Ultrasound Reports Healthy Baby

We had our ultrasound today (24 weeks and 3 days)! We've been looking forward to it for quite some time and we're pleased to report that Baby is healthy and on track for where he/she is supposed to be at this point. All limbs are attached (phew!) and the heart rate is strong at 145 beats per minute. On the "smile for the camera" side of things, Baby was a little shy, but we still managed to get a few shots of Bergill's face. My favorite is this "thinker" pose...

We think the shaded part on top of the head might be hair. But we could definitely be wrong! If it is though, there appear a few bald patches that need to fill in.

The ultrasound tech referred to Baby as "stinker" multiple times as Baby wasn't in position to get the images the tech needed. This of course makes both of us put one more tally in the "it's a boy" category as Aaron reminded me that stinker was his nick name as a kid. It still should be some days! :)

Here's another shot of Baby in 3D. The head is a little taken over by shadows or something so it looks rather alien-ish. And not that we saw much better while watching the screen, but it was a little more clear than this. And we didn't get a picture, but Baby was sucking his/her thumb in one shot. That was pretty cute too.

The next picture is Baby's cute little foot. Baby was more than happy to give us strong, clear shots of his/her feet while hiding his/her face most of the time. We'll take what we can get, I guess!

Overall, it was fun to see everything on screen even if we didn't have a clue what we were looking at most of the time. Oh and Baby was in breech position, but that's nothing to worry about yet. Dr. Dangerfield said we/he will start caring/paying attention to the position at 37 weeks. Baby will move in and out of breech a hundred times between now and then.

Next appointment is December 17.

24 Weeks

This picture was taken a couple days after the 24 week mark (Sunday, November 25). We intended to stay on track and take our picture while we were up north for Thanksgiving, but other more exciting activities distracted us from the task at hand. To note Baby's activities on the day he/she turned 24 weeks, Baby was helping me take pictures of dad (and uncle Eric and aunt Monica) jumping into a freezing cold lake. Yes, it was the annual "Banya Day" with Uncle Hoota and the gang on Long Lake outside of Virginia, MN. Mom spared Baby the extreme temperature shocks (hot sauna to cold lake and repeat) and I must say I was not too heartbroken. While I do enjoy the bragging rights that come with the day from other years, I was just fine taking a year off to keep Bergill Baby out of harm's way. The cabin was toasty warm while I waited to run out and take pictures!

Speaking of pictures, here is the cabin where we spent the day (note the fancy format thanks to Brianne's new iPhone).

And here's dad living it up. Rumor has it he jumped in 6 times this year! That has to be some kind of record. I'm all about once for the picture and done.

On to the regular weekly update, Baby is the size of a cantaloupe this week which to me is the first 'big' fruit we've been dealing with. A cantaloupe? Inside me? Oh boy....or girl. :) I'm also including the little picture of the baby (drawing) itself since it's fun to see that everything is developed at this point (at least from a naked eye visual standpoint ... the doctors would tell me he or she is far from done developing).

IKEA Assembly Party

I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago that Baby is the proud owner of a new IKEA dresser. And then we saw it in the Lady to Baby post in two (ridiculously heavy) boxes.

As of Sunday, it looks like this.

I must say I'm quite impressed with this little assembly job and admit it was daunting to unpack those hefty boxes and see all the big and small pieces. But this is where dads shine and moms stand by and I totally have to give Aaron all the credit for this thing 1. getting done 2. standing upright and 3. functioning properly (the drawers even open!!). He has far more patience than me for doing things like sorting pieces, reading instructions, and double checking accuracy. Ugh. Apparently "close enough" is not his approach to this sort of thing ... thank goodness!

These pictures don't do justice to how many pieces there were. But note in both pictures Aaron is reading the instructions. Good thing I had a camera in my hand otherwise I would have been tearing something up with an alan wrench making everything worse than it already was.

 

Here he is getting down to business. Millie is supervising but looks a little depressed for not being able to be more useful.

 

 

Nothing is broken yet since he's been keeping me out of the way!

 



 

Getting there ...

 

Drawer assembly takes place in the living room so he can keep one eye on the Packer game. I feel I actually served a small purpose here (unlike getting the frame of this thing put together). Drawers were manageable once Aaron told me what to do and I just had to repeat it 8 times for all the drawers.

 

 

 

And so, voila! Baby has a dresser that will double as a changing table. We are nerdily excited about the height of this guy. It comes in at a strong 38" so we won't be doubled over in pain trying to wrangle the little munchkin who will presumably wiggle and kick plenty during changing time. I had wanted to find an old dresser on Craigslist to refinish instead of giving in to IKEA, but everything we found was low and just not what we wanted. And...let's be honest. With trim painting just wrapped up, I wasn't doing cartwheels over the idea of  another painting project. The assembly of this was hands on enough.

