30 Weeks!

Here, I am actually 28wks, but close enough to today.

So today I am officially 30wks! Which means 10 more weeks to go, give or take a few. For those who aren't familiar, a full term pregnancy is classified as 40wks. Now a days they say any where from 37-42wks is full term. My thoughts on this whole thing is that it has flown by, one day I can't believe I am pregnant, to seeing the ultrasound pictures, to finding out "it" is really a "him" to coming up with a name, Teagan Alan. So far so good with the pregnancy. Within the last week and a half I have had some swelling in my right ankle, but I am happy to say that this whole week while walking I have not had shin splints, so that is a plus! Of course I am still nervous, anxious, excited, scared and happy all at the same time, hopefully that is normal. I just can't believe that before you know it I, Laurel, will be having a baby! Crazy!

James and I went last night to our first birthing class, first of six. They are two hours long and so far it was enjoyable. We are they only ones in the class that is having a boy! It is strange to see others who are about as far along as I am or more, and how different they look. Woman who are having girls definitely look different then those who are having boys. I am much more out there, like a basketball, then those having girls carry much more out on there sides and hips. I, however, still have a waist! The class was informational, and we went over some pregnancy vocabulary, like "vagina" which I thought was hilarious, because I would hope that everyone in the class knows what a "vagina" is! haha. Anyway, we had to reach into a bag and pull out an item. We weren't allowed to see into the bag before we took an item so it was a surprise. Then we discussed what each item was an what its purpose was in relation to pregnancy and labor. I pulled out a pedometer, I said it was good to be healthy and exercise during pregnancy, which was mainly right, but the teacher/nurse also added in that the more fit you are they better you will do during labor. (Yeah for me, walking everyday!) James pulled out a scooper for a cat's litter box, and he knew right away, since we have a cat, Meow (yes, that is her name),what is was, and said, "Oh I know what this is, and I already do it!" He knew that pregnant women aren't supposed to clean the cat's litter box ,for their urine can carry Toxoplasmosis, which can be fatal for the baby if it gets into moms bloodstream, it is a virus. Then we watch a video on car seats, interesting and we picked up a few pointers. We are going to have to practice installing it before hand, since we already have our infant car seat, Thanks to Aunt Jackie, and we have our toddler car seat, Thanks to Grandpa and Grandma to-be Sullivan!

Thanks to all our friends and family for your support during this time, we really appreciate it! James and I are looking forward to seeing and meeting Teagan, as all of you are too!

Pumpkin Patch

James and I at the pumpkin patch.

We stopped by there on our way back to the coast from Portland.

James and I picked out our own pumpkins and James even picked out a little baby pumpkin for Teagan!

No, I am not hiding a pumpkin under my shirt! It is just my belly!

Glucose Test

So it is "that time" for me to take the Glucose screening test. Last Thursday, I was 28wks, I had a doctors appt. and had the Glucose Test. So I heard it wasn't that bad for people, well, I guess that is their opinion. I thought it was ok at first, but after the first few swallows it started to not taste so good. I had to drink this "drink", and finish it within 5 minutes. Then I was not allowed to: eat, smoke, or exercise, which I thought was hilarious! I told the guy, "well I guess I'll have to put off my weight lifting 'till tomorrow, and yeah I guess I can wait an hour to have a cigarette!" Seriously, those where the rules. So James and I sat and hung out for an hour, then they took my blood and I haven't heard anything since! Typical hospital, well I figure, now news is good news.
At my appt, however, I had a new nurse. Well let me rephrase that, a new nurse to me, She was not new, she was old, and rude! I stepped on the scale, always a delight, and she weighed me. I am not an idiot, I know how much I weighed the time before, and i am taking math in school so I know how to add, anyway....she proceeds to sigh, and look at my chart and fiddle with the weight on the scale sighs some more, and asks,"Have you weighed yourself since your last appt?" I said, "no, usually scales aren't so friendly." She then tells me, "well you've gained quite a bit of weight! I said I could see that. Get ready for this....11lbs! I nearly fell over! I said I don't understand, 'casue I have been walking everyday, almost 2miles with my shin splints and my dog pulling me down the path 5-6 times a week! She then tells me, "well you just need to watch your portion size dear!" OK laddie, don't "dear" me! Needless to say, James shows up 5minutes later and I burst into tears, and told him what happen, in my fragile pregnant state.
All I have to say for myself is that I still have a waist, and I have been eating healthy. So there! The doctor, however, was polite and apologized for his nurse, and checked me out. Teagan is doing great. We heard his heart beat, and the doctor had forgotten if we were having a boy or girl, but when he listened to his heart beat, he looked at James and asked,"boy?" He said yes, and then the doctor said that the heart beat went along with what the old wives tale is, and that is the boys have a slower heart rate then girls. Then he looked back at James and said," not that we are slower, 'cause we aren't!" It was funny and it lightened the mood. He said that next time if we want we can have another ultrasound, which they usually don't do anymore after 20wks, so we are looking forward to having another peak in.
Here are some pictures from my glucose test:

"Lime flavored"
What is in this really? It tastes like.....

