Which is bigger?

We bought this watermelon pretty much just to take this picture. Lesson learned, it wasn't very good :( While the weather might feel like it is summer already, I think the fruit isn't quite there yet!

No diabetes for me!

I was waiting until the results of my glucose test came back to write this post, which I just received, so here goes...

I had my 28-week doctor's appointment on Wednesday. This is the week when you do your glucose test to see if you have gestational diabetes. I had to go in and get my blood drawn to make sure my levels (of whatever it is they look for) were at an appropriate level, then drink 12 ounces or so of a sugary beverage (tasted like a flat Sprite - regular, not diet!), wait for an hour and get my blood drawn again to see how my body is processing the sugar.

As I said earlier, I just got the results and they were negative...just barely lower than the cutoff, but hey, lower is lower! Thank goodness! If I were to have gestational diabetes, it would mean major changes to my diet - no sugar and less grains and fruit and processed items. A good friend of mine recently had this and it's not fun, but is manageable.

My nurse (smart lady!) suggested that since I'll be at the clinic for an hour anyway, I should schedule my routine check-up with the doctor in the downtime. It worked out perfectly! And everything checked out well with Baby and me.

Here are the stats:
Mom's weight gain: Up to about 21 pounds, which is still right on track. I gained about 3 pounds in 3 1/2-4 weeks, which is what the doctor wanted to see at this point.
Mom's blood pressure and pulse: Still looking good on both counts
Baby's heart rate: 136 BPM  This was a bit of a drop from the previous appointments, which means Baby's starting to get ready to come out!
Belly measurement: 30 cm (Thank you to my friend Ashlee for correcting me that this is not measuring in inches, but in centimeters. Thirty inches would be enormous!!) The doctor said this is a little high (Again, thanks Ashlee for telling me that the centimeters should align with how many weeks you are), but that was probably due to my full bladder since I had just drank my 12 ounces of sugar water. He didn't seem too concerned that it was TOO big. (My dear husband was a large baby, so I'm always nervous he's going to tell me that I'm going to have to deal with getting a 10-pound+ child out of little-old-me!)
Check-up on if things are progressing for Baby's arrival: Negative! Thank goodness to this as well, because as much as I want to meet him or her, Baby needs to stay in there for a lot longer to get bigger and healthier.

It's all starting to feel very real...

People often ask me how I am feeling and my answer is usually, "Pretty good. I really can't complain." That answer is completely true, because physically, aside from some muscle aches, I have been feeling good, and have been this entire pregnancy. But my real answer should be, "I'm feeling good, but starting to get nervous since this kiddo is almost here!"

There have been a lot of things going on lately that have reminded me that Baby's due date is only three months away, and we really should be ready for him or her to come anytime now (as my recent family history has proven that babies can come whenever!). I had to pre-register at the hospital, so they have all of my information on file for when we show up. We also took a tour of the hospital this weekend. Our timing is perfect because they just finished a complete remodel of the birthing center, so the rooms are brand-new and lovely. My other signs have been from the person who knows best - my doctor! Not that he's thinking I'm going to deliver anytime soon, but he is starting to ask if I've felt any contractions and is going to start examining me more thoroughly at my next appointment to see if anything is starting. I also have to start going every two weeks, instead of once a month.

While all of these signs are somewhat scary, we're in pretty good shape for Baby's arrival. The nursery is pretty much done. We don't have a car seat yet, but have one picked out (I have four upcoming showers so we'll see if I get the car seat/stroller combo we registered for!). We've got a working list of names that we both agree on, though nothing has been officially decided. And finally, I think we're both definitely ready for parenthood.

It's all starting to feel very real!

25 weeks

My apologies once again for the lack of posts. Between our busy lives at work and at home, blogging has kind of fallen to the back of my mind. Plus, there haven't been any major updates to Baby lately. I'm just feeling bigger and bigger each day, probably because Baby is growing bigger and bigger each day. According to the books, Baby's gaining a half-pound a week and a couple inches too! The only other update is that we have one active child in there. If the last few weeks are any indication of how the kiddo is going to be once it gets bigger, we're in trouble! But it's been fun for us to get feel all those movements!!

I did have my monthly check-up with the doctor on Monday. Everything looked good and the next appointment will be another big one - the glucose test. From what I've heard it's not very pleasant. You have to drink something sugary, wait for awhile and then get your blood tested to see if you have gestational diabetes. It affects about 10 percent of pregnant women, according to one of my books, so even though I have no history of diabetes, I could potentially get it now. It would mean changing my diet, but thankfully goes away after Baby. Fingers crossed I don't have to deal with it!

Baby's 25 week stats:
Heartrate: 152 beats per minute (I think it was a little higher than last appointment because of all the kicking it had been doing that afternoon!)
Mom's weight gain: Almost 18 pounds, which is right on track for where I am. The nurse said I should be gaining about a pound a week at this point.
Mom's vitals: My pulse and blood pressure continue to be normal, thank goodness.
Belly measurement: Somewhere around 26 inches, I think. This was the first time the Dr. did this, so it kind of took me by surprise. I'll have to pay closer attention next time.

