Couple's Night Out

Chloe had the opportunity to go to a girl scout camporee from yesterday to today, which meant Chris and I had the night to ourselves (which is rare)! This being the case, I wanted so badly to have a night to ourselves and doing stuff that you can't normally do with a 7-year old (nice restaurant or R-rated movie for instance). Well, I ruined it!

I was in a super good mood becasue we haven't had a "date" in what feels like forever. I put on heels, did my hair, and just wanted to feel somewhat sexy again. On the way to Glastonbury, I had some heartburn so I popped in my new best friend...Tums. Now I should preface this by saying that I NEVER expereinced heartburn before I was developing a human life withing my body. But given the rapidly expanding size of my belly with my shrinking stomach that is nearing my asophogus, coupled with pregnancy hormes, I had the most horrendously painful heartburn of my life.

We decided to eat at Houlihan's...I figured that if 10 Tums, 5 tall glasses of water and some bread couldn't ease my heartburn, then the meal certainly would! Now that was a naive thought! Chris ran out to the car to grab my Tums and I downed about 10 more. After the fouth bite of rice I had tears starting to roll down my cheeks. The poor waitress not only felt bad but left a gigantic carafe on the table becasue she had to keep coming back to refill me! It's kinda funny now but I was agony. Chris said we should leave twice but I insisted on staying. I kept believeing it would go away and we could go on with our night. Staring at my awesome-looking meal was a tease and I resorted to a bit of ice cream while I insisted Chris ate. Then we took off. I couldn't handle it anymore and he said we were leaving. I lieterally ate half the bottle of Tums before I felt better, which was of course when we were at home and going to bed!

Oh well. Maybe we'll have one more shot at a nice evening out ourselves before our little package arrives-and this time w/o the heartburn!

Bedrest for a Day

I now have a newfound appreciation for all you women out there that have been on bedrest. I was put on it for a day and was ready to rip my snarled hair out my head! May the good Lord bless you for your patience because I was miserable! I couldn't even relax because I was thinking about how unproductive I was being. Tracey, and especially Cynthia, you two are remarkable! At one pont I told Chris how much it sucked and he reminded me of you two! Yeah, again, I have no right to complain so I totally sucked it up after that!

Oh, so you're probably wondering what happened. It wasn't anything severe, just precautionary. Wednesday I felt like total crap-nauseaus, headache, blood rush to the face, (I did ctually get sick)-so I left work early and slept for about two hours and felt better. Well, Friday morning I was feeling fine and on the way into work I got incredibly dizzy to the point where I didn't know where the road was so I could pull off! I waited there about 10 minutes and when it subsided a decent amount I called the doc. They had me come in right way to take my blood pressure and they blamed it on my allergies.

I saw the "mean" doctor again (who has been really awesome) and it turns out that my blood sugar was low (usually higher for pregnant women since many overeat) and my blood pressure was higher than normal (for me). I normally run almost dead at 90/140 so when I was about 100/145 it kind of alarmed her (even though it is still an excellent reading for some people). I was given three juice boxes and told I had to be picked up and stay in bed all day and that they would be calling to check on me. Great! She asked if I've been overdoing and I repsonded with "mentally or physically" with a slight giggle. She said it didn't matter and that in both regards I need to take a breather and relax...I'm almost there so it's okay to take more of break. Ha. She obviously doesn't know me! But I vowed to be better at taking it easy and she stressed I need more sleep.

Sigh. I should take the advice but it's hard because I'm a pretty independent person and like doing things on my own. Chris brought me dinner in bed and I had a wave of guilt. I'm weird. I know. Plus I don't like to admit failure or defeat, or the fact that I don't have the same abilities as before I became pregnant (lifting heavy things, climbing stairs, sleeping on my stomash hee hee) and I want to do everything I can to feel "normal". 7 1/2 weeks to go....

SHOPPING!!!

So thank you to all of you that were so generous in getting things that we need for our upcoming addition! You have NO idea how much you've all helped out!

