Baby Shower at PLC

Wow, are we ever spoiled. Although not expected our congregation wanted to put on a shower for us and Baby Girl Dornfeld. I don't have any pictures of the actual shower with all of the people, but we quick took some pictures of us since I was actually dressed up, which doesn't happen very often lately! My mom was here this weekend and she of course loved seeing all of the cute clothes that our little girl will someday wear. We had a potluck, the hilarious PLC bag ladies came, and we opened gifts. People also guessed which day and time little girl will get here. It'll be interesting to see who's guess is most accurate! We feel so humbled and blessed to have such a wonderful congregation who is as excited as we are for this little one's arrival. I had some personal issues that I won't mention in public that prompted us to go in this afternoon and quick get checked out. We were worried I was going into pre-term labor with some consistent cramping and a few other symptoms this weekend that continued into today. Everything is fine and we are not in pre-term labor. Julie did some tests and then a quick ultrasound and there she was sucking her right thumb clear as day! She even blinked at us....you could tell she had her eyes open and then closed them. It looks like we have another thumb sucker on our hands. Let's hope she just doesn't decide to keep this habit for almost a decade like her mama! shh..I didn't say that out loud, how embarassing!

35 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 35 Weeks!

Total Weight Gain: 30.5 lbs...I knew I'd eventually probably hit 30 lbs, but I'm just glad it's towards the end! With the dents in my ankles from my socks at the end of the day I at least know some of it is jus water.

Maternity Clothes: My wardbrobe is pretty simple these days. I have three pair of work maternity pants and I'm slowly outgrowing shirts and moving onto the next maternity size. I'm not very motivated to look cute either; comfort is my best friend right now.

Best Moment this week: Having another ultrasound and seeing her practice breathing with her little lungs moving up and down. They measured her head, torso, and leg bone and with some type of calculation they come up with that she weighs approximately 5 lbs. 6 oz right now. Of course this is just an estimate and the dr. said that she'll be high 6 lb or low 7 lb baby. We all know she could be more than that too, but I was looking forward to this appt. this past week!

Gender: Beautiful little girl....triple checked at this week's ultrasound.

Movement: She's trying to move, but doesn't have a lot of room anymore. I now just feel her slowly squirm around. No more huge kicks that catch me off guard....well, I guess just not almost daily. I do still get the occasional drop kick. I'm sad though, I really miss feeling that more and wish I would have gotten a quick video of the times when my whole belly would be moving from her.

Food Craving: Milk and lately I've been craving chocolate like crazy! I normally like chocolate, but not like this. I can usually ignore those mini Halloween bars, but lately watch out...if I see them they are mine!

What I Miss: Nothing from pre-pregnancy...I miss feeling her more. It makes me sad to think that feeling her right inside me is almost over. I know most woman can't wait until pregnancy is over, but when you never know if you'll ever be pregnant it's the most amazing thing everyday.

Sleep: I'm just going to take this time to thank God that he blessed me as a good sleeper! To be able to get up 2-3 times a night and continue to basically sleep through it or get back to sleep immediately is like a dream right now. I know very soon I will be getting up and staying up:)

What We Are Looking Forward To: We have a shower at church this weekend. Although overwhelming it'll be fun to celebrate with people from our church. We really do have an impressive and supportive group of people that we are thankful to be a part of. My mom is here this weekend too and I have two days off of work! I'm looking forward to sleeping in. Dan has one more crazy confirmation weekend and then maybe....just maybe it'll slow down a bit.

Symptoms: Feeling her move and her hiccups! I have started to have some back pain though too in the past two weeks. Some days I'm fine, but others I can't find a position to sit in without it being quite painful. On those occassions I just have to lay down to relieve it. Water retention is still mildly there with some days worse than the others.

