The Last Leg

On a whim, Chris and I went for a sonogram yesterday at TJC. Debbie said that Hannah is 4 lbs 15 oz!! That's more than what I weighed! She did say that she expected Hannah to weigh around 7 lbs if I make it full term, which sounds OK by me. :) One of the coolest parts of the sonogram was seeing that Hannah's face has enough soft tissue on it, making us able to see her face a little more clearly. I can't wait to see what she looks like in about 5 weeks! Anyway, I was pretty fascinated and had to tell you all. I start my weekly appointments next week and they're going to start "checking" my progression. Oh boy. :)

Just Add Baby

We've got most everything ready to welcome home Hannah Riley. Her room is set up and I think we have everything we need at this point thanks to the generosity of so many of our close friends and family.

My best friends threw us a huge shower at the church a few weeks ago, and I seriously opened gifts for two hours straight. I was so humbled to see how many people came and how much we were given. We are completely blessed by our church family!

Are They Kankles? Or Kneecles?

Ugh, my ankles are kankles... just look at these sock lines!

Actually, I normally have tiny skinny chicken legs, so the swelling makes me have normal looking legs. :) Pleeease don't look at my gross toenails, though! (Chris was so embarassed by them that he actually cut them for me the other day! I love that man.)

I'm 31 weeks along and I had a quick checkup today. I was surprised to be in and out of the doctor's office within 20 minutes! I've now gained 28 pounds - 3 of which I've put on in the last two weeks. She said that my screenings for gestational diabetes and preeclampsia from my last appointment were negative and my levels are "perfect". With how smoothly everything has gone, I shouldn't complain about swollen feet! We're really blessed. :)

I also pre-registered at the hospital this week. Talk about making this feel very real... I just can't believe how fast this pregnancy has gone! Hannah is more active everyday, and I just can't wait to meet her!

Swab A Mouth! Save A Life!

Over the holidays, one of my coworkers lost his father to lymphoma. In his honor, a few other coworkers and I decided we would get on the National Bone Marrow Donor Registry. And I'm really excited to say that I did so today.

All they did was take a mouth swab, and they'll analyze the cells to see if there's a match in the system of a person needing a bone marrow transplant. Should they ever find someone that is a potential match, there will more testing before undergoing any donation.

Cancer is something that has always scared me. It's hit close to home as I've watched close family and friends battle the disease. But over the past few years that I've worked in health care, I've come to realize that in many cases it's beatable. With advances in technology and early detection, the survival rate is on the up-and-up. That's good news!

One word of encouragement though: take care of yourself! Eat well and exercise. Do your preventive monthly self-exams and take into consideration what your body is telling you. Schedule an appointment to see a doctor if you're feeling unwell. And find a good support system. We can't do this thing called life on our own.

If you're interested in becoming a donor, or are just curious what I signed up for, read more about it all at http://www.marrow.org/.