5 weeks to go!

Yesterday Tacy crawled up on my lap.  She stood on my legs for a bit and then decided that my belly made a nice seat.  What a silly girl.

Here's a new belly shot.  This was taken Saturday at 34 weeks and 2 days.  

Aside from moving along on getting the nursery decorated, not a lot has been going on with us.  I had a midwife appointment today and everything is looking good.  At the last appointment, she was measuring 34 weeks and I was 32 weeks, 6 days.  The midwife was a little concerned and said they would see how she's measuring at the next appointment and if she continued to be measuring ahead, they would schedule an ultrasound.  Today she was measuring 35 weeks and I'm 34 weeks, 6 days, so that is good news.  Evidently between the June 24th appointment and the July 8th, she had a big growth spurt.  Also, at my last appointment my blood pressure was still in the healthy range, but higher than normal for me.  So the midwife was a little concerned about that as well.  Today my blood pressure was back to what is normal for me, so again, good news.  Everything else was good.  I will now start to go in every week until Little Miss Sunshine's arrival.  We're getting so close!  

We've been busy

Lots has been going on the last month or so. Anna and Sandi hosted a shower for us. Tim took a long weekend and we drove up to Pennsylvania for the shower at the end of May. We had a great time visiting with family and getting to see a few people I hadn't seen in a really long time. Little Miss Sunshine got lots of great stuff! We really appreciate all the work Anna, Sandi, and Sarah put into the shower and all the gifts we were given.




The next weekend we were given an online shower by some of our friends we've met through a Whippet message board. The Whippet community is full of some really great people and it was so nice of them to have a baby shower for us. Hazel enjoyed helping shred the wrapping paper and both of the girls were especially interested in the toys and stuffed animals.

During the month of June, Tim and I were busying taking classes at the hospital. We took a four week long child birth class, a breast feeding class, and a caring for you and baby class. We learned a lot of good stuff and got to tour the labor and delivery unit at the hospital.

Also in June, Tim's sister gave birth to our new niece, Ella. We are so happy for Leah and Chris! Seeing pictures of Ella and hearing about her has made me really impatient for the end of August to get here! Tim will be going out to meet Ella at the end of July for a short weekend visit. I won't be meeting her until after our own bundle of joy gets here. I'm really excited that Little Miss Sunshine will have a cousin close in age.

As far as how the pregnancy is going, all is progressing along smoothly. I was having some really bad, keeping me awake at night, heartburn for awhile. Tim insisted that I mention it to the midwife and she gave me a prescription for Zantac. It has really helped. I've also added quite a few pillows at night, which has also helped keep me comfortable.




The last weekend in June and the first weekend in July, Tim and I decided to take day trips out to the Blue Ridge Parkway. We drove out there a couple of times last summer and fall and really love the area. We wanted to see the Rhododendrons in bloom this time around. Along with Rhododendrons we saw a few other types of flowers that were in bloom.


Here I am at 32 weeks pregnant with Hazel and Tacy. We're standing next to a Mountain Laurel (I think) bush on the Craggy Gardens Pinnacle trail. The Rhododendrons on this trail had already bloomed earlier in June, but the trail was nice anyway and there were quite a few other flowers in bloom at the top.



Here are the girls in the back of the Jetta at one of the stops along the Parkway. They have their own little space back there. A partition to keep Tacy from jumping up to the front, a short partition to give them each their own side, and a nice fan to give them some air on really hot days. They have settled in to riding back there very well.

26 week update

May continues to fly by.  Last week I spent in Nebraska helping Phil and Nancy get her mom's house ready to sell.  Lots of sorting, packing, and garage sale preps.  Tim joined me later in the week and then we drove home in a moving truck.  We brought home some old family furniture for the baby's room and some things Tim wanted.  It was a long drive, but I did okay.  We just had to stop more often for me to use the facilities.  It was nice meeting and visiting with Nancy's family and we had a nice visit with Tim's aunt Pat and grandma Meg on our way home.

