Week #26 - Update

How Am I Feeling?
I am just 2 weeks away from my third trimester! As you can tell from the photos in the last post, I'm definitely showing it!
I am still feeling alright, and this week have been enjoying a little break from heartburn! I'm not doing anything differently, but I've only had hearburn a couple times this week, versus several times a day and very severe. Chewing gum or snacking on Swedish Fish after I eat have seemed to help keep the acid reflux down, so I'm going to keep that up!

The Baby Room
The next few weeks will be very busy for us as we continue to prepare and transition the game room/office into Silly Baby's room. The futon and computer is still in there. We recently purchased a Dell laptop that we will be getting in just a couple weeks. So we will just toss the computer desk and store the laptop in a bag next to our couch. Quite a nice space-saver!
The futon we are going to see if it will still fit in the Baby Room or move it out into the living room, replacing our loveseat. We're not working with a lot of space, so this may be a challenge. But having to take apart the futon and transport it to somewhere we can store it would be quite a hassle.
The Silly Baby closet was cleared of all of our things a few months ago, and has been filling fast with baby items already! We have already received some clothes and toys for Christmas on top of our hand-me-downs from Pat & Lorie and Josh & Tina (thanks!!!!).
Our main task right now is to get the baby room painted. We've had busy weekends and many more coming up, so it's just trying to find a weekend clear of any events/gatherings to get it all done. We are penciling in March 7-8 as painting weekend, unless something else comes up. Our goal is to have the room clear and painted by the end of March, since April is booked with Showers and other events - and our furniture (crib & dresser) are scheduled to be delivered between April 5-25. We also want the room ready to be filled with the gifts from the Showers on April 4th and 25th.
The plan is by May to have the entire room set up and ready to go - just waiting for Silly Baby to come home :)

The Hospital
As mentioned previously, our delivery hospital is St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates. It is part of Alexian Brothers. The hospital is located on Barrington Road between Golf & Higgins. If those streets sound familiar, yes, that is less than a mile from our condo!
We have completed 3 weeks of our Childbirth Preparation classes, last week being the tour of the Maternity Ward!
We will be in the same room for Labor & Delivery, which is great! The rooms are very nice and large, so for those of you who will be waiting at the hospital for Silly Baby to be born, this is probably where you'll first meet Silly Baby! However, I am only in there for an hour or so after delivery.
From there I will be moved to a Mother/Baby room. I will recover there for 2 full days after delivery (the delivery day counts as Day 0). These rooms are semi-private and quite small. The hospital will try and match me up with a patient who is checking out that day or the next day, so hopefully I will not have a roomate the entire time. In any case, the room is not condusive to large groups of visitors at once, so we may have to be on a rotation system if several friends/family happen to come to visit around the same time.
There is a small waiting room right outside the Maternity Ward, but for more comfortable and roomy waiting, we suggest waiting on the main floor. The Maternity Ward is right off the elevator on the 2nd floor, and the 1st floor waiting room is right off the elevator as well. This waiting area is very large, complete with several big TV's and even a full Starbucks area with a fireplace!
We were really looking forward to the Maternity Ward tour to help us envision the birth, and it has helped me so much already to be able to picture everything.

Coming Up!
Friday, March 6 - I will be taking the Glucose Tolerance Test. Wish me luck!
Saturday, April 4 - Milwaukee Shower! The invites are going in the mail this week, so watch your mailboxes!

Please feel free to post any questions you have for us on this blog and I'll do my best to answer them!

BABY BUMP PICTURES

WEEK #19 (January 5)























WEEK #22 (January 26)






















WEEK #24 (February 10)---and yes, I am eating cheese in this picture :)

WEEK #25 (February 14)

WEEK #24: The 5th Dr.'s Appt!

February 6
This was our 5th Doctor's Appointment.
This one was not as exciting as the Week #20 appointment with the ultrasound and all that. Tim came with me again.
In this appointment, they measured the length of my uterus - it measured at 24cm long. That was quite a "whoa" moment for me. Since a uterus starts as the size of a fist, that is amazing to me! I think it's because we always focus on how big the baby is getting in my belly, I forgot to think that my uterus is growing even more!
We listened to Silly Baby's heartbeat again - it's getting a lot stronger. I read that this week Tim can maybe hear it in my belly! Silly Baby's heart rate was 140. And for all of you old wives' tales followers - that puts Silly Baby right between a boy and a girl! Myth says a girl's heart rate is 140 or above and a boys is below 140. So s/he's keeping it a good mystery for us!
My next doctor's appointment will be March 6. I will be taking the glucose tolerance test, so it'll be a long appointment. That check-up will also be my last in the Second Trimester, as my Third Trimester begins just two days later!

Silly Baby Gender Predictor Quiz!

One main reason I enjoy not finding out Silly Baby's gender ahead of time is playing the guessing games, and waiting in suspense to see if I'm right.
While I lean more towards feeling it is a girl, Tim doesn't have an inkling.
Apparantely, you readers are predicting a girl too, based on the poll on the left here.

SO since we did not find out Silly Baby's gender last month, I thought to tide everyone over - I'd take a gender predictor quiz. Largely based on Old Wives' Tales, I answered a series of questions. Some were difficult because it's hard to know what to answer. Like where I carry my weight, I'm built in the way that most of my weight is in my hips and if I crave meats & cheeses - as many of you know cheese is my favorite food! But since this is just for fun...
Here are the results!!

Congratulations!

You have a 39% chance of having a boy. And you have a 60% chance of having a girl.

And Here's Why...

• You are carrying the extra weight around the hips and bottom, so it's a girl.
• The hair on your legs is not growing any faster during your preganacy, so it's a girl.
• Sleeping in a bed with your pillow to the south indicates that you will be having a girl.
• Your feet are not colder than they were before pregnancy. You are having a girl.
• You refuse to eat the heel of a loaf of bread. You are having a girl.
• Dad-to-be hasn't been gaining weight along with Mom-to-be, so it will be a girl.
• The maternal grandmother doesn't have gray hair (dyed or natural), so a girl will be born.
• Since the sum of the mother's age at conception and the number of the month of conception is an odd number, it will be a girl.
• A needle on a thread held over you belly moves from side-to-side, so it will be a girl.
• Your urine is a dull yellow color, so you will have a girl.
• You are craving sweets, which means that it is a girl.
• Your nose hasn't changed during pregnancy, which indicates a girl.
• Your baby's heart rate is 140 or more beats per minute, so it's a girl.
• Your belly looks like a watermelon, so it's a girl.

• You have no desire for orange juice, so it's a boy.
• You are having headaches, so it's a boy.
• You show the back of your hand, so it's a boy.
• You use the handle, so it's a boy.
• Boys are carried low. You are going to have a boy.
• You didn't have morning sickness early in pregnancy, so it will be a boy.
• You are looking particularly good during pregnancy. Therefore, it must be a boy, because girls steal their mother's looks.
• Your chest development has not been very dramatic during pregnancy. You should expect a boy.
• You have been craving meats or cheeses, so it is a boy.

Gender Predictor – Will Your Baby Be a Boy or a Girl? - Results

Are you having a boy or a girl? Use our Gender Predictor tool (based on the Chinese lunar calendar) to find out!

View >>