I'm an Aunt!!!

I am now the proud aunt of a a little girl, Aubrey Nicole. Yes, Brianne had her baby!!! She is 8 lbs 12 oz and 21 inches long! We are so excited! I just wanted to share it with all who read my blog. Sorry, no pics yet but I'm sure she's beautiful! Love to all!!!
~jen
P.S. Please pray that this baby in my belly gives my crotch a break for at least a day tomorrow... it's been kicking like crazy and I've been beyond uncomfortable all day.

10 weeks to go...

Well, I've made it to 30 weeks! YAY! The Braxton Hicks (practice) contractions has begun and at my check-up yesterday the midwife said that as long as they aren't painful, regulated (i.e. every 10 min) or accompanied by my water breaking all should be fine.

The Baby is also VERY active. Midwife suggested I count how many times baby moves within an hour and make sure I'm getting to 10 movements in that time. I responded by letting her know that it would only take me a matter of minutes to count 10 movements. She just laughed.

Baby has actually been pretty subdued tonight; I'm assuming because I've been so busy all evening cooking dinner, baking up another batch of Butterscotch-Chocolate Chip-Oatmeal cookies, cleaning up from all that and just doing stuff around the house. Now that I've eaten (including 2 sample cookies) and am "relaxing" s/he'll probably get moving like s/he did all day! I had Brendan feel my stomach last night as we laid in bed to see how crazy busy baby gets at bedtime and, needless to say, he was in awe. Now if I can just figure out how to get this kid to stop kicking/punching/elbowing me in my unmentionable area I'll be much happier. Don't get me wrong, I'm beyond excited that this kid is already becoming an athelete, I just wish that it wasn't so painful, at times, for me.

What else to share... to be honest I was a bit worried that I'd get scolded for the amount of weight I'd gained between my last appointment about 5 weeks ago and now, but the midwife was glad to see that I'm gaining weight and said that it's obviously, for the most part, all in my belly, so nothing be concerned about as long as I'm eating relatively healthfully.

Well, I think that's all for now... send questions my way if I missed anything you've been wondering about. As of today Bri has not had her baby yet, so whether Baby Moore will have a boy or girl cousin waiting for him/her is still unknown.
Thanks for reading...
~jen & baby m

Comparing

Well, I know I just posted yesterday, but I'm up for a late night/early morning snack and was looking back at pics and I'm just really starting to miss my old body! :( I love baby and how neat it is to see and feel him/her growing, but MAN! Lookin back at what I was, I hope it doesn't take too incredibly long to get back to that point. Here's where I've come... it took 25 weeks (was 4 weeks when I found out) to get to this, hopefully won't take anywhere near that long to get back. Love to all!!!
~j

29 weeks = stomach flu :(

Well, I slept pretty well last night, finally. I could tell this morning cause whenever I hit my snooze it seemed like my alarm was going off 30 seconds later instead of 15 min, but sure enough the 15 min had passed. I got up, had 2 packets of oatmeal for a nice warm and healthy breakfast, got dressed and ready and headed off to work.

Well, the good feelin was short lived. about 10 min before kids were supposed to arrive I suddenly began to feel REALLY hot and nauseaus. Despite the 20 degree temp outside I opened the window in my classroom and still couldn't cool off. I went and bought a bottle of cold water and still nothing better. On the way to go get the kids from the bus I barely made it to the bathroom and then again during the "Morning Meeting" I had to have my teacher aid/paraprofessional take over as I darted to the bathroom again. BLAH!

I called down to the office and they did their best to find me a sub (just going down the list and calling subs) and the nurse and then the school social worker came in to cover while I tried to quickly type up some notes and get everything "organized."

You'd think I would have felt this coming on but not even a hint that I'd be sick. I don't remember ever having the flu before, maybe once when I was 5 or 6, but otherwise I don't think so. NO FUN! The big belly doesn't make it easier, either!

Well, I mustered up a smile for the pic above... yet another pic take with the self-timer, so don't complain if it's not that great. Have a Fantastic Thanksgiving! Brendan returns Wednesday morning, so that's what I'm most thankful for!
Love to all!
~j & baby m

28 Weeks = 3rd Trimester

Well, I'm officially in the home stretch... the 3rd Trimester! YAY! Less than 3 months to go and I can't wait!

Many of you have been on me about posting a new photo on here. Well, as many of you know, Mr. Brendan (my baby's daddy) is currently over seas in Thailand for business, so there's no one here to take any quality pictures. Well, here's that I got by myself with my less than excellent camera. I've been having a lot of problems with my battery lasting and I don't know how, but it seems to be affecting the quality of the pictures as well... or it could just be that the pictures are at such a distance that the flash isn't doing it's job. Who knows?!

What else to share? Well, I went the first week or so after my last check up without gaining any weight and now I'm back up. Let me tell you, it's somehow tough to only gain 1 pound per week. I'm always hungry! I am doing a pretty darn good job of at least eating relatively healthy food when I am hungry, but HEY... I'm pregnant. One of the few times in my life that I'm allowed to give in to cravings, right? There were chocolate covered peanutbutter rice krispie bars in the lounge after school and I DID restrain myself! How good is that?

Other news is that I'm really starting to experience a good deal of back pain. No Fun! I need a good back rub, but those are hard to come by when all you've got around are 2 lazy cats. Even the fat one (Madison...14.5 pounds!) couldn't do anything by walking on it :) Then there's the problem of when Brendan does get home that I can't lay on my stomach which is the best way for me to totally relax. OH well!

Ok, all for today. Love to all!
~jen & baby m

Baby Shower Fun!

Well, today was the big day... Sarah called it Jen Day! Really, though, I think it was about the mysterious Baby Moore. We got so many fun things for baby! YAY! We played some neat games too including: Naming the TV show given a specific child character & Identify the type of chocolate candy that's been melted to resemble poopie in a "diaper." Now to the fun part... the gifts :) Here's what I've gotten pics of so far:
-A neat basket filled with some fun goodies-

-The Baby Bedding-

-Baby Blanket made w/love from Auntie Becca-
-THE G Galore "Travel System"-
-An Umbrella Stroller (Grandma Eastwood's #1 Recommended Travel Necesity)-

Other exciting presents include bottles, Baby Bjorn carrier, lots of cute onsies, a few bibs, books for baby, A super SWEET 80's Denise Austin Pregnancy Workout tape (YES, that's VHS not DVD...thanks BRF), and more :) Thanks to all who came... pics from the shower will be posted once I get them (Sarah B took lots) OH, and I can't forget the MN Northstar's Hockey t-shirt from Jen & Chris as well as Mtn. Bike Mick and his wife Bev :) Brendan is SO jealous!!!

Happy November!!! Maybe I'll be an Aunt myself soon, too... Brendan's sis Bri is due in 3 weeks, but sounds like she could go any time :)

~jen and baby m