Rhys and Tina's Blog

37 weeks

rhysandtina — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:06:13 +0000

37 weeks

I went last week and found out that I am 1.5-2cm dilated. Yesterday I experienced false labor for about 2 hours…I was starting to get a bit excited I must admit but then the false contractions faded to nothing. After they went away I made Rhys take me to babies r us for diapers and wipes because we didn’t have any! haha. My bags are packed and the babys (Aston’s) bag is packed just Rhys and I need to figure out which outfit to bring him home in on the special day! I will leave Rhys to do the car seat today as well as pack his bag…video camera and lots of redbull…haha.

I have an appointment today at 2:30 to see how big the baby is…they are concerned he might be too big but I think he has leveled off and will be right around 8lbs…I don’t think my dilation has changed at all but we shall see! I have scheduled a hair appointment for Thursday, just in case I go into labor this week or weekend I want my hair to be nice and Rhys likes me as a blonde so I am slowly going lighter before his sister can just come up and make me blonde again…shes gonna kill me when she hears that but hey, it was nice being brunette for the pregnancy but lets admit it, I do look better blonde and blondes do have more fun

Here I am in all my morning glory! I will update again ASAP…might be in labor sooner than we think!

35 weeks

rhysandtina — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:14:17 +0000

Only 5 more weeks to go. Last week I had a prenatal appointment, I am measuring OK (slightly smaller on the outside, baby big on the inside!- although I feel MASSIVE!). I also last week did a Belly Casting, which they put plaster of Paris on your tummy and breasts and you can keep what you looked like while you were pregnant. i am debating whether Rhys and I will paint it or if we will leave it bare white. We shall see. Also my mom and Rhys’ family all came into town for my baby shower. It was very lowkey with my friends that live here locally and my mom and Rhys’ mom, nan and family friend Jackie. The day before the shower we had a 4D ultrasound. It was amazing!!! here are a couple pictures of baby aston at 34 weeks and 3 days.

Baby Aston at 34 weeks

Very Serious Aston

Baby Aston, so cute!!! Can't wait to meet him!!!

He was such a cutie!!! We definitely saw that he was a boy and at one point he became embarassed and covered his eyes with his hands, it was really cute! I was bittersweet about doing a 4D ultrasound this late, because I will be meeting him so soon, but it was awesome and another way to bond with him before he gets here. Our family was blown away by it, and how amazing technology is.

The baby shower was hosted by my friend Tara Moore. She did such a great job and I hope to put up pictures in my next post. Rhys and I have a yoga 1 on 1 session this afternoon. Another way to bond with the baby before he gets here.

Till next week!!!

31 weeks

rhysandtina — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:34:55 +0000

31 weeks

Here I am at 31 weeks. I cannot believe in about 2 months I will be a mommy!!! Ahh, that is crazy Very exciting though. Things have been good so far, no swelling…been feeling OK, still a bit tired and I do not have quite the appetite I had a few weeks ago. I also have more pressure, “down below” and have had some false labor contractions. They really are not much of a bother just a bit uncomfortable. Prepping me for the pain that is to come!

31 weeks and all BELLY!

As you can see from this second picture I am all belly! haha. I do have the linea negra, the line that goes from my pubic bone to almost my chest. Some women get it and some do not. It has to do with hormones. Kinda neat that I have it actually.

Not much else to report. I have a breastfeeding class tonight and I am looking forward to learning more tricks of the best way to breast feed my baby!
Rhys played in Dallas last night and unfortunately the Panthers lost. Rhys said the stadium was very cool and he was able to hang out with Chad OchoCinco before the kickoff and after. He said he was a pretty cool guy. They do not play this weekend, it is their bye-week and will play at home against the Redskins the following Sunday, hopefully they can get win #1 at home and somehow win the rest of the season…never give up!

Till next week…

30 weeks

rhysandtina — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 21:52:48 +0000

Today marks another landmark, 30 weeks!!! Only 10 more to go if I end up going full term, which is 40- yes you are pregnant for about 10 months, ugh! Thing is they tell women 9 months because if you told them 10 they wouldn’t get pregnant in the first place! I went in for a checkup and she said my weight is fine, babys heartrate was strong and healthy and I am measuring right at 30 weeks. I feel much better today than I had, in terms of my pregnancy, the past few days. I had swollen ankles (aka CANKLES…the term stems from where there is no beginning to the calf or end to your ankle). I have however, come down with a cold and had to get the flu shot today ontop of it. I have never had the flu shot in my life but because I am carrying another life, it means I must protect him from the bad viruses…so I have a sore arm now as well.

Here is a picture of me after my AM workout yesterday. I had a 25 minute date with the Elliptical Machine. I hate it, but it beats not getting any exercise.

