Today at 1:59, our little girl made her entrance into the world. Ashley Ruth weighed in a 8 lbs even and 19 1/2 inches (it's frightful to think what she might have weighed on her due date in 2 1/2 more weeks). She is definately a Cunningham baby, she has the same ears, checks, and shape that Gary and Britt have. However, she has a much broader nose and differently shaped eyes, not sure where that came from. She has a headful of dark brown hair like Gary, like I pictured, and some VERY dark blue eyes like Gary imagined. So far she has been very laid back and mellow. She started eatting as soon as they gave her to me, and has nursed like a champ all day, eatting for 30 to 40 minutes at a time, much quicker than Britt did. She isn't very talkative yet, only fussed once after the nurse came in with all the lights and woke her up for a 4th time in a row. She wasn't alert like Britt and only after several hours could we coax her into opening her eyes up for us to see them. We feel very blessed tonight.

We are officially full-term! In the few weeks (or days) left before we deliver, Ruth might add up to 14 grams of fat a day. At the same time, some of my amniotic fluid is starting to be reabsorbed by my tissues, slightly decreasing the fluid around your baby. It makes it feel as though she is moving less, but actually they tell me she's just as active as before.


As everything stretches, more light will permeate my belly, and she will move her eyes toward it. Her other senses are also getting better and stronger. She can hear and recognize mine and Gary's voice. Once she's born she'll turn her head in our direction when she hears us speak. She knows her Momma and Daddy already! Her fingers are also becoming more coordinated. She can grasp her face or toes. And after birth she'll be able to tightly grab a finger.

It's harder than ever to get comfortable enough to sleep any at night, let alone well. I can't wait to see what she looks like and to see how she acts. And hopefully we will be able to see all of that very soon. At our check up today we were at station -2, 40% effaced, and dialated to a 3 1/2 maybe 4. She then stripped my membrance in hopes that I'll go into labor in the next few days. It has definately made for stronger more frequent contractions, lets hope it does the trick.

Well today makes for 36 weeks with Ruth. Only 4 weeks to go. From here on out weight and length are a guess, but she is probably averaging around 19 inches and nearly 6 pounds. She's taking up enough space that I can't eat a full meal, but at the same time I feel like I'm starving every few hours. The good news is while she continues to gain weight in fat until she gets here I might not gain much if any more. A pound a week tops.

She has been able to suck on her thumb for a little while now, but she's finally able to nurse now, since her gums have become hard and ridged in the last week. In fact, the only thing that isn't fully mature yet is her lungs. Though, it's mature enough to function if she were to be born today. By next week she they will be completely matured. Our midwife, Lauren told us today that if she were to be born this week, that there would most likely be no complications, but that they would want us to stay 48 hrs just in case, whereas next week if we had her then we could leave after 12 hours if we really wanted to.

The placenta is taking more and more of a backseat these days. It doesn't produce that many hormones now that your Ruth's system is doing most of that without help now. One really neat thing about this week is that she is getting more and more antibodies through the umblicial cord from me; they can protect her from whooping cough, mumps, measles, and even mundane coughs and flu. She's stocking up on these immunities, since her own immune system won't be fully functional till around 3 months.

Most babies drop this week into the birth canal, I'm pretty sure that Ruth has since I'm not feeling her under my ribs as much now as I was. She's measuring in at station -3, meaning that she's now engaged in my pelvis, but not down so low that I'm waddling. The exciting news is that I'm 40% effaced and dialated to a 2. Lauren doesn't think that Ruth will arrive this week, but said at this rate next week is looking good. I've told Gary one more week I can do, four more weeks I'm not so sure about.

The midwife told us to plan on taking it very easy this week, in fact her words were to do as little as possible (score for me, Gary says boo), since we've been having some regular (those short and spaced out) contractions in the last week. So we plan to lay around the house, go to the beach on Sunday with some friends, and generally enjoy this next week.

Well, we are back after a week without a power cord for the computer. I had lots of great ideas for post last week, such as one on the weekend meetings we attended and Ruth's 34 week post. Britt says he was going to blog about dancing and hanging out with Memaw and Mister. But I'm not sure about posting all of those things now.

