31 weeks and counting....

31 weeks on the 31^st of October! Happy Halloween from our two little “punkins” (Delaney and baby)!

The baby now weighs approximately 3 1/2 lbs and should measure nearly 18 inches – he/she is putting on weight at about a 1/2 lb per week and hopefully continuing to keep putting on that weight in the most loveable, squeezable spots that we can't wait to get our hands on!

We started off this week with our amazingly unbelievable little glimpse of him/her inside the womb at our 3d/4d ultrasound and since then, it has made this little person that is with us THAT much more real and connected to us. Every time I have felt a little nudge or poke from the little one in my belly this week, it has warmed my heart knowing that the little adorable face that we were fortunate enough to spy on in our ultrasound is the one actually moving about in there! There is a BABY in my belly!! :)

Earlier in the week, the baby must have been doing some pretty deep sleeping (and growing!) because I wasn’t feeling all that much movement for a couple of days, which of course, made this mama nervous, but then some rather miraculous things (in my opinion) happened as a result. First, as I was sitting on the couch one night, I realized that I unmistakably felt the baby have the hiccups! It felt like a tiny “poke, poke, poke” at repetitive pulses for a good few minutes and I know it was “baby” in there reacting to the little hiccups he/she was experiencing due to trying to practice breathing in the womb. Andy was able to feel him/her, too - so I know I'm not imagining things! I’ve been wondering when this would happen, and to feel it finally after a couple of days of limited movement, was just what I needed to put my mind at ease. Since that first time, I have more or less felt the baby have the hiccups just about every day - or so it seems!

The next few days then followed with the most incredible movement sensations I had yet to experience from “baby!” He/she must just be starting to enter that size/weight where I can actually see evidence of him/her rolling, stretching, and repositioning in my belly. Prior to now (with the exception of a few random occasions here and there that would take me off guard) when I would feel “baby” move, it was really more in the form of pokes and punches. But, now I can actually begin to see my stomach wave about in front of me as he/she gets comfortable! I’m expecting these movements to become even more intense and exaggerated as these next few weeks approach and the baby continues to get bigger and bigger, but for now, we're already so entertained - we just cannot get enough of it!

Also, at this point, I've noticed that you can make out two obvious large/hard masses of the baby, which I know is his/her head and little tush. Throughout the day, he/she will squirm about and I can see and feel one of these two body parts actually protrude out of my belly at one given time and then eventually slowly sneak back away to a new position. This just completely amazes me! When I feel his/her little head or tush I gently give my belly a rub in that spot and imagine that I'm actually rubbing our little one's head or bottom. :) Another thing he/she has started to do is push against my hands/arms when I'm sitting down resting them on my stomach. He/she will actually take his/her foot (or some body part!) and push out up against my hand/arm making it actually stand up away from my stomach for a good 5-10 seconds or so before letting my hand rest back on my stomach. Wild!!!

In the midst of enjoying our "free entertainment" from my belly, I've been trying really hard to get video footage of the baby dancing about inside, but it always seemed that I'd experience the biggest waves and movement whenever my camera was not in reach. I WAS successful in catching a couple of little glimpses though.

Here is one short video of a rather large punch from our little one (it's to the left of my belly button):

And, here is our "little punkin" trying to make his/her presence known on Halloween. I was resting the little pumpkin on my belly to snap a picture and he/she started moving it all about!

And, lastly, Miss Delaney wanted to wear her pretty and festive candy corn ribbons in her hair this week as Halloween was approaching. So, I wanted to include a little shot of her pretty hairdo here! :)

Happy Halloween!

Baby in 3D/4D at 30 weeks

Well, I am convinced that we have managed to befriend some of the most generous and thoughtful people that the Rio Grande Valley has to offer. Our "surprise" welcome baby evening was a trip to Monica's ultrasound studio for a viewing of our little one, and we couldn't have asked for a more original and loved gift!! And, now, we are head over heels in love with our little one all over again! I spent any waking second last night thinking about the sweet little face that we just were privileged to watch earlier that evening. He/she has completely stole our hearts and we haven't even officially met him/her yet! So, thank you, thank you, thank you, to our friends here for putting together such an unforgettable night and for sharing our first glimpse (at 30 weeks) of the little angel in my belly.

