Squirmy Wormy

For the last couple of days, AnnaBeth has been extremely squirmy. I'm pretty convinced she's trying to dig her way out but is lost in the dark =) I was able to get some video of her having a party in my belly. As of right now, she's been moving almost constantly for the last hour. Maybe she's super determined to find the exit of her dark environment or she's just really hungry for the lasagna we're having for dinner.

Handmade is the best!

Today when I got to work I had a box on my desk that had our names on it but addressed to Kent's parents. And there was a handwritten note from his dad on it that said "Nana says this is something great grandma would have made!" When I opened it, I found an adorable quilt that was handmade by AnnaBeth's Great Aunt Betsy! It's such a wonderful treasure that she will someday be able to pass on to her own daughter =)

36 weeks

AnnaBeth is already a little stinker

So yesterday, being President's Day, I had the luxury of having the day off thanks to my cush government job. I got up when Kent did, had breakfast and did some stuff on the computer for a little bit. I noticed that AnnaBeth didn't quite respond to after eating like she normally does and I started to feel pretty nauseous so I went back to bed for a couple of hours. After I woke up, she still wasn't moving very much so I ate some chocolate animal crackers and that got her to move a few times. Tammi came over and at lunch I had some spicy tacos and a little soda but she never really moved like I wanted her to. After lunch, we played one of the Scene It DVD games and after a couple of hours I decided to have some fruit (an orange and some grapes) and then lay on my left side to see if AnnaBeth would start to move around. She only kicked a couple of times very lightly so after half an hour, I had some ice cream. When that didn't really get her moving, I called the doctor and was told to go immediately to triage so they could check her out. Tammi drove me to Kent's work and then we headed to the hospital. Her movement had started to pick up while he and I were en route but we still wanted her to be monitored. So we get to the hospital and they hook up the fetal monitor to my belly and she just starts going crazy in my belly! Leave it to AnnaBeth to be such a little stinker and start to scare me only to go and show off to the nurse just how active she can be. I guess she was just enjoying a lazy President's Day =)

Work Baby Shower

I had my work baby shower last week and AnnaBeth got a lot of outfits, some diapers, bath soap, and the mobile we registered for. We had a HUGE cake and even after Robbery devoured a bunch of it at their meeting, we still had a bunch left over! The pictures are kind of out of order but I don't feel like taking the time to arrange them accordingly =)

Growing a chunky monkey

Last Tuesday, I got a call from the nurse at my doctor's office saying that ultrasound from the Friday before showed that my amniotic fluid was borderline low. She said AnnaBeth seemed fine but they just wanted to make sure everything was ok. On Thursday I went to the hospital for my scheduled non stress test. AnnaBeth passed in less than 5 minutes so all was well! I was, however, having contractions every 4-7 minutes (which I couldn't feel) so they checked to make sure I wasn't dilating. Everything was "tight as a button" as the nurse said so they let me leave. On Friday I had another ultrasound and my amniotic fluid levels were back to normal. They said that I was more than likely just dehydrated at the previous ultrasound and that's why the levels were a little low. A plus for having another ultrasound (despite the circumstances) was that we were finally able to get some good face shots of AnnaBeth. She likes to keep her face buried in the placenta so we were excited to actually be able to see her this time. She looks a little like me when I was 7 months old and bald with huge cheeks. Her cheeks are so big that the tech referred to them as jowels =) And she has the Porter nose (apparently her daddy had a big nose when he was a baby and that's how he earned the nickname Beaker (from the Muppets)).

And this past Saturday I had a wonderful family baby shower thrown by my sisters! AnnaBeth got some outfits, diapers, wipes, bath/body stuff, toys, hand made receiving blankets, some of the decorating accessories that go with her bedding, her car seat/stroller travel system, and a 3-in-1 car seat (we'll start using that when she outgrows her infant seat and needs to sit front facing. It will also serve as a booster seat up to 100lbs). I got some nursing essentials and a few nursing shirts.

Emma helping me open presents

Emma having a "moment"

Nana and Hailey

Laura, Emma, Hailey and Grandma Locker

Aunt Lauren, Amanda and Carson wanted pictures too

Mom and Geli

The Porter ladies striking a pose

Semi-posing and making sure to stick my belly WAY out there

32 weeks (a week late)

Last Saturday I hit 32 weeks and totally forgot to blog about it. We've been extremely busy painting, getting the carpet install scheduled, ordering baby furniture (all of it has arrived), and talking about baby showers that it escaped my brain. But I have an official excuse, brain cell volume diminishes in the 3rd trimester. So i can't really help it that I'm forgetful.

Yesterday we had another ultrasound and enjoyed seeing AnnaBeth again! However, I was told I have an anterior placenta and because of that, she tends to have her face buried in it which makes it difficult to get good pictures of her. But other than that (which is really only unfortunate for us) everything is looking just dandy! She's about 4lbs 9oz and measuring right on target. She was even practicing her breathing the whole time which was really neat to see. And she was quite active during this ultrasound, compared to the last one, which made things more difficult for the tech to measure and check. I guess our little girl is feisty already! I asked the tech how much weight AnnaBeth is expected to gain over the next 7 weeks and she told me a 1/2 pound a week. Doing the math on that would put her at about 8lbs 4oz at birth. I should have asked how much more her head will grow, its already 8cm, but thanks to less brain cells, I forgot to ask!