26 Weeks

No picture this week--we have been so busy. But we are so happy that there are now less than 100 days to go until my due date! Our little guy has been so active lately. Although sometimes he keeps me awake when I should be sleeping, I wouldn't trade it for anything. It is so peaceful in the middle of the night just putting my hand on my belly to feel him. With all the noise and commotion I encounter during the day with my students, the quiet middle of the night is becoming my favorite time of day!

We have another busy week planned. Our bedroom carpet will finally be installed on Wednesday morning. Our furniture has come in, so we will go pick it up Wednesday night and hopefully get it in the room! I will post pictures as soon as we get it all set up. Only 3 months to go!

One last bit of news--we have finally settled on a name. Our son will be named Grant. We have practiced calling him so many different names over the last few months, and we always come back to that one. It meets all the criteria we had for picking a name, and we just love it. We are still debating middle names, and have a few ideas, but we aren't sure yet. We bought some letters to put his name over his crib, so I guess there is no turning back now! I can't imagine that we will change our minds, but you never know!

25 Weeks

We just got back from spending the day at Good Samaritan Hospital for our all-day childbirth class. It was fun to be around a whole room full of pregnant women and get to learn more about the whole process. Luckily, Doug didn't pass out or get queasy at any of the videos or demonstrations. It was very informative, and we also got a tour of the hospital. Since we were just there last Saturday, though, for the birth of our nephew, that wasn't as new for us, but still fun nonetheless. The whole day just made things so real for us, and we are even more excited now for the birth! We are taking a few other classes in the next few weeks as well--one for breastfeeding and one on infant care and safety. I will report on those later!

The picture below really makes me look like I am popping out--which I am, but I think the shirt also has something to do with the way I look. It is thick and has a line of buttons popping out in the front, so it's a little deceiving. I love seeing and feeling my growing belly, and we are both still enjoying feeling the little guy move all the time. It never gets old!

Our New Nephew!

We have some exciting news to share! Doug's sister Kristen went into labor yesterday morning--11 days early, so quite a shock to us. She had a long day without much progression, so the doctor decided a c-section was best. This happened right after midnight, making him a Valentine's Day baby! Timothy Thomas Beardslee was born at 12:29 am. He weighs 8 lbs, 12 oz. He is 22 in. long. He is just perfect, and Kristen is doing great as well! We are so excited to have a nephew and a little buddy for our son. We hope they will be very close! We enjoyed spending time at Good Samaritan Hospital, where we will also be delivering. It just made us so excited for what's to come in just a few months!

24 Weeks

Well, we've had another busy week. We've been out of the house all week staying with my parents while our floors are being refinished. The old carpet has been pulled up in the living room, dining room, and hallway, and the hardwood floors underneath were sanded down and stained. They had to come back 3 days in a row for another coat of polyurethane each day, so we couldn't walk on it, and they just finished the last coat this morning. We will be free to go back to the house tomorrow since it will all be dry by then. I did check with the doctor to make sure I can go back this soon as well--we were worried about the fumes, but he assured us it will be fine. So we will spend the rest of the weekend moving our stuff back in its place. Next, the flooring company will return in the next few weeks to take the carpet out of the bedrooms and install new carpet. Then we will finally be ready to get the nursery set up!

That brings us to the next step in the process. We went to Babies R Us tonight to order our furniture that we had picked out weeks ago. We didn't want to order it too soon before the flooring was finished since it will only be 7-14 days for it to come in. So now it will be perfect timing for us to pick it up as the carpet is being finished! I have attached a picture of the furniture below. It of course looks way better in person--the picture doesn't do it justice, and the picture shows a different bedding with it. We also bought a very comfortable glider/ottoman that we were able to bring right home from the store with us tonight since they had a few already in stock, so I'm sure I will start using that immediately as soon as we can put it together. It is so comfortable! We got the mattress and changing pad as well. Luckily, we had plenty of coupons, and the salespeople helped us figure out how to use them in the right transactions to get the most money off of everything. We ended up spending less than we thought!

We also went to the doctor today for our 24-week visit. It was just a typical visit this time with a belly check and a chance to hear the heartbeat again. Once again, everything was great! We just can't get enough of hearing that amazing little heartbeat! My weight gain and blood pressure are normal. My belly growth was at 24 cm, and it is supposed to grow about a cm for every week, so we are right on target since I am 24 weeks. We will go again in 4 weeks, and this is the visit where I have to do the glucose test, so I better watch my diet. In the meantime, we are enjoying feeling our son move around so much--he has developed quite a routine. He is most active at night as I am trying to fall asleep, or in the morning before I get out of bed. I'm sure he is just preparing us for when he is really here!

I felt that one!

