Checkup again

It was time for another visit to Dr. Zawacki's office for a routine checkup of mommy and Baby Woodruff. Once again, the doctor said that all was well. She performed many of the usual exams on Heather, including her weight, blood pressure, temperature and pulse. The doctor then checked out BW, measuring the length of the uterus and heartbeat (a solid 140 bpm); she apparently had no problem finding the beat this time around.

And Dr. Zawacki had even more good news ... Heather will be undergoing the dreaded diabetic drink test in 2 weeks, when she'll get to ingest a gallon of sugary water. Also, because Heather is O-negative blood type, she will be receiving the RH factor shot to prevent bad blood interaction between her and BW if the baby's blood type is positive (just routine, nothing to worry about). And as a final bonus, she'll also get her blood drawn to re-check for anemia (the previous blood test was negative). So, lots to look forward to!

24-week Photo

Baby Woodruff reached the 24-week mark ... and mommy Heather and daddy Rick celebrated not only that, but also their 1st-year anniversary!

All of us made the trip to Leavenworth for the weekend for a little anniversary-getaway. We enjoyed sleeping in, shopping around town for early Christmas-y things, and eating some fantastic meals (and snacks, too). It has been a fun and exciting 1st year, and Heather and I can't wait for what the 2nd year has to bring (namely, little BW)!

Baby's First Pumpkin

With Halloween coming up quick, it was time to make some Jack-O-Lanterns to put on the front steps. We got together at Ken's house with Meagan and carved out pumpkins for Heather and I ... and little Baby Woodruff got one, too. (BW's little Jack is the one in the middle!)

It's also worth mentioning that the baby got into an unusual spot in Heather's tummy early this morning. She felt like BW had wedged all to one side, and it sure didn't feel very good. So, she laid down on her other side, hoping that gravity would help out. BW eventually went back into the usual position, and of course continued the usual kicking and stretching.

23-week Photo

It's now 23-weeks ... and here's a picture of mother and child enjoying the nice autumn colors.

Little Baby Woodruff is giving Heather a glimpse of future mommyhood, as she is pretty tired these days. Just getting out of bed in the morning takes a lot of energy. But, she is still planning on working at the hospital up until the due date ... though we'll have to see how long that 16-hour shift on Monday will last.

Heather also received a nice treat this weekend from her friend Laura Nelson, who came to visit us this past weekend. Laura gave Heather a much-needed foot massage (complete with hot water soak, pumice scrub and mint cream) for her sore and swollen feet. Thanks a bunch, Laura!

Heartbeat

Some of the baby internet sites suggested that it was possible to hear a baby's heartbeat about this time. So, we got out a little Prenatal Heart Listener that Greta had passed down to us. It's like an electronic stethoscope, and has a volume control that could make a person deaf if they weren't careful ... I found that out the hard way. I put it on Heather's tummy, and then searched around for awhile. Most of the time, it was just a lot of noise, but we eventually found a sweet spot where if we listened closely, we could hear a faint heartbeat in the background. The speed of the beating was as expected ... fast! Just like little BW.

Little Kicker

While sitting on the sofa watching TV, Heather said "ooh!" and told me that BW gave her a little kick (or maybe a punch, it's hard to say). She then showed me where to put my hand, to see if I could feel it. I didn't think that anything would happen, because when we tried that before, I couldn't feel a thing. But then all of a sudden, POW!!! I felt a big kick!

It was kind of shocking how much of a jolt that little BW could make against Heather's tummy. Then there was another, and another, and one more! Heather said that when baby's awake, this happens all the time ... and that's she's started getting used to it.

I just wonder: How big are the kicks going to be in the coming months?

22-week Photo

Little Baby Woodruff is continuing the growth spurt, now at 22-weeks inside mommy Heather.

Here is Heather holding the pumpkin craft that she made with the girls Tierney, Meagan and Mckenna during the most recent Kid's Night. The second trimester continues to go well, and it's especially nice that it's happening during Heather's favorite season (autumn) when the holidays are beginning.

21-week Photo

This is Heather at 21-weeks along, in one of her favorite poses ... holding a Starbucks coffee!

She is also modeling her new maternity clothes that she bought yesterday on the "Girls' Shopping Trip." Heather went with Greta, Meagan, Sarah (Dany), McKenna, Lindsey, and Cindy to Portland for a day-long shopping excursion, in search of clothes of all kinds. Their primary destination was the Woodburn Outlets, which happened to have a Motherhood store. Heather picked up a couple pairs of slacks / jeans (thanks to her Dad for those), a new winter coat (thanks to Greta for that), tank tops, sweaters, blouses, pajamas, and a new dressy outfit ... all of which will make her life much more comfortable in the next few months. They finished the day with a dinner at a Claim Jumper restaurant, and a quick trip into the Clackamas Mall. During the shopping trip, Baby Woodruff also received some new clothes!

Thanks to Cindy Stephenson for this cute little outfit, which includes a onesie, stocking cap and sweatbottoms, all matching Heather's new color scheme.

And also thanks to Greta for buying this cool warm-up outfit ... for those active days that are coming soon!

Hooray, it's a ...

Boy or Girl?

After Heather first learned that she was pregnant with little Baby Woodruff, we decided right away that we wanted to wait until the birth-day to find out whether BW was a boy or girl ... because we both like surprises. And we'll be so excited either way!

That's not to say that many people haven't had guesses as to what BW will be. But, at this point, the only people who know the sex for certain are Dr. Zawacki, and the ultrasound technician from several weeks ago (who had to tell us to look away from the ultrasound monitor during certain times).