28 Week Ultrasound

Well a huge weight has been lifted.  The concern with the Placenta Previa is no longer!  At my ultrasound, the doctor confirmed that the Placenta has moved with the baby, which is pretty typical.  Tyler had a job and missed the most of the ultrasound, which was unfortunate (he came in after the technician had taken the images but before the doctor came in).  The technician took a lot of measurements and pictures because she said the baby was "giving them".  Finally cooperating!  She even took some 3D imaging, which was so awesome.  Stats were as follows:
-HB 144
-Weight: 2 pounds, 12 oz
-Height: Measuring within a day of my due date

We had a bit of an issue at the beginning of the appointment.  I couldn't find my doctor's order before leaving the house and figured they might not need one since this was a follow up from the last ultrasound.  Well, when we got there they said they couldn't do it without one, and my doctor's office didn't open for another 35 minutes, grr!  My Mom and I decided we would drive over to my doctor's office because it was very close and they weren't answering the phone.  I was able to get another order and we were back for the ultrasound and were seen around 9:10 am.  Only 50 minutes behind which really isn't too bad considering.  And I of course found the original doctor's order later that day.  At the end of the day we got some great news and another chance to see our little girl!

 I think she has Tyler's nose and my cheeks! 

 I just love this picture!  She looks like she's practicing her fainting skills!

I had my checkup with the OB later that week as well.  I also got my one hour glucose test at the appointment.  We will wait for the results, and I now start seeing the doctor every 2 weeks!

Making My List and Checking it Twice!

Tyler and I took a birthing class the next week at the hospital.  We learned some valuable information, but what I really took away from it is this baby can really come at anytime.  Which starts to freak me out because we still have a lot to do as far as the house is concerned and getting our lives organized!  Now, technically, not everything has to be done before the baby, but I know once the baby comes we won't have quite the same time that we used to.  I also want to take a Newborn Care class and a Breastfeeding class, which I have yet to sign up for.

I made it a priority to make our "To Do List" and work out a game plan on how to accomplish these items.  I have tasks we need to complete each weekend, as well as during the week after work.  The stuff during the week will be really difficult to stay on task with, so hopefully those freezer crockpot meals will come in handy as they will take an item off the list immediately - dinner!  The weekends are also tough to get everything done since Tyler usually works all day Saturday.  But I know my schedule needs to be fluid and what I don't get done just moves to the next week.  There are items on the list from laundry, cleaning, organizing to crafting and DIY!  It also helps to get some dates written down for when we already have commitments, and won't be able to get stuff done around the house.

Next week I have my 28 week ultrasound and my checkup with the OB.  I also went ahead and scheduled an eye doctor appointment and Tyler and I will do a "meet and greet" with the Pediatrician's office we are looking at going with.  Let's hope this little Pickle stays still enough for a picture, because she is a mover!

Food Prep

The following weekend I worked on prepping some yummy food.  Tyler and I have a really hard time getting dinner prepared.  We seem to go in cycles where we will do really well making dinner, and then the following week be so burned out that we eat out or order in.  It's really difficult when we both get home around 6 or 6:30 pm and then have to make dinner.  By the time dinner is made and we have cleaned up and done the dishes, it's 9 pm and we're exhausted!  Tyler had to work on Saturday, which we got MORE snow, so I figured I'd try doing some frozen crockpot meals.  We went shopping on Friday night and Saturday I worked and worked and worked.  By the end of the day I had made a lot!

1. Blueberry Buckle Bread (similar to coffee bread) for breakfast:

2. Crockpot Chicken Pot Pie for dinner, plus biscuits from scratch.  Turns out the only cookie cutters we have are to make dog biscuits, so we had some fun shapes:

3. 8 Freezer crockpot meals, plus egg cups (with veggies) for breakfast and strawberry banana muffins for snacks/breakfast:

Now to keep on track and actually make some of these!!

24 Week Checkups

The Monday (President's Day) of our Nursery & Office Reorganization Weekend I also had my 24 week checkups with my OB and my Endocrinologist.  

At my last appointment with my Endocrinologist, the bloodwork came back and my TSH levels had risen.  So he increased my dosage and wanted to see me at 24 weeks to recheck my levels.  Everything went fine at this appointment and the bloodwork came back normal, so my next appointment (and probably final appointment before the baby) will be at 33 weeks.  

I also had my 24 week checkup with my OB following that appointment.  Everything also went well, and I scheduled my next appointment for 28 weeks and the 1 hour glucose test.  Also at 28 weeks I have the additional ultrasound to check on the Placenta Previa, which was a small concern at my 20 week ultrasound.  I am nervous, but also excited for the additional ultrasound and another chance to see our little girl.  My Mom is also going to join me for this ultrasound, which will be so cool for her to see!


Here's an unrelated picture, but it is our first clothing purchase!  Carharrt overalls that we found on sale!  Adorable!

