Week 34- June 6th, 2012

At the very beginning of week 34, our little Butternut Squash was measured and photographed again in the presence of mommy, daddy, as well as grandma and grandpa Taylor. Although our little peanut got a 4 on a 10 point scale for cooperation, we received good news on growth and development. Most babies at this point measure at 17-18 inches and 4-5.8 lbs, but our little one weighed in at 6 lbs 3 oz and in the 78th percentile for size. This size is was surprising considering chronic high blood pressure in mother's usually renders smaller babies.  Mommy and daddy are feeling very blessed with such wonderful news. The perinatal doctor, Dr. Moore;  however, made it clear that mommy needs to make sure to take it easy the remaining of the pregnancy so to not elevated her blood pressure and create complications. We want to keep baby safely inside for the next 6 weeks to fully develop and have a healthy delivery.  From here on out, mommy and baby will be closely monitored by Dr. Gosser for a healthy heart beat, amniotic fluid levels, and appropriate growth.

This week mommy's friends threw her and baby a lovely shower. There were 17 wonderful friends in attendance.  Niki, Natalie, and Kari did a fabulous job organizing a fun them with bold beautiful colors and LOTS of very yummy desserts. There were a few fun little games and played the first one required everyone to refrain from saying "baby". This was a very difficult task for mommy and grandma Taylor because that is baby Stone's name right now.  It did not take long for our pacifier necklaces to be stolen.  Oh well, took the pressure off.  At this shower, the gift of choice was a bumbo seat and tray. By the end of the gift opening time, there were 4 bumbo seats in total and lots of laughter.  

Every morning mommy wakes up she and daddy think baby has grown bigger since the day before. It is getting more and more difficult to bend over and nearly impossible to put socks on so daddy steps in to help out. Mommy's appetite has also ramped up as quickly as her feet and ankles have swollen.  Hopefully the heat of St. Louis summer will not make the rest of mommy's body balloon up.  Mommy has gotten to a point where she could eat her way through a ripe watermelon in a day. The summer fruits are becoming more and 

more appealing.

Mommy's dreams have become more vivid and more confusing. The majority of the pregnancy mommy had been dreaming a lot about little baby boys, so the gut feeling was a little son.  The last few weeks, however, the dreams have turned to little girls.  Mommy is very confused but this makes the next few weeks even more exciting.  We can't wait to meet our little bundle.    

Please continue to pray for a healthy and comfortable remainder to the pregnancy! We appreciate all of your love and support!

Big Hug!

Justin and Erin

Week 33- June 1st, 2012

Luckily, our little one will not emulate a durian fruit although mommy and daddy are sure there will be plenty of other smells emitting after some time.  It is amazing how quickly this peanut will continue to quickly growth and develop.

We had a great visit to the doctor this week.  Mommy passed the non-stress test with flying colors and baby spent the entire 10 minutes hooked up by kicking the monitors. Apparently, the pressure of the monitors were cramping baby's style.  Mommy got to see little one, which was a nice bonus, even though we found out baby is breach.  Knowing that explains all of the movement patterns.  Mommy and Daddy are praying that Baby Stone figures it out and flips back to the head down position.  The amniotic  fluid level is also at a very good level. At this point, we're 4 weeks away from a safe full-term delivery and 7 weeks till the 40 week mark. Next week, mommy and daddy will be able to really see how baby is progressing at an in-depth ultrasound. We can't wait to hear how well the peanut is doing.

This week, mommy has been enjoying the freedom of no work schedule even though there are a few more things to do and another day at the office to make the fall therapy schedule for her substitute. After all of that is taken care of, we will have the rest of the pregnancy to get ready for baby's arrival.

