Maternity Pictures

Just wanted to post some fun maternity pics we had taken.
Had contractions every 5 mins for about 1 hour on Saturday, so was a little nervous. But then I hydrated and rested and they spaced out to every 10 mins for another hour and then tapered off! Thank God because I am only 35 weeks. Cook a little longer little one, but not too much!

I had my work baby shower this week and it was lovely. They did a potluck breakfast, played a few games and gave me tons of nice gifts! I've officially divided up the clothes. I have tons of newborn-3 mos clothes, so will need to look at 6 mos and beyond from now on. Have a few more things on my registry but have tons of Target gift cards, so will go on a shopping spree at sometime thanks to all my generous friends and family.

It snowed this evening and stuck and left everything silent and white. My very favorite thing in all the world is snow, so it's been fun enjoying!

more to come,
shauna

33 weeks

What a busy few weeks it has been!
I'm officially 34 weeks, so 6 weeks to go! I'm feeling overall well, but this bump in the front continues to grow and take over. I actually tried squeezing through a tight space, not thinking about the large bump in front of me. Hurt myself, I admit...Oh well.
Saturday was my baby shower at HyunJu Low's house from church, put on by my sister and by my good friend Tiffany Bone. It was lovely. Had lots of friends, good food, laughter, prayer and LOTS O' GIFTS! I felt very celebrated and special. You'll see the "loot couch" picture attached.
Last weekend, we took professional maternity pictures, I've attached a picture of shan capturing the moment. The offical pics aren't back yet but once they are, I'll post a few as well.
Shan and I layed together the other night and he played a game with the baby. She was so active and so responsive, so he pushed on her foot and she pushed back. He pushed on one side of the belly and she pushed back. Then he switched sides and she found him and responded again. It really was surreal and special!
I have a couple more baby showers coming at work and just feel overwhelmed by people's generosity! This baby should be well-taken-care-of!
I must say it's a gift to have her coming near Christmas! It's making it feel more fun to anticipate and prepare for the holidays knowing I'm also looking forward to her arrival! That was a nice gift, Lord, thank you for this timing!
Mom and Oma arrive on 12/21 and my sister Aubry arrives after the new year, so even more goodness to be looking forward to!
Shan is busy with home projects. He's putting in a kitty door at the bottom of the stairs so we can move the cat box to the garage. HE's still working on the baby room with me. I think we're going to just do Christmas lights in the windows this year so he doesn't have to crawl on the roof for me!
I have an OB appt on Tuesday, then one more in 2 weeks, then we're on every week visits. That helps me know her debut is any time! I really can't wait.
Thanks to all who celebrated us with the shower gifts!

love, shan and shauna (and baby applet)

31 weeks

Here we are, two weeks bigger, two weeks closer to meeting our little girl!
My body continues to adapt and amaze me. My belly continues to grow and my walk is now more of a wobble! I feel her moving all the time and love the surprise kicks, rolls and hiccups. I marvel at a life growing inside of me, despite me. I marvel that most of this is totally out of my control and I have to trust that God's hand is on me and this growing baby!
I got word yesterday that a baby shower is in the works for Saturday, November 13, so I'm REALLY excited about this. Only wish my mom and sister (ok and friends and family out of state too) could be a part of it. We have belly pictures set up for Nov 6 and then the photographer comes 1-2 weeks after the baby's born to finish the photos with newborn shots. I'm looking forward to these!
I had a surreal moment last week when I delivered a stillborn baby girl who was about 2 weeks behind where my baby girl is. I held that lifeless baby, who looked perfect in every way, and thought what a strange privilege to be able to see in real life what my baby must look like inside of me right now. I cried with her mom who couldn't understand why and carefully inspected the perfect ears, fingers and toes while trying to keep from fearing for the life of my baby. It was another reminder of how much is really out of my control.
We have a few friends right now who are struggling with sick babies and it's reminding me of how blessed Shan and I are to have a "normal" pregnancy and a "normal" baby.
I have an OB appt on Tuesday and next posting will be November already, time is sure flying by. We've picked our baby's name and I'm excited to declare it when she makes her debut. Sorry no hints before then!

Well, signing out for now!
love, shauna

29 weeks and growing!

Well 2 weeks have gone by and I feel like this has been the biggest belly growth to date! I'm noticing more shortness of breath and having a hard time reaching my feet to tie my shoes...Shan says welcome to his world! Other than that, I'm still enjoying this ride!

I had my OB appt and my glucola was 114, so no signs of gestational diabetes! My weight gain is within normal for pregnancy, sure feels weird to be the weight I was before I lost all my weight on weight watchers years ago, though. Good thing I have a wiggly reason for this weight gain! Am still exercising 5 days/week to balance things out.

We found the stroller we wanted from Babies R Us on Craig's List for 1/2 the price! It's inr really good condition and came with two car seat bases, one for each car. We feel so blessed to continue to find ways to save money with all these purchases. Thank you God!

