31 weeks

Wow- it's been a bit since I updated this blog. 31 week today. Pretty cool stuff. So far everything with the baby is great. I have an ultrasound followed by a doctor appointment on Thursday. I am hoping we get another picture of the peanut. The peanut is still quite active but is running out of room, I don't really feel kicks so much as stretches these days. Depending on what side I lay on the baby pushes and prods that side like I was squashing it. I have hit the 10 pound mark. That is what I've gained and boy do I feel it. I guess all pregnant women feel really uncomfortable but this is my first go round for that kind of stuff.

What is really weird to contemplate is when we brought Gunner home from the NICU I should have been about 33 weeks pregnant. Weird thing to sit and think about, it is amazing how different everything has been this time around. Thankfully!

The weather gave us a teaser last week. I was really starting to get cabin fever on those 57 degree days and now that the wind is blowing and it feels like 20 degrees outside, staying in isn't quite as bad.

My mom keeps asking when I am going to get ready for the baby. I'm not really sure what I need to do. We have diapers, wipes, and a bassinet. Granted the bassinet bedding needs to be washed. I can't buy much until I know what the baby is. I have tons of soft, cuddly blue blankets and even several new neutral ones. The only thing we really need to get is a new car seat. I haven't decided whether to pick a neutral one or pick one for a boy and one for a girl and then once the baby is born have Gary go get it. I guess that is why so many find out ahead of time. I just think being surprised is awesome. Especially since so many people are itching to know. We haven't made any definate decisions on names. We are closer to a final name for a girl and are slowly coming up with some options for a boy. And we only have to pick first names since this babies middle name will be "Lucht" also regardless of gender.

And no matter what Gunner says- I am still pregnant, we don't know what it is and we haven't decided on a name. For the second time Gunner has told his preschool teacher that he has a brother. I think that is what he is hoping for. This time he told her his name was Conner Lucht Bruce and she believed Gunner since she knew Lucht was a family name and that made sense to her. What tripped up Gunners story is when she asked if he remembered how much his brother weighed. Gunner's response was "he was really big" - " he is so big he put his cowboy boots on and went outside to play with me." She knew the kid was full of it then. That is my boy. Gotta love him.

Another week down

So here I am in the third trimester! Another first for this second time mom. I am pretty excited about making it this far. Gary is having a great time laughing at my belly. While I have only gained about 3 lbs, everything has been redistributed and the budda is starting to be quite noticeable. It is fun times all around. Especially trying to do things like shave my legs...

Had to be up at the crack of dawn on Tuesday to do my 3 hour glucose tolerance test. That is just not nice to do to a pregnant lady. I had to fast for 12 hours and then the test is 3 hours long (hence the name). It wasn't too bad except for that first hour after I drank the glucola- I really thought I was going to be sick for awhile. After the first hour I headed upstairs to Labor and Delivery since Stefani was working and crashed in a triage bed while she did the remaining blood draws. It is sometimes who you know. Laying down for the last two hours was great. And amazingly enough when your best bud is a nurse and wants the results of a lab back- you get to find out right away what the results are. I passed! Thank god for that one! Most likely the doctors office will call with the results next week too- I just smile and don't let on I already know.

All in all not much else is new. The weather is breaking a bit today. We are slowly getting settled in at the new house. My disability forms went through amazingly quick so now I just am waiting for the mail to bring me my money! That is one relief- I figured for sure I would have to fight that one. AFLAC has been quite good to me I must say. Gary is still working basically a second shift. Which he hates, but at least he is working. I stay up till he gets home and we watch a bit of TV together before we crash- so usually I am not in bed till 1 or 2 am, which is ok since I usually nap in the late afternoon. I hope this warm up is the start of spring and not just a teaser- Gunner is ready to be outside running around without all the snow clothes instead of cooped up inside or all bundled up.

More pregnant than ever!

So, we hit a major milestone! Tuesday was 27wks 1day (when Gunner was born) and here I am still pregnant! I had a doctor appointment that day and everything was fine. Blood pressure was good, lost a pound, baby heart beat 146, and I measure 28 weeks (beefcake!) I don't have to go back to the doctor until March 11th. They will probably do another FFN test again (and we will hope for another negative like last time!) I do have to go next week and do a 3 hour glucose test. YUCK! This involves fasting for 12 hours and the test itself is 3 hours... that is a long time without food for a pregnant lady! Even though most of the hours will be nightime, I imagine I will still be quite grouchy by the time it is over. The baby is still active and getting more forceful in its movements. Gunner told the people at church that his mom is having a boy and his name is Kevin. Where he came up with that? No clue. He likes to make up stories. Gunner has been a champ. While he has a hard time listening and following directions and is going overboard with the backtalk- he is such a help to me. Last night after his papa dropped him off around 8- he did a load of laundry. He pushed the chair up to the washer, picked up all his things out of the laundry pile, climbed in the chair and threw them in. We did the laundry soap together and when they were done, he pulled them out of the washer, threw them in the laundry basket on the floor and then got down and shoved them all in the dryer. What kind of 4 year old is that awesome? This morning I had to yell for him when I was in the shower, and he came and got my razor which I forgot before I got in. He grabs me towels and will try to help put socks on me (which is not necessarily a help- but he feels useful!) He has been amazing.

