Full term!!! 35-37 weeks

Abigail and myself have been doing better. We went out to Standley Lake for Labor Day and Shawn and my last holiday without kids!! It was fun but a little too much for me overall. I just do not feel very well and that just makes me not want to socialize. However, it was nice to go out in our beautiful RV and hang with our friends on the lake and by the campfire. The RV makes life so much easier because you can shower, do dishes, and have a fridge!! We went out on Thursday night and it was wonderful for me on Friday because everyone had to go to work so I was all alone. Shrek and I went for a walk by the lake together and we slept soundly until 10am. It was amazing!! We then spent the weekend boating and hanging out and came home on Monday. My dear friend from high school Sarah came out with her daughter Leah and brought Abigail so much cool stuff!! It is so nice to connect with old friends, and it seems like there was never a day where we were not in touch, despite the fact that it has been about 12 years since we last saw each other.

Abigail now has to be monitored three times a week and we also get an ultrasound every week to check the amniotic fluid as well as Abbie's growth. She was a bit behind but has made a miraculous recovery in the past two weeks. She not only has been gaining an absurd amount of weight but her amniotic fluid has increased as well. At 36 weeks she weighed 5lbs, 5 oz, gaining a whopping 7oz and at 37 weeks she gained 9 more ounces and is now 5lbs 14oz. Plus her bones and organs have begun to catch up to where they should be and in three weeks she has gone from being in the 8th percentile to the 29th percentile!! I swear Dr. Austin scared her into staying in my belly for longer when he told her he was going to deliver her early. Now we are considered full-term and at my appointment this week the doctor said she may even come late. What a rollercoaster ride!!

Baby shower and 31-34 weeks

First and foremost I have been slacking on the blog. Life has been one hectic rollercoaster since I last wrote.

The Friday before the baby shower I went to the doctor and was having some spotting and other issues so the doctor put Abigail on a monitor and we were told we were in pre-term labor. It was scary, but all turned out well and I was told to just relax over the weekend and not go to work the following week.

Abigail's baby shower was fabulous and my mom, Shawn's mom, Grandma Max, Aunty Cathy, and Aunt Charlie were among those who came and helped immensely. Abigail has so many people who love her already and I can hardly wait for her to meet them, including myself and Shawn!! During the baby shower, I opened presents for over two hours!! It was very overwhelming for me, as I had not been feeling well at all and was on "bed rest". However, it was worth it and Abigail will be beautifully clothed and have plenty of toys for months to come. Plus, Aunt Cathy and Uncle Walt brought her a talking rocking horse that is in her room so she can be a cowgirl before she knows it. Everything we received is so wonderful and I had such a great time. It is nice to know we have so much love and support around us.

The next day, Monday, I went back to the doctor and was told I had gained 10 pounds of water weight over the weekend and my blood pressure was 170/120!! I was also spilling protein in my urine, which shows that your organs are not functioning properly. Immendiately I was put on bed rest and Dr. Austin said there would be no more work for me. This was quite a shocker as I was only 31 weeks pregnant but with how I had been feeling it was also a relief. Luckily, I have a very realistic doctor and he said just to take it easy but that I could still go swimming and stuff.

So then the next week, I went in for an ultrasuond and Abigail's amniotic fluid had dropped down to a 7!! Dr. Austin immediately put me into the hospital for three days and did constant monitoring of Abbie's movements and heartbeats while monitoring my blood pressure and proteins. It was intense at times but nice to know that Abigail was doing well and I was doing okay. Shawn was so sweet and slept on a couch that he pulled right up to my hospital bed. My mom was also wonderful and made sure Shawn was well fed and that my spirits stayed up. Dr. Austin gave me two shots of steroids intended to speed up Abbie's lung development and then explained to us that she would be delivered before September 16th. Finally we were allowed to go home and told to just rest and relax. I made Shawn take me directly to Target so we could buy the few things we still needed after the baby shower such as the changing table pad. We need to be ready in case she comes early!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

30 weeks

I am so sorry but I have not taken any pictures yet!! Maybe I will do that tonight.


