24 weeks

Here we are at 24 weeks! I've been trying very hard not to think about the fact that this is how far along my sister was when she gave birth to my niece and nephew. I am definitely not ready... and neither are you little man!! You stay where you are!

I'm still feeling really good! I'm still able to move around pretty well although getting up from lying flat can be difficult. I'm doing well with my workout routine although all the jumping involved in kickboxing makes me have to pee! I'm still having trouble sleeping; hard for a stomach sleeper to get comfy :) which I think it contributing to my weird dreams! Since I don't have much to report this week I'll end this post with last night's interesting adventure....

I'm going into labor - Steve and I are in a hospital room and I'm telling him how much it hurts. Then ALL OF A SUDDEN I'm dressed and ready to go home! I'm in the lobby with my mom and sister waiting for the Steve who had to run out to buy a car seat because we weren't prepared and didn't have one (this is funny because in real life we already have a car seat!) Mom is holding the baby and I realize that I have NO memory of anything that has happened!! I don't remember labor or meeting our son or the two days I've spent in the hospital! I instantly feel horrible that I don't even remember what my son looks like! So I take him from my mom to look at him and he is..... well not the cutest baby! He has very poofy red hair (like an afro) and old man teeth! I mean he had a full set of teeth that were decaying and gross!! My immediate reaction was not very "motherly" which then made me feel even more guilty. So I unwrap him from his blanket and saw that he is stitched together like a doll! And I said "oh my god did he need surgery and I don't even remember it!" but then I notice a tag on his foot (like in a morgue... too many crime shows) and it says "Wayne Paul" (Wayne and Paul are two characters on the TV show we watched before bed). I said "Neither of these names were on our list of maybe's... this is not my baby!! I then ran around the hospital looking for someone to help me but nobody would believe me since I didn't remember what my baby looked like! I finally found someone who would help, she determined that my baby had been switched with another one... this "unique" looking baby belonged to Dr. Reese (also from a TV show... I need to lay of the DVR!) But we never found my baby! Then the alarm went off!!!

No worries Wilson! I found you just a couple seconds after I woke up - You are a morning person! Always kicking right away :) And your dad says I can't dream anymore... it's weirding him out!

24 weeks

According to the books Wilson is"just over one pound"

(but he was 1lb 5oz two and half weeks ago!)

It also says he is the size of a banana... but I swear he has been a banana already!

23 weeks and construction update

Well I am 23 week along now. Which means only 17 more weeks to go! I'm still feeling great and feeling him move around all the time. Sometimes he moves at the worst times though! I was holding a somewhat difficult pose in my yoga class this weekend and got a HUGE kick right in the hip!! I almost lost my balance! I think the hormones are a little more under control now though, haven't cried at something silly since last week! (I think) The crazy dreams are still around though! Last night I had a dream that I was in labor and my entire family decided to just leave me at the hospital and go to a monster truck rally!!!! Which is really crazy because it's not like my family goes to a lot of monster truck rallies!

We finished the downstairs room this past weekend and I LOVE it! I can't believe what a difference a ceiling, some walls, and a floor can make ;) Here are before and after pictures....

Last spring, fixing our water problem (after our 3rd flood)

Last month before construction began (we had already taken down the very gross "drop ceiling" that came with the house - and please notice the very retro "track lighting" and the big box that runs down the middle of the ceiling)

The finished product! A livable space!!

Now that all the furniture from "the small room" (as we refer to the second guest room upstairs) is in this room we can start making "the small room" into a "room for the small"! I think I've decided on the theme (contrary to Steve's beliefs, every nursery needs a theme!!) and we are going with puppies playing sports!! I found some really cute bedding and decorations too. I think the biggest hurdle we have left is cleaning out the closet in that room - it's kind of our junk closet!

23 weeks

Wilson is the size of a small doll or bag of coffee beans

He is getting his first layer of fat this week!

Over the next month he will double in size (which means I'll be getting a lot bigger too)

I'm trying to ignore the fact that all four of my pregnancy books say "He is almost one pound" when he measured 1lb 5 oz last week!! Looks like he's taking after his daddy - football player!

Our LAST appointment at the "specialist"

We had our follow up appointment today at the Maternal and Fetal Medicine Center at the University of Minnesota. This was the follow up to the last ultra sound where they found that his stomach was a little too big. EVERYTHING LOOKS PERFECT!! His stomach is a little big in one view but normal in all the others so they are not worried - they also said that since the stomach is the right shape it is very unlikely that anything is wrong!!

Of course I got more pictures too! This is the best one, it is so crazy how detailed the pictures are! A lady was telling me when she had her kids 10 years ago she didn't get ANY ultrasounds, I've already had FOUR! I wonder what they will be able to do when "Wilson's" having kids (of course these will be PLANNED children there Wilson!!)

