35 weeks

Our appointment on Friday went well and Sumaya is now in the 60th percentile and almost 6 pounds. 

Looking down at her face here...head to the left.

Her birthday (unless she decides to make an early appearance) will be 3/24/11 - surgery is at 9:40am. The c-section has been scheduled due to her being breech. We're very excited and anxious. We went for a tour of the birthing center at Methodist Hospital last week as well so we know what to expect. The hospital is very nice and I will be there 3-4 days. Grammy will arrive 3/23 and will stay for 2 weeks to help out - thank goodness! A week after she leaves Papa and Leslie will come for 4 days. Hooray! We're so thankful and looking forward to having family here.

Her head, and the small white arrow points to her hair

My department at work had a very nice lunch and baby shower for us on Thursday. We received several more items from our registry in addition to some very cute clothes. I had never heard of boogie wipes but am sure they will come in handy! Many thanks to Tina and Lori for organizing it. Thanks also to friends and family who purchased items from the registry. It's much appreciated.  : )

34 weeks

Another 10/10 for Sumaya at our appointment yesterday. She is still breech, so the c-section will be scheduled for about 3/24. I will find out the exact date and time on Monday. Went to physical therapy this week. My right side is bearing all the baby weight, so some adjusting was required. After putting a few things back in their place I feel a little better. Only a few weeks to go...

Wednesday we went snow tubing at Buck Hill in Burnsville.

goin' up

at the top of the hill

with my supervisor from work, Zack

comin' down

I didn't actually participate, but I did enjoy some hot chocolate and s'mores.

Emad had a great time. It was nice to see him in such good spirits after everything that's been happening in Egypt. Of course he's thrilled that Mubarek finally stepped down and about all the good things to come for the country. 

33 weeks

Sumaya scored another 10/10 at our appointment Friday. The sonographer also said she has a lot of hair! Everything is still going well. C-section will mostly likely be scheduled at our next appointment this Thursday. We've gotten several items in the mail from our registry, which is a lot of fun. Thanks everyone!

                                                             me with Sumaya's new ride

 

Emad received his social security card, so we're on the hunt for work - any kind. Please let us know if you hear of anything. We got a resume put together for him and started sending it out this weekend. He's very anxious to get back to work!

Spirits are up here as we celebrate, with the Egyptian people, the departure of their president. This is fantastic news. A lot of change and opportunity to come in Egypt. Sending much love to our family there. We miss them so much.

This weekend has really warmed up...we're in the 40s now! Hopefully we'll get outside today.

32 weeks

Yesterday we had our 32 week appointment and ultrasound. Sumaya scored a 10/10 on her tests. They listened to her heart and umbilical cord, checked the amniotic fluid and made sure there was plenty of movement. Afterwards, they put on the fetal monitor for a while and had me inticate when she was moving. She's still in a breech position (usually by 34 weeks they will be head down and ready for birth). If she's not turned around within a couple weeks (which I'm not sure will happen since there's not a lot of room for her to do that with my bicornuate uterus), then they will schedule a c-section at 39 weeks - which would be about March 24th or 25th - that's only 7 weeks away! The good thing about that is that Grammy would be able to be here for the birth for sure! Yay!

That's her hand near her nose. I think all the pictures look the same at this point, but it's still fun to see. I also had an echocardiogram yesterday and will meet with the cardiologist to discuss the results in 3 weeks. I'm also going to start physical therapy for my back. The doctor seems to think this will provide some relief. I sure hope so! Next appointment and ultrasound is Friday, 2/11...going every week now.

Please keep Emad's family and the people of Egypt in your thoughts. We're really hoping all the turmoil ends soon.

emad's family

Things have been a little tense lately with all that's been going on in Egypt the past week. Emad's family lives about 20 minutes from Alexandria and about 2 hours from Cairo. They are all safe for now, but did have a couple close calls with police recently. He so wishes he was there now to support his country. We watch the news daily, discuss what's happening and sincerely hope for a speedy and smooth resolution to all the turmoil. Thanks to all those who have inquiried.

Good news...Emad received his work authorization last week! We went to the social security office and applied for a card, which is the last step for him before he can work. It's been a long road, but just a few more weeks and he'll be working. He's not enjoying sitting at home - especially since the weather is bad and he can't really enjoy the outdoors too much right now - and would much rather be working anyway.

In the hopes of temporarily getting his mind off what's going on back home, I really want to take him ice skating this weekend (and no, I won't be skating). My company has also invited us to go tubing in a few weeks. I really wish I could participate in that...Emad will, though. We'll definitely have pictures for both events!

We received the much needed stroller/car seat (thanks Dad and Brenda) and pack n play (thanks Mom, Steve, Leslie, Daren and Savana) for Sumaya. We got them all put together and are ready for her arrival. Next appointment and ultrasound is Friday then echocardiogram after that...8 more weeks!

30 weeks

We went for our 30 week appointment on Thursday and all is well with both Sumaya and I. Only 10 more weeks! Next appointment and ultrasound is 2/4. I will also have an echocardiogram to check my heart before Sumaya comes. A few weeks after that I will meet with the cardiologist to discuss the results and also talk about delivery.  

Charlie seems very happy these days...maybe because he's the only cat again? ♥

Excited about some paper that came in a package today...

We haven't been doing too much as it is sooooo cold these days. Yesterday it was -17°. Who wants to go outside in that kind of weather? We've just been enjoying our time together and watching a lot of movies...oh and eating a lot of mint chocolate chip ice cream - my only real craving.

happy new year!

A friend mentioned I haven't added anything new here lately. Not much has happened in the past few weeks, but here's a brief update...Emad and I celebrated his birthday last month. We went to Famous Dave's BBQ for lunch (he never previously had bbq). "How do I eat this chicken?" In Egypt, you'd eat this kind of meal with bread or rice. We got him some bread - and of course, the hottest bbq sauce they had - and he was happy. Loved the meal. After that we went and saw the latest Harry Potter movie. A great day out.
Happy Birthday Emad!

                                       

Seems like my pregnancy is moving along very quickly now...29 weeks tomorrow. My last appointment was 2 weeks ago and everything was fine (aside from my back pain, yikes! Got my own back brace now, Dad!). Yesterday I went for the 3 hour glucose test, which checks for gestational diabetes and (1 nasty drink and 4 pokes later) passed - thank goodness - but boy was I hungry afterwards! My next appointment and ultrasound is 1/20, at 30 weeks. After my appointment on 2/4, I will see the perinatologist and have an ultrasound every week until the big arrival (obviously continuing to keep a close eye on Sumaya). I will be delivering at Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital, which is only about 2 miles from our apartment. Very convenient! Sumaya continues to be VERY active, which is a lot of fun for both of us to watch.

Last weekend we did a LOT of rearranging and organizing of the apartment. Even though the apartment only has 1 bedroom, there's plenty of room for Sumaya thanks to the large size. Special thanks to Auntie Leslie for all the baby clothes! We got 2 large suitcases full of clothes while we were in California for Thanksgiving and I got them all sorted and organized as well. And thanks to her also for reminding me to get registered - which I also got done - online at Amazon and Babies R Us. We're excited that Grammy is going to come as soon as Sumaya arrives and Auntie Leslie will come after that!!

Hopefully we'll have more ultrasound pictures for the next posting...sometime after 1/20. : )