Over the river and through the woods

We are just back from what we expect is our last out-of-town trip until Jordan comes in October. We visited the Arthur families up at Dondi's grandma's house near Perkins, Oklahoma. Below you can see all the cars that brought us to Oklahoma. We had family in from five states: Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri. It was great to see everybody.



The trip was fun, if too short (we drove up Saturday and came back Sunday). Dondi got to see her grandma and about 2,536 of her closest relatives (it seemed like that many to Roy, but we may have counted a couple of people twice).



Dondi handled the trip really well. We had to seek special permission from the doctor to go. The risk of blood clots was the main reason for the caution, so we stopped a couple of extra times to walk around and get some water. Speaking of the doctor, Dondi goes back Thursday to take her mini-glucose screening test. If that goes well, we're done with worrying about gestational diabetes. If it doesn't, then she gets to go in for a three hours where they do a much more detailed test. Obviously, we really hope Thursday goes well.

Jordan didn't seem to mind the trip (or the food) either. He managed to kick a lot (never when Roy was around, of course, but Aunt Deona got to feel him kick once).

From the weekend, we want to send a shout-out and special congrats to Billi and John on their marriage; Amber 1 and Jeremy on their pregnancy and Amber 2 on her soon-to-come daughter Skyler.

New nursery pictures

We continue to work hard to get the nursery ready; after all, Jordan's going to be here in about three months! Here are a couple of pictures we shot today, after finishing up our work.

The pictures show the airplanes art hung on the wall. (Airplanes are from the Wallies collection of wallpaper art).

More pictures soon.

26 Weeks, 4 Days

Dondi had another doctor's appointment today, and all went well. We are now officially (more or less) in the third trimester, so the home stretch has begun. The doctor said Jordan is growing on schedule. The doctor also said that Dondi's back pain should begin to subside in about 14 weeks (for those of you keeping score, the baby's coming in about 14 weeks). Roy also got to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time today, which was very cool.

Roy painted the nursery closet Sunday afternoon. We thought about doing it over Memorial Day weekend when we painted the nursery itself, but Roy didn't think it needed it. Well, he changed his mind Saturday while washing down the closet's baseboards, walls and shelves (the previous owners cleaned the house about once every 12 years whether it needed it or not). So, he painted the closet Sunday after church. Roy's Rule No. 1 for painting a closet: never, ever, ever paint a closet on a July afternoon in North Texas. Ever. The fumes, combined with the heat nearly do not equal fun.

So the nursery is coming along nicely. We'll post some new pictures once we get everything that's supposed to be in the closet back in the closet, and we can get some of the wall art hung.

The Picture at 25 weeks

Dondi, at 25 weeks along. Jordan's growing quickly, and apparently can now hear what we're saying (so I guess that means we have to start spelling the big words).
copyright 2005, Roy & Dondi Hayhurst

Week 25 (15 or so to go)

We will start the 25th week about mid-week, but we read some interesting stuff about Jordan's development (which we thought you might find interesting, as well).

While we don't know exactly the details, generally, a baby at this point is:

• 13 1/2 inches long, measured from head to heels
• Weighs about a pound and a half
• Has recognizable hair and hair color.

Source: BabyCenter.com

Hope you have/had a great Independence Day!

Yet Another Doctor's Appointment...

Dondi went to the doctor again today, and got another clean bill of health. The doctor said that she sure is consistent. Jordan is developing on schedule (heartbeat was strong and steady) and Dondi is progressing normally.

Dondi has another doctor's appointment in 3 weeks, and from there she'll schedule her glucose screening test after that. The doctor says Dondi is about 23 weeks and 3 days through the pregnancy, so we're well past halfway for those of you not keeping track.

We'll keep you posted, and hopefully, we'll have some new pics of the nursery to share in the next week or so.

Nursery evolution

This is the old nursery look. Like the mint green ice cream color of the lower half of the walls?
copyright 2005, Roy & Dondi Hayhurst




Changing table in the nursery
copyright 2005, Roy & Dondi Hayhurst


This is the crib (with the bassinet in the foreground)
copyright 2005, Roy & Dondi Hayhurst


You never appreciate how much goes into making the baby's room until you undertake it. As you can tell from the first picture there, we pretty much used Jordan's room as a storage center until a few weeks ago, when the urge to paint, build the crib and move the changing table/dresser in took over.

We're finding decorations for the room we're going to add, and as we can, we'll post new pics of the nursery here.

More good news

Dondi had another doctor's visit today, and that went really well. Blood pressure was in the good zone, and the baby's development is on track. Although the doctor sticks with the due date of Oct. 20th, the sonogram from the other day shows a delivery date of Oct. 11th, which means Jordan is ahead of his development curve. Just like his mom and dad, he's an overachiever!

Dondi got to hear the heartbeat, which was recorded at a brisk (and healthy) 155 beats per minute.

This weekend was fun, with new clothes from maternal grandma (we'll work on better names later) and Aunt Wendy, who true to her post the other day has made purchases with purpose!

We'll have the pictures of the nursery up soon. I guess I'll have to get creative and read up on how to put pictures on here.

Shout out to our good buds at Quizzicles for the kind words about our little corner of cyberspace.

Hope everyone is well!

Sonogram shows it's a boy!

We found out tonight that we are having a boy! The sonogram went well, and all signs point to a healthy baby growing in there. We're pretty thrilled. Either way was fine with both of us -- we just wanted healthy -- but we're excited about the boy.

At one point during the sonogram, the technician pushed a little harder to try to get a better image of the baby, and he took both arms and hands and pushed back! The technician said something to the effect of "I think I've made him mad." (We think he has both Mom and Dad's personality of not wanting his personal space invaded!)

That's our news. We'll keep you posted as soon as we know more.

