Progress!

Aaron and I just got back from another doctor's visit and I am thrilled to say we've made some progress. Baby has dropped some and I'm 3 cm dilated and 80% effaced. So hopefully, any day now baby will be here. I can't wait!

Another Doctors Visit

So originally I was to have a visit with the doc this last Thursday, but they called earlier in the week and said that particular doctor was not going to be in the office that day, so we ended up rescheduling for yesterday afternoon. The visit yesterday went pretty much the same as the ones before it. Baby is head down, but has not dropped yet. I did find out which way baby is facing - he or she is laying on his or her side, facing to my left. I asked the doc about checking to see if I'm dilating any yet and she said no need to do that until next weeks visit. So essentually no progress going on, which I am finding very frustrating. The doctor did say (probably just to make me feel better) that she thought I would have the baby by the 31. And in any case they would not let me go past 41 1/2 weeks. So baby will definately be here by the end of the first full week in January.

Also, just to let you all know, the hospital's website will post a picture of baby once he or she is born. I think it will take them a day or two to get the picture up, but you are more than willing to check it out if you wish when the time comes. Just go to http://www.goodsamdayton.com/ and then click on growing family online nursery. There is a picture of a baby's face above it. They only put the first name and last initial of the baby up and the date he or she was born though. So you will be looking for a Quentin or a Geneva (unless we change our minds after meeting baby) R.

Congratulations Nancy & Guy!

Our friends Nancy and Guy just had a baby girl early this morning. They named her Josephine. That's about all I know at this point, but we're so happy for them. Hopefully Aaron and I will make it out to visit them this evening or tomorrow. It's been great having someone around who is going through the same things I am - Nancy's due date was just 4 days before mine. So here's to hoping if her baby came a week early, mine might do the same.

Mommy and Daddy can't wait to meet you baby, please come soon - oh and if you would stop kicking me in the ribs, that would be great. :)

Me

Here I am in all my pregnancy glory. Baby, you are coming soon right?
This is my view when looking down - a whole lot of belly!

Baby's Room

Here are the newest pictures of baby's room, now that it is finally completed! I'm hoping to add some more artwork to the walls eventually. Plus once we know if baby is a boy or a girl and have a name I want to get oversized letters to put above the crib spelling out that name. This is a picture of drawings I did. On the left is a giraffe, center is a zebra, and on the right is an elephant.

(If you click on the picture you can see the drawings much better)

Aaron finally got the quarter round put down and it looks great! You can see the wonderful rug that Aaron got me for Christmas too.

And here you can see more of the rug.

Now all we're waiting on is baby!

Not Much New

Another visit to the doctors has come and gone. Everything is fine according to the doctor. Baby is still head down, but has not "dropped" yet. That explains the heartburn still lingering for me. We also asked when they will check to see if I've dilated any. The answer - not until week 39 since this is our first baby. I wonder if they might on our visit next week - I'll be right in between weeks 38 and 39 at that point. Of course I'm so uncomfortable anymore I hope baby comes next week!

Paprika Does Tricks

I also felt the need to post this picture of Paprika. He likes to play with twist-ties (among other things) and you can get him to sit/stand up as he tries to get ahold of them. He'll actually stay that way for a little while before getting back down to all fours.

(Early) Christmas!

While Aaron and I already did Christmas with my family, we spent the last weekend doing Christmas with Aaron's parents. They came out to Ohio and helped us chop down a tree and decorate it. Well, Aaron and his dad did the chopping. Jenell and I had hot chocolate and sat in front of the fire at the tree farm. :) We had a great time seeing them and recieved some wonderful gifts. They even brought gifts for baby which was fantastic. Harvest and Paprika certainly seemed to enjoy the play gym for baby (not to mention the ribbons and wrapping paper). We also finally found a stocking we both liked for baby. It's the middle one that says Cheer! Enjoy the pics!

Head Down

Yesterday was yet another visit to the doctors. Everything is looking good and baby now has his or her head down. It's hard to believe that baby will be here soon and yet I'm so ready for him or her to arrive!

