What's bakin'?

Fall is my favorite season of the year!

We have had so much fun this October with friends and family.

Here's a snapshot:

What else can you do with a belly the size of a pumpkin?!?

My sister-in-law Renee painted my belly in the pumpkin patch. Yes, it was very cold out that day but thank goodness it started raining after we were done!

Check out the clouds behind us!

This is one of my favorite pictures.

Ethan, Esmee and Willa!!

They are so fun and have so much energy!!

After the rain gave us a small break, the Jensen family, Nick and I took a tour through the corn maze that was designed like Washington State.

(Amanda, Ashley, Brian and Natalie)

What's neat is that Natalie is going to turn 4 on Dec. 19th and Ashley is going to turn 2 on Dec. 15th! It's helped a great deal talking to Amanda about birthdays in December and the clothes that she has given us are perfect for the seasons.

Go DAWGS!!




This is Gimzo practicing trying to be scary for the trick or treaters tonight.
He's sitting in the candy bowl that Nick got a few years ago.
"Trick Or Treat. Smell My Feet" with witches shoes!!





Our little Cupcake is what's bakin'!

We went to a Halloween party last night that was full of tricks and treats.
Nick worked on my oven all week long and got very creative with it. He pulled out all of the stops including some orange glow sticks taped on the inside that made my belly look like it was baking! The dots on my belly are little cupcakes from some ribbon that I had. The towel is in fact a Halloween kitchen towel.
Nick's costume is genuine! I got it from Seattle Restaurant Supply including the 2 ft. whisk!







Nick made the burners out of pop cans (the bottoms) and hangers. He made the time and temp. on Photoshop. Yes.. Temp: 98.6 and Time: 7 weeks.
We were 33 weeks along yesterday!!






Angie (Far right) hosted the party yesterday and it was FABULOUS! She goes all out. Thank you Angie for such a fun party.
From L-R: Monika, Nick, Shannon, Luke (lower), Ryan, me, Savanna, Kari, Courtnie and Angie.



Update: We saw Dr. Call last week and my blood pressure was high enough to get him concerned. He placed me on a leave of absence from work which means I'm no longer working. It took me a couple of days to really soak it all in but it's what is best for the baby and I. On Thursday I tied up all my loose ends at work, turned in my keys and said good-bye to my staff. I'm not returning to work until 12 weeks after I deliver. Strange.. that means March sometime. I am not on bed-rest as of now but the doctor was clear that I am not to do any "nesting" activities or household chores. I need to rest as much as possible and lay down 2 hrs. in the morning and afternoon.
Because of the high blood pressure and the lack of movements I have noticed in the past week, Dr. Call sent us in for another ultrasound but this time is was a Biophysical Profile. It's like a non-stress test but at a higher level. Her heartrate, fluids around her and her gross motion were all measured during the 30 min. ultrasound.
We got the results the next day and she scored an 8 out 8!! 100%. She's doing great. How I understand the Biophysical Profile is it's like a Apgar score that a baby is given right after they are born but this score is given while she is still in the womb.
I will continue to see Dr. Call every week at this point. He's keeping a close eye on us and will also have a non-stress test done weekly as well.

During the appointment I weighed in and I've lost another 1.5 pounds. I think that puts me down to a total weight gain of 8 pounds from when we found out I was pregnant. I'm doing very well with my diet and my glucose levels are great. The Metformin is working and my fasting numbers are 95 or lower, just where the doctor wants them!!

Happy 2nd anniversery to Nick and I tomorrow. It's neat to remember what we were doing 2 years ago today.. preparing for one of the biggest days of our lives. Nick spent the night at his parents house and I enjoyed some wine with my girlfriends. Here we are 2 years later preparing for another BIG day.. the birth of our first child. Wow.. time really does fly by!

Showered with love.

This picture was taken on 10/17 before my shower that Lesley and Julia hosted for me. I'm 31 weeks along in this picture.

What's a shower without cupcakes? It's kind of a staple. ;-)





Julia, Me, Lesley and Anna.
When Nick and I started dating we were all roommates! It's great to have such wonderful friends in my life.





One of the games at Lesley and Julia's shower was all of the guests had to make a baby out of playdough in 5 mins. I got to choose the winner!

I really didn't want to post this picture because of the side view of me.. DAMN.. I'm big and pregnant.

From L-R: Anna, Devry, Chelsea, Kelly, Julia, Nicole, Lesley, Neli, Lorrie, Kim and I.

I have known most of these girls for almost 10 years! I can see all of us going to Vegas when we're in our 60's.

