Almost 21 weeks

We went into the Dr.s today for a very quick checkup. They measured my belly and uterus and all is measuring just fine. I gained 3 pounds in 10 days!!! They also finished up with a listen of the baby's heartbeat, coming in at the 140's. All in all a good bill of health and we return in two weeks!

Belly - Growing by the day, and I mean by the day!

Weight Gain - +6 pounds total so far!

Boy/Girl - Still feeling girl. I had an elderly woman I didn't even know come up to me Saturday and said "Are you having a girl?" Of course, I replied "We don't know what we are having." I guess we'll see!

Feeling - With the exception of using the potty every 6 1/2 minutes and a backache towards the end of the day, I feel fantastic. No other pregnancy symptoms that I can think of.

Sleep - Like a baby, enough said. Occasionally a few mornings I get up early than I like but that's okay!

Cravings - None really and quite frankly, I feel ripped off! I want to think about crazy food combinations!

Morning Sickness - Still under control, thanks to Keith. However, we did a small test run and it is still there. So I have and will remain on Zofran every morning at 5:30 to save my life!

Nursery is ready for furniture!

Looking in from the doorway

The right side of the room

The left side of the room

19 Week Appt

We had our anatomy ultrasound today and another check up. Our ultrasound took almost 2 hours because our baby likes to move constantly! They finally got all the measurements and photos needed and again moved on to the gender of the baby. We were asked to turn our heads so that we didn't see! We were informed that our little baby isn't so little weighing in at few ounces under a pound. He/she is in the 65th percentile for weight. The Drs. informed us this is great news, considering my preterm labor factor. My medication to not go into labor arrived via UPS yesterday so Keith was shown today how to administer it. It is a intramuscular injection and he all but chickened out. He did it successfully and will continue to do so weekly up until 36 weeks. Poor Keith, good news is at the max only 17 more to go! The Drs. stressed again to us our goal and magic number is 34 weeks. I would feel more comfortable at about 36 weeks, but only time will tell. Good news is so far everything looks great and my cervix is about 4 1/2 centimeters long.

• At 16 to 20 weeks, normal cervical length is 4.0 to 4.5 cm
• At 24 to 28 weeks, normal cervical length is 3.5 to 4.0 cm
• At 32 to 36 weeks, normal cervical length is 3.0 to 3.5 cm

As you can see my cervix is right on target, therefore more or less eliminating that as a risk of preterm labor. The risk is still there but not as far as a cervical issue. We were instructed in the case that labor should happen we are to go to the ER Dept. Reason being, 1. parking 2. easy access for the staff to get us to Labor and Delivery. More than 4 contractions in an hour means get to the hospital at this point. I do not like hearing news like this because it is way to soon, but better to be safe than sorry and them not inform us what to do. I have a feeling we are in the clear until January. Which puts us at 31 weeks. Fingers crossed!

I did gain 3 pounds which the Drs. were very happy with. We do go back in ten days to make sure everything is okay. Not exactly sure why we are returning so quickly. I am also certain we will be returning then 3 weeks after that appt. Yes, we pretty much live at the Hershey Medical Center! All in all, baby is developing beautifully, bouncing and moving all around, I have felt movement. Keith has not yet feel it. According to the Drs. it should only be a matter of days until he feels it! Our nursery progress is really coming along more photos of that to be posted soon!

Dear Baby,

Dear Avery or Owen,

Your big brother Brock is so excited for your arrival, he is trying to be a helper whenever he can. Last night he helped your daddy paint your room. With the exception of wanting to paint the room blue and yellow he did a fantastic job. I'm sure you and him won't always get along, but he will always love you! He is going to be the best big brother ever and I'm sure you will be a fantastic little brother or sister!

Love,
Your mommy

Ps, your dad has more patience than any other man I know!

First Coat of Paint!

We settled on a Sherwin Williams paint called Beach House. We weren't bold enough to go with a green, blue, or coral. So a subtle sand color will match perfectly! We are undecided yet if it will need 2 coats or if 1 will be enough.

And the carpet has been torn out!

Closet view

Not sure if it's my camera or the lighting, but the color isn't really appearing that well. Also maybe because it's still wet. I'll try it with Keith's camera. 

Baby nursery before

We started in the nursery this weekend and really have made some progress. The work we did consisted of spackling walls, removing old trim, adding new trim and baseboard, painting, new closet door tracking, new caulking, and light dimmers. Here is a photo of after Keith ripped the old baseboard off.

Not sure what's going on with this photo. But you get the idea!

The only thing we didn't buy yet was a matching door knob that goes with the rest of the house. Pictures to follow of our finished nursery. I am so excited!

Almost 1/2 way!

With minimal to no weight gain I am feeling quite good so far!

Look Up

In approximately 150 days we will have a BABY! I remember when this was well over 200 days way back at 8 weeks. Times a ticking! I'm hoping to get a few nursery photos this weekend. You all know this is relying on my fabulous, handsome, extremely talented other half, Keith. I love you honey! I'm trying to tell him if he gets that room painted I can go forward. The paint has been picked, the carpet has been picked, there is new trim going up, and new blinds were put up. So hopefully, fingers crossed, he makes it to that room this weekend. I'm dying to snap some pictures, but trust me, none of you want to see it right now! Lately, Brock can be found in there playing with baby items, occasionally sitting in the swing or bouncer. Hey, he's going to be a big brother and needs to test them first! I don't know about you guys, but I am getting super excited about my 150 day wait. I can't wait to see who this baby looks like and boy or girl. The only thing saving me is my over the top love for Christmas.