Thank you all SO much!

Much to my surprise, this past Saturday was my baby shower!!  It was absolutely wonderful!  We received more gifts than I think we have room for!  All of our gifts left in about 5 or 6 cars there were SO many.  We have about half of them back at our house now, and are making room for everything. It really was fantastic, we are so lucky to have such great and loving family and friends... Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Monday we had an ultrasound appointment to check on Gwen's growth, and it was so exciting!  We couldn't wait to see her again... and to confirm that we still were on Team Pink.  Although we believed her the first time she told us, we never actually SAW her girlie parts and just wanted some confirmation, and a picture.  Our technician was MORE than happy to oblige, and as she put it "It's definitely a hamburger, not a hot dog."  Haha.

Below is our proof... it's a girl all the way.

All of Gwen's measurements were right on track, she is head down (she could change positions though) and had a heartbeat of 146.  She is currently weighing in at 3 lb 2 oz, which from what I have read is just a bit ahead of schedule.  Could that mean that she'll be making an early appearance?!?!  We could only be so lucky!  She looks like such a little angel, and it looks like she was smiling as we were cooing over her.

This one below is my favorite!!

This may sound strange, but I think that she looks so much like me as a baby in this one.  She has some cute chubby cheeks, and is pouting a bit here.  Isn't it amazing how clear it is, and looks like a baby ready to be born? 

Our next visit with Dr. P is tomorrow, hopefully she can help me with my sciatic pain (I think Gwen is on my sciatic nerve).  And I will get my results of the Glucose Test (I assume it's negative, since I never heard from them).  I hope I am done with tests for a while... but we'll see.

Almost at 30 weeks... can't believe how far along we are now!

Tons and tons of love to you all!

Mommy-To-Be Quiz @ 28 Weeks (7 months)!

• 
  
  How far along?  28 weeks or 7 months... we are in the Hooooome Streeeetch! Woo-Hoo!

• Total weight gain/loss: About 12 lbs.  But will be probably have gained more at the next Dr. visit (July 14th)

• Maternity Clothes:  Still haven't bought anything new that was Maternity, but have picked up a few more dresses and comfy lounge shorts... it's been too hot out for Maternity clothes with those "Secret Belly" panels.

• Stretch ----:  Yup, we are in the Home Stretch.  That's what this question was referring to, right? ;)

• Sleep:  I am starting to get uncomfortable sleeping, but nothing that is keeping me up all night.  There are two basic positions that work... my left side... and my right side... haha.  So it gets annoying when neither is working for me.  But other than that, I think I am doing alright.

• Best Moment of the Week:  Finishing the Chair Rail, receiving all those wonderful gifts, and putting Gwen's bedding up! 

• Movement:  It seems like she is getting stronger by the day, and so are her kicks!  She is a little wiggleworm, and I love it!  Lately, it seems like I can tell where she is in my belly, like, where her head is at times, or where a foot is... it is so amazing!

• Food Cravings:  Ice cream, which, by the way, Jason is loving!  He has jumped on the ice cream train too!  And a lot of fruit... isn't that the polar opposite of ice cream?!?!

• Labor Signs:  No, but I do think that I have had a few Braxton Hicks (fake) contractions... nothing painful, just my belly gets really hard for a few minutes.  It is said that this is normal though.

• Belly Button, In or Out:  In, guess the outie thing just isn't happening, which is ok by me.

• What I Miss:  Regular clothes, and being able to bend down with ease... if we didn't have Wiley, I would leave everything on the ground, just bc it is too much of a nuisance to pick up. Lol.

• What I Am Looking Forward To:  Our next sonogram (July 12th), and our Childbirth Classes... only because it will hopefully make us feel like we have SOMEWHAT of an idea as to what we are doing. 

• Weekly Wisdom:  Knowing how to roll with the punches is the best preparation for life there is!

• Milestones:  7 Months Preggo!!!  Third trimester here we are... and we would like you to be a smooth and quick ride, Thanks.

