Almost 29 weeks!

So much has happened and I haven't had a chance to blog about it. Okay...Mark went underway and less than a week later, I started having contractions and went to the ER twice. I was having serious back pain, so the docs gave me a shot in my back and Tylenol 3's. I was vomiting and couldn't keep anything down for over a week. I was given another prescription for Phenergan and I had a hard time keeping those down, too. I was put on bedrest because I kept having problems. Mark was sent home because I was in pretty bad shape and he's home now. He's working an office job (he doesn't mind it, actually!) and is available to take me to all my appointments now, which is good.

I had an appointment on February 8th where I did the 1 hour glucose screening, which I failed. Yesterday I did the 3 hour glucose test and we're waiting to hear the results. I'm not sure what we'll find out but the doctor said the readings from the 1 hour were so far off the chart she doesn't think this one will come back normal. I also found out I'm anemic, which means I will have to have a blood transfusion whether I give birth naturally or have a c-section, and if it does come back that I have gestational diabetes, I'll been induced about four weeks early. As of right now, I've only gained 12 pounds so I need to put on more weight. I can do it when I'm not pregnant...why am I having a problem with this now?! I bet we all wish this was a problem we had to deal with (not being able to gain weight, I mean)!

We're also going to take childbirth classes and we've chosen to use the Bradley Method instead of Lamaze. It just sounds better for us...the Bradley Method is also called Husband-Coached Childbirth. I'm currently reading Husband-Coached Childbirth : The Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth and Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way. They're both really good, informative books and I'm learning a lot. We still wanted to take childbirth classes, though, but since I'm so far along the Lamaze classes aren't taking me...for whatever sense that makes. I've found a local Bradley teacher so we're going to start classes next week.

As far as baby stuff goes...the registry is almost completed! We've bought everything but the twin mattress set and the changing pad...wow. We've bought all the big stuff and almost all of the little stuff, so we're getting ready. The room is almost finished, too...we're waiting for Target to get one more roll of the wallpaper border in and we'll start on that, and I'm painting little wooden letters with the baby's name that we're going to hang on the wall. Hopefully we can get some more of that stuff finished this weekend.

Oh, and...today is my 21st birthday!

My heart is under the sea.

Mark left yesterday for a short underway for a few months. He'll be back soon and one day is already down, so it's one more day until I see him again. In the meantime, I'm going to work on some special projects for him, just do some things to keep me busy and make time pass.

Before he left, we celebrated my 21st birthday on January 19th instead of February 19 since he won't be here. We also did an early Valentine's day. For my birthday, Mark drove an hour and a half or more to get to Warwick, RI to take me to Carrabba's, which is my favorite Italian restaurant. We had one in Charleston, but RI is the closest one here. Anyway, so we went and spent the hour waiting and then had fabulous lobster ravioli, pasta weesie and tiramasu. It was sooo good, really worth the drive!

We've been married for two years and we keep trying to get pictures taken and something always happens where we can't. This past Saturday was picture taking day :). We went to Avery Point Lighthouse in Groton and had some photos taken by a professional photographer. She will also be our birth photographer if Mark can't be here when the baby comes, as he's scheduled to be out and the boat is shorthanded, but we'll see. Here are some pictures from our shoot:

There will be more to come, but here's what the photographer sent over. I edited them and I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out. They're our first family pictures and I'm so pleased!

Getting closer....

I can't believe it...I'm almost 6 months pregnant! Time sure is flying. Mark is leaving very soon for an underway, so he's going to miss some of the pregnancy. We're hoping he'll be able to be home when the baby is born, but we're not sure yet. Just in case, we bought and assembled the crib last night. Rather, we picked out the crib and Mark put it together, lol. We've gone back and forth over which crib we wanted and finally decided to pay the little bit extra and get the one we REALLY wanted, instead of settling on a cheaper one. I'm so glad we did, it looks great!

Winsor Convertible 4-in-1 crib in Pine

We forgot to buy the mattress so we have to go get it. I'm also going to be purchasing the crib set online since it's not available in-store. Everything is coming together and I'm so pleased! The last things we have to buy are bottles, the baby bathtub, diaper genie, boppy, and a few larger items like the swing and bouncer. We're making sure everything is getting taken care of and I am really pleased.

I just wanted to add that if Mark isn't home when the baby comes, we've hired a birth photographer and doula to attend. I don't have family who will be coming, so I need support. The photographer will just take pictures of the baby right after she's born and then come back the next day to take newborn pics. I'm very excited to have these. If Mark can't be there I want to keep him as involved as possible. We're also having pictures taken Jan. 19th at a lighthouse at sunset. I'm very excited for this, also.

