Doctors and dreams

So my husband needs to write on the blog... But I will do a quick update. Baby is moving up a storm but Dave hasn't felt it yet. Every time he puts his hand on my ever expanding belly, baby r goes still. I can definitely feel our little one from the inside but not sure about the outside. Hopefully Dave will feel it soon. We had one scare with a trip to the ER a few weeks ago. Pain in my belly that ended up being round ligament pain but better to be safe than sorry. Ever since then, I have been feeling fine. Hip and belly pain on occasion but it is normal and the doctors say to adjust how I move and get up from a sitting position. Baby r is a mover at night. LO moves at the same time everyday from 6pm through the night. I am getting more and more excited to meet him or her. As we put the room together with some help from my parents and sister, I think about how wonderful it will be to hold our baby. We got a glider chair now and I even sat in it with a blanket just to test out how it would be to rock our baby to sleep. Goodness knows we will spend many sleepless nights in that chair with our crying child. Dreaming of that day...did I mention it is true about crazy pregnancy dreams? We won't go in detail about those. And daycare searching, I think I will let Dave tell you about that.

Baby Rothe is one normal, healthy, growing baby!

We had our 20 week ultrasound today after nearly 14 weeks without seeing our baby on the big screen.  Our little one was not into moving much, just squirming around on the ultrasound moving its arms, legs, and head and every once in a while giving us a yawn as to say, "come on, stop bugging me."  We got some great profile shots of our Baby R and Joyce, our tech, did a great job of concealing the gender.  She said she knew what we were having and David almost gave in to find out by asking me if we should.  But I stood firm.  We're going to wait and get a surprise.  Two relatives now have said the ultrasound profile looks like them!  It is hilarious.  Half the time during the ultrasound, we could tell what we were looking at.  But we are happy to report that our little guy or girl has all ten fingers and toes, four chambers of their heart, a good looking belly and brain, and two kidneys.  He or she is also comfy crossing their little legs and making fists.  Their bladder and heart are working great!  Although the 25 minutes ultrasound was exciting, we know really cannot wait to actually see him or her and get to know them in person!  As Bon Jovi would says, Ohhhh....wer're half-way there!  And my belly is getting huge.  It feels like it doubled overnight.  I have also begun to feel the rolling of our moving little one.  Baby R really likes to move around 6 pm at night till about midnight.  I feel what I can only describe as popcorn or that stomach like dropping feeling only its in my belly each time the little one moves.  Heartbeat has remained consistant at about 145 per minute, faster if it is later at night.  Dave is getting the feeling that this is for real now!  During the ultrasound he couldn't stop smiling or recording it on video using his blackberry.  He kept asking questions like what is that or is that his belly, arm...etc.  He is using he a little too much!  What if we've got a little Jenni in here!  I am stuck with using little one or baby r.  I am not sure what gender our baby is, but I will be so happy with either boy or girl.  Time seems to be flying!  We met with our first daycare prospect two days ago.  It has been a busy last few days.  Next I know I will want to do that nursery!  I've been hooked on searching the internet for bedding and ideas. Gender neutral is hard...but we are keeping firm about not knowing!  Here's to being halfway there and feeling good!  Here's to also knowing there is only one baby in there.  We got a little scare the other day while using the doppler...heard two heartbeats but realize now that one was the cord!  More later....

