32 weeks, prenatal classes begin...

We started our prenatal classes last night at Parkway Medical Center. As it turns out, one of my good friends, Misty Coker is the instructor. Misty is an RN on the Labor & Delivery floor. So, I think it's great that she will hopefully get to be our nurse! She did a great job last night. We just covered a lot of the basics about the stages of labor and answered lots of questions/concerns that we all had. We will continue the classes over the next 3 Thursday nights. Also, we did have a check-up on January 5th that I never posted on. Everything was fine, we listened to Braydn's heartbeat, still great! Also, checked weight gain, blood pressure, urine, etc. All the usual. Everything is still going well! As of that day, we were up to 21 lbs total weight gain. Our next appointment will be Monday, January 19th. We are currently going for check-ups every 2 weeks. I will post again after our appt Monday to let you all know how things are going. Thanks for checking in and TGIF!!!

We Have Nursery Furniture!!!

Hello, again, everyone....wow, posting twice in the same weekend, so unlike me. But, I wanted to show you the furniture we got this weekend for Danley Braydn's room. With some help from my Daddy and Grandaddy, we got it all put together and in place. So here are the results.....

Have a great week!

Christmas is Over...12/27/2008

I got this for Bear for Christmas. It says, "I want to be like Bear." It will go in Braydn's room. It's framed, although you can't tell in the picture.

These are all the gifts that Braydn received this year. Here are Mommie and Daddy on Christmas Eve, 29 weeks pregnant.

As you can see, we all had a great Christmas. Hope you all did, too! We have had a total of 6 gatherings since Sunday, 12/21/08. Needless to say, we were pooped, but enjoyed every minute of it. This time next year, we will have a 9 month old to enjoy it with!!!

I don't have a picture of the necklace Bear got me, but I must mention it. It is a heart with a mother and baby inside, surrounded by diamonds. It is beautiful and I love it! Thanks, Bear!!!

Well, our lab results from Monday came back good. My sugar levels were good from the glucola test and my iron level was good, too!

I have forgotten to mention that Braydn has a new baby cousin in the family. Lynsy and Jason Newman brought home his 2nd cousin this past Monday from the hospital, Owen Bryce Newman. Owen is doing well and is glad to finally be home!!!

Thanks for taking time to check in on us! We appreciate all the thoughts and prayers! We will post again very soon!

28 1/2 week update and Dr. Appt

In this picture, Braydn has his arms and legs (ankles crossed) in front of his face....OUCH!

This is the only face shot we got of him. It isn't very clear, but you should be able to make out eyes, nose, and mouth. Big foot shot! You could clearly see all 5 toes... (and fingers on his hands).

Side view of the belly at 28 1/2 weeks.

Bear and Dany in front of our "Christmas Mantle" posing before the doctor's appt.

This morning we had our 28 1/2 week check up. This was the last monthly visit appointment. After today we will begin seeing the doctor every 2 weeks.

• First thing - we weighed....gained 5.5 lbs since last visit (total weight gain is 18.5 lbs). She said we are right on target and if our total weight gain stays between 25-30 lbs by delivery, we will be perfect!
• Second thing - blood pressure, it was 90/54, has gone down since the beginning of pregnancy, but this is where my bp normally sits. This was also a good report.
• Third thing - glucola test, to prepare for this I had a choice of whether to drink 'the famous orange drink' or eat 18 jelly beans. I chose the jelly beans! Then in one hour they draw blood to determine your sugar level, this is an indicator of gestational diabetes. If level is okay, that means my body, and Bradyn's body, are producing enough insulin to keep sugar levels under control. We will get these results tomorrow.
• Fourth thing - ultrasound, Braydn's heart rate was 151, he measured right on target for our due date of Friday, March 13th!!! He also measured 2 lbs 15 oz. He is in the 60th percentile, which Dr. Gilliam says is great...not too big and not too small! We only got one very faint face shot, you can see above. He was asleep almost the whole time (until it was over, of course) with one arm across his face and one arm behind his back (Ouch!).
• Fifth thing - bathroom break and wait on Dr. Gilliam. The bathroom break was very necessary by this point! I began to wonder if I was going to wet my pants before they would let me go! Urine checked out good, no sugar or protein.
• Sixth thing - Dr. Gilliam came in to talk with us. We got the schedule for birthing classes. We will most likely be in the class beginning Jan. 15th. She also explained the hip pain I've been having. We've also been having some Braxton Hicks contractions, which she confirmed. This is normal. The only concern is if I have six or more within one hour. They are very sparatic, 3-4/hr then no more for a few hours, then maybe one here and there. So, we are good in that department, as well!
• Lastly, Seventh thing - scheduled our next appointment which will be January 5th at 11:30am.

