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Saturday, October 31, 2009

Happy Halloween!


Wednesday, October 28, 2009

30 Weeks

Holy crap! We've hit the big 3-0, baby!

Overall, I feel like I'm in a good place. Now that the nursery is really coming along (which reminds me, I need to post some updated pictures), we've settled on a name, and we received so many generous gifts at my shower last Sunday (yes, I'll post those pictures as well), I feel like I'm just about ready for this pregnancy to be over so that we can finally meet the long awaited Miss Abigail. I'm starting to get really excited for her arrival.

Mike and I have also started our pediatrician search recently. Luckily, our health insurance covers about 50 different pedis in our area, however, the bad news is that it's pretty overwhelming to research that many possible doctors for Abbey. We're relying heavily on word-of-mouth at the moment.

From Baby Center this week, Abbey's about 15.7 inches long now and she weighs almost 3 pounds. A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in my uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face.



Monday, October 26, 2009

What's in a Name?

Well, we've finally done it. Come up with a name for our little peanut, that is. After many long discussions on the topic and changing our minds several times, we've finally settled on a name. We've been tossing this particular name around for a few weeks now, but I wanted to be 100% certain on our choice before making the "big reveal". I should also mention that this decision did not come easy for us. While we were able to agree on possible boy names from day one, we had a short (very short) list of agreeable girl names and reaching a compromise was no small feat for the two of us.

So here it is folks...

We've officially decided on Abigail Grace, or Abbey for short.

I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. I have grown so tired of our name discussions and feel like our decision makes me anticipate her arrival even more so than before.

Mommy and daddy can't wait to welcome you to the world Miss Abbey!

Friday, October 23, 2009

Today's Appt.

...And all is still going well. My weight and blood pressure are in check. My belly is measuring right on schedule and baby's heartbeat is a strong 155 bpm.

Total weight gained so far: +15.8 lbs.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

29 Weeks

Holy growing belly, batman! I've noticed a very dramatic change in the size of my bump between this week and last. My belly button has also "popped" slightly. The peanut must be going through a growth spurt. (Disclaimer: Yes, I have now learned that love handles can develop stretch marks. Please ignore the unsightliness of the second picture.)

On the bright side, I'm getting my first pregnancy massage on Saturday (whoo hoo!) so I'm very much looking forward to it. I have finally reached the point where I can't tolerate the discomfort on my own anymore. Now I just wish I could fast forward through the remainder of the week.

From Baby Center this week, our baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. Her muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and her head is growing bigger to make room for her developing brain. To meet her increasing nutritional demands, I'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. Because her bones are soaking up lots of calcium, I need to be sure to drink my milk or another good source of calcium. This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in our baby's hardening skeleton each day.



Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Nursery Progress

We've been busy this past week working on the nursery. It's finally painted and we've managed to get the crib set up. We're still working on the changing table/combo unit as we had to call the manufacturer due to some missing assembly pieces (very annoying), but it's starting to come together. My shower is this coming Sunday so once that's over, we'll start purchasing the bedding, window treatments, decorations, etc. to put the finishing touches on it.

Nursery Before:





Nursery Now:





Friday, October 16, 2009

Winter Wonderland

And this, my friends, is what I woke up to this morning:







So I'm assuming this means we can forget all about having an indian summer this year, huh?

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Have I Been Living Under a Rock?

How in the world did I not stumble across the cuteness that is Etsy until today?

After having a very slow morning at work, I decided to start browsing around on the website and finally had to click out before I spent our entire life savings on pink frilly tutus and adorable flowery headbands for the baby.

If you're a fan of Etsy, who are some of your favorites sellers/stores?

If you have no idea what I'm blabbering on about, check it out here - http://www.etsy.com/.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

28 Weeks

I passed my 1 hour glucose test with flying colors! No gestational diabetes for me!

It would be nice, however, if I could get comfortable for just oh, let's say 5 minutes or so a day. My back is killing me so it's gotten difficult to sit or stand for long periods of time. Even lounging on the couch in the evenings is becoming a chore.

My breastfeeding class last week went really well and I think I really learned alot. I was thrilled to hear that my hospital offers a support group for breastfeeding mothers that meets on a monthly basis as well as "walk-in" service in their lactation department for any mothers who may be struggling and need some one-on-one help. It was certainly encouraging to know that help is there if I should need it.

