Registering

So John and I set out on Sunday to start registering at Babies R Us. It was kind of a last minute decision and I hadn't fully prepped my mind for all the things to register for, but we did allright.

I was really surprised with John. I thought I may frustrate him by taking too long to look at one item...but really for the most part we were in sync. He would read and compare the different brands and such.  He probably could've done it all that day, however my feet were super tired from standing and I was just tired...so we headed home...bummed that we left with nothing though we shopped for a couple hours!

There are a few things we still don't know much about....but the great thing about the registry is we can make changes online if we find we like another brand better or hear things from friends and family.

Week 22

Hooray another week down! I love counting by weeks...I feel it makes things go by much quicker!

I've attached another belly shot (this was taken late at night, so I don't look super, but who is really looking at my face much!)

This week I've noticed that Logan has had some active days and 'sleep' days. I get bummed on the 'sleep' days as I love feeling him move....but I read that this can be normal, especially if I' a little more active in a given day...

I have also noticed that my belly button is starting to flatten out on the bottom-half a bit....it feels funny!  Soon I guess it will be flat, then perhaps an outtie!

Sunday Logan did something new....he kicked the other direction; it felt as if he were kicking my insides and bladder. It felt weird, but I love any movement from him!

My parents came and took our guest bed to 'hold' it for us until we move (someday...there's nothing in the works). So now Logan's room is pretty much an empty palate. We have to pack away the wall hangings (unfortunately that is one of the only rooms that actually had wall hangings...I've got to get on the ball with the rest of the house). And once we decide on the bedding, we'll repaint his room (it needs refreshing anyway, so we might as well have it match a bit).

Bedding is hard....if anybody knows of a good site (besides Babies R Us), that isn't crazy ridiculous expensive....let me know. I don't really want a theme (animals, sports, autos)...but just a nice 'boy' bedset for the crib.

While my parents were here, Logan actually showed off and was kicking me a bit...and my Mom felt him almost right away! Go Logan! Hopefully he behaves that way when we see more relatives and friends! :)

Well this week Logan is the length of a spaghetti squash (never heard of that one either...I've only heard of the regular Summer squash). :) He is 11 inches long and almost a pound! I have my doctor appt. on Wednesday so I'll post when I'm done there. Oh, and I scheduled our 3D ultrasound for August 12th...so we'll have new pictures then. :)

(Oh and for those of you who knew Julie...from working at DeVry or whatever...she's engaged!!!!!! Congrats Julie!)

John felt Logan Kick!!!

So mark the day....Saturday, June 21st.....exactly 21 weeks along....John felt Logan kick for the first time!

The past week or so, Logan had been kicking noticeably harder, but it seemed that everytime John or I would put our hand on my stomach, Logan would get stage fright (or he's just trying to tease us). :) Finally on Saturday night....after I had eaten dinner and we were just watching a movie, Logan started kicking...hard. So I put my hand on my stomach and I felt it! So I called John over and he felt 3 kicks in a row! Then Logan thought we'd had enough fun for one night and he 'went to bed'. :) We did thank him for sharing the fun with Daddy. :)

John thought it was very cool....but was trying to imagine his son kicking in my belly....he would ask me...are you sure you didn't do anything to make your stomach move? I don't know how many people can make their stomach give a little bump in one place on command. :) It is just so cool it is hard to believe! :)

Week 21

Hooray...21 weeks down...19 to go!

Besides my mid-week 'excitement' with my calves I don't think much else happened this past week.

Logan is kicking harder and it seems that he kicks more-so when I sit up than when I lie down. And I can tell that he's moving around as before the kicks were mainly on the left side of my stomach...now they are either in the middle or on the right side.

Next weekend is our 7th wedding anniversary...so we are trying to plan a last-minute trip somewhere (we keep checking flights to see which side of the world we will get to visit). :)

First Hospital Tour

Since we've had our beautiful golden retriever, Buddy (we got him last June) we've taken walks almost every day.  Typically we walk about a mile and a half....sometimes three miles (depending on which route and who I go with).  Since I've been pregnant and the weather has been nice Buddy and I have kept up with that tradition.

