Post Pregnancy Dad Update

Wow...

okay, its been a long time since we have posted anything but its just been so frekin busy!!! haha, anyways if you dont know alredy, theres something seriously wrong with you, but Makayla is here. woo hoo! So anyways, the blog title is prob gunna be changed around a bit...ok bye

The last Dr. Appt until induction!!!!!

August 7th at 3:00 we had our last appt with the Dr. Of course Dr. Folkstad was out delivering a baby (such a busy doctor) so we had a L&D nurse do the exam etc but first we went and had an ultrasound to do a weight check on Makayla. The ultrasound went well my only question was HOW BIG IS HER HEAD NOW!?!? The answer as usual made me shudder lol. Her head is measuring a little over 40 weeks, now remember I am only 38 weeks plus she already weighs around 7 1/2 pounds! This reminded me why we are having an induction. If I wait around she will be 10 pounds and have an even bigger head lol. Otherwise she looks great! Her heartbeat was in the 140's during the ultrasound and she is really low in the pelvis and hard to see. After that I went in for my exam and sur enough I have progressed a little more. I am now 75% effaced and 1 and 1/2 centimeter dialated, WOOHOO. During the check Kayla started getting excited bringing her heartrate up to the 170's. I think she doesn't like someone poking her head like that. Anyhow all is well, Makayla looks healthy (thank god) and we are ready for the induction.

38 Weeks, this is it!

Your baby's hanging out, enjoying her last few weeks of snuggly comfort in your womb. Two more weeks to go and your nesting instinct is in full throttle. You're busy washing and folding (and refolding) baby's clothes, marveling over how anyone could ever fit into such a teensy weensy T-shirt. If you haven't set up the crib, bassinet or wherever you plan for baby to sleep—now would be a good time. You don't want Dad frantically trying to figure out some incomprehensible instruction manual between contractions.
Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)

- I can't believe it nine months have come and gone and our little one is on her way! Can't wait until August 12th.

37 Weeks

Congratulations — your baby is full term! This means that if your baby arrives now, her lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away.

Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel. Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

-Wow 37 weeks it has been such a long time yet it has flown by surprisingly!

Appt update

I had an appt with the doctor on 07/31 and not much new. I passed my GBS test so no antibiotics will be needed before or after labor which is great. I have progressed a little more I am now 70% - 75% effaced, a finger tip dialated and the baby is at -1 station! I couldn't be happier that means that the induction should go smoothly since my body is preparing itself. Not long to go before we see our little baby girl.

36 week update woohoo!

Your baby is now around 18½ inches long and nearly 6 pounds! Your baby continues to put on weight at about ½ pound each week. This layer of fat will help your baby regulate his body temperature after leaving your climate-controlled womb. In fact, your baby will be 15 percent fat at birth (and you ... well that's another story). Even in the womb, your baby can listen, feel, touch and see. The only thing separating him from living in the outside world is a little thing called the birth canal. His gums are firm with ridges that look somewhat like teeth, though his actual pearly whites won't start breaking through until he's between three months and a year old. Your baby has definite patterns of sleep and wakefulness—opening his eyes while awake and closing them while sleeping. Your baby will become alert and turn his head toward light and sound just as a newborn would—except when you put on that Celine Dion CD. Then the baby puts his hands up, turns away and gurgles, "Oh no you didn't!"

Only 19 days to go!!!

Dr Appt Update and crazy day!

Well we are now in the final stretch! I will be seeing Dr. Folkstad for weekly visits now. Yesterday was a bit crazy though. Nick had a seizure at the office in the morning (which he hasn't had in almost 4 and a half years now)! Of course I was a nervous wreck and went ahead and had him taken to the ER just to make sure all was good. During this whole adventure I had been trying to shrug off the fact that I had been crampy all day and feeling what I thought might be contractions. Anyway once Nick and I got to the hospital and I new he was ok I went on to my doctor's appt since I wasn't feeling well. Sure enough the doctor was running late, I didn't get in to see him until 4:30 and my appt was at 2:45. The doctor confirmed that yes I was having real contractions and that the cramping was my cervix effacing. I am currently 50% effaced and a finger tip dialated. Makayla is also head first and very very low! She is trying to make her grand entrance a little early. The doctor is not sure if I will make it but he is going ahead and scheduling the induction for August 13th just in case. At this point he says if I go into labor he will not stop it, so I guess Nick and I better be ready. Anyhow after a long wait at the doctors I headed back to the hospital to be with Nick. He was released from the ER after the doctor spoke with his nuerologist. He is hurting awfully bad (like being hit by a train) and is pretty much laid out but he is excited to think baby Kayla could be here very soon. So everyone is beggining to take bets on when I will go into labor, I say I will wait until the 13th and everyone else has other plans lol. We will see though only 3 weeks to go!

