Week 30 Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 30 Weeks

Size of Baby: a cucumber (I find it odd that we went from a head of lettuce to a cucumber so who knows!)

Appointment Updates: The last appointment was my 28 week check-up which meant I had to drink the tasty, orange liquid to check my glucose levels. Everything came back fine with the glucose levels but my iron is low so now I have to take a supplement. My next appointment is a very quick check up on Friday.

Symptoms: I have found that during these last few weeks I have gotten a bit more uncomfortable. As Josh stated last time, the baby seems to really like my rib cage but specifically the right side. I find myself constantly massaging the ribs just for comfort. Sleeping throught the night has also been a bit difficult as I have been waking up at 4 a.m. I am hoping my sleeping pattern is better now that I am not anxious for New York anymore and that I have found a better time to take the iron pill. My feet are quite sore toward the end of the night which just means I probably need to rest more. :) I don't know if I would call this a symptom or pregnancy brain but for the second time now I have not just walked into the men's restroom but have actually used the facility and then realized I was in the wrong location. Unreal, huh?

Movement: The baby has days where it moves a little and other days when it is constantly moving. The plane and car ride home last night seemed to be when the baby moved the most which was of course, at nine to two in the morning. I am definitely not complaining because feeling the baby move was something I prayed for a long time about.

Cravings: Ice cream is still one of my favorite things to eat especially the Snicker bar treat. I am also still liking salty foods such as chips and salsa or Doritos.

Nursery Update- The dry wall is up in the nursery waiting to be spackled then texturized. Josh and I ordered flooring for the bathroom which should hopefully be installed when we get back from the Northwoods and a wedding in southern Illionis (July 8th). People were asking what we have left of the nursery so below is our  To-Do List.

To-do List:
Texturize nursery and bathroom
Paint nursery and bathroom
Pick out wall sconces
Sew valance for window
Decide/paint tree mural
Decide on crib skirt
Pray that Grandma Judie finishes the quilt
Move all the baby gifts into the nursery

Weekly News- We spent Sunday through Wednesday with my family in New York. All of us Chicagoians had a hard time not comparing New York City to Chicago. One of the best ways to seethe city was the double decker bus which took us around Central Park, Harlem, Times Square, Financial District, etc. The 9/11 Memorial was very moving with all the names etched in the stones. There were a handful of names that had a woman's name and then unborn child next to it which was very hard to see. Central Park is enormous yet so peaceful. On our last night we did see Newsical the Musical which surprisingly made me laugh. My poor feet definitely did hurt by the end of each day but I held out. We had a great trip but will it rush back to New York as we want to cross more locations of our travel list.

Looking forward: The start of "The Summer of Weddings" begins this weekend as Josh is a groomsman in his high school buddies wedding. The reception is at The Bull which makes me excited to go back to our reception location. Sunday morning we will leave to drive to the Northwoods for the TeBeest, Mentink, and DeBruin week of fun!! We will leave Friday to start our nine hour drive to  southern Illinois for one of my childhood friend's wedding. We are definitly looking forward to the next week but it will be nice to get a little break when we get home from the many vacations!

About 10 more weeks until we get to meet our little bundle of joy!!

Week 27

Pregnancy Highlights - Daddy edition!!!

How Far Along: 27 Weeks 

Size of Baby: a head of lettuce

Appointment Updates: A week from tonight we will get to see our little Beast again which means more pictures!!!

Symptoms: The belly is continuing to grow. Feet are swelling depending on what Ashley eats. The baby is moving higher and expanding the rib cage. She is also having more difficulty maintaining any physical activity without getting winded and tired much quicker than usual.

Movement: The baby is continuing to move a lot within the belly. There are now points where you can see the skin ripple. The baby likes to wake up and move a lot after Ashley has desserts and sweets, which is usually right before she wants to go to bed. I find it quite comical.

What I Miss: I miss being able to plan out meals. At this point, the only time Ashley can commit to food is immediately before she is hungry. That prevents us from thawing anything in the morning for the evening meal.

Cravings: The big sweet tooth is still there. I do not see this leaving before the baby is born, or even thereafter for that matter.

