Week 28 update:

Dr. apt. was good. The usual. I only have one more 4 week appointment and then I start going in every two weeks and then every week! There are only 12 weeks left! Yikes!
There is so much to do!

I had my glucose test last week and while I was at the lab there were four other pregnant women having the same test done. One lady asked another how far along she was ans she answered "27 weeks." I was like- "really? you are so small?" She had this tiny little bump. I was by far the largest belly in the room and we were all due around the same time!!!!
Needless to say- I am feeling very large and getting larger by the day.

I didn't get the results of my glucose test yet, but I will call the Dr. today and see whats up.

Here is the 28 week picture:

The First Baby Shower

University Ministries threw us a baby shower today. I am graduating in a few days and will no longer be working at Um as a grad assistant. It is sad to go, working there has been like having an extended family. The shower today was small, but very fun. Here are the highlights:

Dinosaur cupcakes! Yum!

Larry and I opening gifts.

All of the goodies Bradley received from our friends at UM

Cute little dinosaur cards where friends wrote well wishes and blessings for our family.

More gift opening...

Thanks to everyone at University Ministries for all the love, gifts and support. You guys are the Best!

here is a 24 week picture:
sorry its a bit blurry

Finals are essentially over- i have two left each a week apart.

We are having a baby shower on December 11th. My office is throwing me a shower because I will no longer be a graduate assistant after December 14. I will be a graduate!

It is exciting to start having showers (the party kind- i do bathe regularly) and to have time to start thinking about baby stuff, getting the nursery ready and all such nesting activities.

Not much is new...

There isn't much new to tell. The baby is growing fine and normally. I had a Dr. visit this morning it took all of 10 minutes. The Doctor says this is the boring time, but it is also the good time, when I feel great, am not huge and can still sleep at night.
I say boring is good- it means everything is fine.
I'll try to post some pictures this week... I have a lot of assignments due before I graduate from seminary in 25 days!

here is a 20 week picture- same dress
it just happened that way. I only have so many outfits in my current rotation:)

The baby is moving a lot more now and Larry has been able to feel some kicks from the outside which is fun for him.

We registered this weekend- it was fun, but a tad overwhelming. I think I have finally gotten the list correctly edited and ready via the online features.
www.target.com and www.babiesrus.com
Personally Babies r Us is the better store with a better return policy and more selection, but it is not as convenient for everyone. Certainly not for us, since we had to drive to Fort Worth to register.

We are also registered at www.nurturedfamily.com for cloth diapers. *GASP* yes we are going to cloth diaper. People either think we are great or crazy for doing this. I have heard it all, "Yeah we tried that, it got way old, way fast." "You know you are going to have to do laundry all the time?" "Do you know how much work that is going to be?"
Cloth diapers are better for the environment. (disposables take up to 500 years to decompose in landfills) Cloth diapers are cheaper in the course of a babies diapered life. (literally thousands of dollars cheaper) Cloth diapers are not the same as when I was a kid. They Velcro on, have built in water proof covers, they are made with fleece linings that wick moisture away from the babies skin. And they are just as absorbent and trim fitting as disposables. AND the best part- cloth diapered babies typically potty train 6 months earlier than babies who wear disposables. (this is a statistic- every kid is different- i know)
Yes they have to be washed and yes I will have to do something with the poop. But I will have to deal with poop either way. And will have more laundry either way.
Bottom line- this is what we have decided is best for us. There is no judgment on disposables and we are giving ourselves an out if it is just too overwhelming for us in the long run.
Besides, I have no intention of being a total purist- We will NOT be using cloth wipes- ick.
We will probably have some disposables around for the church nursery and baby sitters.

And the Ultrasound Says...

It is a BOY!

I'd like to introduce you to Brooks Bradley Correll-Hughes.
We will be calling him Bradley.

Here are some pictures:

You can see his arm and part of his leg and of course his cute profile.
I think he has Larry's nose:).

Here is the boy part. He was a bit lazy and didn't move around a ton. Mostly kicked his legs and waved his arms. The ultrasound tech had to maneuver to get a good shot of the "area." This pic is of one leg and the parts.
However, we did see the little turtle as the tech called it, several times and there is no doubt- he is all boy!

Some pictures

Here are a couple of tummy Pics- just so you know, I have no intention of posting pictures of my bare belly. I think my belly is remarkable but not in a lovely pregannt lady kind of way- more in a seriously it is getting larger! type way.This is me at 8 weeks- not much to see.

This is me at 16 weeks- there is a little more bumpage. The picture is bad. Larry is a great person- not the greatest photographer. It usually takes about five tries to get a picture that is not too zommed out and actually shows my belly. I also hate having my picture taken which doesn't help. I wish I has smiled better in this one- oh well. There will be more...

