Less Then 2 Weeks Left of "Expectant Mom" Parking...

As this blog is being written we are currently 38 weeks and 2 days pregnant.  It is unreal how fast time has gone by.  It makes us both nervous that time will go that fast with our Chickpea and the next thing you know we will be blogging about first steps, lost teeth, soccer games, 8th grade dances, college graduations, wedding days... 

Starting at 36 weeks Lisa has had weekly appointments.  All the reports are very good and everything looks great.  Her blood pressure is excellent - 118/75 at the last appointment.  Her doctor said that she will "give" her 1 cm of dilation at the 36 weeks appointment...and nothing has changed from that appointment.  The doctor will not let us go more than 1 week past our due date of May7th.  So if nothing has changed by that appointment we will actually pick a date to be induced.  It seems so strange to think that we might be picking our kiddo's birthday!  The next appointment is Monday the 30th - 39 weeks.

The Chickpea is moving lots everyday.  Hiccups are setting in at least 2-3 times per day.  We feel so bad because they last for so long.  Poor baby!

We got the car seat installed.  The directions were not very helpful as the first time we put the base in it was so loose we were certain it was done incorrectly.  Well, thanks to YouTube, Tuna found the exact car seat model and a very easy to follow instruction.  It turns out that the instructions fail to tell you about literally sitting on the base and tightening the belts to get it nice and snug.  Thank you, YouTube!

A lot of people have been asking us if we are ready.  We have come to realize that that question is really hard to answer.  We have never done this before, so we think we are ready.  But really, can anyone be REALLY ready for the arrival of a baby?  Especially the first?  We don't think so!

We have started looking at day care options.  So far, this has been the one thing that has gotten Tuna really emotional.  He is starting to realize how tough it is going to be to leave our sweet little Chickpea in someone else's care - come August.   But with starting a new company there are sacrifices that have to be made.  The good news is that with Lisa (hopefully) getting a library job in (hopefully) a nearby district she will be much closer and will be able to pick the Chickpea up at a very reasonable time.  Plus, by going back to teaching the holiday and summer schedule is great for our new family.  At least that is what we are telling ourselves...

Here are some other details we have been asked:

1. We are delivering at Memorial Hermann Katy (99 and I-10).
2. No, we still aren't telling our name choices...there are still 3 girl names and 1 boy.
3. Yes, we realize we are never going to sleep again.
4. No, we still don't know if it is a boy or a girl.
5. Yes, Tuna will be changing diapers.
6. The room is ready...there are still cosmetic things to be done, but we will get those done at some point.

Lisa has finished her internship and turned in her graduate studies final portfolio on Monday.  There has been A LOT going on this semester...school related and other things too.  She found out this week that she passed the state certification exam.  Short of a few other assignments she should be graduating with a 4.0 come May.  Of course, she won't be walking, but we might hold our own little ceremony in the backyard to commemorate graduation!  Now all we need is for her to find a library job!! 

We would like to thank everyone who has showered us with gifts.  Due to Lisa's ending school she hasn't been able to send that many thank yous just yet.  But please be patient and we promise we will get them out!

Here is a funny picture that Lisa took the other night.  It is her perspective when she is laying in bed.  The bump is HUGE!

Lastly, we want to put out in the cosmos our current prediction for the sex of the baby...

Drumroll please....

Tuna says - GIRL
Lisa says - BOY

Yikes!  There it is...but don't hold us to it.  We reserve the right to change our mind!  Feel free to leave your predictions in FB comments...and no, we won't hold you to them!

Thanks again for following us on this journey.  We love all of you and are so happy to share our journey.

Much love,
Tuna and Lisa

In the Home Stretch!

It is truly hard to believe that we are in the home stretch!  On Monday Lisa was 35 weeks along...only 5 more weeks to go! 

