McLernon Family Blog

I may have said this already- but Ben and I are staying home this year for Christmas. Ben will be working away on the baby’s room . I am ready to have the floors and paint done so we can move some of her things in there. I think Heather (Ben’s sister) is coming in January to do the actual decorating, but she can’t do that until the floor is done. I am attaching a picture of Ben and I at a Christmas party last weekend. Although I do not think this picture quite shows how big my tummy is, I do think it shows how the baby is trying to get right under my chin. However, since this picture was taken I have been able to walk more, and Ben bought me an exercise ball to sit on in the house. I think that both of these things have helped her move down a centimeter or two. Rosaleen Grace has been doing well I think. She is moving a lot during the day. My heart burn ranges from moderate to completely outrageous, but I guess that is part of the deal. Ben and I did a late pregnancy class last we...

Sorry it has been a bit since an update—but everything is still going well. We are at 30.5 weeks now- so that means the baby could be only 8 weeks away or even less! I guess it could also mean that the baby is still 11.5 weeks away. In the last week I have definitely grown a lot. The baby is still really, really high. When she kicks I feel it about FOUR inches above my bellybutton. If she is really moving around, I can feel her at the same level as my bellybutton, maybe an inch lower. Because of the weather and day-light-savings time I have not been walking as much as I usually do. I am wondering if all the extra sitting is prohibiting her from moving down at all. I know we still have many weeks until her debut, so in the mean time I will start walking at the gym. The good news is, I can tell she is head-down. Ben and I went to our birth class over last weekend. It was long, but I think it was a really good class. Especially for the men. I do have to say—the other “students” were...

Yesterday was my 28 week OB appointment. The CNM said everything looks “good”. I did notice that she did not say great this time, but I am sure that is what she meant. The glucose test and anemia test came back looking good—so no problems with sugar/iron. I haven’t really had any problems with swelling or high blood pressure, so I guess I am coasting through. I think I mentioned before that sugar gave me heartburn. That eased up for about a week, but it has come back with a vengeance. Basically this entire pregnancy – sugar has made me sick. It is really the only food aversion I have had. I still try to sneak in a cherry-lime-aid when I have the opportunity (which is not that often—as the closest Sonic to Sac is probably 25 miles away and the closest Sonic to Davis is about 15 miles away). Other than that I can eat one or sometimes two bite sized candies before the burning sensation starts. Too bad- I really like sugar. Ben and I had a fun thanksgiving. We went to Ben’s dad’s hou...

Most books and internet sites (as well as the sign in my OB’s office) say that I am at least one day into the third trimester ( I have seen the third trimester listed as starting anywhere from the 25th week to the 28th week). The baby is still pretty erratic in her movements—however on days that she feels like kicking, she really gets going. Other days she barely kicks. The baby probably weights around 2 pounds right now and her hearing is fully developed, so Ben has been talking to her a lot at night time. We only have about 90 days until she arrives—and Ben predicts she will arrive a few days early. I am getting a little anxious about the potential discomforts of the ninth month. Right now I am still pretty comfortable, but sleeping can be painful and sometimes breathing is work too. I am going to do my glucose test this week. I am going to try to do it tomorrow after work. Ben and I did a 5K with some of our friends on Saturday. It was a lot of fun, but it was pretty chilly o...

Last Saturday my friends Gloria and Rosa threw a baby shower for me and the baby. We had such a great time. Thank you so much ladies! Gloria and Rosa made a lot of food and we all played games and had a great time. Also, some friends and family from out of town were able to make the trek to Sac for the party. It was so great to see everyone—I was bummed when everyone had to leave. Ben and I received a lot of great gifts for the baby. It was so exciting to see all the cute and little things for Rosaleen. We also got a good start on getting the baby supplies that we need before Rosa gets here. Rosa received several warm and cuddly things including a snuggly blanket and hat hand made by her cousins, and a quilt made by her Grandma Janet. She received so many things I couldn’t possible thank everyone on the blog—but Ben and I really appreciate all of the gifts. Rosa must have enjoyed herself over the weekend too, because she was much more active than usual. At first I thought that ma...