34 Weeks!

We had another appt. this week. For the first time my belly is measuring ahead by a week coming in at 35 weeks, which makes sense since I'm starting to get the "you've really popped" comments at school and church. One night at my masters a couple of classmates were stunned when I told them I was 34 weeks. They thought I looked small. The very next day at school I had a teacher tell me I looked like I could go any day! Please tell me I don't look that huge! You'd think that especially women who have had children would remember that those types of comments don't make you feel that good. We'll have a growth ultrasound next week Friday so we'll hear approximately how much she weighs. I'm so excited for that. Her heartbeat, my blood pressure, and everything else they check were great. She is still head down so hopefully she'll stay that way. The last time I went in it was her little foot that kept poking me on my right side. Now, her butt is poking my right side. I have no idea how she moves it so much, but she does and my whole side of my belly looks obtuse and I can feel her. Dan poked at her this week and she moved in response to it. We continue to talk to her at night before bed and I sing to her on my way to work in the morning. We're getting close!

33 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 33 Weeks!

Total Weight Gain: 28.5 lbs.-I'm usually really good friends with water (we like to go out for drinks and attend pool parties together), but lately she's been really clingy and it's cramping my style. As you can tell from my weight she's decided to literally move in and NOT leave in the past two weeks.

Maternity Clothes: Yes, if I'm not wearing them or yoga pants I'm quite uncomfortable. I have to be honest though, I feel pretty frumpy!

Best Moment this week: Attending two showers for our little girl. It was great seeing so many friends and family. I can't believe it was a shower for us. I've always wondered if we'd ever be in this position of waiting for a child. It is so exciting and I am so deeply thankful.

Gender: Still a little girl:)

Movement: Yep, it's just her movements are more rolls instead of wind up jabs and kicks. I love feeling when she sticks a foot way out and you can tell that's what it is.

Food Craving: I had a couple of weird cravings these past two weeks. Corn on the cob one day, and then I had to have an egg sandwhich the next. I'm still having the sweets cravings, but I'm doing ok at limiting those.

What I Miss: My cute jeans and at times my ankles:)

Sleep: Pretty much the same. Rolling over at night is really starting to get difficult. I usually go to bed around 9:30-10:00 and if I don't I drag the next day.

What We Are Looking Forward To: I have a girls weekend in Fargo this weekend with Jill, Cindy, and Andrea. Dan, however has three full weekends coming up in October. He's sick at the moment too so I'm guessing he's looking forward to feeling better and eventually having a weekend that's a little more open.

Symptoms: So, I've officially started the water retention and I hate it. It'll be ok for 3 or 4 days and then really bad the next. I hate the way it feels in my calves, feet, and face, but what it does to the scale when I step on just about makes me pass out:) It won't last forever so I figure I can live with it for the next 7 weeks or so.

Baby Shower #2

Pam threw a small baby shower for me and baby in the cities with my high school girlfriends! It was nice a laid back. We had the game on, told stories for women only, and laughed all afternoon. I am very lucky to be able to call them all friends! This little girl is so spoiled already!

32 Weeks/8 Months!

We are 32 weeks or eight months along now! I had an appointment this week and my belly and the baby are measuring right on target. Good blood pressure, steady weight gain, and they hooked me up to the NST machine and her heartrate is rising and falling like normal along with her movements. I'm still doing ok, just a little tired. I think I now have that linea nigra line running up and down my belly. At first we thought it might be a vein showing through, but now I'm not so sure. We'll see. I am lovin my thicker pregnancy hair. When I run my fingers through my wet hair after a shower I get NOTHING in my fingers! I am trying to appreciate it as much as I can as I know later I'll more than likely go right back to fine and limp. Dan got home this week on Wednesday night....we've barely seen each other the past week and it feels so good to be in the same place again. I missed him a ton. When I got home from class on Wednesday night and he was at a youth event I had the sweetest "just because" card from him lying on the counter. I am very lucky to have such a sweet and thoughtful husband as he is:) I can't wait to see him as a Dad as well. It's so fun to see how excited he is about our little one.

Baby Shower in Bismarck

Lacee, her mom Carol, and my cousin Jill hosted a baby shower for me in Bismarck this past weekend. It was so awesome! It still seems so surreal that it was a shower for our baby...our baby! Everyday I feel so blessed that God is giving us this amazing gift. Mostly friends and a few family members were there. Quinn and Sophia were there and had a fun time playing with Laila. They helped open gifts as well, which turned into an intense sprint to get to the end. Little girls LOVE to open presents! Mom and I went through everything again when we got home so we could see it again at a slower pace. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. Thank you Lacee, Carol, and Jill! I'm so lucky to have friends/cousins like you:)

31 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 31 Weeks!