Now that Rodeo is over she is focusing on getting her internship and portfolio finished up.  Her internship will be finished after next week and then she will spend a couple of days at the Texas Library Association's annual conference which is here in Houston this year.  Exciting stuff!  Her portfolio is due April 23rd, so that is right around the corner too.  Then all she needs to do is find a job as a librarian!  Anyone know of a school that is hiring??

Tuna is starting to get very busy with Prestige Green.  He has gotten quite a few nice jobs in the past few weeks along with his regular maintenance contracts...so that has kept him working from sun up to sun down.  We are very happy at the progress of the company!

Chickpea has been spoiled rotten these past few weeks with lots of love and lots of shower gifts.  We are so overwhelmed at the generosity of our friends and family.  The room is coming along.  The crib is set-up and most everything is washed and put away.  We feel like if Baby Nguyen came sooner rather than later we would have enough to get by.  But let's not hope for the sooner part...later is MUCH better! 

Lisa had an appointment on March 26th.  This was the 34 weeks check-up.  Everything looked good for both Lisa and the Chickpea.  We are so thankful!  The doctor encouraged us to go to birthing classes, but we have decided to not do that.  We have watched a few videos and have pretty much decided to expect the unexpected.  In an ideal world Lisa's water would break, we would head to the hospital, Lisa would get an epidural, and the Chickpea would be born.  But if it doesn't go that way, we are OK with that.  If the doctor recommends a c-section, we are OK with that.  Bottom line is we want a healthy baby and a healthy mom!  I mean, can you really prepare for birth?  Maybe to an extent...

After the check-up Lisa headed over the hematologist upon the recommendation of her OB.  As you may recall, blood work from October and February came back a little concerning and so off she went to the specialist.  He was very nice and looked at the results that were sent over, asked a lot of questions, and drew more blood (Lisa is getting very good at this giving blood thing!).  He got some preliminary results back and he was not overly concerned.  He suspects that Lisa has been anemic for along while.  His recommendation was to go on iron supplements.  He also recommended that Lisa's OB run another set of tests closer to delivery to make sure that certain blood levels were not too low.  It was a scary visit for Lisa as she was at an oncology center and Leukemia was talked about during the visit.  But she was assured by the doctor that everything was OK and not at that level of concern.  The doctor called the next day and confirmed that an iron supplement was the prescribed course of action.  He also mentioned that this may be a supplement that may need to be a lifetime commitment (which is not a pleasant thought as iron supplements can have some lovely side effects).  But overall everything is A-OK!

Chickpea has taken to getting the hiccups at least twice a day now.  And they last for so long!  We always feel so bad that they last so long!  The baby has pretty much abandoned little twitches and kicks and has moved on to a full-on internal assault on Lisa's ribs!  She jokes that she is so uncomfortable when driving that she has resorted to a "gangsta lean" in the car in order to be comfortable! 

The next appointment is Monday the 9th of April.  Lisa was informed that the doctor will be checking to see if she is dilated!  Oh my!  This is getting really real!  After this appointment it will be every week.  WOW!

Thanks for reading our blog!

xoxo,
Tuna and Lisa

8 More Weeks - DOH! (This is a long post...)

We have been very BAD bloggers as of late.  We would like to formally blame this on the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and Sam Houston State University.

When we last left you we had just registered for baby items.  Needless to say we have gone in to the registry since then and had to revise some of our choices.   We are not really sure what we were doing when we made some of our selections, but at this point we think we have it pretty well set (but don’t hold us to it!).

