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Welcome!

In an effort to keep our family blog, The Parker Pack, from being overrun by pregnancy photos and updates, I’ve started this blog, A Belly in Bloom, to record my voyage through these next 9 months. Check back often for belly pics, sonograms, and just general posts about Mom’s thoughts throughout this journey. Keep watching our original blog, The Parker Pack, to see videos, photos, and more from our day-to-day lives.

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Feathering my nest

I've had a sudden urge to get everything done these past few weeks. I've sewn all the bedding, sanded and painted furniture, hung pictures and curtains, scoured sales racks for baby clothing and unpacked all of our baby gear from storage. I've made lists of things to get done, cleaned the house like crazy, and even washed all of the baby clothes in infant detergent. I've even started making Christmas lists and started shopping, determined to get as much done now as I can, before Aubrey arrives, so I won't have to drag a newborn infant around the mall during cold and flu season. To say that my nesting instinct has kicked in is a bit of an understatement--Brad teases me that one day, he expects to come home and find a pile of old blankets, sticks and shredded newspaper piled in a corner of our bedroom!

Since I went into labor early with Aiden and ended up on bed rest a couple of weeks, I just worry that if I don't get things done now, something will happen and I'll be left sitting in bed down the hall from an unfinished nursery, unable to do a thing about it. I know, I'm probably being a neurotic mother-to-be, but with the same early pre-eclampsia signs beginning to show up that I had with Aiden, I'm a bit worried. Nothing to technically worry about yet, as my blood pressure is still low and I don't have protein in my urine, but with Aiden, I had swelling in my face, sudden weight gain, and spots/floaters in my vision weeks before my blood pressure went up--and suddenly I find myself with those exact same symptoms. I called my doc to give him the heads up and ask to see if he wanted to see me before my next scheduled appointment in a couple of weeks, and he said yes and squeezed me into his busy schedule on Tuesday afternoon. Keep your fingers crossed that these symptoms are nothing to worry about...and that I avoid having pre-eclampisa this pregnancy, too!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

27 Weeks

It has finally happened...a total eclipse--I can no longer see my feet without some major bending over! And my "turkey timer" (a.k.a. belly button) has completely turned inside out. Just as I did with Aiden, I have had a sudden spurt of weight gain. No changes in appetite or diet, just a sudden increase in weight. Let's hope the trend doesn't continue!

Aubrey is growing right on track--in fact, she's even a little ahead of schedule. I had another growth check ultrasound at 26 weeks and she was 2 days ahead of schedule, with an estimated weight of 2 pounds. At my OB appointment on Friday, she measured at 29 weeks instead of 26 1/2. She's now tucked underneath my ribcage and spends much of her day kicking me under the ribs--just a little uncomfortable! She's a very active baby and especially loves to kick while I'm listening to the music in the car or when I am trying to go to sleep at night.

The pregnancy is going along well so far--I'm still being carefully monitored, but no major warning signs. I've had a ton of Braxton-Hicks contractions lately and a lot of ligament pain from her stretching me out. My belly feels like it is ready to explode, it is so tight. Some days, when she decides to roll over or stretch, I swear I'll be the first woman to deliver her baby via abdominal explosion instead of a vaginal or C-section birth.

Aiden is getting antsy for his sister to arrive. He's been spending a lot of time in her nursery while I'm making preparations, asking about her toys and telling me how he'll teach her how to use things. Halloween should be extra special this year, since I've told him that his sister will come some time after he gets to go trick-or-treating. He's doubly excited--buckets of candy and a new baby on the way!

Our friends, Brooke and Will Lasher, recently welcomed their son, Breckin, into the world and Aiden has had mixed feelings about the baby. "Baby Breckin makes me nervous" he told me one day, yet he has added him to his prayers and even tries to shop for him while we are out and about. He thinks the baby is cute and even patted his back and tried to soothe him when he cried while at our house last week, but was also a little jealous and asked me to put the baby down a couple of times. We'll see how this all plays out with Aubrey in a few months!

Here is the latest belly pic. I'm huge!!