Since going back to school I have been coming home drained. I am fine while I am at school but I get tired on the drive home and unless I have stuff to do I just want to sit and relax. Well, this week I have had a LOT of meetings. I am not complaining because the meetings I have had were all important and worthwhile, but I have had one -or something- every day after school! Whether it is taking Mom to physical therapy (which I really like doing), going to workshops, ALC or PLC meetings... I haven't gotten home before 5:30 any night this week.
I guess this is gearing me up for when ALC starts in a week. Yes I am still going to run the after school program two nights a week. I have been given the ok to take maternity leave after winter break for the remainder of the year (ONLY for the after-school program) and come back for summer school. Actually, I am really looking forward to it and can't wait for it to start.
I just need to make sure that I have snacks while I am at school that long - darn! :)
Adelle is growing:
Head to heels, she now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture. Neat! Only 100 more days to go!!
Saturday, September 26
Wednesday, September 16
24 Weeks = Doctor's Appointment
I don't think I have said it before, but I really like my doctor! He is SUPER soft spoken which is just like me ;) but he is wonderful. Every time we are there he lets us listen to her heart beat and I love it. PLUS he is really incredible at finding her heartbeat on the first try - he doesn't even have to move around. As soon as he puts the thing on my belly, there it is! woosh-woosh, woosh-woosh
He said that everything is looking great and that we are right on track. It was really nice for me to hear because I want to make sure that I am doing everything I can to help her grow and develop.
We have to go back in two weeks because he wants me to take the glucose test when I am 26 weeks. It takes an hour but can rule out gestational diabetes. I think after that we start going in every two to three weeks. That is a little exciting for me because that means she is coming soon!! YAY!!
Adelle is growing:
She is growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts her at just over a pound. Since she's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), she cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but her body is filling out proportionally and she'll soon start to plump up. Her brain is also growing quickly now, and her taste buds are continuing to develop. Her lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help her air sacs inflate once she hits the outside world. Her skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon. Just 108 days to go!
He said that everything is looking great and that we are right on track. It was really nice for me to hear because I want to make sure that I am doing everything I can to help her grow and develop.
We have to go back in two weeks because he wants me to take the glucose test when I am 26 weeks. It takes an hour but can rule out gestational diabetes. I think after that we start going in every two to three weeks. That is a little exciting for me because that means she is coming soon!! YAY!!
Adelle is growing:
She is growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts her at just over a pound. Since she's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), she cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but her body is filling out proportionally and she'll soon start to plump up. Her brain is also growing quickly now, and her taste buds are continuing to develop. Her lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help her air sacs inflate once she hits the outside world. Her skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon. Just 108 days to go!
Tuesday, September 8
23 Weeks = School Starts
SO I am a little late in updating the blog because school has started and I get exhausted really easily... I'm pregnant people!!!
Anyway, we started our 23rd week by relaxing on Sunday the 6th and doing some running around with Maria. Then yesterday, Labor Day, we had to go to David's Bridal to pick up my dress for Angie's wedding. I was not too thrilled about going back to that place because I haven't gotten good service when I've been there - excluding my last time there, that guy was AWESOME.
I had to go because the dress I was going to wear for the wedding didn't fit. I went in about two, maybe three weeks ago and asked the guy what we could do because I had JUST found out I was pregnant when I got the dress and wasn't aware that certain parts of me would get this big (and I am not talking about my belly). He said, "Oh sure we'll just exchange it! What size do you need?" Well, I wasn't sure so he had me try on two different sizes and even brought out the alterations lady to take a look and give her opinion. We settled on a size and ordered it. It was going to come in any day.
I went to pick it up and wanted to try it on to make sure it fit. The lady had to look for my dress for like, 15 minutes. Then she came out and seemed put off by the fact that I wanted to try it on. I tried it on but couldn't zip it (in the back - go figure) so Brian tried and couldn't zip it. NOT BECAUSE OF MY SIZE THOUGH it was because there was a fabric change and it had always gotten caught up there. We waited for our lady to return but she never did so I asked a different lady to help and she said she'd be right over. During that time I asked Brian to work on it again and he got it! Then I had to go and bend over to try to pick up some shoes and "RIP!!!" the zipper split!
