It's Definitely A Girl!

At the 20 week ultrasound, the doctor was pretty sure it was a girl, but he wouldn’t put it in the chart because he couldn’t get a good enough view to be positive. This left me always wondering in the back of my mind, “Could it be a boy?” However, we had another ultrasound this week and one of the first things he saw was evidence that she was in fact a girl. As he rolled the ultrasound over my belly later in the ultrasound I could hear him say to himself again “Oh yeah, definitely a girl.” And he did put it in the chart this time.

I love seeing the ultrasound images even though I can hardly ever tell what I’m looking at. But one of my favorite parts of this ultrasound was when he was showing us her face – where her eyes were and how there was a hand up by her mouth, possibly because she was sucking on it - when suddenly he moved the ultrasound thing just a little bit and a foot popped up on the screen. Now even I can tell what a foot looks like in an ultrasound and this was unmistakably a foot! Even the doctor was surprised to see her foot up so close to her face. He said that is common if the baby is breech, but she was positioned head-down just like she should be. I guess when quarters are tight (which they definitely are right now) your foot has to go somewhere!

So everything with the pregnancy seems to be going well. She is still a “mover and a shaker.” I don’t know what she is doing in there some days, but she seems to enjoy doing it. Yesterday I was wondering if she was possibly playing the drums. I keep thinking that she must be running out of room because it sure feels like it to me. But she still insists on moving around a lot (although I can’t imagine who she could have inherited such stubbornness from). We’re down to just six weeks now and getting more and more excited to finally meet our little girl!

Surf's Up

So last night was my last night working in the baptistry at the temple. As a goodbye gift, some of the WONDERFUL sisters on my shift gave me this "Oh So Cute" baby gift. One of the sisters brought the suit back from her recent trip to Hawaii! I told her now our little one will be ready to "swim" in the hot tub with all her Tucker cousins. If she is anything like her mom, she will love soaking in the hot tub (her dad is a pretty big fan too). Of course when she's little it will be more like little dips in the water, but she'll look so cute doing it.

A Busy Easter & General Conference Weekend

Ross and I had a very busy Easter/General Conference weekend. It started on Friday night when we went to see “Les Miserables” performed at a local theater. The cast was entirely made up of youth – mostly high school age. What talent! They did an amazing job. However, Ross and I both realized that neither of us really knows much about this story. Ross had watched the movie version recently, but this version was entirely musical (it kind of had an opera feel) and was harder for us to follow. I felt a little bit like I do when I watch Shakespearian plays – I get the gist of what’s happening, but the details are VERY vague! Overall, we both enjoyed it and were glad we went.

Saturday was very busy. Ross helped clean the church in the morning and got home just in time for conference to start. We watched the first half at home then listened to the second half in the car on the way to our Putnam Family Easter party. Between sessions we had lunch and visited with those at the party. We left just in time to get to my parents’ house to watch the second session. After it was over, we left so Ross could go to the priesthood session with his brother, Kyle. When the guys were done, Kyle, Amy, Ross and I went out for some yummy Thai food (which was not good for my blood sugar, but I loved it anyway) and then we spent the night at Ross’s mom’s house.

Sunday morning we watched the morning session of conference with Kyle and Amy and then drove back to my parents’ house for the last session. After the session we had a nice Easter dinner with some of my family and Grandma and Grandpa Putnam. Then we went to the Turner’s house for their traditional after-conference family home evening. It was a busy weekend, but as I told Ross, I was so glad we were able to make it work so we could participate in everything we wanted to and spend time with a lot of wonderful people this weekend.

30 Weeks

I am not a fan of this picture, but I'm going to post it anyway for those of you who might be curious as to how big and round I'm getting now. It seems crazy to think that I'm 30 weeks pregnant now. In some ways it has seemed so long, but it is also hard to imagine that we only have 10 weeks left to get ready.

