25 weeks down!

The last two weeks have been busy with work and life in general. I've been interviewing and hiring like crazy (not that I'm complaining) but it's been exhausting running around. Steve moved out this past weekend and we decided to tackle painting the nursery. It feels great to be so productive, but I wouldn't mind a day of just doing nothing.

At our 24 week doctor's appointment everything looked great. The baby seems to be measuring on the big side which is great news for her, but unfortunately mom is too :). Apparently I'm gaining too much weight! No wonder I feel like such a blimp these days. Since my diet hasn't been too out of control, my doctor suggested that I add a little bit more exercising to my daily activity. So Scott and I are going to do our best to get a nice walk in every day.

The best part about the last couple of weeks has been the amount of movement that I have felt. Every night at about 9:30, she goes crazy. I feel her twisting and turning, kicking and punching and I absolutely love it! I can actually feel her getting stronger by the day. Scott has gotten to feel some pretty nice kicks too. He was talking to her the other night and she kicked him right in the face.

With all of this movement and getting the nursery started, it has really started to set in that I am going to be a momma in just about 15 weeks. The amount of love that I feel for this baby girl is amazing. At least a couple of times throughout the day I'll just start smiling thinking of how blessed Scott and I are.

Here are two picture of me this week. I'm definitely pregnant...

23 weeks down!

This blog will be from the prospective of a soon to be father. These last 5 months have been an experience that was not expected. Sure I was thinking there are going to be crazy food cravings, my wife being sleepy and doctors’ appointments. The thing that I was not prepared for was the constant cravings or certain foods, the aches & pains and the concerns & worries that the doctors bring up.

So Taco Bell has become one of our staples, twice a week meal sometimes. I have eaten soft shell tacos, hard shell tacos, taco salads, burrito supremes, gorditos, volcano nachos and mexi fries at least twice now and currently working on round 3. Needless to say, I am tired of Mexican food all together, but my lovely wife loves her some bean & cheese burritos. She always kicks it up a notch with hot fire sauce. Who would think that I would get sick of Taco Bell. I remember betting my grandma when I was 7 that for every basket I scored in basketball she owed me a soft shell taco. Now I can’t stand them. Anyway you look at it, Whitney is my little Latin lover! And for her, I will continue exploring the un-tasted items on the Taco Bell menu.

Now as for her being sore and uncomfortable, something I was not expecting it at all. Me not thinking, planed camping trips and out of town vacations. Not sleeping in your own bed already causes a rough night of sleep, but for a pregnant wife makes for sore backs, cramped legs and achy hips. She is a strong woman that has gone along with my bad judgment with little to no complaining. She has made multiple trips to Tri-Cities, road trips to Cannon Beach, a camping adventure to Deception Pass and Whidbey Island with putting her pains to the side and making the best of it. All I can say is that she is a trooper and has a high pain tolerance. I truly believe that all of these trips that I have put her through will make her stronger for this baby girl.

The hardest adjustment that I have had to deal with is the doctor’s visits. We have had the worst experiences with doctors telling us what we should be worrying about and what we should or shouldn’t do. We have seen multiple doctors, nurses and specialists. They tell us that there may be a problem which makes us worry, and then tell us that there is nothing that we can do to prevent it. I care so much about this baby that it is on my mind at all times. I am worried about what Whitney’s eating, if she is getting enough sleep, if she sleeping right and if this baby kicking and growing. It is hard to believe that a baby can change your way of life before you have even had a chance to touch and hold her. I am already in love with her!

All and all, I am enjoying the whole experience and trying to take it all in. I get worried if I am cut out to be a Poppa or if we are going to give her a good enough life, but also excited to see her personality, her mannerisms and her beautiful face. It’s a nerve racking experience, but at the same time an adventure I am looking forward to and an expedition that I want. I can’t wait to see what the next 4 months have in store for me. Wish me luck.

Here is a picture of my glowing wife heading into her 24th week of pregnancy.

22 Weeks!

I just finished up my 22nd week of pregnancy and am happy to officially be 5 months pregnant and moving into the 6th. I can't believe how quickly time is passing us by. In just 4 months we'll be able to meet our little girl for the first time!