Nicole called me up yesterday and asked if I wnated to use some of the gift cards we received to get some of the stuff I needed on our list and I was all over that! I don't think I've begun "nesting" (I'm sure you figure out what that means) because I've always been kind of a clean freak and I like having things in order. As Tracy put it, maybe I haven't started "nesting" because I do it all the time! VEry true Trace...well spoken! :) Anyway, (where are these tangents coming from?) so myself, Chloe, Kim and Nicole went to Babies R Us and stocked up on more things. Chloe was awesome...she was more than willing to help stock up and she found the best soothing machine for the crib as well...this adorable little aquarium thing that attached to the side.

It truly amazes how much stuff you need for a baby! 99% of everything we registered for was items that we need and I did my best to make sure I had a balance between cost and durability. For instance, I fell in love an Eddie Bauer stroller that was right smack dab in the middle of the price range for strollers. I checked the reviews and when 77 people have the same complaint about the seat latch and rate it a 2 out of 5, it makes you tihink twice about spending an extra $20 ya know?

So we have a good amount of the stuff we need (for now). Less diapers, formula, etc! It felt good getting some shopping out of the way! Everytime a little something gets done and out of the way, I feel more at ease with her arrival. I don't like being unprepared!

Checkup/Update

I've gained a total of 23 pounds! Whoo hoo! Sounds weird though that I'm actually happy about it but hey, you HAVE to gain weight if you're pregnant and at least I haven't gained 50 pounds! Some of you may remember the doctor that really upset me by basically saying I was overweight...well, I think we were both just having a bad day. I had to see her today and she was sooo friendly and commnted numerous times about how I've keep my weight gain undercontrol and that I'm emasuring right where I should (they measure the belly in centimeters to tell what week you're in). I left completely pleased!

So in case any of you are wondering, we're heading into week 33. Crazy I tell ya. Time just flies. It's funny...I read in a magazine that you may feel slightly less movement because the baby is taking up less space. Ha! Whoever wrote that was probably never pregnant! Not only is she moving more than ever, she hurts! I was sitting in a astaff meeting the other day and everyone thought thre was something wrong with me the way I almost jumped out of my chair! A nice healthy karate kick to the ribs is all it takes!

I'm noticing that she's starting to develop somewhat of a sleep schedule...She is going to be night owl like her mother (BEFORE pregnancy) definitely! I feel her the most between 11PM (about when we go to bed) and 3AM. Then she calms down the last couple hours of the night. Hopefully, she'll be a good napper...she always calms down in the afternoon hours. I tell ya I honestly don't know what I would do if I didn't have a body pillow on one side of me and Chris on the other because rolling is inevitable! Keeping a balance laying in bed isn't even easy!

So we are pre-registering at the hospital this week (Middlesex). Makes sense so that I'm not signing paperwork in the middle of contractions! Plus, I know it sounds weird and cynical but I have this feling that I may go a couple weeks early. I just want to be redy (now that's a good one)!

Shower!

So apparently I though Chris, Chloe, Nicole and her family, Amanda, and I were all going apple picking yesterday. We were supposed to meet at Nicole's house and go from there. Well...surprise! It didn't even dawn on me when I saw the balloons! Nicole, Kim, and Amanda did a WONDERFUL job planning it. People I hadn't seen in so long were there and everyone was so generous!

It was kinda surreal...even now, I have the days where I don't think it has hit me that I am pregnant. Opening little girl outfits and everything else felt strange...not in bad way or anything but it almost felt like a dream. I can't explain it but as happy as I am I truly don't think it will hit me until I am holding our little girl in my arms! I can't wait!

Sick and Tired...Literally!

Just a bit of background...

I usually don't whine and complain (okay, a little sometimes) but I mean truly complaining fo revery little ach and pain. I haven't complained that even though I'm carrying smaller than EVERYONE I know, just going up a flight of stairs is a workout. And lots not even talk about bending over to pick something up, or the kicks all night long, or my sciatic nerve in my left leg that makes me limp nw and then, or the tiredness and nausea that has recently set in. Did I mention tired and nauseaous?

