Starting to get ready!

Since the middle of June we have begun to get the nursery ready.  The past few weeks I made some trips to my favorite thrift store near our house.  I scored some great finds at even greater prices!!!  (Have I ever mentioned that I am a major bargain shopper?)  Today I began sorting my finds along with my purchases from the seventy percent off sale at Bon Bebe.  Our wall Dr. Seuss prints should come in the mail soon.  Our crib and dresser/changer which I bought for such a deal off Craigslist is mostly put together.  We were missing a few screws and bolts so I will go pick them up at the Million Dollar Baby warehouse tomorrow.  We were given our first official big baby gift this weekend!  My aunts and some of my cousins went in to purchase for us an awesome BOB jogging stroller!  I am so excited to use it!  Our birthing and nursing classes are scheduled. We are just making adjustments to our baby registry lists on Target and BabiesRUs and the baby shower plans are in full swing!  I am so excited to celebrate this special baby girl and prepare for her arrival in 136 days!  I called our RE, Dr. K, today to tell him the good news about our anatomy scan.  He called me back personally on his cell phone after work to visit with me and congratulate us on our baby girl.  He is so wonderful and it was fun to give him good news.  My belly is starting to protrude a little more so I may get in my first belly shot soon.  We'll see.   I am SO enjoying my summer so far and all of the exciting baby preparations.  I am just drinking in the joyous anticipation of this time.  Several people have asked me if we have made our birth plan yet.  I know so many women are worried about giving birth and how it should go, etc.  I just am not concerned about it.  Not yet anyways.  I just tell people, "Getting and staying pregnant was the hard part.  Giving birth and taking home our baby girl after seven long years?  That is the reward!" (Remind me of this when I am in labor. . .)

Baby Girl Shack Pregnancy Update!

Baby Girl Shack - June 21, 2011

Well today we had another appointment with Dr. B.  It was quick and uneventful which in my book is a GOOD thing.  My second trimester has been AWESOME!  It was as if I woke up at 15 weeks and all my horrible, very bad symptoms had vanished.  I don't even have heartburn anymore!  I am sooo thankful for my good health and lack of horrible symptoms!  Of course that means it is easier to eat now and I have more than gained back those six pounds I lost at the beginning of June when I was so sick.  I was a little worried that I was going to have higher blood pressure at my appointment today.  For the last week my hands and feet have been swelling and my extremities have been easily falling asleep.  But my blood pressure was 126/80 (normal) and Dr. B said that swelling is normal especially in the 100 degree heat we have been having in Chino.  He told me to lay off the salt and rest up.  Dr. B did also mention that even though our Baby Girl measured three days smaller than our original due date, the ultrasound does not change our due date.  So November 25th is the final official due date for Baby Shack.  This means that on Friday I will be exactly halfway through my pregnancy!  I am trying to make the best of my summer and my energetic second trimester by organizing, cleaning, rearranging, running errands, and getting the nursery ready.  I LOVE these kinds of chores so I am glad to do them.  (ANYTHING is better than grading papers! - Right fellow teachers??)  Here is an up close picture of Baby Girl Shack from our ultrasound a few weeks ago. (see above)  Isn't she cute!?  I always thought I would be one of the those pregnant ladies that takes belly pictures every week.  Um, no.  Pretty much you can't even tell that I am pregnant yet.  I guess I kind of look extra chubby around the middle.  It is normal though for girls who are taller, "thicker", and first-timers to take longer to show.  I don't mind.  I don't get off balance, my back doesn't hurt, and people don't stare at me or touch my belly.  (Not yet anyways.)  I am enjoying my pregnancy and getting more and more used to the idea of it as time passes.  This is such a joyful time in our marriage with Baby Girl Shack on the way.  We are enjoying this season and also so excited to meet her in five months!

Ah Vacation....

So it has taken a bit to detox from the end of the school year.  Dan and I went into full vacation mode this past weekend when we went to stay with friends at the beach.  It was so relaxing to just play games, take walks, play a little Wii, and visit with good friends.  The gorgeous view of the ocean from the balcony (see above) helped the relaxation factor considerably.  We had a fun European style breakfast with various cheeses, meats, fresh baked baguette, apricots, blueberries, and sundried tomato pesto.   Thanks for the invite J&J!

On the 4th we spend the day and evening with our family.  Dan was the BBQ master for this family event.  He did a great job in the 90+ degree heat! 

