Thursday, May 14, 2009

Was that a leg? arm? foot?

This week while I was laying in bed on my side I felt my first body part as I was poking on my belly after quite a bit of movement in one area. It was the coolest thing but also a little weird at same time. I got so excited I shouted to Geoff who was just a short 2 inches away from me that I felt some part of her body in there. He wasn't as impressed but that is to be expected since it is my body and not his and it is hard to even fathom this concept. I actually feel sorry for all the males in the world that do not get to experience this wonderful miracle but I am for sure God created women to carry babies for a darn good reason.

Today I have been in the office all morning and now getting ready to trudge through the
afternoon and Baby Sherman is again moving around like crazy and as I am feeling around I FEEL IT AGAIN! What you ask? Well I would describe it as something hard. Is it her leg, arm, foot? Don't know but it is so crazy and providing me with some added excitement and entertainment on this dreary and rainy day!

Well that is about it.... I thought I was done blogging for the week but just couldn't let this one slip away without sharing.... We are off to Chicago later today for my Baby Shower and just can't wait! Pictures and stories to follow........

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

The results are in........

I just got a call from my doctors office and all looked great for my blood tests!!!! Yeah no concerns for gestational diabetes or anemia.... Another reason to smile today:)

Monday, May 11, 2009

The start of the 3rd trimester.....

This morning I went into the doctor's for my 27th week check-up as well as my glucose test to screen for gestational diabetes. I had to drink a very sugary orange drink one hour before and then get my blood taken. I also had to be checked for anemia with another tube of blood. The doctor said it is very common for pregnant women to be anemic especially at this point in the pregnancy. I will find out my results tomorrow and hoping for a green light or a thumbs up will do too!!!

My blood pressure was great, weight gain well it was weight gain, the baby's heart rate was still in the 150s and very loud and strong and my belly was measuring exactly at 27 centimeters as it should. The doctor felt around my tummy and I asked him if we could feel the position of the baby and he thought that the head was located down already but he couldn't be certain. He said that by 30 weeks most babies will be head down in preparation for delivery and if she was not at this time, there were no worries as she has plenty of time to turn.

He also said to expect my belly to double in size in the next 12 weeks as well as my weight gain to be nothing short of A LOT! He wants me to gain at least another 10 pounds but closer to 15...... First time in my life someone wants me and expects me to gain weight! Jeez such pressure:)

He also shared with me a little about pre-term labor. He said that at this point the baby has a better than 90% chance of surviving if I had her now. He said that she would have to stay in the hospital for about 2 months but that she would probably have little to no long term problems. Seems hard to believe that at 2 to 2 1/2 pounds this little bundle of joy would make it on the outside world.

We then discussed what the weeks have in store for me and what to expect. I will go back on June 2nd for another ultrasound to check on everything and then I will begin my appointments every two weeks.... So exciting that we are moving right along with no complications.....What a blessing so far!

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Happy Mother's Day!

Today I woke up to a very nice surprise. Not only was Baby Sherman literally doing flips in my belly for over an hour......I crept out of bed ever so quietly so that I would not wake up Geoff and went to the bathroom. I got back to a card lying on my pillow for Mother's Day! What a beautiful surprise. I thought he was still snoring zzzzz's......... As I began to read it, it was from three very important people in my life. Trixie was first up with a thank you very much for all the walks and bones. Baby Sherman was next in line and thanked me for taking such great care of her while she is still swimming around in my belly. She also mentioned enjoying all the 'sweet treats' as we call them in the house. Last was a message from my wonderful husband expressing what a great adventure we had ahead and what a wonderful mother I would be very soon!!! The card was followed by some orange juice in bed too:)
"Motherhood never looked so good"

What a perfect card and very thoughtful from daddy:)

Next up was my Mother's Day present; the book Multiple Blessings from one of our favorites shows: Jon and Kate Plus Eight. We actually got to go and meet Kate Gosselin yesterday at Sams Club for a book signing. I now am reading her book about her journey to motherhood and am finding it very interesting. Yesterday as she was signing my book she saw my belly and ask if " I had only one in there?" For those of you that do not watch this TLC show she is the mother of twin girls and sextuplets. That's a total of 8. WOW!!!! I said" yes there is only one in there" and she responded with a smile " you are one of the lucky ones". She has no idea how lucky I feel right now in my life!Next up was brunch at a place called Crabby's. A great 1 hour was spent enjoying waffles, crepes, bacon, mac-n-cheese, omelets, ect.. You get the point! It was time to indulge..

