Homestretch!

Jillian - 36 weeks

Finally in the homestretch!  And it really could be any time... I was offically put on bedrest Friday afternoon... No more work, no more activities, just laying low and trying to keep the little guy in.  I would love to make it to 38 weeks, but I know it's totally up to baby and when he wants to make his appearance. :)

My blood pressure has been high and I have had lots of swelling in my legs and feet and so of course the doctor is on high alert for Preeclampsia.  I had a panel done last week that came back negative, but my Bp has gone up since then and I have to do a 24 hr urine test this weekend for protein.  

I also had a 30 min NST done on Friday (Gina has had this done as well and I had several after my car accident).  The baby still looks great, but I was having contractions throughout the entire time I was being monitored (the contractions are not new for me either, I have been able to feel them for 3 months, but I am very aware of them all the time now, especially when I stand up or do anything on my feet). 

It is hard to believe Christmas is 3 days away!  Time has been flying by, as there is always so much to do this time of year (but don't worry, I have crossed everything off the list and no more plans until baby)!  I had some really great baby showers put on by both sides of the family and I feel so lucky and blessed that there are so many people awaiting Baby A's arrival!  

My dad also reached a milestone in his life!  He offically retired this past Friday and I am so happy that we were able to attend his wonderful retirement celebration a couple weeks back and that my sister and I were able to surprise him as guest speakers during the well-deserved program his work put on for him. 

Here are my last several weeks in pictures:

Spending time with family and celebrating grandma's 85th birthday!

 

At the Minikahda Club for a beautiful shower and luncheon

 

With mom and her sisters at my Juris family shower!

 

Dad's retirement party at Edinburgh :)

No!!!

Gina - Goddammit! It's happened...I have stretch marks.

Getting Real!

Gina- 28 weeks

I can't believe how close we both are to meeting our babies. Jillian only has a month and a half to go and I have 2 1/2 months.

Charlie and I recently had a 4D ultrasound done and were able to see what our baby girl looks like. The best news what that she looked healthy and was measuring on schedule. The other good news was that she had lots of hair already!!! I was so excited to learn that. The technician said that most babies grow their hair in the last part of the third trimester, so if she has hair now, she's gonna have a lot when she is born. Yay! Bring on the ribbons and bows :).

Below are a couple of photos from the ultrasound. He said her nose was smooshed right against by belly and that she was trying to suck on her hands and toes. He also said she is very active (which I already could feel) and that she had detached earlobes. Isn't that just so amazing? Take a look for yourself...

Today, I had my 28 week check up. I didn't realize this, but I am considered to be a high risk pregnancy, because I had high blood pressure prior to getting pregnant. So from here on out, I will be going to the Doctor weekly to have an ultrasound and measure the baby's growth and biophysical something or other. Also, my cervix is soft, so they will also need to check that each week to make sure I haven't dilated. So far so good with everything... let's hope the results of the glucose test come in ok. I didn't realize I'd be going weekly, but I am excited to have the ultrasounds and get checked out more often. If anything, it'll just be reassuring. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hope you are having a wonderful day and spending lots of quality time with family! 

Love, Jillian and Gina 

Update...

Jillian - 30 weeks!

It has taken me a little while to write this post, but on the day of my last entry, (aka Halloween and my husband's birthday), I got into a car accident on the way home from work.  It was one of those horrible flukes at a 4-way stop that I drive through every, single day.  It was my turn to go and I'll never know if that other car ran the stop sign or just didn't yield, but the details aren't important.  It happened.  I just hope no one reading this EVER has to experience the terror of being in a car crash when you are pregnant.  My airbags deployed and my car was totaled.  Thank God the airbags did not hit me, because the seatbelt was holding me back in my seat.  The downside is that my seatbelt was right across the middle of my large belly and once the accident happened, I was full of panic and fear that something awful had just happened to my 28 1/2 week fetus.  I was shaking from head to toe and I knew that I (myself) was physically okay, but there was enormous pressure on my stomach that I was feeling as I climbed out of my car.  An ambulance showed up immediately and I instructed them to take me to the Mother Baby Center at Abbott Northwestern Hospital where I plan to deliver.  If anything bad was going to happen, I wanted to be as close to Children's Hospital as possible. 

