long awaited update

I know, i know...it's been awhile. Like 16 weeks...

Much has happened, obviously. We're almost to the end of the pregnancy stage and almost to the wonderful first meeting of my son! I'm humongus. Here are some highlights of the last 4 months: I had lost a total of 27 lbs but have since gained about 7 back still leaving me a good 20 under. My waist measurement is the same now as it was pre-pregnancy so I'm feeling pretty good about seeing my post baby bod. Asher is a mover and shaker (and roller)! The kick chart my midwife gave me has been pretty useless because it never takes more than a couple minutes to get all the required kicks in. The midwives have been pretty awesome. My gallbladder has been behaving pretty well and I've gotten myself back to eating pretty normally again. If it keeps behaving they probably won't take it out post-baby but we'll just have to see. We've had 3 baby showers, 1 to go after the birth. Lots of fun and lots of presents! Derek and I took a roadtrip in June to California to see my cousin get married and had lots of fun! We took Asher to many cool places that we'll have to take him back to someday! The nursery is done! It's so stinkin cute! Most of the sewing was done by my mom (Grammy Tami) and the grass, painted by myself, Derek, and Al, looks great! And since the showers it's pretty darn stocked too! So now we wait...Our bags are packed, Derek's installing the car seat today, I'm already 1 cm dialated and half effaced and having some contractions, and the doctors say there's probably a decent chance he'll come a little early. Thank god! My hips especially are killing me! However, I know these double jointed hips I got from Grandma gotta help in delivery. Now though it's hard to even walk. Even more so since he dropped significantly a week or so ago. The waiting is pretty much the hardest thing. I'm only nervous about WHEN things start to really happen. The labor and delivery doesn't frighten me too bad because I know it's gotta end sometime and I might as well labor (haha) through it. But not knowing when I will go into labor scares me. I could be home alone, in a store, or with a ton of people to give me support, but I just don't know. Hopefully the next time I write, I'll be a mom and will have wonderful news of birth to announce!

gallbladder

Easter 09 (22 weeks)
Things have been pretty awesome so far! We successfully moved into a larger apartment (2 bdrms) and are enjoying the extra space. Many thanks to the friends and family who helped as I could do very little myself! The extra bedroom (and future baby room) is now storage for the stuff we haven't gone through as well as the collection of baby furniture that till now was chillin in family garages. We actually have a majority of the furniture staples taken care of through craigslist, goodwill, and friends, but everything's in great condition and even matches! And since we found out there's a little boy inhabiting my womb, the clothing collection has doubled! Once you decide on a theme (frogs for little Asher), it's hard NOT to buy everything you see in the theme!



On a slightly less awesome note, a couple days after the move, I began experiencing terrible pain in my back as well as some always pleasant vomiting. (and dangit I made it this far without getting sick!) I called my midwife and she said it was probably my gallbladder and to try and let it pass but if not go to the family birth center (the hospital). Of course this was the 1 night a week Derek has to work graveyard and the pain WAS NOT going away, so I called my mom to pick me up and take me to the hospital. We tried the ER first and after being told we were 15th in line, waiting (and puking in the waiting room) for an hour without seeing 1 person go back, we went over to the family birth center instead where I think we were the only ones there, got our own room immediately, and were treated as promptly as possible. I was pretty dehydrated so taking blood samples took forever, as did putting in my IV so I could get REhydrated, but the 7th try was the winner. I had an ultrasound done on my gallbladder and sure enough, it was blocked. It's apparently common during pregnancy for fat to clog the sucker up. They gave me anti-nausea and pain meds, rehydrated me and sent me packing after an all-night excursion. A week later, I'm ok. Weak and still a little sore, but ok. I have to cut out pretty much all the fat from my diet which sucks though. I've still lost weight since the beginning, but have been holding at a steady weight for about a month. Asher's still growing and kicking like a champ though! Though it looks like I'm carrying high, he couldn't be kicking and sitting any lower without falling out! Derek's been able to feel him kick, but it's impossible to do so without getting a little *fresh*, if you know what I'm sayin. It's fun though. It makes it more real and exciting. That's all for now...I have my 3d ultrasound at the end of May so I'll be sure to post then!

Video!

Here's a video of our kung-fu ninja baby in the womb!

It's a...

BOY!!!!! Asher Allen Hunt is in good health in my belly!

Update!

SOOOOO...I'm happy to inform that we have finally seen a DR! It took a week to get the paperwork from OHP and a week to get the runaround from another clinic before I (only somewhat) settled on Willamette Valley Midwives. I was able to hear a heartbeat at the appt which was great! I then went over to Salem Diagnostics to set up the ultrasound to find out what I'm having. I will report the news this Friday (Good Friday at that!) With the ultrasound we get a free DVD and a free 3D ultrasound at 28 weeks! After setting that up I had some time to blow before reporting to work so I sucked it up and went to the hospital to get the rest of my labwork done. The 1 hour glucose test was...great. Then after that wonderful hour and the massive bloodletting they did, I was pretty out of it for my shift that day. But, it's over and I don't have to do it again. (I hope!)

In other news, I'm halfway done! As you can see, I'm really starting to pop! We have made the arrangements to move next week into a 2 bedroom apt in the same complex we are in now. Except for the dusty blue carpet, it looks pretty awesome! My parents have been tirelessly searching craigslist for baby furniture and we got a crib a couple days ago. We also bought a new litterbox for Gizzy since we won't have a patio to put it on. It's baby and smell friendly, and easy to clean. (Don't worry Derek does that!) I'm also very excited to have bought 2 maternity dresses! I'm not even one to wear skirts but the idea of a dress seems very appealing when pregnant. They are casual enough to wear to work even, but could be dressed up for my cousin's wedding in June. I also have lost about 20 lbs since the start of my pregnancy, which makes wearing clothes I already have kind of difficult since everything's too big here, too small there. Well, I think that's all I got for now. Happy Easter!

Drano!

So in case you haven't been updated, we have been trying all kinds of old wives tales out before we find out the sex of the baby. The pendulum test said girl on pretty much all occasions and with both of our wedding rings and a needle. We thought we should go for the big one: the Drano test. It goes like this: Get crystal Drano. Pee in a cup. Add to Drano. Watch what happens. If it changes color, it's a boy, if not, it's a girl. In the process of getting all this ready, my mom mentioned it to her pregnant neighbor and she wanted to be in on the experiment too. As did my mom actually, but as a control. So tonight we all peed in Drano. My jar's reaction was pretty awful. It bubbled like mad and got really black, so I guess that means boy. My mom's did the same thing however, though not as bad and not as instant. I guess she's having a baby boy too?? Anna's, the neighbor, didn't do anything. Looks like she gets girl, which I'm guessing she's ok with after 2 boys she already has. In any case, the smell was absolutely awful and though we stood far enough away, it stunk to high heaven. So that's that! We will see how right the tests were soon (i hope)!

Exciting news X2!!

Well lets just start off by getting the most awesome out of the way: WE GOT APPROVED FOR OHP! Our card should arrive in the mail today and I can call to set up an appt with a dr! This comes after the other little awesome bit of news: I felt my first little kick last night! I had been wondering what was gas and what was baby for about a week but this little thumbprint-feeling jab was pretty obvious. I will keep this posted as to dr appts in the future, especially the anxiously awaited ultrasound!