During these walks in the last couple of months, I've noticed that after a few blocks, my calves start to hurt a lot.  It feels as though I've been doing the stair-stepper for a half hour and I've just walked a block.  But at each street we've taught Buddy to stop and sit, so it provided a lovely rest for my legs and I kept on truckin.  Anywho, since it's been going on for a while, I decided to check it out on the Internet.  On a couple of 'baby' sites, I found that if you experience any symptoms (including leg cramps) I should stop walking immediately and call the doctor.  Whoops....it's been a couple months like this.

I called the doctor and the nurse called me back shortly after and said that I needed to have an ultrasound done on my legs (weird) to rule out blood clots.  Ack!  I hadn't considered that at all...I perhaps expected that they would ask me to do a bloodtest to see if my iron, calcium or potassium was low....but not an u/s of my legs!!!  Since the doctor's office was closing shortly, I was told I had to go to the hospital.

I picked up John on my way to the hospital from work.  I had an ultrasound of each leg from upper thigh to ankle.  At one point she turned the volume on....I thought, what on earth for???  Then all of a sudden she squeezed my calf and a loud 'woo' came from the speaker...who knew legs could talk??  So each leg lasted about 12 minutes and she said I was clot-free. Whew!  We had to wait around for the doctor to call and tell us that there were no clots and that I should take tylenol for the pain, keep hydrated and we'd discuss it further at my next appointment.  I can deal with the pain, so I don't plan on taking tylenol...but perhaps I won't walk so often until my appt.  I will also grab some bananas at the store tomorrow to help the potassium.  I already drink plenty of milk and I take an iron supplement along with my prenatal vitamin.

So while that was a two hour visit that we weren't planning on taking, we got a chance to see the hospital....and boy was it nice!  Everything looks so new and the place is decorated beautifully.  They were recently named a top 100 hospital, so that's a great bonus as well!  We can't wait to take the official tour of the Women's and Children's Wing.  :)

So in the end, Logan and I are just fine....we just had our first precautionary measure.  :)

I'll be sure to post an update after my next appointment on July 2nd.

Good night!

Week 20

Oh my gosh! I'm halfway through my pregnancy!!!!!!!

I feel absolutely amazing. I feel Logan move several times throughout the day...lately the car rides to and from work he'll do a little kick or punch or roll. As mentioned in an earlier post, I did start feeling harder kicks...it won't be too much longer until John can feel him kick me. :) We sit there and say "Come on Logan, kick Mom". Hopefully he doesn't 'remember' that later in life. :) I remind him (after I ask him to kick me) that once he's born, he's not allowed to kick or punch his mother. :)

I don't want to sound vain in this next comment, however....when I'm at work or out and about and I pass by a glass door or a mirror and I catch a glimpse of my profile in the reflection...I just smile. I just see this little belly...that's growing...and it's so fun! I feel like I say this all the time (or perhaps think it as well)....but we just waited so long for it to happen, I just get so excited that I am pregnant and that my little guy will be here in 5 months! Ah!

Tomorrow we get our living room furniture delivered...we are very excited. My parents are coming up to take our queen guest-bed set to their house. They are going to hold it there until we are able to have a guest room someday and can take it back. Then once the bed is out of Logan's room, we will start filling it with more and more little boy things!

John and I are going to register within the next few weeks. I need him to be 'in the mood' as I really want to soak up this experience....and don't want to be rushed or have him get antsy....or whatever.

This week, Logan is approx. 11 ounces and 10 inches long...about the length of a banana! My book says he's swallowing a lot more now....a good practice for his digestive system.

OOh....sooooo exciting!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day (a day late) to all the Dad's out there.

