...5...

Well - as of today, we have 5 weeks until Baby Girl's due date! I can hardly believe it's coming so quickly. I had another Dr. appointment this morning. Since I was off of work and Dan had a business meeting, I asked my mom to come with me. It was definitely fun having her along (especially since we had to wait so long to be called back)...She got to hear the baby's heart beat - it was 130 bpm today until the Dr. poked around a bit and it increased to about 145 - which is a good sign that she's active and responsive in there! Dr. Johnson also felt around on my abdomen and was able to kind of 'squeeze' the Baby's head - though she said it 'floated' away so apparently it's not quite time yet.  She also gave me some information about when to call in should I start to go into labor over the next couple of weeks (aka. my water breaking or contractions).  As I was listening to her explain this stuff, I started to feel a new sense of excitement about this Baby's arrival into the world! My next appointment is in 2 weeks - at which point I will be 37 weeks pregnant...SO crazy! Just another reminder of how blessed we are to have this healthy, growing Baby on the way!
On another note - this healthy, growing Baby is definitely making her presence known already - especially around the time I'm trying to get some rest at night.  I've been waking up VERY frequently throughout the night the past couple of weeks - mostly just feeling uncomfortable and having to shift positions to fall back asleep.  Other than that, my heartburn still remains - though it seems to have died down a bit from when it first started.  I know I can just be thankful for all of these little reminders that there's a precious little life growing inside of me right now!

I can't believe we're already on the verge of the end of another year - seems like each month has just FLOWN by since we found out we're expecting.  December was full of fun - baby showers, preparation and Holiday celebrations.  This Christmas was great - it was so nice to spend time with my Dad while he visited MN for the first winter in about 5 years - and fill our days/evenings with family as we celebrated Christmas with our families.  It was also kind of fun to sit back and realize that next year, we'll have another member of our family with us for all of the festivities!  I'm so incredibly thankful for our friends and family and am looking forward to the New Year and all that it will bring - including our Baby's arrival, friends' first babies being born, weddings and so much more!

On that note - here's a picture from today - with 5 weeks to go.  The Dr. did comment again that I am not 'popping' out as much as many other women, but not to worry - because it's apparently due to my 'toned abdomen muscles'.  Not too sure I believe that's the real reason, but I'll take it I guess! :)

Well - that's all for now! I now have two examples of friends' giving birth to their children 4 weeks early (over the past two months)....so I'm getting a little nervous - but know that ultimately God is in control of whenever this little girl decides to come!

6 weeks...like a squirrel

I know - I'm behind again...was just too tired to update last night! :( Guess I better get used to that - since in somewhere near 6 weeks, I probably won't be able to just take naps or not doing something because I am not up to it - Baby Girl will be a little more demanding than this blog!
So as of yesterday, 6 weeks until this Baby Girl is supposed to arrive.  It's still crazy for me to imagine her being here that soon! I googled animals with gestation periods of ONLY 6 weeks and a squirrel came up - not sure how accurate it is, but we'll go with it for the sake of this blog.  Can you imagine having only 6 weeks to prepare for the birth of your child?! I've already had months and I'm still feeling ill-equipped in many ways. 
This past week has been a VERY active one for Baby Girl.  She's been moving around a LOT and Mommy has been feeling it - very forcefully! :) It's so fun to feel her moving and even sometimes see my belly move when She moves.  Two nights ago, I was laying in bed trying to fall asleep and all of a sudden, I started feeling very steady thuds against my belly - I told Dan and he felt it for a couple of minutes too. It continued on for about five minutes straight, it was so bizarre and rhythmic.  "They" do say that this week the Baby is able to hear familiar tunes - so maybe She was playing out a song in there? :) Either way, very fun to interact with her as she moves.

Yesterday, I started to experience what is known as 'nesting'.  From Baby Shower #1 in November until yesterday, we have just had piles of stuff sitting in the Nursery.  I'm not sure why I hadn't started taking things out of boxes/organizing - since that's my natural tendency (in life) - until yesterday.  Dan ran some errands and came home to a living room of folded up/broken down cardboard boxes all over the floor.  Meanwhile, I was busy organizing and consolidating our gifts in the Nursery.  It feels really good to start putting things away.  My next big project is to clear out the closet and hang up the MANY articles of clothing waiting for an adorable little girl to wear them -- fortunately we have one of those on the way! :)
Here are a few previews of what the Nursery looks like so far...not sure we're set on furniture placement yet - but for now it works.  I decided to put my limited creativity to work and made some artwork to hang on the walls. 

