Brookston's Pregnancy Journal

Tuesday, May 01, 2007
DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT (39 weeks) (2)
Today was my check to see where I was. A good 1cm, and at least 70%. Good enough for induction! And doc thinks Pitocin will be my friend because I need some good strong contractions to bring this little guy's head down lower so it can really make some progress. With his head still up where it is, she likes the progress she's seen already!So this means Wednesday, May 2nd, nice and late at night (10pm) we are set to arrive at the hospital to settle in. Induction will start nice and early, like 2-3am on May 3rd!This is it! We are going to meet our baby boy on May 3rd!!!!!! He has a birthday!!!! We cannot wait to hold him in our arms!

Sunday, April 29, 2007
BABY SHOWER!!!
Richard's family threw me a baby shower! It was fun to get to know them a little better and celebrate our upcoming baby boy! Of course it included good food, good times, and fun stuff to spoil our little guy with! :)


Friday, April 27, 2007
DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT (38 weeks, 3 days) (1)
Today was my 38 week appointment. Other than some swelling, all is still good, even my blood pressure. My fundal height is still right on at 38cm, but I wish it would be lower because that would mean his head had dropped.I had just a little more progress, 60-70% effaced and almost 1cm dilated. So while it's not much, we are going to check again on Tueday and see if this little guy may be interested in coming out on Thursday! Oh I so hope so, that would just be SO AWESOME if he were to arrive in less than a week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Thursday, April 26, 2007
RICHARD'S BABY SHOWER!
Richard's co-workers threw him a baby shower today at his work! Richard said that I got to go because I needed to bring the baby! :) :) It was really great! The decorations were adorable and we even played some games! Of course the food was yummy and Brookston got spoiled with gifts! That was so sweet of them to throw Richard a shower! And it was so sweet of them to invite ME! :)


Thursday, April 19, 2007
DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT (37 weeks, 2 days) (3)
Today was my 37 week doctor's appointment! I was "50% effaced and a fingertip dilated." So while this isn't a lot of progress, it is some progress which is really exciting! I know it can be 3 days or 3 weeks, but as Richard says, we are cautiously optimistic! I was especially excited though since I haven't even noticed any contractions or even Braxton Hicks Contractions that I know of! I've heard that you can have small ones and not even know it though! So maybe that's what's going on! Plus every once in a while I feel something for like 5 seconds. Someone suggested to me that maybe I'm just feeling the peak, but not the whole thing! Sounds good to me! And finally, Brookston's head is not yet "engaged". So his head is still a little high, not yet set down in my pelvis. My doctor was actually a little shocked that I had progress because his head engaging is usually what forces some progress! So if we can just get his head down a little more, maybe we can get some more progress for next week! :) :)


Thursday, April 12, 2007
DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT (36 weeks, 2 days) (1.25)
I had my 36 week doctor's appointment. I ended up seeing a different doctor since mine was on vacation and he was great! No problems there. Everything was good, normal weight, normal blood pressure, and even a normal fundal height. 35-36cm! I guess it's better to be even rather than going up, meaning he's floating high. Next I want to see the number go down because he's dropped.Anyway, my first internal check and no progress at all! I was sort of expecting that at just 36 weeks, but I think every pregnant woman hopes for something to make them feel like there is progress. No such luck! But you never know, anything can happen! But for now it's waiting patiently until he decides it's time!


Thursday, April 05, 2007
DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT (35 weeks, 2 days) (3.5)
What do you know, at 35 weeks, I'm actually measuring 35 weeks! Wow! At 33 weeks, I was measuring 36 weeks, so my doctor thinks this means he has dropped a little bit, and that's great news! That means he's settling into position! Good boy!Everything else looked good too, my weight and blood pressure, and Brookston's heartbeat!It's not too much longer now!


Saturday, March 31, 2007
BABY SHOWER!!!
I had my baby shower in Louisiana with some family and friends today! The decorations were just precious, jungle animals, since that is our theme! And I think I even got a cute picture that just has to be blown up and framed for Brookston's room! We played some really cute games that were VERY entertaining!!! :) Excellent food and the cake was made by my brother in law! :) It was a blast!