I got on today and discovered that our old background was deleted, so I decided to go ahead and change over the blogspot, to some stuff I had picked out for after Ruth arrives. Eventually the header will have some real pictures, but I don't have any yet, so for now you will have to admire our stick person, personas.

Today makes 35 weeks for Ruth. She should be over 5 lbs now around the weight of a honey dew melon. According to the midwives, from now on I'll be considered full term. I think that's earlier than what the doctor's office told me with Britt, but it's good to know that if she does come early that everything should be just fine from here on out. That's because surfactant is beginning to line her lungs making it possible for her lungs to stay open with each breath. At our last doctor's appointment last week, Lauren told me that she is pretty sure that Ruth is head down, and she agreed with me that Ruth is a long child, since she found a foot partially under a rib. She is beginning to shed her lanugo and thicken up her vernix instead, aka she's shedding the light hair all over her body that kept her warm all this time for the waxy like substance that will help her slide out easier.

In between my refills of phenagren last week I had the nasty surprise that yes, I do still have morning sickness. Thankfully, I got that phenagren refilled. I'm exhausted alot now, more so than before and sleep alot. I go to bed when Britt does some nights and I'm taking naps with him about half the time too now. Some of that I'm sure is that I'm not sleeping more than a few hours at a time at night now, and some of it is just being in that home stretch. The sleep deprivation after Britt was born was the worst part of the whole new baby period, but right now that would be an improvement from the lack of sleep I'm getting right now. Let's just say that Britt gets lots more freedom of behavior lately and we watch alot of movies and put lots of music cds in the dvd player right now.

Ashley Ruth is 33 weeks today. She has pushing the 4 1/2 lb mark and weighs roughly as much as a pineapple (ummm, might need to send Gary to Publix after class for some of that now). Her skeleton is hardening this week. As she continues to put on weight she is losing the wrinkled look and her skin is looking fuller. While she continues to get oxygen from her umbilical cord until birth, she is practicing breathing in a steady, rhythmic pattern now. She breathes the amniotic fluid which is at it's highest right now, it will decrease as we get closer to her birth day. She is storing up iron in her liver, since she won't be getting much until around 6 to 9 months old. The big thing that she will do from now till her birth is continue to add synapses between her brain cells. Brain growth primarily occurs in the last month and a half before birth.

As for me, I am patiently... or not so much waiting. I'm ready to be done with the being sick, exhausted, and just plain sore all the time. I'm trying to enjoy some one on one time with everyone's favorite stinker, but he just wears a body out. I think he could outlast the Energizer Bunny. Pregnancy with Britt had it's own challenges, but they are nothing compared to this one. Speaking of Britt, he has progressed from kissing Ruth to tackling me around the waist when asked about Ruth. He still pats her and loves on her (rather vigerously I might add), but his hugs now need a running start. I look forward to seeing the two of them together despite all the horror stories, we heard on Sunday about second children. Things are progressing pretty normally however.

Yesterday made 32 weeks for little Ruth. She now weighs in around 4 lbs. I should be gaining around a lb a week from here on out, half of which will be Ruth putting on weight. If that is the case, I will still weigh under what I did with Britt when she gets here. The Phenagran has done wonders for my morning sickness. I still have one or two rough days a week, but I'm throwing up almost none now. I wear out faster now than before, but I think alot of that has to do with the Phenagran. I can function with only half of one, but it still leaves me sleepy. She also has fully developed fingernails and toenails now.


Yesterday we had our check up with the midwife. She says that everything is looking normal. We go back in another 2 weeks.


Sometime between week 32 and 36 she will begin to dream while she sleeps. I wonder how they have figured that out. I really wonder what she has to dream about, having seen none of the world. My dreams are plenty active though, mostly full of parnoia about going into labor when I head back south while Gary is still in Gainesville, and having her before he gets to Tampa. It's a bit silly to worry about, especially given the fact that there's nothing I can do about it, if it even happens. I suppose I will pack my labor bag this coming week, and just in case we are less than a mile from North Florida Regional Hospital.

