35 Weeks

We had our last bi-weekly doctor’s appointment this past week – starting next week we will be going every week. The doctor said that everything looks good! The baby is measuring on track and she guessed that he’s around six pounds right now. She also said he’ll probably be somewhere around eight pounds when he’s born (hopefully he doesn’t take after his mom – she was a whopping 9 lbs five ounces).

After our last appointment when we found out the baby is in the head down, ready to come out position we were reading some materials that said babies usually don’t get in this position until 36 weeks, therefore we asked the doctor if this was ok and she said it’s fine as every baby/pregnancy is different. As long as Julie doesn’t start having contractions we’re all good. However, the doctor did reassure us that if the baby were to come tomorrow, he’d be o.k.

We did a tour of the Swedish birthing center a couple of weekends ago and also had our childbirth preparation class and they were both really helpful. Getting both of these under our belt made us both feel much more prepared and educated on the whole process.

The nursery is still a work in progress but is getting there. We are in the process of getting everything organized and put away and will post pictures in the next couple of weeks.

Here’s some pics of Julie at 35 weeks.

Suzie's chair

Christmas 2007

Here are some pictures from Christmas. The dogs of course had a lot of fun opening their presents. We first put their wrapped gifts under the tree and realized that they weren't going to last long under there so we then moved them to their stockings. After Clyde spent an hour staring up at his stocking we felt bad so we let them go ahead and open them.

The dogs opening their presents

The dogs enjoying their presents

The dogs thanking Ian for their gifts

Our Christmas picture

The beautiful (Charlie Brown) Christmas tree

33 Week Appointment

Today we had our 33 week appointment and everything looks good! The baby continues to move a lot and is getting the hiccups about twice a day. He’s a night owl and is most active at night – after dinner and while Julie is in bed. Julie’s having quite a few Braxton Hicks contractions so the dr. checked today to make sure these aren’t the real deal (which we were confident they weren’t), and the good news is that they aren’t. She did say the baby’s head is really low which is causing Julie quite a bit of pain but it’s good that he’s in the right position.

This weekend we have our childbirth preparation class at Swedish and also have a tour of the birthing suites scheduled to familiarize us with the process of what to do and where to go when Julie goes into labor. And next week we have a meet and great with the baby’s pediatrician!

In other good news, the nursery furniture arrived and is all set up (and we love it), which was perfect timing cause Julie had a place to put all the amazing goodies she received at the shower last weekend. Now we have some major decorating to do. Once it’s decorated, we’ll post picks.

Almost 8 month appointment

Yesterday we had our almost 8 month appointment - Julie is 31 weeks. Again, the doctor said that everything looks good. Julie is still measuring farther along than her due date represents. She might be about 2 weeks ahead of schedule. Our doctor doesn't seem too concerned and will just keep monitoring the growth of the belly/uterus. Julie is having more frequent and noticeable Braxton Hicks contracts which is normal for this stage in the pregnancy and our doctor told us to just keep an eye on how often she's having them and how long they last for. However, getting the official confirmation that these are in fact "contractions" freaked Julie out a bit. The baby is still moving around quite a bit, especially at night. All the uncomfortable aches and pains that come along with the third trimester are starting to kick in as Julie is having a lot of lower back pain as well as discomfort around her ribs.

We're still waiting to set up the nursery but the good news is that our crib is in, and the other furniture should be in next week!

Here's a picture of Julie at 31 weeks.

3D Ultrasound – 30 weeks

Today we had a 3D ultrasound to see the little guy however he was bashful and a bit stubborn and didn’t want to show his face. The tech tried repeatedly to take a shot of his face and although Baby Hunter was moving around he wouldn’t move his arm from blocking his head. It was still amazing to see him in this view and see some of his features. Included above are some pics from the ultrasound. The first couple pics are of his face, his cute little ear and his arm blocking his face (which looks like he has muscles). The second set of pics are of a portion of his face. To get this shot they had to go at them from a weird angle since the “money shot” view was obstructed by his arm, therefore they are a little blurry and his features are a slightly distorted (his nose looks kind of smushed). The tech also tried getting a picture of his manhood, however he was sitting Indian-style like therefore they couldn’t capture them on 3D, although we did see the parts briefly during the 2D portion of the ultrasound.

Almost 7.5 Month Appointment

Today we had our 7.5 month appointment (almost, Julie is 29 weeks) and our doctor said everything looks good! Since Julie’s in her third trimester our appointments are now every other week until the end of December which we’ll then see the dr. weekly. Julie’s stomach/uterus is measuring at a little over 29 weeks and the baby’s heart beat was 145 BPM. They did testing for gestational diabetes today (a routine test at this stage) and we should have the results back in a couple days.

