Back home again!

We had a great time down in southern california....but it is nice to be back home again. 

And now to finish the home renovation project before the baby comes!

3rd Trimester - 28 Weeks

How your baby's growing:

By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

See what your baby looks like this week. (Or see what fraternal twins look like in the womb this week.)Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby's development.

How your life's changing:

You're in the home stretch! The third and final trimester starts this week. If you're like most women, you'll gain about 11 pounds this trimester.

At this point, you'll likely visit your doctor or midwife every two weeks. Then, at 36 weeks, you'll switch to weekly visits. Depending on your risk factors, your practitioner may recommend repeating blood tests for HIV and syphilis now, as well as doing cultures for chlamydia and gonorrhea, to be certain of your status before delivery. Also, if your glucose screening test result was high and you haven't yet had follow-up testing, you'll soon be given the 3-hour glucose tolerance test. And if the blood work done at your first prenatal visit showed that you're Rh negative, you'll get an injection of Rh immunoglobulin to prevent your body from developing antibodies that could attack your baby's blood. (If your baby is Rh positive, you'll receive another shot of Rh immunoglobulin after you give birth.)

Around this time, some women feel an unpleasant "creepy-crawly" sensation in their lower legs and an irresistible urge to move them while trying to relax or sleep. If this sensation is at least temporarily relieved when you move, you may have what's known as restless legs syndrome (RLS). No one knows for sure what causes RLS, but it's relatively common among expectant mothers. Try stretching or massaging your legs, and cut down on caffeine, which can make the symptoms worse. Ask your caregiver if you should try iron supplements, which can sometimes relieve RLS.

This Week's Activity:

Choose a doctor for your baby. Get names of pediatricians or family practitioners from friends, co-workers, neighbors, or your pregnancy caregiver. Make sure the doctor accepts your health insurance, keeps hours that work with your schedule, and has an office that's convenient for you. If you can, schedule face-to-face interviews with your top candidates. If it seems too early to be thinking about this, consider that your baby will have his first doctor's visit shortly after birth.

Memorial Day Weekend

What a whirlwind of activities these last several days. On Friday morning, we left the bay area just a little before 3am. We got to my mom's house at 9am only to have breakfast and run errands for the upcoming days. We finally got to bed late that evening after making about 100 lumpias....which was worth it because we got to enjoy them the following day.

On Saturday, we woke up bright and early for Aimee and Holly's college graduation from Biola University. After that, we headed over to my mom's house to start the graduation party.

On Sunday, mine and Jared's family threw us a baby shower. It was a blast to see family in friends we haven't seen in a long time.

On Monday, we finally got to sleep in a bit and relax before we checked into the Peacock Suites in Anaheim where we'll be staying til Friday. We enjoyed dinner and ice cream at the Garden Walk and then ended the night in the pool.

Tomorrow.....we're off to Disneyland!!!!! Whoohooooo!!!

Have a great week everyone!

Thanks Ladies Poker Group!!!!

My ladies poker group threw Debra and I a baby shower this past weekend. It was a blast. Thanks ladies for awesome food (as always), great conversation and thoughtful gifts for baby girl Koopman! Here are some pics from the afternoon....

I'm tired....

Well, I'm a few days from my 3rd trimester and I'm starting to feel it. Today was a big realization that I'm going to need to start slowing down. It's also a time that I need to figure out when I'll be on maternity leave.

Any suggestions?

Anyway...I really need to take care of myself and do everything I can to make sure the baby is happy and healthy in my tummy.

I was a bit concerned about the weight loss of 11-12 lbs., but my doctor reassures me that baby and I are doing okay. I've gained a couple back, but I've been told that I'll see it all back in the 3rd trimester.

All in all, I feel blessed to have a safe pregnancy with minimal effects. Thank God!!!

That's it for now...just wanted to share.

27 Weeks....

How your baby's growing:

This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

See what your baby looks like this week.

Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby's development.

How your life's changing:

The second trimester is drawing to a close, but as your body gears up for the final lap, you may start noticing some new symptoms. Along with an aching back, for example, you may find that your leg muscles cramp up now and then. They're carrying extra weight, after all, and your expanding uterus is putting pressure on the veins that return blood from your legs to your heart as well as on the nerves leading from your trunk to your legs. Unfortunately, the cramps may get worse as your pregnancy progresses. Leg cramps are more common at night but can also happen during the day. When a cramp strikes, stretching the calf muscle should give you some relief. Straighten your leg and then gently flex your toes back toward your shin. Walking for a few minutes or massaging your calf sometimes helps, too.

