Three Milestones

First: Abby told her first "not" joke. It went something like this... "Abby change her play clothes... not." Then she laughed. I laughed harder - almost hard enough to fall down the steps. She certainly keeps us on our toes.

Second: I am up to 47 1/2 inches. I don't know how much further my poor belly can stretch.

Third: Steve now weighs 3 pounds less than I do. This is the first time since we've been dating that I've outweighed him. I guess his 4 weeks of eating sensibly and running on the elliptical have worked wonders. Now we are going to have to pull out his box of smaller pants and I'll need to pull out my box of maternity dresses, since pants are becoming a more and more uncomfortable option.

Comparison

At 32 weeks pregnant with Abby I was 45 inches around. This morning I am 47 inches around. No wonder I feel like a blimp!

For the record: Abby's belly was 19 inches today, but she was sticking it out as much as possible. Then Abby made me measure Maize's belly too. Her's was 22 inches.

And... for the first time since we've been married, I am about to weigh more than Steve. We are within 1/2 pound of each other. I am going one way, he is doing a great job at moving the scale in the other direction.

Operation Sleep and Grow

Abby has grown a whole inch since turning 18 months - putting her up to 33 1/2 inches. She is getting pretty tall! We've been keeping track on our old, nasty door to the basement and we wanted to take a measurement yesterday because we are pretty sure she is on the verge of a huge growth explosion. Lately Abby has been sleeping 12 or more hours at night and napping 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours each day. And on top of that she's been putting away food like she has a hollow leg. Steve had to go through the line a second time at Taco Bell on Thursday because Abby finished all her food, tried mine, and was still hungry. She ended up eating two entire cheese roll-ups and about 6 bites of taco.

I, on the other hand, need to be doing more of the sleeping and less of the growing. I'm figuring out today how fun an upset stomach can be with a little person inside wiggling around. And yesterday got to bag up all but 5 pairs of my maternity pants because they were just too uncomfortable in the waistline. It's a very good thing that I just stay home with Abby, who doesn't really care what I am wearing. She's going to be seeing the same things over and over and over for the next 11 weeks.

The "Day to Day" List - and Week 35 Update

In basketball they list players as "day to day" when they have an injury. Sparky has landed us on the "week to week" list. This week, we are clear for another week of being pregnant, unless Sparky decides to come on her own terms. I talked to the doctor today and he said Sparky is at the high end of normal, but every week counts. So we'll re-evaluate next week and probably have a day or two notice for when labor will be induced. Maybe Sparky will do us all a favor and decide she is ready to evict herself before the doctor has the chance to pick a birthday for her.

Sunday was the start of a not-so-amazing new phenomenon - incredible discomfort. When the doctor asked me with morning how I was feeling I told him I felt like I had a baby elephant riding around, not a baby girl. As my good friend Sue put it, I have a one bedroom apartment, not a three bedroom house, for this girl to live in and she is taking up all of the available space. The poor little occupant is also having a very difficult time moving, so I've had to help her out a few times when she gets stuck halfway through moving around.

My waistline is up to 45 and 1/2 inches, but somehow I've managed to lose another 5 or so pounds in the last couple weeks. That was a slight cause for concern at the appointment this morning, but since Sparky seems to be doing well the weight must be coming off me, which is just fine with me. I'm hoping that by the time that we head to Steve's graduation I can fit back into my normal clothes.

This week Maize decided that she is scared of the kicking belly, so she's taken over Steve's personal space. She prefers his lap, but if he fills it with the computer she just takes over his shoulders. Someone needs to let the dog know that she is not a lap dog or a small kitten.
We are headed to Hastings this weekend to visit family for Easter and for the second of 4 baby showers. We are really excited about visiting family and getting out for a weekend. Happy Easter to you all - we hope you get to eat the share of the Easter candy that I can't have.
A pictorial recap of the expanding baby belly - weeks 8 through 35.

The Last Quarter - Week 30

Well, week 30 is off to an eventful start. Sparky is about 17 inches long and should be weighing in around 3 pounds. We say should, because yesterday we got the results of the glucose tolerance test and the waffles were not the cause of the high reading. Unfortunately, I have gestational diabetes. On the bright side, if we can control the diabetes there are minimal risks to Sparky, the biggest risk being excessive weight gain by the little squirt, which may make a early c-section necessary. Hopefully the doctor will be able to answer most of our questions this morning at our appointment (which will now be a weekly event to make sure the diabetes is under control). My waistline went up to 45 inches, so I am sure she is growing well and she is getting quite a bit stronger (we can tell from her kicking).