• What is Gwen Up To?  Gwen's lungs are mature enough that, if born right now, she has a pretty good chance of surviving (with help from medical technology).  Her skin is still pretty wrinkly (bc of amniotic fluid) but will smoothen as fat continues to deposit.  She is still the size of an Eggplant, about 10.2 inches, and 2.4 - 2.75 lbs.

Closer and Closer...

We have done so much in the past few days!!!  Saturday night, Jason put together the swing AND our new glider (sooo comfy)!  I find myself hanging out her room, rocking away, wishing she was here already. :)

 Then, Sunday morning, with the help from Gwen's Welo, the chair rail went up.  And let me just say, I think the room looks perfect!!

Then, today (Wednesday), Jason called from work and said that he had a surprise for me & Baby Gwen.  He came home at lunch with a box from Gwen's Grandma (Jason's mom) and inside was her bedding!!!  I was sooooo excited!  I love it so much and am so thankful.  Of course, I had to put it up right away... even though we haven't bought a mattress yet (we will soon).

Thanks Grandma Mary!

We are getting SO close to finishing the room, it's so exciting.  I can't wait for the day her room is complete with her in it!  Only about 12 weeks to go... hopefully less.

Now we are just gearing up for a relaxing 4th of July weekend (Jason really does deserve it!)...  then it's back to work, lol.

Hope everyone has a Happy and Safe 4th!

Working for the Weekend

Since our summer is starting to get pretty busy, we decided to stay home this weekend and try to finish the chair railing in Gwen's room.  After measuring out the room and consulting with professionals (Gwen's Welo), lol, we headed to Lowe's to pick up the supplies that we needed for our current project.  We bought 2 twelve foot pieces and 3 eight foot pieces.  As you can see below, for them to fit we stuck them out the sunroof, and headed home.  Well, we were just a mere 3 blocks from our house when, *SNAP,* and then there were 5 eight foot pieces.  Haha.  Needless to say, Jason went back to the store this morning and returned two of the original smaller pieces and bought 2 new longer ones.  :)

And he was so happy in this picture :)  His face was NOT this happy 10 minutes later.

Today, the chair railing was painted, and tomorrow morning at 9am, with some help, it is going up!!! Yay!  We cannot wait to see the finished product!

Jason was a busy little bee today, working so hard for his little girl.  Not only did he paint the chair rail, but he put up the curtains and new blinds, installed the light switch cover, and is currently putting together her swing (our first registry gift, Thanks Aunt Jane & Uncle Tom!).

 Here is a picture of the new curtain and blinds. 

 I found this company that makes custom light switch plates and outlet covers (Yes, we are a bit obsessed), but look how great it looks!  They are so fun!  Hopefully, the outlet covers will be here this week. 

Wish us luck for tomorrow, we will definitely document all the fun! 

Love you all.

Let's go USA!

Holy Heifer Alert!!!

So today was my monthly visit to Dr. P (sans Wiley, although we did talk about him as usual), and my Glucose Test, which tests for Gestational Diabetes.  I had to chug (w/in 5 min.) 10 oz. of bright orange, super sugary, and might I add pretty gross, liquid.  Then exactly one hour later a blood test was administered at Dr. P's.  Now, we wait for the results.  Actually, this office only calls when the tests results are not good... so no news is good news.

After my test, we had our normal visit, and found out that this little lady gained 7, I repeat, s-e-v-e-n pounds since our last visit (4 weeks ago).  Now, I'm just kidding, I now that this is completely normal and on pace for my pregnancy, but what a shock!  I have NEVER gained like that. Lol.  So, I am up a total of about 12 lbs... and to think, last weekend I was in a bikini!!!!! :)

All is well with Gwen, we are both right on track.  We go back see the Dr. in three weeks instead of four (b/c we are getting closer to due date), and we have to schedule our next ultrasound for about three weeks from now.  Can't wait to see her again! 