Now THAT was cool! Last night, Julie felt the little guy moving around during his evening workout, so I put my hand on her stomach to see if I could feel anything. After a few frustrating minutes, BOOM! He did a big roundhouse kick right underneath my palm. It was so exciting! Only 4 months to go, and we can't wait to meet him!

22 Weeks and Counting...

Wooo hoooo! As you can see, the belly is really starting to pop out now. We are officially at 22 weeks, and we are fast approaching 23. The really fun part is that Julie is starting to feel the baby moving a lot more lately. I keep trying to feel it too, but I suppose it is a bit early. That doesn't keep me from trying though. Also, we are starting to assemble what I am sure will be a hysterically huge wardrobe of Notre Dame apparel. In the picture below, we have a little onesie and bib. The outfit came with booties and socks also, and I am sure he will look quite handsome in it. This is added to the shirt that Uncle Kyle got him for Christmas. As I said, I am sure these are just the first of what I hope will be a TON of ND stuff!

Also, we are working on narrowing down a name for our little guy. We have a list of five names that we have agreed on so far, and you can see them in the poll on the left side. Take a look and vote for the one you like. Of course, we already have a favorite in mind, but thought it would be fun to see what other people thought. So vote away, because we need to come up with a better alternative to calling him D'Brickashaw (Julie's favorite nickname for him since seeing a player with this name during the Bengals/Jets game).

21 Weeks

I know I am a little late with this post, considering I will be 22 weeks in a few days, but it has been a crazy week. We have had a lot of fun planning for our little boy. We spent some time working on our registries at Babies R Us and Target and buying things for the nursery, like the bedding and decor. We had so much fun thinking about using all these things with our little buddy! We also have scheduled to get new carpet in the bedrooms and refinish our hardwood floors that are currently under our carpet in the main rooms. We just want everything to be fresh and new for the baby. Then we can order the nursery furniture we have picked out! We didn't even get around to taking a picture of my baby bump this weekend, but it hasn't changed much since the last one, so we will just take one at 22 weeks. We are still debating names, and have it down to about 5 or 6 that we agree on--which is pretty good if you ask me! Maybe sometime soon we will have a poll about that for you to vote for your favorite. In the meantime, we are enjoying getting to talk and sing to our son and learn more about him!

The pictures attached show some of the items that go with the theme of the room that we picked out. It surprised us both that we liked this--we both had other ideas originally in our minds, like a sports theme, etc. But once we saw it in person, we knew it was the one--it looked so much better than it had online. We wanted something with rich colors and one that would go with the light blue color already on the wall so we didn't have to paint! We are so excited to get the room set up!

Baby Boy Docter

My first thought upon hearing that we would have a son was, "What color suit should he wear for his 2030 Heisman Trophy acceptance speech?" Of course, this should be the first thought of any responsible and caring father. All joking aside, we are so happy the baby is healthy and growing as he should, and we can't wait to meet our son! Take a look at the pictures below...only a little over 4 months until the big day!

It's a boy!

We just got back from the doctor. Everything looked great and healthy, and luckily our little guy cooperated and we were able to see who he was! It of course didn't matter to us what we have, as long as the baby is healthy, but we are so excited to finally know! It is so nice to be able to say he, him, or his instead of it or baby all the time. Now we just have to decide on his name! Doug posted some of the ultrasound pictures above. The first is of a foot, the second is showing off the boy parts (he is going to love us for doing that someday!), the 3rd is of the fist, and the last is my favorite--the profile shot. It is all so amazing to see. We got to see certain bones, arteries, the heart, and many other parts of our little boy. I have never experienced something so wonderful and miraculous!

Halfway There!

I am 20 weeks today--which marks the halfway point in the pregnancy! We are so excited to be entering the 2nd half. It will now seem closer and closer. As Doug said in the last post, we go to the doctor on Tuesday to find out what our baby is. We can't wait! I am feeling great, and am really starting to pop. I absolutely love being pregnant. Be sure to check back Tuesday night to see if your vote was correct on the poll!

What will it be?

Alright everyone...only 6 days until we find out whether the bedroom down the hall will be filled with butterflies and flowers, or footballs, baseballs, and assorted Notre Dame football memorabilia. My mom is convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that the baby is a girl. I also find myself constantly thinking it is a girl. I don't know why...just a feeling. However, I must admit (in the interest of full disclosure) that I am seldom right about pretty much anything. Ask Julie...she'll corroborate my story. Anyway, regardless of what gender the baby may be, we are both thrilled and are counting the seconds until we get to start planning the nursery! More to come soon!

19 Weeks

Although you can't tell much in this picture, we are really starting to notice more belly growth. After 2 weeks off of work, I went back this week only to realize that I hardly had any dress pants left that still fit. I had to run out and buy a few things, and was lucky enough to be able to borrow lots of maternity clothes from my cousins. I am also still feeling the little flutters, but they seem to be getting more prominent now, so I know it's the baby! I am excited to be entering the 20th week now. Almost half way there!