 

 

 

Feeling Kicks

Mark it! On November 16, 2012 both mom and dad felt Baby kick from the outside! What a cool feeling and I'm so glad Aaron finally got to get in on all the movement Baby makes. We had gone to the movie "Lincoln" on Friday night and then out for a little appetizer nightcap. When we got home I was sitting on the couch and felt Baby move (from the inside). Remembering that we were around the time the docs said feeling external movement would be possible I put my hand on my stomach ... just for kicks (har har). To my amazement, I felt a tiny little punch. Aaron was right there so we added his hand to the mix and within just a few seconds, Baby gave us a high five again! Aaron felt it again on Sunday and hopefully lots more will be coming. The trick of course is having your hand ready and in position  when Baby decides to make his/her move, which I have failed at being there for multiple times since feeling it for the first time. And Aaron is at even more of a disadvantage, but I'm sure as Baby gets bigger the kicks will be harder and harder to miss.

23 Weeks

23 Weeks and Baby is the size of a grapefruit. Sporting another maternity shirt here and not quite filling out all corners of it, but still appreciating its length and room. I'm sure this one will stick with me until the end!

At 23 weeks, Baby's face is fully formed but just needs a little more fat to fill out, according to thebump.com. We're looking forward to seeing that cute, not quite filled out face, in just one week at our ultrasound. Monday the 26th can't come soon enough!

Lady to Baby ... Room

When I bought this house three years ago, one of the rooms I was most excited to have was what I affectionately referred to as "The Lady Room." It was my place for all my DIY projects and crafts. Well, now it will transition into a place for our best DIY Project yet...our baby! While I admit I'll miss the Lady Room, my excitement for the Baby Room overshadows that pretty easily.

Here is my beloved Lady Room before...

And here it begins its slow transition to Baby Room. Starting with, of course, the paint color.

Note the painted trim (the death of me for the months of September and October). Paint color is March Wind by Sherwin Williams. Those boxes contain Baby's IKEA dresser...stay tuned for details on that assembly project!

Here I am hard at work painting the second coat. I painted the weekend of November 10 and 11 while Aaron was reffing in Brainerd. Pay no attention to the fact that that is indeed the house's utility box in the middle of the room ... still brainstorming how we'll cover that from sight later in the process.

I also got the closet shelves figured out this weekend since Baby seems to be acquiring a plentiful assortment of gifts already! Now they have a home in Baby's room ... 

It looks a little like a toy shelf at a children's store.

Grandma Sue found this onesie she hopes we'll dress Baby in every day it fits ... :)

And we love this one from Brianne's boss ...

 

A big shout out and thank you to all the friends and family who are already stocking up Baby's closet. It's so fun to start having baby/kiddo things in the house!  



22 Weeks

22 weeks today! Since it seems I always have to comment on my wardrobe (it's a lot of pressure on picture day!), I believe this is the debut of an actual maternity shirt. I bought it before I was showing and now finally feel like my baby bump is legitimate enough to justify sporting it. I've learned one must transition into maternity pants much earlier than maternity shirts. Well, here we are now in both.

Baby is the size of a papaya and, according to this little write-up below, sprouting nipples! How exciting. Also exciting, he or see can hear and finds gentle music and my voice to be the best. Like the voting note below...I'm sure Baby won't always find my voice the greatest thing ever, so I will enjoy it while it lasts. I'm sure Baby knows dad's voice too since Aaron continues to talk directly to Baby in the belly. We're looking forward to soon being able to feel the kicks from the outside, meaning Aaron can get in on the fun!

We Voted

I don't expect Baby will always agree with me, but for now he/she has no choice. So we voted!

21 Weeks

Here we are at 21 weeks already! This picture was taken November 2, 2012 and Baby is the size of a pomegranate. Still feeling great!

This weekend Aaron and I went on an "Operation Baby" trip to the cities for the sole purpose of shopping slash planning for Baby. As a result, Baby is the proud new owner of his/her very own dresser and car seat, and mom and dad feel somewhat more prepared for what will happen in four short months. Buying the car seat was the more "wow this is real" purchase since dressers aren't too baby-specific. We found the car seat at "Babies 'R' Us" and we're very glad we explored the store. As the name indicates, the whole store is baby-focused ... someone described it me as "the mecca" of baby things and I couldn't agree more. So it was good for both of us to walk through and get an idea of big items that will be needed. Of course the store also provides plenty of opportunities to go overboard, but between help from staff and advice from friends, we feel decent about knowing what's needed and what isn't. Hence the purchase of a car seat ... a very necessary, practical, safety-focused item that we know we will need right away.