15 Weeks

Hi all! I've recovered from my cold and feeling good. Baby Hartsell is 15 weeks old now, which means I'm in the 17th week of pregnancy. People are commenting on "the belly" now. Brent took a picture of me this past Saturday 4/26/08 - I posted it for you to see. I was wearing the greatest new red maternity shirt my Mom bought me!

• Baby is 4 1/2 - 4 3/4 inches long. Almost the size of my hand (I measured!)
• Fat tissue begins to form - meat on the bones!

Brent and I had a fun weekend last weekend. We went to the Melbourne Art Fair downtown on Saturday. Lots of good art to see. We didn't buy anything this year, just had fun looking. The weather was great, nice and sunny but not too hot. On Sunday we drove to Orlando the big Babies R Us store. We don't have a good Babies R Us here locally, just a small section in the Toys R Us store. Orlando was the closest, took under an hour to get there. We had so much fun! We are trying to pick out a stoller and car seat. It's so hard! There are so many styles and brands. It's hard to know which one is the best. I was in baby heaven at Babies R Us - I loved it! Then we had lunch at Houlihan's and talked strollers and baby gear - the parents-to-be. :o)

My hips have started to bother me lately, particullarly at night. I am not supposed to sleep on my back, as it puts pressure on veins and blood vessles when lying flat. So, I flip flop all night long from side to side. My left hip hurts so bad - burns and aches. I have to often get up and walk around for a few minutes till it feels better. Then I'll sleep and wake up again an hour or so later with a burning hip again. I have talked to my sister-in-law, Angie, and some of my co-workers and they had the same problem. Oh my, painful hips for the next 5 months!!

I had more lab work this week. I expect to get the results at my next check-up, which will be May 13th. Then the next ultrasound will be May 21st. I can't wait to see the baby on the screen again! The ultrasound tech may be able to tell if it's a boy or girl....but I still think we want to be surprised!

Hope everyone is happy and healthy. I miss all my family and friends!

Love, Laura

14 Weeks

Hello everyone! Baby Hartsell is 14 weeks old now, which means I am 16 weeks along and into the 4th month already. I can't believe it's been 4 months and I keep recounting in my head. It's gone so fast so far, yet seems so far away!

• Baby is 4 1/3 - 4 2/3 inches long.
• Arms and legs are moving...shouldn't be long now till I can feel baby move!

I caught a nasty bug and have been really sick lately. Last Wednesday I came down with a cough and fever. I left work early, came home and took a nap, woke up with a fever and called my doctor. The fever was low-grade, only 99.8 at the highest. But boy do fevers make you feel crappy! My doctor said to watch the fever closely and if it got to 100.4, they would probably send me to the ER for IV fluids and IV antibiotics. Holy smokes!! So, I took Tylenol and drank lots and lots of fluids. I went to see the doctor Thursday - actually saw the Nurse Midwife, who was so great - and she gave me Zithromax (baby friendly) for 5 days. I'm feeling much better now than I did at the beginning - but still not up to snuff. My congestion and cough are still hanging around and driving me crazy! They said I could take Sudafed if need be, but I haven't yet - I'm stubborn. I can't wait till I can breathe out of my nose again. Hopefully this will be the only bout with bugs I'll have till after the baby is born!

Brent took good care of me while I was sick. Now he's getting congested a bit - oh no! He's okay though, not one to much complain (much). :o)

Back to work on Monday after taking Thursday and Friday off. My unit at the hospital is so busy and no one covered the floor well while I was gone, surprise surprise. So, lots and lots of work to do. I stayed late both days so far this week, but I'm still behind. Such is life.

The weather has been lovely here - low 80's. I'm dreading the humidity, which I know will start soon. My Mom and Dad have been enjoying the warmer weather (finally!) up north - spring is on it's way. My uncle has daffodils in his yard - what I wouldn't give to see good old Indiana spring flowers!

American Idol is on tonight - my not-so-secret weekly TV indulgence. I call my Mom during commercials and text message Jenna. So nerdy, but so fun.

Better run - talk to you soon!