Well I can safely say, that I'm not any clumbsier than I was before. I do tire out much more quickly than before, and boy have I taken more naps in the last week what with all the work of moving. We are getting settled in here in Gainesville, starting to get some sort of a routine to life, though I'm sure that will all be rearranged when Britt gets back this weekend. It's nice to be able to sleep in a little, and snuggle on the couch and watch a movie with Gary in the evening. We are even thinking about trying to catch Eclipse tomorrow afternoon while we are still childless.

Ruth is around 3.3 lbs now, the size of 4 navel oranges (yummo). She is moving tons now, and you can see my stomache jumping around from across the room when she decided to readjust and roll over. I'm feeling more and more braxton hicks contractions, particularly when I've been up and working too much, without drinking plenty of water. There's just so much to do, that sometimes I forget to pace myself and may go all day without drinking water. My feet are killing me this week, I'm sure that has more to do with the concrete floor than being pregnant, but that and lower back pain are telling me that we are in the home streach now.

My weekly email tells me that it's time to back a bag for the hospital, but we're going to put that off a little while longer. I don't want to think about it yet, besides I'm still not unpacked from the move, why would I want to pack anything else. haha.

Ruth is now as long as she will be at birth, from here on out she only be packing on the pounds. Right now she is weighing in around 3 lbs. Her eyes are starting to get color, though they won't be their final color until after they are exposed to sunlight, and the color can still change up to about 6 months old. She is starting to grow hair, and is beginning to lose the lanugo covering her body.

According to parents.com, I should be at the height of clumbsiness by now... guess I'll have to report on that post move. haha.

Ruth is approximately 15 cm long and 2 1/2 lbs, about the size of a butternut squash. Don't you love how they keep comparing tiny tiny babies to various fruits and vegetables, it makes me look at the produce section in the grocery store a little differently. She has enough cute baby fat to have dimples on her elbows and knees now. She's also starting to get a little crowded, she'll start bowing her head down between her knees the larger she gets, and her kicks are getting stronger. I feel her more and more often these days, and she currently seems to enjoy propping her feet up on the inside and to the left of my ribcage. I'm starting to wonder if I'm going to have bruised ribs by the time she's ready to move out of there.

We are still enjoying the pleasures of morning sickness, though last Wednesday at my doctor's appointment we got some phenegran. I like phenegran. They gave me that stuff with Britt and I slept 22 hrs a day, it was GREAT! We have hesitated taking it this time around for that very reason. However, with the zofran doing nothing for me, we got some this time. As long as I take the zofran in the day, and half of a phenegran in the evening, I'm not as sick. Additional bonus is that I'm sleeping way better at night too.

We are so very excited to see our Ruth, though at times it still doesn't seem quiet real. Something tells me that the summer will be flying by, what with us moving, Gary taking classes, and more doctor's appointments. Lots to do before she arrives in another 2 1/2 months.

Our little Ruth is about 14 and 1/2 inches long and around 2 lbs, the size of a head of califlower, as she begins her 27th week. If we could see her now, her skin would look less translucent and more pinkish, as her blood vessels are near the skin and as she gains little fat deposits. Also, her placenta is nearly fully formed.

Yesterday, we got to take our very nasty glucose test to check for gestational diabetes. We will find out how that went when we go back to the doctor next Wednesday. That stuff is so horrible tasting, I was very happy that I didn't get sick with it, after all if you throw up, you have to do it all over again.

It was exciting to read that if she were born today she would have a 90% survival rate. This makes me feel much better given the fact that we might be about to move 2 or so hours North of here. We are currently planning to keep the same midwives (I really like them so much, and hate the idea of looking for another one this late in the game), and the last week or two coming back here to stay with somebody just to be on the safe side. With everything else up in the air, each week that I see a higher and higher survival rate makes me feel that much better.

Ruth has made it to week 26. Her inner ear is developed enough that she can hear just about anyone in the room with me now. She's also practicing breathing her amniotic fluid now. She weighs around 1 and 2/3 lbs and is measuring in at 14 inches or the size of a hot-house cucumber. And believe me! I can tell she's that long, because I can feel her all over now. She is currently on a nerve in my back, and has been for just over a week now, I can't recall Britt ever sitting so low. If she were born to day she has made the benchmark week of 80% survival. We are hoping that she plans to wait a while longer though.

