26-28 weeks

I am almost 29 weeks pregnant now! We finished painting the nursery furniture over Christmas which is exciting...on the down side it's currently sitting in our dining room because we only have a one bedroom apartment! To all of you out there who haven't been invited for dinner, that's why. I am getting bigger and bigger each day, and E.B. is moving more than ever. Zach is such a great husband because he NEVER complains when I wake him up every 3 hours while going to the bath room or flipping side to side. These past few weeks I have been feeling fabulous, I've been extremely energetic and hardly had any moodiness (which Zach loves)! Tuesday I will be going to the doctor to have a gestational diabetes test and also to get a shot since I am Rh negative. Please continue to pray for us these last few months as we prepare for our new child! We feel that the Lord has blessed us in a tremendous way and are so thankful for how easily everything has progressed.
Here are a few pictures we took recently:





Here's Kayla trying out the crib for us.
















Here's a picture of me at 26 weeks.
















Here's our new stroller and me at 28 weeks! Do I look any bigger?

Week 25 - Happy New Year!

So we haven't been very efficient with updating this blog, but believe it or not I am now 25 weeks into my pregnancy! Here's a picture we took on Christmas... my belly is definitely getting large! We have decided on a name for our little girl and have decided to keep it just between Zach and I, but we will tell you the initials: E.B.H. (you can call her EB). We had a wonderful Christmas, and were extremely blessed to be able to spend it with both of our families. We received some amazing gifts such as a stroller, pack n' play, monitor system, and our crib bedding! It's all going by so fast and can't believe what this next year will bring. As year 2008 begins, this is going to be another year that we will remember the rest of our lives!

So here is what's going inside my belly for week 25:
"At nine inches and more than a pound and a half in weight, your baby is taller than two juice boxes stacked one on top of the other, and almost as heavy as four of those little boxes (an analogy you'll find particularly apropos in a few years, when those juice boxes start taking over your refrigerator, your pantry, your car.…).

Don't look now (as if you could), but your baby's skin is turning pinker. No, not because he or she's getting overheated (in fact, the amniotic fluid is perfectly climate controlled, keeping your baby at an always comfortable temperature), but because small blood vessels, called capillaries, are forming under the skin and filling with blood. Later this week, blood vessels will also develop in your baby's lungs, bringing them one step closer to full maturity — and one step closer to taking that first breath of fresh air. But those lungs are still very much works in progress. Though they are already beginning to develop surfactant, a substance that will help the lungs expand after the baby is born, the lungs are still too undeveloped to sufficiently send oxygen to the bloodstream and release carbon dioxide when he or she exhales.

The lungs aren't the only system that's gearing up for air intake. Your baby's nostrils, which have been plugged up until now, are starting to open this week. This actually allows your little one to begin taking practice breaths. (Of course since there's no air in there, your baby is really only "breathing" amniotic fluid, but it's the practice that counts, right?)"