30 weeks ... 7-10 weeks to go!!

Wahoooooo!!! 30 weeks is here! This means that Elliot can safely make his arrival as early as 7 weeks and my due date 3 weeks later ... so, 7-10 weeks from today we'll have our baby boy in our arms. This is the plan, unless of course he decides to be late and make his Mommy and Daddy wait another week (which is the longest my Dr will let me go without being induced).

Elliot: By this week, Elliot's senses are developed to the point where he can taste, touch, see, and hear what's going on around him. He'll also react to stimuli--for instance, when I poke my belly, he may kick or hit back at the spot you've touched. His brain is starting to wrinkle and fold, due to the rapid growth of our future little genius's brain cells. (hehe) Fingernails and toenails are finally finished. Plus, the bone marrow is completely in charge of red-blood-cell production now. He is starting to shed his lanugo—the downy hair that was covering his skin. Now that he's chubbier and better able to regulate his body temp, he doesn't need to sport a fur coat 24/7. When Elliot is awake, his eyes are now wide open and he's looking around, checking out his environment.

Mommy: I'm getting very excited for my Baby Shower this coming Saturday! My best friend Briana and my mom are hosting me a shower at the Columbia Restaurant in Ybor. I can't wait! I've been craving their food throughout my pregnancy and I'm so excited to everyone too!! We also have our final 3D ultrasound on Friday with Chris' mom, sister who is flying in from Cali (yay!!) and his aunt.

Elliot has been kicking up a storm lately, I LOVE IT! Sleeping is getting uncomfortable but not as bad as Im sure it will soon get.

Chris and I have decided to do cord blood banking through the Viacord company. This is something that we pray we'll never have to use but will be so thankful that medical technology has given us a great opportunity to save our little boy should we ever need it. There has been a lot of research done and it is proven to cure many diseases and illnesses. We've been researching this for a while, know a few people who have it, and made the decision to go ahead and do it. Needless to say, I've had a busy week already with verifying insurance information, completing hospital pre-registration, and signing up for Viacord. We have our final birthing class on Thursday where we get to tour Labor & Delivery. T-7 or 10 weeks ... 70 days!! Wooohoo!!

Daddy: Chris is getting ever more excited to be a Daddy! The room is complete and it is PERFECT! Of course I've given him a few more projects to complete for the baby comes which includes re-painting the bathroom and hanging pictures in the newly joined guest room/office. He is also in the process of working on his photography for when Elliot comes and familiarizing himself with our new video camera that we recently bought. It appears that me having a baby means Chris gets lots of fun new toys! lol

Thanks for reading! Please continue to send your prayers and well wishes for a safe and healthy pregnancy, delivery, and baby!

29 weeks and counting!!

Elliot: He weighs nearly three pounds now and measures about 17 inches. Though he's getting pretty close to his birth length, he still has to chub out a bit. In fact, over the next 8-11 weeks, he'll more than double — or even come close to tripling — his weight. As he grows, he will have less room in my womb which means instead of feeling his kicks, I will get poked by an elbow or jabbed by a knee. He's making his presence known more and more. His movement is quite strong now!!

Mommy: 29 weeks and feeling great minus some aches, ligament pains, and 2 headaches this week. Birthing class is going well - we've learned several breathing techniques and labor positions. I hope we remember them when Elliot's birthday arrives.

My cravings are in FULL swing ... Chris even made me pancakes at 2 AM on Saturday. lol On many occasions I've noticed my shirt moving - it's strange but so awesome to SEE and FEEL him move!!! Speaking of movement, Chris was able to feel Elliot for the first time this past weekend (at 28 weeks 5 days). We knew it would be a bit delayed due to my placenta placement but it was well worth the wait to see Chris' face when he felt it. Saturday's kick was minor compared to the kicks he felt on Sunday. We have a strong little boy in there! I often feel my tummy and notice harder round areas ... wondering if it is his head or butt. haha

In other not-so-good news, I failed my 1 and 3 hour glucose test which means I technically have Gestational Diabetes (GD). I just barely didn't pass but my Dr is pretty conservative so he is going to treat me as such so we don't miss anything in the next 10 weeks. For those of you who don't know about GD, it is something that is temporary only during pregnancy. I feel confident that this is temporary because I had my annual blood work-up in July (just 2-3 months before I conceived) and my glucose levels were checked at that time and they came back perfect!! Sometimes the pregnancy hormone alone can affect how the body processes insulin and gIucose which is why it is gestational only. The Dr thinks that this is the case with me since my #s were just above the normal cut-off.

