27w4d- BABY BUMP

The belly grew 1/4 inch this past week to 40 1/4" around! Even though the belly is getting bigger, the weight gain has been maintained at 14lbs. so far. Caitlin has been having a few BH contractions each day, but within normal limits. Little Miss Gracyn has been feisty lately. ... Joe put his ear to the belly trying to hear the heartbeat and Gracyn did a full out kick to his head! LOL. Speaking of kicks, Caitlin is guessing the baby is no longer head down since she is feeling painful kicks to the lady parts! OUCH!

BIRDS, BUTTONS & FRAMES

Caitlin painted the letter and birds white and added the buttons. TOOOO CUTE!

HOW TO MAKE A CHANGING PAD COVER

HOW TO MAKE A CHANGING PAD COVER

1. Cut an old changing pad cover at the seams and use as pattern pieces.
2. Cut new fabric with an additional 1/2 inch seam allowance.
3. Sew new pieces together the same way you cut the pattern pieces apart.
4. Make a casing out of bias tape and sew around bottom. Add elastic from the old cover or buy new and add.
5. Enjoy!

27w3d- BIG BELLY MOVES!

27 WEEKS- 3rd TRIMESTER!!!!

Yep, you read that right!  3rd Trimester!!!!  This week baby Gracyn weighs around 2 lbs and is about 14 1/2 inches long from head to toe!  She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, Gracyn is  very active now.  She even reacts to light and noise!  While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now.  Let's hope she stays put for another 13 weeks! 

Love you baby Gracyn!

HOW TO MAKE THE BABY QUILT

HOW TO MAKE THE BABY QUILT:
1. Cover the piping with your favorite fabric.
2. Cut a piece of fabric 1/2 inch bigger than the padding for seam allowance.
3. Pin on piping around the edge of right side of fabric and sew into place.
4. Piece fabrics together for opposite side of quilt 1/2 inch bigger than padding for seam allowance.
5. With right sides together, sew both quilt fabrics. Leave a large opening in one end. Turn fabric right sides out.
6. Put padding inside of quilt and sew opening shut.
7. Enjoy!

NEW DAILY ROUTINE :-(

Added to the daily routine of prenatal vitamins, extra frolic acid, low dose aspirin for MTHFR blood disorder.... Caitlin added the iron, strict meal plan of 2000 calories a day and 4 finger prick sugar checks each day. Today's lunch sugar check was 107 but then dinner's check was up again to 168. :-(

26w3d- BABY BUMP

The belly is measuring the same as last week at 40". 3 days away from the 3rd trimester!!!!!

26w2d- GESTATIONAL DIABETES

Glucose test results in....NOT GOOD! Caitlin's sugar level was sooooo high at 231 that they are skipping the 3 hour glucose screening and going straight to blood sugar monitoring 4 times a day and controlled diet of 2000 calories a day through a meal plan. If the levels remain high, the next step will be insulin pills or shots :-(. To add insult to injury, her iron level is really low so she has to take extra iron each day. This came as a surprise to Caitlin because her blood sugars have never been higher than 110 (non-fasting) all through nursing school when they practiced on each other. Needless to say, she is a sad Momma right now, but baby Gracyn is worth it!

26w1d- OB APPOINTMENT

Caitlin had her monthly OB appointment with the lovely orange surgery drink for the glucose test.  She should know the results some time this week.  She gained 3 lbs this month...with a total of 14 lbs so far! Not bad! There was a trace of protein in her urine, but the blood pressure was good at 112/72   The fundal height is measuring 27 weeks! 

We were supposed to see little Miss Gracyn on a 3D/4D ultrasound today, but she had her own agenda....Little Miss was facing Mommy's back!  :-(  We got a good look at the back of her head, spine, bum, and feet.  By the way, her legs are still crossed at the ankles!  Too cute!  What we didn't get to see is that cute little face....not even a profile shot!  :-( .....So the ultrasound tech didn't even turn on the 3D screen......no good pictures to share this time.  Maybe next month!  What we did find out is that the baby is in the head down position. Let's hope she stays that way, but rotates a 180 forward so we can see that beautiful face next time! Next appointment is July 17th!

FATHER'S DAY 2012?

Daddy got a spiffy new pair of tennis shoes and Mommy got a ring with Gracyn's birthstone....With an EDD of Sept. 24.....They are pretty confident she will be born in September.....If not, Mommy will be trading in this birthstone...... Here's to hopeful thinking for September!

BUMPER PADS IN THE MAKING!

