Help!

We can't decide what color to paint the baby room - let us know what you think!

Unfortunately they're not in the same order in each photo, but help us out and vote by order of the first:

1 - Light Green

2 - Dark Green

3 - Light Yellow

4 - Pale Aqua

5 - Yellow

And of course we have to back up, and post some pics of proud - daddy-to-be putting the crib together!

Hard at it!

Right of passage to being a new dad!

The finished product!

10 Weeks to Go!

We're at 30 weeks - only 10 more to go!

We had a doctor appointment today to check up on Baby B.  Our little one had a somewhat sporadic heartbeat so our midwife wanted to hook me up to the fetal monitor for awhile just to check it out.

 

Baby B. was just fine - having a good time being active in there!


Other new developments for Baby B.:

• His/her weight is now up to around 3 pounds
• Eyesight continues to develop, but is still very weak.  Even after it's born it will only have 20/400 vision, meaning it will only be able to see a few inches in front of its face
• Baby's brain is getting wrinkly! Grooves and indentations increase surface area, meaning more room for that oh-so-essential brain tissue. 
• Like the midwife was seeing, the baby stays very busy. Sometimes it is moving so much I can only imagine it's running in place in there!

Stroller Assembly

We were fortunate to receive an early shower/baby gift from our current roommates Doug and Alicia.  They surprised us with the car seat/stroller travel system that we had registered for.  I (Nic) was particularly excited and couldn't wait to get it together and figure it out (with some help from Steph and Alicia and the illustrations on the box).  See the video of the first test drive of the new stroller.

 

Bring on the Third Trimester!

I can't believe we're into the third trimester already!



Baby B. is over 2 pounds now!  


And the little bugger is kicking and dancing around in there, keeping very active!  Nic has been able to feel it move, and actually if you watch at the right time, you can see my tummy move. 


Nic and I took a birthing class at the hospital here in Ames over the last three weeks.  It was full of good information and Nic's homework is to practice massage and other relaxing techniques on me.  :)


It's crazy to think that in three short months, our family and our lives will change forever.  Nic and I are going to make sure we have lots of date nights since it will never be just the two of us again. We are so excited to share our lives with a beautiful son or daughter!

Anything like me?

December 11, 2010


We are constantly wondering what our baby will be like and if 'Pumpkin' will take after me or Nic.  This song by Brad Paisley is a great illustration of our thoughts (well, maybe more of Nic's thoughts, but you get the idea):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6jUCq-6WHo

Have a listen while you view some photos and read stories of me and Nic as kids - who do you think the baby will take after?

 

What a sweet smile!  From what I hear Nic was a great baby - very active before most babies' time.  I recall a story about climbing up the table and then up the chair sitting on the table.....!  Yikes!

It was destiny that I'd go to NW I think. What school pillow and school colors should we have our baby wear?

If our child is very messy, it definitely is a trait of Nic's.....!  :)







We each had our activities- wonder what our child will like to do?

I definitely see Nic taking our kid fishing!




Will it like the outdoors as much as Nic does?

Will it love sports like its parents did? (yes, Dad, cheering IS a sport!!)

Will it be active and fearless like its father? (so many horror stories about that 4-wheeler!) 

Or will it be shy and geeky like its mother?


I think everyone would agree with me that if our baby ends up an angel of a child, it takes after its mother!

Of course I married Nic for a reason, and if it has his heart and genuine personality, I'll be a proud mommy!

21 Weeks!

November 22, 2010

Today we had our ultrasound!  It was so amazing to see little Baby B. in there!  We saw it waving to us, kicking its legs, and drinking! It has the cutest little nose in its profile!

What a cutie!

A little foot!

Spine (just for you Doug!)

Little ears to hear mommy talking to it!

Nice healthy brain!

What's going on with Baby B. lately?

• It weighs just under a pound and is 10 1/2 inches long - about the size of a banana or carrot
• I've been feeling it move a lot!  It's hard to describe what it feels like, but at this point it kinda feels like muscle twitches.  Unfortunately, Nic hasn't caught it moving yet to feel it.  
• The baby is covered in a waxy protective coating to prevent it from being affected by the amniotic fluid - weird, but good I suppose!
• I seem to have popped lately.... there's no more hiding that I have a baby in there!

What's in a name?

November 2, 2010

Naming our baby is a bigger deal than I originally thought it would be!  I mean, think about it, this child will have this name for its whole life!  It helps define who it is! You have to make sure it fits with the last name, you have to think about possible nick names (good and bad!), if it will fit when it's a baby, a teen, and a grown-up, if it's different or will be the same as lots of other peoples'..... so much to think about!

Well actually, Nic and I have had ideas about names for awhile now, but wanted to share some of the things we found along the way when deciding about names.

This website, babycenter.com, has a section where you can search for a name you're thinking of giving your child and find its origin, meaning, and see how popular it has been over time.  It also gives you similar names or names derived from that one that might offer good alternatives.  It was so interesting! 

http://www.babycenter.com/baby-names-nicholas-3404.htm

And you can actually look on the social security administration website for the most popular names in certain years.

Top 10 Names for 2009
Rank	Male Name	Female Name
1	Jacob	Isabella
2	Ethan	Emma
3	Michael	Olivia
4	Alexander	Sophia
5	William	Ava
6	Joshua	Emily
7	Daniel	Madison
8	Jayden	Abigail
9	Noah	Chloe
10	Anthony	Mia

This website was the most fun I think.  It's http://www.babynamegenie.com/ - you type in your last name and the sex of the child if you know it, and out pops the genie's best name for your baby!  When I did it, I didn't put in a sex since we don't know, and the name Gianna Kaylee Boersma is what the genie came up with (again, definitely having a girl!)

No, I'm not going to follow the baby name genie and name our baby Gianna if it's a girl.  But we do have some special names picked out for Baby B. when it arrives!