Monday, August 31, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Pregnancy Update 2
There are no new pictures in this update, I'm afraid! :-) Just wanted to give folks a few tidbits.
We had an appointment with the midwives last week and got a confirmation that everything looked great physically for Baby. The anatomy looks good - arms, legs, head, brain, heart, lungs, kidneys, etc. I forgot to mention last time...but when the technician did our last ultrasound for us, she mentioned that Baby's skin is pretty thin right now...and it was fairly easy to see Baby's skull through the ultrasound. Creepy! :-) But overall, the baby looked very healthy so far to the doctors.
Kate is also starting to feel the baby move. For a couple weeks now, she's been assuming the mild feelings in her belly were just gas or fluids shifting around...but while at the midwives clinic, Dian (one of the midwives) was checking for a heartbeat and we all heard a scratching feedback kinda noise. Dian told us that was the baby moving around...and it coincided with that odd feeling with Kate. So now, Kate knows that when she has that feeling, it's actually Baby moving around!
After Kate's next appointment in early September, we'll be expected to stop in every two weeks rather than every month. The next visit will involve some sort of glucose test and more blood being drawn. More on that after the appointment.
We also learned last night that Baby can apparently hear, especially loud noises. Kate and I went to see the G.I. Joe movie last night, which was full of loud gunshots and explosions and hard music. Every time there was an action sequence or a stretch of rockin' music, Kate says that Baby starting bouncing around. Does that mean that Baby's going to love action flicks like Daddy...or did I just traumatize my kid with the high-octane, pulse-pounding beat of that movie, thus dooming Baby to a life of easy-paced chick flicks? Guess time will tell. ;-)
Kate and I did manage a trip to the local Babies-R-Us store in the Front Range Village. We discovered that there are a lot of kitchy-cute gadgets out there that we probably won't really need...but there are also a goodly list of items that we realize we WILL need. We're hesitant to go too crazy because of our lack of real space...but maybe with a little finagling we can make some decent room. We've also had very generous offers of gifts of used-but-still-serviceable furniture from friends and family - particular my sister, my parents, and our friends Deb and Rick. We still need to take a good look at the offered items and compare 'em to the space we have.
(Now that I think of it...we were just down in Colorado Springs visiting my family and I forgot to get the dimensions of the crib that Dianna was offering us. D'oh!)
My Dad says he's going to try to build us a rocking cradle for Baby, which would be great. We're thinking that we can put it downstairs both as a spot to put Baby down for mid-day naps...and as a way to show off my Dad's woodworking skillz.
Kate is still getting used to the changing dimensions of her belly. She told me that it was weird how her bellybutton has gone from an 'innie' to an 'outie' in the last few weeks. She's taken to putting a band-aid over it to keep it from being rubbed raw against her clothes. And speaking of clothes, our aforementioned friend Deb brought over two large plastic tubs of maternity clothes for Kate to try on. Kate hasn't had the chance to do so yet but it looks like she'll have a ton of options!
We were going to sign up for a birthing class but the times of the classes didn't fit with our work schedules. (Darn weekend shifts!) Of the two most popular methods - Lamaze and Bradley - we're leaning toward the Bradley Method. Unfortunately, since we aren't able to get into those classes, we're looking into some general classes offered through Womancare - the midwives clinic. As I understand it, these classes aren't a specific method, but a general instruction as to what to expect and what both mother and father need to do during the delivery. I believe these classes would be starting in the next month or so. In the meantime, being the library folk that we are, we've checked out a book on the Bradley Method entitled "Husband-Coached Childbirth." We're also looking at DVDs from the library, in particular one called "The Business of Being Born."