Now for the latest and greatest...Lisa had a doctor’s appointment on the 14^th of February.  Everything looked good, with the exception of a mild bladder infection that was completely unbeknownst to her (apparently this is very common).  This has been a consistent problem that we have been trying to get resolved since the month before.  It was not taken care of with the previous round of antibiotics, so further testing was done to see what the cause of it might be and also so that a specific line of action could be taken.  We needed to know exactly what we were dealing with.  So after the appointment, blood was drawn to check this and for the one-hour glucose test.  While in the waiting room, prior to the appointment, Lisa had to chug a half bottle of fruit punch flavored sugar water.  Her only instructions were to drink it as quickly as she could and try not to puke.  Nice!  Honestly, she said it wasn’t that bad (LISA’S FAMILY, PLEASE NOTE – it tasted like the “spicy” fruit drinks we had on our way to Florida in 1986).  Now it was time to wait for the results…

The results came back later in the week and as it turns out Lisa is a carrier for Group B, which is good to know for the delivery and future reference.  This gave the doctor a specific course of action to treat the bladder infection.  Also, the results showed that she is RH negative (meaning a RHogam shot was necessary) and also failed the glucose test by two stinking points (apparently this is also VERY common).  So, heavy duty antibiotics were prescribed, a shot in the butt (“hip” as the medical professionals call it), and a 3 hour glucose test were all set-up.  Lisa was feeling like quite a failure at this point.

The shot was given (by the way…the bill just came in for this and it was $25 for the medicine and $150 for the nurse to stick the needle in Lisa’s butt - outrageous!), the antibiotics were taken, and the 28^th was the big 3 hour glucose draw.  Luckily the lab is in the same complex as the doctor’s office so it was timed so that the blood draws and the appointment could all be done at the same time.  A 3 hour glucose test consists of a fasting blood draw, drinking more “spicy” fruit punch, and for three hours after the drink is consumed - the blood is drawn in hourly increments.  So, 4 blood draws total over a 3 hour time period.  It really wasn’t as bad as Lisa thought it would be, but doing it again is not on her top ten list!

Lisa was told by the doctor at this visit that she needs to schedule an appointment with a specialist due to some results from a blood draw in October and the one from the 14^th.  Apparently her “neutrophils” were slightly elevated in both tests.  This indicates a possible infection.  Lisa asked her doctor if it could be because of the bladder infection or because she had an upper respiratory infection during the entire first trimester and her doctor said that it could be, but that she was not an expert in that field and wanted to get a second opinion.  So that appointment is being scheduled (oh joy). 

In the meanwhile the 3 hour glucose test results came back and Lisa passed it!  We were so thankful!  If she had failed even one portion of the test it could have meant a variety of treatments such as seeing a dietician and changing her diet (not so bad) all the way to blood sugar monitoring and insulin injections (bad!).  Once again, we were so thankful that she passed the test!

You know, when you get pregnant, no one tells you about all the possible other “stuff” that could happen to you.  You expect some things to come up that need to be addressed, but these past few doctor’s visits have been tough.  Lisa has tried to keep her chin up, but it seems like every visit there was something new that needed to be addressed.  We needed to hear some good news, too!  But we understand that it was all done in order to address what is best for baby and mom, too.  So we are staying positive!

Now that we are relegated to doctor visits every two weeks there was also one this week.  Lisa saw Nurse Jane and everything looked awesome.  Blood pressure was great, the baby measured right on track, and the heartbeat was spot-on!  We were so happy to get a good report.  Also, the urinalysis did not indicate a bladder infection anymore, but will be sent off for further review just to be careful. 

Preliminary hospital and doctor’s estimates have started to come in.  Holy business!  If you don’t see us for the next year or so it is not because of the baby, but it will be because we cannot afford to do anything outside of the house.  YIKES!  And as we have heard from so many…this is just the tip of the proverbial financial iceberg! 

At about 29 weeks Chickpea’s movements started change…instead of just little kicks and bumps we started seeing and feeling BIG movements.  Lisa laughs because at night, Tuna does not simply just roll over, but it is more of a “flop” from one side to the other.  Lisa calls it a “Tuna Flop”.  Well, it is VERY clear that Chickpea has inherited this trait from Daddy!  And it is particularly strange because all of these movements seem to be above the belly button and are primarily around Lisa’s rib cage.  Almost every morning before the alarm clock goes off Tuna lays in bed with his hand on Lisa’s tummy and almost always there is a “Tuna Flop” and we both freak out at the same time!  We think that Chickpea likes to freak us out like that! 