Friday, March 30, 2007
SURPRISE AT WORK!
My co-workers surprised me with a baby shower today!!! How awesome...they rock! It was great! We had the YUMMIEST cake and I even had a corsage! Most of the crew pitched in for a Target gift card, which I can't wait to spend! And I also got a cute little hooded animal robe, pack of onesies, and a blanket toy! So much fun! So sweet!


Thursday, March 22, 2007
DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT (33 weeks, 2 days) (2.5)
33 week doctor's appointment was great! I had an ultrasound first and Brookston sure has grown. It's hard to see a lot at once because he's so big! I found out at 33 weeks, 2 days he weighs 4 pounds, 14 ounces, and that's the 55th percentile! So he's just a tiny hair above average! Yeah! So far he's not HUGE! :) And hopefully he'll stay normal and be kind to mommy in the delivery room.But I did notice that his head was measuring a little big...no shocker as all Hall babies have big heads! :) :)Everything was great, he is head down, my fluid level is great, and he is great! Good boy! :) My weight was good, my blood pressure was good, and my fundal height is 36 (3 ahead, instead of 3-4 ahead)...so apparently this whole "measuring big" thing is just how I am or how Brookston is laying! But normal!


Monday, March 19, 2007
SURPRISE AT DAD'S WORK!!!
Mom and I were going to dad's work today to bring everyone pizza and eat lunch with them! Much to my surprise, there was a "Welcome Brookston" baby cake for me! Wow!!! How exciting! And I can't wait to spend the gift card they so generously gave me too! That was SO SWEET!!!!! :) :) I can't believe how thoughtful and nice they are!


Sunday, March 18, 2007
MY FIRST BABY SHOWER!
Lian and Laura threw me my first baby shower!! It was a great time! Such cute decorations, yummy food, and a cute and yummy cake! :) We had a nice crowd of people that were so kind and generous! It's so much fun to prepare for Brookston's arrival...and a blast to celebrate with people who already love him!


Thursday, March 08, 2007
DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT (31 weeks, 2 days) (2)
I had my 31 week check up! Not much to it again! My weight, blood pressure, and Brookston's heartrate were all normal. Although my fundal height (34 - 35cm) was a little big! Doc things it's just how he's laying and how I'm carrying. Hopefully he's not going to be a 10 pound baby!!! Eeeek! She's not concerned, but we are going to do an ultrasound at my next appointment in 2 weeks! First of all, I can't believe I have an appointment in 2 weeks! But second of all, I'm excited to see our little boy on the big screen again! I hope measuring big isn't a bad thing, but my doctor seems to think it's no big deal, so I won't either!


Saturday, February 24, 2007
BROOKSTON IN 3D (29 weeks, 4 days)
For our 1 year anniversary we decided that our gift to each other would be a 3D ultrasound. So we saw Brookston in 3D today! I wouldn't say that we were disappointed, because it was very cool to see, but he sure is a stubborn baby. He started off with BOTH feet and BOTH hands covering his face! Little bugger! Eventually he moved his feet (only to cover his boy parts when we went to go verify that he's a boy!) Figures! But we did end up getting a little peek at his face. The ultrasound tech looked at Richard and decided that he looks like Daddy already! I couldn't tell, because I'm not good at seeing things like that, but I thought that was pretty cool! Plus some family and friends have agreed that he's looking like Richard! COOL!!!! I'll take it! Daddy's a cutie! :)We saw just a little hair on his head, we'll see what 10 more weeks brings him! Richard and all of his siblings were born with hair, and so was I! So we will see if the family history wins, or the old wives tale wins. (the old wives tale says that if mom has heartburn, baby will have a head full of hair....no heartburn, no hair. Well, I haven't had heartburn yet, so we'll see!)And eventually we got to verify, yup, still a boy! :) Phew! Okay, so there was no doubt from the ultrasounds last time, but it's still good to double check! :)


Tuesday, February 20, 2007
MY PREGNANCY THROUGH 29 WEEKS
Lots of people have asked, so I figured I'd try to sum things up! I feel very lucky to have had an easy pregnancy so far! Should I be knocking on wood as I say that?

