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Thursday, June 28, 2012

30 Week OB Appointment

We had our 30 week checkup with the OB yesterday.  We met another doctor, Dr. Avery, who was very nice.  Baby girl's heartbeat was beautifully strong at 152 BPM.  I'm still measuring right where I should be.  Ellison is still sitting quite comfortably with her head up, but the MD said she still has plenty of time and space to move into the correct position. 

Not such fun news...I gained 4.5 pounds in 2 weeks!  Yikes!  I'm going to blame that on the fact that we were traveling the last two weekeds, eating fast food in the car, eating lots of yummy wedding meals, and getting almost zero real exercise.  I'd also be lying if I said that I didn't indulge in a few more sweets in the last week after I passed my glucose test!  I refuse to believe that the trend will continue in that manner for the next 9 weeks or so!  Oh well...I thoroughly enjoyed those wedding cakes.  :-) 

Our next appointment is scheduled for two weeks from now. We'll meet the last MD in the practice and then we'll start seeing Dr. Rogers (our primary) again.  The weeks are ticking by so fast!! 

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Week 30

Dear Ellison,

You are 30 weeks old now! You're weighing in at around 3 pounds and are measuring about 16 inches from head to heel.  Your eyesight is continuing to develop, but still isn't very keen.  Even when you're born, your vision will still only be 20/400!  Your brain is getting much more wrinkled and your grip is now strong enough to grasp a finger!  Here are the little details of the week...

How Far Along? Thirty Weeks...70 days to go!
Weight Gain?  This week in the doctor's office I was actually down 0.6 pounds...probably because I hadn't eaten in about 15 hours!  So, I'm probably still right around 22 pounds or so.

Sleep? I'm still sleeping pretty well...still waking up at least twice to head to the bathroom or roll over.

Miss Anything? Being able to walk up and down the stairs without losing my breath!  My lungs are getting a little crowded I think! 
Movement?  Ellison has been super wiggly this week!  She's rolling around quite a bit.  Sometimes it feels like she's trying to push right out of my bellybutton!

Food Cravings? Still wanting fruit.  Watermelon is still a favorite, and I've eaten my fair share of peaches lately!  I've also been really thirsty for cold water, which may have something to do with the fact that it's so hot outside!

Any Aversions? Yep...still eggs and big chunks of chicken.

Gender? It's a GIRL ~ Ellison Gray.

Symptoms?  I'm starting to feel some Braxton Hicks contractions.  It's not painful, but it's definitely uncomfortable.  My belly will just get really tight for a minute or so, and then it will settle back down.

Best Moment this Week?  Passing my three hour glucose test!!  Woo Hoo!  What a relief that was.  We stopped in Burlington this weekend to see my mom and stepdad, and my mom finally got to feel Ellison kick!  She got to feel a really strong one too!

Looking Forward To...  We have another MD appointment this Wednesday.  We'll meet another of the physicians and get to hear our Ellie Bean's heartbeat again.  We also have NO plans this weekend!  I am so pumped to have absolutely zero on the agenda.  I'm looking forward to sleeping in, working on some projects around the house, and (hopefully) getting to sit by the pool for a little while!

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Success!

I passed!  I passed!  The dreaded three hour glucose tolerance test is over, and I passed with flying colors.  I got to the office at 8:45, had my fasting blood sugar tested and then drank a doubly sweet version of the drink I got to indulge in last week.  I was able to enjoy the orange flavor today (I had fruit punch last week.)  Then, I waited.  Barrett was sweet and stayed with me in the office until about 11:15 which helped the time pass by. 

After getting poked 5 times (twice in the left arm and three times in the right...the first poke was a missed vein), my blood sugars were as follows:  137, 131, and 41!  That's right....41 was the last reading.  The lady was like, "Are you feeling ok?"  I told her I was definitely feeling a little woozy and was quite ready for lunch!  I shoved some graham crackers in my face, chugged some water, weighed in (down 0.6 lbs since last Wednesday), and bolted out the door.  Then, I treated myself to a cheeseburger and some new Pea in the Pod dresses for my maternity photos.  :-)

Monday, June 18, 2012

Week 29

Dear Ellison,

You are 29 weeks old now! You're weighing in at around 2.5 pounds and are measuring about 15 inches from head to heel. Your muscles and lungs are continuing to mature and your head is growing bigger to make room for your growing brain.  Your bones are soaking up lots of calcium to harden your skeleton.  Here are the little details of the week...

How Far Along? Twenty Nine Weeks...77 days to go!

Weight Gain?  Around 21 pounds according to the scale in the MD office this week.

Sleep?  I dpn't have much trouble falling asleep, but I'm definitely up at least three times each night.

