Good day to blog!

It's way too cold to want to go anywhere that I have to go outside for. I am hanging out on the couch by a warm fire off from work. So... I thought today would be the perfect day to blog! Then I started thinking about the pictures I want to add and I ran into problems! I can't get the scanner to work to upload the picture from today's sonogram. The photographer for the belly picture is at work. So...I will write now and you can expect pictures later tonight when Cody gets home to help! (Cody came home now we have pictures!)

32 weeks, 3 days

Sonogram news. Everything looks great! This is a good thing :) I was a little bit nervous going into this sonogram. To remind everyone my doctor requested this sonogram because my uterus didn't measure as much as she wanted it to at my last visit. Good news is no worries! The sonogrammer said sometimes the uterus can measure differently from the outside depending on how the baby is laying. So Hudson measured just right for 32 weeks. She measured his head, belly, femur, etc. Also, she checked the levels of the amniotic fluid and those are right where they should be as well. So we have a healthy uterus and a healthy baby weighing in at 4 pounds and 1 ounce today.

Sweet profile picture. No hands covering his face today!

Shopping news. We found the outfit that Hudson will wear home from the hospital! May seem silly to some I know but we have been on a real hunt looking. I will post the pictures later tonight with the rest :) We also got the baby crib and bassinet as Christmas gifts. The bassinet was delivered and we will be picking up the crib this week. Once all the furniture is put together I will let you have a peek in the nursery. I'm not going to promise a date on that as we haven't seen yet how much work it will be to put everything together!

I try to picture what he will look like sleeping in there every time I walk by.

With accessories to match!

Appointments and important dates. Our last night of childbirth class is tonight (assuming the roads are safe to drive on...they say we are going to get some snow again!) I am also taking an infant care class next Wednesday at the hospital. This class is supposed to go over infant CPR, feeding, swaddling, etc. My next appointment with my OB will be next Thursday, January 7th. And then what I'm looking forward to most...Baby Shower on January 9th!!! I can't wait to see everyone :)

I forgot to leave you with my weekly student story from the last week before the holidays. So here it is for some laughter! (Think it's my favorite so far)

I was walking some students out for dismissal when I overheard this conversation going on behind me.

Child 1: Is Mrs. Johns having a baby?
Child2: Yes, but not right now. See the baby is growing inside of her.
Child 1: Yeah, do you know how people have babies? (I got a little nervous here!)
Child 2: I know!
Child 1: See a person has eggs in their body (right so far) And then those eggs inside her tummy hatch and a baby comes out!

LOL! So maybe we are reptiles after all?

Ultrasound pictures

Today was our 3d/4d ultrasound! It was very neat to be able to see him this way. As with the last ultrasound he was not the most cooperative little boy. He had his hands covering his face most of the time. He even managed to cover his face with his feet! We tried pushing and moving all around but he just wanted to kick me and not move his hands. He is going to be a soccer player! Here are a few of the pictures from today. We were able to get a few good ones! I think he has Cody's nose :0)

Full body shot...his arm and legs both crossed.

Pucker up!

Mouth open!

Sweet boy!

He's grabbing his foot here. He may have big feet like me!

That's his foot beside his nose!

30 week update

I had my 30 week check up this past Thursday. Just a normal visit where they weigh me, measure me, and listen to the heartbeat. They also went over my glucose results from my last appointment. No gestational diabetes! So that's a good thing and another check mark off the list :) She did notice that my iron is a little bit low so I am going to start taking some iron supplements in addition to my prenatal vitamin. She felt around and Hudson is already head down. Yeah!! So no scheduled c-section as long as he stays that way. When she measured my uterus today it hadn't grown quite as much as she wanted it to so she has requested a sonogram. So these next few weeks will keep us busy.

Monday December 21st- 3d/4d ultrasound ( I have been waiting!!!)
Tuesday December 29th- sonogram with OB and last night of childbirth class!
Thursday January 7th- 32 week check up

Be on the lookout Monday or Tuesday for pics from the ultrasound :)

30 weeks

Well we are officially 3/4 of the way there! (As of yesterday) Only ten weeks until Hudson will say hello to the world. He has been very active lately! As he has gotten bigger I have been able to feel him much more. His movements are getting a little harder too. Sometimes they will catch me off guard! Cody has been able to feel him moving several times now. He too was surprised at how hard he kicks or punches sometimes.