I've made it to the last third of the baby afghan, so hopefully we will have that ready in time for Sparky to use it. We've also started to get our hospital stuff around, just in case. Other than that we are both growing bored with pregnancy and the aches, pains, swelling, and discomfort. Steve's been wonderful at helping me deal with it all (so has Maize by being remarkably calm most days).

Hoping you all are having a good week. Needless to say we've been a bit overwhelmed with the influx of information and the major changes that the next 10 weeks will hold, but we are deciding to remain positive and trying not to stress over things we can't change anyway.

The Week 29 Update

Well, we've made it to week 29. Another uneventful week for the most part. Unfortunately, I "failed" the one hour glucose tolerance test - so this Friday I have to take the 3 hour version of the test. This is not going to be a fun day - 4 blood draws in three hours. And... I have to fast for the 8 hours before and the three hours during the test.

Sparky is up to about 16.7 inches and around 2.7 pounds. She's still very active and hopefully is going to be moving to a head-down position. I've been trying to sleep at night, but she is getting to be big enough to push down on my bladder, so that I have to get up a few times at night to use the bathroom.

So Friday is the big day for the tolerance test. I am not surprised that I failed the one hour version - waffles right before the test probably didn't help my blood sugar. I will be quite surprised if I fail the three hour version and have gestational diabetes.

Stay tuned for the results...

Week 28 - Finally the 3rd Trimester

Well, we've officially made it to the third trimester - 2/3rds of the way through the journey. At this point I think pregnancy and aging are pretty similar. The first bit is exciting, but with lots of learning to do (like what causes morning sickness and all the shoulds and shouldn'ts of pregnancy). The second part is smooth sailing and the most comfortable part of the trip, and then there is the end where everything starts to get achy and you seem to be headed to the doctor all the time.

Week 27 went pretty well. Steve and I officially "graduated" from childbirth class. We both agreed that childbirth class was worse than any single day of our graduate studies. Steve said his head hurt even worse than it did at the end of his 8 hour days first year of dental school. I'd have to agree that no class in law school was as dry at times and as unbearable as watching way too many births (not the cleaned up discovery channel variety either). By the end of the day we were wondering what we'd gotten ourselves into. Yesterday I had my first bout of pregnancy related "freaking out" - I still don't know what was causing my extreme agitation, but I just couldn't get calmed down. The end result is a boxful of things to go to Goodwill and another square for my afghan halfway done. In the end I managed to get myself calmed down enough to get to bed at a reasonable hour and woke up this morning feeling fine. Hopefully my hormones will regulate themselves and I won't have too many more incidents of freaking out. Luckily Steve is pretty levelheaded and just let me have my issues without getting himself dragged into the situation.

This week Sparky has made it up to almost 16 inches long and weighs about 2.5 pounds. My belly, unfortunately, is just a hair over 44 inches (about 44 1/4). I've grown just a pinch, but Sparky's grown a lot, so I am feeling more and more of her movement. She's very, very active and I am sure she is still breech (head up) since all of the kicking and wiggling is centered on the lower half of my belly. She has definite periods of being awake and asleep, but even in her sleep I feel a lot of moving. Lately she has been getting the hiccups quite often - it is a rather odd sensation. I am back to the doctor's on Wednesday for the beginning of the every other week checkups. This visit I have to get the Rhogam shot (since I have O negative blood) and have to take the glucose tolerance test (the one hour version) to make sure I don't have gestational diabetes. Since I was tested for ultra-low blood sugar in high school I am hoping the screening comes back negative to low so that I don't have to do the three hour version of the test.

I finally took a little "Jen time" and got my haircut the other day - I was hating the layers in it and the time it took to make myself look nice each morning. The new haircut is pictured above, but Sparky seems to dominate the photo. Check back Wednesday night to see if Sparky decides to cooperate for the doctor this time (it would be a first...)

Week 27 - the Last Week of the 2nd Trimester

Well... with only one week left of the second trimester, I believe huge would be the word that best describes how I've been feeling lately. On Friday night I tried to put on the top from the photos in the week 15 update. Being a maternity top and a size large (my pre-pregnancy size was a ladies small) I figured it would be no problem. Boy was that a bad assumption. While the shirt went on (with some struggle), getting it back off was near impossible. At this point my only option is t-shirt material that has lots of stretch. So unfortunately, there goes 1/2 of my maternity tops. The bottoms are going much the same way - they are getting so tight around my belly that I'm thinking about just wearing dresses all day (something that I am not too excited about).

