Fall Weekend At The Cabin!

The family enjoyed a warm fall weekend at the cabin.  We took in many fall colors along with a fabulous hay ride.  Baby Weldon loved the bumps along the trail followed by some great family time with closing up the cabin for the season.  Here are some photos to take in the lovely MN fall!

Ready for the Hay Ride!

Fall Colors

Family photo during a morning walk to the bride.

Week 27 Belly Photo

Week 27 & 2 days belly photo!  There  feels like a lot of growth has happened in the last month!

Week 27: I'm a survivor, I'm gonna make it!

Fetal development in pregnancy week 27

~length
14.5 in | 36.8 cm

~weight
2 lbs | 900 g

Your not-so-tiny-anymore baby (2 pounds and 14.5 inches long!) is slowly rotating in preparation to “head out” for the grand entrance on their birthday!
Now obviously, this doesn’t happen overnight, but when you start to feel a new sort of pressure "down there" (aka your cervix), you’ll know you’ve got a fully flipped locked-n-loaded womb-fruit waiting for the countdown to launch!
If you feel like they're still not flipped, don't worry, you've still got time.
Impressive physical developments of the week: your child's lungs are already capable of breathing air as their vascular system can now handle oxygen/carbon exchange and their brain stem can now regulate rhythmic breathing as well as their basal body temperature!
For what it’s worth, at this point in a healthy pregnancy - if you were to give birth prematurely, your tiny fighter could easily win on the show: “Survivor: The Early Years.”
Go ahead, give your belly a gentle hi-five!

And how's mom doing?

This week has brought on the swollen angles, and feet.  Being in the Las Vegas heat did not help along with endless walking.  It is also getting harder to get up off the couch, Dad has had to roll Mom off a couple times.  Shoes continue to be a struggle but Mom is finding new ways to get them on and out the door.  Not too many new cravings, but loving to eat every few hours.  It has been hard staying on a low fat diet due to the gall stones, need to have less than 12g of fat per serving.  Last night Mom made home made pizza which she has been craving for weeks, it was TASTY!!  It also was low in fat so no pain, which means home made pizza is back on the menu.  All and all Mom is ready for the 3rd trimester and cannot believe three months to go!

26 Weeks!! Viva Las Vegas - Belly Photo

At 26 weeks Little Weldon took a trip to Vegas!!!  Last week (trying to get caught up) was a week filled with fun in the sun, laughs, and an amazing wedding which was a hop, skip and plane ride away.  Although Little Weldon had his first plane ride at 8 weeks, this would be the first one little Weldon has really experienced.  It was not the most comfortable 3 hours on the plane ride there and back but well worth the trip.  Below are photos of the amazing time Mom & Dad had celebrating with friends, along with Aunt Chelse!!

Mom and Aunt Chelse Paddle Boarding, was a lovely start to our last day in Vegas!

Aunt Chelse with the goodies she brought for you.

Belly Photo - 26 weeks

Mom and Chelse enjoying the hot weather!  Was over 100 degrees almost every day!

Dad & Mom enjoying the amazing resort

Mom and Chelse being silly!

Mom & Dad at wedding, was an amazing ceremony followed by a great reception.

Mom and her besties dancing the night away!  Eve, the bride was breathtaking.

Mom and Aunt Chelse who Little Weldon will LOVE!

Dad shooting some hoops with his boyz!

You will soon find out Mom's favorite hobby, shoe shopping!

Loving Viva Las Vegas!

Week 26: Eye see YOU! - Last Week of 2nd Trimester!

Fetal development in pregnancy week 26

~length
14 in | 35.5 cm

~weight
1.7 lbs | 770 g

At long last your little swimmer can see!
For the first time ever, your wee babe's eyelids have finally opened (remember: they were fused shut previously) and they’re probably having their first moments of sight as you read this (or maybe it already happened while you were brushing your teeth or browsing the internet or something).
In addition to taking in their first visual impressions of their comfy amniotic-filled studio, your little human-bean recently acquired the ability to move their head around.
That's right, if your child were clever enough (which they're not - yet), they could engage in that most basic of non-verbal communication - the head shake/nod. Not to mention, gawking!
In further anti-alien developments: your little super star’s head hair is starting to grow in!
Who knows, maybe a cute little cowlick or two is springing into position right now - the first of years of cute-but-stubborn bed-head.
Your wee piggy's toenails have recently grown in and they're still slowly piling up fat beneath their still-loose-n-wrinkly skin.
Most importantly, their brain tissue and neurons are all developing at a rapid pace, increasing their (genius-level?) brain activity, which will continue to function at accelerated levels for the first eight years of childhood!

And how's mom doing?

Hoorah! This is the final week of your second trimester! You're almost there!!!If you just got back from the restroom, we're sure you're aware that you’ve finally reached that infamous “live-on-the-toilet” phase of pregnancy where everything's bigger (boobs, butt, baby, belly) but your bladder
We won't go on and on about the joys of constipation, but if you’re curious why you’ve got to put up with this much-less-than-fun blockage, it’s because you’re producing higher levels of progesterone, which relaxes muscle tissue throughout your entire body, including your gastrointestinal tract and ultimately slows digestion down… waaaay down.
Not to fear, there are easy natural remedies for the joys of constipation:

• Increase your standard fiber intake with more fresh fruits and veggies, oatmeal, or whole grains.
• Get moving - your poop moves more the more you move!
  