My Dad is just.....fabulous!!! We always joke that my Dad can't sit still or just 'relax', because he is always movin' doing one thing or another or fixing this or that. He's just the handiest guy I know...he can fix pretty much anything. When John and I were at our last house, which we fixed up a TON, I would have 2 lists...Battermann project lists (ones that John and I could do) and a Madorma list...ones that we needed my Dad's help on. Also, as you all know I used to work at DeVry (my Dad has worked there for about 20+ years at a different campus), but many people knew my Dad. They would say 'Oh, you're Jim's daughter. We love your Dad; he is so helpful and gets things done without us having to wait around forever.' It always made me smile knowing that I had such a great role model and people would be glad to meet me because they knew and could share a wonderful story about my Dad. :)

John's Dad is terrific as well. As mentioned in my earlier post, we named Logan William after John's Dad....and we are very proud that Logan will always have a part of his grandfather in his name. Bill did retire a couple of years ago, after he ran an amazing Corian countertop business (Dave, one of John's brother's now owns it). Bill is a guy that can meet anybody and talk to them for however long on just about any topic...he's a real people-person and I think that is a great quality...something that I hope Logan takes after.

We love both our Dad's and are very excited to introduce Logan to them...as he can learn so much from both of them.

For John's 1st Father's Day, Buddy, Logan & I made him breakfast in bed....Eggs Benedict - his favorite! Then we laid in bed and watched a movie. Buddy gave him a card which is very fitting....it was a dog that dug up the yard and spelled out Happy Father's Day in bones. Buddy has dug up some holes in our yard (mainly last year during his main puppy stage), that we still need to fix....John got a kick out of the card. Logan gave John a sweet card with a little message that he dictated to me from the womb. :) He gave his dad a blue onesie with a picture of a computer on the front. Above the computer it says "Computer Whiz". And on the back, it says "Just like my Dad". John LOVED it and thought it was really creative.

Later on the drive home, Logan kicked me really hard (he had done that only once or twice that weekend....hard kicks, that is)....it was a kick that made me sound a bit in shock. So John tried to feel it, but Logan just did not cooperate. We thought it would be pretty cool for John to feel him on Father's Day, but apparently it just wasn't in the cards. :) I imagine in the next couple of weeks, John will be able to feel him....can't wait!

Well I hope everybody else had a wonderful Father's Day!

And his name is......

LOGAN WILLIAM BATTERMANN

Ah! It feels great to get it out there. I tell ya...I've had some friends and cousins that have kept the name a secret....I don't know how they did it!!!! We told a few people the name the day we found it he was a he....but we wanted to wait until Father's Day to tell John's side of the family (since William is John's Dad's name...and we wanted to tell him in person).

How the name came about:

We were walking around in Charleston, thinking of names....it's hard to think of names when you're trying to think of names....we started coming up with silly names as we past restaurants or saw trucks drive by. As we were walking the name Logan just popped into my head and I said 'what do you think'? He wasn't opposed to it.

{Back story: John earlier thought of the name Clarke (with an e)....and he was pretty set on it. I kept pushing it to the back burner and said let's wait until we know if it is a girl or boy. Nothing against any Clarke's of the world, it is a great name....however (& we tested this theory) when people hear the name Clarke they immediately think of Superman OR Clark Griswold from Family Vacation. And while having the same name as a 'comic book superhero' could be cool.....or having the same name as a 'goofy Dad from the 80s movie' could be funny....I just wasn't ready. Anywho, John still kept 'trying' to get me to love the name Clarke.}

We continued to walk around Charleston and I kept saying it in my head and the name grew on my like crazy. But still I wanted a name book so I can make sure that there wasn't another name that we'd perhaps like better. I went through the name book within 2 days....and we either liked the name, but knew somebody's child (friend or family) who has the name already or one of us would throw the name out. But really by this time, it didn't much matter, we both really started liking/loving the name Logan.

William...as I mentioned is John's Dad's name. We thought it would only be fitting since Logan will be the first Battermann boy to pass on the Battermann family name, to work his Dad's name in there. His Dad is William Henry....we would've used either one of the names as Logan's middle name, but William seemed to have a ring to it.

After saying Logan William Battermann several times, it seemed as if no other name would top it.

So now when we talk to Logan, we call him by name. It is very fun. Him having a name, just makes it all a bit more real...and we're loving every second of it!