Here are some fun things that the Chickpea has already participated in (sort of):

1.       Galveston Mardi Gras (we are sorry, baby)

2.       3 days of HLSR BBQ (again, sorry baby)

3.       3 days of Horspitality Team 4 shift work
 

4.       Trudging around the Reliant complex for various activities for Rodeo…and it ain’t over yet!

Some of you have been asking about the nursery.  Well, here is a picture:

For some reason, we aren’t in a rush to get the baby’s room finished.  We think that we will have enough for the first few weeks once the baby arrives and we can decorate the room once our little one arrives.  We really want the baby’s room to be meaningful and special and do not feel like we want to just get a room done to mark it off the list.  We want the room to be as timeless as possible and to be able to grow with the baby as he/she grows. 

Even though things have been a little tough for Lisa these past few months, we are so thankful that the baby is healthy and we are healthy.  We are employed, have a loving family, a roof over our head, food on the table, and an amazing network of support from our friends.  We count ourselves as lucky and blessed. 

Thank you for coming along this crazy ride with us.  It is almost “baby time” and we can’t wait to find out what we are having and to share that with you all (along with the name!). 

Much love!

xoxo,

Tuna and Lisa

Registering for a Baby is SO Much Fun...

This past Saturday we FINALLY decided to get our registry done...so off we went to Babies-R-Us (BBRU) on a rainy Saturday morning.  We were so excited and optimistic and ready to go...until reality set in.  This was not going to be easy!  Here are a few things that we SHOULD have done prior to stepping foot in BBRU:

1. Eat a GOOD breakfast.
2. Get the lay of the land by visiting the store PRIOR to the actual day.
3. Go to a newer store.  The one we went to was older and very cramped and not very organized...which added to our stress.

Armed with everyone's advice, the Baby Bargains book, and a chipper attitude we were off...  The lady at the registry station was helpful and nice.  She got us all set-up and handed Tuna the gun (this must be standard procedure as she didn't even offer it to Lisa).  We headed to the first section...baby bottles.  Um, is it possible to really have that many choices?  Holy cow!  Due to being so overwhelmed in this first section we just registered for one of everything.    It was just as overwhelming in the other sections as well.  But when we got the stroller/car seat section we were about to give up.  We had lots of suggestions and advice and a great book, but nothing could have prepared.  Luckily the lady that worked in the section was SO helpful!  She was no nonsense and got right to the point.  She got us on the right track and and we actually made decisions!  Go us!

By the time we finished in the stroller/car seat section we were about 3 hours in.  Yes, you heard correctly, 3 hours in.  Luckily there wasn't too much left and we rushed through and got it done.  At one point Tuna disappeared and he was located napping in the glider section.  At that point he relinquished the rights to the scanner (shocking, right?).  We looked at cribs (no we still don't have one yet) and were so drained that we couldn't even decide on that and decided to table it until later. 

Four and half hours later we left there exhausted and drained.  But we are now registered (thank goodness) and can mark it off the list!

xoxo,
Tuna and Lisa

14 Weeks Until "Baby Time" - HOLY BUSINESS!

On Thursday the 26th we had our latest appointment.  It was just a regular check-up, so no ultrasounds or anything exciting like that.  We saw the doctor this time and chatted for a few minutes before she took the belly measurement and used the doppler to hear the baby's heartbeat.  When she first placed the doppler on Lisa's belly we immediately heard the heartbeat and then it stopped.  She had to take a little more time to find where the baby had squirmed to in order to find the heartbeat again.  Tuna said that is scared him at first...Lisa knew it was typical of the baby to do that!   The doctor said that everything looked really good and we are always so thankful to hear that. 

