At our 39 week doctor’s appointment, my weight gain was very little (less than .2 lbs) and baby’s heart rate was 145. We met with Dr. Loveland for this last scheduled visit. She was pretty high energy, yet down to earth. I continued to dilate to almost 2 cm. We talked about scheduling an induction as is normal at this week’s appointment. After speaking with the DC office, the ‘best’ opening that they had for me was Dec. 30 (and that was being waitlisted #2!!!) with Dr. Engel. Given family was heading into town the next week; we were really hoping to not get pushed to this date.

Friday of this week was my first day off from work for maternity leave and it started off low key. I bundled up and walked a few blocks to my friend, Nichole’s, for breakfast and to visit with her little girl. Since we were gearing up for a big snow storm the coming weekend, I was going to stop by the grocery store on the way home to get some necessities. Unfortunately, I was too wiped out to stop and get the necessities, so I just headed home and rested. I made myself a quick lunch before trying to send some emails/watch TV. Given I couldn’t concentrate on this; I ended up taking a nap. Ivy, her aunt and Jack and Mellie, Cassidy and Tyler were due to visit in the afternoon, so I figured I needed some rest. I slept for about 1.5 hours before waking up to get ready for visitors. Noah got home later and we hung out with our friends until about 8p. Just before leaving, Ivy, Mellie, and I talked about their experiences with labor. Little did I know how quickly I would need to draw on their experiences. Once they left, Noah and I watched Frost/Nixon and decided to call it a night. Before I could get to bed though, my water broke and contractions started immediately. Forget all of contraction tracking we had learned about. These bad boys came immediately and quickly. After deciding it was in fact my water that broke and that I was having contractions, Noah called the doctors office (around 11p). While waiting on the doctor’s office to call back, Noah asked if he had time to take a shower/shave. Even though I wasn’t sure what was really happening or how fast it was really taking place, I didn’t think he had time for that. Just a few minutes later, we heard back from the on call doctor (Loveland, ironically) and she wanted to talk to me. At the time, I found it ridiculous as I was not in a position to chat. I was in the middle of a contraction. Once it ended, I spoke with Dr. Loveland and she said we should head to the hospital (Sibley). Luckily, I had finished packing the baby bag and was ready to go. Noah had still not packed and did not pack a bag. He grabbed the baby bag, computers/chargers and some winter gear (sweater/jacket/hat/gloves) and warmed the car. We were on our way within about 10 minutes of my call with the doctor. From the time my water broke and we left, I must have had 5 or 6 contractions. They were quickly increasing in frequency and intensity. Once in the car, I continued to have contractions. My eyes were closed most of the ride as I gripped the bar above the passenger seat with my right hand (to get through the contractions) and squeezed Noah’s hand with my left. Noah guesses there were about 3-4 inches of snow on the ground at this time. We had gotten a few miles from home when I determined I was going to need an epidural (right around the time we got to the WWII Memorial). The rest of the ride felt incredibly long, but we finally reached the hospital, which sits at the top of a hill- not ideal during a snowstorm. Given the hour, we had to pull into the ER entrance. The wheelchair arrived as I was having another contraction. Once I was through that one, I got into the wheelchair and was taken to the check-in desk. So much for being on top of things (I had sent my pre-registration form in back in November) as they did not have me pre-registered. So, as I sat in the wheelchair and breathed through contractions, I had the pleasure of again providing information. I had to laugh when I was asked for my ID and insurance card while deferring to Noah (who, of course, had to go and park the car!). When Noah got back in, my contractions were still continuing and we begged to go straight to labor & delivery. We left our bags and my ID/insurance card as Noah pushed me through the empty hospital to labor & delivery. Once there, Noah helped me change into the hospital gown and then make my way to the bed. I was eventually offered the rocker and to walk around and given what I had learned in pre-natal yoga, those alternatives (to the bed) did not seem tempting. I was ready for the bed. They inserted the IV into my left arm (only after collapsing my first vein) and then put the baby monitor in place and checked my dilation. I was again asked many questions that I have answered no fewer than 20 times throughout my pregnancy for the nurse. At this point, it was getting annoying to have to remember the first day of my last menstrual cycle- shouldn’t they have that recorded somewhere? The contractions continued to come and it was a struggle to concentrate on breathing. I fought to not push even though my body wanted to. Trying to remember what we had learned in our class and during yoga was such a struggle. I progressed quickly and despite my pleas for an epidural, the anesthesiologist was still in surgery and unavailable. After several pleas for this pain relief and being told ‘just 15 more minutes,’ I eventually came to the realization that I wasn’t going to get it. It was one of the toughest mental hurdles to overcome. I was disappointed that I had to come to that realization and the nurses wouldn’t just tell me it wasn’t going to happen and I wanted to cry at the moment I realized it wasn’t going to happen, but I couldn’t. I knew there was only one way to go and that I had to finish this. The doctor at the hospital was in surgery with the anesthesiologist and Dr. Loveland was on her way in. Before she got there, the doctor that was in surgery came to check on me and I was told to start pushing, which provided pain relief to the intense contractions. In 10 second intervals (3-4 at a time), I pushed. I’m not really sure how long I pushed for, but somewhere between 1 hour and 1.5 hours. About .5 hour before Kai was born, Dr. Loveland arrived. Just when I thought I couldn’t do this much longer and after Noah asked where we were in the process, Kai arrived at 2:11 am on Saturday, December 19 (2 days before my official due date). After having Kai lay skin to skin for a bit, they took him to another area of the room to weigh/measure him and clean him up. After hearing him cry and knowing all was well, I was anxious to know how big this baby that I was carrying was. He weighed in at 7 lbs, 3 oz. and was 21 in long- long and lean and the cutest baby ever. Kai was very alert after delivery and was super sweet. Noah and I couldn’t believe how lucky we were- to have a healthy, sweet and super cute baby boy. I reference his name above, but we didn’t actually settle on his name until Noon the next day. We actually determined his middle name first and then went back and forth on his first name. In the end, his chill demeanor led us to settle on Kai. We’ll see if he lives up to it!

