Just another day

Well, I had my 24-week appointment with Dr. Anderson. Everything seems to still be going okay. The baby's heartbeat was in the 140's. As soon as she put the Doppler on my stomach, we saw the baby move but I think he was sleeping. Ron and I have been using his stethoscope to see if we can hear anything yet but we can't. The Dr. told us to wait about another month before we actually start to hear something with a regular stethoscope. I also had to sit in the office for an hour to do the glucose test. The stuff didn't taste bad at all and I like that they had chilled it. They drew blood after an hour and then I was finally able to leave. Hopefully, I won't get a call. The nurses said that if something came up they would call me and then I would have to go in for more extensive testing. It's scary for me since much of my family is diabetic and I know it's in my genes, I just hope that the test comes up negative.

It was interesting sitting in the office and watching all the people go by. I found myself measuring my belly against other women's to see if I was bigger or smaller and if they were due sooner than me or not. Ron didn't go with me this trip as he didn't want to sit in the office for that long when he could be at "work" putting people to sleep. We always sit and talk though when we are there together about the number of men who come with their pregnant wife/girlfriend/whatever. Ron sometimes feels out of place. I think that every woman that walked through the door during that hour had a male with her. It's nice to know that there are a lot of supportive men out there.

I've never been much of a back sleeper but I find myself more and more wanting to sleep on my back. Probably because I know that I shouldn't do it. If I do end up on my back, I eventually end up waking back and turning to my side but still going back to my back. I have a big pillow that I use that many times ends up on the floor!

I've also been busy looking for daycare since both Ron and I won't be able to stay at home. I've had to put my name on waiting lists and they have said to call back once the baby is born. I'm nervous that I won't find something but I hope that's not the case. Most places start taking babies as young as 6 weeks which (if everything goes according to schedule), it will be the first part of July. Unfortunately, since I am the breadwinner for the Baker family, there is not much choice in if I am going back to work or not but my bosses are very flexible and it shouldn't be too much of a problem. I do really like my job so it won't be too hard to go back.

Until the next episode....

Well over halfway now!

So here are a few more pics! I think my face looks a little round but I'm not sure who else will notice. I've picked up a bit more weight in the belly area but not too much yet! I had to include one of Ron's signature poses. He won't take a picture of me unless he can take one of him touching my belly! I am now at 24 weeks and have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday. I have to take the glucose test which means I will be sitting in the office for an hour so they can draw blood after I drink some stuff. I also have to give them blood since they didn't do the sickle cell anemia test during the first set of labs. I am a little surprised that they forgot this especially because of the high incidence rate of this disease in African-Americans. I don't think I have it but it would certainly be nice to know! We have seen my belly jump, usually at night, but I couldn't tell you if it was the baby's fist or a foot yet. Ron gets super excited when he gets the chance to see it since he's busy studying most of the time and by the time he finally comes downstairs it has already stopped for a bit. We still haven't picked a name yet. Of course, Ron wants a "Ronald III" but I want something different like Kendall. Hopefully, we will come to a peaceful decision soon but in the meantime, no one had better take the name I have picked out:) Enjoy the pics, more stories soon.........

Pictures of Ron's office/Baby's room

Since we are living in a townhouse, there's not too much space to work with but I think we have done alright! Ron wants to be close to the baby whenever he's studying which is why he wanted to leave his desk and everything in the room instead of taking it downstairs. I can't wait until it's all done and finally decorated!

New year, new things to think about

It's me again! Ron and I have been extremely busy with work and school but not to busy to go register for a baby shower! Ron had last Friday off and I took it off of work so we could get started. I have never seen Ron so excited to go through a store. When we did it for the wedding, he could only stand a half hour of it before he was ready to leave. I couldn't believe how much energy he had this time around! We ended up going to Target and Babies R Us. Unfortunately, we do not have a Babies R Us in Decatur but there is one in Springfield. The people at the store told us that this store was one of the ten smallest in the U.S. Now, we want to go and see a bigger store because it was huge to us! Ron got scanner crazy and put every book that he could find on it. I think he will be more excited about the books than the baby ever will be. It was pretty cute though!

We finally decided on the bedding we wanted. It was a tough choice between cars, moons, boats, and animals. We ended up choosing the African jungle theme. It actually looks pretty neat. Ron liked it because of the pictures of the animals while I put a little more thought into it. I liked it because the bumper had pictures that would entertain and stimulate the baby moreso than the others. Ron then said that was why he picked it too!

Overall, it was an overwhelming trip but very fun! Babies need so much and we haven't even purchased half of the stuff we need. Luckily, we have all of the big stuff so if the baby comes early, we have a car seat and crib. We did have a scare though! When were at Babies R Us, one of the ladies said that every car seat in the store except for two of them had just passed some National Car Seat Safety test. Later on, Ron and I looked and found out that the car seat we had failed the test and had been recalled! So, I went online and tried to figure everything out. Luckily, our car seat and base had been manufactured after the recall and was properly updated. Boy was that fun!

Everything else has been seeming to go okay. I am getting a little back pain here and there and I had my first foot cramp in both feet but that's about it! I am about 23 weeks and have my next doctor's appointment in two weeks when I have to take a diabetes test. I have been attending aerobics the past couple of weeks and it's been fun. I've been trying to attend Monday-Thursday but I work late sometimes. They have both water and land. Working out now is so different from running track. I am out of breath in less time and I feel like I did much, much less. The good thing is is that it tires me out so much that when I go to bed, I have a peaceful night's sleep.

Well, that's it for now! Come back soon......

Hey there This is BIG RON (AKA Neva Nervous/Rick James)
It has been a very good MondayNew Years. As me and my lil boy were watching the Boise State Game. It was crazy as he began to make sudden movements (at the end of the game) on Gianina's Belly. I put my ear up to her stomach and he told me. "Daddy, I wanna play football for Boise State. Daddy isssshhhhh gooooooodd!" I must say that me and my boy have already had the opportunity to watch one of the best Division I football games in history. It brings tears to my eyes. Boise State for National Champions-From lil Ron and BIG RON!!!!

Our Christmas Break

Well, we've made it safely to 21 weeks! As you can see from the picture, I am getting a bit bigger. It's getting harder to stand up when sitting down or laying in bed but other than that I can still do pretty much everything. I signed up for a class at the YMCA that does water/land aerobics. Ron is excited because I will be exercising. He's been getting on me the past couple of weeks. I go to the gym about once or twice a week and walk on the treadmill and ride the bike. He doesn't think that all the walking I do at work counts for much! We went to the doctor over Christmas break and Dr. Anderson said that we should not go with the May 22nd due date from the ultrasound but the May 12th date instead. So, I guess we'll see what happens.

As of now, we have pretty much everything assembled and are now trying to clean up. I will post a picture of the room that is half Ron's office and half the baby's room soon. For Christmas, Ron surprised me with an outfit for the baby as well as some bibs. One bib said "mommy's little monster" while another said "Daddy's little helper." We had similar ideas as I got him a bib that said "Little Bears fan" since he's such a big Chicago fan now! One thing we both have realized is the unfairness of clothing. There are so many clothes in stores for little girls but not for boys.

Thus far, I have not felt much movement (at least I don't think). I have seen my stomach twitch but I think that's the baby hiccuping. Ron brings his stethoscope home every week so we can see if we hear anything. It is definitely helpful having a nurse for husband as well as all his friends that are both doctors and nurses.

Well, that's it for now! Check back soon for more pics and stories!