32 Weeks Already?

By now, our baby weighs about 3 pounds (pick up a large jicama... a what?) and is about 16 inches long, taking up a lot of space! Isaac got to feel her curled up in my rib yesterday. I'm gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to the baby (Thankfully! I have hit the 10 pound mark- but it feels like 30. Guess that's because I still have previous baby weight hanging around!) In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. Wow! I read earlier today that: "your blood volume has increased 40 to 50 percent since you got pregnant. With your uterus pushing up near your diaphragm and crowding your stomach." Well, that explains alot.

Seriously, I have been feeling great- especially since a wise mother of six encouraged me to increase my water consumption. No, actually she told me to! The heat has just started to "bother" me. But then again, it's hot- isn't it?

Introducing....

Thomas the Tank Engine and Barney!

Due to seizures that Jonathan started having earlier this summer, he has had very little exposure to TV or videos. One of his first "bad" seizures happened while we were watching a Baby Einstein video. Isaac quickly began to notice that the episodes seemed to be triggered by an external stimulus- like lights, bright colors, or sudden noises (like a cough, cabinet door closing, you name it!). Sure enough, the EEG that was performed confirmed our suspicion. Most of his seizures during the test happened while there were flashing lights in the room. So- needless to say, our pediatrician suggested he not watch videos and have limited exposure to other stimulus. We even limited watching TV around him. Since our TV is on another level of the house, this wasn't difficult at all.

Now that he has been seizure free for 2 months, we allowed him to watch some Thomas the Tank Engine and a bit of Barney. He loved them! We will continue to have limited amounts of time in front of "the screen" just because we want him doing things other than being drawn to the TV. But I have to admit he sure is cute when he dances to the Thomas song or tries to say Barney.

Get-Away

Ah.... we took a little get-away last week. Little did we know when we scheduled it that our air unit would go out just a few days before leaving. Mr. Tom was so kind to come back on a Saturday afternoon to get the fan on the unit running so there would be some air circulating.

The day we returned home was also the day Mr. Tom came to replace the air unit... so we packed up and hit the road again heading to Point Park and Chickamauga Battlefield.

We never could agree on how many steps we climbed to reach the top of this monument on the Chickamauga Battlefield. I say 137... Dad and Isaac came up with a different number.

I can't believe I have grown up in East Tennessee and never visited these historic spots!

Since Isaac and I are studying the Civil War in history right now... we especially enjoyed learning about the Battle Above the Clouds.

Our picnic at Point Park

And our "tailgate picnic" while we were in the mountains. You would think we could have found a better spot for our picnic... but it was oh so crowded.

Never have I seen so many people and cars at Sugarlands! Now I remember why we visit the mountains in the winter months.
Trip up to Ober Gatlinburg for Isaac to "play."
To my surprise, Jonathan did not like the water. He was much more content sitting in the shade watching brother splash around.
It was so nice to take a break from the daily routine... and especially not have the routine chores. Eddie was so sweet to "haul" Jonathan around for me. I didn't have to lift, carry, or buckle Jonathan in the car seat. Ah... our get-away truly was a nice break.

30 Weeks and Counting

Our baby is about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in my uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face.

I had several errands that I needed to take care of out of town... or as my friend Carmen says, "In the city." So, we made it into a family outing. Complete with a stop at Chick-Fil-A for dinner. Since it was Cow Appreciation Day... Isaac and I decided to dress like a cow and get a free dinner. Except I "chickened" out when we got there. It was crazy! After a group came into the store in their underwear and painted with spots like a cow, we decided to have a "car picnic" and eat in the car. It turned out to be a blast! We got lots of stops marked off my "to-do" list, including a stop at Babies R Us.

You see who ended up with the scanner... It just seems like a few months ago that Isaac and I were making out a registry for Jonathan. Isaac did a great job getting my shopping list scanned.And Dad and Jonathan did a great job helping me test drive double strollers.

Meet Fred

Here she is....yes, she. Miss Fred! Maybe I can talk Isaac into

blogging about his new friend.

What?

28 weeks! Where have all the weeks gone? Here's what's happening...

"Your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can open and close her eyes, which now sport lashes. This movement is more of a reflexive blink than a deliberate opening and closing, but it won't be long before she's batting those beauties at you."

Eddie and I were able to meet with Dr. Hunter this week. She will serve as our back-up doctor..."just in case." We both felt really comfortable with her. Plus she was completly in agreement with our birth plan. SO.... here goes. The count down has begun!