Miss Anything? Sleeping on my stomach.  Sometimes I think it would be nice if I could come home and just face plant in the bed!
Movement?  Lots of wiggling and big kicks.  I think Ellison might finally be flipping around because I'm feeling more kicks on my left side near my bellybutton rather than all down low on the right.

Food Cravings? Same old stuff.  Wanting lots of fruit.  I really haven't had any crazy pregnancy cravings!
Any Aversions? Yep...still eggs and big chunks of chicken.

Gender? It's a GIRL ~ Ellison Gray.

Symptoms?  I'm definitely really beginning to feel pregnant.  I'm getting tired easily again.  It's hrader to get out of bed and chairs and off the floor.  I feel like my belly is getting bigger by the minute!  I've also had some numbness at the top of my belly just below my bra line.  The doctor said it was pretty common and that it's just caused from sensory nerves being stretched out by my ever growing uterus.  It's a pretty strange sensation!

Best Moment this Week?  While failing my glucose test was terrible, it was so wonderful to hear Ellie Bean's beautiful little hear beat again!  We also had a wonderful time at Claire and Will's wedding this past weekend.  I definitely may have overdone it a little though...momma was tired!

Today was Father's Day!  We are so blessed to have such amazing, wonderful fathers.  I can not wait to see Barrett with our baby girl.  If he's even half the father I believe he'll be, Ellison is going to be one lucky little girl.  I gave Barrett (well, really Ellie) an ECU onesie/hat/socks set and the Led Zeppelin Rock-a-Bye Baby CD.  I told him that he can watch the first ECU game on the couch with our brand new baby girl snuggled up in her ECU attire...and I'll bring him beers.  :-)

Looking Forward To...  Getting this 3 hour glucose test over with!  After my ordeal, I'm going to treat myself to a new outfit for our maternity photo shoot in a couple of weeks! 
We are heading out of town again this weekend for a wedding in Richmond.  Barrett's fraternity brother Ryan is marrying my sorority sister Ashley.  We'll stay with Matt and Lora which is awesome because we get to see them again, and we get to bring Buddy along.  After the wedding, we are officially staying in town until baby girl makes her arrival!  I'm looking forward to staying put and really starting to nest!

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Failed.

So...I failed my glucose test.  Seriously.  I couldn't even believe it.  I asked the lady in the lab to do it again...she wasn't on my team.  So with great annoyance, I am scheduled to do the oh-so-fun 3 hour test next Wednesday.  Yay!  I am really, really, really hoping to pass this one.  Mostly, I'm just annoyed that I will have to sit in the doctor's office for three hours.  Three hours?!  Ugh.  I can't have anything but water after 8:45 Tuesday night.  My appointment is at 8:45 Wednesday morning, and after I drink a much larger portion of the make-your-teeth-fall-out sweet drink, they'll check my blood sugar every hour for three hours.  For those of you keeping tally, that means I won't be able to eat for like 15 hours.  How's that for torturing a pregnant lady?!  Prayers and special thoughts would be much appreciated.  :-)

Other than that terrible news, the appointment with the doctor went well.  I met Dr. Verross and he was very nice.  Ellison's heart beat was nice and strong at 155 BPM...although it did take a little while to find her because she was so jacked up on sugar water.  Poor baby.  

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Week 28

Dear Ellison,
You are 28 weeks old now!  You're weighing in at around 2.25 pounds and are measuring about 14.8 inches from head to heel.  You can blink your eyes now and bat those sweet lashes that will have Daddy and I wrapped around your little fingers I'm sure!  You may even be able to see a little light shining into the womb.  You're developing billions of neurons in your brain and adding even more baby fat.  Here are the little details of the week...

How Far Along? Twenty Eight Weeks...84 days to go!

Weight Gain?  Just about 20 pounds exactly.

Sleep?  Still sleeping well, but I am finding that I'm waking up more at night to run to the potty or change positions.
Miss Anything? Not too much this week!  I'm feeling good and can't complain!  Definitely still feeling blessed.  :-) 

Movement?  Absolutely!  She is wiggling all the time.  Every now and then I'll get a giant kick or punch that can literally take my breath away for a second!  It makes me so happy to know that she's getting so strong.
Food Cravings? Definitely still fruit!  I also got a craving for some S'mores the other night.  Luckily, I had all the ingredients in the cabinet!  Instead of a Hershey bar though, I used some Nutella...which was phenomenal!  Here's a pregnancy moment for ya though...I pulled out all the necessary things for S'mores, put them out on the counter, and was just about to spread my Nutella...when I realized that instead of graham crackers, I'd pulled out two Triscuits.  Oops!  Glad I realized that before I proceded!  :-)

Any Aversions? Yep...still eggs and big chunks of chicken.

Gender? It's a GIRL ~ Ellison Gray.

Symptoms?  Still having some mild back pain and I had a little pain in my ribs earlier this week.  I think Ellison may have been poking her little elbow right into my side!

