3D Ultrasound

The day finally arrived...a chance for a peak at our little girl. It was so much fun. Dan and I both agreed that it was so worth it. It was fun to point out different characteristics that we think she may have and from whom. The consensus so far is she might have Dan's nose and my lips and other than that we don't know, but of course we just think she's absoutely beautiful and it makes the connection with her feel even stronger. I can't believe that she's our little girl. We also had some verification that she is indeed still a girl too! It is very safe to say that the grandparents enjoyed the experience, however I'd say the Grandmas' heart rates were beating a little bit faster than everyone else in the room besides baby of course:) We are just so in love with this little one.....we cannot wait to meet her. Until she comes it's amazing to picture her little face while we talk to her, think about her, and feel her moving around. I'll post a short clip from the thirty minute video we have sometime this week so you can see her moving!


Sleepy girl:)
She slept most of the time. The tech was moving my belly around quite a bit and she didn't even flinch. Let's hope that means she's a good sleeper like her mama!

27 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 27 Weeks!

Total Weight Gain: 19 lbs

Maternity Clothes: Tops and the belly band get me through my days! I started work this week and I can actually fit into my normal sized capri dress pants with, of course, the belly band.

Best Moment this week: Listening to Dan talk to our little girl through my belly. It's so sweet....I'll also let him know when she's super active and I love watching his reaction to her strong kicks.

Gender: Sweet little girl:)

Movement: Sometimes her movements are soft and sometimes they are getting to be quite strong. A few times she's had these episodes where she moves so quickly that it feels like she's having a seizure. A co-worker of mine who is three weeks ahead of me said she was haing the same thing happen and her dr. told her it was because the baby's nervous system is still developing and sometimes their movements can feel quite wild.

Food Craving: Lately I've been craving tuna. I've made tuna noodle salad twice now in the past two weeks. If I could eat it more than once a week, I'd probably eat tuna noodle salad every day.

What I miss: Nothing, I love my belly and being pregnant right now.

Sleep: I'm waiting for sleep to get difficult for me, but so far so good. I am still sleeping right through my middle of the night bathroom trips too.

What we are looking forward to: Monday marks our 3D ultrasound! We are SO excited. My Mom is coming again this weekend as well as Dan's parents. It'll be a first experience for all of us! I hope we can get some good pictures of her and we get a chance to see her face.

Symptoms: Still just baby moving. I feel really lucky right now. The longer I feel good the more thankful I am for one more week of not being in pain or experiencing some uncomfortable symptom. I have noticed my belly button is no longer as large as "innie" as it used to be. It is starting to shrink although I'm not sure if my belly button will ever pop out...we'll see:)

Dan's New Painting

And he's finished with our little girl's painting for her room! I love how abstract and modern it is. It matches her bubble wall, which I'll eventually post pictures on here as well. I love having a husband who is so talented in this area:) Beautiful piece sweetie! Thank you for creating something special for her!

26 Weeks!

26 weeks with only 14 or so to go! Not too much new in the baby department as I feel like I just posted. She's still doing very well and letting me know she's there often! I just got back from the lake. I didn't take any pictures. My Uncle Jeff had to cancel his trip at the last minute. It was really disappointing, but I guess some boss lady at ABC wasn't too keen on him leaving:( My two cousins couldn't make it either, which made me sad too:( I remember when I was their age I was super busy too with studying and 21st birthday parties! We still had a great time even though it was four of us. Saturday we had the best lake day you can ask for. HOT, humid, and no wind. We spend a better part of a working day out on the water and didn't come in until dark. Dan held down the fort at home with our two naughty animals:) I'm a little down tonight realizing that tomorrow I go back to school....I'm very much pouting really. One week with nice people and then then the super "fun" people come back if you get what I mean. I'm just trying to be thankful and focus on our little family and a fun weekend with my mom:)

Double Digits!

