Wisconsin Baby Shower

On Sept. 25th, Ryan's mom and stepdad threw us a baby shower at our house in Wisconsin.  We had a great turnout (about 30 people) and loved having the opportunity to show off the baby's nursery.  The house was filled with beautiful decorations and everyone wore name tags that contained an ultrasound picture of baby Hags foot.

After everyone arrived and had some appetizers, we played a few fun games.  During the first game, everyone received a ziploc bag containing a baby frozen in an ice cube.  When the baby was freed from the ice, the winners screamed "My water broke".  In the second game, we paired up and competed to put a diaper on a baby doll using only one hand from each partner.  Ryan and I's baby did not look very comfortable in her diaper! The last game was a drinking game (so I obviously did not participate).  We filled baby bottles with 4oz of beer and participants raced to empty their bottles.  I had a great time watching all our guy friends trying to get the beer out of the baby bottle nipples.  The winner was smart enough to chew a hole in the nipple so that more came out.  We won't be able to use that bottle in the future!

Once the games were played, Ryan and I opened gifts.  We received lots of wonderful presents for the baby including baby clothes, bottle feeding supplies, and a pack-n-play.  We are so thankful to everyone for the baby gifts.  

Next we enjoyed a dinner of lasagna, salad, bread and cake.  

Thank you to everyone who came to our shower.  We especially thank Ryan's mom and stepdad who were wonderful hosts and made the shower amazing.  Now we just need this baby to arrive so we can show him all the amazing gifts he has received from friends and family.

Fashion and Labor

Needless to say, most women do not look their best during labor.  Although we may not be able to prevent our hair from getting messy or being covered in sweat, the one thing we can chose is what we will wear during labor.  The hospital I am scheduled to deliver at allows for any attire (except pants of course).  After doing some research, I decided that I want to wear a birthing skirt.  I ordered a teal Binsi skirt that arrived yesterday.  It comes with prayer beads that supposedly give you something to play with during contractions.  These may be ripped off before baby arrives!  The skirt has slits on the side for flexibility and snaps down the front in case it needs to be ripped off in a timely manner.  Additionally, the skirt sits below your belly, allowing your belly to stay cool and to wear a baby monitor if needed.  My teal skirt (with black drawstring) will be paired with a black sports bra.  I will probably look ridiculous, but at least I will feel comfortable and know that I planned out my outfit for the big event.  Now I recognize that things may not go my way in the fashion department when it comes to labor.  Therefore, I will have spare clothing and of course the option of a hospital gown.  Now I just need to decide on what the baby and I will wear home from the hospital :)

New ultrasound pics- 33 weeks

We had another fun ultrasound this week.  They estimated Baby Hags is already 5.5 lbs!  Hopefully I won't have to give birth to a 10 lb baby :) Anyways, here are a few pics to share of our growing little boy.

30 Weeks Update

Less than 10 weeks to go!  They scheduled all my remaining dr. appts. and it put into perspective how close it is until we meet our little man.  Baby Hags is growing like crazy and as a result, I am getting more uncomfortable by the day.  Interestingly, my new diabetic diet has caused me to lose weight so my belly looks even bigger!  Total weight gained so far...18lbs.  I asked my doctor if she was concerned this week and she told me that as long as I get to 25 lbs everything will be ok.  Although my new diet has affected my weight and mood (I do my best to be nice to people), it has worked out my sugar issues.  My diabetes appears to be under control and hopefully that will prevent Baby Hags from becoming a 10lb baby :)

On Wed., Ryan and I volunteered for the division of GE Healthcare that makes ultrasound units.  They were doing diagnostics on new software and needed a baby to test them on.  The baby was not very cooperative but managed to show his face for a few decent pics.

We also have some good pics of his manhood but have decided not to share those with everyone...we figure we reserve the rights to all future blackmail pictures :)

I was also surprised to learn that Baby Hags is head down...although it now makes sense why I go to the bathroom every hour!  Apparently what I thought was his head is actually his belly.  

Besides baby updates, things are somewhat normal in our lives.  Ryan went to a leadership training program in New York last week.  It was a good experience for him...I however had a hard time with him being gone.  The stress of starting my diet and pricking my finger was more difficult than I had anticipated.  Needless to say, I'm glad he is home and things are back to normal.  We work hard, try to keep up with the housekeeping, and go to the guys weekly softball game.  The real question is, will my softball jersey still fit for the last game?

Cantrell Family Visit

This past weekend my parents and sister drove out to Wisconsin for a short visit.  When they arrived, the back of the Pilot was filled with baby gifts from the WV baby shower.  It was fun to go through everything again and put things away.  Watching the babies room transform has taken my excitement for baby to the next level.