The next appointment is on Valentine's and has to be done at 28 weeks - this is when the Glucose test is administered.  For this test Lisa has to fast for 12 hours and then consume an orange flavored drink that is chock-full of sugar.  Blood will be drawn in order to tell how her body reacts to the mass intake of sugar.  Essentially, it tests for the possibility of gestational diabetes.  Hopefully she will pass the test and not have to do the three hour test! 

Lisa's belly is growing everyday and we need to take a picture to post.  The chief complaint she has is sleep - or lack there of.  We talked to the doctor about Lisa sleeping on her back and she confirmed that it is not a healthy position.  Here is a little information from www.americanpregnancy.org regarding that:

What positions should I avoid?

Sleeping on your back: This can cause problems with backaches, breathing, digestive system, hemorrhoids, low blood pressure and decrease in circulation to your heart and your baby. This is a result of your abdomen resting on your intestines and major blood vessels (the aorta and vena cava).
Sleeping on your stomach: When you are farther along in your pregnancy, your abdomen undergoes physical changes and makes it more difficult for you to lay on your stomach.


Of course stomach sleeping (Lisa's #1 choice) was out a while ago and back sleeping (Lisa's choice #2) is now out!  How come no one tells you about this stuff?!!?

In other exciting news...
We have decided on a boy name!  And no, we are not telling anyone.  :)  We have 5 names on the girl list and we really like all of them and can't decide.  And no, we aren't telling those either!  Middle names were decided a while back.  We are planning on actually registering soon.  Hopefully.  We are still overwhelmed by everything, but we will figure it out.  Let's see...we got the bed moved out of the guest room and the armoire has found a home...we just have to get it over there.  We are using the dresser that was in the guest room and will purchase a crib (hopefully soon!).  We plan to have the baby in a crib in our room for the first few months...simply for the ease of it.  The baby is squirming around and very active.  Anytime Tuna tries to feel for the kicks and squirms they immediately stop!  Apparently the baby is quite stubborn and this frustrates Tuna! 

Many people have asked what Lisa's work plans are and how much time she will be spending at home with the baby.  As of today the plan is for her to stay home after the baby is born - until August.  So she would be home from early May to the beginning of August.  Then in August she will (HOPEFULLY) be returning to the school setting as a librarian in a school district closer to home.  If a librarian position does not open for her, it will most likely mean going back to to the classroom.  Lisa has been extremely blessed to have been able to work for her dad and if she could just move his office closer to home then working for him would be great.  But alas, it is not, and so she will be leaving the office in May. 

That is about all the excitement for now...HLSR BBQ is right around the corner and then Rodeo...YEE HAW!  Tuna will probably running around Reliant solo quite a bit this year, so if you see him, please make sure he stays out of trouble!

Thanks for reading our blog!
xoxo,
Tuna and Lisa

 

Musings of a Mostly Hormonal Mom-to-Be: The 24 Weeks Edition

*Disclaimer - I cannot be held accountable for anything stated in this blog post and if you hold me accountable I will simply blame it on the hormones.  This is just my perspective on my pregnancy...so far.  Sorry if it offends anyone.  Actually, I am not sorry.  And oh yeah, there is some cursing in this blog entry, not a lot, but some.  Consider yourself warned.

1. Speaking of cursing, I have come to realize that pregnancy hormones have allowed me to hone my cursing at other driver's skills (or lack there of) to an unprecedented level.  Sailors ain't got nothin' on me during the rush-hour commute.

2. I hate all pregnant celebrities.  Apparently every single one of them never experienced any sickness and can eat whatever they want and stay slim and have time to go to Pilates everyday with their private trainer.  I want to scratch their eyes out.  Especially that Victoria's Secret model I saw this week on People.com who is running around the beach in her teeny tiny bikini at 5 months pregnant. 

3. The best thing about maternity pants is that you never have to worry if your fly is down.

4. I am a stomach sleeper.  I miss sleeping on my stomach.  A lot.

5. TMI.

6. Whoever said that women are supposed to have boundless energy in the second trimester is wrong.  All I want to do is eat and sleep.