Baby shower #2

On Saturday July 19th we had our second and last baby shower hosted by my step-mom Rose. It began at 5:00pm with greetings and fun. Nick and I hadn't seen most of these people in over a year so we were delighted to spend time with them. Everyone socialized out back and we were all served dinner by my step sisters (Karen and Elizabeth) and there cousin (Jackie). Finally around about 8:30 we served the cake and wow what a cake it was, there was about 54 big slices. Anyhow around 9:30 Nick and I headed inside with all of the ladies (the other guys stayed outside to drink) to open gifts. It was so exciting we received over 700 diapers! Thank goodness, now we are set for a while. I will attach a picture below showing the mass amount of diapers we put away on Sunday. At around 10:00 we started playing some games that a good friend (Nancy Haye) put together. One of the was a big bowl filled with rice and mixed in was a bunch of different sized safety pins. The object was to feel around and take out whichever ones you could find in one minute while being blindfolded, the person with the most wins! So I got 9 safety pins which I thought was great but one of the ladies got 31!!! It definately put me to shame but at least I got more than Nick who got 4 lol. After that we did one last thing, we made Nick taste 12 jars of baby food. He has decided none of them are good except bannanna. Finally around 11:00pm Nick and I said our goodbyes and headed home, I'm just not a night person anymore because I was exhausted. Anyhow, everything went great and everyone had a blast. I will attach more pictures later once I get copies from my dad. I can't believe it's almost time for Makayla to say hello!

35 Weeks, wow how time has flown by!

Your baby's nearly here!
She doesn't have much room to maneuver now that she's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds. Because it's so snug in your womb, she isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times she kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and her liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — she'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.
Baby's nails are growing so long they may curl over the tips of his tiny fingers and toes before he sees a pair of clippers. She'll be in serious need of a mani-pedi once she's born (as will you).

~Everything is going well so far just starting to feel some discomfort other than that we are anxiously awaiting her arrival!

The Nursery!!!

Well we only have 28 days to go and the nursery is almost complete! Nick and I have been working on it for a while now and we are so pleased with how it turned out. I have attached pictures below and hope that everyone takes a peek. We now have everything done except we are in the process of replacing outlets, baseboards and putting up crown molding. Hopefully that will all be done in the next week or so. Other than that pictures are hung, toys are out, and curtains are up. Oh and by the way the curtains and my rocker were hand done by my mom and dear friend Vicki all I did was pick out the fabric! I do not have a picture of the rocker but I will take one tonight and add it to this. I hope everyone enjoys.

Amazing Baby Shower

This is so late, I have been bad with my weekly updates so here we go. On June 29th I had my baby shower and it went so perfect! We were surrounded by everyone we love and care about, had good food and good times, what more could I ask for. Nick and I owe a big Thank you to my mom, cousin Buffy and aunt Sherry. The shower began at around 1:00pm with food and greetings. Shortly there after started our activities! Half of the people made me scrapbook pages for me to put Makayla's pictures in and the other half made her onesies. What fun! I have all personalized things for her from everyone and that is so amazing. These are definatly things that I will save for her forever so she can see how much she was loved before even making her grand debute. As the women went through and did our crafts the boys (Nick, Ryan and Steven) went outside to enjoy a nice bottle. No really I mean a bottle see pictures below. Nick and I enjoyed everything so much and will be finishing out Thank you cards this week so I havn't forgotten you I promise.

P.S. A big Thank you to our wonderful photographer Cousin Brandi for the pictures. I can't wait to get them all developed.

