updates...

So, we finally got our bedroom ceiling fan installed just over a week ago- it is wonderful! Christopher also put in a light between the dining room and kitchen- only problem... the old one had a switch as part of the fixture, and this one doesn't have one... so we need to wait until the track lighting is installed so we can get a light switch for it (right now the bulb sits on the counter and we screw it in when we need the light!)

We start work, officially, tomorrow. This means we are called Dr. Bell, are completely responsible for other people and need to know the doses of a million or so medications! (thank goodness for the internet!) ... yes, this also means we have DEA numbers (the numbers that allow us to prescribe narcotics- scary!)

Here are some Ripley updates... he passed puppy class- as obviously the most talented dog. He can reliably sit, lay down, shake, do a high five, and roll over... he can sometimes, or with support, wave, bow, crawl and play dead. Yesterday he no longer was our baby, as we needed to get him a larger coller (see pic- same one just bigger!!) His new act of terrorism is tormenting our garden and more specifically our pea plants!!!

11 weeks!

Baby Jacksonville is the size of a lime/fig! That's just over 1.5 inches long and it is almost fully formed. The hands are beginning to open and close into fists, the bones are beginning to harden (stealing mommy's calcium!) and tooth buds are forming as well! Baby is taking after mommy and has been dancing away lots... too bad I still can't feel it! What I may start to feel sooner then the movement is the baby's hiccups- very common as the diaphragm forms!

As for me... aparently the fatigue should be lessening (not yet) and the nausea (if I had it) would be going down... sadly, this is when heartburn usually picks up-- not too cool as it is already not great (I ate tomatoes today- not a good idea!) In case you care-- constipation also apparently picks up about now- luckily- IT HASN'T!

An FYI... my next doctors apt is July 17 and my next appointment for an early 16 week anatomy ultrasound is July 28th! We will keep you posted!

10 weeks- 1/4 of the way home!

Baby Jacksonville is the size of a kumquat (aka just over an inch long) and weighs less than a 1/4 of an ounce! The most critical part of the development is over now, and baby is now starting what is called the fetal period... things are rapidly growing and maturing! Right now, he is swallowing the amniotic fluid and kicking lots (still can't feel anything!) The kidneys, intestines, brain and liver are all working, in fact, the liver is currently making the red blood cells as the yolk sac disappears. The finger and toe nails are even forming right now, the fingers and toes are no longer webbed (!!) and peach-fuzz hair is starting to grow! The arms and legs are also able to bend. The hands are flexed at the wrists and meet over it's heart. The paddle feet may even be long enough to read the front of the body! The spine can be seen through the skin. The head is about 1/2 of the length of the body and baby has a huge bulging forehead as the brain is developing. Baby will double in size (to about 3") in the next couple of weeks!

As for me, aparently my uterus, which started small pear size, is now the size of a grapefruit! I am not having to change my clothing to maternity wear yet, which is perfectly okay with me! I am bloated and puffy still, and still cannot eat a nice list of foods which do still give me heartburn (thanks to Aunt Donna's hint with lemon drops, it has been more under control!)

My first OB appointment with my doc is tomorrow morning, so we MAY be able to hear the heartbeat (not counting on it- usually in clinic we find it around week 12, but cross your fingers- we may get lucky). Thursday morning we need to go see a maternal-fetal medicine OB specialist for an ultrasound and whatever else they have in mind. Don't worry, it is only precautionary due to Christopher's odd family history of weird things.

the dining room... aka the room that someone must have died in to make it cursed!

Basically, if it could go wrong in the dining room it did. When we tore the wallpaper off, the paper covering of the sheetrock came too thus leaving the appearance of torn cardboard EVERYWHERE! Christopher spent 10 hours one day hand sanding it all down. Then he taped or mudded every nail hole from where they hung the sheet rock and all the joint lines between the pieces of sheet rock. Then he re-taped then he re-taped. Luckily, since we went home this weekend, Ron loaned him the electric sander, so that very substantially cut down on the sanding time. I forgot to mention the mess.... when he hand sanded, there was a 1/4" covering over EVERYTHING in the dining room including Christopher- I had to literally vacuum him off to eat lunch. (If you are wondering where I was during all of this... I was running errands and walking the dog-- inhaling all of that 1/4" dust stuff and being pregnant don't exactly jive... ps Christopher was wearing a mask). Anyway, we also bit the bullet and purchased ourselves our very own shop vac... this very nicely connected to Ron's sander thus nearly eliminating the 1/4" covering!! We then vacuumed the entire room and emptied it out! This is the pic of right before we primed...

