Week 29

All is still well in the McIlhargie household. We saw our Dr on Tuesday. The baby has been moving a lot less frequently at night so they wanted to make sure that everything was ok and he wasn't under any stress. They gave me an ultrasound to check my fluid which was at a great level. The baby is still breech, but he still has a lot of time to move to a head down position. I was also hooked up to a monitor that recorded the baby's heart beat, movements and any contractions that were occuring. I was on the machine for 20 minutes and passed with flying colors. The baby was actually physically responding to movements which is not expected at his current age. So he is doing great to say the least.

I also recieved a lovely, painful shot in my bum. Miles thought it was hilarious and laughed through the whole process. I was unable to convince the nurse to give him the 3 inch shot as well.

We also took our first pregnancy class this week. We got a tour of the maternity ward and were thourally impressed by the hospital. It was built in the last year or so and everything is top of the line. They did a great job with design, very comfortable and modern surroundings. The security they have in place was amazing! Suffice to say that no one will be able to get off the maternity floor with our baby boy but us :)

We have 3 more weeks of pregnancy/delivery classes and then we will have two breastfeeding classes.



See the big picture

How your baby's growing:

Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is growing bigger to make room for his developing brain. To meet his increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because his bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

Week 28

So as you all know by now, Miles and I got a 3D/4D ultrasound on Friday. It was sooo cool to see the baby moving around. We were given a DVD movie of the entire 20 minutes and a CD of a bunch of photos. The baby was not very cooperative at all, so I guess he's stubborn just like his parents :) He kept hiding his face with his hands, his feet and the umbilical cord. He is currently in a jack knife position, meaning he is pretty much folded in half with his feet up above his head. He is also still head up, but hopefully he will turn head down in the near future.

Everything else is going along great. I still have back pain from time to time. I notice that when I've been in a car too long I pay the price the next day. I started knitting a blanket for the baby too. Hopefully it won't have too many holes in it :)


By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

Baby's 3D Pics

So yesterday, Elody and I paid a visit to a little place called First Glimpse ultrasound where we were able to see baby in 3D form. Below are some images from the ultrasound. Keep your eyes out for little feet, yawns and tight little fists!

Baby's Bathroom

Here are the pictures of the finished bathroom. As you can see we went with a monkey theme...thanks Target!!!

Week 27

My blood glucose test came back with normal results! The baby seems to be growing right on track along with my uterus. My Dr is really wanting me to get a flu shot, but I'm leaning towards not doing it. If I get one, it would be the regular flu shot as I do not trust the H1N1 vaccine...it's just too new. I put in a call to my old Dr to see what her opinion on the subject is.

Miles, Mom and I partook in the 3 miles Alzheimer's walk yesterday. Miles ran it, but I waddled along at a consistent pace :) By the end my hips and booty were killing me! Today my hips are really sore, but at least my back pain has subsided for the moment.

We felt that baby's hiccups a couple nights ago. It was the oddest sensation, way down low and I would feel little bumps at consistent intervals. The baby is still moving quite a lot and will usually react to his daddy speaking or singing to him. He has also moved a few times for my mom and dad much to their delight.

I have officially started knitting a blanket for him, we'll see how that turns out! I'll post pics of the final product regardless of its quality :) We will also put up pics of his bathroom which has a monkey theme that ties in with his bedroom.

How your baby's growing:

This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

Week 26

So it seems like my belly has practically doubled in size since last week. It's funny because I haven't really noticed a change until we took a pic this morning and compared it to last week. I wish I could say all the gain has been in my belly, but I can tell my bum and thighs have some extra baggage now too :( So far, I am up 13 lbs. As you can tell from my clothes, we are having a bit of a cold streak in Monument at the moment.

Baby got some fantastic clothes sent to him this week from his Auntie Meghan and David. He officially has some Chicago Cubs gear now! This also means that Meghan and David will be responsible for introducing him to the sport of baseball as no one in this house hold knows much about it :)

Miles has started reading books to the baby on top of singing to him everyday. Yesterday we read a Dr. Seuss in Utero book to him, and he listened to over an over of Classical music and the late, great John Lee Hooker.

Baby is still moving around a lot, mainly at night and in the morning. He also likes to use my bladder as a punching bag from time to time. I think he is still sitting quite low so I haven't felt any punches to my ribs yet. My back has been KILLING me! Mornings are the worst right when I get our of bed. I try to do a lot of stretching and I really need to see a chiropractor to help alleviate some of this pain. Anyone out there have any helpful tips for me?