A terrified ambulance ride through rush hour traffic followed and I was brought into maternal assessment where a wonderfully, sweet nurse named Henrietta kept Eric and I calm for the next several hours as we waited on bloodwork to see if a placental tear had occurred.  The baby's heartbeat was strong and everything looked really good on the fetal monitors.  The preliminary test came back that DID confirm some of the baby's blood had crossed over in my bloodstream and that meant the impact from the accident did cause a small tear in the placenta.  This meant I would be admitted and would be spending the night in the hospital.  It was my first overnight hospital stay and I was scared and nervous and didn't sleep at all.  I just watched my baby's heartbeat on the monitor and tried not to move so I wouldn't knock the sensors out of place. :) 
My Dr. came in to see me the next morning and told me that as a precaution she wanted me to spend 24 full hours in the hospital and they would talk about discharging me later that evening. 
I am just so grateful that everything ended up being okay and that Baby A is still cooking away in his oven. :) This whole event taught me that things happen that are out of my control and I need to relax and not try and do a million things like I am so used to.  I am taking the rest of this pregnancy EASY, even though the last week did have some big events that I could not miss... I just stayed off my feet as much as possible and I am obsessively counting kicks and always putting this little baby first! :)
Here is my last 2 weeks in pictures:

The fetal monitor.  I've gotten to know this machine all too well!  Strong, happy heartbeat and great stats!!

 

Gina had her MN reception in Stillwater!  It was beautiful!!! (My sis and I with the bride)

 



My college besties threw me a wonderful baby shower!!!

I was a bridesmaid and soloist (sang Ave Maria at the Basilica) at my dear friend, Kelly's wedding last Saturday!

(With Nicole, Kelly's new sis-in-law and also a soloist)

 

Eric and me at the wedding!

 

I will be going to the Doctor every 2 weeks for checkups now.  We have our hospital tour tomrrow morning.  I am looking forward to it, even though we got an early tour with our Halloween overnight... :)

 

   

3rd Trimester!!

Jillian -

We had the BEST time in Sedona at Gina's wedding.  What a gorgeous location for an outdoor wedding!  Gina looked so beautiful and had me crying my eyes out at her ceremony. :)

Cheers to an amazing future!

We never saw one cloud in the sky the entire time we were in Arizona.  Eric and I were able to enjoy one last trip together before we become a family of 3 and we got in some relaxation and pool time and also made the trek to the Grand Canyon the day after the wedding.  It was pretty cool to see and we're glad we can cross it off the bucket list!

 The amazing Red Rocks of Sedona

One of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World: The Grand Canyon!

Going back to reality was pretty hard!  One tip to any pregnant ladies out there flying in the 2nd or 3rd trimester - tell the gate agent and they might just give you a temporary disability pass like they did for Gina and me on the way home (wish I had known this piece of information for the flight out there!).  We were able to board the plane first and were able to get seats where we could stretch our legs out and had room to get up and use the restroom easily!  It made SUCH a differecne! :)

In other news, I had a slight panic attack when I got home and realized the baby would be here in less than 3 months and the baby's room was still full of storage boxes with pink and green curtains hanging in the window. ;)

I called for help and my family came through.  Eric and his brother put together our crib and mom my and sister helped me pick out paint and painted the entire room!

 I just love this picture.  They look more like a couple than brothers! LOL

 

Late night painting!

 

 And finally.... HAPPY HALLOWEEN BIRTHDAY to my amazing husband!  This year is gonna be a good one! XOXO

#tbt from last year.  Abe Lincoln and Flapper.  Our costumes this year won't be quite as glamorous... ;)

We're Married!

Gina-

Charlie and I got married last weekend and it was the most perfect setting for a wedding. Sedona was amazing. I don't think there could have been a more beautiful setting or weather for a wedding. I'm not one to cry at weddings, but boy did the waterworks come on for my own. There was something so emotional about the setting, the vows and the people there with us. Even my Grandma was able to watch it live in Minnesota through Facetime.

I am so happy to be married to Charlie and a part of his family. I feel very blessed and am defintely one lucky girl!

Here are some photos of the wedding...

 

Best day ever!

 

More baby updates after my 24 week check up next week. :)

26 Weeks!

Jillian -

26 weeks and approaching the homeward stretch!  We have been busy packing all night for our flight to Arizona in the morning for Gina and Charlie's wedding!!!!! :)

I had a Level 2 ultrasound on Monday.  This was necessary so that I would be cleared to fly out tomorrow.  Turns out I have been having contractions several times a day for the last few weeks, so my Dr. needed to make sure everything looked good and was "closed up."  

This was our 5th ultrasound and it was very detailed.  We saw all 4 chambers of the heart and all his little organs.  It was SUCH a relief that everything was looking good.  With my history of bleeding throughout this pregnancy and now the contractions, we were worried that I might fall victim to pre-term labor.  But my cervix is closed and all looked well, so everything I have going on might just oddly enough be my base line in pregnancy...