Ultrasound Pictures

So, here they are....the latest pictures of our son!!!

The picture below is his profile....his adorable little head (showcasing a left eye socket and a nose...they are the most visible).  It also shows his abdomen...which is nice and healthy!

This next picture is when the ultrasound tech was trying to get a picture of the back of his head, but he kept turning over to have us take his picture....that's my boy!  This is a really cute pose...he is facing almost all the way forward (you can see both eye sockets and his nose) and he is resting his head on one arm, while the other arm is crossing over and resting just underneath his chin....aw!  That is how I sleep...hm...perhaps he is mimicking my motions.  :)

This next adorable picture are his cute little feet!  The ultrasound tech was so excited that she got both in the same frame!!!

John didn't want me to post the picture of his 'boyhood'....protecting his son already from embarrassing photos!  And if there was more to the picture I would post it, however the ultrasound tech couldn't get a picture of his 'boyhood' with his legs....so the picture is just a butt with a 'tail'...  hahaha!!!

I am planning on getting a 3D ultrasound done between 24-34 weeks, so perhaps I will have more pictures then....otherwise, these are the last pictures of him until he's born.  :)

Week 19

Here is my Week 19 picture.  I am currently looking for my 'normal' tank top that I've been taking the pictures in....but this one is close enough (however, my hand on the bottom was touching my stomach...not my top...so this one won't last unless everybody wants to see my bare stomach too!)

Oh my goodness...I can't believe I'm one week away from being half way through my pregnancy AND we know that we're having a boy!

This week was exciting as far as the house goes.  My parents came over again on Saturday....John and my Dad installed a ceiling fan with a light in the living room (picture of the scary climb on the ladder with the installation on the left); they installed cable in the living room and they fixed an obstructive pipe under our staircase so we have more storage (I really miss our basement to throw random 'stuff' in).  Since the update in storage, we packed away my wedding dress (it hung in the baby's room), our winter coats and some workout stuff (um.....yeah, we don't work out so much....hm).

My Mom and I completely cleaned out the baby's closet....ugh....about 6 bags to Goodwill later...4 bags of garbage and some re-organzing to other rooms.....it looks great!  By the end of the night we were able to run out to Target to get some BLUE baby hangers and we hung up the baby's outfits that we've received already......oh, it looks SOOOOOOOOO cute...I love it!

My Mom and I also fixed up a trunk that we received from my Nana - it came over with my Papap's family in the late 1800's (from Italy).  A couple years ago, I tried fixing the inside with contact paper, but it kept falling.  My Mom had a great idea to cover the inside with fabric (with the handy help of a hot glue gun).....and boy was it a great idea!!!  I had some leftover fabric from some curtain accents my Mom and I attempted in our last house.  The trunk looks better than ever (the picture is the before and after....the inside is wood....and the floral/black fabric is our addition).  We filled it with pillows, sheets and blankets so that when we have our pull-out sleeper sofa, all the necessities will be handy.  Very exciting...it may not to those reading, but it meant a lot to me that the old trunk is once again beautiful!  My Dad (his Dad was my Papap) kept joking that he was going to take it home...not!

Today, John and I purchased a black leather queen sleeper sofa.  It will be delivered next Tuesday...we're so excited....our front room will finally be furnished!  It only took 2 years!

Our son (I love saying that) does move when I am reclined....I get all kinds of little kicks and punches....some times more than others, but nonetheless, it is still such an awesome feeling.

This week our baby boy is about the size of an heirloom tomato....whatever kind that is!

Sorry, John will scan the ultrasound pictures tomorrow morning so we can post them tomorrow night.

Til then!!!

Paige

Heartbeat & Ultrasound

Here's the heartbeat (and my first post):



That's my boy!!!

Dreams

I had wanted to post this earlier before my appt., but last night I must've had about 10 seperate dreams on 'what' we were having. I tossed and turned like a crazy person, all excited....and each time I woke up, it was 'It's a Girl' or 'It's a Boy' or more commonly 'We can't tell'.....so when I woke up in the morning I was so confused if I knew or not.

