Thursday, June 26, 2003
Week 20 - Strollers and Kicks
This past weekend, we finished our registry at Babies 'R' Us. Still on our "To Do" list is to register at Target (a much more accessible store for many of our friends and family). If you're interested in checking out our registry, click here .....
Registry at Babies R Us
On Monday, as you might have read on our main page, Bert felt Emily kick. This past week, I have noticed a definite increase in the frequency and strength of little Emily's communication. After all this time, I'm starting to really feel pregnant. That may sound strange, but for the first 3-4 months, the only sign that I was pregnant was how awful I felt. Now, I have a noticeable bulge and tiny kicks throughout the day and night to remind me that she's there.
During the day on Tuesday, we received our stroller. That night, we oohed and aahed over all the features and contraptions. It's hard to believe that in a few short months there will be a little baby in it, and the little baby will be ours.
I have to say that I think that this is the best time of my life to date. Why do I think that? (Just to name a few ...)
- I'm old enough to know that I don't know everything (nor do I have to).
- I'm married to the most incredible, loving, fun man in the world - who truly is the one person I would want to be stuck on a deserted island with - not just because he's my husband, but because of who he is as a person and the person that he challenges me to be. (Note: My best friend Michelle and Oprah would be runners-up.)
- In a few short months we will be debt free (a major accomplishment in my book).
- In a few short months, Lord willing and protecting, we will be welcoming Emily into the world.
- She comes into a family, both direct and extended, that will love her and cherish her all the days her life, just I have been blessed to be apart of the Albertson family and the Dreifuss family.
- She will come into an amazing spiritual family (our church, Crossroads Fellowship).
Not to mention the incredible friends that we have here in Raleigh and beyond. I could go on and on, really. Life is so very sweet, and I'm very grateful for that.
Thanks for being part of the reason that our lives are so blessed!
-- Meg D.
This past weekend, we finished our registry at Babies 'R' Us. Still on our "To Do" list is to register at Target (a much more accessible store for many of our friends and family). If you're interested in checking out our registry, click here .....
Registry at Babies R Us
On Monday, as you might have read on our main page, Bert felt Emily kick. This past week, I have noticed a definite increase in the frequency and strength of little Emily's communication. After all this time, I'm starting to really feel pregnant. That may sound strange, but for the first 3-4 months, the only sign that I was pregnant was how awful I felt. Now, I have a noticeable bulge and tiny kicks throughout the day and night to remind me that she's there.
During the day on Tuesday, we received our stroller. That night, we oohed and aahed over all the features and contraptions. It's hard to believe that in a few short months there will be a little baby in it, and the little baby will be ours.
I have to say that I think that this is the best time of my life to date. Why do I think that? (Just to name a few ...)
- I'm old enough to know that I don't know everything (nor do I have to).
- I'm married to the most incredible, loving, fun man in the world - who truly is the one person I would want to be stuck on a deserted island with - not just because he's my husband, but because of who he is as a person and the person that he challenges me to be. (Note: My best friend Michelle and Oprah would be runners-up.)
- In a few short months we will be debt free (a major accomplishment in my book).
- In a few short months, Lord willing and protecting, we will be welcoming Emily into the world.
- She comes into a family, both direct and extended, that will love her and cherish her all the days her life, just I have been blessed to be apart of the Albertson family and the Dreifuss family.
- She will come into an amazing spiritual family (our church, Crossroads Fellowship).
Not to mention the incredible friends that we have here in Raleigh and beyond. I could go on and on, really. Life is so very sweet, and I'm very grateful for that.
Thanks for being part of the reason that our lives are so blessed!
-- Meg D.
Thursday, June 19, 2003
Welcome to Week 19
Today we start week 19. I'm not quite sure why, but the language of pregnancy is always in weeks. Ask any woman who's pregnant and she can tell you how far along she is (always in weeks, of course). I'm always doing the math to divide it by 4 and figure out how many months that really means. For us, that means that next week we will start our 5th month. That's pretty incredible!
