Friday, August 29, 2008

Doctor says no to sex.

So, we were not able to find out the sex of Gumbo on Big Thursday. We will have to wait 5 more weeks until I am 20 weeks along. Then we will have to go to some super awesome sonogram machine place. I hear this is standard. Its a bummer. Thinking that we would find out on Thursday really kept us going. We are ok with it. The sex will still be a surprise, and now we have more time to imagine and dream about our baby girl/boy.

We bought the house! We are really happy. It will be nice to clean and garden this weekend at the new house, and begin moving the following weekend.

I am not showing yet, but definitely not wearing my "skinny jeans" anymore. I'm also moving up to clothes that fit me when I was heavier a few years ago. I've gained 5 lbs overall, doctor says it is fine, she wants me to eat more dairy and exercise more. I think I can handle it.

Love, V and Tom.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

BIG THURSDAY

It is Wednesday night.
Tomorrow is Big Thursday.

We have our Dr. Appt at 9:30 tomorrow morning.
We are hoping to find out the sex of Gumbo. At that point we might give Gumbo a sex based name. Our top names are Dixie and Jaques =)

At 1pm, we meet with the Realtor to do the final walk through, and at 2pm we sit down in the title office to buy our house.

We are nervous, anxious and scared and excited and exhausted. We hope that everything goes well and we aren't duped or tricked into anything. We are starting to understand how the foreclosure crisis happened. We are really well educated, smart, careful people and we STILL don't really understand everything that is happening.

Oh well, tomorrow night we will have the house and hopefully rest (or excited talking all night long!)

Update you tomorrow or sometime in the near future!

Love, V and Tom

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Nothing going on...

So its week 13.5.
I didn't write last weekend, sorry Mom. =)

I'm feeling fine, this week I am still tired and need lots of sleep. I think Gumbo had a growth spurt on Tuesday because I ate like a madwoman all day long. My gums got swollen this week. I counteracted this by brushing, listerine-ing, flossing, listerine-ing again. It took a few days, but its gone down. I also have been chewing lots of gum, just to keep my gums clean all day. Ice Breakers makes a gum called Ice Cubes that is really yummy. It has Xylatol in it. In Finland, they put Xylatol in everything, and supplement it for pregnant woman just to keep their gums from getting swollen. A coworker (LM) told me this, and its funny because I had been chewing it because it made me less nauseated, took away headaches, made my gums feel better and tasted good. (They sell it at Target).

Katie A. (sister-in-law via Brother Stephen) sent us another shipment of baby things, so we have quite a collection of toys, and some shoes and a diaper bag already! I am really excited about unpacking these things in the baby room in our new house!!!

Andrea and Monica (sister-in-laws via Tom) have given me quite a supply of maternity clothes, so I might not have to get much in that department either.

I'm not showing yet, but I think I stopped holding my stomach in as much, and when I eat, I push it out really far- because it feels good! =)

I am meeting with HR people at my work in the upcoming weeks to see how/when to tell my boss about the baby. Recently my boss said, "... everyone is pregnant, its like an epidemic" I know she was joking, but in Public Health, an epidemic is a bad thing... so I hope she isn't mean about Gumbo.

House update: we are closing on the house in exactly one week. Thursday, August 28th is the closing date. Last week we got word that Radon levels were high in the house. They are doing some Radon remediation right now, and will re-check levels before closing.

I have been changing utility bills, and this is pretty much the only thing I have done to contribute to house buying. Tom has amazingly handled almost everything. Its cool to be married, sometimes you get stuff (like a house!) but don't have to do much! Its pretty awesome. (or maybe this only happens when you are married to Tom- hands off ladies).

I don't know if they want to be "outed" but here is a list of other people in my life that are also gestating right now: Craig and Christina Baker #2 (due Nov) Josh and Ashley Brumfield#1 (due Jan) Katie and Brian #1 (due March) Shanti and Ravi #2 (due March). It is really exciting to have so many people to share the joy, wonders, and frustrations of pregnancy with.

I'd also like to thank Andrea and Monica for their advice and support. They both gave birth this past winter/spring (Feb/March) and have been giving good advice, helping me understand what is coming next, which medical test I'll have to take, etc. I know they make baby book, but sometimes, What to Expect When you are Expecting is too general for me. For example, I have no need for the questions on "how chlamydia affects your pregnancy" or "how to quit smoking" "should I color my hair" or "what to do when you work with toxic chemicals". There's nothing like a person to answer all of your questions.

Love, Veronica (and Tom loves you guys too!)

Friday, August 8, 2008

12 weeks! YAY!

So this weekend makes me 12 weeks along and 10 weeks gestational age.
I've passed the critical time frame. OF course, I have a whole life of worry ahead of me, but it is great to know that we've made it this far. =)
Our 12 week check-up will actually happen around 15 weeks due to scheduling issues/avaliblity of the doctor's office.
We got a spot at BirthCare, for our birth in February. We will go in for an orientation in September, but we haven't completely made up our minds yet if we will use them. I think how we give birth will depend on how the pregnancy goes and the position the baby is in when I go into labor. BirthCare is where Andrea gave birth last February. She did it with a midwife in a birth center. Tom and I are considering a home birth, depending of course on what I said above, where the baby is positioned and how the pregnancy progresses.

This week I feel that I am gaining more energy and starting to feel better, I sometimes have bursts of icky nausea, but I try to keep my blood sugar steady and stay away from things that might bother me (like smelly vitamins).

The big news this week is that we are buying a house!!! AHHH! Our home inspection is Saturday (tomorrow) if all goes well, the house is ours. It is cuter from the inside, but here is an outside picture!
Our fiend Adam got married this past weekend. Here is a picture of Tom and I at the wedding, and a picture of Adam and his bride!We did one more thing last weekend, its kinda dorky, but we took some pictures of Tom and I in our wedding clothes. Tom had rented a tux because he was in the wedding, and our friend Christina is an amazing photographer. So we took some more pictures. We never took any pictures of just Tom and I in our wedding clothes, all of our pics were with friends, family or wedding party. I realize many couples take pictures after their wedding, but they usually don't wait 2.5 years. Well, we did. We didn't even think about it until a year later, then we were moving, and things got busy and stuff like that. So this weekend we went ahead and took some more pics. Here is one of me and Tom at a park. =) I look pretty good for 3 months pregnant!

I'm starting to "feel pregnant" and poochy. Some of my clothes are no longer comfortable, but everything still fits. Its almost a good thing I gained weight a few years ago and then lost it. I have bunches of clothes that fit me in many sizes. Monica, one of Tom's sisters, gave me her pregnancy clothes, and Andrea, Tom's other sister, has a box for me. I'll be pretty set in the clothing department for a while. =)

Hope this updates you pretty well. WE love you and are happy you are part of our lives!
Love, V & Tom.