Weekly Highlights: We had a little TeBeest family vacation down on the Florida gulf, north of Panama City over an extended Memorial Day weekend. It was a great opportunity for me to recover after busy season, finally. It allowed us to get a good base tan for the summer as well. I convinced Ashley to wear a bikini, and she was not the only pregnant woman to do so, which helped her feel more comfortable. My mother threw a shower for Ashley on the following Saturday. A lot of the college ladies Ashley has not seen since the wedding were able to attend. She had a wonderful time and our house now has piles of baby items spread out in the corners of various rooms.

Nursery Updates: I have made good use of my only free Saturdays the past couple weeks until the baby is born. The weekend before Florida I was able to rough in the wall. This past weekend during the shower. The door frame got plumbed in and I started hanging drywall with Chumley and my in-laws. During the weeks in between, I wired the rear speakers for the surround sound, finally, and finished all the electrical issues that I will be tackling with this project. I added a 20 amp circuit to handle the entertainment center, and included the new outlet in the nursery, and connected the NW outlet to this circuit as well since it was not grounded. I now have a total of 12 grounded outlets in the house. (When we bought it there were 3). I have some support boards to put in since I do not like how the drywall is attached, and then I can tape, mud, and sand, and get it textured. Then on to the flooring and trim work. Hopefully I can stay motivated and Ashley doesn't want me to spend time with her on the couch cause then things will not be ready without additional stress.

Looking forward: We now do not have a free weekend until August 11. Having a busy summer is an understatement at this point. I have begun telling people that I will not have a relaxing extended time frame for the next 25 years or so. Ashley doesn't have anything planned for the summer, so she is hoping to find something regular to keep her busy. We hope everyone reading this can enjoy their summer.

Prayers: We were able to get Ashley's FMLA leave figured out at a very minimal cost to us outside of the lost salary, which will be a tremendous blessing to her and our daycare planning. Pray for the continued growth and health of the baby. Kohler is having lots of changes at this point, so pray that Ashley will remain calm and realized that God has everything under control. I am struggling with whether I should look for jobs closer to home at this point. Deloitte is great, is a very respected name, and has so many great perks but its also the only thing I know at this point. It's also in MKE and can be extremely demanding at times. Pray for God to reveal where he wants me in the future.

Week 24

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 24 Weeks

Size of Baby: a cantaloupe

Appointment Updates: Yesterday I went to my 24 week appointment. The baby's heartbeat is continuing to go down and is now at 150 beats per minute. People keep saying how small I am which definitely made me nervous that the baby wasn't growing enough.The doctor also measured my belly and I am right on schedule which was a relief. I also gained a few more pounds from the last appointment which Josh was just thrilled about. I am starting to get used to the fact that I need to gain weight to have a healthy little one. Our next appointment is our last monthly appointment because then we go down to meeting every two weeks. I will drink the lovely concotion to test for diabetes and we will get to see the baby again to check on my placenta.  

Symptoms: Other than my belly continuing to grow and a little more pressure, I can hardly even tell I am pregnant. I pray that I will continue to feel just as good as I do now during the next few months.  

Movement: The baby is moving a lot within my belly but not that much for Josh or anyone else to notice. I know I might regret this but I CAN'T wait for the baby to be able to kick and for Josh to feel it.

What I Miss: There is nothing that I am currently missing.

Cravings: I read on one of my baby journals that the baby is just starting to get taste buds which is maybe why mine are still constantly changing. I think I have a new favorite food every day. Last week was teacher appreciation week and we were spoiled with barbecue pork sandwiches one day and cake pops another. After eating both items, that is all I wanted for the rest of the week. I am still LOVING ice cream and salty foods such as doritos, chips, etc.  

Weekly Hightlights: We "celebrated" my first Mother's Day this weekend! Josh was adorable and sent flowers to school from the baby. Saturday, I got to see Alyssa for the first time since December so she finally got to see my baby bump. I think Alyssa thought the baby would magically kick for her but no such luck. We spent Saturday at the Cubs/Brewers game with the Pasiewicz Family. The game was very chilly but I still managed to get a horrible burn. Sunday we spent the day in Milwaukee with the TeBeests and G & G Heinen having lunch walking though the Milwuakee Domes. Grandma T also made us a lovely dinner. To say I was exhausted after a long weekend was an understatement.