Abigail is 30 weeks and weighs 3 pounds and one ounce. She is growing great and when she was last measured she was right within all of the proper growth parameters. We have been having some issues and unfortunately we spent about six hours in labor and delivery monitoring little Abigail's heart rate and movements. She is more than fine and what they consider to be a very happy baby. I however have not been feeling well and was concerned because I did not feel her kick for about 24 hours despite the fact that she has been kicking me so hard it feels like she is going to pop out of my stomach. It was good we went in to labor and delivery for moinitoring as we found out that the amntioc fluid has dropped from 11, which is at the very bottom of normal range, to 9. The doctor is not all that concerned, but we had another ultrasound and they measured the baby and she is normal and doing great. She is a spitfire and kept kicking and punching the ultrasound technician. It was so funny. Plus when they were monitoring her in the hospital she kept doing what my mom and I called "water aerobics" and would move. She moved so much that the poor nurse had to basically stand by me and continue to move the doppler paddles for five hours!!

Shawn went to Sturgis and had a blast. Unfortunately he only got to experience about a day and a half of the events because little Abigail and myself were not feeling well. Being the absolute sweetheart that he is, he came home two days early to take care of us. What a wonderful husband!!

The baby shower is this Sunday and we are so excited. My grandma and both of my aunts are going to be out here so that will make the shower even more special. We are pretty much set, but we are so excited to see the little gifts Abigail receives.

See you next week and hopefully I will have lots of pictures for you!!

Less than 11 weeks

The literature states that Abigail now weighs 2 pounds 3/4 ounces and she is the size of a butternut squash. We are 29 weeks now and I am just waiting for Monday so we will be 30 weeks, which seems to be the big hurdle to me. Abigail is kicking up a storm and has even kicked hard enough to move my book when I am reading.

Right now I am studying my booty off in order to take my National Counselors Exam next Thursday. I am feeling more prepared than I was but still get nervous that they will send me some curve balls or that I will get some of the theorists confused. At least I made it through the 1000 questions in the Encyclopedia Of Counseling and now I can just review.

Next week Aunt Cathy, Aunt Charlie, Uncle Walt, Uncle Don, Grandma Max, and her boyfriend Jerry will all be coming out!! It is going to be a fun-filled weekend of parties. First we are going to be celebrating Cathy and Don turning 50 this year. Then Sunday the 9th we are having my baby shower and all of the men including my dad and Shawn are going golfing and out on the boat. It should be fun and I cannot wait to see everyone.

Look for nursery pictures next week as I think I am finally going to take some and post them. yeah me!!

7 months pregnant, only 84 more days

Abigail is now 28 weeks and she is due in 84 days (if she is born on October 14th which we would love :))!! The nursery is really almost finished and my mom came over this past Sunday and helped me get the loft area where I will most likely be hanging out and breastfeeding ready, then it will probably become the playroom. We put a bunch of stuffed animals that I have had since I was a little kid all around. Then we moved all of the baby bouncers and walkers to the basement. Mom brought over a bunch of my old toys such as my absolutely gorgeous and amazing dollhouse (she cannot play with that for a long time!!) as well as my Barbies and Cabbage Patch Dolls. It is fun and now I am so thankful we are having a girl so she can have all of this amazing stuff from my childhood that I loved. If she does not want it, that is alright too but atleast I have the option.
Being pregnant is pretty cool and it is absolutely one of the weirdest and cool things to feel this being in your belly kicking and squirming around. Abigail has a schedule already when she kicks the most. At 5am she wakes up with her daddy and squirms around for about 45 minutes. Then she usually wakes up around 9am when I eat breakfast and get going at work. Next around lunch she kicks a bit but at about 2pm she starts kicking so hard I think others can hear her kick the chair I am sitting in. Then she does some light kicking on my way home at around 5-6pm and then again at 10pm when Shawn usually reads out loud to her. That is when she kicks the most, when Shawn is reading. It is so cute and I cannot wait to see her in his arms.
Shawn has been out of town on work this week so I have not seen him for the past three days and I can hardly wait until I get home tonight and get to see him. Abigail is going to kick up a storm when she hears his voice.
In other news, the amniotic fluid has been a little bit low and so we were unable to do the 3-D ultrasound. The doctor says everything is okay and that the fluid is only slightly low and nothing to worry too much about. I have been eating really well and drinking probably close to 2 gallons of water a day because I am so darn thirsty. I am going back on August 10th to have another prenatal ultrasound to measure little Abigail's growth as well as the fluid and then we see the doctor on the 12th again. I think we will do the 3-D ultrasound again on the 19th so everyone can join in and see our little Abigail as long as her fluid levels have improved and everything is going well as I predict it will be.
Other than that life is good and I am counting the number of days until I do not have to work anymore. Right now, barring any issues, my last day will be October 2nd, which is only 72 days away!!!!!!!

