Home Stretch!!!

Well... a little over 3 weeks and it's go time! That is if he decides to wait till his due date. Whatever Birthday he decides on is fine by us :) We're ready... or we like to tell ourselves we're ready. There really isn't anything new to report other then I cant imagine my belly getting any bigger, and seriously... this water retention is UNBELIEVABLE!!! I have the biggest feet/ankles I've ever seen!!! Holy Cankles!!! I'm not kidding... you cant see bone anywhere... just one big swollen watermelon attached to my legs :) Awww... the beauty of pregnancy... I'm truly trying to embrace it all! It's going to be over soon and I'm sure as crazy as it sounds I'll probably miss certain things. What that will be I don't know but I'm sure there will be something :) I'll go ahead and attach our most recent addition to the nursery. Kris and I found a picture of wall art that we really liked and figured we'd make it ourselves with the colors that we liked. So here is the finished product! We are very excited about it. I don't know if you can tell by the picture but it's 100% made out of fabric that we stretched onto canvas then ironed on the other fabrics for the tree, leaves and apples. Who knew we could be so crafty! I have to give most of the credit to Kris. He really did all the hard parts of this project. His talents continue to amaze me! Well that is about it on our end. My next post might be a birth announcement! We shall see!!!

Hugs and Love,
K and M

33 weeks!!! YAY!!!

Well... we've hit the 33 week mark and couldn't be more excited about getting closer to meeting little JB! At my last appointment I measured almost 4 weeks ahead of schedule... YIKES... so doc is hoping to get me to 38 weeks before his arrival. That means 5 weeks left!!!! YAY!!! We will be getting another u/s at 36 weeks to get a more accurate look at JB's size so that will give us a better idea on whether or not we'll have to go early.

Other then that we are just working on the nursery getting it all ready :) I'll post pictures when we get it all done. Kris and I took some pictures on Friday with Khara (we love her). We hadn't really taken many pictures throughout this pregnancy and so I'm so glad we had her come over to help us document this precious time. Enjoy the sneak peak of our photo shoot... more will be coming soon :)

Hugs and Love,

Kris and Melissa

Another Bump....

Kris and I just got back from meeting with a Diabetes Specialist this morning and it was very informative. Yes... that's right... I didn't pass the test :( I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes last week and have been trying to figure out what that means ever since. Basically every pregnant woman get's her glucose tested between weeks 24 and 26. Well apparently my test taking skills are a little rough because I failed miserably. So off to another specialist we go. This one, however, I feel is a true blessing because I've needed to change my diet and exercise (or lack there of) for years and this is forcing me to do so. By the time this baby comes I think the Carpenters will have a new lifestyle in which healthy eating is among our top priority. I have to count my carbs which will take some getting used too but again very important for healthy eating. This first week I have to prick my finger 4 times a day to check my sugar levels then our new friend Pam will look over my numbers and tell me what the next step is. If all looks good then I can go down to 2 pricks a day. If all looks not so good then we talk insulin. I'm feeling very hopeful that I can get this under control so that I don't have to take insulin. I'll keep you posted! The good thing about Gestational Diabetes is it goes away after the baby is born!!! YAY for that!!!! Well... I hope all is well in your worlds!!! Kris and I were soooooo excited to hear of the birth of our newest addition on the Carpenter side... Congrats Aric and Amy!!!! We cant wait to meet Ethan!!!!

Hugs and Love,
K and M

25 weeks!!!

Not much new to report. JB is busy kicking! I'm feeling pretty good and just cant wait to meet our little blessing. Kris and I did the tour of Labor and Delivery this week which was great. It made us both a little nervous but that is to be expected. We will be delivering at Bryan LGH East. The nurses seem great and my Doctor has his office in the same building so it's very convienent for him as well.

I'm posting a picture of me at 25 weeks. It's not a great one but it gives you an idea of how I'm growing. I decided to include my face this time. I'm puffy I know but that just goes along with the territory I guess :) I will also include a picture of our glider that just came in. We love it!!! The nursery is coming together! YAY!!! Well, I'm not sure when the next post will come so for now toodle oo... hope all is well in your world.

Hugs and love,

K and M

YAY!!!!

It's a Boy!!!!!!!!!

We are so excited to finally be able to say "he"!!!! Our ultra sound went great. JB was sleepy (which was so adorable) we could see him yawning and he would have his hand on his forehead like he was saying "oh my what a day". He is measuring in the 58 percentile which is great. Nice and average!!! I have to admit I was a bit nervous we were having ourselves a 10 pounder. I know a lot can change but for now he's right on track at 1 lb. 2 oz. Kris and I were walking on a cloud all afternoon and still beaming today! We're having a son!!!! YAY!!!!!
I also received some GREAT news yesterday regarding my pathology. The surgeon was right... the mass was a fibroadenoma which is a BENIGN mass!! Another Yay!!! It was a great day and I was lucky enough to spend some quality shopping time with my mom which was just the icing on my already delicious cake!!!
I promise to get the u/s pics posted soon!!! I just have to get them scanned first. So check in soon for those if you are interested in seeing JB in 2d :)

Hugs and love!

Surgery Update

Quick Update***

The surgery went GREAT!  Everyone was wonderful at the Nebraska Surgery Center.  I was there for the most part of the day but let me tell you I was ready to leave!!  Both JB and I were starving by 2pm!!  Both the Doc and the PA said that the mass looked like a fibroangenoma (?? spelling) which is great news!  They are still sending it in just to make sure but all in all we feel very confident that it is a benign mass :) YAY!!!  

Thank you for all your prayers.  I have the greatest friends and family a girl could ask for!!!  Keep watching this week because we'll hopefully have a few happy announcements :)

Love and hugs!!!

On the move...

Well... JB (Junebug) is officially on the move!!! Last Sunday one of my dearest friends, who just so happens to do ultra sounds for a living, had me come in to her office and check out what's going on in my belly :) Well... lets just say JB was having a PARTY!!! I don't think "it" stopped moving once the whole time we were there. Sarah got some great pics that I haven't scanned yet but I will!! It was truly amazing seeing our baby move around. We did get a few good looks between the legs and I must say we think we may have seen a little somethin somethin... but I'm not holding my breath. We will get the definite answer on the 12th :) I can officially say that I'm feeling JB's movement now. In fact it kept me up for a while last night. I'm sure I'll get use to it but for now I must admit, it feels pretty strange!!
Well, surgery is still on for Friday. Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers. I've asked a lot of questions and my anxiety has faded quite a bit. The procedure itself takes about 45 minutes and they will check the fetal heart rate both before and after so that makes me feel better. Plus, thanks to Maw and Paw Schwaner we have our very own doppler so we can take a listen whenever we want :) I feel really good about everything and know that all is well!

Love and Hugs!