I noticed my pregnancy ticker today. We are in the double digits as far as how many more days pregnant we have. That 99 days gives me so many different emotions. So far I've mostly enjoyed being pregnant. I told Dan last night that I go back and forth between being so excited to meet her to wanting this pregnancy to go super slow so I can enjoy every minute. Then a third thought will creep in and that's the one where I realize how this little girl is going to GET HERE! Wow, that's a scary thought to get ready for. You've got a healthy baby on the way, but FIRST you will need to go through an unspecified amount of hours of the worst pain you've ever felt in your life. For any normal first time mom I'm sure this is scary to think about, but coming from a first time mom who has the world's lowest pain tolerance and faints from it, it tends to have me on the brink of a panic attack anytime it creeps into my thoughts. With all of these thoughts and emotions she's coming in 99 or more so days. What it really makes me feel is blessed, overjoyed, incredibly happy, and thankful. Dan said we'd get through it together so I'll just have to trust him that he'll be my advocate for pain meds:)

Random Thoughts From the Dornfelds

-We had an overnight visit from the Anderson family this past weekend....it was awesome to stay up late, talk and laugh, and hang out with the kids. Although our visits are usually short they are always eventful and fun! Meeko and Riker also received a lot of attention from Laila and Graham, which they actually tolerate quite well.

-Dan has had the song, "I Feel Like a Woman" by Shaina Twain in his head for the past week. If any immediate family can explain his musical outbursts please let me know.

-"I gotta slow down" is a phrase Dan is not used to hearing from me when we walk together, but I am a bit slower these days. Sometimes I feel like I'm gasping for air and I'm not even big-big yet?

-The whole registering for a baby is a lot of work. I feel like we've researched and made so many decisions in the past week and a half that we could write a book on our expertise in baby gear!

-Half a month to go and Dan will no longer be flying solo at church. So far so good....he is busy, but holding up well!

-I have to go back to work in a week....let's not talk about it, ok!

-One more week of bliss for me and I'm pumped for my mom to come and visit and then we are off to Lake Lida for our annual summer retreat. Only one of my uncles can come this time, but it will still be a blast.

-Our 26 week photo may be a little late this week as I won't be back from the lake until Sunday. Stay tuned as this belly will still be here when I get back;)

25 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 25 Weeks!

Total Weight Gain: 15.5 lbs

Maternity Clothes: The same as two weeks ago. It's really nice to be able to wear my regular shorts with the belly band. I'm hoping I'll be able to do that with my capri and dress pants once I start school. We'll see how comfortable it is.

Best Moment this week: Hitting the 24 week milestone and I think I felt her have hiccups one night! I felt this really weird movement from her that had a pattern to it. I checked my own pulse and it wasn't my pulse since at times I can feel this in my belly. It last for about a minute and then was over, but it felt so unique to anything I've felt so far. It makes me feel great since hiccups are a good thing for her right now! I believe they mean her lungs are developing and she is practicing breathing.

Gender: Sweet little girl:)

Movement: About once a week she gives me a swift kick that really startles me. Dan will ask me what's wrong and I have to say that it's the baby. She'll be totally quiet and them bam. It's fun. I can't help but to lay there and just smile while I feel her move.

Food Craving: Healthy food, but maybe it's because I'm motivated to not make this pregnancy an excuse to go crazy. I do find that even though I have that attitude the idea that I can eat whatever I want creeps in a lot. I'm not really craving any one thing at the moment.

What I miss: I'm missing sleeping on my stomach right now. My shoulders have been really achy at night.

Sleep: Same as before. I had one or two mornings of waking up and not being able to go back to sleep. I hope it was a fluke.

What we are looking forward to: A special appointment we have made to get a chance to see our little girl one more time. We scheduled a 3D ultrasound a couple of weeks from now and althought it won't be as amazing as when she finally comes, i think it'll still be a fantastic experience to hopefully see her face and little features.

Symptoms: Just baby kicking:) I have had a few little aches and pains in my pelvis, but I'm sure that's only the beginning.

Wicked!

