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Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Hard to Believe

It's hard to believe that two years ago today, I was getting my period post-failed IVF and that today, I had the greatest gift of all...my sweet AR!
 
Happy birthday Jesus! Thank you for all of our blessings. Prayers to all you mommas-to-be out there that this time next year, you have your greatest gift in your arms. Love and hugs!

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Where It All Began

I took AR back to WU where it all started. As I got off at the exit, I remembered how many times I'd taken that exit and been a ball of nerves...as Dr. K called to tell me the embryos had thawed nicely, on my way to get my blood drawn for pregnancy tests, on my way to have my egg retrieval, on my way to hear IVF would be the only way we'd ever have a baby and this time, I was still nervous but for a different reason. I was worried about what if I walked into a waiting room full of women wanting a baby more than anything in the world. I was so scared I was going to upset someone because I'd been in there place and I know that seeing a baby at your infertility clinic is the last thing you want to see. Luckily, Dr. O had told me to come during a time when they usually didn't see any patients so there was no problem.

Everyone in the office was so happy to see her. I was bummed Dr. K wasn't there (she's the one who did my retrieval and transfer that I got pregnant) but I did get to see Dr. Val and her nurse Mary. Everyone wanted to hold her and they were all very happy for me. I thanked them all numerously and told them thanks for putting up with me because it was all worth it. Dr. Val, who is sometimes not the most personable, even said, "This made my day. This is what it's all for."


Dr. Val and AR

My favorite fellow, Dr. O and AR. He was great with her, probably helps that he has a daughter a month older than AR. I could tell he's a really good dad.

They made my dream come true so the least I could do was make their day. It was great to see everyone but it was nice to be there on different terms than normal. Prayers and baby dust to all the patients still on their journey!

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Baby A...

...IS A GIRL!!! Can you believe it? She was born on Friday, May 18 after 7 hours of labor and 21 hours of inducing. She weighed in at 7 pounds and 15 ounces and 20 inches long. She has dark wavy hair and her momma's nose. She's amazing!!! For the most part, all went well but my birth plan really wasn't followed but the bottom line is that our baby girl is here and she's amazing!!!

Here's me with my baby girl just a few hours after she was born.
Look at that grin on her daddy's face and look at her checking out her dad:Our beautiful baby girl:

Thank you all for following me through this journey and for the constant prayers and support! I plan on blogging about our little girl and all of life's other random events at my other (click word blog for link to new to blog), so please follow me there if you'd like. It's http://www.myhusbandswatchingtv.blogspot.com/ I still plan on blogging here from time to time. Baby dust and prayers for all of you!

Friday, May 18, 2012

40+ Weeks & Here We Go!!!

As you all read this, I'm already in the hospital! I'm writing this at 3:23pm on
5/17 waiting on DH to get home so we can head to the hospital. I had the
mindset that my induction would be scheduled for next week so today (Friday)
would be my last day of work for 12 weeks, we'd enjoy the weekend (I already had
in mind what all I wanted to do) and then it would be baby time!!! Well, as you
all know, kids change everything!

I went in for my 2:30pm appointment,
peed in a cup and they hooked me up to a non-stress test. Baby looks good, I was
having a few BH and baby was moving. Then the NP came in and asked if I'd been
having headaches. I told her no but that I had noticed the swelling had returned
and I could barely fit my feet into my tennis shoes this morning. She informed
me I'd gained 8 pounds!!! since last week and I had protein in my urine...not a
trace amount but real protein. She went and checked with my doc who said go
ahead and send her to the hospital to get induced tonight. I think I
took the quick change of events pretty well. She went on to check for dilation
(none) and told me to head to the hospital. I asked if I had time to wait for my
husband to get home and she was like yeah but don't dilly dally.

I called DH who thought I was kidding. I told him not to rush but don't take his time
either. I came straight home and let the dogs out so they could get some fresh
air then went to charge up the laptop, phone, camera, I-touch, etc...I made up
the bed and put pillows on our guest bed, wrote a note to my mom asking her to
do laundry and bring me some clothes when she got to the hospital. Then I sat
down to send some last minute work emails I'd planned on doing tomorrow and then
typed this up while waiting for DH. I hope he gets home in time so that I can
take a shower and he can shave my legs!!!

I can't even begin to explain how I'm feeling...excited, nervous, scared, excited!!! I'll do my best to keep you all posted but we've got to keep our family informed first! Say some prayers
for Baby A, DH and me because I know it's going to be (and probably already
has) a LONG day.

Monday, May 14, 2012

I Finally Remembered a Picture!

I finally remembered to have DH take a picture!!! Despite the "magic dinner" of pork steaks and corn on the cob Saturday night, which is the same meal my mom ate that sent her into labor with my sister and I, Baby A decided s/he was still content where s/he was!

On Sunday, Mother's Day and Baby A's due date, my sister and niece came over. We hit up Babies-R-Us and scored some sweet deals at Costco. Then my dad and grandma joined us and we had lunch at Outback. After they all left, I was about to head in for the night when I remembered to grab the camera. Here I am in all my pregnancy glory at exactly 40 weeks pregnant:


And this is also the outfit I wear pretty much every other day :) The pants and top are both from my sister. The pants are at least 8+ years old because they are Old Navy maternity pants she wore when she was pregnant with my niece! I told her I was keeping them because they're pretty comfy.

Come on Baby A, we're all SUPER ready to meet you!!!

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Happy Mother's Day!

A quick shout out to all the mothers out there! Mothers to sweet babies, to angels, to furbabies, to those who are a mother in their heart. I know today can be a tough day when you're dealing with infertility so go out today and CELEBRATE YOU!

Thursday, May 10, 2012

39 Weeks!

...or 40, whatever, right? Today I had what I'm going to call my 39 week check-up. BP was still elevated but stayed in the same range as usually. Baby was active. No protein in my urine but there was lots of sugar, uh-oh busted! One of my co-workers mom made what I like to call "Un-ladylike brownies" and she'd brought me one. I ate lunch late and had the brownie with it so I was totally busted. Oops! No dilation though :( Even though I went to acupuncture on Monday, nothing.

She told me that the hospital I'm delivering at is usually very busy and you have to schedule an induction at least 10 days in advance. She grabbed the calendar and asked me what I thought. I said, "Well, I'll be 41 weeks on the 20th..." to which she replied, "No, on the 17th." I said I thought my due date was May 13 and she told me that my IF clinic told me that but they'd changed it to May 10 (today apparently!). I went back and looked at my 10 week blog post and no, they told me May 13 too. Anyways, the 20th is the earliest you can schedule so the nurse was going to call and see what she could set-up. We're still hoping to go before then but at least we know if I don't go, when I am. Funny because this baby really MIGHT be born on my FIL's birthday!

The doc told me since I wasn't dilated that if I am induced, it could be a VERY long labor. I'll check in and they'll put some type of string in by my cervix to try to get things moving. They'll leave this in for 12 hours and then re-evaluate. She said the question is, if they induce and after 24 hours nothing happens then does she send me home or do we go straight to a C-section? Once things are set, I'm sure we'll review more info at my appointment next week.

So the plan now is...we wait. I keep monitoring my BP and baby movements and hopefully go into labor on my own. I haven't really tried any old wives tales. I've only done acupucture which the doctor there told me that since I wasn't dilated at all that it might take a few sessions. Normally, I'd be all up for more sessions but she just raised her rates to $50 per visit so multiple visits is not an option. Side note: the trip to L&D on the day of my shower is probably going to cost us $250 for the exact same stuff they do at a normal doctor's visit: protein check and monitor BP.

My family's old wives tale is this: the night before my mom went into labor with both my sister and I, my dad grilled her pork steaks and corn on the cob. So this is what DH is making for dinner on Saturday night in hopes that this baby gets moving! Please keep us in your prayers, mainly that both the baby and I stay healthy and s/he decides to come soon.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

38 Weeks!

I'm home from my 38 week appointment, chilling in the recliner covered up with a baby quilt and I'm happy. My doctor has decided that my BP is a chronic issue (although always low prior to pregnancy but it was high the first couple of visits) and since I haven't had any protein in my urine the last couple visits that she's going to let me go and not induce next week-woohoo!!!

Baby A's heart rate was in the upper 140s and my BP was 138/80. My BP has been lower this week and last night, I was super excited because I could see me knee!!! I'm still not dialated any but checking for it this week was WAY better than the last 2 times, maybe I'm getting used to it but I also wasn't nearly as nervous today as the last 2 visits. It's supposed to be the LARGEST full moon of the year this Saturday so we'll be trying all those labor inducing wives tales.

