28 week ultrasound

Here are some photos from Owens 28 week ultrasound. Unfortunately we were not able to get any great pictures because FORTUNATELY he is so big! He is 2.9 pounds and approximately 16 inches long! He is already in the head down position, and very low so it was really difficult to see his face. It makes me laugh that he is already head down and ready because that is exactly how his father would be, always early and very prepared for an event! :) If you click on the pictures they will get bigger (unless you receive this via email or google reader, you will have to go to the actual blog site to make the photos larger). Don't feel bad though if you can not tell what you are looking at, the pictures are difficult to figure out!

Here is his cute face! He kept opening and closing his mouth the whole time. He always kept touching his face with his little hands. I was also able to see his stomach and bladder which were full of fluid which is good- it means he is properly drinking!
His spine. His back is all along my stomach and the cause of this weird belly button I am getting!
Legs. Don't worry. I can not tell this is his legs either. But on the live shots his legs were very active and all over the place. They are currently pointing up and playing around/in my ribs!
Proof that he is still a boy! It took the technician a LONG time to get this shot so I figured I would post it. Because he is so cramped in there right now it was very difficult to get a good look at his "parts". No doubt he is still a boy though! :)

And this is just a fun pic of me trying to rock Maggie in our new rocker. She wanted nothing to do with it AT ALL!

John in the dog house

I cant remember why John put himself in the dogs crate last week, with the dogs. But it seems post worthy!
It truly is so much easier when he just puts himself in there! :o)

28 week belly

As promised, here is my 28 week belly shot!

28 weeks along

I am truly not sure about these food references anymore. My information says that baby is now the size of a cantaloupe.I am assuming this means weight wise because baby is 2.5ish pounds. Here is what my information has to say about baby...

"Eyebrows and eyelashes are now present, and the hair on the head is growing. The eyelids open, and the eyes are completely formed. The body is getting plumper and rounder (weighs about 2.5pounds and 15 3/4 inches long) and is composed of around 2 to 3% body fat. Muscle tone is gradually improving. The lungs are capable of breathing air but if the baby is born now, it would struggle to properly breathe. Be sure to talk to your baby a lot because Welcome to the third trimester ~ the period of leg cramps, hemorrhoids, varicose veins, itchy skin, aches and pains, swelling, heartburn, indigestion and . . . your baby's arrival! Your uterus is around 3 inches above your navel; average weight gain is between 17 and 24 pounds at this point. If you haven't had a glucose tolerance test yet to test for gestational diabetes, your care provider may order one this week.s/he can recognize your voice now!"

Well I have not done the recommended weight gain yet, but I am working on it. I am hovering right around my pre-pregnancy weight right now. My doctor said weight gain does not count until I get over that pre-pregnancy weight, so hopefully soon!!!

Today I have an appointment with my OB. She is testing me for gestational diabetes like mentioned above. This means I get to drink a really sugary drink and then get blood taken. If I "fail" this test then I will be sent in for a 3 hour test which i guess looks a little deeper.Hopefully things will be just fine though (especially right before the holidays!)

Today I am also getting my Rhogam shot. Here is some information on this shot:

Most people are Rh positive. This factor does not effect your health except during pregnancy.
A woman is at risk when she has a negative Rh factor (which I do, as I have the blood type Onegative) and her partner has a positive Rh factor (which John does). This combination can produce a child who is Rh positive. While the mother's and baby's blood systems are separate there are times when the blood from the baby can enter into the mother's system. This can cause the mother to create antibodies against the Rh factor, thus treating an Rh positive baby like an intruder in her body. If this happens the mother is said to be sensitized.
A sensitized mother's body will make antibodies. These antibodies will then attack an Rh positive baby's blood, causing it to breaking down the red blood cells of the baby and anemia will develop. In severe cases this hemolytic disease can cause illness, brain damage and even death. Hemolytic disease can be prevented for many women, if they are not already sensitized. Rh immunoglobulin (RhIg) is a blood product given via injection to help the Rh negative mother by suppressing her ability to react to the Rh positive red cells. Reactions to the medication are generally minor, including soreness at the injection sight and sometimes a slight fever.
Since a small number of unsensitized women may have problems with the end of pregnancy, many practitioners recommend that she be given an injection of RhIg (also known as Rhogam) at 28 weeks gestation, to prevent the few cases of sensitization that occur at the end of pregnancy. Each dose of RhIg lasts about 12 weeks. The mother will also be given RhIg within 72 hours of birth if the child is Rh positive. The baby's blood type can be determined easily after birth by cord blood samples.

Goodness there sure is a lot to worry about during pregnancy!!!

This past week was pretty rough. I definitely had the flu and I am not too proud to admit that there were many times that I was curled up in a ball crying my eyes out. I am also REALLY HORMONAL (watch out everyone!) Finally by Saturday evening I started feeling significantly better.

I did learn that I unfortunately can no longer eat Mexican food!! I had lunch with a friend last week and came home completely miserably ill. Then I tried Mexican again this Thursday and same story. NOT GOOD!!!! Such a shame because I LOVE Mexican!!!

My current craving: chicken nuggets from chick-fil-a. OH MY GOODNESS THEY ARE SO GOOD!!! I just love love love their nuggets. I can not get enough! i guess if I am going to LOVE some kind of fast food, at least it is chick-fil-a. Right Sam? (my closest friends own their very own chick-fil-a!)

