34 weeks!

Things are continuing to go really well! I still have no signs of labor, which is okay with me considering I still have quite a bit I want to get done along with a huge conference at work next week. Plus, this little guy needs to grow and mature just a little more!! I'm not completely uncomfortable yet, but things are starting to get a little more difficult - mostly in the fact that I am just getting out of breath more quickly than normal. He's still moving around quite a bit - I really enjoy doing the movement counts each night just to know that things are "normal". It's hard to believe that he will be here in about six weeks! I know I say that with each update, but it's true!

Here's the most recent information from babycenter.com:

Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. His fat layers — which will help regulate his body temperature once he's born — are filling him out, making him rounder. His skin is also smoother than ever. His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well.

Merry Christmas!

(please ignore the piece of hair in my face!)

Merry Christmas from Jason and Amber!!

Update

I have been so bad at blogging lately - except when I have my belly pics to post, of course! So, here's a baby update (in bullets):

• Our childbirth education class was last weekend. I didn't really have any concerns, but I thought it was great to just go through the class, learn some breathing and get a tour of the hospital. It was very informative, and I'm sure it will be helpful when baby P decides to make his presence.
• The crib finally arrived today! I am feeling much more prepared now that we have a place for him to sleep. The dresser is on the truck...somewhere...hopefully it will be here in a couple weeks so I can get more organized. (Pictures of the nursery to come once it's finished.)
  
• There are still a lot of clothes, towels, sheets, etc. to wash, but I keep putting it off until I have somewhere to store them permanently.
  
• We have just about everything we need/want for his arrival (I think!)....just a few things to pick up as it gets closer. I'm so glad most of our showers were done early so that I don't feel stressed about not having things or if I'll make it to the shower. There are still a couple smaller events coming up in January -- my work shower and my group of girlfriends from the neighborhood. They should be very stress free and fun!
  
• The name has still been a struggle! A few weeks ago, Jason and I each came up with our top 10 names. NONE of them matched, but we were able to narrow it down to our top five out of the twenty names. I think we are finally down to two names, but neither of us are sold on the other's favorite. How did you pick your child's name?? Jason is really attentive to what the initials might spell, and I don't want anything too popular (but nothing crazy either).
• I'm still feeling really good, although I am slowing down a bit. No signs of labor (yeah!), baby is moving like crazy (usually get 10 movements within 30 minutes) and no swelling! We're definitely on the countdown! My next appointment is on the 4th and then I think I go to weekly appointments. We are looking at less than 7 weeks (give or take) until baby P is here. I can't wait to see what he looks like and hold him in my arms!!
  

I hope everyone has a very merry Christmas!!

32 weeks!

Things are still going well on the pregnancy front although I am starting to slow down a little. I get out of breath more easily and tying my shoes is getting a little more difficult. But, it's all good! Kick/movement counts are going well. I usually get the 10 counts in 45 minutes or less and love feeling him move all the time! The weeks really are flying by now...8 to go, and I just keep thinking about all the people that go 3-4 weeks early. I have a lot to get done before this baby arrive...furniture set up, clothes/bedding washed, purchasing any items we don't have, and organizing what we do have. The crib is supposed to be here this week, and our childbirth education class is this Friday and Saturday! I'm excited to hear what they have to say and especially get a tour of the hospital.

Baby boy is growing so much!!! Here's what babycenter.com has to say:

By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds and is about 16.7 inches long. He's gaining about a half pound a week and, in fact, he'll gain a third to half of his birth weight during the next 7 weeks as he fattens up for survival outside the womb. He now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). His skin is becoming soft and smooth as he plumps up in preparation for birth.

It's official...

at 31 weeks pregnant, I can no longer where my regular t-shirts! ha!! Yep, I have started wearing Jason's t-shirts to lounge around the house in. :-) Some maternity shirts are even too short!

Other than the changes in my clothes, everything else is going really well. At my appointment on Monday the heartbeat was in the 150s, and I've now started my daily kick/movement counts. They have been going pretty well...getting 10 movements each night in between 15 & 45 minutes. This definitely reassures me that things are going well. Just under 9 weeks left!

I talked to the store where we ordered our furniture, and the crib should finally be here next week! But, it does sound like the dresser and nightstand might not be here until the first week in January. At least we'll be able to get the crib set up and ready.

The First Reveal!

On October 10th, after two and a half weeks of keeping the gender a complete secret (the one thing that only Jason and I knew during this pregnancy), we decided to tell our immediate family. Since my family was all together in Wisconsin, we thought this was the perfect opportunity. I bought 5" x 7" frames for each family, put an ultrasound picture and "It's a Boy!!" on scrapbook paper and then wrapped them. Everyone opened their pictures at the same time. Here's how the big reveal went:

my parents

my brother & sister-in-law

my sister and brother-in-law

After we got back into town from visiting my family, we did the same thing with Jason's dad and sister.