So, it is very safe to say that Wicked is well worth the time and money to see it. It was everything we expected and more. I was most surprised with how much Dan raved about it saying that it easily surpasses The Lion King for him. I don't know if I'd go that far, the set design and costumes of that show can't be beat I think, but Wicked for me is a very close 2nd. The music is moving and I forgot the talent you hear in the people's abilities to hit and hold hard notes. Wow, I think my toes were tingling a few times! Hot tip for attending anything at the Orpheum while pregnant; do not drink any liquids for at least two hours before the show. Getting into the bathroom at intermission and making it back before Act II is impossible. I held it and thankfully did not have to go THAT bad. I keep thinking through all of the scences and trying to remember every last detail. It was surprisingly funny as well. So, the wait is over and thank you to Dan for taking me as he's known I've wanted to go for years! I should have taken his picture today too.....he looked so hot! I'm not used to seeing him dressed up in anything more than clerics....not the same:)

My Husband Surprised Me With Tickets!

To.......EEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! I'm so excited. He asked me to help out with something for Vacation Bible School this coming Thursday afternoon, but really he was just making sure my calendar was open that day! We both read the book a couple of years ago, but I've heard the play is even better! I AM SO EXCITED! Did I tell you that yet? :) What a sweetie. He just got home tonight and couldn't hold it in any longer! Good thing he told me a little bit in advance as I wasn't planning on showering or being too presentable for tying blankets at VBS! I will update on how we think it is!

24 Weeks/6 Months!

We have made it to 24 weeks! I can't believe it:) 24 weeks was a milestone for me that I couldn't wait to hit. I know it's a little morbid, but at this point if our little girl were to come early they would try to save her and she would have a chance of survival! Of course we don't want her coming anytime soon, but knowing that she could survive outside of me is comforting. Each week will only increase her odds from now on. Now we will register....I know I was completely fine with working on her room and buying her little outfits here and there, but for some dumb superstitious reason I couldn't get myself to take this next step. Dan and I will be going out to do that today! Everything is still going well. No heartburn thanks to the meds. She's still kicking away on and off. She distracted me the other day. I was at a boring data conference in the cities with my boss and she kept asking me what the presenter was saying because it was hard to hear and I couldn't tell her because I was having too much fun watching my belly jump all over the place. Oops! I had my 24 week appointment this past week and my belly is measuring right on target and her heartbeat was the same as it was when we first saw it at 151bpm. She probably weighs a little bit over one pound already! The dr. even commented on my long torso and that's why I'm still looking somewhat small.....what?!? I didn't know my torso would ever be considered long, but I'll take it! Everything else on me is short so I'll take long torso! Sorry Mom, I know you wouldn't agree since I do have a few inches on you:)

Random Thoughts from the Dornfelds

-I have cooked three imes in the last two weeks. It's a record and it tastes so much better than cereal that I may just get hooked on this crazy idea!

-We've done a lot with friends in the past couple of weeks, which I'm elated about and I know is helpful for Dan to get in some normal "be himself" time! We are so thankful for friends...we joke about us not having any out here except for one couple, but we are on the verge of making a few more!!! I know...this sounds stupid, but it's like Christmas around here....new friends.....OMG!

-We had the opportunity to meet a few old friends for a fun weekend in Detroit Lakes. Nothing beats sleeping in, laughing, playing in the lake, and gorging yourself on Zorbas food till you can' breathe...right:)

-My Dad and Lynn came for a visit last week. My Dad used to teach aviation and flew us all over the place when I was little. He had just updated his license so they FLEW out here. It's kind of fun to watch him FINALLY using the internet as he needs it to look up weather and flight patterns. We had a good time just hanging out as for those of you who have been to Paynesville know....there isn't much else to do! It think our theater system downstairs was enough to entertain my dad for a loooonnnng time:)

-Dan is gearing up to paint a picture for our little girl's room. It's fun to hear him throw out his ideas and patiently wait for his paints to go on sale. I think it'll be something so special for her to have a painting that her Dad made for her before she was born.

-Pray for an uneventful or at least manageable August. Dan is flying solo at church for most of it and is hoping things don't get too crazy.

-That's about it. I have three more full weeks of freedom with a few work hours and days squeezed in so it's not like the last two blissful weeks of not one drop of work. Dan, like I said will be busy so I hope it goes fast and doesn't burn him out!