The evening started off at the ultrasound studio, where we had a wonderful viewing. Then, our friends even spoiled us with MORE gifts on top of that. We received some of the cutest outfits that I've seen and a lot of other baby necessity items that we can't wait to use. After the viewing, we continued to celebrate the evening at PF Changs for dinner, followed by a really amazing cake. We feel so loved after a truly incredible evening, and are left anxiously counting down the 10 weeks ahead until this little one is in our arms!

Now, on to some photos from the ultrasound viewing and dinner - Enjoy! :)

Here is our little star!

That would be the baby and his/her leg crammed right in up against his/her body - doesn't look too comfortable!

A little yawn

The slightest start to a smile...?

His/her sweet little leg and foot

Baby with his/her legs up in front of him/her

Sweet little angel face

The girls (minus Reese, who was out holding Lily) Monica, me, Dawn, and Kathryn at Belly View! Thank you, ladies!!

The boys: Andy, Abe, and Abe

Me holding Monica's sweet little Lily

Me, Reese, and Lily

Andy and I opening the really adorable gifts - such a treat!

The most delicious cake that baby and I have ever had the pleasure to taste!

Dinner at PF Changs: Me, Andy, Abe & Dawn, Kathryn & Abe
The Mommy and Daddy-to-be just before making a "baby wish" on the cake

And, here is a clip from the really wonderful DVD that we received. It's a bit long (3 minutes.... my apologies... I couldn't help myself!) - but if you watch to the end, you can see the baby yawn a couple of times. That's about as much action as we got from him/her, as he/she was asleep during the viewing!

30 weeks and counting....

Today, we're 30 weeks pregnant! Only 10 more weeks to go. When I think back to how quickly the time has passed since I hit the 20 week mark, it seems like the baby is going to be here in no time! By now, "baby" is about 3 pounds and about 15-17 inches in length. I feel like the real estate in my tummy is getting more and more slim - so to imagine that this little guy/girl is still going to more than double in weight in the next 10 weeks is very difficult to do! Along with entering my "30's" I believe I am also starting to enter those "uncomfortable" weeks of pregnancy that I've heard so much about. I still feel absolutely great (and couldn't be happier!), but this random basketball that I'm now carrying in front of me everywhere I go, seems to be starting a few new trends - it's now harder to get up when sitting, harder to roll over while lying down, my feet ache just about every night, I hear myself let out a little "uuughh" groan when I bend over to pick something up (and I'll admit when I do drop something, I have to kind of give myself a 3 second pep talk in my head to work up the motivation to actually bend over and fetch it), I'm more tired, and I've even started to adopt "the waddle" when I walk. But, still, all in all, I feel great and I can't help but chuckle to myself when I realize the impact that my continuously growing belly has on my every day life. It is sure to only get MORE uncomfortable (and , entertaining) from here on out!

Tonight we are welcoming our 30 week mark by looking forward to a fun filled evening. We're being treated to a little "surprise" welcome baby celebration by a few of our friends down here, and I feel very blessed to have met such sweet people to want to put something together for us like this - and I couldn't be more excited for the evening's festivities to begin!

"Gran and Grandpa" and "Uncle Chip" come to visit!

We've had an enjoyable, but busy past few days with our family (Andy's parents and brother) in town. Andy and his dad and brother returned home late Saturday night from the Cotton Bowl game in Dallas, and Sunday we all had a great busy day together - we watched the Giants play and made dinner and then headed out to South Padre Island because we caught word that it was "Sand Castle Days" out there. So after dinner, we all piled into the car and drove out to the island. We had a little trouble finding them at first and it took us two stops at different points on the beach (to go scope out the sand and see if they were there), and one stop at a convenience store for directions and we were then, finally, on our merry way with just enough daylight left in the sky to spare!

Andy and Chip on the beach (with their sandals being carried away by the waves...) at the first stop on the beach where we thought the castles were supposed to be... but, nope, no castles!