Best Moment this Week?  Getting to be lazy!  Well, I guess I wasn't really lazy.  I wrote thank you notes and did some laundry and worked on organizing the nursery a little.  But, I did stay in my PJs while I did it, so I'm counting that as lazy! 

Looking Forward To...  This weekend we're heading to Wilmington to celebrate the wedding of our dear friends Will and Claire!  We are so excited to be a part of their special weekend and can not wait to enjoy a great weekend!

We also have another OB appointment this week.  We'll meet another MD and get to hear that sweet little heartbeat again.  I'll also be doing my glucose test...yuck.  Fingers crossed that I pass.  I'd be really sad if I had to do the three hour test!!



Thursday, June 7, 2012

Baby Shower

We had our first baby shower this weekend to celebrate the upcoming arrival of our sweet Ellie Bean.  Our moms and my sister threw the shower at a cute little place in Burlington called Two for Tea.  It is a quaint, cozy tea room with yummy food and is the perfect place for a shower or get together.  It was so wonderful to get together with our immediate family to celebrate our baby girl.  She is so loved already and we can't wait for her to get here!  We were showered with lots of sweet baby clothes and some other really amazing, thoughtful gifts.  It feels so close now!!  Thank you, thank you, thank you so much to our unbelievable family for spending the day with us.  Here are a few pictures from the day...



Cute canvas for the nursery that my sister made!






Me and my sister Rachel

My stepmom Sondra, Me, and Rachel

Barrett's mom Susan and my mom Meg


My stepdad Kenny and Barrett's dad Jeff


Checking out the precious tiny clothes on the clothesline at the food table.

Yum.


Pat The Bunny...classic.


Excited to get our monitor!

Also excited for the Diaper Genie.  :-)

Me, my sister-in-law Jenna, and baby Lola.  Lola and Ellison will only be about 7 months apart!

My handsome hubby and me at the park after the shower.

So thankful for our wonderful family who love the three of us (four with Buddy!) so much.

XOXO


Monday, June 4, 2012

Week 27

Dear Ellison,

You are 27 weeks old now and we've made it to the third trimester!!  You're weighing in at around 2 pounds and are about 14.5 inches long from head to heel.  You are sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing your sweet little eyes.  Your brain is very active now, and while your lungs are still immature, they are capable of functioning.  Those breathing movements you're practicing are causing you to swallow lots of amniotic fluid and might cause you to have lots of bouts with baby hiccups.  Here are the little details of the week...

How Far Along? Twenty Seven Weeks...91 days to go ~ HELLO THIRD TRIMESTER!!

Weight Gain?  According to our OB appointment last week, I'm up 19 pounds.

Sleep?  I am still sleeping great.  I am up twice in the middle of the night, but have no trouble falling right back to sleep.

Miss Anything? Now that summer is upon us, it would be nice to enjoy a nice adult beverage by the pool every now and then!  I'm also having a little trouble figuring out how to get any sun on my back this year without floating in the pool!  :-)

Movement?  She's still moving like crazy!  She has been a little shy though...only my stepmom got to feel her kick at our shower yesterday.  She's been moving around a ton and as soon as someone would try to feel her...silence.  I think she's playing a game with us.  :-)  I see her moving around all the time now.  My belly has been doing lots of rolling and thumping!  I think I may have even felt her first hiccups today at the pool.  I wasn't 100% sure that's what it was, but the thumps were light and rhythmic for a few minutes.

Food Cravings? Still fruit.  I'm eating it like crazy!  I consumed an entire watermelon this week.  Not a personal sized one...a big ole full size melon!  That's a good thing though I guess...at least I'm not consuming whole cakes or pies!

Any Aversions? Yep...still eggs and big chunks of chicken.

Gender? It's a GIRL ~ Ellison Gray.

Symptoms?  I have started to have some lower back pain this week.  I'm going to kick up my yoga and really try to get a good stretch at least three times a week.  I'm also treating myself to a massage sometime in the next week.

Best Moment this Week?  Definitely our first baby shower!  It was so sweet and special.  We are so blessed to have such an amazing, supportive family.  Our little girl is going to have four sets of grandparents...how special is that?!  All the little touches were so special.  My sister outdid herself with the craftiness!  Ellison is loved so much already.  We are getting so close to meeting our sweet girl! 
We also got our crib and dresser/changing table this week!  It's all put together and her room is really starting to take shape!  Her little closet is filling with clothes and I can not wait to really start decorating!

Looking Forward To...  A relaxing weekend ahead.  Barrett is heading down to Emerald Isle for "Cousins' Weekend" with his brother and cousins.  While he's gone, I plan to sleep in, read my book, and work on some projects for Ellison.  While I might kick myself later for "wasting" a weekend being unproductive, I plan to enjoy every second of downtime while I can!