A little more real...

Today we went to the hospital and got our tour of Labor and Delivery.  We met with our "Welcome Baby" consultant.  She talked with us about what to expect through the process of welcoming Phoebe into our family.  She answered a lot of questions before I even asked them.  She was very knowledgeable and great to work with.  It makes it that much more real that we are talking about her birth.  David was asking some very protective questions.  He never wants Phoebe out of his sight while we are there.  The good news is, he can go everywhere she goes.  Its fun to watch him turn into Daddy already.
After that appointment we went down to the lab and I had to do my glucose test.  The sugary drink wasn't bad at all.  Not something I'd choose on a regular basis, but definitely not as bad as some people have made it out to be.  We sat and waited for an hour before they took my blood.  I handled it fine.  Phoebe on the other hand was literally bouncing off the walls.  My belly was jumping around like crazy at one point.  She definitely liked that sugar! :)  We're praying for normal results, we have no reason to suspect otherwise.  Just a formality to be sure everything is ok. 
I am seeing my doc every two weeks already.  Trimester 3 is already here.  This pregnancy is flying by.  I'm excited to meet our little girl, but not sure we're quite ready!  We're still working to find a place in this house for her nursery.  Or more accurately, we need to get our room done so we can move out of her nursery!

More Movements!

Phoebe's movements are getting stronger and more frequent.  I love it! (for now).  I did a lot of sitting this week for training.  It killed my back and hips, and it sure made Phoebe mad!  Every time I leaned toward to the table to type or take notes for any length of time, she would kick me till I sat back.  She did not like being squished.  Today she kicked right near my belly button so hard I could see it through my shirt!  Its not been that high in my belly, nor that strong before!  So exciting!  I love this little girl so much.  I just can't wait to meet her.  3 months till MARCH! :) 

Phoebe's Stash

Phoebe is beginning to collect a small stash of stuff.  The problem is we don't have a room for her nursery yet.  David has to do some work in the master suite before we can move in there, and until we're in there, we are stuck in the room that will be the nursery.  I am so ready to get moving so we can get the nursery ready.  I want it to look like we're getting ready to bring our little princess home.  Right now as I have collected stuff for her, its just sitting randomly around the house.  I want a home for her things...like a nursery.  Hopefully he will kick it into gear here soon so I can get working on setting up her things!  We finally found an outfit good enough to be her "first" outfit.  We bought a cute little shirt with a pink bow, a cream and brown bunny outfit and sleeper combo.  For some reason it was so hard to buy that first outfit...nothing was good enough!  Can't believe this little one is really coming!  So excited!

Thankful

I'm sitting here reflecting on all I have to be thankful for.  Here goes a list in no particular order...
my loving hubby
our precious Phoebe growing inside me
the opportunity to become parents
clean water to drink (all day long, even if it does make me pee like crazy)
Coke
Chocolate
my sister
my bed
Bobby the dog
my brother and his boys
great parents and in laws
David's great family, including new baby Linkoln
a free rental car while mine is in the shop
Heartland Church
my new job
Premier Designs
hostesses and customers who keep my business going.
fall leaves
so many great friends
coffee
sushi
bbq wings
food in general
a roof over my head
mylanta
Phoebe's little kicks and flutters
extended family
helping hands of others
my bible study girls
back massages from my hubby


to be con't

Is she riding a bicycle?

Phoebe has been moving like crazy today. Her newest move feels like she's pedaling a bike! Pretty crazy, but I love it! Hopefully she will let me sleep tonight, even with the bike riding!
Thanks for all the congrats and love you've posted on Facebook!
We are oh so excited about this baby girl!

Informational Ultrasound

So we had our ultrasound today.  They did an anatomy scan and took a lot of indecipherable photos so they could take measurements and see that our little one is healthy.  Everything looks good, so good that we've moved my due date up a whole month!  This baby is growing strong and healthy!
We also got to spend some time peeking at our little girl!!  She was a little bashful, she kept her hand in front of her mouth and wouldn't let us look at her whole face.  This little girl will even the grandkid score on David's side my sis in law just had a boy making it 2 boys and Phoebe will make 2 girls!  She will be the first girl on my side, my brother has 2 sweet boys.   I think Gramma and Pappy Gilbert can handle switching gears to include a sweet granddaughter.  :)
Daddy's so excited about his little girl.  And she already loves him.  Last night David spent about 5 minutes or so talking to the baby and she went CRAZY.  She was bouncing all over the place and he got to feel her move three times!  He was loving it! :)  We are so excited to prepare for her and meet her even earlier than expected!  We are already so in love!