First trimester:
- I had no morning sickness. Yippeeee!
- I was tired between 8-10 weeks, but managed that okay. Between 10-12 weeks I was needing a daily nap, or at least I needed to go to bed super early!
- I had a week long headache, twice! But I was used to dealing with migraines before pregnancy and those usually lasted a few days at a time! So if I only had 2 weeks of headaches, that leave 38 weeks headache free!!!
- I did have to pee a little more often, but it only really woke me up about once a night for a trip to the bathroom! I think it's my co-workers that thought I was crazy, in and out of the bathroom all day long!
- And Richard nicely claims that my moods haven't even been that bad! Good husband huh? :)

Second trimester
:- It was a breeze!
- I felt great!
- I rarely even had to get up in the middle of the night for a bathroom trip!
- I got bigger for sure, but it's fun to have a belly!! :)
- I also got to feel movement pretty early, Richard too, so that was a great part about 2nd trimester!
- Richard still says that I was a good pregnant wife!

Third trimester: (so far!)
- Not too bad, but I still have a good 8-11 weeks left to only get bigger and feel less comfortable! But so far, not too many complaints!
- Heartburn only twice-
Acid reflux may be starting, I've had that about 4-5 times.
- I'm noticing I can't eat as much at meals...no more Chinese buffets for me! I guess it's time to start eating smaller meals, more often.
- I'm starting to need to go to the bathroom a little more often again. I think Brookston has learned how to use my bladder at a trampoline! Especially when I go from sitting to standing! :)
- We have an active little guy in there, but that's just fun. He kicks and wiggles all of the time!
- Okay, bring on the uncomfortable 3rd trimester, I know the symptoms are waiting for me! :)
- Will Richard still be saying I'm a good pregnant wife come 8 more weeks????


Thursday, February 15, 2007
DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT (28 weeks, 2 days) (2)
I had my 28 week check up! Another easy appointment. We just did my weight, blood pressure (108/68), Brookston's heartrate (140 bpm), fundal height (30cm), and a last minute cervix check! (not the norm, but since mom had Kristi at 29 weeks she just wanted to be safe). Oh, and I passed the glucose test, wahoo!!!! All is great! Next appointment is another 3 weeks!


Sunday, February 04, 2007
THIRD TRIMESTER!!
Wow, time sure does fly!!!


Tuesday, January 30, 2007
BROOKSTON SCARED MOMMY!!
We had a really busy night last night. We finished (for the most part) painting Brookston's nursery and it was none stop all day. So when I went to bed, I didn't get to feel his normal kicking and punching at night when he is usually the MOST ACTIVE! So the next morning, I was waiting, waiting, waiting for a good kick, punch, anything. Just a little hi so I knew he was okay.He waited until about 11am to finally say hi. Then not again until about 2pm! YOU SCARED ME BROOKSTON! What were you doing? Sleeping all night/day? Maybe you are just growing, or maybe you were facing backwards and I just couldn't feel you! Luckily I have the support of lots of girls on my message board and they got me through some tough hours until he got back to his normal routine...kicking and punching and rolling like crazy! Thank you son...please continue! :)


Tuesday, January 30, 2007
WE HAVE A CRIB
Sterling (Richard's brother) and Niki (his wife) went with us to pick up our crib and changing table/dresser tonight! Wahoooo!!!!!! Furniture!!! The real exciting part, all of Richard's siblings bought us the crib! So cool!!!!!! :) :)


Monday, January 29, 2007
99 DAYS TO GO!!!
I've hit double digits! Wow, just 99 days! Mommy and Daddy celebrated with a 99 day dance! :) :) We are getting there!!!


