30 Weeks

     Well, today marks 30 weeks. It's so hard to believe that in 10 weeks our little angel, Ava, will be here. Last time I posted I was almost 26 weeks. Let's see what all has been going on since then...At 28 weeks I had my 1 hour glucose test and failed, which I was bummed about but figured I had the 3 hour to pass so no biggie. Let's just say the 3 hour did not work out in my favor either. I got the official gestational diabetes diagnosis the day I was leaving for the beach. I did not handle the news very well, especially since diabetes does not run in my family, I have exercised throughout my whole pregnancy, overall I've watched what I've eaten and I've had little weight gain. My initial thought was...THIS IS NOT FAIR! I did a lot of crying, a lot of asking "why me?," a lot of researching, met with my dietician and since then I have accepted that I can not change this diagnosis so I will do my best to manage my gestational diabetes.

     I would be lying if I said that watching my carbs has been easy but I think after almost a week of carb counting and checking my sugars I am starting to get the hang of all this. The good news is my blood sugars have been within acceptable range 99.8% of the time so I am hoping and praying that with more diet and exercise I will be able to continue to mange my GD.  One perk of GD, is close monitoring of Ava, so we will start weekly unltrasounds next Monday! : ) I'm not going to complain about that!  Other than this bump in the road, I continue to LOVE everything about my pregnancy.

     Last week, we had our 3D ultrasound of little Ava and it was amazing! She looked so sweet. From what we can tell she has her mommy's nose, lips and chin. She opened her eyes several times during the 3D and she also stuck out her toungue a lot! She is still breech, with her head facing up directly under my belly button, her legs are still thrown over her head and her hands are curled up under her legs. The doctor is not worried about her being breech. She should turn, if not, I will have a c-section.

Ava is 2 lbs 15 oz, which places her in the 53%. Her heart rate was 147.

Ava is talented. That is her foot near her head!

Sweet hand near her face

Her little nose is smushed in this pic...he he!

We were very pleased with our 3D ultrasound pics!

Onto the growing bump! Up until 28 weeks, I had gained 16 pounds. Now that I am on a low carb diet, I have actually lost weight. I am up 14 pounds so far. If I had to guess, I think my weight gain from here until the end  of my pregnancy will be minimal! : ) Here are my 26-30 week bump pics.

26 weeks

27 weeks

28 weeks

29 weeks

30 weeks

30 weeks

I am starting to feel the effects of my growing belly. Ava and I tend to get in each other's way a lot these days. I feel like I have grown a ton just in the past 2-3 weeks. I am so thankful that I have made it to this point in my pregnancy with minimal aches and pains. I believe my hips are starting to spread and that Ava might have dropped because my lower back and hips have been bothering me at work. Hopefully this will go away! Since the beginning of my pregnancy I've always said I'd love to make it to 34 or 36 weeks before my body starts falling apart....I guess time will tell!



Moving RIght Along

I have not posted since our 20 week visit, when we found out we were having a little girl! Life has been busy as always!  On Monday, I will be 26 weeks into my pregnancy. It is hard to believe that things are moving along so fast! I am so thankful that we started the nursery early so it will be finished well before Ava arrives. Honestly, as much as I love to buy things to decorate Ava's nursery, I am over spending the mulah!

Josh and I went to Germantown this past weekend to visit with my mom and dad. He had not been to my parents in almost a year and I only made it home twice last year. Time truly is starting to fly by and I don't like it one bit! Mom and I did a little shopping while I was home. We found a beautiful daygown at the Women's Exchange that Ava will come home from the hospital. I also found a rug and two paintings for her nursery. Josh is going to hang the drapes and paintings next week and then all we'll need is the rocking chair from my parents house. My great grandmother gave the rocking chair to my mom and she rocked Lauren, Phillip and me in it. Josh and I are going to fix some of the spindles, sand it down and paint it. I think it will look perfect in the nursery!

Not the exact gown that Ava will come home in but very similar. Her gown is a very soft, pale pink! She is going to look so sweet!

Josh, Anthony and Richard painting Ava's nursery

The changing table

Ava's crib and corner shelf

The fun rug and sweet paintings I found in Memphis. It's all coming together nicely! I can't wait to have our sweet princess in her nursery!

The Growing Bump

23 Weeks

23 Weeks

23 weeks



23 Weeks

23 Weeks

24 Weeks

24 Weeks

24 Weeks

24 Weeks

25 Weeks

25 Weeks

25 Weeks

Almost 26 Weeks

Almost 26 Weeks

Almost 26 Weeks

So as you can see Ava has definitely made her presence known! I know I take way too many pics but I want to have all of these to show her one day!

