3 Days Left!

These pictures were taken at 38 weeks.

We are now 3 days away from Beanie's due date... September 3. As of Friday I am still dilated at 1 cm however, I was 90% effaced/thinned out. If she doesn't come by Friday we have an appointment wherein we will schedule an induction appointment for the following week.

I have developed a rash on my lower abdomen called PUPPS (Pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy) Rash. Unfortunately, this is one of those beautiful things that can occur during pregnancy and the only remedy aside from lathering Cortisone on my belly is... Labor and Delivery.

Aside from wanting to stay in bed and itch my belly all day, I have been feeling great. No real discomfort outside of what I have already been feeling. I have been walking to move things forward however, that doesn't seem to be doing anything except make my feet hurt. I keep thinking I will wake up and feel like today is the day, but I wake up and feel completely normal.

Everything is ready and awaiting beanies arrival. I have officially run out of things to do in preparation and find myself re-cleaning the house and my pets. My office threw me an awesome shower this previous week. We got so many cute outfits, baby toys, dohickies, and of course, some practical things too. I will apologize in advance right now if in the next week you ask me if I am still pregnant and I snap at you. I am starting to get impatient and would like to reassure everyone that we will call when we have the baby.

Hopefull my next post will have pictures of the beanie and will include our great tale of labor and the delivery.... Adios for now!

36 Weeks... 9 Months

We now have less than 4 weeks until the bean's due date; September 3. We are going to the doctor weekly. This past appointment, our physician was able to tell that the bean is head down and is approximately 6-6 1/2 pounds. I am officially dialted to 1cm. Not a lot, but my body is starting the process!! After touring, we decided to deliver at St. Lukes South hospital in Kansas City. The biggest appeal is that I will labor, deliver, and recover all in the same room. We are getting very anxious to meet the little bean, she what she looks like, and to finally get to hold her. This past week, she has been very active. I swear, she is trying to either burst out of the left side of my stomach or crawl out of my throat. She has been getting the hiccups a lot lately. We finished the bean's room.... here are some pictures:






We are just waiting on the glider rocker we ordered and the baby! We also have pictures of flowers we want to hang.

We went to Boston a couple of weeks ago when I was 33 weeks pregnant. Here is a picture of Chris and I and on the ferry: (Yes I know my hair looks funny)Not a lot else to report, our lives have already changed a lot since we find out that we were pregnant. I can't wait to see what the next couple of months has in store. Tentatively if I have the bean at the beginning of September, I am not due back to work until December 1, so if you are in the area feel free to stop by. I am sure we would love to have company!!! I have had some people ask me what else we need, to be honest with you I think we have everything we need. The other question I am getting asked a lot is what are we going to name her.... if it were not the most common name right now, we would probably name her Emma however, after meeting 2 other people during this pregnancy who are naming their babies Emma (1 was naming her daugher Emma Leigh...weird, I know) we are about 98% sure we are going to name her Charlotte. Still not settled on a middle name though...

7 Mooooonths

Today we are officially 7 months along or 28 weeks. We had a Dr.'s appointment on Friday, all is well. My glucose levels tested normal, blood pressure was good. My belly measured in at 24 (so I grew 3 inches since the last visit) and I have gained a total of 14 pounds. We venture back to the Dr. on the 27th of June. After that appointment, we start going every 2 weeks. The beanette is now the size of a chinese cabbage:
Soon I will have pictures to post of the beanette's room as we started painting last weekend. I had a wonderful shower this past weekend and got a lot of great items. Lots of cute clothes, practical items, and books. We are starting to get so excited to meet the little one!! We are going next week to complete our first daycare interview. I have been craving cheeseburgers like crazy. Mmmm.... :-) We are still torn with what to name the beanette... right now, the names are betwee Emma Leigh, Charlotte Elizabeth, Jaiden Leigh, or Maya Jane. Input??

25 Weeks

25 Weeks...
We are now registered at Target and Babies R Us. I think it should be illegal to charge a pregnant woman $40 for maternity pants....

24 Weeks (6 Months)

Hello!!!

