July Belly Pictures

The tattoo on my belly is a mendhi (or henna) design. When we were back in Denver, moving out of our house, I visited Amy Swagman. She spent two hours painting (free hand) the beautiful design on my belly. I loved the design and I really enjoyed talking to Amy. She is a doll and her daughters are adorable. Sadly, the tattoo faded over time and went away but it was fun while it lasted! Here are some pictures of me at 9 months pregnant when my lovely was still in my belly. :)

9 Month Belly Shot

Taken over the July 4th weekend

I'm almost embarrassed to post this picture. ha!

Taken the morning of August 4th while I was in labor.

I had Palmer 3 hours later.

8 Month Belly Shot

Since I totally forgot about the 7 month belly shot (gonna use the PG brain excuse), I figured I better hurry up and get 8 months on the books! It's amazing to me how much my belly has grown in that past two months. Check out the last picture/post: Big n' Lil Posts: 6 Month Belly Shot.

Wow, time is really flying now. Last week's OB appointment revealed that I'm 131 pounds and the baby's heart rate was in the 150's. I have lost weight since my last appointment. The ole tumm is getting a little crowded! I can't shove it down the pie hole as easily as I'm used to. ha! I'm feeling pretty darn good. I get a little uncomfortable sitting for any length of time and insomnia has started to set in a little. I can't really complain, though! I'm nearing the end and that's just how it goes. We're in Lawrence this weekend, staying at a hotel and doing some more house hunting. Hope to have something under contract before this baby is born!

6 Month Belly Shot

This week is 26 weeks for me - or 6 1/2 months. I had my 6 month OB appointment - and my last with Dr. Christie - a couple weeks ago. The baby's heartbeat was in the 120's and I'm at 122 lbs. It was my last OB appointment with Dr. Christie. I'm so disappointed that she won't be delivering our baby. :( She was genuinely disappointed too. We said our goodbyes and then she came back into the exam room just to give me a hug. What a sweet heart. I have an appointment with Dr. Durland in Lawrence today. I've heard good things about her from multiple people so I'm hoping that we see eye-to-eye and I don't have to go interview any other OB's. I don't have a ton of time left to do that! :) I'm in Emporia, KS this week. Linkan and I am staying with my parents. Ben started his new job with Westar on Monday. The house goes on the market this week. The pics look awesome! Hopefully it will sell fast. We would love to get the house sold and another one bought so that we are somewhat settled before the baby comes. Wouldn't that be amazing? We are praying hard! This week, my little sister asked me if women gain extra weight in other areas of their bodies while they are pregnant. I answered that some women do. She replied and said that my butt was bigger than she had ever seen it. I was going to punch her but then remembered that she is 8. :)

5 Month Belly Shot

It has been sooo busy lately that I completely forgot to take a 5 month belly shot. We lovingly refer to Baby Post #2 as "the forgotten one". I would read my pregnancy books every night during my first...wanting to know exactly how Linkan was growing and how I should be feeling, etc. I haven't cracked a book open yet. Sometimes I forget I'm pregnant! I really have to think about it when someone asks how far along I am in weeks. Having a toddler to chase around kind of changes your focus.

Although, my little bun is doing a very good job of reminding me that he/she is here...much more frequently now. I'm officially waddling (it feels better that way) and breathing heavy after I get up the stairs. ;) Getting in and out of bed (I have a tall bed) is becoming a lot of fun lately too. haha

ANYWAY, here are the only 5 month shots I could find...not real good but I'll do better for 6 months! PS-I'm 25 weeks this week so this post is a little over-due!

4 Month Belly Shot

Gettin' fat and sassy! ;)

4 Month OB Appointment

Yesterday was our second (4 month) OB appointment. I don't think I've mentioned it before but we had to switch OB's from Dr. Essig to Dr. Christie because Dr. Essig decided to get out of OB and only practice family medicine about 6 months after Linkan was born...and I didn't find out about it until I called and scheduled my first OB appointment. I was disappointed because we both love Essig...however, she didn't deliver Linkan (Dr. Robertson did - she was awesome) so I don't know why it would bother me. :) Anyway, I had seen Dr. Christie before and liked her. After seeing her multiple times now, I totally love her. She stayed until 7:00pm two Fridays ago when I came in with a viral bug and severe dehydration. She stayed late to hook me up with an IV and it made all the difference in the world for me! When I was there yesterday, I thanked her again for staying late...she said "Well, it was the right thing to do. You would have ended up at an ER later that night needing an IV and it would have been a nightmare because it would have taken forever." Like I said, I totally love her. This is a bit of a bunny trail but I absolutely LOVE Broomfield Family Practice. Everyone that works there is so amazing. I feel so fortunate to have found such an awesome practice. Avista, the hospital where Linkan was born, was also equally amazing. Did you know that they are the ONLY LDR (Labor, Deliver, Recovery) facility in Colorado? ...Which means that once I arrived at the hospital and checked into a room, I never left that room...and the rooms are fabulous and "homey" and very accommodating to dads. I love love love Avista.

Anyway, back to my appointment! Pretty uneventful but need to record it for history purposes. :) I'm 115 - a few more pounds than last time! ha - but I had a horrible 1st trimester this time (nauseous ALL THE stinkin' TIME and heartburn) so I had to eat whatever sounded good (crazy strong food aversions)...and that usually meant that it wasn't good for me....I'm not kidding...I basically carb-loaded for 6 weeks straight. ;) haha. I'm well into my second trimester now and have been feeling like my "normal" self for a few weeks so I've been eating much healthier and started my normal gym routine back up about 3 weeks ago. Baby's heart beat sounded great - 150 bpm. I do have group strep B (didn't have it during my first pregnancy) but no biggie...they will just be sure to dope me up with antibiotics as I'm delivering my second sweet lil baby. Another ultrasound in a few weeks (at 20 weeks)....wooohoo! Can't wait to see our cutie again...and no, we won't be finding out the sex even though we would be able to tell at 20 weeks

I completely forgot to get 1 and 2 month belly pics...poor baby! But I did take some for 3 months. I'm about as big at 3 months now...as I was at 4 months with Linkan. Have been wearing maternity clothes since 11 weeks!

3 Months