This and That

I recieved an email from the Montgomery County Courthouse today. They have officially excused me from jury duty. Yippee!!!
In other news Aaron and I had a great Thanksgiving. My parents and my mom's parents came and helped with making Thanksgiving dinner. We had a good time just sitting around and not doing much of anything. Plus we did our Christmas while they were here, so we had a holiday extravaganza!
Now I just need to figure out what to get Aaron for Christmas. Not an easy task especially when he says he doesn't want anything - he already has me and baby and that's all he wants. Isn't he the best? I'm still getting him something though. :)

Jury Duty???

So earlier this month I recieved a summons to jury duty. They want me to come in the last 3 days of the month - the 28-30. When I went to the doctor today I asked whether he thought I should go or not. His response was "I'll write you a note". So hopefully they will excuse me because somehow I doubt I'll be allowed to go to the bathroom every hour or get up and walk around if I need to. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
Otherwise the doctor said everything was fine. We're nearing the home stretch!
Happy Thanksgiving to all a day early!

Baby's Room

This past weekend Aaron's mom came to visit and brought the crib for baby's room. So we got that all set up and then went and purchased the matching changing table and set that up too. So without further ado, here are pictures of the crib, changing table, and a close up of the bedding my parents got for baby that we based the room around. Oh, and if you hadn't noticed we got rid of the icky carpet that was there and put down a laminate wood flooring.

Doctor's Visit

Yesterday was another visit to the doctors. Baby's heartbeat sounded very good again and the doctor said everything looked good.
I'm getting a new asthma controller medication since the one I'm on now has been discontinued. The doctor has assured me that it is safe to use while breastfeeding too, so I'm finally done with my indecision on whether or not I should breastfeed.
He also looked over our birthing plan and said it looked good.
Plus, I finally know what my blood type is since I finally remembered to ask: A+.
My next visit is on the 21, the day before Thanksgiving.

Halloween

This really has nothing to do with baby (who is doing quite well by the way), but I thought I'd post pictures of our jack-o-lanterns. Aaron and I spent Monday evening carving them as Tuesday night was trick or treat night here in Clayton. And yes, we used patterns from a pumpkin carving kit. :) The pirate ship is Aaron's and the scary face/mask is mine.

All's Well

So another doctor's visit has come and gone. Baby's heartbeat sounded good.
Now Aaron and I need to decide on a pediatrician. The doctor helpfully gave us a list of them in the area - let me tell you there's a lot of them. But I've at least narrowed them down by those who are actually close to us. I think I'll also ask our friends who have children already who they use and if they like them.
Baby's arrival is getting nearer - I'm to start going in every two weeks now. I'm so excited!

Baby Showers

Aaron and I spent time last week in Ames and Elgin so our families could throw baby showers. I had so much fun at them and we recieved lots of great gifts for baby! Thank you so much everyone!

Diaper cake my mom made decorated with spoons, socks, bibs, pacifiers, and a cute frog.

Cake from Ames Baby Shower

Cake from Elgin Baby Shower

And for all you ISU fans out there, baby Rud will be sporting this cute Iowa State outfit (3-6 months) that my parents got for him/her this spring.

Glucose Test

So this morning I had my glucose test done. I must say I didn't think the drink was too bad, although there was a bit of an aftertaste I could have done without. Other than taking a long time (you have to wait an hour after drinking it before they take your blood) things went well. Baby's heartbeat sounded good and the doc said everything was looking fine. We'll be going in more often from now on - we're going in 3 weeks and then every 2 weeks after that. The end is nearing! I can't wait for baby to arrive and to meet him or her!

Harvest

So here's a quick pic of Harvest pretending to be baby.

Aaron and Me in Pennsylvania

Aaron and me at Frank Lloyd Wright's Kentuck Knob. What a view!

Aaron being a soldier in Washington's Army at Fort Necessity.