Nursery Updates: As we I write from the couch, Josh is working on moving the electrical boxes in the nursery. After the electrical is fixed he will begin the installation of the wall. Josh is such a hard worker that he has been staying up way past my bed time working on the nursery. I must be exhausted because I slept through the hammering and screw-driving last night.

Prayers: I have been having a lot of anxiety over my job for next year. My caseload is continuing to change so I am completely unsure on how many students I will be having. I have been giving a full time contract but there is a possibility that I might be able to discuss options depending on my exact case load. Please continue to pray for me tht I will continue to give my anxiety over to God as he has a plan for me.

We tried to take a picture this morning but I hated it so we will try again soon. :)

Week 21 1/2

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 21 1/2 weeks along, Wednesday will be 22 weeks

Size of Baby: a banana

Appointment Updates: Our next appointment will be on May 15th and will just be a regular heartbeat routine.

Symptoms: Before being pregnant, I never had a problem with bloody noses but that has changed now. Every morning I have been waking up with blood in my nose and now am having blood in my flem. Gross, I know. I am hoping nasal spray and/or vaseline will help my nose. Other than that, I am truly feeling great!!!

Movement: In the midlde of the week I felt little to no movement but God is good and Friday the baby began moving a lot more! Josh was laying on my stomach today and finally got to feel the baby!!

What I Miss: It was Jess' birthday this weekend so we met her and some friends in Milwaukee. I definitely would have enjoyed a cocktail but was fine with a water.

Cravings: In the beginning of my pregnancy I loved eating scrambled eggs for breakfast, then bagels, and now I am CRAVING sausage biscuits from McDonalds. I am holding back and have only gone to McDonalds twice so far. Just like my grandpa, I am loving sherbert ice cream. Josh was ever so kind to me today and bought me a gallon of sherbert.

Weekly Highlights: Yesterday Josh and I registered at Babies R Us for our little one! Yes, Babies R Us is far for our Sheboygan friends and family but there is one about twenty five minutes from my parent's house. Before going shopping, we got some great suggestions from other new moms so shopping went better than expected. I got a little sad after shopping thinking about how much more or different items we might have registered for if we knew the sex of the baby. On a positive note, we will have baby items for any future kids and we can always but pink or blue blankets and bibs after the baby comes. 

Nursery Updates: Poor Josh moved from tax season right to another home construction project. For those that don't know, we have two bedrooms on our main floor and two upstairs. Josh and I have decided that we would like the baby on the main floor with us. The family before us had a handicap daughter so they installed a sink and toilet into the second bedroom. To make a long story short, Josh is installing a wall to seperate the bedroom and bathroom as well as putting in new flooring and a vanity. After removing the old fixtures, Josh is hoping to begin putting in the wall this week. I am truly blessed to have such a handy husband!

The second picture is off the quilt colors that my grandma will know quilt together for the baby's quilt! I am very anxious to see the final quilt project!

20 Weeks

April 17th has came and almost passed which means my husband is done with tax season!!! It has been a huge weight lifted off both of our shoulders that he can now spend some time relaxing and enjoying life.

Size of Baby: TheBump says the baby is a cantaloupe which is very hard for me to think about. My belly doesn't seem that big that a cantaloupe is hiding in there.

Appointment: Today we had our 20 week appointment and it went great! The baby is measuring exactly what it should be for its arrival date of September 5th. It is so amazing to think that the baby is 14 oz yet you can see the ventricles of the heart, the thigh bones, spine, etc. Just as the baby is gaining weight so am I which I think is at a steady rate. The baby was not camera shy so we got at least three or four profile shots of it's face. Josh says the baby has a pouty lip just like it's mom. No glimpses of the baby's sex. The doctor did a great job not even hinting one way or the other. We will get another ultrasound at week 28 so the doctor can check on my low placenta which is something he told me to not even worry about now.

