Sparky's Cousin

Sparky's newest cousin, who is expected one week before Sparky's big appearance, is going to be a boy according to the ultrasound. We are very excited for nephew number 3 and hope that he and Sparky will be very good friends. Sparky is just a few days from revealing his (or her) gender. The big reveal is at 8:30 next Tuesday morning. Since they will now have 3 grandsons, I am sure that Grandma and Grandpa Obreiter are hoping for a little girl, but Steve and I will just be happy to have a healthy little one who doesn't cry too much.

Check back Tuesday night for the big reveal and for the weekly statistics. Have a wonderful weekend!

The Week 19 Update

Well... it's week 19 for this pregnancy. We are officially one week from the half way point. Thanksgiving week was a nice break from the daily routine and a nice opportunity to visit with family and friends. We also enjoyed some nice after Thanksgiving shopping - I got a few new maternity tops and Sparky now has a crib to sleep in. I've been feeling really good in the last few weeks, but I have been experiencing more leg cramping than normal, especially in my thigh muscles.

This weeks update - my belly is back up to 41 inches. Aparently Sparky ate well during Thanksgiving and added that half inch back onto my waist. Sparky is about 6 inches from head to crown (and 9 to 10 inches total). He weighs in at about 8 1/2 ounces.

Pregnancy photos may be posted later this week, but for today I'm feeling rather un-photogenic.

Week 18 - Almost half way there...

Now that Steve is home again, we can get back to the weekly photographic update. I am back down to 40 1/2 inches around (down a half inch from last week). I am blaming the loss in circumfrence on the flu bug that I had last Friday. I was definitely knocked out - I ate lunch on Thursday and didn't eat a real meal again until lunch on Saturday. It was a very long couple days...

We are going to see the doctor on Wednesday. I'm sure it will be rather uneventful, but I am looking forward to hearing the heartbeat again. Now that I've felt Sparky moving it is much easier to get worried that you haven't felt movement in a while. I'm sure the little kicker is just fine, but it's nice to feel the little guy every once in a while.

Our family is all trying to get healthy so we can travel to Hastings for Thanksgiving. After my big sickness on Friday, Maize got really sick and ended up going to the vet for kennel cough. We had a whole lot of dog cough up and puke to clean up this weekend, but we are finally getting that under control too.

Other than our little adventures, things are going well. I feel good and haven't had a problem doing any of the things I've wanted to do. I survived the last football game of the season, including the really long walk from the dental school to the stadium and back. Unfortunately Michigan couldn't make our last football game as students a win - but then again you can't win them all.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of our friends and family who we won't be able to visit with this holiday season! With love - Jen, Steve, Sparky, and Maize :)

Welcome Home Steve

Steve came home, so Sparky can now sleep (or at least let his mom sleep) in peace. Sparky's newest trick is moving around so that it feels like a million worms are crawling around in my stomach - a very odd sensation.

Sparky is getting pretty heavy, or something like that - my legs are achy at the end of the day and I've got a pulled muscle in one of them. I'm hoping that it clears up before the football game this Saturday. I also reached the too big to sit at my desk with a pillow behind my back milestone today. The pillow was nice for extra lower back support, but with it in the chair I was just too far forward and too out of balance to sit comfortably.

One week until we see the doctor again - it should be a relatively uneventful visit, but the ultrasound is only 3 weeks away. I am voting boy but Steve is hoping girl. We shall see...

Week 17

Steve's out of town again this week - so no photographs again. Maize, Sparky and I are trying hard to entertain ourselves as best as we can. I've popped all the way out to 41 inches around this week and added a couple pounds. Sparky has also decided to make himself (or herself) very well known to me this week. I've been getting lots of internal pounding, but so far neither Steve nor I have been able to feel any kicks on the outside. I am certain that the internal kicking is Sparky - it is random, painful at times, and generally not related to any other internal discomfort. Hopefully this child will begin kick outwardly and into the muscles, rather than my internal organs.

I've just about completed the second block of a 9 block, crocheted baby afghan for Sparky. I went with yellow yarn so that it would be gender neutral. It's beginning to actually look like something that may be finished on time.

Sparky, Steve, and I went up north to Sault Ste. Marie last weekend. It was Sparky's second up north experience so far. We had a great time checking out our potential new home. Steve's "interview" with the dentists seemed to go really well and we are going back in January for a second interview with the rest of the staff. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed a little free time on the way home.

Steve will be home late Wednesday night, so we will update with the photos hopefully on Thursday.

Week 16 and counting...

Steve is out of town for the week and next week as well, so there is no photographic display of the expanding waistline this week. Maize, Sparky and I are holding down the fort and trying to get our house back in order after one very wild weekend. Our washing machine died this weekend. It had been on its last leg for a while, but Friday it finally spun its last spin and died with a tub full of water. Luckily we knew someone with a washing machine and dryer that they needed to sell. So... we got a new washing machine, Grandpa Harley and Steve installed it, and then they left to take the truck back to the golf course. While they were gone, and after they had me start a load of laundry to make sure the water would run, the drain pipe started leaking and leaked the entire load's worth of water onto our floors. Being pregnant, I just started wiping it up with towels and waited for Steve to pull the washing machine out from the wall and fix it. At least the breaking down may be done for the time being.

Now for the week 16 stats. First, the belly is now 40 inches around (up 1/2 inch from last week). My weight has remained constant for the last 6 weeks, which has been a good thing. My belly pains have decreased. Sparky is about 5 inches and about 3 ounces. He's probably starting to move, but I haven't felt anything yet. This weekend Sparky will make his second trip to the Upper Pennisula and will visit Sault Ste. Marie, where Steve is interviewing for a job.

Sparky's Lucky Day

Sparky had a very lucky day today. Fortunately for Sparky, his mother has officially passed the bar exam and will not be disturbing him (or her) with hours of studying this winter. Now all I have left to do is be sworn in, pay the ridiculusly high bar dues, and file my paperwork for my official Michigan law license. I am beginning to think that the bar exam was the easy part...

No news is good news on Sparky's front. We are still waiting for the first sign of movement. Last night I had 3 killer charlie horses and didn't get too much sleep, but I am sure that Sparky was not the root cause of the discomfort.