Nothing to do with Baby J but I couldn't resist...

Ok, so it's been a while since we've posted a new picture of my larger than average frame...we'll get around to doing that in the next day or so. But I couldn't help but share this photo from a recent Christmas party that Stuart and I went to in our neighborhood. It was an ugly Christmas sweater party and Stu almost won Ugliest... Anyway, enjoy!

Let the Countdown Begin!

I've officially entered into my 3rd trimester this week (29 weeks along). I'm getting bigger and slower by the day but still feeling pretty decent. My next doctor's appt is next Tuesday and after that I start going ever 2 weeks instead of monthly. It's hard to believe that there's only 11 more weeks - maybe a bit more but also maybe a bit less.

We started officially prepping last week. Stuart started priming the nursury and we are going to paint it a dark charcoal grey with white wainscotting along the bottom. Decided against a theme for the room so that we could just keep it simple and not get overwhelmed.

We also began the long drawn out process of registering. A close friend helped us out by telling us about the essentials that needed to make our list as well as those items that are unnessary and cost a ton of money. Fortunately, we have been getting lots of fun hand-me-downs as well which is really cool.

Lastly, we finally signed up for our 2-day birthing class at the hospital. Seems like things are starting to fall in place and hopefully we can wrap up all our prep work soon before I start losing steam.

Looking forward to the holidays and having Stuart's parents come out for a week. It's been over two years and we are really excited for them to be with us over Christmas. I'll have my first baby shower while they are here too! Super fun.

That's it for now...time for a nap.

Happy thanksgiving,

Beth, Stu and Sweet Baby J

15 More Weeks To Go!

I'm 25 weeks along tomorrow and doing as well as to be expected. My back hurts and I'm tired a lot but overall can't complain much. I can feel him move around much more than before and it's comforting to have the movements.

I had to take a glucose test on Thursday to see if I had gestational diabetes. It can back negative so I was relieved to not have to take daily injections in my belly. PHEW!

Here is a picture of me from this week. I think I still have gained less than 20 lbs so far which is good considering my eating habits as of late. I love chocolate, cinnamon rolls and chicken McNuggets. Yum! It's good to eat whatever you want and not feel guilty.

And the belly gets bigger...

Here is a shot of me at 20-21 weeks. It may not appear that I'm much bigger than the last shot but I sure feel that way. To date, I've gained about 12 lbs. But I've been indulging a lot so we'll see if I start gaining more. My next OB appt is next week so we'll know how much I've gained for sure. I'm trying not to overdo it but it's hard when you feel like you're starving all the time and sugary treats seem like they are everywhere.

I feel "full" all the time (despite always being hungry) and I have to wake up a lot in the middle of the night because I have to use the bathroom or move around because I am uncomfortable. I'd be lucky if I can stay asleep for 3-4 hours. Most of the time, I am up every 1-2 hours.

I think I'm starting to feel some movements but since it's my first time, I can't really tell what I'm feeling. This week I'm starting to feel more "rumbles" in the abdomen area especially in the evening and after I've had a little bit of sweets.

We're busy putting the final touches on the Shoreline house before it goes on the market. So we haven't had a ton of time to do any planning yet. But we are starting to talk boy names, nursery plans, and look at stuff online to prepare for registering. Lots to do but we still have plenty of time!!

Until the next posting,

Beth, Stu and Baby Boy Johnson

We were wrong!! We're having a boy!

Well, our assumptions that it just had to be a girl were completely wrong. When we went for our first "fetal survey" ultrasound, she showed us what looked convincingly like baby boy parts!!! She wouldn't give us evidence on the photos, however, so you'll have to take our word for it. The 3 pictures she took weren't that great so this is the best of them. Hopefully that won't be the only ultrsound we have so we can post even more!

After a full day of disbelief and giggling, we are finally on board with baby boy Johnson. I'm super excited that a couple of good friends in the neighborhood are having boys also (one next week and the other in December) so our kids can play together and attend school together. That will be fun. We're now talking about boy names and nursery preparations. It's going to be a lot of fun... and a lot of learning. I know nothing about little boys yet!

Much love,

Beth, Stuart and Baby Boy Johnson!

False Alarm!

So I thought I would be able to get an ultrasound on Friday at my 3rd appt but he wouldn't do it until 20 weeks. So we have a "fetal survey" ultrasound with an imaging clinic in 8 days on Sept 17th at 9am. We aren't counting the days or anything!!

Stuart and I are really excited to find out the sex and even though not getting a sneak peak on Friday was a disappointment, we are looking forward to our next appt. We bring a VHS tape with us so they can record the ultrasound. Pretty cool stuff!!

