7 Short Weeks...

Wow! Has it really been over a month since I last blogged??? If the speed at which time is passing here lately is any indication of what is to come, then it feels like Calleigh will be here tomorrow! Honestly, it's just plain crazy to me how fast my entire pregnancy has gone. It felt like an eternity to get pregnant and now in just a few short weeks it will all be over... insane!

To try and catch you up, Travis and I took our Preparation for Childbirth class at the end of January. It was a really good class... even Travis was impressed and learned a lot :) Our instructors were very helpful and I can only hope to have one of them as my nurse when Calleigh comes. They were so good at answering all the "new mom and dad" questions we all had. We got to take a tour of the labor and delivery floor, as well as the nursery, learned CPR, how to swaddle an infant, and how to change a diaper... the dad's were pretty entertaining during this part!

Just a few days after our class we had our 29 week appointment with Dr. Godat... everything went great! During the ultrasound he confirmed that she was still a girl :) and that she was growing healthy and strong at around 3 pounds. The first picture is her sweet little profile... the other is her chunky little leg! Once again, we were a week late on the belly pic, but week 30 is the third picture.

Fast forward three weeks, and we are at our 32 week appointment with Dr. Godat (this last Wednesday). And other than hearing Calleigh's heartbeat, it was pretty uneventful. Dr. Godat is still pleased with how everything is progressing. Our appointments are getting closer together now, which means she is getting closer to being here, and I can't wait! Here is our week 32 picture. Notice how the first trimester tiredness has officially come back around full force? :)

Over the next three weeks we have a LOT going on, so I fully expect the time flying trend to continue. This coming Saturday I have my Breast Feeding class at the hospital. I am very curious and anxious to see what all I learn! The weekend after that begins the "showering" of our precious baby girl. I'm really excited about this too! We are so blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives that want to help us prepare for our bundle of joy! On March 6 we have our 35 week appointment with Dr. Godat, and then after that it will be spring break... YEAH!!! Which means I'll be starting up my acupuncture sessions again and putting the finishing touches on the nursery. It's my goal to have everything ready to go by the end of spring break (nursery ready, car seat installed, hospital bags packed, etc.). Here's to hoping my plans are God's plans! :) Until next time...

Baby Moon Charleston

This past weekend Travis and I headed to Charleston, South Carolina, for one last get-a-way before Calleigh's arrival. We had such a wonderful time! Charleston is a very charming city with beautiful old homes, to die for delicious food, and pure southern hospitality around every corner. It was the perfect place for a romantic weekend away! Here are just a few pictures from the trip...

While we were gone to Charleston my mom stayed at the house with the dogs. When we got back on Sunday, she helped me get a couple of things done in the nursery... thanks mom! We rearranged the furniture and then got the tree decal placed on the wall while Bella supervised from the rocker :) The tree looks absolutely adorable! Gigi finished up the canvas paintings this weekend too. Everything is really starting to come together. I still have a sizable list of decorating to-do's, but at least there is progress!

It's hard to believe that we are in the third trimester... time has gone by so fast. We go back to Dr. Godat next Wednesday, and I can't wait to see my baby girl on the big screen! She's going to look so different from when we saw her in early November. I've still been having Braxton Hicks contractions several times throughout each day and my sleeping hasn't improved much, so I guess the uncomfortableness
is officially here to stay :( O-well, it will all be worth it once I get her in my arms! Below is our belly picture from week 27. After our appointment next week I will have another belly pic to share, as well as a new picture of our sweet little Calleigh Abrielle!

Until next time...

Excited??? Just a little!!!

The ball is really rolling now! Quite a bit has taken place in the last two weeks... Calleigh's bedding came in, the vinyl tree decal and wall quote we ordered for the walls came in, so did the pictures we had taken back in October, and we also had our week 25 appointment with Dr. Godat. Needless to say, I've got plenty to do in the nursery over the next couple of weeks :)

Let's start with Calleigh's bedding... we LOVE it! Her Nana, my mom, bought it for her. Her bedding set included: the comforter, bumper, dust ruffle, fitted sheet, toy bag, pillow, diaper stacker, and 2 valances! For right now, it is pseudo placed in her room (so we could get an idea of what it will really look like), but still needs to be washed up, ironed, and then all put back in the proper places.

