32 Weeks & Various Other Things

It's been a BIG couple of weeks around the Sawyer house!

The nursery has been repainted to be a bit more neutral - it's a little like the color of coffee-milk (many many thanks to Jen Holaday! Had she not done this task, Baby Boy was likely to have been stuck with very girly teal walls). AND the baby's furniture has come in and it's been assembled - it is beautiful. The only thing missing is something to rock him in, but now that the room is arranged we can figure that out too.

For your viewing pleasure:

Will took this year's huge exam, and is now busy doing research and preparing to be the Senior Resident next year. This is possibly his busiest time of year so we see each other at dinner and then he's upstairs working in the office. I, on the other hand, stay downstairs and watch way too much TV. In case you're wondering, things only get crazier for him right around the time Baby Boy is coming which is why we're expecting many many visitors throughout July and August:-)

I'm now going to the doctor every two weeks (it is a good thing I like Dr. Day - I see him more than my closest friends these days), and we've made some of our first big parenting decisions. And no - we still have no idea what this baby boy is going to be named. Even if we did, we wouldn't tell you:-)

We have hired a doula - Amy! If you're not sure what a doula is go to this site: http://www.dona.org/. Amy will be around to help make natural delivery a more likely option (I should be able to spend more time laboring at home vs. the hospital), and as a huge comfort to Will since he's going to be on-call, she is on-call for us beginning at 38-weeks and on. Apparently he had visions of being stuck in surgery and me being alone. I never had that particular nightmare, but now it's not a worry. We met with her last week, and for both of us, it was instant relief. Amy is very knowledgeable, came highly recommended, and we are lucky to have her! (For any of you out there thinking, 'Oh my! She's going to try and have this baby at her house!' FORGET ABOUT IT! We're definitely going to actually give birth at the hospital!!)

We've just about decided how to approach vaccinations. We are pro-vaccination, especially in our area with the high population of Amish families, there is at least 1 small outbreak of polio each summer in OH so the risk is way too high. Baby Boy will be getting all his shots (with the potential exclusion of 2 that we're on the fence about), but on a different schedule than the rapid fire process the CDC recommends. We are meeting with a pediatrician this week, and after that we'll know exactly what schedule we'll be using.

We also had our 1st baby shower! My lovely hostesses were Amber (Dayton - local) and Lindsey (Texas native). Mom and Nancie got to come too. It was a lot of fun. You can check out some pictures in the slide show.

Thanks for all your prayers and love!

27 Weeks & 4 Days

So we've officially entered the 3rd Trimester. It is hard to believe that June 21st is only 13 weeks away, but that is all we have left of this pregnancy journey! Will was able to go with me to the doctor's appointment today and hear the heart beat. His little heart is strong - 150 bpms.
We also talked a little bit about delivery (I know...I am a super-planner and like to think about my options!!!). I'm blessed to have Dr. Day as my ob. He is laid back, willing to answer any number of questions, and straight-forward. He is one of the few doctors in the area willing to perform the VBAC procedure (vaginal delivery after c-section). And Dr. Day is also open to considering working around Will's insane call schedule should everything look okay for an early delivery. It isn't something I'm set on, but getting an extra week with both Will and the babe is something we're considering.

The baby: he is becoming more and more active - especially early morning and right about the time I'd like to get some sleep. I suppose that's all part of the training for what's to come! He seems to exist only on the right side. Will got to feel him move for the 1st time a few weeks ago, and that was a great moment for us.

A good friend painted the babies room this week, and we'll start building the furniture and arranging the nursery soon! Things are really starting to get busy as we get ready for the Dayton shower at the end of April, a Michigan shower in early May, Will's tests and trips and general craziness this Spring.

It seems some of you out there are somewhat outraged that you haven't seen a picture of the belly yet so this slide show's for all of you!

It Will Be A Boy!

Imagine it! A Sawyer is having a boy. I was actually surprised a little bit. While I hadn't had any premonitions, all but 2 people had predicted a baby girl so I had basically convinced myself it must be a girl. Thanks for playing along and special thanks goes to sister Retha who guessed we were having a Turkey Neck!

It's a ....!

We had the 20-week ultrasound today. The tech didn't see anything to be concerned about, but Will wants our radiologist friend Stephanie to check it out. Stephanie, and husband Michael, go to our church and are expecting their first baby 2-weeks before us. Based on measurements I'm right on track for June 21st (Still a Summer Baby).

Will and I also know the sex of the baby. But do you know? Check out the pics and see if you can figure it out. If you guess right, maybe you'll have some say in the name - but no promises!

We'll let everyone know Friday so if you can't figure it out you won't have to wait too long. We also have a slideshow of the other pictures taken today.



Love, Will and Nat

Half Way There!

This week marks the half way point - I'm at 20 weeks and finally really starting to look pregnant. I have bought the elastic band pants, to my dismay, and much to my surprise I actually LOVE them. So much better than the rubber band around the tight pants I was wearing before. And I always have the stretchy yoga pants to fall back on when I run out of the good stuff.

My appointment last week with Dr. Day went well. Will got to go and meet him too. We heard the baby's heart beat - it was in the 150s. And that was pretty much it. All the blood work is coming back normal, and there doesn't seem to be much to worry about, which is good, because I can find plenty to worry about on my own.

I'm teaching more yoga again! It has been fun to see the people at yogahOMe again. And really, just good to be back in the yoga room. As far as me doing yoga - it is starting to become an obstacle course of trial and error. The belly is in the way for somethings, fine for others. I usually don't know until I'm already in the pose. And I am still standing on my head and going upside down. It is a quick remedy for headaches and the SI joint pain I've developed over the last week.
I am officially addicted to the large 4-pack of chewy Sweet Tarts. But other than that, nothing weird like pickles with peanut butter. For the most part, I believe the baby is going to be vegetarian. This could be bad for Will since it would be 2-1 in favor of NO MEAT! The smell, look, taste of meat of any kind turns my stomach.

We also made of first trip to Babys 'R Us this week. Um - overwhelming. I'll be going back with a girlfriend soon to help wade through all the choices and start registering for things. Now that I'm feeling good, the fun part of being pregnant is starting!

It's a Girl! No, It's a Boy! Or...

As it turns out the quality of impatience seems to be an Anderson-family trait and couldn't seem to wait 5 more weeks for an accurate ultrasound when there are proven wive's tales out there that can predict the sex of our baby. So we tried the highly faulty Ring Test. Surprisingly enough (or maybe not), the test conducted by the one predicting a girl resulted in the circle, the test conducted by the one predicting a boy resulted in a line motion, and the test conducted by a so-called 'impartial' person resulted in a mixed bag!

Result #1 - The ring went in a circle so it must be a girl

Result #2 - The ring went back and forth so clearly its a boy

Result #3 - It went in circles and back and forth

(and yes - if you are wondering there are 9 people participating in this well-controlled experiment).

Ultimately we have no idea! We'll have to wait for February to find out what's really going to happen.

We're Still on for June 21st

Since the last post I've had two more doctor appointments. Everything seems to be going as planned with no real problems or concerns. As for any cravings - possibly tomatoes but otherwise nothing too interesting or strange. The due date is still officially June 21st according to Dr. Day! Which makes me incredibly happy to still have a summer baby on the way. The heart beat gets stronger and stronger, and it is always pretty cool to hear that little sound! My next appointment for 20-weeks is at the end of January. We'll get the results of the quad-screen test and we'll schedule the next ultrasound then. We are definitely going to find out what we're having. Will would be content to 'wait & see' but I'm much too much of a planner to not know.

Happy New Year!