Ready or Not...

Well, we had our bi-weekly doctor's appointment today. It was slightly more involved than our previous appointments. As it turns out, I have had elevated blood pressure throughout this pregnancy (which we knew), but it has steadily been getting higher over the last few appointments. The doctors says this is sometimes how prececlampsia starts. I am not at crazy high levels right now, but she said it could suddenly change and spike. At this point, we will just watch for signs that my blood pressure is getting too high and continue with our normal appointments. However, she did say don't be surprised if Dr. Eisenhower (we saw one of her partners today) decides it's time for us to have this baby sometime soon! Yikes! We go back in another two weeks unless something changes. At that point, I'll be just a few days shy of 37 weeks, which is full term! Holy smokes!

In other news, the baby had turned slightly in my belly and is now resting on my right side with his or her head down. This is good as last time he or she was chilling across my belly! This will help should the time for the baby's arrival come sooner than expected! I am also measuring right on target at 35 weeks and the baby's heartbeat was going strong at about 140 bpm. All of that is perfect and right as it should be!

We have been making a little progress with the baby name issue. Our boy names haven't varied much over the last 8 months. We are still liking Bennett Andrew & Cooper Bryant best. The girls have definitely been more of a challenge. Right now our favorites are Delaney Joanne, Peyton Jo, and Emerson Rose. We are still on the fence, so leave us a comment with your vote! Also, let us know if you think we're having a boy or a girl!

In other news, the Nebraska Boys State Basketball tournament starts in a couple days. We are so looking forward to cheering on the Bryant cousins with the rest of the team. Our first house-guests arrive tomorrow night. It should be a crazy, busy, fun weekend with lots of friends and family! Oh, and two days off work will be nice too!

What a Weekend!

We had a really fun weekend! We got to go home to Tekamah/Herman for the first time in a couple months. It was a long overdue trip! We got to spend some quality time with our families and enjoy what might be the last childless trip home! My Pampered Chef show at Jessica's on Saturday was a huge success...the biggest show I've had to date! Our baby shower on Sunday was so much fun! Auntie Jessica really outdid herself. We were again super spoiled by our families. Baby Mencke now has a serious stock of diapers built up, which is so great! We also got some other great necessities! I'm thinking it's about time I start getting the baby things washed and organized!

Last night, the Tekamah-Herman Boys Basketball team qualified for the state tournament for the first time in 22 years! Both of my cousins, Jacob & Trevor, are on the starting lineup. We made the trip up to Fremont to watch them play last night, which was a lot of fun! We're looking forward to cheering them on next week right here in Lincoln! I think Hotel de Mencke will be booked! It will be another fun weekend!

Nothing really new to report on Baby Mencke! Same old thing...swelling, no sleep, and back aches! The baby continues to kick me just in case I forget it's in there! My ribs are getting a little sore because of that! We are still struggling with Baby Girl names, so let us know if you have any suggestions! We're running out of time!

Coming along nicely...

It's been a while...sorry, this post of rambling may be a long one! We finished our baby class last week. I think all-in-all it will be very helpful for us. If nothing else, it will take some of the bad "surprises" out of the birthing process. I kind of like to have an idea of what something is before it's happening to me. We are trying to take an open mind to the whole process. I'm trying really hard to not set myself up for disappointment. I hear a lot of stories about moms that have these set birth plans, no drugs, no c-sections; and then, something happens that forces them to deviate from their plan. They end up feeling disappointed and almost like a failure. I think the moms that can do it all without any drugs, are courageous and strong...I would love to be one of them, but I'm trying to be realistic and do what's best for me and our baby. I think trying to go with the flow as much as we can will be our plan, whatever happens happens and all that matters is a healthy baby in the end. The baby class also made it all the more real for both of us, which I think is a good thing! Right now, I think it was worth the time, ask me again in a few months!

We have made significant progress on the nursery over the last few days. On Saturday, Craig & Grandpa Steve put together our changing table (courtesy of Grandpa Steve & Grandma Jaccie), as well as our bassinet (courtesy of Grandpa Gordy & Grandma Les). Baby Mencke is already getting spoiled by his/her grandparents! It's still weird for me to see all this baby stuff in the house, just waiting for the new arrival. We also got our travel system yesterday, so Craig assembled that while I was getting a prenatal massage. This is also courtesy of the Bryant grandparents. I'm not going to lie, it's pretty cool. Our baby is going to be riding in style! Even Daddy Craig thinks it's cool!

It's fun to watch Izzy react to the new additions to the room. She thoroughly "inspects" every item and gets pretty playful with some of it. We had fun with the stroller last night...it got her fired up! Speaking of Izzy, I am totally convinced she knows something is going on. Aside from her behavior changing throughout the last few months. Most recently, she has started getting up multiple times a night to have a bathroom break or to eat. This is not like her at all...she has been sleeping through the night since she was a tiny puppy. It's like she knows I need to get ready for these nighttime feedings. I'm thinking...I need to be sleeping when I can now, and she's not helping! It probably doesn't help that I'm tired all the time again now!

I've been feeling all right. Not quite as good as I felt a month ago, but not horrible either. I'm really tired again and my back has been hurting more and more. It's harder for me to get comfortable every day. I've also been having more headaches again. I'm still able to get through the day and accomplish most of what I want to do, so I shouldn't complain. It will all be worth it in the end. I just have my moments when I'm feeling extra whiny! I also feel like I'm getting bigger on a daily basis, which is good because I haven't felt like I've grown a whole lot up until now!

We have our next doctor's appointment a week from today. I'm looking forward to it because I think the appointments from here on out will be more "involved". Up to this point, it's "how are you feeling?" "any questions?" "well, everything looks and sounds good, we'll see you in 4 weeks!". After this one, we'll start going every 2 weeks...another sign the end is near!

One of my goals for the week is to take and post some pictures of the nursery progress, and I may even throw one in of my growing waistline! Stay tuned...

Oh, and we're still struggling with the name game--girls specifically, so any suggestions are welcome!

Baby Names

So, we are sort of struggling with the baby name project all of a sudden. Maybe struggling isn't the word, but we aren't really making progress either. We had narrowed it down to about 4 names for each (boy or girl), but now we seem to be adding a few more and not absolutely loving any of them. So, while we're in the last 3 month stretch, I thought we'd see what you thought. Leave us a comment and let us know your suggestions. Remember we need a girl name & a boy name. We will consider all suggestions! Thanks so much!

Oh, and a funny story from Saturday morning. Craig has this new habit of putting his ear to my belly to listen to the little monkey inside. He was doing just this on Saturday morning, and that little monkey got a little feisty and kicked him right in the side of the head. We had a good belly laugh! Now, daddy thinks we may have a soccer champ or NFL punter growing in there! We'll see!