Updated pics of the nursery

Well Ryan has been busy yet again. We have recently put up all of our pictures up in the nursery. Plus we now have a changing table. One of these pics that I'm going to post shows the cradle that is being passed along between myself and the Garber kids. Now it's not going to stay in the nursery, it will actually be in our bedroom when Connor comes home, but for right now it's staying in the nursery. Where it is located is where we also plan to put our crib. Hope you all enjoy the pictures.

Love to you all,

Vanessa, Ryan, and Connor

Our 35 week check-up

Well we had our 35 week check-up on Thursday the 25th. We actually have a new doctor now. His name is Dr. Robert Kinsey. I've been seeing him for a couple of weeks now because my old doctor (Caroline Greer) was on a temporary leave of absence. Ryan and I met with Dr. Kinsey and really liked his philosophies so much that we decided to make the switch permanent. At first I had said that I would never go to a male doctor, but I actually feel very comfortable with him. Anyway back to our check-up. Nothing major we got to hear Connor's heartbeat, and he measured me again. And everything is normal. Then the doctor decided that he wanted to perform a non-stress test. Since Dr. Greer had us have an ultrasound about a month ago, and Connor was weighing a little on the small side, Dr. Kinsey thought that the non-stress test would be a good indicator to make sure nothing was wrong with Connor. And we are pleased to say that everything looks good. They hooked me up with two monitors, one to see if I was having any contractions and the other to see Connor's heartbeat. Then I was given a little button that I was supposed to push everytime that I felt the little guy move. Everytime that I moved his heartbeat was supposed to accelerate. They said that he should move at least 3 times in a 20 minute allotment. Needless to say I have an active boy, he moved 6 times in that 20 minutes, and when the doctor came in to look at the results he said, "see that elevation, that means a perfectly healthy baby," needless to say that is exactly what mommy and daddy wanted to hear. He did however, schedule us for another non-stress test this following Monday (the 29th), and we will be having another ultrasound next week. They just want to make sure that he's still growing and to make sure that he's better off inside than out. Well that's all for now. Love to all. And we'll post more soon.

Love,
Vanessa, Ryan, and Connor

A gift from Aunt Erica

Ryan and I received a very special present from my friend Erica. Erica is going to Thailand for about five months (she leaves Sept. 29), and she knew that she wouldn't be there to welcome Connor into the world at the hospital. Erica was also unable to attend my baby shower due to prior commitments (i.e. she was in a wedding). So she decided to bring my present to Bunco this last Saturday night. And boy was I excited when I opened up the gift bag, she had made us a blanket complete with his name embroidered at the top. It was so beautiful that I'm enclosing a picture of it. Thanks Aunt Erica, I'm sure Connor will love to cuddle up with his blanket.

Love,
Vanessa, Ryan, and Connor

Prenatal class

Ryan and I had our prenatal class on Saturday the 6th of September. We decided that with our hectic schedules that we should take the one day class rather than the four week class. Let me tell you that we learned a lot from our class, and I feel that we are both more prepared now then when we first went in. And I will have to admit that I think Ryan now has a better understanding of just what I'm going through. In fact we had a picture showing what the inside of a woman's body looks like before and during pregnancy, and how all of her insides are shifted to accommodate the baby growing inside. Ryan looked at me and said, "I'm so sorry, I really feel for you, look at the size of your bladder now." All I could do was laugh, I thought that that comment was so funny. Anyway we learned the proper way to breath through the contractions, and since I have opted not to have an epidural at this point and time, I really payed attention to this part of the class. And as long as I can remember what I'm supposed to do I think that I will be alright. Ryan also learned some massage techniques that is supposed to help me relax during my contractions. Once we learned about labor and delivery we also learned about how to bath, swaddle, care for the umbilical chord, and how-to care for a circumcision. We also got to tour the hospital. We got to see a labor and delivery room and we found out that we will be there from the start of labor up until 2-5 hours after delivery (depending on the circumstances), from there we will be in a post-labor room. The post labor room is a lot smaller than the labor and delivery rooms, but Ryan will have an couch that makes into an actual twin size bed. So that will be nice for him. All in all I was very pleased with the class and the hospital itself. We even got a certificate of completion with our names on it. I felt very special.

Love,
Vanessa, Ryan, and Connor

Only about eight more weeks to go...

Well I can't believe how the time is flying by. Last Friday the 5th of September was our 32 week marker. So that means that as of today we only have 7 weeks and 3 days left until we get to see our little man. Now daddy for some reason thinks that he will be about five days early. I guess we will just have to wait and see. We had another ultrasound last Thursday and everything seems to be in tip-top shape. Connor is weighing 3 lbs. 2 oz., and the ultrasound tech. said that my fluid looks alright. My doctor was a little concerned thinking that I might have too much fluid and not enough baby (hence all of the ultrasounds), but with this last one everything seems to be going well. We don't have any more ultrasounds scheduled for the future at this time. It's just getting down to the wire and there are still a lot to do and buy for the little guy. Connor is getting to the point now where he is starting to run out of room inside of my tummy so with every little move it feels as though he just might come right through my skin. I just pat his little feet and he moves, he knows his mommy's voice already. And to tell the truth, I really want to be able to hold my baby in my arms, so these next eight weeks or so better go fast.

Lots of love,
Vanessa, Ryan, and Connor