Dax's Nursery

Yesterday was SO much fun!  We got to go pick up our crib, mattress, and glider chair!  We still have a lot to do, but we did order the bedding!  I have started a photo story to document setting up the nursery!

So bad...

I realize that the last time I posted a little something, that I promised to reveal Baby Boy's name RIGHT after telling our fam.  Well, I guess life got in the way!  Last Thursday I found a cutie Shepard mix puppy.  I couldn't resist taking her in and trying to find her a home.  Well, puppies can take over your life!

We have been calling her Bella.  She is SO cute and playful, but we can't keep her.  Not with aging Dixie, and baby on the way.  We have tried very hard to find her a loving home, but can't seem to get anyone!  So, we have to take her to the SPCA today.  I hope I don't cry (thanks, baby bump hormones).
Friday and Saturday we enjoyed time with our families.  Cameron and I knew Baby Boy would clean up at Christmas's to come, but we had no idea he would take the cake THIS year!  He definitely did the best at both celebrations!  I am still working on getting pictures from the holidays together to I can post a photo story.
Today we are going to the Texas Bowl to see my Baylor Bears dominate...hopefully!  We were planning on participating in all of the tailgating events at Reliant, but the weather is NOT cooperating!  I am super excited about seeing the Erickson's today!
I am 26 weeks along and am still feeling really good!  I can't believe that he will be here in 3 months!  Scary!  This week the nerves in his auditory system are developing more and he is beginning to practice inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid so he is ready for that first breath!  I feel him kick regularly and that is such an awesome feeling.
Okay, now for the name reveal...Baby Boy's official name is Dax Robert Foster.  Cameron came up with Dax and Robert is my dad's middle name!  I am so relieved to have decided on a name!  It is super fun referring to baby by his name!

MIA

Let me start out by saying..."Thank the Lord that Winter Break is here!"  Now on to important updates.  So sorry for not posting for such a long time!  The Holidays are crazy!  I thought about putting together a separate photo story for each event...but I just don't have enough pictures for that!  So I am going to do ONE big photo story for all of our holiday festivities and post it after the New Year!  I have been asked to see belly shots, so I have posted my monthly tummy shots!  As for Baby Boy...we DO have a name, and I will reveal it Thursday (we need to tell the parental units first).  I am currently 25 weeks along.  Baby Boy is about 13 1/2 inches long, weighs about a pound and a half, and is the size of a rutabaga!   He is exchanging his long, lean figure for some baby fat!!  He is also getting rid of that wrinkly skin and looking more like a newborn!  As for me, I feel great!  I have already started swelling in my feet, so when I'm at school I try to sit more and put my feet up!  The kids are really understanding and helpful.  At my 28 week appointment they will check me for gestational diabetes.  And as for preparing for Baby Boy, we have moved an armoire from our guest room down to the nursery.  Cameron bought the most awesome zebra print dresser that we are going to use as a changing station.  And we have had TONS of generous help from the grandparents to be.  They took care of our super fancy glider chair and ottoman, and our crib!  We still have to decide on bedding and a rug.  I can't wait for all my furniture to arrive!  Today Cameron and I are meeting with our dear friend, Sara to discuss the details of our Couples Baby Shower!  She is kind enough to throw it for us towards the end of January! 

Pox...

22 weeks and counting!  Baby Boy officially looks like a miniature newborn and not like an alien!  His lips, eyebrows and eyelids are becoming more distinct.  His eyes have formed, but the colored part hasn't been decided yet.  He looks a bit wrinkled...at least until he fills out a bit.  He is about 11 inches long, or the length of a spaghetti squash!

So, about the pox, chicken that is.  There have been two confirmed cases at my school.  I had a pretty bad case when I was 6, but I still have to go in for blood testing tomorrow.  They are checking my immunity level.  The reason I have to go in is that in both cases both kids actually had the vaccine prior to getting the virus.  And one of the kids had the vaccine AND already had the chicken pox.  My school nurse is concerned that this might be some super strong strain of the virus, and better safe than sorry.  I'm sure it's fine, and I'm not even sure what they can do if my immunity level isn't fine, but I guess I'll know more tomorrow!   

21 Weeks

Well, this weekend was...eventful!  I began my relaxing weekend with severe abdominal cramps around 3am.  By 5am I had non-stop vomiting.  I couldn't even keep water down!  The on-call OB told me to go to the ER because of possible dehydration, but we decided to wait it out.  Pretty sure it was food poisoning.  I was feeling a little better around 1pm, so Cameron and I decided to meet his parents to shop for baby furniture after all.  We ended up ordering our crib and mattress!  And the best part...Baby Boy Foster's  super generous grandparents gifted it to us!  We are so lucky!  By the end of the shopping trip I had to visit restroom to relieve myself of my most recent glass of water.  That was the last straw.  We went to the ER.  The overall experience was not too bad!  I was expecting a room full of bleeding people and hours of waiting.  But we were in a room within 15 minutes.  They drew some blood and gave me some IV meds to stop the nausea and vomiting.  Then they moved me to another room and hooked me up to some fluids.  The blood results showed dehydration, but no other complications!  I got to go home after my bag of fluids was empty!  I pretty much feel like I was hit by a mac truck.  I have been extremely tired all day and NO appetite.  I think I'll take it easy on the solid foods!
Now for baby news!  At our 20 week anatomy scan last Thursday the ultrasound tech told us that Baby Boy was .8lbs!  All of his organs look good!  It is always so amazing to see him swimming around in my tummy!  This week his eyelids and eyebrows are forming and he is 10 1/2 inches long.  About the length of a carrot!  I expect to feel him kick sometime in the next two weeks!  So exciting!
I hope to stay far away from the hospital until Baby Boy makes his entrance in early April!    