While at the beach, we were "welcomed" by an unexpected need to cough - sounds odd, and it was! It was a bit humorous at first because one by one, as we each stepped out of the car, we all began coughing. Then we were laughing because it was just so bizarre to all suddenly be coughing with no warning. We weren't sure what in the world it was, but after stopping at the convenience store, they not only informed us of the Sand Castle whereabouts, but also of this natural phenomenon occurring there right then. We learned that the Gulf Coast shore experiences this about every 3-5 years and its called "Red Tide Algae." Once I knew this actually had a name, this 'first time Mama,' was a bit concerned to have been exposed, but our exposure was so short and as soon as we were back in the car/away from the coastal breeze, we were all fine again. It seems to only cause temporary respiratory difficulty. In any event though... we DID eventually find the sand castles and we took some photos of them, too!

Andy and I in front of one really large sand display.

The whole fam: Charlie/Grandpa, Sue/Gran, Uncle Chip (minus Aunt Jane, Rachel and Megan), me, and Andy

The rest of their visit was fun, but also jammed pack. We discovered a rather serious issue with our home's a/c system that needs to be attended to- so dealing with that and locating a contractor to come and perform whatever process needs to be done to get it functioning properly again, was quite the event in itself. When all is said and done, myself and Delaney will need to be out of the house tomorrow while this cleaning/maintenance process is performed (and we're so grateful to have such nice neighbors to let us come camp out there for the day!) :) and then hopefully all will be fine again.

Oh, and a visit with family would not be complete if there were not some household projects to have been completed! Grandpa Charlie helped us (among helping with other things!) put together the baby's swing! We had to get some photo footage of that, so here are some pictures:

Nothing but a bunch of pieces...

Assembling the papasan cradle part...

Viola! An adorable finished product, being modeled with Grandpa and Gran.

As with all of our visitors that graciously come to pay us a visit, their time here had to come to an end. Though I miss having our family and friends from back home around us all the time, it really is nice to have the "quality time" visits when we do see them. And, as everyone left, I think Andy had the same "Wow, this is really happening, I'm going to be a Dad" feeling, as I had when I departed NY recently where we both realized the next time we see everyone there, we will be "Mom and Dad" with baby in tow(!!) - and it definitely is a mighty fine feeling to experience. Just about 70 more days now and our star will be born! It's starting to get close, and very REAL, now! :)

29 weeks and counting....

We're 29 weeks pregnant! The baby now weighs about 2 3/4 lbs and measures about 16 3/4 inches long. This week the baby may have gone through another growth spurt because his/her kicks/movements weren't quite as strong as they were at times last week - and every time this happens (which seems to go in bi-weekly cycles) I tell myself that baby is just sleeping and growing... that, or running out of room in there and trying to figure out how to keep kicking "Mom" in that tight of space! In the last day or so I've felt him/her more strongly again though - and so the story goes. Watching my stomach pop and wave has become even more entertaining these days, and soon, I'll try catching it on video again. I'll even witness my stomach moving in a strong jerking motion out of the corner of my eye sometimes when I'm not even looking at it. It's all a very good time waster to me - I really could sit there all day long and spy on the evidence of "baby" moving and stretching about!

Since the start of the pregnancy, I've sworn that my stomach seems to be the slightest bit "lopsided" where it bumps out a little bit more on my left side than it does on the right. I think it's difficult for anyone else to see it in person because I can only tell based on looking straight down from my point of view. But, lately I've been noticing this odd shape even more and when I feel my stomach it even feels more solid on that side - so my guess is that the majority of the baby's body is lying across that point of my stomach. Anyway, I took a picture of it trying to see it from my view, and thought I'd share it here - can you see what I'm talking about!?

Some exciting baby related news this week...