Dr. Gilliam is planning to be at the hospital when we deliver, she said, unless she is out of town. They only time she is scheduled to be out of town is March 15-18!!! So, I pray that he will come the week of our due date or after the 18th! She did say she will not let us go longer than one week past our due date, so the absolute latest he will arrive is March 20th!

Thanks for checking in on us. We will post tomorrow after we get our results from the glucola test.

26 1/2 week photo update, December 7, 2008

As you can see we are moving right along. :) Braydn is really active now, especially in the morning and at night. This morning he actually woke me up with his aerobics practice! For almost 45 minutes we felt him kicking and/or punching continuously, one after another!!! So, I guess we need to prepare ourselves for some all-nighters with this little guy! Things are still going well. No problems at all, just an achy back every day and night, but I guess that can be expected! Thanks for checking in. Our next visit is December 22nd. I'll try to post again before then, though.

Nursery Pictures, 12/3/08

Here are a couple of photos of the newly painted nursery, finished it Saturday. It's a shade of light green. I couldn't get a great angle, so I hope you can tell enough from the pictures. I was proud to finally get it finished and for once the color matched what I had imagined!

Photo Update, 12/02/08

These are not the best pictures.....I set the automatic timer to take these. The top picture was taken this morning at almost 26 weeks. The bottom 2 pictures were taken on 11/22/08 at 24 weeks. As you can see, we are definitely making some progress. My belly seems to have exploded in the last month! :) I painted the nursery this past weekend. I'll post some pictures of it soon.

24 Week Checkup, November 24, 2008

To start things off, we have decided on his name......Danley Braydn Whitlock! We will call him Braydn. Actually, we already refer to him as Braydn, and call him by name. It's really fun! We had our 24 week check up with Dr. Gilliam today. My blood pressure was good, 120/70. We have gained one pound since last visit (raising the total to 13 lbs). We heard his heart beat on the doppler again, and she commented on how active he is (they say that every time, he must really be a busy little bee in there). We are scheduled to go back on December 22nd for our glucoli (sugar test), lab work, and another ultrasound. This will be a great Christmas present for daddy and I, we can't wait to see our little Braydn again! By the way, I must mention, that Braydn had a 1st cousin born on Friday, November 21st, Virginia Ruth Little. She weighed 6 lb 3 oz, 18 1/2" long. Mom and baby are both doing great. They went home yesterday. Thanks for checking in. I'll post some pictures soon of our outward belly progress! It has changed since last time, I can promise you all that! We hope everyone has a very Happy Thanksgiving! We are very thankful for our great family and friends and especially for our sweet little Braydn!

We will be 24 weeks on Thursday, 11/20/08

24 WEEK UPDATE (from www. pregnancy.org) Bring on the bulk! Baby gains about 6 ounces this week. The weight is in muscle, bone mass and organs. His body begins to fill out with his appearance increasingly becoming more like a newborn. Taste buds begin to form. If mom drinks something strange or bitter, baby may be observed showing his distaste. Little creases have appeared on his palms. The muscular coordination of his hands has improved as he sucks his thumb. Over the next seven days the sweat glands will be forming in the skin. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" and cells that produce surfactant, a substance that helps the air sacs inflate easily. This week your baby is officially considered viable. Baby weighs 1.3 pound (600gm) and is 11.8 inches (30cm) long -- almost the length of a ruler!

23 week update, www.pregnancy.org

Taken from www.pregnancy.org Week Twenty-Three Proportions of the body are now quite similar to a newborn although thinner since he hasn't begun to form body fat. Bones located in the middle ear harden. Your baby is able to hear. The eyes are formed, though the iris still lacks pigmentation. The pancreas, essential in the production of hormones, is developing steadily. He has begun producing insulin, important for the breakdown of sugars. If born now, your baby has a 15% chance of survival, his odds going up with each passing day. . The average baby at this stage weighs 1.1 pound (501gm) and is 11.38 inches (28.9cm) long.