Quick Update - First Childbirth Class, 32 Week Dr. Appointment, and Thanksgiving Plans

Quick update here...no pics to upload though, sorry!

Last Thursday Matt and I attended our first childbirth class...nothing really about "birthing" during the first class, more of an introduction/anatomy lesson/how you're feeling right now discussion. No videos either, which begin next week. There are 10 couples in our class, one of which I happen to know from work. Out of the 10 couples, we are the only ones who have not found out the sex of the baby. We thought that there would surely be at least one other couple who was waiting to be surprised, but not so. We have three more classes...Dec 3, 10, and 17.

My 32 week appointment with Dr. Crenshaw was this morning, everything looks good. (Thankfully...especially after my visit to Labor and Delivery yesterday to have a non stress test...Nash decided it was cool to not move or kick me for about 6 hours yesterday! Everything was fine, and he/she made up for the lack of kicking last night in my sleep, I assure you.) I've only gained 1 pound since my last appointment for a total of 17 pounds so far. I'm hoping to not gain more than 10 pounds in these last two months, which seems pretty reasonable to me. I think the GD will help keep my weight gain under control for sure! Dr. Crenshaw doesn't plan to have any additional testing or monitoring done for me as a direct result of the GD unless I'm unable to control my blood sugar levels with my diet. He said that most pregnant women with GD who can control with their diet do not have much more risk for complications than a "normal" pregnant woman. So he'll just watch my blood sugar levels and the size of the baby to determine if any action needs to be taken. He also reassured me that as long as I'm healthy and baby is healthy, that he has no issues with letting me carry Nash in my belly until 41 weeks (hopefully he/she decides to come before that!). I'd really rather let things happen naturally than forcing an induction with meds, etc. Lets see...what else? I'm good to travel still, no issues there. I'm measuring right on target (between 31 and 32 weeks) and Nash's heartbeat was 140. Once again, Nash didn't really care to much for the doppler probe and was kicking it every time the nurse tried to move it. Cute little personality, huh? :) Our next appointment is December 9 - we've graduated to the "every two weeks" appointments now. Crazy!

We're flying out tonight around 7 pm for Newark, NJ where Frank and Annie will pick us up and take us home to Pottsville. We're pretty excited to see everyone and get some yummy food in our bellies (in limited carb portions for me, of course). Matt has this lovely plan to go for a 15 mile run tomorrow on a road named "Tumbling Run" (i.e. narrow, scary, dangerous, curvy mountainous road). I'm quite nervous about it and begging him not to with my "baby needs a daddy" ploy. Not sure it's working! We'll be having Thanksgiving at his cousin Jane's house tomorrow which is always fun - a house full of adorable kiddos and laughter. Love it. On Saturday, Annie is throwing us a baby shower - how sweet is she? I really am so lucky to have in-laws that I love spending time with! We'll be in Pottsville until early Tuesday morning when we fly back at 6 am to be able to make it to work on time. I'm sure we may be regretting that decision when our alarms go off at 4 am on Tuesday morning!

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and is able to share it with those you love!

Baby Shower & 30 Weeks!

Another week has passed, and another fun weekend has come and gone. This past Friday my mom and grandma drove into town to spend the weekend, what a treat! We pretty much relaxed most of the weekend. Friday night we watched the season opener for the Hoosiers, Saturday I had my first baby shower followed by an evening of college football, and Sunday was our fall kickball tournament which was followed by a late lunch, naps, and a super fun Colts vs. Patriots game. It was a good Sunday to be a Colts fan!

I am so blessed and so thankful to have such great friends in Liz, Jen, and Brandy. They threw me the most perfect brunch shower on Saturday morning. We (myself, mom, and grandma) arrived to Liz's house at 11 am to find this sweet sign on the door:

Bunnies!

Liz did an amazing job with the decorations...she used our bedding for Nash as a theme for the shower and created the invitations and made decorations accordingly. She's so creative! Guests enjoyed a yummy "Coffee Punch" and mimosas and received adorable magnetic frames as favors. Jen and Brandy made quite the spread for the food buffet: french toast casserole, omelets, assorted breads and muffins, cherry tomatoes stuffed with a cream cheese/sausage/bacon/basil spread, fruit, and my favorite - sausage and cream cheese croissant sandwiches! After gift opening we were treated to probably the best caramel cake I've ever had. And YES, I did sample most everything - I was just sure to take an extra long walk afterward and my blood sugar level was great!

Yummy food buffet - and more bunny decorations! Love it!

Isn't this sign so sweet? It's now in Nash's nursery.

It's pretty amazing how generous my friends and family are...Nash received some pretty nice loot. He/she now has a stroller, a swing, a boppy pillow, a baby carrier, an activity mat, bottles, toys, bunny artwork from great great Uncle Dick (my grandfather's brother), sleepers and onesies, a diaper pail, a few loveys, a tummy time mat (so soft I want to take it to bed with me!), letters to spell his/her name above the crib, a photo album and frame, and gift cards - one to be used at Best Buy towards a DSLR camera mommy and daddy have been wanting and one to be used for Nash's first year of professional photos at a photographer of our choice. How fun is that?

Brandy, Jen, me, Liz
The lovely hostesses - and some of my best friends! Can I thank you enough?

Me and my mom...it was really special to have her make the drive into town for my shower. Thank you mom! I love you.

me, Mom, Grandma Harshman, Aunt Becky

Not only was it a beautiful shower, but we had a beautiful day in Memphis. Thank you to all my friends who were able to join us on Saturday! Click here to see the full album from the baby shower, or watch the slideshow below.