I have gotten sick EVERY night the last 4 nights and feel sick after every meal. I know I have to eat and all of you know how much I love food but last night I even turned down ice cream! Yep, the world has come to end when I stop eating ice cream. I've resorted to whole-grain Goldfish to make myself feel better. To add to it, I've been so tired that my body literally aches and there is getting comfortable at night. If this is nature's way of telling me to get ready I guess I should get used to it. The nice thing I can look forward to though is sleeping on my stomach again! Whoo hoo!

Really though, I still have no right to complain. I feel immediately guilty when I start to have pity on myself because at least she is still kicking (and flipping I mght add) inside me-active and healthy, and the both of us have absolutely no medical issues. I would go almost as far to say that I should be happy I feel like crap but for now, I'll just be happy and content that everything is going the way should and I will continue to hope and pray for those that need all the love and support they can get-for themselves and their babies-when they need it most.

Running Scared!

Okay. I'll admit it. I'm a baby when I think about the whole labor/delivery process. I can honestly say that I'm not scared of anything-heights, spiders, snakes, dogs, the dark (lol), skydiving, the ocean, even pain in general I generally do well. Now, I am scared. I don't really know why. The odds of something going drastically wrong and losing our little girl are not even the issue. I honestly don't know what it is. Maybe it's fear of the unknown. I've never even seen someone in labor or giving birth so maybe that's the difference. Do I talk t my doctor and ask questions? Yes. Do talk to other mothers? Yes. Do I read evey book and magazine to be well informed? Yes. Do I talk to Chris? Absolutely. The only thing left in my mind to help relax a bit is take some childbirth classes.

Now some people say it was beneficial for them and others say it's a waste of time but I can tell you that I felt better even after just attending one class. It wasn't really that I learned some huge peice of factual information or the commraderie that was there....I guess it was just everything. Maybe it was also that the instructor is also a yoga and massage professional so she brings a calmness to the room. It was also nice to hear some of the other women say they too were also scared or nervous so I didn't feel so abnormal!

All was going okay until near the end when I started feeling sick for some reason. We were just practicing some relaxation breathing when I couldn't get my breathing under control and literally ran from the room. So instead of breathing easy I was getting sick in a hospital bathroom. I went this whole 7 months w/o getting sick and now twice within a week! (I also got sick on the way home from the fair on Friday night for no apparent reason). Something tells me the last two months are going to make up for a relatively easy 7!

So anyway, I'm looking forward to the next 4 classes because they should get more in depth and information. The last is a tour of the birthing area and such (which I've unfortunately already seen!).

I guess I should get back to work now.... :)

Checkup

It seems silly that I have to go back two days later but I did. I gained 5 ounces in two days...hee hee. That just sounds funny to me. Don't mind me. I'm in a good mood because I really like the doctor I saw and everything looks very good! I'm measuring at exactly 30 weeks, which means my weight and that of the baby is on target. It's absolutely insane to think that I have a three pound baby inside me (more than half the weight of a bag of sugar!) and that she is about 17 inches long! I still wonder if it's hit me...

I was also told that my next visit (2 weeks) will be when we start to go over pre-registration for the hospital and birth plan and such. Crazy! 10 weeks feels like a long time but then again, not really. I don't want to deliver early but you do have to be prepared! Speaking of, we just need to paint the baby's room and then we are pretty much there...ready for the baby to move in! We've done a lot around the house with regards to cleaning and organizing because I'm sure it won't get done with an infant around!

So I saw a woman my age in the waiting room with me today that was 37 weeks...she looked phenomenal! I truly don't think I've ever seen anyone carry so well! Posture, figure, glow-everything! I give that woman all the credit in the world because even though i know I'm not doing too bad, she puts most pregnant woman to shame! I mentioned it to my doctor and she went on to say that most pregnant women gain 45-55 pounds from what she's seen. Insane! Ideally, it should be 25-35 depending on what you weighed before. I was put closer to 35 which is probably about where I'll be.

Oh! In case you're wondering about names that we've thought about or maybe even decided on, it's a secret! :) We had to keep something a secret!

