Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Garen and I went to Iowa last week to spend Thanksgiving with my family. And since we spend enough time in Iowa this trip, I was able to get together with some of my girlfriends for a baby shower. Sunday we met in Cedar Rapids and the girls from Des Moines, Minneapolis, Iowa City, and Burlington had lunch together. It was so much fun and it was great to see everyone again! They gave Baby G such wonderful gifts and such a variety! He now has a Pack n' Play, a ton of books, some new clothes, pjs, receiving and regular blankets, pacifiers, a changing table pad, toys, a teething ring, spoons, wash cloths, links, a boppy cover, and a bunch of Cheerios stuff. The Cheerios stuff came from Krista, who works for General Mills, and it is so cute. It is a little yellow onesie, blanket, and bib that say "I Love My Cheerios" and a Cheerios dispenser and the "Cheerios Kid" stuffed toy. I had such a good time at lunch visiting with my friends, I just felt bad for the poor waiter who always showed up at the end of a story (generally about birth)!

Of course after lunch several of us decided to go over to the mall and go shopping. Audrey works for Gap and had several Friends and Family Day coupons that were about to expire. We couldn't have that!!! It is a good thing Mom and I don't live near each other because we ended up buying a lot of stuff! Baby clothes are just too cute. I also found a onesie I had been looking for. It is a Family Guy onesie with Stewie on it and he says, "I've come with a gift. I'll give you a hint: It's in my diaper, and it's not a toaster." Garen loves it! They had a really funny Bob Marley onesie too (that I did not get) that had his face on it and said "B is for Bob".

A lady Mom works with, Marie, her husband Carey, and their 8 mo. old daughter Elly spent Thanksgiving Day with us. Mom thought it would be fun to show Garen what a baby is really like. Unfortunately Elly is the most well-behaved child in the world and I had to explain to Garen that this is scenario "A" and while it is ideal, it isn't likely. Elly didn't cry once all day. The only thing remotely "bad" that she did was spit out all of her food, slap her hands in it and then roll her bottle through it.

The fabric store was having great sales while we were home too, so I put Mom to work sewing receiving blankets, fleece blankets, burp cloths, and spit up rags. I also brought home the window valance that matches the sheet set Garen and I bought last week. It is 2x too long for the window in the baby room - so I made a drawing of how I want to take it apart and re-lay part of it out for a new valance with matching curtains and tie-backs. Of course there is still a bit of excess fabric which Mom will use to make a matching changing table pad and a pillow. Mom and I finished most of it, but I left her with the window project.

As of today I am 22 weeks and 0 days pregnant. Baby G has grown to the size of a Papaya and is kicking away! Below is the picture of the crib set that I couldn't post last week. I think we have everything in the picture plus a few extras, except the wall-border and curtains.

And we have movement!

Well, before we get to the movement, let's back up a little bit to registering last Saturday. Garen and I headed off to Babies R Us, to walk around confused and alone as we attempted to figure out what we need versus what they tell you "you need", which is not an easy feat in a store with an entire wall dedicated to baby bottle nipples! After about an hour, Garen begged and pleaded to leave...so I took him to another baby store. (I'm a nice wife most of the time.) We went to USA Baby to look at crib bedding because they have oodles on display and books with detailed photos and fabric samples of the sets that aren't on display in the store. We wrote down a few we liked from those in the store and from the books, and we decided to take 1 last walk-through before we left. And then we saw it, the clearance section, full of discontinued crib bedding sets. So we went digging and found 2 off our list! They were both floor models at one time, so in addition to the 4-6 piece crib set, they both were packaged with most of the other items in the collection. We ended up buying a jungle set called Zanzibar with more extra pieces than we know what to do with. In addition to the sheet, bumper, quilt, and skirt, we also got the diaper stacker, hamper, valance, wall hangings, door knobs, height chart, lamp with shade, pillow set, basket liner, and a chair cover (for a little kid lounge chair, which we don't have or need!).

The valance for the set is way too big for the window in Baby G's room, so I am going to have Mom cut it down and make panels to go with it. With the extra fabric from the valance, she is going to make a changing pad cover too (Mom is going to be busy next week!).

Sunday night, I was laying on the couch and I felt these odd bubbles in my abdomen. After a few repeats I told Garen I was pretty sure I could officially feel the baby. The next day at work, Baby G did flip flops all morning and with the movement being a new feeling still, it was quite distracting. He kept this up all week. Then on Friday night, Garen and I went to bed. I was laying on the heating pad (my back has been getting worse) and Baby G was doing summersaults. I put my hand over him hoping to calm him down so I could fall asleep and I swear I felt my hand rise! But there is no way that could be the baby....I just started feeling him and according to the books, most women can't feel movement outside the body until closer to 30 weeks! But Baby G isn't in my mid-section that is growing...he has situated himself in-between my hips. So I pushed on my hand down a bit and he moved again! I woke Garen up and asked him to try and feel it (to make sure I wasn't imagining it). He begrudgingly gave me his hand and I put it on the baby and pushed down a bit. After a moment Baby G moved again and Garen jerked his hand back! He said "What was that?!" He said it felt weird and he wasn't sure if he liked it or not. But the baby is finally moving and moving well.

