22 weeks

Labor of Love class

So we went to our first birthing class tonight. It is a four week class every Tuesday night for two hours. Tonight we learned about some interesting things. The class is taught by a nurse that works at Summit Hospital which is the hospital our Dr is at and where we will be delivering. She taught us what certain terms mean like effaced, dilated and quickening. Also what signs mean you need to come to the hospital and some things that you wouldn't come to the hospital for. We then took a tour of the labor and delivery wing. We saw the nursery and there was one baby girl in there. She was cute and had a yellow bow in her hair. She had lots of hair. :-) After delivery you get to spend one with your baby before they go to the nursery.

We then got to see a room. The room is a labor, delivery and post par tum room. The bed converts when you need to deliver. There is a TV and DVD player which Clint was happy about. Also wireless Internet. I told Clint no surfing the net while I am in labor. lol. Each nurse is assigned one to two patients. They recommended bringing anything to the hospital to make you comfortable, even suggested an egg crate for the dad to use in the fold out chair.

At next weeks class we are to bring a blanket, pillow and tennis ball. But she didn't say what we will be doing. Tune in next week to find out.

Hi my name is: Chloe Anne Ratliff

After much discussion and getting over the fact that Clint has a friend with a little girl named Chloe, we have officially decided that our baby girl will be named Chloe Anne Ratliff. Initials C.A.R. This is one of Clint's favorite parts about the name. One of mine is the middle name. Probably because my middle name is Anne along with both of my aunts. Clint is starting to talk to my belly but it's just random stuff, but it's cute. I will send more belly pics as I take them. As I get bigger you might actually get to see my belly without the shirt. We registered this weekend. It was fun but a little overwhelming. Who knew a baby needed so much. We registered at Babies R Us and Target. We think we have found our bedding and the crib. Clint is very good at picking out stuff for the nursery and helping me make my ideas reality. Uncle Trevor will be a vital part also in the nursery coming together. He and Clint moved the office furniture out of the room we are using for the nursery and moved it into a spare bedroom. Good thing he works for food. Next he and Clint will be painting the nursery. Thanks Uncle Trevor!!!

I will post pics of the progress in the nursery as it is made.

20 week belly pic

A little bigger but not much. :-) I am ready to look pregnant to those who don't know. lol. Chloe weighed 12 oz. at my appt. on the 9th. Next appt. is on June 30th.

It's a GIRL!!

We had our appt. this morning to find out the sex. After 30 minutes of trying to get a good view we were able to see she was a GIRL. She had the ubillical cord in between her legs for awhile and then her legs were crossed and then her hand. The Dr. said the baby was either shy or a comedian. I said probably both if the baby is like their father. Our modest little girl also stuck out her tongue at us a couple times. It was neat to see. While looking for girl or boy parts we got to see the rest of her body. We could clearly see the brain while looking at the top of the head. We also got to see the four chambers of the heart, the stomach, liver, legs, hands, bottom, ribs and spine. The Dr. said everything is forming well and she didn't see anything of concern. Everything looked really good. I gained 2.5 pounds since the last appt. Overall I have gained 5 lbs in five months. Not bad I don't think. My Dr. said the biggest jump in weight occurs between 18 and 22 weeks. I will be 20 weeks on Saturday. The heartbeat was good again this time. It was 141 at the begininng and then 148 later in the appt.

My next appt is June 3oth. I believe I will just hear the heartbeat at this appt.

Sonagram pics to come...

Lyla bean

My recent beach trip with the family was a blast. I got to see my niece Lyla for the first time. She is two months old and precious. Clint was really taken with her. He held her and fed her a bottle a time or two. Clint is definately hooked on babies. All he could say is Lyla is the best baby and he hopes ours has that great temperment and personality. I can't wait to see her again. Hopefully in August. Here are some of my favorite pics of her...

BOY or GIRL?!

So we find out the sex of our baby on Wednesday the 9th. Our appt. is at 8 a.m. so most of you will get a text or call shortly thereafter. For now lets take a vote. Comment back on the blog to case your vote before Wed.

17 week belly pic

15 1/2 week appt.

I went for another appt. on 5/12/10. The same workup was done at the beginning of the visit... blood pressure, urine test for iron levels and weight check.