We are officially 24 weeks or 6 months along!! As soon as I rolled over to 6 months I noticed a huge drain in energy. I think it is the first time throughout the pregnancy that I have really felt pregnant. We went to the doctor last Friday. My belly is measuring 21 inches which is on the low end of the scale. (21 inches-28 inches) There are NO concerns. I go back to the doctor June 6 for the dreaded glucose test. Here I am today:
Not a lot to report... I am hungry all the time, tired most of the time, officially do not fit into any of my pre-pregnancy clothes, but I really do feel fantastic. She is pretty active usually whenever I am hungry, mornings, and evenings (specifically when I lay down to go to bed). Chris can finally feel her moving all of the time and we are just to the point now that if you look closely at my belly, you can see it moving.

We are starting on the bean's room in June. Right now we are thinking different shades of lavender. Everyone keeps asking us about names... well, we were pretty set on the name Emma Leigh however, lately I have been thinking this bean might just be a Charlotte Elizabeth and last night Chris threw out the name Autumn... I guess we still have 3 months to decide. :)

We have also started registering Babies R Us: http://www.toysrus.com/registry/index.jsp
If you search under Chris or Amanda Hirschmann you should be able to find it.

Chao!!!

23 Weeks

23 Week Picture:

21 Weeks Exactly

I feel gigantic!!!!

Here are the latest pictures of the ever growing belly that houses our love child. Even though I feel gigantic, I feel GREAT! I am coming to the conclusion that the beanette loves cheeseburgers. Every time I eat one she goes crazy. She also craves fresh fruit and salad. She does NOT like Minute Maid Fruit Punch... you laugh, but it's so true. (Trust me)
Any way, this is all for now....

Here are the pictures from our last doctor appointment (at 19 weeks)...

As the previous post stated, we are having a girl!! The bean is officially a beanette!! Everyone is asking us about names now that we know the sex. At this point, we are thinking Emma Leigh however, we have 4 more months... other names on the list are Charlotte and Jayden...so we'll see! I have officiallly started gaining weight. A whole 3 pounds. My physician is not concerned so neither are we. I trust my body and trust that the weight will come soon. The beanette weighed in at 10 whole ounces. We go back to the doctor May 9. I can't believe that we are already 1/2 through this pregnancy... September is going to be here before we know it. We are going to start the room and gradually begin buying all of the necessities for miss beanette... i.e. diapers, wipes, diapers, onesies, diapers... etc. We are also going to begin the search for daycare next week, set up the hospital tour, and see about the birthing classes. We are so excited!! :)

It's A....

GIRL!!!!!!!!!!

18 Week Updates...

Important Updates: (At 18 weeks)
1) I started to feel the bean move at 17 weeks
2) Chris felt the bean moving last night
3) WE FIND OUT THE SEX ON FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yay!

Hello Bean!!

We went to the Doctor today for the Sonogram. All is well and fine. The pain I have been having is normal. The radiologist took a peek to see if we could determine the sex. There was NOTHING to see between the legs however, the radiologist did not want to "officially" call it a girl... however, we will know for sure April 11. Though, I am still confident that we are having a girl. {:-) The picture on the top left (that looks like a bunny head with ears) is the bean's bottom and legs... notice nothing to see in the middle!! The rest are of the bean hanging out. The head is on the left of the images and it looks like it is laying in a hammock. The bean was waving at us in the top right image. It is so funny, it was moving around so much; kicking, waving, and rearing it's head. I haven't felt it move yet though, I am sure this will happen soon. The bean is approximately 4 ounces big with a strong heartbeat of 158. Any ways, enjoy!!

Happy St. Patricks Day!!!

15 Week Update

Hey Everyone,
Chris and I visited Dr. Martin on Friday. Everything went really well. I have been experiencing some pain on my sides but Dr. Martin seems to think this is just my ligaments stretching out... and is completely normal. We are headed back to the Doctor on Monday for a sonogram to just check in on the bean and to make sure all is well. We are hoping the radiologist will be able to see the sex of the bean tomorrow!! (Keep your finger's crossed) If not, we visit the Doctor April 11 and they are planning on officially finding out the sex and checking the bean's anatomy out.

Aside from feeling fatigued and having occasional headaches-I have been feeling really great. Still no morning sickness, at this point I think I am safe. As of the Doctor's appointment Friday, I have not put on any weight at all. My Physician is not concerned about this and neither am I. I really feel that my body will start to put weight on when it is ready.

