Per Mom and Sarah's Request

This is the crib all set up. Although the bumper pads that came with the quilt are made by the same manufacturer as the crib, they don't fit properly. I think we'll use the bumpers as wall art instead. It's better to not use them anyway due to SIDS. The mobile was given to us by our next door neighbor. She's a stay at home mom with two little girls. It doesn't match but it has black and white features that are supposed to be very interesting to newborns.

We finally received the glider we ordered. However, the UPS guy forgot to give us all the boxes so we have to wait til tomorrow to get the ottoman. It's really comfy. I was relaxed as soon as I started gliding. It took Sophie a few minutes to calm down though.

So this is my belly as of February 7th. People at work have started telling me that I'm not going to make it to my due date. I haven't heard of any bets being placed yet though.

I took this picture of my belly today. Just 8 days later. Looks a little bit bigger, doesn't it? Moving lately has been accompanied by lots of grunting and groaning. I'm hoping for warmer weather so I don't have to wear socks anymore. I've also been making random noises with my lips for no apparent reason. Brian told me I have a case of the Richters. Those of you who know my brother-in-law will know what that means.

A month and a half to go! We can't wait.

Sophie's Nursery

I love the swing that my Aunt Becki, Aunt Janie, and cousins Rachel and Beth got us. It's adorable. I can already picture Sophie relaxing . . . or screaming her head off in it, depending on her mood. Sophie is quite the active little baby. She kicks throughout the day and night, but she is most active between 5 and 6am and 7 to 8pm. Just recently, Brian has been able to see my belly move when Sophie is kicking. And it moves pretty violently. It usually doesn't hurt and it's nice to know that she is still doing okay in there.


This is the valance my mom bought us when she came to help us with the registry. It was nice to have help because Brian and I were extremely overwhelmed with the choices and had no idea what we were doing. Brian bought and installed cordless blinds for all the rooms in the house. Safety first. He also did a great job painting the nursery.


Brian keeps joking that Sophie now has more matching furniture than we do. But seriously, he's right. The crib is awesome. My parents bought it for us. It's convertible to a toddler, daybed, and full size bed. Furniture hasn't been much of a priority for me and Brian so it's nice to know we don't have to worry about getting a couple more beds for Sophie. Now we just need to get crib rail guards so that Sophie doesn't ruin it when she starts teething. My parents also got us a glider that will go in the other available corner.

Brian installed the closet shelving unit so that Sophie would have more space to play in her room. I helped with putting the crib, changing table, and some of the drawers together as much as I could. It's becoming much more difficult for me to move. There's a lot of grunting and moaning when I have to get out of the car or up from the floor, sofa, or bed. Yes, I know it will get worse. At least the weather is getting better and I don't have to wear socks anymore.

Brian's been working so hard on getting the house ready for Sophie. Fortunately, it is all coming together and there's not that much more left to do. We'll have a couple of months left of relative peace before Sophie joins our household.

Baby Shower Continued

Right after we got back from Pennsylvania I found out that I don't have gestational diabetes but I do have anemia. It's gotten better since I began taking iron supplements. I had been so tired that I used all my energy up at work. Therefore, the blog had to wait awhile to be updated.

Brian's sister, Jenn, made him a really cute apron stocked with humorous and practical items for changing diapers. I especially liked the surgical mask and tongs.

This is the cake that Brian's mom got for the shower. It was adorable, huge, and delicious! We were lucky to be able to see many of our relatives and friends in Pennsylvania before I couldn't travel anymore.
This is me helping to clean up. The food was really yummy thanks to my mom's cooking skills. There were a lot of pictures I didn't want to post because they were of people eating up the delicious food.

Sophie's Baby Shower

The baby shower was very nice and well attended. Brian's family and my family were there. I was very sad that my sister in Germany couldn't attend though. We were lucky so many people could come due to the late notice and proximity to Christmas. My doctor won't let me travel more than an hour away from the hospital after Christmas. So my options for the baby shower date were limited.

There weren't many pictures of my belly's profile. However, it's sufficient to show you the extent of my growth. I have been getting some interesting questions from people at work about it. Some of the frequent responses are as follows:

No, I am not having twins.
Actually, Sophie is an average size.
Yes, I am "spreading" ... due to the fact that I am almost 7 months pregnant.
Yes, I used to be smaller, not so much anymore.


Kira and Alaina, two of our nieces, helped us open the presents. My mom made me wear the tiara, which says "New Mom To Be." I made my mom wear a surgical mask since she had pneumonia (my OB's suggestion). Fortunately she could take it off by the time the shower started. She wouldn't let me take any pictures of that. Sophie got a lot of cute clothes and books, as well as some other items. More pictures will follow. I am getting tired so I'll post more pictures of the shower later.

3rd Ultrasound

Here is a booty shot of Sophie. This is from October 20, 2009. This is when we found out she was a she. The arrow is pointing to show us that she is in fact a girl. This made things easier because we could now call her Sophie, instead of "baby" or "junior" as I primarily called her. Katie called her "baby" or "little one." I had initially been hoping for a boy since I thought it would be easier to raise a boy. Once I found out we were having a girl, I had no problem getting accustomed to the idea of raising a girl.

Incidentally, if we were going to have a boy, I had suggested the name Derek, which Katie and I agreed to initially, but later were not as jazzed about. I got a bit swept up in Derek Jeter passing Lou Gehrig for the most hits as a New York Yankee, but I'm not sure that name would have stuck, so I think Katie and I were relieved when it was a girl and we didn't have to think about modifying the name. We both are very happy with the name Sophie Marie Keck.

Here is a head shot from the same doctor visit.

Second Ultrasound

Here is the 2nd ultrasound photo. We still did not know the sex yet, but Sophie is growing nicely. We heard the heartbeat this time, which sounded much like a train. Her heartbeat is at 155, a very strong heartbeat. At this point we could've had genetic testing to determine the likelihood Sophie would have particular severe medical conditions. We opted against that though. There's nothing we can do about it anyway, other than prepare mentally. Fortunately, all signs are pointing to a healthy baby.

Here is Sophie Marie Keck's first picture from August 25, 2009.

She's pretty small at this point, we would not find out if she was a she or a he for a few months yet.

Uncle Drew pointed out that she looks like a motorcycle riding around the womb. A pretty accurate description.