We were discharged from Sibley on Monday, December 21. What a jam-packed stay we had. There was so much information to take in and so many decisions to make, but we made it through and were looking forward to getting out of our tiny room. For being there a relatively short amount of time with what we thought wasn’t much of our own stuff, it sure took a long time to get packed up and wait for all of the necessary doctors to sign off on us. Apparently, all of those others who delivered the same night as I did must have been leaving ahead of us. Thankfully, Tamlin, Jesse and Ben brought shovels when they visited on Sunday and helped to dig out our car, which was buried under several feet of snow. Tamlin/Amy and Jesse/Kari were awesome in visiting as soon as they could get to us and in bringing all of the little things that we either forgot or were craving (sushi for me!). Tamlin/Amy also came to our apartment to dig out a parking space and the walkway for us to actually make it back indoors and they stopped by the grocery store for those much needed necessities. Thank you. Thank you. It wouldn’t have been so easy without you all.

The journey continues. I hope to update everyone as frequently as possible on our progress. Some first pictures are below.

Charla & Kai just after delivery.

Hilarious fortune cookie message: About time I got out of that cookie!

View from our window- look at all of that snow piled on the table!

Another snow view from our window.

Kai's 1st Christmas

I reverted back to being tired this week. Feeling heavy and slow likely contributed to my tiredness. Weight was back on my pubic bone again and it was not comfortable. I got some walking in and one yoga class. The little boy still loves to kick my right side, upper ribs and he is still shifting around. What I attribute to baby hiccups is still occurring. My hospital bag is coming along and I just need to get a few more things together. Noah is on his own for getting his stuff together.

Well, I guess at this point the Doctor’s appointments are not big since we’ve been going much more frequently than in the beginning. Everything checked out normal (baby’s heart rate was 142) during this visit and sadly no progress in dilation. Apparently my heightened appetite yielded in a 1.4 lb weight gain (thanks to the doctor for being so specific when Noah asked). I’m still doing fine on my overall gain, though, so no concerns there. We saw Dr. Osmun again and he has been much more personable than in the earlier meetings.

We also had another get together with work friends at the Mayflower Hotel, which was super nice of them to do for us. While we wish we would have had more time with them, we were delayed in getting there as we finally closed on our house! It was a very stressful few days spent waiting (on the banks), calling (the bank) – ok, hounding the bank, and more waiting (on the sellers to show up to closing!). It was very stressful, but late Friday night, we finally received word that all was set and the house was ours. We are so relieved and excited to get the house where we will have much more space! Now, it’s on to finalizing plans with the architect, getting permits and having the contractor get started. Wheh- lots going on right now.

