The Belly Meter

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! We had a great doctor's appointment today. We were given straight A's, as usual! Lydia is doing great. She's 3 lbs, 9 ounces, growing, growing, growing. Is she going to be nearly 11 lbs like her Daddy was? Yikes. My glucose screening test came back "perfect", her heart rate and the reactions they listen for were great, her fetal movement is great, I've had zero contractions or other complications... All in all, we're blessed and excited and thanking God that everything has been so wonderfully smooth with my pregnancy. I feel pretty great most of the time. I have to brag on Oliver... He has attended every single baby appointment so far (and there have been a lot of them since August!). I know it's not always possible for the Dad to be there, as much as they all want to be. I would understand if he couldn't come to every appt. But I'm fortunate that Oliver's work is close enough to the Dr. and he has made time to come to all of them. I love it that he has heard every heartbeat that I have and been there for each of the special moments. The video camera always comes with him...for the grandparents. Lydia is traveling with me for work this weekend. Surely she is going to LOVE flying in airplanes - she's had a lot of experience already. This is likley to be my last work trip though. Time's up. Nothing else is scheduled and I'll keep it that way, I think. Oliver and I are taking a Babymoon in March though! Romantic, beautiful Nassau, Bahammas!! Oliver earned the trip through work for being a top performer this year. I'm so proud of him! It will be really nice to be somewhere really beautiful when I'm really HUGE.

THE BELLY METER. Oh my... Lydia has clearly TAKEN OVER. The last pic was about a month ago, so we're due for another. We'll update the meter at that time. Last week I had the standard 28 week glucose screening test (tests to see if you're at risk of developing Gestational Diabetes). I haven't received the results back yet, but will let you know when I do. We're beginning to shop for our baby registry and it's fun...but who knew there were so many varieties of absolutely everything for your baby?? Lucky for me my sister is willing to go shopping with me to interpret the world of baby goods. Oliver and I had fun trying though! We especially liked the Dallas Cowboys pacifier.

I kid you not, Lydia kicked during the final minutes of the Superbowl as well! Clearly she intends to support her Daddy's interest when it comes to the NFL.

This is Oliver. Today I felt Lydia kick! You'd never believe what was happening around us the moment I received my first type of communication from my little girl. Lydia is certainly a chip-off-the-old-block like her dear old dad. Nicole said I should put my hand on her stomach because Lydia was moving, so I placed my hand on her right side and that's when I felt a slight vibration. To be honest, I asked Nicole if what I had felt was just a grumbling hungry stomach or digestion or something. Since I hadn't felt a baby move before I expected a tap of some sort not a vibration. Nicole assured me Lydia was moving - and then it came - a punch from Lydia assuring me she was up and enjoying the moment. What was it that kept my precious Lydia's attention and prompted her to send a "love message" to her dad? Overtime in the Giants vs Packers NFC Championship game.

So everyone's been asking... We'll happily tell you! What will we name our little girl? Lydia Grace Barron. Lydia is a family name on both sides of the family tree, but we chose it for Oliver's grandmother ("Omi"). They were very close and Oliver always hoped he could someday name a daughter after her. We chose Grace because we love the meaning. God extends unending grace and mercy to us every single day. The exact definition is "God's free and unmerited favor for a sinful mankind". Without his grace, mercy and forgiveness, we would be lost and far from Him. On this earth, we should always be ready to extend grace to one another as well. After all - we all need it, and what better way to show God's love to others than to be like Him?
So what if we're surprised and it turns out to be a boy?!? (It happens.) Well we have a name picked out for him, too. We'll save that announcement just in case a little boy is still years down the road.

We're having a girl!! It's official. Sort of... We're 90% sure it's a girl. That's the best guess our Dr. could give us, but I've heard that's about as certain as it gets. So now we can quit calling our precious child an "it"! SHE is growing so fast now. Her mom is 26 weeks along, always hungry, and our little girl is about 2 lbs in weight. She has definitely mastered kicking! I guess really she's just moving around and enjoying the extra space while she's got it. Over the next few months she will begin to fill out this gigantic soccer ball in front of me.

I realized today that our baby is the coolest baby ever, because he or she has already traveled to a lot of great places. This fall I had a busy travel schedule for work. Oliver joined me for a couple of trips, so it was fun. Our baby has already traveled to Aspen, Colorado Springs, Denver, Amarillo, San Francisco, Baton Rouge, Fresno, Honolulu, Sioux Falls, Hot Springs and Albuquerque. Obviously now that I'm further along my travel has slowed down to almost a complete stop, but wow - our little one is already a member of the jet set!

On December 17th we had a routine appointment with our OB/GYN. I feel so blessed that Oliver has made time to attend every single appointment so far. He wants to hear that little heartbeat as much as I do, and it's great for him to hear the Doctor's advice and answers to questions, etc. In this appointment we hoped to learn the sex of the baby. But...he or she's little legs were curled up and closed and would not budge!! Oh my goodness! Our next appointment is in mid-January, so hopefully then... Meanwhile Oliver's buddy Ryan is e-mailing him on a regular basis from Chicago to find out if we're having a boy to marry one of his little girls. They've already agreed on a dowry.

And he painted the walls too, of course...

Painting the ceiling...not an easy task! But SUPER DAD did an outstanding job!

Why, oh why did we decline learning the gender of our baby?!?? We had our ultrasound (so cool!) and told the Doc we didn't want to know. "We're waiting." That's the decision we came to (before I was even pregnant, I think). Oliver, especially, is all about waiting til April 28th for the big suprise. He's one of those people who doesn't want to watch previews for movies or TV shows, and he refuses to read the back of the DVD box for a summary of the plot. He says that seeing the unwrapped presents under the Christmas tree and waiting in eager anticipation to find out what they are is more fun than actually knowing what they are. Anyway, I decided I could wait, too, and we would do things the "old fashioned" way. It would be great for Oliver to come out of the delivery room and announce "It's a boy! or "It's a girl!"
But that was last week! THIS week we had an ultrasound and o my...it is amazing. I asked the doctor if he was able to identify the sex of the baby and he said "Oh yes, definitely." As soon as Oliver and I stepped out of the office we were both (BOTH) second-guessing our decision not to find out. Probably because the ultrasound was a bit like being introduced to our baby... He or she was so clear and moving a lot...little hands and feet and a super cute face...and suddenly I couldn't imagine continuing to call this child an "it". Knowing the gender would make things more intimate somehow. Anyway, over the next couple of days we went back and forth... should we find out, or shouldn't we? Oliver quickly returned to his "I can wait til April" position, but said he would fully support finding out as well. What to do! After much deliberation (and a little prodding from the soon to be grandmothers) we called our Doctor to see what the file said. The file said "undetermined"! WHAT?!? Evidently the Ultrasound Doc doesn't even document the gender if the parents say they don't want to know...for added security, I guess. We've watched our 8 minute DVD of the ultrasound a dozen times, at least, analyzing every white mark or gray blob to try to figure this thing out but...no luck. We have no idea what we're doing, really. So at our next appointment, our OB/GYN promised to screen and see if she can determine things for us. Her sonogram equipment isn't as sophisticated as the Ultrasound, but she promised to try.