Mini cupcakes at the shower that my mother-in-law, Sue and sister-in-law, Renee hosted for me yesterday.
Cupcakes were the on going theme at both showers.

My friend Monika made these for the shower!! Martha Stewart, watch out.

My niece JORDYN!!!

She's 19 months old.

My step-mom Veronica, sister Ally, me, little Jordyn and my mom.

Both showers were amazing. I really enjoyed seeing all of my friends and family and Nick and I are very happy to be sharing this part of our lives with everyone. There is so much love and support from everyone.

Lesley and Julia were our bridesmaids in our wedding and almost 2 years later.. here we are expecting our first little one.

Veronica is currently staying in Colorada with Jordyn since my youngest sister Ashley is in Afghanistan and my brother-in-law Russell is out of the state going to school until February. She flew out here on Friday night and is heading back on Tuesday. It was very special and meant a lot to me that she and Jordyn were able to make it to my shower! Seeing Jordyn made me miss Ashley even more!

I haven't hit the full blown "nesting" phase but I'm sure it's just around the corner. I'm taking a couple of days off later this week to sort through all of the wonderful gifts and get the nursery back in order. One of my favorite parts of that is washing all of her clothes with Dreft. The smell always makes me smile.

Update on Gestational Diabetes: Nick and I saw Dr. Call on Wednesday and he decided to put me on the lowest dose of Metformin to help control my morning test or my fasting levels. It's 500 mg and I have to take it at 9:00 everynight. I was scared that I would have to inject insulin but it's just a pill, so I'm very happy about that. He measured her head and it was 8.67 cm across. I just keep thinking to myself 10 cm is fully dialated.. so um.. yeah.. the Metformin should help control my glucose levels which if they are too high they cause her to grow much faster than she should be. With controled levels, we should see her growth slow back down to "normal".

I'm still doing very well with my diet and keeping my levels where they need to be. If you are wondering if I had a cupcake at either one of my showers, I did not. From showers to eating at restaurants with friends during this last week, I have been able to do just fine. One of the harder things that I have come across was going to Red Robin. I had a salad with chicken and my friend Neli had a mushroom burger.

I had lost 2 pounds between visits with Dr. call so I'm down to a total weight gain of 8.5 pounds. Not bad! ;-)

Because of the Gestational Diabetes, I am at a much higher risk to have a c-section. Nick and I grilled Dr. Call on Wednesday with all of our questions and it's really too soon to tell. We have to watch her growth very closely but there is still a chance that I can deliver her. Around 38 weeks we will have another ultrasound at the hospital to get an estimate of her weight and size. After we get the results of that, Nick and I will consult with Dr. Call and come up with a plan to deliver by c-section or naturally. Either way Nick and I just want her to be safe and healthy.

I see Dr. Call again on Wednesday. I'll post another update after that.

I feel like Count Dracula....

I have to say that this is one of my favorite pictures so far.

I'm not sure who is listening to who in this picture. Our little girl becomes very active when Chester lays on or near my belly and is purring. Maybe Chester can hear her heartbeat in this picture?

This is after we organized the nursery and got these baskets for the bookshelves. Gizmo couldn't help himself and took a very long nap in this one.

Thank you Niki for making me this apron. I use it all of the time since I drop almost everything on my belly.

Growing everyday! 30.5 weeks along.

For some reason she doesn't move around as much when Nick has his hand on my belly. We've decided it's because his hands are SO warm. So what Nick enjoys the most is when I place a piece of paper or even the tv remote on my belly and when she moves around, he can see it!

Here's an update on my Gestational Diabetes:

I'm counting carbs like Count Dracula.

I saw the nutritionist on Monday and right after that appointment I saw a nurse who set me up with a blood glucose monitoring system. Both went well and I'm still soaking it all in.

The nutritionist helped me understand how many servings or allowances of carbs I should eat per meal and snack. 15 carbs is considered a serving. She broke it down to 2 for breakfast, 2 for a snack for both the morning and afternoon, 3 for lunch and dinner. One of the biggest take-a-ways that I had from the appointment is that an 8 oz. glass of non-fat milk has carbs in it and is one allowance. I discussed with her the calcium supplements that I am taking and we figured out that I am getting plenty through other sorces (including cheese and yogurt) that there is no reason to waste an allowance on a glass of milk. Another thing that I have learned this week is that the sweet onion sauce at Subway on a 6 inch sub has 9 carbs!! Whoa. I'm learning more each day and know that I can control this with my diet and a little bit of excercise, even though my hips and lower back start to hurt after walking for a long period of time.