I gained two pounds since my last visit. I have been having lots of allergy and sinus issues but my doctor assured me Tylenol Sinus is okay to take. Also allergy medications are okay also. My doctor said that I am progressing nicely and are just the right size. I was worried I was not big enough. She also said that I will notice the biggest jump in weight gain between 18 to 22 weeks, so not to be worried because I will not consistently gain that amount in that short amount of time in the future.

I got the hear the babies heartbeat and the baby kept moving so much it took a minute for the machine to register. The doctor had to keep moving the monitor to find it. She went pretty low on me and was able to get a good read. The little guy or girl was active. The heartbeat was between 146-150 bpm. Right where it should be. The doctor said I should be able to feel the baby between 18 to 20 weeks. Then daily at 24 weeks. That will be neat, but different!

While at the visit I also got some information on classes to take at the hospital. They offer a childbirth education class which is a 4 to 5 week course on Tuesday and Thursday nights. During the class they also give us a tour of the labor and delivery rooms. They also offer breastfeeding classes. I plan to get signed up for these classes, we need all the classes we can get. At least I do. :-)

Reminder we find out what we are having at our next appt. June 9th. Yay!!!!!!

14 week baby bump

Baby's first gifts

My brother and his wife sent us this Giraffe, story books and pregnancy scrap booking stickers about three weeks ago. The Giraffe is the same, as the one they bought for their baby when they first found out they were pregnant. So cousins will have matching first toys. :-) (Thanks James and Nicole)

My mom then gave me these two dresses that were mine as a baby. The white one was made by my Grannie and the red and white was bought by my aunt pat. If we don't have a girl, Lyla will be sporting these lovely dresses. Mom also gave me about 15 books from my childhood. Titles include: Curious George, Cloudy with a chance of meatballs and Danny and the Dinosaur. Some of these are probably James' favorites and I plan to pass some of them on to him so Lyla can benefit from these classics. Glad mom kept all these.
Also mom gave us this table and chair set that she bought back when she was wishing for grandchildren. I will probably paint these to match the nursery once we know what the gender is. (Thanks mom).

I can't wait to find out the gender and start getting the nursery underway. These items will be a great start to the room!!!

Busy day: 12 week appt. and a daycare tour

I went to my Ob today and got to hear the heartbeat again. When the baby stopped moving, the heartbeat was beating between 153 bpm and 159. Last appt. it was at 158. Still good and strong. My doctor tracked and the baby moved about seven times in a few minutes.

So I got a pregnancy journal and organizer and it has a section where you document the details of each appt. and can write down your questions for your next appt. Here were some of my crazy questions.
Can I eat hot dogs? ( had a craving) Answer: yes
Can I use facial astringent? (my face is breaking out from all the hormonal changes. Answer: yes
Can I use self tanning lotion or spray tan? Answer: yes
Do I have to take the TUMS everyday for my calcium? (chewables r not tasting good) Answer: I just need to get in three servings of calcium and ice cream can count as one.
How accurate is the Intelligender test you can buy to tell the sex of the baby early? Answer: My OB has had two patients use the test and it was wrong both times. (We will be patient and wait until 19 weeks.

Yes that is right we have to wait to 19 weeks to find out the sex. It was supposed to be 18 weeks but we will be at the beach that week and doing at the 17th week is to early.

My next appt. is May 12th, where we will listen to the heartbeat again. Then on June 9th we will find out the sex.

Also I weighed 122 at my appt. today and weighed 121 last month. A gain of one pound for the month. It was surprising to me considering some of my cravings last month, but I also have been working out twice to three times a week. Cardio mostly.

After my appt. I went to take a tour of a daycare. It is called Coles Academy and one of Clint's work friends recommended it, her daughter attends this daycare and she had good things to say about it. I got the tour and was very impressed about many things. It is near our home and across from my gym. I put our name on the waiting list. They said we should be okay since we don't need it to start until March 2011. However, the director said starting early was a good idea. The baby room only has 8 slots and they are full right now. The ratio is 8 to 2. It was kinda surreal taking the tour but I can definitely see myself or Clint going to pick our baby up.

Belly pic

So I finally decided to post a belly pic. (11 wks) I am starting to show a little. Our baby is now the size of a large plum. We find out what the sex is at week 18. Yay!!!

Green thumb for me too!

