14 weeks

 I just got back from my 14 week appointment with Dr. Weaver. Annah went with me, and was so excited to hear the baby's heart beat! It was in the high 140's--close to 150 and very strong Dr. W said. Annah talked about hearing the baby's heart beat all the way home. 

 I had also lost 1/2 pound, which didn't surprise me too much since I've been sick for the past week now. I am finally starting to feel a bit better. 

In 2 weeks I'll have the AFP test. I don't remember what that entails, so I'll have to look it up somewhere. 

My next appointment with Dr. W will be an ultrasound (at 18 weeks). I'm looking forward to that!!

August photos

Here are a few photos from August...

Annah struck this pose on her own, and we asked her to hold it until we could get the camera out. 

For months afterward, she thought this was what she should do every time she saw a camera. Annah helped Mommy bake cookies... ...and eat them!  Mmm! Annah trying on Mommy's nightgown ready for a nap with blankie and pillow in the laundry basket Annah thought Daddy had some extra room on the back of his chair that needed her to fill it up. At Krampa's and Gram's house, Annah saw a dandelion in the yard and wanted to go pick the flower for them.  Only grandparents would let a little girl go out in the yard and get her footie jammies wet with morning dew just to pick a dandelion. swimming in her big green pool Annah loves to "play chalk" outside on the sidewalk. Here she's playing the shape game.

Icky Sicky, Grrrr

    Last Friday (23rd) we had dinner with Kevin, Dustin, Mary Jean and Jeff, Dmitri, Michaela, and Mason, at the Bayern Stube in Gibson City.   The food there is great  authentic German food, and it was nice to spend some time with friends.
    

Saturday Jeremy joined them all again at the Havens' residence to view the 1st Ohio State football game of the season.
    

We've been having a little bit of trouble getting Annah to go in the nursery at church lately, but she did better on Sunday.  Soon she will be going into the Toddler Room, after she turns 2.

I am now sick. I have an icky sinus infection. I called my OBGYN's office yesterday, and they were about to prescribe Zithromax for me, when they realized I am allergic to every single possible kind of antibiotic out there. They told me to call my primary care physician. The nurse there pretty much told me I can never take antibiotics again ever in my life. Great! :-/  Hrmph.

Annah has a sinus infection too.  Hopefully they'll go soon and Jeremy won't get it! 

Laloo Baby

Tonight, Jeremy was getting ready to put Annah to bed, and she was giving me a hug. She put her feet on me and said she was "pushin' the baby." I told her not to push on the baby, but she could talk to the baby. 

So, she put her face down by my belly and said, "Hello baby." She kissed my belly and then said, "I laloo (love you) baby," without either me or Jeremy even telling her to say anything. 

Of course, I immediately hugged her and burst into tears. Before she could even see my face she said, "Mommy crying." (She's quick!) It was the sweetest moment! I think she's going to be a great big sister. :)

Visits, progress, plans

Jeremy's cousin, Greg, stayed with us from the 6th to the 13th.  He recently left Chicago, where he worked as a pastry chef for 5 years, and is taking some time to travel around the country before he decides where to live and work next.  He's been staying with family and friends along the way, and stopped in to see us for a while.  While he was here, he even helped trim the out-of-control vines on our deck,  and pruned back some other bushes, plus did a lot of weeding.  That was a welcome surprise.  It was nice to have him here with us for a while.

    

Last week, Annah and I spent some time in Indiana with family there.  Jeremy is busy studying for another C.L.U. test, so the ladies decided to give him some uninterrupted study time alone.  

    

Annah and I spent  time with Grandma and Grandpa Lopshire,  Great Grandma DeHaven, Uncle Walt and Aunt Joyce and even cousin Seth one day.   Grandma L. gave Annah her own newborn baby doll to take care of, as well as some books about new babies. 

    

My parents, and Travis and Erin and I spent the weekend making and canning 50 pints of salsa with ingredients from our  gardens!  Mmm, good stuff!   

On Monday evening, we went to Shipshewana and bought fabric for the baby's nursery!   The theme is "Antique Toybox," and it's really cute!  Now, I just have to remember how to sew and make everything! 

Baby update from Baby Center 

Fetal Development: 

12 Weeks      

"Your baby's face is beginning to look more human, even though he is only about 3 inches long and weighs slightly more than half an ounce. The eyes, which started out on the sides of the head, have moved closer together. The ears are almost in their normal position on the side of the head. The liver is making bile, and the kidneys are secreting urine into the bladder.     The fetus squirms if your abdomen is prodded, though you cannot yet feel movement. Fetal nerve cells have been multiplying rapidly, and synapses (neurological impulses in your brain) are forming. The fetus has acquired more reflexes: Touching the palms makes the fingers close, touching the soles of the feet makes the toes curl down, and touching the eyelids makes the eye muscles clench.     