Tuesday we go in to the Dr for our Blood Glucose Test. I have to drink a bunch of a sugary orange drink, wait an hour and then get my blood taken. This is to see if I will have an issue with Diabetes during pregnancy. I sure hope I pass as I have been enjoying a bit of sweets at night after dinner...which is kind of a first for me as I've never had a sweet tooth.

How your baby's growing:

The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel. If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days.

The Nursery

We were finally able to complete the nursery design. A splash of espresso colored brown made for our highlight wall and the white vinyl dandelion decal was added for a bit of playful whimsicality.

On another note, I went through baby's wardrobe and counted close to 70 individual outfits*. 70. Baby already has more clothes than I do. So to our loving family and friends- should you be inclined to present the little bean with a gift upon his arrival please consider items from our registry :)

*Elody would like to add that "onsies" are not considered an "outfit"- and that baby simply loves clothes just like she does.

Click image for larger view.

Week 25

Well, the nursery walls should be all finished by tomorrow evening, so we will post some pics soon. Other than that, not a lot of changes to report on. My lower back has been hurting quite a bit lately. We bought a new body pillow that's specifically designed for pregnant women so I hope that helps. I most likely will be visiting a chiropractor soon as well. I'm officially on maternity leave from teaching Zumba. I am a bit saddened by that, I was hoping to teach longer but my RL pain just got to be too bad. So it looks like I will keep to swimming, walking, stretching and doing some back strengthening exercises.

There's a huge 80% off sale happening at Osh Kosh this weekend, so Miles and I are headed there this afternoon :) My belly pretty much looks the same as last week.

How your baby's growing

Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.

Kickball for CASA

Miles was part of a kickball team this Saturday that played in a tournament in Denver to benefit the non profit organization CASA. My parents are actually volunteers for CASA and this event raised a lot of money for the program. Miles and our friend Lee were the only guys on a team of lovely ladies and I went along to be a cheerleader. Our friend Sara insisted on painting my belly so I thought I would share some pics below. I look very large and very white :) The team name was Sure Kix A Lot!

The Team:


The Cheerleaders:


The Girls Worshipping the Belly :

Week 24

Hi everyone,
not too too much to report. We have been feeling (and seeing) the baby move now more than ever before. His kicks and punches get quite strong in the evening and especially at bed time it seems. Elody and I officially setup our baby registry at Babies R Us too, it's amazing just how much stuff they recommend you buy. After researching infant car seats online we decided it best to actually see and feel our top choices in person, so we hit up Babies R Us last night. It definitely helped to get a first hand look at some of this baby gear. The best part was that we could add items to our online baby registry in-store. So needless to say, we ended up running around with "gun" in hand zapping everything in sight for the next hour or so. :) Baby's closet is ever growing with the addition of new oh-so-cute clothes every week. And baby's nursery should be getting painted sometime in the next week too!

How your baby's growing:

Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

Week 23

Not a whole lot to add this week. Baby is doing good! We're feeling him move a lot at different intervals, and since last night we can actually see him moving in my belly which is really weird but neat. My sleeping hasn't been that great lately. My hips start hurting which wakes me up, and the side of my leg will be asleep, so there's lots of tossing and turning. I still have my RL pain, but have been continuing to teach my Zumba classes twice a week. Not sure how long that will last. As of my last Dr's appt, I was up 10 lbs total so far. I still think it looks like I have a beer gut instead of a proper preggo belly :)

Miles and I will be scheduling our first pregnancy classes next week. It will be four weeks long and will start in October. We decided instead of focusing on one method, we would take a class that goes over everything. If I'm not happy with it, then perhaps we will look into another one. I am also very interested in taking some breast feeding classes to give me the most chance at success.

How your baby's growing:

Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb.

Hey Jude

Note to self:
Acquire toddler sized guitar immediately.

Week 22

We got the crib which Miles put together this week and it looks great! We're going to start decorating the nursery soon which is exciting. The baby's wardrobe is slowly but steadily growing :) He recently received some clothes and stuffed animals all the way from Australia which are adorable, thanks to my Australian student Danae .

Nane Muhl was able to feel the baby move last night for the first time, so she was really excited about that. We read the babies Eastern/Western horoscope from one of Nane's books. He is a Sagittarius/Ox sign and from what we read, he will definitly lead a very exciting and impactful life. Let's just say it's written in the stars that he will be a great man :)

I'm still feeling about the same. The only frustrating times is when I get RL pain, which is really uncomfortable. I'm more off balance than usual. It's not uncommon for me to run into walls several times a day.

Hope everyone is doing great and we will give updates next week!

How your baby's growing:

At 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. His lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and he's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. His eyes have formed, but his irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his body and the deep wrinkles on his skin, which he'll sport until he adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside his belly, his pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.