Snowed in at 32 weeks

This weekend we had a snow storm that closed down most of the DC metro area for 2 days. We received 20" of snow in Ashburn, which is more than we've had since we moved here 5 years ago. Darren spent most of the day shoveling, but I don't think he minded. I think he actually enjoyed being outside in the snow. Plus, the plow truck (or should I say the crappy landscaping truck with a plow on it) got stuck in the snow and he got to pull it out with his truck.
While he was out playing in the snow, I was inside putting things away in the baby's room. I'm getting bigger and more uncomfortable as I'm dealing with more and more acid reflux, backaches, and night time potty breaks. After the holidays come and go, it won't be too long before it's all over!

While we were out Christmas shopping, I found a t-shirt that says it all...
I am proud to say that we finished all of our Christmas shopping already so there will be no December 24th runs to the store for last minute gifts!

It's Christmas time!

Our first snow fall in Northern VA put us in the Christmas decorating mood this weekend.

Snow on the golf course... Darren's mom and my sister came to visit and we put them to work, but first Darren had to go get the tree...

Then we had to put it up. Pre-lit trees are the best! Yes, I know I already look like a mom!

The finished product...

We can't wait until next year when we'll be waiting for Santa to come! :)

~Jess

Black Friday+Baby Shower+CyberMonday = Baby Gear Galore!

This weekend we went to PA for Thanksgiving and our baby shower/party. We were so happy that so many people were able to celebrate with us!

My sister, Amanda, worked so hard to throw us an amazing party!
Our baby received so many nice gifts from so many generous people!

and so many wonderful books to start her library...

OK, this one will have to wait... :)

The day before the shower was Black Friday and Darren and Amanda waited in line at Toys 'R Us for an hour to buy the baby an excersaucer. What a wonderful daddy and auntie :)
Monday aka "CyberMonday" was a great day to buy a lot of the items we need. I had never heard of Cyber Monday before but I'm so glad I found out about it this year. So many things were on sale and UPS and FedEx are going to know our address well by the time the baby is born :)

Oh yeah, I received the results for the Glucose test and I am diabetes free! Bring on the candy! ;-)

~Jess

28 Week Sonogram

I had a 28 week sonogram today and Baby Sharp is perfectly fine! Her heart beat was 148 bpm, she's supposedly 2lbs 8oz, and her due date was once again calculated as Feb 14, so she's right on track! Oh yeah, and she is still definitely a "SHE" :)

The technician took a lot of pictures, but the 3-D pics didn't come out as well as the 20 week ones. Baby is running out of room in there and she was all smooshed. Plus there was a bunch of stuff in the way.

Can you make out her face?

The technician said she has a "big" head. She's already taking after her daddy! First the nose and lips and now the head! :) We wouldn't be surprised if she looks exactly like Darren but with brown hair. Darren said he hopes he makes a pretty girl! :)

I love her little legs and feet!

The reason I had to have another sonogram was to see if a C-section would be needed, but everything looks normal now so a CS is not in the plan at this point.

Last Tuesday I had a glucose tolerance test and the results came back saying I had high blood sugar so I had to take a second (much longer) test on Friday. I had to fast overnight and then drink an orange drink that tasted like a melted orange popsicle. It wasn't as bad as what I thought it would be. Not being able to drink for over 8 hours makes you really thirsty. Plus, I've had to drink worse for stomach tests. Then they drew my blood every hour for three hours to see how my body was processing the sugar. I haven't received the results yet, but hopefully I don't have gestational diabetes. That would not be fun. They also said I was anemic so I have to take an extra iron supplement, but that's not a big deal. I hear it is quite common for pregnant ladies.

On Saturday, Darren finished putting up the polka dots in the baby's room. He worked so hard at cutting each of them out! All I did was sit on my butt and offer placement suggestions...

26 Weeks and Backaches...

It's been a fairly quiet week. My belly seems to be getting bigger and bigger every day, and my back/pelvis is suffering. Warm compresses, warm (not hot!) baths, and lounging with my feet up seem to temporary relieve the pain, but it hurts to walk or lay on my sides for too long.

The funny thing about an ever growing baby is that we can actually see her move! I'll lay on my back and one side of my stomach will be higher than the other. Then all of a sudden the "lump" will disappear and one will appear on the other side. It's pretty cool.