Another busy weekend is coming up—Saturday Ben and I are going to a Cal Bear’s game to celebrate our friend’s (and pastor) birthday. We are doing some tailgating and there is a pre-game show, so it is an all day event. I think we are carpooling---so no going home early. Sunday, Ben is volunteering as a fire fighter. I am going to church and we have a junior high leaders meeting later in the day. …..So we’ll both stay pretty busy. I had an OB appointment on Tuesday. It went well. The baby’s hear sounded “perfect”. We discussed the side stitch type pains I have been getting when walking and the CNM said I should get a maternity support belt. I am going to get one because the side stitch pains (which she said were my round ligaments) start in almost immediately when I am walking. Also, I will be doing my glucose test and anemia test in the next few weeks. Besides finding the time to do them, I don’t think there will be any problems. I feel really good—so I think everything shoul...

We went to Monterey on Friday night for Ben’s birthday. His birthday is not until November 24th, but we are booked in November. We ate at nasty Dairy Queen, EEEEEekwwweeee. If you are hungry and DQ is the only place around, don't eat there. You would be better off finding road kill and cooking it on the exhaust manifold! By the time we actually got to Monterey we were pretty exhausted and ready just to go to sleep. Saturday morning we got up and went to breakfast and had some great food. Then we took a stroll on the beach. Then we went to Asylimar state beach and walked and talked on the dunes. At about one o’clock we went to the Monterey Aquarium, which I had never been to before. Although, I had to go to the Toll House cookie place first...mmmmmmmmmmmm! The aquarium was great fun and we both really liked it--- but I just don’t have the stamina I used to have. I tried to tough it out, but at 3 we ended up sitting on the benches in front of the s...

Tomorrow I will have completed 23 weeks of pregnancy, which means I have completed the second week of the sixth month of pregnancy! Wow-- Speaking of wow, approximately week 27 is the beginning of the third trimester (and the beginning of the 7th month). WOW. I am getting cracking on that birth plan THIS weekend. I just read that about 50 percent of women deliver within 1 week of their due date. The other 50 percent deliver more than one week from their due date. This all means that I have about 17 weeks of pregnancy left, give or take a week or two (and hopefully no more than that). This weekend Ben is working on redoing the hardwood floor in one of the bedrooms, and on Saturday night we are taking some of the Junior High kids to a corn maze and pumpkin patch. Other than that, I think it is just house chores for us. Our house has a hot tub in the back yard, and Ben has been finding some time to enjoy it. I can’t get in, but I sometimes sit outside too and we relax—so I am sure we w...

It has been busy here—but I am not so sure what we have been doing. We have been trying to catch up on our reading, Ben is DETERMINED to get everything unpacked and the Jr. Higher’s at church have been keeping me very busy too. We have not really made a birth plan yet, we are still trying to figure that out—but it is in process. Ben and I have been trying to pull together a baby registry, so we’ve recently spent some quality time at a couple baby stores. Ben and I have decided to go to Monterey for the night of Oct. 30 to celebrate his birthday. It is almost a month before his birthday, but every single one of our weekend days in November is booked already. We are going to spend the night in Monterey, go to the beach, hang out in town and go to the aquarium. We can’t wait. The baby—who does not have an official name—but we call her Rosa has been kicking every day. Some days just a bit and other days I have wondered what is going on in there. She is supposed to be about 1 pound a...

Attached are two pictures from the ultrasound. Like I mentioned, we don’t have any of the face. Well we do, but it doesn’t really look like a face. If you remember, the baby was not in the mood to show her face . She had it really low and the back of her head was toward my belly AND her hand was in the way. None of the pictures are actually as good as the pictures we saw on the ultrasound screen. I WISH we were able to get a print of the picture when Ben and I decided this was a girl. It was a clear shot. The next picture is of the baby’s tummy and legs, It is cute. In this picture the ultrasound hand piece the tech was holding was on my left side and the leg we coming toward the “camera”. The baby was upside down for the entire photo shoot and she had her body on my right side with her legs kinda flipped over to the left. Right now she has plenty of room to move and flip, so I am sure she has moved by now. I sometimes can feel her punch or kick. It is very light. I also can feel ...