Yesterday we made one of our first major decisions. We purchased our stroller. Mom and Dad Albertson were generous enough to provide the funds for it, so we hunted around and found this one .....
http://www.gracobaby.com/catalog/product.aspx?modelNumber=7425OAK
From the moment I played with it in the store, I was impressed. It's easy one-handed collapse and expansion feature won me over. Even with my hands full, I was able to I was able to condense and expand the floor model. So, our stroller should be coming in the next few days.
We have already picked out our crib set. I knew what I wanted and we ran across one a few weeks ago (before we knew whether it was going to be a girl or a boy) and picked this one ....
http://www.babyant.com/bn011166.html
(Note: That is NOT the price we paid for at Toys 'R' Us!).
This week, I also got my first chance to watch the cable show "Maternity Ward" on TLC. HOLY COW! I've never been privy to a birth before, so I am now totally engrossed in finding out everything I can about the actual birth experience. WOW! This show is obviously not edited! I told Bert that we had better become students of this show so that we are prepared for whatever might happen when Emily decides to come. One of the stories followed a lady who had been on bed rest since week 20 due to false contractions. For me, that would be next week. WOW!
Who knew being pregnant would be such an adventure!! Till next week .....
Today we start week 19. I'm not quite sure why, but the language of pregnancy is always in weeks. Ask any woman who's pregnant and she can tell you how far along she is (always in weeks, of course). I'm always doing the math to divide it by 4 and figure out how many months that really means. For us, that means that next week we will start our 5th month. That's pretty incredible!
Yesterday we made one of our first major decisions. We purchased our stroller. Mom and Dad Albertson were generous enough to provide the funds for it, so we hunted around and found this one .....
http://www.gracobaby.com/catalog/product.aspx?modelNumber=7425OAK
From the moment I played with it in the store, I was impressed. It's easy one-handed collapse and expansion feature won me over. Even with my hands full, I was able to I was able to condense and expand the floor model. So, our stroller should be coming in the next few days.
We have already picked out our crib set. I knew what I wanted and we ran across one a few weeks ago (before we knew whether it was going to be a girl or a boy) and picked this one ....
http://www.babyant.com/bn011166.html
(Note: That is NOT the price we paid for at Toys 'R' Us!).
This week, I also got my first chance to watch the cable show "Maternity Ward" on TLC. HOLY COW! I've never been privy to a birth before, so I am now totally engrossed in finding out everything I can about the actual birth experience. WOW! This show is obviously not edited! I told Bert that we had better become students of this show so that we are prepared for whatever might happen when Emily decides to come. One of the stories followed a lady who had been on bed rest since week 20 due to false contractions. For me, that would be next week. WOW!
Who knew being pregnant would be such an adventure!! Till next week .....
Wednesday, June 11, 2003
It's a girl!!
Today finally arrived! It has seemed on many days that this day would never come. The big event - the 18 week ultrasound.
The first thumps
It had already been an eventful day by 8:15 when I felt the first definite kicks from the baby. As I dropped off Bert at work and drove by the Starbucks, there were two noticeable thumps on the left side of my tummy. IT KICKED!! WOW! I just looked down and started saying, "Do it again! Do it again!". Obviously, as the first lesson of parenting will tell you, your children have a mind of their own, and it didn't. As soon as I got to the office, I called Bert to share the news.
6 hours later ....
We arrived at the doctor's office a few minutes late [or early for me (Meg)] and without even grabbing a seat went straight with the nurse to the "prep room". That's the room where they check your stats - weight and blood pressure. I knew my weight was going to take a major jump. My scale at home was even reflecting that, so I was moderately prepared. The numbers said it all - 5.6 lbs in 3 weeks. To D3's credit, it has grown like a weed in the past few weeks - making the past three months seem like a vacation. Now we are getting serious about this task of growing. My blood pressure was absurdly high - 149 over 98. I'm usually on the low side anyway, so this was highly unusual, but between running late and having butterflies, the nurse wisely decided to test it again later.
Without even catching our breaths, we headed to the ultrasound room and our nurse whipped out her gel and ultrasound (wonder working) wand. Instantly--there before us--was our little one. The first words out of her mouth were, "Look, it's waving at you!". There, in black and white, was a little hand and face looking right at us. WOW! Have you ever seen melted butter? For the next few minutes, we scanned all over our little one from head to foot and back again. The last time we saw it visually, it was just a blob. There is no greater testimony for the existence of God then the wonder of creation - little hands and feet, a tiny nose and head, and all from nothing.
