Our Wedding Anniversary/Babymoon Cruise

Last week Matt and I spent the week aboard Holland America's Eurodam ship for a week of rest and relaxation. In addition to celebrating our first wedding anniversary, we also considered this our "babymoon", which just means it's our last big vacation before the baby arrives and changes everything!

Our cruise took us from Ft. Lauderdale to Grand Turk, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and then to Holland America's own island of Half Moon Cay. We relaxed while on board the ship and enjoyed taking our daily naps! Matt really needed a relaxing vacation... he's been so busy at work and studying for his Board exam lately that he was completely burned out. So a week of cruising the Caribbean is just what he needed!

In Grand Turk, we just spent the day at Govenor's Beach snorkeling, swimming and relaxing. It was a beautiful beach and the snorkeling was great. And the baby loved being in the Caribbean water!!!

I loved being the water and feeling so weightless!!! But as soon as I walked out of the water, I felt the weight of the baby and forgot how heavy my stomach was getting!

In San Juan, Puerto Rico we took a historical walking tour. It was great, but it was soooo hot and humid that day that by the end of the 3 hour walk, I was completely exhausted. I think I pushed it too far that day, even though I tried to sit and drink water as often as possible. Our tour guide, Ramon, was fantastic. So knowledgable and so funny! He's retired now, so he does the tours to keep him busy. We visited El Morro Fort and walked through downtown.

That night we headed to San Juan's oldest restaurant, La Mallorquina. They had lost electricity earlier in the day, but thankfully got it back on for the evening. However, we ended up being the only customer's in the place and we spent a lot of time talking with our waiter, who had been working there for nearly 35 years!

For dinner, we both had the same thing... Pastelon which is basically a Plantain "lasagna". It was layers of plantaines and meat and was so delicious! We had a wonderful time!

In St. Thomas, we took a catamaran to Turtle Bay where we spent the day snorkeling. It was by far the best snorkeling I've ever seen. The water was so amazingly clear and beautiful. We saw tons of fish, including a barracuda, and beautiful coral, sea urchins and starfish. The best part was that I finally saw my first sea turtle!!! I could have watched it all day... so graceful as it glided through the water! There was also a shipwreck at the bottom that was a 200 ft vessel that had been broken up into 4 pieces after 2 hurricanes had thrown it around. Very impressive!

Aboard ship, we had a great time. We spent a lot of time up at the Crow's Nest which was a relaxing area at the front and top of the ship. We would spend time reading, relaxing and listening to music. The food was great, although I don't think Matt was all that impressed. Although dinner in the main dining room was always good. We ate most of our breakfasts and lunches at the Lido restaurant which was always a buffet... it was good, but not great. Overall, we had a great vacation and really enjoyed the time relaxing together. Now just 3 more months until Baby Bowdish arrives!!!

To see all of our pictures, click on link under "View Our Photos" above on the right!

Gestational Diabetes

Just before our vacation, I went for a glucose screening test. My result was a little high (163... the doctor wants it below 135), so because of that, I had to go for the bigger 3-hour test this week. It was a pain because I had to sit at the lab for 3 hours, and get blood drawn 4 times after fasting for 12 hours before, and all during the test. I had blood drawn at the start of the test (fasting), and then at each hour (Hour 1, 2, 3).

I got the call from my doctor this morning that 2 of the 4 blood tests came back abnormal (higher than wanted), and if at least 2 of the results are high, then you have gestational diabetes. In asking for my numbers, I just missed the levels wanted slightly...

Fasting result: 66

Should be under: 80

Hour 1 result: 188

Should be under: 80

Hour 2 result: 166

Should be under: 155

Hour 3 result: can't remember

Should be under: can't remember that either, but I was under

I was glad my numbers were too high, but I still have to go through the process now. So now I have to go to a diabetes center and find out about my new diet. The part this is a major pain is that I have to test my blood 6 times a day... before each meal, and then 2 hours after each meal! What a hassle!!! I was a bit overwhelmed this afternoon after picking up the tester and strips, but I'll get used to it.

My doctor feels that I'll be able to get the diabetes under control with just diet and exercise, but if for some reason that doesn't work, then there is medication I can take. So as far as things that can go wrong in pregnancy, this isn't the worst thing, but it is going to be an adjustment.

6 Months!

Today I am 24 weeks along! Officially at the start of my 6th month! According to my "Expecting" book, the baby is about 1 1/2 lbs and about 8 1/2 inches long! The baby's weekly weight gain is about 6 oz. now and I should be gaining on average about 3-4 lbs per month (I'm sure after our cruise I'll meet that this month!!!). The baby's face nearly fully formed, including eyelashes and eyebrows and some hair on the head, although the hair pigment is not there yet, so the baby has snow white hair!