Sparky is still being very active and wild - my mom claims she told Sparky to act this way. On the bright side, Sparky has been getting wild mostly during the day and has been doing much better at sleeping through the night. It has made the work day much more difficult to get through - lots of kicking, wiggling, and flipping. My belly has gotten so big that it sits on my lap when I am sitting at my chair. This phenomenon creates an interesting activity for Sparky - she now kicks through my belly and into my leg. This is perhaps the creepiest part of being pregnant so far. While feeling her move is nice, because I know she is still healthy and doing just fine, feeling all that movement is not really on the top of the list of things I'd like to feel during the day (or night). I'm pretty sure I'm not one of those women who just love being pregnant. I know that Sparky will be well worth it, but I can't say I'm too excited about the thought of doing this too many times.

Well... on to the relevant data for the week. My belly is expanding again (ouch...) and is up to 44 inches. My belly button is being rather stubborn and is still an innie - but it is getting more and more sensitive and painful by the day, so I'm sure it's on its way to being an outie soon. Sparky has broken the 2 pound barrier and is around 14 1/2 inches. She's getting pretty regular in her sleep and wake habits. Her biggest wake times are between 7 and 9 am, 1 and 4 pm, and 5 and 8 pm. She also now has more clothes than any one baby could possibly wear, including 5 or 6 Christmas dresses.

Only 13 weeks to go...

Week 25 - Only 105 days (and then some) left

Things are "growing" or going nicely for Sparky. My waistline expanded by a whole painful inch (up to 43 1/2 inches). All week I've felt like my belly was going to split right down the middle. Sparky is up to about 13 inches and is around 1.5 pounds, but after walking all around Ann Arbor tonight she feels more like 1.5 tons.

Not only is my belly getting big, I've also started retaining extra fluids in my legs and I've got some extra weight in my face. Other than that I've been feeling pretty good, except for leg pains during the night and waking up a whole lot (5 or 6 or 7 times each night). I guess it is good training for all of those late night feedings that we will be doing soon.

Steve and I are taking Sparky on her 3rd trip to the Upper Peninsula this week. We are leaving Thursday morning for Sault Ste. Marie and Steve's second interview with the Chippewa Tribe for the open dental position. We've been assured that the job is his if he wants it, so Sparky and I are going to focus our efforts on finding suitable housing while we are up there. We may also try to catch the Lake Superior State hockey game on Friday night. Sparky's favorite dog Maize is already safely in Hastings - so we will have to make a stop there on the way back on Saturday.

Below are samples from the baby afghan that I'm making for Sparky - I have 4.5 of the 9 squares done. 5 of the squares are going to be different and 4 are going to be solid yellow. Hopefully we will have this done before Sparky's first appearance.

The 24 Week Check-In

Steve, Sparky, Maize, and I are watching the Capital One Bowl and hoping that Sparky will not be embarrassed to wear all of the maize and blue gear she has. While we had a great time in Florida, it is wonderful to be at home and back to a more relaxing pace of life. I sure get tired quickly. I also seemed to develop what my brother's affectionately called "cankles" (when your calf and ankle are indistinguishable) from traveling, but I can now see both ankle bones, so I should be back to normal soon.

Sparky may have been the only Obreiter in this house that was awake when midnight hit last night. I was out by 8:30 and Steve was asleep before 11. Even Maize was snoring long before 11. If Sparky was awake, she was being well behaved and let me sleep until about 4 a.m.

This week's stats: My belly measures 42 1/2 inches around (about 1/2 inch in the last two weeks - I didn't measure last week, so we aren't sure when the stretch happened). Sparky is about 12 inches long and 1 pound 5 ounces. I'm sure that is a mere fraction of her final weight. She's been busily beating me up from the inside out. I've decided she must think that gym class is a daily requirement. We've started piling up all of the clothing that people have given Sparky - she is already well stocked until at least 6 months (and I am sure for much longer since most of her gear is still at my mom's house).

Happy New Year to you all from the four of us!

It's week 22...

Well, week 22 is off to an uneventful start. We get to visit Dr. Sammarco tomorrow morning, but other than that, life has been rather boring, not that I am going to complain about boring. I think Sparky may have made the move to the head down position since I've been battling a bulge that is frequently stuck right up under my rib cage. The kicking hasn't stopped and I'm sure the 11 or so inches of little girl must be bent up in someway or another resulting in her bottom in my ribs and her feet kicking away below my belly button.

Speaking of that - my belly button is mere days away from disappearing. Everyday it gets a little shallower and shallower. My waistline is 42 inches as of this evening and I've gained 3 pounds in the last 4 weeks. I'm sure the weight gain will pick up as Sparky starts growing faster and faster.

As for this week's photos - Steve says this depicts the exhausted, right out of the shower after work version of my pregnant self very well. Maize is already feeling very sad now that she can't sit on my lap anymore, she's been stuck laying on the cold, hard wood floor doing dog things. She will be very sad when Sparky comes home and she can't sit on Steve's lap either.