Keep you posted. For the record, my money is still on Sweet Baby J being a girl. Only time will tell!!

Love,
beth and stu (and baby bean)

Hanging in there!

I've finally finished my duties last night as matron of honor in one of my best friend's wedding. It was a lot of planning and fun activities over the last month and I wasn't able to get online to post anything for a while. But now it's all about finishing up our investment house in Shoreline and baby preparations.

I'm definitely showing now - as you can see in the picture we've attached. I barely fit into my bridesmaid dress yesterday and we had to make some modifications to the dress so that I would be comfortable. Fortunately, it came with a sash so that I could hike the dress up under the bust area and create an empire waist of sorts. Stuart helped me go shopping a couple of times and I picked up some maternity clothes including some really nice jeans that will last me a while. I am in between maternity and my regular clothes right now so I was also able to get some non-maternity clothes that fit also - thank goodness that empire waisted shirts are really popular right now.

I am feeling ok except I'm really tired lately. But other than that, I am doing well. I still crave rootbeer floats and nectarines. I think I have at least one or two nectarines every day. And I still can't touch Chinese food. I have had more burgers in the last 4 months than I probably have had in the last 4 years!

Will continue to keep you posted. I'm 18 weeks along this week and have my 3rd appt on Friday. At that time, the doctor will schedule an appt with the radiologist for my first big ultrasound where we will be able to see the sex of Baby Johnson if all goes well. I still think it's a girl at this point although it's really just a hunch and not founded on anything. Place your bets now!

Much love,

Beth, Stu and Baby Johnson

It's a....

...little too early still to find out if it's a boy or girl!! Gotcha! A couple more weeks around the 19/20 week mark should do the trick.


We just had our 2nd check-up today and all is well. Dr. Haines re-established our due date as February 3, 2008. Stu is excited to have those couple extra days to prepare the house! We had a doppler heart rate check. Baby J's heart was beating at 160 per minute and it was very cool to hear it for the first time.


Then we had an ultrasound and was able to see it's heart valves actually pumping. Baby J is the length of a small lemon now and you could see its spinal cord, fingers and all. It was kicking like crazy and also tossing around a bit. In the picture, we had it just right with a profile shot of the whole body but as the Print button was pressed, Baby J decided to play coy and turns it back to the camera. But it will give you an idea of its growth nonetheless. With this second visit, we finally felt ok to share the news with our friends. It's nice to not have to keep a secret anymore. I'm not very good at that.

Our next visit isn't until Sept 7 when I will be about 19 weeks along and well into my second trimester. For now, I'm feeling good but getting up a lot at night. I'm just starting to show barely and can fit into most of my old clothes with the help of a small rubber band to hold my pants up! I started prenatal yoga this week also and am looking forward to some stretching and exercise each week.



That's it for now. Going away this weekend for a girl's getaway in Sonoma Valley, otherwise known as wine country in California. Not the greatest time for a trip like this but it will be relaxing.

Hope all is well.



Love Beth, Stu and Sweet Baby J

It's Official!! Baby Johnson Due in 2008!

Three days before our trip to China, I had my first positive pregnancy test! This spoiled our plans of having a baby "Made in China" but we were excited nonetheless! The trip didn't go quite as planned, I got sick a lot (no throwing up thankfully) and was tired often. We had fun visiting the Great Wall, Terracotta Warriors and shopping around Beijing but I still can't think of chinese food without getting sick to my stomach. I wonder if I will ever like it again.

Once we got home, we scheduled our first doctor's appt. Unable to see our OBGYN until early July, I went ahead and scheduled a visit with my primary physician so that we could confirm our suspicions beyond just ourselves and a couple boxes of pee sticks! I woke up each night starving to death and made myself (or made Stu) midnight meals. I don't have any weird cravings but I love apples and rootbeer floats right now.

Our first OB appt was on July 5th at 10 weeks. We were able to have our first ultrasound. Baby Johnson was kicking and flailing around. It was so cool to see it in action. It was about the size of a lima bean at this point.

Our next appt is on Aug 2 (14 weeks) and after this one, we'll go ahead and tell friends. We just got back from a trip to Nebraska and told the rest of our families. We drove straight there in 20 hours and back in 26 hours. Needless to say, I had to use the restroom every 1.5 hours further delaying an already long trip each way.

This blog was created so that all our friends and family that aren't here with us in Seattle can hear/see our progress with each month. I hope to add pictures and updates regularly for you all. It's becoming more real as each week passes along - I think our due date is January 29th or around that time. Once it's firmed up, we'll let you know for sure.

Love,

Beth (along with Stu and Baby Johnson)