DH is happy I'm not getting induced because 1. we don't really want to be induced and 2. he's working on a big job at work so now he can hopefully help finish it. I'm glad I'm not getting induced but at the same time, I'd kind of built it up in my mind that Baby A was coming next week. I'm not totally uncomfortable, although pretty close, but I'll be happy when Baby A is in my arms and I can love on him/her. I would really like to take some time from work, like working some shorter days but I found out this week that it will take away from my maternity leave.

Random Thoughts
*As I'm getting close and I tell people that the baby could arrive any day, they all look at me and say, "But you're so small!" I laugh because only when I'm pregnant have I ever been called small!

*The new donut shop had peanut butter donuts as the donut of the day today! I was so excited and bought a dozen to take to work and no one was there to enjoy with me!

*Every week, I plan on posting a belly pic but as soon as I get home from the doctor's I usually get straight into my pajamas. I'll do my best to have DH take a pic this weekend although I may not get out of my pajamas all weekend because, aside from a couple hours at work, I don't have anything planned.

*I'm down to 2 pairs of presentable pants I can wear to work. I no longer wear an underwire bra, it's just sports bras so that means only tshirts and I had to borrow some bigger tshirts from my BIL. I also got some from work too. So basically, I'm wearing the same outfit every couple of days at work. I'm hoping DH will help me shave my legs tonight so I can wear shorts tomorrow because it's like eleventy billion degrees here.

That's all for now, please keep us in your prayers.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

37 Weeks!

No induction scheduled at this time-whew! Blood pressure still borderline, when I arrived it was 142/90 which I was REALLY nervous and then the nurse took it right before I left and it was
142/82. I was super nervous about this appointment because I had NO IDEA what to expect, I was hot and I could hear the nurse coming to see me chatting with a pharmacy rep outside my room and I was getting totally irritated. If I'd had pants on, I would have totally opened the door and been like, "HEELLLLOOOO!!! Pregnant, uncomfortable woman in here, come check me and let's go!" But I didn't...

When she finally came in, the good news was that there wasn't any protein in my urine (despite the PB and graham crackers I'd had for breakfast) and Baby A's heart rate was in the 140s.
I, on the other hand, had that borderline BP and super swollen hands, feet and legs plus I'd gained 5 pounds since last Friday and still no dialation (seriously, I hate checking for that). So unless I go into labor on my own or my BP spikes REALLY high (160/100) then I go back next Thursday for my doctor's appointment and she will probably schedule me to be induced at 39 weeks so the following Tuesday or Wednesday (May 8 or 9).

Random Thoughts:
*I feel better/yikes after this appointment. When I left my appointment last
week, I had no clue how today's appointment would go. After leaving today, at
least I feel like we have a game plan and being OCD, I like knowing a date. I
feel yikes because my BP was higher than it had been all week so that worries me
so I'll just have to keep close tabs on that. I loved hearing her say that Baby
A's heart beat was good.

*As much as I DON'T want to be induced, at this point, I just want Baby A to
be okay. After this weekend, I will start trying all the old wive tales to go
into labor on my own so please leave any tips. The nurse said that eating spicy
foods would probably just give me a belly ache (plus I don't even like spicy
foods) and she'd recommend walking but not for me since that'll just make me
swollen.

*I haven't mentioned it but one of those pregnancy symptoms no one tells you
about is the excess saliva. Seriously, I choke on my own spit ALL the time, I
drool at night and I even caught myself drooling when I had the fridge door open
the other day! Weird...

So please keep Baby A and I in your prayers, we'd really appreciate it! Have a good weekend!

Friday, April 27, 2012

Ways to Pamper Yourself During the Last Month of Pregnancy

By the time I got to the last month of my pregnancy, I thought I was an expert. After all, I’d already been pregnant for many months and read all the books. And then… everything changed. Well not everything, but a lot. My feet swelled up and my ankles disappeared, and my hips and pelvis hurt like crazy as these ligaments prepared for labor. My heartburn and indigestion increased too. Luckily, I had my partner around to help pamper me and my mom to show me some tried and true ways to make this last month a little more comfy. Here's what I learned:

  • Go Swimming: If you’re near a pool, beach, spring, or river, go swimming! The gentle exercise is great for your tired and achey body. It’s the one place I actually felt graceful and like my old self during the last few weeks of my pregnancy.

  • Nap During the Day: If you are already in your last month of pregnancy, I probably don’t have to tell you this. For those who aren’t quite there yet, when your baby’s head finally drops, the aches and fatigue can really go up. Sleep becomes important for helping your stressed-out body recover.

  • Put Your Feet Up, Literally: Top Mommy Blogs bloggers recommend buying several pillows (think 5-10), to make it easier to arrange your feet when you’re sitting or lying down. Propping them up will reduce swelling.

  • Take Baths: As the baby shifts more pressure gets put on your thigh region, and you’re especially susceptible to hemorrhoids and general discomfort. Taking warm baths will help soothe this area of your body.

  • Assemble Your Hospital Bag: Pamper yourself by focusing on the birth and making your time in the hospital as smooth as possible. Pack your favorite robe, fuzzy socks, and comfy slippers. Take time to decide what you’ll wear on the way home and pick up any toiletries that will make you feel better while in the hospital—a little makeup, your hairbrush, favorite lotion, and deodorant are all good options. Reading material, such as an e-reader, magazines, or books, as well as an iPod can keep you entertained during the time between contractions. Check out Sonogram Technician for pregnancy and birthing blogs with more tips for packing your hospital bag.

  • Get a Reflexology Pedicure: Whether you head to a spa or have your partner give you one at home, a reflexology pedicure is a great way to relieve your aching feet and possible some of your body aches as well.

  • Sources: American Pregnancy (2012) Birth Whisperer (2010)

Friday, April 20, 2012

36 Weeks!

I'm home after my 36 week appointment. First off, the doctor was running over an HOUR behind!!! Today starts my weekly appointment and my Strep B test. First off, checking for dilatation was much more uncomfortable than the swab they took for the Strep B test so pregos out there-don't stress about it! I wasn't dilated at all.

To sum up this appointment, Baby A might be making his/her debut sooner rather than later...why? I'm borderline preclampsia. Blood pressure today was 136/84. I'd gained 10 pounds since my last appointment two weeks ago which the doc said she could tell was water being retained in my feet, legs and hands. I had a small trace of protein in my urine. So she can't officially say that I have it but I'm probably for sure going to get it and if that happens BEFORE I go into labor or my water breaks on its own, the only treatment is to induce for the safety of both the baby and me. If preclampsia is not treated then it could turn into eclampsia which could cause me to have seizures which is bad for both baby and I for a variety of reasons.

I'm doing my best to not freak out. Luckily, my mom is here tonight and cooking dinner so I probably won't get off the couch too much. This was DH and I's weekend to get stuff done around the house. When I told him what the doctor said, he said, "Well, we'll get everything done this weekend and then be ready to rock and roll!" Neither of us are thrilled with the idea of being induced but we know we have to do what's best for Baby G. So please say a prayer for Baby A and I that my BP and swelling gets down and s/he gets another week to cook in there!

Sunday, April 15, 2012

First Trip to L&D

Yep, DH and I had our first trip to L&D yesterday. I've been super swollen the past few weeks and my OB has noticed. She's told me that as long as my BP was okay and my face wasn't super swollen, not to worry about it. I've been taking my BP pretty much every other day at work and it's been in the 120s over 70s range which is normal. On Friday, I was in a conference all day, not really walking too much. When I got home, I noticed my feet were HUGE!!! Like barely fit in my shoes huge. My mom and my good friend had come up because on Saturday, I was having a brunch shower at my house for my friends and then in the afternoon, I was having DH's family shower. So Friday night, I laid on the couch while us girls chatted about the shower and then we were all in bed by about 9:30. I drank a big glass of OJ right before bed because I feel like the baby moves a lot when I drink that. As I laid down, I felt this weird ache right below my ribs (which was something else my doctor had told me to watch for). So for the next hour, it came and went and I was up and down going to the bathroom. I was still feeling the baby move when I drifted off to sleep.

I woke up Saturday morning excited to see all my friends and family! I glanced at my feet and the swelling had gone down some but were still pretty big. I had my mom look at them and she agreed they were big. DH drove me to Walgreen's to check my BP which had jumped to 139/89 which was high for me! We got back home and I called my doctor's exchange line. It wasn't my reg doctor that called me back but her partner, after we chatted, she told me to go ahead and go to the hospital just to double check everything. So about 8am, DH and I load up to go to the hospital. I was apologizing over and over to my mom and 2 friends getting ready for the shower but trying to stay calm at the same time. DH was so irritated with me because he told me that I "always pick the most inconvenient times" to freak out and told me I should have called during the week. Sorry-my BP wasn't high during the week and it's not like I was doing this on purpose!!! DH asked if I had my bag packed and I said no so I got the lecture that it had better be packed by the end of the weekend. On the drive to the hospital, I just kept thinking to myself, I am so not ready for this! I mean yes, at home we are and we've had the classes but mentally and physically, I was NOT ready if I had had to deliver.

