Summer Vacation

I just got back from a week long trip to the mountains and it was awesome. The weather was just so perfect the whole time we were there and it was very relaxing. The house we stayed in was so cool! Beach houses have got to step it up a notch if they want to compare with mountain houses. This house had a pool table, foosball table, hot tub, satellite tv in every room and even wireless internet (we are not a family that likes to rough it on vacay). Plus it had an awesome deck that was gated so our adventure dogs could hang out while we were gone without wandering off.

We stayed about 10 minutes from downtown Boone, which was nice for Sarah, who is staying in her apartment there for the summer. We did lots of shopping in Boone and Blowing Rock (I racked up at the Baby Gap and Osh Gosh outlets!), a tiny bit of hiking and ate at some yummy restaurants in Boone. Note to other carnivores- might want to stay away from Melanie's on King St- especially if the word "soysage" scares you as much as it scares me. However, if you are a normal person who enjoys healthful eating, I hear it is quite delish. Mike, Dad, Sarah and Kat had a lot of fun white water rafting on Monday, and although no one stayed dry, they all made it down the river with sunburn being the only problem (and really only for Mike, who still hasn't mastered the art of proper sunscreen application).

All in all, it was a great time- good for me and Mike since it will likely be the last vacation we take for a long time! Here are a few of our pics from the trip. I miss you mountain weather!!!

Dad, Kat and Mom at Howard's Knob

Me and Mike at Howard's Knob- such a pretty view!

On King St (at least he has a Carolina shirt on!)

Me and Kat at the Mast Store- we're thinking
of bringing back the bonnet.

Mom up to no good in the woods

Dad, me and Mom at Howard's Knob

I didn't take any pics of Sarah in the mtns (she
was working when I was taking the other pics!) so
here's one just for her :P.

New Pictures!

Well, we tried for a 2nd time at Prenatal Peek today, and once again Maddie was quite insistent on not having her picture taken. The ultrasound tech jiggled and prodded and pushed, but apparently she was comfortable and didn't want to move! We decided that this means that she is going to be a very laid back, hard to phase child (instead of difficult and stubborn, which is the other possibility!).

But we did get 3 pretty good pictures. We also got to see her yawning on the video, which was really cool! She looks like a real baby in the now! She is still switching positions a lot, but only likes to lay sideways, not up and down. And she also likes to cover her face with both hands and feet. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks she'll decided that up and down is more comfy so we don't have to worry about her being breech. The ultrasound tech did say that she has a ton of hair already!

Step away from the Dr. Pepper!

Well, the results are in and I do have gestational diabetes. My numbers weren't super high, but definitely high enough for them to want to monitor my sugars. I met with the CF dietitian today and got my glucose monitor, so I'll be checking my glucose levels about 5 times a day. I am also meeting with an endocrinologist that specializes in CF related diabetes next week, b/c they automatically put people with CF on insulin so that we don't have to alter our high-cal diets. I'm very relieved that I don't have to give up my milk, ice cream or ketchup. I was advised to stay away from soft drinks though, so we'll see how that goes!

It really isn't as bad as I thought it might be. I think that with a few small changes it can be easily controlled, especially since my numbers from the 3-hour test weren't crazy high. Lots of sticks, but the finger pricks don't hurt at all, and I don't mind shots so hopefully the insulin won't be a big deal either. The only downside is that my doctor mentioned that when most people with CF get gestational diabetes, it doesn't go away after the baby is born. So it might be more of a permanent adjustment.

We went to Prenatal Peek today for our exciting 4-d ultrasound, but unfortunately Miss Maddie decided that she wasn't in the mood for pictures. The ultrasound tech tried all kinds of things to get her to move (she was facing backwards and had her arms and feet covering her face), but every time she did move she managed to get in an even worse position. So we will try again tomorrow. Hopefully this is not foreshadowing her post natal disposition!

In the meantime, I have some pictures of the fun stuff that we got at the shower and have put together! We're trying to get the dogs used to all the things that vibrate, play music/sounds or just plain move.

Pack'n'play with cute little bassinet and changing table!

Swing, Boppy bouncer, Diaper Champ and cradle (Mike's
grandfather made it for him! It'll be going in our bedroom
as soon as we can figure out where to put it)

Infant stroller and carseat!

Maclaren stroller- isn't it sexy?!? We also discovered
the safety reflectors when using the flash, haha. Maddie will
be safe on our midnight strolls!

And we didn't have to put these together, but
they are just too cute not to show!!!

Baby shower fun!

I had my baby shower on Saturday and it was so much fun!!! Everything was decorated in pink and black, and there was a ton of delish food. I got SO MANY amazing gifts- I still can't believe how much great stuff we got! In addition to the presents, everyone brought their favorite books to start out Maddie's library. Let me tell you- she got quite the collection! I got so many of my own childhood favorites, and I can't wait to read them all again. Here's a link to all the shower pics that Kat took for me.

I found out on Friday that I failed my 1 hour glucose test, so I am a little bummed about that. I'll be going on Tuesday for my 3 hour test to determine whether or not I have gestational diabetes, so prayers are appreciated on Tuesday morning! I'm hoping for the best, but my test results from last week were on the high side, so it definitely won't be a surprise if I fail Tuesday's test.

Mike and I (well, mostly Mike!) spent all of today putting things together, and it is so exciting! It feels like we really might be ready for her to come in a couple of months :). I'll add some pictures of what the room is looking like now once I clean out all the boxes/packing materials. I also got all of my bedding fabrics on Saturday (Mary Jo's in Charlotte is the mac daddy of fabric stores!), so hopefully that will be done soon!

Here's a pic of all of Maddie's books in my big pink chair!!!

Welcome to the home stretch...

Today marks 28 weeks and 2 days, so I'm officially in the 3rd trimester! I am feeling really good, although my body is starting to ache a little with the added weight and I do get tired pretty easily. Mike and I can't believe that we are less than 3 months away from meeting Miss Maddie! The nursery hasn't changed much yet, but I will definitely post picture updates when it has. The furniture should all be in the room before the first week of July is over. That stuff sure does take forever to come in! The slow delivery has prompted several nightmares of the baby arriving and us having no nursery for her. I am also having recurring nightmares that we've been at home with the baby for 3-4 days and I realize that no one has ever changed her diaper. Something tells me that one isn't likely to come true!

Today we had a big appointment- an ultrasound to check growth and my gestational diabetes test. The GD solution was pretty gross, but I managed to get it down without any coming back up (just barely!). I'm waiting on pins and needles to get the results back. I've heard that I will need to stay away from ketchup if I do have it- yikes! My meat will be so lonely on the plate!

The ultrasound was great, although we didn't get to see her in 3-D this time (I've gotten spoiled by those clear images), so we couldn't see too much. She's definitely plumper and less alien like though, and she's estimated to weigh about 2 lbs 10 oz as of today, which puts her in the 48th percentile. So she is doing great! And my weight is up again too, so we are pleased with that. Thank you Chick-fil-a milkshakes....and let the waddling begin!

I am very excited to be headed down to SC tomorrow for Kat's graduation and then to Charlotte for my baby shower on Saturday!!! I will be sure and post pics of that when I get back to Raleigh. In the meantime, here are a couple of photos from the ultrasound today. We will be headed back to Prenatal Peek (my Mother's Day gift from Mike!) sometime in the next few weeks, so I'll have lots of good 3-d pictures to show off after that.