24 Week Appointment

We had our 24 week appointment on Wednesday, June 17. We arrived at 8:30 am and I went straight back to the lab to drink my "sugar solution". After finishing my drink, I had to wait one hour before returning to the lab for my blood test. Jason and I read in the waiting room for a little while and then they called me back for my appointment. I gained another 4 pounds (woo hoo), although no one but me seemed alarmed by this fact. I guess it's pretty normal to be gaining weight now. I am not a big fan of it though and after speaking to the nurse practitioner about it, I have decided to limit my intake of sweets as much as possible and will also try to exercise in the evening as well as the walk Jason and I take at lunch time each day. During the appointment, the nurse measured my belly and said that it is right on schedule with the gestational age of the baby! Yay, no mondo baby...yet, anyway :) She also listened to the heart rate again and everything sounded perfect. My urine was also perfect this month. Exciting, as last month they found traces of protein in it. After this portion of my appointment, I waited a little while longer and it was time to do my blood work. Hopefully all is well with the blood work, but we should know for sure if I may have or do not have gestational diabetes by this coming Tuesday.

This month I have definitely begun to really feel pregnant. My belly has grown a lot and while its exciting to feel the baby moving a lot more, it's kind of depressing to feel that I'm bigger every day and clothes that I thought were good "maternity clothes" the day before, no longer fit too well. I have begun to have some back pain, which I have been scared of since the beginning. Jason and I are both pretty scared at thoughts of what could go wrong with my back condition (spondelilothesis) during pregnancy and during labor, itself. But, we are trying to take precautions and pray about it...I am sure it will all work out perfectly. Aside from the back pain, I've noticed minimal swelling in my ankles and feet and I have decided to remove my wedding rings from my finger and wear them on a chain around my neck. I was nervous every day that they would get stuck and I read other women's horror stories of having to have them cut off, so I just bit the bullet! :) I've also begun to notice some difficulty with sleeping. I really shouldn't be sleeping on my back anymore at this stage and if I try to, my heart rate usually increases and I can't relax anyway (this is normal, I asked). But, I'm finding it hard to be comfortable for long any which way I lay! Any day now, we should be able to begin feeling the baby move and kick from the outside. Jason and I are both looking forward to that!

Also in the past month, Jason and I took a little adventure and traveled to Branson, MO for the weekend. I found an amazing hotel called Chateau on the Lake and we had a wonderful, rejuvenating weekend. We did some outlet clothes shopping for Jason and the baby, we walked a lot outdoors, enjoying the weather, we swam and laid out at the hotel's gorgeous pool (where we also were brought Pina Coladas...yes, mine was a virgin, & sprayed with Evian Mist), we kayaked on the lake & we enjoyed an amazing champagne brunch on Sunday before returning home. We loved the Chateau so much that I have already booked another weekend at the end of August to celebrate our anniversary. My Mom & Dad plan to meet us there that weekend and we are going to rent a pontoon boat and spend a day out on the lake, as well. So exciting! We needed a few weekends away as a couple before baby arrives.

Our crib and bedding arrived last week and as always, it was just not possible for everything to work out perfectly. Jason began to put the crib together and realized that some of the hardware was missing. I contacted the company and they sent the pieces out right away, but that put crib building off for a week. This Friday, June 19, my best pal, Diana Phalen and her husband came to visit from Chicago!! They had been in Branson for the past week with Diana's family for a little vacation and when they realized we were just 2 hours away, they had to come see us and we were so excited for them to arrive! So, I worked a half day on Friday, getting home around 12:15 and Di and Dave arrived around 12:30. We had lots of fun catching up, playing games and eating! Alas, they were only able to stay about 24 hours and they had to head back home. We wish their stay could have been longer but we are so thankful they made the trip here! After their departure, my hubby set to work on the crib. He did a beautiful job! After the crib was finished, we got out the mattress and put on all of the bedding. The nursery is really coming together and I love it. We will be ordering the last piece of furniture in August and our talented friend, Miki, is working on painting some canvases for the wall that will coordinate with the bedding. We have such wonderful friends and family. We feel very blessed.