28 Weeks Later...

**27 weeks 6 days**

Today was mine and Samantha's 28 week appointment. I was a little nervous because I had gone to take my 1 hour glucose tolerance test last Thursday and would be getting my results today. Patrick ended up taking a couple of hours off work so that he could go with me, which really put my mind at ease. Luckily I didn't have anything to worry about anyway. My checkup went really well, I have gained 16 lbs, my blood pressure was 100/70, Samantha's heart rate was 132 (it was a little hard to find because she was moving around so much lol), I'm still measuring about a week ahead of my due date, my glucose test and iron test came back normal, and my rh- antibodies were what they should be. The nurse gave me my rhogam shot in my left hip, and now my doctor wants all of his patients to get the H1N1 vaccine so I got that in my left arm. When I go back in 3 weeks, they should have the flu shot in stock again and recommended getting that as well. I have never had a flu shot and wasn't sure about getting the H1N1 but I feel that my doctor is looking out for my best interest and will do what he thinks is best. He is really happy with my overall health and weight gain and told me I could eat all of the turkey and dressing I want! I told him that this will be the first time in a few years that I haven't been on a diet and with the glucose test coming back normal, I am going to enjoy Thanksgiving to the fullest this year. Dressing, cranberry sauce, and pecan pie here we come! My doctor also asked if we had a name picked out yet, I told him Samantha and he said that has always been one of his favorite names! We also asked about getting a 3-D ultrasound and he said that at my next appointment he would give me the number for a place I could have it done, since he doesn't do them in his office, but said that we should feel free to have it done. We also asked about recommendations for pediatricians and he gave us the names of a couple of offices in between our house and the hospital that he said would take good care of us. Needless to say, we had a great appointment! After our appointment Patrick and I got the chance to eat lunch together and go shopping a little. I even found some great Simpson's wrapping paper! Too bad I already gave him his present this year. lol Thank you all for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers, we really appreciate it.

This week has been a great Christmas week. I know it is a little early but we just can't help ourselves. Granddad ordered us a beautiful white crib for Samantha's nursery. We haven't put it together yet, but we had a child birth class on Saturday all day, and Sunday spent the day Christmas shopping. I am hoping we can have it put together by the end of the week so I can post pictures. This isn't the crib bedding we will be using, we have picked out a gorgeous pink and green elephant set that we have asked Santa for. This picture is from the website:

Sunday my mom came up to go to church at the Lutheran church we visited last week. Patrick and I didn't go this time because I was in nesting mode and felt like everything needed to be cleaned. After she got out of church we went and grabbed a sandwich and she told me that she wanted to go to Walmart to pick us out a Christmas tree. She and daddy wanted to buy us one for a housewarming present, but I told her we could wait until after Christmas to buy it on sale, she just couldn't wait. She didn't want us to spend our first Christmas in our new house without our tree. We found one that we fell in love with and put it up that night!

I also went ahead and bought Patrick his Christmas present. He has been dying to get a PS3 for months now, and when the price dropped $100 I couldn't say no. I got it and a couple of games for him and he got me a game so I could play with it too. :) I figured this is the last Christmas that we are going to be able to be selfish about presents since next year and all of the years following will be all about Sam, which is fine by us.

Oh, and Thursday we are getting our dining room table delivered! Patrick's mom and dad bought us a gorgeous table with 4 chairs and a bench for our housewarming present! I have wanted a nice table ever since we got married, but because we were in the apartment and didn't know how big of a table we should really get, we waited. The table has a butterfly leaf, which means the leaf stores underneath itself and folds out, it is one of the coolest things I have ever seen! I can't wait to see it in our kitchen and decorate it with Christmas themed place mats and a centerpiece of some sort! :)

We have truly been blessed! I guess that is all for now. I will keep you updated on Samantha's progress, and just in case I don't blog for another couple of weeks....... Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

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Dear God,
Thank you so much for everything that you do for us. Thank you for our healthy baby girl and please continue to help her grow stronger and healthier every day. Thank you for our wonderful families, they do so much for us and love us so much that I can't even imagine what we would do without them. Thank you for Patrick's job for our house, for our family. Thank you for giving a friend some good news today that she and her husband will become parents in July. Please watch over the family of Patrick's program director as they mourn their loss of a truly good man whom we know is now with you in Heaven. Please help those who are battling with illness, unemployment, and other hardships. We are so blessed and hope that you will help others as you have helped us. Please let us have a safe trip next week as we celebrate Thanksgiving with our families and friends. Thank you.
AMEN
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Child Birth 101