The next things that came in were some of the wall decor items. We ordered an adorable vinyl decal of a tree with owls and birds to place in one corner of her room that I hope will be her little reading nook/play area. We also ordered a scripture quote, in lavender letters, to place over her crib. The scripture is one of my favorites: For this child I have prayed, and the Lord has granted the desires of my heart. From 1 Samuel 1:27. Below the quote will be a framed picture of one of the maternity pictures that was taken back in October. I'm still on the hunt for the perfect picture frame, but below is a sneak peek of what it should look like once it's on the wall correctly :)

Some of Calleigh's other wall decor items are still in progress... her Gigi, Travis's mom, is painting her two canvas owls and one canvas bird that will match the owls and birds from the tree decal. Here is what Gigi has so far... aren't they precious! I can't wait to see them when they are all complete!

Back in October, Travis and I had some pictures taken by LOVE PIC LOVE studio. They weren't designed to be maternity pictures, but once the photographer learned we were pregnant, he wanted to take a few maternity shots anyways. We were super pleased with how they all turned out! The bottom picture is the one that will be in Calleigh's nursery.

Then came our week 25 appointment with Dr. Godat. That morning they did the Glucose test, which I am glad to say came back with great results! No gestational diabetes here! AND somehow, I only gained 1 pound between Thanksgiving and Christmas! I am still right on track with my weight and just hope that it stays that way :) At the appointment, I let Dr. Godat know some of the new things I have been experiencing... like how my lower belly will get super duper tight and then I'll feel this great amount of pressure... almost like Calleigh's about to pop out! He said that I was experiencing Braxton Hicks... and since it was a tad early for that in his opinion, that when we go back on January 25 (29 weeks) he will do an exam and a sono just to make sure everything is okay. I also told him how strangely quick that I've gotten pretty uncomfortable and how I haven't been sleeping well... at all :( Maybe two to three solid hours at a time... and again, he said that it was a little early since we are still only in the second trimester, but was just my body getting ready for little Miss Calleigh. He didn't seem overly worried about it all though, so I'm trying not to either... but I just have this eerie feeling that Calleigh is going to want to make her debut earlier than expected. I sure hope I'm wrong! Here is our belly pic from that week :)

To top all the excitement from the last two weeks off, Travis surprised me earlier this week with a Baby Moon! We are heading to Charleston, South Carolina, this next weekend for one last getaway before Calleigh comes! How awesome is he??? We have both been wanting to visit Charleston for a while now, so we are pretty pumped. This next week/weekend I will be taking lots of pictures to share, as well as our week 27 picture, so stay tuned! Until next time...

And we're...

making progress! Calleigh's nursery is slowly coming together... and the more it comes together the more excited I get for her to be here! Her room was painted two weeks ago, the carpets cleaned four days after that, and then the furniture moved in and the crib put together last Saturday morning. Right now it is very beige, but plenty of color will be added in the next couple of weeks! The lighting in the pictures isn't the best, but you get the idea :)

The same weekend that Calleigh's room got painted was the same weekend that Travis was finally able to feel our baby girl move! I think it kind of weirded him out/startled him at first, but now he enjoys tapping on my belly and then feeling her squirm in response. Bed time is always the best... we still use the fetal doppler every couple of nights (thanks to Aunt Amy!) and he's always amazed at how strong and loud her heartbeat is. I am so thrilled and blessed to have a wonderful husband that's as excited as I am about our little miracle! 

We ended up forgetting to take the week 21 picture, but do have week 23... and there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of change between 19 and 23, so you're not missing much :) 

Next Tuesday I go in for our 25 week appointment and the glucose tolerance test... I'm a little nervous. While I've tried to eat better over the past month, I definitely haven't been perfect :) It's been hard with both Thanksgiving AND Christmas during this time frame! After our appointment next week, I'll be sure to post another update... and hopefully by then a little more will have taken place in the nursery! Until next time...

