34 weeks

So tomorrow marks the start of my 34th week!! WOOHOOO!!!

I had my most recent Doctors appointment on Thursday! Everything looks good, my belly measured 32 cm, and the baby boy heartbeat was upper 120's lower 130's! I have gained 1 lb in the past 2 weeks, not bad!!

I've been craving a couple of things lately, chomping ice cubes, and wendys frostys with m&ms. Or any ice cream with m&ms in it!! mmm yummy I want one right now! Physically I'm still feeling pretty good. Get a sore back if I sit too long, but that's okay!!

Last Ultrasound

OK So no picture compared to fruit today! I'm not impressed, the next one says he's the weight of 4 oranges. FASCINATING!

Last week I had an ultrasound to make sure that baby Belanger is growing like he is supposed to. So we went to a local place instead of Orlando, well basically because it was cheaper and we knew we didn't anything fancy. Anyway the Ultrasound tech said everything looked good so we were on our way. Then Monday I got a call from one of my OB's, and they NEVER call me so I got nervous. She said that while the rest of his body measurements were in the 50th percentile, his abdomen was measuring in the 10th and that can't be good. Something called Asymmetric Growth Restriction. So she called us into the office so we could ask her all our questions, etc. Then she sent us into the hospital to get a non-stress test. Basically I had to lay in a bed with straps around me for an hour to see if he was under any stress. It was kinda cool to hear him moving around, and see his heartrate. I was even having little contractions, but not enough to worry about! We also scheduled an ultrasound in Orlando the following day.

I took the afternoon off from school and drove to Orlando. The first thing the tech did was take my blood pressure, and it was way too high, she said it was probably because I was so nervous :) the next thing she did was measure the abdomen, and it measured exactly as it should!! While she did the rest of her measurements I was asking her about 3D ultrasounds and she said she was just trained on the 4D and she needed someone to practice on!! How lucky am I?! Anyway, when the Dr himself came in, he said something like "I don't know what abdomen the tech in Sebring was measuring but your baby is measuring just fine." What a relief!! He's 3lbs 7 oz too!! Here are the treats--

So I just want to thank everyone who was thinking about us, and who prayed for us in the past couple of days. I could feel your prayers, seriously!! I remained calm most of the day.

SQUASH!

Baby Belanger is now about the weight of a butternut squash...and about 14 inches according to websites i've been reading!! Amazing!!

I had a checkup last week. I have gained 3 lbs since last month, and I forgot to ask the doctor how many cm large my belly is! The heartbeat was 140's again, very good! My glucose test came back just fine so that's good, I won't have to take the longer one! WHEWW.

I've still been feeling really, really well. I had a little bit of pain last week when I was standing up but thank goodness it went away! Dr said it was normal. The baby is kicking more than ever, I love it so much! When I was at my appt they gave me a sheet to help me start counting kicks. They said I need to find a time every day to lay and feel for 10 kicks and see how long it takes.

Today I signed up for Childbirth classes....they will start in less than a month. I can't wait for Ian to learn more about all this stuff :) He is going to faint.

We also bought the crib this week, thanks to Auntie Dooey and ChiChi for helping with that. Mom just bought AWESOME fabrics for the quilt and then we will start painting. It's all approaching very fast!! No name yet, though, it's okay to wait til the last minute for that, isn't it???

Quick note from Laura!

Hey, Laura here!! Just had another monthly appointment on Friday! Everything is still looking good. I have gained 11 lbs so far!! That's about 4 more than my last appointment, whooops!! I've noticed some of my maternity pants are getting tighter, and it's getting a bit harder to stand up :) But I just keep reminding myself how much bigger I will get!! My belly measured 23 cm. Heartbeat was 140. Tomorrow I'm going to go in for my routine glucose-screening test.

Ian and I sat down and looked at our list of names.....surprise, Ian's favorite and my favorites were totally different!! We will find one, we will.