7. Pregnancy is not for the faint of heart.  This is some tough shit.  Props to all the moms out there!

8. Unsolicited advice is always so helpful.  <sarcasm>

9.  When I tell women over 55ish that we have decided not to find out the sex of the baby it is 100% guaranteed to incite a conversation about how ridiculous it is today that women have to know the sex of their baby and that when they were pregnant they just had to wait until the baby was born to find out.

10.  TMI.

11. The generosity and excitement of our friends and family has caught me totally off-guard.  Completely.  Honestly, it makes me feel like I should have been a better friend and way more excited for others when they were pregnant.  So, I am sorry for anyone out there who has been pregnant and I wasn't more excited.  I really sucked at that.

12.  I am a little worried that the following is still true for me...even now that I am pregnant:  if I see a puppy my heart pitter-patters and I can only think about how much I would love a puppy.  Conversely, when I see a baby I want to run the other way.  I am still gonna be a good mom, right?

13.  TMI.

14. Confession: I have a "B" bump and not a "D" bump.  It is getting more like a "D" bump each day, but that is the main reason I have not taken or posted any bump pictures.  My bump isn't all that "cute" just yet.  Shallow?  Perhaps.

15. Tuna has been the best husband I could ever imagine.  He has supported me, never questioned me, and been my rock.  Our relationship has been elevated to another level since we found out we are going to be parents.  I cannot wait for him to finally be a dad.  He has taken such great care of me that I know he will be such an amazing dad.  So much so that I am worried I could be displaced by the baby!

16. I still cannot believe that I am pregnant.  Honestly.  I never thought this would happen for us.  Ever.

17. TMI.

18. The idea of registering has been the single scariest thing I have encountered.  How in the hell am I supposed to know what I need and what brand is best?  Or what my baby is going to like or not like?  So many questions...  And thanks to everyone for their input on FB.  It has really helped.

19.  I get really mad when I talk about how we want to raise our child and people snicker.  This has happened several times.  Look, I get it.  Nothing in our life is going to be the same.  What we have planned, our kid is probably going to disrupt that plan in some way.  Nothing is predictable with kids.  But when I tell you how we hope to parent our child and that we have an idea of how we want our child to be I really don't need your little look or comment that is pitying or condescending in the "you just don't have any clue" way - keep that to yourself.  Thanks.

20.  The first thing that people do when they see me or find out that I am expecting is look at my stomach.  Just sayin'.  It doesn't really bother me at all, I just find it really funny.  In fact, I probably did the same thing to other pregnant women. 

21. I find myself making sure that I don't leave the house without snacks in my purse.  I am convinced this is just my body's way of preparing me for when the baby arrives and I have to pack snacks.  I call this "snack dress rehearsal".

22. When all is said and done my only wish for my child is that he or she is a good person.

23. I am in awe that our bodies can carry and nourish and grow a baby.  That is simply amazing.

24. 9 months apparently = 40 weeks (in pregnancy years).

25. TMI.

26. I cannot figure out this whole heartburn thing.  No matter what I eat or how much I eat I get heartburn.  I have been through a bottle of Tums in the last month.  By the way, the Wal-Mart brand of Tums is much better than the actual Tums (unpaid advertisement).

27.  The internet can be a scary, scary place.  But I have also been reassured by some of the information I have found, too.

28. Back to the cursing...Tuna thinks I shouldn't curse because the baby can now hear me.  I am not sure how I feel about that.

29.  I think that 3D ultrasounds are kind of scary.  I am not sure why, but they creep me out.

30. I haven't had any weird cravings.  But the 2 things I have eaten the most of are peanut butter and salsa (not together).

31.  My stomach has shrunk.  I can now eat half of a pimento cheese sandwich and about 10 Triscuits and feel completely full.  For the whole day. 