I couldn't resist - how cute are all of these booties?! This may be a dangerous start to a shoe collection like her mommy's! :)

SO excited to celebrate Christmas in just 2 days -- though this isn't her first Christmas, it's special knowing that this is our last year of just the two of us...I can't even begin to imagine what it will be like celebrating with our little Girl next year. 
On that note - I did have someone worry me a little about confidence in expecting a little GIRL...As I look around the nursery, here's hoping the ultrasound tech. was right - because we do not have much to offer a little boy at this point!! :)

...lucky number 7

Alright - I'm a day late, but 7 weeks to go as of yesterday! It's just surreal that we have that little time until this precious little one joins us...
Last weekend, we had a MAJOR snowstorm - they compared it to the Halloween Blizzard of 1991 - the one that ruined my chances at getting any significant amount of candy since we lived in Dayton, MN (aka, didn't stand much of a chance getting out of the driveway).  Unfortunately - this blizzard caused the cancellation of our Birth & Parenting Prep Express class.  Since we had to leave so early in the morning, we were able to get out of our driveway and made it safely to the Hospital (we were even 10 minutes early)!  We ended up waiting until about 9:15am - watching other couples come in from the cold - only to find out that the class had been cancelled.  After making it home, we decided to take advantage of the continuous snowfall by setting up shop on the couch.  Dan bravely ventured out once the snow stopped falling (late afternoon) and started shoveling.  He was out there for about an hour and a half before our neighbor got home to let us use his snowblower - which still took another 2 hours to clear the rest of the driveway! We ended up with something like 17" of snow in the Twin Cities when it was all said and done! While we didn't learn anything about giving birth, the weekend was definitely memorable.  Our class couldn't be rescheduled until January 22 and 23rd - so hopefully this Girl doesn't come early! :)
We had another appointment on Monday and the Dr. reassured me that if she does come early, we'll be fine - everyone else around me will know what to do even if I don't! :)  The appointment went smoothly (and quickly); still measuring normal growth, heart beat of 144 and normal blood pressure - all I can ask for!

Not much else to update...just getting excited for Christmas time and some time off from work! :)
Here's a picture from this past Sunday --

and one from today...

That's all for now!

...8 weeks till Baby

Well - another week has passed, hard to believe how quickly they're going! I think with the Holidays and Baby Showers, time just passes faster! I've definitely started feeling pregnant this past week - trying to walk slowly and carefully over the icy/snowy parking lots and walkways...having a hard time putting my socks on in the morning...and some restless nights of attempting to sleep.  I've also had the joy of heartburn pretty constantly - and the Dr. said it will only get worse from here on out! I've been told by a few people that they experienced the same fun when pregnant with their little girls - and one even said it means she'll have a full head of hair (which I wouldn't doubt based on my baby picture)!  Other than those 'inconveniences', things are still going wonderfully! We feel so incredibly blessed at God's protection over this little one's growth and over me throughout the pregnancy so far. It's really a great reminder that I am not in control...a hard lesson for me to learn.

This past weekend, I had another Baby Shower - this time hosted by my wonderful Mom and Sister in Maple Grove.  It was a great Saturday spent celebrating with my family (Rostamo and Dale) - though it was a smaller group since most of my relatives are scattered throughout the US (and Australia).  I had a great time playing games, eating delicious food and catching up.  My Great Aunt Mary was there and she was entertaining for all - as usual - I love her candor and that I have her in my life during this exciting time.  She reminds me so much of my Grandma Rose (her sister) that it warms me to feel like my Grandma is here celebrating too in a way.
My mom made this incredible fruit carving for the shower - a little baby buggy. So impressive, had to post this.

This weekend, we have our Baby Preparation class at Fairview Southdale Hospital.  This is the Hospital I will be delivering the Baby at - so it will be good to walk around and get more familiar with it.  I'm excited to hear what they have to teach us and get a tour of the Maternity Ward there! Though I know it's not nearly as exciting for Dan - at least it's just one weekend...

Not a whole lot more to report at this point.  Things are going smoothly - I have my two week Dr. appointments starting next Monday, which is just another reminder of how soon this little girl will be here to greet us! :)