34 Weeks only 4 weeks to go before induction!

Your baby's preparing for her arrival in just a few short weeks! By now, your baby weighs around 5 pounds and may be as long as 20 inches, head to toe. Her fat layers —which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies. In the coming weeks her head will go down further behind the pubic bone. The pressure of the growing baby and your loosening pelvis will allow the baby to descend lower and lower in your pelvic region. Even if her head is engaged she can still easily turn on her axis. At one moment, she is lying with her back to the right, the next minute she turns to the left, which will feel like a huge movement - anyone could see this on the outside! You'll hear her heart on the right one minute and left the next.

~It is just about time for Makayla to be born, only 4 weeks to go! I can't tell you how excited I am but at the same time I am saddened thinking of her not being in my belly anymore. Time is flying by!
Cassie

Late update! 33 weeks

Got a night owl in there? Your baby continues to develop regular sleep-wake cycles now. When your baby slumbers, she'll close her eyes (they're pretty sensitive to light these days) and she may even start to dream. But when your baby's up and at 'em, be prepared for some powerful kicks. You might be feeling them in a new place now -- your ribcage (just below your breasts). And wow, can they be sharp sometimes! But on the bright side, these movements are probably a sign that your baby's head-down, perfectly poised for her big birthday entrance. All of the organs are now developed and some are functioning already just as they will after the birth. More and more subcutaneous fat is forming so your baby's wrinkles disappear slowly but surely. The skin becomes a rosy color and the fine downy hair that was on the skin is replaced with vernix caseosa. This "baby cream cheese" prevents the skin from drying out. The fine downy hair comes off and floats in the amniotic fluid. Because the baby takes small sips of amniotic fluid, he swallows these hairs which then tickle and stimulate his intestines, which helps in their function after birth. For the time being, your child must continue to grow. He is now 16 inches (41 cm) long and weighs 4 ½ pounds (2 kilos). For the next four weeks on he will gain up to a couple of ounces a day. Depending on the time of his birth he will become a seven-, eight-, nine- or ten-pounder. Little girls are a bit smaller and lighter and the oldest (first) children are generally lighter than the following children. That may be because of the tight abdominal muscles, the stretching of the uterus and the age of the mother. The more children a mother has, the more the abdomen will be able to stretch.


P.S. 4 and a half pounds yeah right! She weighed more than that a week and a half ago. We all must remember her daddy was 23 inches and almost 10 pounds!

Dr. Appt and we have a birth date for Makayla!

Well on 06/25 we went in for our 3d/4d ultrasound that is administered at the doctors office and boy do we have news! At this appt they had a few things on the to do list besides just letting me see our beautiful daughter. One of which was to check her heart because when she was 19 weeks her heart skipped a beat regularly and they wanted to make sure that went away. Sure enough it did she had a perfect heart beat of 150bpm, and is very healthy. Second thing was they wanted to check her weight at this point of the pregnancy. She weighs approximately 4 and a half pounds!!!! She's a big baby but that's not the part that made me shiver. The parts of her body they measured showed her stomach measuring perfect with my due date, her legs measuring very long, and her head measuring 2 and a half weeks later! In other words it would put me at over 34 weeks pregnant. I began to relies the first thing that I have to get out is that big ol' head lol. From the ultrasound pictures we have concluded this...
-She obviously has Nicks "Big" head lol
-She has Nicks nose not mommies =(
-She has Nicks lips because I have no peeks
-And she has huge chubby "chipmonk" cheeks
I think I got screwed out of this deal, I get to build her for 40 weeks and she gets no features of mine! I guess she is going to be a daddys girl. Oh yes and she appeared to have long feet, look out here comes daddys size 14 shoes!

Anyhow but to top of the appt because she is measuring large the doctor is going to induce me on August 13th (time of day will be given by the doctor in about 4 weeks). This is in hopes that I will be able to get my little munchkin out the normal way instead of a C-section. So depending on how my body reacts to the induction Makayla's b-day will be either August 13th or 14th. Wow that means she will be here in about 6 weeks. Below are some of her latest and last pics until she is born, enjoy!