Our changing table arrived for the nursery!!!!!!! Thanks Mom/"Grandma!!!" Baby is gonna love it! The nursery is all looking beautiful and I REALLY cannot wait to see our little one sleeping/playing/growing away in there. Once the changing table was in place, I instantly started settling things into the drawers and compartments. I'm sure I'll reorganize it about 40 more time before now and when baby arrives, but it's just so fun to go in there and see the little socks and t-shirts and blankies all neatly stored away and waiting for its owner to start wearing and using them! AND - in addition to the changing table, we have now officially ordered all remaining furniture needed for the nursery!!! It's going to take a couple of weeks to process and ship, so in that time I will wait very patiently - but I am just so very eager for it to get here! It seems to me like this is becoming the nursery of my dreams and I really cannot believe sometimes that it's reality! I will post photos once the room is all set up - right now there is still a bed in there, which takes up a lot of the space, and it's therefore a tad cramped!

Other exciting news this week - Andy's family is in town! "Gran" and "Grandpa" arrived in Thursday night. And, yesterday Andy and his father flew up to Dallas where they met up with "Uncle Chip" so that the three of them could partake in their annual college football weekend trip together - this year they went to the Cotton Bowl, University of Texas/Oklahoma University game. Meanwhile, "Gran" has been here keeping me (and baby) (...and Delaney...) company. "The boys" will be back by late tonight/early tomorrow morning and we'll have a few more days together before everyone heads back home - fun weekend!

And, here's a little piece of Delaney for you all. :) We had her (or actually MY) NY Yankees "Jeter" t-shirt on her earlier this week for watching and supporting our Yankees in the playoffs. The t-shirt is far from fitting me, so she stepped in and happily donned it instead!

Now - here we go onto the last week "in our 20's" .... 30 weeks, here we come! :)

28 weeks and counting....

Today we are 28 weeks pregnant! The time seems to be spiraling away from us now as we realize we will be done with pregnancy and on to parenthood in just 12 short weeks, but at the same time those 12 weeks still seem so far away!

The baby is now nearly 2 1/2 pounds and is about 15 3/4 inches long and it is unbelievable for me to realize that just 11 weeks ago at 17 weeks, the baby weighed only 3 1/2 ounces - meaning that baby has now increased its weight more than 10 times in just 11 weeks! And, just in the last 4 weeks, from when we were 24 weeks along, the baby's weight has doubled. This little one is growing fast! I've been feeling the baby move a bunch more this week, too - which makes me really happy, and it's proof for me that he/she really has been doing all of this doubling in size because it certainly feels like that from the inside - out! Most of the time now, instead of just feeling a little poke here and there, over and over, I now feel actual movement - and I'm dying to know just what exactly is taking place in there. It feels like he/she is dragging his/her whole little knee or shoulder or something right across my belly and around in my insides. It's such an amazing feeling and far beyond, I guess, what I ever thought it would feel like to have a baby moving around in there! Sometimes the movement has been so strong and odd feeling that it actually startles me and makes me kind of jump - and then that's always followed by a little giggle inside my head. I love feeling this little guy/girl move around in there - it's such a good relief knowing that they're living it up and well alive!

I am forever wondering what in the world this little one is going to look like and whether we have been carrying a little girl this whole time or a little boy. Now, that we're at this point in pregnancy, I've been realizing how glad I am that we've decided to wait on knowing the baby's gender until the very last minute when he or she appears. I was really anxious about our decision to wait up until we surpassed the 20 week mark and successfully made it through our ultrasound without knowing the baby's gender then. Now that our pregnancy is starting to come more and more to an end, I'm just filled with excitement and wonder for the "big reveal" (among other things like actually meeting him/her!) And, I am loving the mystery that still remains behind it all!

In addition to how baby is doing, I received some other news this week from my doctor on how the pregnancy is going and though things are still going great, my blood test on Wednesday revealed that I am slightly anemic. I understand that this tends to be very common in pregnancy - especially towards the end - so I'm not too worried about it. I now take an iron supplement in addition to my prenatal vitamins and that is that! I keep reassuring myself that of all the issues that COULD pop up during pregnancy, I am beyond thankful that this seems to be the only one I've had so far (knock on wood - knock, knock!) and it's a completely treatable one! :)

