Almost Made It...

I almost made it all the way til the end without any crazy cravings....til last week (week 30). Now all I want is:


Raspberry Margarita


Oh, delicious beer


Wine...mmmm, Moscato...


Hoooooly cow, yum, champagne


I think it's the craziest thing ever. Of course all I want is what I can't have & day drinking O'Douls just isn't cutting it. Several friends have offered to sneak in a drink to me at the hospital...is that allowed?

3D/4D Ultrasound...Pics of Her Sweet Face!

WOW. I am still in shock at what we just saw, amazing to say the least!! I originally wasn't sold on the 3d ultrasound, and wasn't sure I thought it was worth the money. After several friends and family members talked me into it, I decided to go but was still skeptical. This was by far the most amazing thing ever. I would pay double what we did and go back in a heartbeat! She is the cutest little thing ever :)

She likes to stay wadded up in a tiny little ball, refused to move - just like at the 20wk
**No, the black stuff on top of her head isn't hair, she is lying head down, face out and diagonal - so she just has her head buried in my belly :)

Chubby cheeks and her Daddy's mouth, in a couple others you can
see more how defined her upper lip is. Definitely a deep V like Ben's

lips! Ahh! So sweet :)

The cord up by her face

2d, you can see the cord really well - apparently having 3 vessels in the
cord is very important - good thing they're all there!

OMGoodness that pouty mouth! Cord up by her face again

Just hangin' out takin a little nap

Not sure whose nose that is, we both have such pointy noses it will be hard to tell

left hand up by her face

teeny little hands and fingers
Don't worry Grandmas, there's nothing wrong w her face - she's just got her face squished right up on me!



Left arm and knee




Girlie parts - still a girl!



not that great of a shot - she likes having her face buried in my belly!

What a great day, I can not get over how amazing it was to get an idea of what she will look like.

The funniest thing ever happened in there:

Ultrasound guy taking the first picture:
Me: Oh my goodness babe, look at those cheeks!
Ben: Ya, I can't really tell what's going on here...
Ultrasound guy: this is the head, face...(explains to Ben what's happening)
Ben: (interrupts) Oh, Sh!t!! No way!

Love him :)


My 28wk appt and glucose test was last week, and everything is GOOD! :)

At my 24wk they said she was measuring a little big, and if nothing had changed by the 28 week we'd need to do an ultrasound and some additional testing...so I've been massively freaking out - crap, it's all the peanut butter & bananas, omg I have gestational diabetes and that's why she's big, she's gonna be born early, I've gained too much and I'm gonna cause her to be obese child....You know, all the ridiculous "what if" scenarios. I'm VERY happy that the Dr said her size and my weight gain were "perfect." So relieved.  

I cannot wait to post pics of my baby shower! I forgot my camera (of course), so I have to wait and get pics off everyone else's cameras.

-LJ

Tiny Dancer!

OMG! Girlfriend loooooves Christmas music! I'm messing around on the computer with Christmas music on the tv...everytime there's a part with bells, she goes nuts!! I love watching my belly go crazy while she's a dancing machine in there. I'm NEVER getting off this couch!

Our 3D/4D ultrasound is tomorrow. EXCITED!!!!

Coming soon: pics from baby shower #2!

-LJ

Baby Shower!

I went to GA last weekend for my baby shower, and the Johnson family's Thanksgiving dinner. It was such a great weekend! It's always so crazy how much my nephews have changed each time I visit. One was wearing an ACU, one got his braces off and has beautiful, perfect teeth, one now has a learner's license, one is now walking, and another is still one of the sweetest little guys ever, so cute!

That uniform almost made me cry!

Aunt Yaya & Baby Nate snuggle time

 My shower was great! Mom & Beth worked really hard on it, and everything was perfect! It was really nice seeing everyone, and an added bonus - baby girl got so much stuff!

centerpieces

sisters - Beth, me, Mendy, Pia, Jennifer, and sister-in-law Christie

26 weeks, 6 days

Full Speed Ahead!

Story of my life lately: meant to update this thing several times and never had time...

last few weeks at the Wood house:

-Halloween was a lot of fun for me. I made a cute shirt. It wasn't an original idea, but I saw a pic of someone else in one and had to have it.

-We've never really had trick-or-treeters before, and I had too much fun handing out candy to all the cute kids all dressed up. Ben thought it was funny and told me im going to be "the perfect little housewife," which pretty much made my week. :)

-My baby had surgery, too (the dog). I was a worried crying mess all day. I wore her home from the vet in the baby sling. Ben thought it was embarrassing and I didn't care. She was pitiful. It was a hard day.

-We finally got the baby furniture done. All of it. All of her stuff is organized and put away exactly the way I want it. Now I just need to decorate!

- I LOVE Ben's excitement about this little girl. Our new thing is everytime we go on a Target run we get something for her - just something little, just for fun. He's always so excited about it.
Recently:
-a stuffed monkey that plays music
-a pink pacifier
-a pink pig princess piggy bank - Ben is strategically planning out which rolls of change to get so that it has the perfect "jingle."  I love him.

-My 24 week appointment went well. My weight gain started slow and is now right on track, or "perfect" as the Dr said. I'm on track as far as where I want to be weight wise, but I've reached the stage of being uncomfortably big.