I had another doctor's appointment yesterday. I have the instructions for my glucose test now, and have to do that before my next appointment on February 8th. Mark won't be here so I'll be going to that one alone. At my last appointment, my due date was changed to May 9th because the baby's limbs aren't measuring appropriately...so, she's short. That's to be expected, though. I still think she's going to be early. The doctor also okay'd me to be on calcium supplements since I don't like milk, so we bought those along with an iron supplement, since she said my iron was low. So now I'm taking Flintstone vitamins twice a day (since I can't take prenatals), folic acid once a day, calcium supplements twice a day and iron supplements twice a day. Yuck! Lots of pills.

The baby is healthy and we're doing fine. Getting everything ready for Mark to leave and stuff.

20 Week Ultrasound Pics

I finally figured it out, so here they are. They all say on them what exactly you're viewing. Isn't she cute?















Oh...she's sucking her thumb in this one! ^^^

Pictures of Our New House

We're finally settled in and everything so I'm going to start posting pictures of the house as I have time. I've taken them so it's just a matter of uploading them all. I'll be adding them all to this post, so hang tight!

Front of the house w/ our minivan.

Front w/ bay window and entryway.























Front entryway. Front door on the left, garage door beside that and laundry room directly in front.























Front entryway again, hallway to living room on the right.






















Kitchen























Kitchen 2





























Bar in the kitchen/family room...and Athena
























Family room





























Family room skylights



















Bay window in the family room





























Dining room...we still have MORE boxes to go through. Oh, and our new coats! Mine is blue and his is mustard yellow :).





























Family room/dining room/entrance to kitchen



















Dining room





























Living room and Bear's tail





























Living room and Athena peeking out the patio doors.





























Living room





























Athena and the patio door





























The backyard and Bear. Look...we have big tree!





























Stairs...very important part of a two-story house.





























Downstairs bathroom...across from the stairs.



















Aramil on the first landing on the stairs.





























Upstairs bathroom, across from the stairs.





























Master bathroom





























Master bathroom





























Such a nosy bear!!





























Nursery, not quite finished yet.





























The huge, gorgeous crib! I'll post pics when we get the crib set and mattress on.





























Right side of the closet





























Left side of the closet

Well...

We had a doctor's appointment at Westerly Women's Health in Westerly, RI on December 14th and got to hear the baby's heartbeat, and an anatomical ultrasound was scheduled for December 18th at 10:00 a.m. at Narragansett Radiology. We waited around for awhile in the lobby and then went back for our turn. The radiologist was very nice and funny and got started right away. We saw the baby's spine, ribs, heart and chambers, the four lobes of the brain and stomach. We saw so many things I can't even name them all!

He said, "Alright, it's time to get down to business now." He moved around on my stomach a lot and then said, "Oh, there it is. Can you see it?"

I said, "Is it a boy?"

He zoomed in further and said, "Nope...it's a girl!".

We were so happy! Mark jumped up and immediately put his hand on me and smiled. We received ten ultrasound pics. It was incredible to see the baby the way we did...she was clenching her fist and releasing, and playing inside me where you could see it in the screen. Just as I suspected, her head and abdomen measured 20 weeks plus and her legs were 19 wks 1 day and arms were 19 wks 3 days. She'll be short, no doubt about that! According to the doc, she weighs 0.8 pounds and will be about an eight pound baby if she's carried to full term. Also, since I didn't get an appointment in time I wasn't able to have her tested for Down's Syndrome, but the radiologist was able to tell us that she does have the nasal bone that most children with DS don't have, and doesn't have a thick flap of skin on her neck which is also a big indicator. So far, she's happy and healthy which is what we like to hear.

The name we've chosen is Audree Elizabeth, by the way. We didn't like the traditional spelling of Audree (Audrey) so we changed it. We bought a bunch of clothes for her and are setting up the nursery. We have the dresser and glider, so we have to buy the stool for gilder, a twin bed (since we only have a two bedroom house now) and the crib. I'll post pictures of the clothes and nursery when I have the chance. Also, my scanner isn't working properly so I'll post the ultrasound pictures when I get that figured out.



Audree's BabiesOnline.com Journal

We've moved!

Just letting everyone know that we've moved. If you'd like our new address please contact me at thelewisfamily05@gmail.com and I'll send it right out to you!

I'll have pictures of the new house up pretty soon. It's a 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath townhouse. I like it, it's cute :). Pics to come!