May 19, 2009 - Pregnancy Pics

Hi Everyone!

I know I just emailed some of the ladies because some of you were asking about an update on Baby Brown. So here is the latest on that:
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We have about 6 weeks left to go.... almost there! Time is flying! Just went to the doctor on Wednesday and he said I look great and baby is doing wonderfully. He estimated (from where I am right now) that the baby would be about 8 pounds... perfect :) Funny, because that was what my intiuition has been telling me for quite a while now! I receive emails every week telling us what changes are going on with the little Bambino(ette?)... here's where we are right now, somewhere around week 34: "Your baby gets bigger and bigger as each day passes. As of week 34, the baby weighs almost 5 pounds, and is between 19 and 20 inches long (roughly 49 cm). There are lots of new developments in progress. The baby is starting to fill out, skin is starting to be less wrinkled and movements are tending to be larger and stronger now."

Baby has been movin' and groovin' a lot the last few weeks. If the baby really is between 4 and 5 pounds right now, no wonder I can feel almost everything he/she does in there! I can imagine him/her running out of room quickly! Probably like living in a dorm! haha! I have felt anything from the head bumping into my side during walks, to little elbows and knees sliding across my belly. It's pretty incredible, but definitely a weird feeling! :) Still no really weird cravings... mostly just sugary and spicy stuff and fruit.... oh, and the newest thing is lots of meat! Not sure where that came from -- during my first trimester I could've become a vegetarian!

I think reality is setting in for both of us, but especially Noah. He's doing really well with everything and excited. I think it's just strange for him to picture how we are going to go from "that" (pregnant belly) to an actual little baby! He is going to be a great daddy though... no doubts about that. He still plays with the baby (pokes my belly and the baby kicks him back) and plays with the flashlight (yes, the baby really does move away from the light). We've also started actually putting things on my belly and watching the baby kick them around, which has become almost a daily entertainment ritual!

We just finished our first childbirth class which was good, and took a tour (again) of the labor/delivery floor. It was definitely more real this time (not just a wonderful froofy little fantasy like last time!). Noah and I just looked at each other at the same time thinking "woah, this is where it'll all happen!" We both are looking forward to it though, and have a lot of peace and joy about the whole thing. We are both confident that it is going to be a great experience. I think we have definitely settled on a girl name, but still working on boy names (sorry Michelle... can't divulge that info yet!).

We're interviewing a pediatrician next week and the Springfield, IL shower with Noah's family is Memorial Day weekend. After that, we should be all set (well, hopefully)! Many thanks to incredibly generous family and friends and co-workers, I think we will have everything we need for the little Bambino(ette).

Michelle, I know you are soooo anxious to hold the baby... you will just have to wait! Soon enough!!! :) And yes, we will notify all of you know as soon as things start happening (labor and all that fun stuff), so you aren't in the dark. We are so thankful for all of your thoughts, prayers and excitement! We're excited too!
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Speaking of baby, this morning a good friend of ours was kind enough to volunteer her time and photography expertise to take some nice pregnancy photos with us. We had a wonderful time and are so thankful to her for doing such a great job! The photos are at the top of the blog (or you can check out my Facebook page).

The nursery is almost finished. Just need some of the finishing touches, like pictures on the wall and the mattress for the crib. I was going to post some pictures of the nursery on here for you, but we just finished steam cleaning the carpet, and almost everything is moved out of there! I'll try to post some in the near future for you.

We have a natural birth class this coming Tuesday, which is a 3-hour one-time deal, and then a breastfeeding class on June 6th. Then we'll be done with classes and hopefully as ready as can be for the little one.

Other than the baby, things are going well with us. Noah is done with his masters classes for this semester, which is a relief for him. He's excited about having his evenings back and relaxing.

I've just been relaxing a bunch as well. We have been tackling a few light projects around the house (like steam cleaning carpet) and some general organizing.

The ladies at our church threw a surprise shower for me a few weekends ago, which was really fun! I am so thankful for all of them - they're such a blessing. I'm glad they could celebrate this special time with us.

The gals I work with also threw a surprise shower for me this past week, which was also really fun! I had no clue they were planning anything. They chipped in and got us a nice diaper bag and the little bouncer/jumper, a bunch of really cute outfits and bath items, and one of them knit a beautiful blanket for us.

This coming weekend (Memorial Day weekend), we are heading back up to Springfield, IL for the last shower with Noah's family. I'm really looking forward to celebrating with them. We haven't seen some of his aunts and cousins in quite a while, so it will be nice to get together. I think during the shower, Noah and Gabe (his cousin Madaline's husband) are going to take a plane ride from Springfield to St. Louis and catch up on some lost flying time. Both of them are pilots and they have a lot of fun together (and they're itching to get in a plane again!).

I'm sure I'll write again before the little bambino comes. Hope all of you are doing well - miss you, love you and thank you for all of your excitement, thoughts and prayers!

Noah, Krista & The little jalapeno popper

March 26, 2009

Hi Everyone,

We just wanted to thank all of our Wisconsin relatives again for putting on such a wonderful shower on March 14th! I had a wonderful time, and it was great to see all of you again!!! And we were so blessed by all of the gifts. I know that showers were originally started to "shower" the mother-to-be with gifts for the baby, but the best part of the shower for me was seeing and spending time with all of you. I was so excited to get to celebrate with you, my family, and share this special time with you! And the gifts were the cherry on top of the sundae. :) We're looking forward to sharing the celebration with Noah's family in Springfield, IL around Memorial Day weekend for the next shower.