Oh, and this message goes out to my lovely daughter - please remove whatever it is you've had shoved in mommy's right ribs for the past week. It hurts and, well, it's not very nice. You wouldn't want something shoved in your ribs, would you?

From Baby Center this week, our baby now weighs two and a quarter pounds and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through my womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.



Friday, October 9, 2009

Back from Yet Another Appointment

I just got back from my 27 week appointment and all is continuting to go well.

Again, it was fairly uneventful - I had my weight checked (thankfully, I've only gained 3.4 lbs since last time), pee'd in a cup, had my blood pressure taken, heard the baby's heartbeat, and had my belly measured. I also had my one hour glucose test which, I have to admit, really wasn't all that bad. I was expecting much worse. The glucola they have you drink tastes exactly like orange pop without the fizz, at least when it's cold, so that was certainly a relief. Now I just have to wait and see if I passed.

I can't believe I'm to the point in my pregnancy that I need to start going to the doctor every two weeks! My next appointment is scheduled for October 23rd - 2 days before my shower.

Total weight gained so far: +13.8 lbs.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

27 Weeks

Over the past week as I've started monitoring kick counts, I've noticed that our little lady is very active in the afternoon these days and has progressed from light kicks here and there to steady, hard kicks and punches. I even had the pleasure of having a foot jammed into my ribcage for a good half-hour yesturday.

Right now I'm just looking foward to my breastfeeding class at the hospital tomorrow night and my OB appointment on Friday where I'll take the 1-hour glucose test.

From Baby Center this week, our baby weighs almost 2 pounds and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, our baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Tiny rhythmic movements I may be feeling are a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, they'll just tickle me.

Sorry, no bare belly pictures this week since I decided to wear a dress to work today. Yes, I know you're bummed that you won't be able to see my hairy, veiny, belly up close and personal yet again ;)



Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Hello, 3rd Trimester.

We're in the home stretch now!

Monday, October 5, 2009

Back From Interview

Overall, I think it went well.

I was the first interviewee of the day and I think I had some really good, concrete answers to all of the questions that were asked of me. I will openly admit that I was a bit intimidated by the atmosphere of the company since I'm used to such a laid back work enviroment and the office I interviewed with is very much the opposite. Also, the mere size of the company was a tad bit overwhelming as I've simply never worked anywhere that large before. It really did make me feel like I was interviewing for my first "real" job out of college which, I suppose I am.

I interviewed with the Senior Vice President of HR and one of the Portfolio Managers in the office and they mentioned that they had 4-5 others that were interviewing as well and that, if they're interested, they'll call me back for a 3rd time to discuss the position more in-depth. I'm supposed to hear either way by the end of this week.

Although I'm a huge proponent of not mentioning a pregnancy until there is a firm offer on the table, I waivered back and forth these past few days with whether or not I should since it's pretty obvious at this point (I didn't want my belly to become the "elephant" in the room) and ultimately decided to wait until the actual interview to get a feel for how the news would be received. As it turned out, I didn't bring it up. I was able to find some clothing that covered my bump pretty well and just didn't feel that the timing was right for the announcement.

It's all in God's hands now. While I feel this job would be a phenomenal stepping stone for my career, there are also several worthwhile reasons to stay at my current job, regardless of how miserable I am here. I think I've truly made peace with whatever the outcome will be.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

2nd Interview!

I got a call today from the recruiter regarding the job I interviewed for last Friday at the financial services group. They want to meet me in person for a second interview! Yay! It's scheduled for Monday morning at 9am.

Now the panic sets in. First off, none of my pre-pregnancy suits fit at the moment. I can get a few of my suit jackets on as long as I don't button them, but I don't have any matching maternity pants for those jackets. It looks like I'm hitting up Motherhood this weekend to see if I can find anything. While they don't carry suits, they do carry some seperates that may work. I have a $25 gift card for them as well that should come in handy.

Secondly, I'm terrified that the hiring manager will take one look at my ever-blossoming belly and completely write me off from the start. I think I need to spend some time this weekend developing how I can verbally prove myself to be a worthy candidate for the position. Getting this job would mean the world to me (read: it is the gateway to my dream career) and if that means I have to work 10x harder to prove that I'm the perfect candidate for it, than so be it.

Wish me luck!