House Prep - Nursery & Office Redo

My Mom and I have been working these past few months on setting up the nursery and organizing the baby things we already have (thank you family!).  In our house, we have 3 bedrooms on the main level, and a den in the basement (no windows).  When we moved into our house, the back bedroom (next to the master) became the guest room, the smaller bedroom became the "eventual office" but ended up being a jumbled room full of boxes and odds/ends, and the den in the basement was the backup guest room (blow-up bed on the floor).  When I found out I was pregnant, my Mom and I spent a weekend rearranging rooms and moved what was the guest room (back bedroom) into the basement, and then the back bedroom became the nursery.  Here are some pictures of the "after":

Guest bedroom in basement.

Nursery set up in back bedroom on main level.  Crib is to the right (not pictured).

Once we found out the gender, we spent an entire weekend going through clothes that my sister gave us, and moved the girl clothes to the nursery.  We felt so accomplished and had the closet all set up with all of the baby things and a list made of what I already had and what I needed to register for.  We started to look at what fabrics my Mom had for nursery decor (and what she had already made for my niece's nursery) and decided a good weekend to paint would be over President's Day since we both had a 3 day weekend.

We were looking at paint samples in the room on Thursday evening so I could go buy the paint on Friday and we could start on Saturday, and Tyler came in with a curveball: He wanted to switch the 2 rooms on the main level - the back bedroom (which we had already set up as the nursery) would be the office, and the smaller bedroom (or "box room"/eventual office) would become the nursery.  

We had previously discussed bedroom layouts when my Mom and I moved the guest room into the basement and turned the back room into the nursery.  However, Tyler didn't like that the back bedroom buts up to the carport and he didn't want that to be an issue (him working in the carport and the baby sleeping).  What it really boils down to is the back room in our house has been the guest room, then the nursery, and now he wants it to be the office!  It took my awhile to wrap my head around this, but we decided it was best to switch the rooms.  What that really meant was a weekend of painting 1 room just turned into a huge undertaking.  Luckily we were able to call in reinforcements for some help!

We decided the order of business would be as follows:
-Move everything out of back bedroom (new office) - Tyler & I did this Friday night.  Everything baby related got put into the dining room.
-Paint the back bedroom - My Mom came to the rescue and did this Saturday!
-Move "stuff" out of the smaller bedroom (new nursery) - Our wonderful neighbor, April, came to the rescue and helped us take stuff out, go through items, donate, trash, etc, on Saturday.  Everything that we were keeping got moved into the living room and put in piles (office, craft, Shannon, Tyler, etc).
-Move furniture from smaller bedroom into the office - We were able to do this Saturday night while the paint was drying!  This room is very multipurpose - I have a craft area, a makeup/jewelry area, and Tyler has his office area, so it really took a long time to figure out the best layout!
-Paint nursery - My Mom once again came to the rescue and painted the nursery as well Saturday night and Sunday morning.
-Move baby furniture and stuff into the nursery - Tyler's Mom Sandy came up Sunday afternoon to help and we were able to get the nursery set up, and the closet re-organized!
-Move office items into the office and organize - We worked on this on Monday, along with other odds and ends.  I also had a snow day on Tuesday, so Sandy stayed until Tuesday afternoon and we were able to get a few more things done.  When she left (Tyler had to go to work), I got some much needed rest since we worked all weekend!

Tyler posted some embarrassing pictures on Facebook of what our living room looked like during the process, which I am going to NOT remind myself of the chaos and only post the pretty after pictures.

My new craft area and reading chair!

Old sewing cabinet that I use as a vanity for makeup/jewelry (this used to be in our bedroom, but I never got to use it since Tyler is usually still sleeping when I get ready for work).

Tyler's Desk Area.

Nursery!

We still have a ways to go with both rooms.  There is still some organizing to be done in the office, which we will continue to work on.  We have both successfully used the room already and are really liking having a place to do office and craft things!  Of course, as we use the space we are finding things that work and don't work.  As far as the nursery, most of the things left are decor related and I think my Dad is going to come put up some crown molding.


I think we made some serious progress!

I'm feeling movements!

I'm finally feeling movements!  I think I felt my first one on Tuesday, January 27.  I was lying on my side watching tv and all of a sudden felt this poke up by my rib.  It did it maybe 3 times, and then nothing else.  I texted my sister immediately, and she wasn't so sure it was movement since it was so high and it seemed more like a muscle spasm.

That next day at work I started to feel a few more pokes, so then I was really starting to wonder if these were kicks!  Then the next day, this little girl started moving and grooving!  These were definitely kicks.  It was so crazy, as soon as I got to work and sat down I got about an hour of poke here, poke there.  She must have been enjoying life!

I was so happy to finally feel something and to know everything was as it should.