32. I have come to realize in the past few days that I do have limitations.  I should not be lifting boxes and moving heavy objects.  This is hard for me to accept as I am a "doer".

33. Whiny Confession: In the next few months I will be working full time, taking 6 hours of graduate school, completing 130 hours for my internship, creating a graduate level digital portfolio, earning my masters, finishing up with School Art 2012, beginning School Art 2013, looking for a library job, surviving Rodeo, surviving BBQ, living life, preparing for a baby, and oh yeah, giving birth.  The thought of all of this is overwhelming, daunting, frightening, and has me shaking in my shoes.  I know I can do it, but as of today it seems like a lot.  And it is a lot.  I try not to whine as it is all stuff I have chosen to take on.  But I am scared as to whether or not I can get it all done.  Ok...end of whine.  I WILL get it ALL done!

That is all I can think of for now.  I suspect that my list will grow/change as time goes on.  Next up is an appointment on the 26th.  It is a regular appointment, so we will report on that afterwards.

xoxo,
Lisa

Anatomy Scan - Round 2

Hello Friends and Family!
We hope you all had a restful and relaxing holiday "season".  Ours was wonderful and way too short.  We kept thinking about how different it is going to be for us next year with a 7 month old!  So exciting!

On the 29th of December we had our second anatomy scan and monthly appointment.  Some people refer to the anatomy scan as a level 2 ultrasound or gender scan.  You may remember that we got sent to this same appointment too early (at 15 weeks), well we worked it out with the doctor's office and they are paying for our second scan (woo hoo)!  We started our day with the anatomy scan and everything looked great.  We could have found out at this appointment if we are having a boy or a girl...well Tuna REALLY wanted to know.  So he tried to bribe the doctor into giving him a thumbs up if it is a boy or the OK sign if it is a girl.  Luckily the doctor stuck to the task at hand and didn't give in to Tuna's request!  Although, after the scan was over he told us that he was in "the area" three different times.  We were both pretty clueless as to when, exactly, that happened!  Several people have suggested that since we didn't see anything that resembled "boy parts" that it is a girl, but we're not so sure about that theory!  The baby was measuring 21 weeks and 3 days - 1 day behind the due date and the heart rate was a healthy 156 bpm.  Many have also suggested that it is a girl due to the high heart rate...but you'll just have to wait until May to find out for sure!  ;)  Lastly, the baby weighed in at 15 oz.  Lisa was very excited to know this because she can deduct 1 pound every time she gets on the scale.  

Our appointment went well also.  Tuna met the nurse practitioner, Jane, and they bonded immediately.  He said that she was like "the mom that was everyone's mom".  Everything went really well and we were glad to get a good report. 

The baby is moving a lot everyday and occasionally can be seen from outside.  There is a lot of "tap dancing" on Lisa's bladder which is the strangest feeling so far.  Lisa isn't really showing that much for being 23 weeks, but has taken advantage of maternity pants (um, love maternity pants!).  This last week has been tough for Lisa as sleeping is becoming more difficult.  By nature, stomach sleeping is preferred, but it has become impossible.  "The internet" says that laying on the left side is best for baby, followed by the right side.  Mom laying on her back is also not recommended as it supposedly is bad for blood flow and can cause swelling in Mom.  Good grief!  The internet can be a little scary!  But luckily, Tuna has been very willing to sacrifice pillows, bed space, and even Lisa's legs flopped over on his - in an effort to make his "baby mama" happy.  What a guy! 

Everyday we feel so blessed to be on this journey.  We have no idea what is in store for us and we are just taking each day as it comes.  We probably won't have the nursery done until after the baby comes home, but we are really not worried about that.  We want it to evolve naturally and don't want to just throw stuff on the walls to have stuff up.  We want it to be meaningful and important.  There are probably some things we should be worrying about or doing right now, but we're not.  We are just enjoying the journey and thank you for coming along with us!

xoxo,
Tuna and Lisa