Weeks 32 and 33 and our first Baby Shower!!

The cute favors

Overloaded with gifts, Hudson is one spoiled little guy!!

Opening presents

Me with baby Molly, isn't she too cute??!!

Katie and Molly

The weeks are just flying by. I can't believe I'm already 8 months along, how did that happen so fast?? Things are still going great. I'm feeling pretty good for the most part, still having back pain, but my weekly massages and chiropractic seem to keep that at bay for the most part. We had a Dr. appt on Thurs 2/4 and all still looks good. Dr. said I'm measuring right on track and my weight gain is on the 'low end' of her scale for normal weight gain .. I sure hope it stays that way, but who knows! This appointment also marked the first where we start seeing the dr. every 2 weeks instead of monthly! So we will be back on Thursday for another check up to make sure everything is progressing normally. :)

Friday morning Andy and I packed up the truck and headed over the mountains for a baby shower with Andy's side of the family. I had a great time with Andy's aunts, cousins and other family and friends visiting, playing a shower game and of course opening presents. We got a ton of great stuff including our pack and play/bassinet from Andy's mom, the high chair from Andy's sister along with a ton of 'feeding' items (bowls, spoons, etc.) and of course we got a ton of adorable outfits, blankets, toys and a few other things off of our registry. I am so thankful to have such wonderful people in my life to help us welcome our newest addition!!

In 'non-baby' news, this past week I took an Instructor Development class in Burien at the Criminal Justice Training Center (CJTC). It was a 40 hour class, Monday-Friday where I was bombarded with information on how to give presentations and was pushed out of my comfort zone by giving 2 15-20 minute presentations on Weds and Thursday and then a final 30-40 minute presentation on Friday. I was so nervous to even introduce myself to the group on Monday, but by Friday I felt so much better about talking in front of a group and giving a presentation. This class was a wonderful learning opportunity and will definitely help me as I further my career and start my journey at Valley Com as a CTO (Communications Training Officer).

Now it's back to work where my body is trying to re-adjust to working night shift after being up at 5 am all last week for class. So far it's not working very well, but hopefully I can get into a better sleep pattern this week so I start feeling better! :)

How far along? 33 weeks 5 days

Maternity clothes? Same ones I've had :) Although I got a few cute dresses to wear for my showers :)

Stretch marks? Still none...crossing my fingers!!

Sleep: Not the best..but that's mostly due to work not pregnancy

Best moment this week: My baby shower in Spokane!

Food cravings: nothing really

Gender: Still a boy!! :)

Pregnancy symptoms: getting full very fast now that he's taking up so much room, a lot of back pain and my feet are starting to get sore if I walk too much.

Labor Signs: None yet, thankfully!!

Belly Button in or out?BARELY in...it's gonna pop out any time now I think :)

What I miss: My body before baby ..

What I am looking forward to: getting the rest of the things we need and finishing the nursery organization

Weekly Wisdom: Don't take any moment for granted.

Milestones: Another week closer to my due date!! :)

Less than 10 weeks to go!

Wow, time sure is flying by! We started our childbirth classes a few weeks ago. This Thursday will be our next to last class. These classes have been very beneficial in showing us what to expect when I go into labor and the different outcomes that may or may not happen for us. Although I've been reading a lot, it's nice to go to a class and have it reinforced and I think it helps Andy to know the reasons why I have made some of the decisions I have in regards to what I what I want to try to do during labor and delivery.

The nursery is coming right along too. I made some letters spelling out Hudson's name, now we just need to hang them, which should hopefully be done soon :) Other than that , I'm waiting for my showers to finish organizing the closet and dresser and then to start deciding what we will still need to buy before Hudson's arrival!