Random

So I am craving sweets today. I haven't had any cravings that have been super intense, just things that sound really good at the moment. I have had a few aversions but mostly just stuff that sounds awful for that meal, not awful in general.... Although poop has been extra gross.
I can't wait to see this little one on Tuesday at our anatomy scan ultrasound. Hopefully the baby will be less than modest because I am so ready to know the gender and start calling this baby by name.
He/ she LOVES when David talks to my belly, especially when he uses a really deep voice. It's so cute to hear him talk to our little one!
This whole baby journey is so surreal but still so much fun. I can't wait to start buying baby stuff and making this house look like a baby lives here.
Still very frustrated that the new job is not taking off and keeping me busy just yet. I think it will be a great fit, but I need to get started. This baby needs two parents providing for his/her needs right now. We need this to get moving. We are trying to have patience and trusting that God will continue to provide. He hasn't failed me yet! Praising the Lord for a healthy pregnancy and strong baby! I am so in love!

Real Responses?

The baby seems to be starting to move in response to certain sounds... my voice talking to the baby, or GLEE Radio on Pandora.  I'm not sure if its just coincidence, or if the external stimuli is really making a difference.  According to my info, its totally possible for the baby's ears to be formed enough to hear.  I just don't know how well.  I had a LONG drive in the car yesterday.  On the way home I turned off the radio and just sat in silence for a while.  It was actually really nice.  After awhile I started talking to the baby.  Saying how I can't wait to find out if its a boy or girl and sharing his/her name choices with him/her.  I just kept talking and the baby would move and stop when I stopped.  It made me tear up a bit!  I'm so excited for this little booger! :)  This little one also seems to move when David reads to it at night.  We are so blessed by this little one!

New Nephew

We welcomed little Linkoln Cole into our family yesterday.  David's sister gave birth (via c-section) to a b-e-a-utiful baby boy.  I've spent lots of time at the hospital loving all over this little guy.  He has a head full of super dark hair.  David went to meet him last night and when he came home he was just gushing over how cute this little guy is (and if you know David you know this isn't the norm).  I love to see him get so excited about the baby.  He wouldn't hold him, but that's ok.  When our little one gets here I know he will get comfy with holding him/her very quickly.  David has also decided that we need to have a baby with a full head of dark hair too....we'll see.  This request is a little  more realistic than his original choice of a blonde haired, blue eyed baby!  I'm just so excited to see how our whole family is growing.  I love that our little one will have a cousin close to his/her age.  Yay for babies! :)

The Last Button

Well, it's official, the last button on the last pair of regular jeans has not been released.  I can button it if I'm gonna be standing a lot, but it just isn't working at all for sitting.  Even though they don't quite fit just yet, maternity pants are tons more comfy. 
My mom was talking to my Grandpa yesterday and he asked, "So is Traci getting fat yet?" :)  Said only the was a grandpa can and so he got away with it.  But I think I'm gonna have to let him know that as of today, yes grandpa, I'm getting "fat"! 

Busy Baby

I have felt the baby moving a little here and there for a couple of weeks now, but today this little acrobat is movin' and shakin' like crazy!  I am loving every moment of it!!  When I had my first ultra sound at A Hope Center (they gave me a free one for practice for a new tech) I could see just how active this little on is.  At one point the baby was basically folded in half with its feet behind its head!  It was flipping around like crazy the whole time we watched.  At that point I wasn't feeling much.  Now that I'm feeling more I can't wait to watch it on the screen and match the movements with the things I'm feeling!  This whole pregnant thing is incredible.  How can anyone deny that this little thing inside me is a real life.  Its totally amazing!  We are so blessed!

First Attempt at a Blog

I have decided that there is so much I want to share about our journey from a couple to a family but I know that not everyone is interested.  So, I won't be putting everything on Facebook for the world to see, but I will try to update here for those who are interested.  I don't know what form this blog will take.  It may be mostly about the baby, or it may not be.  We'll just see where it takes me and how it turns out.  Thanks for joining me for the ride!