• Drink more water! (Not soda - sugar helps dehydrate you.)
  
• If you haven’t been very active (tsk tsk!), try some brisk walking or swimming.
  
• Increasing your general activity levels often inspires a bowel movement without requiring a suppository.

If you just got back from the restroom, we're sure you're aware that you’ve finally reached that infamous “live-on-the-toilet” phase of pregnancy where everything's bigger (boobs, butt, baby, belly) but your bladder.
Your best strategy is to accept the fact you’re going to need to pee every 15 minutes or so. If you manage to go for an hour or longer, count yourself amongst the lucky iron-bladdered few.
Are you ready to rock this last trimester?!

Little Weldon's Nursery Projects!

This weekend Mom, Dad and your Grandma & Grandpa Schmitt got a head start on the nursery with some little projects.  Mom and Grandma were hard at work painting the letters that will be hung above the changing table - was so much fun!  Dad and Grandpa worked on the closets and also putting together a shelf for the nursery.  Here are some photos to show the hard work!

Letters pre-paint

Grandma hard at work

Mom mask and all working on the letters

Almost done!

Dad & Grandpa working on the shelve for the closet & the doors

The shelve unit for the nursery along with the lamp that provided color inspiration

Week 25 Belly Photo

Just when Mom thought she had lots of energy it started to fade this week :(  It could be because Baby Weldon has really started to grow as shown in the belly photos this week - Mom has popped!
This week the baby room is also moving forward, photos to come!!  This Saturday Grandma will be helping mom with the letters along with new light fixtures getting installed.

Mom & Dad also interviewed and got a tour of their first in home daycare center, but the search will continue.....

Your First Bachelorette Party! Belly Photos 24 weeks 5 days

Baby Weldon had his/her first bachelorette party this weekend!  It was a cowboy theme, so you got your boots on along with a cowboy hat and had some fun with the ladies!  Soon you will be heading to Vegas to celebrate the wedding of Eve & Nate - two great friends that you will meet soon.  Was a fun night filled with great music and wonderful ladies!

The Bride to Be!

Dressed the part for the cowgirl theme

Ready for a hoedown!

Week 25: To turn or not to turn...

I cannot believe only 14 weeks to go!!

Fetal development in pregnancy week 25

~length
13.5 in | 34 cm

~weight
1.5 lbs | 680 g

Your little grower’s physical proportions are pretty much birth-ready and most of their remaining development will largely be weight gain and a ton of nervous system development.
The good news is: if your child were to be born premature, they’d likely survive without much trauma as their lungs started producing “surfactant” last week, which means their tiny respiratory system is getting stronger with each passing day.
Yes, now’s a good time for a minor sigh of relief and a quick pat on the back. All that hard work and conscientious living is really getting your child prepared for a healthy delivery.
In mobile-fetus news: your baby should be scootching slowly out of the breech position (head upright, with their butt-n-legs down by your pelvis) and start rotating around for a head-first exit through the birth canal.
If all goes well, and your little womb hi-jacker isn't a contrary one, they'll be locked-n-loaded in the next few weeks!
Time is short (or really long, depending on who you ask) — just (still!) 14 weeks left before you can go back to being a single-resident human... with one tiny brand-spankin' new family member!

Week 24 - 6 Months Belly Photo!!!

Mom has hit the 6 month mark!!  Cannot believe and only 4 more to go!!  (hopefully)  The belly is growing and mom is still doing great.  She is loving her energy and hoping that does not go away, she even worked an 11 hour day yesterday.  Workouts are still pumping and grinding.  With a few adjustments to weights and jumps, mom still hits the gym and chats it up with her gym buddies.  Cravings are anything with milk.......cereal, graham crackers, granola bars, toast, peanut butter, etc.

24 weeks & 3 days!  Belly is popping out!

Mom's view, she can still see her toes!

Dancing, Singing, and Family Time!

This weekend was a trip to WI for a family wedding.  Baby Weldon enjoyed some time with family, and also a lot of dancing and singing!  Mom & Dad had a great time getting down to the music and dad also had the opportunity to share some of his great moves ;)  Lets hope you don't take after him on the dance floor.

Week 24: Look ma, my ears can hear!

Fetal development in pregnancy week 24

~length
11.8 in | 30 cm

~weight
1.3 lbs | 590 g

It's another week full of exciting developments for your magical growing baby!
Just take a look at the checklist for this week: 1) ears: done; 2) fingernails: done; 3) (if you have a boy) testicles: taking their 3-4 day trip from the abdominal wall to the scrotum; and 4) lungs walls: secreting “surfactant”.
What’s surfactant? It's basically what it sounds like: a surface-activated fat that helps your baby's little lungs inflate (where inflate = fill with air not get more expensive for no understandable reason).
In the meantime, your submerged baby is still breathing in their amniotic fluid (and a bit of pee), preparing and rehearsing their lungs for an oxygen-filled life outside the womb.
By the end of this week, your wee womb-squatter will be weighing in at a whopping 2 lbs and 14 inches long.
All this new weight means your tiny baby is actually starting to fill out their skin, but they're not anywhere near their adorable fat-baby potential.
Most of the fetal “filling out” is coming up in that long awaited (and slightly dreaded?) third trimester. Woo-hoo! Get ready!