Scare

Well, the first of what I am sure to be many nerve-wracking scenarios involving our son happened this morning. 

I had my normal OB appointment and was telling Dr. Heit how this weekend I felt like the baby was moving significantly less than normal and he scolded me for not calling the clinic.  In our defense, we were literally on the verge of calling, but then the baby started moving and I felt reassured.  After I finished telling him that, he got out the monitor to listen to the baby's heartbeat, and every 4th beat was skipping.  This prompted him to send me to the Perinatal (high risk pregnancy) clinic for an immediate ultrasound to see what was going on.  I of course was trying not to cry and trying not to think the worst, but how can you not?  Especially given that it seemed like he wasn't moving as much as normal over the weekend. 

Anyway - I got right in at the Perinatal clinic and they got the ultrasound going and Baby Lew's heartbeat was back to normal by that point - probably about 30 minutes or so had passed by then.  The Dr said she was stuggling to find anything abnormal at all and that at 30 weeks, it is common for the baby's heartrate to sound irregular at times.  Something about the maturity of the atrium and the way it fires at this age.  So anyway, all is well.   And it if nothing else, I got to see the baby again!  And he has chubby cheeks :)

Cody wasn't at this appointment b/c it was at 9:30 in the morning - normally we try to do our appointments towards the end of the day so that neither of us has to go back to work.   When I got sent to the Perinatal clinic, I told him he didn't need to drive almost an hour from work b/c I'd probably be in and out by then. So when I called him with the good news that everything was ok, I caught him just as he was deciding he couldn't stand it anymore and he was heading to the clinic.  Luckily he didn't need to come, but it will be nice to see each other tonight after work and give each other a long, reassuring hug since I think we're both feeling pretty shaky still. 

No more scares please, Baby Lew!

Catch up

Oopsy, I fell a little behind the past couple weeks.  Saturday March 12th we decided to have a dinner date at a restaurant I'd read some good reviews about up in Platte City....Shields Manor Bistro.  The restaurant is in an old, Victorian style house and had about 10 tables in it - locally owned, very quaint - right up my alley.  The bad news is that's about where the excitement stopped.  The good news is we were both in really good moods and were able to laugh off everything from the frazzled server spinning in a circle right next to our table b/c she couldn't decide what to do next, the frozen vegetable medley that was part of a $36 entree (and was mush to top it off), the wine served with ice cubes (ok, it was sparkling grape juice - but still - who wants ice cubes in it?), and the cool antique silverware that seriously would've been really cool if it had been polished - but Cody literally thought his spoon might've just been dug up out of the backyard.  Shoot.  Anyway, here's a pic from the night:

Last week, I turned 29 Weeks and am happy to report that I was still able to paint my own toenails.  Not sure how much longer that's going to work out for me.  It's going to be really rough when I have to actually go get a pedicure :)  29 Week pic:

This past weekend, March 19th, my sister and I headed back to B-town for my cousin Kim's baby shower.  So fun that we're due only 5 days apart with our first babies.  Baby Elise got some great stuff at the shower!    

And finally, today marks the start of Week 30!  Can't believe we're into the 30's now...it's really going to fly by!  We had a lady from the school district's "Parents as Teachers" program come out to our house tonight to meet us and to get us informed on the program.  It's basically a program to make sure the child is meeting developmental milestones, give parents ideas for learning activities, etc.  She'll come every other month from the time he's born til age 3. 

Tomorrow morning I have another OB appt - I'm anxious to ask him about the weird redness I've noticed on one of my ankles.  It's not swollen or anything, just kind of looks almost like spider veins maybe?  But just really really bright red.  Yikes.  Then tomorrow night we have a baptism prep class at church and once complete, we can schedule Baby Lew's baptism.  Lots of baby stuff going on! 

Here's a picture at week 30:

Entering Tri-3!!

My baby update emails and books tell me Week 28 is the start of the third trimester - not sure who determined this, but they apparently have some math issues!  2/3 of 40 does not equal 28 - someone needs to be audited. :)  Regardless, I'm really excited to be on the homestretch.  Not because I haven't been enjoying or having an easy pregnancy, but for the fact that we are just so dang excited and anxious to meet Baby Lew. 

This past weekend we started in on the search for child care and interviewed a potential provider.  Turns out her daughter goes to NW and she is a huge A&G fan....extra points for her! :)  Problem is she's not sure whether she'll have availability or not, so we're going to interview some others as well.  Between starting in on seriously thinking about childcare & getting the news that Cody's truck is about to bite it, we decided we couldn't put off the dreaded financial talk.  For some reason, it always puts us both in bad mood.

So last night we sat down and sorted through everything and tried to figure out where we could trim things out of the budget and where we could fit in a car payment and childcare....sigh.....sigh again.  I'm praying it will all work out, and I have faith that it will, but dang - this was the first time reality really sunk in about just how different things are going to be.  Different financially, but on the other hand, I already know that all of the joy the baby will bring will be more than worth it. 

My nesting instincts are kicking in, I think.  I spent a good majority of last weekend cleaning out and organizing closets.  When we moved into our house 2 years ago, my mom told me not to put boxes into the closets without unpacking them b/c I'd forget about them and she was right!  2 years later, I'm finally organizing them. 

After last week's picture, I was scolded for making it look like I didn't have a husband who would take a decent belly picture for me.  So last night, Cody got out the new camera and snapped a couple.  This is me after our money talk, pretending like I'm in a good mood :)

Weirdos at Work

So – in one trip across the building at work today this happened to me 3 times: 

I’d be walking down the hall and the person approaching me would totally move as far right as they could – like they needed to give me plenty of space to walk through.  And it was almost as if they were jumping out of the way.  Not really being nonchalant about it.  If it had been just one occurrence, I wouldn’t have thought twice about it.  But 3 times in one trip!  One of the times was in a stairwell, and I swear the guy literally flattened himself against the wall to let me pass.  It was so exaggerated I almost starting laughing at him.  Do I really look like I need that much space to get by?  Our hallways at work are definitely wide enough!  Maybe I’m walking weird and looking like I need extra space?!   Or are the men at my office just freaked out by the sight of a pregnant lady coming down the hall??!

27 Weeks

Today I turn 27 weeks....Baby Lew is approx 14 inches long with his legs extended and weighs about 2 lbs - the weight of a head of cauliflower.  My weekly updates tell me that at this point he's sleeping and waking at regular intervals and opening and closing his eyes.  His brain tissue continues to develop and is very active now.  I was just thinking the other day as I was feeling him kicking a lot that I wonder if he's bored since he's all cooped up in there - I mean I would be! :)  His lungs are still immature, but they would be capable of functioning - with a lot of medical help, of course - if he were to be born right now. 

Feeling really great still - only thing I've noticed lately is that my feet keep cramping up at night.  I've read that leg cramps are common, but I must be getting them in my feet instead. 

Here's a pic I took quick before work this morning.  Sorry about the quality of this picture - the mirror and my flash were not compatible and I didn't have time to figure out how to fix it :)