Ben and I went to our “ultrasound” results appointment today. Several great things happened. First, the ultrasound pictures/evaluation are total normal (same as perfect). The baby is exactly the right size for her age and her heartbeat is totally perfect also!!! In other great news, my sugar, protein and blood pressure all measured in the normal range also. YEA. Also, today Ben and I meet with a Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) for the first time. I think I mentioned that I really did not connect well with my OB. She seems very knowledgeable, but she doesn’t ever remember me, she doesn’t seem to think my questions are valid ( and I really only have about one question per visit) and I just don’t feel like she would listen to me if I was concerned with something. The Nurse Practitioner that I have seen is great, but she is BOOKED and I can’t get in with her for the rest of the year! The CNM that we met today is great. Really great (like really great). SHE ACTUALLY ASKED ME HOW I AM FEELI...

It’s a GIRL!!!!!!! We are so excited! WE STILL do not have our computer up at home, but we do have some ultrasound pictures to post. I will try to do that this week before Ben and I head to Az for a wedding. Our little baby girl was not interested in showing her face at all yesterday, only her backside. Thus our ultrasound pictures are not pictures of her cute profile, but more her hands and toes. The ultrasound tech did show Ben and I the screen—and we could tell without her help that the baby is a girl. It was plain as day. We didn’t get much other news than that because I don’t meet with the doctor for the “results” of the ultrasound until Oct. 7th. At that appointment the doctor is going to go over the ultrasound with us as well as evaluate her development. Sarah—So sorry to keep you all waiting! I left me cell phone at home today or I would call you right now.

These pictures were taken with my cell phone—big change from my last picture. Obviously, everyone here knows I am pg. Ben and I have been working really hard at the new house. All the moving dust has really stirred up our allergies. Poor Ben has them really, really badly, but he keeps working hard. Poor guy. This weekend he is taking out some old carpet and painting. I am hoping that by the end of October he can actual have some time to lay (lie?) around and rest. Between all the work he did on the Sacramento house, moving and the work on the Davis house, he doesn’t get any play/rest time.

Big change from the last picutre!

Correction- last post I wrote I am 17 weeks, but really I am 18 weeks, which is 5 months. Sorry for the confusion. Things have been very hectic around here, and I got confused.. We are moved…………………………… we are not unpacked. The house we moved into was still occupied at 5 :30 p.m. Sunday evening. We were supposed to be moving in all weekend, but you can tell things did not go as planned. More escrow drama-it is never ending. But I anticipate that this will be over soon, since escrow closed yesterday. However, the paperwork is not signed (but the county recorded the sale). By this time tomorrow I think this should be resolved. MMMMM. It was a hectic weekend. I really need to post a picture. I definitely look very pregnant!

Eek. I am not sure what is going on with my lame blog acct--- but I don't have an option to post a picture:(

It has been busy around here! We are moving out this weekend. Lots of last minute stuff going on. Ben and I both took tomorrow off, and then we have our crew (friends) over Sat and Sun to help move. SO—we are expecting that escrow will close on September 21, 2009! Yea! I am attaching a blurry picture—sorry. I didn’t look at it before I loaded it to the computer. I am feeling pretty good. I still get tired easily, but I actually feel more energetic today. Saturday I am 17 weeks, which is four and a half months pregnant. I can’t feel the baby move yet, but I probably should within the next couple weeks. My books says that I will feel “random aches and pains as the uterus grows” and I do feel that--the last few days especially. The baby is approximately the size of a baked potato (crown to rump, crown to toe is longer), and is expected to gain six times its weight in the next month! The second trimester lasts through week 26, which will be around Thanksgiving for us. Well, hop...