Post BBQ we had a ton of fun with the little cousins and nephews setting off fireworks.  It was a tiring but SUPER fun day! Our poor dog Jersey was the most tired of all!

Anatomy Scan for Baby Shack!

Baby Shack makes it known that she is a girl!

The proud Papa!

Today we celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary by getting to see our little GIRL on the ultrasound after two long months!  The technician said she looked great and was measuring at 17 weeks and 1 day so our new due date is November 28th!  She was very active flexing her feet, flailing her arms, opening and closing her hands, and even opening and closing her mouth.  She is one energetic little girl!  After our appointment we had fun registering at Babies R Us and then headed over to tell family by wearing our new pink shirts that we bought just for the occasion.  We do have her name all picked out already but have decided that at least ONE thing needs to be kept a secret until her birthday! We are so thankful for a healthy little girl and pray that she continues to flourish as she grows bigger and stronger everyday. 

Camping

End of the trip.  It was a such a beautiful day!

John and Julie!

This weekend we went to San Onofre State Beach to camp for the weekend.  It was our first camping trip since being married and we had a great time!  We relaxed by the campfire reading and playing card games with our good friends John and Julie!  We also went down to the water to watch the surfers catch waves.  One of my favorite things about California is that you don't have to go far to feel far away.  It was a great break from our normal routine and fun first in our marriage.  Dan has always loved camping but I haven't camped. . .well for maybe 20 years?? We will definitely go again! 

Dan, the camping expert, making his morning coffee!

Seriously!?

Well we were SUPPOSED to find out the gender of Baby Shack today.  Key word here. . ."supposed".  Dan and I walked in for our appointment to a room with no ultrasound machine.  I just confidently told Dan, "It is probably one of those portable ones."  Well then the doctor came in with a pocket fetal doppler.  Yes. . . the same gadget that I paid a mere $45 for last week.  When we asked why we weren't doing an ultrasound he launched into an explanation as to how I am not far along enough, how if we did an ultrasound today we couldn't see much and that I needed to be atleast 17 weeks along,  to which he asked, "How far along are you?"  People, how come OBs ask their patients how far along we are?  Don't they know this stuff?  When I first came in last month they asked me for my due date.  I just told them, "I thought that is what you are supposed to tell me!?"  I got our due date off the internet calculator and that is the due date they used for me.  Anyways, after the LONG explanation as to how it is too early to tell the gender he looked at us with pity and said, "You guys are just spoiled from going to the infertility doctor's office where they do an ultrasound every appointment."  I totally get what he meant but I didn't take it kindly.  Dan I changed lots through our infertility experience, but "SPOILED" is not one of the qualities we picked up along the way.  Honestly, I felt like saying this:  "Dr. B. .. we are rookies here.  I don't know what is supposed to happen every week of my pregnancy or at every appointment unless you tell me and at our last appointment in May YOU told us that at our June appointment we would be doing an ultrasound for an anatomy check and gender identification.  I only "EXPECTED" an ultrasound today because YOU told us we were going to have one!"  In reality I just sat there and looked at him while fuming deep inside.  He then got the doppler out and told me this could take a minute.  I told him exactly where the baby was (I had just used our fetal doppler the night before) and just like that we heard Baby Shack's heartbeat.  And then that was it.  I can't believe we drove that far for something we could have done at home.  Silly.  BTW why are they so stingy on ultrasounds?  Is it expensive to turn the machine on?  Is it dangerous to the baby?  It is not like an ultrasound takes that long to do.  As Dan and I walked out of the doctor's office I whispered under my breath, "I miss Dr. K".  I am sure Dr. B is a great doctor.  Everyone has told me so.  Maybe I am spoiled.  Dr. K and his staff never made me feel stupid. . . ever. 

So after our appointment today we set up our ultrasound appointment for the anatomy scan on June 21st at 9am PST.  That is the day of our 8th wedding anniversary so hopefully we will have a good appointment and then celebrate with a fun day together.  So you will all have to wait 15 more days with us before we know how Baby Shack's body is doing and if Baby Shack is a boy or girl.  At least this kind of waiting is a happy kind of waiting.  =)

The Doppler Has Arrived!

Several weeks ago Dan and I won an ebay auction for a pocket fetal doppler and today I picked it up at the post office and we got to hear the baby's heartbeat again!  It was $45 for a brand new doppler.  I love that we can hear the heartbeat whenever we want now!  I am really looking forward to our ultrasound on Monday so we can know if we are having a boy or girl!!!

This is the video that explains how the doppler works.