We got to the hospital, checked in and got back in a room. I gave my urine sample (no protein in there-yah!), had to take my pants off and got hooked up to a BP machine. First reading, 125/80. Grrr...I stayed for about an hour having my BP taken every 15 minutes with the final reading being 108/66. Moral of the story: don't go to Walgreen's to have your BP taken! The nurse sent me home, without having to look "down there" and I made it back in time for the last hour of my shower. Looking on the bright side, it was nice to spend that part of the morning listening to the baby's heartbeat because they had me hooked up to a monitor the whole time I was there.

Did I overreact? Probably but I'd much rather have been safe than sorry. We're so close that I just want to make sure everything's okay. Had my BP not spiked that high and my feet just been swollen, I wouldn't have even called. I told DH we were just making a practice run for when the real time arrives!

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

34 Weeks!!!

Just got home from my 34 week check up and all looked great! Baby's heartbeat was 132, s/he weighs 5 lbs 7 oz (give or take a pound), s/he is in the 50th percentile and all my fluids looked good. I was measuring EXACTLY 34 weeks and 3 days. I did have a HUGE weight gain but the nurse told me that it could be because of fluid retention and then she took a look at my feet and was like, "Oh yeah!" Now on to the excitement then I'll ramble again at the bottom. Here's Baby A, I'm pretty sure s/he has got my nose!Same picture but DH couldn't go with me so she printed it saying, "HI DADDY" I'm going to put it in his truck on my way to work today.

Let's discuss a few things now, shall we?
*I read that breastfeeding is directly associated with your prolactin levels. UGH! Luckily, the nurse and I discussed and despite my high levels pre-pregnancy, she doesn't think this should affect my ability to breastfeed and Dr. Miyagi agrees.
*I have had major sinus/allergies added to the third trimester and my lack of sleep and I'm seriously EXHAUSTED! I think this is God's way of preparing me for when Baby A arrives. I'm trying to avoid meds as long as I'm not running a fever or have green snot. I'm going to give it through the weekend then if I'm not feeling better, start taking some meds. I promise though, my voice makes it sound worst than it actually is! However, the whole being tired thing plus swollen feet does make my productivity level decrease which worries me about getting everything done at work before I leave. I've been trying to do one big task a night at home to get ready for the baby. I'm going to get the carseat installed next week and I'm cleaning all the baby stuff we've borrowed this weekend.
*Okay, I've had hanging moles before on my neck, no big thing. However, in the past month, I've gotten a skin tag on my butt, more hanging moles (the nurse says they are also skin tags) and all the freckles I have on my chest are now raised. I asked the nurse if this was my imagination or a result of pregnancy, sure enough pregnancy hormones create this. Glad I asked so I can rest easy now.
*Next appointment is in 2 weeks and then I go every week and it's pants off every appointment to check my cervix! How exciting, I can't wait to meet our little one but I want to enjoy as much of the next 6 weeks as possible!!!

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

"Maternity Photos"

I guess you could call these "maternity photos." It's the best our little camera, self-timer and Picnik could come up with. I don't really like having my photo taken but I felt like I should document this as much as possible, especially since this may be the only time I'm pregnant. I'm pretty happy with the end results. OH! And I've decided not to block out our faces, most of the people who read this know who we are!

Here's DH and I
Not a great bump shot but I love it!A little collage that we made, the chalkboard says, "For this child, we prayed..." which isn't that true? DH debated with me that it should say, "For this child, we pray..." but I tried telling him it was part of a Bible verse and the ED won out!

I'll definitely be printing some out to put in the baby book!

Friday, March 23, 2012

32 Weeks!!!

Yesterday was my 32 week doctor appointment. Can you believe only 8 weeks to go?!? I sure can't! Appointment went well. I was measuring 32 at 32 weeks, about .5 centimeter off which I'll take. Baby's heartbeat was between 130-140. She mentioned something about my weight and I told her that I knew I'd eaten one too many Reese's eggs. This was a great distraction because we then started a whole convo about how great eggs are!

I was slightly irritated about 2 things...1. I asked her about the carpal tunnel and told her that I was using the brace and it wasn't getting any better. She told me that it probably wouldn't until after the baby got here. So I was irritated because the other 2 nurses and doctor told me to get one so I spent $30 on a brace only to find out, yeah, it probably won't work. So now I just wait...

The other thing I was irritated about was that she made the comment that I'm at risk for preclampsia because I had high blood pressure the first 2 appointments but then it was normal after that so she's not too concerned any more. First off, why am I just now learning this at 32 weeks? I mean sure it's one less thing for me to worry about the past 22 weeks but really? In her defense, maybe she told me and I forgot but I don't think so. Also, the first appointment I was nervous and it was still in the normal range. The second appointment it was SUPER high but I felt good so I think the nurse took it wrong. DH was also slightly irritated that this was the first we were learning of it.

Ending on a good note though, she reviewed my birth plan and gave me some good ideas of things to add and/or clarify. After our last baby class on Monday, I'm going to work on finalizing it and that will be one more thing we can cross off the list-woohoo!!!

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Baby Classes

Last night was our second baby class and I left class crying, no not crying SOBBING! First off, let me say that today is my birthday (the big 2-9) but this isn't a birthday post (well sorta). So let me backtrack a few days...

Saturday night we went to the Annual Fair Dinner Auction. Luckily, despite what DH wanted to spend, we got out of there spending only about $50 on raffle tickets and sausage that is in the freezer. However, DH took advantage of the all you can drink.

Sunday morning was supposed to be my day for my birthday. I wanted to run some errands and grab lunch, pretty low key. I woke up and went to get us donuts for breakfast. Around 10am, I finally told him I was leaving without him to which he finally got moving only to be super crabby. So we headed to Babies-R-Us and bought a crib mattress (I wanted to go there). Then we went to Costco (DH's choice) and grocery shopped. I had a free entree at First Watch but because we got such a late start, we missed eating there by 30 minutes because they were closed so we headed to Buffalo Wild Wings...where I paid. Then we went to the movies (I was so exhausted I just wanted to go home) and saw DH's movie choice. So that was Sunday...

Sunday night I also heard about the D-Tap shot and found out that anyone that's going to be around the baby during the first 2 months should be current on this shot. DH freaked out saying it was all government regulated and blah blah blah. When I told him that my favorite fellow agreed, he said he'd look into it. When we head to class Monday night, that was an entire topic that we discussed! My parents and his mom already have their shots scheduled. What do you want to bet that DH won't ever get his?

Anyway, we tour the hospital and during a Q&A, his phone vibrates and he walks away from the group to go answer it. I thought that was super rude, he thought it was fine since he left the group. We head back to the room and go over more topics including different labor positions. The teacher stopped and our convo:

Teacher: Can you feel the difference?
Me: I can feel him pushing and the pressure but I don't really feel any difference.
Teacher: Oh, probably because you aren't that far along.
Me: I'm 31 weeks (second due in class).
Teacher: Oh, you're just not showing that much.

And that my friends was the line that broke me. I'm SUPER sensitive about my lack of bump despite the doctor telling me I'm okay. I'm even MORE sensitive than I was since I was measuring 29 instead of 30 last week. So at that point, on top of how DH had been acting, I was done. I felt like I shouldn't be in the class, that she felt that way so I was closed off. FYI-I know she meant NOTHING by it but come on, pregnancy hormones, crabby husband and already worried about it all added up.

We then had breathing exercises. Most of the husbands were right behind the wives rubbing their backs. My husband? He was laid out on the floor behind me rubbing my back with one hand. That with the comment and everything else sent me into tears. Big, fat, crocodile tears started rolling down my cheeks during the breathing and I didn't have long sleeves or a Kleenex or anything to wipe them away. This happened for about 10 minutes then we had to stand up and try a labor position. I faced the wall in hopes that I could get myself under control but no, it was worst. I breathed in and it was like the gasping for air because I'm crying and then snot running out of my nose; people I was a hot mess! So I decided I'd leave the room and head to the bathroom. Of course, right when I did the teacher said the breathing exercise was over and the whole class turned around to see me sobbing. DH looked at me totally oblivious to me having been crying and said, "What?"