Abigail's 27th Week

Abigail is officially in the third trimester and boy is she getting big. Literature says she can now suck her thumb and even cry in the womb. We shall see if she is a thumb sucker tonight at our 3-D ultrasound. Shawn is so excited for it tonight that he can hardly stand himself.

This past weekend Abigail's Uncle Bert and godfather came over and very sweetly stood in the 100 degree attic to put in a ceiling fan for her in her nursery and in Mom and Dad's room. He is so sweet and is excited to meet her. Meanwhile we finished putting up the border and put most of her clothes away. She is going to be the best dressed baby in the world!! Shawn went to this garage sale this weekend and bought an entire bag of adorable baby clothes. He is so funny and sooooooo excited!!

Tonight we have our 3-D ultrasound and Grandma Lois & Grandpa Jack, Abigail's Nana Becky as well as Grandpa Dennis, and her great Aunt Cathy and Uncle Walt will be watching it from all over the country. Her Uncle Kyle, Aunt Amanda, Grandma's Judy and Diana, and godmother Carla will all be there as well. So amazing and I cannot wait to post some pictures. They say you can even see the hairs on the babies' head.

Other than that, Shawn had his championship game inside the Colorado Rapids' stadium for the third season last night. Unfortunately the boys lost, but all winning streaks must come to an end sometime. His team played CCCP and the game ended in a tie at zero-zero. Then the game went to penalty kicks and CCCP outscored Podiatry Associates 2-0. It was disappointing but I am sure this fall PA will get the chance to get their revenge!!

26 weeks and counting

Today Abigail is 26 weeks old. The aveoli in her lungs are almost fully formed, although they continue to grow until she is 9 years of age. She is about as long as an English cucumber and weighs two whole pounds. The coolest part is that she can actually hear music and respond to it through kicks!!

This weekend we took our RV and boat to Standley Lake and hung out with our friends for four days. It was absolutely amazing and we had such a wonderful time. The coolest part is that we only had to drive 15 minutes to get there and on the 4th of July we had pizza delivered to our campsite, then went out on the boat on the lake to watch four different fireworks shows. The lake is gorgeous and the backdrop is the mountains, which is just phenomenal. Shawn learned to wakesurf behind one of my friends from high school's boats and had an absolute blast. He is hooked and I have a feeling I may be fighting him buying a new boat next spring :).

Overall I am feeling pretty good. I have some light swelling in my hands and feet but more so when I am working and sitting at my desk all day. My ribs are still quite painful but I have learned to ignore them and last week my hips felt like they were being torn apart but that seems to have subsided. Really my only complaint is that I am sooooooooo tired and get a little heartburn at times. Other than that I love being pregnant and cannot wait to meet my little girl!! We finally have the crib and the matching dresser thanks to my parents and my parents-in-law Dennis and Becky from Florida. Abigail's room is looking adorable!! I will have new pictures soon I promise.