Interview

I have an interview on Friday with a wonderful Doula. She not only could be our Doula but might also be conducting our Child Birthing Classes. Thankfully, Amanda(my older sister) gave me some ideas on questions to ask. I'm looking forward to meeting her and see if she'll be a good match of our birth.

All hands on the belly!

The baby is starting to move around enough to where other people can feel him/her moving. In the earlier stages of movement, it was so infrequent that you couldn't call anyone over unless you wanted hands on your belly for at least 20 minutes. But now it seems like Baby Stutz gets moving and stays moving for a while. Over the weekend Hannah (our 5 yr old niece) was able to feel her cousin moving!! When I asked her if she wanted to feel again, she can running over, put her hand on my belly and waited 5 seconds before looking at me and asking, "can I go play now instead?". So precious the things kids say!

Heather (Austin's Mom) was a little more patient, although she didn't have to wait long. Baby Stutz continued to move when with her hand on my belly, even pushed against her and gave her a few good kicks.

I love being able to share the belly other and can't wait to feel how the movements change as the baby grows bigger!

Changing shape

Sometimes the baby moves into a position that causes my stomach to take on a whole different shape. It's amazing, strange, uncomfortable and exciting all at the same time. I'll try to catch it on camera next time Baby Stutz decides to push to one side.

A baby routine?

I was just thinking the other day that the baby seems to move around the same time each day. He or she is very active in the morning after I've had breakfast and usually until 11am, after that it must be time to rest because I don't normal feel movement again until I finally sit down at the end of the day. Or maybe I just get busy working and don't notice the movements as much. Baby Stutz has also come to love 2am! It seems like every night I'm awake at that time to empty my bladder and falling back asleep can be hard when the nugget is moving around like crazy. But I wouldn't change it for the world. People always told me it's an amazing feeling once the baby starts to get active and I would have to agree. I'm so thankful for the moments, as frequent or infrequent as they might be.

More belly shot

To make up for last week, I've added a few more pictures from this week. Please excuse my face and hair in all of the pictures, seriously in need of hair dye, a nap and maybe even a facial. Anyway, enjoy the bump!

Belly week 21

I didn't get around to taking pictures or posting them last week. Today, I'm finally in "normal" clothes when I took the pictures; however, it makes it a lot harder to see the bump with the design of the dress. It's there and growing, that's for sure!

Laying face down...

Here are two more pictures, which I can't figure out how to rotate! The one to the right shows how the baby was positioned the entire time!

Ultra Sound Pictures

Face Down in the Belly...

We went for our 20 week ultra sound today!! The first thing the tech asked us was if we wanted to find out the sex, to which we both said no. When it came time to look at the baby's legs we were told to look away. At the end she told us she wouldn't even write it in the report, so there was no chance of anyone saying anything. As of right now, she's the only one that knows the sex of the baby, my Midwife doesn't even know. Very exciting, at least in my mind, I know not to a lot of other people.

Everything looked good at the ultra sound, the Baby was face down, hence the title, in my belly. You could see how he/she was curled up and resting. The spin looked good, but I wish we could have seen more of the baby's face.

My blood pressure, urine sample and weight all looked good. The baby's heart rate yesterday (I had a meeting with my Midwife last night) was between 130-147, but today it was back to 151! Apparently it has something to do with how active the baby is at the time.

Because of the Baby's position, they didn't get a good picture of the chambers of the Baby's heart or his/her mouth, as a result we get to go back in three weeks for another ultra sound! I'm trusting that the Baby is fine and looking at it as another opportunity to see the little bunting!

I'll attempt to scan the Ultra sound pictures tonight or tomorrow and also post a few pictures of my ever growing belly!!

We're 1/2 way there.....

Morning and night

The baby seems to move the most during the morning or right as I lay down to sleep at night, or maybe that's just when I notice the movement! This morning Austin was able to feel the baby moving, not sure if Baby Stutz was kicking or just moving around, but either way it was fun to both be able to feel him/her moving!!

Learning to sew

A few years ago I purchased a sewing machine. The only people who've used it since then were my Mom and Becca..opps! I'm not one for sewing, although it's a skill I would love to have. I don't have the patience to cut, sew and put together something from a strip of fabric. But I've made a commitment to myself, and I'm about to make the bedding for the baby's room. (thankfully I'll have some help from some close friends!!) Included are a few pictures of the fabric, I'll post a picture of the design of the quilt later today. I can't wait to see it all together.

Belly-19 weeks

Here are a few pictures from this morning, after Sadie and I went for a beautiful sunrise walk. One of these days I'll take pictures in something other than workout clothes! Enjoy!

We've got movement...

So I think I've written over the last few weeks that I've been able to feel some "popping", it's when the baby is moving at an early stage. Well on Friday I felt the baby all out MOVE. To me, it felt like a little earth quake!! I can't wait to feel it again and for Austin to get to feel Baby Stutz moving too!!!

Another unsuspected find...

