Oregon Baby Shower!

We had the Oregon baby shower and it went really well today. :) There were many friends and Eric's parents and Aunt was able to make it. It was great to be able to see some people we hadn't seen in a while and to be able to talk to them. We really appreciate the effort our friends took to plan it amongst their tremendous other plans! We feel blessed to have such friends and family as these. :)

We got some fun clothes and some great stuff for our little one. I really hope this little one is a Jennavieve cause the clothes are super cute haha. I can't really have the boy wear those clothes! We'll see what happens. If it's not a girl we'll either keep the clothes, exchange some of them for boy clothes or give some to our friends who are for sure having girls. :)

We just continue to hope and pray that God continues to grow this little one into a healthy baby who we can tell about God and who in turn can tell others about Him too. A baby is a great reflection of the miracle of creation and how God turns something so small into something so big for His purpose. We feel blessed and privileged to have the opportunity to have this baby every day we can. :)

Glucose Test and meeting the other doctor

Today I had an updated doctor's appointment and my Glucose Tolerance test.

I got there and was able to meet the other doctor in the practice. This is the doctor who would help me deliver if my doctor couldn't be there. I got my sugary drink from the nurse and had to gulp it down in five minutes. I had a lemon lime flavor that was syrupy but alright.

The other doctor came in and she was super nice! She measured me and it showed that I had grown a couple of cm above what's normal. She felt my belly some more at the tip top and felt the baby there then continued to feel down to the bottom and felt the baby there. She thinks I'll have a long baby. :) She took the baby's heart beat and it was something like 150bpm. She said everything is looking great!

Update: Turns out my levels were slightly elevated with the test so they are having me take the 3 hour test...so not looking forward to that!

Baby Shower Dates

The dates and times have been set for the showers in Oregon and Washington. I won't tell the locations, but if for some reason you know me, want to come and you weren't invited, let me know and we'll work it out.

The Oregon Shower: June 19 at 3pm (This shower is coed, so guy and gal friends can come!)

(Invitation by Evite, so check your e-mail and respond! I might have had old e-mail addresses too!)

The Washington Shower: June 26 2-4pm.

(Invitation by postal mail, but if you are in WA and want to come let me know and I can pass you an e-mail address to RSVP to.)

We are registered at Babies R Us (Better known as Toys R Us), Wishlist.com (This has the cloth diaper stuff) and Target.

Look forward to seeing those who can come!

24 week ultrasound.

We had a 24 week ultrasound today so that they could get the images of the heart they need. I got there early like normal and drank a lot of orange juice ahead of time to try to help the baby to be more active...although honestly that's never been a problem for us! Our little one is quite the mover all the time it seems.

Eric came and sat by me and I thought that our appointment was at 8:45 but the receptionist said it was 9am! Drank too much too soon and was sitting there wishing I was in the bathroom! To our surprise the tech came right around 8:45 and took us into the ultrasound room. This time I had to wear the weird gown, but I wasn't bothered by it. I laid down and the tech came in.

She was very nice and friendly. She checked around and saw the heart and checked the heart beat and it was 143bpm and beating quite well. She checked the brain and growth and everything looked great! She first checked to see the gender for us but the baby's legs were closed. I think the second time the leg was in the way...the last time though she checked before we left and the baby's heel was right where we needed to see! Seriously this baby is some contortionist! I moved around and we checked and the heel was STILL in the way.

This baby is determined not to let us see what we need. Which honestly is okay with me! All we cared about was that the baby is healthy. So far they still think it's a girl and we do too. We'll be calling her Jennavieve (Jenna) until September! If we get girl stuff at the shower we'll save it until then and either give it to our friend who's definitely having a girl in October or save it for baby #2. :) We are still pretty sure it's a girl though!

Here are some photos of our little one:

This might not be too clear...but I think the arms are positioned the same as the other photos. :)

This is my FAVORITE photo! Here you'll see the baby's rib cage and see it's right arm over it's chest. The other hand was by her lips. :)

In the picture above you can see the face. Her left hand was by her face and her right hand was on her chest I think.

Something cute :)

So I don't have any new pictures to post, or any new info to confirm the baby's gender, but I can assure you she is a lively baby. :) She kick kick kicks a lot, some days more than others, but I notice quite regularly she decides to kick and move when Eric talks or is near.