Library people do research. ;-)
We're also due to check with our church about baptism classes. We're aiming to have Baby baptized sometime in January (I think) but it sounds like we'll need to attend a few classes about what the responsibilities we'll be agreeing to. I believe we'll also need to be choosing Catholic godparents for Baby, but we've got an idea for that. And, no, I'm not telling. Yet. ;-)
We're currently making tentative plans for December. Once Baby is born and we're back in the house, we'll be opening our doors to family who want to visit with us and the new little one. Friends will probably be welcome as well but family gets priority. ;-) I know that Kate's dad - Brendan - is planning on driving down for a visit. He says he'll just be waiting for us to call around announcing that Baby is here and we're home before he heads down. I think Mary Ann - Kate's mom - isn't able to promise a visit at the same time, since we're being vague about the due date, but I think she might come out for the baptism. I know my family is eager for the third grandchild and hopefully they'll also be able to make it up here. It's been since the wedding that both sides of the family have seen each other. Might be fun!
My niece Julie is especially exciting about having a new cousin. She's even offered up options for names of the baby for us: "Lily" if it's a girl or "George" if it's a boy. I told her we'd consider it. :-)
I'm sure there's some other trivia that I ought to report but since I'm cranking this out on my break at work, I'd probably better end here and continue later. Hopefully next time, I'll have even more pictures to share!
As always, thanks for reading and I hope you're having a great day!
We had an appointment with the midwives last week and got a confirmation that everything looked great physically for Baby. The anatomy looks good - arms, legs, head, brain, heart, lungs, kidneys, etc. I forgot to mention last time...but when the technician did our last ultrasound for us, she mentioned that Baby's skin is pretty thin right now...and it was fairly easy to see Baby's skull through the ultrasound. Creepy! :-) But overall, the baby looked very healthy so far to the doctors.
Kate is also starting to feel the baby move. For a couple weeks now, she's been assuming the mild feelings in her belly were just gas or fluids shifting around...but while at the midwives clinic, Dian (one of the midwives) was checking for a heartbeat and we all heard a scratching feedback kinda noise. Dian told us that was the baby moving around...and it coincided with that odd feeling with Kate. So now, Kate knows that when she has that feeling, it's actually Baby moving around!
After Kate's next appointment in early September, we'll be expected to stop in every two weeks rather than every month. The next visit will involve some sort of glucose test and more blood being drawn. More on that after the appointment.
We also learned last night that Baby can apparently hear, especially loud noises. Kate and I went to see the G.I. Joe movie last night, which was full of loud gunshots and explosions and hard music. Every time there was an action sequence or a stretch of rockin' music, Kate says that Baby starting bouncing around. Does that mean that Baby's going to love action flicks like Daddy...or did I just traumatize my kid with the high-octane, pulse-pounding beat of that movie, thus dooming Baby to a life of easy-paced chick flicks? Guess time will tell. ;-)
Kate and I did manage a trip to the local Babies-R-Us store in the Front Range Village. We discovered that there are a lot of kitchy-cute gadgets out there that we probably won't really need...but there are also a goodly list of items that we realize we WILL need. We're hesitant to go too crazy because of our lack of real space...but maybe with a little finagling we can make some decent room. We've also had very generous offers of gifts of used-but-still-serviceable furniture from friends and family - particular my sister, my parents, and our friends Deb and Rick. We still need to take a good look at the offered items and compare 'em to the space we have.
(Now that I think of it...we were just down in Colorado Springs visiting my family and I forgot to get the dimensions of the crib that Dianna was offering us. D'oh!)
My Dad says he's going to try to build us a rocking cradle for Baby, which would be great. We're thinking that we can put it downstairs both as a spot to put Baby down for mid-day naps...and as a way to show off my Dad's woodworking skillz.
Kate is still getting used to the changing dimensions of her belly. She told me that it was weird how her bellybutton has gone from an 'innie' to an 'outie' in the last few weeks. She's taken to putting a band-aid over it to keep it from being rubbed raw against her clothes. And speaking of clothes, our aforementioned friend Deb brought over two large plastic tubs of maternity clothes for Kate to try on. Kate hasn't had the chance to do so yet but it looks like she'll have a ton of options!