Thursday, January 25, 2007
EASY DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT (25 weeks, 2 days) (2)
I had my 25 week check up. It wasn't anything too special, but we did my weight (eek!), blood pressure (very good!), listened to Brookston's heartbeat (140's), and had my first official fundal measurement that I knew about (27cm....at 25.5 weeks that's measuring a little big, but not a big deal).My doctor told me the plan and I've graduated from my appointments being 5 weeks apart, now down to 3 weeks! That's pretty exciting!!! The closer together the appointments are, the closer he is to coming!!! :)Another update is that I have to do the glucose test to screen for gestational diabetes. This test is done between 26 and 28 weeks....so I should be going sometime next week! Fingers crossed that I pass the first screening because that one only takes an hour, otherwise it's a 3 hour test! Blah!


Thursday, January 18, 2007
OUR SON HAS BEEN NAMED
Brookston Carter Hall! He has been named! Richard actually made up the name Brookston back in October when we had 13 hours in the car! He went through tons of crazy and awful names. And what do you know, something great came out of the hours and hours of awful ideas! :) :) We got our son's name! :)Carter was a name that I have liked and we thought it flowed very nicely....Brookston Carter Hall


Saturday, January 06, 2007
WE REGISTERED!
It was so much fun registering for our little guy! On one hand it's overwhelming to see how much we need! But on the other hand it's so much fun to think about actually having a little boy in our arms, using these items on a daily basis! Already though, it's been edited a million times, how do you decided?!?!?!


Thursday, December 21, 2006
THE BIG ULTRASOUND SHOWS IT'S A BOY!!!!
DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT (20 weeks, 2 days) (1)
We have been thinking boy for a while now, so we weren't shocked to hear the news, but it was so exciting to actually have the proof...especially since we didn't have a reason to think boy...we just felt it!The ultrasound was great. He was fairly sleepy, so he was very cooperative for the tech doing the exam. (Apparently my lunch hit him about 30 minutes after the appointment because that's when I started to feel him moving a bunch). We got 10 great pictures! 3 profile views (one with his hands by his face), one of his face from the front view, 4 shots of "it's a boy" so there is no doubt, one of a little hand, and one of a foot! So cute!One of the best moments was at the beginning when we were looking at his face and he had a BIG HUGE YAWN, we could even see his tongue! It made our hearts melt! And we got it on video!!!! I think we could watch that little yawn over and over again and be giddy each time!We got a good bill of health which is very comforting. The tech did all sorts of measurements including looking at all 4 chambers of the heart, the 2 hemispheres of the brain, she measured the head, arms, legs, amniotic fluid, stomach, and all of the vital organs. We got a good check mark next to each! Thank goodness our prayers are being answered! He's weighing in at 12 ounces so far!!!After the ultrasound, we met with the doctor. She said things are looking great! I'm even gaining weight at the right speed! Phew! We are having a boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Thursday, December 14, 2006
ONE MORE WEEK!!!
Just 7 more days until we find out who is inside! A boy? A girl? We can't wait to hear! The suspense is killing me and the excitement is overwhelming!!!!!


Wednesday, December 06, 2006
RICHARD FELT A KICK (18 weeks, 1 day)
We had just laid down to go to sleep and I felt the baby moving around a bit from the inside. When I put my hand on my belly, I thought I could feel a little movement, so Richard decided to rest his hand there and see.Just after a few minutes the baby gave a good swift kick (or punch), followed by one or two smaller movements and we looked at eachother and just knew that was it! His face light up! Daddy felt it move! :) :) :) Now the question is: Are you our son or daughter? Two more weeks until we find out! We can hardly wait!