Kicks and Squirms

Our baby girl is a mover... and we've known this since just about day one! At every ultrasound we've had, except for the very first one, we have seen her move. And here recently, I have finally been able to feel that movement :) I started feeling "flutters" about 2-3 weeks ago. Then on Thanksgiving morning, BOOM! She straight up kicked me! I was sitting at the breakfast table going through the Black Friday sale ads and it caught me completely off guard. I literally jumped back in my seat and I'm sure had a look of great confusion on my face, lol. Once it dawned on me that is was Calleigh kicking, I immediately called Travis over hoping it would happen again so that he could feel it. Unfortunately, that didn't happen.

Then on Saturday night it happened again! I was sitting on the couch watching a movie when she began squirming all over the place. We tried again for Travis to be able to feel her too, but every time he tried she would stop... little stinker :) She kept me up until about midnight that night moving around. Since then, I have been able to feel her move everyday. I love the little reminders she gives me that she's there... and just hope that Travis is able to feel her soon too!

Decisions Decisions

So it's been awhile... again :) But that's okay, because this time we have plenty of updates! Over the past couple of weeks we have been making decisions left and right! We've decided on the paint color for Calleigh's room, picked out her bedding (purple, chocolate, tan, and cream polka dots and stripes! - not too girly!), and have even started a registry "must haves" list for when we register over Christmas break. Below are pictures of the paint color and her bedding. Her room is getting painted next weekend and then the carpet will be cleaned a few days after that. I can't wait to get her furniture in place and see her room all put together!

Last week Calleigh got her first two diaper bags! Her Gigi, Travis's mom, made one of them, and my love affair with Coach prompted the second one. Aren't they both super cute???

During all this time, week 19 came and went quickly. Below is belly pic for that week. Apparently my iphone only takes blurry pictures these days! Sorry!

Yesterday was our 21 week appointment with Dr. Godat. Other than hearing Calleigh's sweet little heart beat, it was uneventful. We go back at the end of December for the Glucose test... I'm not super excited about this. While I am right on track with my weight according to Dr. Godat, I still need to be very cautious over the next month as to what I'm putting into my body. With Thanksgiving last week and Christmas around the corner, I think you all can feel my pain on how hard this is going to be! There isn't a 21 week belly picture yet, but there should be one within a day or so... so stay tuned :) Until next time...

Thank heaven for little...

It's been an exciting two days! The baby furniture came in this weekend, so yesterday we rented a truck from Home Depot and then headed to JCPenny's to pick it up. While we looked like the Beverly Hillbillies hauling it back home, it was totally worth it. It felt like Christmas morning unwrapping it :) It's exactly what we wanted, and we LOVE it! Kuddos to Home Depot for renting out trucks! All we need to do now is to paint and get the carpet cleaned, and then we will have all the bare bones of the room put together. We are hoping to have this done before Christmas.

Then today we had our followup visit with Dr. Weiss to complete the NT scan. During the ultrasound he showed us all of the baby's body parts and organs... saving the gender confirmation until last :) And it is officially confirmed... we are having a baby GIRL! Dr. Weiss was pleased with all the measurements and said that everything looked great! Such wonderful news! We are beyond thrilled and blessed! Below are the two pictures from the appointment. She's looking more and more like a baby!

With the excitement of now knowing for sure that she's a girl, comes the announcement of her name. And her name is: Calleigh Abrielle Cook. Calleigh was decided upon pretty quickly :) It's of Greek origin meaning "Beautiful"... which I think fits her perfectly! Her middle name was a little tougher to decide. We wanted her middle name to be something meaningful/significant to our journey of having her. Since she was the only embryo of seven to survive, we were thinking along the lines of "strong", "miracle from God", etc. And then we stumbled upon Abrielle... French for "Strong one of God". There couldn't have been any name more perfect! Our little miss Calleigh Abrielle :) I love saying it, and I absolutely cannot wait to see her little face!

Our seventeen week belly pic is a little blurry, but will have to do :) Maybe the next one will be a little better!

Thank you again to all of our wonderful family and friends for your prayers! And we especially thank heaven for our little girl :) While our journey has been long and is far from over, I wouldn't trade it for the world! Until next time...