The buffet.. I am still sitting on the couch trying to recover.....

Happy Mother's Day to both our mothers that continue to show us the importance of love and support over the years. Without your guidance we would not be quite as prepared to take on this journey of having a child of our own. We feel very blessed on this great day and are thinking of all the mommies to be and all the mommies already blessed with the beauitful gift of children!!!!

Saturday, May 9, 2009

91 days to go!

Oh how I am growing...belly at the start of the 27th week.
I got brave this time around and I am posting a 'true' belly pic... Hard to think that I only have 91 days left of this pregnancy. Time really is flying by! I am feeling great so far but starting to feel some aches and pains while I am sleeping. I am still trying to figure out the best way to sleep at night. I am happy to say that I am still able to run about 16 miles a week. Geoff and I laugh that this baby is going to come out eating sugar cookies and running since that is what mommy does best these days.


It was a day of nesting for the Sherman's........

Today we put together Baby Sherman's first 'toy' from our friends Jami, Mark and Kyle Payton. Even though she will not be able to use it for awhile, her new entertainer is all ready to go!!!! Can't wait for her to take her first spin on it. Thank you to the Paytons' for the wonderful gift!



Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Week 26 and we have reached new HEIGHTS!

After lunch today I decided to sit down and watch TV for a few minutes(not that I don't already watch too much) before I had to drive into the office.....The beauty of my job is that I get to come home every day for lunch.

After I had filled my belly with a cheese sandwich, and pasta salad(can you say carb load!!) I began to feel Baby Sherman moving around a lot. I thought "she likes it!!" Well for the first time I felt her kick way above my belly button. Not only that but I saw her kicks outside the belly and they were all over the place up really high... We have reached new heights in the belly kicking business! I was just beginning to wonder why all the movements were so low? I guess as Bob Dylan says 'times they are a-changin'.

I was talking to a friend of mine last week who is due with her first baby in 20 short days and gender is a surprise, and she was telling me the opposite for her experience. She had always felt the baby up high... hummmmm... I thought does it have to do with the position of the baby? The size of the baby? Or could it be the gender of the baby? Or a combination of them all? Just another question I have about the miracle of life!!! Anyways, glad to see and feel my belly rockin' these days every which way:) It brings a smile to my face:)

Friday, May 1, 2009

So curious about our monkey....

I love all the Curious George books and enjoyed reading them to my classroom of 1st graders when I was teaching in Chicago..These books now make me think about our own little monkey(a.k.a. Baby Sherman). Geoff and I are convinced that Baby Sherman will arrive one glorious day and will have a full head of dark hair. We think that between her daddy and her mommy she will never need a hair transplant or rogaine for that matter. For that reason we call her our 'sweet little monkey'.

Close to 2 pounds now, our little monkey is quite active! She is without fail the most active at 9pm every night as I lay down for bed. This is the time, I think, when she is debuting her new and improved gymnastic moves. I wonder if she gets that from her mommy when she was a gymnast? The one thing I do know is her bumps and kicks are most powerful and strong at this time of the day. At times they are so strong that it feels really weird to me. I am still amazed at this miracle of life growing inside of me.

So the questions that I have been curious about lately is how does she fit inside my belly and still be comfortable? And of course WHAT DOES SHE LOOK LIKE? So I was driving home the other day and it popped in my head that Baby Sherman would be coming into this world on AUGUST 12th.. Don't know why but I just think that is going to be the glorious day she decides to show her face. Not only that but I have my guess that she will be 7 pounds and 4 ounces and be 19 inches long. As I was telling Geoff my 'prediction' he immediately piped in and said: "no way she is coming early". I said "ok, well you sound so sure." (I have not heard him this sure on anything since he told me it was going to be a girl at week 15). So I am going with it maybe she will come early?

I then asked 'daddy'(aka the psychic) to suggest a date,weight and height. And this is the exact response back to me: " AUGUST 6th and I have no reference for how big a baby is when they come out. If you told me a baby was on average 8 inches long that would sound right". So funny and cute I must say..... So I let him get away with just predicting her birthday after this very smart and very analytical man said 8 inches for the total length of our monkey..

So as we have it now:

Mommy thinks:

August 12th

7 pounds 4 ounces

19 inches

Daddy thinks:

August 6th

no clue

8 inches will be fine!



Just had to share! I love the adventure we have ahead of us and all the uncertainties and questions we will encounter. We may not always know the right answer but we sure will have enough love to go around for our sweet little monkey!