Going-Home Outfit

We are in the final stretch of the pregnancy! Our little man will be here in just a few weeks. And that's left us with a shorter to-do list, which is encouraging.

One thing topping the list was to get him his going-home outfit. My Mom and Dad wanted to buy it for him, but wanted us to pick it out.

So my Mom, myself and Ava did a little shopping this past weekend and with John's "vote" over the phone, we found the perfect one! Thanks, Mom and Dad!

I absolutely cannot wait to dress us our little guy in his new outfit. He's going to be so precious!

Blankets and Burp Cloths!

You might call it nesting. And that's most probably what it is.

I was on a roll with making Jon Jon some receiving blankets and burp cloths. It was a lot of fun to do because I found myself really having time to think about him while I sewed.

I can't wait till he's here to use them!

Jon Jon's Nursery

We finally completed our sweet baby boy's nursery! I must admit, it was a little different thinking "boy" when I was used to pink walls and butterflies in Ava's room. But once I got into the swing of the western theme we decided on, it was a blast!

A big thank you to my Dad for his helping hands with the painting and to my Mom for offering to wash all the clothes and help me hang them up and organize them!

And, of course, a HUGE thank you to Big Sis Ava. Without her sweet hands lending their help in her brother's nursery, none of it would have that special touch!

The "before"...though a true "before" would've been a very junky room!


Let the painting begin!


Thanks, Dad!


John and Ava setting up the bed!






Helping Mommy wash some of Jon Jon's bibs and blankets...














Here sits "Teddy," Cousin Harry's 61-year-old teddy bear from when he was a child. Mona, his wife, wanted to give the baby this bear, which is such a blessing to us. We'll always know that Harry's watching from Heaven over our little boy! Thank you, Mona!

To Catch You Up to Speed

Of course since the last "appointment update" I've had several more appointments. They've all been pretty uneventful, hence the lack of necessary blog entries.

At my 28-week mark I had to go in for my glucose screening. The one-hour one resulted a little high, so I had to go back for the dreaded three-hour one. Equipped with a book in hand, it wasn't all that bad. Now the drink I had to ingest? Yeah, well that's a different story.

The results came back pretty good. I had one abnormal number, which didn't necessarily classify me as having gestational diabetes, but it was enough cause of concern for my doctor to send me to a nutritionist. And so I went. And I've been doing better.

My most recent appointment was yesterday (February 2nd) for my 34-week checkup. Once again....uneventful. Yay! Jon Jon's heartbeat continues to sound good and he continues to measure great....and big! :)

Next I will go for my 36-week checkup, and then I will see my doctor on a weekly basis. Wow...where did this pregnancy go?!?

And March 9th It Is!

Many of you already know that I'm having a scheduled c-section.

Well we finally have a date to share....MARCH 9, 2010!

This is a special date for us because it would've been my Granny's birthday. So it'll be nice for Jon Jon to be born on this date.

It's a little different to know exactly when I'll deliver the little guy. Of course he could decide to come early like his big sister, so I suppose it's still a guessing game. But if all goes as planned, I will be admitted into the hospital at 5 am that morning and will have him around 8 am. Woohoo!

24-Week Ultrasound

A month after the "big" ultrasound I had another one. This was because the baby was in a breached position during the first viewing so they couldn't get accurate measurements on his head, heart, etc.

He looked perfectly healthy and is a growing boy!

See the pictures below!

Definitely a boy!




Footprints!




Profile....look closely and you can see his bent legs.


Full face...


Head profile...

Lapse in Blogging--Oops!

Obviously it's been SEVERAL months since I've blogged about the pregnancy. This only means that we've been extremely busy getting everything ready for our little guy to arrive.

One of our biggest projects was adding on a playroom to the house. And we did so with much success and much appreciation because, quite honestly, we've run out of room in this house! Agh!

Another big task at hand was clearing out Jon Jon's room. This was the room that collected anything and everything for the two and a half years that we've lived here. So I had to start from the bottom up with finding every little thing a place of its own. But it's done, and now we have a sweet nursery taking its place (pictures in another post!).

And the Excitement Continues...

The "big reveal" today was only the beginning of our celebration!

Before we left the ultrasound room, my Dad pulled out a blue teddy bear because he just "knew" he would have a grandson. Of course when asked where the pink teddy bear was, he pulled that one out, too! Hehe!

