Well, no pictures to post today but I wanted to update my seven or eight loyal readers on this morning’s adventures in needles. After fasting overnight, I got to the doctor’s office at 8am and had the first blood draw, followed by consuming the glucose solution. It was indeed yuckier than what I had to drink for the 1 hour test, but I got it down. Then I had blood draw number two at 9am, and at 9:30am I threw up the glucose solution and all the water I had been drinking. The nurse called the lab to get their input on what to do next. Thankfully they didn’t make me drink the glucose again. They recommended finishing out the 3 hour test, then if the first two blood draws (pre-throwing up) come back normal, I’m good to go. If those two are high, then they will either make me re-do the test or just diagnose me with gestational diabetes. If I have to re-take it, they can give me an anti-nausea pill to take first, and they said I might also be able to eat a little something beforehand and they can just note that for the analysis. So after two blood draws in each inner arm, they gave me the Rh shot and finally I was free (and able to get some food!). I should have results Monday or Tuesday. Of course I am just really hoping it comes back at normal levels! I will post an update when I get the results. Thanks for checking in!

Happy New Year! We are having a quiet New Year’s Eve with our company, which is just fine by us. I’ll be lucky if I am still awake come midnight. We had a fun late Christmas opening gifts this past Sunday….eight people means lots of presents under the tree! We got some fun baby stuff and Jeff got some oh-so-cute clothes for our boy plus a pair of the smallest, cutest Converse shoes you have ever seen. I also got a body pillow, which has been very useful in helping my back not be as achy during the night.

In non-holiday-related excitement, I got the call that my 1 hour glucose test came back “a little high” so I have to do the 3 hour version (which sounds to me like it takes longer than 3 hours) on Friday. I am really really not looking forward to that. It involves fasting for 10 hours beforehand, then I get to drink an even more concentrated version of the glucose solution (which makes some people throw up, then you have to drink it again) and then sit there all morning while they draw my blood once an hour. Keep in mind I am still not eating anything this whole time. Oh yes, and to top it off, I’m not making antibodies to the baby’s blood (that’s a good thing) which means while I’m there Friday they’ll give me the Rh shot I need (not so fun). A morning of needles, on an empty stomach….not my idea of a good time. I am really hoping that I will pass this round and not have to deal with gestational diabetes!

I’m now 29 weeks pregnant and the baby weighs about 2 1/2 pounds, or about the heft of a butternut squash. Here is today’s photo. Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2009!

We haven’t had a white Christmas in Seattle since 1990, but we definitely have one today! We woke up this morning to several more inches of snow. While beautiful, it’s going to prevent us from getting up to my Grandma’s house today to see family. They have even more snow up there, plus potential for ice this evening. We’re waiting to do presents until our niece is here this weekend, so we’ll have a relaxing Christmas day at home…currently there is fudge being made, and I think Jeff and I will venture out for a walk in the snow soon. Thankfully my in-laws were finally able to get here on Tuesday night, two days later than scheduled but with the mess that was Sea-Tac, we are just thrilled that they made it here! We also have my brother-in-law, his girlfriend, and her daughter here from eastern Washington, so we are enjoying a houseful of family and friends. It is great to have people here to celebrate the holiday with us.

I’m now 28 weeks pregnant and officially in the third trimester! I survived the blood draw for the glucose test. They also took vials to test for anemia and for Rh antibodies since I am a negative blood type and Jeff is positive, so I may have Rh incompatibility with the baby. If I’m not making any antibodies, I’ll go in for a shot to keep me from making them. The baby is moving lots and last night after dinner he showed off his moves for the company. He now weighs about 2 1/4 pounds, or about the size of a Chinese cabbage.

Here’s a Christmas day belly shot, it’s kind of blurry but you’ll get the idea:

A very Merry Christmas to all of you! We are thinking of and missing family and friends who are far away.

Snow, snow and more snow! That’s the story here in Seattle. We have had snow on the ground for a week now, and we got hit hard on Wednesday. Jeff and I ended up working from home Wednesday and Thursday. I ventured to work on Friday; the snow had stopped but the side roads were (and are!) pretty icy. This morning it was 0 degrees when we woke up. Now, I know all this doesn’t sound like a big deal to my Midwestern readers, but for around here this is a major storm. They’re not big believers in salt here and plows are in short supply, so we get a lot of icy roads with sand on top. Add to that the fact that a lot of locals don’t know how to drive in the snow, and I’d just rather stay at home. The next round hits us tonight with 4-8 inches of snow, 50-60mph winds (gusts up to 80!) and then a possible transition to freezing rain..this all adds up to a good chance of losing power. It could be a very interesting Christmas! We are hoping that Jeff’s parents are able to fly in as planned tomorrow and then that we are able to get them from the airport!

In pregnancy news, I’m now at 27 weeks and our son weighs about 2 pounds, about the size of a head of cauliflower. I’ll have the one hour glucose test on Monday. If you haven’t had this delightful experience, I gather it involves chugging a disgustingly sweet solution, then one hour later they draw your blood to screen for gestational diabetes. If you fail the one hour, you get to do the three hour, where they repeatedly draw blood. Many of you know that I don’t do well with even the thought of needles, so I’m really hoping to pass this one hour test!

