Babymoon in Phoenix

When Aaron's parents returned from visiting Derek and Tina in Phoenix shortly after Thanksgiving this year, we started talking about how "we should get down there to visit sometime too..." It took about 5 seconds for us to realize that if we didn't go soon ... as in like now ... it would be quite some time before we would get there. And whether we travel with Baby or without in the future, it would never be the same.  So without too much planning or hesitation, we booked our tickets and headed to Phoenix for a visit to Uncle Derek and Aunt Tina that we decided would also pass as a "Babymoon" before Bergill arrives.

We're so glad we made the trip! It was great to get away and even if temps were only in the 40s to 60s, that was 40 to 60+ degrees warmer than North Dakota.

Here's Aaron taking advantage of some "The Expectant Father" reading time on the plane.

Our trip was Saturday, December 22 through Thursday, December 27. On Sunday we watched the Packers game at Derek and Tina's with family and friends' of theirs. Then we went for a little stroll in their neighborhood where we got a glimpse of what Christmas in Arizona was going to be like. Not quite the white Christmases like home.

Sunday night the four of us ventured out to a couple of breweries that Aaron wanted to visit. Even sans beer for me, it was lots of fun! We visited Four Peaks Brewing Company where we ate dinner and then also headed to SanTan Brewing Company.

Aaron, Derek and Tina enjoying a tasty beer at SanTan. They served gingersnaps with one of the beers so at least I got to get in on that fun!

Even though it wasn't too warm, we were sitting at the outdoor bar/patio. We may have been hovering under the heater/lantern thingys, but we'll take it!

On Monday (Christmas Eve day) Aaron and I made a little day trip to Sedona to see the red rock and do some touristy things. It was definitely a stretch from our usual Christmas Eve traditions, but this was the year to get away with that. Next year will be Baby's First Christmas and we'll be back on the tradition wagon with enthusiasm.

Here we are outside of the Chapel in Sedona. We also visited the old mining town of Jerome, went on a little hike and had dinner at Dahl and Diluca.

 

The hike was nothing too steep or strenuous since I'm not exactly in peak physical condition and a slip or bump of any kind wouldn't be worth it. But it was still beautiful.

 

 

 

 

Tuesday was Christmas Day and we lounged around most of the morning. Aunt Tina (who won us the Baby Giveaway) delivered once again and this time with home-sewn Christmas gifts for Baby! I'm completely amazed at what the woman can whip up. Left to right is a baby blanket/quilt (with the cozy material on the back that I would like to start seeing on adult-sized blankets), burp cloths, little bags with a nylon inside for transporting the many little things that Baby will acquire, and a car seat cover. I love the customized thought that went into all of these! The green is not an accident as Tina knows how much I love the color (from our wedding) and the design of lots of these items has been tweaked and perfected based on previous creations and input from her friends. We absolutely LOVE every single item and so appreciate the thoughtfulness she put into everything. We can't say it enough - THANK YOU Tina!! Baby is already lucky to have you in his/her life.

Christmas night Tina's family came over for homemade tacos (my kind of Christmas!) and a White Elephant gift exchange. We fell in love with D and T's pup, Lambeau as seen here with one of the many belly rubs we weren't shy about giving him.  

On Wednesday Derek took us to South Mountain for some more sightseeing and hiking. Thankfully the rattlesnakes were hibernating this time of year. Eek!!

Wednesday night we relaxed at home with Derek and Tina and watched a couple of movies. Thursday it was time to head home. Here we are sitting in the outdoor waiting area at the Mesa airport. Odd we don't have these at airports around home.

So there's our Babymoon. Next time we travel we will either have a baby in tow or will be missing our baby terribly. (I can say that with confidence since we're the people that miss our dog after being away for a day). Thank you to Derek and Tina for hosting this fun and relaxing trip! Can't wait to visit again!

28 Weeks

This picture is at 28 weeks and was taken while we were visiting Uncle Derek and Aunt Tina in Phoenix. More on that trip in another post.

Baby is the size of a eggplant and I believe it! I'm feeling bigger all the time, feeling (and seeing!)Baby move lots, and realizing the impact of all the real estate he or she is taking up inside me. Not to be negative, but in the "complaints corner" Baby is squishing a few things inside which makes things uncomfortable. Specifically, Baby is pressing against a nerve next to my right kidney which makes sitting pretty uncomfortable. I feel 100% fine when lying down (which means sleep is still possible and I'm oh-so-grateful for that), but the sitting thing gets difficult. Standing is sometimes ok, sometimes a little uncomfortable. I'm figuring out how to deal with it though since it will be a long 12 weeks ahead if I don't. All things considered, it's nothing horrible. We're all still healthy and moving along. This is all in the "to be expected" category.

From the picture below we see that Baby is filling out more ... not quite as scrawny of a Baby as seen in previous weeks.

 

 

Boring Dr. Appointment

We had a boring doctor appointment today but this is where boring is a good thing. The appointment lasted all of 5 minutes and everything is right on track. So yes - boring it was but we are just fine if not thankful for that.