I went to the bathroom and tried to get myself together but the tears were STILL coming. I walked out and surprisingly DH had followed me out to find out what was wrong. I just told him I didn't want to talk about it because I knew he'd think I was stupid for getting upset about her comment and I knew he'd disagree that he'd been rude. The teacher came out to check on me and I told her I was okay. Luckily, when we headed back in, class was over. We got in the car and rode home in silence, me crying the entire time. Then I felt bad because we'd paid for the class, we need to practice the breathing and I made us miss it. So that's my story about how I had a breakdown at Class #2 and for the next two classes, I'll be known as the crier....awesome.

Oh and it's now 2:30pm on my birthday and my husband has yet to tell me happy birthday...

Friday, March 9, 2012

30 Weeks!!!

I just got home from my 30 week check-up. First off, I'm starving!!! Since I was gone last week, I didn't go grocery shopping until Tuesday and only bought half the groceries. Guess DH didn't get that memo and now it's Friday morning and we have NO FOOD. I found a banana and a granola bar that I called breakfast but now I'm munching on some 'Nill wafers. So while you read this post, picture my stomach growling...

My appointment was short and sweet as usual. Baby A's heartbeat was 140. I'm measuring 29 at 30 weeks pregnant. At the past appointments, I was measuring right on centimeter vs # of weeks. Last time, I was slightly ahead (29 at 28 weeks) and now I'm 29 at 30 weeks. She told me not to freak out because it could be +- 2 centimeters but, of course, I am! She also said that since it's not the same person measuring each time, that could also result in the difference. I've always had in my mind that I'm going to have a big baby but maybe I'm not, guess we'll find out in about 10 weeks!

Since my last check-up, my hands and feet have gotten more swollen i.e. no more rings. She checked it out and agreed they were swollen. She said it probably looked bad to me but wasn't that bad plus my blood pressure was good.

She gave me a Fetal Movement Count sheet. So I have to count how long it takes to get to 10 kicks each night, preferably at the same time. The same time thing may be difficult since I work some nights (including tonight) and have a fundraiser dinner tomorrow night so we'll probably start on Sunday.

So that's up summary of my 30 week check-up...30 weeks-WOW!!!

Sunday, March 4, 2012

My First Surprise Shower!

I had my first shower today and it was a total shocker! I had been out of town all last week at a conference for work, we had our garage sale yesterday and then I had to work today. I had scheduled a staff meeting with my employees to touch base on a few things. After the meeting was over, the front desk calls me because a "window was broken" in one of the rooms so I head down to check it out. I walked into this: How sweet! I had no idea even though I'd seen something was purchased off our registry last night, I just thought someone was on it for our April showers (which bring May babies!).



They had these baskets with mints that said, "It's a boy!" and the other basket said, "It's a girl!"

They were supposed to pick what they thought. Only four picked girl and the rest (including me) picked boy so boy was the winner! Guess we'll find out in May.


Does this cake not looking amazing? Yeah, one of the girls made and decorated it HERSELF!!! How awesome is that!?!


So now I know what to do in the future to get them all to come to a staff meeting!!! Thanks ladies, it was very sweet and thoughtful of you. Baby A, DH and I really appreciate it.

Friday, February 24, 2012

28 Weeks!!!

I just got home from my 28 week appointment and all looked good. Baby A's heart rate was 140. My blood pressure looked good and she measured my belly and didn't say anything about not showing a lot. Although I do think I'm showing a bit more but still not a ton. I met the other doctor in the partnership so now I have a name with a face if she were to be the one that's on call when I deliver.

When I arrived, I checked-in and went immediately to give my urine sample. It was very yellow, guess that's what happens when you don't drink anything before your appointment-oops! I came back out to pay (final payment for the doctor-woohoo!) and sat down. A few minutes later, the nurse says, "A, I have down that you don't know what you're having, is that right?" I quickly said, "NO! And I don't want to know!" I was afraid she was going to tell me right then and there and then DH would be sooo upset. Luckily, she just needed me to fill out the circumcision form in case it is a boy. It took me longer to complete this form than it did for the actually appointment!

Other news from the doctor, I'm pretty sure I have pregnancy induced carpal tunnel syndrome. My hands/fingers have been falling asleep, the are sore like they have arthritis and they're swollen. I didn't even know that carpal tunnel was a side effect of pregnancy until I read about it last night! When I described all of this to the doc, she agreed that's what it was. So I can get braces to keep my wrists at an angle to eliminate swelling or I can do physical therapy but I should do one or the other or it'll get so painful that I'll HAVE to do something! I'm hoping I can just wear the braces at night since that's mainly when my hands fall asleep.

My goal is to also keep my wedding ring on until my birthday (March 13) but I'm not sure if I'll be able to last that long. I'm not going to worry about getting a fake ring to wear in place of it because 1. I doubt anyone will be hitting on me and 2. DH isn't upset, he understands and we both agreed we could easily spend $20 some other way.

Another thing the doctor and I discussed is no more laying on my back so that means side sleeping only. I've been doing this for awhile and it really bothers my hips. Last night, I was seriously tossing and turning all night long and I know DH slept awful too. I talked to him after my doctor's appointment and told him I could start sleeping in the other room. I mean there's no point for us BOTH to not sleep but he said that's silly and we'd figure something out. I use DH as my body pillow at night and throw a leg over him to take some pressure off my hips or I'll half lay on him so I'm not exactly on my back but not on my hips, I'm sure he just LOVES that.

Other none check-up related news...

*I'm going out of town next week so I'm really hoping that when I get back that the nursery is ready for me to start moving stuff in and the downstairs is back to normal. We got our new carpet for downstairs on Tuesday night. On Wednesday night, DH started putting tubs back away to store and I started pricing things for the garage sale. We have more of an area to walk but it's still a hot mess!

*My grandma and dad are convinced that we know the baby is a boy and just aren't telling them. She's decided she's going to start calling the baby a boy and by his name. This doesn't bother me (okay, well a little bit because we HONESTLY do not know!) except that she keeps spelling his name wrong. So to every email she sends with his name spelled wrong, I simply reply with the correct spelling. I'm not sure if she's doing it to irritate me or on accident but it's driving me BONKERS!!!

*Not sure if I posted but we finally picked a pediatrician. And we're like 99% sure we have a sitter picked out. We're running a background check on her so just waiting for that to come back okay and then we'll fill out the contract as best we can (meaning we don't know baby's names, birthdate, etc...). It feels really good to get a lot of the big stuff done.

*We're having a garage sale on March 3. Cross your fingers for good weather! Once that junk is out of the house, I feel like we'll finally be able to start deep cleaning and officially getting things ready. Most of the big stuff is done around the house, there's just little things here and there and the new guestroom is building up quite a stock pile of diapers and wipes.

I think that's all for now! Other than all that, I'm busy with other people's bridal/baby showers, getting things ready at work and coordinating 500 people's schedules for showers, babysitting, dogsitting, garage sales, etc...It's seriously going to be go, go, go until Baby A makes his/her arrival!

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Mural is Done!

The mural is done...kinda. Before I show you and start explaining our mural, let me show you the inspiration. DH and I found this on Pinterest on Christmas morning. Here is the inspiration: The blog that I found it on was in Norwegian!!! So no tips for us, we just looked at the pics and winged it.
DH's two cousins came over both Saturday and Sunday to do this project. I just cooked food and gave my opinion-my kind of job! Here is the finished product, squirrel on the tree is for me because that is my sorority's mascot: This was my idea and I'm so proud of it!!! On the bottom of one of the trees, we added this "carving" which is DH and I's initials. When the baby is born, we're going to add after the equal sign that letter of the baby's first name. The date is the day of our transfer:

This is the other side of the room. The far right is what will be above the crib. That's supposed to be a baby bird inside the birdhouse and that's the momma bird watching over the baby:
Here is DH watching paint dry. No really, that's what he's doing! We were getting antsy towards the end of Sunday so we pulled out the blowdryer to hurry the process along:
This is the view from the doorway. His cousin said the owl looked sad and I said that it looked sleepy. I said sleepy is good because it'll make the baby want to sleep and s/he won't be a night owl-ha, ha, get it...night owl!!!
I am beyond THRILLED with how this turned out!!! The girls and DH did a fantastic job. In person, the lines of the tree aren't perfectly straight but they were painting on raised wallpaper. We decided the jaggedness just adds character and makes it look like real tree bark. I love that this is unique and all the personal touches that we added. Like I said, it's not entirely finished until we find out boy or girl! If it's a girl, we're going to add pink wings to the birds and the owl will get some pink toenail polish and some long girlie eyelashes. We also plan to add a pink or blue rug since the floor is hardwood. But for now, the mural is done! DH is going to work on cleaning up the room now and getting it in order. Then we need to add a view shelves and little personal touches and it'll be as ready as it can be!!! Thanks to my wonderful painters this weekend-I LOVE IT!

