Pretty Baby

                                   no words needed.

                                                                                                            photographs taken by Godmother Krista Reeder [kristareeder.com]

                                                                            

One Month Old!

Sweet Baby

I can't believe it... Jaycie is a month old! It's very strange, I'm in awe that she's a month old already but it feels like she's been in my life forever. She's such an amazing little person, we're loving watching her grow and develop.

I can't get over how cute her belly is! I kiss it every time I change her diaper... so about 100 times a day! haha!

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First Week Home And...

I fit into my pre-pregnancy pants!! Heck yea! It feels great to be able to wear clothes that have been staring at me for months but I just couldn't stretch over my belly. Things are starting to settle in around here, Joel and I have a pretty nice routine worked out. Jaycie seems to be happy with her new life and she is growing so fast. We've already noticed changes since we brought her home. We're planning a trip back home to Salem next week, I can't wait to show her off! She's beautiful!

Jaycie Drew has Arrived!

Jaycie Drew Getzinger arrived at 1:20 p.m. on May 4th.  She weighed 7 lbs 10 oz and was 19.25 inches long.  She scored 9's on her APGAR tests and passed all her other tests in the hospital.  She has been doing so well with breast feeding she is almost back up to her birth weight less than a week after her birth.  Pretty impressive! She is absolutely beautiful and we are totally in love!  I could watch her face all day. Her hair is looking red and curly and her eyes are turning a deep blue.  For more pictures go to my facebook page or my myspace page, I have uploaded over 100 photos already.  She's so precious I can't stop taking pictures!! I can't wait for all my family and friends to meet her, you're all going to love her, she's perfect!

May 4, 2009

Last Day of Work

Maternity Leave Begins...

Today was my last day of work! I'm definitely going to miss my kids, but the work was just too hard on me physically to keep going.  I'm not sure yet how much time I'm going to take, but I'm allowed up to 12 weeks.  I'm just going to play it by ear.  All the kids are really excited to meet the baby and they ask when she's coming every day.  They also tell me they have babies in their bellies and lift up their shirts to show me.  Today Josh (pictured above) came up to me and said, "Look, Colleen, I have a baby in my belly, too! But my baby is a boy, he has a penis!"  I'm really going to miss them...  

We had our 38 week appointment today and everything went very well. I am just about 2 cm dilated and Jaycie's head is really low. The doctor stripped my membranes, so hopefully that will speed things up.  We just have to wait and see!

Sweet Dreams

Jaycie's Nursery

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Hey There Big Girl

We had another prenatal appointment today and everything went really well. We have now met all the doctors at the practice so if my main doctor can't deliver when I go into labor, I'll at least know who is delivering and she'll know a bit about us. Jaycie is happy and healthy with a strong heartbeat. I start going to the doctor once a week now. Won't be too much longer and she'll be here!

We have been getting her nursery ready and it's starting to look really great. We had a lot of help from our family and friends with that! Our showers were amazing! I couldn't believe all the generous gifts we received. I've spent the past week washing all of her clothes and finding places for everything.

I've been really exhausted again these days and sleeping whenever I can... since I know I won't have the option soon! Work has been especially hard since I have been running my classroom alone. My co-teacher has been out for the past 7 weeks due to knee surgery. Hopefully things will settle down once she's back.

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Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

28 Weeks!

Hello Third Trimester

Well, we decided on a name: Jaycie Drew Getzinger! We love it so you should, too! Jaycie has been so active these past couple weeks. Joel said he's felt blunt turns from shoulders or hips and once felt her "shake his hand". It's so funny watching my whole belly move! They say she won't be able to move so drastically in a couple more weeks because she'll start to run out of room. We're going to our next doctors appointment on Friday and we're getting what should be our last ultrasound. Plus, my ma is coming down to go with us! I'm so excited, it's amazing getting to see her move (Jaycie that is, not my ma). ;)

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By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

Countdown!

Week 26

We had another successful appointment last week. Everything seems fine, her heartbeat is strong and in the 140's. We're having another ultrasound done at our next appointment and I can't wait! I love to see her moving around.. which she does all the time now. Her movements are getting very strong and starting to take on a pattern. She likes to wake up around 6 and kick and punch until mom's up, too. I don't mind though, I really enjoy the quiet hours of the day we get to spend together.

The kids in my class have been talking to her, too. They say "Hi, baby" and pet my belly. I was amazed by how easily they all accepted that there was a "baby in my belly", no questions asked, no strange looks given. They seem to really understand and use very gentle touches when talking to her. It's the sweetest thing. Searius told me "I love the baby, I want to see her". I do, too... I can't wait to see her face. 14 weeks to go!

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The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. She may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. She's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of her lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when she's born and takes that first gulp of air. And she's continuing to put on baby fat. She now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel.

MySpace Graphics

Week 23

I've been feeling great! Well, as great as I can anyway. I have a nice big belly and I'm still pretty comfortable. I'm going to enjoy it while I can... I've been told how miserable I'll get once I'm really big! I have started to have some back pain, but Joel's been giving me lots of back massages! And he went out and bought me some Bengay! Now I look AND smell great! haha.. 

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Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb.