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~ Stories ~
6/25/05 Well, it's been smooth sailing with the baby but crazy busy with work. We're at 29 weeks and everything is great! I'm going to the doctor's every two weeks just to keep an eye on my blood pressure, which has been totally under control. I had two non-stress tests done this week and everything was just fine. My next appointment is on July 7 and that includes another ultrasound. We can't wait to see the baby again! He is moving so much lately. I feel him kicking me throughout the day. When I'm busy with work, out in the field, he slows down a little. I think he naps when I work. As soon as I sit down, he is moving all around. It's a very reassuring feeling. Mike has been working in the lab everyday...so much for rest and relaxation before his 2nd year of med school. We moved my office into his office, so we our now sharing work space at home. It's pretty entertaining. We bought all the paint supplies for the baby's room as well as the furniture. Our plan (though Mike will be doing all the work) is to paint the nursery tomorrow. Hopefully the furniture will arrive in another week or two. Then, we'll be all set. Everything seems to be on schedule as far as getting things done. Other than that, we've been trying to stay cool in this terrible summer heat. Besides sitting in the air condition, I cool off by drinking gallons of water a day (at least it seems like gallons) and popsicles....can't live without them. Mike has shared some of my cravings....well not that I've had too many but everytime we go to Giant, we must pick up 4 bags of Gibble's Cheese Puffys. They last us awhile but they are definitely another necessity in this household. Lots of salads and fresh fruit have made my list of cravings too. Nothing unusual at this time. Welll, that's about all for now. Stay cool!
6/7/05 We survived our vacation! Take a look at some of our pictures. We got great pictures of both the American Falls and Canadian (Horseshoe) Falls. We left Saturday morning at 6:30am and made it to Niagara Falls, Ontario by 3pm. We drove the scenic route and stopped a few times. We drove 390 miles to get there. We had a GREAT view of the Horseshoe Falls from our hotel room. Saturday evening we had a nice steak dinner at The Keg and then hit the new Niagara Falls Casino next to our hotel! We had lots of fun$$ Sunday we spent from 9:30am to 5pm walking all around Niagara Falls...from the Skylon Tower (which takes you up hundreds of feet to view all of Niagara and has a rotating restaurant), to Clifton Hill (where all the tourist attractions are like the Hard Rock Cafe, wax museums and Mike's all time favorite House of Frankenstein, which we survived!!) to the Galleria for lunch at Johnny Rockets, a couple hours at the Casino again :), and then down the hill to see the Falls up close. Later that evening we ate a the hotel restaurant. Monday, we left Canada for our next journey to Wellsboro, PA. We left at 10:30am and made it there by 2:30pm. We stayed in the most beautiful Bed and Breakfast (La Belle Auberage). We had it all to ourself. We walked around Wellsboro, took pictures, looked at the shops, ate dinner, and relaxed on the front porch. We left Wellsboro this moring around 10am after the most delicious homemade breakfast (we would recommend this B&B if in the Wellsboro area). We drove Scenic route 6 across PA to Scranton and then down 476 to Philadelphia. We drove about 800 miles and spent about a total of 18 hours in the car. We had a wonderful time driving, talking, enjoying the views, seeing new sites, and just getting away from work and school for awhile. It was GREAT! Hope you enjoy the pictures.
6/1/05 Sorry it's been so long since we updated the site. Everything has just been moving right along without any complaints. Today we are 26 weeks pregnant. The last doctor's appointment was uneventful. Mom and baby are doing great. The best part was getting to hear the baby's heartbeat again. At the next appointment we can expect a Glucose test and a RhoGAM shot. We are in the process of signing up for childbirth, breastfeeding and infant CPR classes. We'll get to enjoy learning about all that good stuff this summer. As of now, Mike is in the home stretch with school. His last exams are on Friday. I'm still busy with work. We are leaving for Niagara Falls very early Saturday morning for vacation. Our agenda includes driving to Niagara Falls and staying there Saturday and Sunday night. We'll do all the site-seeing/tourist stuff on those two days and then Monday we will drive to Wellsboro, PA. We found a romantic Bed and Breakfast to stay at Monday night. We will enjoy the peacefulness of this little town on Monday and Tuesday and then we will drive back to the big city (the rental car is due back by 7pm). I'll take lots of pictues, especially to show the baby since he won't remember his first vacation in utero :) I'll be sure to post some pictures. The weekend after vacation we are visiting my parents in Hagerstown. Then, all weekends in June after that are dedicated to the nursey. We will be busy!! Mike is looking forward to working in a lab this summer and I'm diligently trying to make some sales and prepare my territory for maternity leave. Stay tuned for more stories and pictures after vacation.
