Week 27!

Since the leaves have fully bloomed out on the trees, our internet has gone all to heck.  It works when it wants to, which usually isn't when I need it most!  My iPhone has pretty much become our internet source for the time being.  It's great for looking up a quick thing or two, but not so great for blogging or doing any extensive research!  This is why I have not blogged about our little girl in awhile.

It is now week 27, well actually I'm a bit late, and it's now 27.5!  Where has the time gone?  We had our first prenatal class last night at St. Gabriel's, and it went great.  It was nice to meet other couples who are going through the same things as us, and start to learn all about the labor and delivery process.  I am excited to get a birth plan in order, even though I know it might not go the way we plan!  I am going to keep an open mind and do whatever is best for the baby.  We have 5 weeks left, and then I will take an extra breastfeeding class following the last week.

Our little jellybean is growing and growing in there!  She is still on the move, and her kicks are definitely getting stronger.  I am feeling more of the pregnancy effects as well, with sore knees and back, especially after a long day at work.  I am not sleeping much during the night, so I am trying to get in some naps here and there, which help. 

According to Baby Center, our little girl weighs about 2 lbs, and is about 14.5 inches long!  She is sleeping at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking on her little fingers.  With more brain tissue developing, baby's brain is very active now.  The lungs are still immature, but they would be capable of functioning - with a lot of medical help - if she were to be born now.

I had my gestational diabetes glucose test on Monday, and passed with flying colors.  I was dreading drinking the sugary drink, but luckily they had it cold, so it wasn't too bad.  Dr. Susan said everything was looking great and told me to go ahead to gain some more weight!  Who doesn't like to hear that!?  So I took a trip down the ice cream aisle at the store last night.  YUM!  I have one more appointment, and then will go in every 2 weeks until time gets really close!  Here is my most recent picture--

Okay enough baby talk...we have been really busy with other things!  We are working on our yard a lot, and Noah's dad has been a great help with the chainsaw.  We were hoping to get grass in the spring, but have decided to wait until fall since we have so much other yard work to get done first!  Don retired last Friday, so Noah and I went and surprised him at the post office for breakfast in the morning, and then we had his party in the evening.  It was a lot of fun, and nice to meet all of his work friends and employees.
-On Saturday, we got up early and went fishing on Lake John, the lake we used to live on.  It was a gorgeous day, and we caught lots of fish that we will be frying up for dinner tonight.  We drove home and relaxed for a bit before heading to Watkins for Noah's baseball game.  He pitched 4 innings and did great.  The Clippers won 7-3.  They played on Sunday in Kimball (ew) and won again.  They are undefeated so far this season!
-Monday afternoon I met Noah in Rice to meet with our life insurance guy.  After talking money matters, we headed to St. Cloud to do some shopping, and then went to cheer on the Eden Valley-Watkins high school baseball team.  They won 7-4, and play tomorrow night in St. Cloud again.  If they win, they are headed to the state tournament again, which they won last year.  They are a great team, and lots of fun to watch!
-Noah has a game Friday night, and I will be heading to the Twins game on Saturday for Drea's bachelorette party.  Hopefully the weather will be nice, but not too hot!  Another Clipper game on Sunday, and that's another weekend gone!

Hopefully we can figure out another internet service provider soon so I can keep a more updated blog!

Corn on the Cob, Anyone?

Here we are at week 24 already.  We found out last week that our little bundle of joy is a GIRL!  That was my thought, and I had actually already purchased a few girly things before I knew for sure.  I figured if I was wrong I could always save them for a gift, but I was right!  So now I'm getting Noah used to the color PINK!  We ordered our crib bedding yesterday (that I had picked out months ago), and it should arrive in July.

This week our little girl is about the size of an ear of corn.  She should've gained about 4oz since last week, which would put her at 1 lb 5 oz.  Her body is still lean, but is just starting to add on fat and plump up.  Her brain is continuing to grow, and she is developing more sensitive taste buds.  Her skin is still thin and see-through, but that will change soon as she adds on the fat!

She is a mover and a shaker.  She definitely moves the most right after a meal, and you can see her little kicks right through my shirt.  She also definitely knows her daddy's voice!  She likes to dance around when he talks to her in bed at night.

