Birth Classes Begin

We went to our first birth class last night. We opted for the 2 1/2 hour class once a week for five weeks versus the boot camp session where you get it all done in one long weekend.

We wasted no time and jumped right into it. The first hour or so I felt pretty smart and new most of the answers to the questions. Then we watched the birthing video - wow, I wasn't expecting that at the first class. It was really well done but I'm definately not looking forward to that part - the pain and my butt hanging out for the world to see.

Then we did some progressive relaxation techniques. I can tell that I'm going to struggle with relaxing - it's never been something I've excelled at. We were laying on our mats with pillows while the instruction played soft music and was telling us "relax our toes - feel how warm and relaxed they are" as we moved up the various parts of the body. This did not relax me and never has - I've tried before. Then we moved onto some breathing techniques, in through the nose, out through the mouth. That just makes me anxious because I've never feel like I'm getting enough air - too much allergies or stuffiness. So both of those techniques probably won't work for me.

We've got our work cut out for us to find relaxing techniques that will work. I'm going to try to practice, practice, practice over the next month or two and see if I can't get better at this.

WI Baby Shower

This weekend we headed down to Wisconsin for our first baby shower - hosted by my aunt's Marcy & Marie. It started out as a traditional baby shower with only the "girls" and Mike attending, but ended up being more of a family shower - complete with aunts, uncles, cousins, and significant others. It was a great way to catch up with everybody all at once (especially since we probably won't be attending Christmas this year). And I have to say that some of the people that I think had the best time were the people I would not have expected. For many of the guys, this was their first ever baby shower. :-)

We had a wonderful lunch and played games. I wasn't very good at guessing the baby food without the labels on it - too many of the fruits smelled alike after a while. I couldn't believe how great my uncle was - he got 9/10 and only missed mangoes! I'm guessing I'll get much better at this in the future. The tic-tac-toe game was a lot of fun. Everyone filled out a board with baby related items like crib, diapers, etc. Then Mike and I read our answers off. If I said the answer, it was a "O", if Mike read the answer it was an "X" - a very interesting twist on the game.

The shower invite asked guests to bring their favorite book. What a great idea - it brought back so many memories for people and sparked conversations of who read what books growing up. As we were passing around the gifts, many people stopped to read them too! We got so many wonderful gifts that we are looking forward to using. And we received our first baby clothes - oh my gosh - they are so small and cute!!!

And what shower wouldn't be complete without a cake, and this one was delicious (and not to chocolaty):

Third Trimester

It's official - we are now in the third trimester (or 28 weeks), and 2/3 of the way done. Wow!!!!! That time went by so fast. It doesn't feel like all that long ago that we were making the announcement.

Today Mike and I went in for the 28 week appointment and glucose screening test. We arrived early so I could go down to drink the "kool-aid" (aka, super sweet sugar liquid). Everyone I've talked to has been warning me how horrible this appointment is - that the liquid is so sweet/thick they felt sick after drinking it or that it just tasted horrible. I would get reactions like "oh, you're going in for that appointment" (with a look of grimace on their face).

So I think I went in expecting the worse. I only had to drink about 4 oz of this sugar liquid - yes, it was very sweet - in 5 minutes. The nurse actually started a timer. I finished in about 10 seconds. Then we went up to see the doctor for the 28 week appointment.

It was a rather quick appointment but we did get to listen to the heart beat again - 150 beats per minute. I was surprised at how much louder it was than the first time we heard it at 12 weeks. This time I actually had to ask the doctor if it was my heart beat or Pickles'. Now I am at the point where my belly (from the pubic bone to the top of my uterus) should equal the number of weeks. I measured 27, so pretty close.

I hope we find out the results of the blood work today so I know if I passed or failed. Passing means I don't have gestational diabetes. Failing means I have to repeat this same test (drinking double the kool-aid & blood work) over a 3 hour period.

Weekend of Fun & Work

We got up there just in time to partake in the weekly volleyball game with Mike's friends. We played until we couldn't see anymore. I could tell it had been a while since I'd had last played volleyball because today is the first day my arms don't hurt when I touch them!!!

Since neither of us really had plans Friday and knew Chuck & Nancy would be working, Mike volunteered to help his Aunt & Uncle roof their house. I ran some errands in the morning and met up with Nancy in the afternoon to start looking at fabric for the drapes in Pickles' room. Friday night we were off to celebrate a friends birthday and visit what used to be my favorite restaurant in St. Cloud - McGee's (I call it - but it's since been renamed to Bear Creek, and now is Grizzly's). The free popcorn, peanuts, & trivia were great. The potato skins - the sole reason for going - left something to be desired with the change in ownership.

For having no plans until 6 pm on Saturday, it turned into a busy day. Nancy and I went on a 2 mile walk for ALS, purchased the fabric for the drapes, and got busy making them.



This past weekend we took Friday off work and headed up to St. Cloud Thursday night to play some volleyball and celebrate a good friend's birthday on Saturday.

The boys meanwhile started work on Mike's car. Mike's car hasn't had heat in it for a while and it didn't bother him for the short trips to and from work but this winter Pickles' will need heat in the car. The plan was to start by replacing the theromstat. They ran into a few troubles with a broken screw and we had to leave our car in St. Cloud in exchange for Chuck & Nancy's extra vehicle.




Sat night brought a good friend's birthday party and Sunday we came rushing home for Mike's Ultimate game.

It turned out to be a very busy weekend, but a productive one too. The drapes are almost done (I just need to hang them to figure out the correct length) and the guys made progress on the car.

Where did the time go?

It seems like time has flying by so quickly. It didn't really occur to me until recently. I am not all concerned that we have 90+ days to go until Pickles' is born, but when that number is reflected in weeks - only 13 weeks (and 12 weekends) - that's when I start to get nervous.

Then I take a look at our calendar and see that number of free weekends is cut down dramatically by our schedule. This fall is filling up quickly with weddings, showers, holidays - all good stuff but still taking a "weekend". I'm quickly beginning to realize that if I want to get everything done on my list, I'd better get moving and get some stuff done on the week DAYS and not just wait for the weekends. This is also getting tougher because Fall activities have started up for Mike so he's less available to help me, and he too has his own list of "to do" before Pickles' is born. And I know that as the weeks progress, my energy will decrease and it will be harder for me to get as much done as I'd like.

Ahhhhhh - it's time to get some stuff done!!!

Another Ultrasound

We went in for another follow-up ultrasound on Monday for Pickles' left kidney - this time to Methodist Hospital. They have the equipment and the specialists to perform a more detailed look. I especially liked the setup in this clinic - they had a separate monitor hanging from the wall across from me so I didn't have to turn around and look at the one she was using.

Our ultrasound tech was wonderful - she explained everything very well. I didn't realize that they were going to be doing such an in-depth scan again. She literally checked everything that was checked at the 20 week ultrasound again. And she took several measurements to confirm her numbers were right. We were there for almost 1 1/2 hours!

With the exception of the still enlarged left kidney, everything else looks okay. This is especially great news because, as I learned Monday, the heart also forms at the same time the kidneys do so often if there are problems with the kidneys, the heart has issues too. She spent a great deal of time checking out the heart - lots of different views, some 3D images, coloring to see the how the blood vessels were working, and even video. It all looked really good - a huge relief!

We are going to continue to monitor the left kidney and have another ultrasound scheduled for 32 weeks. At that time we'll see how it looks and possibly be referred to a pediatric doctor at Methodist. I am comforted in knowing that there is nothing that I can be doing to help or hurt the situation, and in most cases it clears up on its own.

And of course, we did get a few pictures to take home too (thanks Tae for letting me use your scanner):

Head, Hand & Feet - (click to enlarge)

Foot - (click to enlarge)

Profile; showing off how flexible - (click to enlarge)