11 Weeks left....

Yesterday was our 29 week appointment and everything looked great. We heard the heartbeat and it was as fast and strong as ever. I have gained more weight....of course no numbers will be shared...and the belly is measuring on track (about 29 cm - although it looks much larger).

It is hard to believe that we have less than 3 months left as the time has flown by for sure. We go back in 3 weeks for our next appointment and then after that it is a visit every two weeks and our next ultrasound.

We have stayed pretty on top of things and have already registered, completed birthing class, picked a hospital, chosen a pediatrician and tossed around some names (well - we really only have the boy name as he will be Thomas Jr. and if it is a girl...well we will call her Baby F until we come up with something...haha).

As always here are some pics of the ever growing belly. Tom and I looked through all of our pictures last night and it is insane to see how much the belly has grown from my 14 week picture to now. For comparison, I have posted a 27 week and 29 week picture below...INSANE how much it grew in just 2 weeks!

27 Week belly v.

29 Week belly....look how much it has grown in just 2 weeks....

We are off to Raleigh, NC today to visit the Boyle family and meet Baby Blake for the first time. Tom is excited to practice his new swaddling skills and diaper changing!!! Then it is back to Nashville on Sunday for my first baby shower with the Brentwood 92 Premier Girls (and former players). I am so excited to see them all and wish them good luck as they head out for pre-seasons which start next week!!!

Next appointment is August 18th so more updates will follow...

Birthing Class 101

Tom and I finished our birthing class and it was entertaining to say the least. We took a weekend long course this past weekend where they cram 6 weeks of information into 2 days (10 hours). We basically learned everything from how my internal organs change as the baby grows (aka. get crammed into 1/3 of the space they are used to) all the way to how to diaper and swaddle a newborn.

I have to say I was quite disappointed in one thing...having gone to a private school in Atlanta, I was subjected to Sex Ed and subsequently the dreaded Miracle of Life video in 5th, 7th and 9th grades. Tom on the other hand had one semester of sex ed in high school and has NEVER seen that horrible/terrifying video. I couldn't wait for him to have to watch a couple of birth videos in class to get him ready for what actually happens in a delivery room. BUT.....the new videos they show these days are so weak. They show about 2 seconds of a baby being born and that is it!!! So needless to say, I may have to find a copy of the Miracle of Life to show Tom just so he can be as prepared as I have been since 5th freaking grade.

Tom has officially changed his very first diaper also (even if it was on a lifelike doll with a strange resemblance to Chuckie). I have to say he did quite well. He didn't put it on backwards or anything, although the poor doll had quite the wedgie at first. He has also mastered the "football hold" which will come in handy during those first weeks of bathing in the sink. This particular technique will also allow him to hold Baby F while keeping one hand free for the tv remote and watching Notre Dame football...which we all know will be #2 on Tom's priority list (right behind Baby F of course...)

So I think we are both a little more prepared for what Child Birth is all about. We have two classes left to take. One is Newborn care which is a short one all about what to do with the baby once we get it home and don't have the nurses helping every step of the way. The last will be Infant CPR which should be pretty cool.

That is all for now. We go to the doctor on Wednesday this week so I can't wait to see how much Baby F has grown.

P.S. According to our class instructor...we are most likely in for a large baby so everyone start praying for me now!!!

And the Third Tri-mester Begins...

We have had a busy past few weeks. Where to start....we spent 10 wonderful days at Lake Rabun for July 4th. We did a lot of sunning, swimming and fire-works watching (shout-out to Brad Halter and his awesome fireworks show...). We also ran the Annual Rabun Ramble. I did the 5K...slowly...but I did finish and if there had been a pregnant group...I may have won a medal - or not. Congrats to Brooke Halter and Laura Halter Sardone who did medal in their age group and to PJ for running his first ever 5K - at age 7!!! Also, Congrats to Rachael Webster for winning her age group in the 10K and coming in second overall....yeah she finished her race before I finished mine...haha oh well.