I am starting to feel a little more of the third trimester "symptoms" now days. I love spicy food and here lately I have to make sure there are tums around before I decide to eat the spicy food. Also, Hudson is starting to take over so much room that I notice I am breathing heavier at times. Just walking from my car to my classroom makes me feel out of shape! Last, sleeping at night has become a little more difficult. I have always been a back sleeper so I have had to change that habit plus I wake up a few times to him having play time in the middle of the night. My assistant principal at school told me this is God's way of preparing me for all the sleepless nights to come! It sounds a little like complaining but I definitely don't mean for it to be! I am glad that I am having a "normal" pregnancy with all these things changing in my body. I would be worried if I wasn't feeling these things!

Cody and I attended our first childbirth class last week. This class made things seem a lot more real. Talking about the whole cycle of labor made the due date seem closer! We have met some fun couples too so it is good to have other people to talk to who are going through the same things. Session two will be this Tuesday. We are going to get to go up to a room and take a look at all the equipment we will be hooked up to. Something interesting we did learn is that most first time moms deliver on their due date or later, uncommon to be early. Also, you have a much longer labor with your first child so it may not be the rush to the hospital that I have envisioned. I have started thinking about the things to pack in my bag but I haven't gotten there yet. Anyone have anything they really recommend making sure I have?

I will tell you I have loved being a teacher and being pregnant. This quote comes from a 3rd grader that was on my cheerleading squad last year. "Mrs. Johns are you having a baby?" I told her, "I sure am! Did you just think I was getting fat?" Her only response was "Yes" with wide eyes open. You have to love their honesty.

A belly pic to end with...

The Countdown Begins!

Those were the words of my doctor today. This is because after today's visit I will start having appointments every other week. Next appointment date is December 17th. I also have a 3D/4D sonogram appointment on December 21st. Can't wait for that one! It's been 9 weeks since we have seen the little man and by then it will have been longer! In addition to these dates we start childbirth classes next week. It is becoming busier!

The visit today was a lot more than the last visit but not too much news about Hudson. He's not quite big enough for them to feel specific body parts yet. I got to hear his heartbeat again which is always great to hear. They also measured my uterus and everything is measuring just where it should be. The extra things I had today were the gestational diabetes test and the RhoGam shot. For the gestational diabetes test I had to drink a glucose drink and then they drew my blood. The drink wasn't bad at all! It tasted most like a thawed freezer pop. (fruit punch flavor) The shot was in my bottom (gave my arm a break!) and is just a preventative measure in case my blood and Hudson's mix and he is a different Rh type than I am.

Hudson must know I am talking about him because he is moving around as I write. That or he likes the cookie dough ice cream I just ate :) (No worries I only got a pint and there is still half left!)

Pregnancy Moments

I don't really care for ice cream too much, but I do love cookie dough ice cream! Mainly because I love raw cookie dough. (Which I know is terrible for me!) The bad part about being pregnant is you aren't supposed to eat raw cookie dough due to the raw eggs. I found a loophole! While at Marble Slab a few weeks ago I was telling the owner about my dilemma. He looked up their recipe for me and told me their cookie dough does not contain eggs!!! They don't cook the dough so they don't have any reason to put eggs in it. Unfortunately at that time I had already ordered my ice cream so I couldn't get cookie dough. But I remembered tonight! My wonderful husband made a special stop and we got some cookie dough ice cream to go. Now I will enjoy it by the fire :)
One more fun pregnancy moment. And it comes from the mouth of a 6 year old..."Mrs. Johns I can tell that your baby is growing!" They are so honest and cute.

The Baby Bump is here!

Well we are a little over 26 weeks today. My body is continuing to change! We thought at this point we should start taking head to waist pictures so you can see the bump in comparison to everything else. I am now "feeling" pregnant. My favorite quote about being pregnant so far was from a student to another teacher at school. She told the teacher "I don't know the nice way to say this but Mrs. Johns looks like she is going to have a baby now!" Poor thing was scared to call me fat..haha!