Aaron and me at Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater. And here is probably the best picture with my baby bump!

Not Much New

Well I haven't written anything in a while since there's not much new going on. Baby and I seem to be doing quite well. I have started to get uncomfortable every now and then, mostly when sleeping and as I found out on our trip this last weekend to Pennsylvania, in the car for long periods of time. Baby has also been giving me stronger and more active kicking which sometimes comes as quite the surprise!

The only other news I have is that my sister found out today that she is having another boy! His is due to arrive in early Feb. in case you don't know.

Baby Registry

So I've started a baby registry at both Babies R Us and Target. Aaron and I haven't gotten a chance to actually go to the stores yet, but I've added some things online. Hopefully next weekend we will make it out to the stores and get a bunch more stuff on our registries. But in the meantime, feel free to take a look at what few things we've got on there if you want. Both registries you can search either under Aaron Rud or Jennifer Rud to find ours.

Baby Pics

Here are two new pictures of baby. We had the ultrasound done this morning and they said everything looked good. Unfortunately, baby wasn't overly cooperative in letting us get a very good picture of his/her face. He/she had a hand in the way, so in the one picture we do have, baby looks like an alien. It was an absolutely amazing experience.

Aaron Felt Baby

Yesterday Aaron was able to feel baby kicking for the first time! And did baby put on a show! He/she was kicking up a storm for quite some time. What a special moment it was.

Kicking Part II

Last night baby was kicking me quite a bit again. This time though I actually saw my belly poke up where baby kicked! I only saw about 2 or 3 of these kicks, but it was so exciting! Unfortunately, Aaron was not in the room when this happened and when I yelled for him to come, baby stopped kicking altogether. In any case this means that Aaron should be able to feel baby kicking real soon (if baby would cooperate and kick when he has his hand on my tummy). It was so amazing to not only feel the kicks, but to actually see them for the first time. I can't wait for Aaron to be able to experience them as well.

Kicking

Baby has been a bit more active lately. There are long periods when I don't feel anything and then all of a sudden he/she starts kicking up a storm. Last night when I was laying in bed trying to get comfortable and go to sleep, baby started kicking again. I'm not too sure, but I think I felt one or two kicks outside (I had my hand on my belly). Of course when I told Aaron that he wanted to feel and that's when baby stopped kicking. Naturally, once Aaron moved his hand away, baby started kicking me again! Hopefully Aaron will be able to feel the baby move soon.

On a side note, we're having our ultrasound done Sept. 4 so we should be able to post another picture of baby then. We also will be starting our prepared birthing class that evening. The classes are once a week for 5 weeks, so we should have them out of the way before we visit family in Oct.

Baby's Room

Since I've been asked what color the baby's room will be I think I will post a picture of what it looks like. Aaron and I painted this right before we started trying to get pregnant last fall. I'm not sure how well the colors show up, so I'll explain. The lower 1/3 is a dark chocolate brown, while the upper 2/3 is a light, brighter green. I also made a stencil of an elephant and painted them on a white border between the brown and green colors. The inspiration for this room came from a baby bedding set found at Target.

All's Well

Well this afternoon was another prenatal visit. It took a little doing to find the baby's heartbeat. He/she was hiding in the lower part of my uterus, but once again the doc said the heartbeat sounded good. The lab work went well too. They did take four vials of blood, but I didn't even feel faint this time around. Hooray! And next visit (finally!) they will do another ultrasound. We've got to wait another four weeks for that though. So sometime in the last week of this month we should have another picture of baby to show!

Not Much New

It's been a couple of weeks since I've written, but really there's not much new going on. Aaron and I visited family this past week which we really enjoyed even though it ment lots of driving. I did surprisingly well during the car rides to Ames, Elgin and then back home. Thanks to everyone for my birthday gifts as well as the baby gifts we recieved. For Beth and Justin - Aaron did get the books to me unopened. :) Thank you so much for them!
Finally, since everyone keeps asking me how I've been feeling - I've been doing great! No more nausea or throwing up. Some strong smells still make me dry heave on occasion, but all in all I feel wonderful.