Baby Frericks is officially 27 weeks along and as of last Thursday I am now in my third tri-mester. Baby F is as active as ever. He/she seriously kicks all day long and with those big feet - see earlier post - there is never a dull moment. It is an incredible feeling for sure!

With the help of Eileen, my sister-in-law, we have officially finished registering for Baby F. Talk about overwhelming...who knew there were like 70 diaper bag options. Tom and I finished up this weekend after a few hours at Babies R' Us and Target (and babysupermall.com). We are excited about all the goodies we picked out - now if we can just figure out where to put it all (fingers crossed we sell our house soon).

According to Tom, I am "nesting" so I spent the rest of the weekend cleaning out all of our closets, cabinets and kitchen. I am just trying to make space for the baby gear in case we haven't sold our house come October!

As you can see the belly is getting bigger and bigger everyday. The belly button is hanging on for dear life but as of now it has not popped out yet.

27 Weeks...

and growing!

We go back to the doctor on July 28th so more updates coming soon...

25 Weeks...25cm

Well we have reached the 25 week mark. Today I had another appointment and everything is progressing on track. I have gained plenty of weight (we won't discuss numbers) and my belly measured 25cm which the doctor said is right on track -- despite the fact that I had a dream last night they told us our baby had a syndrome that makes it grow at an abnormal rate -- thankfully that didn't come true. We heard the heartbeat and it was as fast and strong as ever.

I had to drink some fruit punch type stuff and then give three vials of blood to test for Gestational diabetes. We won't know the results for a while but hopefully all will be fine.

Here are some more pics of the every expanding belly...

Profile shot in my work clothes....

The Belly Straight on and the belly button is slowing disappearing...

Still growing...

Baby Frericks is kicking and moving all the time now which has been really cool. We go back to the doctor in four more weeks so we can't wait to see what happens next.

22 Weeks and Counting....

Well we had a very productive weekend. We have officially picked out and purchased Baby Frericks's Crib, Armoire and dresser. We spent over 2 hours looking at so many different options and changed our minds about 4 times but are very excited about what we got. Thankfully the store is keeping our purchases b/c our house is on the market and we hope to sell it before the baby is here. If that doesn't happen, then we will set up the nursery.

Here are some pics of the baby bump at 22 weeks. It has officially popped out and it getting bigger everyday. My belly button is making its way out also!

The Belly...

The Belly...but I am pushing it out.....

Not much else to report. We go back to the doctor on June 30 so I will have more updates then!

Baby Frericks' Debut...

As Promised here are some pics of Baby Frericks...

Baby Frericks...aka - Big Foot

The only Profile Shot Baby Frericks let us get...

Baby Frericks seems to be a thumb sucker already...

Good Shot of sweet Baby Frericks!

20 Weeks and Counting....

We are halfway there and we had a big day today...we officially saw Baby Frericks on our first Ultrasound. It was surreal to say the least. With technology today, we saw Baby Frericks in 2D, 3D and even 4D (which means we watched baby in 3D in real time). It was amazing.

You are probably wondering why I am not calling Baby Frericks a girl or boy...and that is because after much discussion, we have decided to wait and have it be a Surprise on October 14th. It was tough not to peek today but I think we did it (well Tom may have cheated but I don't think he did...haha).

Here are some funny statements made by our doctor today and it looks like we are in for a wild ride with Baby Frericks...

"Wow you guys have a wild child on your hands"

"There are the feet....those are some big feet for a little baby"

Needless to say, Baby Frericks was doing flips, moving around and hiding from the camera underneath my hip bone....its favorite spot apparently. Baby did give us a wave at one point but kept its little hands in fists in front of its face for most of the time. Although it did sneak in a few thumb sucks from time to time.

The best part of the day was that everything is great with Baby. All body parts and organs look great, its heartbeat was 138, growth is on track (well at least for the big feet) and everyone is healthy and happy.

Here is another pic of the ever expanding belly. Baby pics will be posted soon...