The move last weekend went well. I stayed with Gunner at my mom's house while everyone moved our stuff. So when I showed up it was all over and we just have to put things away. Gunner seems pretty happy with the move, although when he is mad he tells us he is going to the old house by himself. We did have a hard time catching 2 of our outside cats. I actually had to get in on that one. Gunner and I caught Nittany and put her in the truck which was running when we were looking for Punt. When we came back to the truck after giving up on Punt for the night, the doors were locked. I almost freaked! I knew Gary was going to explode, then I realized not only did Nittany lock the doors, she turned on the blinkers and rolled the window down, then jumped out!! We did end up catching both cats, but it involved me sitting in the snow waiting for 10 minutes under the deck for them to both come to me so I could get my hands on them. Once I had grabbed them both Gary jumped out of the truck to save me from the savage clawing they were trying to give me. It was a lot of excitement for someone on bedrest. Currently all the cats are happy in the barn and both dogs are outside at the new house and last night decided to play with a skunk. They so tick me off.

All in all things are good. Hopefully things pick up at work for Gary, that is about the only thing we are annoyed with right now. I also can finally submit my disability papers tommorow, don't even get me started on HR at Ferris! So hopefully they go through first time without a fight. We will see. Still laying low, and praying for a big healthy baby. Each day that passes makes it just a little easier to breathe.

26 week update

Ha- I snuck out to the library again. Yesterday was a long one! My best bud Stefani took me down to the doctor for my ultrasound and my doc appt. The ultrasound was better! My cervix length is 2.2 (which is up from last week!) Shows that the bedrest is paying off. The doctor decided to go ahead and give me the steroid shots for babies lungs- even though things are ok right now. I was totally happy with that call. So yesterday I got a shot and I have to go back to the doctor today to get the second one. I also failed my glucose test- BUT that may have been affected by the steroids they gave me 30 minutes before they poked my finger. So next week at my doct0r appointment we will figure out whether I get to redo the hour long test or if they are going to make me do the 3 hour test.

This weekend is the big move. Gary has a lot of things moved out of the house already. The phone company is all set, the dishnet work is all set- so in my case- the necessities are covered. I am pretty bummed about it. I have known the move was coming- but that doesn't make it any easier to go. Gunner is excited one minute and overwhelmed the next. Hopefully he handles it well. The kid has had a lot thrown at him lately and it has shown in his behavior. We are trying to deal as best we can and get through this before we really crack down on how he has been acting.

Keep praying for baby bruce-

25 weeks

The inevitable arrived on Monday afternoon. Bedrest! After a not so good ultrasound that showed a CL of 1.7 and funnelling- I am down for the count. Hopefully down for at least another month or so. The baby looks great and is still very active.

I am off work till after baby is born, I can venture out for lunch or dinner occassionally- which I am trading for time at the public library to use the internet. I am still allowed to move around the house pretty freely but I am unable to do laundry, dishes, or grocery shopping. After approximately one day- I am aching all over my back and hips from laying so long.

Gary is busy, trying to do everything at home and also get us ready to move very shortly. It is hectic but we also new this was a possibility. Keep praying for the baby and lots of time for me to be bored silly. My next check up is next week- hopefully a week of bedrest makes a positive difference!

24

Week 24- yup if you read this, it is almost solely outlining my pregnancy. Sorry, but for us right now that it the most important thing going on. No appointments this week- so it will be a long and boring one for me. Today baby Bruce is quite active and kicking the crap out of me. I can tell baby is getting larger since the kicks feel totally different. A few weeks ago all I felt was this butterfly like movement or flip flop in my stomach. Now- I know the kid is there. No one else can really feel it yet, but I can tell a big difference. The weeks are dragging by for me, I can't wait to get to the end of February so I can feel a little more confident about this baby's chances.

This weekend Gary painted, big surprise. He is making a lot of progress at the farm. I like to avoid thinking about moving, but the big day is coming up way too soon. I can only do a limited amount to help and we are trying to finish the upstairs rooms before we move anything. The biggest obstacle will be finding (and paying for) carpet for Gunner's room. And having it installed- that is not something we can do ourselves.

We also took Gunner sledding again on Saturday afternoon. Well, Gary took him sledding and I watched from the top of the hill. We didn't stay as long this time since the wind was so awful. Gary gave me his coat to put over my coat and my teeth were still chattering. Gunner was sweating after climbing up and down the hills. At one point Gary laid on the intertube and Gunner and Paige sat on his back like they were riding a horse. It was funny to watch till the very bottom when Gunner fell off and was dragging behind tangled up in Gary's legs. From the top of the hill it looked like Gary ran him over with the tube, but Gunner came up laughing and smiling. Regardless they didn't ride that way again.

Ending week 23

So here we are, almost at the end of week 23. Nothing too major happened. Doctor appt on Wednesday was totally routine, my BP and weight were great (didn't gain again!) and baby's heart rate was 146. I have an CL ultrasound on Feb 9th then another appt on Feb. 17th when they will do the glucose screening.

We are supposed to take Gunner sledding again tommorow. Should I say Gary is sledding I am watching? The temp is supposed to be ok, but chance of freezing drizzle- hopefully it isn't too bad out. Gunner is pretty excited about it, he and Gary both had fun last time.

Gunner seems to be feeling ok- which is a relief, the last cold he had took forever for him to get over. Saying a prayer for my brother in law today, he had to see the specialist to get more input on making a choice between fusion and amputation of his ankle. Its going to be rough no matter what choice he makes. Hopefully God leads him down the right path.

We are busy all the time and don't seem to get much done, not sure what it is we used to do before Gunner or how we will manage after the new baby is here. It is always crazy. The only good thing is that each day the flies by gets us one day closer to a healthy baby.