Happy 2010!

Happy New Year! As of New Year's Eve I am 18 weeks along. We are so excited to be entering our baby's birth year. It seems like such a good year to have a baby. It will always be easy to remember how old he/she is turning each year with a birth year of 2010! I know this year will be wonderful for us and one that we will never forget. We would like to wish the same to all of you!

18th Week Doctor Visit

We went to the doctor today for our 18th week visit. (I will be 18 weeks tomorrow, but they are closed for the holiday!) We got to hear the amazing little heartbeat again, and everything sounded great. When the doppler device was put on my stomach, we started hearing the heartbeat immediately, but then it went away. The baby must have been trying to hide from us or something, because it took us a little while to find it again! The doctor felt for my belly growth and said it is right where it should be or maybe a little farther. That is good news, because I was worried it wasn't growing enough since I'm not showing much yet!

The bad news is that we have to wait a little longer to find out the sex. We thought we would go back at 20 weeks for the ultrasound, but the doctor wants to do it closer to 22 weeks so that they can see all they want to see. We scheduled it for Monday, January 25. I will be about 21 1/2 weeks along at that point. It will be hard to wait longer than we thought, but it will be worth the wait!

Feeling the baby?

Most things I read or hear say that first time moms don't usually notice the baby move until about 18-20 weeks since they don't know what it feels like, but I think I've been feeling little flutters! All this week, I've had some weird feelings inside, and because most first time moms don't always know whether or not it's the baby or just some indigestion or something, I haven't been sure. But I seem to notice it at least once a day, so I'm convinced that it is our tiny little one moving around in there! It is exciting to be entering a new, fun stage of pregnancy, where it can actually seem more real all the time. Daddy is a little disappointed that it will be awhile before he feels it, but he is still excited to know that it's happening for me. I will let you know when it becomes more obvious to me, and that I know for sure it is in fact the baby.

Well, I'm off to try and find something I want to eat for dinner. It's hard to find things that I SHOULD be eating that I actually want to eat. I'd rather just stick to my cravings: sour/gummy candy, mustard, pizza, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, or chicken biscuits from Chick-fil-A. But since I am recovering from eating way too much these last few days, and we still have another week of parties, I better find something healthy.

Merry Christmas!

We've had a great Christmas so far. It's technically the baby's 1st Christmas, and Uncle Kyle got the baby an outfit to wear next year. We can't wait for the baby to be a part of Christmas next year!

Video

Hey everyone! I don't have too much to add to Julie's post, but I thought I would mention some videos that we watched that I found very interesting. As the Dad-to-be, I found myself having a harder time visualizing the baby and really being able to put an image with the idea of becoming a dad. Julie found the videos linked on the left side of the page (BabyCenter.com), and they really helped me picture the whole process more effectively. To put it simply, the whole process became more real to me after being able to visualize what is happening along the way. Take a look...they are only a couple minutes each. But like I said, they are very interesting. More to come soon, and Merry Christmas!

Catching you up to date

Here is what has happened so far:

We found out we were pregnant on September 23, 2009. I was 4 weeks pregnant at the time. I took a test in the morning after Doug had already left for work. So I had to carry the news with me at work all day! I put a note out with the test so that he would see it as soon as he walked in the door that day after work. He was so surprised! We were so excited, especially since it was such a long road to get here.

We had our first doctor's appointment on October 2. We then went back on October 16 for our first ultrasound. I was 7 weeks along. We also got to hear the hearbeat and see the little heart flutter on the screen. It was amazing!

Due to the H1N1 scare, I had to take 4 1/2 days off from work in late October as our school battled high absences due to the flu/high fevers/etc. We felt it was safest to stay away for awhile. I was able to get the seasonal flu vaccine, as well as the H1N1 vaccine by early November.

We went to the doctor again on November 13 and got to hear the heartbeat again, this time through the doppler device. It sounded so strong and healthy! I was in my 12th week at this point.

I sent Doug out for my first craving at 13 weeks on November 24--Taco Bell! There were some days where just nothing sounded good to eat. During this time, I was also waking up a lot in the middle of the night feeling sick or hungry, but luckily I never threw up. I had some days of queasiness and extreme fatigue, but it is all worth it!

We had our 14th week doctor visit on December 4. We heard the heartbeat again using the doppler. Everything still looked great!

I am now 17 weeks. We are just starting to feel some changes and growth to the belly, but not much can really be seen yet. My pants are getting tight, and I have found that it is just easier and more comfortable to wear maternity jeans. I hope to start showing a little more soon, but I know it generally takes longer to pop out with your first baby. Stay tuned for pictures of the growing belly bump! We will also be finding out if our little one is a boy or a girl in about 3 weeks. We will let you know right away! Thanks for checking out our website, and please check back often, especially as the big day approaches!