26 Weeks (almost 27)

Although I have been on Christmas vacation, things have been in full swing around here...you could say "nesting" is the feeling. The nursery is empty and ready for painting, furniture, etc. Our "new" guest room has been transferred and is ready for guests! Come visit us... :) In the process of cleaning and moving furniture around I have been able to organize-love that feeling! Yesterday Justin and I went to Home Depot (by far his favorite store...aside from maybe a hobby store) and found shelving, etc. for the baby's closet (pics to come soon). Aside from the occasional add-on, our registry is complete and it has been very fun researching and compiling a list of things our son will need/want. Below is a picture of my belly at 26 weeks. On Monday I will be 27 weeks and before we know it Spring will be here with a special delivery :)

For Christmas we received an adorable jacket from my parents. On the back of the jacket my mom had it embroidered with an airplane and a sweet phrase (see below). The best thing about the jacket is it totally reminds me of my mom and something boys would have worn when I was growing up. I love the corduroy sleeves!

Happy New Year everyone!

As we begin to get the nursery ready I will post pictures.

Oh Christmas Tree...

Before Thanksgiving (yea you heard me...I know, I know, I broke my own rule) we went and tagged our Christmas tree at a local tree farm, Moon Mountain. Every year I look forward to the tradition and humor of tagging a tree. My Mom and I went there when I was growing up and it hasn't changed a bit...well, maybe the prices. I will take tradition over prices any day though. I can't wait to take our son up there next year all bundled up to find his very first Christmas tree. Below are the pictures of our fun adventure!

Justin being silly as we are trying to take a picture....no way, never!

This is no laughing matter...we get very serious about the perfect height of the tree. This is Justin setting Murray straight on how tall this particular tree is. It was super funny!

Look at that beautiful couple! You should ask them to tell you the story of the adventure we had taking the trees home. You will get a kick out of it! I know I did as I sat innocent in the back seat :) :0

Where do I begin?

I broke my promise...so sorry.

I have not blogged in a while but my oh my are things in full swing around here to get ready for our baby boy. I was 24 weeks on Monday and still feeling great! My feet get sore by the end of the day, but whose wouldn't when your with first graders movin' and groovin' all day :)

Below is a picture of me right now (literally...Justin took it 5 minutes ago). It's nothing special, but it shows you how much I have grown in the last bit. The baby is moving more and more, but I still wouldn't consider him super active at this point (ya know...cause I've had so much experience in this department :) wink wink). He doesn't wake me up yet, so I suppose that's a bonus. Justin has felt him move twice and it was super cool! He described it as "really neat and kind of weird." I don't blame him...there are some movements that our son makes that feel REALLY foreign. Don't get me wrong, I love it when he moves, but at times it feels very different.

Alrighty, below is the picture and the WebMD/Baby Center update:
xoxo for now!

Week 24

Baby: Your baby, now about in its 22nd week of development, is 8.4 inches from crown to rump and weighs about 1.2 pounds. It is starting to produce white blood cells, mostly for combating disease and infection, and may respond to your touch or sounds. If you haven't felt hiccups yet, you might feel some jerking motion now.

Mom-to-be: Your uterus is about 1.5 to 2 inches above your navel. Expect to gain about a pound per week this month. Glucose screens for detecting gestational diabetes are given between this week and 28 weeks.

Tip of the Week: Dad-to-be might be able to hear the baby's heartbeat by putting his ear to your abdomen.

How your baby's growing:
Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

Family Fun Night

Last weekend my family came up for a fun evening and dinner. There were 13 people eating in our dining room-we were cozy, but it worked well! We had fun catching up, relaxing together, playing chess, and celebrating my Auntie Chris' birthday. We just love any excuse to sing our Kings and Queens song to each other :) My sweet cousin Lily made blue cupcakes in celebration of our son. She is so sweet and quite the baker!

Thank you everyone for for a fun evening!

Below is a video of our Birthday Song...

His First Piece of Clothing

At dinner after our ultrasound on Monday my parents gifted us with an "It's a Boy" goodie bag (my mom had one of each in her car-so sweet :) and oh yes, it was quite the goodie bag indeed. Inside was our son's first piece of clothing, but it is truly much more than that. As the story goes....

Years ago my Grandma Beerbohm gave my mom two different crocheted baby sweaters, you know those "old-fashioned" sweaters and booties that come from the sweetest ladies (aka Grandmas), ya, those! My grandma gave my mom a pink one and a blue one for that "special occasion." Well, that special occasion has arrived and on Monday Justin and I were given a piece of my past, a memory, and a special piece of clothing that will forever be dear to my heart. As a child I remember watching my Grandma Beerbohm work as she made beautiful baby booties and sweaters for local hospitals as well as family and friends. Now as an adult I can truly appreciate the gift she had and gave to so many-her love and kindness. Thank you Grandma and thank you Mom for this special gift.

So in true maternal tradition I held this beautiful memory up to my belly (our son :) and had Justin take a picture of his first piece of clothing!

It's a Boy!