The day after we got home I went in for my 26 week appointment.  As usual everything is progressing along nicely.  Little Miss Sunshine's heartbeat was around 150 bpm.  She is laying sideways.  I thought she preferred the right, but it turns out she is just kicking my right side, which is why I feel movement there more often than anywhere else.  They did the glucose test at this appointment and I passed.  Now that we are at the end of the second trimester and heading into the third, I will go in every two weeks instead of every four.  

25 weeks and 2 days

I figured it was probably about time for new belly shot.  So here I am at 25 weeks and 2 days.  The pregnancy is moving along fine and I have no new news as far as Little Miss Sunshine goes.  She seems to be the most active during the evenings and night and Tim has been able to feel her moving a few times.  She likes to stop moving as soon as he puts his hand on my belly.  So far she isn't keeping me awake at night with her moving.  I don't know if she isn't moving strongly enough, yet, to keep me awake or if I can just sleep through anything.  I do get up a few times a night to go to the bathroom, but I can usually fall back to sleep fairly easily.  Either way, I'm going to enjoy the sleep now while I can.  

May started out busy and is continuing to fly by.  We are getting ready to go out to Nebraska to help get Tim's grandma's house ready to sell.  We'll be acquiring Tim's dresser from his boyhood days for Little Miss Sunshine to use.  Which means we'll be driving back home rather than flying.  We'll be stopping in Omaha to say hello to one of our Navy buddies, Amy, and then staying overnight at Tim's aunt Pat's house and visiting with her and his Grandma Burbach.  

Here are two videos from the 22 week ultrasound.  In the first one where you see the red and blue, that is showing the blood flow through her heart.  One color is blood flowing towards the probe, the other is blood flowing away.  During the actual ultrasound the tech did that for the umbilical cord, too.  Then later on in that video, the ultrasound tech changes the probe and you see her set up for the 3D pics.  Like I said before, we think they look a little freaky.  Turn up the volume on the second video and you'll hear her heart beat near the end.  As you see in the videos, she was moving around quite a bit.  

Computer Glitches Solved and Starting May out with a Visit from Grandma & Grandpa to be

Turns out our router has been on its last leg for a few months now.  It completely failed this weekend and Tim switched it out with our wireless one.  Uploading pictures and video has been much easier today.  We can now share the video of the first ultrasound that was performed at 8 weeks.

Tim will get the second ultrasound converted and I'll post it later this week.  

Tim's parents were here for a visit last week.  Unfortunately, Tim had to work most of the time they were here, but his mom and I had a nice time visiting a rose garden and looking at baby stuff.  Phil arrived a couple of days after Nancy and we went to the Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Gardens.  We also did quite a bit of spring cleaning in the backyard.  Tim, Nancy, and Phil cut down small trees, trimmed trees, and pulled tiny trees and bushes.  I made piles to be twined together and taken to the curb.  Nancy and I also raked and bagged leaves and pine needles.  We ended up with over 20 bags of leaves and branches, plus several bunches of wood and branches.  The leaves and pine needles are a never ending battle here.  

The weekend before his parents' visit, Tim finished the bed/bookcase combo.  We moved the futon into the baby room and brought the bed/bookcase into the computer room.  We have a sheet over the mattress and box springs until we figure out what we're going to do about a curtain.  It really is a great space saver and Tim did a really good job on it.  

Click on the photo to enlarge - use back button to come back 

Tim had off Saturday so we took his parents to Congaree National Park and hiked the boardwalk trail.  When we got home, he and his dad put together the crib and changing table/dresser.  His mom and I then got them prepped for a few pictures.  And yes, there is a whippet on the bedding.  

Click on photo to enlarge 

I'm feeling the baby moving quite a bit now.  Every  now and then she will move strong enough that I can feel it from the outside.  There are some days that she enjoys hanging out on my bladder, which I don't particularly care for.  And others where she is up near my ribs.  Other than some round ligament pain when I hike in hilly areas, I'm feeling good.    

It's a Girl!