Visit with the Doc

Well yesterday was another prenatal visit with the doc. It went pretty much the same as the previous one. Once again we heard the heartbeat which is still amazing. Maybe we can buy one of those things where we can listen ourselves at home and then let the grandparents-to-be hear too when we visit in another week. Our next appointment is in another 4 weeks and the doc said we'll be doing lab work at that time as well. Lucky me. I just hope they aren't going to be taking too much blood - the thyroid tests take 2 vials themselves, although the nurse who takes the blood said once that they can usually get by with just one. Wish they would stick to just one. Last time I had a lot taken - 4 vials and they were testing my cholesterol so I had to fast - I ended up passing out right at the end. Granted I won't need to fast this time, but I still am hoping they won't be taking more than 3. I can handle 3. The doctor also said that another 4 weeks later - so about 8 from now - we will get to have another ultrasound and they should be able to tell the sex of the baby. And for those who don't know already I DON'T want to know before hand if it is a boy or a girl.

Movement?

So twice last week I thought I felt the baby move. Of course from what I've read I shouldn't be feeling movement just yet, although they say that the skinnier you are the sooner you should be able to feel the baby move. Not ever having been pregnant before I have no idea if I really did feel the baby or if it was just gas, my imagination, or just wishful thinking. Regardless, I think I'm going to go with it was the baby. :)

Odds and Ends

There's not much new going on here lately. I've been feeling MUCH better this past week or two. I did have a setback last weekend where I ended up throwing up, but I think that was due to overdoing things (yardwork and then eating an entire Dairy Queen banana split by myself). So I've been taking things easy and have been eating a little something every couple of hours. Sometimes it seems all I do is eat, sleep, and go to the bathroom. Oh, well. It could be worse.

I am excited that my parents and Aaron's parents are coming to visit for part of next week. I haven't seen mine since a brief visit in December, so I can't wait to see them. I hope to spend some time with my mom and Aaron's mom looking at baby necessities and getting their opinions on what is most useful. Perhaps we can do a girls day out or something while the boys get working on building an addition to our deck.

I'd also like to mention that I bought Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy a little while ago. It is absolutely hilarious! There are some things she mentions that can happen to you while you're pregnant that I really did not want to know about/hope does not happen to me, but I guess what happens, happens. My favorite chapters with the funniest stories are - Holy Shit, I Think I Hard-Boiled my Baby! (Taking Hot Baths), I Can Either Pee on You or You Can Get the Hell Out of My Way! (Frequent Pee Breaks), and Freddy Krueger Ain't Got Nothing on Me! (Dreams). So I highly recommend buying this book if you want a good laugh, whether you're pregnant or not.

That's about all for today. Mostly just glad I'm feeling better. :)

Doctor's Visit

This morning I had my second prenatal visit with the doctor. Boy, was it shorter than the first! He pretty much asked how I was feeling and if I had any questions and then we heard the baby's heartbeat again. It's absolutely amazing to hear that little heartbeat and know it's coming from our child. Now I can't wait to feel him or her move around!

So everything seems to be going well. I've been feeling better too, so hopefully things will continue to improve in that area. Otherwise there's not much new here and we don't have another visit to the doctor till the beginning of July.

First Time for Everything

Today was my first actual throwing up due to morning sickness. I have to laugh at the morning part since it happened this evening about 1/2 hour after I ate dinner. Needless to say, it was not a pretty sight. Although I did feel better almost right away, which was kind of nice.

And now back to watching hockey. :)

Random Things

Today Aaron and I went to a nearby outlet mall. Even though I'm not really showing just yet - I do think my tummy sticks out just a bit and I only have one pair of jeans that aren't tight anymore - I ended up buying a pair of maternity pants and three tops. Hopefully they will get me through the summer okay before I really begin showing and need to buy winter clothes.