Last Friday marked 30 weeks of being pregnant, 10 to go. I really feel so lucky to still feel so good this far along in my pregnancy. The GD has been just a small hurdle, but I'm getting used to what I can and can't (or shouldn't!) eat. It seems that the key is ensuring a 15 or 20 minute walk after lunch and dinner. All the times we've walked following, my blood sugar levels have been great. The times I haven't walked, my blood sugar is definitely higher - although rarely over the number my doctor wants me to stay at. I'm definitely learning that I CAN have most things, it's just a matter of determining the portion I can consume that keeps me within the number of carbs I'm allowed to have.

In other pregnancy news:

• My belly button has officially declared itself an "outie"
• No stretch marks just yet, yay! (I've read that most women who get them have them by this stage...keeping my fingers crossed!)
• We begin childbirth/infant care classes this Thursday
• We're both starting to have "girl" feelings after months of "boy" thoughts

We'll be home this weekend, hopefully doing some organizing (I know how much Matt loves when I say the word "organize"!) and finding room for all the goodies we recieved this past weekend. The weekends are filling up quickly. Here's a rundown of now through the end of the year:

Home - Nov 20/21/22
Thanksgiving weekend in Pottsville - Nov 27/28/29
Home - Dec 4/5/6
Huntsville, Alabama for Matt's marathon - Dec 11/12/13
Christmas weekends in Indiana - Dec 18/19/20 and Dec 25/26/27

I can't believe there are only SIX weeks left of this year - it's crazy. When we get back from Indiana...baby Nash could make his/her appearance anytime. Wow. Wow. Wow.

29 weeks, Gestational Diabetes, Twins, and Visitors to Memphis

29 weeks down, 11 more to go! Nash's size is being compared to a butternut squash, he/she is about 15 inches long and weighs about 2.5 pounds. He/she is more active than ever and is no longer being stubborn for Daddy when he's trying to feel movement from the outside. :)

29 weeks

I still feel really great for the most part, baby Nash has definitely found my ribs and is hanging out there more and more everyday. Deep breaths are definitely hard to come by now and heartburn is my nemesis while Tums are still my best friend. I am still able to sleep pretty well, although I am up at least twice a night to pee.

At my last appointment with Dr. Crenshaw, my blood pressure was great and I had gained 6 lbs. He didn't seem concerned (I was!) considering I had only gained 8 up to that point. I got my H1N1 shot and had a discussion with him about Matt and I tutoring at the shelter downtown. He strongly recommended that we stop tutoring until after the first of the year with all of the germies that kiddos are toting around the public schools. Matt and I are disappointed to not be able to tutor on Tuesdays, but whatever keeps this baby healthy and kicking me in the ribs is definitely what we will do. I also took my one hour glucose test at that appointment, which I failed. I went in this past Tuesday for the longer three hour test which I also failed. No fun! They like for each blood draw to be under 140, and my levels were 220 at 1 hour, 187 at 2 hours, and 15 at 3 hours. I now have a glucometer that I will be using to check my blood sugar after I eat and a diet I will be following - low sugar/low carb. I have a class to attend on Tuesday afternoon to learn more specifics about my diet and how to use the glucometer. A sugar/carb free Thanksgiving and Christmas sounds pretty daunting at this point, but hopefully by then I will be in a routine and not feel cheated! No pumpkin pie, no fudge, no cookies....whew, sounds rough! But again, whatever I need to do to ensure Nash is happy and healthy inside my belly - that's what I'll do. My next appointment with Dr. Crenshaw is the day before Thanksgiving...my last monthly appointment! After that, I will be seeing him every 2 weeks.

Last weekend, I was up bright and early on Saturday morning flying home to Indiana to spend a long weekend with my sister Jessi and my sweet neices (and my fam - parents, sister Katy, and BIL Tyler). I loved absolutely every second of it and am so glad I was able to get home to be with them and help out a bit. (At least I hope I was helpful!) Jessi and Tyler are amazing with these sweet girls - it is quite a daunting task to be caring for 2 newborns and they do it so well. I am so proud of them for being such great parents. I could go on and on about how sweet these girls are, my "M's" as I've affectionately called them (although Mya has also been nicknamed "Frannie"...as in Miss Frantic when she's hungry), but it may be best to leave you with a picture. This pic came from my phone, so my apologies for the quality. I forgot my camera (I know, I know!), so I'll post some more once I get some from Jess. Look at their cute little bellies! They've definitely changed from skinny preemies into 8 pound newborn babes!

Mya JoLynn and Macy Ann - my sweet M's

After flying home early on Tuesday morning (and going straight to my 3 hour glucose test after fasting for 12 hours!), the next two days were spent cleaning the house and preparing for some of our favorite peeps to visit Memphis. Matt's cousin Jill and her hubby Mark from New Jersey and our friends Phil and Molly from Chicago came to visit for the weekend...trouble when this crew gets together, let me tell you. We had a great time (Gus's, cornhole, adult beverages for the non-pregnant, and kickball) and miss them already! Again, our camera didn't make much of an appearance this weekend, so I just have a few pics from our kickball game. We can't wait to see Jill and Mark in a few weeks over Thanksgiving and hopefully it won't be too long before we see Phil and Molly again as well. Persianis and Malloys...thanks for making the trip! We love you and can't wait to see you soon!

Thanks to Molly, Phil, Jill, and Mark for playing kickball with us!

One of the few 11 man teams we've fielded all season!