27 weeks

This is me and my belly!

Passed the Test!

I had the glucose screening test on Friday, which tests for gestational diabetes. I had to drink this orange drink that they gave me at my last appointment and then they drew my blood an hour after I finished the drink. I was told not to eat or drink anything with sugar in it after midnight the night before, which I didn't. I did however have a chocolate milkshake after dinner around 8:00, which Sheila and my doctor said could affect the results. Oops! But luckily, everything came back fine so I'm good to go and my doctor even said milkshakes are good for me! Thats what I figured too- good source of calcium! So anyway, I'm pretty sure the drink they gave me was like flavored sugar water and I've been really good my whole pregnancy staying away from caffeine and a lot of sugar. What a difference I noticed in Rivers! I finished the drink at 9:15 in the morning and around 10:30 he started moving around. This continued ALL day! He literally did not stop moving until 10:30 at night! It was the funniest thing. I told Jeremy that we can not give this child sugar or he will be bouncing off the walls! It felt like he was bouncing in my belly!
The rest of my check up was pretty standard- I'm gaining weight at a good rate and my uterus measures exactly where it should. My doctor felt my belly and said it feels like Rivers is positioned with his head down, which is very good. And his heart rate was in the 160's, which is perfect! So, I'm happy to report that both he and I are doing great!

Here's another funny for you...

Jeremy will appreciate this one!

Hello 3rd Trimester!

Well, we've made it to the 3rd and final trimester! Aaaaghh! Part of me is not at all prepared to have a baby and would be perfectly fine staying pregnant forever (I know that sounds crazy)! But of course there is the other part of me that can't wait to see and hold our beautiful baby boy in my arms. I just know that it is going to be such a life style change. No more just quickly running out to the grocery store or to the mall. Eating out will no longer be "easy" and sleeping in will be a distant memory. Life as we know it will be drastically changing! Of course I also realize that with these inconvienances will come an amazing journey of great joy, love, and lasting memories.
We are getting the nursery ready little by little. It is now painted and Patrick will be doing the tree for us probably this upcoming weekend. I can't wait to see how it turns out. After that we'll have the carpet cleaned (yes, I'm nesting and I want everything fresh and clean)! Our crib arrived yesterday! We're going to wait to set it up so that the room will be completely finished with paint and carpet cleaning. Of course we already have our bedding set, thanks to Aunt Jean! Right now I'm working on finding curtains to go in the room. Probably either chocolate colored or light blue. I put the closet organizer up and have begun putting clothes in Rivers' closet, although I haven't washed anything yet. So, we're making progress and I'm feeling really good with where we're at. Our house is filling up with baby things and it is getting me very excited! As soon as the tree is painted I'll be posting pictures of the room!

26 weeks

26 weeks and growing! I woke up on Sunday feeling like it had grown over night!

This is one of my Dad's favorite charities. Both he and I got a chuckle out of this e-card, so I thought I would share. It just seems appropriate!

25 weeks with Gma

Here we are at my shower. Gma was such a wonderful hostess! It was such a busy weekend that I forgot to do my 25 week belly picture and I forgot to get a picture of me and Sheila. How did that happen?!? Anyway, this will have to do for the belly picture. Up next will be the 26 week belly!

Drum roll please...

BABY BOY'S NAME IS...


We played hangman at the shower (thanks Jeremy for coming up with the idea) to reveal our baby's name. It was so fun to watch everyone guess letters until team 1 finally guessed it! Good job everyone! So baby boy's name is officially Rivers Owen Cayton, or you can call him ROC!

Pictures from the Ohio Baby Shower!

Here are a few pictures from my Ohio baby shower! Thanks so much Mom (Gma) and Sheila! You two did such a great job putting everything together! I loved the cake with the little turtle on it- not only was delicious, but it was decorated so cute. The food was very yummy- I had been looking forward to it for weeks! Thank you so much to everyone who was there to help us celebrate our upcoming arrival of our baby boy. Everyone was so very generous with all the gifts for us and Rivers. There is so much stuff- all of which we'll need and put to good use! Its amazing how such a little baby can need so many things (big and small)! We got so many clothes- he will be very well dressed! I may be putting 2 outfits on him each day and don't worry- I'll take pictures of him in all of them! Sheila's aunt made my corsage, which was just as cute as it could be with the little booties on it. I had to include a picture of that also! My Mom did an amazing job on our diaper cake- she made it herself with love, which is so special to me! I hate to take it apart, but we can't let those diapers go to waste either!

I'm in Ohio!

My first baby shower is tomorrow! So I flew here this morning and made it just fine. Baby boy was not really liking the decent into Cleveland- he started moving all around, which felt weird for me, but all in all it was a fine. My mom picked me up and we were off to the mall to see Sheila and do some shopping. We also had lunch before coming home and visiting with my Grandma and Aunt Donna. I'll be sure to take pictures at the shower tomorrow so stay tuned!

24 weeks

Here it is...I feel like I'm growing with each passing hour! Baby boy is kicking and moving around like crazy as I'm sitting here typing this. I'm looking down at my lopsided belly. The right side is poking out farther than the left- it's so funny to watch it move as the little guy moves. I think he knows I'm talking about him- suddenly he's stopped. Oh, I spoke too soon- there he goes again. Now my belly is back to normal, its perfectly round. Ha ha! It's so cool to watch. Well, I'm ready for bed so hopefully he'll get comfy and settle in soon!

Michelle and Emily came to visit!

One of my best friends from high school, Michelle, and her friend/coworker, Emily, came to visit Jeremy and I this past weekend. It was a quick visit as they were just passing through on their way to the Outer Banks and then up to Maryland, but nevertheless it was so fun (as it always is) to visit, talk, and laugh, and laugh, and laugh! Yes, thats mostly what Michelle and I do when we're together, and its always so wonderful! They even brought us gifts for our little guy, which as I'm typing this I'm thinking I should have taken a picture. That will have to wait. Anyway, they also brought me Reeses peanut butter cups and some very yummy cupcakes! Can you ask for better guests?! So Michelle and Emily have been traveling all over the country in a VW bug with a camera strapped to the top for the past 9 or 10 months. They work for a company called Immersive Media and go from city to city to collect footage and images which is then used to help create maps. They have traveled to almost every state in the US- sounds like a pretty cool job if you ask me!

23 weeks

I know I'm late posting this, seeing as though I'm now in my 24th week, but this is me last week! I think I've been slow about posting this picture because I look oh so fantastic- ha! Anyway, I had my latest check up this past Friday and all is well. Baby's heart rate was in the 150's which is great. And I've gained a total of 10 pounds now- which to many people does not sound like much, but believe me when I say that I can literally feel every pound! My feet and legs get tired and sore very quickly. Luckily, I quit my full time job, so I won't be on my feet all day for 8 hours straight! I quit not because of that, but for plenty of other reasons I assure you. The most important of which is that Jeremy and I both want me to be able to spend as much time as possible with our little baby boy when he arrives. I will continue to work with Laurie doing photography, hopefully expanding on that as time goes on. I have also taken another part time job working with a realtor doing comps on foreclosed homes in the area. This is something I can do at home even with the little guy. So, some big changes have been in the mix for us but I'm glad we have time to get adjusted to them before the biggest change of all comes along!