JULY 2007- 25 WEEKS

July 25, 2007

Now 25 weeks, there is no mistaking there is a baby on the way. I am feeling quite large and not as agile as I once was. Let's be realistic - I was never super agile but its definitely worse. Manuevering in bed has become more of a chore and the baby seems to be on the move all the time. I feel very good physically. I do have an annoying rash on my arms and some eye allergy issues, but nothing I can't live with. I feel very fortunate to be having such a good pregnancy.

June 2007: 20 Weeks - Belly Pics

At 20 weeks, I am definitely starting to show. I still feel that I am in the "bad stage" where you just look thick through the middle and not really pregnant.

July 2007 - WE FIND OUT THE SEX

July 10th / 23 weeks: In light of my recent visits with the doctors at the Worthington Specialty Clinics, I decided they were just not a good fit for me. I decided to switch to a clinic in Sioux Falls and picked Dr. Salama, a young female OB/GYN. Today was our first visit with her. She was great. Brad and I both absolutely felt so comfortable with Dr. Salama. She spent quite a share of time with us and answered any questions we had. She is very laid back which we both love. I measured right at where I should be and she said everything looked good. She decided to do an ultrasound because she had never seen me before. She started scanning around and asked if we were wanting to save knowing the sex for a surprise. Brad just looked at me and said that we were ready to find out! I couldn't believe he said it, but I was ecstatic because the suspense was killing me. She got a nice shot of the legs and I didn't see anything between them. Dr. Salama confirmed my suspisions and said she thought pretty much without a doubt we were having a girl!!

July 2007 - BRAD FEELS THE BABY MOVE

July 8, 2007 - 22 1/2 weeks: I finally convinced Brad that I was feeling the baby move. I was laying on the couch watching TV when my belly started to go crazy with movement. He put his hand on my belly and felt some strong kicks. We then proceded to watch my belly move all around as I feel the baby was doing some sort of acrobatic moves! We were both amazed. It seeemd like it took such a long time to feel anything, and now he or she was all over the place. It seemed very real to us now that there was a life growing inside me.

June 2007 - FORMAL OB ULTRASOUND

19 weeks: Brad and I headed to the doctor for our"formal OB ultrasound." I say formal because it was the ultrasound that a report was actually going to be generated for my chart. I had several peaks before that due to being good friends with the ultrasound techs, Kelli and Heather. Brad got to see the baby move on ultrasound for the first time. I had brought home still images before this, but it was neat to see the look on his face when he actually saw it wiggling around. We found out that my placenta was anterior and as much as the baby was moving, I was not feeling any of it. The heartbeat was in the 150's again like it always had been in the past. The baby looked healthy and very active! We informed Heather that we were not finding out the sex of the baby, much to my disappointment (and hers!). Brad did not feel he was ready to find out yet, and was still holding out for a surprise. He said after Heather left the room that he thought she had peaked. He was sure that it was a boy judging from whatever he saw Heather looking at. I did not notice any of this happening even though I thought I was paying close attention. I just dismissed the whole thing. I did ask Heather later if she knew something, but of course, she wouldn't comment. I could tell by the look on her face that she knew something, but the suspense continued.....

JULY 2007 - FIRST FELT BABY MOVE

July 1, 2007 At 21 and a half weeks, I had come down with some sort of a virus. I woke up in the night and mistakenly assumed that my stomach ache was related to heartburn and preceded to take several tums. Only moments later, I realized that it was a bit more serious. I had the flu and would spend the next 24 hours with repeated trips to the bathroom. It was after laying in bed for nearly a day, that I discovered I was feeling the baby move for the first time. I guess after laying down for so long, I was bound to feel something. Perhaps the baby was getting hungry, as I was not eating anything at all. I told Brad that I thought I was feeling the baby move, but he assumed that it was just my stomach and bowels acting uneasy due to the flu. I did survive my bout with only some dehydration and a little weight loss. I visited Dr. Farra at the clinic the following day and he said I would be fine.

Pregnancy Pics - 12 weeks

Pregnancy Pictures - 6 weeks

Shop interior

The shop interior work like framing up the office and bathroom, sheetrocking, and plumbing we decided to do ourselves (or maybe I should say Brad decided to do it himself!). It was slow work as we only went over on weekends. It was much better after the furnace was installed and I didn't have to complain about how cold I was all the time. Brad certainly does love when I complain, that is for sure! We did get it done and the final product looks good. I did pick out the paint!

The shop progress

Here are some photos of the shop construction and finish. The front walk door still needs to be painted, but the outside is finished right down to the lighted exterior. You should see it at night, you may mistake it for a baseball stadium :)

The Sieve's

Rapid changes are in the works for our little family. In less than 5 months, we are expecting our first child. Also, hopefully we will be moving into our new home. These next few months will be busy ones. We hope to document what is happening along the way....