For the most part I've been feeling pretty good. My only issue as of late is that I have a tendency to do a random dry heave here and there. The only thing that seems to help somewhat is sucking on a life savers peppermint or a preggie pop drop. If anyone has a suggestion on what might help with this I would greatly appreciate it.

Broccoli Cheese Baked Potato

Last night all I wanted for dinner was a broccoli cheese baked potato from Wendy's. Little did I know that they had discontinued making them a year ago! How could they do that to me? I had finally thought of something tasty to eat and it was cruelly snatched away from me. So tonight for dinner Aaron is making me a broccoli cheese baked potato. I must be the luckiest girl in the world.

UPDATE: Broccoli is not craved by the Jenny any longer. That is all.

UPDATE 2: I'd like to point out that apparently Ohio is the only state that has gotten rid of the broccoli cheese baked potato. According to Jeff and Emily they have them still in Boston and my parents said they still have them in Ames. What is wrong with you Ohio?

Baby's first picture

We went in for an ultrasound today and it was one of the most amazing events in my life. We have baby's first picture (see left) and heard the fetal heartbeat (sounded strong). I wanted to record the heartbeat so I could play it again at home, because it was breathtaking.



Pregnancy is very surreal - from dad's perspective it doesn't seem like anything is happening. There's some nausea, some odd food preferences (well, mildly odd for my wife). Then I hear a heartbeat of a 1" long baby, my baby for the first time and there is something magical and indescribable about the entire experience. I'm elated, scared and amazed all at the same time. I'm just really looking forward to being a dad.

In the Nick of Time

Yesterday was our first prenatal visit with the doctor. After answering a bunch of questions about our families medical histories we got to the exam part. Our doctor said everything was looking well, although since I have had a touch of spotting we are getting our first ultrasound done on Monday. I'm really excited about that!

We were also given a due date. Drumroll please....

Dec. 31, 2007

That's right. The last day of the year. Talk about timing. With any luck, we will be welcoming in the new year with the newest member of the Rud family!

Mom's Take

So as Aaron has yet to mention, we found out just last week that we are expecting. This coming Thursday will be our first doctor's appointment where hopefully we will find out when this baby will be arriving (although according to a due date calculator on the computer it puts Baby X's arrival around the end of the year/beginning of 2008).

So far things are going well. I just started experiencing nausea this week, which thankfully hasn't been too terrible although I still can't wait for it to pass. *Please give me tips on how to manage it if you have any* *And thanks to my sister, Julie, for already mentioning eating oyster crackers throughout the day - that has already helped*

Otherwise I've been feeling pretty good, taking naps when I'm exhausted and nibbling on whatever sounds good to eat at the moment. All this in between more than usual trips to the bathroom and trying to find shirts to wear that will fit, seeing as how my chest has decided to expand just a bit.

Sometimes it doesn't seem quite real yet that this tiny life is growing inside me, but I was thrilled to receive my fist mothers day cards today. Thank you mom and dad, Nell and Craig, and my loving husband (yes I opened Aaron's card early, but my present from him arrived in the mail yesterday and I opened it :) *if you're wondering he got me an ipod shuffle*).

And now I am done with my ramblings for today. We love you already Baby X!

Jenny

Dad's Take

I'm setting this website up for Jenny with the goal of capturing, preserving and archiving some of the highs and lows of Baby X's life.

In my twisted thoughts, this is a virtual scrapbook, that maybe someday, this child can look at and appreciate. It may be a while, what with the soiled diapers of the first years, knowing he's way smarter than me in teenage years, and apathy of the college. I realized only now, that I would like an archive like this of my life (thats a hint mom), and wanted to start it early.

SO heres the rub. This is jenny's and I'm just going to take pictures, maybe suggest topics and I'd sure like it to be interactive. So all moms out there, if you have memories of pregnancies past, share them! Not only can we archive this baby's formative months, but maybe bring out some family stories that we can share with future generations.

Sort of like pregnancy, my job finishes early.

Aaron