28 Weeks

This week...

Baby Bell is the size of a... eggplant...already showing her purple pride! She is weighing in at just over two pounds and measures between 13 and 15 inches. Her main focus is to continue developing her lungs and brain, while adding on the pounds!

My bump is... getting bigger each and every week - even though I sometimes don't know how that is possible! She continues to grow and move around as she pleases, forgetting at times that I still need room for my lungs, my ribs, my stomach, my bladder - ya know, nothing too important! Despite the growing pains, I continue to feel so grateful and blessed every time I feel her kick or turn over. Even though she hasn't been born yet, I already feel like I am getting to know her personality through her movements. I am definitely going to miss carrying her with me all day, every day!

I have been feeling... as any pregnant woman would feel at 28 weeks - awkward and uncomfortable. Along with the belly growth comes some aches and pains and general feelings of uncomfortableness, especially when I am trying to sleep. I have also had a sore throat for the past few weeks, which I had blamed on having a cold due to changes in the weather. But after our most recent sonogram, I am starting to think my sore throat was more connected to the fact that heart burn and acid reflux are common pregnancy symptoms when your baby has lots of hair. In case you missed the last post - apparently Baby Bell is going to have lots and lots of hair! I have already begun the search for super cute headbands and bows.. :)

I have been craving... nothing to specific. Michael and I have been doing great with our commitment to cook more at home and not eat out as much. I have been able to try out some great new recipes and some old favorites! Plus, it is officially fall, which means it is completely acceptable to eat crockpot soup multiple times a week - so excited about that! Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream after dinner has become an every night routine - no complaints about that either!

Our favorite thing has been... officially making it to the third trimester! Wahoo! Happy dance time! Twenty eight weeks is a milestone in pregnancy because it is the time when most babies reach viability. This means if Baby Bell were born now, she would be really premature and have a long fight ahead of her, but she would also have a great chance at surviving…over 90%! Of course, we aren’t hoping for her to be born anytime soon - she can take all of the time that she needs! There is still lots and lots to be done!

Also on my list of favorites has been the building of Baby Bell's library. I will be completely honest...I have a "baby-book-buying problem". This problem is compounded by the fact that Grandma Schultz also has a "baby-book-buying problem". However, because of these "problems" we have been able to read a new book as a family almost every night for the past few weeks - and I absolutely love this time! I can't wait to continue reading as a family - I am determined that she is going to be a reader, just like her Mama! Our favorite book thus far...The Day the Crayons Quit.

This past week I also completed my glucose screening for gestational diabetes, which measures the levels of glucose (sugar) in my blood. The test was simple and (relatively) painless. I had to quickly drink a sample of Glucola (basically an orange flavored sweetened drink) that contains 50g of glucose. It didn't taste too terrible going down, but had an awful aftertaste! I then waited a full hour for my body to absorb the glucose before the doctor took a sample of my blood. The test for gestational diabetes came back negative - which is awesome - however, the results did show that I am slightly anemic, which is very common at this stage of pregnancy. We will just be adding an iron supplement to my prenatal vitamins and that should fix the problem!

We are looking forward to... Baby Bell's furniture arriving this weekend - a crib, dresser with a changing table topper, and a bookshelf (for all those books!). Still no rocking chair/glider yet - I just haven't been able to commit! We are really looking forward seeing the early pieces of her nursery come together! In addition, we have a baby shower coming up the second weekend in October with our families! We are excited to see everyone and get to spend some time celebrating our little one!

Baby Bell's 28 Week Sonogram

On Monday, we had our 28 Week Sonogram followup. Most expecting parents do not have a sonogram at 28 weeks, but due to the concerns with my low-lying placenta, we were fortunate to be able to see our little girl for the third time - and let me tell you, there is nothing more exciting!

She has grown so much since we last saw her at 20 weeks! Her whole body used to fit on the sonogram screen, and now we can just see parts of her at a time. Everything looked great, including a solid heartbeat of 148 beats per minute. We did learn something new about Baby Bell - apparently she is going to be born with a head full of hair. The sonographer was actually surprised by how much hair she already had! I was bald until I was over a year old, so Michael is completely responsible for this characteristic! At least we will not have to tape bows to her head! :) Here are a couple more photos of our little girl...

Profile of Baby Bell - Apparently she likes to keep
her feet near her face!

Closeup of Baby Bell's face - So dramatic,
with her hand resting on her forehead!