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Beginning of the Mural

DH drove out early this morning and picked up his cousins. When they got to the house, I made them a pretty awesome breakfast in my opinion...deer sausage, bacon and pancakes. The secret to the pancakes is a little cinnamon sugar, sprinkles or Pampered Chef Carmel Sprinkle. Sorry, off topic! Then the girls and DH got to work working on the mural in the baby room: This is DH's cousin, K, who is the artist in the family.
More pics later when the mural is finished! I'm trying to stay busy and not watch paint dry but I'm so excited to see the final product!!!

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Tag-You're It!!!

Kelly tagged me to take this survey so let the questions roll...

Rules are simple. If you follow them, you will 1 million rainbow coins to use however you'd like.

1. Post the rules.
2. Answer the 11 questions from the person who tagged you.
3. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag.
4. Tag people and link them to your post.
5. Let those people know that you tagged them.

Ready...set...GO!

1. If you could go anywhere for a week, where would you go? I'd really love to go back to Couples Negril where we honeymooned at. I was still a hyped up bridzilla mess when we went so I'd like to go back and just chillax and not be so caught up in what was going on at home instead of enjoying my new hubby and the awesome scenery around us.

2. What is your favorite app on your smart phone? If you don't have a smart phone, what the hell is wrong with you? Thanks Kell, DH and I do NOT have smart phones. We would both love them but he's so hard on phones and if I get one, he has to get one so it's a big circle of no smart phones for us. I do have an I-Touch and my niece, sis and I are addicted to Fashion Story (like Farmville but with clothes).

3. If you were going to redo one room in your house, which room would it be and why? DUH! Guestroom is turning into a nursery-yah!!!

4. What is your biggest insecurity? Wow, that's a tough one because I'm not sure which ONE is the biggest-lol. During our time together, my weight has flucuated back and forth and DH does a great job letting me know how sexy and pretty he thinks I am. Although in mind, I think he's totally bananas but I appreciate him saying that.

5. What are the top three Internet sites you visit? Let's see, when I turn on the computer, first stop Yahoo Mail, then my work email then Facebook and Twitter.

6. Do you have a hobby? What is it? When we started this infertility journey, I turned to running as an outlet. It's amazing the world that has opened up for me there, the people I've met and the things I've accomplished. I'm on a hiatus right now but am already looking at races for the fall to get back into it.

7. If your husband could buy you anything, what would you want? A DSLR camera.

8. When is the last time you drastically changed your hairstyle? Definitely not within the past 5 years since I've been with DH. He freaks out when I get a few inches cut off my hair! Right before we started dating (end of 2006), I'd had blonde highlights forever and I decided to go back to my atural brown color and I've stayed the same ever since...although white hairs keep creeping in.

9. What was the last vacation you went on? I went to FL the week after Christmas to visit my mom. DH was supposed to go with me but forgot to ask off work so he ended up staying home. It was a nice, relaxing visit but I missed DH and not spending our last New Year's without a baby together. It was still nice to get to some warm weather and momma took me shopping!

10. When was the last time you cried and why? Hmm...I cried at the AB clydesdale commercial during the Super Bowl. Back in November, I cried when the lady reached her goal on "Extreme Couponing." I've cried lots here and there because I've been tired or overwhelmed. Why? Because I'm pregnant.

11. How do you stay organized? My calendar! I carry it around like my Bible. I put all my appointments, dinner, meetings, daily tasks, etc...in that thing.

My Questions
1. How did you get into the field/profession that you work in?
2. Favorite 80s/90s movie of all time.
3. If you were an actress and could have any role, what would it be and why?
4. Do you know the way to San Jose? If you do, please give us directions. If you don't, give us directions to somewhere else.
5. What is your favorite season and why?
6. Ice cream or snocones? Why and what is your favorite flavor?
7. Favorite book of all times...both as a child and an adult.
8. What makes you happiest?
9. Reality tv: good or bad? Why?
10. Favorite meal of all time.
11. The chicken or the egg?

My Tags
Some of you have already been tagged so if you want to play along, feel free to tag yourself!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Valentine's Day Recap

Hope you all had a great Valentine's Day and felt lots of love! DH did a great job making me feel loved. After he got home at 3am from pushing snow, I woke up a few hours later to chocolate and roses. Fat girl only noticed the chocolates and it took me a few minutes to see the giant vase of red roses behind the box of chocolates!

We headed to dinner at our favorite hibachi restaurant that we only go to on Valentine's Day and then came home for a s'more pizza for dessert-yum! We were both stuffed. I asked DH to snap this belly shot for you all, so here's your Valentine's Day present from me. Baby A and I at 27 weeks:
Love to you all for all your support throughout our journey!

Monday, February 13, 2012

Crib Time!

Guess what DH and I did this morning before I went to work and the snow hit the Midwest. We put together the baby crib!!! Okay, he did most of it, I just held the parts up they wouldn't fall over. Here he is hard at work:
The Black Buffalo had snuck up from downstairs so he came in to inspect what was going on.

Ta-da!!! Finished product.

DH and I both dislike having our pictures taken so we always end up having our mouths open or our tongues sticking out. This was my niece's crib and it needs a new mattress. It was fairly easy to put together. It also turns into a toddler bed when we're ready for that. So woohoo!!!!!!! Crib-check! Mural is getting done this weekend and then I'll post a preview of the nursery even though it won't have much else going on in there yet. Great job DH, now get to puttin' that dresser together!

Friday, February 10, 2012

Random Thoughts

This post is a mish-mash of my thoughts right now...enjoy!

My Body
Despite not having a big bump, I'm at that point of pregnancy where I'm just tired. It could be coupled with the fact that I have a lot going on at work right now, I've started "nesting" and I have 4 showers (not my own) to attend in the next few weeks but this girl is tiii-red! Lately, when I wake up in the morning, my feet are super sensitive. I guess because I've been laying flat all night so the blood flow isn't as good. It takes about a couple hours to get moving and then I'm fine. My fingers are also swollen in the morning when I get up but that goes away mid-morning as well. I told DH to keep an eye on my nose and if that gets swollen then we need to call the doc ASAP. Along those lines, I had knee surgery back in high school. It rarely gives me problems but here lately, I can't straighten my knee all the way and it's just really sore. I feel as though I'm kind of limping. Guess this is because of the extra weight.

Sorry if this next part is TMI but my nipples are getting darker which is expected with pregnancy. But then I noticed the other day, that my areola is growing and not in a regular circle like normal, just some dark spots here and there. Guess I just never paid that close of attention before.

When I change clothes, I can totally see a belly and it looks big. I guess I just hide it very well with the baggy clothes that I wear. I'm going to do my best to take a picture next week before our Valentine's date and I'll post it on here.

Other Pregos
They stress me out for a variety of reasons! One, some people due after me already are working on things that we hadn't even begun yet. A lot of this is due to the fact that I was so paranoid about everything being okay that we really didn't start working on stuff until we had our 21 week u/s.

I've also tried my best to not "flaunt" my pregnancy. I haven't made any status annoucements on Twitter or FB. I haven't posted any u/s pictures either. Occasionally, I'll tweet a question or something. Having dealt with infertility and having friends that are in the same boat, I'm trying my best not to upset anyone. Having said that, at the same time, I'm a bit "jealous" of all the other pregos out there because they tweet and do statuses about their pregnancy, babies, etc...

Nesting
DH says I'm nesting. My mom says DH is nesting more than me. I told DH wait until the nursery is ready and then he'll REALLY see some nesting. Just last night, I went through four boxes of "stuff" and got rid of 2!!! We're making SLOW progress but we're making it. I'm really excited for DH to get the dresser put together and the closet finished in the nursery so I can start putting stuff away. I've also started buying diapers on my weekly grocery trips so we'll have a good headstart by the time Baby A gets here. My grandma is also buying diapers weekly!

It also seems like every time we get a box out to go through it, it's full of MY stuff. Then DH wants to get rid of everything! When we FINALLY get a box of his out then he doesn't want to get rid of a thing. I've asked him to just get my boxes down for me and I'll go through them but he insists on going through them with me. I get a little bit of a big head when I see all my sports and academic awards/trophies; most of the conversations on those boxes include, "What, what?" or "Didn't know your wife was so awesome, did you?"

Okay, that's all the random thoughts for now because DH is yelling at me to come go through boxes! He's already telling me his Boy Scout stories, guess it's his turn! Oh and this is what happens to the poor Black Buffalo who wants to go through every box we open. He gets to try on whatever we find in the box!