So, ok ... what is it and what are you going to call it?
Anyway, we were specifically interested in the gender, of course. The nurse said that she was 85% sure that we were having a girl. So, we introduce the first pictures of Emily Anne Dreifuss. We had originally picked out two sets of names for boys and girls, and have decided to go with our family names first and on the second time around, go with the names that are our personal favorites. Emily was Bert's grandmother's name (his mother's mother) and a mother of 11 children. My (Meg's) mother's first name is Anne, and Bert's mother's middle name is Ann. So, to honor both of them, we chose Anne as our little one's middle name.
Our glimpse into the womb was all too short and Bert and I agreed that we were both a bit sad for it to end. It will be another 4 months before we get to see her again. We had a follow-up appointment with Dr.Zimmerman afterwards. My blood pressure by this time had lowered to 98/67. Amazing what seeing your little one can do!
Our office visit was brief - a physical checkup and a Q&A time to answer some of our questions about our delivery.
As we walked out of the doctor's office, we both hit the cell phones to start calling family. Of course, everyone is thrilled. I think that my mother was shrieking in her office at work.
And us ... well, we headed straight to Target to purchase Emily's first outfit. Now we will start really getting ready for November. It seems so far away, yet it is only 22 weeks (and if you want to really plan ahead - Christmas is 28 weeks from now!).
Congratulations to those in the minority that picked the gender correctly - including, most notably, my Dad. Happy early Father's Day, Daddy!
Click here to see Emily's ultrasound pics.
Today finally arrived! It has seemed on many days that this day would never come. The big event - the 18 week ultrasound.
The first thumps
It had already been an eventful day by 8:15 when I felt the first definite kicks from the baby. As I dropped off Bert at work and drove by the Starbucks, there were two noticeable thumps on the left side of my tummy. IT KICKED!! WOW! I just looked down and started saying, "Do it again! Do it again!". Obviously, as the first lesson of parenting will tell you, your children have a mind of their own, and it didn't. As soon as I got to the office, I called Bert to share the news.
6 hours later ....
We arrived at the doctor's office a few minutes late [or early for me (Meg)] and without even grabbing a seat went straight with the nurse to the "prep room". That's the room where they check your stats - weight and blood pressure. I knew my weight was going to take a major jump. My scale at home was even reflecting that, so I was moderately prepared. The numbers said it all - 5.6 lbs in 3 weeks. To D3's credit, it has grown like a weed in the past few weeks - making the past three months seem like a vacation. Now we are getting serious about this task of growing. My blood pressure was absurdly high - 149 over 98. I'm usually on the low side anyway, so this was highly unusual, but between running late and having butterflies, the nurse wisely decided to test it again later.
Without even catching our breaths, we headed to the ultrasound room and our nurse whipped out her gel and ultrasound (wonder working) wand. Instantly--there before us--was our little one. The first words out of her mouth were, "Look, it's waving at you!". There, in black and white, was a little hand and face looking right at us. WOW! Have you ever seen melted butter? For the next few minutes, we scanned all over our little one from head to foot and back again. The last time we saw it visually, it was just a blob. There is no greater testimony for the existence of God then the wonder of creation - little hands and feet, a tiny nose and head, and all from nothing.
So, ok ... what is it and what are you going to call it?
Anyway, we were specifically interested in the gender, of course. The nurse said that she was 85% sure that we were having a girl. So, we introduce the first pictures of Emily Anne Dreifuss. We had originally picked out two sets of names for boys and girls, and have decided to go with our family names first and on the second time around, go with the names that are our personal favorites. Emily was Bert's grandmother's name (his mother's mother) and a mother of 11 children. My (Meg's) mother's first name is Anne, and Bert's mother's middle name is Ann. So, to honor both of them, we chose Anne as our little one's middle name.
Our glimpse into the womb was all too short and Bert and I agreed that we were both a bit sad for it to end. It will be another 4 months before we get to see her again. We had a follow-up appointment with Dr.Zimmerman afterwards. My blood pressure by this time had lowered to 98/67. Amazing what seeing your little one can do!