Overall, she seems to be a pretty active baby. Someone once told me that an active baby is a sign of a happy baby. I don't know how much truth there is to that - but it sounds good to me! I can tell when when she's really alert because she moves around a lot then. When she really gets going, my belly bluges out all over. It's kind of cool to watch.

My blood sugar is doing well so far. They've cut me down to testing only 2-3 per day and still no medication is necessary. It is hard not to eat whatever I want whenever I want (especially since Ross doesn't have that problem at all - he has an amazing metabolism). But in the end, this will actually be healthier for me and the baby.

We don't have a crib yet, but we do have a place to put a crib now. We've been out looking, but haven't made any decisions. And now that we have a place ready for it, we'll probably get one in the next few weeks. Her room is coming together quite nicely so far. Thanks to her aunt Melyssa (aka MoMo), she does have a dresser to store all her clothes, blankets and other accessories in.

No Sweets for the Sweet

So they've diagnosed me with gestational diabetes. Not fun. But I just remind myself that this is better than a lot of other pregnancy complications that are out there. Fortunately I don't have to take medication for it at this point. However, I have had to attend a diabetes class where they taught me about how to eat better so my body can properly process the carbohydrates and sugars I eat and keep my blood sugar in balance. The worst part is that the foods I love to eat have a lot of carbs or sugars - pasta, bread, rice, ice cream - you know, all the good stuff!

I've been testing my blood sugar six times a day for about a week. (I have some family members who are diabetic, so using a device to prick my finger and check my blood is not a new concept to me and really doesn't bother me.) I'm learning what my body can handle, what food combinations I should stay away from and that exercise (or at least moving around more) does make a difference.

The funny thing is that typically I don't eat a lot of sweets anyway. So you'd think that part would be easy. But sometimes when someone tells you that you can't have something the craving for it suddenly becomes stronger. I haven't caved in yet. But after this baby comes I already told Ross I want a big milkshake (or a least a bowl of ice cream).

The things we do to keep our children healthy and safe. I guess I should just start getting used to making sacrifices for my children. I have a feeling this won't be the first...

So Nice to be Back

For nearly the past four years I've served once a week at the temple. But for the past six weeks or so I haven't been able to help on my shift because I've been car pooling young women to and from their basketball games. As much as I love spending time with the young women, it was so nice to be back in the temple last night serving with an amazing group of men and women whom I have come to love dearly over the years. We were so excited to see each other again. And it was so nice to feel the peace and serenity that exists only in the temples.

Another special part of being at the temple on this particular day is that it was the 32nd anniversary of the day that I was sealed to my parents in the Salt Lake Temple. I'm so grateful for the beautiful ordinances in the temple that allow me to be connected to my wonderful family even after this life is over.

Sadly my weeks of serving on my shift at the temple each week are numbered. As my tummy gets bigger and bigger, I'll become less and less helpful in the baptistry. And after the baby is born I will need to be home taking care of her instead. So when the time comes, I'll just have to enjoy the times when I can go to the temple as a patron and look forward to the time when I can serve as a temple worker again.

Our First Baby Purchase

I'm kind of slow at getting this post up, but I wanted to show off the first item that Ross and I purchased as expecting parents. This was actually part of Ross's Valentines present from me. Ross was a little concerned at first that it wouldn't fit him, but then was excited to be getting something for our little girl who's on the way.


We only have about 3 months left now. I'm feeling her move around quite a bit now. And sometimes I can even see my belly moving when she's squirming about. Her favorite time to move around seems to be at night right about the time that I'm ready to fall asleep. (So far she's more of a night owl like her mother.) On a couple occasions I've wondered if she's throwing a dance party in there with all the moving around she does.

I can tell that I'm entering the nesting stage as I think more and more about all the things we need to get done before the baby is born. I've even started organizing things in our house better so we have room for the baby to move in and probably eventually take over the house. It is an exciting time for our family and I'm sure the next couple months before she arrives are going to go by very quickly.