So he is 1lb 5 oz which is already bigger than his two cousins were when they were born about three years ago. This has been kind of a tough emotional week for me as I am 22 weeks and this was the time when my sister went into premature labor with my niece and nephew. When the tech told me his weight I started crying a little. But my sister has assured me all will be fine (oh yeah, and so did the "specialist" from the University of Minnesota... I believe Chris the most) and I'm sure it will only be a couple years until Bryce is showing you what a tough guy he truly is as all you boys wrestle around!!

Since I'm talking emotions... I made it through kickboxing today without crying!!! I didn't make it through the entire 60 minute class but I did much better and it felt GREAT!

22 weeks

Another boring but exciting week for the Nilsons! Not much new; we are still working on remodeling the downstairs bedroom in order to make the upstairs bedroom a nursery. I am getting very excited to start putting the nursery together, although I haven't done much yet. I'm still feeling great aside from some weird dreams that wake me up during the night (and then of course I realize that I have to go to the bathroom so I have to get up!). Last night we watched a TV show where a baby was kidnapped!! (not a smart move) Needless to say I had some crazy dreams after that!

I've been trying very hard not to be an over emotional/hormonal pregnant woman but usually this just means I bottle it all up and then loose it over something silly. For instance; I've been doing more classes at the gym which I really enjoy. I tried kickboxing for the first time last week (I use to do it 3 times a week) and left crying only half way through!! (frustrated that I couldn't do it) Needless to say I'm not in the shape I use to be and really should just let myself cry when I feel the urge. It really is funny the things that will make me want to cry - that TV show we were watching last night... I didn't cry the entire time they were searching for the missing baby, but when they had to put the grandpa in the nursing home... that got me :)

I didn't make a post after my appointment with Dr Olson last Thursday because there wasn't much to say. She answered some more questions (I always have a list) and we listened to the heartbeat! She also started measuring my tummy (aka the size of the uterus) - she says everything looks perfect!! I go back for another ultrasound this coming Thursday to reassess the size of Wilson's stomach.

Oh yeah, I don't remember if I posted this before - but over Christmas my family decided we should name our baby boy 'Wilson Nilson'!! This will not be the case but we have all started referring to "baby" as "Wilson" anyway. And since people are always asking... we are thinking of names but aren't going to tell anyone. We are planning on having a few options and then making the final decision once we meet our little man!

22 weeks!

Wilson is the size of a small grapefruit.

He has eyelids, eyebrows, and fingernails.

He can swallow now - which is very exciting for me since I spend most my work days helping people swallow

"The Book" says you can hear his heartbeat with a stethoscope, luckily being in healthcare I just happen to have one handy - both Steve and I tried last night but couldn't hear anything :(

You can really see in this weeks picture that my belly button is already sticking out! I was kind of an outtie before pregnancy so I started poking out very early!! It even shows through shirts sometimes (depending how tight and/or thin the shirt is)

Wilson's first care package!! Courtesy of grandma and grandpa Nilson!!

(and yes, I'm sure he will be a Red Sox fan!)

1/2/12, 21 weeks

I love that I turned 21 weeks pregnant on 1/2/12! The math geeks in the family will love it too I'm sure!

Nothing much new to report. I'm still feeling really good and feeling the baby move around ALL the time! I feel him throughout the day but he is most active at night while I'm in bed so we have started a new little ritual - I lay with my hand on my stomach feeling him move while watching TV then after we shut off the TV and are ready for bed we wait for two big kicks, kinda our way of saying goodnight to the baby :)

I've been feeling so good that I have returned to the gym/workout routine!! I've only lifted weights and rode a stationary bike but I want to be sure I work back into it slowly. I just got back from the gym where I lifted and I think I enjoyed it more than the baby - I have poor awareness of how big my tummy really is and I have hit it with weights a couple times (not too hard, don't worry). Since I'm feeling so good we also got to stay out late with friends on New Years Eve!! We went to a friends house and had a great time! I found that I really like sparkling grape juice!!

Future Baby - Yes I use to be really fun to party with

We have another appointment with Dr Olson on Thursday so I'll have a little update then. Otherwise we'll just keep on growing!! 19 weeks to go!

21 weeks!

Baby is the size of a banana!

Please don't judge me in this picture. We spent all weekend doing construction and I had just taken a shower to wash Sheetrock dust/mudding dust out of my hair. We are finishing the basement room so we can relocate one of the upstairs guest rooms downstairs and make the upstairs room a nursery! My whole family has helped a lot and it is getting closer! (Future baby - Pops is really invested in your nursery, he even cut his hand bad enough to get stitches and then came right back and kept working!! He must REALLY like you!)

