Michigan Bound

The house hunt started over the weekend. Brent and I flew to Grosse Pointe this past weekend and met with our realtor. He showed us several homes and we chose 1907 Country Club - I posted a picture for you. It's a charming little bungalow with wood floors, three bedrooms, and one very outdated but workable kitchen. It has a basement and a screened-in porch, which my kitty will love. It has lots of character and suits us to a tee. We placed an offer, which was accepted today by the seller! Now it's all pending the inspection and mortgage. Keeping fingers crossed. What a whirlwind the past few days have been. Hard to believe that one week ago I had never even seen Grosse Pointe and now here we are half-way to home owners.

I absolutely fell in love with the Grosse Pointe area. I had to pinch myself, it seemed too good to be true. Beautiful tree lined streets, darling homes everywhere, great little shopping areas, and lots of places to walk. It's right on St. Clair Lake, which is huge and lovely. We will have access to the lake for our kayaks. I can't wait to move there and it feels so much like home already. Brent and I are just thrilled. My parents and Brent's parents drove up to see us and help with the house search. It was SO nice to see them. They all love our little home we picked out and also love the area.

21 weeks along now, Baby is 19 weeks old. I think I'm expanding by the day.

• Baby is about 7 1/4 inches long.
• According to the book, baby weighs 10 1/2 ounces, but it was estimated at my last ultrasound that he/she was 12 ounces.
• Fetal digestive system continues to develop.

I have been scheduled for two appointments - June 9th for the routine 4 week check-up here at the local office and June 10th for the special ultrasound in Orlando. Brent will be done with the school year by then, so he will be able to take me to both.

We Hartsells are busy beavers lately. So much going on - but we are thankful it's all going well so far!

Love, Laura

Ultrasound Day

Today was our second ultrasound day! 20 weeks along now and Baby is 18 weeks old. Brent and I took the morning off work and went to the ultrasound appointment together. Baby looks so cute in there!! It was so awesome to see how much bigger the baby is now since the first ultrasound. Baby was really rockin' and rollin' in there and moving his/her arms and legs. It was awesome! We saw the little face and the profile is amazing - the little nose is SO cute! The ultrasound tech said Baby weighs 12 oz, which is right on target. The heart rate today was 154 - I think we have a trickster on our hands and now we have no idea if it's a boy or a girl. The ultrasound tech said she didn't even look. :o) They checked out all of baby's organs - the heart has the four chambers and was beating great. Baby's head measures the right size. One concerning finding was the right kidney. It is bigger than it should be and is retaining fluid. The ultrasound tech said this is a very common finding, they see it once every week to two weeks on ultrasounds. She said that the kidney is not draining the urine well, maybe the valves are still underdeveloped. The left kidney is normal size. She said the bladder is working fine and the amount of amniotic fluid around the baby is normal. They are going to watch the kidney closely and monitor its size. It may return to normal on its own. If not, they will watch the amount of amniotic fluid, etc. Baby may need to have tests done after he/she is born and worst case senario is surgery to correct the kidney if needed.

They are going to send me to a "high risk" OB doctor in Orlando at Winnie Palmer Children's Hospital. Probably will have an appointment in the next couple of weeks. They will repeat the ultrasound and they have more specialized equipment there. They say this is a common problem, but no matter how common...it is still upsetting. My niece Olivia actually had enlarged kidneys and hers were found on ultrasound, too. She had testing after she was born and everything corrected itself and she does not have any problems at all. But, as first time mom and dad here, it wasn't easy for me and Brent to hear "high risk". We are keeping everything in perspective at this point. We will see what happens and just keep praying. I am crazy about our little baby inside...I fell in love even more today.

I posted a new picture of my belly - getting big! And a picture from today's ultrasound to show - isn't it the cutest baby in black in white you've ever seen?! Check out the foot sticking straight up!

Brent and I have an excited weekend planned. We are flying to Grosse Pointe on Friday evening and staying until Monday afternoon. We are meeting with our realtor and will be seeing several houses and hopefully finding just the one we want. If so, we'll be starting to put down some offers and hope we can get our first little home. My parents and Brent's parents are driving up and will be hanging out with us and helping us look at homes. We can't wait to see them and I can't wait for them to see my belly!

I have a cold again - very congested, probably a sinus infection. Have been slightly miserable for a week and now starting with the cough again. Plus, I have conjuctivitis in my eyes (they're all red and crazy). My doctor put me on Zithromax again. I think the baby's middle name will be Zithromax .... Anna Zithromax Hartsell or how about Rowan Z-Pack Hartsell. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?

Say prayers for our baby and the little right kidney. I so hope everything turns out okay. I'm 20 weeks along now - half way done. These last 20 weeks will probably drag on now....I just want to see and hold Baby Hartsell. And kiss that cutest nose on that ultrasound.

Is it a Boy or a Girl?

I had a 4 week check-up on Tuesday with my OB doctor. I saw the nurse midwife, Michelle. She said that I am doing very well and am looking great! She is happy with my weight gain - about 8-10 pounds, depending on the scale. She measured my belly for the first time - I guess I'm "measurable" now! My blood pressure is still good and low. My labs I had drawn a couple of weeks ago that tested for abnormalities, such as spina bifida and Down's Syndrome, came back negative. She had nothing encouraging to say about my hip pain at night, only that it is normal and will probably get worse (oh swell). We listened to Baby's heart beat, which sounded wonderful to this anxious mom's ears. Heart rate was in the 140's. Some say boys run in 140's and girls are usually 150's-160's. The midwife said she'd put her money on a boy.
We'll see........................!

Lots of News at 17 weeks

Happy Mother's Day! Today is my Mother's Day "in training"! I hope all the mothers I know had a wonderful day. I missed my own mother terribly (painfully) today. But we talked on the phone a few times and she had a great day. Yesterday Scott made her dinner and helped her pick out new garden posies and plants. Makes me happy that they spent the day together, and of course with my Dad too. I also talked to my mother-in-law on the phone and wished her a happy day too! My mom left me the nicest comment under the last blog entry - made me tear up! All the wonders of motherhood do await me and I am looking so foward to meeting my baby. I've taken good notes from my mom over the years. She's showed me what it means to be a mom, and a really good one. If I can only be as half as wonderful as she is.

Well, Baby Hartsell is now 17 weeks and I'm 19 weeks along - almost to the halfway point!

• Baby is 5 1/4 - 6 inches long. Weight is now 7 ounces.
• Baby will increase his/her weight more than 15 times between now and delivery - I have a long way to go!!

I think I've been feeling the baby move lately. For about the past week or so I've been feeling flutters now and again. Sometimes it feels like someone is tapping me from the inside! It's still such an odd feeling, I don't know what to think about it yet! But I am pretty sure it's Baby and how wonderful.

Now for the biggest news - Baby Hartsell will be moving in other ways, too. As most of you know, Brent and I have been thinking about moving back up north. Last week Brent accepted an offer and took a new job in Roseville, Michigan. It's a suburb outside of Detroit. So, we are moving back to Michigan! He will start the new school year in August at a charter school in Roseville. His position is a Technology Specialist and he will work with all grade levels, teaching students using technology and working with his co-workers to develop new ways of learning through technology. It's a perfect job for him, especially with his new masters degree in Educational Technology. The new school is called Reach Academy. It is a brand new school in Roseville, so will have all new students and staff. The school is part of National Heritage Charter Schools, which is a big organization - our family friend Amy Lambries has worked with them for years in the Grand Rapids area. So, it's been a whirl-wind week thinking of all the changes to come and plans to make. We will probably move sometime in July. Our lease ends June 30th on our rental house here, but we plan to ask for one more month till July 31st to give us some more time. Brent went to Roseville for the interview last Tuesday and was offered the job the same day. Brent really loved the area and we are looking to maybe buy a house in the Grosse Pointe area, which is near Roseville and also a suburb of Detroit. Grosse Pointe is a great area and Brent says it's beautiful. It's right on a big lake - Lake St. Clair - so the kayaking can continue! Brent met with a realtor who showed him around the area and took him to see some homes for sale. Right now we are woring with a lender to see about a loan and how much we will be approved for - money talks! I am looking into jobs for me, as well. I'm looking for a part-time job to start with and continue once Baby Hartsell comes along. So much planning and so much to think about the next month or so! But, Brent and I are thrilled and so glad to be moving back up north. It suits us up there and we're looking so forward to maybe getting our first home and settling in. Keep your fingers crossed for us that all goes smoothly, with just a couple of road bumps along the way, as I'm sure there will be. Best part is, Grosse Pointe is about 3 hours away from home - just a car ride away!

Off to bed for me, another Monday and another week to start tomorrow. Hope everyone has a good one!

Love, Laura

16 Weeks

16 weeks along now for baby, 18 weeks for me. I'm feeling good and hope baby is happy, too. I've been thinking a lot about Baby Hartsell and really looking forward to October!

• Baby is 5 to 5 1/2 inches long.
• Baby's rapid growth starts to slow down a little (but my belly keeps growing!)

My dad has started working on the baby's crib! He started cutting the wood this past weekend. It's so cool my dad is going to hand-make the crib and dresser/changing table. It is very special to me and Brent. An heirloom we'll keep forever and use for all the Baby Hartsells to come. Dad is taking pictures as he goes, so I'll post some on the blog to show the progress!

My friend Jill had her first baby April 10th - Brady Patrick Bauer. We just got the birth announcement in the mail and he is SO cute. He has dark hair and is perfect!

I bought a body pillow to try to find a solution to my hip pain at night. I think it might be helping. I've only had it for two nights so far, but notice a little difference. I just feel like there is so much....pillow. I think I'll get used to it and I'm up for anything that can help this awful hip thing!

Well, that's all for now. Hope everyone is happy and well!