As we start heading towards our 7th month of pregnancy, we've also been preparing for baby's arrival more and more and, in my opinion, this is where it REALLY starts to become FUN! :) I signed us up for birthing classes this week that will run for 3 weeks in November. I also have inquired about touring the two local hospitals here sometime in November, so we're all set up with that, too. AND.... last night we experienced a little slice of heaven when we took a trip out to "Babies R Us" to re-purchase our shower gifts (that we received up in NY, but couldn't travel on the plane with) and utilize our gift cards. It really was like one big shopping spree, and so fun because at this point, we knew exactly what we wanted and we literally just strolled through the aisles plopping one large box after the next into our shopping carts... yes, carts - plural. Here is a picture of Andy at checkout with both of our loaded up shopping carts - I'm actually surprised that we got away with just having two and not more like three!

Although, a bunch of items had to be ordered, too, so maybe that's why.

Soon-to-be Daddy loading the car...

The car loaded...everything fit perfectly!

Me, really happy about all of the purchases we just made...

We made out really well and now have just about EVERYTHING that we will NEED (for now - when it comes to stroller/carseats/high chair, etc.) for baby. So now, in between settling in bottles and "binkies" and finding new homes for all of this baby gear, we just need to focus on finishing up the nursery! As part of our baby shower gift, my mom purchased us our changing table, and that should be arriving this week! We can't wait. Then we need to finish it off with our chair/ottoman set, tables, shelves and lamps, and we'll be golden! And, in addition to purchasing us our crib (amongst other things), Andy's parents gave us our crib mattress as one of our shower gifts and that arrived earlier this week! We set it up in the crib with one of the fitted sheets and now we're all set to use it! Once it was all put back together, I was actually trying to think of who I knew that might need their baby to randomly take a nap here at our house because I'm dying to see a little baby (anybody's little baby!!) in there! I've gone into the nursery now a few times this week to just have a look into the crib imagining how one day, SOON, I will be able to go in there and look in our crib and see our little one sleeping away so peacefully (hopefully!) in there - we cannot wait!

27 weeks and counting....

I'm late posting this week's update because I've had an extremely hectic past few days between my baby shower in Rochester and traveling back down to Texas - but, alas, here we are.... 27 weeks (as of last Saturday) and counting! And, along with 27 weeks, I am welcoming the 3rd trimester with wide open arms - 'Well, hello 3rd trimester, how nice of you to show!' :) It seems surreal that we are at this point in our pregnancy right now. In just 3 short months our precious little one will actually be here for us to hold and love and spoil to pieces. In my opinion, the first half of the pregnancy seemed to drag on and take forever for us just to make it to the halfway point, and once we surpassed that marker, time seems to have been flying! I can't help but think that maybe our decision to not find out the baby's sex at the 20 week ultrasound has helped to make time speed by while we're still distracted by the constant wondering over whether we're having a boy or a girl - we've also been extremely busy with guests visiting and us traveling places and I am beyond thankful for all of those distractions because now here we are rounding the last bend before reaching the end!

At 27 weeks, the baby weighs about 2 pounds and is about 14 1/2 inches long. The baby's lungs are still very immature, but if he/she were to be born right now, they would be capable of functioning - with a lot of medical help. I've recently been noticing the baby move a lot more, too, which I am loving every second of! It seems that for the majority of the time that I was home in NY, the baby was not all that active - and it was actually starting to worry me a little, but lo and behold, Sunday evening I started feeling this little one REALLY wiggle about again and it was a huge relief. I had woken up in the middle of the night that night, and started to feel him/her moving about, and as always, it's near impossible for me to fall back asleep again after that because I just melt over each and every kick/squirm that occurs and I then constantly wait for the next one, and the next one, and the next one to happen. Well, as I was lying there on my side, the baby moved so strongly (and oddly) that he/she actually made me jump and gasp out loud! It felt as though there was an apple or hard ball rolling around uncontrollably under my side that I was lying on - so bizarre and amazing! Ever since that point, I've been feeling the baby a ton more throughout the day, so my guess is his/her lack of activity earlier on just meant he/she was sleeping a lot so that he/she could grow and become stronger and stronger. Since then, I'm pretty sure I've felt the baby kick my ribs for the first time - totally made me smile in awe! And, I think I experienced my first dose of the baby getting the hiccups - so sweet! Those only lasted briefly, but the little nudges I felt in my belly were so quick and consistent during that brief time, that I'm pretty sure that's what it was.

In addition to all of that baby news, I have some other great news for the pregnancy. This morning I had my glucose test to determine if I had developed gestational diabetes, and all checked out perfectly fine - no diabetes for me! I was really kind of nervous for the test after the 2 week eating spree I had just returned from up in NY. I had done my best to get my fill of all of my favorite foods and treats that my home has to offer at this time of year, to make up for the time ahead where I would not get to indulge in those things. Thankfully, the enormous amount of pizza, pumpkin pie, cider doughnuts, cider, (decaf!) pumpkin spice lattes, and cookies that I ate, did not take it's toll on me (or baby) for the worse! Now, I'm just waiting to hear the results of my iron levels to see if I have a deficiency and things should be smooth sailing from there!

I have a ton of photos still from my visit home in NY, so I'll include those here. During my last weekend there, I went to one of my favorite Fall spots in Rochester, "Powers Farm Market," with my little godchild, Franki, and the fam - we also had a big "feast" of homemade manicotti that night for dinner, and then my Rochester shower was on Sunday. Here are some photos of it all!

Francesca giving some lovin' to good ol' Zoey - and Zoey in heaven from the attention

Powers Farm Market!

Inside the cabin at Powers

Franki showing me her pumpkin

The pumpkins and teepees!

Me posing with Franki outside the teepees

Me with my friend, Betsy, coming all the way from Boston for my baby shower AND surprising me with making the most amazing shower favors anyone could ever ask for! She handmade a few types of cookies (the star of the group being a sweet little lamb cookie) and wrapped them ever so pretty in little bags. THANK YOU SO MUCH, BETS! Very special, indeed! :)

The favors Betsy made!

Manicotti dinner (YUM!!) with Mom, Sue, Jane, Mike, Beth, and Franki, and Beth's parents from Canada, Mike and Karen - it felt like Thanksgiving! :)

DESSERT! :)

I had been CRAVING pumpkin pie for probably the last month, and though the thought to make one myself crossed my mind, it never came to fruition. Instead, I put a request in for Mom's homemade pumpkin pie and it definitely hit the spot! And, I definitely had one too many pieces - oops! :)

Rochester Baby Shower - 10/4/09

Grandma, Aunt Jane, and Gran all giving the baby a little "hello-rub"

The cake!

The beautiful presents!

Opening presents...

A really soft little lambie to add to our nursery stuffed animal collection

(This was a gift from my Mom - a book for baby about the sweetest looking little puppy (who looks EXACTLY how Delaney looked as a pup) AND even better, the main character in the book is a cute little boy, named, Ben! This book is gonna be perfect for our child - even if this isn't a "Ben" in my belly right now and happens to be a little girl instead, our "daughter" can read the book knowing about her "brother" named Ben that we will someday have! :)

Cute little monkey hooded bath towel

Cutting the cake!

Me and my godmother, Aunt Nan :)

Me and my godchild, Franki

Me with just 3 of the DiMarco girls - Emma, Julia, and Sarah. I can't believe that I used to change all of their diapers and now Emma is almost as tall as I am!! Love you girls! :)

Two pregos! :) Me and Sara

And, lastly, in realizing today's date - October 7th - I need to include a shout out to my very best buddy in life, little Miss Delaney. She is 4 years old today! And, in the past 4 years, she has helped to make my life more fulfilling than I ever could have imagined it to be - Cheers to you, my "Punkin-head," Laney-lou! 'Daddy' and I took Delaney to PetSmart tonight for her birthday tradition shopping spree there. She got a couple of different kinds of bones and a new rope toy - and lots and lots of milk bones from the cashier at checkout because it was her birthday. Here is a picture of her happily posing with one of the yummy cheese/bacon (two of her favorite things to eat on this earth) flavored bones. She doesn't look a day over 2, does she? :)