Priming the room was also interesting as cardboard significantly ABSORBS all primer and we used every drop of primer we had. I was actually using the paint can as my tray and cleaned it out! Once we started painting, it actually started to feel like it was all worth it (well, Christopher is still out on whether or not it was worth it, as he has still invested more time into sanding then it has actually been done!)

Anyway, here it is all finished! The pottery is even FINALLY organized! Also note our China... this is semi- what a place setting would look like (sans food and chargers)!

Oh, we threw this pic in of the drop cloth again, notice the image that oddly looks like a childs face... this was completely accidental- ie when we were painting our bedroom, Christopher spilled the paint out of his tray AND then he stepped in it... this face is what resulted!

random pics

Here are a couple cute pics... the first is the med school friends at Dann's wedding, the second is of the family at Tom and Lois's anniversary weekend!

9 weeks today!!

Last Tuesday, my hubby and I went to the clinic we will be working at and Christopher did an ultrasound on baby Jacksonville! He did a fabulous job: was able to measure and give me yet another due date (we have had Jan 10, 12, and 13 as due dates)... I am going by the 12th (my mom and I were both born on the 12th) and Christopher is going by the 13th (as that is what he measured it to be). Going by the 12th, today I am 9 weeks! As far as what is going on now...

Baby is about an inch long, about the size of a grape or an olive and weighs a fraction of an ounce-- but is actually beginning to look human... good news (Tommy) the tail is gone! All essential body parts are formed and will spend the next few weeks to months fine tuning. Muscles and nerves are firing, the earlobes are formed, the nose and nostrils are formed, the eyes are formed (although, the eyelids are currently fused shut until about week 27). The genitals are technically there, but are not distinguishable for several more weeks. Very important to us especially with Christopher's brother Jason being born with hypoplastic left heart (simply stated a heart with only 3 working chambers), the heart is finishing its division into 4 chambers and the valves are forming as well. And, believe it or not, the teeth are forming too! The placenta is also getting meaty and is ready to take over primary hormone producing!

Mom: according to the internet, athough I don't look pregnant I inherited extra thickness on my belly (thank goodness this is normal- I was just thinking I was getting chubby!) My biggest complaint, and the major indication that I actually am pregnant is the heartburn. The nausea has considerably decreased, and I still have not vomitted, but the heartburn is AWFUL!!! Tums are candy and I've even had to take a few zantac (anti acid medication). Also very painful are the foods I've had to give up because of the heartburn: CHOCOLATE, tomatoes, CHOCOLATE, onions (in excess), CHOCOLATE, sugary things, CHOCOLATE... and if any of you know me, I have a huge sweet tooth and this is really beginning to stink! For example, last night Christopher had chocolate chip icecream with raspberries and I had tapioca pudding with raspberries. I actually gave up my favorite food :( He was even super sweet and offered me a bite and I said NO!!!! AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!

bedrooms and kitchen...

As far as home improvements go, our bedroom has been done for over a week (sorry took so long) and the pics are hanging. Well, I guess it's not 100% done, as we are still waiting for the ceiling fan to get hung up! We also, yesterday, made ourselves a box spring for the guest room bed downstairs as we could not fit the queen sized box spring down the stairs. This was a very entertaining adventure as we had to buy 2 4'X8' sheets of plywood and all we have are cars. So, we put a blanket on top of the car and held our hands out the window holding the plywood on top of the car. Now, Menards is only about 2 miles away from our house, but let me tell you, when it is windy and you are driving even 20 mph, it feels as if your arms are going to fall off!

The kitchen, we finished painting it last week. The wallpaper came off pretty well except for the one small wall piece (as you can see, we just re-sheetrocked it). As far as the dining room goes, well, the wallpaper did NOT come off as well. It actually tore the paper from the sheet rock leaving messy cardboard on the wall. Poor Christopher spent 10 hours one day last week sanding it by hand! (thus the pic of the plastic separating the dining room from the rest of the house- we dont' want a mutated baby!) Since then, he has been retaping (mudding) the holes and today he is going to sand that all down so it can be primed and painted as well!

kitchen before

kitchen before

Ripley

So, we went to Little Falls this last weekend and took Ripley for his first trip to the river. We had taken him to the Big Sioux River in Sioux Falls a few weeks ago, but he wasn't truly able to do much. However, the Swan River made the perfect venue for his first swimming adventure. As you can tell, he had a great time!!! (Obviously, he got super dirty and bought himself a bath too!)