Kennedy in 3D

Recently, we went to Stork Vision to get a 3D/4D ultrasound of Baby Kennedy.  Luckily, we were able to schedule it while Peter's parents were in town for a visit.  We also invited my parents to come up from Tucson for the day.  To prepare, I was forced to drink 64-80 oz. of water during the day leading up to the appointment at 4:00 PM.  A good amount of water around the baby helps to increase the clarity of the pictures.  This was more work than I expected and after about 5 giant glasses of water I actually started to feel a little sick.  It was all worth it though because check these out!!

Full body shot - Kickin' back, legs crossed, not a care in the world.

Waving 'hi' to Mommy, Daddy and her grandparents.

Sucking on her fingers - Check out that little button nose :)

Lost in thought.....This is Peter's favorite.  Already a very smart girl.

I am so glad that we were able to have this little sneak peek.  It was amazing to see her, count her little fingers and toes, see her perfect little face.  It was fun but it also helped to put my mind at ease.  One really interesting thing that we actually got to see was just how much the food and drink I take in effects her.  She wasn't moving much at first so the ultrasound tech gave me a tiny Hi-C juice box.  Within 30 seconds, Kennedy starting going nuts!  She kicked her legs over her head and grabbed on to them, she was moving all around - dancing and waving - it was adorable.  It definitely makes me think twice about some of my favorite foods, particularly things loaded with sugar! :)

A Shower for Em and Ari

March 6th was Emily's Baby Shower.  It was hosted by her sister, Morgan and her mom, Polly.  They did a really great job with the decorations and the food and they picked some really fun shower games that people really loved (the one with the crushed up candy bars in diapers was not included...I'm not a huge fan of that one).  Morgan made the diaper cake in the picture - sooo cute!  There was even a tiny pair of monkey shoes attached.

Emily looked so cute and I know that she had a great time.  I got to meet a couple more of her work friends and got to visit with her family.  She got a lot of amazing gifts, some stuff that she needed and some stuff that was just too cute to pass up.  Kennedy and I picked out a Boston Terrier hat for Ari - definitely not something he needs but come on, it is perfect for the Oakley family.  To compliment the nursery, our friend Trisha painted two pirate pieces.  One is of a ship with three Bostons on board and the other is close-up of a Boston Terrier pirate complete with an eye-patch and peg leg.  Ari is one lucky baby boy!

Em at 29.5 weeks and Me at 27 weeks.....Our babies are cooking!

Trudy Helps Prepare for Baby

Recently, Trudy has gotten very interested in helping us prepare for the baby.  She has been very helpful in decorating the nursery, washing and folding baby clothes and just generally keeping me company.  She does seem a little concerned about all the action in what used to be her room (now the nursery).

The other day she helped us a lot by being a model for the diapers that Kennedy will wear.  We wanted to see how cute and tiny they were so we took one out of the box and then we felt that we needed to try it on someone for practice....who better than tiny Truds??  She looks a little sad, she wouldn't even move until we took it off.  What a good sport!

Meltdown in Aisle 10

Have I mentioned lately how emotional this pregnancy has made me?  I know I am an emotional girl usually but this has really pushed me to a new level.  Take this example....

Peter and I went to Babies R Us to register.  I had spent hours beforehand researching the items that I wanted to register for so I went in feeling ready.  I was a little worried that Peter would not be very into it but he was completely on-board.  For the first thirty minutes or so I was doing great.  We made it through receiving blankies and bedding, we made it through swaddlers and diapers....then we got to the big stuff - swings, bouncers, highchairs, playpens, etc.  Suddenly I felt completely overwhelmed.  There were so many options and in many cases, the exact one that I wanted (ahead of time) was not even a product in the store.  This became very upsetting.    To add more frustration my feet were starting to hurt and swell up.  Peter could see that I was starting to get discouraged so we stopped for a rest several times.  Then, out of nowhere I completely burst into tears.  Peter gently led me to the front of the store and found me a bottle of water and a comfy chair before leaving to pull up the car.  Immediatley after he walked out of the store an associate ran over to me and asked in a worried voice, "Maam is everything OK?" as if maybe Peter was the cause of my outburst.  I told her that I was fine but when Peter came back in all of the associates glared at him - Poor guy!!!  I can't be the only pregnant woman to have cried in their store, right?

Obviously I opted to complete my registry online.  :)

Week 23 / Valentine's Day

Peter and I know that we will be spending a lot of money over the next few months preparing for Baby Kennedy so for Valentine's Day this year we decided to just do a quiet homemade dinner together and forgo presents.  I did have a little surprise - an adorable miniature cake from Honeymoon Sweets Bakery in Tempe.  It was a delicious tiramasu surrounded with lady fingers and topped with fresh fruit and an edible card that said, "I Love You".  Peter loved it!!  He ended up doing most of the cooking - he grilled giant sea scallops and filet mingon and baked asparagus and a few other veggies.  I lit a bunch of candles and we had a delicious dinner at home....It was a perfect Valentine's Day!

Belly shot for Week 23

Kennedy's Nursey

Once we found out that we were having a girl we started to brainstorm ideas for her nursery.  We knew that we wanted to center the room around owls.  We found an amazing wall decal that I fell in love with and kind of ran with it from there.  

The room is very small so we don't have ton of space for furniture. I looked into mini cribs but I learned that the baby often outgrows them before they are old enough to sleep in a toddler bed.  I definitely don't want to buy a crib plus two other types of beds in the near future.  

We also wanted to choose a light color of furniture since dark stuff can make spaces look even smaller than they are.  We ended up going with white pieces, a full size crib that can convert to a toddler bed and a combo dresser.  I guess we'll probably need additional storage in the closet. We'll finish off the room with pink gingham bedding, a denim glider and of course, tons of owl accents!!  I am really excited to get started on this project!!

Lots of Catching up to Do.....

So I see I haven't posted anything since January 9th - a TON has happened since then!!  First, we had our January doctor appointment with ultrasound.  It was especially fun because my mom came along too!!  The best news is that everything looked completely normal.  Of course, we were thrilled about that but we were also very excited to find out the sex.  The baby did not want to give it away so easily and as the ultrasound technician put it, "This is one stubborn baby."  The baby was sitting cross-legged on the floor of my uterus not anyone a good look at the parts of interest.  Finally, after about 20 minutes of poking and prodding the baby turned in a way that made things relatively clear (at least to the technician) - 85% chance that It's A GIRL!!  Her name is Kennedy Marie Whitney!

A Sweet Little Baby Girl!!!

Next we went in to see Dr. Webb.  The baby's heart sounded strong and perfect.  He also assured us that an 85% reading meant that we should start painting the room pink.  Lastly, he asked me if I would be opposed to having a cesarean.  Honestly, I had never considered it before...however, I do like to plan things so the idea seemed appealing.  He went on to explain that most often short women (under 5'2" - I am 4'11") have a very hard time delivering.  Oftentimes they push and push for hours and then end up having a C-Section when the baby becomes distressed.  He looked to my mom, who is also a shorty, and she agreed that she had not been able to have a normal delivery.  Obviously, there is a lot to consider but I think this might be a good option for me.

 Lots more has happened since this appointment - I will do my best to catch you up on everything in my next several posts.

Ahhh - The Suspense!!

Just four more days until we find out if the baby is a boy or a girl....The suspense is absolutely killing me - I want to know now!

Here is a re-cap of our thoughts / everyone else's thoughts on the gender of our baby.

• Last time we had an ultrasound, the baby was making tiny punching movements.  Girl babies don't normally move like that so at that point, Peter and I felt very sure that it was a boy.
• We asked my Aunt Karen who is very spiritually in tune - she believes it is a girl.  Because of Aunt Karen's opinion my thoughts switched a little.  Peter's remained the same.
• Many other people that we love and trust also think it is a girl.
• My friend and co-worker, Kerri thinks it is a boy.  She even went as far as to make a bet with another friend (who thinks it is a girl) because she is so sure. 
• Several other people that we love and trust also think it is a boy.

So, as you can see, the "facts" are not very helpful.  And of course, we can guess all we want but the baby's gender has been determined for the last 18 weeks.  All of us have a 50-50 chance of being right about this.  Only a few more days.....

What do you think??