It did crack me up that the baby was laying with both arms behind his head and his feet crossed at the ankles, like he was already preparing to watch football on the couch with his dad!

Work wears me out big time, but I am trying hard to take care of myself and put my feet up after a long day and not push my limits.  Our little guy already weighs around 2 lbs, 3o oz.  That is just crazy to think about, but I am definitely getting bigger everyday.  Eric weighed 9.5 lbs when he was born, so I have a feeling I am going to be carrying a very big baby boy! :) 

I am a little behind on photos, but here is a pic from last week (I was 25 weeks in this photo even though it's labeled 24). 

 

Here is the sweet little profile of his face at 26 weeks!!

 

I downloaded the Blogger mobile app, so maybe I will figure it out this weekend and be able to publish some pics of the beautiful bride in Sedona!!

Au Revoir!

We're having a....

Gina - Whoops! It's been a while since I last updated this blog. So much has happened since then. My chest is continuing to grow, so is my belly and the heartburn doesn't stop! What is with the damn heartburn? I have stretch marks on my hips and I am gaining the weight that I need to be (and gaining it fast). Despite all of these annoying body changes, I couldn't be more excited to become a mama.

My wedding is next Friday, and I am so excited. I am glad we decided to have a destination wedding. It just seems so much easier to plan when it's small. We are getting married in Sedona, Arizona overlooking the red rocks. Let's just hope the weather cooperates. Next time I update this blog, I will be Mrs. Chuck Norris! How badass is that?!

I spent last Thursday back in the hospital getting IV fluids. After 2 days of nausea and vomiting, my doctor sent me in to get hydrated. I felt a million times better after I left. I even stopped at McDonalds and had myself a greasy double cheeseburger. I realize that's not the healthiest thing to eat while pregnant, but I didn't eat for 2 days. I caved and went for it!

Charlie and I had our 20 week ultrasound last Friday. The best news of the day was that everything looked normal and that the baby was healthy. The one weird thing about about my exam was that I have an extra lobe on my placenta. DO NOT google it. It's disgusting! But apparently that won't hurt the baby at all. They just have to make sure that they get both parts of the placenta when I deliver. Who knows what caused that, maybe a vanishing twin?

We also found out that we were going to be having a baby GIRL and we couldn't be more excited! We had our family over last weekend to share the news. Yes, we copied Jillian and Eric's idea of having the cake reveal our baby's gender. Most of our family thought we were going to have a boy, so when they cut into the cake and saw pink they really seemed surprised. Here is a cute photo of our baby girl...

Bring on the pink!

Can't hide it anymore!

Jillian - 24 weeks 

I work as a medical aesthetician and I wear a black uniform/smock every day to work.  This little outfit has allowed me to "appear" much smaller than I am.  No one even knew I was pregnant... until this week!  I have gone up a size in my uniform and I am not sure how much longer this one will zip up.  Every. single. patient. has asked me when I'm due this week!  I know I look very pregnant outside of work, when I am wearing regular maternity clothes, but it was a little bit of a shock to the system to be called out on it by every patient at work! Where are the manners people? :)

I have caught a summer cold and it is a very slow process to get over when you can't take the usual cold medications!  I am trying to rest and drink lots of water.  Other than that, I am feeling ok!  The nesting urge is starting to take over and I am just itching to work on the nursery! 

Gina finds out what she is having this weekend and I am so excited to hear if baby A will have a best buddy or future girlfriend on the way!!! :)

This is totally how I feel at work:

Happy Tuesday!

Happy birthday Gina!!!!

Jillian - Birthday Reminiscing!


Happy birthday Gina!!! I wanted to post a little throwback of memories today! :)
The following video is a snippet from June 4, 2000.  Gina was 18 years old and I was 17 for another 5 days... ;)

LOL.  It was our senior all-night party and we had just had our hair done by the hair-braider! 
My parents actually still have a VHS player that I was able to record that off of! 13 years later, Gina is finally getting that jump-start on the 5 kids she was hoping to have by our 10 year reunion!!!!

Here are a few other photos I dug up... The upper right was when we were 16 and we spent the night dressed up in my mom's old clothes singing kareoke and eating pickles... the pic on the left is how we passed our free-time in 11th grade and the bottom right is my 21st birthday at Champps downtown. :)

 

 

 September 20th is also an anniversary of friendship.  Today we celebrate 13 years of memories with our best buddies from the college dorm days.  Although Andy is no longer with us, I know Gina, Chris and I hold him close in our hearts today and always.  XO

Happiest of birthdays GG!  This year is going to be a big one!!! Heading off to celebrate at Benihana with all of our favorite foods.  Mmmmmm.