Here's the baby bump growing right along! I'm loving this point in my pregnancy... feeling great, definately looking pregnant and am not too huge or uncomfortable yet!

Our 1st Wedding Anniversary!

I can't believe it's been a year already! Today I thought back to our wedding and what a special day it was. It was so wonderful to get so many family and friends together. For Matt and I, the most special part of the day was as I walked down the aisle and getting to see each other for the first time that day.

Now it's a year later and we are settled in Colorado Springs expecting our first baby in a few months. We started our day at... IHOP! I know, so romantic... but I've been craving pancakes during this pregnancy, and since they are having an "all you can eat" pancake special, we gave into my craving for breakfast!

Then Matt and I drove up to a jewelry store on the north end of town for me to pick out a piece of jewelry I liked. I hadn't planned on receiving or giving any gifts since we are going on a cruise this coming weekend... I just assumed that was our gift to each other. But last night Matt mentioned that he wanted to get me something for our anniversary. So we found this beautiful diamond pendant necklace that I just love!!! It's very simple, elegant and beautiful!

After relaxing in the afternoon (and me taking my usual nap!), we headed out to the Cliff House for dinner. It was recommended to me by a friend who grew up in Colorado Springs. It's located in Manitou Springs which is just a short drive away. It's actually a hotel, but we headed to their dining room. Dinner and the ambiance was wonderful... I had a pasta with lobster, sea scallops and shrimp and a light broth and Matt had NY Strip steak. Both were excellent. We shared the frozen chocolate mousse souffle which was excellent (pictured at top). We had such a wonderful first anniversary. And we both are really looking forward to our Caribbean cruise that leaves this coming Saturday!!! What a way to celebrate!!

Board Exam Day!!!

Today Matt took his Allergy and Clinical Immunology Board exam. He's been studying like crazy lately so I was looking forward to it being over with so I could have my husband back!!! He drove down to Pueblo early this morning and found out the exam was half the amount of questions than he anticipated. So he was home by lunchtime... although when I asked him about it he said it was a really hard exam and several questions he had to guess the answer. It'll take a couple of months to get the results, so we just pray that he passed. The exam is only offered once a year, so if he doesn't pass, he'll have to go through this again next year. We both are glad that it's over with and now we can just look foward to relaxing on our cruise that leaves next weekend. Thanks to everyone who sent good wishes and thoughts for him today!!!

Humidifier to the Rescue!

My "pregnancy nose" wakes me up several times each night. But last week when I was in California, I was noticing that I could sleep about 5-6 hours at one time without waking up. After mentioning this to my Mom, she thought that maybe it was because there is more moisture in the air in California versus in Colorado where the air is VERY dry. She suggested I try a humidifier, so when I got back I got one and it's been a huge help! I'm finally able to get about 6 hours of continuous sleep before I have to get up and mess with my nose. It's make such a difference and I'm feeling much more rested these days! Thanks Mom!!!!!

Monthly Dr. Visit and Ultrasound

Today I am at 23 weeks. We had an ultrasound and regular doctor's visit. The ultrasound went great... the baby slept during it and the technician pointed out the closed eyes and eyelids, although I couldn't really make that out. The baby was measured at 1 lb, 2 oz and is growing right on track. We got a few new pictures, but they aren't super clear.

They also saw a few newer fibroids growing, but at this point they are very small. They are still wanting to watch the one near my cervix most carefully because it could become an issue during delivery. Right now it's located behind the cervix, which is where we want it to stay. If it moves in front, it could block the baby's way out, and if I have to have a c-section, it could also be in the way. They want to avoid touching the fibroids at all costs during delivery because there is so much blood flow to that area during delivery, that they want to avoid having to cut anything they don't have to... bleeding can be very hard to stop once it starts. So for now, we are still just continuing to watch them and we'll make any decisions we need to when the time comes.

The doctor visit was also great... I only gained 1 lb this month (total of 9 lbs!) which I think was great considering I'm just over half was through! I know a lot of weight comes on in the last month or two so I was worried about gaining too much in the beginning. She didn't mention anything about my sugar levels being high, so I think the fact that I had a fruit smoothie and some soda on the day on my last visit could have been the cause of my higher results last month. Although next week I'll get blood drawn for a glucose test to get the official results. I got a prescription for some sea sickness medication I can take in case I get sea sick on the cruise coming up... I've never gotten sea sick before, but who knows how my body will react now!

So everything is going great and I'm still feeling great. So glad that the baby is growing on track. The baby is moving more and more each day and I love each kick I feel!!!