Baby Hudson is growing quite a bit! Most books say he is in between 1 1/2 and 2 pounds right now. I can feel him moving every day now. I am still waiting to be able to feel him from the outside of my stomach so others (especially Cody) can enjoy feeling him move too!

I think we have officially finished registering. I pretty sure I mentioned this before but it is so hard to imagine what we will need! I continue to worry thinking I hope I got it all. We are registered at Target, Babies R Us, and Ohh Baby! (inside Stacy Furniture). You can find all the links here.

Target: Click here You can search by mother or father using mine name or Cody's. Be sure to select the correct registry there are a few Tiffany Johns in Texas believe it or not.

Babies R Us: Click here You should select registrant and type Tiffany Johns. Our city is listed as McKinney, TX.

Go Cowboys!!!

This isn't completely Hudson related but Brian did point out that last weekend goes down as Hudson's first official Cowboy's game! So I figured I could post the pictures on here :) Brian, one of Cody's closest friends came in town from Chicago last weekend for Baylor's Homecoming. We all went to Waco together Saturday for all the Homecoming festivities. (I can't wait to take Hudson next year- We got a cute Baylor outfit for him to wear when the time comes) Then on Sunday Brian took us to the Cowboys game to watch the boys beat the Falcons. It was a great game! Here are some pictures of the new stadium.

Nursery underway!

Two posts in one week :) After we picked out the bedding this weekend we decided to go ahead and get started on preparing the nursery. The first step...painting! The thing we all know can make a room look so much better but we never want to jump up to do it. This is one of those times I'm kicking myself wishing I had a before picture!!! I have searched everywhere and none to be found. This room started out a pale lime green on top with white chair railing and a slightly darker pale lime green on bottom. Here is Cody in action! (This took all day Sunday!) We used a Ralph Lauren suede paint that takes a bit of a process.

And the finished piece!!! (Well, finished for now) We still have quite a bit to add to the room.

Baby Bedding...Take 2!

So apparently I choose baby bedding like I did my wedding dress. I had the "perfect" wedding dress picked out online. I knew it was "the one". When I went to see it in person I ended up picking out a completely different dress! I have already posted the bedding that I thought was "the one" but when we went out and about today we picked out a different one! Cody and I found it in the clearance section of the baby store so that made us want it even more. We are always looking for a good deal. For those of you who watch 18 kids and counting Cody said today he felt like the Duggars! They always say ask for a discount. Cody did and we got another $25 off. Here is a picture of the bedding we got today. We got the quilt, dust ruffle, sheet, bumper, laundry hamper, and mobile. They had more but we didn't want to over-do it with the theme. We are wanting to make his nursery a "vintage" transportation theme. So now that we have the basics we are on the lookout for any cool lamps, art, etc. that look like vintage transportation. I wish I knew someone that knew how to make model airplanes and such!

Other news...I also had a check-up appointment this past Thursday. Everything went very well. It was just a routine check-up they listened to the heartbeat and starting measuring my uterus. Next visit will be a little bit more they said. I will have a glucose test to check for gestational diabetes and I will get my RhoGAM shot. My blood is Rh negative so I will get a few extra shots between now and delivery.

That's about it for this week! I am off to get the candy ready for the trick-or-treaters tonight. I love seeing all the little kiddos in their costumes. I can't wait until next year when we have a little one to dress up :)

22 weeks

Sorry it has been a while since I have posted! It seems that the Johns' household has gotten very busy these last 2 weeks. There are no major updates. I am continuing to grow and that means Hudson is continuing to grow. I am still feeling his tiny movements daily, still mostly at night. Although today was a little different. I felt him moving more today than I have any other day!