After a stressful 2 days of negotiations, we are finally homeowners!! Our new house is located on 92nd Terrace and Lackman in Lenexa, Kansas. Pending the inspection on Wednesday, we close on March 27 and take posession March 29th. Our lease is not up in our current apartment until the end of April so although we are anxious to get into the house, there is no rush. Here are a few pictures:

























































There are a couple of pictures missing. Not pictured are 2 other bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms, finished basement, and fenced backyard. After we move and get settled, I am sure there will be more to come. Well, I am off to bed. Have a Happy St. Patricks Day!!

11 weeks

We are now 11 weeks into our pregnancy journey! We saw Dr. Martin last week and got to listen to the heartbeat which was a strong 160 bpm... supposedly this means we are having a boy. I am still convinced it is a girl!















This is a picture of Amber and Ben's daughter Gracelynn. As you can see, she is meeting Jackson who appears to be... calm!!! Those of you who have met Jackson are probably surprised by this (as he is typically jumping and running laps) but he was great with Gracelynn. We think he will be a great "big brother".














The above is a picture of the newest addition, Lacee. Chris and I adopted her from Safe Harbor Pets. She is a 1 and a 1/2 year old Lab/Beagle mix. She has proved to be a great dog and we are convinced she will also be good with the bean.

Chris, Jackson, Lacee, Bella, and I have officially started the house search in Kansas City. It has been kind of stressful lately since we don't all agree on the types of house. This is Bella's version of a house: (Obviously not enough room for everyone)




















Jackson and Lacee's: (I'm not sure if Chris and I would fit in there since the show dog is a 1/4 of the size of the house)

















Any way, wish us luck!! Woot Woot!

Bonus!

Amanda: Today we had a bonus ultrasound!!! This is the latest picture of the bean. The bean sits direclty in the center above the word "BABY". The image is a side view. If you look closely, you can see the head, arm, and leg.

We got to listen to the heartbeat for the first time today. It was extremely amazing. The more I see the bean, the more I can't wait to meet it in September.

Chris: Today was an outstanding day. First this morning I woke up and put my underwear on the right way (the first clue to the great day). Amanda and I then went to the doctor and we got a sonogram and we got to hear the baby's (not babies) heart beat. Then the greatest part of the whole day... Kansas State 84 - Kansas 75 in Manhattan. This has spurred a new name on the baby name list.... Willie "The Wildcat" Hirschmann or Willma "The Wildcat" Hirschmann. Any way you look at it KU lost to K-State and I got to see my bean today. Go State!

Gas? Or a baby??

Amanda:

This week marks the 8th week of the pregnancy adventure. I have started to feel a little queezy but nothing too bad yet. I feel like I am definitely having aversions to foods... mostly everything except pot pies! Today I woke up and I suddenly feel like I am showing... maybe I am just bloated but Chris and Andreas both think I have a little more of a cushion in the stomach location. It makes me wonder if I am a little further along than the radiologist thought. FYI: Unless you really know someone is showing... don't tell them they look like they are showing. What they have going on in the stomach area was probably going on before and you may just make them feel bad.

I am learning a lot about being pregnant. Mostly, about how weird people get when they find out you are pregnant. I encountered the first belly grab which is just completely weird. If you are reading this, you should NEVER grab a pregnant woman's stomach. You would not normally approach someone and invade their personal space anyways! All you may be grabbing is gas right...

It's also strange how people around you over analyze everything you do. I have always done these things however, now that people know I'm pregnant they think I only do these things because I am pregnant.

Anyway, I am still enjoying every moment. I am just asking that everyone around me let me enjoy it. And please... if you see me, please don't grab my stomach... or I may be inclined to grab yours back.

Chris:

Being pregnant so far has been easy. I have noticed I have put on some weight, but I hear that is normal. Our doctor recommend to stay away from unhealthy food to avoid gaining 80 lbs throughout the pregnancy. It has not been easy though. Amanda bought some girl scout cookies from a co-worker. I have be avidly doing my part to help get these cookies out of the house. I try to average a box a day. My goal is to have the cookies gone by the weekend. I am right on track. Wish me luck!!

The Rumors Are True!

The Rumors are True!
Chris and I are pregnant and expecting the new addition September 4, 2008! We went to visit our new Doctor last week and got to see the bean's heart beat. Our next appointment is February 8th in which we hope to listen to the heart beat. Really, I have been feeling pretty great. No morning sickness yet (knock on wood). I have just been very tired and usually want to go to bed at 6:30 pm every night. Food tastes different... Things I normally love I find myself turning my nose up to now...water, eggs, onions, etc. Otherwise, all is fantastic and everybody is completely excited!!!