I like that my Dr plays it on the safe side. I knew he was a bit conservative in general because he starts all of his patients on 2 week visits at 26-28 weeks whereas most Dr.s dont' until 30 weeks or so. I have a few friends who had their babies with this practice and they told me about that which is one of the reasons I choose him. Happier note was that I got to hear Elliot's heartbeat as usual at my appt and it is strong and steady in the 150's. I LOVE this sweet sweet sound!!

Chris: I have the best husband in the world and he's so excited to be a Daddy!! He put the finishing touches on the nursery and snapped a few pictures for me so I could post here and Facebook. We love the nursery!! It turned out more perfect than I ever imagined!! Elliot is one very lucky and loved little boy!!

As I wrote above, Chris felt Elliot kick for the first time over the weekend. It was such a wonderful experience to share with Chris. I've felt it for a while but was anxiously awaiting the day when Chris could feel him too. Chris just shined with excitement and I could see how proud he was of his strong little boy.

Here are a few pictures of the nursery minus the changing table / hutch ... I need to organize it better before taking pictures of it. lol

Crib corner:

Crib corner showing more valance:

Artsy shot of the owl on his mobile:

Nook by the door entry ... lamp and bank are sitting on a bookshelf:

Close up of lamp:

Tree above his toybox:

Close-up of owl in tree:

28 weeks, 7 months pregnant, 3rd Trimester!!!!

That's right folks ... I'm 7 months pregnant today! YAY!!! This marks the beginning of my last and final trimester of pregnancy. This also means I only have 9 weeks until Elliot is considered "full term" which means he would be healthy enough for life (aka lungs are developed - last to mature) and 12 weeks until my actual due date. This may seem like a long time but these 28 weeks have flown by ... before we know it, it will be mid June or July and we will be holding our precious baby boy!!!

If you haven't already, don't forget to cast your vote for when you think he will arrive on our baby pool site: http://bebepool.com/BabyRohde

Picture of me at 28 weeks:

Elliot: His eyes are partially open now and he can blink. His eyes have color now, too. It may not be the color he will ultimately end up with, especially if they're light gray or blue. The eyes typically don't settle on a final hue until nine months after baby is born. He is about 15 inches long and weighs 2 to 3 pounds. Elliot's lungs are starting to produce surfactant, a detergent-like substance that prevents the lungs from closing in and instead allows for expansion to take in air. This increases his odds at surviving if born early. The brain which was smooth up till now has grooves and is indented on the surface. Hair on the head is longer and body is filling out. Grow baby Grow!!

Mommy: I'm feeling great but getting uncomfortable. I've been getting these lovely things called Braxton Hicks contractions (hate saying that word ... will be OK with it when I'm 37 weeks and after) but they are nothing to be too alarmed by and Dr. says that they are completely normal. Still scares the crap out of me!!

My big accomplishment of the week was more nursery organizing, ordering the glider for his room, and going to our 1st birthing class at Lakeland Regional (LRMC). The class was fun and I think we'll learn a lot. I can't wait until the L&D tour in a couple of weeks ... if anything will make me anxious - it will be that I'm sure, haha. We got a great deal on the glider and used some gift cards (thanks Mom and Dad!!) which brought the cost down a bunch! List of things yet to do: receive and assemble glider, find shelves and hang, put up 1 piece of wall art, and hang hook.

I love my sleep, which I know I won't have for much longer, but I find sleeping to be a chore almost. I just can not get comfortable. Once I'm asleep ... forget about it, I'm passed out. Well, for an hour or two until Elliot gets bored and kicks my bladder which makes me wake up to pee. I think I pee like every 15 minutes while awake so once I'm asleep it's a little less often ... it's crazy!

Elliot is moving around a lot and I can't tell you how awesome that feeling is!! I love it ... I have so much love for this lil boy!! I feel bad for Chris, every time I tell him to feel my stomach - Elliot decides to be shy and stop moving. I think he is either shy or stubborn ... what are your guesses?! LOL Elliot is definitely getting bigger as now we can feel harder spots than others on my tummy. So far I think we've felt a head or a butt (probably both by now), maybe an elbow, a knee, or a foot? I have no idea really but definitely feeling some sort of body parts in there ... lol

Daddy: I think Chris is in early stages of nesting. He cleaned the entire garage today! It looks awesome and I'm so appreciative of his hard work!! Hopefully he won't be too sore tomorrow! Chris is getting excited and is very anxious to feel "little man" on the move ... I think it will be soon because he is moving a lot lately. Chris had a good time at the birthing class - I think we are both learning a lot about what to expect and things to prepare us for when labor comes. He is beyond adorable ... he was taking notes during the class and insisted that we head to Wal-Mart after class to get a birthing ball (aka exercise ball) because it is easier on the back instead of a chair. Another cool thing he told me about was the contractions app that he got for the iPhone (seriously Apple thinks of everything!). This application will help Chris track my contractions for when I go into labor ... how cool is that!?!