Total Weight Gain: 24 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: yep, I'm only wearing one or two of my original pairs of pants with the belly band. All the others are just too tight and cause way too much discomfort. I have about two or three pairs of maternity pants that actually look decent.

Best Moment this week: I felt her foot! I'm starting to really be able to tell which body parts are sticking out. I didn't realize that your belly isn't naturally nice and round all of the time. For certain periods of time (usually just moments) my belly will protrude more on one side and it's from a knee, foot, or hear head. I am love, love, loving this! I still haven't been able to catch Dan quick enough to have him feel too, but I'm working on it!

Gender: Think Pink:)

Movement: I ended up going in two weeks ago because her soft movements continued for 2 1/2 days. She must have turned to a weird position because everything was fine. I was contracting though, but couldn't feel it. They ran a simple test and my body wasn't getting ready for labor anytime soon so they just told me to drink more water. Of course she started moving again like crazy the next day, and the next, and the next!

Food Craving: Oh boy....these past two weeks I've been craving candy and chocolate like crazy. It's taking everything in me to limit myself and behave!

What I Miss: Nothing!

Sleep: Two pillows now instead of one....up 2-3 times a night, but like always I continue to sleep right through it. I'm going to enjoy my 40 second midnight strolls to the bathroom as I know soon I'll be up probably more than 2-3 times a night and they won't last for 40 seconds:)

What We Are Looking Forward To: We are not looking forward to being apart for so long this week coming up, but I'm really looking forward to attending two baby showers for us and getting to see friends and family in Bismarck this weekend and more friends the next weekend in the cities!

Symptoms: Our little girl moving and rolling around. I can tell that she does flip and turn quite a bit as I feel her hiccups up high and then down low a few days later. I wish I could just see inside and see what she's up to!

30 Weeks!

We're hanging in there! I now need two pillow at night to support my hips or else I wake up every half our to them aching. I hope two is all it'll take until the end. 10 weeks feels like it is seconds away! I've started retaining a little water here and there on some days. I can feel it in my calves and feet and then all of the sudden one day I'll be rushing to the bathroom every half hour as my body gets rid of the extra fluid. It's not too bad though. My wedding ring still spins around my finger. Baby is obviously growing since not even wearing black can hide the fact that my belly is more round and "out" compared to two weeks ago. She is still kicking and moving and every time is a reminder to me and us at the miracle that she is. I'm really looking forward to next weekend for my baby shower in Bismarck with mostly friends and a few family members. Lacee and my cousin Jill are putting it on, with Lacee's mom opening up her home to host it. I can't wait to see everyone!!! Dan has a super busy week with a lock-in and theological conference while I'm away. We will literally tag team on taking care of the animals since as soon as I get back he is off again. Hopefully though we can still get in some good quality time for our little girl make her debut. Until next week:)

29 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 29 Weeks!

Total Weight Gain: 21 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Still sporting my belly band with my own pants. My zippers won't go up AT ALL though and sometimes the band creeps up so I'm thinking my days are numbered and very, very soon I'll be in all maternity clothes 100% of the time.

Best Moment this week: Going to our 3D ultrasound with our family. Getting to see her move and sleep was so amazing. It was so great to get a sneak peak at what she looks like and catch a glimsp of her personality. It ranks on top of feeling her move everyday as most enjoyable pregnancy moments!

Gender: For sure a girl....two ultrasounds to prove it!

Movement: Have had some very strong movements and then in the last two days they are softer. She's either turned towards the inside, or she's just running out of room. I so hope she just turned positions because I'm just not ready to feel softer movements. I love the ones that make me jump! We'll see! I can tell where her head is now based on where I feel her hiccups. I love her hiccups! Some women never feel their babies hiccups at all so I feel fortunate.

Food Craving: In the last two weeks the craving has been orange juice! I thought my cravings would stay the same, but they really haven't. I have to be careful because I want to guzzle it like water, but with so much sugar I try to limit or just not buy it and have it in the house.

