38 weeks and ready to go...or so we think :)

Welcome back all! Hopefully this will be our final post before Baby Foster is here! Within the past week and a 1/2 we have had 2 doctors appointments. Here are the details from each.



Last Wednesday 12/16 we had our 37 weeks appointment. Weighed in at 171, measured at 36.25 cm, and the baby's heart rate was in the 150's (must have been the cheesecake I ate for lunch :) and yes, the white chocolate raspberry was amazing and very worth it!!) When the doctor went to check on any progress, it turns out I was 1 cm and 50% effaced (thinning of the cervix). So exciting!



On Monday 12/21, Chuck and I trekked back to the doc's office to get our updated ultrasound to see how big the baby is and if everything looks good on the inside. So far, they guess-ta-mated the baby's weight at 6.5 (so, we should have a 7/7.5 lb baby when all is said and done! Hopefully it will just slide right on out!!), the head is down (butt is located toward the left and feet are kicking me in my ribs on the right), and the amniotic fluid has gotten two thumbs up! I stayed at 171 lbs (despite my cheesecake from last week and ice cream over the weekend), measured at 37.5cm (which doesn't really mean much...the baby could be stretching when we measured), and the heart rate is at 144. As for progress, we are still at 1cm 50%, so nothing new to report. I was a little surprised as over the past week; things have been aching and pulling, but what else should you expect at 38 weeks!



Please be sure to call or send any recommendations for progression! Have a Merry Christmas everyone and Happy New Year! Thanks for all your love and support!

35 going on 36...almost done!

Happy Holidays from inside! Soon, Baby Foster will be here and we are soooo excited! Thanksgiving was great; we even had thirds! And thank you all for the support and love! Each of the showers were VERY different, but perfect and more than we could have ever asked for! For those who joined, we hope you had a great time, and for those who couldn't make it, know we understand but missed you :)!



As far as progression goes, at our 33 week appt I measured at 33cm weighing in at 169.5 lbs with the baby heart rate of 146. At the 35 week appt this past week, we were at 34.5 cm weighing in at 170 lbs with the baby heart rate of 148. A total weight gain of 21 lbs so far. Though it is tough to tell with the measurements, it is encouraging that we are .5 cm behind (they say you should measure how far along you are). This either means a) I am dropping :) b) the baby is going to be smaller or c) squat. Hopefully a) and b) :). We have chosen our pediatrician and are gathering the final few items we will need to bring home baby. Our next appointment will be in a week and a 1/2 at 37 weeks and that is where we will schedule a final ultra sound (38 weeks) to be sure everything is good to go. We are keeping up with Yoga and Body Jam (fun dance class at our gym), and have a Infant CPR class on the 18th.



And in terms of uncomfortalbness, we are hanging in there. Shoot, I can't complain...I have just started regular back pain and slight lack of sleep with only 4 weeks to go...not too shabby! For now, I am using Yoga positions to help aleviate pain. Chuck is doing a great job of massaging and helping more and more. I do feel bad napping and taking it easy, but figure those days will soon be long gone so if I have a chance, I should take advantage of that :).



We will be staying here in MD for Christmas and New Years just in case. Plus sitting in a car for any more than 30 mins is just killer! We will miss you all this year, but will have the best gift soon! The baby can't wait to meet you! Till next time...

less than 10 weeks left...la la la

We are on the final stretch ladies and gentlemen. Hands and feet are starting to appear at random times from my belly, bending over is def. a chore, staying up past 11 is nearly impossible, and I find myself waddling at different points throughout the day! Chuck is so wonderful, giving me a nightly back massage, cooking dinner more, and helping take Sully outside. Last week I weighed in at 163, bringing the total weight gain to 14 lbs! The baby is def. growing! My uterus is up 4 cm taking the total measurement to 29 cm, right on schedule. We've officially hired a Doula, who we will meet next week to discuss our birth plan (more so what we would like, not what will happen...that is up to the baby that day :).


As for the other major steps, we spoke to the doctor about the concerning flu season. We weren't really planning on getting the swine flu shot (reg seasonal flu shot we've already got) but it has hit our area and more specifically preg mom's from our doctors office. Soooo, Tuesday I bit the bullet. They say it takes about 5-7 days for your body to build up most antibodies and a full 14 days for your body to be ready to go, so if any of you are not feeling well, esp have had a fever, cough, etc within the past 48 hours (of coming into contact with us) or even have been around people with these symptoms (you can be a carrier for 24 hours and not know you have it), I love you, but stay far away. They've also suggested anyone who will be the primary caretaker for the baby in the first 3 months to get both flu shots as well since the baby can't get vaccinate until 6 months. At 36 weeks, Chuck will be able to get his. Good information to know! And we were not able to tour the OB facility. All the hospitals in the area went on lock down with the H1N1 so they have cancelled all tours for the rest of the year. It stinks but if we were delivering at this time, I wouldn't want everyone stompin through with their germs.