Jason's dad

Jason's sister

I know my mom originally thought the baby was a girl, but I think she changed her mind somewhere along the way. Jason's sister definitely thought it was a girl until she opened the picture! :-)

Of course, everyone is just excited that the baby is growing and healthy!

Is it a BOY or a GIRL?

Does this picture look familiar??

It's from the day of our 20 week ultrasound (September 22nd) and part of our journey to finding out the sex of baby Patterson!

After our shopping adventure, we headed to Olive Garden for a nice dinner and to finally find out the gender!

(How do you like the ugly wrapping paper he picked? ha!)
Jason opened the gift before our dinner came, and here is what he pulled out!!!

I was completely shocked!!! After so many of the old wives tales, tests, dreams, etc, all saying girl, I thought for sure it was. But, I have to say that I am also completely happy with adding a healthy, baby boy to our family!!

Bloomington Shower

Today, we had our final big baby shower -- Jason's family and some of our friends. Penny, Pam, Leta, and Kate did a GREAT job!! I couldn't believe all the wonderful things baby Patterson has been blessed with, including such a great group of people to just love on him/her.

The start of the gift pile!

My BEAUTIFUL cake made by our friend, Kate!

You can't see it all that well, but each square on this blanket has an animal that was embroidered by Jason's sister, a cousin, or an aunt! And, it was SO soft on the opposite side.
Have you ever tried baby food? Oh my goodness...I can't believe we make babies eat this stuff! :-) In this game, I had to try each food and guess what they were. The only one I thought was okay was the applesauce. The meats were so dry! Disgusting!!

Our wonderful hostesses -Aunt Leta, Aunt Pam, me, & Kate
(Jason's Aunt Penny lives in Virginia so she wasn't able to join us, but she got pictures texted to her throughout the shower!)

Stay tuned for the big gender announcement tomorrow!!
Blue or pink, what do you think??

30 weeks!

We are three-quarters of the way through this pregnancy! I know I keep saying this, but it really is going quickly now! Appointments are now every two weeks so getting to hear that precious heartbeat more often is wonderful. Things are starting to come together at home, too. The nursery is painted, and we're starting to accumulate the necessary items. The crib should definitely be here in the next week or so (it is scheduled to go on the next truck) and hopefully the dresser and nightstand will be here at the same time.

According to babycenter.com, here's the latest on the growth of our little one:

Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and s/he weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). His/her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after s/he's born, s/he'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When s/he does open them, s/he'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means s/he can only make out objects a few inches from his/her face.

Day Care

I figured that finding the right day care environment would be difficult. There are so many decisions and things to look for - in-home vs. center, how many kids, do you like the provider, does it feel safe, etc, etc. Knowing that I won't be able to stay home with our little one full-time, we feel that in-home is our best option, at least for the first couple years. I started out by asking friends in the area if they had any recommendations and making calls. It didn't surprise me that most of them didn't have an infant opening, but they were willing to give me names of other providers who might. After making about 15 calls, we finally had six that would have an opening available next year for an infant. Out of those we interviewed five (one filled her opening before our interview). Once the interviews were finished, we narrowed it down to two providers - both charge the same amount and are within a 5-minute drive of our house.

On our gorgeous drive this weekend, we made the decision to go with the younger of the two providers. No, it wasn't because of her age, but we just felt like the environment that she was creating for kids was a better fit for what we wanted. She has five years experience as a nanny for a family and three years experience in a day care center. So, she has provided care for children ages six weeks to five years old (including her 2.5 year old son) and has experienced both in home and a center environment. Jason and I also really clicked with her and her husband which makes us feel even more comfortable.

I know that no matter what it's going to be hard to drop him/her off and the longer I stay home, the harder that might be, but I'm very happy with our decision and glad to have another task completed before Baby P arrives.

Freeport Baby Shower

Yesterday was my baby shower in my hometown of Freeport. The weather couldn't have been more perfect for the drive ... mid 50s! I even wore a maternity dress that was borrowed from my friend, Heather. My hostesses did a great job with the cake, punch, games and decorating.

Hostesses - Michelle (my sister), Heather, me, Janell, Jackie

In the first game, everyone had to take a piece of yarn and cut it to the size they thought I was around at the widest point. It was pretty funny to see how big some people's yarn was. My cousin, Angie, and friend, Trish, tied on the same size. I think they were probably only off by about 6 inches!

Here's my mom's attempt!

After the game, we had cake and punch (sorry, can't share pictures from that quite yet), and then it was on to the gifts.
How blessed is Baby P?!?! We got so many great gifts including that wonderful diaper cake made by my friend, Jackie, and her mom!

High School friends - Mandy, Patty w/ Makenzie, me, Jackie, & Amy w/ Lydia

The whole group!!