32 WEEKS, less than two months to go!

She's becoming quite a big baby, your little one! She's about 16.7 inches long and almost 4 pounds now. Your child is so big now that the space in which she moves is very limited. She can't make any more major movements - a final turn-around before she engages, at the most. But he can still prod, push and kick. However, once he engages, he will no longer change his position. Sometimes you can feel the engagement. At that time, you will get a heavy feeling in your vagina and some women have contractions for a brief while. After the baby engages, you will have more air and space in the upper part of the uterus. The lack of pressure on your ribcage is a huge relief - you can take a deep breath for the first time in weeks!

~I can tell you the pressure and pain Makayla is causing in my ribs is not what I expected. Wow does she kick! I push on her feet and bottom to get her to move down and the second I let get go back up she goes. Oh well, were not that far away from D-day lol.

Daddy's Take on Birthing Class.

Its a good thing! For sure. I hate speaking infront of people i dont know. I hated it in elementary school, I hated it in middle school, and i surely hated it in high school. For whatever reason, at the beginning of the class, i knew the 'teacher' (who is really a RN / midwife) was going to be calling on all the 'dads to be' in the class to make complete fools out of themselves. (i guess with a little girl on the way, i better get used to that) So she (the teacher) held up a pamphlet and asked if everyone had this. Now, i know i had one, but i didnt get it out because i had already 'briefly' looked over it, but Cas looks over at me and says, "i think its in that book". (nicks thought) "Crap". So i relucantly pulled out this pamphlet on 'Pre Term Labor' and as the dad infront of me is reading the first line (he got the easy one), the teacher looked at me and asked if i could read #2.

The Big Number Two...i knew it...and i couldnt do a thing about it. (time to soak up some pride, bow my head, and read it) "Look to see if there is vaginal discharge or bloody discharge from the vagina" It is pronounced VA-ginal ... but look at me, I threw down a 'VAGINA-uh-al Discharge'. needless to say, daddy was a little embarresed at this point. But i knew, in the back on my mind, with the exception of one maybe two guys, they all would have said "Vagina-uh-al" instead of VA-ginal.

Oh well...maybe i can embaress myself again next week!

Our first birthing class!

About three months ago I signed up for classes at Arrowhead Hospital, (Where I will be delivering Makayla) to help Nick and I get familiar with the hospital policies as well as have a chance to learn more and ask questions. Well on 06/17/08 Nick and I headed to our class after work. I must tell you that I am not a night person at all anymore, I need to be in bed by 9:00 and I pass out pretty quick... Class started at 6:30 and didn't end until 9:30pm so I was pretty exhausted by the time we got home at 10:00. None the less though the class went pretty well. We watched a video on c-sections and one on epidurals/natural birth. The teacher then asked who was going to be getting an epidural of course in the words of baby mama I said that'd be me! I have no shame in admitting that I would prefer my labor to be a beautiful occasion not one of torture. Other than that we just discussed random topics in regards to possible complications, the equiptment they use and some breathing techniques. I guess the highlight of the night was when the nurse looked at Nick to read #2 of our brochure on pre-term labor signs and this is what he had to say in a room of 30 other people... "Vaginal discharge or bloody discharge from the vagina." Of course Nick not only is not a speaker so he was already embarassed but he also read the word vaginal wrong. He said vagina + ul in other words he didn't make the a sound correctly so all the ladies were giggling. I think I may have seen him turn a little red at that point. I was really impressed though with our first class and am excited about the upcoming 4 more to go. I will give you updates on how they go once a week. Our next one should be interesting they are showing us labor positions and pregnancy excersizes which the guys have to do too. Wow I should bring a video camera for that!

31 Week Update time is flying by!

Your baby's arms, legs and body continue to fill out -- and they are finally proportional in size to her head. She weighs about 3.3 pounds/1.5 kilograms and looks more like a newborn. She measures about 16 inches from crown to toe and is heading into a growth spurt.. She's quite large already but not yet developed enough to thrive outside the incubator. His temperature regulation system is not fully developed, so he cannot keep himself warm. Moreover, your baby has not yet built up sufficient resistance and, as a result, if he were living outside of you, he would be sensitive to infections.

Because it keeps getting more cramped in your abdomen, your baby can no longer move as freely as before. His kicks are pretty powerful now, so that you can sometimes 'catch' his foot. But it can also happen that you must wait a long time for him to stick something out. It is a nice game to make contact with your baby.