We have officially made the nursery ready for conversion. Although we still have a LONG way to go! (It's a mess of piles right now, which I know is driving Cody crazy. I'm only a little OCD and it's bothering me so I can only imagine how he feels) We have a three bedroom house which use to consist of a master bedroom, guest bedroom, and Cody's office. We decided to make the guest bedroom the nursery because it has chair railing and doesn't face the front of the house. But that left us with a problem...no guests could stay! If you know me well you know I love having people over and I always want an open door for anyone to come and stay with us, especially now with an addition to our family. So Cody willingly gave up his "man cave" office. It was outfitted with manly furniture and plenty of deer mounts and deer hides. Now it has been converted into our new guest bedroom. We have a nice little nook in our master bedroom which has become Cody's new office place. It actually works very well and he has a window that looks onto our beautiful backyard! Now the challenge of decorating and preparing a nursery begins :)

A belly pic for all since it has been a while...

Little Movements

Friday night was the first night that I felt Hudson moving! I was very excited but also still questioning myself a little bit. As a first time mom I wondered am I really feeling him or does my stomach not like what I ate? I was pretty sure I felt him but not 100%. Then Saturday night I felt the same feeling at around the same time! Just in a little different spot. So now I am certain that I am feeling him move! It is a very cool and awesome experience. He was moving around a little bit again today. I can't wait until he gets even bigger and Cody can feel him move too.

I knew as soon as we figured out the sex we would try to start planning the nursery and other things. As you saw in the last post we already got a good start on our registry. After last Tuesday we also picked out Hudson's bedding to match his furniture. We found it online and you can see it here...Hudson's bedding. I can't wait to start getting his room put together.

Hudson Allen Johns

We found out today that we are bringing into the world a little boy. We are both very excited! I think Cody is excited that he will now have a hunting buddy for several years to come. I just can't wait to see him in his first camo. (Which I'm sure will be in his first months of life!) Today was a day we will both definitely remember.

From the title you may guess the name that we have decided on. In February we will all have a chance to meet Hudson Allen Johns. We both decided on this name together. We knew from the beginning if it was a boy we would be naming his middle name after Cody's father, Derrick Allen. So we started by thinking of names that went well with Allen. We liked place names and wanted to choose something unique. So that is where we came up with Hudson Allen.

Everything measured up perfectly today! In the sonogram the head was measured and several organs were noted and measured. Baby Hudson has all of his organs in the correct places and they are all the correct size. He weighed in today at 9 ounces. The nurse practitioner said that all of his measurements are at the correct sizes for 19 weeks.
This is one of the pictures from today's ultrasound. In this picture Hudson is facing us. You can see his two eyes and a little ear at the top. You can also see what the sonogrammer referred to as his big "buddha" belly. You can see his arm and little fingers. It almost looks like he's knocking. I would post other pictures today but Mr. Hudson was a little bit stubborn. He was head down in my uterus and didn't want to be anywhere else. The sonogrammer tried pushing on my stomach and turning me every which way but he did not want to be photogenic today. I warned him that he better get used to it because he will be smiling for many pictures to come!

Because of the way he was turned we were able to get a good look at his bottom. Which means we could clearly see his boy parts! So there is no doubt that we are having a little boy.

We also got in a little shopping today (kind of). We started our first registry at Babies R Us. We made a few big decisions on some items and waited on a lot too! Registering for our wedding was SO much easier. We knew the tools we needed to cook and prepare our house. There is so much unknown with preparing for a first baby! The possibilities of things to register for are endless! You can go to Babies R US to see what we have so far. Just be sure to type my last name first. (I made this mistake and thought nothing we scanned today showed up!) Also we live in McKinney, TX. Some people just refer to us as Dallas! Have fun looking :)

The next appointment will not be quite as exciting as today but it is set for October 29th.

18 weeks and counting!

Not kids! I'm not sure Cody and I have agreed on an exact number of children but I know our number won't go that high! And I think she's actually up to almost 19 (one on the way!). I'm speaking of the Duggars in case you don't watch TLC not stop like me. There documentary is called 18 kids and counting.

Here is the 18 week belly pic...

The latest news is that I have gained weight! I never thought I would be so excited to say those words. I lost quite a bit of weight in the beginning (due to getting sick, not feeling like eating, and a few less happy hours I'm sure!) and up until about a week ago I have had a hard time gaining it back. And at this point in my pregnancy I should be gaining about a pound a week. The doctor told me some people's body's just take time to catch up. So mine finally has!