Jason and I unloaded everything today, and I can't believe how many diapers we already have! We have gotten so much great stuff so far and still have a couple more showers to go. Hopefully, we'll have everything we need when Baby P decides to make the grand entrance! The next one is in two weeks with Jason's family and friends, so, you'll be finding out the gender soon, I promise! :-)

28 weeks!

We have made it to the 3rd and final trimester!! How exciting is this? Only 12 weeks left give or take some time depending on when this baby decides to make it's entrance. And, yes, this is the same brown shirt that I started taking pictures in at 8 weeks. I'm really hoping it will stretch enough to make it through the end of this pregnancy.

Things are going really well. I still feel great, my weight gain is still within the recommended amount (although it is on the high end of the scale), and I'm pretty much feeling movement all day long! That is the most exciting part without a doubt!

I go back to the doctor next week and then start my appointments every two weeks! I think time will start flying then, especially with Thanksgiving and Christmas in there. Jason will be painting the nursery after Thanksgiving and then we'll be ready for our furniture to arrive!

Baby Showers

So sorry for the delay in updating...it has been super busy!

Thursday night was girls night for our small group. Little did I know that the girls were throwing me a surprise baby shower!! It was so sweet! They had it all - food, cake, games and gifts. They did a time theme so the gifts were based on the time of day - food time, nap time, play time, bath time, and mom & dad time! We got some fun and practical items to start collecting for the nursery. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me so I didn't get any pictures. I'm hoping to get some from the girls so I'll post them when I get them.

On Saturday morning, my friends, Melissa & Jean Ann, had my first planned shower. It was a perfectly sized group. We played a few games: 1) each person tried to come up with a baby's name for each letter of the alphabet (we might need this list since we haven't agreed on a name yet!), 2) "poopy" diaper musical chairs (kind of - the diaper was passed around the group and when the music stopped the person holding it was out...this got pretty hilarious at the end when they were practically throwing it between two people), and 3) a multi-tasking mommy game (you had to hold a "baby", talk on the phone and try to hang laundry). I'm not much for games, but these were perfect! I think everyone else enjoyed them, too.

working on our list of names

Kersten and the mommy game

I revealed the gender by opening the outfit we purchased on the day we found out (since we didn't have cake at 10am!). And then it was time for presents and food. We got a ton of great gifts and feel truly blessed by everyone that is so excited for baby Patterson.

Shauna, Debbie, me, Angie

Jennifer w/ John, Linda, Kersten, Kay, Sandee, and me

My wonderful hostesses and friends - Mel and Jean Ann

After the shower, I went to Hobby Lobby and Michaels to see if I could find some ideas for the nursery. Hobby Lobby had a few of the most perfect items for the walls, and they were 50% off!! I got everything pretty well organized (as much as I could) yesterday. Now, we are trying to decide on a paint color for the nursery and waiting for the furniture to arrive.

26 weeks!

Time is starting to actually go pretty quickly now. We're under 100 days to go, and I can't believe next week I'll be in the 3rd trimester (according to What to Expect...)! I'm finally feeling this baby move and kick on a pretty consistent basis although the past day or so has been pretty random. Let's hope it's because of a big growth spurt and not because I've put him/her in a sugar coma from Halloween! Baby Center says this babe is about 1 2/3 pounds and 14 inches long!

Our bedding arrived on Saturday and looks great!! Our next step is to decide what color to paint the walls and what accessories we want to buy. I'm trying to patiently wait for our furniture to arrive as well...that should be next month.

Happy Halloween!!!

These were just a few of our visitors tonight:

Caden

Dylan S.

Camron H., Kylee S., and Mason S.

Lindsey and a friend collecting canned goods for Eastview's panty

We love seeing all the kids dressed up in their costumes...too bad tonight was a pretty chilly one!

Glucose Tolerance Test

I guess no news is good news! At least that's what I was told on Monday. There was no call from the doctor's office so I assume that means I have passed the Glucose Tolerance Test! YEAH!! I'm really excited about that because anyone who knows me in person knows how much I love sweets! Yes, this probably would have been a great test for me and help me get my sweet tooth under control, but how could I not have cake at my own showers? I LOVE white cake! :-)

I think I'll celebrate by getting some ice cream tonight?!

25 weeks...tomorrow

Bedrest wasn't too bad, although I probably wasn't as strict as I should have been. I went to our small group on Thursday night, a book party on Friday night, dinner at a friends on Saturday night, and church on Sunday - otherwise I was in the house on the couch. Of course, these were all events that I could be sitting down at so I thought it was okay.

My OB appointment this morning went well. She checked my cervical length first - holding steady at 3.6cm, heartrate was 148 and I was measuring right on at 25cm. Last week I measured 26 (at 24 weeks) so maybe I just had a full bladder or something. Today was also my glucose test. It wasn't nearly as nasty as I thought it would be. They had the orange drink and it was nice and cold - results should be back by the end of the week, but they don't call unless your blood sugar is too high or blood count too low. So, let's home for no phone call!

Next appointment is in 4 weeks!