We are looking at cribs and bedding now, and probably will have to buy something in another month or so. For now I'm enjoying window shopping, and I would have picked up the prettiest green frilly dress the other day, but Gary said it was entirely too soon to start buying baby clothes. Things are going along right on track.

Today Ruth begins her 25th week. She is approximately 13 1/2 inches long now and around 1 1/2 lbs. The nerves around her mouth are becoming more developed. As early as 25 to 26 weeks she might begin practicing to nurse by sucking her thumb. She is starting to grow hair and if we could see it we would know if she if is a red-head (something her Daddy doesn't really want) or a brunette (like I picture). Of course there's no guarentee that it would stay that color...

Morning sickness has gotten worse again in the last week. They gave us some new ideas to try at our last doctor's appointments which seem to help a little, but at the same time we think I may have gotten use to the zofran, because it doesn't seem to be doing me any good. We are beginning our third and final trimester (YEAH! only 3 months, or so, left of morning sickness). I'm finding that I wear out fastern and when chasing Britt I'm more short of breath. They say my lifting limit is 35 lbs, and even though Britt isn't there yet, he is just about too heavy to haul around for long.

Today we had another check up. We have met 3 different midwives so far, and today's was our favorite so far. She had lots of good news for us, in that everything is looking normal. Oddly enough, from her ultrasound and all of our measurements she appears to be measuring to her due date exactly. We got some advice on trying something a little new to deal with morning sickness, and a script to get our gestational diabetes test here in town before going back in another month.

Our Ruth has reached a big milestone this week. She has put on another 4 oz this week and is about the size of an ear of corn. She recognizes the voices that she hears most now, and after she gets here she will prefer and turn toward those voices. She likes to play with her surroundings, in addition to walking around her main amusement, her only toy really, is to play with her umbilical cord.

Another week has come and gone, and I think time is speeding up on me. I'm not quite ready to go through Britt's scary closet and dresser to make room for more little clothes. I'm not ready to think about buying another crib and bedding. I'm definately not ready to debate whether the kiddos should go to our room (so that we can keep the guest bed in the house) and us move into the smaller bedroom.

There are so many small projects piling up around the house - bathroom and kitchen haven't been cleaned since... well let's just not talk about that one, I'm not quiet caught up on our photo albums and Britt's scrapbook (been working on that one all week to complete), I outta finish up Sis. Kerry's baby blanket (since the baby is due any day), oh and I still haven't finished Julia's and she'll be 1 in a month, and I really need to finish piecing Rebecca's quilt so that it is done before Ruth arrives. I would like to finish a few sewing projects and give this one a whirl that Kelly got me interested in. With all of this left to work on why in the world is time speeding up on me?

At 23 weeks, Ruth is now the size of a large mango (yummo). She can now open her eyes, though she won't do it much for another month or so. Her skin which has been see through until now, is starting to make pigment - lets hope for a nice dark complexed child. Maybe she could even get Grandmother's beautiful olive complextion and brown eyes. Her lips are starting to plump up and she continues to put on weight. And finally if something were to go wrong, she is developed enough that with alot of help she can breath outside the womb. From here on out her major development is in strengthening those lung muscles and rapid brain growth. This week, she is practicing walking, by rolling her feet, and using them to "walk" around my uterus. Believe me I can tell it too, she's strong enough that we can sit and watch her move, through my shirt without any doubts as to whether or not she's moving. Many babies at this point love to swing to music, and when Britt and I dance and act silly during the day, I like to think that she is dancing right along with us.

We are now on week 22, yikes! Ruth is about the size of a squash - at 11 inches long and 1 lb. If you could see her she looks just about like a newborn now, except she needs to put on that cute baby fat. Her taste buds have also formed this past week, she can now taste the amniotic fluid that is flavored by what I eat. Maybe she'll finally get enough salt and stop telling my brain that we want nothing but salt. I've never gone through so many sour cream and onion chips so fast. Our Ruth's little ears are fully formed now and she can hear my voice along with anyone nearby now. For the last week when Gary talks to her I can feel her roll over to him hanging off of every nonsense word that her daddy utters.

