30 WEEKS AND GROWING

Today was my 30 week appointment, so here I am tonight at 30 weeks 3 days:

Baby James is growing fast these days, and consequently, so am I! Jay has even noticed a few tiny stretch marks on my lower belly... I was hoping I wouldn't get them, since I'd made it so far without them, but I'm really not all that surprised. They say that if you are prone to stretch marks, no amount of cocoa butter will prevent them during pregnancy. Oh well... it still feels nice to have Jay rub my belly at night!

Even though I'm starting to feel uncomfortable carrying the weight of this belly around (greater occurrences of sciatic and lower back pain), I'm still loving this pregnancy. Feeling Baby James kick and punch constantly is just amazing (though he does take little naps throughout the day when I don't feel him move much for 30-45 minutes), and he's getting big enough that I can feel him pushing on me whenever he changes position. Today was the first day that I noticed myself having a lopsided belly (the baby's booty was definitely over on my left side). I couldn't resist walking down to Jay's office to show him, and he noticed immediately. It was strange to feel how hard the left side of my belly was, while my right side felt empty and squishy! Baby James has also been pushing on the inside of my belly button a lot lately, which is actually not that fun a feeling... it tickles in that nerve-tingling way. And I've been finding it hard to fall asleep on my left side (like I'm supposed to) these days because my bedtime is Baby James' most active time of day/night, and for some reason, he kicks less when I lay on my right side... and it's hard to fall asleep when it feels like someone is playing the drums inside your belly!

As far as the appointment goes, my blood pressure was good and my weight gain was "perfect" (I'm allowed to gain a pound a week at this point, and I managed to stay within my limit, even with all the calorie-splurging at Christmas). Who doesn't love it when the doctor calls them perfect? Then I told her about the one small bleeding episode I had right before Christmas and she sent me straight down to sonogram to get checked out... (Don't worry, I had called the nurse after it happened and she wasn't concerned enough to send me to the ER). The technician measured the amniotic fluid levels (perfect) and checked the placenta (perfect). Then she showed me his "breathing movements" - I could see his little chest rising and falling, and it was really cool! She said that you don't normally see such strong movements at this stage, so she was really impressed and thinks we have a very strong little boy in there!! And he's still positioned head down, and probably will be for the duration, which is good news.

Even though Baby James had been doing jumping jacks (or maybe he was dancing) for 15 minutes while I had been waiting to see the doctor originally, he had fallen asleep by the time I went into sonogram. His sleeping heartrate was 130bpm. His face looks even fuller now than it did 2 weeks ago though, and we did get to see him yawn really big twice (it is SO cute when he does that)! Here's a pretty good view of his sweet face:

Also, the technician showed me his hair in the 2D view (something we didn't see 2 weeks ago, but which is readily apparent now - it's that "fuzzy" stuff she's pointing at on the back of his head) - I guess we won't be having a bald baby after all!

Finally, to round out this blog post, here is some information from BabyCenter.com:

At 30 weeks gestation the baby is almost 16 inches long and 3 pounds! (We'll get a more accurate measurement at our 32 week appointment though, when they do the growth assessment ultrasound and guess what the full-term birth weight will be). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds the baby, but the volume will decrease as he gets bigger and takes up more room in my uterus. His eyesight is continuing to develop, but even after he's born, he'll keep his eyes closed for most of the day. When he does open them, he'll respond to changes in light, but will have 20/400 vision, which means he'll only be able to make out objects a few inches from his face. Jay and I are both definitely thinking less about the pregnancy these days and more about what it will be like once Sweet Baby James is out here in the world with us... less than 10 weeks to go now!

CHRISTMAS WEEK AT THE BEACH

Christmas week with the Lindsays, in captions...

All of us at church after Christmas Eve service

Jude on the porch with Jean's blooming poinsettia in the background

The tree on Christmas morning, after Santa stopped by

Jay moves at lightening speed when he finds a package from Best Buy...

Jay's Jetta gets it's first bath in the Florida heat (temps in the upper 70's all week!)

What's a trip to Florida without visiting the beach?

Jude and Mouton are happy to be home, tired from a great week in Florida!

WADDELL FAMILY CHRISTMAS - 2008 EDITION

Another family reunion has come and gone... the weekends we have together always go so fast! This year, we were back at Jekyll Island, Georgia and almost everyone was there (we really missed Jason, Amy, & Finn, and the overseas Kirkpatricks). There were even 7 animals in attendance... Kyle's Great Pyrenees, Mouton & Jude, and 4 of the baby corn snakes! Here are the kittens in Jay's new car on the way to Georgia (sometimes they are actually quite sweet to each other):

This is Kyle's dog, Marley, getting some love from Jamie:

We went over to Stephen and Heather's campsite Friday night for some fresh air and atmosphere. Here are Jay, MacKenzie, and Heather enjoying the campfire (with Uncle Gerald & Uncle Doug in the background):