January 4th, 2011

Happy New Year! So excited to think that 2011 is the year our baby will come into this world!
So how did our winter break go?  Before the holiday break even started, the year ended with a bit of a cry/meltdown at work.  I thought the emotional thing was done!  I had a bit of a cry when I couldn't handle my students chaos of the last day before the winter break.  They were out of control with excitement.  I teared up and had to leave the room because they wouldn't be quiet for the math lesson after repeatedly stopping  the lesson.  Ugh...Good thing, my co-teacher was there to take over.  Baby R sure does hear me go through many emotions from yelling to crying to laughing while at work.   Our little one will know their mommy has a majorly emotion filled job! After a quick recovery, many hugs, apologies, and pats on the belly from my kiddos, the day ended with laughs and a little sadness that I wouldn't see my students for a few weeks.  Oh, who am I kidding?  I was happy the winter break and the student-break had started!  The holidays were fun and exciting with 4 Christmas' and a nice long break.  We got to have our Arkansas family, the Bennicoffs, here at our house for the holidays.  Mom, Dad, Karissa, and the Bennicoffs came over and we had the first big family Christmas in our house.  It was truly special to have them all here.  Next we ventured down to Wisconsin for the two more Christmas' with the Isaacsons and the Burkes.  We finished our break traveling down to Miami to see our Rothe family!  What a nice time we had exploring Miami with VEG and D & G Rothe (otherwise known as mom and dad).  We enjoyed seeing Glen and Velvet's new home and of course, playing with Evan!  Donna and Glen even took time to throw us a surprise baby shower: Our first one.  It was so kind of them and we got some adorable gender neutral clothes and baby supplies that we very special to us!  All our immediate family members got to hear the baby's heartbeat during our visits.  Each niece and nephew seemed excited about the new baby.  Liam had to try and listen to the baby using a 'kid" stethoscope.  Lots of questions were asked about when the baby would get here and how big it was.  Liam and Evan both have names for the baby including smoke and march april bennicoff.  All kiddos said hi to the belly and told him/her how much they loved them.  It is so adorable to see them so excited about their new cousin coming soon.  Baby Rothe enjoyed the pats on the tummy and was especially happy during the break with the cookies and holiday meals that we were fed. My belly is getting bigger!  I don't know if it is all baby cause I know there must be some "fat" in there too.  Dave swears I look adorable but he is just a great husband. We spent the New Year at the Pachners celebrating with David's cousins and aunt/uncle!  Family time is always so wonderful!  And now we are back to the grind of work and home life.  I love being with my families, but it is good to be home with my new family...and soon Dave and I will be more as a family of 3.   Feeling really good....have flutters here and there.  I can't wait to feel it for sure.  Right now our LO feels like it is tickling my belly.  Hip pain and sore back are some of my fun symptoms right now.  Tings and pangs of pain come and go but overall I am feeling good. Memory loss and jumbled thoughts seem to be in full force. My belly is certainly hard and at times (especially at night) is huge!    I am seeing the spider veins coming too! Oh the joys of getting older and of course, those that come with being pregnant. But one thing is for sure, this baby is going to loved so much!  There is so much excitement by our parents, siblings, and especially the little niece and nephews for this little one to come.  Baby R, you know mom and dad can't wait to meet you!  More to come!  Our next appointment is next Tuesday!  One week till we get to see you on the big screen little one!  It has been too long since we got a peek at you!  David promised to post next so now let's see what he has to say on the blog.....

December 20th...waiting for Christmas!

I am just over 17 weeks pregnant now and am starting to show more!  Dave and I went to the doctor last week and discovered that my weight gain is on track!  I've only put on 5 pounds since finding out we're pregnant although it feels like 20!  Baby R is about 5 inches long and weighs about 6 oz.  That is nuts!  My little onion (about the size right now) is fluttering around in my belly.  I've felt a few flutters but can't wait for the definitive kick!  Feeling good the last 4 weeks!  We've been busy with my new found energy and appetite!  We cleaned the house, went shopping for gifts, wrapped them, made 5 different kinds of cookies,and decorated the house all in anticipation for my parents and family to come this week.  Tomorrow in fact!  Yippee!  Then it is off to Milwaukee and Madison to see the rest of my side of the family.  Finally, we head to Miami to see the Rothes!  What a great end to our Christmas break!  As we think back on 2010, we have so much to be thankful for.  I absolutely can't wait to feel the little kick of our Baby Rothe!  He or she is really there!  We scheduled our 20 week ultrasound today so we can see our baby again on the big screen.  It has been almost 12 weeks since we've seen the little one on an ultrasound.  The heartbeat is good and we know that Baby R is gettting bigger, but it will be such a wonderful sight to see our baby!  Dave's outside snowblowing from the 2nd huge snow storm of the week...18 inches last Friday and 7 tonight.  If you add the 8 we already had, we're up to about 3 feet here! Yikes!  So his blog attempt hasn't happened yet.   We're both so thrilled to celebrate our first married Christmas together and our last Christmas as a family of 2.  Have a great holiday and we'll write more after the holidays! 