And last but not least, what most people probably come on here to see. Here is the Baby Steiny Bump at 25 weeks:

(Side note: I need to start taking these when I'm finished getting ready in the morning. Yikes!)

Baby's first shower

I am very blessed to have wonderful co-workers who went above and beyond throwing me a baby shower this week. Why in April, when I'm due in July, you might ask? Well it is because it was a joint shower for me and another momma-to-be (who also happens to be one of my very good friends in and outside of work). It was wonderful to share the experience with her! I have worked there for almost five years now and it has been the people that I work with who have made that time enjoyable, but the generosity and kindness in gifts to our baby was still overwhelming.

It was held at our offices after work and multiple people contributed yummy food, flowers and decorations to brighten up a few of our conference rooms.

 Here is a look at some of the yummy food. Yes, you do see a plate of pickles. The organizer's fiance thought it was a necessity to include those she said. Too funny!

And the most lovely and delicious cake!

Here's a look at some of the nice gifts and pretty flowers.

And last but not least, here's one of the two moms-to-be! Rachel is due with her little girl in about a month, so our kids will be about two months apart. I can't wait for them to be friends!

Rachel and I both received many wonderful gifts. We both got things off our registry, as well as unique gifts. One of the unique gifts was a laundry basket full of bath stuff, like shampoo and lotion, as well as wipes, hangers and a cute little rattle. I also was lucky enough to get many gift cards to Babies 'R Us, Target and a cool bookstore in St. Paul.

I also got two wonderful blankets, one sewed by my co-worker and one from a store and it might be the softest blanket I've ever felt. Baby stuff is so fun! I also go the much-needed changing table pad and cover and some of the cute bath stuff we registered for, like some washcloths and hooded towels. I also received the little chair that goes in the tub (also ocean-themed).

As you can see, I wasn't lying when I said my co-workers are generous! With more showers already in the works for family and friends, Baby Steinhoff is sure going to be a spoiled kiddo!

10 fingers, 10 toes and 1 flexible baby

At 21 1/2 weeks or 22 weeks (depending on what due date you go by), we were able to have our next ultrasound. This one was the biggie, where they look at and measure all of the important parts of Baby and make sure everything is looking good for how old it is and developing properly. Everything checked out! There is one thing, a little extra fluid in the colon, that they're going to maybe do another ultrasound to check on in a few weeks, but the doctor didn't seem too concerned about it when going over the results.

We saw 10 fingers, 10 toes, a pumping heart, parts of the brain, leg and arm bones, kidneys, bladder and face. All was where it was supposed to be and looking good.

And we managed to restrain ourselves and stick with our plan of not finding out the gender, so it remains a mystery!!

Baby cooperated for the most part, but it was in an odd position for a few of the pictures so I had to move around a bit to get it to move around. It was laying on it's back with it's legs up above it's head! What a flexible child...or that means it has it's Dad's long legs!!

Can you see the funny position I'm in? You can see my head and then my leg extending up to where the ultrasound tech marked my foot. I'm one flexible kiddo!

We also got a few nice shots of Baby's pretty little face. According to the ultrasound tech, it spent most of it's time facing Dad. Hope that doesn't mean it's playing favorites already!!

If you can see that white line above the mouth, right by the nose, those are Baby's teeth starting to form! Amazing what they can see on ultrasounds these days!!

Here's one with part of the whole body.

In checking to make sure it had all it's fingers and toes, we had the chance to see Baby's cute little hands and feet. We didn't get a picture of the hands because it was clenching it's fists and moving around too much. But it did have its right index finger pointing up (pretty cute if you ask me, but I'm biased of course).

Here's my foot!

As always, it was an amazing experience for the both of us to see our baby flipping around in there. We saw Baby do a couple of kicks (one of which I really felt, strong baby!), opening and closing it's mouth and moving it's hands up and down. The best part though is just knowing that Baby is doing well in there and growing like it's supposed to. And in just four-and-a-half more months, we'll be able to see and hold those cute fingers and toes!!



Flutter, flutter, tap, tap

At 21 weeks, I am pretty sure that I'm feeling the baby a little bit. Having never been pregnant before, I'm never 100 percent sure that's what it is, but it feels different than anything else, so I would just have to assume it's the kiddo.

I have been trying to describe the feeling to people, but it's very hard to put into words. Everyone always says it feels like a little "flutter," which I would agree with, but I also think it feels like someone lightly tapping or poking your skin. It's very light right now, but hopefully Baby will just continue to get stronger and the movements will be more apparent. Because Baby's Dad is very anxious to get to feel it now that I can!

At 21 weeks is also when Baby has decided to hit a major growth spurt. I swear I woke up on Wednesday and was sticking out two inches more! Maybe it's just all in my head, but I really notice a difference. But of course, this is a good thing because it means Baby's growing like it's supposed to!

I took this picture on Monday morning (pre-growth spurt in my opinion):