We started off Saturday morning at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, where they have a museum, gift shop, and rehabilitation center. Here are Jay, Jamie, and Jean out front:This is one of the 8 sea turtles currently under the care of the staff, with his entire medical history available for viewing:After watching the sea turtles, we went over to the shops to look at Christmas ornaments and eat ice cream, where we ran into pretty much all the family that hadn't left the island for the day. Here are Wyatt and Jay (and yes, Wyatt climbed up there all by himself):Next, we went to the driftwood beach to take some family photos and do some exploring:

From left to right, we have Marv, Jill, Julia, MacKenzie, Stephen, Wyatt, Jean, Denise, Jay, and Marvin up top, with Heather, Grandmother, and Aunt Sara below:

While we were waiting for dinner that night (delicious BBQ chicken prepared by Uncle Doug & Uncle Marvin), Wyatt kept us entertained by climbing all over Jay (that's a big smile from Grandmother, eh?):

After dinner was the present exchange. Jay and I played Santa this year and passed the gifts out no more than two at a time, so that everyone could see what everyone else was getting. Here are Jamie and the kids patiently waiting for the first gift to be handed out:I bought Wyatt a set of night-vision hearing-enhancing glasses from National Geographic:When the presents were finished, the annual wrapping paper war began. I managed to stay out of the fray most of the time (although Baby James did take a couple of hits - though you can't blame the kids for aiming at such a big target!), but Jay spent a good half hour wrestling with the kids (he loved it, of course):To wrap up the evening, we all took turns working on a 1000-piece puzzle (another Waddell Family Christmas tradition). This year was a Thomas Kincade puzzle that was really difficult. I heard it was half-finished around 1:00am when everyone finally gave up. Here are Karen and Kate hard at work:And the next morning was already time to go home... Here are those of us that didn't get on the road until well after check-out time, hanging out around the trucks (I've noticed this to be a common activity in the south):Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Waddells! We love you!!

MORE FROM JEKYLL

I couldn't resist posting a few of the photos that Jill took at Jekyll Island...

Here I am with my flower girl, MacKenzie, 5 years later - we've both changed a bit!

Then there is Jean, Jay, and I at Driftwood Beach

This is the beautiful baby blanket that Aunt Sara made us (yeah, you can see my belly poking through...)

And here are Aunt Beverly and Jean feeling Baby James kick as I read the book Aunt Beverly gave me for Christmas (pardon the silly expression on my face)

And finally, just for fun, here are a few Christmas bellies!

ONLY 12 WEEKS TO GO...

This morning I had my 28 week appointment! That means I am officially in my 3rd trimester and we now have a little less than 12 weeks until Baby James' due date arrives. In addition to the usual stuff, I had my blood drawn to test for Rh antibodies and received a Rhogam shot (since I am A- and Jay is O+). For those of you who are belly watchers, here I am tonight at 28 weeks 3 days:

Compare that to the 20 week, 23 week, and 26 week photos and you can really see what a change the second half of this pregnancy has made to my body!

During the appointment today, they also slipped me in for another 15 minutes on the 4D sonogram and we were able to get a few more pictures (video will be added at a later date - we are getting it reformatted from VHS to DVD). Baby James was more active today (heartrate at 146bpm, as opposed to the 134bpm on Monday when he was sleeping through most of the appointment), so there is a lot of movement on the video, but it made it hard for the technician to get good photos, since his hands were up at his face most of the time. Here's the little guy pointing, vogue-ing, hitchhiking, and trying to get his fingers into his mouth (he did succeed a couple of times, but we didn't catch the photo):

And here's one for the grandmas... a big baby smile!

KISSING THE TAURUS GOODBYE

Finally, after months of research, advice seeking, decision making, and saving, Jay has gotten a new car. His first NEW car! And he couldn’t be happier. He said goodbye to the Taurus (a good car in which we’ve had many adventures and good times, but who’s time had definitely come up after 8+ years and over 110,000 miles) and HELLO to a platinum grey VW Jetta TDI (a clean burning diesel that averages over 40mpg). We’re breaking it in as I write (headed home from Jackson) and we’re really looking forward to a comfortable trip home over the holidays (fully adjustable heated seats and free SIRIUS radio should make the 10.5 hour drive much more enjoyable). Check out that big smile:

LITTLE STINKER

Our Sweet Baby James is a little stinker! We went in for our 4D sonogram this afternoon and the little guy’s head was so wedged into my pelvis that we couldn’t get a clear shot of his face! His little nose was all smooshed up against the front of the uterus AND he was sleeping! When we prodded him to wake him up, all he did was put his hands up in front of his face, punch and kick me a few times, and cuddle back in. He refused to move up and give us a clear shot of his face. The technician suggested we take a break, drink a caffeinated soda, and walk around a bit. So, we bought a coke and went down to the nursery to watch the newborns stretch and yawn - they were so cute! 15 minutes later I was back on the table only to find that our sweet little baby had decided to turn his entire body around and face the back of my pelvis! Jay tried talking to him and prodding him some more, but he was seriously settled in! Since we only got a few fun photos and some short video (including a smile AND some eye opening and closing), the technician was nice enough to set up a follow-up appointment for us on Wednesday when I go in for my 28 week prenatal so we can try and get some cute face photos, if he decides to cooperate… and if that doesn’t work, she said we can try again when we go in for the 32 week growth assessment appointment. Here’s hoping… until then, here is one of the good photos from today:

Here he is all snuggled in with one hand up under his chin. And in case anyone wants additional proof that this little guy is indeed all boy, here is a 4D shot of the goods (butt cheeks on the left):

We'll upload some video later this week after we try the 4D again on Wednesday.....