16 weeks and counting

Can you believe it is almost Christmas already? We spent all day yesterday Christmas shopping after being snowed in by a huge 18 inches of snowfall on Saturday!  Most snow Minnesota has had in the month of December in a LONG time. Bitter cold today and hoping for a snow day but no such luck.  We were the only school in the area to still have school!  Baby Rothe and I could have used a snow day!  Baby Rothe is busy growing inside me and my appetite shows it.  At night I am bloated and round with pregnancy but in the morning, my belly is back to just a small bump.  I am getting anxious and want my baby bump big now!  I guess they say it takes the 20 week mark to really pop in your first pregnancy so I will have to patient.  And eating more isn't going to make me rounder, just fatter! As you may notice you in my belly shots, they are taken at night so my bump looks grand but in the morning not so much!  This week is our 16-18 week appt. with our doctor for a progress check and then in a few weeks we can finally get an ultrasound.  It's been since week 7 we've seen the little one so that is exciting.  I hope we can get in after the new year to see him or her. Newest news is that I once again have acquired a cold, complete with stuffy nose, sore throat, and lovely sinus pain!  Let's hope it goes away soon!   Dad Rothe really wants to blog on here to so be on the lookout for an update from him also!  Happy Holidays to you all!  Christmas letters should be in the mail by Wednesday so check your mailbox for one from the Rothe Family!  Till next time....

Into December we go...

So here I sit, almost 15 weeks pregnant!  We scheduled birthing preparation classes for February, All about Babies class for March, and coping with labor class for the beginning of April.  It seems so crazy to me to be doing these things.  We started looking at daycares also...daycares for our little one that isn't even born yet.  But there are already waiting lists.  We're thinking we may need our relatives to move here so we don't have the outrageous costs to contend with!  Wowza!  And you thought college was expensive people!  Planning lots of things over the next few weeks including our many Christmas'.  We really need to get shopping.  This year is almost over already.  Can't believe it. 
Still feeling good the last few weeks.  Lots of fun symptoms that I won't divulge on here because I will spare you the embarassing details.  My body is changing too and people are noticing, including my kiddos at work.  One child asked why I was getting bigger today, so I sat down with my class and told them the news.  Twenty minutes later and a missed writing lesson, I think I answered all their questions except, of course, the one about how I got pregnant.  I'll leave that to the parents.  They are excited but then again, they are only 8 so after about twenty questions, we ended the baby talk with. "when's our next fieldtrip?"  There minds can't stay on one topic too long!  Happy December!

Thanksgiving and the world knows!

We shared our news with everyone this week: our work friends, all our extended families, and facebook.  It is crazy that the news is out and everyone knows that we will soon be having a little baby!  Sharing it in person with our aunts and uncles was very touching.  For those that we couldn't see in person, we skyped and told.  The turkey shirt was a success!  Everyone caught on but it may have taken a while so David would drop hints.  I think the best part of telling people is just to share the excitement!  We are blessed to have so many wonderful people in our lives and they all are just as thrilled as we are.  From baby ruth cake to our tee-shirt, creativity in telling everyone was fun in itself. My Grandpee said that it's a girl so we'll see.  14 weeks on Saturday and feeling good again!  They say the 2nd trimester is the best time! 

As for the after Thanksgiving sales.... Black Friday brought on our search for maternity clothes and an HD camcorder.  Although nothiing was purchased it got our minds reeling for what we will be needing to purchase in the next few months.   Thanks to all who sent us blessings and well wishes.  We are looking forward to this journey to parenthood and having you to share the journey with.