Thursday, November 30, 2006
THERE'S A PARTY IN MY BELLY! (17 weeks, 2 days)
The baby is moving and grooving in there right now! It's such a cool feeling! It's still pretty light, but I sure know what it is! And the really cool thing is it's already starting to feel like a little bit of a pattern! Like in the mornings (if I'm sitting at my desk long enough), while I eat my breakfast bar, I get a little baby jiggle!Then when I come home, if I'm just chilling on the couch watching TV, there it goes again!And often times at night, lying still in bed before I fall asleep, party time!!!!Wait, does this mean the baby is gonna be moving while I try to sleep? I guess so...little bugger! And I can't wait!!! :) :)


Tuesday, November 28, 2006
MY 17 WEEK REALIZATION (17 weeks, 0 days)
I think it was when I read one of the emails I receive each week saying, you are now 17 weeks, your baby is doing this, mom may be feeling like this, your baby is approx 5 inches long and 5 ounces. Well, then it said, the baby is 5 inches CRL (crown to rump length), that's what is measured and referred to early since the legs are short and stumpy. But at 17 weeks, the legs have grown to be more proportional to the rest of the body size! Anyway, the email then said, if your baby was to stretch out it's legs it would be almost 9 inches long! NINE INCHES!!!!!!!!! WHOA!!!!!!! Last week I was sitting there thinking, wow, my baby is 4 inches (CRL, so just head to butt), and now it's about 9 inches from head to stretched out toes! That's inside of me???????? Seriously?????????? That is SOOOOOOOOO COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow! I know it still has a lot of growing to do, but it's getting so big!!!!!!!!!!


Friday, November 17, 2006
FELT A FLUTTER/MOVEMENT (15 weeks, 3 days)
It was the smallest little flutter feeling and actually I felt the same thing right when I was almost done eating lunch yesterday. But this morning, I was eating my breakfast bar and felt a little rumbling around in my tummy. I think the baby liked the breakfast bar!!!!It was such a neat feeling!!!! Very soft and light, but I noticed it and it just had to be the baby moving around in there....a bunch! The feeling went away. The baby must have just been doing a big dance for a minute there. And it may be a while before I feel it again, but that was so cool!!!!!! :) :)


Thursday, November 16, 2006
DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT (15 weeks, 2 days) (2)
Just a good old regular appointment today. Did my weight (up 7 pounds according to them, 8 pounds according to me), not too bad I guess. My blood pressure was good. Heard the heartbeat again...does that ever get old? I had a chance to talk to my doctor. She actually sat down with me for a good 15 minutes so we really got to talk. It was very nice to not feel rushed and be able to ask questions. We scheduled the "big ultrasound" for December 21st! We get to see the baby in detail...the brain, the heart chambers, the lungs, the liver, the whole works! And of course answer the question, girl or boy???? It will be a GREAT early Christmas present! What more could we ask for! :)


Tuesday, November 14, 2006
BABY POEM

I do not have a face to see, Or put inside a frame.
I do not have soft cheeks to kiss; I don't yet have a name.

Not yet can you hold my tiny hands, Nor whisper in my ear.
It's still too soon to sing a song, Or cuddle me so near.

But all that will change come this May; When they say I am due.
I am your first child; And I can't wait until I meet you!

All I ask between now and then is your love for me to grow.
I promise I'll be worth the wait; Just think of all the joy we'll know!

So as you're waiting patiently, Please pray lots of prayers for me.
I cannot wait to be a part of this wonderful family!


Friday, November 03, 2006
SECOND TRIMESTER AND SHARING THE NEWS!!
This was a busy week. It was week 13, so we started to share the news with close family and friends. Whoa, is this for real?Today is the official start of the 2nd trimester! 13 weeks, 3 days! Wahoooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Today I told my coworkers and boy am I lucky, got an u/s at work. I got to see the growing baby, wow, it has grown. It was absolutely amazing. The arms, the legs, wiggling and moving all around. The baby even got the hiccups! It was so amazing. We could see the spine, the eyes, the chin! Of course the heart was beating away, we even got to see the blood flow! I got a VHS tape, so we have about 8 minutes recorded for daddy to see just what I saw! It was so wonderful!!!!!