5/14/05 I'm almost 24 weeks along! The baby is growing so much and so am I! My belly is definitely getting bigger. I'm slowly not able to wear any of my original clothes anymore :) I'm having fun shopping for maternity clothes though. There are many milestones we've crossed recently. Of course, we had the ultrasound done and we know our baby is a healthy baby boy, I bought him his first outfits (which are so cute!!....take a look at the pictures), and most importantly, I'm really feeling him move around a lot. Before it just felt like popping bubbles inside but now he knocks on my belly often. I usually feel him on the left side....don't know if it's his hands or feet but it's a wonderful feeling. Mike can sort of feel it but it's not strong enough for him to really notice yet. I mostly feel him moving at night, between 8:30pm and 11pm. Let's see, what have we been up to. Last weekend I stayed with Anni and Calvin. Anni and I went shopping and bought the cutest outfits for the baby! I think he has plenty of newborn clothes....we couldn't help ourselves :) Mike is diligently studying. He has three more weeks to go and then it's summer vacation (sort of). We planned our vacation to Niagara Falls (June 4-7). When we get back it will be back to work for me, Mike will be doing research in a lab, and we'll start on the nursery...YEAH! Lastly, thanks to everyone who suggested names to us (big thanks to Anni and her co-workers.....got hundreds of names from them, my mom, and Mike's mom.....all wonderful, wonderful names). Mike and I are 99% settled on a name we found and really love. We have a list of names that are our favorites but this name just seems to fit. But, we're stuck on a middle name...so visit our poll to see our son's future name and pick your favorite middle name.
4/28/05 It's a boy! We're so excited to let everyone know that we are having a baby boy!! We had our visit to the doctor's for the ultrasound. Everything checks out completely healthy. The baby is growing just fine and all the measurements are normal. The heart, brain, kidneys, stomach and spine are all growing normally. The placenta, umbilical cord and amniotic fluid are normal as well. Looks like the baby is definitely in a healthy environment and is growing every day. We also saw him moving around, which was totally bizarre since I don't feel anything. For the first time on Tuesday I felt a "bubble popping" sensation and occassionally feel that every morning. So, it was great to see him moving around. He was moving his arms and head and even arched his back and stretched his neck. It was really cool!! Check out his pictures! Are mission now is to determine a name for our baby boy. We are still taking suggestions but haven't narrowed anything down yet. Stay tuned!!
4/24/05 Just wanted to let everyone know that I haven't forgotten to update the website. I'm waiting for Thursday to post a new story. We have an appointment on Thursday, April 28 for an ultrasound. So, hopefully we'll know if it's a girl or boy. I'll post it on the website and give an update of our progress then. Also, just want to say "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" to my Grandmother (4/14) and to my brother Paul (4/25)!!
4/10/05 Today it's 18 weeks and 5 days. We had a doctor's appointment this past Thursday and everything was great. We got back test results for the Quad Screening, which tests for Down's Syndrome, Spina Bifida, and Neural Tube Defects, and all of our results are normal. We are very thankful that the baby and Michelle have been very healthy. So, mark your calendars, our next ultrasound is scheduled for April 28. If all goes well, we will know whether we are having a baby boy or baby girl! That's really all for now. Nothing new to report. Hopefully the next entry will be more exciting.
4/1/05 Well, I'm four months pregnant and entering into my fifth month. Today is 17 weeks and 3 days. I truly feel different now that I'm into the Second Trimester. I have a lot of energy back. Today, Mike and I went to see a Maternal Fetal Medicine doctor for a consult because of my blood pressure. Everything was great. I'll monitor my blood pressure 3 times a day and watch for any unusual swelling. He reassured us that only half of women who have chronic high bp will develop any complications. The doctor's will keep a watchful eye on me. It's nice to know they are extra cautious. We're not worried. Well, I didn't take any pictures over Easter but I did add some pictures of our new crib bedding. Mike and I just love the little safari animals and couldn't wait to buy the bedding. We think it will look so cute in the nursery for either girl or boy. Speaking of the gender of our baby, it should be sometime this month that we'll find out what we are having. I know Mike and I can't wait. We want to start calling the baby by a name instead of "it" or as Mike likes to call it "eggie"....he thinks he's so funny! I know some of you want to know too and others want it to be a surprise. I can guarantee that we're going to find out and decide on a name. So, it may be inevitable....if you read the website you might end up knowing the surprise. We've also had many suggestions regarding names. If you'd like to let us know your suggestions, type them in the Comments section. We're pretty much settled on a girls name but we're struggling with a boys names. It's always fun to hear people's suggestions. Let's see, we had a lot of fun over Easter. We had a chance to spend some time with our friends from York. Heather and Michael's baby is so sweet and cute. Our friend James just seemed to be a natural at holding Carter. Lisa and James built a new house this past year and don't have any children yet. Unfortunately, we missed Michael because he was coaching a York College baseball game. Hopefully next time we'll be able to catch up with him. Heather did a wonderful job as a hostess, as usual. We also had a chance to stay the night at our friends house- Dayne and Tracy. They are always so kind enough to let us stay at their house while we are in town. Next time we hope to have more time to spend with them. Of course, we spent most of our time with our families, which was very refreshing since we don't get to see them that often. On our way down to Ringgold, we stopped to see Mike and Kacy's new house, which is very lovely. Our Easter weekend was a total adventure like always. Well, that's all for now. We're all healthy, happy, and doing fine in Philly!
