The Sixth Month

The first three months could not go by fast enough with the excitement of hiding our good news and now the last three months have flown by. We are at t-minus 100 days, starting to panic, lots of stuff on the "to-do" list. This month came with an exciting visit to the office for a 3D/4D Ultrasound, although expensive and not covered by insurance (vanity item) it was totally worth it. This visit at 24 weeks had another person in attendance, Auntie KK came in hopes to catch a glimpse in between the legs, instead all she got was an awkward picture of her future niece of nephew not cooperating. Jumping jacks, juice and loud buzzing noises could not get the little one to budge to be able to make out facial features, all we were left with was hands and feet. Thankfully the Ultrasound Tech was very understanding and rescheduled us two weeks later with instructions for a spicy caffeinated lunch.

Feeling movements is right, this baby is a morning person, usually with a 5am karate session or so it feels, probably just getting me trained for whats to come. This month was the end of trying to get away with wearing pre-pregnancy clothing. My work shirts all ride a bit higher, I've had to act very pathetic to the Equipment Managers in hopes of upgrading my OSU gear a size or two. Luckily Mike has some of these sizes in stock in the closet and I have begun to utilize.

It only took 26 weeks but I finally got the perfect profile picture I had been hoping for. It must have been the extra spicy chicken pad thai and the diet pepsi but Baby Warren finally cooperated. This visit gave us great pictures and a chance to look at features that had a bit more meat on the bones. The face looked a lot more baby like and less alien. We were told the babe weighs in around 2 pounds and everything looked great. The money was well worth the chance to see the baby yawn, swallow and suckle at a thumb, so glad we did it. 

The Fifth Month

This month is land marked with the halfway point, although very thankful that everything has been great and healthy so far, now scared that we are closing in on the home stretch. The reality sets in on how much more there is left to do with the days dwindling and my belly growing rapidly. 

This month's ultrasound, aka Anatomy Scan, went well. Everything is where it should be and functioning properly. Although the Baby wasn't very photogenic we were happy to see the little one active and growing. Mike was told the sex of the baby and sworn to secrecy not to reveal. Thank goodness for his huge hands to cover my eyes while the tech put the gender on the screen. He is having a lot of fun playing the pronoun game with me, to give him credit he is really good at changing it up on me. 

When we first moved into the house we had hopes that we could one day call the guest bedroom a nursery. This room was at the bottom of our priority list with home improvement projects so we left it the way it was. As you can tell by this picture we have our work cut out for us. I don't know what the couple before us was thinking when they painted this room but it wasn't a deal breaker for us since I love to paint. After getting the OK from my OB, I started ripping all of the existing base trim and chair rail molding off the wall. The room has now been patched and primed. As soon as my HANDyman Mike hangs the ceiling fan, I will be able to finish the new trim and paint, the color neutral of course. Lots of work to do!!

This month there will only be one belly picture, sorry to disappoint. The weekend of 22 weeks I contracted the flu. After trying to get some liquids into my body for several hours and not having any luck, Mike called my OB. She was on call that weekend at OSU and directed us to the 6th floor of Labor and Delivery where a room was waiting. After a few bags of IV fluid, anti nausea medicine and the threat to being held over night, I was able to hold down 4 saltines and a sprite after 7 hours. Mike was by my side the whole time which is reassuring for when the real time comes. This was actually a good test run for us in December, we timed our trip from the front door of Randle to the 6th floor; 40 minutes. Hopefully the weather will be kind when we have to make the trip. Fingers crossed.

The Fourth Month

I'm not asleep by 8:30?? What's this, hello 2nd Trimester. Other than getting my energy back everything else feels normal, well except for the daily reminder when I put my pants on. Lucky for my pre-preggers clothes I've mastered the hair tie trick to give my pants another inch before I commit to the pants with all the elastic. 

This months Ultrasound went great and we couldn't be happier with the news that the baby is healthy and "very active." I'm also not surprised when the Tech had a hard time getting the baby into position to take the measurements for all the tests. I would never have a stubborn, hard headed, difficult child.... oh wait that is all me, hopefully my smart-ass mouth isn't a dominate gene either!!

I keep reading about these women that have the most outlandish cravings but to me things just sound really good. For instance at the County Fair, someone walked by with one of the Blooming Onions, not really my go-to fried food but it was like I had telescopic vision and honed in on it. Mike simply shook his head, laughed and didn't judge me in the least for eating it since he knows that's really not my style. When I read that the baby was the size of an Avocado, I couldn't get Mexican food out of my mind. Chips and salsa were an everyday thing, for a hot minute and when asked if I had a place in mind for my Birthday, out of anywhere I wanted El Vaquero, I needed fajitas and a virgin margarita ASAP. 

Now needing maternity clothes is right, I almost made it through the 4th month without needing them but one day after finally looking down and seeing that my hair tie was on it's last breath of elasticity I caved. Luckily for our wallet, there's a great consignment store close to campus that sells maternity clothes and baby stuff, I've become a regular, who could argue with a $15 maternity swimsuit. Ready or not bump, here we come. 

First Trimester

Looking back and after talking with several other pregnant women and Moms, I think the 1st trimester went very well. My head was never over a toilet, I had very minimal nausea and for the first time in my life I didn't want chicken or eggs, awkward food aversion to my favorite proteins. I was most definitely tired, frankly exhausted, and had a usual bed time of 8:30pm. Cody has learned in the last two months how to fend for himself around dinner time. He's probably sick of making himself chicken nuggets and pizza. Mike's Aunt has been great, coming down and helping me keep up with Laundry and cleaning, Thanks Dee!! Sadly my hopes of having a grand garden this year and lots of canning in August have been thrown by the bedside thanks to my early evenings. I'm pickling something this Summer and I think it's the baby, craving salt and vinegar on top of sour candy. Bring on the 2nd trimester...

3 + 1 makes 4

After looking at several different ways to tell everyone the great news we wanted to do something that matched our personality and interests. We saw the John Deere booties while shopping for layer food for the chickens at Rural King (yes, never thought I'd shop at a store with that name but it has everything). Then the idea came to us that we will be adding another member to our hunting party. Warren Party of 4 coming to a ground blind near you

Randle has room to grow

After living on our 15 acre "future farm" for over a year and successfully raising chickens and ducks, we've decided it's time to take our chances with babies.