Recent trip to the Hospital

These are some bittersweet pictures of our little Peanut...After a great weekend with friends and family, on November 10th, I started having regular Braxton-Hicks contractions. Since I work with a lot of nurses, they encouraged me to call my doctor. As innocent as that phone call was, it landed me in the hospital hooked up to monitors. What those monitors showed was that I was having regular contractions. I was given some medication to stop them, and that worked. However, when my doctor did an ultrasound of my cervix she saw something that she doesn't normally see in first time pregnancies. While the length of my cervix was good (it hadn't shortened yet), there was some funneling (or an opening) on the babies end. She said that she usually sees this in women who have had surgery or had children before. Since I had neither, she was concerned.

So, I was put on bed rest for 3 (LONG) days. Thank goodness my mom was still in Minnesota, so she came back out to help with the dogs and the house (thanks Mom!). Jason was great and very supportive - although HE finally got tired of wiping the dogs paws too! When we went back to the doctor 3 days later, the funneling had shortened, but was still there. They also did a test called a fetal fibronecten, which would tell us (with 90% accuracy) if I was going to give birth within the next 2 weeks. Thank goodness that came back negative! It was the longest 3 days ever - and Peanut's very first test that he absolutely had to pass. Of course, me being the pessimist- I had to research every possibility there was to this situation, but thankfully, the outcome was the best it could be.

Now the plan... nothing that could induce labor, including no exercise, no traveling, no sex, reduced physical lifting/exercertion. From now on I go back every two weeks to check to see how things are doing- and hopefully stay off of bed rest. For those of you whom we didn't call right away...we apologize. It was a very private moment for Jason and I and we needed to know the facts before we went around telling people. Our time in the hospital did not amount to much and we didn't get too much information before Thursday Nov. 13th. Overall, this could be completely normal for my body - they just don't know. I do have to say that already we love this little guy more than we could ever imagine and we will do everything to give him the healthiest start in the world.

Peanut is now weighing in around 2 lbs 3oz!

Growing Belly

Not much to say - other than the belly keeps growing! And we are loving every minute of it! Peanut first moved in early September, and for the most part - he has been busy ever since! He is settling into a routine (usually busy at 6 am, 10am, and usually around 9pm). He also is busy through out the day too! It is interesting to see the progression of my belly. I will try to keep the pictures coming.

The Move

Hooch - apparently exhausted from the move. He did have it the hardest.
Our new bedroom - notice the important things, the dog beds.

The moving guys - I am SO thankful that we didn't have put that table together!




The dogs (at the old house) during the move.
This is our old bedroom, all packed up. In the haste, I forgot to pack our bedding into our cars, so at the new house we only had the air mattress, a couple of sheets, and the dogs to keep us warm!
This is how the kitchen looked in the old house, the night before we moved.



The move... I should have posted this some time ago, but getting the computer hooked up, then the internet problems we had, then all the traveling in Sept and Oct, time just slipped away. I think it is important though, to talk about the move. Right before I left, a colleague of mine had made the comment about us moving so frequently, "well, that makes for a strong marriage..." and she was right. This move was much more emotional, intense, and more complicated than the last move. Jason was right too, we had acquired so much more stuff than we had before. And while it is fun to move into a new house, this one is so different than the last house. I have lost my craft room and our finished basement (but gained a wonderful master bedroom in the process). So finding a spot for everything in the new house was a challenge.

The second challenge that we faced, and still face, it the yard. The dogs had a rough transition. Some digestion problems (we had to do an emergency switch of food, after I had done the gradual switch over 2 months) and adjustment problems (no longer having the dog door and 2 acres to run on), but I can now say that they have adjusted. Our "yard" was just a mass of weeds, so for most of September we were getting the sprinkler system and seed installed. We now have some growth, a good amount of growth, but by no means will the dogs be running on the grass until summer. On the plus side - Faith has decided that it was very nice of us to choose a house that has a pond just for her. Good thing she doesn't mind staying in the garage after she has decided to go swimming (which was at least 3-4 times per week in Sept). Overall, they are getting used to the routine, I usually get to come home for lunch and let them out. And overall we are home a lot more, go on walks a lot more, and they get to go to the store a lot more.

And lastly, while I still have a basement that has a lot of boxes left in it, mostly everything is put away. Our good friends Kate and Jeffrey came out the weekend we moved and helped us organize the garage and put all the big stuff away. Jason's parents were the first to visit us, with my dad and brother visiting on Halloween, my mom visiting in November after the baby shower, and some more friends visiting us after the baby shower. We are all set for visitors - let us know when you are coming and we will have your bed ready for you!

Ultrasound pictures

This is his leg

This is his foot.

20 week Ultra sound

This post will be a little out of order for what has happened in our lives, but it sure was the most fun thing to happen in September (and a lot of fun things happened in Sept). We had our 20 week ultrasound, as many of you know, to check for birth defects, specifically spina bifida. Everything on Peanut looks great, from his head to his toes. The doctor checked out his brain development, his spine, heart, stomach, kidneys, and his hands and feet! We could see his hands with 4 fingers and a thumb on each. It was pretty amazing! He has come a long ways from the first time we saw him (when he didn't have arms/legs!)

