I am going back on the day schedule for work!! Starting October 4th I will be working 7-3. We are looking forward to it so we have more time together before the baby comes.

The added time in the evening also allows me to take Childbirth classes and Breastfeeding classes. I just signed up for both at our hospital and am very excited about it I don't think Kevin will be able to come because they are at 6pm and he doesn't get home that early but I'm a big girl and can go alone.

I saw the OB Friday and things are going well. We listened to the heartbeat (which sounded great!!) She measured my belly and they did all the other routine things (weight, urine, blood pressure...) There were no issues. I am having a hard time accepting the 21 lbs I've gained (its normal and actually not a lot for where I am in my pregnancy but I know its only going to get worse and what woman likes gaining weight) I'm hoping its mostly baby and I'll deliver then go right back to where I was pre-pregnancy.

I asked my doc if we would be having another ultrasound because we decided we would like to know the sex after all but she said no more ultrasounds unless there is a problem. Good news no problem...bad news no ultrasound... and its really starting to drive me crazy to not know!

Anyway, 187 days behind me and 93 days to go. We can't believe how fast things are really moving along!!

Kevin and I are celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary this week (9-15-08) and I decided it would be nice to put on something other than sweatpants and go to dinner at The Mile Away to celebrate the occasion.

I spent most of yesterday getting very frustrated at the fact that nothing fits right when you are pregnant.

Countless stores + several trips to the fitting room + no success = a trip to the bakery (I guess pregnancy has its perks too)

In any event, I end up with a very understanding husband (thank you M&M cookies) and a trip to the Pheasant Lane Mall where I determined that dresses do not flatter pregnant women even when designed to accommodate "the bump". They all cinch in under the boobs then billow out and hang like a tent over the belly. Uggghhh....So, rather than throwing a tantrum and cancelling dinner plans I became focused on finding something to wear out to dinner. With Kevin's help I found a very functional pant suit that fits well, is comfortable and versatile. The best part...on sale! I just love bargains.

While I have your attention, can I just vent a little about pregnancy math? I don't understand how they can call it 9 months of pregnancy when its like 40 weeks. Last I checked 40/4=10 that's 10 months not 9. So here I am at week 25 thinking I have successful completed 6 full months and starting my 7th but no apparently the 6th month is longer... Can anyone explain? In any event, counting down to the due date is also a count down till  Christmas. That being said, only 100 days left!!

I go back to the OB this Friday so check in if you want to know how things go. I am expecting a glucose test to rule out gestational diabetes and the other usual things (weight, blood pressure, urine, heartbeat...)

Busy weekend here at the Boyd house. Kevin has pretty much finished the nursery!!! The carpet is down and looks awesome. He painted walls, ceiling, baseboard and trim. We even assembled the crib and dressers (yes I helped!!). I can't believe how far we've come with that room. Check out the pictures. The paint looks different in every one we took. The color is called "Honey Butter"

Our friend Sheryl and her husband Steve welcomed their 1st born to the world this past week. Evan Joseph was born Tuesday AM after what sounded like a terribly looooong labor. I visited Sheryl in the hospital and she was amazing. Not only did she look great, but she made being a new mom look so easy. Baby Evan was perfect and I have to say being around a new born makes it so hard to wait till December.

Made a few changes to our baby registry nothing too major just a few more additions. And the belly continues to grow. Every morning between 3 and 5 AM I wake up to go to the bathroom and the monkey inside me I swear is having a party. The baby moves around so much at that time I usually lay half asleep with my hands on my belly just smiling. It is the coolest thing I've ever felt. Kevin says he can feel it but he's not so sure. He definitely will in time...

We hope you are all enjoying this beautiful Labor Day weekend and playing safe.

Congratulations again Sheryl and Steve on the birth of their son!!

Just had a visit with the OB today and wanted to let everyone know that we have a new due date!! The ultrasound showed the baby as bigger than it should have been for a due date of December 26th (my date) or the date of December 28th (the doctors original date) so they changed it to December 24th. Look like we're having a Christmas baby folks!! I know its not much but I would really REALLY like to spend Christmas with the new baby at home, sooo I am pretty happy about that (not to mention it brings me a teeny weeny bit closer to the end). Other than that it was an unventful visit. I gained 3 pounds for a total of 13.5 (I'm actually really proud of that after gaining 10 last month) and my blood pressure was 119/72. Babies heartbeat was good and I feel it moving around alot now. Stay tuned for a new belly picture soon. Its really growing!

Does anyone else feel like time is flying by? I still can't believe I've been 30 for a whole week!

Anyway, since the last update we finally got to see the baby! My OB insisted we wait till 20 weeks for our first ultrasound (which has been torture by the way) so this past Wednesday we went for the scan. It was so cool to see whats been going on in my belly. We told the ultrasound tech we didn't want to know the sex of the baby so she warned us before she began that she always refers to the babies as male. That being said...at one point I thought I saw a penis but when I asked she said "no, that's the umbilical cord" and we were off the area and looking at something else. She took about 75 pictures and gave a few to us to keep. Check them out along with other recently posted pictures in the photo albums!