Symptoms: My headaches have disappeared this past week therefore I have not gone to the chiropractor in almost two weeks. I think I am drinking a lot more water so I am not feeling as dehydrated either. I am pretty sure I felt the baby flutter this past weekend which was a very neat feeling. The doctor said Josh probably won't feel the baby kick til about week 24-26.

Cravings: Bagels, particularly from Aldi, are the perfect breakfast food for me!! I can't say I have many other cravings. My love of ice cream has definitely not gone away either!!

Weekly Highlights: After many more hours of searching for fabric I finally found different ones. The original plan did not work because you could not buy the fabric in yards so we could not match the fabric for the valance or crib skirt. The new fabric came in today which I do need to look at for a little while to "triple check" that I really do like it. Josh and I are beginning to look at baby registry items which is exciting yet very overwhelming. Which bottle brand, nuk brand, etc? Way too many choices for me!! Now that Josh is nto working 80+ hours a week we can finally talk more about the nursery and will hopefully begin the installation of the wall in the next few weeks!!

Wow, do I feel blessed and loved right now!! This little peanut is so very special!

Photos of our little one at 20 weeks:

How Far Along: 17 Weeks- wow is time flying

Size of Baby: Every size states a different fruit or vegetable for the baby so it is hard to predict exactly what size the baby is. The doctor stated the baby is the size of an orange and TheBump says the baby is an onion. Whatever fruit or vegetable the baby is doesn't matter, all I know is that it is growing!

Appointment: Our seventeen week appointment was yesterday! The appointment went the same as usual. My Mom and Jess were elated to be able to hear a healthy 150 beat per minute heartbeat. Our next appointment is on the 17th of April where Josh and I get to have the 3D ultra sound done.

Symptoms: My every other day headaches went away until the Saturday of Spring Break. Being in a routine at school definitely helps with my water intake and consumption of the proper foods. I pray that the headaches will only continue to go away.

Cravings: I am loving ice cream! Bad news for me is that there is a cute, tiny ice cream shop walking distance from our house.

Gross: I am not really having any problems with eating. Jess, Hayley and I went for Olive Garden over Spring Break and all of the garlic did give me a tiny stomach ache. I can do without the greasy breadsticks for awhile.

Weekly Highlights: I am on Spring Break from school! I spent Saturday until Wednesday morning in Illinois relaxing and spending time with my Mom, Jess, Grandma and Grandpa. Dad left for Tennessee on Sunday so he only got to spend a day with lovely me! Grandma and I thought a lot about the nursery colors and finally have the colors chosen. Josh and I thought we had an idea on the colors we wanted but after putting colors side by side in JoAnn Fabrics my mind quickly changed. Good ole technology and picture messaging was able to keep Josh involved in all the decisions.

This is the website that I found the quilt on:

http://www.bijoulovelydesigns.com/2010/02/circle-quilt-tutorial-part-one-creating.html

Baby Bump:

14 Weeks- 2nd Trimester

How Far Along: 14 Weeks

Size of Baby: An orange

Appointment: My next appointment is during my spring break, March 28th. My Mom will be joining me for this appointment so she will get to hear the heartbeat too!

Symptoms: My headaches/head pressure are still consistent in that they are occuring every other day. I have seen a chiropractor three times now and he hopes that realigning me might relief pressure on my head and neck. I am still uneasy about going but I did feel less pressure this week after going. I might have found the right dose of vitamins and supplementals to help with my stomach issue.

Cravings: I guess it should not be a surprise to me but I am enjoying greasy/junk food. For example, friends wanted deli sandwiches for lunch but I prefered Culvers or Taco Johns.

Gross: I am still at the point where one idea for a meal sounds great in the morning but by the time I get home from work it is disguisting.

Weekly Highlights: Today is the first of two classes for my final grad class. I can't believe that I will be completed with my masters this May. What a relief and God blessing that I will not be working on my masters with a newborn.

Baby Bump: One minute I feel like I see a small bump and the next there is nothing. The What to Expect book stated that around this time I might feel a little frustrated about the stage my body is in. Frustrated might be much but I do feel overwhelmed when one outfit looks decent in the morning but akward later. Soon I will be at the point where nothing fits and then I will really be angry yet excitd for new clothes.