Speaking of nonsense, last night he tried to convince her that she wanted to have blond hair and blue eyes, that it would be far less troublesome than having red-hair. Not that dreams are any indicator of anything, but when I dream of her she's a brunette with green eyes. Green eyes would be nice, as I am not so secretly hoping that this one looks way more like me, since apparently Britt didn't get any genes from his momma.

Morning sickness is still going strong at 2 to 3 days a week, so I've just resigned myself to the fact that with this one I'm going to have it all the time. According to the midwife, sometimes women have worse sickness with girls because of the double dose of feminine hormones. If that's the case, I think one girl is enough for me, we can have the rest be boys. haha. She's getting a little more active, but it's mostly in the evenings. Makes me wonder if she's going to be a night owl. She's far more active at 11 pm than any other time of day, and I never feel her before about 3 in the afternoon.

I can ask Britt where the baby is and he knows and comes and points to my belly. About a month ago I started rubbing my stomach alot when I sat down, have I mentioned that this kid sits really, really low? So Britt would come up and I would ask him if he wanted to rub the baby, and he did. I was really surprised and when he got done, I would say "awww" and he would lean over without me asking and kiss the baby. This is getting to be his little thing. I ask him if he wants to rub the baby, and give Ruth kisses and most of the time he seems to. I'm sure it doesn't hurt that Momma then loves on him.

According to our little email that tells us what's going on in there Ruth is about 10 inches long and weighs somewhere around 12 oz... of course that's what she weighed last week, so maybe a little more than that. She is about the size of a good carrot now. She is now covered in vernix and that will protect her skin until right about the time she arrives. Her bone marrow is beginning to take over producing her red blood cells from her liver. For the most part she is fully formed, however she is mostly skin, bones, and organs right now. For the next 19 weeks she will be working those little muscles to strengthen them and putting on fat. It also tells me that I should have gained 10 lbs by now and should put on one a week until the baby gets here. (I'm hoping they are wrong on that.) I will however really like it when I get past the you-just-look-fat stage, and into the you-look-pregnant stage.

She is starting to kick a little more, but for the most part she's still gentle. I kinda wonder if she's heard me tell Britt so often to be gentle that she thinks I'm talking to here. :D I NEVER feel her move before about 10 am, so maybe she's like me and would prefer to sleep in. haha.

I am so excited to be having a girl this time around. So thrilled to be able to finally call her by name when I talk to her during the day. So happy to think about pretty churchy clothes (you know those things I've been complaining that I can't find for Britt). Most of all I wonder who she'll be and what she'll like and what she'll think. I had a dream about Britt before he was born, and in alot of ways he's like that dream was. I've dreamed about this one a time or two and have often wondered if she'll be anything like the dreams.

There are lots of worries like any normal parent... "where are we going to find room for all this baby junk?" "will I have any time for me/Gary/Britt?" "Umm dude, we seriously need to come up with some more money around here?" "I'm I going crazy?" "Did I brush my teeth today?" You know, all the usual stuff. For the most part I'm so excited, and I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is moving, I mean we are half way, at the end of summer this baby will be here. Goodness!

Maybe Brother Randy really is a prophet. He is two for two... yes, ladies and gentlemen this baby is a GIRL! She weighed in at 12 oz, in the normal range for 20 weeks. They still think she will be here within a few days of Sept 1 (either direction).

Well Gary and I have finally decided on names. It always takes FOREVER because Gary doesn't want to talk about names before the baby gets here, and I want to have names picked out before we find out the sex. Not to mention, he doesn't like almost anything, especially for boys. Ever name is either too long or too fancy or sounds or looks like a made up name. Did I mention how picky he is?


For a girl we've settled on Ashley Ruth. It's a name we've had picked out since high school. I love the name Ruth, and her story in the Bible is a beautiful story. Gary of course approved it because it's short, seriously though, he likes the story too. Ruth means friend, and my best friend in highschool was Ashley and I always thought the two names went really well together. On that note, Ruth was my mother's best friend in school.