**26 weeks 3 days**

Today was our first child birth class! We are taking the 2 weekend course instead of the 5 week course during the week because of Patrick working, and taking his math class, and because we have to drive to Huntsville, so it is just going to be easier for us to go for 2 Saturdays from 9-3 instead of 5 Tuesday nights from 6:30-9:30. We were really excited and got to class early, as we usually do. The nurse that was teaching this week was really nice and seemed to be very experienced not only professionally but shared some personal stories about the births of her 3 daughters. We did an ice breaker and had to interview another couple and then introduce them to the class. Our couple's names were Shane (the woman) & Dan. We had to ask their names, where they were from, their due date, gender of their baby and name, if they had any cravings, and if they would be having an epidural. It turns out that out of 8 couples, 7 (including ourselves) are having GIRLS and the other couple isn't going to find out until delivery! Also out of the 8 couples everyone is going to be using an epidural. lol. Our instructor went over the basics of childbirth using a power point presentation and some visual tools. The best was a fake pelvis and a baby doll and her demonstrating how the baby has to turn and how the pelvis has to flex in order to have a successful vaginal delivery. The only scary part was when she almost got the baby dolls head stuck in the pelvis and practically had to jerk it out. We talked about a lot of medical terminology and got a better understanding of contractions and when to call our doctors. We took an hour break for lunch, Patrick and I went to Chik fil A, made a trip to Target, and still made it back well before most of the other couples. The rest of today's class was about how infants really look and act after birth and the postpartum parents. All in all the class was very informative, made us feel more at ease with the whole idea of giving birth, and let the fathers know that they have an important roll in their child and their partners lives. :) After class we talked to the nurse and got a list of pediatricians that she would recommend in the area. We aren't sure if we want to use one in Huntsville or Hartselle yet, but wanted to have a few options to choose from. Next weeks class will cover breathing & relaxation techniques some basic infant care, and a trip to the birthing suites, postpartum floor, and most importantly the NURSERY! We are really excited about going back, and even more excited about our Parenting class that we are signed up to take the first 2 weekends of December!



When we left our class, we went to the mall and Patrick didn't even flinch when I spent almost $100 on maternity clothes. He helped me pick out a couple of shirts and I got some new jeans since my old ones were starting to get a bit snug. Then we went to Best Buy so he could try out the new DJ Hero and get a cd. Then we had a nice dinner at a sports bar in Madison so we could catch the end of the Bama game (YAY 24-15!) and headed home. When we got there we had a check for a refund of our deposit our old utilities company, and Samantha's Halloween costume for next year! Patrick got so excited after seeing all of our cute trick or treaters he came up with an idea for Samantha next year and went ahead and ordered her a costume online while they were on sale. Samantha will be the prettiest Tinkerbell ever next year! We might dress up and be Peter Pan and Wendy when we taker her out for her first Halloween, but we will have to wait and see. :)



Oh, last Saturday we spent part of the day at my parents house celebrating my nephew Jakob's 1st birthday and my sister Mandie's 32nd. We had a great time and enjoyed watching Jakob eat his pumpkin cake and open his presents.



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Dear God,
Thank you so much for everything you do for us. Thank you so much for blessing us with our daughter, who we already love with all of our hearts and we can't even see her yet. Thank you for letting me feel her move inside of me every day and giving me reassurance that she is growing and that I am giving her a good place to live until she can be born in 95 days!Thank you for giving me such a wonderful husband and for making him want to be such a good father. We are so thankful for everything you have given us. Thank you for giving Patrick a good job, and for letting him work on a new project that he is enjoying. Thank you for giving him the opportunity to go to school and for letting him know his limits. Thank you for our home, we are still amazed that you let us find this place and gave us the means to get moved in well before Samantha's arrival. Thank you for our families and friends. Thank you for our love toward one another and letting us enjoy each others company as often as we can. Please watch over us and our loved ones and continue to bless us as we continue to serve you.
AMEN
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