After we spent some time watching Baby Bell on the screen, the sonographer actually had to start looking for my placenta - which was the entire purpose of the visit. Unfortunately, she did not have good news for us. After lots of prodding and searching, the sonographer determined that my placenta was actually closer to my cervix than they had originally estimated - essentially right on the edge. The hope was that as my uterus grew over the last eight weeks, the placenta would subsequently move higher in the uterus, but that has not happened. While there is still a chance the placenta could move, Michael and I are now working on coming to terms with the fact that Baby Bell will likely be delivered by caesarean section. We will obviously do what is in the best interest of the baby, but I hadn't realized until that moment how much I wanted to have a vaginal birth.

We have been rescheduled to do a Level 2 Perinatal Sonogram at 32 Weeks. So until then, we will just be waiting to see what happens!

26 Weeks

A few days late, but here is our update from last Thursday, September 11th!

This week...

Baby Bell is the size of a... head of lettuce! She is now over a foot long, and should weigh anywhere between a pound and a half and two pounds. She is starting to put on her baby fat, which will make her super cute and squishy!

My bump is... feeling large. For the first time in my pregnancy (and probably in my life), I started to feel a little self conscious about my weight gain. My doctor has said that gaining anywhere from 25-35 pounds during pregnancy is good. Right now, I am "on track" to gain closer to the 35 pound range. While 35 pounds didn't sound like a lot in the beginning, it is different once you start to see the numbers on the scale. Hopefully this is a weird phase of self-consciousness that passes!

Also, speaking of this growing bump, I have been getting frustrated while getting dressed in the mornings (usually when I am running late for work) and all of my clothes no longer fit right. However, I recognize that this is completely my fault - I have been avoiding maternity clothes like they are the plague. I doubt I will be able to hold off much longer.

I have been feeling... excited! We have finally found some time to focus on all things "baby" - including picking out some decorations for the nursery and registering for baby items! It has been fun to envision becoming a family of three! And now that Baby Bell can hear us, I spend a lot of time just talking to her - telling her about what I am doing, about how my day has gone, etc. Michael sometimes thinks I am crazy because I just walk around the house talking to her about anything and everything, but that is okay. When she kicks, I know she is awake, and I feel like I should just keep her in the loop with what is going on... :)

I have been craving... anything that we make at home. With the move and renovations, Michael and I had been eating out A TON - like every night a week for three weeks. Our kitchen is finally in order, and I have no plans to eat take-out anytime soon. So whether it is a PB sandwich or a full dinner meal, I am just happy to be eating things that we have made in our kitchen! For breakfast, blueberry muffins have been a recent favorite of mine!

Our favorite thing has been... seeing Baby Bell's room finally painted. I am not sure if I have already mentioned the nursery colors, but we decided on navy, grey, coral, and white. And elephants. I am super excited about the elephants. If you see the registry, I went a little crazy with the elephants. But I am confident it will come together and be super cute! Here are some pictures of her newly painted room - including her first elephant gift from Grandma and Grandpa Schultz!

We are looking forward to... spending lots of time with family and friends during a very busy September! We have another sonogram scheduled during Week 28 and then we will officially be in the third trimester! These next three months are going to fly by!

24 Weeks

Once again, I am a week late on my 24 Week post from August 28th. Michael and I were moving into our new home this past weekend, so updating the blog fell a little lower on the priority list this week. But at least we got a picture in on time!

This week...

Baby Bell is the size of a... cantaloupe! She is almost one foot long, and has crossed the threshold of being weighed in pounds instead of ounces. While her weight is hard to estimate, she should be between a pound and a pound and a half. We can feel her moving every day, multiple times a day - which has been awesome! 

My bump is... becoming rounder and more normal. I am getting used to having a bigger belly and have grown accustom to using my bump as a resting spot for my arms and hands. I am starting to notice changes in my center of gravity, which can sometimes cause clumsiness, but it is not too bad!

I have been feeling... exhausted! I am so glad that we are officially moved in to our new home and that our home renovation projects are coming to a close. It will be nice to be able to slow down a little bit and focus more on preparing for the baby! Otherwise, no complaints - I am feeling happy and healthy!

I have been craving... desserts! During our last grocery trip, I picked out seven different dessert items from the freezer aisle! Probably not the healthiest decision, but that is alright.

Our favorite thing has been... finishing up the renovations in our home and finally moving in! Baby Bell's room is one of the few rooms left to be painted and I can't wait to see it come together! We also got to go to Manhattan for K-State's first football game of the season! It is always fun to be back in Manhattan and hanging out with family. A Wildcat victory made it the perfect weekend!

We are looking forward to... venturing back to Colorado this upcoming weekend! We had bought tickets to the BMW Championship PGA golf tournament about a year ago, so we are still going to go! Plus, we get to see my sister and Michael's brother and family! It should be an awesome weekend!