28 weeks- diabetes appointment!

The morning of my glucose test, I had eggs for breakfast, trying to avoid sugars/carbs that could possibly mess with my test results. I got to my appointment, had my blood pressure (still good and low) and weight (up another 8 lbs for a grand total of 23 thus far!) checked, then drank the sugary drink. A nice little surprise (ha) was that I could choose between orange or fruit punch! I opted for fruit punch and drank it down pretty quickly (not that it was super tasty; I was just thirsty), then headed in to my little room so the midwife could measure my belly and listen to Mills' heartbeat. The night before, Greg had put his head on my belly and heard Millie's heart beating to the right of my belly button, in the exact same spot the midwife found it at my appointment. I guess the girl has her favorite snuggle spot :)

During my hour-long wait, I got extreeeeemely sleepy and was yawning non-stop. Finally, they called me back to take my blood, and I sat in the chair. I always request to lie down in case I feel woozy, but, for a minute, I considered giving sitting a chance. The other times I've had to had blood drawn (which I think is only twice ever), I was lying down and everything turned out fine, so I thought maybe I could just handle sitting up.Being so tired though, I was resting my head against the wall, and the nurse asked if I was alright and if I wanted to lie down. Good thing I took her up on it because I started feeling sick while she took my blood, and after she'd finished, I got really dizzy and the color drained from my sweat-beaded face. After approximately five miserable minutes and a juice box, the dizziness passed, but I still felt off the rest of the day.

The midwife thought that rather than my levels shooting through the roof, they bottomed out after the test, but I figured my body reacted the way it did just because I really hate needles, veins and blood.Who knows. I did call and get my results today, and I passed! Yay. The nurse told me the acceptable range was 65 to 135, and my score was 65. I guess being on the very low end may have contributed to my dizzy spell after all.

Before heading back to the Buckle, I ran some errands in Nashville including stopping at Babies R Us and ordering a few gDiapers (with money I got from re-selling-- and profiting-- on some cloth diapers I had purchased when I was just 6 weeks pregnant!) and getting a cute, comfy maternity dress from Target.

I'll be Virginia-bound on Friday! So, my next photo will include a change of scenery, but here is this week's photo, taken today at 28 weeks and 1 day:

12 more weeks to go!

Third trimester! The countdown begins...

I can't believe we're already two-thirds the way through Mills' incubation!...until I feel her moving around. Sheesh, this girl is getting bulky and hulky! She likes to stretch out across my stomach, head banging on one side and thrashing her legs on the other, all the while managing to punch me in the belly button. Really, she has made it pop out from moving before! It doesn't take much these days though, and usually, it sticks out a bit on its own. Soon, it'll be a full-fledged outtie without me having to do any work to pull it out (which I actually used to be able to do anyway-- belly buttons are weird).

Here is the 26 week photo taken April 16:

 And the week 27 photo that I just took:

~13 weeks to go!

In addition to next week's photo, I'm hoping to be able to say I passed my glucose test and haven't gained another 15 lbs just yet... :)

On another note, I had a great birthday! We celebrated by going to Chattanooga Saturday for lunch and an aquarium visit, not to mention a visit with Greg's mom! Then yesterday, I got to attend a baby shower for a friend at Webb who is having a little girl in June. So fun to see all the cute baby stuff! I'm looking forward to heading to Virginia late next week for a baby shower there with a few friends and family members! And I get to stay the whole week since my little sister will be graduating from college the following weekend (woopwoop!). Should be fun!

Pop! goes the belly

Here is the photo I took yesterday at 25 weeks:

It's hard to say whether I'm using the same ab control from week to week, but this week's bump looks much more defined than last week's. I guess from here on out, as Mills grows more quickly (she should already be about two pounds right now!!), so will my belly. After such slow visible progress during the first few months, this is incredible to experience!

I've been dying to start decorating a nursery, but we aren't sure that we will still be in our apartment come July, so even painting could be a waste of time. It's really frustrating because I want to go ahead and get the rest of the furniture and decorate, but I know I shouldn't, not only for the reason just explained, but also because we have no space to store furniture right now. If we do end up still in our current location, we will have to do some purging of items or at least a major reorganization and put things in storage somewhere. As of now, we have no space for a baby! This alone is enough to make me anxious...

I've tried to distract myself from the furniture and decoration issue, but it's pretty tough. I find myself scouring craigslist for cute or fixer-up dressers almost daily! However, I've also spent time sorting through and (I hope) finishing up the baby registries, baking, doing art projects to hang on Mills' walls, continuing making cloth baby wipes, and making homemade, liquid laundry detergent! I'll have to post photos of some of these activities/creations in the near future :)

A real bump!

Well, Millie, you're definitely growing, and there's no denying you're in there. I've been able to feel you and even see you move for several weeks now, but I think you've recently taken up dancing and kickboxing as hobbies. It makes me smile and laugh to watch my belly move when you do. Your daddy's commented how I always have my shirt pulled up so I can see you wiggling in there, and he thinks I'll miss having a pregnant belly when you're born. He likes to see you move, too, and sometimes he'll tell you, "Hey, cut it out in there!" He doesn't want you getting too wild ;).