For a boy, we've settled on William David. Will was the top of my list from the get go. It's a name that has been used alot in my family, it was Granddaddy's grandfather's and great-grandfather's name. It was Grandmother's father's name. It would have been Nicholas's name if Mother and Daddy could have agreed on Will or Bill (thank goodness Daddy lost on that one). It's a really pretty, old fashion name that means strong defender. For a while we debated James or David. James was my pick once again it's a family name, and I've always liked the name. In the end though we decided to leave it on the off chance that James and Heather try for one more down the road and have a boy. Plus after Bro. Clifford Gowens sermon at the Gulf Coast Meeting, I've been really sold on the name. David of course means beloved of God.

Both names mean something we really want to convey. We wanted a biblical name for each of our children and names with meaning. We have talked about Britt's name before. We know that names don't predict what your child will be like, but we hope to give them names with meaning and to be role models. We won't always be there, but a name is something we are giving them for life. For Ruth we hope to have a girl that puts the Lord first and is a friend to His people. Ruth was beautiful, compasionate, and a hard worker. (Ashley I will admit has no real meaning.) For Will we hope to have a boy who will always defended the truth no matter the cost and no matter how hard it maybe, whether one stands alone or with others, the truth is what is worth defending. We hope that he will be willing to stand up for others when they cannot stand for themselves, because that is what a real man is. David means beloved, and while I already love him very, very much, we hope that he will be the kind of person whose walk endears to the Lord as well. A person just like David who as a shepard boy would stand against Goliath for the Lord, who though he was small and just one person realized nothing was impossible for God.

Since I missed last weeks post and will miss this weeks post, I thought I would updated tonight on the baby, then I seriously have to go and dye Britt's Easter eggs. (Gary seems to think it's a necessity.)

We think we might have decided (almost) on names. We are in agreement on Ashley Ruth for a girl. But we aren't quiet sure about a boy. After Bro. Clifford's sermon last weekend, I really was leaning more toward William David. Today after visiting some with James and Heather, they think that they might try for a boy a few years down the road, so we don't want to use James, since he wants a James Daniel Jr. Gary also really liked Michael David earlier in the week, and that one is growing on us. So a boy will probably be Will or Michael, and a girl will definitely be Ruth.

The sickness is starting to ease up a little, there are still some days that I feel horrid, and don't really want to eat, but I seem to have quit throwing up, so maybe that means I will be done with morning sickness very soon. This baby still moves very differently from Britt. The movement is getting a little stronger, but for the most part this child just doesn't move much, and when she does it's still that soft sweeping motion, not the kung-fu that Britt did. We will find out on Wed. April 14, at our 20 week appointment for sure but Gary and I are still guessing girl. (Feel free to go and guess on our poll to the top right of the page.)

Our child is somewhere between the size of a bell pepper and a BIG tomato - in other words between 5 1/2 and 6 inches long and 7 and 8 1/2 oz. She can hear and see some now, she will turn away from light if I shine a flashlight on my stomach, she can taste her amniotic fluid, and smell (though what you can smell in water in there is beyond me. She grows bigger and stronger each day, and we are nearly halfway through this pregnancy. Hard to believe how fast it is going!

Well, today makes 17 weeks with this little one. She (yep, that's my guess, and that's what I'm going with until someone tells me different) is 5 inches long, almost as long as a normal ink pen. Long and lean right now, she'll start putting on that cute baby fat soon. She weighs about as much as a turnip (5 oz). She has all her organs formed, but they have a ways to go before she's ready to meet the world and her bones are starting to harden.

She's still way calmer the Britt was, at night when I'm very still I can feel her rub her little hand or foot back and forth, very cool, and very different from how Britt moved. Morning sickness is still hanging out with me, though I'm seriously hoping that it's going to go away any minute now.

Gary and I have been talking about names, and we are finally starting to narrow the list down. His top two picks for a boy are William David and Michael Connor. And even though, he's sure that we aren't having a girl, his top two picks are Ashley Ruth and Laura Grace. All of those have made my top 5 list. I am liking William James (after my grandfather's great-grandfather) and Michael Connor for a boy. For a girl, my top two names are Ashley Ruth and Rebecca Joy. I hope to have decided on something when we go for our ultrasound exactly 3 weeks from today.