Week 38

We started the week going to the Redskins/Saints football game. Luckily, our friend lives near FedEx Field and we could hang out there and eat before the game. I am so glad that I felt good enough to get to the game and sit in the cold watching it. Noah scored us some great seats, so it was more comfortable than I imagined it would be. It’s amazing to have actual seats (vs. benches) and space- so different than college games! I think I heard enough “Who Dat’s” to last a while….mostly Redskins fans mocking the Saints, but we know who had the last laugh. Debra and her Saints eventually prevailed in this crazy game.

After the game, we stopped by and picked up some essentials (car seat/bases, strollers, pack n play) that we are borrowing from Noah’s cousins. We are very grateful to be able to borrow these items from them- thank you!!

Despite still feeling heavy, I had more energy this week. I got a few cardio workouts in this week. We got a rug for the nursery this week, so it is feeling more complete. I also ordered some cute little monkey décor for the door, so I am anxiously awaiting those to be delivered.

cute, monkey door hanger

We were supposed to meet with Dr. Engel this week, but due to his schedule getting changed at the last minute, we met with a PA, Nidhi Rustgi. We met with her way back in the beginning and she has since had her baby. She was super nice and detailed. She also had the pleasure of confirming that all measurements were again normal (heart rate in the 150s) and that I had started to dilate. Even though, I was barely 1 cm, it was progress in the right direction.

Noah had to head to Richmond late in the week and luckily, Debra and Marthea came over to stay with me in the event that I suddenly needed someone around. After my last prenatal yoga class on my pass, we had a great dinner at Matchbox and then came back and hung out. I was horrified during yoga when I discovered how swollen my ankles/feet were. I have been lucky enough to have limited swelling episodes, but this one was not pretty. I did take pictures to share with Noah, but I will spare you the ugliness. I had Friday off, which was well timed. I suddenly lost my energy and was exhausted much of Friday and Saturday. I recovered enough Sunday to make it back to the gym for some time on the bike. My energy levels have been crazy lately and I can’t even understand it. I am just very happy on my energy days. It’s no fun feeling exhausted. I’ve also had a few headaches this week, which has been odd. I used to have so many when I wasn’t pregnant, but since I have been, they have pretty much gone away…until this last week.

We’re almost there and are hoping to go early. I was fortunate enough to win an office drawing where I get to take a tour of the White House to view the Christmas decorations. We are all hoping that something big can happen there as it would be an event to remember. We’ll keep you posted….

What a busy week. I started out by treating myself (courtesy of a wonder gift certificate!) to a pedicure at a nice downtown spa on Monday evening and then my office threw us a shower on Tuesday afternoon that was full of laughter, stories and generosity. I caught up with a former co-worker on Wednesday for lunch and then off to the first of our now weekly doctor’s appointments on Thursday. Given how busy the week was, I didn’t get too many workouts in, but did manage to go for a swim/do some water exercises.

At Thursday’s appointment, we found out that the baby was estimated at 5 lbs, 7 oz., that he is head down (yes!) and his heart rate was normal (no specifics this time). We met with Dr. Reiter (main practice guy) and he was ok. Clearly, he’s experienced, but he had a pretty dry personality and was a close talker (did he really have to be that close to my face??). Dr. Reiter determined that my belly measurement was normal, but my cervix was still closed.

The little boy is moving around, but those movements have changed from being all over the place to feeling like he’s shifting/adjusting. He occasionally gets the hiccups.

I ended the week with an awesome prenatal massage at Spa on the Hill, courtesy of Noah. Given I felt pretty good going into the massage compared to when Noah bought it for me, it was still very relaxing. I learned the trick of where to have Noah massage should my back pain return.

We also had a special treat when family visited for the weekend and joined us with our friends Saturday evening to play some games, eat some food, and open gifts for the little one. Thank you to my awesome girlfriends for hosting such an enjoyable evening. You all are going to be fantastic aunties.

Some pictures:

Tasty, homemade cake/cupcakes courtesy of co-worker

Noah and Charla at the work shower

Week 36
For such a short week, it was very full. It’s probably one of my most favorite weeks/time of year- Thanksgiving. I felt great and it showed in that I was able to get back to the gym and jump on the spin bike/elliptical machine and lift some weights.