Here is a link to some of the pictures from the Wisconsin shower. Enjoy!!!
http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x219/nkbrown81/WI%20Baby%20Shower/

Other than that, not too much has been going on down here in St. Louis. We are enjoying some nice warm weather lately, and I finally got to take some walks outside. I've been waiting for that all winter! :)

Baby is growing a mile a minute and kicking a LOT! We joke that we are going to have a little soccer player. We still don't know the sex of the baby (and not planning to find out - no, we are still going strong!). I know it's more fun to buy gender-based stuff, but we are looking forward to a surprise! We do have names picked out that we're pretty solid on, but not sharing them with anyone yet. Sorry... this is really no fun for anyone but us, is it? haha!! Well, we aren't going to apologize... ya'll will probably know more the second time around. ;) But Baby Brown absolutely LOVES his/her daddy... the baby responds to Noah's touch and they "communicate" through pokes and punches. Sorry Noah... I think it's SO cute!!! :) You are going to be an awesome daddy!!!

My boss is doing well with her pregnancy as well - yes, she is about 3 weeks ahead of me, due June 8th! We plan to try to bring the babies into the office. We'll see how that goes! I think they'll be best buds and it'll be nice that they have someone to keep them each company!

Work is going well for both Noah and myself. You may have heard that there have been some layoffs at Boeing, but they don't affect Noah, which we're thankful for. My job is going well too - no problems here. Business at American Family is being affected by the economy, but it's mostly the Insurance Agents seeing that impact, not the managers' offices where I work.

Noah's still working on his Master's degree. He's ready to be done with his 2 classes this semester, and not sure if he'll take one this summer or not. He may just wait until Fall and take one then, and then take one in Spring semester and graduate in May 2010. We'll see what happens!

We hope everyone around the country is doing well - wherever you may be! Blessings to all of you.

Until next time...

Love
Noah, Krista & Baby Brown

February 23, 2009

It's already almost March 2009, and I have to apologize for not updating our blog for a few months!!!

We hope you, your families and friends and lives are going well and you're blessed! We are definitely feeling blessed these days with so much new stuff going on.

Our year is going well so far, with much excitement about the upcoming new addition to the household! Baby Brown (sex still unknown) is doing wonderfully and is moving around a lot these days and can even occasionally be felt throwing those vigorous kicks and punches by others. :) Noah is especially excited about that. I think it seems more real to him these days.

We wanted to thank everyone for their continued prayers for us and baby, and for all of the wonderful gifts and loans of equipment and bedding and books!!! We feel so blessed and thankful!

Baby Brown is just under a pound now, and around 10-11" long from head to toe, and recently I experienced hiccups from the inside for the first time! haha So a bunch of neat things happening lately. It's been fun! Prenatal yoga is helping with the usual pregnancy aches and pains and helping me relax (which is always a plus!).

Here are some ultrasound pictures from our 20-week appointment (yes, we are already 5 months!!!). If the picture won't work, click on the link.

Photobucket Album

http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x219/nkbrown81/Baby%20Brown%2020%20Weeks/

Noah is an excited daddy-to-be. When my parents came down to visit, he spent some time with my mom painting the nursery and we were really excited when they surprised us with the crib! So that was our Sunday afternoon project - setting up the beautiful new crib and enjoying the moment.

Noah is actually in New York right now - on Long Island. He has been there since last Monday, and we just learned that he will be out there for a total of 3 weeks for work. I am trying to see if I can fly out to visit him this weekend, but due to a bunch of church stuff, he may just be flying home for the weekend. Either way, it will be nice to see him again!

Noah's classes are going pretty well. He is taking a Collaborative Engineering class (which is basically a goofy pointless psych class) and another design class which isn't too bad. He is aiming to take another class this summer, and one more in fall. If that happens, he will have his Master's Degree in Aerospace by the end of the year!!!

Other than all that, we are doing well, just waiting for Spring. The weather here is iffy - always up and down. It is supposed to be cold for the next few days (30's) and then get warm Wednesday and Thursday into the mid- to upper-50's, then plunge back into winter again. We haven't had too much snow this winter - just rain once a week or so.

We are looking forward to seeing family soon and again, hope you're all doing well!

Love,
Noah & Krista

January 13, 2009

Hi Everyone!

This is just an update from the Browns again. A lot of people have been asking how our doctor appointment went yesterday.

The appointment didn't consist of an ultrasound like we'd hoped, but we did get to hear the baby's heartbeat, which was really amazing. It was over 140 beats per minute and going strong! The baby is definitely active in there, because the doctor kept having to move the doppler around to find the heartbeat!

FYI... this is a doppler. It's sort of like an ultrasound wand, but it has a speaker attached to it. Kind of reminded me of those little karaoke tape recorders we used to carry around as kids with the microphone! haha

Anyway, so the appointment went well. They did some quick blood work and sent us on our way.

Our next appointment is on February 12th, and will include a very thorough ultrasound, which will take about 30 minutes. We're very excited to see our little one again, and to send more pictures to all of you!

And, for those of you who are wondering "will they find out if it's a boy or girl???", the answer is leaning towards "no" :) We are thinking we'd like it to be a surprise. But you never know... things could change in the next month before our ultrasound. We'll see.

We hope all of you are doing well, and would like to send out a warm and excited CONGRATULATIONS!!!! to Noah's cousin Marissa and her hubby Kevin who have just announced that they are also pregnant! We're waiting for updates from them and pray they have a wonderful healthy baby too!

There must be something in the water, because I now know 8 other pregnant ladies who are all due within about a month of each other (including my OB/GYN and my boss)! Amazing, but very neat to be able to share this incredible time with other women going through the same thing.

Blessings to all of you, and stay tuned for more pictures of Baby Brown!!!

Love,
Noah & Krista.