Daddy's been kicked!!!

Last night we were laying in bed watching TV and I had my hand on my tummy (which is my usual position these days). Baby was having a pretty good "dance party" in there so I was feeling him move a lot! All of a sudden there was a really big kick/punch and I thought I could feel it on my hand - I told Steve "I wonder if you could feel this" so he put his hand on my tummy and sure enough he could!! There was a lot of "did you feel that?" and "was that it?" but he got the hang of it quickly and even fell asleep with his hand on my stomach :)

It was a very special and very cool night for all three of us!!

20 weeks, Christmas, and.. oh yeah, IT'S A BOY!!

For the past couple weeks I really had nothing exciting to write about but the past couple days have brought on a lot of excitement!! We found out our precious baby is a BOY, we celebrated Christmas, and I’m now 20 weeks pregnant which means HALF DONE!!!

First and foremost, WE ARE HAVING A BABY BOY!!!! We are very excited as we both were hoping for a boy (although of course would have been very happy with a girl as well). As I said in my previous post our trip to the specialist took a very long time and you can only stare at the screen of an ultrasound not knowing what you are looking at for so long without getting a headache (and a little frustrated), and we did it for about 1.5 hours! Since we usually didn’t know what we were looking at I was a little nervous when the doctor said “okay now let’s take a look at those special parts”. She pointed to something, and I kinda thought, maybe I knew what I was looking at but I didn’t want to say it in case I was wrong. She said, “It’s a boy” and Steve and I both smiled at each other and I yelled “Yay!”

Although I am his mother, and it's my job to embarrass him, I debated putting this picture up. I'll compromise by putting it up so you can see that it says "Boy" in the left corner, but I'll save you the details of what you are looking at ;)

Since we found out on 12/21 we wanted to wait until Christmas to tell our family however I made it a full hour before breaking the news to my sister. I told her I wouldn’t tell her but when I said she shouldn’t buy “it” any clothes she figured out that it was a boy (she had already given us a shed full of boy clothes that previously belongs to my nephews). But I did get to surprise the rest of my family. I wrapped up a hockey puck and had my brother Dan open it at dinner on Christmas eve and asked him if he would teach our son how to play hockey – both my brothers, my dad, and some extended family found out then. My mom wasn’t feeling well so she wasn’t at dinner, when we got home from dinner we all tried to hint that it was a boy by using the word BOY as much as we could (ie, “oh boy mom you really missed a good dinner” and “oh boy I hope you are feeling better”) but she had a migraine so wasn’t at her best, she didn’t catch on so after awhile my dad said “Oh boy Kate, if this room is blue what color are you going to paint the other room?” and I showed some blue and green paint samples and said “Well boy dad I don’t know, I would hate to have two blue bedrooms in the house, so I was thinking green”. THEN she got it!

The rest of our Christmas weekend was great as well. We started working on his nursery, sort of. We are planning on making one of our guest rooms upstairs into the nursery, but in order to do that we need to move that guest room downstairs. We have a room in our basement that has flooded a couple times so we spent a lot of time fixing it so it wouldn’t flood anymore – this included tearing up the floor and walls! So it had been sitting for the past few months as a room of nothing but cement. My dad, brothers, and Steve have been working on putting new walls up (and while they’re at it they are making a new ceiling as well!). Once this room is done we can move the guest room furniture down there and started painting and decorating our baby boy nursery!

Christmas Card picture #1

Christmas Card picture #2 (just me and my baby boy)

My family decided not to exchange gifts this year and to focus on “the next generation” so the baby did get a few presents which was SO great!

Some very cute (and one very functional) Christmas gifts

And lastly, I am officially half way done!! Today marks 20 weeks! I am definitely getting bigger and people are starting to notice! I was at a meeting for work last week and someone did just come right out and ask so I must be big enough people feel confident I’m pregnant and not just getting a beer belly J I still am feeling GREAT too! I don’t get nauseous anymore at all! I’ve been pretty tired this weekend but I’m having a hard time sleeping, I hope that clears up soon! It’s not even that I have to get up to go to the bathroom a lot, I just wake up in the middle of the night and can’t fall back asleep. I’m wondering if it is just the baby moving around that wakes me up, because let me tell ya – when he wants me to know he’s awake – he lets me know!!! He has been moving around a lot, and it still makes me smile every time J Also, my belly button has already started to pop! I thought this wasn’t supposed to happen until way later in pregnancy but I have kind of an “outie” anyway so it doesn’t take much for it to poke through a shirt! It’s pretty funny ;)

20 weeks

Our baby boy is the size of a cantaloupe!