Moving Right Along

It's been a while! We are now sitting at 28 weeks and a couple of days- hard to believe we only have about eighty more days until Morgan Kaye will be outside of the womb. As the baby belly grows and the summer heat rises, the reality of everything is setting in. WHOA. There are moments when I just stare at her sonogram picture and wonder what she looks like at this point- especially when she gets feisty and starts bumping around in there.

We had Morgan's first baby shower this past weekend, in Wichita. We did this one early since we didn't know how long I would want to be making extended road trips. It was hosted by Nana Cherie, and Ami & Amber (the twins, Tyler's step-sisters). About ten of us gathered and munched on delicious cookies, fresh fruit, and a near-perfect cake. A good time was had by all and Morgan gained all kinds of goodies- including a homemade blanket/quilt, diaper bag, outfits, blankets, dolls/animals, a first aide kit, pacifiers, etc.

On Friday we have our 28 week appointment where I'll take my glucose test. I've had the pleasure (ha) of this once already, early in the pregnancy, so I'm prepared. I think we'll have one more appointment before I leave for Chicago in late July. We also have Morg's second shower before I leave, this one in Lawrence for friends & my mom's side of the family.

I've noticed that I'm finally in the stage where it is getting uncomfortable and near impossible to bend and move normally. I was sitting in the car yesterday and nearly cried when I couldn't even bend over forward to pick up my purse from the floor! Dear me. Cleaning house and doing household chores is still possible, but it isn't too long before my back starts aching and I have to stop and stretch. I have a feeling I need to contact maintenance at the school and ask them to HURRY and get my room cleaned for the summer so I can start putting it back together before my energy level (and ability level!) plummets.

I put curtains up in Morgan's room today- the next step is to stencil on the border and for daddy to re-do the trim in the room. He's said he'll put the crib together while I'm gone to Chicago in July.

Our breastfeeding class is coming up in mid-July and I'm going to call OPRMC to schedule a tour of the labor & delivery area, so we are prepared and know where to go and what to expect when Morgan decides the time is right to make her appearance. Tyler starts his new (weekend) job on my birthday (7/16), so I want to get as much out of the way as possible before then.

Once August rolls around, things are going to get crazy! I was actually looking at a calendar the other day and realized that I will only be teaching for a little under a month when the time comes for my due date!!! I just hope I can get everything established and my expectations set prior to having my long-term sub (well, if 5 weeks is considered long-term) come into the class.

^ 28 Weeks!

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What's Kickin'?

We had our 24 week (read: six month)appointment at the doctor's office this morning! I'm very glad we had an 8:30am appointment, as the air condition at the office has stopped working for the time being. WHEW. This appointment was a quickie with the physician's assistant, as Dr. M is on vacation.

Blood pressure, as usual, was great. Then, it was time to hear Morgan's heartbeat- which I was SO looking forward to. It was funny, the nurse started high and on my right side and couldn't find anything. So, I politely guided her hand to where I gauge Morgan 'hangs out' and BOOM- there was the heartbeat. It made me feel very special. The heartbeat was nice and strong, in the 140 BPM area. Tyler likes to make 'goosh' sounds to copy baby's little beat. Morgan's next appointment (7/2) will be the glucose screening: round two. I did this VERY early on since I was borderline for diabetes myself, so this time will be the regular screening. Since I've been through it before I kind of know what to expect. The one thing that has me motivated and ready to go is that I know the 'drink' makes baby SUPER active and the first time I wasn't far enough along to feel her, so I'm very excited to see how she reacts!

After our appointment we did a bit of shopping for baby at Hobby Lobby. We picked out the stencils, sponges, etc. needed to get started on the walls of her room. Picking a paint color, however, was not as easy. So, it looks like another trip to Lawrence is in the future for trying to get that decided and ready to start the project.

This past weekend we made our first major stop at Motherhood, the maternity clothing store. I purchased several summer tops and grabbed some comfy maternity shorts from Target. The baby belly is in full bloom- which was confirmed today at our appointment- I've went from a total weight gain of 3lb since 1/15 to 10.2 lbs since 1/15. Now, if I could just put that maternity swimsuit to use!

We've started reading Morgan stories at night and/or playing tunes on the iPod/MP3 player for her to listen to. The other night I was reading Kitten's First Full Moon as Kibbles pawed my belly- Morgan enjoyed (or didn't?) that and started moving around. Then, Tyler read Roly Poly Pangolin to her the other night, which didn't seem to stimulate her. This afternoon we came home from our appointment and napped- but first I put the iPod on and was playing Bryan Adams' Never Let Go, to which she started kicking and moving around like crazy! She's becoming more active every day- this past Sunday we were in Wichita and Grandma Cherie and I are fairly sure that the hard spot pressed into my right side and felt with our hands was Morg's little foot!

Daddy, too, has experienced Morgan move more lately. This afternoon, when she was listening to the iPod, he put the side of his face up against my belly and within seconds she had punched/kicked him in the face, he enjoyed that! :-)

It's been such a fun ride so far and just gets more exciting every day!

n



My Stick Family from WiddlyTinks.com