Here's my latest bump pics, thanks to Hubby.  I am 26 weeks, 5 days... almost into the third trimester (ahhh, the home stretch).

And here is the frontal pic I have been promising.  See, the belly button hasn't "popped" but it is certainly far from its starting location. 

We hope that everyone had an enjoyable Father's Day!  Jason had a great time celebrating his "almost" Father's Day, can't wait until next year, Gwen and I will certainly make it special for him!

All our love to you.

Mommy-To-Be Quiz @ 26 Weeks :)

• How far along? 26 Weeks, only 14 left (hopefully less!)

• Total weight gain/loss:  Haven't checked since my last Dr. Appt.  But, will find out next Wednesday.  Let me say that I definitely do NOT feel light on my feet, lol, tying my shoes is now something I dread. :)

• Maternity Clothes:  Haven't bought any recently, but I am always on the look out.

• S t r e t c h ..... : I am slowly removing this question.  I should change it to, How much Cocoa Butter have you gone through this week.

• Sleep:  Well, minus the one night Charlie visited, I have been doing rather well.  Actually better than normal, because my awesome cousin helped convince Jason that Wiley would like a crate! YAY! (Thanks Sherri & Keith).  I have been having a bit of an achy back though, but nothing too bad. 

• Best Moment of the Week:  The other night just as we were settling into bed, Jason put his hand on my stomach to see if Gwen was moving, and she started going crazy!!!  It was like she was showing off for him.  I would say that it was a solid five minutes that she was dancing for her Daddy.  And even funnier is that as soon as he took his hand off and I put my hand on, she stopped!  She's a Daddy's Girl already! :)

• Movement:  She is getting stronger but the day, and I am loving every minute of it!

• Food Cravings:  Egg Salad sandwiches were a big hit for me this week.  And, I have been craving ice cream more than I normally do.

• Labor Signs:  None

• Belly Button, In or Out:  Ok, I promise to put a pic up this week.  I finally took my belly ring out, and it seems like I have less of an innie every day, but still not fully popped.  Wonder if I'm not going to have an outie?

• What I Miss:  Zuppa de Pesce with a glass of red wine... this is my staple when going out to eat.  I can't wait to be reunited with my long lost friends!!!

• What I am Looking Forward To:  Working on Gwen's room more, and finding out when our next sonogram will be.  Can't wait to see our little girl again!

• Weekly Wisdom:  Don't mess with a pregnant woman, haha, she will almost always win (especially if you know what's good for you)!!

• Milestones:  Painting the room, progress is a beautiful thing.

• What Is The Baby Up To?  Gwen is soaking up my antibodies, getting her immune system ready for life on the outside.  Her eyes are forming and she'll soon be practicing blinking.  She is now the size of an eggplant.

My New Friend Charlie

This weekend we had a lot going on.  Saturday, especially, was a busy day for us, so it was so nice to hit the hay finally at around 10pm or so.  I have to say that even though I was not in my own bed, I was sleeping rather soundly, until approximately 3am.  That was when I SHOT up out of my much needed slumber and started screaming in pain!!!  I know that I scared the crap out of Jason, he must have thought that I was going into labor, or that something was wrong with Gwen and I.  Nope... just a good ole Charlie Horse! Ugh!  I know that I have had Charlie Horses before in my life, but THIS was intense!!!  It lasted a good minute or so, and is still tight (2 days later), before I was able to flex and massage it back to normal.  Boy, oh boy, was I caught off guard.  I don't even remember the last time that I had one, but I hope that there is a 10 year span between this visit from Charlie and my next. Lol. 

After I got home, of course I started researching Charlie Horses and Pregnancy, and there it was under Causes: Pregnancy.  Just lovely :)  Right away I began searching for ways to prevent them, and if you know me at all, I am taking ALL precautions!!!  I do not need something like that attacking me in my sleep... especially when a good night sleep is what I need now, before the baby comes. 

Hoping peaceful nights are ahead...

Lots of love.