How to make the bumper pads:
1. Caitlin chose 3 fabrics for the nursery which will be mixed in the bumper pads.
2. The darkest color was picked for the piping.
3. The printed fabric was cut to cover the bumper padding with an additional 1/2 inch seam allowance (We used an old bumper padding set to save money).
4.  Next- Sew on the piping.
5.  Sew on ties.  We made ours from the dark fabric to match the piping....but ribbon will work.  We pinned the ties to printed fabric to prevent them from accidentally being sewn in the seam when the next fabric was added to the other side.
6.  Next- lay out different fabrics (cut and sew together) long enough to cover the opposite side of the bumper pad. 
7. With right sides of bumper fabric together....sew together ....leaving one end open.  Turn fabric to right side.
8. Insert bumper padding
9. Sew the last end and put on the crib!
10. The last picture shows the bumper pad and skirt (made and posted in an earlier)! 

26 WEEKS PREGNANT!!!

Dear Gracyn,

Mommy is on the countdown to the 3rd trimester!  One more week!!!  Time seems to be flying by as you continue to grow stronger!  According to babycenter.com... Brain waves for the auditory and visual systems are detectable in your brain. That means your brain is registering things like sound and light. You may not understand what any of it means yet, but you're on track to comprehend an entire episode of Blue's Clues in no time! The network of nerves in your ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. You may now be able to hear both your Mommy and Daddy as they chat with each other. When you are born, you will recognize their voices!  Even though your eyes are still shut, your eyes are fully developed...soon you will be able to blink!  You are inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of your lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when you're born and take that first gulp of air. And you continuing to put on baby fat. You now weigh about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (the size of a burp cloth) from head to heel.

We get to see you in a 3D/4D ultrasound tomorrow morning!  CAN'T WAIT! 

Love you,
Grandma Dason

25w5d- 100 DAYS LEFT UNTIL EDD!

OMG- Today the pregnancy ticker says only 100 days to go until the Sept. 24th due date!  Do you know what that means????  It means that tomorrow, Caitlin's pregnancy countdown drops from triple digits to double digits!!!!  YAY!

25w4d- BABY BUMP!!!

The belly continues to get rounder....grew 1/4 inch to a grand total of 40" around!  Miss Gracyn is quite the active one.  It is such fun to watch her kick and wiggle.  Mommy shared that Gracyn had the hiccups for about 10 minutes and it made her mad....she wiggled and kicked up a storm....while Mommy tried to sleep!

Baby Shower Invites :-)

BELLY PROGRESSION!

Total weight gain so far....14 lbs.!!!  Woot!

25 WEEKS PREGNANT! YAY!

Dear Baby Gracyn,

You are growing by leaps and bounds.  Mommy thinks you are laying transverse across her belly.  If she lays on her side, she will feel you press against the bed or couch with your feet and then feel your head and arms on the other side of her belly when you stretch out!  According to babycenter.com, from head to heels, you now measures about 13 1/2 inches long!!!!  You probably weigh about a pound and a half ( an average rutabaga ), and you are finally putting on some baby fat! As you gain more fat, your wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and you'll start to look more and more like a newborn!!!!  So exciting!  You are also growing more hair — and if we could see it, we'd now be able to discern it's color and texture!

Gracyn is not the only one with more hair — Mommy's hair is  more full and lustrous than ever!  Thanks to hormonal changes, the hair that she'd normally shed is sticking around longer than usual.  She is even finding dark hairs in places where she doesn't want to see them....like her belly....especially near the belly button!

Mommy has also noticed that she can't move around as gracefully as before.  The swelling has taken over the entire body....especially her hands/fingers and feet/ toes!  The worst pregnancy systems now include siatic nerve pain, charlie horses in her legs and HEARTBURN!!! But you are worth it!!

We love you!
Grandma Dason

24w6d- FUN IN THE SUN!

Little Miss Nevaeh (2 yrs. old)  loves on baby Gracyn (24w6d)!  I enjoyed feeling the baby kick and watching her move around! 

HOW TO COVER A LAMP SHADE AND PILLOW

How to cover a lamp shade with fabric:
1.  Purchased lamp shade from JoAnn Fabrics.
2. Peel off lamp shade cover and use as a pattern.
3.  Cut fabric 1/2 inch bigger than pattern (I used a sheer fabric and a second fabric as liner).
4. Sew right sides together (1/2 inch seam allowance) and turn to right side.
5. Cover the sticky shade with fabric.  Hot glue the back seam on shade.
6. Embellish with broaches, tassels or beads.....

How to make a pillow:
1. Cut two pieces of fabric the exact size of the pillow.
2.  Sew right sides together (1/2 inch seam allowance), leaving an opening on one side. Turn fabric to right side.
3. Stuff with a pillow form.
4. Sew end of pillow shut.
5. Embellish as you wish!  :-)

24w4d-BABY BUMP

The belly is measuring alot bigger this week (3/4 inches bigger!) at 39.75 inches around.... Definitely filling out in the upper belly over last week.  Still tons of heartburn and weird dreams.

Caitlin shared that she had the strangest dream yet... She was with her sister and me and all of a sudden she had Gracyn in her arms making over how pretty she was and then she put her back in because it wasn't time for her to be born yet... She just wanted a sneak peek at her! STRANGE!

24w1d- BELLY BUTTON

Mommy's view of her outtie belly button!