Love, Laura

News to Share

Hi all! Brent and I are back from the Florida Keys! We had an awesome time. I posted a picture from the Key West Pier. Brent and I stopped for drinks ("virgin" ones for me) and to enjoy the clear blue-green water. Amazing water down there - so pretty. The camping was lots of fun and we stopped at four different camp sites in all. The first one was in Key Largo, the closest Key to the mainland. We kayaked there and enjoyed our first evening at camp...until it started raining. And it rained and rained. And thunder and lightening. Kept us up all night, except for maybe the two hours it was quiet. We were waterlogged by morning. The tent kept us mostly dry, but some water found its way in. We spent the morning drying out and then headed on to Long Key. Our campsite at Long Key was right on the Atlantic Ocean. We could not believe it - it was so cool. We were literally two feet from the ocean water when the tide was in. We kayaked and saw huge coral and a few fish. We really enjoyed Long Key for the views and solitude. Next on to Key West. So much fun! We didn't hang around the campsite very much and we spent a whole day and a half downtown Key West. Such a neat city with so much history. We walked and walked and by the end of the days I was waddling and I knew I had had enough! The sunsets were amazing and we watched street performers in the evenings. I had the best burger and fries of my life at Sloppy Joe's Bar and the best Key Lime pie in the world. After Key West, we drove back up to Bahia Honda. What a beautiful island, the only one with natural sandy beaches. We spent the afternoon on the beach and Brent went kayaking in the ocean. I didn't kayak here, too rocky and I was too tired by the end of the trip anyway. You all would be proud of this pregnant girl camping. I held up well and held my own! There were a couple of moments (like the rain) where I thought I was nuts. But overall, I did well and we really did have a great time. We headed home Saturday afternoon and I have to say I was glad to be back home. Jo-Jo and Cola were waiting for us with bells on.

Baby Hartsell turned 13 Weeks in the Keys. :o)

• Baby is 4 to 4 1/2 inches long.
• Rapid growth continues.
• Fine hair, called lanugo hair, covers the baby's body.
• Baby may be able to suck his/her thumb!

Other great news - my cousins Philip and Michelle are home safe from Afghanistan. They flew in last night around 1 AM. My Aunt Joan, Uncle Phil, and Denton were all waiting at the airport, along with Michelle's family. Jenna and Michelle's sister Jessica both could not make it due to college exams - darn school anyway. No one was sure if Michelle would be able to come home at the same time and the last they heard from her, she didn't think she would be able to. So what a wonderful surprise and blessing to have them both home together and safe. They all are in North Carolina near Fort Bragg, where Phil and Michelle have their home. Joan, Phil, and Denton are staying till Saturday. Philip was out buying a TV and a cell phone today - God bless America! Philip said he ate 5 biscuits for breakfast today and it was awesome - ha ha. I can't tell you how happy and thankful we all are that they are home. God is Good.

More great news - Brent has finished his Masters Degree program. He turned in his last paper last night. He's done! He did a great job - all A's and he worked hard for them. Very admirable all the effort he put into his classes and work - all while maintaining his own school classroom and doing lesson plans and projects for his students. I'm so proud of him! He will receive his degree in June. Since he was an on-line student, they do give him the option of going to commencement and walking for his degree, but he said he'd be fine with the degree in the mail at this point. He may change his mind, you never know. Way to go, Brent!!

We are talking, thinking, and working on our plans for the next school year for Brent. He has been looking at other jobs and more opportunities. Please say a prayer for us that what was meant to be will be - and we'll end up where we are meant to be, too. I trust the Lord will guide us.

I had a check-up appointment with my OB doctor today. I actually met another one of the doctors in the practice and she is very nice. We went over some of the labs I had drawn and everything is normal. I heard the baby's heart beat - heart rate of 147, right where it should be. Dr. Clennon said my weight is great - I gained 4 pounds in a month and a half and she said that's great. I was so thrilled about it that I decided I should treat myself to a piece of chocolate pie at lunch! Ha! Brent didn't come to this appointment, which was okay since it was just a check-up and I was only in there with the doctor for about 20 minutes. With vacation, we sort of forgot that the appointment was this Monday already and he wasn't able to take off work. He is jealous that I got to hear the heart beat, though!

That's all for now. Thinking of everyone ~

Love, Laura

Spring Break and 12 Weeks

Spring Break is here! Brent's last day of school and my last day of work for a whole week. Bliss.

Baby Hartsell is beginning his/her 12th week.

• Baby is 3 1/4 to 4 inches long.
• Eyes and ears continue to move to their "normal" spots.
• Neck continues to get longer and chin no longer rests on chest.

We're getting ready for our Keys camping trip. We're going to leave Sunday mid-morning, so we'll have tomorrow to pack the car. Our pet sitter came today to get the house key. Jo-Jo seems to like her just fine, so I hope they'll all be happy. She will come twice a day. We feel better about leaving Cola and Jo-Jo together at home for the week, instead of taking Jo to the kennel. Cola would get so lonely all by her self!

Not too much else to report. I'll post a Keys picture when we're home! The last vacation for "just the two of us!"

Love, Laura