On to week 17

Last week was a pretty good week for our pregnancy. I'm continuing to feel better each week, though still not able to east a lot of types of food (the good stuff like hamburgers, curly fries, lots of sweets, etc). It's probably not a bad thing because it forces me to eat fresh fruit a lot! I find myself eating something every 1-2 hours, and not being able to eat much at a time. But I can live with feeling like I do now, much better than I could feeling nauseous all the time!!

Today was the first time a complete stranger acknowledged that I was pregnant. I was at Gordman's and the cashier asked if I knew what I was having. It's funny...I was wearing the same non-maternity shirt that I was when I saw Jim & Gerry at Walmart. I should consider not wearing the shirt post-baby.

Last weekend we went on a tour of one of the CR hospitals. There are 2 hospitals in CR, St. Luke's and Mercy. Originally I thought I would go to St. Luke's because of the 12 babies I visited in the hospital, none of them have been Mercy CR. At YPN we had a speaker from each hospital come and talk about what they had to offer. Based on that, we decided we better consider both. And at this point we might be leaning toward Mercy. It was a great experience, a little scary, but also exciting. Tanner said it made him think, as we were sitting in their "show" room, that the next time we would be there we will be having our baby. I think it is finally setting in for both of us. Our tour of St. Luke's is Monday, Oct 3 (or something like that).

For week 16 our baby ticker said we should start thinking of names...to be honest, we've been talking about names since before we were pg. It's been quite a process! I went through a book of 1,000 names and a book of 50,001 names and made a very long list (and Tanner would add one if he had ideas). When I finally finished that list, probably 1-2 months ago, I had 96 girl names and 63 boy names. So from there we sat down and took turns eliminating and "saving" names. On each turn you could cross one name off of each list and highlight a name you wanted to save from elimination (with approval from each other of course). That took us down into the 30-40's. We did this process one more time. That got us down to 25 each. From there we have tried to take a few names off each week. Well...last night we made a FINAL decision on our girl's first and middle names!!! NO WE ARE NOT TELLING ANYONE UNTIL IT IS BORN...so don't bother asking. We had narrowed it down to 7 boy and 7 girl names. But when we read the girl names, none of them seemed to have the same effect on us as this one special name...which has been in our top 2-3 since the original 96. So we made it official and decided on that name. The boy list still stands at 7 options.

So that's enough of my week 16. We've been taking pictures each week to show how my belly is growing. I try to wear the same outfit and stand in the same position each time. Here are a couple of pictures to show you where I'm at...

Week 7- By the following week I was wearing an extender on my jeans button.

Week 17- That was yesterday

Go Lake, Go Fish!

A cousin of mine wrote these poems about the annual Roos fishing trip in Alexandria, Minnesota.

Alex
Every year at summer’s end when the leaves do hint at turning
The Roos men gather with rods in tow to fee a year-long yearning
We’ll wave good-bye to our wives and hug our sons and daughters
And head straight north to a well-known place between familiar waters
One’s called Le Homme Dieu, the other Carlos, and both hold great potential
They’ll be fished hard in any weather, including rains torrential
We’ll tell our stories and spin some yarns of fishing and cards and such
Countless have become the memories of this tradition started by Dutch
But before our boats can be manned there’s shopping to our liking
Beer by the case and loads of snacks—enough for Ole the Viking!
One more stop for our fishing crew before we leave the shore
The annual trip to Christopherson’s, our choice bait and tackle store
We’ll swarm the place from front to back like a pack of hungry skeeters
And fill our hands with spinners and spoons and hooks and line and leaders
With permits bought and reels at the ready, there remains one consensus wish
To head for the boats, and let loose the ‘ol battle cry of “GO LAKE, GO FISH!”
Our lures will fly and our poles will bend in the glorious lake chain setting
Unmistakable strikes and occasional lunkers are what we’re hoping and betting
Whether the fishing’s good or there’s hardly a bite, you’ll find smiles on our faces
‘Cause there’s always beer and poker and beer…we may need three more cases!
And when we’ve had our fun and it’s time to depart and our arms are sore from casting
We’ll all be mindful of next year’s trip, and of a tradition everlasting!

Lake Therapy
At summer’s end we all prepare for the utmost of our likings
The lakes await, our hunting grounds; our Valhalla to us vikings
We’ll strike at dawn with our first casts no matter what the weather
With hands on hips we laugh at rain and firmly grab our nethers
We’ll fish through sleet and high winds too; it’s all considered fun
We only stop when beer runs low and chips are to be won
We’re teachers, builders and all providers; uncles, grandpas and brothers
This weekend is precisely what we need and the envy of all others
This trip has stood the test of time and can’t be taken lightly
Its healing powers can fix what ails, no matter how unsightly
But what really makes this fishing trip a thing to be upheld
Is no matter what’s transgressed in life; our bonds remain unfelled
So grab a beer and raise it high and join me in this song
To many more years of this fine time and tradition staying strong!

It's not just A baby, it's OUR baby.