Your baby's organs are continuing to mature and she is passing water from her bladder: good practice for the urinating she'll do after she's born. Soon you can wonder what your baby is wishing for -- brain scans have shown that fetuses have periods of dream sleep around month eight.

In a few weeks your baby will "engage." Then his little head (hopefully) will descend into the pelvis and stay there. The advantage is that the pressure on your stomach will lessen, so that you won't experience as much heartburn as before. But, the pressure on your bladder will increase, so you'll have to pee even more than before, if such a thing is possible!

Makayla and I have a doctor appt. today so I will update you on what goes on tomorrow.

Trip to Labor and Delivery Rant

On Friday 06/06/2008 I was sent to L&D by my doctors office. The long story is below, sorry for the rant but it was such a miserable experience.

Friday I had a call into my doctor as I had been having severe back pain for 3 days. I figured it was probley just the way I was carrying since I had a bad back before pregnancy anyhow. When I talked to my doctor they wanted me to go on into labor and delivery to get things checked out(to make sure it wasn't my kidneys causing the pain). I didn't want to go matter of fact I tried convincing Nick we didn't need to lol! But I know since the doctor said to I needed to go that I was going. Anyhow, since I am first timer and am not familiar with rules and regulations in the L & D portion of the hospital, I only know that when I have been in the ER they say no food or drinks until seen by a doctor and once given the ok you can. So I arrived at L & D at 11:00am and I normally eat around 11:30 so I was getting hungry but decided it was best to wait not knowing what all they were going to do. They hooked me up to the monitors for about an hour and came in and said looks like were going to be giving you the shot as you are having irratibility of your uterus (basically any type of contraction that registered under 60 on the print out) and I was having a few real contractions hitting about 65. So I got the shot and was patiently awaiting someone to tell me to eat or ask if I wanted water. No one did so I had Nick finaly at 2:00 go ask the nurse because I was really thirsty and hungry. She okayed it and Nick being the good hubby he is was on his way down to the cafe to get me food. Then the nurse comes in and starts out looking really upset and says "Just so you know you can refuse this, I mean I'm just telling you it is your right as the patient to say no to any treatment that the doctor tries to administer." This of course made me nervous so I was all ok what is going on? The nurse said they had found _________ in my urine (don't remember the name) and that the doctor wanted to hook me up on IV's for it. I asked her what this substance in my urine was and she said basically it shows you havn't been eating. I immediately said of course I havn't I told you all I haven't eatin anything since breakfast. She said she understood and completely was fine with that but that the doctor was basically questioning if I had been depriving myself and my child of food!!!! I could'nt believe that, my eyes swelled with tears and I said I don't understand I eat LOTS of food everyday I am just late on eating lunch because of being here. She said the count in my urine was so little that all they wrote it was elevated because they couldn't even assign a number to it. She also stated that all the iv was going to do is pump sugars etc really quick into my body just making me feel sick as opposed to me just drinking two glasses of apple juice and eating my lunch that Nick was bringing up! I then told the nurse I agreed with her and was refunsing the iv since I was about to eat which was going to give the same end results except for the sick part. The nurse then stated just so you know your doctor never would have told us to do that for you and that the doctor on call although he works in the same office owns his own practice. The nurse obviously did not like this doctor and neither did I. If your going to acuse me of something so awful come and talk to me yourself. I never once saw the doctor the whole time I was there. Anyhow the minor contractions lessened and I ate lunch drank a bunch of juice and water and was released to go home only a little over 4 hours later. I was also told that I would probley be one of the lucky ones (sarcastic of course) with back labor the whole pregnancy. At my next doctor appt I am going to be speaking with my real OB and telling him how upset I am for the assumptions made by that doctor. It made me feel horrible. Nick keeps telling me not to worry as we know that I am eating but it's just the idea of someone thinking I could ever do something like that intentionally to our baby girl. I love her and would never harm her. Darn doctors there so frustrating! The most important thing though is Makayla is doing great matter of fact she hated the belly belts they had on me and continued trying to kick them off the whole time. I hope I don't have to see that place for another 9 weeks.