But, there is no doubt that he is Jason's son and will definitely be a little terror for me! He started kicking/flipping 2 weeks ago and hasn't taken a day (or night) off since. I am now able to feel him kick from the outside (which is about a month a head of schedule). He didn't want to cooperate with the ultra sound tech at all and just kept flipping and flipping. When he finally settled down a little, he was not shy about making sure we knew he is a boy! The coolest part is the bunch of pictures that we got (Jason says that he has his nose, mouth, and "cute butt" (as the doctor put it!).

That may be all the pictures we get until he is born (if things continue to go well). I am getting bigger and will post some pictures soon (but I am not exactly feeling photogenic!).

On our way to Aberdeen...

While I don't have any cute pictures to post today, a lot has been changing in our lives! My clothes are definitely tighter, but I do not yet have a "baby bump." I was able to see little Peanut on an ultra sound on Sunday August 3rd, during a trip to the ER. To make a long story short, I was having sharp pains in my abdomen, plus an elevated temp. Since Jason had just left the day before to move out to Aberdeen, I had no one to talk me out of the ER visit. The baby looks great (this time I could tell the difference between the head and the rump), and my appendix is still intact. They are chalking the pain up to round ligament pain - but I can tell you - sometimes the pain still takes my breath away! Our next appointment with the OB/GYN is on August 20th.

Jason officially started his job out in Aberdeen and he seems to love it! He is much busier than he was before - which leaves little time for him to surf the internet for things that I deem important! He is staying in an extended stay hotel for the time being. While he gets the lap of luxury, I spend most nights cleaning up after the dogs! As for my job, I am officially done on August 29th! I am busy trying to tie things up and get everything in order for my replacement. I have been offered a position with the company that I currently work for out in Aberdeen at a nursing facility. My job will actually be a made up job, most likely consisting of a lot of customer service (since they already have 2 social workers). It is a huge weight off our shoulders now that I have something in place.

As for our official move...it is to take place Labor Day week. The movers come to pack on the 2nd, Load on the 3rd, Transport on the 4th, and will deliver on the 5th. Meanwhile, I (and the dogs) will be cleaning up here and traveling out to the closing on the new house on the 4th. Jason and I have decided that he can skip the packing, since if he was in charge I am pretty sure half my "junk" would not make it there ;). I will try to keep everyone up to date on what is happening as much as possible. We want you all to know that we will definitely have room for visitors at the new house - so we expect everyone to visit beautiful South Dakota!

More House Pics

View of Jason's golf cart door - even though we don't have one - yet!




Picture of the shoe rack in our fabulous closet


A view of the golf course from our weedy front lawn



Our bedroom - which also has a fireplace in it. Jason loves the tray ceiling.

Peanut

These were the pictures that we sent out to both his parents and my parents.



We call the baby Peanut, because that is the first thing that Jason thought of when he saw it on the ultra sound screen.


The really cool story is that I had no idea I was pregnant. We had been trying for what seemed like forever to us (a few months). I didn't feel different and had actually failed a pregnancy test. After a weekend of boating and golfing, and certain, womanly things not happening - Jason urged me to take another pregnancy test. I did, but the faint blue line that made the plus sign just didn't convince us of the thing that we had wanted for so long. So on my way to work, I stopped to pick up the easy to read kind.

We actually went to the doctor and had the pregnancy confirmed on our 4 year anniversary. Jason had let me in on his big secret as to why I wasn't able to get pregnant before our conception date of 5/26/2008 (yes his and Gramps' birthday - which the ultrasound confirmed!). We always wish on eye lashes we find and he had always wished "i wish we don't have a baby until we are 26" No kidding.

Needless to say - I am already a worrying mom. We got an ultra sound done early because of some "pain" I was having. I think I belong to 3 or 4 websites that tell me what to expect, plus the book that I make Jason read. I think both sets of grandparents are really excited, although we now will be 17 hours away. This will be the first baby on both sides - so we are hoping that it will be super spoiled.

Overall, my pregnancy has been pretty good. I am pretty nauseous, but really only get sick at night and when I eat greasy food. So far Peanut is a health food junky. I am tired and definitely find myself a little more moody than usual. And now, I have a reason for Jason to have to take bathroom breaks on road trips. I am trying to hold off telling anyone until 8.8.08, the end of my first trimester. But it has been hard. With the new house, new job, new baby, I am full of mixed emotions, but really excited for the next few months.

706 Shortridge Road

The view from the patio. Notice the beautiful weedy lawn. Hopefully it won't take too long to grow and we actually own almost all the way back to the pond.
I am excited about this laundry room!
These are some pictures from the new house. It is located in a golf course subdivision, but our backyard actually backs up to a pond. We chose this house because we liked the neighborhood, it was on the biggest lot we could find (a half acre), and we like the fact that it is new. Some others cool features are the trayed ceilings, the white trim (which I have always wanted), the "jack and jill" bathroom, the gorgeous kitchen, the drain and hot/cold water in the garage, and the extra space in the garage for a golf cart. It also has a central vac. It is 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths right now, so Peanut will have one room and we will have a guest room. The basement isn't finished, but we hope to work on that over the next year to include 2 more bedrooms, a rec room, and a full bathroom - so we will have plenty of space for visitors.
Hopefully the dogs like the house, but I am sure it will be new for them to get used to subdivision living again. Plus we won't have a yard for quite a while, so there will be a lot of walks to go on. The house is located near this really cool park that has a lot of trails , a beach, tons of playgrounds, a zoo, and a ton of other fun stuff.