30 Weeks Side Belly

30 Weeks front belly

Rhys put together our bassinet for the baby last night and then proceeded to put Guinness in it, LOL. It is on video on his twitter page, www.twitter.com/rhysjlloyd He is still the baby for a few more weeks Today we went out to run some errands and Rhys had the baby shopping hat on and bought our lil one a Nike onesie, hat and socks as well as a blanket that has guitars on it and says ROCKSTAR. Got some great deals at the Burlington Coat Factory….I love that place. There and Marshalls have some amazing deals!

Well I did promise to post some photos from the 4d Ultrasound, but I don’t have a scanner so these are taken from my phone. We will see if you can tell who he looks like…

27 week 4d Ultrasound

27 week side profile

Well I think he has mommy’s lips and cheeks but definitely right now looks more like his daddy. He looks like Rhys so much on the right when Rhys sleeps, so cute! I cannot wait to meet him. We are so excited!!!

I will try and update every week or every other week until the baby comes and try to post pictures once the lil guy is here.

27 almost 28 weeks

rhysandtina — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 19:06:29 +0000

Me and Guinness at Freedom Park in Charlotte NC

This past week I had a doctor appointment in which I received a shot of Rhogam. I am A Negative blood type, meaning my blood lacks the RH factor, I am RH negative. The Rhogam shot was given to me and the needle was about the same size as an epidural needle. HUGE. But I didn’t even flinch

Then, I did the glucose tolerance test (1 hr test). In this test they give you 50grams of glucose. I did not have to fast, although I did and I failed the test! My blood sugar level should have been below 130 and it was I think 179, I cannot remember exactly, maybe 189, whatever it was super high. Apparently Gestational Diabetes can be regulated with diet and exercise but I do not know what I can eat differently to the way I am eating now…I go in for a re-test, a 3 hr test on Tuesday. I have to eat a high carbohydrate/sugar diet on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, to get my body used to high sugar volume…so here I come Ben and Jerrys!

After all that I had an ultra sound to see if my low-lying placenta had moved up and it did! So no bed rest for me. Our little Aston was measuring 2lbs 12 oz, slightly larger than average, but not very large. I was also able to have a 4d ultrasound. It was amazing…I will post some pictures up as soon as I scan them. The little boy is alreaedy growing up!!!

I will update with pictures from the ultrasound and my gestational diabetes update later on next week!

24…almost 25 weeks!

rhysandtina — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 17:39:24 +0000

Its official… I look FAT….I mean PREGNANT….

Here I am after my Prenatal Yoga Class this AM…we had to hold a squat against the wall for 3 mins and went straight into birthing squats for 5 mins. My butt is so toned right now! Mind over matter baby. Legs started to burn and I breathed through it and somehow made 3 mins seem like 1… I say BRING IT ON LABOR!!!

I have done a few preparing classes for baby the past few weeks. My first one was Infant Massage and that was neat to learn how massage can really stimulate the baby or calm him down before bedtime. How proper massage can reduce the babys chances for colic and how if he gets a little stuck up, simple pressure points can produce a bowel movement.

Then I took Infant CPR, which was somewhat scary. We learned how to do CPR on the baby as well as a child and an adult. We also learned the hymlic…and what to do if your baby starts to choke. I am glad I know now how to do these things and I hope I never have to use them, but it is always good to be prepared!
Finally, I most recently took Bootcamp for Moms. This was awesome! They taught us about everything that occurs right after the afterbirth is delivered and on. How to manage your time and how you need a good support team with you the couple weeks after the baby comes home. I do in particular because Rhys cannot take Paternal Leave from the team and I will need help with the dog and cooking, etc…We did an exercise with different colors of felt on a round circle and had to place them there for different things such as sleep, exercise, leisure, pet, etc…and you realize that sometimes your priorities are not to get a manicure but rather an extra couple hours of sleep…very EYE OPENING!!! I asked the nurse what if you get a full 8-9 hours of sleep now…she said, well you are lucky because most pregnant women do not and plan on only getting about 3 if you are lucky, once baby comes home….ooooooh boy! I cant even have a redbull because I will be breastfeeding and anyone who knows me knows that I fall asleep at 9pm and wake up at about 7/8….I am doomed!