I can't believe how much chocolate and sweets i've been craving.......REALLLLLLY craving. If it's chocolate, cookies, pudding, cake, ice cream, I have to have it!!

Kicking up a storm!

Sorry I haven't written in a long time, but I guess no news is good news :) I have been feeling SPECTACULAR! Probably a combination of being out of the morning sickness but still not too big to maneuver myself around. And sleeping a lot. Most of the time I don't even feel like i'm pregnant!! But then baby Belanger kicks me and I remember again. Particularly when he kicks me in the bladder. That is a very interesting feeling!! Basically I feel like I have to pee really bad whenever he does it :)

I had the most wonderful time in Michigan! I got to see a lot of family and friends. I am very homesick...eventually we'll be back...I hope!! Thanks to my mom and dad and sisters for putting up with me for 10 days, haha!!

Below is a video I found on one of my baby websites that I thought was pretty awesome! I wanted to share it with everyone. Just for reference, i'm about 23-24 weeks.

bottomless pit!!

So finally my appetite is acting more like it should!! I will eat a little snack, then only a little while later my stomach is already growling!! Especially at night. I will wake up at like 2 AM with my stomach going crazy!

I'm feeling little movements daily now...it's so fun!! If I lay flat on my back, sometimes I can even see my belly twitching a little. Ian was even able to feel it a little bit when he put his hand on my belly. I've been putting the baby headphones on my belly every once in awhile so he can listen to music, with parents like us it's inevitable he will love music.

Summer vacation is very boring!! I've been doing things around the house but I wish I could be more productive. I'm not getting many hours at Pier 1....wish I could get more. BUT the great part is that i'm going to Michigan in 3 days!! I'm going home!!! We found some cheap tickets so I decided to go home while I still can. Unfortunately Ian has to stay in Florida to work :(

Oh I almost forgot. This week he is the length of a carrot. It makes me dizzy to think about! By the way, we're collecting name ideas, so email me with your ideas!!!!!

Latest Dr. Appointment

Whatever a heirloom tomato is??!!!

We had our exciting Sonogram appt on Thursday! I'm sure everyone has already heard that it's a BOY!! One of my favorite moments was when she was moving around and captured his hand in the thumbs up position! Just like his daddy always does, hehe. Everything looks

great, don't know what else to say about that :)

KICKS???

Exactly 1 more week before find out the sex of the baby!  We're very excited!!

Good news, my test for the UTI came back negative!!  YAY no weird procedures :)

My appetite is building, I eat several small meals a day.  I always crave cheese.  Cheese cubes to be exact.

AND FINALLY!!  I'm 99% positive that i'm feeling some kicking going on!  I don't know what else it could be and it happens several times a day.  It feels like a little poking from the inside.  HOW COOL!!!!!!

2 milestones, sorta

SOOOO Friday I officially wore my first pair of maternity pants.  None of my jeans fit, or they do but they leave a permanant imprint of the button on my belly, so I wore some maternity jeans Ian and I had bought about a month ago.  They were still too large, so they kept falling down all day, but I guess it's better than too tight!! 

AND today I took out my belly button ring.  I have had it for 10 years!!!!  But it was time for it to be out anyway!  I will never want to show off my belly again anyway, haha.

Well that's all, just thought it was kinda interesting!

Avocado anyone?

Man I get a kick out of these pictures!

I had another doctors appt on Monday. Although my appt was at 3:40, we did not actually leave the doctors office until about 5:20. It was frustrating but at least I had Ian there with me!! OK so I got a little bored in the room and started playing with the electronic chair and used the light as a fake microphone......gotta entertain myself somehow!!

First the doctor came in and asked if i've had any issues; nope!! This next section might be too much information, so if you don't want to read it, skip on. She was talking about what would happen if my 2 rounds of antibiotics still haven't resolved the UTI...then she said something about catheter and scraping my bladder and I didn't need to hear more!! Please pray it went away this time :)

Next was the fun part, the heartbeat! She found it right away, and then "it" moved to a different area so she lost it and had to find it again! Active baby, huh!!! Heartbeat was in the 140's this time. And I've still gained only 4 lbs but I feel like it's more.