30 Week Update and counting

Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds. A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

If you tap on your belly, for instance, he may kick or poke back at the same spot you touched. So neat -- you can play with your baby well before he's born! When he kicks, try rubbing your tummy and talking softly or singing -- you might just find that it calms him down.

Right now, your baby continues to practice breathing by moving his diaphragm in a rhythmic pattern. Of course, it's amniotic fluid (not air) that's flowing in and out of his lungs, but it's good practice for the real thing. Gaining about a half-pound every week for the next seven weeks, your baby's continuing to bulk up as layers of protective fat appear under his soft skin -- creating that adorably plump, cherubic look.

***Baby Makayla is doing great another week has gone by so quickly! We can't believe she's almost here!

29 Week Update

Can you believe you're already a week into your last trimester? Sooo exciting. By this week, all of your baby's bones have fully developed, although they haven't finished hardening so they're still soft and flexible. Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel.

Your baby's head is getting bigger, and brain growth is very rapid at this time. She will grow for about ten more weeks. Also this week, her pushes, kicks, and rolls will likely occur more frequently -- and forcefully. So don't be surprised if you feel a karate chop or two!

Your baby's nutritional needs reach their peak during the third trimester. You'll need plenty of protein, vitamin C, folic acid, iron, and calcium (about 200 milligrams is deposited in your baby's skeleton every day), so eat foods rich in these nutrients. The skeleton hardens even more and the brain, muscles, and lungs continue to mature.


Another week down! Makayla is doing great although there not joking her kicks are getting really hard now, I sware she's going to knock the wind out of me soon.
-Cassie

28 Week Update

Your baby has reached the magical mark of 28 weeks. This is it -- the home stretch! You've now officially entered the third and final trimester. The proportion of head to body is correct and if he were to be born now, he would be completely developed except for the extra fat that keeps him warm outside of the womb.

The skeleton of your baby is changing. The cartilage is slowly ossifying into firm bones. The ossification continues until his birth. The skull bones remain the softest so that the skull can compress enough to slip gently through the pelvis and birth canal. She's also probably banging around like mad in there -- except when she's sleeping. Yep, your baby is snoozing on a regular schedule, but in very short spurts (only about 20 to 30 minutes at a time). Right now she weighs roughly 2.5 pounds and measures a little over 15 inches from head to toe.


Baby Makayla is amazing although she is already getting in trouble. She likes to kick right behind mommys ribs. Oh boy is this a sign of what she will be like for the next 3 months lol.

Regular Dr Appt update

I had another doctor appt today and all is well. Doctor Folkstad checked my cervix because I have had a few Braxton Hicks contractions in the last week, but thank goodness all is well and baby Makayla wont be trying to get out anytime soon we hope. I also had to have the Gestational Diabetes test before my appointment which consisted of me drinking this horrible drink (fruit punch flavored with about 99% sugar mixed in) then they drew blood. I should have the results back in about a week but I'm not worried. The drink although gave me a sugar rush which caused me to talk more than usual this morning (I know you didn't think that was possible). Matter of fact at one point Nick had to ask me to take a breath and SLOW down. Apparently Makayla felt the rush as well because her heart rate is always between 144-146 and today it was 154! Other than that all is well and we are right on target. I am still down 7 pounds from my original weight pre-pregnancy so I really don't have much to complain about yet. My next appt update wont be until June 19th so I will let you all know how it's going soon.

P.S. Oh also Makayla now makes my entire stomach move when she is kicking and rolling over. Nick thinks it is so strange to watch but it is amazing!

27 Week Update

The Baby

Your baby now weighs nearly 2 pounds/ 875 grams and measures 14.5 inches/ 36.6 centimetres from heel to toe. Most babies are, at 27 weeks old, far enough along in their development that they have a reasonable chance of survival outside the uterus, but still would have to continue growing inside an incubator in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for a considerable amount of time.

Her eyes open and close, she sleeps and wakes at regular intervals and she may suck a finger or thumb.

Sweet dreams, little baby! Some experts believe that babies begin to dream by the 28th week. What do they dream about? No one knows for certain but the brain is active this week as well. The characteristic grooves on the brain's surface start to appear and more brain tissue develops.

