33 Weeks... Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and enjoyed their time with family and friends. We have been in Houston running all around town to see my family and Daniel's. It's been hectic but so much fun at the same time. We had our 3D ultra-sound on Wednesday and it was incredible! Our little man kept his hand on his face the whole time and the other half of his face was resting on my placenta (doesn't that sound comfortable!). So some of the shots are a little obstructed but you can still see his closed eyes, nose, mouth and hand. We also got a confirmation that he is a HE and in a head down position. Enjoy the pictures!

32 weeks

32 weeks and the countdown has officially begun, from here on out we are in full baby watch mode!

If the baby were to arrive anytime after this week he would be considered a premie but also healthy and would require a minimal hospital stay. It's starting to get exciting. Even Daniel has expressed anxiousness at meeting our son and wanting to hold him. We are off to Houston for the Christmas holidays, our last Christmas without a baby. It's hard to believe that our little man will be hear in just a 7-9 weeks It feels like a long time to go still and then again very short. This week baby boy McPherson has been moving around with extreme force. This past week his kicks and movements have gone from mildly discomforting to down right painful at times. I'm also experiencing regular Braxton-hicks contractions which can also be a little uncomfortable, but practice makes perfect! Daniel and I have been to multiple holiday gatherings over the past two weeks and decided to put up a photo of the baby's first Christmas party. I think he had fun, at the very least he liked the food!

We hope everyone has a wonderful week and a very Merry Christmas! May the gift and love of Jesus be in your hearts,
Frances and Daniel

This is our new "official" baby/family blog. Daniel no longer approved of the low tech blog I started all by my low tech self this summer, so we have upgraded! Welcome to the McPherson Blog 2.0.

I am now 31 weeks pregnant and doing well. At my last appointment the doctor said I was the picture of health. "Really?" I asked him, "Are you sure I don't need to be on bed rest?", he just laughed at me. I'm ready for the Christmas break and this pregnant body could sure use some rest. I didn't think teaching pregnant would be this exhausting. Only nine weeks to go! Baby boy McPherson is doing great, growing everyday and letting me know it with his turns, rolling over, and random kicks. Things are definitely getting tight in there. He is now about 4 pounds and anywhere from 15-17 inches long. We are having a 3D ultrasound over the Christmas break and can't wait to see what this little man looks like.

I had my first baby shower over the Thanksgiving holiday. It was an awesome time and I enjoyed seeing all my family and friends in Houston. Daniel and I were showered with so many gifts and feel truly blessed to have been the recipients of so much generosity! This is a link to pictures my sister-in-law took at the shower http://picasaweb.google.com/krmcpher/FrancesBabyShower#
Thanks to all who came!

12 more weeks to go...or maybe less, maybe more! I have my glucose screening test this week, Tuesday afternoon. This test will let me know if I have developed gestational diabetes. I don't think I have had any signs of it but then again I don't really know the signs, so who knows. After my check-up this week I will begin seeing my doctor every two weeks from now on. I hope this combined with the upcoming holiday season will make the last trimester fly by! Wishful thinking I know, but a girl can hope. About the baby...this week he is developed enough to turn his head from side to side, weighs about 2 1/2 pounds and measures 15-16 inches long. He can also cough, blink, and suck his fingers now too. Daniel and I both were finger suckers...me-my thumb and Daniel-his two middle fingers, so chances are this little guy is entertaining himself in there with this new skill.

End of the second trimester-26 weeks today! Our little boy has been doing some serious growing over the past few weeks and giving me some growing pains in the process. He is now 2 pounds or more and is 12-15 inches long. He has started opening his eyes this week which is kind of weird if you think about it. I wonder if he can see anything in there at all? We ordered the baby's dresser last week. It's the last peice of major furniture to go in the room. Now I just need the finishing touches like blinds, curtains, a lamp, and some decorations and oh yeah...a baby ; ). Daniel and I are off to a big day of cleaning, nesting, and organizing and then on a much needed date tonight. I might take some new pictures of this mom and the baby bump all dressed up and post them. Love to all-Frances

I'm in the middle of the sixth month. Week 24 and 3 days. Just two more weeks and I enter the 3rd trimester...can you say "getting nervous", because I am. At times it feels as if this pregnancy has flown by and then at others I think "I can't possibly have three and half more months to go...I'm gonna be huge by then!" Our baby boy is about 10-12 inches now, pretty big and weighs between a pound and a pound and a half. By the end of this week he should weigh over a pound and a half and be 12-14 inches long. No wonder I'm tired, there is alot going on inside my body! He now resembles the baby he will be at birth but is a much smaller and skinner version. All of his facial features are formed so brain development and putting on fat are his major goals in the up coming months. I have a check up tomorrow and will post again if anything exciting happens. New belly pictures will be taken this weekend to capture my growing girth!