The nurse taught me how to test my blood, how to chart it and understand where my levels should be. I test 4 times each day. Once when I first wake up and my levels should be between 60-90. My levels for that one has been around 110 but today it was only 89!! This is the test that my doctor is the most concerned about. The other 3 tests are done between an hour and a half and 2 hours max after eating a meal. During the first couple of days my levels were testing higher than 120, in the 150 range but today they've been below 120!!

I saw Dr. Call yesterday and he did say that it's going to take a few days for my glucose to level out since the body stores it everywhere! After today I have hope that my diet is working and I can do this without insulin. If I can't get my first test of the day below 90, I'm going to need insulin. I was also told that I'm now at risk for type 2 diabetes later on in life and it's very likely that we will have to have a c-section depending on her size. Her head measured at 8.67 cm, she is still head down but her back was on my right side this time.

So.. in a nutshell.. I'm doing really well with the information I have been given and with the eating guidelines. I'm still figuring out what I can and can't have but I'm sure I'll have it down in no time and develop a routine. One of the hardest things for me is not eating an apple whenever I feel like it. I can have an apple for a snack each day but a standard size apple is around 30 carbs.

I see Dr. Call next Wednesday for a follow-up appointment, we'll go over my numbers and determine if I need some extra help with insulin or not.

One BIG update.

Well.. a lot has happened over the last 2 weeks. Where do I start?
While Nick was in China for 10 days I was home sick for 4 days. Being sick is one thing but it's a whole new ball game when you're pregnant. The comfort of Nyquil or Theraflu are not an option so you're pretty much left with vitamin C and lots of rest. I wasn't 100% a week later but had started to feel better when Nick returned. I'm hoping this is his last time traveling for work while I am pregnant. If he has to do another trip it will be a short one, thank goodness!

The day after he returned we had a visit with Dr. Call. From now on we are seeing him every 2 weeks until I am 36 weeks along and then we move to every week visits. I had my glucose test done that morning, Dr. Call measured my belly, we listened to her heartbeat and took a look at her with the ultrasound machine. Dr. Call noticed her head was measuring larger than 29 weeks so he wanted us to go have another ultrasound done at the hospital. (A better machine and more details). Her head was measuring around 33 weeks instead of the 28.6 that we were. Sure enough - She's a big baby. She's healthy, everything looks great and we even got an extra confirmation that she's really a girl. No last minute surprises here!! Nick and I enjoyed the extra ultrasound and also found out that she's head down for the time being. Let's hope she stays that way.
We had to wait until Monday for the results of the ultrasound and the glucose test. Turns out that my sugar levels were "elevated" and I needed to have a 3 hour test done vs. the hour test that I did on Friday. So on Wednesday I went in at 8:30 for a 3 hour test. It was a long wait, 7 pricks from needles in my hands (because my arm veins are too deep) but all well worth it. Dr. Call has been able to confirm that I do in fact have Gestational Diabetes. No more cupcakes for me. I was pretty upset when I found this news out and could not stop crying for a couple of days. It's been 4 days now and I'm coming to terms with it and glad we caught it now and I can control my levels with my diet and excercise. When I got the news from the nurse, Dr. Call ended up getting on the phone and told me not to freak out because my levels are not that high, I can control it and won't have to take medications. Next step? I have an appointment with a nutritionist tomorrow at 11 and then with a nurse right after to set me up with a blood monitoring machine so that I can test my levels every morning or maybe more often than that. I'm very happy that our little girl is healthy and that I can keep it that way.

Our next appointment is Wednesday this week and I'll have a better idea what's in store for us. She's suppose to be gaining a 1/2 pound each week at this point and is about 17 inches long from head to toes. She's running out of room! During our ultrasound at the hospital we were told that she was measuring to be about 4.6 pounds and the books that I'm reading say she should be about 3. I'm still hoping that she'll be in the 8 pound range.

Nick and I also started taking baby classes!! Every Wednesday night from 7-9 we're learning about what to expect with the delivery, more about breast feeding, and what to do when the hospital sends you home with a new little, tiny baby. The first class was great and we're looking forward to the next 6 classes. There are only 6 other couples in the class which is really nice. We'll be done with the class on Nov. 17th.

I put some tape (sticky side up) in the crib on the matress and on the changing pad. The cats HATE it!! So we're hoping this teaches them to stay away from them. Now we just need to set up the pack n play and put some tape in it.

That's it for now. No pictures this time but will make up for it in the next post.