Click on the pics to view them larger

We had the 2nd trimester ultrasound yesterday and it's a girl! In this picture the arrow is pointing to the goods or lack thereof. That's the labia. She cooperated quite nicely with getting that picture. Not so much with getting one of the heart pictures the technician wanted and did eventually get. She was moving around quite a bit.

More importantly, the ultrasound showed everything to be normal. We got to see and hear her heart beating (146 bpm), which was really cool, and the different sections of her brain, head measurements, her kidneys, spine, arms, legs, and face. Her weight is "good enough" which I took to mean she's on the small side of normal. Since I'll be the one pushing her out, I'm totally fine if she wants to continue being on the small side of normal.

These next two pictures are 3D pictures. Tim and I think they look freaky and like an alien underwater. There is one he didn't scan that looks really creepy.

As far as how I'm doing - blood pressure, urine, etc, - all is well and the same as the last time. My next appointment is on May 26th and I'll have the glucose test done then.

The bookcase/bed combo is mostly finished. Tim stained it last weekend but wants to do some touch up staining where he added wood filler. We'll have it in the computer room by the time Nancy and Phil get here for a visit next week. We'll leave the spare bed in the baby room until the end of their stay to give them more room.

The Whippet National

The girls and I had a lot of fun on our trip to Atlanta for the 2009 Whippet National Specialty.  Tim only joined us for the last day.  We got to Atlanta on Tuesday afternoon and attended the Welcome Party that evening.  The Welcome Party had a costume contest with an Easter or Spring theme for the pups and an American Idol contest for the humans.  It was a lot fun seeing all the creative costumes people had for their dogs from a box of Peeps to Hugh Hefner with Miss April to southern belles in their Easter dresses.  So cute!  

 
The Parade of Rescues and the Parade of Honors was held on Wednesday.  Our friend Jonathan was there with Zoey for the Parade of Honors.  Zoey was a dynamo in the show ring and had to give up her show career early due to some complications.  After retiring from showing she moved to Florida to live out the rest of her life with Jonathan and his crew of whippets and greyhounds.  A few months ago Jonathan and Zoey's owners made the difficult decision to amputate one of her back legs.  Then a few weeks ago she received a specially made wheelchair and can now enjoy walks on the beach and hikes in Montana, where Jonathan spends his summers.  Jonathan said she is up to going 2 miles with him on walks now.  You can view video of Zoey on youtube - just type in 'Zoey whippet' into the youtube search.
The National also consisted of an art show, raffles to benefit both The American Whippet Club and Whippet Rescue and Placement, lure coursing and racing, rally and obedience, agility, and of course conformation shows and shopping.  The art show was phenomenal.  Lots of talented Whippet owners!  The Hilton Airport Hotel was the host for the event and the girls did really well living in a hotel for almost five days.  The hotel allowed the dogs to run in the basketball court off leash, and this was a big help to get Tacy to release some energy.  This was the first time they had been crated in a hotel and after the first time we left them, there wasn't a peep to be heard from either of them.  The woman I roomed with said they got to the point where they didn't even care when she came in to grab something or use the bathroom.  They just laid in their crates chillin'.  The same can't be said for some of the other dogs on our floor.  We heard barking and whining all day long from other rooms.  One of Hazel and Tacy's favorite things to do was jump onto Hazel's crate and check out the view from the window.  Of course we didn't leave without buying a few whippety items - sweaters and necklaces for the girls, a metal Whippet wall hanging, greeting cards, and t-shirts.  :)

The Monday after I returned from Atlanta, I went in for my 20 week prenatal appointment.  As usual, all is well.  Baby's heartbeat was around 145 bpm.  As I left the office, I made the appointment for the ultrasound.  Monday, April 27th.  We can't wait!  Fingers crossed the baby sticks his/her junk up to my belly so we can see the goods.  Of course, the most important thing will be ensuring the baby is healthy and his/her organs are developing normally.  But still, finding out the sex will be fun!  A few weeks ago I could feel the baby moving every now and then and not everyday.  Now I can feel it moving throughout the day, everyday.  So far, it has only moved once that was strong enough for Tim to feel.