Saturday, October 14, 2006
PASSED A TOUGH MILESTONE
Today is 10 weeks, 4 days...I'm officially past my milestone date from last time, 10 weeks, 3 days! Come on baby, keep growing and staying strong!


Thursday, October 12, 2006
HEARING THE HEARTBEAT/DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT (10 weeks, 2 days) (2)
What a great sound! Today was the first time trying the doppler to hear the heartbeat! At 10w2d, it's sort of a toss up if we'd hear it or not and after just a few minutes, probably even really seconds, of searching around, we heart that heartbeat pumping 160's to 170bpm! It went from swooshing sounds, to the sound of my heartbeat, to the baby, nice, strong, and fast! WOW!Oh yeah, blood pressure was fine! I've gained 4 pounds already! Geez! Gotta love this weight gain stuff!

TELLING THE SIBLINGS
Hearing the heartbeat got us pretty excited, so we shared the news at dinner with some of Richard's family tonight. All were not able to be present, so they did or will have to find out through a phone call! We also called my sister, since she's in Alaska! It was great to share the news finally!


Thursday, October 05, 2006
TELLING MICHELLE'S PARENTS (9 weeks, 2 days)
We arrived in North Carolina for a friend's wedding. This was the first time seeing Michelle's mom and dad and we were eagerly waiting for her dad to come home so we could share the good news. Once he arrived we brought them to the computer room, where our babies online page was displayed. It said "Michelle and Richard are pregnant" and had the 8w6d ultrasound picture on it! Of course there were lots of hugs and love!


Monday, October 02, 2006
ULTRASOUND #2 (8 weeks, 6 days)
We had a last minute ultrasound today due to some spotting over the weekend which made us very very nervous. Luckily, our baby looks GREAT! It was measuring a day bigger, which makes us feel so much better than being smaller! So even though today is 8w6d, it was measuring 9w0d! Excellent!!! And we saw the heart beating away...so wonderful! The u/s tech said that this was her favorite time to see an u/s picture, because the baby looks like a teddy bear....she was so right, we saw tiny little arms, legs, the big head and the body! You can tell it's a baby now!Richard remembered to ask why she thought there was bleeding. She pointed out on the u/s where there was still more blood pooled (under the uterus, right near the cervix), which is completely normal. When the baby implants into the uterus, it is very common for there to be some blood...and it either reabsorbs, or sometimes, like in this case, some will come out! No worries!Such a great day!


Friday, September 15, 2006
OUR FIRST ULTRASOUND (6 weeks, 3 days)
We had an ultrasound to check on our little one...there was a heartbeat, which was such a HUGE relief! Our baby measured 6 weeks, 3 days today, which is right where I thought and that's what the ultrasound said too! Yippee!!!! We loved seeing the little heartbeat fluttering away on the screen.The tech was so great too. Immediately she said, "I see a heartbeat!" Which was great because it was a few more minutes (probably more likely seconds), until she zoomed in so we could see for ourselves! 122 beats per minute!


Friday, September 01, 2006
MORE BLOOD WORK
Did more blood work yesterday. HCG was 217 this time...so it MORE than doubled....very good news!!!! That's what we wanted!!!Doubling time was 30.9 hours! :) Anything less than 48 is great!


Wednesday, August 30, 2006
BLOOD WORK
I had blood drawn yesterday, today the nurse told me, "yup, you are pregnant," :) :) My HCG was at 74! At this point, that number doesn't mean much yet. Progesterone was good too, 23.8, so that's good to know! Over 20 is great!


Monday, August 28, 2006
WE'RE PREGNANT!!!!!
Wahooo!!!!! I came home for lunch and tested, I just couldn't help it, I had a feeling it was true! We are pregnant again!!!!I told daddy when I picked him up at work (my car was in the shop). I bought a BIG baby card and inside were two baby bibs. One said "baby boy" and the other said, "baby girl", we will find out which one we need! Oh, and the positive pregnancy test was in the big card, to prove it to him!Daddy knew what it was when he opened the card that said, "New Baby". Of course he was thrilled!!!