Call Me the 1% or Less

21 weeks! Woohoo! We are getting excited and I will start feeling a little more relieved each week from now on since we are approaching a "viable" pregnancy (one that the baby can survive outside the womb)!

So my new less than 1% chance of getting something is that I now have PUPPP, or "Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy." It's a terribly itchy rash that forms on the belly. The cause: pregnancy. The cure: birth. It most commonly occurs in the last part of the third trimester, or around 34-36 weeks. I got it at 20 weeks. Great, huh? Another interesting fact about PUPPP is that they found in studies fetal male DNA on the surface of the women's skin. And women who are pregnant with little baby boys are more 3 times more likely to get it than if they had little girls. So yes, we have a little boy troublemaker on our hands already!

We found out today that my father in-law Larry will be transferring to Denver unofficially. We're waiting for the "official" acceptance from the receiving doctor. So, I will be down there for a week or so just to help my mother in-law Cindy out. Larry is doing better and he is trying to get out of bed. You can read all about his daily progress at the caringbridge website.

Other than all the hiccups of the pregnancy, I'm loving it! Feeling the baby move and kick is wonderful! I already know I will miss that when the baby arrives. I guess I can stop calling him "the baby." We have some names in mind but it's not set in stone yet. You'll just have to wait to find out his name for now. Until then, I'll call him Mr. Marshall.

Here is my 21 week picture. And have a wonderful week!

Ultrasound Pictures!

Profile of Head


Left Foot


Here I Am!


A Little Smile :o)


Getting Grumpy


Now I Am Mad!


Yes, I Like This Position


Sleepy Time

Those Aren't Girl Parts.

I thought I said this but Jordan informed me I was just thinking it and never really said it out loud. That's right, IT'S A BOY!!! So if you are wondering, I was absolutely 100% convinced it was a girl from the beginning, but was I wrong or what?! Jordan didn't know...he always said it's a 50/50 chance. But just to spite me, he said boy. And boy was he right! Of course, the crotch shot only lasted about 5 seconds before our little boy was sick of that. He not only closed his legs, but also crossed them for the rest of the ultrasound, too! I have provided the ultrasound and 3D pics above for you to look at. And so far, everything looks great! In fact, the little guy is measuring about a week ahead of schedule and 1 pound already!

As for names, we think we have one picked out but it's not set in stone yet.

Today, I had my OB appointment and the doctor said he was very happy and satisfied with how everything looks. I do remain on the same medications and restrictions. I don't mind. Plus, it's nice that I'm able to be at the hospital every day for Larry, my father in-law.

Below are pictures at 20 weeks. Go little guy! P.S. Can you please stop kicking my bladder?

I Will Post More Soon!

I know, I'm behind on my blogging once again. I do have 20 week pictures to post and some ultrasound pictures! Everything looks really good and the baby is measuring almost 1 week ahead of schedule! And yes we know what we are having but I will wait to post that until I've told my family. I know, it's torture for you. As soon as the appropriate people know, I will tell everyone.

Week 19 and Charging Right Along

Baby Marshall continues to grow and I'm feeling the stretching every day. Can you believe we're are almost half way done with the pregnancy?! In fact, only 9 more days until we get the big ultrasound. I'm so excited! We can't wait to see the baby again! And maybe, just maybe we'll get to find out if Baby Marshall is a miss or a mister.

It is crazy how fast the last two weeks have gone. It already has been 2 weeks since the accident and my father in-law Larry remains in critical condition in the intensive care unit. I think, how could the days of sitting in the ICU waiting room have possibly gone by so fast when at the time, it seemed so slow? There have been many ups and downs. I try not to stress myself and the baby out but some days have proven difficult. But I've managed to go home and relax or take naps most of the time. Plus, everyone reminds me (or makes me) to take a break so I've gotten more rest than anyone. I won't go too much more into Larry's condition since that's why we have the caringbridge website up. Here is the link, again.

www.caringbridge.org/visit/larrymarshall

Belly butter is my new friend and a little of an enemy at the same time. It's fun to massage it on my belly and to make my skin nice and soft. Though a lot of research states it does not help with stretch marks, it doesn't hurt, right? But it is kind of greasy and all my shirts stick to it, which annoys me a little. However, I would much rather deal with the greased pig belly (as Jordan calls it, lol) than to not be pregnant at all. And my other friend that has been around for some time would be a mirror. I'm one of those freaks that can spend several minutes just staring at my belly. Does/did anyone else do this???

