roly poly

today was the big ultrasound day! the lady was quite surprised when i showed up alone. she told me people usually bring a barrage a peeps for the viewing. i really didn't even think about asking anyone to come along. awes is working everyday this week and this is pretty much the last week baby westphal would be viewable before space becomes limited in there. i knew i'd be getting a video of the whole session to share with anyone who wanted to see so i wasn't too concerned. i am kinda happy i didn't bring anyone along because i don't think the session would have lasted as long as it did if someone else was there.

the lady warned me there was the possibility we wouldn't get any good pics since i was a little further along than they'd like to see. she said the optimal time is between 28-30 weeks. the video below is pretty much what she got as soon as she put the wand up to my stomach. "whoa, i don't think we're gonna have a problem with this little one." she told me. she kept telling me how she always has a hard time getting good face shots and how she usually only gets shots of the hands and feet. but baby westphal was the complete opposite. she got plenty of good face shots and had the hardest time getting a shot of a foot or his "bits and pieces."

so the whole time she's doing the ultrasound she's recording EVERYTHING for me! i now have an hour long video of the whole session. unfortunately i don't know how to get video clips easily off the dvd she gave me (not sure if i have the right software or file formats.) so i had to play it on the computer and record with my phone. that's why the quality isn't that great. this is literally the first 41 seconds of the session. she pretty much switched over to 4d mode afterwards. i'm gonna have to find a really good spot to make a shorter clip of that part.

the session lasted a little over an hour, which was half an hour longer than they told me it would last. "you're my last patient today so we can take as long as we want." sweet. i came out with an hour long dvd, a huge stack of photos and a disk of all the photos she took during the session. i definitely think it was money well spent.

U-G-G-L-Y, yeah they're uggly

just a few days away from hitting the single digits as far as weeks go. it's crazy to think it's less than two months now til our family of two becomes three. i almost put four becomes five because i'm the crazy dog lady! ;)

i had my monthly check-up last thursday and everything is on par as far as progress goes. his head is already down and his heartbeat was around 123. i assumed that i'd be getting another ultrasound at my next appointment but was told since i've had a few more than usual that it wasn't necessary. of course i already had my mind set that i'd be getting one so as soon as i got home i made an appointment at another womens center to get the ultrasound. since it's elective i'll have to pay but i'll get 3d/4d and a 30 minute dvd of the little one. it's thursday afternoon so hopefully i can figure it out and post a video update afterwards.

i am starting to get to that "uncomfortable" stage which isn't too bad YET. i think one of the main problems i'm having is swelling. for a while it was my feet swelling at the end of the day. now it's pretty much all the time. my doc said some women are just more prone to swelling than others. with my family history of varicose veins i wasn't too surprised i'd be one of those women. awes has me wearing compression stockings and wants me to do some more walking to get the blood circulating. my remedy is to lay down with my feet elevated, the easiest thing to do of course. i also found out why i was getting that faint feeling i wrote about last time. apparently with all the kicking and pushing baby westphal is doing he's hitting some of my big veins and interrupting the blood flow. little bugger! a few nights ago he pretty much did it all night long and it was impossible to get any sleep. hopefully those nights are few and far between.

last week awes and i started our birthing classes. i just thought it'd be beneficial for both of us to gain as much knowledge as possible. we've been reading books but i thought doing a more hands-on approach would help us as well. some of the things the class teaches include: relaxation and breathing techniques, info on pain management, infant cpr and a tour of the birthing center. after the last class we're considering using a doula. we're still researching it but i'd love to hear if anyone's used one for their delivery.

it's kinda hard to see in the pic but i did break down and get a pair of ugg boots. well a generic version of them. with all the swelling going on i didn't have much of a choice. although with today's weather i could have easily worn flip-flops again. at least i got the darker colored ones instead of the khaki ones so it isn't as atrocious. sorry if i've offended any ugg wearers, lol! ;)

lazy sunday

a run for his money

i'm not exactly sure what this kid is doing inside me but the rest of me is not liking it.

a: "how you feeling?"
s: "not so great, for some reason i'm feeling a little faint when he moves. like my blood pressure is dropping."
a: "you should elevate your feet."
s: "okay, it's only happening when he moves, not when he kicks or stretches. like he's doing corkscrews or something. he must be flip-flopping in there."
a: "weird."
s: "no kidding."

so i spent the rest of the evening on the couch with my feet above my heart finishing off the third season of dexter.

i'm pretty sure i've gotten to the point (28/29 weeks) where i can give my dad a run for the money as far as beer/baby guts go! ;) i'll have to do a side-by-side comparison next time i see him.

i had to go out and purchase a cheap pair of boots (which, according to awes, look like ninja boots). with the weather getting cooler i was hoping i could just transition into my regular boots. nope, i tried putting on my boots from a few weeks ago and my monster calves have become more monsterous. i found a pair that has some give and goes about half way up my calf. i almost consider getting the ugg boot just cause they'd be easy to get into and out of. but to me uggs fall into the crocs category. i don't care how comfortable they are, they're ugly as hell and i just can't see myself wearing them.

this weekend we're having a garage sale at aaron's office to raise money for the als walk we participate in every year. all the money we raise is gonna go towards als research. we're hoping to make this an annual thing so here's hoping the weather cooperates and we have a great turnout.