We were going to sign up for a birthing class but the times of the classes didn't fit with our work schedules. (Darn weekend shifts!) Of the two most popular methods - Lamaze and Bradley - we're leaning toward the Bradley Method. Unfortunately, since we aren't able to get into those classes, we're looking into some general classes offered through Womancare - the midwives clinic. As I understand it, these classes aren't a specific method, but a general instruction as to what to expect and what both mother and father need to do during the delivery. I believe these classes would be starting in the next month or so. In the meantime, being the library folk that we are, we've checked out a book on the Bradley Method entitled "Husband-Coached Childbirth." We're also looking at DVDs from the library, in particular one called "The Business of Being Born."
Library people do research. ;-)
We're also due to check with our church about baptism classes. We're aiming to have Baby baptized sometime in January (I think) but it sounds like we'll need to attend a few classes about what the responsibilities we'll be agreeing to. I believe we'll also need to be choosing Catholic godparents for Baby, but we've got an idea for that. And, no, I'm not telling. Yet. ;-)
We're currently making tentative plans for December. Once Baby is born and we're back in the house, we'll be opening our doors to family who want to visit with us and the new little one. Friends will probably be welcome as well but family gets priority. ;-) I know that Kate's dad - Brendan - is planning on driving down for a visit. He says he'll just be waiting for us to call around announcing that Baby is here and we're home before he heads down. I think Mary Ann - Kate's mom - isn't able to promise a visit at the same time, since we're being vague about the due date, but I think she might come out for the baptism. I know my family is eager for the third grandchild and hopefully they'll also be able to make it up here. It's been since the wedding that both sides of the family have seen each other. Might be fun!
My niece Julie is especially exciting about having a new cousin. She's even offered up options for names of the baby for us: "Lily" if it's a girl or "George" if it's a boy. I told her we'd consider it. :-)
I'm sure there's some other trivia that I ought to report but since I'm cranking this out on my break at work, I'd probably better end here and continue later. Hopefully next time, I'll have even more pictures to share!
As always, thanks for reading and I hope you're having a great day!
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Pregnancy Update
Sorry for the silence - been sort of a busy few weeks, especially with the California vacation that we just got back from. Woo! What fun! :-)
I thought I'd give our readers a quick update on how things are going with Kate's pregnancy. First off, we just visited Poudre Valley Hospital for a routine ultrasound, which is apparently required at around 20 weeks. (Kate is just over 21 weeks along by the way!) The initial report from the midwives at Womancare is that Baby looks perfectly normal...no obvious problems with anatomy.
Here are some of the latest images...my apologies for the quality - our scanner is defunct so I had to use my digital camera.
The baby's growth is perfect for 20-21 weeks...although Baby's legs are apparently a bit longer, roughly equivalent to 22 weeks. Guess Baby's going to be tall! :-)
Kate is also starting to show. She often wears loose-fitting clothing, even at work, so she isn't particularly obvious just yet. This is great in that we haven't needed to pick up any new clothes for her. At this rate, she should be okay for just wearing her current outfits without the need for maternity wear. (Which is a good thing since Kate is sort of dreading having to buy new clothes - she hates clothes shopping!) ;-)
Kate is also able to eat more foods now. We find that it's not necessarily what she eats that might make her ill. In fact, she simply has to be able to eat a small meal or snack every hour or two...otherwise she gets a bit sick to her stomach. She still doesn't want shrimp though, much to her chagrin. And she can't always eat too much at a sitting - not enough room in the belly, I guess. ;-)
We're also finding that her sense of smell is really, really sharp. She's very sensitive to strong odors - like perfumes and incense. Scents that she dislikes normally now hit her really hard, making her nauseous. I discovered that my friend fast food could often set her off. No KFC or McDonalds for this baby, I suppose! No buffets either it looks like. :-)
Oh, and for those who haven't heard yet...we will NOT be finding out the gender of Baby until he or she arrives in December. We would really like to try being surprised. As such, we're making sure to dream up potential names for both a boy and a girl. So far it's been easier to come up with girl names that we like than boy names...but we're working on it.
Also, due date is early to mid December. We're deliberately being vague about the time because we don't want to feel restricted to an exact day. From what we've been told, babies can show up a couple of week before or after the 'due date' without any problems. So...to keep worries down, we're keeping it open.