Our office visit was brief - a physical checkup and a Q&A time to answer some of our questions about our delivery.
As we walked out of the doctor's office, we both hit the cell phones to start calling family. Of course, everyone is thrilled. I think that my mother was shrieking in her office at work.
And us ... well, we headed straight to Target to purchase Emily's first outfit. Now we will start really getting ready for November. It seems so far away, yet it is only 22 weeks (and if you want to really plan ahead - Christmas is 28 weeks from now!).
Congratulations to those in the minority that picked the gender correctly - including, most notably, my Dad. Happy early Father's Day, Daddy!
Click here to see Emily's ultrasound pics.
Thursday, June 05, 2003
Welcome to D3's Baby blog!
We hope to post regularly (translation: at least weekly) on the latest and greatest about D3.
What can you look forward to seeing here?
So, for our first update .....
Thursday, 5 June 2003
As the mother of this little one and an expert on its life to date, I think the little grapefruit turned into a watermelon last night. Maybe it was the Hardee's french fries that we ran out to get at 9:30 last night, or maybe it was inspired by watching the ball on the NBA finals, but .... HOLY COW! This morning when I went to try and figure out what to wear, I was faced with quite a quandary. What do you wear with a watermelon?
It's quite a peculiar experience to go to bed one size and wake up another. And now, this seems to be happening on a regular basis. From my research, the next four weeks will be the period of most rapid growth. In the course of about 30 days, the baby will DOUBLE in size. Is that not incredible! How many Hardee's fries will it want then?
I have to say that one of the most gratifying moments recently was when I walked into the dentist's office last week and the lady asked me if I was pregnant. THANK YOU! Finally, someone besides my self thinks that I'm starting to show.
Tomorrow night, we are taking another step toward parenting. Bert is watching half of the Dumais gang [Lauren (age 6), Shanna (age 2) and Josiah (age 1)] while Rachel and I head over to Babies 'R' Us for an education session in baby stuff. I'm really looking forward to soaking up all of the great experience that 5 children have given Rachel.
Well, that's quite a first post - so I'll leave you with that. Next Wednesday, let's all pray, that little one is agreeable and we are able to determine its gender.
We'll let you know when we find out, of course!
--Meg Dreifuss
We hope to post regularly (translation: at least weekly) on the latest and greatest about D3.
What can you look forward to seeing here?
- The latest updates from our doctor's appointments
- The most up to date information on preparations for Little One's arrival
- Day to day life with a fetus
- Links to the best sites on the web for shopping, understanding, and raising your own little one
- and more .... OF COURSE !!
So, for our first update .....
Thursday, 5 June 2003
As the mother of this little one and an expert on its life to date, I think the little grapefruit turned into a watermelon last night. Maybe it was the Hardee's french fries that we ran out to get at 9:30 last night, or maybe it was inspired by watching the ball on the NBA finals, but .... HOLY COW! This morning when I went to try and figure out what to wear, I was faced with quite a quandary. What do you wear with a watermelon?
It's quite a peculiar experience to go to bed one size and wake up another. And now, this seems to be happening on a regular basis. From my research, the next four weeks will be the period of most rapid growth. In the course of about 30 days, the baby will DOUBLE in size. Is that not incredible! How many Hardee's fries will it want then?
I have to say that one of the most gratifying moments recently was when I walked into the dentist's office last week and the lady asked me if I was pregnant. THANK YOU! Finally, someone besides my self thinks that I'm starting to show.
Tomorrow night, we are taking another step toward parenting. Bert is watching half of the Dumais gang [Lauren (age 6), Shanna (age 2) and Josiah (age 1)] while Rachel and I head over to Babies 'R' Us for an education session in baby stuff. I'm really looking forward to soaking up all of the great experience that 5 children have given Rachel.
Well, that's quite a first post - so I'll leave you with that. Next Wednesday, let's all pray, that little one is agreeable and we are able to determine its gender.
We'll let you know when we find out, of course!
--Meg Dreifuss
Wednesday, June 04, 2003
This is the first post for our Baby Blog!
You can see the first Ultrasound, as well as pregnancy related links on the right. Enjoy!
You can see the first Ultrasound, as well as pregnancy related links on the right. Enjoy!