It may be the furthest thing from your mind right now, but it's not too soon to think about family planning. You'll want to have made some decisions about postpartum birth control before your baby arrives. If you're considering a tubal ligation, be aware that most states require you to sign a consent form at least 30 days beforehand. So if you'd like the option of having the surgery during your postpartum hospital stay, don't wait too much longer to discuss it with your caregiver. (You can still change your mind later.)

Just add heat and stir....

Of course the weekend we attempt to do some household renovations, our place becomes an oven.

We are making progress...The carpet is cut, the tack strips are pulled and we are working on removing the carpet padding staples. We are also trying to fix the "squeaky" subfloor as we go to eliminate those annoying sounds.

Mom has been a trooper doing what she can to help.

Mary Lou is supervising since she is unable to help with the heavy stuff.

Yesterday Mary Lou had a baby shower with the "Lady's poker group" and brought home some wonderful baby items. We also found a great deal at the Lullaby Lane warehouse sale on a dresser/changing table, which we are picking up today. We needed to borrow a friend's truck in order to bring it home.

We have learned that the heat is causing us to wear out quickly so progress is slow, but steady. We will have new flooring installed soon I promise!

-Jared

Spring Cleaning and more!

Piles, Dust, Storage bins, Boxes of new flooring, allergies....

All over the place. Crazy times in the Koopman house. We are purging room by room clearing out everything we don't need anymore to make space for incoming baby things.

We also decided to replace the carpeting with wood laminate flooring in the living room, kitchen and hallway. While we are excited that the flooring was delivered quickly, we now have a pile of flooring boxes in our living room.

The next step is to remove the carpeting and get the subfloors prepared and ready for the new flooring.

Mom has been a big help in the purging process.

All for the baby!

98 Days To Go - 26 Weeks

How your baby's growing:

The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel. If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days.

See what your baby looks like this week.

Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby's development.

How your life's changing:

Are you rushing around trying to get to childbirth classes and prepare your baby's room while still taking care of all your other daily tasks? Make sure that you also continue to eat well and get plenty of rest. Around this time, your blood pressure may be increasing slightly, although it's probably still lower than it was before you got pregnant. (Typically, blood pressure falls toward the end of the first trimester, and it tends to reach a low at about 22 to 24 weeks.)

Preeclampsia — a serious disorder characterized by high blood pressure and protein in your urine — most often shows up after 37 weeks, but it can happen earlier so it's important to be aware of the warning signs of this condition. Call your caregiver if you have swelling in your face or puffiness around your eyes, more than slight swelling of your hands, excessive or sudden swelling of your feet or ankles, or rapid weight gain (more than 4 pounds in a week). With more severe preeclampsia, you may experience other symptoms. Let your caregiver know immediately if you have a severe or persistent headache, vision changes (including double or blurred vision, seeing spots or flashing lights, sensitivity to light, or temporary loss of vision), intense pain or tenderness in your upper abdomen, or vomiting.

If your lower back seems a little achy lately, you can thank both your growing uterus — which shifts your center of gravity, stretches out and weakens your abdominal muscles, and may be pressing on a nerve — as well as hormonal changes that loosen your joints and ligaments. Plus, the extra weight you're carrying means more work for your muscles and increased stress on your joints, which is why you may feel worse at the end of the day. Walking, standing, or sitting for long periods, as well as bending and lifting can all put a strain on your back. A warm bath or hot compress might bring relief. (Some women, though, find cool compresses more comforting.) Try to maintain good posture during the day, avoid activities that require bending and twisting at the same time, take frequent breaks when sitting or standing, and sleep on your side with one or both knees bent with a pillow between your legs, using another pillow (or wedge) to support your abdomen.

Happy One Year Anniversary and Happy First Mother's Day!

To my lovely wife I love you more than anything! Thank you for the wonderful and amazing first year of marriage and I am looking foward to the next year in store for us!

Love you Babe,

Dentist and Massage

Yesterday started Jared and my 4-day anniversary weekend! It started with dentist appointments, mushroom burger lunch, awesome massages, some errands and yummy dinner!

This was my first time to the dentist (Dr. Romeo M. Floresca is an awesome dentist - located at 9 Silliman, San Francisco, CA) while being pregnant. It was hilarious....our little girl got pretty active with all the noise and vibrations going on in my mouth. She must have been doing flips in my tummy because I felt her moving all over the place the whole time. I wanted to laugh so many times, but ..... of course, there were dental cleaning instruments in my mouth. Too funny! Both Jared and I left the office with very clean teeth and a reminder, as always, "don't forget to floss!!!"