Next appt will be in a little less than a month and it will be a sonogram!! YAYYY!! I promise we'll take a belly pic soon......When my husband is actually home at the same time as me :)

Click below for the heartbeat that we recorded!!!

Just have to vent....

OK this doesn't really bother me, but i'd still like to share.  Some people forget to use their filters when they're talking to me:

"WOW you sure look pregnant today!!"

"You're gettin' your belly!!"

"You must be having a girl, because my butt got big like that when I was pregnant with my daughter, too."

I kid you not, folks.   It's one thing if you're my friend....but.......hehehe.

Rough Week Over!

Yes it was such a rough week!!  I came down with an extremely sore throat on Sunday, (Probably from walking around the track at 1 AM for Relay for Life,) and by Monday I had a fever.  I just kept taking tylenol every 4 hours to make sure I could control the fever, not to mention the sore throat.  So Tuesday I went to my regular dr. and he said it's drainage from allergies and prescribed me antibiotics which have JUST TODAY started to take effect.   I had to call my OBGyn to make sure it was okay to take the medicine he gave me, at which time she told me I still have a UTI.  So that could also be causing the fever, we weren't sure.  Anyway, I feel much better now THANKFULLY except for a nasty cough and still feeling very tired, which may just be because i'm pregnant :)

I haven't had any cravings lately, still really enjoying granny smith apples!!!  Mostly I just don't feel like eating at all so I have to say to myself "OK it's lunch time you have to eat something now."  Which is totally not like me!!  I'm usually miss Piggy!!

I just love these pictures:

Does that fascinate anyone else?  AMAZING!  14 weeks today.

P.S.  I keep forgetting to take a picture of my belly, maybe cuz I don't really want to :)  Sorry Rach wink wink

Doctors Appt

Had my second one today, much more boring :)  I told Ian he probably didn't want to come with me for this one since it was all talking.  The nurse just asked me a bunch of questions about my health and my family's health.  She kept saying "you got good genes girl!"  hehe.  

I did get to hear the heartbeat again, she found it right away with a little monitor thing.  I asked her how fast it was and she said in the 150s which is good!  Blood tests came back fine, she just said I had to drink more water (from looking at my urine sample.)  I'm trying, but you know what happens when you drink a lot of water, you're making trips to the bathroom all day!!!  Also, I've gained 4 lbs.  And that's probably the last time I'll share anything about weight lol.

Next appointment is in 3 weeks.  So excited.

Lately I've been disgusted by french fries.  Don't know why, just have!

Still eating a lot of nachos, craving apples, pop tarts, jello, yogurt, Chinese, and string cheese.

I've been feeling so good lately, it makes me so happy!  I'll still have moments of nausea but they never last long.  I finally feel like Laura again.

Baby bump is definitely there!!

Malik & Maia

Just thought I would share a video of the daily occurance that happens when we try to play ball with Malik.  It is sooooooo funny!!  I love our pets!!

:)

Well I'm 12 weeks tomorrow!!  Coincidental enough, I felt really good today...I didn't need to eat right when I stood up, and I didn't need to take my nausea meds!!  WOO HOO!!  I'm praying it sticks.

My baby is the size of a lime....It seems so big to me, is that weird?  It's just so hard to imagine something so amazing growing inside of me.  I'm already having little issues with some of my pants, they must have shrunk!!!  (hehe)  I definitely have a bump, but I think it's more because of how much food i've been eating as opposed to the baby getting bigger.  I didn't eat that much before I got pregnant, and I was exercizing.  My goal is to go to the gym starting Monday if not this weekend (that is if the nausea stays away.)

I have my next doctors appointment on Wednesday, but it's a boring one just going over my blood tests and family history.....maybe I can convince them to give me an ultrasound like last time!!  You never know!!

Morning Sickness, and afternoon, and night

This morning sickness is just not working for me.  

I have tried everything that people have told me.  Ginger ale, saltines, lemons, dry cereal, etc etc etc and I have come to the conclusion that i'm just going to have to

 suffer through!  Afterall, the outcome more than makes up for it :) Even the things that I used to love to eat are no longer the least bit appetizing.  So far I crave cold things a lot.  Whether that be a slurpy, or ice cream...poor Ian has been pretty good at satisfying them.!!  

They say after the 1st trimester I'm in the clear of morning sickness, I hope I'm one of the lucky ones!!!  

P.S. All of my baby websites say the baby is the size of a grape:

News--What else do I call it?!?!

It all started 2 months ago!!  

We were definitely going to wait another year before even thinking about getting pregnant but we are as overjoyed as we could ever be!!!!  With all the excitement of family and friends visiting, It didn't even cross my mind that I could be pregnant!  However, 2 weeks ago I took a test just to be sure, and it came out positive, then another positive, and another!!  

After that, it was nothing but nausea all day, every day!!  I don't know how many of you know that I do lunch duty at my job.  Just picture it, the smells, the sights, of 175 kindergartners eating lunch...I can't even type it without getting grossed out!!

Today was my first doctors appointment.  I'm so glad that Ian went with me, it made me much less nervous and much more excited!!  After our hour long wait in the waiting room, we were let into our room.  She did her usual 'tests.'  She felt the baby and confirmed that there was only 1!!  :::PHEW::: because we had told her that twins run in our family.  I said something like "Too bad I don't get to do anything fun today like see the baby or hear a heartbeat!" And she said she would have to schedule me another appointment for an ultrasound because we weren't positive when we conceived.

Well, Ian's connections as a teacher save the day!  2 of the doctors at the center we went to have kids at his school, so they pulled some strings and got us in right away!!!  We got to hear the heartbeat and see the little peanut and it was AMAZING!!

So a prescription for nausea and a bunch of pamphlets later and we are home...I'm ready for bed!!!

Our feet in the Gulf of Mexico, Sunday!

After going to church on Sunday morning, we went on a 3-hour tour to Sanibel Island.  The trip was filled with pelicans, sea shells, and star fish.

A trip to Highlands Hammock State Park, Saturday

Saturday we had a great trip to the Highlands Hammock State Park.

Laura's familiy is visiting + playing Wii bowling!

Happy Valentines Day!!

After a long drive from Grand Rapids, MI, Laura's Mom, Dad, Grandpa, and Grandma are here!  They arrived much earlier than I thought (good traffic I suppose) at about 4:30/5:00!

Last night we kept it simeple, at (my favorite) Publix subs, and relaxed at home!  We played Wii bowling, and Rockband!  I think Laura's grandpa really had fun learning to bowl "digitally" especially since it had been maybe 30 years since he had actually bowled!!

Today,we plan to visit the Hammock State Park to see the wildlife, and natural Florida environment.  There will be lots of pictures, I'm sure!

Tech Conference

This week Ian and I are attending the Florida Educational Technology Conference--one of the biggest of its kind.  Our schools send us every year!  Thank goodness we have in common our love for Technology!!  We went to a couple of sessions this morning/early afternoon, and learned quite a lot!!  Not only are there mini-classes but there is a huge showroom where everyone who is anyone in educational technology has a booth.  We are hoping to take a lot of information back to our schools and maybe win something awesome in the process!!  At the end of the day there was a big opening session with special speaker Phillipe Cousteau--The grandson of Jacques Cousteau.  Can't wait to go back tomorrow!

As promised....

Here are new pictures of Maia, now that she's not sickly looking anymore :)  You're welcome, mom!!  Notice in the first one, her crossed arms!!  You can definitely see the Siamese in her, she looks cross-eyed a lot!!

SUCH A MODEL!!

One more thing!