23 weeks and the beginning of the sixth month! The baby boy is a pound or more this week and between 9-11 inches long. This week Danny put his ear to my belly and heard the swooshing sound of fluid as our little guy did his nightly acrobatics and them bam! He got kicked in the face...too funny! "Welcome to my world" I told him, be glad it wasn't your liver or some other internal organ. I official feel very pregnant and awkward and I know it's only down hill from here ; ). To combat the sadness over losing the ability to bend at the waist I bought a fetal monitor and nightly listen to the baby kick and swim around. I'm not sure what I'm listening to. It mainly just sounds like thumps and swishes but hey it's a wonderful thump and swish to hear!

22 weeks today, the end of the 5th month! This week our baby boy has finished developing fingernails and eyebrows and tastebuds are forming on the baby's tongue. Right now he is able to swallow small amounts of amniotic fluid to help practice breathing and to recieve some nutrients...pretty gross!

Our baby boy is now roughy 1 pound and about the length of a banana and boy can I feel it. Right now he sleeps about half the day, between 12-14 hours, and his waking moments are very active. I can tell this is Daniel's son because his favorite time to kick and move is mom's bedtime (Daniel is the night owl, not me). Last night we saw my stomache change shape from the baby moving. IT WAS CRAZY! I could feel him moving from one side of the womb to the other so I lifted up my shirt to see if we could watch it happen. Sure enough it was very obvious what the little guy was doing, too cool! That's all that's new this week. Daniel is very excited about having a boy but I think we are both just excited to know the gender in general. Well I'm off to a big day of shopping. This little guy is going to need some clothes to wear in 4 months!

So we found out today that we are having ..... A BOY!!! He's 12 ounces and very active. Pictures will come soon!

20 weeks(the middle of the fifth month). This week the baby was kicking me so I lifted up my shirt and tried to see if I could see the kick on the outside. Sure enough this little bump on my belly rose and fell with each kick. Really strange to see happening to yourself! I felt like a cast member of Alien. Then when the kicks had stopped for awhile I put my hand where the kicking had been happening and poked in a little just as the baby was kicking again. It kicked my fingers! I let out a little yelp from being both excited and freaked out. I mean my baby and I just made some kind of contact and I was hoping I hadn't poked its eye out or something. The dog picked his head up from the couch and looked at me like I was crazy. I now have a look with my eyes only approach to enjoying the baby's kicks!

The Baby is moving. Danny felt the baby move for the first time tonight. I was feeling some small kicks or jabs and thought I would tell Danny. He came over and sat beside me with his hand on my belly and he felt it. It was the strongest movement I had felt yet and I'm glad he was around to feel it. His reaction was "WHOA!!!" It was a neat bonding moment.

16 week check-up. Dr.'s appt. today. Went well, mom and baby are doing good. Danny came and heard the heartbeat for the first time. He said it was pretty cool. I'm sixteen weeks and 4 days now. I'll officially be 4 months this weekend. I'm feeling so much better than I did just weeks ago and finally can keep food down. I've been craving spicy foods and salsa all the time! Our next doctor's appt. is for the 30th of September. We have our gender ultrasound that day and can't wait to know if the jelly bean in my belly is a girl or a boy.

How I told my class I was pregnant- Last week on the first day of school I was playing a game called teacher teaser ( thanks Hannah for the idea). Anyway the way the game went was I asked the students questions about my self that they could guess the answer to and in turn find out about their new and totally cool teacher Mrs. McPherson. So I would ask questions like "Do I have any pets?", "What's my favorite food?" and stuff like that. The idea was that I would only call on students who raised their hand and didn't shout out. After a summer of being allowed to talk and yell when ever they want this type of practice is much needed the first week of school. So I asked the class the question "Do I have any children?". I called on one of my new little girls who smiled and perfectly raised her hand. She then answered "No, but your gonna. My momma and I can tell and she's had lots of babies, so she knows." I was so shocked I didn't know what to say so I just laughed as 18 pairs of eyes looked at me. Oh the joys of 8 year olds!