-Minor freak out of the week: I'm going to get a lot bigger.

- At first I wanted the top part of my wedding band as a "pushing present," but now I think I want p90x instead.

- I'm going to GA this weekend for my baby shower/Johnson family Thanksgiving. I'm so excited about both. My sister has gone crazy doing baby shower stuff, it's all going to be so cute! Turns out she is having a 3rd boy, so I think she is enjoying all the pink! I haven't been there for Thanksgiving since we moved, and I'm overly excited about having turkey with dressing. Ben's family is from Ohio and they eat stuffing instead and it's really just not for me.

- I'm so excited about seeing all my family!!

- Ben's surgery recovery was amazing and he went back to work yesterday. He is only allowed to work "restricted hours" for now....meaning he's only working 8 or 9 hour days instead of the usual 12 or 14. Something about that just doesn't sound right.

- When people say to me "why are you so tired, you're only supposed to be tired in the first trimester." I smile and say "well, everyone's different," but in my head I'm kicking them in the face. Only sleeping 1-2hrs a night would make anyone stay tired, pregnant or not. But, around week 24 something amazing happened and Baby Girl decided to finally let me sleep. I have slept more in the last 2 weeks than I have in 6 months. Amazing!

That said, I think it's naptime!
-LJ

Coming Right Along!

"I can't wait to come home and drink a beer and build a bed for my princess." - Ben

So he did...last week (pre-surgery). The furniture came in 3 different shipments, so luckily he was able to build the crib Tuesday when it came in.

 He's really excited!

 Daddy and his bff (my first baby!)

 I know something's up, Mommy. I'm not sure I like this baby. I'm the baby!

 finished product! Won't be leaving the bumper up,

but just wanted to see what it would look like....

still debating on a paint color

 In love with these little sheets!

I need a baby elephant intervention.

not kidding.

Crazy Saturday night at the Wood house!

Some of our awesome friends came over Saturday night and cooked us dinner and helped build the chest. The dresser will be assembled soon! After the surgery/spending the night in the hospital we were pretty wiped out, so having them come over to help us was such a huge help. We are so lucky!

My patient is doing wonderfully! The surgeon said his disc was herniated so badly (and pressing into his nerve so hard) that it had attached itself to the nerve. They had to unattach the two before they could remove the disc material. His healing process may take a little longer because now the nerve also has to heal, but either way he'll be up and running before Baby Girl arrives.

Needless to say we definitely made the right decision going w surgery. I'm even happier we chose NOT to do it in St Cloud. I'm so pleased with how everything went and his surgeon was really great. I can't say enough good things about him. The first time he had this done was about 5 years ago and from what he says it was a total nightmare, so we have both been dreading this. But, so far, this entire process has been much easier than I expected.

Funny how things change in a year! Though this isn't ideal, it's nothing compared to what we were dealing with this time last year: my Dad's quadruple bypass/Cartoid surgery/ICU/A-Fib/pacemaker/2 week hospital stay nightmare. SO glad that's over. Glad this is almost over, too.

-LJ

Umm...Did Caesar Live Here?

A few weekends ago Ben and I went to Vegas for his brother's wedding. We got to see friends that we haven't seen much since moving to MN, & Ben's extended family members from all across the country, and of course Ben and I got a sister-in-law! We had such a great weekend!

Ben and I somewhere in Caesar's Palace



The 2nd baby Ben has ever held, he looks a little scared!

Our date night was so much fun! We had dinner at a place called Trevi inside the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace. The atmosphere and the food couldn't have been more perfect. The boys were troopers too, I'm sure they'd rather be at the casino than out with the women. :)
 

Ben and I at dinner for date night! 



Fountain of the Gods, our dinner table was right in front of it.

 

Date night!

 

Ben and friends (all of these guys were in our wedding!)



fountains at the Bellagio....
post-cry/tears of pain from walking for.e.ver to try and ride the gondolas at the Venetian.
They were sold out.... so we did this instead.
It was gorgeous! So worth all the trouble
(before we left for the night I had to go buy these ugly leggings bc it was soooo cold in Vegas!)

 

soooo pretty, I'm so glad Ben took me

 The bachelorette party was such a fun night! I planned the Chippendales party and at the time, I wasn't pregnant. I was a little afraid strangers would give me judge-y dirty looks for being pregnant and being there, but it seemed like no one really thought anything about it. I definitely broke the caffeine rule, but pregnancy exhaustion + Vegas...what can ya do? I'm sure she's fine.

After the Chippendales!! Bachelorette party night
(calm down, they don't actually take their clothes off...well, not all of them. lol!)



Even pregnant girls are allowed to have a little fun!
Our fabulous bartender kept the diet cokes coming -
 Baby Girl was dancing the whole time! She likes to party!



Bride and bridesmaids getting ready!

Ben and his brother, my MIL crying in the background :)
I have no idea who the weird Cyndi Lauper looking chic in the background is,
she must've been a guest of the prior wedding.



Wedding Party!



Ben and I at the wedding reception



We had such a fun weekend!! By the end of the trip to say we were exhausted would be a total understatement. It was sooo worth it and the wedding was perfect.  I'm so glad Ben was able to get a much needed break from his daily grind. He deserved it!

-LJ