2/5/10 Dr. appointment update

We had another routine doctors appointment on Friday and everything went really well! It was very quick too. My blood pressure always seems to be better when I lay on my left side and they take it that way. So, that's normal. The doc measured my uterus and that is at normal size and Nahum's heart beat was normal too! I've officially gained 10 pounds (since pre-pregnancy weight) and he said that was pretty normal too.

All in all, it was nice to hear so many encouraging words and we are happy we didn't have to be there for longer than 1/2 an hour!

We have another ultrasound appointment this Thursday, Feb. 11th with the Genetic Radiologist-specialist. We have been continuing to pray that Nahum's right kidney has not grown any bigger and that his left kidney has caught up and that they are both normal. We'll see! I'll keep you all posted.

Thanks for your prayers for us & Nahum too!

Daddy Moment

Just a quick YAY to say that on Monday morning, Steven felt my tummy and experienced his first Daddy kick! I am thrilled because I've felt Nahum kick a LOT lately and for a while now, and now Steven has felt it too!

Brake Dancer!

Baby Nahum has begun to be quite active these days! I can feel him move around a LOT and lately have felt more severe kick-like, or jabbing feelings. I think he's trying to see how hard he has to work to get my attention. Steven says he's practicing his 'break dancing moves.' I don't mind though. Every time I feel him move, I am reminded that he is still alive and moving and that he IS a blessing to me (& us.) We feel SO blessed by this little boy already and are SO anxious to meet him!

I have also registered at Babies R Us so far and plan to register at Target as well. I took a couple of hours by myself to take my time looking around the store and reading the boxes and labels of lots of things. It was nice to have that time and nice to finally have that accomplished!

We are still in the process of moving the two bedrooms around to accommodate the baby. Steven has moved his instruments to what used to be the guest room. We are planning to sell the monstrous corner desk we have not been using and still have some boxes to unpack in that room too. Steven has also been very productive in organizing both closets so we can stay neat and tidy and have room for baby stuff when it starts coming.

We also are planning to replace the carpet in the nursery. It's original to the house (20+ years old) and we would both feel better knowing it was as CLEAN as possible for Nahum's health. Luckily we have good friends that own a flooring store and can get us some quality carpet, a new pad and installation for under $300! We are also planning to paint his room, so now we won't have to worry about paint getting on the carpet. Yay!

Besides that, we are enjoying all the Valley rain these days. Steven has started back to work and school and I recently got my AA Degree diploma in the mail from Reedley College! That's about all our news for now! Stay tuned...we'll have another ultrasound appointment and another class at Kaiser in early Feb.!

Update on pregnancy

Well, I've been feeling all sorts of new things happening to my body these days. I mostly still feel tired and wish I could take naps more often. I have been experiencing lower back pain for the first time ever! I can't sit or lay in the same position for very long before I need to readjust or put a pillow behind me for support.

I've been feeling more emotional these days too. Most of the time I think I handle things pretty well, but sometimes, out of nowhere, I'll just feel too frustrated or overwhelmed and start to cry. I cry for about 1/2 hour-1 hour sometimes just to get it all out of my system.

Steven has been WONDERFUL through this whole pregnancy. I truly am blessed with an amazing husband who loves and cares for me in every way I need, and sometimes don't know that I need. I just can't thank the Lord enough for blessing me with this man!

I'm starting to feel that I just can't work a full 40 hour work-week any longer. My current job will allow me to work 30 hours a week and still keep my health insurance (vision coverage.) So, I've been contemplating when it will be necessary for me to make that switch and what that will look like. Either shorter days everyday, or full days and take one more day off during the week. We'll see.

We have another doctors appointment this Friday and they will go over the results and measurements of our ultrasound with us. I might ask the doctor for written approval of my working shorter hours to take to my employer. Hopefully that will alleviate some of the dialog and just get it approved faster.

We have started looking into nursery themes and registry items! That's been fun and a little challenging for us to agree on. My great friend Kari is going to go with me to some stores and help me register for the things that really matter and educate me on the things that most people don't end up needing or using.

I've also started putting together the guest lists for baby showers. My mom's friend Brenda has offered to host me a shower and my friends Alicia and Jill have offered to host a shower for Clovis Hills peeps! I am very blessed to have such great friends who want to honor me and the baby!

Other than all that - I am enjoying being able to feel my son move around inside me and we really enjoy being able to pray for him by name now. It's defiantly feeling more real now and we love it!

It's a BOY!!!

Hello All,
well - we found out yesterday at our BIG ultrasound appointment that we're expecting a BOY!!!

Here's a picture of the "money shot."

More to come, but wanted to share the news! Thanks for your continued prayers for us.

Here is a link to more photos on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=94212&id=583982705&l=573ef8b385

Baby Estes - 12 Weeks!

We went to Kaiser yesterday for our 12 week appointment to see Baby Estes! It was so exciting to see that it has grown SO much in 4 weeks since the last time we saw it. It defiantly looks like a baby now. We saw its head, arms, legs and torso and butt. We saw the two hemispheres of the brain too. We saw and heard its little heart beating again...strong! The baby is about 3 inches long now and about the size of an apricot, only not completely round. And it weighs about 1 oz.!

It was quite the wiggler which was SO fun to see! Here are some pictures.

Here is the baby's face on the left. Sort of looks like an alien, but it's OUR alien!

Here is the back of the baby's head on the left and its butt is on the lower right.

Here is the back of the baby's head on the left and its butt on the upper right. Sort of like its twisting its torso.

Our next appointment is two weeks before Christmas and won't be an ultrasound. (I'm very sad about this.) We had thought we could find out the gender at that time, but looks like we'll have to wait until the beginning of January instead. Oh well.

I had thought that by knowing if it was a boy or a girl would help me start to bond with the baby more. But since it's not going to happen until later, I'll have to trust that God will help me bond in other ways. I am just thankful that the baby is continuing to grow at a healthy rate and that I have stayed healthy too.

I haven't had any major "morning sickness" which has been SUCH a blessing! My only really bothersome symptom has been exhaustion. For about a good month or two I had to come home from work and get directly in bed for a nap. It was hard to stay awake at work and sometimes I even used my 1/2 hour lunch break for a nap in my car! I am pleased to say that even though I haven't had a nap in a week now, I'm still tired, but not as bad.

I have been struggling as to when to buy my first maternity clothes. I'm down to about two or three pairs of pants that I can still wear. (Sometimes with the button UNdone, but still getting away with it.) I will probably have to bite the bullet and get at least one or two pairs of maternity pants pretty soon. But that is to be expected I guess.

We are constantly amazed and thankful for all the changes happening to my body because of this little one. We are excited for its development and thrilled when we get to see it on screen. Thank you for continuing to pray for us. We'll keep you updated!