JAY'S ANOTHER YEAR OLDER

At this age, we just take it easy on our birthdays! Just kidding... but we had already done the cruise and we both needed a restful day at home (Jay is still recovering from a cold, I'm fighting one, and my doctor thinks I've been overdoing it a bit and has ordered me to rest in the evenings when I'm not working - so we figured I needed a whole day since I'd been traveling for work all last week, getting home late last night). I attempted to make Jay a lovely waffle breakfast, but I ended up needing assistance (I'm just no-good at breakfast foods). Then we did presents, and later ice-cream cake from Baskin Robbins (and no, Taryn, I did not get my Clown Cone because they were all out - I'll just have to try again next time I'm in Jackson... tomorrow!)

Jean sent Jay some adorable dinosaur pajamas for his birthday, but we're pretty sure Jay can't fit into them. However, I do think he'd look great in footsie-pajamas...

Happy Birthday sweetie!

BACK TO SCHOOL

I just finished a week of school! The location: University of Florida. The class: Molecular Markers. The goal: To learn how to develop microsatellite markers and then do so for the two species of agave I'll be working with for my new project looking at the foraging ecology of nectarivorous bats in southeastern Arizona (yes, at Fort Huachuca). It was an excellent class (a series of labwork and lectures designed to provide all skills and background information needed to complete the task) with a great instructor, lab managers, and guest lecturers. The only issue? This class is just the tip of the iceburg... microsatellite development actually takes about 6 months from start to finish with the tried-and-true method I learned (and that's just for one species). The alternative? Spend a little more money (most labs pay to have their screened enriched libaries sequenced anyway, and there's the cost of all the kits and reagents needed just to get to that point) and send your DNA out to be libraried and sequenced with the amazing "454", and then just go from there (only about 2-3 months to complete the primer design and optimization). I like option number two... The above photo was taken in the lobby of the Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US!

Today is our 5th anniversary! It's hard to believe so much time has passed, but we sure have been busy. Since our wedding in 2003, we've adopted 2 cats, lived in 3 states, owned 2 homes, finished grad school, spent a summer hiking, are currently caring for 26 snakes, took some amazing vacations, seen almost all of our friends and family get married (and some have babies), and now have a baby boy of our own on the way! And that's just the first 5 years... At this rate, we'll have quite a list of accomplishments by our 50th anniversary!

Let's reminisce, shall we? Here are a few of our favorite photos from our wedding day:

To celebrate the past 5 years, we spent the day getting a couples massage (our first ever, and it was just as great as everyone said it would be!), going out for lunch at our favorite restaurant, taking our annual Christmas photo, and attending the local Christmas parade. Here we are today, with the baby belly in all it's 27-week glory (it's fun to think that this is our last anniversary as a couple, since next year we'll be a 3-person family!):

Here's to many more happy years!

DECK THE BALLS

What do small towns do to celebrate holidays? Or any occasion, really?

They have a parade of course! To best enjoy the local Christmas Parade of Lights, our friendly downtown-dwelling coworker invited everyone over to her 2nd-story apartment to watch from above. The only condition? Submit to her "Deck the Balls" theme (her take on the 'Round the World theme of the parade) and bring ball-shaped food or a ball-themed beverage. We contributed Jean's Date Balls and they turned out great! Other delicious items on the menu? Fudge Balls, Creme Puffs, Oreo Cookie Balls, Sweet Potato Balls, Meatballs, Apricot Balls, Cheese Balls, and I could go on and on (there was a large crowd in attendance). Jay enjoyed the "Cosmo-ball-itans" and "Bocce Balls", while I sipped Sandy's hot apple cider recipe (yummy, AND it kept me warm - I can't wait for the maternity coat I ordered to arrive, because one button does not keep the belly warm, especially when pressed against a cold railing to overlook parade floats). Here is Jay with a small sampling of the goods from us early-arrivers: Here is Sandy "Claus", miked-up to deliver parade commentary along with the owners of the Warehouse (pictured behind her, across the street, in front of all the Christmas trees):

Those same guys had set up a snow (something we don't see much of here in the south) machine. The kids loved it, us adults wished we had lids on our drinks to keep the soap-suds out:

Here are Jay and I out on the balcony prior to the start of the parade (and that's a Cosmo-ball-itan in Jay's hand: Note the vodka-soaked melon balls):

We hope everyone out there is getting into the spirit this holiday season as well!