The tech is not supposed to go into details with you but she did say 1) There is only one baby growing in there 2) Baby was measuring at about 14oz 3) According to the head measurements the baby seemed bigger than 20 weeks 4) Kevin and I would have our hands full based on how much it was moving around. I follow up with my OB this coming Friday for the true results and will keep you posted.

Kevin has been really busy with the nursery. It will be painted soon!! After he took down the dark and ugly paneling he had some repairs to make on the walls. He removed the stars from the ceiling and applied drywall sealer and stain killer. Then today he had the walls primed in about 30 minutes. Once that dries he can get to the fun part, color!! Its been chosen but not yet purchased. I wish I could help but it is too stinky for me and the baby so it really has been his project and he is doing an awesome job!

Kevin is also now driving a more family friendly vehicle. He replaced the totalled Toyota Tacoma with a Nissan X-terra and I have to say it was a much better choice than another pick-up truck!

My mom, dad and Rusty came down from Maine this weekend for a visit. I haven't seen them since Easter. They are very excited about the baby on the way. They took us shopping and helped pay for a crib set for the baby. I can't wait for the nursery to be back together so Kevin and I can start setting the furniture up! My mom also took my clothes shopping for a new maternity outfit. There are literally NO maternity stores near me so we ended up ordering a fall outfit online. We also sat around and talked about baby names (the good and the bad). It was really nice to spend that time with them. Hopefully we'll be getting together again in September.

So, I noticed a few more guesses on the baby pool, if you haven't guessed what are you waiting for? Christmas?? Also, It is said that at 20+ weeks the baby can hear what goes on outside the womb so I've been reading Shel Silverstein poems from Where the Sidewalk Ends out loud but would love some suggestions for other good books Kevin and I can read out loud. Oh and if you or someone you know has carpeting 9x11 in really good condition we are looking for some. Thanks and stay in touch!!

We had a pretty busy weekend. On Saturday we went to BabiesRus and started looking around at things for our registry. Kevin was awesome and really helpful. He took apart strollers and high chairs and lugged around infant carriers (to see how heavy they are). We considered patterns and colors took crib measurements. We got some great ideas and actually had a good time. It was an eye opener to see how expensive baby stuff is .

Anyway, Sunday, Kevin was so motivated he stripped the office of all furniture and pulled up the carpet. He tore down the dark panelling and started a list of things he need to do in there to make it baby ready. It is really neat to see him so excited about the baby.

I'm off today and so I added pictures of the nursery as it is now and also a current picture of my belly (at 18 weeks). 

Just back from the OB and everything is fine.

We got the results of our Quad Screen and thankfully everything came back perfect.

In case you don't know, the Quad Screen is a prenatal test that measures the levels of four substances in a pregnant woman's blood. Typically, the quad screen is done between weeks 15 and 20 of pregnancy. Results of the quad screen indicate a risk of carrying a baby who has certain developmental or chromosomal conditions, such as spina bifida or Down syndrome.

My blood pressure was 100/66 and the baby's heartbeat was right around 150 beats per minute.

The only part that made me cringe was my weight...never a good thing...Up until last month I had only gained 1/2 pound total but I completely made up for it with a 10 (yes TEN) pound gain in the last 4 weeks!! Good news is I'm in a healthy range overall at 10.5 lbs and 5 months bad news is I gained it all at once! Now I have to be careful not to continue at 2 lbs a week or I'm gonna be huge...

We go back August 13th for our big Ultrasound!! Can't wait to see the baby!

As many of you know, this is our 2nd pregnancy. Our first little one didn't make it past 6 or 7 weeks in my belly. That was last June. It was a difficult time for us as you can imagine and we put off baby making after that.

We decided to focus on other things so I enrolled in a nursing program, Kevin busied himself in the basement of our love shack finishing it off. We have been working towards paying off debts and building a nest egg. And we have really been "living" life which has been incredible fun.

In May of this year we were surprised to learn we had made another baby (almost exactly 1 year later). It was bittersweet. We both want a family but after last years loss we were afraid to get excited. This pregnancy has really shaken up life for us but one thing we've learned is to take each day as it comes.

We keep our fingers crossed everyday that things will work out differently this time around!

First visit with the OB was May 16th everything went fine. Mostly just a consultation and collection of family histories and pregnancy histories.

May 30th we were able to listen to the heartbeat for the first time!! Kevin joined me at the visit and it was so amazing to hear that sound. It literally brought tears to my eyes. Kevin being the romantic he is offered me a high five!

After the heartbeat visit, we rented a doppler of our own from an online store. It has been so cool to be able to share the heartbeat with family and friends and what a relief to be able to listen whenever we choose.

At this point, I am feeling great. We are currently at 17 weeks and in our 5th month! Almost 1/2 way there!!

Next visit at the OB July 25th!! That's this Friday.  Check back to find out how things went!