Actually, wait - there was one exciting thing from today's appointment. I gained no weight between our last appointment and this one! This is exciting because it's possible I may have tipped the scales a tad more than appreciated by the medical professionals at our last appointment, but let's remember that that was the Monday after Thanksgiving. I blame/credit my Aunt Jeanette's delicious homemade wild rice stuffing for that one. Seconds? Yes please. Leftovers? Don't mind if I do. Well Dr. No Fun thought there was perhaps a smidge of sodium in my Thanksgiving menu so he let me off the hook last time as long as I didn't double it for this December appointment. Since I didn't - boring and on track we remain.

So overall everything from heartbeat to belly measurements are right on. Heart rate was strong and in the 140s. We even got the green light to fly to Phoenix on Saturday. Good thing since we already booked the tickets anticipating no issues. But it still feels good to have the doc know what we're up to and be ok with it.

Seeing Movement

I'm delayed in posting this milestone, but at about 25 weeks I started seeing Baby move! As if feeling movement isn't crazy enough, now we can see little ripples flutter across my stomach when Baby gets restless. Unlike the anticipation that lead to feeling movement, I actually did not know this was about to start happening/being possible. (I must be slacking on my pregnancy books!)

It happened while I was sitting at home and Aaron was at class. As I was sitting there I kind of noticed something rustle on my shirt out of the corner (or bottom half?) of my eye. Looking down I started seeing little ripples move across my stomach at the same time I was feeling Baby move. Wow!! What a fun thing to witness. Aaron has seen it now too and he agrees it's pretty cool. It doesn't happen every time Baby moves but I continue to catch it unexpectedly and then get a little bit of a show for a few seconds.

27 Weeks

27 weeks and Baby is the size of rutabaga. I'm thinking I'm going to have to start buying some of these unique fruits/vegetables and cooking them to figure out what the heck they are. I admit I've never cooked (if that's even what you do with it) a rutabaga. Before you judge ... yes, I've bought last week's head of lettuce before. Anyway, the point here is that Baby keeps getting bigger and is starting to crowd my internal organs, namely ... my bladder. Awesome.

In the 27 week info, this week marks the start of brain activity. Perhaps now is the time to start playing some Mozart and Beethoven for Baby! Lucky for him/her I'll spare Baby my personal renditions of any concertos and stick to the real deal. I think it would have a negative effect on intelligence if I busted out my violin from yesteryear.

So every week when Aaron takes the bump picture, he snaps one before I'm ready which he thinks is hilarious and I think is annoying. The standard look for these is me caught hiking up my super sexy maternity pants with an equally attractive facial expression. As such, these are quickly deleted from the camera and banished from any record. But this week I anticipated his trickery and struck a less embarrassing pose. One we think actually turned out kind of cute. Behold...

Maybe I'll start getting sassy like this for more of these. Pregnant women have done crazier things!

26 Weeks

I'm late posting this but rest assured, the picture was taken at exactly 26 weeks (panic attacks were moments away, I'm sure!). The pregnancy is continuing to go well and I'm still feeling great which I'm very thankful for. Baby is the size of a head of lettuce.

 

As these bullet points from thebump.com indicate, Baby is starting to take breaths. Of fluid, not air of course, but it's a cool development piece to see. I think the whole respiratory process of developing babies is fascinating.....I mean it's like we pretty much start as fish and live in fluid. Then once we're born we start breathing in that necessary little thing known as oxygen. I remember Aaron and I asking the nurse practitioner about this at our 12 week appointment, both of us totally dumbfounded by how it works. We still are, and we're not on the verge of considering medical school by any means (this is a good thing for all humankind!), but it's fun to dive into more of what goes on in little Baby Bergill's development and life at this fetus stage.



Christmas Came Early

Thanks to Baby's sweet aunt Tina, Christmas has come early! She recently bid on a "Baby Things Giveaway" for a United Way raffle in Phoenix ... just for Baby Bergill ... and lo and behold she won. Which means we did too!

Check out this loot ...

Everything is still on display because we like looking at it when we pass by Baby's room. But I'm actually equally excited to put it away and now have a few things to occupy Baby's dresser that has been empty up to this point. The one drawer pulled out holds Baby's first drawers (diapers!). They are so tiny and cute. Is it wrong to be excited for them to be stinky and filled with Baby surprises in a few short months?!? Another thought I'm sure I'll laugh at once Baby is finally here.

Here are some close ups of all the goods. Books, booties, bottles, bath toys, burp cloths and more!

Moving down the row, we're smitten with the little bear hat and matching pants with bear booties. Then there are more onesies, a rattle, a receiving blanket and a cute striped onesie (you know how Mama loves me some stripes!).

Not done yet. Here's more burp cloths, bibs, baby powder and a sweet little long sleeve onesie. Love it all!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to Tina for thinking of us and sending such fun, cute baby things to keep our collection rolling. We feel like we just had an entire baby shower!!