More Room

James installing the curtain rods. Becareful up there!
Jen bought us our first accessory for the room, our Valance!
Look how nice it looks up there! Good job babe!
Here is a picture of the Chair-rail and the base board. You can also see the two colors of the room and a little bit of the new soft, non '70's carpet!
This is Jen and I after we completed the room. We were very tired and hungry. But hey, the room looks good! hard work pays off!

Here I am 25wks pregnant. We did this over the weekend of Sept. 27th.

The Room!

Ok, so first to go was the carpet! 1970's called they wanted there yellow carpet back, no joke! James ripped out the old carpet to make way for our new carpet. That was really our first purchase for "the baby."
The Room! So my office, now, is going to be Teagan's room. I am moving downstairs into James' office with him, it will now be,"our office!" Yes, you see me painting, don't freak out, it was well ventilated, windows open, and I took a lot of breaks! My girlfriend Jennifer came down from Vancover, Wa, to help with the paint job, and to keep us motivated! She is great at painting and knows all the right things to do. She was such a huge help to us. Thank you so much Jen!
So we have a nice powder/sky blue on the top and a green on the bottom. We have a chair-rail that goes all the way around the room that is cream, including base board.
James making sure the chair rail is even, nicely done babe!
The room turned out so nice we are very happy with it.

The Closet Project!

James and I decided to make the existing closet bigger. So that has been a project for a while. James loves to demo things, so he went to town on it! We live in an old Victorian home, and it shows, while demoing we found many layers of wall paper. Some we pretty interesting. We are happy that it is completed, and are ready to fill it with all Teagan's clothes!

Here are some pictures of the progress:

We bought these built-ins from Storables, this way we can change out the shelving as Teagan grows. We can add more shelving or bars to the closet if and when need be.

We are very happy that it is finished!

Happy Birthday to Me!

My birthday was October, 10th, I turned 27! I had school most of the day with a math exam at 10am-10:50 and then a ten minute break, and then at 11am I had an Anatomy & Physiology exam. I was oh so excited for them!

Later on that evening however, I did go to dinner with my Dad, and his girlfriend, Sheryl. We went to the Silver Salmon, and I had a very nice dinner, I ate it all!

James was in Tacoma working, but we spoke on the phone several times, and he sang Happy Birthday to me over the phone, it was very cute!

I am 27wks along now and am able to feel Teagan move a lot. He seems to be quite active at 10am during Math class. He pokes me and I poke him back, and tell him to "settle down in there that I am trying to pay attention" and that he is distracting me....my friend Kelli, and classmate, can sometimes even see him move under my shirt., he is getting strong! James says,"well at leased the kid will be smart!"

Aches & Pains

Tomorrow, Oct. 9th, I will have entered into the 3rd trimester! Along with this, I guess, I have been experiencing aches and pains. Not a lot but they are there at times. During the night I have to be aware of my calf's, and to pay close attention other wise I end up with a "Charlie Horse", this is very common during pregnancy, I've read. I have been a very good girl and dedicated, I must say, I have been walking at 8am, before school, with my girlfriend, Kelli, every week day and even some Saturday's. We walk down along the Columbia River, on the River Walk. We walk about 1-2 miles. I take Kiely, our Australian Shepard, with me. So days are better then others with her. She is still young and has a lot of energy, and with that, it is hard to keep her from trying to chase after every bicycle, jogger, and other dogs. Some times I wonder who is taking who for a walk. Now, with that being said I am not sure that this has anything to do with the fact that I have been getting "Shin Splints" every morning! I even stretch before walking and eat a nice little breakfast. I did some research, and all it said was, shin splints can be due to excess weight gain, well ok, I am pregnant, and carrying it all in the belly! So I might be off kilter a bit! So I have pains and I deal with them, and eventually they go away.

This is Kiely, our Australian Shepard. She loves going to the park to chase the ball, going on walks, and going to the beach to run free.

(gee, I sound like a relationship website, "I like taking long strolls in the park and taking long walks on the beach....")