I almost forgot to post a pic of Ava. This was at 23 weeks. She weighed 1 lb., 4 oz. Her little profile is so sweet! I think she looks like me!

We go back to the doctor Monday, March 27. I also have my glucose test this appointment...boo!  Then we have our 3D/4D April 9. I hope she is still breech so we can get some great pics. So far, she has stayed in the same position the whole pregnancy but I have a feeling she might have moved. Ava has become so acitve in the past week. I love to lay down and just watch her punch, kick, toss and turn! Today, she literally moved all the way across my belly from one side to the other. Josh was finally able to feel Ava the other night and he was ecstatic!

25 Week Update

Head to heels, Ava now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.

 I have a feeling Ava will enter this world with a head full of brown hair and big brown eyes like her daddy! We shall see...

IT'S A GIRL

I am back to the blogging world after a hiatus. It took forever to get our internet working. I have not really blogged, esp about Baby A, since I was 13 weeks.  Today marks 22 weeks and everything is still going well!  We found out on February 5 that we are having a little girl! We are both so excited!  Ava Kathryn will be here before we know it!!

Legs over her head!

Sweet profile pic! I think she has my nose!

Once again, her legs are kicked over her head! Looks like we have a gymnast on our hands! (Let's just hope she's a better one than her mom! )

We have been busy getting settled into our new house but mainly we've been decorating the nursery. It is so much fun to pick out everything for Ava's room, Her crib and bedding have been here for a few weeks and now we are waiting on her changing table and corner shelf that I ordered. I think we have also narrowed down paint colors. I swore I would never do an over the top girly room since I am not over the top girly, well looks like I am eating my words!! Think lots of pink and green!!! It is going to be beautiful! I will post pics once its all finished!

It's hard to believe that I have already made it to the 5 1/2 month mark! I still love most things about pregnancy. My growing belly is making it harder to move around and I spend most of the night taking potty breaks but I know it's all worth it! Josh thinks it's funny the way I plop out of bed now!  Speaking of Josh, he is over the moon about having a little girl! He told me after we found out that he's wanted a little girl from the beginning! We both cannot wait to spoil her rotten! : )

Ava's 22 Week Progress

At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, Ava is starting to look like a miniature newborn. Her lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and she's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath her gums. Her eyes have formed, but her irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. 

If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers her body and the deep wrinkles on her skin, which she'll sport until she adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside her belly, her pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.

At our last visit (20 weeks), Ava weighed 11 ounces. The Dr. said that her head is in the 78% and the rest of her body is in the 50-60%. I just pray she has her daddy's brains!

My Growing Belly

16 weeks

17 weeks

18 weeks

18 weeks

19 weeks

20 weeks

21 weeks

 

22 weeks

That's all I have for now! We are headed back to the doctor next Monday. We hope to have our 3D/4D ultrasound done around 28 weeks.  Now that we have internet, I will do my best to blog more often so my friends and family can stay posted on Ava Kathryn's progress!

No Internet

I haven't been able to blog in several weeks because our internet had not been connected. TDS came to set up the internet last week and said we were good to go but it still doesn't work! So for now just wanted to check in on my iPhone. Today, I am 18 weeks pregnant! Everything is still going great! We find out February 3rd if we're having a boy or girl! We cannot wait! As soon as our Internet works I will try to play catch up on my blogging since it's been 5 weeks.

Sealed the Deal/13 Weeks

Merry Christmas to us! We are proud new homeowners!! All went well today with the closing and as of 10 AM we own our first home! We are ecstatic! I am off until Christmas day, so we will try to move everything but the furniture over the next 2 days. Next Monday, the movers will come to pack up the furniture. By the time I get back from Germantown, we should be completely moved in. I took some more pics of the house today.

 Dining room

Downstairs guest bedroom

Full bathroom downstairs

 View from hallway into the den

Kitchen view from the den

Fell in love with the coffered ceilings

Breakfast area into den

 Master bedroom

Bedroom 2- Nursery or guest bedroom

Bedroom 3- Nursery or guest bedroom

Another view of bedroom 2 and 3

Bonus room

Bonus room

Full bath upstairs

Full bath upstairs

Master bathroom

Another view of master bedroom

View when you walk in front door

We cannot wait to be settled in to our new house. February will be here before we know it and it will be time to decorate Baby A's nursery!  On that note, I have a couple 13 week pics.

Baby A is growing and so is my belly!

Baby A's  13 week progress report:

Fingerprints have formed on Baby A's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If Baby A is a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Baby A is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce.

Boy or Girl...what will it be???