As of today, I am 21 weeks and 1 day pregnant. The baby is the size of a banana (think length).

It's a Baby Boy!

Yesterday was the big ultrasound. Garen made it back in town for it with no problems. Before the u/s, I was instructed to drink 32 oz. of water and "hold it". You do this because a full bladder pushes the baby toward the surface of your belly, making it easier to see them with the u/s. Baby G was there, curled up into a tiny little ball. He had his knees pulled up to his chest, his arms folded up, and his head tucked down. He made it very difficult for the ultrasound tech to take most of the measurements, but she was persistent and got all of them. Unfortunately when she would take a picture of his leg, she had to take 2 - one of the upper leg, then move to the lower leg, then on to the other leg! So when we looked at his little body parts, they didn't look like anything (except a random bone)! His little heart was beating at 155 bpm, and this was the first time Garen was able to hear it. We were shown his kidneys, his bladder, his stomach, and all sorts or other little baby parts. But Baby G only wanted to show us the top of his head! The u/s tech then had me empty my bladder, thinking we were squishing the baby and maybe if he had more room to move, she could finish measuring him. It worked!

We finally got a face shot - straight on, which through an u/s is actually very disturbing! All I could make out were 2 dark areas where the eye sockets were and the bones of the mouth, so he looked like a skeleton. Finally she turned to do a profile and Garen and I both looked at each other like "What is wrong with our baby!" The tech pointed out his tiny mouth, his nose, his eye, and his hand - THANK GOD that was his hand! He kept putting his hand on his head in a fist and it looked like a strange growth on his forehead. When he finally moved his hand away we were able to see a little profile and we could make out Baby G yawning and then swallowing (drinking the amniotic fluid surrounding him).

Then on to the money shot. This was the first, and only, part that Baby G wanted to show us! Such a Grashot. The picture is looking up between his legs at his butt, and as soon as she had it in view, I yelled "That's a boy!" To which Garen responded, "WHERE???" The u/s tech even turned on vein-color thing (which is like a heat detector, and looks like it too, but lights up red and blue where major veins and arteries are) to verify where the cord was - definitely a boy! She took a lot of pictures of that part because it was the only part he readily wanted to show. Garen has been walking around since then with a goofy look on his face talking about how a boy "carries on the Grashot name". He is a proud papa!


So today Garen and I are off to Nashville to register and pick out baby bedding! I'm so excited! I feel like I've been waiting for forever to do this!

As for the rest of the week - there is actually one thing that happened that is reportable. Monday at work I got an awful bloody nose! I'd never gotten a bloody nose before, let alone one that wouldn't quit. I could get it to stop, but as soon as I would begin breathing through my nose again, it would start bleeding again! So I called my doctor and he told me to go to the ER. I was shocked! The ER for a nosebleed?! But Kathy from work took me and I spent the morning waiting to be seen in the ER. Of course, after 2 hours of waiting, my nose stopped bleeding by the time I saw the doctor. Nothing was wrong, just a super dry nose. I had read in the pregnancy book that I'd be more prone to them if pregnant in the winter or a dry area. Garen and I now have a humidifier in the bedroom, and I have to put Neosporen up my nose. FUN. It was quite an embarrassing morning.

As of today, I am 20 weeks and 0 days pregnant....OFFICIALLY 1/2 way through the pregnancy. Baby G is the size of a cantaloupe. I still haven't felt any movement yet. Below is the next belly-shot, and I've been told that I have "popped" although I still feel like it isn't noticable to strangers, so therefore is not yet the "pop", although I am starting to feel like I look pregnant and not just fat.

I gained how much???

I had a doctors appointment this week, which wasn't very eventful; just a regular "how 'ya feeling" kindof checkup. I did listen to the heartbeat again, but the baby kept moving around and it took 3-4 tries before we could listen long enough to get a reading! I'd hear "whaw whaw...." and I'd look at the doctor concerned wondering why it stopped! This happened several times before Baby G would hold still and let us listen. 152 bpm this time. I scheduled the "big" ultrasound, where amongst other things, we should be able to find out the sex! I say 'should' because we will only find out if Baby G cooperates. Next Friday Garen flies back into town and I scheduled my appointment so he will be able to attend too. I can't wait!

I also got weighed again this week, and I have finally gained weight. I thought I'd be more excited about it, because I have been stuck at 3 pounds for the past 18 weeks! But now that I am 10 pounds heavier (OMG) it doesn't sound like a good thing anymore. The doctor still said 10 pounds is a good place at this point in pregnancy, I guess I was just expecting to gain weight at the slow pace I've been gaining it at. This jump kindof through me for a loop.

As of today, I am 19 weeks, 1 day pregnant. The baby is the size of a mango. I know I know...I thought a sweat potato was bigger than a mango too. I guess it just depends which one you pick up in the produce department. The baby is hiccuping, and hair is starting to grow. I still haven't felt anything.