We went to the doctor today. It was a good visit, but we had to wait a while.
Evidently the hyphenated last name is just difficult for people to understand. The receptionist couldn't find my chart because she was looking for Hughes instead of Correll-Hughes and then she got busy and forgot about me.
Larry went with me and as patient as he is, got a bit frustrated with the whole name mix-up.
I have only gained one pound which is the pound I lost from the last visit. So far there is no concern about my weight gain or loss.
I did the usual visit stuff- pee in a cup, get on the scale, blood pressure check and then we scheduled the BIG ultrasound. You know the one where they check all the parts- heart, lungs, brain and gender.
We could have scheduled it for October 16, but Larry will still be out of town for work conference. SO... I have to wait until October 23.
I am going home on the 11th of Oct. and my sister is an OBGYN. She has offered to do an ultrasound for me for free. But Larry has made me promise not to while I am home and he can't be there. I am tempted- really- but i will not give in because I love my husband.
We listened to the heart beat again and everything seems to be normal. I have been having some trouble with headaches and my heart does this little flutter/pause thingy. But the Dr. assures me that both are fairly normal for preggos. I have to endure the headaches with Tylenol doing precious little. And if the heart thing starts happening very rapidly (like 6 or 8 times a minute) then I need to call.
Evidently pregnant people have more blood and all that extra blood causes all sorts of lovely symptoms in our bodies. But on the positive side- it makes us look prettier. That is where the pregnancy glow comes from- all the extra blood.
I also left the office with a ton of vitamin samples. I have been having a hard time taking my prenatal vitamin as it make me sick. Dr. R gave me a bunch of different ones to try hoping one will work with my system and not make me so queasy.
Speaking of Queasy- I have been feeling better lately- but the evenings are still pretty rough. The only times I have thrown up in the past week have been when I took my vitamin. I really can feel the difference of more energy during the day.
I need to start taking pictures of my belly- but it is kinds weird to me to take pictures of my belly. I'll get Larry to do it and hopefully post some in the next week.

I shouldn't have posted about feeling better...

When I feel fine- I do feel better- less tired, more energy
BUT the nausea has gotten worse at night and I have thrown up more in the last two weeks that the entire two months prior.

I am so ready for this part to be over- I am really hoping and praying that in a couple weeks I will start feeling better than I do now- I am not sure I can do this for 6 more months...

I went to the doctor two weeks ago- routine check. I listened to the heart beat on the doppler and the doctor said everything is fine and normal. He said the baby was moving around a lot and pointed out this swishing noise on the doppler as evidence. I took his word for it:)

School is pretty stressful and I am more focused on that right now than anything else. I have Greek readings (the book of James) and Hebrew classes on the same day. Maybe the baby will learn something in utero:).

I am not sure I should say this
I might jinx myself-
but I am starting to feel better-

I can go longer between meals and I start feeling crummy later in the day.
I am really glad- because I wasn't sure I could take this for weeks and weeks to come.

Also, clothes are a problem.
I don't fit into my regular clothes OR my maternity clothes!
I have used the rubber band trick (thanks Sarah) and as long as my shirt is long enough or thick enough to cover the bulkiness of the open button it works.
They make these things called Bella bands that work on the same principle as the rubber band trick but it is a band of elastic that goes around your waist and looks like a layered shirt underneath your regular shirt. You can check them out here.
I may order a couple to make the next month or two bearable. My capris will last longer and it is too hot for pants most of the time around here.

I have been sick now for about five weeks- it stinks.
I am not violently ill or anything- just queasy all the time- worse at night.
Apples are the magic pill that make it all better - at least for a little while.
I am so tired of eating apples! I may develop a hatred for them before this is all over.
Green apples are the current favorite
Gala Apples were two weeks ago-
Any other recommendations????

We're Having a Baby!

About 5 weeks ago we got this:

And that makes me about 7 weeks pregnant. We have decided to tell people this early because well, we are excited. The reasons to not tell a lot of people have more to do with fear of the unknown and we decided that if something horrible does happen people will know anyway so we are telling.

We had a dr. apt. this morning and saw the heart beating away in the little peanut. it is amazing how something so small can have such a profound impact on our lives already. More so me than Larry as I am sick most of the day and especially at night. Eating often helps- but by the time 5:00 rolls around I am so tired and queasy that I am pretty much good for nothing. Larry has been super and patient and all around the perfect husband so far. He actually cleaned the entire house last night after i went to bed. I was so tired I slept right throught the vaccum cleaner!

Here is our first baby picutre!

You can see the head and the outline of the amniotic sac. It is pretty amazing!