 We held some classical music to my belly so you could hear yesterday, and you kicked it! We weren't sure if you were trying to kick it away or if you really liked it, so we kept playing it, and you kept kicking (or maybe you were head banging to Beethoven- who knows). Regardless, you heard it and responded, and eventually you did settle down a bit.You also like to kick when my meals make it down to you and you get a little taste of life on the outside! I think you like fruit and ice cream the best, but macaroni salad and cereal are high on your list, too. I hope you end up liking the same foods I do because your daddy doesn't, so he's not always a lot of fun to cook for. You'll be my baking buddy, though; I know it :)


Here is what you looked like from the outside last week (23 weeks, 3 days):

 And today (24 weeks):

This finally looks like a baby bump to me!

22 week appointment

Yesterday, I had my 22 week appointment. It was just a basic, routine appointment: weight, blood pressure, listen to baby's heartbeat. Blood pressure was the lowest it's ever been (90 over 52), and weight was highest it's ever been (I think I'll keep that number to myself ;))!


Here are this week's bump photos:

That's right: I've gained another five pounds- sheesh! I like to blame it on Mills being a chubby baby, but supposedly, she's just a single pounder right about now. Greg was shocked, though, when I compared Millie to a Subway footlong. I still don't think he believes she's already that long. 

Anyway, I'm fine with the weight gain but am starting to realize that it's time to get more active. Being pregnant and putting on weight is making me tired and sluggish, and I'd like to be in shape enough to deliver this baby in July. I've gone on occasional walks, but I guess that's not enough... More walking and less sitting around for me I suppose! Bailey and Greg will benefit from this change, too :)


Now, here are a few of the cute outfits I got at the sale in Marietta the other week:

 sweet summer outfits!

 cause every baby needs shoes, right? ;)

 Greg requested I look for Braves outfits, and he was very excited that I brought these home. He says Mills will be the coolest baby ever. She might look like a boy on game days, but that's alright :)

Baby gear/21 weeks

At the end of last week, I added to our collection of baby equipment by purchasing a crib mattress, a few baby clothes, and a Graco snap-and-go style stroller to fit the infant carseat my brother and his wife loaned us! Greg's mom also supplied us with a bouncy, vibrating seat and lots of adorable baby girl clothes she couldn't turn her back on :) I'll have to add some photos of these things (especially the clothes) later, but until then, I do have a photo of my 21.2 week belly. I'm only showing the "normal" photo this time and not one where I'm sticking my stomach out because it's deceiving! My stomach doesn't naturally actually stick out as much as I can make it, so I don't look like that daily. Anyway, here's the bump!:

20 weeks: baby name and questionnaire

Mills' rhyme:
Will she love sports or all things frilly?
Sure don't matter; we love our sweet Millie!

Millie Joan Imboden <3
"Mills"

Behind the name: Millie is a name Greg and I have both liked for years but not one I'd ever really thought about naming a kid until Greg decided he loved the name Mills. I didn't want our daughter's formal name to be Mills, so we had to think of a name that could have it as a nickname, and Millie popped back into our heads. On the way home from our ultrasound, we quickly decided that we liked Millie. Done. I told him I wanted to have my grandma's name in there, too, and bam! Millie Joan. Piece of cake. Greg liked the one syllable middle name and the cute, cool nickname Mills, so he was pretty excited. I wrote and signed her name, nickname, and initials that night and decided I wouldn't change my mind either, and we told our moms soon after.

Millie: (among other meanings found on the internet) gentle strength
Joan: God is gracious


Questionnaire

How far along? 20 weeks

Total weight gain? well, at least 10 lbs as of Feb 23...

Maternity clothes? I've managed to get by with wearing belly bands over my the waists of my regular pants, but it's not comfy, so that won't be lasting much longer!

Stretch marks? no

Sleep: sleeping well and at decent hours: usually about 930p-630a when I sub and 1030p-830a otherwise. took a three hour the other day too-- always nice :)

Best moment this week: spending time with a lot of my family in Knoxville and announcing baby's name to everyone!

Miss Anything? energy!! I have zero, which doesn't quite suit the elementary school atmosphere

Movement: lots! I think after being told where she was at our ultrasound, her movements became a lot more obvious to me. I feel them throughout the day, and Greg and I have both been able to see my stomach move with Mills as she rolls around.

Food cravings: I don't really crave anything any more than I did when I wasn't pregnant. I've gone through pizza, Chinese chicken and broccoli, and now pbj phases though. And cereal is finally back on my list of staple foods after not consuming milk for two months!

Anything making you queasy or sick: cleaning out the fridge last week...old guacamole- ick!

Gender: she's a girl!

Labor Signs: four and a half more months, please.

Symptoms: exhaustion

Belly Button in or out? in

Wedding rings on or off? on

Happy or Moody most of the time: happy!

Looking forward to: heading to Marietta tomorrow, seeing some of Greg's fam, and hitting up a huge consignment sale of nice baby stuff! also, spring! i love this warmer weather