As for names, we had a few in mind (but a still open to suggestions and thoughts. Heck, we may meet this wonderful baby and think a completely different direction). For a girl, we are up in the air about first names but the middle name will most likely be Lynn. With the last name of Amadore...hehehe j/k Foster :). For a boy, Charles Joseph Foster V, #5 :) with a nickname of probably Joe, or Joey...heck maybe even the full Charles (when everyone is in a room here is how the nicknames go: Great Grampa is Chum, Grampa is Chuck, Dad is Charlie). That's where we are so far.

November will bring so much activity, Easton baby shower (with Gramma Doyle's famous Christmas cookies), Baltimore "open house" (so excited for it being coed), and Thanksgiving (eating thirds this year :)). Just remember, 10 weeks left means Christmas is 8 weeks away! How about them apples?!?!? Till next time...

2nd Trimester...Check!

Sooo, here we are...almost done with week 26! Can't believe that we will soon culminate our 2nd trimester! So weird! Last week was our most recent doctors appt. So far my total weight gain is 9 lbs, I've grown 4 cm (bringing my uterus to 25 cm), and things are progressing beautifully. Thankfully, all my weight gain has been right in the belly area and I am feeling great (let's keep that going for at least another few weeks :)). The baby is moving sooo much lately and if I lay still enough, you can actually see my belly move around! It is the neatest yet weirdest thing! Oct 21st will be my last monthly visit to the OB, then I will go every other week, then weekly!



Gram came to visit to help with the baby furniture last week, so we are ready to go! Our first baby shower will be next week hosted by Mama Foster. We are so very excited to celebrate with family AND rumor has it Gramma Foster will be making some delish desserts...mmmmm. Speaking of food, I have done really well portion wise and keeping my cravings under control (Chuck just had his first store run to buy some banana split ingredients last week) but each time I go to the grocery store I pass by an Entenmann's display. One time, just one time, I am going to buy a Cheese Danish thingy and finish the whole thing, not to think a second thought about it! Will keep you posted!



Next Tuesday, Chuck and I will take the walk through of the GMBC labor and delivery wing. We are very excited to see the who and where of this who process. Also, we are considering a Lamaze class, but not sure. If anyone has any experience or thoughts, please give us a buzz or shoot an email; we would love some direction on this.

Second 1/2 here we come...

We are officially in our 22nd week of pregnancy and things are moving along just wonderfully! Recently, the baby has started to kick and not only can mom feel it, but so can everyone else. It is both amazing and weird all in the same :) (Kind of feels like a muscle twitch.) As of our last OB appt (Aug 26) mama has gained a total of 7 lbs (looks like much more :).) We inquired about being able to feel the baby so soon (as most of the articles, advice, and books read tell us that mom can feel baby around 18-20 weeks and everyone else around 26-28 weeks) and the doc said we must just have a strong baby (wonder who baby takes after??) After listening to the heart beat, she actually called baby a "thrasher" hehehe. We are feeling great (though still very strongly opinionated) and have started prenatal yoga.



As for baby preparation, we have most of the dates for the showers, started our registry at Baby's R Us, and taken on the baby room/office conversion. Oct will be in Williamsport for the Foster side, early Nov will be in Easton for the Amadore side, and mid Nov for Baltimorons...Keep an eye out for invites! When you take a look at the registry, you will notice that there isn't too much there. Chuck and I are very lucky for our wonderful family, friends, and everything god has blessed us with, but it is coming very quickly to our attention that space is exceptionally limited here in MD. Our condo has little room for storage, soooo it is looking like most of the necessities you would register for when the baby is 6 months and older (ie high chair) we are going to need to add as needs come along. Also, it is hard to trek larger items back to MD. For these reasons (and a few more), we are encouraging gift cards. We are so excited for everyone sharing this time with us and appreciate all your love and support.



The color we are looking to paint the baby's room is from the Home Depot, Ralph Lauren color - Tuloumme http://www.ralphlaurenhome.com/rlhome/products/paint/items.asp?haid=49. As for furnature, we going with IKEA Leksvik line and the Fabler line for textiles http://www.ikea.com/. Gramma Amadore will be coming down September 26th to help get the room together! So exciting!!

Can you tell if it's a boy or a girl?