Week 21 - The Second Half

This photo was going to be really cute this week ~ I had a cute little top and had been all fixed up from work. Then I decided to boil and egg in the microwave for dinner. I had it in water, so I figured it would be fine. However, when I took the egg out it exploded everywhere (mostly all over my face and cute new shirt). So... after the shower and putting on pajama's this is Sparky's week 21 photo.

My belly made it up to 42 inches this week and I've been avoiding the scale for the last couple weeks, so I'm sure there are a few pounds that could be added to the previous total. Sparky is getting to be a very active girl - she's been kicking and punching me all day long. According to the websites we've been checking out, she's around 10 inches long and just about a pound.

We brought home a bassinet for Sparky this weekend. It was up in Grandma Lorraine's attic, so we aren't quite sure where it came from or who has slept in it, but it is sturdy and white, and should withstand a very curious basset hound. Unfortunately with an old bassinet comes an old mattress of a size that isn't made anymore. I went out to Hobby Lobby today and purchased material to make my own sheets, since we couldn't find a single store that carried 13 by 28 bassinet sheets. When we get the sheets done and the bassinet cleaned and steamed, we will post the pictures.

It's only 12 days until we take Sparky on her first airplane ride to sunny (we hope) Florida for a week of fun at Vero Beach. We are very excited for a little rest and relaxation before Sparky gets here and turns our lives inside out.

Insomnia

Sparky has decided to sleep while I am awake and party all night long. This is not a good outcome for me now that I can feel all the partying. Last night between Sparky, needing to use the bathroom twice, and Maize being "scared" - I was awake at least every hour starting at midnight. We need to get these interruptions on a schedule so that Sparky's party, Maize's panic at the snowplows, and my bladder all wake me one time, rather than 3 or 4.

Today is Steve's birthday, so Sparky and I are taking him out for dinner when he gets back from school. My belly is getting stretched out and is now 41 1/2 inches, so I figure some birthday celebration won't even effect my waistline at this point.

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 :)

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.

Week 15

According to the Mayo Clinic, this is what Sparky would look like if he were a drawing and not a real boy (or girl).

My belly grew a half-inch this week and Sparky went from about 1.5 ounces to about 2.5 ounces. Some day soon we should start feeling Sparky moving around. Other than that, it was a very uneventful week.

Sparky was the only person who got a present from Grandma Lorraine's trip to China. He is now the proud owner of a small stuffed panda bear from the Chinese Panda breeding facility.

Week 14 Starts Tomorrow

Time for the week 14 update - pictures to follow at a later date.

Belly circumfrence - 39 inches (no change from last week)

Sparky's length - around 5 inches (slightly longer than a sheet of toliet paper)

We took Sparky on a road trip to visit Hastings over the weekend. Maize tried very hard to ride up on the car seat with Sparky and I, but it was getting harder and harder for her to stay on the seat. Steve and I went crib shopping with his folks. It was a little overwhelming but hopefully we will find Sparky a bed sometime soon. We also made the first trip to Babies 'R' Us - the WalMart of baby stuff. We were on baby overload.

Beyond baby shopping we got to spend some time visiting family. We took Sparky to his first Hastings High School football game, which Hastings won, making them playoff eligible. My cousin Luke was the star of the football game. Everyone decided that Sparky may have been the good luck charm. We also took Sparky to his first dinner at Grandma Jennie's house and he got fed way too much food and pie.

We go to the doctor's office on Wednesday for Sparky's next checkup. Details to follow.

Week 13 Update

Tomorrow (or today, depending on whether you listen to the nurse or the doctor) is the start of week 13 - the end of month 3 of pregnancy and the beginning of month 4. Lots of big changes for Sparky this week. We have now officially gotten past the most critical part of pregnancy (and most of the risk of miscarriage). Sparky's primary teeth have all formed by the time this week starts, so I've been getting extra calcium and keeping up on floride to give our little one the best teeth posssible (for his father's sake).

Sparky received his first gift from someone besides his grandmas and great-grandmas. Today a co-worker brought me a very cute little chicken suit. Of course, she didn't have any idea about our little chicken thing - so it was even better. After all, one doesn't really advertise that they were the champion chicken showman at the Barry County Fair. We will have to make Sparky wear his chicken outfit on a visit to the farm next spring to see his Aunt Emily's little rooster.

And now... for the information you've been waiting all week for. My belly is 39 inches around during the evening. I still lose an inch or two during the night, but it only takes an hour or two for the belly to pop right back out the next morning.

We survived the Cirque Du Soliel, the Michigan football game, and the baby shower for baby Roth last weekend. Next weekend will be Sparky's first trip to Hastings and his first Hastings High School football game. We are looking forward to seeing all of our friends and family and a weekend of some rest and relaxation.