Last week the ticker mentioned my clothes getting tight. I think it was a little off, because my clothes have been getting tight for 8 weeks! I'm lucky to have a co-worker letting me borrow some of her maternity clothes, which helps save a ton of money. However, I still need a few things. So Saturday when we were in Williamsburg at Payton and Cael's soccer games, we made a stop at Motherhood Maternity. It was our first time shopping at a maternity store. I actually found more than enough things that were on sale, looked cute, and fit! I never have the luck buying non-maternity clothes. It was interesting and exciting for us to use the goofy strap on belly they have in the dressing rooms. They are intended to predict your size in 3 months. Yep, I looked REALLY pregnant. So I bought a few tops that I hope to wear from now until the end. (Then we went to Stuff where Tanner bought some jeans in a bigger size...maybe the ticker was referring to him?)

At Wal-Mart last week we ran into my former neighbors, Jim & Gerry. They are a very nice older couple. Jim doesn't say much because he can't hear anything, so we said hi to Gerry. The first thing she said "what's that you have?" pointing to my belly. It's funny because I wasn't even wearing a maternity shirt. It was the first time that someone who didn't already know that we were pregnant called us on it! So I guess it must be obvious!

The best part of week 15 was our 2nd prenatal check-up at the doctor, on Monday. We were assured that we are not having twins, even though I'm measuring slightly greater than 16 weeks. I was nearly scolded for wanting to eat cold meat at Subway. I could hardly contain myself waiting for the doctor to come into the room to put the heart rate monitor on me. We even discussed just going ahead without her, since it was just sitting on the counter in plain sight. Tanner held me back and we waited for the doctor. After a long list of questions, we got to hear our baby's heart beat (in the 140's which is good). She had a difficult time, again, hearing it. I asked what was going on and she said the baby is so active that she can't follow it that quickly. She repeated several times how active it was! Then she would point out the sounds that we were hearing as "that's the baby moving...that's the baby moving again"! It was so exciting to hear something special about this thing that has been making me feel dreadful for 10 weeks. It really made me feel like it wasn't just A baby that we are growing, it's OUR active baby! It was the first sign of a personality or something unique about our baby.

...and that's all it takes to make a pregnant lady cry.

Looking ahead, the next 4 weeks should be pretty exciting! Sometime between now and then I should start to feel the baby move. On October 13 we have our next check-up and our ultrasound. I've been feeling better and better each day the past week, and expect that to continue. I'm not even taking the prescription anymore. Tanner has fishing trip soon, and while he is gone, I plan to do an organization overhaul of our baby stuff and all closets.

Week 16: our baby is the size of an avocado

Baby Roos' Baby Room

Last weekend we decided to paint our baby room. We originally decided on painting it a couple of shades of yellow. After looking at the samples for a week or two we decided to find green samples. We ended up finding two shades of green that were very close to each other. We also added a coat of paint to the ceiling to cover a water stain. The first color of green paint was so light that I thought it disappeared when I peaked in on it the following day. It wasn't until I shined a light on it that I realized it was still there.

Besides painting, we also had decided to install a ceiling fan and a dimmer switch for the light. I had my good friend Adam Sychra come over and help me install the two. I really just watched him and gave him beer whenever he asked. I doubt I could have done in on my own. Some of the wires had been mixed up and the hot and cool ends weren't consistently colored red, black or white.

This is a picture of the dresser we painted. It was very blue with glitter and fish all over it. Trina and I sanded it and threw a couple of coats of brown paint on it. It looks much better than it originally did. You can also see the cloth diapers we plan on using.

The finished product looks great in my opinion. In this picture you can see the crib we just purchased as well as the fan and rocking chair.

Week 14 in review

The weeks are just flying by, with one week down again. For week 14, our ticker mentioned that I may begin to feel the baby move. Early in the week I thought I had possibly felt the baby move, but I wasn't sure. It didn't feel like flutters like everyone says it will. I determined that I it wasn't the baby and was just growing pains that I had never felt before. I will say though, it was pretty exciting to think we were able to feel the tiny thing moving!! I'm so excited for REAL movements!

I'm still not feeling the best. I tried going off of my prescription for a couple days, and quickly realized my all day sickness hadn't gone away. Hopefully it will be soon. The prescription does help me feel better, and going off of it made me remember how crappy I felt before.

On Monday we are headed to our second doctor visit. Basically we'll just hear the heartbeat and ask questions. Then the next visit (4 weeks later) we get an ultrasound! Exciting!

Another big development...we started decorating the baby room! We just started painting last night. Later in the week, I'll have Tanner post about our progress and details.

Week 15: Our baby is the size of an orange!Wow!

More Babies!

My co-worker Jillian Schulte and her husband Jay had another baby on Tuesday. Their daughter's name is Sylva Grace. She was 7 pounds 4 ounces and 19.5 inches long. This is Jillian's second child. Jenner James was born into heaven one year ago.

Trina and I are very happy for the healthy parents and baby.