I've already gotten a number of questions about baby showers and baby registries. We're still waffling on a lot of these decisions. We don't know what we want for the baby yet - just a few of the necessities. We have a number of friends who have generously offered to give or sell us their old baby furniture, which will help out a lot! We also know that we won't have a lot of room to work with; Baby will probably be in Mom and Dad's bedroom. We're pretty sure that we don't want a whole bunch of toys cluttering up the house either - in fact, we actually have quite a few baby-safe toys collected from our childhoods. Books and clothes might be a possibility...but we really need to stop in at a baby store and see what sort of things are available before we decide what we really want. There will probably be things that we definitely want...things that we didn't think of...and things that we don't want anywhere near our home. :-) We'll keep you posted.
Other than all that, things are going very well. As I said, Kate is feeling pretty good - just gets tired very quickly. I'm trying to be the good husband and handle most of the chores around the house. Kate's certainly capable of moving around and helping out, but I just like to take care of her. :-)
As always, thanks very much for reading! Hope you're having a great day!
I thought I'd give our readers a quick update on how things are going with Kate's pregnancy. First off, we just visited Poudre Valley Hospital for a routine ultrasound, which is apparently required at around 20 weeks. (Kate is just over 21 weeks along by the way!) The initial report from the midwives at Womancare is that Baby looks perfectly normal...no obvious problems with anatomy.
Here are some of the latest images...my apologies for the quality - our scanner is defunct so I had to use my digital camera.
The baby's growth is perfect for 20-21 weeks...although Baby's legs are apparently a bit longer, roughly equivalent to 22 weeks. Guess Baby's going to be tall! :-)
Kate is also starting to show. She often wears loose-fitting clothing, even at work, so she isn't particularly obvious just yet. This is great in that we haven't needed to pick up any new clothes for her. At this rate, she should be okay for just wearing her current outfits without the need for maternity wear. (Which is a good thing since Kate is sort of dreading having to buy new clothes - she hates clothes shopping!) ;-)
Kate is also able to eat more foods now. We find that it's not necessarily what she eats that might make her ill. In fact, she simply has to be able to eat a small meal or snack every hour or two...otherwise she gets a bit sick to her stomach. She still doesn't want shrimp though, much to her chagrin. And she can't always eat too much at a sitting - not enough room in the belly, I guess. ;-)
We're also finding that her sense of smell is really, really sharp. She's very sensitive to strong odors - like perfumes and incense. Scents that she dislikes normally now hit her really hard, making her nauseous. I discovered that my friend fast food could often set her off. No KFC or McDonalds for this baby, I suppose! No buffets either it looks like. :-)
Oh, and for those who haven't heard yet...we will NOT be finding out the gender of Baby until he or she arrives in December. We would really like to try being surprised. As such, we're making sure to dream up potential names for both a boy and a girl. So far it's been easier to come up with girl names that we like than boy names...but we're working on it.
Also, due date is early to mid December. We're deliberately being vague about the time because we don't want to feel restricted to an exact day. From what we've been told, babies can show up a couple of week before or after the 'due date' without any problems. So...to keep worries down, we're keeping it open.
I've already gotten a number of questions about baby showers and baby registries. We're still waffling on a lot of these decisions. We don't know what we want for the baby yet - just a few of the necessities. We have a number of friends who have generously offered to give or sell us their old baby furniture, which will help out a lot! We also know that we won't have a lot of room to work with; Baby will probably be in Mom and Dad's bedroom. We're pretty sure that we don't want a whole bunch of toys cluttering up the house either - in fact, we actually have quite a few baby-safe toys collected from our childhoods. Books and clothes might be a possibility...but we really need to stop in at a baby store and see what sort of things are available before we decide what we really want. There will probably be things that we definitely want...things that we didn't think of...and things that we don't want anywhere near our home. :-) We'll keep you posted.
Other than all that, things are going very well. As I said, Kate is feeling pretty good - just gets tired very quickly. I'm trying to be the good husband and handle most of the chores around the house. Kate's certainly capable of moving around and helping out, but I just like to take care of her. :-)
As always, thanks very much for reading! Hope you're having a great day!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