Just Because

Gina- Too True

I had to share this one, because it is totally happening to me right now. Damn leg cramps!

Mover and a shaker!

Jillian - 22 weeks

In the past two weeks I have finally been able to feel the baby move!  He is very active in the evenings when I am propped up in bed reading one of the 15 pregnancy books I have piled next to me. :) I like to hold my breath and try to focus in on his flutters.  It is a pretty cool sensation!  

I have started in on my 9th season of singing at the Basilica of St. Mary in downtown Minneapolis as a 1st soprano in the Cathedral choir.  We have rehearsal every Wednesday night and last week when the whole choir started to sing a piece together for the first time, I almost started crying because it was the strongest movement (felt like crazy somersaults) I had felt from this little guy to date.  And the beautiful music that comes from all the talented singers in my choir is so overwhelming.  I always feel so humbled to be a part of such an amazing group of singers and individuals.  Of course at that moment I start envisioning that my son will grow up to be the next Chris Martin from Coldplay, since he obviously already has a deep-found love of music like his mom... :)

I am officially in maternity clothes all the time now and almost feel like they make me look bigger and more pregnant than I look in just a sweatshirt and sweatpants.  I keep getting asked when my due date is and I suddenly feel like January is a ways away....

I have taken a photo in the same outfit, standing by the same wall since I was 10 weeks along.  It is pretty crazy to see the changes along the way!  Here I am in my 21 week photo with my hair all done up for a banquet Eric and I were attending later in the evening!

 

Happy Hump Day!

 

The Dress

Gina - Tying the Knot

My wedding is just 4 weeks away! The best thing happened the other day. My original dress (the really fitted one) was supposed to be in by mid-August. I had to order extra fabric after I found out I was pregnant, so I was really hoping it would arrive on time to make sure it was going to fit. Well, it didn't come in and I was getting very nervous. The lady from the shop finally called me back to tell me that the maker wouldn't be shipping it for another 2 weeks...that's 3 weeks before my wedding! What if I hated it? What if we didn't have enough fabric? I was so upset! So, I told her I wanted to come in to see if they had anything off the rack I could get just in case my dress didn't come in. She agreed and we set up a time for the next day.

When my mom and I arrived to the shop, we were greeted by the new owner of the store. She told us she was very sorry, but she didn't think my dress would be in in time. Now, if I hadn't gotten pregnant I would have been furious! I ordered that dress over 7 months ago and was assured it would be in by August. But, since I have a new body and a baby inside of me, part of me was relieved to no longer have to worry about looking like a whale in that tight-fitting dress. The only issue was finding a dress I loved off the rack. After trying on about 5 dresses, she brought in a dress that I loved on the hanger. Of course, it's not my dream idea of my wedding dress, but it was certainly the best I could find for my circumstance. It was flowy, had an empire waist and just fit me nice. It was a huge relief!! The best part is that is was $600 less than my original dress. The ladies at the store were so nice and felt so bad about the situation, that they even gave me more off the dress! It was a great ending to a very stressful week. I can't wait to be married and I certainly can't wait to meet my little baby. Life is good.

THE BIG REVEAL (Part 2)

Jillian - Boy oh BOY!

 

Sorry about the delay in this post.  The last several days have been eventful, to say the least.

 

This video sums up the big reveal.  I am so happy we caught this on film!



BEFORE

AFTER

 

So fun! Everyone at the party wore their guess!

Right after we cut the cake

Mom and her girls.  Love these reactions. :)

The preggos!

Such a FUN, FUN party!  We are so thankful for everyone that could be there!

On a side note, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my mom yesterday!

 

AND, Happy BIRTHday to my cousin Jess and Jimbo's sweet baby boy (born 4 weeks early)

 

William James Dreischmeier born 9/4/13

6lbs 13oz



16-Week Check Up

Gina - 4 months already?!

Today I had my 4-month check-up. Nothing really significant happened at my appointment, but I did get to hear the heartbeat again! It took a while for the doc to find it, which made me a bit nervous. Once she found it (which seemed like forever) it was about 159 BPM. It once again made my heart melt. I love that sound! It confirms that everything is ok and it is a relief!

Charlie and I signed up for birthing classes today. We start in Decemeber! I also decided to take a breastfeeding class too. What are those like? In my head I picture all of us in the class being topless, practicing with dolls. That is all I can picture! Of course I know that's not what happens, but it still makes me uncomfortable for some reason.