I am SO glad it happened there!
Long story a tad shorter, I had to pick it up and it was fine. They fixed it for free and I am glad that I will never have to go there again!!! When you get married Maria, I am going to buy my dress somewhere else!
After all of that, today was the first day of school! I have 34 kids and I am exhausted and am going to bed! It was a fantastic day and I am luck to have the kids I have!!
Adelle is growing:
Adelle can feel me dance and move! And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), I may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb. Hopefully that is true because I don't want her to be afraid of Zack or Zoey!! Only 116 days left!
Anyway, we started our 23rd week by relaxing on Sunday the 6th and doing some running around with Maria. Then yesterday, Labor Day, we had to go to David's Bridal to pick up my dress for Angie's wedding. I was not too thrilled about going back to that place because I haven't gotten good service when I've been there - excluding my last time there, that guy was AWESOME.
I had to go because the dress I was going to wear for the wedding didn't fit. I went in about two, maybe three weeks ago and asked the guy what we could do because I had JUST found out I was pregnant when I got the dress and wasn't aware that certain parts of me would get this big (and I am not talking about my belly). He said, "Oh sure we'll just exchange it! What size do you need?" Well, I wasn't sure so he had me try on two different sizes and even brought out the alterations lady to take a look and give her opinion. We settled on a size and ordered it. It was going to come in any day.
I went to pick it up and wanted to try it on to make sure it fit. The lady had to look for my dress for like, 15 minutes. Then she came out and seemed put off by the fact that I wanted to try it on. I tried it on but couldn't zip it (in the back - go figure) so Brian tried and couldn't zip it. NOT BECAUSE OF MY SIZE THOUGH it was because there was a fabric change and it had always gotten caught up there. We waited for our lady to return but she never did so I asked a different lady to help and she said she'd be right over. During that time I asked Brian to work on it again and he got it! Then I had to go and bend over to try to pick up some shoes and "RIP!!!" the zipper split!
I am SO glad it happened there!
Long story a tad shorter, I had to pick it up and it was fine. They fixed it for free and I am glad that I will never have to go there again!!! When you get married Maria, I am going to buy my dress somewhere else!
After all of that, today was the first day of school! I have 34 kids and I am exhausted and am going to bed! It was a fantastic day and I am luck to have the kids I have!!
Adelle is growing:
Adelle can feel me dance and move! And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), I may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb. Hopefully that is true because I don't want her to be afraid of Zack or Zoey!! Only 116 days left!
Wednesday, September 2
Perinatologist
We went to the perinatologist today for our follow up. We had gone in on the 5th of August to make sure that things were developing well but since our little one was being stubborn, they couldn't tell.
Before we went in today Brian told me to have a pop to help her move around. I did and she did!! It was amazing!! My Mom was able to join us for this visit and was speechless when she saw her first grand daughter yawn!! We even had the tech "rewind" so we could see it again! We got a great picture of her profile and a neat picture of her foot. the tech also gave us 3-d pictures of her which are super cool!
After she had all of the pictures she needed the doctor told us we had graduated back to the regular OBGYNs and they didn't need to see us anymore. Everything looked wonderful!
What an incredible feeling!
Here are the pictures:
Before we went in today Brian told me to have a pop to help her move around. I did and she did!! It was amazing!! My Mom was able to join us for this visit and was speechless when she saw her first grand daughter yawn!! We even had the tech "rewind" so we could see it again! We got a great picture of her profile and a neat picture of her foot. the tech also gave us 3-d pictures of her which are super cool!
After she had all of the pictures she needed the doctor told us we had graduated back to the regular OBGYNs and they didn't need to see us anymore. Everything looked wonderful!
What an incredible feeling!
Here are the pictures:
Saturday, August 29
22 Weeks = The Bedding is Here!!
We want to thank all of you for your comments about what bedding we should/could get. It was helpful yet made things more difficult at times (thank you Maria ;). We decided on the the purple bedding from Land of Nod called Maria's Flowers. I love the way it looks in the pictures but it looks better in person somehow.
We ended up getting the bumper, skirt and a ladybug pillow that goes with the twin set. We got the ladybug pillow because Adelle's middle name will be June which was Gram's middle name and she loved ladybugs! The pillow isn't as yellow as we thought it would be but it is still beautiful.
Now we are starting to think about paint colors. Do we paint the walls white or a pale color? If we end up painting the walls a pale color, how do we decorate? Do we decorate with cherry wood and white? If we paint the walls white we figured we would decorate and accent with the colors from the bedding.
What are your thoughts? How does that sound?
Adelle is growing:
At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, she is starting to look like a miniature newborn. Her lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and she's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath her gums. Her eyes have formed, but her irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers her body and the deep wrinkles on her skin, which she'll sport until she adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside her belly, her pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily. Just 126 days left!
Tuesday, August 25
21 Weeks = Dresser
Since we found out we were pregnant I have been looking for/at furniture. I wanted the pieces to match and I wanted them to be cheap. Now, when I started looking I thought it would be impossible. Baby furniture - well, any furniture really - is expensive. We will be using this furniture for a long time but golly....
Well, our friend Bri found a crib and changing table on Craigslist for a reasonable price for both pieces. Since we got those pieces I have been looking for a dresser. Craigslist didn't have anything that we really liked or that would work in our tiny room. We looked at new dressers and didn't really find anything that caught our eyes. I was really starting to get discouraged.
Then I remembered that my parents still had dressers from when we were growing up! I asked Mom and Dad if we would be able to buy one of them and they agreed!!
Dad, Maria and Brian brought it into our house a week or so ago. It was white with multi-colored knobs (one color for each drawer). Brian and I decided that instead of keeping it white we would take the paint off and stain/paint it to match the other furniture. We began by trying to sand the paint off but it didn't work out so well. The next day Brian went out and purchased some citrus scented paint stripper. He has been using that on the dresser for the last couple of days and while it looks awful it has already come a long way.
I don't have batteries for my camera so when I do I will post a picture!
Baby V is growing:
Adelle weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. It is starting to feel like she's practicing martial arts - Auntie Maria will be so proud - as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. I am also supposed to discover a pattern to her activity as I get to know her better. In other developments, her eyebrows and lids are present now, and it's crazy to think that her vagina has begun to form as well. Unreal! Only 130 days left!
Well, our friend Bri found a crib and changing table on Craigslist for a reasonable price for both pieces. Since we got those pieces I have been looking for a dresser. Craigslist didn't have anything that we really liked or that would work in our tiny room. We looked at new dressers and didn't really find anything that caught our eyes. I was really starting to get discouraged.
Then I remembered that my parents still had dressers from when we were growing up! I asked Mom and Dad if we would be able to buy one of them and they agreed!!
Dad, Maria and Brian brought it into our house a week or so ago. It was white with multi-colored knobs (one color for each drawer). Brian and I decided that instead of keeping it white we would take the paint off and stain/paint it to match the other furniture. We began by trying to sand the paint off but it didn't work out so well. The next day Brian went out and purchased some citrus scented paint stripper. He has been using that on the dresser for the last couple of days and while it looks awful it has already come a long way.
I don't have batteries for my camera so when I do I will post a picture!
Baby V is growing:
Adelle weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. It is starting to feel like she's practicing martial arts - Auntie Maria will be so proud - as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. I am also supposed to discover a pattern to her activity as I get to know her better. In other developments, her eyebrows and lids are present now, and it's crazy to think that her vagina has begun to form as well. Unreal! Only 130 days left!
Sunday, August 16
Bedding - Narrowed Options
We have narrowed down the options for the bedding and are very excited about it (well, I am anyway). You made really great suggestions and gave great reasons to choose the bedding you chose. That made it more difficult for us to be honest.
In no particular order here is the narrowed list and the reasons:
First we have the animal print bedding. We have always thought this bedding was adorable but agreed with Kelly when she said that EVERYONE is doing an animal themed room. Most of the people we know have done one and we wanted to be different until Maria said this, "My vote is for the one with the fox because eventually you can point to the animals and say, 'Your last name means bird song, and Grandpa and Grandma Volpe's last name means fox.' I feel like it's more personal because it's got both sets of animals, and I can imagine Gram going ga-ga for it." Now, she was talking about the darker set, but we like this one better so this is the animal option.
Our second option is the ABC bedding. There really wasn't an opinion that stood out like Maria's did. This got the second highest number of votes and being a teacher, how can I NOT like ABC's?
The third option is Maria's Flowers at Land of Nod. While we thought that Kelly's comment on how pink was pushed on her and she ended up hating it was a concern, Angela said that she regrets making her nursery so neutral. Nicole said, "I can't promise I won't be doing something really girly if we have a girl!" While Stephanie appealed to my planning side and said that we could use the quilt longer. If we are going to go girly, we thought this would be a good option because we can tone it down or make it SUPER girly.
Out of these three options, which would you choose? This doesn't mean that we will agree with you - this isn't a reality show plot and we reserve the right to veto, but we like opinions!
In no particular order here is the narrowed list and the reasons:
First we have the animal print bedding. We have always thought this bedding was adorable but agreed with Kelly when she said that EVERYONE is doing an animal themed room. Most of the people we know have done one and we wanted to be different until Maria said this, "My vote is for the one with the fox because eventually you can point to the animals and say, 'Your last name means bird song, and Grandpa and Grandma Volpe's last name means fox.' I feel like it's more personal because it's got both sets of animals, and I can imagine Gram going ga-ga for it." Now, she was talking about the darker set, but we like this one better so this is the animal option.
Our second option is the ABC bedding. There really wasn't an opinion that stood out like Maria's did. This got the second highest number of votes and being a teacher, how can I NOT like ABC's?
The third option is Maria's Flowers at Land of Nod. While we thought that Kelly's comment on how pink was pushed on her and she ended up hating it was a concern, Angela said that she regrets making her nursery so neutral. Nicole said, "I can't promise I won't be doing something really girly if we have a girl!" While Stephanie appealed to my planning side and said that we could use the quilt longer. If we are going to go girly, we thought this would be a good option because we can tone it down or make it SUPER girly.
Out of these three options, which would you choose? This doesn't mean that we will agree with you - this isn't a reality show plot and we reserve the right to veto, but we like opinions!
Saturday, August 15
20 Weeks = Half Way!!
I am SO excited to make it to this point in my pregnancy! Just to know that I am half way through it makes me feel that things are going to be fine... like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders (or belly). I can't really describe it but it's a GREAT feeling!
We are going to celebrate this milestone with a doctor's appointment tomorrow (Monday) - how lucky! This is just going to be a chance to talk with the doctor about the perinatologist results/findings - which I remind you were inconclusive - and to answer any questions we have. We have a few questions for him and since we can't see her this visit I will ask if we can HEAR her! Listening to the heart beating is such a wonderful sound!
There are other things that we have been discussing this last week as well... bedding, decorations, paint, toys, etc. We have narrowed down the bedding - thank you to those who put your two cents in - and now we are looking at how to actually decorate the room itself. Before we can even START on that though we need to figure some other things out like storage and electrical! We'll keep you posted though!
Baby V is growing:
Adelle weighs about 10 1/2 + ounces now. She's around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. She's also swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. You don't want to know what she is doing with everything she swallows, though if you want to change her first diaper you'll get to see it! Only 140 days to go!
We are going to celebrate this milestone with a doctor's appointment tomorrow (Monday) - how lucky! This is just going to be a chance to talk with the doctor about the perinatologist results/findings - which I remind you were inconclusive - and to answer any questions we have. We have a few questions for him and since we can't see her this visit I will ask if we can HEAR her! Listening to the heart beating is such a wonderful sound!
There are other things that we have been discussing this last week as well... bedding, decorations, paint, toys, etc. We have narrowed down the bedding - thank you to those who put your two cents in - and now we are looking at how to actually decorate the room itself. Before we can even START on that though we need to figure some other things out like storage and electrical! We'll keep you posted though!
Baby V is growing:
Adelle weighs about 10 1/2 + ounces now. She's around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. She's also swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. You don't want to know what she is doing with everything she swallows, though if you want to change her first diaper you'll get to see it! Only 140 days to go!
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