The gut isn't getting a whole lot bigger but it is rounding out quite a bit. It's nice we take pictures every week to see the difference since you can't see the difference staring into a mirror every day...or 5 times a day.

Prayers for Larry

On Monday, June 9th, my father in-law Larry was in a severe work accident. It left him with life-threatening injuries. The accident left him with a bruised heart and lungs, several broken ribs, the sternum tore away from his ribs on both sides, and he has a liver injury that is a grade 5 (the worst on a 1-5 scale). Also, his right forearm is broken in several places and he'll need surgery to repair it. Due to all his injuries, he also went into acute kidney failure. Larry remains in the intensive care unit here in Rapid City, and he is still in critical condition. The Marshall family has received so much help and prayers from around the world. Keep them coming.

Please visit his caringbridge website to stay updated and to understand what happened. www.caringbridge.org/visit/larrymarshall

Sorry that I haven't kept up with my own blog. We spent almost every waking minute at the hospital and I've been helping keep the caringbridge website up to date, too. Plus, almost all of Jordan's family came into town last week/weekend. I hope you all understand. To all my devoted followers, thank you so much for continuing to check in.

I'm happy to be off bedrest. All is going well on the baby front. Nothing new to report other than I'm getting bigger and I feel the baby moving more often, even if it is just a handful or more times a day. It's nice that I can move around and go to the hospital to visit Larry. And for those of you who keep asking...yes, I'm taking it easy and taking care of both myself and the baby. I have plenty of people who make sure of that.

Oh yeah, and we have a new addition to the family! We have another Corgi dog! Jordan's brother and his wife are in the military and are getting relocated to England. It is too expensive to bring their dogs over. So we got little Nala. She is a sweetheart. Our other dog Copper is still pouting a bit but they are starting to play more and more. We're still waiting for the "big fight" to see which will be the dominant one. Our cat doesn't seem to mind having another dog either since they even play once in awhile. Jordan always said that I could get another dog if we couldn't have children. Somehow, I managed to get another Corgi and I am pregnant. :o) :o) :o)

Here is the 18 weeks (technically 18 weeks, 1 day) picture. Enjoy!

Maternity Clothes Shopping is Hard

17 weeks today, yippie! One more week down and one week closer to getting towards our goal of having a little one tucked in our arms.

Yesterday, I finally got the chance to go maternity shopping since I only have few shorts/pants left to wear, most that shouldn't be seen in public. And it is very hard to find anything that really fits me well. But, I found a pair of capris that need to be hemmed a bit as most capris are too long but also look like high-water pants. Oh, and I bought a pair of sweatpant capris that should fit very soon. I found those in the kids plus section...lol.

My brother and his wife, Andy and Hege, are coming to visit today! I'm so excited. They are also expecting and are a month ahead of us. They live in Norway so this might be the last visit for quite some time. It's a short trip but I'm just happy that they were able to come visit since I'm not able to travel. They will return to Minnesota tomorrow where most of our family and their friends live.

Oh, and I have to tell this story since it is so funny. We celebrated our niece's 1st birthday yesterday evening. Well, her big brother was helping open presents. All the clothes went flying out of the way as he dug to the bottom. As he was opening the last set of clothes, the top of the dress was thrown over his shoulder and the little bottoms went straight to his face and he wiped his nose on them. That was classic :o)

Here is my picture at 17 weeks. I'm continuing to feel the oddest twinges here and there. Plus, I've been able to feel the baby kick for almost 2 weeks but it is becoming much more often and pronounced. Go baby!