Some pictures from this week:

The view from our front porch:

And from our yard:

On the front porch:

All this time at home has a bonus: I’m getting some knitting in! Pixel kept me company yesterday:

We’re into the double digits for days left! Granted, those double digits are still pretty close to 100, but it definitely feels like a landmark. At 26 weeks, our little guy is about the length of an English cucumber. The other night we were reading in bed and he was moving around. We were actually able to see his movements from the outside! We sat there for a good 10 minutes watching the show. My bellybutton is now in this weird stage between an innie and an outie….it’s pretty much flat. But I can now do a neat trick where I can actually make it pop out if I stretch the skin around it a bit. Who knew pregnancy would have such great entertainment value?

26 weeks:

Our little guy now weighs as much as the average rutabega (sp?), or about a pound and a half. I am weighing more as well…the other day I was at the gym and a woman said to me in the locker room, “I just realized you’re pregnant!” Now, this is a comment I avoid making at all costs until the woman herself mentions being pregnant, but since I am, it doesn’t bother me at all. I am looking forward to Christmas, it’s time to get out the decorations, not to mention buy a tree. My in-laws will come to visit us from Michigan for Christmas, which is always a lot of fun (and also a lot of good food). The only downside will be not having much time off work, because I’m hoarding vacation time for March. But I’ll get a nice long weekend for Christmas, as I am taking the 26th off (thank goodness for floating holidays). I’m hoping to get some good knitting time over the holiday, as I need to finish the baby blanket before the baby arrives. I hold no delusions that I’ll be doing much knitting for a while after he is here!

Here’s the offical 25 week picture. After uploading it, I notice that my pants are doing something funky in the rear there. I promise they don’t look this way normally, I think it’s from adjusting them for the picture.

Happy Thanksgiving! We certainly have a lot to be thankful for this holiday. We are enjoying having Jeff’s brother, his girlfriend, her daughter, and our niece here for the long weekend. It’s great to have time to spend with them and just relax together. We journeyed up to my Grandma’s for Thanksgiving Day, along with 35+ other assorted relatives. There is a 2009 “baby boom” on that side of the family, as two of my cousins are expecting babies, one in April and one in June or July. I can’t wait for our little one to get to know his cousins! Today has been a relaxing day at home…my brother-in-law is a master at homemade pizza dough, and we make sure to press him into service each time he visits. As I type this he is working on dough for tonight’s dinner. I’m told one of the pizzas will be Thai chicken, featuring a yummy peanut sauce. Mmmmmmm.

In baby news, we are now at 24 weeks…it’s hard to believe that I can now say I am six months pregnant! I am still feeling good and loving the second trimester. Our son is over a pound and over a foot long, and I love feeling him move every day. It’s really fun when he moves and Jeff gets to feel it.

A couple pictures:

It’s hard to believe that on Wednesday I will be six months pregnant! It is so fun to feel our boy in there every day. Jeff got to feel him for the first time on Friday, which was very exciting for both of us. We have warned the baby that we will stop exhorting him to “kick Daddy” once he is no longer in utero. Yesterday we bought paint for his room, and this weekend we have been working on sanding a changing table that we’re going to repaint. Mostly Jeff has been doing this, but I did help a bit. Thankfully today was sunny and pretty warm so we were able to sand on the patio in comfort. It also gave Jeff a good excuse to buy an orbital sander, which was money well spent.

Because I can’t swallow the giant prenatal vitamins, I take an assortment of pills each evening (per my doctor’s instructions). Tonight I got out the pills and then went in another room for maybe 30 seconds. I came back to the kitchen and the folic acid was missing. Dory (one of our kitties) was sitting nearby licking her lips. I think I know where the missing pill went…now, if we had to get Dory to take a pill that was actually prescribed for her, it would be a challenge nearly beyond imagination. Don’t worry, I won’t leave any pills in reach once our son is here!

Here I am at 23 weeks:

It’s hard to believe I am 22 weeks pregnant already, more than halfway done! This week our son is the length of a spaghetti squash and weighs almost one pound. According to my weekly Baby Center email, his irises have developed but are currently colorless. Jeff finds this really cool, but it kind of freaks me out. Then again, those who know me know I have some eye issues. That’s one thing I hope our boy doesn’t inherit from me! We’re guessing those eyes will be blue when he’s born.

We’re planning out his room, tomorrow we’ll take a trip to Ikea to look for a white bookshelf. Hard to believe, I know, but the kid already has enough books to need a shelf! I am enjoying re-reading some of my favorites from childhood, including my vintage 1979 copy of “Hippos Go Berserk.”

Here I am at 22 weeks:

We recently had our ultrasound, and thankfully all looks good with our baby. We were hoping to find out if we’re having a boy or a girl, and were very happy that the tech was able to tell. We are having a boy! Jeff and I both thought it was a boy, so either we have great parental intuition, or we just lucked out on that 50/50 chance. Now we can really start shopping for all those cute baby clothes! I’m looking at paint for the nursery, it’s lots of fun to think about how to decorate the baby’s room. Of course the room is pretty small, so I can’t get too carried away. In other fun news, I have recently started to feel our son move! Right now it just feels like bubbles, it will be fun once I can really feel him moving around in there. So far Jeff has not been able to feel anything so we are hoping that happens soon.

I definitely look pregnant now! The baby is now as long as a banana, and weighs about 10.5 ounces. Here is a picture of me at 20 weeks, taken a few days ago: