24 weeks

Time is just moving along! And with our busy holiday schedule I think December is going to go by rather quickly as well! This little baby is growing and moving like crazy! The books say the baby is about the length of an ear of corn. The brain is developing, finger prints forming, and the lungs are expanding and getting ready to breath air.

Some of the books and websites say that if something happened and I went into preterm labor the baby could possibly survive from this point on. Medical technology has advanced so much. While is it comforting to know that our little Shipp might be able to make in the outside world from now on we are hoping that it will stay in the oven until the end of March!

Amazing to see

Robb and I are currently in Staunton, VA for a whole host of activities. Last night Altavista football was playing in the regional B playoff game against Riverheads High School. Altavista is Robb's current employer and Riverheads is his home team. The game was exciting but very cold. We were both bundled up! The wind really made things very cold. I believe that both my cheeks are wind burned today. Altavista won the game 20-17 and we left to warm up.

We are staying at Robb's friend Josh's house. When we returned last night I decided to take a warm bath because the heat just wasn't getting to my cold bones. As I sat enjoying the nice bath I felt a kick, kick and looked down and saw my stomach move at the same time as the kicks! It was amazing! Feeling the movement and then seeing it translate to the outside of my body was awesome! I sat rather still for a while longer to see if it would happen again.

After I got out of the bath I told Robb the exciting news and he can't wait until he gets to feel the baby move. He even spent a large part of the evening after the bath with his hand on my stomach waiting to see if the baby would move again. However the baby must have gone back to sleep because no more movement yesterday evening!

I know that these amazing movements are just going to keep happening and getting bigger and bigger. That makes me really look forward to the rest of this process and being surprised and excited everyday!

Thanksgiving down....

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday! We had 13 members of Robb's family here and it was a great day. Our first Thanksgiving was a success! We have a lot to be thankful for. This family has now started expanding in a big way. The wife of one of Robb's cousins is pregnant and due 5 days before me. She and I had a lot to talk about yesterday. Then at dinner Robb's cousin Heather announced that she is 8 weeks pregnant and due July 11th! So 3 baby's in one year. Next years Thanksgiving is going to be completely different than this years!

It was a long day but Robb and I made it through! I have a wonderful husband and once all the guests were gone he rubbed my feet! It was glorious! I hope everyone else had an enjoyable holiday. We are looking forward to Christmas and all that this new holiday season entails!

What a beautiful face!

Yesterday we had another ultrasound! Finally baby Shipp cooperated and showed us face and heart. Everything is wonderful and normal and perfect! The first look we got showed the face really well. Cute little nose! However as time went on the baby slowly started moving its hand up to cover its face so at the end of the ultrasound we couldn't get a good look at the face anymore. What does this say about our baby? Is it going to be shy?

Anyway from the measurements the baby is 1lb. 4 oz.! Right on track! Also the head and stomach are normal sizes and my placenta is scored a 0 which is the best it can be. We are so excited that everything is going perfectly!

We also had my regular appointment and met one of the other midwives. There are 4 midwives in this practice and since they are on a rotation at the hospital they want you to meet all of them so when you go into labor you aren't working with a stranger. So we met Billie. She was lovely (Erin our midwife is still my favorite). I will not have another appointment until Dec 22nd and at that time I have to do a glucose test to check for gestational diabetes. I've been told the stuff I have to drink isn't all that great but we will get it done for this little baby!

Happy Thanksgiving to all! We are hosting Robb's family tomorrow and hope the day is great!

23 weeks

Wow.....where has this pregnancy gone? This week the baby is over a pound and about the size of a large mango! Right now the baby looks like it will when it is born except with a little less fat. From this point the baby is going to start packing on the weight and filling out. It will double in size very quickly!

Robb is at home again today recovering from his illness. However I do think that he is done being sick but we wanted him to rest one more day so he didn't relapse. I am still feeling fine and hope that the virus just didn't like me.

We are preparing for Thanksgiving as well. Robbs family gets together every year at a different persons home. Since we are now homeowners we have been added to the rotation and it is finally our turn. So over the next few days Robb & I have a lot of cleaning to do. Also we will be cooking our first turkey. I hope the 19lb bird we got will do the trick.

Tomorrow I have another ultrasound and my regular appointment. It will be exciting to see our baby again and hopefully it will cooperate this time. I will update you with that info later in the week!

Surviving the flu

Right now Robb has the flu! On Wednesday he started feeling achy and tired. When he got home that afternoon from school he was running a fever. I gave him some medicine and put him to bed. However later that night when he woke up his fever was much higher. So Thursday I drove him to work because he needed to get some lesson plans together for a sub and get his grades done. After the school stop, we went to the doctor. He was tested for flu but the test came back negative. The doctor said that 20% of people that actually have the flu test negative on this test. So with all the evidence and Robbs symptoms the doctor decided it was influenza and wrote a prescription for Tamiflu. After that I took Robb home so he could sleep. I went and filled his prescription and bought Lysol. I have been cleaning the house and anything that he touches. He is sleeping in our bedroom and using our master bath and I am sleeping in the guest bedroom and using the hall bath. I have cleaned the hall bath and told him not to touch it. I am working very hard not to expose myself to this flu virus. So far I feel fine. The doctor did say that Robb might shed the virus for up to a week so we should have limited contact during that time. It is strange living in a home with someone that you aren't really interacting with.

I did get my H1N1 vaccine and hope that will give me some protection. We were hoping that this viral mess would passover our house but I guess not. So....today i am at work and hoping that Robb spends the day resting so that soon our lives can go back to normal!

Registering

Last night Robb and I went to Burlington Coat Factory and checked out the Baby Depot inside that store. We have started working on registering for our baby. Registering for weddings is very common (I really don't know anyone that gets married now a days that doesn't register) but having a baby registry seems like a newer idea. While I think it is a good idea and can be helpful for those that would like to purchase something to welcome our child I do not feel it is a mandate of want you have to get. Think of these 3 places as helpful guides to what Robb and I think we might need.

We had a lot of fun walking around Baby Depot last night. However, I think Robb was a little overwhelmed by all the choices and things that they say we need. Plus when you start adding up all the stuff having a baby is getting rather expensive. At one time he said it was good that he didn't know how much all of this was going to cost or we wouldn't be having a baby. Completely a joke!

We have decided to go with 3 different places that sell baby things. Baby Depot is located in Burlington Coat Factory, Babies"R"Us is similar to Toys"R"Us and then Target. There are Burlington Coat Factories and Targets in most areas. Babies"R"Us does a lot more online things but they do have stores in the Richmond, VA area.

Robb and I have decided that we are going to attempt to use cloth diapers for this child. We think that is just a little something we can do to help the environment, save money and keep our baby happier. As of right now in our research, FuzziBunz is our cloth diaper of choice. They are an all in one diaper that has snaps. They come in many colors. Hopefully this little adventure will work out.

Also we have registered for a stroller/car seat system. It is the Chicco Cortina Adventure. As I've been registering the price of this system varies greatly from store to store. Babies"R"Us doesn't even have the system (but they have everything else in the grouping high chair, play yard, etc). Baby Depot and Target both have the system but it is much more expensive at Target than it is at Baby Depot. The same goes for the high chair that matches this Chicco Cortina Adventure stuff. So while Target seems great....Baby Depot seems to have a few things at a better price.

Really getting stuff for baby Shipp has been fun but also tiring. I have no idea all the stuff that I will need. Also I want things that are going to last but don't cost a lot. Making a registry for getting married was much easier than a baby registry.

So peruse our lists located on the side of the blog, and remember that these are suggestions of things we think we need!

22 weeks and 2 days pictures!

Here are some bump pictures! Enjoy!

22 weeks

We are now at 22 weeks! At this point the baby is actually starting to look like a baby and is big enough that fruit comparisons are not as important. The baby should weigh close to a pound and be at least 11 inches long. Crazy! Really that baby looks like a small version of what will come out in March all it needs to do is get a little bigger and gain some fat!

This past weekend Robb and I went to my parents to celebrate my moms 60th birthday! It was a great weekend! Usually my family has a huge get together for each birthday but part of the family could not make it to this birthday lunch. Instead of my mom cooking on her own birthday she decided we should go out to eat. That was a great idea! We drove an hour from home to Catawba, Va to dine at The Homeplace! I highly recommend this family dining experience. We had a to wait an hour and 15 minutes to get seated but since it is a family style dinner you don't have to wait to order food. The food was delicious and kept coming! For the money it was a great deal! All you can eat and tasty! Mom had brought a small birthday cake but we also got the peach cobbler with ice cream.

Following our return from The Homeplace my grandma had decided to have a little cake party for us. So the whole family was at grandmas and we had our 3rd dessert of the afternoon. It was a lovely time! I feel very loved that my whole family remembered me at this wonderful 26th birthday time!

At this point Robb and I were completely stuffed and couldn't even think about driving home so he took a nap while I rested and talked with my parents. We finally got away from FC around 8 and got home a little before 10. It was a long but great day!

Happy Birthday to me!

So today Nov. 13th 2009 is my 26th birthday! So far it has seemed like a regular day. It is funny celebrating a birthday while you are growing a new life. My moms birthday is Sunday and she will be 60, and I am now thinking she probably had these same kind of thoughts when she was so very pregnant with me 26 years ago. I love birthdays! They have always been special, but now I'm starting to think about all the fun birthdays that we will have for this little Shipp. Birthdays are taking on new meanings this year.

So I guess I should say a little something about the baby in this post. Things are fine. I feel great! I feel the baby move several times a day. Robb and I are slowly realizing how expensive this baby actually will be/is already. We are happy!

A little side note: I would really like there to be better health care in this country. I have great health insurance but I don't understand it and most of the doctors offices that I have dealt with are not helpful in explaining what is going on. I pay bills that don't tell me what I'm paying and that is frustrating. I've never been pregnant before so I don't know the questions to ask or how to interpret the payment system lingo. So I think we should have a universal system that just takes care of everyone and we shouldn't have to worry about paying our doctors and the insurance company and whoever else is taking a piece of the pie. Because really figuring out the system and where my money is going to exhausting!

21 weeks

We are starting the second half of this pregnancy! Our little Shipp seems to be doing well. From head to rump it should be as long as a banana this week. All last week I was feeling movement. I didn't have an amazing first movement moment mine was more like I am feeling something that I have never felt before repeatedly so that must be the baby moving. Now I recognize that movement and know our little one is awake. Last week while I was at my conference I was very sedentary so there were way more times for me to feel the baby. As I go back into my normal routine, I'm sure I will be moving a lot more and not feel the baby as much.

At this point, I am not adjusting as well to my body changes as I had earlier in the pregnancy. I just need to come to terms with being bigger and knowing that it is all for the purpose of growing this little one. As my bigness sets in I will be more comfortable. I just had one of those moments this weekend where I looked in the mirror and said whoa whose body is that attached to my head!

Home again Home again!

It has been a long week! However, baby and I made it. Our little Shipp is going to be a great traveler! Monday I flew to Atlanta, GA and then drove to Athens, GA for an avian influenza poultry conference. Needless to say there were a few bumps with getting this whole conference things going (when I went to sign on Tuesday morning I found out my boss had not registered me for the conference. Fun stuff!). After the stressful parts I got into the conference and I learned a lot. Things ended yesterday at 3:00pm so I jumped in my rental car to face the downtown Atlanta rush hour traffic. Baby and I navigated things rather smoothly and made it home last night at 12:45am. I had a good time and was glad that I had the opportunity to expand my poultry knowledge this week.

Now today Robb and I are heading to VA Beach for a weekend of celebrating. Robb's parents have reached their 25th wedding anniversary and we are all so excited! It should be a fun time with family but also a nice get away for Robb and I.

I will try and take some belly pictures during the weekend and get them posted soon!

The half way mark!

We are at 20 weeks! Half way through the pregnancy journey. Or maybe a little under half way if we go over due (which I think we will...my bets are on March 30th). The books say the baby should be 9oz. this week but we found out at our ultrasound that our baby is already 10oz. so who knows how big it is. That extra oz. is probably the giant head that Robb gave it!

This week I am traveling to Georgia for a poultry conference for work. I am flying to Atlanta today and will be returning home rather late on Thursday. It should be an interesting week. Avian influenza is an issues that the state of Virginia and the poultry industry are diligent at preventing. One of the laboratories in the state does all the poultry testing for Virginia. I am going to learn about the disease and testing and poultry issues so that some of that testing can be expanded to my own laboratory. I am excited to learn knew info and testing to expand my responsibilities.

After I get back, Robb and I will be heading to VA Beach for the weekend. Robb's parents are celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary and the whole family is going to the beach together. Actually Robb is taking me down a night early so we can enjoy a little trip away together. I am very excited about this trip and will take pictures and write more next week!