Other news...Cody and I spent the day looking for baby furniture. We are both kind of planners and want the nursery ready in plenty of time. So after a quite a few different places I think we have found the one. This is a set we found at Stacey Furniture here in Allen. The baby store there is called Ohh Baby! Which I thought was too cute. Here is a picture of the furniture, although in person it looks more dark brown.
Now we just have until September 29th to know if it is for sure a boy or girl and we can start looking for all the fun bedding and decorations to go with the furniture.

16 weeks

Here is the belly picture for this week. Interesting one! I took it two days late (due to vacation!) but it looks to me like I'm a little smaller than last week. Could be that it's the morning and I've only had some cereal so far. I am getting ready to have a morning snack as I am still pretty hungry throughout the day! Baby is a growing!

Other news...Cody and I took a trip to my parents land this weekend in Burnet, TX. So they were able to see us and some of the changes. My mom also got me some cute shirts :) Don't want to start stretching out the ones I have. We also took a trip to Lampassas to visit more family. We saw my aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins. My cousin Kim just had a baby in April and so we looked through all of her things and she passed down a lot of good things for me to use!

Next doctor appointment is scheduled for September 29 at 1:00. I'm sure several of you will be receiving phone calls that day because we will get to find out the sex of the baby. I can't wait! It's also just exciting to be able to see the baby again.

Embarrassing Moments...Even for Teachers!

The first week of school is the time of year when everyone is nervous. They think of all the "what ifs?" But teachers shouldn't ever worry about being embarrassed. Well it happened to me! This past Wednesday I was walking about 70 first graders out to the buses to be dismissed. I was walking backwards so I could keep track of all the students. Little did I know there would be a huge box of books in the hallway. And you can guess what happened next...Yup! I ran into it, tripped, and fell on my behind! Luckily I teach first grade so they were all too scared to laugh at me. After I got over the embarrassment I started to wonder if the baby was okay. So being a precautions first time mom I called my doctor.

The nurse had me come in just to check and make sure everything was okay. I saw the physician assistant and she listened to the heartbeat and felt around on my tummy. She said the baby was in the right place, heart beating, and perfect! So all it turned out to be was just an embarrassing moment for a teacher.

A funny story to go along...I called Cody to let him know what had happened. I started the conversation by saying, "It's not a really big deal but..." And a husband's first instinct he thought I wrecked my new car! Luckily that wasn't the case.

So what this all means is...when the physician assistant saw me on Wednesday she went ahead and counted that as my 16 week appointment. So my next visit will be my 20 week sonogram!!! The one we are all waiting for. This is the sonogram where they should be able to tell the sex of the baby. I am calling tomorrow to schedule this appointment but it should be sometime in the first week of October. I will let everyone know when I have a date for sure.

15 weeks

14 Weeks

Today marks 14 weeks on the calendar! Here is the weekly belly picture for week 14.

We are now officially in the second trimester. This is supposed to be the "honeymoon" phase of the pregnancy. No more nausea, risk of miscarriage almost gone, beginning to "show", etc. So far so good! I actually started feeling better at about 10 weeks or so. But I will say that the pregnancy hunger is finally here. I haven't had a huge appetite until now. Now it seems like I eat and two hours later I'm hungry again! I think I'm just going to have to really work on eating several small meals a day. This way I don't gain too much weight. Many people say "I'm eating for two!" And trust me as hungry as I feel it does seems that I could definitely eat for another person, but I'm only supposed to have an extra 300 calories a day so I still have to eat well for the baby.

Other than the hunger changes not much else is going on. Belly is still growing a little each week and I have now gained two pounds. This is a good thing because up until this point I have only been losing weight. I went to a maternity store for the first time this week. My dad was in town visiting and took me back to school shopping. It was fun times! I'm not huge yet but I am bigger and don't want to stretch out all my clothes!

