is settling into the proper position for birth, with his head facing downward (toward your body's nearest exit!). Your little work in progress is now about 2.5 pounds and almost 16 inches long. He's busy adding new skills such as blinking to an already impressive repertoire of tricks like coughing, sucking, hiccuping, and taking practice breaths. Your baby's sleep now includes the REM (rapid eye movement) phase — and that means he could be dreaming already (what do you suppose he's dreaming about?). Though his lungs are nearly fully mature (so both of you might breathe a little easier if he were born now), your baby still has plenty of growing to do.

Week 27

The first of the weekly updates for the blog...

I am still feeling pretty good these days! Although I guess I should catch you up since I haven't addressed the early pregnancy yet... A VERY brief update: Weeks 1-7 = a feeling that maybe I'm not really pregnant, I just didn't feel any different (to be expected at that point). However, Weeks 8-16 = Absolutely horrible! I had extreme nausea for a week or so non-stop (I couldn't eat or even get out of bed most days), then on and off nausea the rest of the time. Also, I pretty much had a headache or migraine every day, and of course you can't take anything but Tylenol, which does NOT help me. But Week 17 on = I've been feeling pretty good! Much less tired and sick and the headaches have been much better! I have started feeling pretty tired again in the last week or so, but I'm not sure if that is a result of entering the third trimester or just busy season at work and being exhausted from that. I have recently started to feel a general feeling of being uncomfortable as my belly is getting bigger.  I started feeling her kick and move a lot around week 20 or so, and she has not slowed down yet! She is very active and we love to relax on the couch in the evening and feel and watch her moving around. One thing that has been bothering me though is my feet! If I am on my feet for more than about 30 minutes they start to hurt extremely bad and throb in pain. I can get Joel to give me a footrub every now and then, but I think he is growing tired of it already. :)

I couldn't decide whether to share the weekly update from thebump.com or babycenter.com, so I decided to just share both this week as thebump.com only provides monthly updates at this point.

The Bump: Your Baby: Month 6

Let your spouse put an ear to your belly -- he might be able to pick up baby's heartbeat (no stethoscope required). Inside the womb, the formation of tiny capillaries is giving baby a healthy pink glow. Baby's also soaking up your antibodies, getting the immune system ready for life outside the womb. Eyes are forming, and baby will soon perfect the blink -- perfect for batting those freshly grown lashes.

Baby Center: 27 Weeks:

This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

Ultrasound Pictures

I know these would have been far more exciting if you could have seen them timely, but they are all we have now (as unless there is a problem or something they need to look into further which requires one there are no ultrasounds after your 18-20 week "anatomy study"). I am thankful for this because it means all is well in the Kelly womb, but I would love to see what the little lady is up to these days and how much she has grown.

8 weeks

12 weeks

19 weeks (including the crotch shot - it's a girl!)

20 weeks (first two are a foot and then her arm and leg)

The blog is finally here!

OK, I know, I know... I'm sorry for the delay! I promised a blog as when we found out we were expecting and now that I am starting the last trimester, here it is! : ) Sorry, I am not creative and could NOT come up with a blog title. Anyway, K is for Kelly will have to do for now and I will get you all caught up in no time and hopefully be posting regularly now!  (P.S. Thanks Nichole for taking the photo for the header!)