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

The Pups Post

After my 25 week post, a lot of you had questions about what we were doing with the puppies. So let me explain our thoughts, reasonings and plan.

First off, we have two LARGE dogs. The Black Buffalo, a 100 pound black lab and the Princess Pup, a 60 pound whatever you want her to be (seriously, everyone who sees her has an opinion what she is!). These two are like my children. The Princess Pup has been around longer than DH. Notice, I say MY, not our. I'm the major dog lover in the family. I always grew up with large inside dogs; DH grew up with large outside dogs. Being that the Princess Pup was around before DH, there wasn't much discussion as to whether the dogs would be inside or out.

I love having them in the house especially when DH is gone hunting or working late, they make me feel safe and ALWAYS make me feel loved. Sometimes I think they can read my emotions and feelings better than DH! However, there is some drawbacks...they shed...a lot...year round. They also bark at every person, animal or strange sound that goes by the house. Plus our house is not huge, it's a one-story ranch and with large dogs, at times, we can all be walking on each other.

The Black Buffalo actually came from a home that had 2 small children. The little girl learned how to walk with him because she'd stand up and hold on to him until she was ready to take those first few steps. He's so funny because it's like he knows how to act around different people. If an adult comes to our house, he's a jumper but if my niece or a small child comes over then he's gentle...still in their face but just out of curiosity. My niece always spends a week with us each summer and the Black Buffalo always sleeps in bed with her.

With the Princess Pup, children or adults, if you're a stranger then you're going to stay a stranger. Someone comes in the house, she barks and runs to the other room. If you stick around for awhile, she'll eventually come out and visit. She let's my niece pet her and lay with her but she's a momma's girl and would much rather be with me than anyone else (DH is a close second).

As stated above, I'm also a HUGE dog lover! I refuse to be one of those moms that has a child and then the dogs get no attention. That's why I REALLY want new carpet in the basement so we can spend time with them in the evening (the carpet now is thin and gross and been there FOREVER). We kennel them during the day while at work and I do NOT want to keep them "locked up" (meaning not in their cage but still just in the basement with no contact) all night too.

So our decision to move the dogs downstairs to our basement was a reluctant one on my part but a no brainer to DH. I know it'll make DH happier and I know it's best for the baby with the dog hair and noise plus it'll hopefully keep our upstairs (where people actually see!) cleaner which is good since I know having a baby limits your time to do daily tasks like vacuuming, dusting, etc...

I also want our baby to grow up with dogs and have that love for dogs, the friendship (I know that sounds silly but those of you with pups know what I mean), and not fearing dogs. I also wanted to transition the dogs before the babies get here so they don't resent the baby if we did it when s/he arrives. I have a feeling that Baby A and I will be spending most of my maternity leave downstairs with the pups (it's SOOO much cooler there in the basement) or taking walks with them (one at a time!) if the weather permits (MO summers get pretty toasty!).

I really didn't do any research on this topic. I wasn't told to seperate the dogs or anything. DH and I just made the best decision for our family. It was more or less based off how we know our puppies and their behavior. I think every family has to make the right decision for their family and you're the one that knows your pets best.

Now before you go feeling sorry for the dogs, as I type this post, the Black Buffalo is sprawled out over the couch in the basement while the Princess Pup is curled up next to him!

Monday, February 6, 2012

The Bump

Okay, so everyone is asking if I'm showing or if I have a bump and yes, I'm now 26 weeks pregnant and alas, no real bump in regular clothes. At night when I'm laying down or in my pajamas, I totally notice it and so does DH. If you see me in person and I'm wearing something to show off the bump then you might think I'm showing. DH does, my SIL does, some co-workers do but I'm not really embracing the bump. Why? Well, because if you don't know that I'm pregnant then you would just lean over to your friends and say, "That girl should NOT be wearing that, she totally looks pregnant!" Plus, in general, I'm not a tight clothes wearing girl, I'm much happier in a hoodie or loose sweater which DH refers to as frumpy old woman clothing. He's loving the maternity tops because my boobs are HUGE in them.

Anyways, I was starting to get really concerned about this. Not so much the showing part, I've heard pregnant women complain about that enough, but I was concerned about the baby. At my appointment last week, I asked the NP and she said, no worries, that the baby was measuring on schedule and that my uterus was growing as planned so that relieved a lot of worry. She also told me that I have very LONG torso so the baby has more room to go up and down instead of jutting out. I found this funny since at all of five feet four inches, long has NEVER been a word to describe me except maybe sometimes my hair. She also mentioned that since this is my first pregnancy, that my muscles are still tight holding my belly in. I love to hear that I have muscles in my stomach! You all know I don't do ab workouts but I sure love to laugh so I count that as my ab workout that's made my muscles "so strong." Now that I know, I'm a long torso-ed lady, I feel better knowing that the baby is good so as long as that's right then I don't care about not showing.

Friday, February 3, 2012

Glucose Test

Wednesday morning I had the dreaded glucose test! Honestly, it wasn't as horrible as I thought it would be. At our employee Christmas Party, we had Orange Hi-C and the ratios were a bit...off and it ended up SUPER SWEET! The girls at work told me that's what my drink would taste like. Surprisingly, it wasn't nearly as sweet as the Hi-C. I wouldn't say it was good but I definitely won't be asking for it again. So the rules are: drink all of this in less than 5 minutes, document the time finished and arrive at the doctor's office 40 minutes later:

I had it cold and drank it with a straw. It took me about 2 minutes to finish. You aren't supposed to eat or drink anything after midnight. The eating part wasn't so bad but I was SOOO thirsty and my teeth felt so gritty. I just brushed my teeth without toothpaste or water to try to get the grime off. My alarm went off at 5:51am, I hit snooze and drifted back to sleep. In my dream, I was eating EVERYTHING and everything I ate was made of sugar. Then I realized I wasn't supposed to eat anything. I woke up in a panic wondering if I should call the doctor then I had to remind myself that I hadn't really eaten anything. I tell you, pregnancy really DOES make you have super, weird dreams!

DH went with me to the appointment. In my mind, the whole reason he was going was to drive since all I would have had was the glucose drink. Nope, he made me drive and later told me that he only went because he thought we got to see the baby again! Men-I swear sometimes he doesn't listen. So I got to the office, waited until 8:58, exactly one hour later and they drew my blood. Doc said they'd call me the next day with test results.

Of course, I couldn't wait so I called the office around 1pm and...I PASSED!!! Woohoo! I feel like that's such a huge milestone for me because I'm a bigger girl and I love sugar so I was really worried about that. Whew!

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

25 Weeks...Already!?!

Today I had my 25 week appointment. Can you believe I only have 15 weeks to go? May seems like a long ways off but when you say 15 weeks, that makes me feel like it'll be here in a blink of an eye!

Today's appointment was pretty routine with the exception of the glucose test (I'll do a post about that later). After that, I gave my urine sample and met with a NP I hadn't met yet. She was really friendly but closed her eyes when she talked. She noted that we didn't want to find out and was being super secretive about hiding my chart from us. Baby's heart beat was 140 which is good! And she was very happy with my weight, I'd gained 2 lbs since my last appointment but was happy I'd slowed down after my huge weight gain last time. My uterus was growing as as it should be (I'll do another post on baby bump). And really, that was about it!

I go back in 3 weeks and then I start every 2 weeks. OMG!?! I'm already at every 2 week appointments-can you believe that!?! I scheduled ALL the rest of my appointments from now until May 17.

Randomness update:

*I'm still feeling really good. Although still tired here and there.

*We're making SLOW progress, but hey-it's progress, on the house. The nursery has the base coat done which turned out a bit more blue than I expected but I still like it. The dresser has been delivered (thanks Pop for that purchase!) and we have the crib too. Supposedly, the computer room will be back to normal tonight (which is good since my mom is spending the night tomorrow night!) so that's one room we can cross off the list. Once he gets the doors back up, we can move the dresser and crib into the baby room and put them together then we're just waiting on the mural to be painted!

*We've started transitioning the doggies to the basement. I think it's hardest on the Princess Pup. At night before bed and in the morning right after the alarm goes off, she'll bark for us. It melts my heart but I know this is the best situation and it's better to start now than when the baby arrives. I'm hoping DH and his friend hold through with the promise of new carpet in the basement and that'll be our family room when the baby arrives. I've been spending most of my evenings and mornings off with them in the basement so they're still getting lots of attention. Since the weather's been so great, I've been taking the Princess Pup on lots of walks, we actually headed to a park today. Unfortunately, the Black Buffalo really needs more of the walking but I'm too afraid to walk him by myself knowing that his stocky 100lbs could pull me down very quickly. DH has been taking him to some conservation land and running him a couple times a week so they're still getting exercise and attention but I miss them putting their on the bed beside me at night.