On Oct. 4 we find out the gender of our baby. Most of this time, I have felt like we were going to have a boy, but after my appointment today and hearing the fast heartbeat, I am second guessing myself. Only 5 more weeks and we'll know! Either way, we will be blessed.

Jillian and Eric's party was so much fun! I am so happy that they are having a little boy. You should have seen some of the reactions, especially Jillian's and Eric's parents. They were HILARIOUS, but it made that moment extra special to be able to see how everyone reacted to the awesome news. It would be nice for me to have a boy for him to play with, but maybe a girl would be better. That way they can get married and our daughter's in-laws would also be our best friends. How cool would that be?

I am feeling a thousand times better now. It's crazy how that happens. I have more energy, more of an appetite (I really do crave pickles) and am more pleasant to be around! Let's hope that continues.

Today, I felt the baby move quite a bit! It's the weirdest feeling in the world. Don't get me wrong, I think it is amazing, but to actually feel it moving is quite strange. I hear I'll be able to see a foot or an elbow stick out of my belly eventually. That makes me queasy just thinking about it. This whole growing a human inside of me thing really a lot to get used to. I try and take it one day at a time, because I know in the end, I will have the most amazing, sweet and beautiful baby with the most amazing, sweet and beautiful man. I really am lucky!

THE BIG REVEAL!!

Jillian - Pink or Blue????? 

Tomorrow is Baby A's big reveal!  What do you think?! My guess has been blue from day one.  Eric is on team pink.  Less than 24 hours to go!

This is a pic of the adorable invites my sister created and sent out!

 

We had our 20 week ultrasound and appointment yesterday and all looked good with measurements, etc.  Baby of course was sleeping and had its rump down, so after most of the measurements, I took a bathroom break and jumped around a little bit and politely asked the baby to cooperate. :)  Lucky for me, little babes is already a good listener woke up and moved and the ultrasound tech told us she was "sure" of the gender.  She wrote it down and sealed it in 2 envelopes (one was off to the bakery and one for us to keep). 

 

We have not looked yet.  The suspense is killing me.  Knowing myself all too well and my very strong emotions, I think Eric and I will take a private moment to ourselves tomorrow before the party and find out the news.  That way we can process the information (we will be THRILLED with either a boy or girl...just praying for a healthy baby) and focus on everyone else's reactions when we cut that cake tomorrow evening. :)

 

Lots more fun pictures to come... But I'll leave you with this adorable profile for tonight!

 

Eat More, Sleep More.

Gina- Turning a Corner

I just started week 16, and I can honestly say I feel so much better! I am definitely having some weird body changes that I never knew I'd have. Some I can't even mention in this blog for fear that my brother or grandma may be reading this. I have a question for moms out there... do your boobs continue to grow or is that just in the beginning? If so, I am totally screwed. I maxed out the sizes at Victoria's Secret, so now it's on to online ordering for me. This news especially is hard, because I had a breast reduction many years ago. Which leads me to my next question...Will I be able to breast feed since I had a reduction? I sure hope so. I mean, I really hate working out, so how else will I lose the extra baby weight?!

Jillian and I braved the heat and went to the State Fair this past week with our baby daddies. It was so hard to pass up the Minnesota wine booth and the beergarita stand, but I took one for the team (by team, I really mean my fetus). I gained a pound in 1 day! Weight gain is welcomed by me, since I am still 6lbs under my normal weight. I am sure it'll sneak up fast and I will regret saying that. Especially since I have a wedding dress to squish into in 2 months. Anywho, I ate a corn dog, corn on the cob, fried meatloaf, fried pickles and a pretzel dog. All of which were shared with Charlie or with Jillian. I didn't even feel sick! I am definitely feeling better. Wahooooooooo!

Here are some pics from the fair:

Corndogs....YUM!



Boys enjoying the craft beer experience



A staple at the fair... CORN





Jillian - In the land of SNOOGLE

I have recently found myself tossing and turning and waking up rather uncomfortably at night.  I am now 19 weeks pregnant and I am supposed to be sleeping primarily on my left side.  How does one change their sleeping habits you might ask?  As a full-on back sleeper, I had to find a solution to this problem. 

The snoogle.  It has taken over our bed, invades my dog's space (he growls when it comes out each night), but it TRAPS you on your side and makes sleeping much more comfortable as your growing belly makes regular old sleeping much more of a chore. 

It's a bit of an eye sore... but there are so many uses for it! Just check out this diagram:

Okay, so that's a blurry picture, but my point is that the SNOOGLE is totally worth it!  I ordered mine off of Amazon and it came with a grey, washable cover.  Even this lady agrees with me:



:)