Your healthcare provider can now feel the top of the uterus, also known as the fundus, low in the abdomen. As you enter the second trimester, you may find yourself donning looser, less restrictive clothing. Soon you won't be able to fit into your regular clothes anymore."

Fabric for Nursery

Yesterday I bought material for the baby's nursery! It is really cute. 

The fabric has all kinds of old-fashioned toys on it: toy giraffes and sheep on rollers, toy bunnies, organ-grinder type monkeys, spinning tops, jack-in-the boxes with accordion necks, and stars. 

The main colors are kind of a darkish country blue, a light magenta, and a light green, and also some cream, yellows and other colors mixed in. 

I have never seen a nursery with a theme like this, so hopefully it will be something different, fun, and special. 

I am going to attempt to make most of the things myself: sheets, dust ruffle, bumper pad (will definitely need help from Mom on that!), diaper stacker, valance, shades (Mom help again) and pillows. It is over 30 yards of fabric, and a lot of pieces to make, so it will be a challenge. I haven't sewn much, but I am really anxious to get started!!

Dreaming

Now in the second trimester... 

 Last week, I had my first dream about the baby. It was a pretty weird dream (as most of mine are, for some reason). The baby came way too early, and when it came out, the nurse said it had to go back in! (Yikes!!!) She put some kind of monitor or something on it and attempted to do just that. 

I somehow escaped that hospital (and went to another?? I'm not sure.) safely with the baby. Anyway, in the midst of all that strangeness, the baby was a little tiny girl. 

The dream was very vivid, and I saw what the baby looked like in it. Since then, I've just had other weird dreams, but they weren't really about the baby, though I was pregnant in them. 

I always have weird dreams, but I think I might dream more frequently when I'm pregnant. Jeremy tells me that if I just didn't sleep so much, I wouldn't dream such weird stuff!

Gag

To me, one of the strangest things about being pregnant is the way certain smells literally make me gag. It's kind of funny, but mostly inconvenient. 

For example, it is really very hard for me to change Annah's poopy diapers without almost throwing up. Poopy smell bothers me the most, but other random smells get me too. Sometimes it's food smells, or even just thinking about a certain kind of food at the wrong moment makes my stomach churn. 

One day it was extremely hot, and there was a strange smell in the air...I think it was pollen or something coming off the crops in the field behind our house. Anyway, that made me gag too. It's the strangest thing!

Heartbeat

I had an appointment with the nurse on Tuesday morning. I've gained 3 pounds. I feel like I've gained more. 

The main purpose of this appointment was to attempt to hear the baby's heartbeat. The nurse warned me that she very possibly might not be able to find it since I am only 10 weeks along. But, she found it right away! It was 168. The nurse said it's that high just because it's so early on.

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Baby Center Report: 

"Fetal Development: 10 Weeks 

Though the fetus is only from 1 3/4 to 3 inches long crown to rump and weighs less than half an ounce, it's busily swallowing and kicking. Each day more minute details start to appear, such as fingernails and peach-fuzzy hair. The vital organs — the liver, kidneys, intestines, brain, and lungs — are fully formed and functional, while the head is almost half the length of the entire body. The forehead temporarily bulges and sits high on the head, but later will metamorphose into a more human-like visage. 

 If you could take a peek at your baby this week, you'd be able to see the clear outline of his spine. Spinal nerves stretch out from the spinal cord. 

 Your uterus is now the size of a grapefruit. With the help of a Doppler, a handheld soundwave stethoscope, you can hear the fetus's rapid heartbeat — one expectant mother likened it to the sound of tiny horses galloping." 


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    We started potty training with Annah yesterday.  So far it is frustrating.  Anyone with any good advice, please feel free to send it!!

Visiting the Tointons

Today, we took a little trip up to Elmhurst, IL, to see our friends Chris and Becca Tointon at their home.  They are friends from Jeremy's days at North Central College.

 hat a lovely time we had with them!  Becca Fixed an amazing lunch, and Chris became Annah's new best buddy.   *(pics of the day here)*  It was wonderful to see them, and we had a great time.   We wish them the best as they wait for their little miracle to arrive soon! 

Annah, Chris, Becca, Jeremy, Taryn

Becca and Annah have a serious conversation as Belle waits for some attention.