A couple doors down, we had lunch at J. Georgies where they have awesome mushroom burgers. You enter with aromas of donuts in the window and burgers and fries on the grill. YUMMY! Unfotunately, the teeth were no longer clean....but the tummy's were satisfied!

Now....on to the highlight of our day! Our massages at Kabuke Springs & Spa in Japantown on Geary Blvd. I got to enjoy the ladies lounge area before they called me in for my massage. It was very peaceful and quiet. Then on to the massage. My therapist was a guy named Chris from New Zealand. Really great demeanor and very professional. I was really lucky....he knew a lot about back issues. His prenatal massage consisted of some swedish, but mostly shiatsu. Wasn't expecting that but when I explained to him my recurring back issues from a boating accident in my college years, he asked if he could do some special work as to try and help prevent or lessen major back pain and sciatica as I get further along in my pregnancy. I have to admit, it was a little painful at the very beginning, but when he taught me correct breathing techniques and I realized that this was going to really help in the long run, I was so much more relaxed, my muscles relaxed more with every breath and the inflammation in my lower back went down tremendously. Of course, only time will tell, if it worked or not, but it certainly felt great then and afterward.

On another funny note....baby was very active again while I was on the massage table! She was moving like crazy. I was on my sides the whole time, but she must have been feeling some things going on inside. I couldn't help but laugh...and then the therapist played along too. The massage was so relaxing, fun and filled with laughter and great energy!

For all you expectant mothers out there...I absolutely recommend it. I'm hoping to have 1 last one in the 3rd trimester. For all you expectant fathers....surprise your ladies!

25 Weeks!

How your baby's growing

Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.

See what's going on in your uterus this week.

Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby's development.

How your life's changing

Your baby's not the only one with more hair — your locks may look more full and lustrous than ever. It's not that you're growing more hair, but thanks to hormonal changes, the hair that you'd normally shed is sticking around longer than usual. Enjoy the fullness while you can — the extra hair will fall out after you give birth.

You may also notice that you can't move around as gracefully as before. Unless your caregiver has advised you otherwise, it's fine to continue to exercise, but follow a few safety rules: Don't work out when you're feeling overly tired and stop if you feel any pain, dizziness, or shortness of breath. Don't lie flat on your back and avoid contact sports as well as any exercise where you're apt to lose your balance. Be sure to drink plenty of water, and make time for both warm-up and cool-down periods.

When you have your glucose-screening test at 24 to 28 weeks, a second tube of blood may be taken at the same time to check for anemia. If blood tests show that you have iron-deficiency anemia (the most common type of anemia), your caregiver will probably recommend that you take an iron supplement.

Have you started thinking about baby names yet? Choosing a name is an important decision, but it should be a fun one, too. You may want to consider family history (Great Grandpa Zeb), favorite locations (Venice, where you honeymooned), or cherished literary or film characters (Greta, Meg, or Atticus, for example). Check out a couple of baby-name books to help you brainstorm, too.

This Week's Activity

Dedicate time to your partner this week. Treat your partner to a romantic surprise. Write down all the things you love about him, tell him why you think he'll be a great dad, or just go for a stroll while holding hands. Take time to connect on a physical and emotional level and celebrate what connects you and makes you love one another. Try to do something at least once a week that clearly communicates the importance of your partner in your life, says clinical psychologist Diane Sanford.

Yay for wood laminate flooring! We ordered it today!

Today was a great day! Jared and I have been talking about replacing our carpet for a while now as well as covering up the linoleum flooring in the kitchen which is such a pain to clean. I can't stand how dirty both gets from everyday use. Well, today it finally happened...we put in our order at a flooring place in Menlo Park called Town & Country Flooring. They were great! We let them know our budget and said that we found a couple places cheaper than what they quoted us this past week. We had a such a great customer service experience with them and although they had a higher price, we wanted to give them our business if at all possible. Fortunately, they came down in price dramatically (10% over distributor cost on everything). We were grateful for them working with us and they were grateful for our business.

Looks like we'll be installing it within the next couple weeks...actually, I should say "Jared" will be installing it along with the help of his mom. Hopefully, I can help in some way like cutting the pieces with the chop saw or helping with the removal of the carpet, but we'll see.

Looks like it's time to pack unused items and move them into the bedrooms and get everything off the floors, aye yay yay. It'll all be worth it in the end though.

Can't wait! Whoooooohooooooo!

Happy Anniversary honey! In lieu of spending money on celebrating our anniversary, we've decided to spend the money on the floors. We'll celebrate in a more economically friendly way!!!! :D