Well at least now we know. I am very glad we found out....it is so fun to daydream about what he will look like....and how to do the nursery.....how things are going to be knowing that he's a boy....just different raising scenarios....for example, my friend Abbey said 'welcome to the world of stand-up pee'. haha!!!

I am SO excited....I love him so much already!!!!!

It's a.......BOY!!!!!!

BOY were soooo many of you wrong!  :)  I think John's sister, Sandy and my sister, Dawn were the only 2 that were correct.  Dawn was leaning heavily towards boy, but knew I had always wanted a girl, so she threw that at me yesterday to try and be supportive...but in her heart knew I was already HUGE like she was...and she has 2 boys!!!  Sandy said a few weeks ago 'boy'.  :)

Well, needless to say we are soooooooooooooo excited!!!!!  John is SO glad to have the Battermann Family name carry on.

The ultrasound tech asked if we wanted to know.....we said YES and I want lots of pictures (I have 11). :)

She put the machine on and started rubbing my belly with the thing-y (that's the technical term)....and we saw that the baby's legs were not crossed, so I began feeling VERY hopeful (after all we had given him several pep talks).  Then she paused on legs with a thing-y (another technical term) in the middle.  I was going to say oh that's a boy....but didn't want to offend my little girl if that was the case.  She said, this is the leg and this and that....and that is 100% BOY!

I did tear up and then while I was waiting for the doctor for my doc appt. I cried a little bit....I just can't believe this is all happening.  It is so cool!

We have 2 very clear pictures...I will post those later after John scans them when he gets home.

We are very close to the name....so I'll post that soon.

Well I will post more later, I just wanted to shout that from the rooftops!!!!

In November, John and I will have a SON (oh, that is soooo cool to say).

Ah! One more day!!!

Okay, yes, I have been counting down the hours until we find out (hopefully) the gender of our baby!!!!

Today I am taking a poll at work...so if you happen to check the site today and want to weigh-in your opinion.....try to guess what we're having.

So far I have 2 girls, 1 boy and 1 undecided and not-guessing. The 2 girl guesses were VERY firm; the boy was just a random guess and was easily swayed to a girl.

Oh man, only 21 more hours!!!! :)

Week 18

So this is THE week.....hopefully.....that we will find out the gender of the baby. I'm so excited and this has probably been the longest wait yet; although I still agree that I can't believe I'm almost half way there!!!

So this past week I did learn that when the weather is bad (we got some great thunderstorms) I get nauseous all over again....feels like my 1st trimester....so that wasn't pretty and I was very thankful that my job allows me to work from home. :)

I did get another headache right before going to bed one night. I learned from past weeks that if I try to 'sleep' it off, that never works....so I took a tylenol immediately and woke up fresh as a daisy in the morning!

The past week I have felt the baby move once a day and typically only got about 1-2 kicks per day....while I begged for more, the baby did not cooperate. I must say though, today was like some type of trigger! This morning while I was at home watching a Baby Story (went in to work late since John had to go in early) the baby was kicking up a storm....like popcorn popping in my stomach...oh, I was sooooo excited!!! And while I'm typing this post, the baby has already kicked me 4 times...uh, there's another one! I LOVE this feeling; it has made this whole experience even MORE real! I just picture a little boy or girl in there goofing off...or trying to get comfortable.

My friend Carrie told me a neat trick (which is why I think the baby is moving now)....to drink ice cold water and it immediately gets the baby moving! Well test #1 - it worked!!!! I will drink cold water before the ultrasound so the baby doesn't just lounge around. Although I don't want too wiry of a baby that they can't get a clear picture!

Mainly I hope with this ultrasound...besides wanting to know the gender (which I really will be excited for either a boy or girl)....I really hope that the baby is healthy, healthy, healthy and growing at a great rate! I imagine that we will have a fairly tall baby and a nice weight as well.

So everybody pray that we have a great ultrasound on Thursday morning...HEALTHY BOY OR GIRL.

Oh....the baby (from crown to rump) is about the size of a bell pepper...5.5 inches long!