Neither can we! As a quick update, last week we went for the 18 week ultra sound. At this point, you can see a lot of things with the baby, the heart, liver, stomach, finger/toes, gender, etc. It was so exciting to see how big the baby has gotten (check out the difference from the 7 to 18 weeks). We have to give props to the tech; the baby was moving around like crazy since I had a glass of OJ prior to the ultrasound so she was trying to keep up. After they did a photo shot (she took like 30 pics of the baby) she moved on for the big reveal on the gender of the baby. Turns out, the baby sat on his/her feet the whole time and we couldn't tell! After 20 mins of me turning on each side, talking a walk, doing a back flip (j/k,) the baby still wouldn't move!

This morning we got verdict on the final results of what the doc can see from the photos and....the baby is HEALTHY!! Yea!! When we had the ultra sound, the tech was able to get all the photo shots needed to check for everything, but since Chuck and I wanted to know the gender, she wrote that she couldn't see the feet clear enough, sooooo we thought we were getting another ultra sound at my next appt (next Thursday 8/20). Well apparently, the doc didn't think we needed another one, so no ultra sound next week. I then asked when the next one would be (the tech said 32 weeks) and she said not necc. If everything is progressing along awesome, we might not even need one then!! ahhhhhh!! To make a long story very long, it truly looks like this baby, no matter what we or anyone else wants, is not going to show itself!! We are going to make the final decision tonight, but I am sure if we wait until 30 something weeks, we may as well hold off :) Just as long as the baby is healthy, that is really all the matters :)!

16 weeks down, 24 to go...

Hello from MD! It has been a bit since our last post and we wanted to send an update on how things are progressing. So far we have had two other doctors appointment and genetic testing done. I've gained 3 lbs, though I think most of my weight has redistributed into my belly area (as shown by the 16 week pic). Right now I am in the in between stages body wise; if you didn't know I was pregnant and ran into me, you would wonder if I was on a Twinkie diet! hehehe.

We have heard the baby's heart beat (so neat) and all's well on that end. Also, the blood tests have come back negative for genetic disorders so thank you for all your prayers! It seems the major change we've encountered so far would be my mood swings, which Chuck is doing an amazing job working with. Never in my life have I even felt so strongly about certain things and if you have a conversation with me, you will know exactly what that means! Filter = gone!

For baby development, here is a neat site to see how things are progressing http://www.pregnancyguideonline.com/ . The most exciting formation about this time is fingernails and the ability to feel the baby move.

As for preparation for the little one, we are waiting until after our August 6th ultrasound to see if we won't be able to find out the gender of the baby. Anyone with suggestions or some hand-me-down ANYTHING please feel free to contact us.

Thanks for all your love and support! Be sure to scroll down to check out the new pics! Till next time...

Our first appointment

On Thursday May 28th, we headed over to GBMC for our very first OBGYN visit while pregnant. It was pretty exciting, esp since this was the first time we'd get to see lil Baby Foster. We ended up getting there about 15 minutes early (for those who know us, that is phenomenal.) Come to find out, our doctor had to run over to the hospital to delivery a baby! We did not mind the wait at all. While waiting, we spoke to the office staff, who are just so nice, and got to know a little more about the doc's in other people's eyes. The practice we choose actually has 3 OBGYN's. As soon as she was done delivering that baby, she had another delivery. It was no worries; if we were going to be the parents at the hospital, we'd hope that she would be there for our delivery. So about an hour later we met our doctor who is just wonderful. She first gave us our ultrasound to see the baby and measure for growth. It was so wild to see an itty bitty little thing there, no bigger than a bean (hehe) and this fast flash that was the heart beat. Chuck swears he saw two :) but the doc said there was only one. Afterward we went into her office where I proceeded to whip out 4 pages of typed questions (i know i know...it was almost more a test to see if she minded...hehehe...who am I kidding...I really had that many questions :)!) We found out that the practice has been there for 10 years, most of the staff being there that whole time and the youngest member has been there for 4 years. She delivers 10-20 babies a month (good number; if it is around 10 then you get time and attention) and delivers around 80% of her patients. It was such a relief to know that she will most likely be able to deliver the baby AND she will be in town around the due date of 1/6/2010 (on in my words 'o' 10 :)) (oh yea, our big announcement will be at week 10 so you only have 2 more weeks to keep it on the DL!:)) We will see her every month until 28 weeks. We will then see her every 2 weeks until 36 where we go weekly. The neatest appointments will be our next one (where we will hear the heart beat) the ultra sound at 18-20 weeks and then at 36 weeks. For those of you planning to stick around for labor and delivery, it looks like there can be 5 people in the room for labor and 3 in the room for pushing (we all know that labor should only be an hour or so hahahaha.) For the pushing part we have chose both our mom's to join us (I am sure you could make a bit of money if you want to sell your spots hehehe.)

We are so excited and are just blessed with all the support everyone has given us. Love you and will keep you posted!