That's about all in the baby updates. I do have an exciting update for work. I applied and interviewed for the CTO position (Communications Training Officer) and got the job!! So I will now be working on different training projects and training new dispatchers as needed. This will be a nice change and hopefully a new challenge for me since I was getting into a bit of a slump. I have a couple week long classes to take in the next month and a half too, so that will be nice to get done before Hudson is here and I'm off work for a few months! And a negative about work...we bid for our new shifts this week and I will be going back to working 22-08 (10 pm-8 am) with Sun/Mon/Tues nights off. So I got ok days off, but the hours are gonna be killer. My only choice was the same shift I'm on now (6pm-4 am) or a 22-08 shift. Andy and I decided this will work out best for us with Hudson/childcare etc. So hopefully we're right and I can get some sleep during the days when Hudson is with Nancy or Andy! And I will only be working it for a few months, so it's not like I have to suffer too long if it doesn't work out.

Here's a little pregnancy survey too, just for fun cuz I'm bored!

How far along are you? 31 weeks!!

How much does baby weigh? according to my latest email about 3.5 lbs and 16 inches long already!!!

Maternity clothes? Yep!

Stretch marks? None yet...keeping my fingers crossed

Sleep? waking up a lot to use the bathroom and due to back pain, but it's not too bad..

Best moment this week? Finding out how much we get back from our tax return!!

Movement? All the time!!

Food cravings? Still haven't really had any

Milestones: Less than 10 weeks to go!!

A new year and the 3rd and final trimester!!

Wow..another year gone. I can't believe it's 2010 and it's been 10 years since the new millennium!! Time sure flies.. Speaking of that, this pregnancy seems to be flying by as well. We officially started the 3rd trimester this past week!! How the heck did that happen??!! Hudson's going to be here before we know it :)

Week 27: This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with his legs extended. He's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing his eyes, and perhaps even sucking his fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While his lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if he were to be born now. (excerpt from Baby Center)

The only notable milestone this week was that I felt Hudson's first case of hiccups! I knew that's what it was because it was a continuous rhythmic pattern for 5-10 minutes in the same place. Kicking is much more random and sporadic than that :)

This week I had a very fun 'girls night' with my best friends. We went to Katie's parent's house where we ate an "Anne of Green Gables" themed dinner prepared by Katie and Gisele, watched part of the movies and opened our Christmas presents while catching up on some much needed girl talk. We were all very excited to see Sally's engagement ring and hear the details of the proposal as well!! Congrats Sally and Ryan :)

Thursday we rang in the New Year at my cousin Bryce's wedding. The wedding was held at a catholic church in Tacoma and was very nice. Then we all moved to the Best Western in Gig Harbor for the reception where we enjoyed some good food and good company. I visited with a lot of my cousins and family on my mom's side that I hadn't seen since our wedding (and didn't even get to visit with most of them then either!). Overall it was a great way to ring-in the New Year, and I'm hoping to keep in touch with my cousins and get together with them more often.

Week 28: By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese Cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of his head to his heels. He can blink his eyes, which now sport lashes. With his eyesight developing, he may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. He's also developing billions of neurons in his brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world. (from Baby Center)

This week I had an interview and presentation to apply for the CTO (Certified Training Officer) position at my work. I had been preparing my presentation and going over interview questions for a few weeks, but was still nervous when Tuesday morning rolled around. Luckily both the presentation and interview went off without a hitch! There were 2 separate assessors from outside agencies for each aspect of the process. I found out Thursday afternoon that I was accepted into the CTO program!! So my 'training' will officially start January 16th and hopefully I will be able to start training some new dispatchers before leaving on maternity leave in March/April.

Wednesday morning I had my 28 week OB appointment with my Dr. I also took the 1 hour Gestational Diabetes test. I had to drink a super sugary liquid, then have my blood drawn exactly 1 hour later to make sure my blood sugar wasn't high. They told me 'no news is good news' so when I received a call from the nurse the next day I thought for sure I failed and would have to take the 3 hour test, but luckily she was calling to tell me my Iron was low and to ask if I was on extra Iron supplements, which I am...I've just been horrible about remembering to take them. So I've been trying to remember to take these twice a day, spaced out with my thyroid medication and prenatals...it's a lot to remember! And most of them have to be taken with food or else I'm nauseous on top of it! But overall, baby Hudson is growing right on track (from the measurements of my uterus the Dr. took) and his heartbeat sounded good (although he was bouncing around a lot thanks to the extra sugar!)