Not to go off on tangets or anything but as I was dropping Chloe off at school this morning, she burst out with, "I love my little sister already!". That was one of the most awesome things I've ever heard...right on up there with when Chris told me for the first time that he was in love with me!!!

Scare

So I'm a pretty "give it to me straight and don't beat around the bush" kind of person. This being the case, my body tells me when I'm overdoing in not-so-subtle ways as well.

Chris worked on 2nd shift all week and it was a three-day weekend so I was able to get soooo much done! Bad idea. Thuursday I started cleaning out the old office/new nursery of old computers, tools, etc, and decided to bring everything upstairs to the spare room/new office. I didn't really over do it, but probably not the best idea. Then Friday night, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, I really didn't take ANY time to just relax and being 30 weeks along now, I probably should have.

Late Monday afternoon I noticed some spotting at which point I ceased any activity and kinda relaxed. I didn't say anything to anyone because I didn't want to upset anyone if it didn't mean anything. I figured it might just be a one-time fluke thing. Well, Teusday afternoon I noticed more and that combined with being really tired, feeling like crap, and more contractions than normal, I figured I should call the doctor. They wanted to see me right away and did a quick examination before sending me over to the hospital for some monitoring. Which meant another two hours of laying down hooked up to a contraction monitor while they ran a couple of test. My cervix remained closed (thank God!) but they weren't too fond of the frequency and intensity of the contractions. I wasn't about to go into labor or anything but I was given a stern speech by by doctor to start taking it easy and watching for signs of overdoing it. My response was "but it's not like I'm moving furniture around the house". Her reply was that it's not necessarily the extent of the physical activity but that I need to take time and just start to relax and spend time not doing anything no matter how easy or light the activity may be...that my body needs more rest. Well, fine. So as instructed by her AND the man of the house, I came home, started reading, and fell asleep for the night...man that felt so awesome!

Checkup

It's always an interesting gamble when I step on that scale in the office. 2 pounds in the last two weeks! Doing good as long as we keep it to one pound a week! I'm measuring right where I should be for 28 weeks...third trimester! Whoo hoo! Both of are looking good and I love hearing her heartbeat! Between her heartbeat in the 150's consistenly and her NON-STOP kicking, I think we have quite the active tomboy on our hands! Is it true that if you were a terror for your parents than you'll be "blessed" with the same? If so, I hope Chris knows that we are soooo in for an adventure! Chloe...we're gonna need you help big sister!

Jaime's Wedding

So last night Chris and I attended my friend Jaime's wedding. This is the same friend who's bachelorette party in Montreal I missed because I was pregnant (I didn't think Canadian bars were too appropriate), and the shower I was 2 blocks from when I cracked up my car. I was praying that I could at least make it to the wedding!

We should up late (of course) because neither of us are EVER on time anywhere but lucky for us the bride was stuck in traffic. Hee hee! We sat at a table with two other couples, both of which were our age (late 20's) and recently each had a baby. It was reassuring to see that both new moms looked great! (Sorry, still slightly hung up on the weight thing). However, I'm glad I was glad I persuaded by Chris that a glass of wine in fornt of me wasn't a good idea with all the peole around. I only wanted a few sips! needless to say, in random conversation both couple were apalled that anyone would consider even a drop of red wine while pregnant. In my opinion, it's a perfect example of being narrow minded and ignorant. I felt like saying that "Drs. have perscribed a glass of red wine for very painful Braxton-Hicks contractions as a muscle relaxer for the uterus" and " but oh well. It really wasn't a big deal but I think I'll keep my half-a-glass theory to myself! It was these same girls that thought I should be sitting down and not out dancing on the dance floor to Justin Timberlake and Vanilla Ice! Bizzarre since it was theses same girls were the ones coommenting over and over how great I look for being 6 months pregnant and barely showing (I was wearing a regular dress-no maternity).

I guess I'm just surprised for the ultra-conservativeness of 20-somethings.

Checkup

Yesterday I had a checkup that left me in a waterfall of tears. It sounds silly now that I tell it but at the time I was so upset!