Here's a bump update (not with my board - so bad!!) at 22 weeks:

Gender Reveal!

I have not been good about posting recently, I'm sorry!  So I will do my best to catch up on the past few weeks.

We had our 20 week ultrasound on Monday, January 12.  We had the same technician as we did with our 12 week ultrasound, which was nice.  Baby Pickle was not super cooperative for all of the measurements, and it took a bit of body repositioning on my part, but they got everything they needed.  Tyler and I found out the gender at the ultrasound, but waited to tell our friends and family that Wednesday evening.

We met at TGIFridays for dinner and an extra special dessert that I baked.  Everyone was so excited and could hardly wait for dessert.  People kept trying to ask us questions to get us to spill the beans, but we were good and didn't fall for it :)  Tyler's Mom also happened to be in town for a work meeting, so she got to participate as well.  We attempted to skype my sister in Chicago (I'm not sure how much she comprehended "at the moment") and we called Tyler's sister after.  When it was ready for dessert, everyone took a bite at the same time to reveal a special color in the inside of the cupcake............. PINK!  It's a GIRL!!

Tyler and I still hadn't quite wrapped our head around that one since we were thinking it was a boy, but we are so excited to welcome this sweet baby into our family!  And now I can finally start thinking about nursery colors and clothes!!  Here's a few pictures from our ultrasound:

At the ultrasound, they were somewhat concerned with how close my placenta was to the cervix (placenta previa) and suggested another ultrasound at 28 weeks.  A lot of times the placenta moves as the baby grows, and hopefully this will be the case and the follow up ultrasound is just a precaution.  That week I also met with my OB for me 20 week checkup.  She hadn't gotten the results yet from the ultrasound, but everything checked out great at my appointment.  Next appointment would be in another 4 weeks!

Happy New Year!

The New Year brings us into 2015 and into full baby prep mode!

I took off Christmas Eve this year so we were able to spend Christmas with Tyler's family.  Unfortunately Christmas night I came down with a really bad stomach virus.  I was sick all night and ended up camped out on the bathroom floor.  On the plus side, Digger got a companion for the night since we had him locked in the bathroom because he had a few accidents the last time we visited.  Friday I spent recouping on the couch and we came home that evening.  Almost everyone got sick the next night, but not nearly as bad as I did.  Saturday we had tickets with my friend from work to go see Virginia Tech play in the Military Bowl in Annapolis, MD.  Luckily we WON and Tyler didn't get too sick to where he couldn't go to the game.  That evening we spent resting and finally felt 100%.  On Sunday we helped celebrate our neighbor's daughter Leah's first birthday at a party at their house!  

I worked Monday-Wednesday the next week.  Our other friends in the neighborhood had a small get together on New Year's Eve, which was so nice to be able to walk to something!  We hung out until midnight and then headed home.  On Thursday, some people from the neighborhood organized a 2-3 hour hike through the park by our house.  We took the dogs and they had a blast!  They passed out almost immediately when we got home for a nice nap.  We then went over to my Mom's house to visit with my sister, Amanda, and her kids, who were visiting from Chicago.  On Friday my Grandma (Geeda) came up, and we had Christmas and celebrated my Dad's birthday.  Saturday Amanda left to return home, and we worked quite a bit on the house.  By 1:30 pm we had accomplished: I worked out, Cleaned/organized our front hall closet (the shoes have a "home"!), Picked up around the main level, 1 load of dishes, 4 loads of linens, Started to clean out the carport (reorganized some heavy car parts, raked up the leaves, etc), Cleaned the baby jumper and stroller, Chased Digger in the pouring rain (that dog!), Tyler built a fire and we ordered pizza!  And all that in 4.5 hours!  It helped that we had a couple over that helped us from 10-noon with the carport.  After I realized how much we accomplished, I relaxed for a little enjoying the fire and then we went to see a movie.  Then we went over to my Mom's for dinner as she was having her family over to celebrate to holidays.  A lot in 1 day!  Sunday was spent being lazy (Tyler had a home inspection) and another dinner at my Mom's to see my Grandma before she went home on Monday.

I am now 19 weeks!  How the time has flown.  Tomorrow I have a checkup with the Endocrinologist, and then our 20 week Ultrasound the following Monday, followed by my 20 week checkup on Thursday with my OB.  I can't believe in a week we will find out if we're having a boy or a girl, and I will be halfway through my pregnancy.  It really just makes me freak out just a little because we have a lot to get ready for little Pickle!

In other news, I have just signed up to become a consultant for Jamberry Nails!  I just started using this product and really love it!  So if you're reading my blog, and want to try some out, let me know and/order through my website: shannonsmall.jamberrynails.net.  I will be having a launch party in about 2 weeks, and my consultant kit will be in at the end of this week with my samples!  Yay for pretty nails that LAST!

My next post you will find out if baby Pickle is a boy or girl!!!