John said I am nesting. I spent all day yesterday (and I literally mean ALL DAY!) cleaning/organizing, preparing for the holidays, etc. I finished unpacking our last 5 boxes that we had just been putting off doing. I hung all of my clothes in my closet and organized things. I did a LOT of laundry, I helped John organize his school work, etc. John kept asking me to stop and to just rest, but I just could not! I felt this strong desire to get so much done! I think I am starting to feel the urgency of the fact that the baby is coming. He will be here within 12 weeks! HOLY COW!!!!! 12 weeks ago John was at survival school and that does not seem like all that long ago!

On Friday we are leaving for our Holiday trip back east. We will spend some time in PA, then to VA, then a quick trip to NC to finally choose where we will live when we move, then back to PA for a couple of days, and then back to AR. WOW! TONS going on! I am a bit nervous about the trip because I am getting more and more uncomfortable, but I am so excited to see family and friends that it will be worth it.

This year we really want to focus on spending good quality time with family/friends as opposed to present giving. After all we are preparing for a baby and a new house! Ahh!

Well I will post a belly photo soon. Let me assure you I am getting big. Seriously big. Sometimes I can not believe my stomach! At this point it is going to start growing about 1/2 inch per week. YIKES!!!!!! I think this week I am going to have to get a couple of shirts for our trip. Normally around the house I just wear a sweatshirt all the time, but I need to be a bit more dressy for church/holiday parties/etc. I refuse to purchase any maternity tops because I will use them for a max of 12 more weeks, so I am going to just find some longer sweaters at JcPenneys or something.

Thank you everyone for all of your prayers!!!!

Purchases

We have made a couple of baby purchases in the last couple of weeks!

We got in the Crib and it is beautiful! We are not setting it up here in Little Rock (he will just sleep in a pack and play or bassinet) but we did open the box to inspect it and it is perfect!

This is the crib, but not the bedding, this is just a stock picture. Here is the bedding we are going to have:

Quite appropriate don't you think! We do not want to go overboard with the airplane theme, but the bedding is quite cute!

Another purchase we made is Owens coming home outfit. This is kind of a fun/symbolic outfit. We made the purchase last week and it just came in. I am so excited!!!

Ok seriously, how cute is this outfit?!? And I must say, it is even cuter in person! I am so in love with it!

Third Trimester BLAH!

Well for the last week or so I have been feeling exceptional blah. Yesterday I finally went to the doc and I have a terrible UTI that is close to being a kidney issue. I had no idea. But this can definitely be reason my body was so down. I also had a temperature of 101.2. She said I may also have a flu like thing going on. She said I need pleanty of fluids or else she will have to admit me into the hospital to get IV's. I DO NOT WANT THAT at all so I am trying to drink tons of liquids. I feel all flu like right now.. I am pretty sure I am catching a flu. BLAH!!!The flu is no fun, pregnancy flu is even worse!!!

I am officially 27 weeks along- which means I am in my 3rd and final trimseter!!!

Apparantly baby is the size of this eggplant.

"You're in the home stretch two trimesters down, one more to go. Your baby is growing steadily as he prepares for delivery day. He will gain weight rapidly over the next weeks and, as the size of your bump increases, you may feel more breathless and tired. Your baby's acting more like a newborn now, too. He opens and closes his eyes, sleeps and wakes at regular intervals, and may suck a finger or thumb. He may also be hiccuping a lot this week, which explains that odd rhythmic sensation you've probably been feeling. Baby's lungs and immune system are maturing this week as baby prepares for his grand entrance. If he were born today he would have an 85 percent chance of surviving as his lungs are capable of breathing air (with medical assistance, of course). Other exciting developments:Baby's done a lot of growing over the past few months. His length has more than doubled in the past 15 weeks! And that's not the only thing growing—baby's brain tissue and neurons are all developing at a rapid pace. His brain waves are now firing away just like those of a newborn baby. If baby is a he, his testes will have completely descended at this point. Your baby now weighs in at approximately 14½ inches and just over 2 pounds, or about the size of that roast you made last time your in-laws were in town. (OK, the baby is the size of that roast you meant to cook before you decided that ordering Chinese was a much better idea.)"

Prayers for Us

Here are ways that you can be praying specifically for us during the next few months.

1. With Amy not working at this time, pray that we are able to make smart decisions financially.

2. that we can figure out exactly what we want to do regarding housing in North Carolina.We are getting to the last few weeks where we need to be making decisions quickly- and smartly!

3. For traveling mercy upon us as we are going from Arkansas to PA (18 hours), PA to VA (6 hours), VA to NC (4.5 hours), NC to PA (8,5 hours) and then from PA back to Arkansas (18 hours) all within a 2 week time period! YIKES!!!!

4. We need to get our doggie, Piper, into obedience classes or else she is going to need a new home. She is still such a puppy and I am incredibly worried abou how she will react once the baby comes!!!

5. For a church home here in North Little Rock. We have visited a couple of churches, but I am not sure we have found the exact place for us.

6. this may sound silly but for me it is an honest prayer request. Twice in the last two days I have been touched by complete strangers!!!! Both ]just started rubbing on my belly bump without me inviting them to. They didnt even ask!!!! I automatically turn BRIGHT red and I am just absolutely horrified that it happened. Please pray for us that I either 1. get over it, or 2. people stop the violation!!! haha.

7. and our number 1 prayer is for Owen (still not certain on the middle name). For his health both now and once he is born!!