Maternity Pictures

I got my maternity pictures back and they look really good. My great friend Lindsay took them for me. She does such a wonderful job and she's so fun to be around. I enjoyed taking the pictures and will always remember the "photo shoot" when I look at them. I've posted a couple of them here. Everything else is going well... we have about 6.5 weeks left (hopefully). I have some showers coming up, which I think will help me feel more prepared. We're so lucky to have friends and family who are helping with all of this! Allen and I also took a child birth class on Saturday. That was an eye-opener! But I think it really helped answer some of the questions that we both had and we were able to get familiar with the hospital and the way things will go once this little guy is ready.

8 Months Already?

I can't believe I am already 8 months! That means there is less than 8 weeks until little Baby Maeker gets here. There is so much to do! I need a pediatrician, I need to find child care, I need lots of baby gear (thankfully Aimi has provided this kids wardrobe for his first year), oh... and I still need a name. I'm sure it will all fall into place, but I hope he's not a day early. We need all the time we can get. Of course, everyone I see keeps telling me how big I am. "Are you sure you don't have twins?" I do feel pretty big, but it's so exciting to look back at the pictures that I have been taking each month and see how my tummy has grown. I can't wait to show the little boy one day pictures of him inside my belly. Here is a picture of me at 32 weeks... what do you think?

It's 2009!

This is the year of Baby Maeker! I can't believe it's getting so close. I felt my first braxton hicks contractions the other day. It took a couple of days to figure out what was going on... but I'm sure that's it. Talk about a tight tummy... everything gets really tense. It's so weird. This whole pregnancy is the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me. I can't believe there is only about 8 weeks left. I'm not ready yet. I'm so excited to meet the baby and to hold him and look at him, but there is still a lot to do before then. We finally cleaned out his closet this weekend. That was a chore. My back still hurts from digging through all of those old purses and boxes. Ugh... I'm glad it's done though. We still haven't officially decided on his name... but I think I'm getting somewhere with Allen. We'll see. It may be one of those decisions that gets made when we see his little face. I have a feeling he's going to come out with a ton of dark hair. Allen wants him to have blue eyes like his daddy (which I would love), but I have some pretty dominant genes... so he may have beautiful brown eyes. Who cares, as long as he can see out of them! I took some maternity pictures with my great friend Lindsay on Christmas Eve. I can't wait to see them and I will post them once I've got them back. All in all, everything is going well. I couldn't ask for anything else. I just hope the little guy and I stay healthy through the end. It's coming up...

Good News!

I was scheduled to take my glucose test last Friday and of course I got sick after they took my blood twice. So they sent me home and told me to come back and start over. Great. I went back last Monday and my mom came (thank goodness... I needed someone to keep my mind off of the nausea) and I made it through the test. So we had to wait all week for the doctor to call with the results, but she called last night and said that the results were normal. I don't have gestational diabetes!! Allen and I are so relieved. I was just worried about the side effects and problems that come with it. But now I don't have to worry anymore. I'm 29 weeks now and I can't believe how fast this has all been going. I'm sure once the time comes, I'll be ready... but right now I am trying to enjoy the free time Allen and I have to spend together and get prepared for this little baby boy. (I can't believe this picture was taken at the end of May... I'm not sure we'll get vacations like this for a while.)

Gestational Diabetes?

So, I took my "one hour" glucose test on November 25th and also found out I that I gained too much weight during November (keep in mind this was 2 days before Thanksgiving). The nurse called me to tell me that the glucose test came back high... my score was 167 and they like it under 130. Great. So I am going back this Friday to take the long test. I will have to fast on Thursday night and Friday morning and give blood 4 times within 3 hours. Not eating until noon was not a problem 6 or 7 months ago... now it sounds like an impossibility. I'm just hoping I don't faint after giving all of that blood and being so hungry. But I'll suffer through it... it's all worth it for this little baby. Hopefully the test will come back clean and I won't have diabetes. I hear it's not too bad if you do... just prick your finger 5 times a day and stick to a strict diet and exercise plan. That really does take the fun out of being pregnant, doesn't it?

I went and registered last night. That was a lot of work! My mom came with me, which was really nice. I told Allen I'm glad he didn't come... he would have been done about an hour into it. There is so much that you need and so much that you can buy for a baby! And it is all so expensive!!!

I'll be 7 months on Friday. I can't believe how fast this is going now. I remeber it taking forever in the beginning... now I'm worried about having everything done in time for this little boy. (like agreeing on his name) Hopefully next time I post I will have good news about the glucose test.

There is definitely a baby in there...

Ugh... I just spent 20 minutes writing this post and it got deleted some how. Anyway, the idea of the post was to talk about how active this little boy is. I wonder if it's because he takes after his daddy. If you know Allen, you know I can't slow him down. I'm sure baby Maeker will be just like that. I should take this time to relax, huh? I have really been feeling great. Aside from the morning (I mean all day) sickness in the beginning, this whole pregnancy thing has been amazing. I love feeling this little squirmer in my stomach. I love that I can talk to him and he will move around. I am already sad to think about the day when I won't be pregnant... but then again, I will have a beautiful little boy to hold in my arms. Oh, we also bought him his first present (from us). We have just purchased property out in the suburbs so little baby Maeker has a big yard to run around in one of these days. That's exciting... and a little scary considering the difficult financial times we are in! I have my next doctors appointement in about a week and I will take my glucose? test. I'll be 25.5 weeks by then and can't wait to hear that little heart beating...

Names...

Picking a name is difficult! I love the name Ethan, but is it too popular? My mom thinks Ethan Allen sounds so nice and has a ring to it... I wonder why? There are so many things to consider when picking a baby name. Am I putting too much thought into it? Am I putting enough thought into it? At least we have plenty of time to think about all of the alternatives. How do people who are waiting to find out the gender do this for both sexes? I am so thankful we found out it was a boy. And I'm so excited he is a boy. I think this is an excellent start to The Maeker Family. Little Baby Ethan Maeker... what do you think?