3/23/05 Today we are 16 weeks along. Not much has changed since my last entry but I neglected to mention how the baby is growing. So, I'll share with you some of the milestones that have occured in his/her development. At 16 weeks, s/he is about 4 1/2 ounces from head to bottom and about the size of an avocado. The lower limbs are more developed, the head is more errect, the eyes have moved more towards the front of the head and the ears are about in final position. The circulatory and urinary tract systems are working. The heart is pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day. There is still no hair, the eyes are still closed and toenails are beginning to grow. It's amazing that all of this is occuring at only 16 weeks! Well, be sure to check back next week. Hopefully I'll have some pictures from the Easter holiday. Happy Easter!
3/18/05 Today I had my 4 month visit. I'm 15 weeks and 3 days! Everthing went really well. I saw Dr. El-Mallah. He is a such a nice doctor. I hope I get to see him again. He was also Brittaney's favorite doctor and delivered her last baby, Sawyer. (Mike couldn't make the appointment today because he had a lab class.) I got to hear the heartbeat again. This time the doctor found it right away and it was nice and strong....150 beats per minute! Today my blood pressure was excellent, 112/74. The doctor is watching it closely. He prescribed that I take a 81 mg aspirin per day along with my bp med and that I stand no longer than 2 hours at a time. He would like that I lay down for an hour at lunch and at least 9-10 hours at night. We all know with my job as a sales rep this is nearly impossible since I'm mostly walking from lab to lab between the hours of 10am and 3pm and not stopping for lunch. So, I guess now is the time to start breaking bad habits!! And, I'm sure many are wondering the answer to the ultimate question asked of a pregnant lady, the one that's so hard to ask but you're dying to, how much weight have you gained? Well, as of today, the five pounds that I've gained, well...I lost them. So, I haven't gained any weight even though my jeans don't fit. But, I'm sure soon I'll be gaining that expected one pound per week. I go back to the doctors in three more weeks to check my bp again and then hopefully two weeks after that to determine the sex...yeah...I know we are all waiting for this one! Let's see, lastly we are going to spend Easter with Mike's family in Goldsboro and we'll also get a chance to see our friends Heather, Mike, Lisa and James. The six of us have done a great job getting together at everyone's house at least once a year, even with big life changes occuring (Heather and Mike had their first baby in December, baby boy Carter). I'm not sure what the chances are of getting the five of them to Philly but I'll work on that when it's my turn to be the hostess. Well, that's all for now. Stay in touch!
3/8/05 Tomorrow we will be 14 weeks pregnant (well, more so me than Mike...though I'm starting to catch up to him....ha ha). We are now in the Second Trimester! I missed a few events that happened so I'll tell the stories now. On Feb. 18 our friend Anni came to visit, without her cute little almost 3 year old boy. That meant we had time to shop. We went to Chestnut Hill, where there is so many cute, unique shops. We found a baby store called the Happy Butterfly. The ladies in there knit baby sweaters and embroider different items, such as bibs, towels, burp clothes etc. So, as you can see on our website I added pictures of our first items for the baby, bought by Anni. I have such a hard time buying things until I know whether we are having a girl or a boy. I did buy all the Golden Books that the O'Doodles Toy Store had though. Mike and I are very much into books....we have tons and tons (especially medical books) but we really want to start a nice collection of baby and children's books. We've been looking all over for these books so as soon as I found them I bought them. We both remember these books from our childhood. We'll probably enjoy them more than the baby, at least for the first year or two. Let's see, I had my first experience buying maternity jeans with Mike. It wasn't so bad. They are much more comfortable than my jeans. That's really the only thing I can't fit into for now! I had a wonderful experience shopping with my mom and grandmother for maternity clothes this past weekend (though they really wanted to buy baby clothes and I forced them not to....sorry!). They helped me find lots of outfits that I can wear to work and on the weekends so I'll totally be prepared for the day I wake up and can't wear any of my clothes :-) Other than that, things are moving right along. Mike and I are focusing on school and work and taking time out everyday to appreciate our little miracle. We have a routine doctor's appointment scheduled for March 18 and 6 more weeks to go before we find out the gender of our baby!