Other news: Exciting!! The kitty litter is now in garage ... poor girls were confused when we showed them where their new litter box was. We think they were wondering why they didn't have a pretty bathroom anymore. I'm pretty sure Phoebe thought she was in trouble so we took a few kitty toys out there, gave her treats, and pushed her in/out the kitty door a few times. Now she gets it and has been in and out all night! Persephone took immediately and was going in and out pretty much right away. I think they will like their new hang out!

That's all for now ... thank you again for reading our blog and sharing the experience of us preparing for little Elliot. We continue to ask for your prayers and well wishes for a safe and healthy pregnancy, delivery, and baby!

With love,

Connie and lil Elliot too

Babymoon Pictures

Here are some much delayed pictures from our Babymoon.

We stayed at the Gastonian Bed & Breakfast in the Historic district of Savannah, GA. These were taken at 6 months pregnant.

Enjoy!

Chris and I in front of Forsyth Park

Another fountain in one of the many parks around Savannah

Me in the Parlor of the Gastonian

In front of the beautiful Japanese Magnolia

Mommy and Daddy to be

Me in Forsyth Park

One of the gardens at the Gastonian

Our room: General Hunter

another view of our room ... pretty fireplace!

Babymooners!!

26 weeks

Elliot's "1st" Easter Basket from Mommy and Daddy:

Elliot: Air sacks are developing in Elliot's lungs, which means it just might be possible for him to take a breath at the end of this week. The air sacks (technically called alveoli) will continue to grow for the next nine years. The membrane that keeps the alveoli separate from the blood vessels is now thin enough to allow for that oxygen–carbon dioxide exchange we call breathing. Other highlights this week: The retina completes the development of its normal layers this week. So this means that his eyes are now fully developed. Brainwaves for the auditory and visual systems are detectable in Elliot's brain this week. That means his brain is registering things like sound and light. He can't understand what any of it means yet, but he's on track to comprehend when Daddy talks about Baseball (even though his Mommy will never understand, lol). As hearing continues to develop, Elliot will start to recognize my voice. He will also start to recognize Chris' voice. How aweome! He will also recognize other sounds like Peyton when she barks. Elliot has now completed two-thirds of his stay in my womb. He is about 1 2/3 pounds and is 14 inches long head-to-heel.

Mommy: I'm 26 weeks and feeling great minus the occasional ligament stretch and possibly braxton hick contraction-like that the Dr said I should expect around this time. I think they are more ligament related. That's probably because the word "contraction" sounds really scary right now. LOL. Chris and I went to Disney's Animal Kingdom last Saturday - it was a great time!! I started to have ligament stretching pains and since we wanted to see the whole park, Chris offered to wheel me around in a wheelchair. What a great husband I have!! We had a great time and loved seeing a Disney park we had never been to before.

Me at 26 weeks:

On Sunday Chris' mom, Aunt Mary and Aunt Karen met us at Buy Buy Baby to look around the store. Little did we know it would turn into a mini baby shower!!! Thank you to Chris' Mom for Elliot's pack-n-play and to his Aunts, cousin Mandy, and Grandma Donna for getting his highchair, jungle gym play station, and bath chair.

Picture of our goodies:

After a fun-filled baby shopping trip we had lunch at the Cheesecake factory (YUMMY) and headed back to our house to start on Elliot's wall art. It looks AMAZING!!!!!! Thanks for your patience and hard work ... I can take no credit for how awesome it looks because half the time I was afraid to be in there for fear I'd mess something up. The wall art looks awesome but takes a ton of patience. Thankfully they got it up and it looks perfect! Here are a couple pictures:

Switched side where the mobile will be:

This is what is above Elliot's crib. The lighting and picture quality is a bit off since I took with my cell phone.

Again, bad lighting but the tree is chocolate brown. Right underneath that is his toybox. I will post better pictures soon.

Chris: What a great Daddy he will be! He's getting so excited for him to be here ... but not too soon, just wanting the time to go by and it be July so we can meet our little boy! He has put so much hard work into Elliot's nursery and it is picture-perfect and everything I imagined it would be! I love it!! He was so excited to see everything together, on Sunday night he put together Elliot's pack-n-play and highchair. I know we won't need those for a while but it's so fun to see how excited Chris gets and its nice to make sure they all work properly. The pack-n-play has such awesome features and we got the matching highchair (both in sage green) - they look great!!

We're getting excited for next week because we start our birthing classes on the 8th. I think the "fear" will set in then ... lol.