Big Hug,

Justin and Erin

Week 32- May 27th, 2012

Our little squash of a baby was kept VERY busy this week as it was mommy's last official week of school and daddy's work schedule was  ramped up as well. Baby Stone is gaining weight and length while mommy is feeling every bit of it making her very tired, although the long work days could be contributing to that exhaustion.  Baby Stone attended an academic award ceremony, an 8th grade promotion, and two high school graduations.  The high school graduations were a very big deal for mommy because she saw her last group of students her previous school and her first group of students at her newest school graduate and move on to bigger and better things. 

 At the end of the week, six of mommy's colleagues threw her the first baby shower where baby stone was showered with many very cute items.  There was plenty of yummy food and fabulous carrot cupcakes made by Katie Borchardt.  Baby Stone was given several cute towels for bathtime and will look so adorable all wrapped up 

after freshly cleaned up.

After this week, mommy will have more time to get the house ready for Baby Stone's arrival!

 Love, 

 Erin & Justin

 

Week 31- May 20th, 2012

The weeks are flying by and baby keeps getting bigger! Our little is the size of a pineapple about 16 inches long and 3.5 lbs.  WOWIE!  Mommy thinks baby is going to really tall because the span of movement all at the same time is from top to bottom. It's hard to believe movement started with a little flutter like butterflies flipping around.  Daddy got a real whack this week, which felt like a few little thumps than straight to a punch which resulted in daddy saying, "Whoa, that was a big one!"  

Daddy and mommy signed up for a childbirth preparation class that will take place next weekend.  Hopefully our heads will not be spinning at the end of our 8 hour class and that we can keep ourselves together through the graphic parts.  We're sure there is much to learn and process.

Daddy has been working very hard and trying to balance baby preparation and full work schedule.  Mommy is trying to tie up the loose ends at school and closing out the year with a few days left.  Mommy's substitute came in for a few hours to tour the school and talk though student lists.  After a lot of preparation, mommy is in hopes to have the beginning of next school year planned before the of the week.  Finger's crossed!

After school is out, mommy will be interviewing childcare providers and searching for pediatricians. The mind reels with all of the preparations for a little person, but every decision is so important to mommy and daddy in order to make sure all out bases are not only covered but the best for our baby.  We are so lucky to have many people in our corner who have shared their experiences and successes which helped us find a place to start.

Here's to another 9 weeks of development and planning.

Lots of love to all of you,

Erin & Justin

Week 30 Photo in an awesome shirt!

Week 30- May 12th, 2012

At 30 weeks pregnant we have a wee one, the length of a cucumber approximately 16 inches long and 3 lbs.  The week was a bit rough, but mommy made it through with some bruises and sore muscles.  After one of mommy's students accidently kneed mommy in the lower abdomen, mommy and daddy had a little scare because baby wasn't as active right away. With some time and a trip to Dr. Gosser, mommy and baby were given a clean bill of health and baby resumed kicking away.  Extra precautions will be put in place for the last 2 weeks of school so that no more blows are delivered to mommy.

Mommy and daddy took tours of possible hospitals this week. We have it down between 2 that have completely different sets of pros and cons. In addition to this decision, we are looking forward to enrolling in and taking the lamaze and child preparation classes. Mommy and daddy still need to narrow down the names. We will be selecting 2 names for each gender and decide when we meet our lovely baby.

The third trimester is going to fly by and so many things remain on the to-do list. Daddy has the nursery mostly in order to pick up items being given to us by friends.  The nursery will be full before we know it.  There is one more bigger ultrasound scheduled for early June so we can monitor baby's size.  Grandma and Grandpa Taylor are looking forward to seeing baby Stone and this will be the absolute first ultrasound grandma has ever seen. She is SOOO excited! Hopefully baby's gender will remain a secret through this photo opportunity.

From here on out baby will put on approximately a half a pound per week. So as our baby's brain continues to develop, they will also plump up to be ready for life with mommy and daddy.

Happy Mother's day to all the women in our lives!

Big Hug,

Justin and Erin

Please pray for our friends: A Contrarian's Way: Settle In For The Night - 2PM

A Contrarian's Way: Settle In For The Night - 2PM