So in the last 2 weeks I have gained 4 pounds. Doesn't sound like much but since I've already gained 20 and I am only half-way there, the Dr. laid into me about watching what I eat, portions, etc. or she'll refer me to a dietician because I have the potential to gain a total of over 50 pounds! Now I have never been overweight but did have a couple of extra pouds in my drinking days; however, I eat healthy virtually ALL of the time! Except ice-cream :)- I even told her that my diet that day consist of all-natural peanut butter on whole grain toast, an apple, yogurt, and water and I was told that I should have cut the sandwich in half. The appointment was at 4:00 mind you! Should I strave myself! Dear Lord! I was freaked out that not only would I gain 50 pounds but that my baby would be a 10-pounder and I'd have gestational diabetes.

I have been pretty good about not being overly emotional during pregnancy but this sent me over the edge and I called Chris in hysterics. He brought me back to center saying that she was crazy, I still look good, and it's not like something was discoverd wrong with our little girl. The latter kinda put me in check but I couldn't make her words go away. He made me prmoise to eat!

In the end, I guess being 145 pounds at almost 6 months pregnant isn't too bad and as long as she looks good from every checkup and still kicks me like crazy, I should be an extrememly happy mom-to-be!

Our Trip

Okay, the trip out was horrendous! Not only did we get delayed at Bradley because of storms down south, but when we got to Charlotte, we were delayed yet again. Sitting in airports AND pregnant is not pleasant and heartburn wasn't exactly making it any easier! We didn't get into Vegas until 2:00AM Vegas time...5 hours late! Needless to say we missed our connection and was told our flight would leave at 930AM. Great. Splurge on a hotel room? Nope! Rent a locker, throw our carryon stuff inside (yes, including my dress) and hit the strip! We were totally up for it but by the time we got down there ate breakfast at a casino, and walked around a bit, we were beat. Not to mention my feet we swollen beyond belief becasue it was 100 degrees. We vowed that we would go back! Around 6AM we headed back to the airport and met up with a lady from our flight. It didn't feel like 6AM and we have been awake at this point for 27 hours so why not hit up the bar at the airport? I took advantage of the free refills of Sprite...aren't ya jealous? :) We got to Seattle, met up with his bro and crashed at his house, 36 hours of adrenaline later!

Seattle was gorgeous though and yes, we had sun virtually ALL week! I know...bizzarre for Seattle right? I even managed to get some golf in at the range! We surpirsed his parents and picked up Chloe and spent the week visiting his brother and his girlfriend, his parents, his grandmother, Cory (his childhood friend, and taking in downtown Seattle, Pike Place, Seattle Center (amuesment park), and some beautiful state parks! The week was topped off with the wedding...

Yep...we did it! We got married in Seattle on Saturday (the 4th)! We decided to keep it a low-key affair by having the ceremony in Washington. Baby Girl Johnson will be born out here so we kept the two big events in our lives split evenly between the coasts! :) Chris was quite the stud in his tux and he was joined by his brother and childhood friend. Chloe was a little princess in her dress and was all smiles! Me and Baby Girl Johnson fit nicely into my dress which was quite the surprise since I actually gained weight...redistribution? Anyway...the weather was perfect, the location beautiful! We had the ceremony at sunset at a park overlooking the Puget Sound, a marina, and the Olympic mountain range.

All in all, the trip was great but it's nice to be back also. I missed my "special needs" puppy! :) Now it's time to start preping the house for girl #2!

Seattle Here We Come!

So we are leaving tonight for 8 days in Seattle. Chris can't wait to get back and visit since it's been a few years. I only met his brother once-when Chris and I first started dating so I'm looking forward to meeting everyone. Chloe's been out there visiting her other grandparents so we will meet up with her on Sunday. The week out there is already filling up fast with visits but we plan on sneaking in some "tourist" stuff for the New Englander over here :)

I do have to say that I am DEFINITELY not looking forward to our 9.5 hour, two-layover, flight though! We leave Bradley at 7:00 and arrive in Seattle at 11:30 Seattle time with stops in Charlotte and Vegas. Of course, with my luck, we will have some kind of travel disaster because it wouldn't be flying for me if it wasn't!