Justin and I had an amazing ultrasound appointment on Monday where we saw our little baby movin' and-a groovin'!! We were just so thrilled to see a "baby" via ultrasound. Don't get me wrong, we were obviously expecting a baby, but this was the first time we were able to see our baby actually looking like a baby. It was unbelievable and I barely have words. We even saw *him* sucking his hand and moving all around. That's right, you heard correctly, *him*. Justin and I are looking forward to meeting our baby boy in April. Justin mentioned as we were walking in how excited he was for our baby to have an "identity." It was really neat to find out what we are having and now even more fun can begin...

Afterwards we went out to dinner with my parents to celebrate. They were able to share in the joy of our Little Langlois and it was so special to have them there. We had such an enjoyable dinner relishing in the excitement of it all.

Today I referred to him as a boy multiple times and it felt so special, so neat!! I had fun with my first graders today. First I had them guess what gender they thought the baby was and 15/22 thought it would be a boy-pretty good intuition eh! I had so much fun telling them about our baby boy and showing them pictures (nothing to graphic of course :) this will make more sense down below).

Alright, let's get to the good stuff. I don't have any pictures of myself yet (I promise they will come soon), but here are a few of my favorite ultrasound pictures.

This is one of my favorites-just so sweet looking!

Here is our sweet baby boy sucking on his hand.

Okay, now the original is darker, but look carefully...

This picture is the EVIDENCE that we are indeed having a boy-hahaa! What you are looking at is the legs spread like a V and his "yakafritz" in the middle. Yah, you know what I am referring to...hahaa! You can ask Justin for an explanation of the term yakafritz if you need to :)

That's all for now folks. I am still on cloud nine and looking forward to walking into my first store where I can actually look at clothing for our little man :)

18 Weeks

Today I am 18 weeks and super excited to be moving along! Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying this pregnancy and the little miracle inside me, but I am also looking forward to all the fun to come.

This last weekend we had fun celebrating Meredith and Mike's engagement at Russian River Brewery. I ran into a few friends (and one blast from the past) and it was really fun being "obviously" pregnant. I know, I know...there is still so much more "obvious" belly to grow, but I already feel like I look so different. In my classroom I have noticed a few students staring at my belly at times. I wonder what they are thinking... I am sure as I get bigger they will be more vocal about it, but for now I just see them staring at the belly-it's super cute! :)

I have been working slowly on a registry and researching different baby items. My friend Melissa, due in early January, is great at this. She puts a lot of time and effort into research and I value her opinion. I don't have the patience she does for the amount of research it takes to look into all the safety features, etc. of different items, but I am workin' on it. :)

What are you doing next Monday?

I couldn't be more thrilled at where we will be...

Justin and I have our 20 week ultrasound next week. We have not had an ultrasound since around 9/10 weeks. I am thrilled beyond words to see our little sweat pea and get a check-up of our baby's growth, health, organs, etc. At this appointment we are also hoping to find out the gender of Baby Langlois. We were looking in a name book the other night and became very excited over a boy name (for those of you who know me well,

you know that all I can think of are girl names).

Alrighty, I have been rambling plenty so here ya go folks, below is the WebMD information for this week of development (be advised...it gets a little graphic, actually, very graphic). Have a great week and we'll be in touch soon with ultrasound pictures :)

Your baby measures about 5.2 to 6 inches from crown to rump and weighs about 7 ounces. The baby's skin is developing and is transparent, appearing red because of the visible blood vessels. A creamy white protective coating, called vernix, is also developing. As your baby continues to grow, you may be feeling some mid-pregnancy aches and pains. These are very common symptoms, however if you have a high risk pregnancy you need to discuss these symptoms with your health care provider. Individuals who have a history of mid-trimester pregnancy loss should be followed very closely with ultrasound. Most women have a vaginal discharge either a white or creamy type of discharge. If you notice an increase in this discharge, a change in discharge to a clear discharge or if you notice a loss in your mucous plug (it looks like the substance when you blow your nose) then notify your doctor.

You may also have mild lower abdominal achiness, dizziness, heartburn, constipation, leg cramps, mild swelling of ankles and feet, and a backache. All of these symptoms may be normal. Mild lower abdominal discomfort may be related to the changes of pregnancy. The hormone relaxin causes ligaments to be more lax and may lead to you having more back pain. Heartburn may be caused by the hormone progesterone. It relaxes the lower esophageal sphincter (a muscle between the feeding tube and the stomach). Constipation may also be related to progesterone as well. It helps relax the muscle of the bowel. It leads to a longer amount of time for the stool to pass. This can help lead to a higher risk of constipation. You need to make sure you drink plenty of fluids as well as eat enough fruits and vegetables. Dilated blood vessels develop because of the hormone estrogen. This causes tiny, temporary red marks (called spider nevi) on your face, shoulders, chest and arms.

This is the best week to perform the level II ultrasound exam. Sometimes at 18 weeks the fetus is just too small to see well and many women do not want to wait till 20 weeks to have the ultrasound exam. Most of the fetus can be seen at this point in time.