Thursday we started our first Childbirth Class. There are 7 couples in the class, including us. And somehow I managed to know 2 people in there! What are the odds! :) We learned a few new things and I'm looking forward to practicing the relaxation techniques and getting ourselves ready for the birth!! I think Andy will even benefit from this, as skeptical as he was at having to go at first :)

Weeks 25 and 26

The last couple weeks have been filled with getting ready for Christmas. My shopping and wrapping is done and I just have a couple more things to bake tomorrow and we are ready for Christmas Eve!! I'm excited because tonight we're going to go look at Christmas lights then come home and watch a Christmas movie :) (probably The Grinch). This is definitely one of my favorite times of the year, even though it is filled with spending way too much money and eating way too much food!!



Baby Hudson is still doing great, he's been VERY active the last few days, especially when I'm at work. I was watching my stomach literally lurching from his kicks!! It's so amazing how strong he's getting. Another huge milestone we hit this week is hitting the DOUBLE DIGITS until his due date!! I can't believe in just over 3 months (give or take) we will have our SON here with us!! It's still so surreal :)



We've gotten some more done in the nursery, Andy put a second shelf in the closet and we put the valance and bedding on to see what it looks like. Now I really need to start organizing...it's just overwhelming to even think about how I want to do it. If you have any websites or blogs with organizing inspiration please let me know!!




How far along are you? 26 weeks!!! Where does the time go??



How much does baby weigh? Almost 2 pounds



Maternity clothes? Most definitely!! There's no getting regular pants (or even most shirts) around this belly anymore



Stretch marks? None yet...keeping my fingers crossed



Sleep? Finally adjusted to my shift at work, still sleeping ok, I just seem to wake up with a lot of back pain



Best moment this week? Feeling and seeing Hudson's kicks so much more often :)



Movement? ALL the time!! And I can't get enough of it. I love feeling this kicks, flutters and stretching out ..it's so amazing.



Food cravings? Surprisingly I haven't really had any. I still prefer salty foods to sweets



Milestones: In the double digits till our due date. Hudson could possibly survive outside the womb (although he can stay in there at least a couple more months)


(I'll update again after Christmas with belly pictures and Christmas pictures!)

Happy Halloween

This past week we had some fun with some festive Fall/Halloween activities. Last week I bought Maverick's costume (a shark) and of course had to dress him up in it right away, which he hated!! (but he was just soo cute!!)

Andy and I also decided to visit the pumpkin patch in Orting-Spooner Farms- where we got a pumpkin and some gourds, we didn't do any of the other 'activities' but it was still a fun thing to do, I always want to go to the pumpkin patch and we never end up going.

Tuesday night we had dinner with my mom and Dean since my mom had been gone in Vegas for the past 3 weeks taking care of her dad that was sick :( It was so nice to have her home and have a family dinner. After we ate we decided to carve our pumpkins. Although most of ours didn't turn out how we had hoped, we still had a lot of fun doing it!

And a quick pregnancy update--we hit the 18 week mark Wednesday and had our monthly checkup. Everything was normal, the doctor answered a couple questions I had, we heard the baby's heartbeat (at a nice steady 140bpm) then I was given the h1n1 vaccine and had some blood drawn for the Quad screen. I can't believe only 2 more weeks till we find out boy or girl and the pregnancy is half over!! Time is already flying and I'm sure it's just going to go faster through the holidays.

I hope everyone has a safe and fun Halloween, I will be at work dispatching all the 'fun' calls I'm sure we'll get... :)

Weeks 16 & 17

Week 16:

Tiny bones forming in baby's ears mean little one can now pick up your voice. Eyebrows, lashes and hair are starting to fill in, and taste buds are forming.

Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length!! Right now he's about the size of an avocado (4 1/2 inches head to rump and 3 1/2 ounces).

This week has gone pretty good. Not too many changes, my belly is starting to look 'rounder' finally and I'm really starting to feel pregnant (especially since my non-maternity clothes definitely don't fit the same!) I've been having a lot of lower abdominal pressure, I'm assuming it's just all the growing my uterus and the baby are doing!!

We've also made some progress on the nursery. Andy started putting the wainscoating up around the bottom half of the room and is about half done with that. Once he has another weekend off he's going to finish that and then once we find out if it's a boy or girl we will finish painting the room! :) We also ordered our crib and dresser/changer because it was on sale and the dresser already came! So Andy picked that up on Saturday and it's sitting in the box in the baby's room for now until the painting is done and it doesn't need to be protected :)

Week 17:

Your baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartlidge to bone, and the umbilical cord is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 oz now (about as much as a turnip) and is about 5 inches long from head to bottom. He can move his joints , and the sweat glands are starting to develop.

Weeks 14 & 15...baby's making an appearance :)

Week 14...baby measures about the size of a lemon --3 1/2 inches from crown to rump :) Not many changes with me this week. Still feeling good, the nausea and fatigue are gone, no real cravings, just getting anxious to have a baby bump!!

We had our routine appointment on Wednesday where we got to hear the little peanut's heartbeat for the first time!! (We had seen it on the u/s a few times, but this was the first time we actually heard it...sooo amazing!!) Not much notable at the appointment. The dr. answered a few questions for me and we were sent on our way! On the plus side I scheduled my next 2 appointments...our regular 18 week check up and our 20 week ultrasound, where we finally get to find out the gender!!! Although I just KNOW it's a little boy in there! :)

The highlight of our week was going to see Wicked at the Paramount in Seattle!!! Andy, my mom and I all went to dinner, then to the show which was amazing. If you haven't seen it, I'd highly recommend seeing it next time they are here (or you are somewhere where it's showing). The storyline is awesome and pretty funny! Overall it made for a fun evening out.

Week 15...baby measures the size of an orange (or apple depending on what you're reading)--4 inches crown to rump. And my belly seems to have 'popped' a bit the last 2 days...I kinda actually look pregnant now..although to me it just looks like I have a fat belly..I can't wait till it's obvous that I'm pregnant to everyone!! :) I'm sure it won't be too much longer!

I had another fun day off today. I went with my friend Karina's first grade class on a field trip to Lattins Farm where we learned how they make cider, fed farm animals and picked out pumpkins at the pumpkin patch!! I had so much fun and can't wait till I have kids old enough to do all these fun traditions with! I will definitely be visiting this farm again someday and would highly recommend it if you have little ones!

{12 and 13 weeks...hello 2nd trimester!!!}

12 weeks:

13 weeks:

Well, I didn't update last week as not much had changed since the week before. The best thing that's happened since the last post is my nausea has almostly completely subsided!! I am soo relieved to be finally feeling better. I was having some headaches also, but those have also gotten better since seeing my chiropracter :) She is seriously amazing! Other than that, me and baby are doing GREAT! My tummy is growing (still just looks fat to me though..) and I have a feeling I will 'look' pregnant sooner rather than later..I'm excited to have a 'baby bump' though!! :)

Here are some excerpts on whats happening with me and baby since my last post:

Week 12:

Your baby's now the size of a plum. As you move into the 2nd trimester, baby shifts into the growth and maturation stage. After weeks in the critical development phase all her systems are fully formed.

Week 13:
Baby is now the size of a peach. Your fetus is now forming teeth and vocal cords..savor this, their nonfunctional phase. Baby is approaching normal proportions, with his head now only one third the size of his body. And intestines are in the process of moving from umbilical cord to baby's tummy--much more convenient.