They did the same thing for Ava, but this time Ava got to keep the spare pink bear for herself. She was very excited about that! She still doesn't quite understand what's going on with having a baby brother, but she does understand the excitement taking place!

After we left the doctor's office we headed out to celebrate at Texas Roadhouse. The deal was supposed to be that if it was a boy, we were going to eat at Parrain's; if it was a girl, we'd eat at Mike Anderson's. But John thought it appropriate to celebrate the news of a son at a steakhouse. We gotta get that boy used to his steak and potatoes early, right?

My parents surprised us with a sweet gift. We collect Willow Tree figurines. When we found out Ava was a girl, they gave us one that symbolized parenthood. And they tied a sweet pink bow to hers (with a blue one in the bag "just in case!"). This time they gave us another figurine, but instead of a bow, my Mom tied a blue ribbon on the baby to look like a tie! It was hilarious!

They also had a gift from Big Sis Ava to give to her baby brother. It was a sweet hat and booties. And Big Sis, of course, got her own gift...a purse, which she always loves!

After dinner my Mom and I continued our tradition of shopping as soon as we find out what the baby is! So off to Babies R Us and Burlington we went. Unfortunately boy clothes aren't quite as cute or plentiful as girl clothes, but we dug deep and found some sweet outfits for our little Jon Jon.

Enjoy the pictures highlighting our big day!

A proud big sister showing off the blue teddy bear in the waiting room...




Thank you, Mom and Dad! We love this special gift!


Texas Roadhouse...


We had to order the Baby Blossom....isn't that only appropriate? We thought so!


Ava's gift to her baby brother...


Trying to wear his hat!


Wearing her Dora surprise from MiMi after our shopping trip...


All of the goodies we found while shopping!


Another gift from Ava to her baby brother....and I'm sure she'll be playing with this sooner than we think!


Proud MiMi and Papere....now they'll have two granddaughters and two grandsons!


Sporting her new Big Sister PJs she got from her buddy, Rex, for her birthday!

Our Baby Boy's Name...

Many of you may already be aware of what the baby's name will be.

John is a junior, so we are excited to continue the name. That said, our little guy will be named John, III.

Mommy will call him Jon Jon and/or Johnny. That way I'll be able to distinguish between the hubby and the son.

Hey, I just said "son!" I've never had one of those before!

IT'S A BOY!

Hopefully most of you are aware that we will soon welcome a baby boy into our family in March!

According to the poll I had on this blog, 80% guessed it was a boy! So kudos to you!

What a great day filled with wonderful news! Here's how it went down.

My Mom and Dad met us at the doctor's office to get a glimpse of the ultrasound. My mother-in-law couldn't make it due to a work conflict, but she was on the speaker phone when the tech shared the news! We were all beyond ecstatic!

Soon after she shared the news, the tech began her overview of how the baby is developing. They do this at the 20-week mark to make sure he is growing as he should. Isn't it neat to be able to say "he?" :)

I am happy to say that everything checked out fine. His heartbeat was 140 and he currently weighs 13 ounces.

After she wrapped up the half-hour-long ultrasound we began our phone calls! Well actually I called my brother, Mike, from inside the ultrasound room because I couldn't wait to tell him he was going to have a nephew!

Then I got to see my doctor. She listened to his heartbeat, which sounded great, and answered the few questions I had. She said that at my next appointment I will have another ultrasound due to the baby being in a breeched position. They couldn't get an accurate reading on all parts, so to be thorough, they'll take another look in a month.

Check out the ultrasound pictures below! I'll try to explain as best I can what you're looking at. Thankfully the tech labeled most of them.

Pretty self-explanatory! IT'S A BOY!


Arms covering his face...


Hand covering his face...


Another shot of the arms...


A foot!


Another picture of the foot...


The one on the left is the nose and lips (though I don't see it!) and the one on the right is his cute face...


Different shot of the foot...


Legs!

It's a ???

We are excited to announce that we are having a BOY and are absolutely ecstatic about the news! Pictures to come later...we're going shopping!

Today's THE Day...Boy or Girl?!?

I honestly didn't think I could make it this far without first going to an ultrasound office to get a glimpse of this baby! But we made it, and now the official ultrasound will take place today at 3 pm! I'm sure they'll be late (what doctor's office isn't?), but at least we'll be that much closer to the ultrasound machine that will share the wonderful news of what we are having!

