28 weeks

Only 12 weeks to go! Apparently my body is getting ready for this baby to make his way into the world - I started having Braxton Hicks contractions this week. They made me a little nervous so after tracking them for a day or two, on Wednesday I called the doctor after leaving work a little early. By then I was having about one per hour so the nurse told me to lay down for a while, rest, drink lots of fluids and let them know if they get worse or I have more than 4 per hour. Once I did that I they seemed to slow down thank goodness. Since I already drink 4-5 bottles of water a day plus other drinks with meals, I can't imagine drinking more water though it does seem like the more I drink the more baby boy moves around so it's a good reward!

Diaper monster

A friend of ours recently gave us a bag of newborn diapers that they didn't use. We had them in our room, on the floor, since the weekend. I noticed one or two out of the bag and on the floor recently and we realized tonight while sitting down stairs who the diaper monster is...you guessed it - Charley. First he brought one down and Duane took it away. Within minutes he was back with another! The cat is strange and all, he's carried down socks, pillows, blankets and other knit items, but diapers? That is just strange. At least they are clean, right?

Blogging from Miami with iPhone pics

I'm in Miami this week for work but thankfully this is probably my last extended trip until after maternity leave! I almost didn't get here due to storms. I had a 6 PM flight on Sunday that boarded only a few minutes little late only to wait for the first officer, back out and get parked on the ramp due to storms in the area. Sitting in a plane, surrounded by Spanish speaking people (although a nice preview for Miami) in a crazy thunderstorm was not my idea of fun for the night. The Spanish speaking extended family surrounding me was yelling at the son (seated next to me) to move up to the empty seat between his parents. I think they were saying something about me being pregnant and needing space but I couldn't remember my Espanol class vocab. He didn't budge, just turned up his techno music even louder so that I could also enjoy it. At least the pilot was prompt with updates and we were allowed to use cell phones. Thank goodness for the iPhone at times like those! After the storms passed (about 2 hours later!) and as we waited in the long back up of planes trying to land and take off I noticed a double rainbow out the window so I took a pic:

See the double rainbow? It was much brighter in real life.

Tomorrow I'm officially 27 weeks and today is 3 months from my due date. The belly amazes me every time I see it. With three more months of growth to go, I'm thinking I'll be leaving the cute belly stage soon! Today was fun because as I was sitting at work at our contract manufacturer I noticed my name badge concoction moving (I wear a badge around my neck and attach my phone and pen to it while down here. It looks a little ridiculous but keeps everything I need in reach.). He was kicking so hard that he was pushing it around! So fun. He's really getting strong and active! Anyway, here are some crappy iPhone pics showing the hugeness of the bulge during my boring night in the Marriott room (Granted I did just eat but it still usually looks like this!)

26 week update

Things are going great with this pregnancy! I feel great for the most part. Baby boy is really gaining strength with those kicks and rolls! We had an appointment on Wednesday and he was rolling around so much the nurse couldn't catch his heartbeat for a while but once she did it sounded great.

This was the first time the doctor did the oh-so-scientific measuring of my belly with the measuring tape and he said despite my feeling huge I'm measuring right on schedule. My weight although not alarming to him was super alarming to me, it made me a little sad to see the scale that high, especially since the baby is only about 2 pounds of it! So as a little pick me up, I'm getting my hair trimmed and highlighted this weekend! I definitely have the soft, fuller locks of pregnancy which is great but the length is starting to weigh it down too much.

My ankles and feet have been swelling lately, most noticeably after flying which I've done twice during July but he wasn't too concerned with that either. After a trip to Miami this coming week I don't have any flights scheduled which is nice. I took a look at the feet of my pre-natal swim classmates who are mostly 6-8 weeks ahead of me and they don't appear to have any swelling! If that is what gets the worst as I enter the third trimester I won't complain. Hey, I may just have to wear flip-flops to work!

Everything else with the pregnancy is great. The only other complaint I have is some hip pain during sleeping and my back gets sore from sitting for a while but even that isn't that bad. The heartburn that I used to get instantly after eating chocolate has even calmed down **knock wood**!

In other baby related news, Mr. Peck and Pete finished the wainscoting and crown molding in the nursery. It's ready to have the nail holes patched and the room to be painted. Mrs. Peck, the designer, also has lots of little touches in the works to make it special and they all look great so far!

Here's my current belly picture!

Double digits!

As of today I'm 99 days from my due date! We have a 26 week doctor appointment tomorrow so I'll be sure to post a better and longer update tomorrow but I had to post this milestone too!

LAST CLASS!!

Tonight I will be attending my LAST class in my Master’s program…literally the last time I have to go sit in a Temple classroom! It’s been a long time coming; I started this Quality Assurance / Regulatory Affairs Master’s program in the Fall of 2003. I took one class per semester for a while then got engaged, took some time off to plan the wedding and go on our honeymoon then started up again full speed ahead, 2 classes per semester until today! I’ve taken classes in:

• Drug development
• Good Manufacturing Practices
• Quality Audit
• Food and Drug Law
• Microbial Concepts of Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
• High Purity Water systems
• Pre-Approval Inspections
• Good Clinical Practices
• Vaccines: QA and RA Issues
• Pharmaceutical Dosage forms
• IND / NDA Submissions
• Global Regulatory Affairs

Twelve classes is a little less than some other Master’s programs out there but there’s not really anything else like this program for Pharmaceutical professionals and there are not pre-requisites or core classes like statistics that are required. I’ve learned a lot and always found it interesting as the topics related to my job in one aspect or another all the time. Once I finish my final I’ll be awarded my diploma and can move on to mastering being a mom! I’ll probably consider taking more classes in new industry topics that interest me down the road but it will definitely be nice to not drive to Fort Washington after work or on the weekends again for a long time!

24 week picture

Here we are at 24 weeks, 2 days!

And one of the iPhone too...

24 weeks pregnant and now the proud owners of...

iPhones! Yep, Duane and I fell victims to the hype and stood in line (3 hours!) for iphones. We love them though, they really are cool and fun! I'm still learning it but have no complaints so far!

Baby boy is doing great! I'm 24 weeks pregnant today, only 16 weeks to go! He's moving around a lot and Duane even felt him kick this past weekend! Belly pictures are coming!

Our child will NOT be watching this type of filth

My god, what has happened to Sesame Street?! Where is the FCC on this?



^ YouTube is filled with dozens of these, from Barney to Spongebob to Sesame Street. Comedy gold.

Duane and Flopsey

I have no idea what year this picture was taken, but check out the blue Adidas and the London Fog jacket. I only remember that it was a London Fog jacket because I think I drew on it in permanent marker at some point after this photo, and was immediately taught a lesson on the value of premium apparel. Oh, also notice the giant rabbit (I think he actually grew to be three times that size) in the house. He was an outside rabbit--not sure why he was hanging out in the dining room on this day, unless that was the first day we got him.

I'm no geneticist, but I'd also say there's a good chance our son will be blonde