He'll talk to her and put his hand on my belly and she'll move around at least a few times, especially if she had a silent period before then. He can usually get her to move. He can't feel it most times, but I can. It'll be very exciting when the baby grows bigger and Eric can feel her more from the outside.

The baby's already a daddy's girl (or if the next ultrasound proves us wrong, a daddy's boy) and that's pretty exciting to me. :)

Just thought I'd share that little bit of info. A week from today we go in for another ultrasound so they can get the heart pictures they need and maybe, just maybe confirm the gender. :)

23 weeks pregnant today, only possibly 17 weeks left!

I am 23 weeks pregnant today and it's a great day! Sunny, the birds are chirping and it's actually warm enough outside not to have to wear a jacket (or zip hoodie in my case). Eric and I went on a drive this morning out to Silverton then we went to Salem's farmer's market. We have some Peruvian tamals and they were great! Gives me ideas for future tamales. Today I am kinda sleepy and actually took a little nap a minute ago, I know...exciting times.

I'll work on the newsletter soon for our missions stuff, but as I sit here feeling the baby kick the realization hits... we're indeed having baby! I am not scared, no no... I am excited. I can't believe this is really happening, it still feels like a dream. Well the good dreams you have when you get actual sleep, not the weird dreams you have when you have to wake up every couple of hours to pee during pregnancy. :)

Shower details are getting figured out by great friends and family. Both showers will be in June, which is like um...next month! I am looking forward to seeing some people I haven't seen in quite a while and taking lots of fun pictures to share the memories with our little Jenna. Yes... I still call her Jenna (short for Jennavieve) even though the doc says not to go all out and count on it being a girl. I figure, for now... I can hope. Not that I wouldn't want a boy, it's just the evidence clearly points to a strong possibility of a girl. Eric calls her Jenna already, so that name is pretty much set unless in September we get a surprise...then we'll have one confused little boy who will be looking for someone named Jenna. :)

Eric's getting airplane stuff figured out and I am resting on the couch. You know...doing the hard work. :) Well it is exhausting to make a baby, way more exhausting than I realized! I am making a quilt for the baby with my friend Becca's help. I think once I figure out how I want things arranged it'll look super cute. I am excited for it as well. My first quilt going to my first BORN baby. :)

Well I should get going, I'll update more probably in two weeks once we have the other ultrasound. Hopefully then the baby will be in a good position to get good heart photos and also a good position to check the gender again. :) Maybe God knows how much I like seeing my little one and knowing she's still alive. Maybe that's why He's orchestrated these extra ultrasounds, I don't know! I look forward to May 18th though! :)

22 week doctor's appointment

We had the doctor's appointment today and Eric actually went with me this time. Which was good because he got to meet the doctor. The doc came in and told us the ultrasound results and it seems that everything is going great, fabulous even with the baby's growth in all areas. She said that I only gained a lb since last time and my weight is right on track for me to actually lose weight when the baby is born, which is a goal. I am not starving myself, so no worries! I am just not pigging out just because I am pregnant!

The other ultrasound results weren't in yet so the doc had her nurse call the radiology place to get a faxed report. Turns out the baby still wasn't positioned right to be able to get good heart photos, and they want us to go back in two weeks to see if the baby will move then. The doc says she doesn't think anything is wrong, it's just that the baby is not positioned good enough for them to get good heart shots. She thinks since everything else is doing so well, she doesn't see a problem. She said if they found a problem they would have called her right away as well. So it's just that our baby is a little camera shy. The doc also said that we shouldn't count on the baby being a girl right now, and to continue to get gender neutral stuff. So keep your receipts friends or give us a gift receipt! :)

The doc checked the heartbeat and it was in the upper 140's to mid 150's. I can't remember the exact thing. It could have been 154, I am uncertain. :) The back was kicking hard and moving around so the doc says we might have quite the active little one on our hands. Which is fine with me!

So in two weeks on May 18th we go back to get better pictures of the heart. Maybe I can persuade the tech to look down below to check the gender another time. :) We'll see! Until then we just have a cute little baby who's active not sure if it's really a girl or boy.