Positive Doctor Appointment

Our 20 week appointment was this morning and all is still well with Baby Hill (or should I say Baby Bergill per the name of this Blog...). The heart rate is 148 which is normal and healthy for this point in the development. I am starting to feel some physical effects of being pregnant, i.e. back pain in various areas, so we talked to Dr. Dangerfield about that today and are assured all is normal and OK. Doesn't make it feel better, but at least it's nothing to be worried about.

Our next appointment is scheduled for November 26 and that will include our ultrasound, which we are very excited about, and also my 'gestational diabetes' screening, which we're less excited about. We've been warned it will be a long appointment, but also heard that having the ultrasound in between will actually help it go faster and give us something to look forward to in between the waiting that comes with the screening.

20 Weeks

Halfway there! We're 20 weeks along and time is starting to fly by. Baby is the size of a banana and I'm feeling lots of movement since last week (even more confident that's what it is now), which is a very cool/surreal feeling. Our doctor appointment was rescheduled a few times lately, but it's now set for Monday, October 29. No ultrasound until the next appointment, though, and we will keep the gender a surprise until arrival. This picture was taken October 26, 2012.

In nesting news, the trim is officially painted downstairs and I'm zeroing in on what color to paint Baby's room. Aaron and I are going to the Cities next weekend for the sole purpose of baby shopping. Ikea and Babies 'r Us - watch out!

Movement!

I mentioned in the last post that I had not yet felt Baby move - today I report that now I have! Err....at least I think that's what it was. I can count 5 distinct times I felt something funny in my stomach and all 5 of those times felt the same. It was like something inside was brushing the inside of my skin. I won't call it "bubbles" or "flutter"... maybe flutter. But to me it just feels like a quick, little swipe along the inside of my stomach. So I am going to continue to tune in to my tummy to see if it keeps happening and be sure it's Baby saying hi. I am 99% sure....but how can you really know, so I still reserve some room for error, but if I'm right - it's the coolest feeling ever. First occurence was Monday, October 22nd sitting at my desk. But I didn't think much of it. Then felt the same feeling twice as I was laying down for bed that night. Again on Tuesday the 23rd I felt it twice in a row sitting on the couch. Awesome!

19 Weeks

Cruising right along to 19 weeks. Notice the crazy change up in outfits - no cardigan. Gasp. I have not felt Baby move yet. The books and docs say that usually happens for the first time between 17 and 24 weeks, so I'm looking forward to that happening soon. We have our doctor appointment next week, but will wait to get the ultrasound at the appointment after that. Picture taken October 19, 2012 and Baby is the size of a mango!

In other news, Brianne is already 'nesting' and finishing up trim painting downstairs. I feel like I have been painting forever - probably because I have. I started the project about 2 weeks ago (on the heels of the upstatirs painting projects) and am hoping to wrap it up this weekend so we can move on to the actual fun part - Baby's room. I am definitely in the "honeymoon trimester" as they call it, and am taking advantage of feeling well and not being too big yet.

18 Weeks

18 weeks and starting to feel large and in charge. I'm sure I will scoff at that comment around, oh....35ish weeks when this will appear small. But definitely showing and hopefully it's obvious to others my swelling belly holds a baby. I've realized I should perhaps change up the outfits from tank top and cardigan in future pictures, as that is the only theme so far. But hey - it works and fits, and you realize quickly how comfort and feeling good are about as important as three meals a day. Oh, and Baby is the size of a sweet potato! Which is fitting since Aaron has started singing "You're my little Potato" (a Rockapella song) to Baby. We sing it to Big Sister Millie too, but I don't think the Baby minds sharing a tune with her. They will obviously be best friends in no time. 

P.S. I'm going to try to start posting these real time now... We've been playing a little catch up in these early weeks. This picture was taken October 12, 2012.





 

Flowers from Grandmas

Look what the grandmas sent us! I received these beautful flowers and cute card from Grandma Ange and Grandma Sue on a Monday morning at work. We have two VERY excited grandmas-in-waiting. Baby Hill will experience no shortage of love - that we know for sure.

17 Weeks





17 weeks now and feeling good. Picture taken on October 5, 2012. Baby is the size of an onion! Aaron has been talking to the Baby and kissing him/her pretty much daily since we found out there was a poppy seed in there. I told him I'm jealous he can get direct access to the tummy while I will never bend that way. But I guess I'm with Baby much more than him, so it's only "fair."

