New Carpet

So the final step to finishing Austin's room was the new carpet. We enlisted family members to come and pull up the old, to get ready for the new. This is Jon in Austin's room pulling up the lovely magenta carpet.

This is the hallway all bare and ready to be swept and double checked for left over staples.

The new carpet is much better and matches the blue wallpaper and blue, tan and yellow wallpaper. The room just needs to have the furniture all moved in and set up.

The hallway all nice and pretty with the new carpet.

Catching Up Part Two

My computer froze and shut down on me in the middle of my last post. So the big thing that has happened this month was surgery. I was having major abdomen pains all through Christmas Break. At first I thought it was preterm labor pains. After a call to my doctor he scheduled an ultrasound and some tests. The ultrasound showed that Austin was doing fine and there were no problems with the pregnancy. They also did some blood work, a kidney scan and a liver scan. This all took place on a Friday and we had to wait until Monday to get any results. When they called me Monday the nurse explained that I had issues with my gallbladder. I had stones and the gallbladder did not look healthy. The doctor said that he would recommend taking pain meds and waiting until after the baby is born to do anything. he said the other option would be to be induced early and then have the surgery. I really didn't like either option but we decided to give the meds a try. Well, Lortab is not for me. It made me so sick and dizzy that I could not function. So I called the doctor back and asked for a second opinion. He sent me to a general surgeon. The surgeon said he had done the surgery several times on pregnant women and said that he wouldn't wait and set up the surgery for the next day. All went well with the surgery. They had me show up at the hospital 2 hours early to be monitored by Labor and Delivery to watch Austin. During the surgery there was a nurse whose sole job was to watch the ultrasound and heartrate of Austin to make sure he did OK. Then after surgery I was in Labor and Delivery again to make sure everything was OK with Austin. It was all fine. Recovery was long and painful. I am not very patient when it comes to staying in bed all day so I was looking forward to going back to work, atleast for now, until Austin is born.

Some day, I promise, I will learn how to post pictures and I will update my blog. Thanks for reading anyway!

Catching Up

It's been a busy month since my last post. So here are some details in a nutshell. It was nice to have 2 solid weeks off (without pay, of course) for the holidays. I really like that Ben and I have the same days off so that we can do stuff together. Over the break we painted the baby room ocean blue and wallpapered one wall in blue, yellow and tan plaid. Actually I should say Ben painted and wallpapered, I spent most of the break being sick and in pain (which will lead to another story). It looks really nice, we only wallpapered up half the wall and then there is a natural wains coating that goes on the wall. We also installed a new ceiling fan and blinds. We also ordered a crib and changing table which should be delivered shortly. We bought a new rocking chair and have new carpet ordered and just waiting for an installation date. We also went to Target and registered. ben loves to use the scanning gun. Christmas Eve and Christmas were long days. We decided we are not going to try to see both families on both days anymore. From now on we will do one family each day and call it good. We hated all the snow that we received around the holidays. Even Ben admitted that he was tired of snowblowing, which he had been looking forward to using since he got a brand new snowblower for his birthday. We can't wait for Spring.

Third Trimester

3 months left! At our last appointment the doctor had a hard time getting a heartbeat because Austin kept moving. Finally on the 5th attempt it worked! The doctor commented on his active movement and wrote in my chart in big, bold, capital letters, VERY ACTIVE BABY! I asked if that was a sign for what he will be like when he is here and the doctor laughed and said probably. So we are looking forward to a very active little boy who will keep us on our toes.

Birthday Facts for Austin

We are coming up on Week 24. When you think of how much time is left--- 16 weeks, doesn't sound too bad. Everything is still going well. I feel him move all the time and Ben felt him for the first time as well. There have been times at school when I have felt him and as an instinct I put my hand on my growing tummy and my students ask if everything is OK. I tell them it's fine and that I was just feeling him move and then they all want to feel him too. I tell them no and we continue on with what we were working on. I don't think I could handle 25 (grimy) hands rubbing my belly. I just can't do that. Here are some fun birthday facts for Austin.

Fun Birthday Facts


Your baby's birthstone will be Aquamarine (Courage)
Your baby's Astrological Sign will be Pisces
Your baby's Flower is Daffodil or Jonquil (White or Light Blue)
Your baby will be born in the Chinese Year of The Ox
This time next year your baby will be 36 Weeks Old!
Your baby will start kindergarten in 2014, be old enough to drive a car in 2025, finish high school in 2027, and will graduate from college with the class of 2031, give or take a year.



Can you imagine?

Twenty Two Weeks

Well, I am past the half way point and only two days from being 22 weeks along. Ben and I were thinking that maybe we should be counting backwards now. 18 weeks to go sounds better than 22 weeks along. Anyway, here is what is happening this week for Austin.

Week Twenty-Two

Your baby weighs close to a pound at this point!
Your baby can now hear your conversations more clearly than before!. When you talk, read, or sing, expect her to hear you. Studies have found that newborns will suck more vigorously when read to from a book they heard frequently in utero.
Eyelids and eyebrows are fully formed.
Fingernails have grown to the end of the fingers.
Be prepared for all those "Why" questions coming! Your baby's brain has entered a stage of rapid growth, especially in what's called the germinal matrix. This structure deep in the middle of the brain serves as a kind of factory for brain cells and disappears shortly before birth. But the brain's amazing expansion program continues until around the five birthday.
With some help from mom, baby's liver is starting to break down bilirubin, a substance produced by red blood cells.
If your baby is male his testes begin their descent to the scrotum.
Primitive sperm have formed and he is producing testosterone.
Length is 10.94 inches (27.8cm); weight is nearly 1 pound (430gm).


Isn't it interesting all the things that happen and the order that it happens.

Very Active

Our little Austin is a very active boy. After seeing him doing flips on the ultrasound I now recognize the feeling when he is doing that. He is very active. Ben is jealous that he can't feel it yet. The doctor says that spouses generally don't feel any movement until around the 24th week. So three more weeks for Ben!