I absolutely refuse to turn the heat on.

Last night WIMPY Ian turned the heat on because it was supposed to be in the 30's. I'm sure you can imagine my disgust when he told me he set it to come on when the temp was under 74. SEVENTY FOUR!!! Seriously. Anyway tonight he is DJing and not here to tamper with the thermostat so I am sitting here in my long pants, sweatshirt, AND fleece blanket. I sleep better in the cold anyway! Weather.com says our current temp is 45 but feels like 39. Lovin' it!

Ian's 4 jobs.

Have you ever had 4 jobs?

Well neither have I but Ian does right now!!!!  If only all of us could be so talented.....

1.  He is a school teacher.  All day.
2.  He teaches classes at the community college.  Right now it's blogging.....next will be photography!
3.  He is the manager of the tutoring program at school.....And boy does he have to manage!
4.  He DJ's.  At a restaurant/bar every Friday night and gets paid a ridiculous amount of money per hour.  :)

Just thought I would sing his praises since he won't.  ERR wait maybe he would, hehe.

Back to the grind of things!

Well, thanks to so many of our friends that have told us over the holidays "whoa, you guys get off how long?!"  Ya, we know, it is a long break, and we love it, but its not a "paid vacation" or anything like that.  We work only 196 days a year, I sometimes wish that we could work a full 12-months with some "paid vacation."

Anyways, we have no students today, it is a work day.  Thank goodness really, I did not do much over the holidays regarding school, nor did Laura except for one day that we worked on a new computer lab for her school.  I have been working on lesson plans, display boards (anyone like to help?) and the after school tutoring program that I am coordinating, starting on Thursday.

Tonight I get to begin teaching my first of two classes at the Community College , so now officially I guess you can call me "Professor Belanger!"  Ha  Tonight's class is called Introduction to Blogging.  Should not be a difficult class for the teacher or the students.  I taught it to 2nd-7th graders over the summer...  The next class will be in February, it is called Digital Photography I, in that class I plan to go over not only how to use the camera that they have, but how to make/share online photo albums.  I think that most of the people that plan to take this class are seniors, or what we call snow-birds in our community.

Today is also the first day that Malik and Maia have stayed home for a significant amount of time, alone.  I doubt that Maik will have eaten her, or done much else than Malik sleeping on the back of the couch, and Maia sleeping in between the sliding-glass-door & curtains enjoying some sun.

Ian, out!

Malik to the rescue!

Today Laura was at work, I was left alone at home to watch another episode of Mythbusters -- I've been told I  am going to get Mythbuster burnout, to that, I think NOT!!

Anyways...

I was making Mac N Cheese for lunch.  I always sneak a few boxes into the the grocery cart, they are perfect when its just me.  2:04 seconds left on the clock, I noticed that Malik had been running around, so I figured that I best take him out so I could have uninterrupted meal!  I did.

The kitten must have some sort of anxiety disorder because when we take him out the entire neighborhood can her her "meow-ing."  Smart-thinking Ian decided that it would be good to bypass the anoyingness of trying to keep her in, and I snuck us into the garage, to which somehow was open.

I began fixing my lunch, and almost sat down when I noticed that it was quiet.  Now mind you, the animals are starting to get along much better, but during the day they love a good game of run-around-the-house-and-annoy-Ian.  So I looked around and saw a line of light coming from the doorway, which we have no window there, so I knew I was in for it--both animals had escaped through the "Ian did not shut the door completely" door!

As I completely opened the door, an amazing sight was seen--in fact, I wish that I had a video camera because I could have captured what I am about to tell you, sold it to America's Funniest Pets, or something like that, and been a $1,000-aire!  Sweet.

So Malik was barking, and nudging at Maia to get back in the house.  With no help from me, both animals got in the house, and are safe.  I was also saved from the wrath of Laura, who would have cut both my legs off.  :)

Moral:  Watch the pets carefully, especially when you are trying to trick them.