Ultrasound!!!

We love these! I think we're almost spoiled with the number that we've had...and our technicians keep giving us tons of pics so we're up to like 13 all with great quality and some even 3-D!

Today's U/S is a result of not being able to see LBJ's spine last time...we're hoping we can see that AND the sex! :) Sooooo....

Spine looks great and then all of a sudden we both saw it at the same time...we are having a girl! Now I give Chris all the credit in the world for not saying "I told you so" even though I'm sure he was thinking it! I guess I'm lacking instinct because I thought it might be a boy...oh well for motherly instinct!

We decided to tell Chloe when we met up her in Washington...she was soooo psyched to be getting a sister!

Dress Pickup

It didn't fit! They have to let out the sides to compensate for my now-growing belly. It's about time anyway! And only two weeks later!

Accident

My allergies have been acting up REALLY bad lately and it was evident by my sneeze attack while drinving into the rear end of another car at 40 MPH on Sunday. I was about two blocks from my friend Jaime's wedding shower when I started in a serious of about 4-5 violent sneezes. Stupid me should have slowed waaaay down to compensate for my lack of vision but instead I stayed at my constant speed. i opened my eyes about one second before hitting that poor guy in his Honda Pilot-I highly reccomend everyone get one! His car was virtually unscathed while mine looked totalled and I was leaking fluid everywhere..I even had to crawl out on the passenger side because my door wouldn't open. Anyway...

I called Chris and he was there in about 5 minutes it seemed. I ten enjoyed a lovely ambulance ride to Hartford Hospital because I could feel some pretty could pressure and they don't mess around at 5 months pregnant. I was rushed right into the trauma unit w/o having to wait...they hooked me up to every apparatus, checked for bleeding, sewelling, contractions, took ultrasounds, etc. then forgot about us! They were supposed to transport me up to maternity/delivery for more close monitoring but their lovely systems screwed up. Anyway, they got us up there and then I was hooked up to a contraction and heartbeat monitor for the baby. LBJ kept moving all over though so we had to keep moving the monitor so we didn't lose her heartbeat. I was apparently having some good contractions (even though I could only feel pressure). I was at 24 weeks (week of viability) so they paid extra close attention...

We actually asked the U/S tech to tell us whether it was aboy or a girl (hey, we're being teased at this point with the monitor at all times!) and she said that if she had to bet money that she thought it was a girl...but no guarantees because "she" was so squirmy!

We were cleared and went home after about 5 hours. We then stopped at the Japaneese restaurant where we had our first date :) No saki this time though!

Dress Shopping

I waited so long to get a dress for our wedding because I of course had no idea what size I'd be at the time. After trying on about 10 of them last night, I fell in love with one-simple yet beautiful. Amazingly, it needed no alterations except for shortening the halter around the neck. You could barely tell I was pregnant so I was glad that $100 in alterations wasn't necessary! There was even a little room left to spare!

Ultrasound Number Two

So in anticipation of this ultrasound at 22 weeks, we've decided we wanted to find out if we were having a boy or a girl...I know, I know, we said we wanted to be surprised but we REALLY want to know!

First off, I stepped on the scale for my regular checkup as usual and I've now gained a total of 19 pounds...not too bad and even though I dread having to get those pounds off, I try to take comfort in the fact that I still have a figure and haven't truned into a blob! Anyway...

Well, this U/S measured the baby's heart and valves (amazing!), lungs, kidney, cerebellum, etc. Everything looked great (we saw fingers and toes and everything else!) except she couldn't get underneath the baby to see the spine so she wants us to come back in two weeks. We ask her to find out the sex of the baby for us but Baby Johnson decided that keeping a heel in the way would be a fun trick to play on us! So hopefully we can look again at the next U/S...

Exciting News!!!

This coming Sunday marks a full 20 weeks pregnant! Whoo hoo! I can't believe how the time has flown!