Chalk up any rhythmic movement you may be feeling to a case of the hiccups, which are common this week and throughout the pregnancy. Your baby has them but is breathing in amniotic fluid rather than air. A paper bag can't cure her hiccups, obviously, but an episode usually lasts only momentarily. The sensation for you may be strange but not unpleasant.

Makayla is going to the moon!

Daddy update 5/15/08

Well today i found a link that allowed me to add Makayla Rose Johnson's name to the next NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter that will be landing on the moon. (im a sucker for all this geeky stuff, haha) This will be the mission that takes NASA back to the moon, and will pave the way for future manned moon missions that will in-turn make Mars exploration possible. (see i told you i was secretely a geek) Anyways, i got a cool little 'Certificate of Participation' for Makayla, even though she probably wont give a rats patoot, haha.

26 week update

How your baby's growing:
Feel like your baby is bouncing off the walls? It's no wonder -- her living quarters are getting pretty snug these days. Your baby now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches, from head to heel. The nerve pathways in her ears are developing, which means her response to sounds is growing more consistent. Her lungs are developing now, too, as she continues to take small breaths of amniotic fluid — good practice for when she's born and takes that first breath of air.

To support the fetus's growing body, the spine is getting stronger and more supple. Though no longer than the span of the average adult hand, it is now made up of 150 joints and some 1,000 ligaments.

You can also compare bellies now if you have the opportunity, for example at the pool or childbirth classes. Of course, the size of one's pregnancy belly says nothing about the size of the baby inside. A baby who sits forward can be smaller than a baby who sits more to the back or who lies across the uterus. Very tall women may have a very small "basketball belly" with a very large baby. Even your increased weight says nothing about the size of your baby. It really doesn't matter how much weight you gain. On average, during the pregnancy you will gain 35 pounds (15 kilos)-including those women who lose weight and those who gain 100 lbs (45 kilos)! Those extra pounds are not all in your belly. They are divided up approximately as follows:


baby 7 ½ pounds (3400 grams)
placenta and membranes 1 ½ pounds (650 grams)
amniotic fluid 1 ¾ pounds (800 grams)
uterus 2 ¼ pounds (1000 grams)
extra blood 2 ¾ pounds (1250 grams)
breasts 1 ¼ pounds (500 grams)
extra fat supply 5 ¼ pounds (2400 grams)
extra fluid 4 ½ pounds (2000 grams)

My first "kind of" Mothers Day.

Nick got me the best gift ever the gift to see Makayla in 3d/4d again! He had an appt scheduled for Saturday May 10th for just he and I. It's amazing how much she has grown in 8 weeks. Now we can actually see that she is a baby not just a skeleton. Nick has decided she has his nose and all I know is she is absolutely beautiful! I had the ultrasound tech check for the third time to make sure she was in deed still a she, and sure enough nothing has popped out. I've been informed I worry too much and that the baby is definitely a girl just like I was definitely pregnant. Makayla was busy during the ultrasound and kept arching her neck and back while kicking which is what I assumed is a tantrum already and she's not even born. I guess we can already see that she's going to be a handful, but none the less we can't wait to see her in our arms soon.

Kick the daddy!

As President Franklin D. Roosevelt said about the Dec. 7th attack of Pearl Harbor,

"April 28th, 2008 is a date that will live in infamy..."


Well atleast in my eyes. That is the first time I felt my daughter move. Cassie and I were just hangin out watchin a movie at home, Cassie had her hands on her stomach, and she told me that she felt Makayla moving. I was like "really" and I jumped off the couch and ran over. The biggest thing up until this point, was it seemed that everyone who tried to feel her move, actually felt it, whenever I would try, the kid would go instantly into acoma. Needless to say, this was a little more than dis-couraging. But I was determined to feel her move atleast once while she was in her little pressure cooker. So I sat, and I waited, and waited, and just when I was about to again give up...I felt it... a little nudge from my pint size offspring. Now at this point, I am having flash backs of the day Cassie called me and told me to bring home more pregnancy test's because I am just THAT STOKED! So again, with both hands on the controls (read: baby bump), I wait, and wait, and wait...now it feels like we are slipping back to this whole, "I hate daddy" thing...so, I just layed my head down on Cassie's tummy to tell the little one that, yes I felt her move, and thank you. Well apparently she is already following in my footsteps of not being a 'Sentimental' type, because LOW AND BEHOLD, I felt a little bump on my cheek, and Cassie said "woah there Makayla...". Yes, my daughter kicked me in the face, even before she was born. (I cant wait for the terrible two's, im going to have a black eye). I think that pretty much sum's up the first time I felt my child move. So in honor of Southpark's "kick the baby", this has been my story of "Kick the Daddy"