Looks like plans are under way for a baby shower, that should be fun! Will try to include friends and family out of state as well, so stay tuned!
We've decided on a name for our baby but are keeping it a secret until she makes her debut...this is harder than we thought it'd be.

That's about it for now, here are some updated photos!
love, shauna

27 weeks

Time flies when you're having fun! I swear I just updated this blog, but 3 weeks have gone by...sigh.
All is well in the Applin house and the baby cooking factory. My stomach continues to stretch and amaze me that my body has this capability. My only complaint is my pelvis and the pain I feel in my tailbone and frequent sciatic pain on the right side. Otherwise I am loving this! Can't say I'm having any weird cravings, but have had one dream about the birth. All I remember is she was born in November (so 4-6 weeks early) but don't remember any details of the process.
We've set up the nursery, almost!
We've set up our cloth diaper service. If you don't have this in your area, let me tell you about it, because it's awesome. For a fee, they deliver clean diapers, a diaper bag and a diaper bin on a weekly basis. You set the amount of diapers you want (they have a guide, because like I know!). Then every Tuesday they come and take all the soiled diapers in the bag (yes I don't have to clean them) and replace with new ones. You're actually asked to NOT do anything with them as they use a special washing system and me washing the diapers messes with that. So I'm excited to do the cloth diaper thing but not have to launder...maybe I'll be more brave for baby #2!
There are a few big baby/maternity consignment events coming up this fall, so am excited to go to those. Our only large purchases left are the stroller and a breast pump and we've been watching for used ones on craig's list. If not, we'll spring for full price but would rather not.
We're working on getting our finances in order for when my income drops. We are in the process of refinancing our house and at first were thinking about trading in our jeep for a cheaper car, but think if we put money down, we can refinance the jeep as well, keeping the car we love AND having a lower payment. Who knew so much change would come with a wee one?
This fall will be busy as usual, but maybe that means it will feel faster as I wait these last 3 mos!
The baby is moving a whole lot more. This last week was the first time where the baby moved and I watched my belly move with her kicks. So cool! She moves some throughout the day but especially when I'm sitting or laying in the evenings/night, do I feel so much movement. She feels like she's laying vertically now instead of horizontally but I can't tell as easily on me as I can on my patients. She also responds to pressure. SO if I sit with my arms crossed on my belly, she kicks and asks me to move. Or last night, Shan had his legs over my belly and she continuously kicked right where one leg was to get him out of her space. Hmm, has she already inherited a feisty trait?
I have an OB appt on Tuesday and I'll do my glucola test. This is the test where they screen for diabetes of pregnancy. Hope I'm negativo. Haven't gained much weight but am eating more foods that I usually skip in non-prego Shauna life (including dessert).
That's about it. Next time you hear from me, my 2nd trimester will be complete and 3rd trimester here we come!

Shauna and baby Applet

24 weeks

Wow it has been a long time since I posted. Sorry all.
Things are moving along swimmingly. I'm feeling more and more movement, am enjoying ongoing tailbone pain and sciatica, but otherwise feeling great! Have walked every morning all summer which has been great but alas, fall is settling in here so it's too dark in the morning to walk and usually raining. So now I'm back to my Jillian Michaels workout video and a sad dog watching me NOT walk her! Oh well. Had an OB appt last week and all is well with baby's growth, my weight etc. My next appt is when I drink the glucola looking for gestastional diabetes but otherwise nothing major. We're enjoying the belly growing adventure and have some new pics for you all to see.

We are building our baby supplies one item at a time. We've moved all the decor off the walls in the baby's room and moved the desk down to the basement. We're madly looking on Craig's list for a crib and a combined shelf/drawers/changing table for our tiny room...wish us luck! We had a nursery theme picked out but it's out of stock at 3 locations so we were blessed with a gift of a full nursery set for FREE From friends. The best part is it's not what we had pictured but both opinionated Shan and Shauna agreed on it!!!

I'm pumped that my grandma and mom are coming for Christmas and my sister is coming for 2 weeks in January! My prayer is that the baby will be here for both visits so all can meet the little girl, but we will have to wait and see.

So the adventure continues and we're getting more and more excited!

The Sex

Hey Everyone-
Sorry it's been a while since my last update. Things have been crazy with life and work and then Shan and I joined my family in Playa del carmen, Mexico for the last week at a resort. Got home late last night and had a lovely time of family, rest, sun and heat. We had our first baby shower where we played fun games and received some GREAT gifts. We were pleased to announce in person that we are expecting a baby GIRL at Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everyone was so excited to get the news and we enjoyed delivering it!
The baby's now the length of a carrot and almost weighs one pound. I am feeling more movement each day! My belly officially looks pregnant and now that I'm back to real life, is reminding me to keep eating well and exercising rather than using this as an excuse to be on a free-for-all!
Anyhoo, we've moved the desk out of the office and are starting to shift everything to make room for a nursery! I'm excited to make it ready for our little girl.
We're sorting through girl names and buying little things here and there as we're already over 5 mos along!
Here are a couple of pics!
love, shauna