Just an update

We havent done anything especially exciting over the past week, but I figured I would update everyone anyways. We went to a doctors appt yesterday, Kayleigh's still loooking good, head down still, strong heartbeat. No contractions or anything for me, so it doesnt look like I'll be going into labor anytime real soon. I was really looking forward to the maternity tour, and that was today finally! It is sooooo much nicer than St. Josephs, I am really glad we switched hospitals. The whole hospital just seems like a much happier place, and there were actually a few moms in there with their babies and they all looked pretty happy, there were a lot of american couples waiting for the doctors yesterday, so I think we made the right choice. They have much better rules at this hospital (ambrose pare) as well, at st. josephs I would have to share a room to recover in with another mom and her baby, and mat could only visit during visiting hours...lame!! But here, Mat can stay as long as he wants, he never has to leave if he doesnt want to, and I get my own room. The delivery rooms are very large, and they have a special room for those who want to go without an epidural, which is my plan. they have a tub to relax in, and special seats and swings to sit on to help you through labor. I felt like I had to have an epidural at st josephs and i felt like they were going to strap me to the table and not let me walk around or anything, but ambrose seems much better. I also really like that after the baby is born as long as everything went well with the delivery and there is no cause for concern, they wait to bathe,and measure and poke at the baby. they'll just let her sit there with me, getting skin to skin contact and let her try to breastfeed right after, they are very supportive of breast feeding, and seem like they will offer a lot of help and support. She stays in the room with me for the 4 days i am there, and we get physical therapists coming around to show us exercises to help us recover and get leg massages! sounds good to me! : ) I feel much better about giving birth in a foreign country now that i feel comfortable in the hospital. So all is well with us, we will be sure to take lots of pictures in the hospital and post them all on here next month once the big day comes!!

Ultrasound 6-18

Little baby foot


















Apparently thats her girl parts...although i cant really tell..lol

















femur


















profile

kind of an up the nose shot of her face and mouth lol

So the doctor said she is doing well. Her heart sounds good, looks good, she weighs about 5.5 lbs. and the doc said she is perfect! of course! lol. shes head down, and healthy. hooray!!

Kayleigh's room

Well, we finally finished the baby's room!! So heres the pictures of the completed project, minus the baby of course lol. Hopefully she'll be coming soon. We went to Germany the other day to buy the rocker, forgot the camera, but i'll remember it next time!!! hope you enjoy the pics!

Beach!!

We finally made it to the beach today! A little later than on my bday, but it was amazing anyway! Its only about an hour and 45 minute drive to Oostende, Belgium and the North Sea, and it is totally worth the drive. I think we will be spending at least one sunny day there every break. I've never really understood why people were so crazy about the beach, having never been to one, but now I know why! It is so beautiful, and it smells nice, and the waves sound so pretty, and the sand is so soft and warm!! The beach was really awesome, but the town of Oostende was really neat too, its a really big town in the flemish region of belgium, so the people there are much friendlier than the people in the french speaking regions, like where we live. The best news of all, everyone we spoke to in the stores spoke english! We got subway for lunch, which may not seem like a big deal, but its nice to be reminded of home sometimes, and the guy working there spoke perfect english! We heard english on the beach, it just felt more like home, it was wonderful. They have amazing ice cream everywhere in belgium, but it just tastes better when you're sitting on the beach with your feet in the warm toasty sand : ) The water was still a little chilly, we braved it for a few minutes, but mostly just kept to sticking our feet in the tide. After lounging about it the sun for a while, (I actually took a nap, it was lovely) we rented a bike-type thing (pic below) to ride around in. it was fun! Mat did most of the pedaling, he is such a gentleman, and we got a good look at the beachfront and all the stores. We wandered the beach some more, got another round of ice cream and left, neither of us got sunburns all over thank goodness, and my belly is burnt, which is great news!! But my left side is a little red from falling asleep on my right side, and mat ended up with lobster legs from the knees down lol. but all in all it was a great day! totally worth the wait, and i'm looking forward to taking the parents and jared here when they visit next month, and we already plan many family trips to the beach with our little kayleigh!!

















showin' off the belly in my bikini!


















stores on the beach


















our awesome bike-thing that we rented and drove up and down the beach







all the buildings along the beach






















me & mat enjoying the sun









so glad we made it!





















the drive into oostende, where the beach is























my favorite maternity shirt, and one of the few things that still fits me!!