I will be honest. It does not matter to me at all if it's a boy or a girl. When I was pregnant with Ava, I secretly wanted a girl first so that I could play dress up! Ha! And my wish was granted. She's the most fun baby doll I've ever had!

If we have a boy it would complete the family "picture." And John would have a fishing and workshop buddy. If we have another girl, it would be fun to see two sisters grow up so close in age.

Bottom line...we pray for a healthy baby, boy or girl! Whatever the case, God has graciously blessed us with another miracle to love and spoil.

Stay tuned....we'll update everyone as soon as possible!

Fun Baby Facts at 20 Weeks

It's gettin' good now!

- The baby may be roused from sleep by external sounds or movements.
- The baby's hair will be visible, though with no pigment yet.
- Even though the eyelids are fused, the baby is making blinking movements.
- The spine, ribs and long bones of the arms and legs have hardened into bone.
- The baby now weighs about 10.5 ounces and is about 10 inches from head to foot. But with this child and his/her tall genes, he/she's probably 20 inches! Ha!

Halfway There!

Today I am 20 weeks. This translates to one half of the pregnancy down, one half to go. Though if things turn out the way they did when I was preggo with Ava, I will not go another 20 weeks....just another 18. Hey, I'm cool with that.

A Whatchamacallit?

I am part of a group at church called MOPS. It stands for Mothers of Preschoolers. It's a great organization of wonderful ladies. I truly feel as though I've found my peers. Many of them are also stay-at-home Moms who exist to provide the best life for their children.

Anyway, they do fun things during the year. And here's one as an example. At the beginning of each meeting they ask if anyone's pregnant. I missed the last meeting where they did this, so this past Thursday I had my turn to share the news that I was 17 weeks pregnant. You then get to pick a string out of a bucket. At the end of the string is a candy bar, and that candy bar is supposed to indicate to you what you're having!

Well I happened to pick a Whatchamacallit candy bar! So that means that a prediction couldn't be made at that time. I thought that was quite funny and very creative.

If any blog readers out there are interested in checking out one of our MOPS meetings, we'd love to have you join us. I guarantee you'll love it! Let me know if you want some info.

16-Week Checkup

I had my monthly checkup with my doctor Monday afternoon.

She listened for the heartbeat and detected it immediately with the Doppler. It was absolutely amazing to hear such a strong heartbeat. She said the baby had to be right there to get such a good reading. Our little one is cooperating already! Woohoo!

Everything else checked out just fine. I inquired about getting the flu shots, both the seasonal one and the H1N1 one. She highly encouraged me to get both of them.

My next appointment is the BIG appointment! :) We will find out on Monday, October 26th at 3 pm whether we have a little girl or boy!

Let the countdown begin!

Flutters!

I will officially say that on Sunday, September 27th, I felt the baby's first flutters! I think I felt it before then, too, but I wasn't 100% sure. On Sunday night I put my hand on my belly and concentrated. And sure enough I felt the baby! It was a wonderful moment!

On Monday night John tried out his luck. He felt the little one move, too! We're so excited!

Baby's First Blanket

The sewing bug has hit. This is a big deal because my Mom has always wanted me to pick up that hobby, but I never thought much of it due to my lack of patience! But it's important that I at least learn some of the skill since it goes back to my great grandmother's days who used to sew carnival gowns and wedding dresses.

Well I am happy to report that I bought my very own sewing machine about two months ago and have many projects to my name now, mostly for Ava! She has somewhere around ten pillowcase dresses! What can I say....they're easy!

These last couple of days I decided to branch out a bit and make something for the new baby. And so a baby blanket was born! I can honestly say that I enjoyed this project. It took me a bit longer than a pillowcase dress, but the upside to that was that I got to think the entire time I sewed the blanket about our sweet baby wrapped in it when he/she graces us with his/her presence!

Anyway, here's the final product...

Fun Baby Facts at 14 Weeks

Now it's gettin' good and interesting...

- The baby can now squint, frown, grimace, possibly suck his/her thumb and even make pee pee!
- He/She measures about 3 1/2 inches--about the size of a lemon--and weighs about 1 1/2 ounces.
- The baby's toenails begin to grow from their nail beds.

Successfully Entering the Second Trimester

I am 14 weeks, which means I have officially and successfully begun my second trimester. This is a big deal because the chances of miscarriage have dropped considerably at this point. I'm also supposed to get some of that energy back. Crossing my fingers...