Exciting Week!

I can't believe that this adventure of carrying Baby Boy Foster is HALF way over!  That's right...I'm 20 weeks.  We are closer to having a baby than not.  Does that make sense?  He is the length of a banana (already on his way to being our Little Monkey) and weighs a whopping 10.5ozs.  He is busy practicing swallowing to prepare his little digestive system for when he enters the world.  Side note: I give my kiddos at school weekly updates on Baby Boy's development, which they LOVE!  Last week I told them that he can hear now, so my kids are convinced that he will be uber smart because of all the teaching and reading he will hear for these last 4 months!  And they are constantly talking to him.  I totally use this to my advantage because they are very cautious about making too much noise because they don't want to hurt his ears!  Tomorrow will be a very exciting day because we have our Anatomy Scan at the OBGYN.  Mainly we get to see him again and hear his heartbeat, which is so reassuring.  They will be taking measurements of all the major organs to check up on his growth.  VERY much looking forward to that!  More tomorrow after the appointment!  Oh, I haven't felt him kick or anything, but I expect to within the next two weeks...hopefully! 

19 weeks

WOW!  Baby Boy Foster (no we still don't have a name) is the size of an heirloom tomato!  He weighs 8.5oz and is 6in from crown to rump!  This week is really cool because all of his sensory development is exploding!  His brain is designating special areas for taste, touch, smell, sight, and hearing!  He can actually start hearing this week!  Which means we are supposed to talk, read, and even sing to him!  I will also be playing him some classical music.  Next week we have our big anatomy scan where they take measurements of all of his major organs and what not!

 

17 Weeks

  So...last Thursday we found out that Baby Foster is a BOY!  We are totally thrilled!  No names yet, but we have purchased a book and are giving it a lot of thought!  As soon as we decide, I'll post it for sure!  Cool stuff happening this week; skeleton is changing from cartilage to bone and sweat glands are forming!  He is 5 inches and 5 ounces, about the size of a turnip! 
I am feeling good, but not all to happy with my expanding waist line.  It's not so much that the baby is bumping out, everything is just...wider.  Cameron did take me baby bump pants shopping and I am much more comfortable in my work clothes!  Whew.  And I have decided that I do not like the words "pregnant" or "maternity" so I will not be using them!  AND I am having some majorly weird dreams, which aparently is totally normal for women with a baby bump!  What an adventure!!

16 weeks!

So I've missed a few weeks of blogging...but everything is still going great!  Baby Foster is the length of an avocado and weighs 3.5oz!  How amazing is this; Baby Foster's little heart is pumping 25 quarts of blood each day!  That is just incredible!  And even more exciting I should be able to feel the baby moving sometime within the next two weeks!
We have a doctor's appointment on Thursday and we are looking forward to finding out the sex of our little bun!  Hopefully the baby is cooperating and not being too shy!  I'll post the results as soon as we know!!

13 Weeks

So...Baby Foster is 3 inches long!  Baby Center compares the size to a shrimp, but I feel like that is a step backwards in comparison to last week's lime.  AND he/she only weight ONE OUNCE!!  That is so tiny and fragile!
I have to wear the B-band or bellaband with jeans now.  Haven't quite figured out how to make that work.  It seems all my sititng on the ground and moving around at school gets the thing all fouled up.
I am faithful to my 25 minute 5:30am walks with Dixie, but FitPregnancy Magazine says that I need to be walking for 40 minutes 6 days a week.  Better get it in gear!
My appetite is returning a little, but only for the foods that aren't so baby-building friendly.  Go figure!
Off to cook dinner!  And hopefully enjoy a nice walk in this fall weather with my hubby!

12 Weeks

So, the first trimester is almost over! One more week and I will be in phase two! I have told my principal at school and my kiddo's. The kids were SO excited! They all think that I should name Baby Foster after them...ha! They are also super protective of me now; "Don't pick that up!" "Don't bend like that!" And when the go to hug me they leave an invisible barrier so the don't squish the baby! And they ALL want me to bring the baby up to school! Uh, hello germs...I don't think so!

The growing baby is the size of a lime! And this week's big accomplishments are reflex development, functioning kidneys, growing intestines, and synapses forming in the brain!! It it all just so incredible amazing!

I am feeling pretty good these days! No more morning sickness, but not a huge appetite either. I am tired, but no more tired than any other hard-working teacher I know! I am not showing, but I think that is due to the appetite/morning sickness problem! I'm sure that will all change very quickly!

No names or baby shopping, but I did buy a BellaBand for when my pants get too tight! Oh, and I had to get a bigger boulder holder!

Cameron and I are adding another branch to the family tree! We expect to welcome our first Foster Kid into the world on April 3! That makes me 11 weeks along, but who's counting! I have felt like I've been living a double life ever since I got the 2 pink lines on the pregnancy test! I had a doctor's appointment today and got to hear the heartbeat again! So amazing! She gave me the O.K. to tell people...so I am! Besides a little morning sickness and a loss of appetite I feel great! At my next appointment on October 21 we get to find out if we should shop for PINK or BLUE!! We welcome any prayers for a healthy baby! We feel so blessed and send our prayers of thanks up to Him daily!

Bahamas

Cameron took me on another amazing trip this summer! We went to Nassau Bay in the Bahamas! This first slide show of pictures has no scuba pics. I will do a separate video for those!

Blog Shmog

So I thought I was all fancy since I just completed this 11 tools prof dev for school. I decided that making a family blog would be no sweat. Boo hiss. I was wrong. It's all off-centered! You have to use the little bar at the bottom to scroll over! WHY? Anyone out there (me shouting down an empty hallway) please comment and tell me how to fix my jacked blog!!