I came across this little sitting "rocking puppy" that I just couldn't pass up!! It's defiantly been worn, or as I like to say LOVED! I'm going to add a seat cushion out of the fabric from the bedding. It's a going to make a great addition to the baby's room! I can't wait to set it all up, in fact, if the space was all cleared out and not full of bikes, snowboards and a christmas tree I might just set it up today. Good thing it's full. I was have a long 5 1/2 months of looking at the room.

New finds

Yesterday I spent the afternoon with a few of my favorite girls. We went to lunch and then to an antique shop. I decided to keep my wallet in the car, thinking that would prevent me from purchasing something I didn't need. What could I possible need in an antique shop? Turns out they had a few great dressers, that would be perfect for a changing table. The price was more than right and I figured it was something that would grow with the baby. I did make a few changes to the knobs, before and after pictures seen above! I am now beyond excited to get everything together and set up. The girls were a big help, with colors, ideas and great suggestions on what I'll need once the baby is here. What a blessing to have an afternoon with them. We also picked out some fabric for the quilt/bumpers. I can't wait to see it all come together.

Sleeping....

Sleep has always been something I love! I remember going to bed in college and telling my roomate-"This is my favorite time of day". Lately I haven't been able to fall asleep. It isn't that I'm not tired, because I'm exhausted by 9pm every night, but for whatever reason I can't get comfortable. My sister let me borrow her Boppi pillow and it's the best thing. I love sleeping with it and even brought it with me when we went away for the night in Sedona. I'm hoping this is just a phase and I'll be back to my comfortable sleeping self soon!

How your baby's growing:Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

-www.babycenter.com (provided the above paragraph)

18 weeks

Two more weeks and we are half way there! I have been so blessed with this pregnancy. I continue to feel great and have good energy, at least enough to get through a full days work. Here are some pictures from this morning. Please ignore the beautiful hair, as I just got back from taking Sadie for a quick morning walk. Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

San Tan Sunrise!

Austin and I went hiking this morning with Sadie girl! We hiked about 3.5-4 miles!! It was so nice to beat the heat and get in a good workout! Enjoy some of the beautiful pictures! Happy Labor Day.

5 inches and growin'

I was reading last night that the baby is 5 inches long, or there about. We will know the length officially at the next ultra sound. But according to my reading, the baby's heart and lungs are starting to become stronger and develop more. INterestingly, now is when the "growing" process slows down. It seems that most of the rapid growth takes place in the first few months. Now that the structure/skeleton of the baby is developed, the organs and everything else will start to go and become stronger.

We can't wait to see what he/she looks like at our next visit!!

New pants, new bras, new everything...

It seems like EVERYTHING grows when you are pregnant. If it isn't your legs, it's your butt, or your belly. Seriously, I can't keep up with it. I have a few "regular" clothes that still fit, in fact, most of my shirts fit, but many of my pants are on their last days. Thankfully, my sister, good friend Andrea and other friend offered me some of their clothes to borrow. I think my days of pants with a waist are over, which if fine with me, bring on the stretch top pants!!

Now is the exciting time, the belly is going to really start growing over the next few months. When I wear my regular clothes I still just feel frumpy, rather than pregnant! It will be fun to have the belly out there for everyone to see.

Not sure how I'm going to feel about random people rubbing the belly, but we'll face that when we get there.

Pictures of week 18 to come soon. Once the brown line gets darker you should be able to see it in the pictures!! Hard to see right now!

"I could really go for..."

Cravings! Such a talked about subject when it comes to pregnancy. Everyone wants to know, "have you had any cravings??" or "are you eating anything weird?". Well, the answer to both, NO! Thankfully I haven't been dying to eat anything. There are times when I would love to eat an entire pizza, but I don't give in and go get the pizza. I was more prone to eat something that I had in mind during the first two months, but now it's pretty much under control. The hunger it self, has a mind of it's own. It comes on and out of no where, at any moment I would be NEEDING food. I'm basically come to plan most of my meals or snacks, because I know if I don't, I'll be stoping in to get that x-Large Pizza!!

Brown line

Last night I thought I noticed a faint line on my belly, horizontally going from the top to the bottom. Sure enough, looks like I'm starting to get the familiar brown line the runs up and down your stomach when you are pregnant.

It's exciting to think that there is a baby in there, growing and getting stronger. I'm not sure I've felt him/her move, although I do think I have (feels like a popping), so it's comforting to have other natural progressions of pregnancy.

Two more weeks and we get to have the ultra sound. Hopefully the baby will start moving around too, so we can feel him/her!

It's a blessing beyond words. Sometimes I'm still in shock at the fact there I'm even pregnant.

Belly Pics-Week 17

Here are the pictures from last week!! More to come for this week!

Sedona/Out of Africa Belly Shots!

I tired to upload photos for the last few days, but it didn't seem to want to work. Anyway, I was able to post two this morning. They are in reverse order. The first one was in the AM in Sedona, and the second is at Out of Africa. I was thinking that the belly really grows in the afternoon, or I just get lazy. More Belly pictures for week 17/18 to come later today, along with a few updates!!

Afternoon at Out of Africa!

Sedona in the morning