Mommy feels first kicks

March 19th 7:45 Nick and I were enjoying some pizza and watching a movie and sure enough I got to feel Makayla for the first time kicking. It wasn't a little flutter it was a definite baby kick twice in a row. I knew exactly what it was immediately. It was amazing and I couldn't wait to feel it again. I can say that now but I'm sure at 36 weeks pregnant I'm going to be pleading for her to stop breaking my ribs lol. It's a miracle that we can help create another life inside of us.

25 Week Update

Your pregnancy: 25 weeks

Your baby is now so large that he no longer floats freely in the amniotic fluid. He can move in all directions, however, and he is still a long way away from reaching his final position for delivery. At one moment, he is entirely to the right at the bottom and the next instant he is entirely in the upper part of your tummy. But you can really feel it when he turns and changes positions. Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. His weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but he's beginning to exchange his long, lean look for some baby fat. As he does, his wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and he'll start to look more and more like a newborn. His hair is probably recognizable now (in color and texture), although both may change after he's born.

For the next month or so, your baby's brain will be growing at its fastest rate. Some pregnant women like to eat "brain food," which includes foods high in essential fatty acids like flax seeds, walnuts, fish, grass-fed beef, and eggs.

In the beginning...

It all began the morning of December 29th 2007.

Nick had just left the house to run an errand when I decided to take the opportunity to investigate some "unusual" things that had been going on with me lately. By investigate I mean run to the bathroom and take not one not two but three pregnancy tests. All of them faintly said "yep you're pregnant". I was in shock thinking wow I know we wanted kids someday soon but someday soon came quick. I immediately texted Kristi (my best friend for 9 years) and my mom with a picture of the results. Of course the phone began ringing with Kristi saying your pregnant congrats! Shortly after that conversation I called my mom not sure if she had gotten the picture message I had sent and sure enough she was soooo excited. I kept saying it probley wasn't true and I wanted more proof. I then had to make the big call to Nick, yes I called my own husband 3rd but it was because I just couldn't believe it. I called Nick and said "hunny I think that ummmm we might be having a baby" Nick was so excited! I told him to pick up one more box of pregnancy tests so that I could just make 100% sure. He rushed home and handed me a bag of pregnancy tests. There were two different types with two in each box because he wasn't sure which brand to buy. Then over the next couple hours I took 3 more pregnancy tests! I know a little obsessive but after taking 6 and all showing positive Nick knew we were expecting yet I was still not sure lol. While Nick ran around the house taking pictures of the pregnancy tests and jumping around with happiness I decided it was time to tell our family that it was a possibility I was pregnant. Yes I said it, POSSIBILITY; I mean people could have 6 false positives right lol. We called Terri and Wayne (Nick's mom and dad) to see if we could meet up with them. They were at Applebee's with Aunt Judy so we were out the door on the way up there to meet them. On the way I had to call my dad who had been asking about when he was going to be a grandpa for quite some time. My dad being skeptical like me thought that we better wait for proof yet he brought home a little yellow ducky for the baby lol. I then called a few others before pulling up to the restaurant. We ran in and looked at Terri and Wayne and said how would you like to be grandparents?!? They looked at us with confusion as we said yep were probley having a little one. We chatted a bit with them about everything and said our goodbyes as Terri was still thinking about what name she wanted baby to call her. Back in the car on the way home I told Nick I would like to wait on telling everyone else until we saw the doctor. Nick looked at me like I was crazy, he had already texted darn near everyone in his phone about becoming a daddy. I guess that's what a proud daddy to be does. I was so lucky to have such a wonderful husband to share that first day with.

P.S. I took the 7th pregnancy test the next morning and it was the weirdest thing it still showed pregnant. =-)