Fun Questions:

How far along are you? 13 weeks 1 day



Total weight gain? Still at about 5 lbs



How much does baby weigh? appx .81 oz



Maternity clothes? The pants are DEFINITELY way more comfy now :)



Stretch marks? Not yet...still crossing my fingers!



Sleep? Getting better, it's mostly crappy due to working night shift again..



Best moment this week? Hitting the 2nd trimester mark!! Woohoo! :)



Movement: Not yet, they say I should start feeling it in a couple weeks, I'm looking forward to it!



Food cravings: Not much really..



Milestones: Made it successfully to the 2nd trimester!! And I'm finally feeling better, no more nausea and not as much fatigue :)

{11 week update}

Baby's now the size of a lime. The fetus currently enjoys a 1:1 ratio between body and head, and has skin so transparent the blood vessels show right through it. But fingers and toes are no longer webbed, and hair follicles, tooth buds, and nail beds are forming. (excerpt from "The Bump")

11 weeks yesterday! I can't believe how fast it's already going, but at the same time I'm excited about it because I can't wait to LOOK pregnant and to find out if baby is a girl or boy!! Then the fun can really get started and we can make decisions regarding the nursery and start buying stuff!! :)

So not much has changed this week, I didn't take a belly pic cuz it looks the same as last week and I decided I'd start taking them more when I start 'looking' pregnant. If you're reading this post, you should also take my poll to the right, I'm curious to how many boy vs. girl votes we have out there! :)

Ok..here's the poll questions:

How far along are you? 11 weeks 1 day

Total Weight Gain? Holding steady at about 5 lbs.

How much does baby weigh? .25 oz (about the size of a lime or fig)

Maternity clothes? I have bought some, don't have to wear them yet, but I'm thinking the pants will be much more comfy VERY soon!

Stretch Marks? Not yet...crossing my fingers and putting lotion on daily to avoid this!!

Sleep? EEh...ok, except when working nights which started on Sunday :(

Best moment this week? hasn't happened yet, but I get the weekend off to go to a wedding in Spokane!! :)

Movement: won't be able to feel the flutters for a few more weeks ..I can't wait!!!

Food Cravings: carbs, carbs, carbs!!! I'm also liking green apples a lot :)

Milestones: Nothing big this week....made it to week 11, only 2 weeks of the first trimester left!! Woohoo! :) Let the nausea subside!!

{9 week update}

We had our 9 week appointment a few days early on Monday (at 8 weeks 5 days). This was our last appointment with the specialist. We had our 2nd ultrasound and our little peanut actually looks more like a baby now!!!! It was so wonderful to see the little one again and see the heart beating (which was at a wonderful rate of 166 bpm). The dr. said the growth rate is right on track, and we even got to see a little bit of movement!! He also helped ease some of our anxieties by explaining that 'how' we got pregnant (via IVF) will not create any additional complications or risks throughout the pregnancy, he expects everything to be perfectly normal! :) He officially released us from his care and I will see my OB for the first time next week at 10 weeks :)

Now onto the 'fun' questions:

How far along are you: 9 weeks 2 days

Total Weight Gain: Up about 5 lbs (which I'm blaming on our trip to San Fran this week...oops!!)

How much does baby weigh: 4 grams (according to my ticker) And is the size of a grape/green olive/strawberry depending on what you're reading :)

Maternity Clothes: I bought my first pair of pants this week and I wore some ... they are soooo much more comfy! (even if I don't *really* need them yet)

Stretch Marks: Negative..

Sleep: Pretty good except my early morning bathroom trip

Best Moment this week: Non-pregnancy related: Our mini-vacation to San Francisco for Andy's birthday!! Pregnancy related: reached the 9 week mark and saw our peanut again on the u/s!

Movement: Saw some on the u/s although I won't be able to feel it for a while

Food Cravings: nothing major...although I'm always wanting pasta/bread/carbs!!! mmm...

Milestone: Released from the RE's office to my regular OB/GYN!! :)