We're decorating the nursery and Darren bought stick-on appliques for the walls...

We're trying to decide on a name for our little girl, but it's hard to find one that we both agree on. We have it narrowed down to four, but I have a feeling that we won't be able to pick one until we see her. Even if we did choose one, we aren't telling anyone what it is. It'll be a surprise!

~Jess

Baby Furniture and Halloween!

We finally found furniture for the baby's room and it came in on Friday. Darren, Amanda, and I put it together that night. Well, Darren put it together while I tried to interpret the instructions and hold the parts for him. Those were the worst instructions ever, so we scrapped them and Darren figured it out...

Amanda was our photographer.The finished products... a crib, a changer/dresser, and an armoire...
On Saturday (Halloween) we went to Emily & Todd Davis' house in Elizabethtown, PA for a Halloween party. Amanda and Darren were Mario & Luigi.

I wanted to be the Pillsbury Doughboy but couldn't find a chef hat so I was a party pooper and didn't dress up. Everyone else looked good though!
Emily wanted to feel the baby kick! The baby moves around so much now. She'll even keep me up for hours at night with all of her gymnastics. She must not realize that night is for sleeping and day is for playing!

~Jess

Starting a Nest...

24 weeks and my belly seems to be growing exponentially every day. We started to do some hard core decorating. As Darren said, "I want to make our house feel more like a home." So we finally found some pictures, ordered end and coffee tables, and purchased an area rug for our living area.
The baby's room is next but who knew baby furniture was so expensive?! A convertible crib, dresser, and end table is more than our entire king size solid wood bedroom set and it's half the quality!!

We also decided to get some fall flowers and a pumpkin to make our house look more festive...

I also went to a consignment sale in Lansdowne and bought a bunch of stuff- mostly clothes. Mommy loves sweaters and our little girl better like to wear them!! hehehe I think she's gonna have more clothes than me! :) This weekend we met Jill, Tom, Grace, and Anne for dinner at PF Changs. We had a good time and I wish we could do it more often! :)

Darren started a new job last week and he likes it so far.

Last weekend I helped make the invitations and favor boxes for our shower. My aunt Mary Jane designed them and they are awesome. She's so creative! They should be going out in the mail this week. It's the Saturday after Thanksgiving and both men and women are invited, but tell your hubbies not to worry. We won't be making them dress up in diapers or anything. It's just a party with food and beer. :) We finally finish registering (@ Target and Babies 'R Us), and I can't believe how much stuff a baby needs!

~Jess

Goodbye Old Friend!

Last Tuesday, I unhooked the pump and have now been off of the medicine for almost a week and am feeling better than ever. In fact, I sent the pump back to the home health agency today. We had a lovely time together as it helped me through a rough patch, but I will not miss having to lug that thing around all day. I'm sure Darren won't miss having to jam a needle in my leg either!

This weekend I went to PA for my cousin's wedding. I like these big events because it's not easy to see everyone when you live 3 hours away and only spend about one weekend a month there. It was the first time I had to wear actual maternity dress pants. I am 21 weeks and my stomach is pretty big now so people actually notice that I'm pregnant and not just eating too many fries. Darren couldn't go because he had already planned a "guys weekend" in Tennessee with some of his friends from the military. He probably hadn't seen a lot of them since he got out of the USAF 5 years ago.

During the wedding I even found a sweet little girl to cuddle. :)

IT'S A.....

...GIRL!!!!

Well, as you can see we had our 20 week sonogram and we were able to see HER goodies. :) The technician used regular sonogram...

and then switched to 3D...

We were even able to see little piggies!!!...
She definitely has Darren's nose...!
Little feet!
The doctor said everything is normal and the baby is doing well. Her heartbeat was 148 and the calculated due date is February 14th. Valentine's Day and Uncle Snoop's birthday! There is a small problem that may require a C-Section, but it doesn't affect the baby at all. I don't have my heart set on either type of birth (my only requirement is EPIDURAL!) :) , so we don't care as long as the baby is healthy and safe. I'll have to have another sonogram at 28 weeks to see if the problem corrected itself, but if it hasn't I'll most likely have to have a CS.

We can now get all of those cute little outfits I've been eyeing up for the last 4 months!

The big question is: will she be a ginger or a brunette?!!

~Jess