The little boy has continued to shift and make adjustments while favoring kicks to my right side/ribs. I’m still feeling the occasional hiccups. We returned for our weekly check up with Sharon, the nurse practitioner we met with a few weeks back. Again, too bad that she isn’t on rotation for delivery because she is really great with details and her bedside manner. She reported that my belly was still measuring just fine, his heart rate was in the 150s and that my cervix was still closed, but thinning. The countdown is on- only four more weeks until he is due.

Thanksgiving flew by. Luckily, I was in good enough shape to spend a good portion of the day preparing our dishes for Kari and Jesse’s Thanksgiving. I did get worn out by the time we actually enjoyed the food, but that’s ok. It was pretty relaxing to cook and eating everyone’s creations was a treat. We recovered by relaxing on Friday. Saturday, we went to the baby store to pick up last minute items still in need. I think we are almost prepared. There will always be more that I want to do, but we have the essentials. Now, I just need to finish up packing my bag for the hospital.

Noah is very anxious for the little one’s arrival and is ready to play with him. This time has gone by relatively quickly for me, but I know it seems like forever for him. We are just looking forward to this active little boy- something tells me that he is not going to be too chill since he has just been too active in his little home.

I mailed off the hospital’s pre-registration form this week. Hopefully, DC’s mail system will get it there and get us all set up for easy admittance when we are ready. Now, I just need to call the pediatrician’s office and make sure that they are accepting new patients and that they take our insurance. My to-do list is never-ending.

After not having been on the spin bike for a few weeks, I was happy to be able to get back on it. I got to mix up my workouts this week with riding the spin bike, swimming and doing yoga. After my scare a few weeks ago where I felt terrible, I am very excited to again be energetic enough to keep moving.

Sunday, we went to the full day labor & delivery class at Sibley. We were disappointed that the hospital tour was no longer available (as of the first of November- lucky us with the timing) due to the flu season. While we did get clarification on some things we were unsure of, we learned that most of our specific (well, my specific) questions are more physician/practice policy’s vs. the hospital’s. I guess, I have a lot of questions to ask in the next few doctor’s visits. Given we could have any of the 10-12 rotating OB/GYN’s from the practice deliver, I suspect we will be in limbo on details until labor time arrives. This makes me a bit uncomfortable, but I am not sure what I can really do about this. At the end of the class, we went over breathing/relaxation techniques, but I think the techniques/information I have picked up during my prenatal yoga classes have been more beneficial. It’s a good thing I still have more time to practice during my weekly yoga class. At least I did get some nice massages from Noah today- thank you!! Speaking of massage, Noah was super sweet in getting me some for our anniversary. I am going on Friday afternoon and I can’t wait.

Oh, I forgot to mention that we finally got a glider chair last week. It’s firmer than the couch, which has been helping in keeping me comfortable. I am glad we didn’t have to wait long for it to be delivered or I would have likely been spending more time on the floor as the couch had gotten to soft for me.

the chair saving my back

the pain relieving pool

I am relieved that I felt better by the following Saturday as in celebration of our first anniversary, we took the train to NYC. We left early Saturday and arrived at Penn Station around Noon. After cabbing to our hotel in lower Manhattan, we made our way to Brooklyn in hopes of getting pizza at Grimaldi’s. Unfortunately, their line was too long, so we opted for a little place around the corner. Afterwards, we walked back to Manhattan over the Brooklyn Bridge- something I had yet to do after how many trips to NYC? The weather was absolutely beautiful and our trip across the bridge was very enjoyable. Once across the bridge, we wondered up and around SoHo until we headed back to the hotel around 4:30p. We got to rest briefly before getting ready for our dinner at Blue Hill. Our meal was absolutely delicious and we highly recommend you go there when in New York. We look forward to returning. After dinner, we walked around Greenwich for a short time before turning in. After a very full day of walking, we were quite exhausted.

We got up early Sunday and headed uptown. On our way to finding breakfast, we randomly came upon Matt Damon and Emily Blunt filming their new movie (The Adjustment Bureau). It was pretty cool as they didn’t shut down the streets or traffic to film. We saw them film one scene before we decided we needed to eat. After breakfast, we walked around Central Park and took in the fall foliage. Eventually, we made our way to FAO Schwarz on 5th Ave. to pick up a little something for the baby. With the day quickly flying by, we rested briefly while people watching in Rockefeller Center and then headed to Times Square and the TKTS counter. We scored some tickets to see The Royal Family at the beautiful Samuel J Friedman Theatre. The play is based on the Barrymore family, which was pretty interesting. While long, we enjoyed it. It was our last real activity in New York for this trip. As soon as it was over, we grabbed some food on our way to pick up our luggage and head back to Penn Station. We hopped on the 6p train and arrived back in DC at 9:45p.