16 Weeks



16 weeks along and starting to look pregnant. Picture was taken on September 28 and Baby is the size of an avacado. I've happily transitioned into maternity pants and am much more comfortable now. And while I don't have the picture to prove it (might be able to add later), Baby and Mom went cruising around in Bobcat equipment today. We had a Boot Camp (operation instruction for office dummies) on Friday and Baby and Mom dug lots of holes with excavators, pushed dirt with loaders, cruised around an obstacle course in a utility vehicle, and even operated a loader from outside the cab with a remote control. I can't be positive, but I think Baby Hill had lots of fun. Maybe that means it's a boy...who knows!


Also, on September 26 we had our 16 week Dr. appointment, which was also our first time meeting the doctor since our 12 week appointment was with the nurse practitioner. We'd heard great things about Dr. Dangerfield and he did not disappoint! He is of course an excellent doctor with all the right technical knowledge to keep us informed and healthy, but we appreciated his humor and personality too! He and Aaron hit it off quickly, connecting on basketball (through Aaron's reffing) and St. Johns. To the point where, while working to find baby's heartbeat and Brianne enthusiastically kept asking if "that was it?", he hushed me because he and Aaron were "talking sports." He continued, "Does she have to come to every appointment?" as though I'm interrupting their man time. At that point I was laughing too hard to hold still to hear the heartbeat, but we found it eventually. And it was 156 beats per minute, for anyone keeping track. That's down from 170 bpm at 12 weeks. Between that and a few other one liners, we look forward to him guiding us through this adventure. He will keep it real through it all!

14 Weeks



We've started documenting "bump" progress! This is 14 weeks on September 14, 2012. Starting to show, but nothing too obvious. Baby Hill is the size of lemon, which is a far cry from the poppy seed we started with. Pants are getting tight but still fitting...for the most part.


Also around this time, we purchased our first "baby item" for Baby Bergill. It's the book, "Wumbers" which combines letters and numbers to make words ... perhaps a little advanced for a newborn, but nevertheless we bought it for Baby knowing eventually it would be fun to read/translate together. It was a unique find at "Zanbroz" in downtown Fargo and it represents Aaron's and my first time truly perusing a kid/baby section of a store with intention. We were also intrigued by the "old school" toys available, like a rotary phone, jack-in-the-box, xylephone, pick-up-sticks game, and other childhood favorites of ours. We will eventually need a few of these toys around so mom and dad can keep up (amidst other highly technical games and activities)! But for actual purchases we opted for just the book and hope it and many more become favorites of Baby Bergill.



Bump Ahead

The Hills are expecting! To say we're excited is an understatement. In a few short months we'll meet our little one and attempt parenting. We feel incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity.

We found out I was pregnant on July 7, 2012 which was about 4 weeks along. I took a home pregnancy test and didn't really expect anything, but was pleasantly surprised to see the little + sign take shape. It was a Saturday and we had plans to go to a friend's lake that day, so we were forced to "muzzle ourselves" very quickly which was only the beginning of keeping one of the hardest secrets to keep for the next 8 weeks. We made it through that day and many others, me perfecting the art of holding a drink and passing to Aaron for consumption (it was summer after all).

A distinct memory of the day we found out I was pregnant was going to the grocery store and just kind of staring at everyone I met with the fascination that "they were born." Seems weird and of course incredibly obvious. But on the day I found out I had life growing inside me, I had a surreal fascination with "the miracle of life..." Cheesy but true.

The first person we let in on our exciting secret was Brianne's brother, Paul, at 7 weeks. It was earlier than we wanted to tell family, but it was more important to tell him in person before he flew back to Germany. We told Aaron's parents and Brianne's mom at 10 weeks and told dad and Jan at 11. With our ultrasound and first doctor's appointment scheduled for August 31 at 12 weeks, we were excited to hit the ground running telling friends and extended family once all was confirmed and healthy at the doctor. It's amazing how much you "hold your breath" in the early weeks of pregnancy and worry about what could go wrong...welcome to the next 18+ years of our lives, right?

At our 12 week appointment, we got to "meet" our little one for the first time. To others I'm sure this looks like a sad, blurry little picture. To us, it's the most beautiful thing we've ever seen.

An exciting revelation during the early weeks of pregnancy was learning of so many close friends who were also expecting and within 2 weeks of our due date! Emily Griffith - due March 1. Jeanine Larson - due March 19. Mindy Christianson - due April 2. Our due date is March 15, so I am in good company with these ladies.

The Bump Ahead picture was taken on August 19 (10 weeks) on our way home from a wedding in northern Minnesota. We kept our eyes peeled the whole trip north and back, and when we found this sign, we knew it was the perfect way to announce our news.