Rhys and I are signed up, he doesn’t really know this yet…for Childbirthing Class and Labor Support. In the 2 part class we will learn the different stages of Labor, which from all my reading I feel like an expert, and we actually will watch footage of a birth (Rhys might throw up, no joke!)…then the support class will teach Rhys and I different ways to massage me during labor and different ways of touch that can help eliminate tension in my body. I also feel that my prenatal yoga has helped and my instructor at Gotta Yoga, Diane, she teaches individual classes for pregnant mommy and partner, so Rhys and I might start to take a couple classes together to bond with baby and so he can learn more ways to help me during the labor process.
I have decided I want a doula with me during the labor as well as Rhys. This is ideal if Rhys is not around when I begin labor (please pray that he is not at the Jets game when labor starts…I want him to be here for the birth of his son!). This way the doula can labor me for as long as possible at my home (whether Rhys is here or not), and then we will go to the hospital at the last (hopefully) couple hours. I want to labor for as long as possible at home because I want to have this birth as natural as I can. I know it will be hard, demanding and horribly painful at times, but I honestly believe that I have prepared as well as I can (without knowing what the contractions will feel like and no one really being able to describe the pain to me) to have a safe natural delivery. I would love to have a home birth but I must admit I do feel reassured knowing that I am going to the hospital, just in case anything goes wrong with me or the baby.

Last night, one of the wives on the team Silvana and a girlfriend of one of the guys, Risalyn, hosted a baby shower for me and 3 of the other girls. It was so nice. We had dinner and cake (I didn’t even finish my slice because I am healthy!!!) Then we did a sort of secret santa exchange- and I got some amazing gifts. Everything from recieving blankets to nursing covers to toys and rattles! The baby is already spoiled and he doesn’t even know it!

I realized today that staying pregnant does not last forever, and I am going to embrace the next 15 weeks (wow doesn’t seem that far now). I feel great, finally look pregnant and I just want to cherish this time to bond with my little baby before he makes his grand entrance into this world. He is going to be so loved!

Well that is all for now…Rhys also doesn’t know but I am signing him up for Daddy Bootcamp…so he can learn all about MY hormones and how to properly change a diaper (Love ya babe!)

Hope to post more next week and maybe get Rhys to finally say something, because camp will be over.

week 23

rhysandtina — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:23:31 +0000

Rhys and I are now settled here in Charlotte, NC. We are very excited to be back!

Today I am 23 weeks. Here is a picture:

23 Weeks...

Just as I thought I was showing more, and someone saw me at the local grocery and said aww you are pregnant, yesterday I walk into a baby shop and the women didn’t think I was pregnant Ugh. Its like I wanna LOOK pregnant but then again I don’t wanna be massive. It is difficult for me to get on the scale each week and see the pounds go on. I know it is for the baby, but wow what an eye opener, so I am not going to even look at scales anymore and when I am at the docs I am going to close my eyes!

The baby has been kicking like CRAZY! It is really neat actually. I think last night he had hiccups bc it was the same repetitive feeling down there, for about a minute straight. Must be all that water I am drinking for him…

Anyway I have been doing prenatal yoga, which I love. It is actually really hard. Lots of squats to prepare me for birth! I have an intro to infant massage class tonight. I am looking forward to that and implementing that to the baby every night before bed as a little ritual. My baby will be spoiled in the fact that I do love to give facials and massages…

Ok I will try and post a better picture next week. The lighting in the guest bathroom downstairs isn’t great…

21 week belly

rhysandtina — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 01:05:00 +0000

21 weeks

rhysandtina — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 02:01:28 +0000

Last Thursday Rhys and I had the amazing experience of a gender ultrasound. Here is a picture from the ultrasound.

During the Nuchal Fold exam at week 12, the ultrasound technician thought she could see “something” that indicated it was a boy…well you can see in the picture on a left a little nub…that is his wee wee…ITS A BOY! Rhys was really excited and happy and so was I. Rhys wanted a boy deep down and I really had no preference. Many of my friends have said boy, but my family thought I was carrying a girl. Turns out it is a boy and most of the wive’s tales were wrong…ie. Heart Rate, Morning Sickness, fruit cravings, etc…

Not too much has occurred since our last post. My waistline is expanding and I hope to get a belly shot up soon for you, hopefully tomorrow. We are still in Florida and are planning on making the trip up to NC next week. We are excited to head back up to Charlotte for a few months…

Until next time enjoy a couple more pictures of our little “carrot” (that is what they refer the baby to at week 21).

15 weeks

rhysandtina — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 00:53:12 +0000

Ok so I missed last week…sorry. But nothing really happened anyway. This week my belly popped! All the sudden I have a bit of a gut I weighed myself and I am +6 from pre-pregnancy weight. WOW! That was quick. They said about a pound each week and yea that’s about right!!! I should be about 7-10 lbs plus now but thats ok…still on track.

Here is the belly shot

15.5 weeks preggers

Ok, well I have another test next week but no ultrasound until mid-July. That is when Rhys and I will see if it is a lil boy or a lil girl. Our nuchal fold exam test came back clear, which was a huge sigh of relief. The test next week is to see if the baby has other deformations such as spina bifida, etc.

Ok next week I will make Rhys post because I will be golfing up in Rhode Island