Week 31 appointment

We had another doctors appointment last Wednesday. Everything keeps checking out the way it's suppose to. The baby's heart beat went back up to 156 bpm and Shelly's belly is up to 30 inches! The baby had an extremely active weekend kicking Shelly in the ribs and punching her bladder. She's still getting swollen feet after long days at work or trying to do to much around the house. She's loving her sexy new compression socks, they're nice and cool for the summer! She'll go back to the doctor again next Wednesday. She'll be 33 weeks along and just 7 weeks until the baby arrives.

We had our second baby class last Saturday. They went through all sorts of different labor positions that we can try ans see what works best for Shelly. Then they took us on a tour of the hospital and showed us where they'll take us when we get to the hospital, then the type of room we'll be transferred to after we're checked in and they've done a few check ups on Shelly and the baby. After the initial check in we'll be moved to a labor and delivery room. The best thing about these rooms was the lights they had pointing down at the bed. They had a little "remote" with a light at the end of it. The nurse will click it and the lights adjust themselves and point at the remote! No need for Shelly to be in the exact right spot on the table, the lights will adjust themselves. After the baby is delivered we'll stay in that room for a couple hours then be transferred to another room where we'll stay until they send us home. I think they said we'll only be there for 24 hours before they send us home to fend for ourselves!

Shelly's Belly Part 5!

Here's the fifth installment of Shelly's Belly! Her belly button has been stressing lately, threatening to pop out with any sudden movement. Every sneeze is an adventure.

Shelly's last doctors appointment was a couple weeks ago. Everything continues to check out good. The baby's heart beat was down to 146 bpm. At this appointment she had to do a glucose screening to test for gestational diabetes and have a RhoGam shot because of her blood type. She "passed" the glucose screening with no problems. Now that we're down to just two months before the baby is born Shelly has to go to the doctor every two weeks then in the last month every week.

Saturday was our first labor preparation class. We'll have another this Saturday with a newborn baby care class right after that. We did have to watch a semi-nasty video of a baby being born. They taught us a little about the labor process, when we need to go to the doctor, how to time the contractions. The mother in the video was the calmest lady I've ever seen. I don't think she screemed or grunted or made any noise throughout the entire delivery. At next weeks class we get to tour the hospital which should be interesting.

We're down to 54 days left! We have to count them manually now. The countdown clock on the blog kept defaulting to New Years Eve so we removed it.

Nursery

So I'm finally back on here and posting pictures of the Nursery. We've had it painted and all the furniture up for a couple weeks now. The crib couldn't have been easier to put together, the hardest part was getting the boxes in the house. I think the only thing we need to get yet is a rocker and then more clothes for the baby.

Last Monday we went to a child and infant CPR class. It was interesting and much different from what I learned in 7th grade health class. Next Saturday is RibFest in town so we have that weekend off then the following two Saturdays we have baby classes. The first two sessions are labor classes and Shelly is really looking forward to those!

Shelly's been busy "nesting". She washed a load of baby clothes, then spent this morning sweeping and mopping the basement floor. She's been feeling good but has started to swell up a little if she has to long of a day or if she over does it. Other than that it's been a pretty smooth month and we're going back to the doctor this Friday.

Shelly's Belly Part 4!

It's been a busy month for us and we've been slacking on posting to the blog. The Stanley Cup Playoffs started so I've been glued to the TV watching the hockey games every night.

A couple weeks back Shelly was out of town so I painted the nursery, we're putting the finishing touches on it tonight. We'll post pictures of the finished paint job later this week or next. This past weekend we were up in the cities shopping for the nursery furniture. We found the crib and dresser/changing table but won't have it for another couple weeks. Then I get to experience the babies first present that has "some assembly required".

Shelly's last doctors appointment was last Tuesday. Everything checked out great. They still measure the heartbeat everytime Shelly goes in it was at 157 bpm. This time they had an intern "helping" and he didn't get off to a great start. He was trying to fing the heart beat and was having a tough time so Shelly started to get a little freaked out. Then the pro took over and found the heart beat right away. We've got one more monthly appointment then we start going every two weeks. The baby loves it when we lay down for the night. Last night we were sitting on opposite sides of the couch and I could still see the baby moving around! We'll be back on soon with pictures of the painted nursery.

Shelly's Belly Part 3!

We're a little late getting this picture up but here it is. Things are definitley starting to change! Shelly has been able to feel the baby moving for a few weeks now. For a while I couldn't feel it or I wasn't sure if I was really feeling a kick or punch but in the last two weeks I know I've felt the baby moving. That along with the ultrasound has really made it real for me. We're already to the point where we can actually see the baby moving. The baby seems to be more active when Shelly is less active. So everynight when we're in bed we can see the little kicks! Our neighbors who had twin boys last summer had a garage sale last weekend so she let Shelly go over early and pick through all the good stuff before the sale started. She came home with a bunch of clothes for the baby so we've at least got a start! We're starting to make a little progress on the baby's room. We've cleaned out the closet and put in some new shelves. Now all that's left is painting and getting the crib, changing table, dresser, and rocker. That actually sounds like more to do than we've already done!

20 week Ultrasound

We had our 20 week ultrasound this morning and have our first pictures of the baby! There were 10 fingers and 10 toes so everything was looking good. In the picture on the top you can see a good profile of the baby's face. The left arm is up above the baby's head and they are sort of laying on the right arm. We spent all day yesterday watching a golf tournament so I told Shelly the baby is doing it's best Tiger Woods fist pump impression. The picture on the bottom is one of the tiny little feet! Right now the baby is breeched so it's feet are pointing down. The doctor said it wasn't a big deal because there is plenty of time left for it to get into the right position. We didn't find out the sex so it will be a big suprise when the baby is born. The ultrasound tech said even if we wanted to find out it would have been tough because the baby's legs were tucked up against it's butt. The baby wasn't very active but there were times when you could see the baby moving around. Right at the end of the ultrasound we could see the baby trying to put it's hand in it's mouth! The doctor said all the measurements checked out good and that the due date is staying the same. The baby is a whoppig 14 oz. right now and the femur is 3cm or a little over 1 inch long. Tuesday is the start of week 21 so we are over halfway through the pregnancy. We took the next picture of Shelly's belly so that picture will be up sometime soon.

Shelly's Belly Part 2!

Here is the second installment of Shelly's Belly. This picture is about a week old. As you can see her belly is slowly starting to pop. We just got done shopping for some new pants for Shelly. Her jeans are starting to get a little tight. When she was trying on pants they had a pillow for her to wear that simulated a big pregnant belly. She started laughing when she put it on. A lady in the store laughed at her and said "this must be your first baby!"