Happy 3-day weekend. We have been very busy. A quick re-cap of the weekend : basically Ben worked on the house every single moment of the weekend and I tried to keep up with cleaning (working on the house is very messy). I did sneak off to the mall and buy 2 pairs of maternity pants ( I love stretchy panels). We are still on very shaky ground with the sale of the house. The buyers have not been keeping up with their paperwork and so far they have signed nothing and have obligated themselves to nothing. Our realtor is writing a “request to perform”, once they receive this request they will have only 24 hours to catch up on their paperwork. If they don’t we have the option of canceling the contract. We are in day 16 of a 30 day escrow and they should have signed several documents by now. Additionally Ben and I need to know if we are moving in two weeks or not. I will keep you posted. I had an OB appt last week. Pretty standard stuff. I did hear the baby’s heartbeat. The doctor sa...

I am posting some shots of me and the baby bump. That is a pretty polite term for it. The bump lasted for about two days—and then turned into a large mound. There is another girl in my office that is pregnant (well there are 3 others). However, one is only about 3 weeks ahead of me. I thought at first that it would be fun to have a co-worker that was going through some of the same things—but I find myself constantly thinking things like “she isn’t always wearing maternity clothes”, or “My stomach is bigger than hers”. I know- I need to grow up. House update- this has turned into a mess. The deal is close to falling through. We should know by tomorrow what is going to happen. I will keep you posted. Let me say the last two days have been very, very stressful. I have a doctor appointment tomorrow—I think it will be pretty routine. According to the internet, the baby is currently about the size of an apple! Side note here: the baby feels like a watermelon on my bladder. Then the next ap...

It has been pretty busy around our house lately. In between BBQs and having out of town guests, it appears that we have sold the house. It looks like we have about 27 days to find a new place to live. We also have 27 days to get a home inspection (fix anything on the home inspection), have a garage sale, pack, find a house, sign 5 million documents and move. Good thing our September calendar was clear. For anyone who does not know, Ben and his friend Walt totally remodled and added on to our house. I will attach some “finished” pictures and when I find time I will post some work in-progress pics too. It was a tremendously HUGE job and they did wonderful work. My next OB appointment is next week—I will be 15.5 weeks at that appointment. Then on September 29th we have an ultrasound and hopefully we will be able to find out if we are having a boy or girl. I have been continuing to feel good, although I like to rest a lot. This week—my 14th week—the fetus is about the size of a flip cell p...

Attached is the 12 week ultrasound picture that I mentioned in the previous post. You can see above the head is a hand and if you zoom in you can even see fingers. To the other side, up above the baby you see a little thing. That is a foot. In the ultrasound the baby was kicking her legs and moving-- put when the picture was taken, the leg was out of sight, so you just see the foot up top. But I promise- that is a little footsie. SO CUTE! In other news, my very sweet mother sent me a set of new maternity clothes today—AND I really need them. I had to wear a suit to work today for a meeting- and it was terrible. I had rubber bands and safety pins holding up my pants but it still wasn’t working. By the time the end of the day came I was so stressed and uncomfortable I couldn’t take it. What a perfectly timed surprise to find new clothes on my door step. Thanks Mom.

Welcome to our family blog. We hope to keep this site updated, so if you are interested, you can find out Ben and Sunny’s Pregnancy updates. So far a lot has happened. We had our first home PG test positive on June 10th. We had our fist OB appt on July 7th (yes it does seem like a really long time to get into the doctor’s office, but that is how they do it). At that appt Ben and I got to see the baby and see the heartbeat. The ultra sound picture is posted. Around the end of July Ben and I took the baby gender prediction test (an at home, pee in the cup thing), and the test predicted girl! The test is suppose to be about 85 percent accurate—but it is not a sure thing. However, on Sept. 29th Ben and I go for an ultrasound and we expect (hope) to find out the baby’s gender then. On Aug 7th, just Sunny went to an OB appt and I got a surprise ultrasound. The doctor and I got to see the baby, and she (or he) was really rocking out. The legs were kicking and the hands were going and she was ...