So you may have seen my brother's blog about his green thumb and yard projects. Like I said in my comment it runs in the family. I have been doing some minor yard work and this is the product. I have been focusing on the front bed the most since that is what the neighbors see. Last year I planted three Hostas and they came back. Hostas make me think of dad because he has several in his front yard and then he planted some with me at my first house. I also planted phlox and an azalea this year. I had tulips and daffodils, but they came and went already. Most everything in the front bed comes back every year so there is little maintenance.

Easter

This year I had a pretty nice Easter. Next year Lyla will be able to hunt eggs and my baby will look cute in rabbit ears. lol. I had mom, Aunt Carol and Uncle Walt over for lunch. I served a pork loin, mashed potatoes, green bean bundles wrapped in bacon, rolls and cinnamon apple sauce. The pork loin had a glaze made out of horseradish and homemade (by aunt pat) peach jam and rosemerry from my herb garden. It was pretty good. I also told Aunt Carol and Uncle Walt we were expecting. They were happy for us. It was also a nice Easter suprise to find out later that night that Nicole was having contractions and Lyla would be coming soon. All in all it was a great Easter.

I am an Aunt again!!

My Niece Lyla arrived yesterday. She is so cute! I can't get enough of her. My brother sent me a one minute video of her he took with his I phone and I watched it like five times in a row. lol Tonight I got to see her on the webcam. She looks like her mommy. She is long so I think she gets her height from my brother. Seeing her makes me want to speed up my pregnancy so I can see my little one. I have never been very patient. lol Based off my 15 minute time with her on the webcam, I can see my brother and sister in law are pros at this mommy and daddy thing. I am so excited to see her in 52 days at the beach of all places. Lyla and I are going to sit poolside and soak up the rays in our cute bathing suites. Basically all I can say is I am sitting here with the biggest grin!! I love you Lyla!!!!!

First ultrasound

We went to our first appt. today. They did a ultrasound on my belly at first, but we were not able to see a good picture, so they did a vaginal ultrasound. Then we saw a great picture. I can't believe how it looked. We saw the head and the butt and then a spot that blinked which was the heart beating. The baby measured about 1 1/2 inches. Oh and my new due date is October 30th. Then my Dr. turned on the sound and we heard the heart beat. It was beating so fast. It's amazing we can already hear it so early. It is beating 158 times per minute. That is a strong heartbeat according to the Dr. According to some this also means its a girl.(Probably a myth) However, the Dr. said that we can find out the sex at 18 weeks which will be in 10 weeks. I can't wait because I want to start buying things!! I guess for now we will focus on moving the office furniture into the spare bedroom and painting. (Clint will I mean). The Dr. also told us about some myths out there and told us whether they are fact or fiction. She said I could eat lunch meat and mexican cheese dip. I was glad to hear about the cheese dip. It's my favorite. Our next appt. is April 21st.

8 week appt. tomorrow

So my Dr's office called and my Dr has a funeral to attend on Thursday so they moved my appt. to Wednesday at 8:15. That works for me. One less day of waiting to get my first ultrasound. I'll update afterwards...

Are you Pregnant?? Surprise!!

This is the question my dad is asking at the beginning of this clip. (video will be posted soon) I finally got to tell my family last weekend.  It was good to be able to tell,  keeping secrets is not one of my talents.  My brother and sister in law already knew, and so my brother has been having to continue to tell my dad we are still trying when really we were already pregnant.  I was glad to get this surpise on video.  This video was taken about 15 minutes after I also got done suprising my brother.  I flew into VA for the weekend to attend the baby shower for Lyla.  He had suspisions I was coming, but was totally suprised when he didn't see my car and I waited about 10 minutes before jumping out to say "Surprise"  Two suprises in one night.  I was glad to pull that off.  Normally I spoil suprises early on.

Later that weekend I told my grandmother and aunt by showing them the picture frame.  (Pictures to come later).

Sunday I then had Maggie my niece help me announce to the rest of the family.  It was so cute the way she told everyone.  I got that on video also.  Once I get it all downloaded I will post it.

I told Mom on Monday when she picked me up from the airport.  I gave her a card.  She was very happy and I could tell it took a while for the news to sink in. 

Mom and Dad are very happy to be getting two grandchildren in one year!!

Fortune cookie

So I thought this was soooo funny and had to blog about it.  We had chinese last night but didn't open our fortune cookies till tonight.  First of all both of our lucky numbers had 31.  Good sign!  Then when Clint read his fortune it said, " This year your highest priority will be your family." YAY!!