2/27/05 Today I'm 12 weeks and 5 days. On February 18, we had a doctor's appointment to hear the heartbeat. The practice I'm going to has several doctors, which at least all of them will see me once and any of them could delivery our baby. So far I've met with Dr. Bernardini. She is very nice. She warned us that it might take some time to hear the heartbeat, and it did. At times I felt like I was holding my breath just so I could hear. Of course after several minutes, which seemed liked forever, the doctor found the heartbeat. It was 140 beats per minute, exactly where it should be. We were so overwhelmed and excited! It makes everything seem so real. Mike still says to me, "doesn't it feel weird to have something growing inside of you". But, still in the first trimester I don't look very pregnant so it's still hard to believe. We think about the baby everyday and learn about it's development. So far, I've been really busy with work and Mike has been really busy with school. I had a business trip to California at the end of January and now fly out to Buffalo, NY on Tuesday (just in time for our second largest snow storm). Mike has finished a bunch of exams including final exams in some of his classes. We are hoping when classes are done for Mike in June, we'll take a much needed vacation and then begin to set up the nursery. Never a dull moment!
2/17/05 Sorry it has been a couple weeks since I've updated our progress. I guess the fatigue has really hit me hard. Luckily, just the fatigue has been my biggest complaint so far. Actually, I'm starting to feel like my normal self again. The fatigue is slowly going away and my normal appetite is coming back. Like a small percentage of women, I never really experienced any morning sickness so I'm very thankful for that. Well, today we're 11 weeks and 2 days along. Everything seems to be on plan. Tomorrow we vist my new Ob/Gyn, where we will get a chance to listen to the heartbeat for the first time. We are very excited! Thanks to our new friends Mark and Brittaney who referred us to this practice. Mike goes to medical school with Mark. Mark and Brittaney had their third baby delivered by this practice in August. I feel very comfortable and confident that these doctors will take good care of me and the baby as well as teach Mike a thing or two. Thanks for following our progressive and check back again. Hopefully soon I'll have new pictures to post.
1/31/05 Today I'm 8 weeks and 6 days, almost into month 3. On January 26, while I was in Palm Springs, CA for business, our baby developed from an embryo to a fetus. It is now the size of a plump strawberry. It has a discernible face, the heart is circulating blood, the nervous system is nearly complete, many organs are almost formed and complete, and there are recognizable arms and legs. So far so good for me and dad-to-be. I've been lucky to only experience mild nausea but mostly I have a loss of appetite. Mike has been very good at coaxing me to eat. I have no problem eating toast and yogurt for breakfast but as the day goes on it gets harder to eat. I drink a lot of water and take my vitamins. The doctor assures me that this will change in the near future. Mike, on the other hand, has definitely taken on the role of caring husband, worried father, and strict doctor. He keeps track of me and the baby's health by reading and studying all his medical textbooks on embryology and women's health. This has been a great experience to date and we both look forward to learning more along the way.
1/21/05 We received a call from our doctor giving us the good news! Indeed, our baby is 7 weeks old and our expected due date is September 6, 2005! Finally, our dream is beginning to feel like reality. We think about the baby everyday. Michelle is doing well through these past two month. No extreme signs of morning sickness or crankiness. She has basically become a very, very picky eater and occassionally feels dizzy. Mike is a trooper staying focused on medical school and helping me anytime I need it.
1/19/05 We ventured out into our first snowfall in Philadelphia to see the doctor. We had an ultrasound appointment at 3:30pm. We were late but thankfully the technician was still there. We were so excited and nervous. Mike anxiously watched the screened an held my hand. He immediately saw the heart beating! He's going to be a pro at learning to interpret the sonograms....definitely a doctor in the making! We found out that our baby is still an embryo and only 7 weeks old.
1/18/05 Michelle had her first prenatal visit. Everything went well and an ultrasound appointment has been scheduled to determine how far along the pregnancy is and when the due date will be.
1/10/05 Today we received official confirmation from the doctor that we are pregnant. It's still hard to believe and definitely a dream come true.
1/8/05 The first day we found out we were pregnant! We took a home pregnancy test in the afternoon. Mike read the test 3 minutes later. His first words...."What does this mean? Oh, my goodness! I have to lay down". We were so excited and so pleased. We celebrated by going out to dinner at Red Lobster, of course. This is where our first date was 8 years ago.
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Last Updated:
Aug 28, 2008
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