What I miss: I have people asked me all the time if pregnancy is treating me well and so far I have to say I have felt fantastic overall. I am still trying to savor everyday and movement and right now I don't miss anything.

Sleep: Still sleeping well and starting to crave sleep much more. I've had my fair share of nights in the last two weeks that I'm ready for bed by 9:30, when normally I'm a night owl.

What we are looking forward to: We don't have any appointments in the next two weeks and nothing much else going on. I'm looking forward to a certain concert (DMB) we are attending next week..my first one, probably the eleventh for Dan. We also have our birthing class this weekend, but I'm not so sure I can say I'm "looking forward to it", but more feeling a little apprehensive and anxious about what I'm going to learn....how's that?

Symptoms: Getting tired more easily, hard to breathe when we go on walks, lots of hiccups, feeling baby move, growing belly, etc:) I also have had a few foot cramps that show up in the middle of the night that wake me up and some nights I'm getting up twice to go to the bathroom instead of once. I'm thinking the baby is putting some more pressure on my bladder!

Video of Baby D

A little over two minutes of our sweetheart...makes me tear up everytime:)

This video is a tiny bit blurry if you view it whole screen. Dan is going to try and crisp it up, but for now at least we have this one!

28 Weeks/7 Months!

Welcome to the third trimester! Last week I worked a full week and felt great. This week I worked three days and am exhausted....uh oh folks...we may be losing our energy already:( I'm bummed since I've had so much this summer and I know now if it is really leaving it means I'm not going to have energy for a really long time....becoming new parents just might take that away for awhile:) It will all be worth it though. Here I am at 28 weeks! Our little girl weighs approxmiately 2 1/2 pounds and measures around 15 inches long. I'm still feeling great except for feeling a little more tired. I promise a video clip is coming son. Dan is going to work on it, but at the moment he is busy finishing up our kitchen backsplash.

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:)

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:)

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.

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:)

23 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 23 Weeks!

Total Weight Gain: 14 lbs

Maternity Clothes: Just shirts...like I've said before I'm sure I'd be in maternity pants if I HAD to wear them, but I just use my belly band and yoga pants for now. I'm really loving a maternity jean skirt that someone gave me though right now.

Best Moment this week: Seeing my belly twitch and move when she's moving!

Gender: Little girl:)

Movement: Lots of movement! I feel her on and off everyday and can't get enough of it! The other day we were extremely low on groceries and I was desperate and ate some wheat (I know, it's a gamble and a risk, but I didn't get sick this time) and little girl went CRAZY from 6pm to midnight. Either she's not used to me eating it, or her little body doesn't like it as well. Either way it was fun to feel her move so much as long as she was ok:) We love being able to not only feel her from the outside now, but SEE her move as my belly twitches sometimes! So cool!

Food Craving: Not any huge cravings as my detest of certain foods seems to be disappearing. I had a small steak the other day and the garlic bread in our fridge keeps screaming my name! I guess you could say I'm back to my normal pallete of tastes:) I have noticed that I've wanted more vegtables lately, but that's probably because I wasn't able to eat them for so long and my body wants to play catch up.

What I miss: I actually saw a Mike's Margarita in our fridge the other day and thought how good that would taste right now. I really haven't missed drinking all that much, but I think it was just a fleeting moment...it was probably the day when the heat index was in the 100's!

Sleep: No changes...I am blessed with being a good sleeper. I do still wake up 2-3 times a night to either go to the bathroom or flip to the other side, but I'm sleeping again in seconds.

What we are looking forward to: A fun trip to Detroit Lakes with some Bismarck friends! We were all going to be in the area at the same time (well, we live here I guess) and decided we should meet. We are staying at a hotel on the beach and I am hoping for some awesome weather!

Symptoms: Just baby kicking and a few round ligament pains here and there that are so short lived I forget when I even have them.

Sneak Peak

Lamp shade for her dresser lamp
Curtains to keep her room dark for sleeping

Bedding that you can only use half of, but I don't care:)

Polka dots to decorate one of her walls

One of her storage dressers

Just a few things to give you a taste of what her room will look like!