Baby got to "attend" her first baseball game on Sunday evening.  She must have been good luck as Noah's team, the Watkins Clippers, got a nice win in Cold Spring.  Noah got a hit, scored a run, and played awesome at 2nd base.  She better get used to spending time at the ballpark!  I have been feeling great, and spending a lot of time in the yard picking up brush and getting it ready for some grass this summer.  My belly continues to expand, and it's always fun to see what it looks like each morning!  Here is my 23 weeks photo:

My Not So Little Spaghetti Squash

Well here we are at week 22 already...I can't believe it!  Where has the time gone?  Baby is the size of a spaghetti squash!  Yum!  I can feel movements and kicks everyday now, and I am starting to figure out their daily routine.  The jellybean must looove chocolate, because I can barely get a Hersey kiss in my mouth and they are already dancing around!  Baby is most active in the evening when I'm laying in bed.  About 9pm is his/her time to have their own little dance party!  Noah reads Goodnight Moon every night, which we hope to continue when baby is born!

We are continuing to stock up the nursery, and our latest addition is the Ergo carrier which we got yesterday.  We find out the gender next week already and I'm so excited!  We have about equal guesses between girl and boy.  I don't have an overwhelming feeling either way, but my guess is girl, while Noah says boy.  Belly is growing fast, and I'm constantly trying to find something to wear that's not too tight or too loose!  Here's a fun bare belly comparison between 11 weeks and 21 weeks--

The funny thing is I clearly remember taking the 11 week picture, and thinking that I looked huge!  Haha.  It's fun to watch my belly grow and know that baby is warm and comfy in there growing along with it!

That's it in my baby world for this week, my next update should have the gender announcement unless jellybean doesn't cooperate! 

The Big News!

It's no secret, but it is new news for my blog!  On January 3rd, Noah and I found out we are having a baby!  Wahoo!  We couldn't be happier!  I am due September 12th, so I am in week 20 already.  I can't believe how fast time has flown!  All appointments have gone great, and we find out in about 3 weeks whether we have a little girl or boy to add to our family.  We (well, mostly I) have been busy researching every little thing to buy, and even though it's overwhelming, it's so much fun.  Our stroller (Bumbleride Indie) should arrive here tomorrow!  We have our crib and dresser set up, and I can't wait to fill the rest of the room!

 

I was lucky enough to have absolutely no morning sickness (or afternoon or evening at that!)  Just a bit tired, so naps were my friend!  I have my energy back now, although I still take the occasional nap here and there.  I also haven't had any weird cravings or anything.  I pretty much eat like I always have, with a few more snacks added in, of course.  

I starting feeling little flutters at 17 weeks, and now can feel them often, as well as the big ol' kicks!  Noah even felt his first kick a few nights ago!  We truly have a little wriggle worm on our hands!  Will baby have Noah's looong legs?  Maybe!  Oooh they must know I'm taking about them...there's a kick kick kick!

The Jellybean is already the size of a cute little canteloupe!   About 10 inches from head to heel.  Baby is swallowing more, which is good practice for the digestive system.  They are also producing meconium...pretty much the first poo!  Great!  I think I'll give Noah the honors of changing the first diaper, since he has never done it!

It's been so much fun following the baby's growth and development, and we cannot wait to meet him/her in the real world!  Here is my belly bump picture for the week:

Fast-Forward

Wow.  A whole TEN months have passed since my last blog.  Life must be either busy, or boring...and I choose BUSY!  Noah and I have accomplished a whole lot since last June.  We spent most of the summer working on building our house, and moved in on September 25th.  We are so in love with living here.  I get to spend mornings watching birds on the feeders, and Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird making their nest in our bluebird house.  I can't wait to see the little fuzzy bluebirds peeking out of the hole!  We got to see them last year, and it made me so happy.  When the weather lets me, I enjoy taking Harry for walks through our woods, and we are currently working on cutting some wider trails for some great summer walks.  We are hoping to get our grass in sometime this spring, and then eventually some trees and other landscaping.  Our final project will be a deck in the back, although that might have to wait until next summer.  Harry is especially loving life in the country.  He even ventured out last week to visit the cows down the road.  It's so nice that we can just let him out in the yard without worrying about hooking him up to a tree or anything. 

Here are some highlights of things we have done in the past 10 months:

We have also be blessed with another nephew!  Graham Lee Solem was born on February 12th!  He is such a cutie and Ben is a great big brother.  Noah and I are even lucky enough to be his God-parents!  What a blessing! 

Well that's enough of a re-cap.  Stay tuned for another blog with the greatest news of all!