See the pictures we took in New York here. We were able to snap some pictures of my growing belly since we are still slacking at taking them here in DC!

I’m glad we decided to spend our first anniversary in NYC. The weather was perfect, I was feeling great again and we enjoyed every bit of our trip. It was our final out of town excursion before the little one arrives. Now, on to getting the final preparations together for the baby. We’re so excited and are eagerly awaiting his arrival.

I definitely feel larger, not overall, but in the belly. It is becoming increasingly difficult to bend over (thank you for taking off my boots and rubbing my back/shoulders, Noah!) as my belly is in the way and I am having a difficult time breathing upside down, but yoga is helpful in loosening my back and helping me maintain flexibility and strength. Breathing is becoming challenging at various times as my lungs are becoming more restricted by the little one’s growth.

Despite all of this, I am still able to remain active on the spin bike, elliptical, and treadmill and lift some weights to maintain arm/shoulder strength- or as my yoga instructor calls them- stroller toting arms. I spend less time on each piece of equipment than I used to, but variety is key to me being able to keep up my cardio. I am confident that if I keep busy with walking/elliptical, then he will want to arrive on time (or even a few days early!).

Saturday was not kind to my body for some reason. I woke up with pain in my lower back (left side only, ironically), hips and pubic bone. Stretching and walking didn’t seem to help much. Sitting and lying on the floor was better than the couch and using a hard roller rolled out some of the aches, but not much seemed to help. Luckily, my Gators looked the best they had all season and our victory (41-17) over the ‘Dawgs were a sweet way to end the day. Go Gators!

A quick treat for you from my annual meeting. Our awesome photographer, Scott Dressel-Martin snapped the below of my colleague, Tori, and I. She is expecting a girl in March, so we are about 3 months apart.

Photography (c) Scott Dressel-Martin

Week 29
Preparing to leave for Boston left me working many jam-packed days. This also means there is plenty of food around our office, which was great since I was plenty hungry to enjoy it. Staying active at work while still making sure I got to yoga and the gym was a bit much, but I think it helped in the end. Being worn out at the end of the day helps to ensure a good night’s sleep (in between all of the necessary trips to the bathroom). One exciting thing we found out this week was that an offer we put in on a house in our neighborhood was accepted! This is perfect timing as we will need the space with our expanding family. More excitement to come about this.

Week 30
Last week was busy preparing final plans for Boston and this week was much the same and more. All of last week’s work caught up with me and I was more tired than usual this week- a bit concerning given I was leaving for Boston this week. The week started with Noah going to Detroit for work. Although he wasn’t there long, it was enough to reinforce all he has been doing here to help out (cooking, driving to/from work, etc.). After he returned, we had our 30 week appointment with Dr. Maungman (UF med school grad) where everything went well. Like the other doctor’s we have seen, she was nice and informative. The baby’s heartbeat was strong at about 145-150 (he was really active while at the appointment, so this wasn’t a shock). I am measured at 30 weeks (spot on) and no swelling (yay). Before leaving, I was able to get the seasonal flu shot. I was relieved they still had vaccines available since I was starting to feel out of luck given our other efforts to find the vaccine were proving to be difficult- many locations were out or weren’t giving the shots during my limited availability this week. Thursday, I departed for Boston and magically got my energy back. What a relief!

Week 31
I spent much of the end of week 30 and the beginning of week 31 walking around the Hynes Convention Center in Boston setting up for my annual meeting. While this sounds crazy, I enjoyed it. Walking really helped me to keep my body from getting the aches and pains that usually come with sitting at my desk. I had long days as expected, but I didn’t find them as bad as I expected. Standing caused the most pain and I tried to limit that other than when necessary. By Monday evening, I did experience some swelling in my feet (the worst I have had, but by no means terrible). After a successful meeting, I returned Thursday morning and fully expected to rest. That, of course, did not happen. We had to do the inspection for the house, which turned out well. We were pleased with the inspector’s findings. An old house, but a sturdy house! Following the inspection, we rested for about 45 minutes before heading to one of DC’s H1N1 vaccination clinics. After waiting for 2 hours, I was finally able to get the vaccine. Noah still has to wait, but we are still a bit perplexed at DC limiting caretakers ability to get the shot. We’ll keep our eyes and ears open as he does need to get this vaccine too. My next day for rest was delayed a bit as we met with a contractor to discuss the renovations that need to happen on our new purchase. While extensive, we are excited to see the house transition from worn and tired to our ideal place to raise the little one!

