28 Week Pictures of Baby

Again, in the second picture, she has her hand by her face. We think that's really cute. It still looks like a girl, so all the second hand clothes I've gotten are still ok! (We wanted to go with mainly green and yellow clothes, but that's a losing battle. We'll still make sure she plays with mud and reads comic books when she's older even if it's in pink clothes :)

The other ultrasound pictures came out better, but the main focus of this ultrasound was not photos. They were checking to make sure I no longer have placenta previa (I had a very slight case last time). Yea! Everything is normal now, and I don't have to have a c-section. This is very good because we are investing a lot of time in our natural childbirth preparation classes. The method is called the Bradley Method - which is also known as Husband Coached Childbirth. Luckily, we will also have a doula (professional assistant coach) to take some pressure off Matt to remember everything! Friends Kristin and Corrie also used this method and were happy with it. Lamaze is out of style, and the Bradley method doesn't involve any weird breathing, just normal deep breathing. Instead of learning how to distract yourself from childbirth, you learn to work with your body to get through it. We are optimistic, but we'll see!

28 Week Belly, July 24, 2008

My belly is now really popping! I'm still feeling pretty comfortable for the most part, but I walk a little bit slower. (I used to walk extra fast, though). I also usually have to sit down for a minute during the walk, due to those (normal) practice contractions. The kicks and punches are getting stronger, you can't ignore them at all!

The Room

I had some requests to see the baby room decor, so far. We've been very lucky. My mom and dad (Steve and Joyce) came up and painted the room, the furniture, and installed curtains. My dad also put in an electrical socket in the guest bathroom so you can dry your hair when you come to visit! They were very, very, very productive. I am very, very, very lucky. Happy birthday to me and happy anniversary to us!

You can see the fish we are going to put on the walls, and as the mobile. We still have to pick up the crib, order the rocker/glider and hang up the artwork. This is what we have so far, I will post a different photo when it is all done!

25 Week Belly, July 3 2008

At around 25 weeks, I finally had enough belly that it showed up for a picture! For the longest time, I just looked like I had a few extra cookies. I thought I would show earlier! At the end of the year, my coworkers would evaluate my tiny belly, and declare "niña" (girl) because it was such a low and wide belly. They ended up being correct, but I suspect this kind of belly may be due to my body type. I've been very lucky and feeling pretty well this whole time. We moved into our new house at the beginning of June, and we made sure to walk everyday. We walk to Lake Como, around the lake, and back almost everyday, just under 3 miles.

Our baby at 20 Weeks, May 29, 2008

Here's our baby! It is a girl (as long as the ultrasound tech is correct). We plan on naming her Adelaide Ann Schmidt. Don't worry, the poor thing won't have two last names like me! Adelaide will be hard enough to learn how to spell in kindergarten. She has been a very good baby so far, moving a lot, and hasn't made me sick.

I wanted to start a blog - nothing fancy - somewhere I could post a few prenatal pictures for those far away, and a place for some baby photos once the baby is born. I thought it could be an easy way to keep everyone updated. Here is the first pictures we have of the baby, from our 20 week ultrasound. We will have another ultrasound picture to post (now that I know how to use my scanner) next week. They are doing another ultrasound to check for placenta previa (a low-lying placenta).

I think both picture look like babies. In the bottom picture, she has her hand up by her face. :)