This week I have been having some very different dreams. I've noticed dreaming a lot more since I've been pregnant, but I've definitely had some weird ones lately. The other night I had a dream that I was a terrible mother and that I had left our baby with some strangers at a basketball game. I also had a dream that I gave birth to her early and decided she wasn't quite done, so I had the doctor put her back. I seem to be having lots of weird dreams about the baby, probably due to hormones or something. Hopefully none of them mean anything :)

The biggest change in this week has been the amount of movement that I have been feeling. I feel her kicking all the time, and I've even gotten to feel some pretty big kicks from the outside too. She seems to move the most when I start to get hungry or right before I go to bed. Then once I'm done eating and my food has all settled, she relaxes and goes to sleep. I guess she's like her momma in that way. We like our big meals and then naps right after.

This past weekend was a lot of fun and really relaxing. Scott and I managed to finished our registry and even bought some baby clothes while we were there. We're starting to accumulate a little pile of baby stuff in our living room that will be hanging out there until Steve moves out towards the end of the month. I am getting so excited for putting her nursery together. Other than our registry outing, Scott and I pretty much just relaxed. Sunday was perfect, after church we just laid around watching movies all day. I'm excited for more relaxing rainy days with Scott this fall. I guess we better enjoy them while we can.

Thanks for all your continued support and prayers. We feel so blessed to have such amazing friends and family.

Healthy Baby

Getting to Friday's appointment was really the hardest part. On the way, not only did my maintenance light come on, but so did my check engine. Then I got lost. After driving around in circles, and trying to call the office a million times I finally spotted the building. As I was pulling into the parking garage, some construction workers informed me that my back tire was completely flat. By this point I was already sweating due to frustration, but I managed to pull into a parking space and jogged up to the doctors office.

When I got there, sweating and panting, they told me that I was too late to actually go to my appointment and that I would need to reschedule. The next open appointment would be over a week away. I simply couldn't take it anymore, I started balling right there in the middle of the lobby. After the water works, the whisked me into the back room and said they would just go ahead and squeeze me in.

The rest of the appointment went great. I got to see my kicking little girl on the big screen and she cooperated very well with the ultrasound technician. The doctor explained to me that even though her kidneys look dense, he doesn't think that she has whats called poly cystic kidney disease. Apparently in cases of poly cystic kidney disease, the kidneys are also larger and more fluid filled. The plan is to keep an eye on them to make sure that nothing changes for the worse, so I go back in 7 weeks. The doctor comforted me in letting me know that he actually sees this a lot, and it usually turns out to be just fine. He was very nice, but I'm sure he's used to worried mommas since he is a high risk doctor.

I pray that she is healthy, and I'm pretty confident that she is. I am so excited to meet her for the first time. It seems like she is all I can think about.

Keep growing little girl... I love you with all my heart!

21 weeks and exhausted

Today was a rough one.

Scott and I had an ultrasound appointment today, mostly because they forgot to record some of the images from last time and didn't record us a video. I was actually really excited to go in and get to take another peak at her. Unfortunately, it looks like things aren't quite as on track as we thought they would be. Her kidneys showed some abnormalities.

I can't quite remember the exact name for her condition (not that I would be able to pronounce it anyway) but basically as it was explained, her kidney's are showing up brighter than they should on the ultrasound. This means that they are too dense. Later down the road, this usually results in cysts in the kidneys in the third trimester and in early childhood. In extreme cases this requires a kidney transplant for the infant or child. Dr. Delorit, explained that it was still too early to tell exactly what the extent of her condition would be, but she did refer me to a "high risk pregnancy" specialist.

At this point all we can do is pray. I just want this baby girl to be healthy, more than anything.

Here are two belly pictures for this week since I missed last week, I've included an extra letting it all hang out.

Other than the doctor news, everything seems to still be crazy. We were out of town last weekend and I've been playing catch up with work all week. I am hiring for multiple different positions right now, and having the hardest time keeping everything straight. I am so excited for a 3 day weekend at home.

Well, that's about all I have energy for right now. I'll be sure update as I find out more news on our little girl.