Oh, and the crib arrived this week. We wasted no time in getting it put together. It was pretty easy to assemble, which was a relief. The nursery is slowly taking shape. This is good practice since we will be recreating it in the months to come over at the new place.

All in all, I feel fortunate. I am still feeling quite energized and my hunger seems to be reasonable. The more active I am, the hungrier I get. Nothing too surprising on my end. Our 32 week Dr’s appointment is this coming week. Stay tuned for more details.

I’ve still been able to maintain a great deal of energy, for which I am grateful. I’m eating more frequently, but not huge quantities. I can definitely tell that I am getting larger each week and I feel it during yoga and trying to switch sides during the night. Other than that, I feel like I am moving around just fine. I do have to make sure that I sit down and rest my feet as I don’t want them swelling more than they have to. So far, the swelling has been minimal and infrequent.

At our 28 week appointment, everything came out as expected. We saw Dr. McKander and found her to be very helpful, informative and nice. She found Junior’s heartbeat was strong at 145 and that I was measuring 27.5 weeks, so just a little smaller than I should be. Given how I feel that I continue to get larger, I suspect I will catch up shortly! I forgot to ask how many pounds I had gained in the last 4 weeks, but from what I can remember, it’s about 14-16 pounds. The doctor seemed pleased with my progress and was amazed at my energy level and activity to this point, which made me feel good. I’m glad that I don’t feel as heavy as the scale read. It is the highest I have ever seen and I know it will continue to go up for the next 11-12 weeks. I’m bracing myself for that fact!

We also tackled cleaning out the 2nd bedroom, which has been more work than I anticipated. Finding room in our place (very little storage) has taken some time and we have had to become creative while giving more things away. The nursery set up is underway. We will share pictures once it is completed. So far, I am very happy with the progress. We are looking forward to the crib delivery on October 23.

In case you didn’t see, my experience getting information on the H1N1 vaccine was documented by an AP medical writer that I spoke with several weeks ago. Her story got picked up by several news
organizations. The Washington Post article can be found here.

Just how big am I? Towards the end of the 27th week, we finally got it together to snap some pictures. Check out the progress here.

Late in the 27th week

Charla late in the 27th week

Now that I have entered the third trimester, we move to a doctor’s visit every 2 weeks. Our next visit is the 30 week appointment where we will meet with Dr. Muangman, a UF Medical School graduate- Go Gators!

It was another quick week for us. Work has been really busy as my annual meeting is around the corner (mid-October) and my days are non-stop. I am very thankful that my energy levels remain high to get me through this busy period. I’ve been good about making sure I eat regularly to keep as on top of things as best possible. I made it to the gym a few times and yoga once this week. It’s amazing how even though I have had the energy to go, certain yoga poses are more challenging to do than they were a few weeks back. On Saturday, we participated in a 5k to benefit the New Orleans and Gulf Coast relief and recovery. Noah ran it and I walked it with friends. By the end, I was pretty tired. We had a great time and were lucky enough to enjoy the warm and sunny weather.

Below is a picture post walk (at the Alexandria waterfront). You can see how big I have gotten!

Charla, Diane, Marthea, Debra

We were in Nags Head, NC for week 25 to relax for Labor Day and the week following. I did get plenty of rest (i.e. naps) during the days when the weather was dismal and some decent beach time in on the nice days (only a few). I can tell I have gotten bigger because the new maternity bathing suit top I recently purchased wasn’t as big as it was a few weeks ago. My hunger and energy levels were in line with the week before. I am feeling increasing activity, which is always reassuring. At times, it’s still funny to feel how active “Junior” is at times throughout the day and how those times change each week. Lying on my side made him a more active kicker to my side vs. the lower abdomen area where he normally kicks.

While we encountered mixed weather for our beach week, we did enjoy spending so much time with family and friends. We look forward to doing it again with more family and friends once the baby arrives. Here’s a picture of us at the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.