The evening my family arrived, we went to Ryan's softball game.  The Argus team was playing for the league championship....and they were victorious!  It was an exciting game and we had a great crowd there to cheer them on. The guys worked really well together this season and they deserved the big win.  When I told the Argus bar owner Gwen that we had won, she started singing "We are the champions" in the bar.  Hopefully the fall softball season will be as much fun as the summer season.

The Argus Softball Team 2010

Keeping with the ball theme, we took my family to the Mallard's baseball game for bacon appreciation night.  Although we didn't end up eating any bacon, we had a fun time watching the Mallard's shut out the Eau Claire team.  

Cheering on the Mallards

The rest of the weekend was mainly filled with shopping adventures.  We went to the Madison farmer's market and walked around on State St.  We also went to the butterfly exhibit at Olbrich Gardens. 

My parents purchased me a new camera for my birthday!  I'm sure there will be a visible improvement in upcoming pictures. Here are a couple of pics I took with the new camera at dinner the last night the fam was here.

Ryan, Mom, and I at Babe's

Dad and Kasey at Babe's

Overall, we had a great visit with my parents and Kasey.  It's hard to believe that the next time they come, the baby will be here!  Only 12 weeks to go!

27 Week Pregnancy Update

It feels as though my pregnancy has taken a major change over the past week.  My belly is getting huge and I'm starting to get uncomfortable.  Everyone asks if I am due soon and although I smile and say no...I feel like screaming at them that I have 3 months to go!  One lady informed me that my legs don't look pregnant...I just smiled and kept all my sarcastic remarks to myself :)

There have been some developments over the past week.  During week 26 I took my 1 hour glucose test and had blood drawn to check my hemoglobin levels. The nurse called the next day (always a bad sign) and said that I had failed my glucose and that I was anemic.  To address the anemia, I had to start taking iron supplements.  Since I failed the glucose test, I had to take another one where they draw your blood over a period of 3 hours.

For 3 days I had to incorporate 16 oz of orange juice and a cup or rice/noodles into my diet. Then on Monday I had to go in for the glucose challenge.  If you are not familiar with this test, here is how it works.  You can't eat or drink anything the morning of the test.  When you arrive they draw blood to get your fasting sugar levels.  Then you have 5 minutes to drink this orange flavored glucose drink that is super sweet and a little gross.  Afterwards they draw your blood at 1 hr, 2 hrs, and 3 hrs. The main downfall is you can't eat or drink anything and you aren't allowed to leave.  On another note, the glucose makes the baby go crazy and I'm pretty sure he was practicing for a future world cup event.

On Tuesday morning the nurse called to tell me I have gestational diabetes.  I was really upset and cried several times throughout the day.  I knew it wasn't a big deal but since I work so hard to protect my little baby, these bumps in the road feel like I'm failing myself and the baby.

This morning I had a dr. appt and the doctor reassured me that I shouldn't be stressed out about the situation.  I am now scheduled  for a diabetes/nutrition education class in a couple of weeks and will have to follow a strict diet and check my blood sugar all the time.  The doctor was willing to let me stop the iron supplements as long as I promise to incorporate iron foods into my diet and I have to switch to a different daily vitamin.

The one upside of the diabetes is that they will be doing at least one extra ultrasound to make sure the baby isn't getting too big.

Other than the sugar issues, the pregnancy is going pretty well.  I'm excited for the third trimester to begin and can't wait to meet my little man!

WV Baby Shower

The weekend of July 24th I flew to WV for my first baby shower hosted by my sister Kasey and BFF Brandi.  It was a wonderful shower with a huge turnout.  My sister Carrie made me a cool diaper cake complete with a giant frog on top.  She even sutured the rubber duck onto it using her surgery skills!  Kasey made fun cupcakes in the shape of rattles and filled the table with lots of fun food.

For favors, Brandi ordered custom chocolate bars with cute wrappers on them (I need to take a new picture of one to post).  They even had a cute little message from the baby on the back.  My mom also decorated flower pots and planted flowers in them for everyone to take home.

We started off the shower with a couple of games.  First we measured my belly using toilet paper.  It was 10 squares around.  

Then everyone made playdoh babies and I got to choose my favorite.  My first choice was Brandi's and my second choice was my friend Tricia's. 

After the games, we had food and I began to open all the great gifts for the baby.  We received so many presents that my dad is boxing them all up and driving them here on Thursday.  

The gift that made me cry was a blanket my grandma cross-stitched for the baby.  I knew she had started making it before I was pregnant and stayed up late the night before to put on the finishing touches.  Of course no one there was surprised that I cried!

I cannot thank everyone enough for attending the shower and sending me gifts.  It's nice to see the excitement everyone shares with me when it comes to this baby boy.  He is going to be spoiled rotten and I can't wait.  

Needless to say, the shower was a great success and I am getting very excited for my Wisconsin baby shower!