The past two weeks or so I've felt an ever so slight feeling like maybe movement but it was so faint it could have past for anything! Well, Monday night he/she was DEFINITELY doing tumbles and long enough so that even Chris could feel and not think I was going insane! It was utterly amazing! They were so strong and carried on for about 10 minutes. I was in shock. I think it really hit me. Although I don't really look like it, I have a 10 inch long, month old baby growing inside me! With kicks strong enough that Chris can feel them already! It seems as though now the baby just wants to keep up the gymnast routines! I usually feel the movement just before bedtime around 11 or so...right after ice cream! Today has been QUITE different...I caught a 600AM flight this morning for work and the baby was moving up a storm when the plane took off! Just before lunch as welll...probably letting me know to eat! :)

Checkup

So today was another checkup. I never thought I would say this but I want a belly! I've gained 15 pounds over the past 17 1/2 weeks and to anyone that doesn't know me, I don't look pregnant. I guess that means I need to take it easy on the ice-cream! In other words, the 15 pounds has gone everywhere I DON'T want it to go (then again, one area's gain may be seen as a plus :)!. It's funny, the most irritating this about where the weight has been distributed is that I still can't fit into maternity clothes so that means that the $150 I just spent in new clothes probably won't fit in amonth. At least maternity clothes stretch! Could be worse. At least I'm right where I should be with weight gain according to the nurse, as long as I stay to 1 pound a week going forward.

The good news of course was that Baby Johnson's heart rate came in at 160. So far it's stayed pretty consistant all three times at 164, 156 and 160.

The bummer of the day was finding out the our U/S was moved from next week to an additional three weeks...July 11th. I guess there is a HUGE difference between 18 weeks and 21 weeks and the doctor wants to be able to see more.

As far as the calendar goes, Baby Johnson is now over 4 months old in utero. Almost half way there! Just two weeks to go until 20 weeks!

Checkup

So I sometimes forget that I am pregnant and have been forbidden by Chris to continue doing stupid things that involve falling from high places, considering yard work unsupervised when it's 95 degrees, and not drinking enough water. I feel handicapped! For good reason of course :)

I had my second appointment the 16th and all was well again. I've gained a total of 10 pounds but still no tummy really. Kind of a bummer...it's going everywhere I don't want it to go! Blood pressure was excellent and I got to hear the heartbeat again! This time was bit slower at 156 but I guess flucuation is normal. I've only have two emotional breaksdowns that I know of although Chris may disagree! Ha!

Our next appointment is a checkup on on June 13th followed by a full ultrasound and complete exam on June 21st. We've specified that we would like a three-dimensional US so we are definitely psyched! Of course we've been torn with the infamous question, "to find out or not find out" the sex. We were tossing it back and forth for a while but we've decided to let it be a surprise. I think it's a boy, he thinks it's a girl. We shall see!

Liz and Chris

Baby Johnson!

Hello All!

So as you all may know(since you've been directed to this site) Chris and I are expecting a child! We figured a website would be the most efficient way to keep everyone updated during the next seven months.

We had our first visit AND ultrasound on the 16th, which was so exciting and absolutely amazing! I don't think either one of us totally knew what what would be able to see considering it was so early in the pregnancy (9 weeks). We were overcome with joy and awe when we say a flurry activity coming from an inch-long baby! Baby Johnson cooperated and gave us yet another surprise when we heard a strong heartbeat of 164 beats per minute. Quite active! I was bummed to find out the next ultrasound wouldn't be until June 21 (18 weeks) weeks...although that does mean that everyone is healthy!

We've attached an ultrasound picture although it does no justice to seeing the real thing on a big-screen monitor!

For the most part I have been feeling quite good. No morning/night sickness and only a period of nausea that lasted off and on for about two weeks. Other than that, I just have a day here and there where i am just more tired than usual.

We told Chloe on Sunday and she was overjoyed to find out that she was going to be a big sister. Of course she wants a girl! At first she was afraid to put any pressure whatsoever on my stomach or for me to pick her up because she thought she would "hurt the tiny baby". I told her all was fine. She's psyched to know that she'll be able to help with the baby.

Be sure to check back soon!

Chris and Liz