The baby continues to move around a lot and rather than feeling the baby kicks we are now entertained watching them and watching his movements. They are very visible and it’s pretty funny watching Julie’s stomach move and protrude in spots when he gets going. Last night the baby kicked and held his foot or arm in what must have been an extended position for a bit so Julie’s stomach had a bulge.

Happy Halloween!

Here are some pics of the kids (Clyde & Suzie) on Halloween in their costumes. Suzie was a pig and Clyde was a “Happy Trails Cowboy.” Clyde also tried on Suzie's costume but it was a little small. They were in their costumes for about hour and then Ian made me take them off because he thought I was “torturing” them. We had a lot of fun carving pumpkins – Suzie kept trying to eat the pumkins and seeds that we pulled out and one of the kids stole and ate the ears off the pumpkin that I carved.

Ian’s Elk

Here are some pics of Ian’s elk that he got while hunting with Jim (Julie's dad) on 10/27. They are a little graphic.

7 Month Appointment

We had our 7 month appointment today and all signs are pointing to that we are going to have a January baby! The doctor said the baby is currently between two and three pounds and Julie’s stomach (placement of the uterus) is measuring at 28 weeks. They have not bumped up the due date (we’re still set for 2/3/08) but our doctor said that they might end up doing an ultrasound in the next couple of months to determine a more accurate due date and to determine the size of the baby - she also eluded to that he’s probably going to be a big boy. Our doctor did also say that Julie has packed on a few too many pounds given we still have a couple months to go, therefore we’re going to have to limit our trips to Red Robin, sad...

Since I am starting my third trimester our doctor’s appointments are now going to be every other week (rather than monthly) until January which is when we’ll start seeing the doctor weekly. We also got permission from my doctor to get a 3D ultrasound so hopefully we’ll have some cool pics and video to share shortly.

We’ll be posting some pictures of the other kids (Clyde & Suzie) tomorrow of them all dressed up in Halloween costumes! They love Halloween. Included now is a picture of Julie at 27.5 weeks.

Baby Hiccups

This morning we felt/saw what were definitely baby hiccups! I (Julie) was lying on a chair and after feeling several repetitive movements, just thinking that baby was awake and moving around, I noticed that my stomach was also visibly moving up and down. We could not only feel the hiccups and the baby’s whole body move, but we could see them too! We got a kick out of watching my stomach move and jerk. They lasted about five minutes and I am certain they were hiccups as the movements were like clockwork.

Everything is going well. The baby is moving A LOT (kicking and “swimming”) and sometimes he kicks so hard it startles me. We have our 7 month appointment next Wednesday and will give another update then.

We are getting the house ready for baby which means moving a lot of stuff to the attic to make room. We are still waiting to get our baby furniture so we can start setting up the nursery (it takes 8-12 weeks after ordering it so we should get it in the next month or so). We registered at Babies R’ Us this weekend, not Ian’s favorite thing to do, but since my mom spared him of registering at Target with me I drug him along this time :)

6 Month Appointment (and a couple pics of the dogs)

We had our 6 month appointment today and all is going well! The doctor measured Julie’s stomach (placement of uterus) to make sure it’s where it’s supposed to be at 23 weeks and it’s right on track. The baby’s heart beat was 159 which the doctor said is a good rate and where they like to see it. At each appointment it’s been between 155-160. Hopefully this rate means he won’t be as high-strung as his mom. :) The baby is kicking and moving a lot and Ian is finally able to feel more of his kicks!

Julie has traded in shopping at Nordstrom’s for now frequent trips to Babies R’ Us. We spent a good part of last weekend checking out the massive amounts of baby stuff the store has to offer, including picking out a stroller and car seat. We’ve also started the dreaded hunt for daycare and while the idea of daycare doesn’t sit well with either of us we have (hopefully) worked out our schedules so the little guy will only be in day care 2 days a week.

Included above are some pics of Julie at 23 weeks and also a couple family shots.

The belly

Here's a shot of Julie at 21.5 weeks, the belly is growing!

The 5th Month

We are in the middle of our fifth month and a couple weeks back we found out that it's a boy! The last ultrasound we had on 9/5 showed that the baby looks good and is growing fast compared to our last ultrasound at three months. Although the due date hasn't changed from 2/3/2008, the doctor thinks that he's about 1.5 weeks ahead of where they initially thought he was, therefore the little guy might just be making an appearance at the end of January.

Julie is doing well, besides the heartburn. The little guy is moving around a lot, especially after Julie eats (chocolate chip cookies really get him going) and Ian was even able to feel his first kick last night. We're in the process of working on the nursery and ordered all of the furniture - YAY! The list of chores to get done before little man Hunter enters the world is growing so it's going to be a busy 4 months!