Next appointment will be the first week in September. (I count down the days from appointment to appointment:) )

13 weeks

Here is the 13 week belly picture! It's getting just a little bit bigger.
(scroll down to compare)

12 Week Belly Pic

I am one day late on posting but here is the 12 week belly picture. You can scroll down to see the 11 week picture to compare. I am growing just a little bit! The baby is now about the size of a plum so I am excited to see more growth each week.

12 weeks

Today was our 12 week appointment with two different doctors. First, we had an appointment with a perinatal specialist. This is the appointment where we were able to see the little one again. At this visit they took blood and examined the spine and skull to check for any abnormalities. The ultrasound looked great and we are waiting for blood results. The baby is healthy and growing just as it should be. The heart rate was 167 bpm today and we were able to hear the heartbeat again. We also got to measure the baby and it was 3 inches long from crown to rump (funny words! aka head to bottom). The baby weighs 2 ounces as of today. The doctor informed us that this is right in the perfect range for my due date. The ultrasound made things become even more real today. We were able to see a lot! We saw the skull, jawline, ears, eyes, spine, abdomen, legs, arms, and finger and toe rays. The most exciting part was the baby was moving! We saw arms and legs moving nonstop. The baby will be a little swimmer! Here is a picture from the ultrasound today.

The second visit was with my regular OB. This was a normal 12 week check up. We mainly talked to her during this visit and asked questions we had. We will be back to see her in 4 more weeks on September 8th. I will try to write more between now and then!

First Belly Picture

Today officially marks the day of the first belly picture. Just a couple of days away from week 11. This is the first week I have actually started to feel like I'm showing a little bit. This is mainly due to the fact that most of my pants/jeans/bottoms are no longer fitting around my waist! I have given in and gone out and purchased my first few pairs of maternity jeans. I will have to say they are very comfortable! Thanks also to my friend Abbie who has let me borrow a few of hers also :)

This is also the first week that I have gone straight without feeling sick. Cross our fingers that it is all done! I am still a little bit picky about the things that I am eating but most people who know me well know that I was picky even before being pregnant. We are one week away from our next appointment and I will be sure to post all the details.

First Heartbeat

The first prenatal visit was wonderful today! They did a few things I was expecting: urine sample, blood work, female exam, and ultrasound. The one surprise today was that we got to hear the baby's heartbeat! It was by far the best sound I have ever heard. The baby's heart rate was at 147 bpm. The baby is currently 1.36 cm (about the size of a blueberry!). My doctor told us that everything looks completely normal and great! And we now have an official due date of... February 20, 2010. That makes me 7 weeks and 4 days exactly today.

My next visit will be in 4 weeks on August 6th. We will be doing a few more tests to check the health of the baby. I will be sure to keep everyone informed. No major changes to the belly so far but as soon as there are you can expect pictures :)

Baby Johns First Picture

5-6 weeks

This is when the symptoms started coming in! I have become even more of a fan of sleeping than ever before. I sometimes try to catch a nap here and there now. The "morning sickness" has kicked in as well. Although like most of the books say it's a little more than morning. I find it difficult to eat most things and I'm ready to start craving some foods maybe! (The chicken fried rice last night was quite tasty)

One week and two days away from the fist appointment :)

The wardrobe begins!

June 21st was Cody's Pre-Father's Day and we celebrated at the lake visiting his parents. He received our first few gifts for the new baby. Very cute onsies and bibs (unisex as that answser is still to come!)

The beginning

June 16, 2009 was a normal day as we were getting ready to go to our usual weekly happy hour! I had been feeling a little funny and thought maybe Aunt Flo was ready to visit but for some reason I thought I would take a pregnancy test. And the results...POSITIVE! We went to dinner as usual and I decided between that night and the next morning to take a few more just in case :) ha ha (The nurse later informed me one would have done the trick!)

I called my doctor the next morning and she said come in for bloodwork and we can confirm and see how far along you are. On June 18, 2009 I found out that I was between 3 and 4 weeks pregnant with our first child! I was very excited. We shared the news with our immediate family members and they were all so excited. The date for our first prenatal appointment and ultrasound will be on Wednesday, July 8th at 10:00 am. Can't wait!