Memorial Day Weekend and Less than 24 hours!

We're less than 24 hours away from finding out what we're having (assuming the baby cooperates with the sonogram, that is!).

This weekend, we cleaned out the nursery (we knew from the moment we bought this house which room would be the nursery -- that didn't stop us from using it as a storage room). The top half of the room and ceiling were painted sky blue with puffy white clouds. The bottom half was this ugly mint green color. We painted the bottom half a grassy-green to give it a sky and fields feeling. We also put the crib together (thanks to Dondi's dad who helped us overcome a slight manufacturer's defect). It looks beautiful.

We'll do an airplane/helicopter theme if it's a boy and a zoo animal theme if it's a girl. The sets we're leaning toward use the same colors for both, so that's why we can choose paint without knowing what exactly we're having.

Appointment is at 3:30 p.m. (CDT) Wednesday. Look for a post some time after 5 p.m. with how the appointment went.

What are we having?

Definitely having a baby. Definitely human.

The next sonogram is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. June 1. We should be able to find out then whether we're having a boy or a girl. We'll post it here as soon as we know!

12-Week Doctor Visit

We just got back from the first meeting with the doctor. We did get to hear the heartbeat, but it was still pretty faint. She said that's because Jordan's about 2 inches long and moving around a lot. The heart rate is currently 160 beats per minute, which is good. My blood pressure has dropped to a "good" zone, so she wasn't too concerned with that.

She said I am allowed to help paint as long as it is water-based, and I have to use one of those face breathing masks. They didn't mention anything about my weight gain. With them, no news is good news, so I'm on track. I've gained 6 lbs since my annual check up in November, and that's not bad considering that includes the pre-pregnancy holidays. :-)

Our next doctor's appt is May 9th. Then there will be a second sonogram between 18 & 20 weeks, which is somewhere between May 23 & June 10. That will be the first chance to find out whether we're having a boy or a girl.

Furniture!

We are now owners of a gorgeous crib and dresser/changing table set. It's a convertible crib (to toddler then to full-sized bed) in a natural wood tint. Thanks to Roy's parents for providing both!

(And thanks to everybody who has already been sending stuff -- if your thank-you note hasn't arrived yet, it's probably the post office's fault).

We spent about an hour at Babies R Us last night looking at stuff. Apparently, to successfully have a baby in the burbs, one must have a family budget roughly that of the British Royal Family. Roy's favorite: you don't buy a stroller. No, no, strollers are SO 20th century. Now, you buy a "travel system." The difference? $120. Cool things about the "travel systems" is they offer cupholders for Mom and Dad (add some XM Satellite Radio, and then we're talking).

Next doctor's appointment (the first one with the actual D.O.) is Monday, April 18th. We'll post again, then, with anything the doctor lets us know about the baby's due date, health, size, and Dondi's blood pressure.

Have a great week!

FAQs

Some questions we're asked a lot, with some answers.

How's Dondi feeling?
Tired a lot, but pretty good. Occasional morning (and afternoon) sickness, but no toilet-hugging.

When is the baby due?
Oct. 20.

Are there twins?
No. The sonogram shows one beating heart surrounded by one baby. Current, s/he is really small.

Where are you registered?
We're not, yet. Stay tuned.

Is Dondi planning on returning to work after the baby is born?
At this point, yes, but inheritances, lottery winnings and liquor store holdups could change our plans drastically.

How much time will Dondi take off from work?
Twelve weeks.

What's the baby's sex?
Generally, you don't know until the end of the 4th or beginning of the 5th month. As of this post, Dondi's about 10-11 weeks along. Visit BabyCenter.com (see link at right) for details about what the baby is doing at this point of his/her development.

Will you let us know the baby's sex?
As soon as we know.

Which hospital/doctor are you using?
Because this web site is public, we won't say which one here out of privacy concerns. However, feel free to email us, and as long as you're not scouting for Michael Jackson, we'll let you know. We're not hiding this from family/friends, but you never know who else might be reading this site. And rest assured, it is a fantastic hospital with a certified Level III neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) on-site. Whatever that means.

How's Chloe (the cat) handling this?
She's not real thrilled at the moment. We think once the baby arrives, she's going to be even less thrilled.

How's Roy feeling?
This isn't actually a FAQ, but Roy feels left out that so few people ask him. He's fine, though. Thanks for reading.

First Sonogram

We had the first sonogram today. All went well. We have ONE beating heart, and a baby growing around it!

The technician said per the baby’s development, my due date is Oct 17th, but they left the official due date at Oct 20th. It is too early to hear the heartbeat (she tried), but it is beating at 170 per minute, which is normal at this stage of development. The baby is still pretty small, but we could see the legs and arms moving around.

This actually took the place of the 10 week sonogram, so I’m not sure if and when we’ll have another. Somewhere around week 20, I think. The next trip to the doctor is scheduled for mid-April.

That’s all the news, but it is all very good news.

First Doctor Visit

Well, the first visit is over. It was pretty boring. I met with the nurse only today, and signed lots of paperwork. They did the typical urine and blood tests. We'll get the lab results in 2 days. They also scheduled our first sonogram for next Monday, March 14th at 12:30. It'll be too early to hear the heartbeat, but we should be able to see the heart beating. (Basically, I think it is supposed to look like the old video game Pong, just a blip on the screen.) The second sonogram is scheduled at 10 weeks, which is March 28th. We should be able to hear the heart and see a baby by then.

The only sort-of bad news I got was that my blood pressure is borderline (kinda high), and the doctor MAY put me on medicine and/or send me to the specialist later in the pregnancy. We don't meet with the doctor until I'm 12 weeks along. The appointment is set for April 18th. So we'll know more about that at the end of April