*Visited the other pediatrician's office today and I think we have a winner!!!

*DH has done an awesome job getting things done around the house. His dad came and helped him paint last weekend and my MIL came over too (I was at work). She cleaned our master bathroom and our kitchen. AMAZING!!! I'm so grateful for all their help.

Giveaway Winner!!!

Thanks for everyone's feedback on the girl name, we still haven't decided. Our leading G girl name (and one time chosen girl name) was Gracyn or Grayson then I decided I didn't want that name because I didn't want her to be called Grace or Gracie. Then I changed my mind but then DH didn't want the name because it was a boy name. That's weird to me because I grew up knowing a girl Grayson so it's always been a girl name to me but recently it's become a boy name. Autumn is growing on me so it's still in the lead. We're still contemplating...who knows, we may not decide until the baby gets here and we know for sure that she's a girl!

So without further ado, I've already ado-ed enough, the winner is Mrs. Mocha !!! So please contact me and let me know how to get your your prize. Thanks again to everyone for your input!

PS
Rabbit, rabbit!!!

Monday, January 30, 2012

Thoughts on Newt?

I'm sure you've all read the news but I'm interested to see what you think about Newt Gingrich on the topic of IVF...Republican or Democrat. Here's a link to the article.

Here is just an excerpt from the article, "Gingrich added that he would also create a commission to study the ethics of in vitro fertilization, which has involved the creation of hundreds of thousands of excess embryos stored or discarded by fertility clinics.“I believe life begins at conception, and the question I was raising was what happens to embryos in fertility clinics, and I would favor a commission to look seriously at the ethics of how we manage fertility clinics,” Gingrich said at a news conference outside another Baptist church here. “If you have in vitro fertilization, you are creating life; therefore, we should look seriously at what the rules should be for clinics that are doing that, because they are creating life.”

Thoughts???

Friday, January 27, 2012

If This Baby is a Boy...

We have a boy name! Well, we've had it for awhile. This is a name we'd decided on when we first starting trying and then we didn't discuss it the whole time we went through fertility treatments and when we found out we were pregnant, we STILL didn't discuss it much.

I didn't want to find out the sex and I didn't want to tell names. DH wanted both. So we compromised and agree to NOT find out the sex but we could tell names. It was kind of a win-win for me because DH had already been telling people our boy name!!! So without further ado...if Baby A is a boy, his name will be Gunnar Jackson.

DH really wanted the name Hunter for a boy but I denied that. 1. Because every other of his friends has a child (both male and female) by the name of Hunter and 2. I thought it was a little too cliche since DH loves to hunt. I absolutely LOVE the name Gunnar because I only know 2 other people by that name (one in college and one my dad's age). I think it's unique but not too crazy and it means "battle warrior." I worried that it might be a bit cliche too with the hunting theme but I got over that quickly. Jackson is both my dad and my grandfather's middle name. I got the middle family name since the baby is taking on his last name.

At Christmas, we told our families our boy name (and this is probably why we're a bit more hesitant on settling on a girls name and telling people; hence the whole reason I didn't want to tell names in the first place!). Here's how everyone reacted:

DH's mom, sis & brother-LOVED IT!

DH's dad-"Well, I guess I'll get used to it."

DH's Grandma-"Well that's a good German name." (It's actually Scandinavian but we didn't correct her.) Five minutes later when the name was mentioned again, "What kind of name is that???"

My dad, sis, niece & grandma-LOVED IT!

My mom-likes Gunnar, hates Jackson (go figure! and is now trying to push a family middle name from her side on the girl name and also argued that it wasn't fair to DH's family)

Some people we've told will say, "Gunther?" which makes me think of the barista from "Friends." But I don't care because that's our boy name and DH and I both absolutely LOVE IT!!! In fact, we call the baby Gunnar more often than not, so should this baby come out a girl, she's not going to be very happy with us!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Surviving the Registry!

Yes, friends, I survived registering for all the baby stuff and I'm happy to say DH and I are still married. After all the comments about what to register for, I spent an ENTIRE weekend researching baby products. My mind was on OVERLOAD but when I started to get overwhelmed, I stopped and said to myself, "Self, as long as you have:

1. A car seat
2. Diapers
3. Food
4. A place for the baby to sleep

then you'll be okay." DH may be running to the store every 5 minutes but we'll have the basics to figure things out as we go. Needless to say, my registry was 3 handwritten notebook pages!?! DH was shocked when he got home from hunting and I showed it to him. I thought I was being smart and had gone ahead and registered for the "small stuff" at Target without him. Then last Thursday, we headed back to finish up the registry and World War III almost broke out. He questioned EVERYTHING I wanted to register for and not in the I'm curious and want to know way, more in the WTH? way. By the time we got to the end of the list, I'd given up and let him register for whatever he wanted. We left the store sans Slurpee (I was really craving one once I walked in and saw the machine) and near tears.

After a LONG discussion, we decided we would try again together and headed to Babies-R-Us this past Sunday. It went so much better! I almost got overwhelmed when I printed out 3 other friends registries to get them a gift and realized I didn't have "everything" the same as them but I ended up just getting them a gift and not stressing over it. I was also pretty excited because this is the first time that I parked in the Expectant Mothers parking spot!!!
I will tell you this though, an hour in a half registering really makes a girl have to pee...I went twice. Once when I first got there, right when they opened and I thought wow these bathrooms are really clean. Then I went about an hour later and I was gagging they were so gross...pee on the seat, long hairs on the seat-ugh! I'm going to do my best to teach our child not to pee on the seat.

When I got to work on Monday, my co-workers looked up my registry. What do you know that my boss had the exact stroller we registered for and I had the carseat in my car that we're going to use! Both of us and another co-worker, headed outside to see if the carseat fit (it did!) and I got to try out the stroller-woohoo! I feel much better knowing that it will work.

So are we done with the registry? Probably not but I have started it and have a good heads start on it. I'm sure there will be lots of additions along the way. I plan on adding some big stuff like a video camera and steam cleaner (stems and sanitizes bigger stuff so no chemicals to clean-woohoo!). Do I expect someone to buy that for us? Probably not but closer to your due date both Babies-R-Us and Target send you coupons so we can at least buy it and get some money off.

I officially bought the dresser that will match the crib tonight. Thanks to my sister for letting us borrow the crib and to my daddy for buying the dresser! I'm really excited about the swing we found because you can take the seat off and it's a bouncer! We weren't planning on registering for both so when we found this we were super pumped!

Now my plan is also to borrow things because 1. it'll save us money and 2. we won't have to store it once we're done using it! So here's my list of things we need to borrow, anyone out there that knows me IRL and cares to share, let me know! Of course, my number one priority is safety so I plan on borrowing these things as long as they are safe.

To Borrow
1. Bumbo
2. Play mat (where the baby lays on their back and plays with the stuff above them)
3. Moby Wrap
4. Exosaucer
5. Stroller-not like a travel system or a jogging stroller, just something smaller and more compact
6. Safety gate (if it works with our door frame7
7. Any other toys (big or little) and clothes (once we know the sex)
8. Crib (borrowed from my sister)
9. Infant carseat (borrowed from my bestie; still in good shape; gonna take to the fire department for inspection)

My mom is also known as the Quilting Queen so Grandma has a list of things to make:

To Make
1. Boppy Covers (Thank you Pinterest for this link!)
2. Shopping Cart Cover (Again, thank you Pinterest for this link!)
3. Baby Quilt (we didn't really pick out bedding, just plain colored sheets and then we'll use the quilt to decorate until the baby is old enough to use it)
4. Lamp shade (already have the lamp, going to buy a shade and try to match it to the theme of the nursery)
5. Wall prints to frame for the nursery

So there you have it! We survived registering but we have a long way to go! Say some prayers for me and Baby A as we have our glucose test next week. In the meantime, tune in for posts on our boy baby name (it's official!), the bump debate and the winner of my giveaway!

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Addictions

I have found two new addictions...

1. Buying baby clothes! And since we're not finding out the sex, it's bad because I get to visit BOTH sections. Currently, I only buy baby clothes if I can find them for less than $2. Ridiculous? Not so much! I found two pairs of shorts the other day, one for 97 cents and the other for 47 cents PLUS they were 40% off those prices! So I will probably be giving away a lot of baby clothes once Baby A arrives and we know the sex. I seriously have to tell myself, "No...stay away from the Carters."

2. Feeling Baby A move! Yesterday, s/he was moving like CRAZY. At night, I lay down on my back and either DH or I will put my hand on my belly to feel the movements. I seriously think this kid was turning flips last night. Some nights, I'm so tired but I can't move my hand away. Eventually I just turn off the tv and drift off to sleep.

Update: Registries are done for the most part. However, I have a feeling I will be adding and changing a LOT before Baby A arrives. Oh well, at least we have a starting point! Will do a post on that later. And I haven't forgotten about letting you guys know what I'm giving away in the last post. It's just been a crazy weekend and I haven't had time to snap a pic yet!

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Giveaway and Girl Name Advice Needed!

...okay, all! DH and I are doing massive cleaning and storing and packing and repacking of our house to make room for this little baby that's coming our way. In the process, I have found decorations that have been stored away and not pulled out since oh...2006 when I moved into my house!

We also need help with girl names!!! We have our boy name picked out (another post for later) but cannot agree on a girl name. Our front runner right now is Autumn but I have two drawbacks to this name:

1. DH has a cousin named Autumn although in the 5+ years we've been together, I don't ever recall meeting her.
2. Is she going to resent being named Autumn but being born in the spring? DH said, "No, she'll say, that's the ironic part...my parents named me Autumn but I was born in the spring." I said, "Yeah right, she'll be like, No, my dumbass parents named me Autumn but I was born in the spring!" DH was like our Autumn would never say that. I said, I bet that's one thing we can bet she'll say.

So here's the criteria...
1. Middle name is probably going to start with an R, either Rose or Rosalee.
2. Last name starts with a G.
3. Something different, but not too out there. I loved being the only of my name in my classes growing up but hated my name being pronounced wrong.
4. Nothing too common...so if it's in the top 50, it's a no-go.
5. I would really like a G first name but so far haven't loved any G girl names i.e. Gretchen, Gia, Gina, Grace, Gabi, Gabrielle, etc...

I'm going to give one lucky commenter some type of decoration that my mom hand made. I will post a picture later because I'm literally walking out the door to meet my bestie for some maternity clothes and baby stuff-woohoo!!! So please leave a comment with your best girl name suggestions! You have until 1/31 at 5pm to submit an entry for the giveaway but feel free to leave girl name suggestions whenever. I'll announce the winner on 2/1.

Thanks in advance for your help!

PS
Baby room walls have been primed and paint has been purchased! DH and his dad are painting the room next Saturday when I work. As for the rest of the house, we are SLOWLY making progress. All I have to say is thank goodness we have trash day 2x/week!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

"It's Complicated"

Well, pediatrician interview #1 is in the books. Luckily, DH was able to go with me. Unluckily, neither of us liked this doctor. He was reciting us facts about how medicine works and when penicillin was invented but neither of us got that warm-fuzzy feeling. When we got in the car and DH asked my thoughts, I told him I just couldn't picture this guy holding a baby or consoling a sick child. DH felt like as the doc learned more about us then he'd customize our answers to what we wanted to hear because he'd start answering one way then in the middle totally switch to another route. Also, a lot of answers would be, "it's complicated" or "if it's complicated." And to top it all off...he's a CUBS fan!!! BOO-HISS! And he went on a whole rant about the Cardinals and the stadium. I told DH, I know that shouldn't sway my decision but I already wasn't feeling him before that and when he started that, I was like okay no.

So now I guess I'm going to look at the other clinic Dr. Mat suggested even though we can't meet them ahead of time. I'm also going to look into other pedis in our town to see if I can meet with them and then get feedback from people.

We live in an area where we could technically go to like 3-4 different towns for our doctor. Our house is like a mile from a local hospital and tons of doctors. I may open my criteria but I really want one that's close to our home so that when/if I have to pick up a sick baby, I can go straight to the doctor and get him/her home rather than driving all over. But, if I don't find one, then I'll have to open up my preferences and drive a little more.

OH! And as I type this, DH is priming the walls for painting in the nursery!!!

Friday, January 13, 2012

Pediatrician Dilemma

Before my next OB appointment, I have to have a pediatrician picked out. My doctor referred me to two different clinics and I made some phone calls. Here is what I found out about both:

Option #1
PROS
*Does visit you in the hospital
*Open on Saturdays
*I can come in and meet with him BEFORE the baby is born
*Only 1 doctor so you always have the same one
*Close to home
*Almost always get in with a sick child the same day unless you call right at closing
*Will offer breastfeeding help
CONS
*Half day on Wednesday
*Only one doctor so if he's on vacation, you see someone else (PRO: the other doctor is a great doctor that works at one of the nation's best children's hospital)
*No sick/well waiting rooms

Option #2
PROS
*Does visit you in the hospital
*Open on Saturdays
*Three doctors in the practice but you pick a primary
*Close to home
*Almost always get in with a sick child the same day unless you call right at closing
*Will offer breastfeeding help
*Has a well/sick waiting rooms
CONS
*2 of the 3 doctors are PT so not there every day (but one of them is there every day so I could pick her as the primary)
*Does not meet with patients before the baby is born but office manager will give you a tour of the office

My thoughts on Option #1: The same doctor is there the whole week. However, this makes me think that the wait might take awhile. When I asked about this, they said they try to stay on schedule but it depends on everyone coming in and at most the wait could be 15 minutes. I also asked about the sick/well side and she said they do not offer that. Then she explained why stating that when they did offer that, parents didn't want their sick child around other sick children so they were coming to the well side. So they try to schedule all newborns/infants first thing in the morning or after lunch. Also, if your child has a rash/chicken pox or low immune system, they will immediately take them to a room to wait.

I really love the idea of meeting him before the baby is born so when he comes to the hospital, it's not just a stranger walking in and we're meeting for the first time. Although, he is a one-man practice and will probably take vacation, the doctor they said that covers gives me a warm-fuzzy feeling because he comes from DH's favorite hospital (he spent a lot of time there as a child).

My thoughts on Option #2: More doctors might mean less of a wait although they said that they always try to get you in to see your primary doctor (unless of course it's a day one of them isn't working). I absolutely do NOT like not meeting them until the baby is here. What if they walk in and visit with us and we don't like them? Plus with there being 3 in the practice, how am I supposed to decide who to be the primary?

I'm really leaning more towards Option #1 and I have a meeting with the doctor on Monday so I'm excited about that. Option #2 is mailing me paperwork to look through about their clinic. I asked DH if he cared before I started calling around and he just told me to make the best decision. Unfortunately, he won't be able to go with me on Monday so it all lays on my shoulders. My OB, Dr. Mat, recommended them both so I feel like either decision will be a good one.

Let me know your thoughts and how you pick or will pick your child's pediatrician.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Need Registry Help!!!

...okay, I'm starting to get overwhelmed. I was so nervous/scared the first half of my pregnancy that I didn't want to do anything to get ready for the baby. Now that we've been feeling him/her and we saw our sweet baby yawning at our last u/s, I realize it's time to get moving!

We've started working on getting things ready at the house. Honestly, I just feel like we've moved everything upstairs to the downstairs and haven't really done much. I'm *hoping* DH gets on painting the nursery on January 28 because I work all day but we'll see. Things are kind of at a stand still with what I can do at the house right now because the guestroom has been emptied so now it's time to think about the registry and nursery.

This is where I start to freak out! What in the world do I need??? I started to print off a generic list and it had like 8 different items on it for the baby to sleep in. Um...our house isn't that big so I don't think we need a crib/bassinet/portable crib, etc...for every room in our house!

So please...help me! I think we're going to register at Target and Babies-R-Us. Leave me a comment with any and all advice...what I HAVE to have, what I don't really need, brands, how much of each items, websites I should visit to check safety of products.

Anything you think a first-time mother needs to know..lay it on me! Thanks in advance!

Monday, January 9, 2012

Houston, We Have Movement!

Yes, we have started to feel the baby move! It's so exciting and really makes it...real! I've been feeling the baby since 19 weeks. DH would lay his hand on my belly every night in hopes that he would feel something. Right before I left for Florida, he said, "It's not fair you get to feel the baby and I can't." Aww...

So I headed to Florida and enjoyed my flutters with my baby as I would lay down at night for bed. I also started to feel him sometimes in the morning. The Tuesday before I headed back, I was laying in bed and I always put my hands on my tummy when I felt the movement with my hand!!! Then I couldn't wait to get home! The next day, DH picked me up from the airport and I told him, "Game plan, get home, unpack, take a shower then lay down so you can feel the baby."

We got home and rushed around doing everything before we laid down. He put his hand on my belly and didn't feel anything. :( He left his hand there and started watching TV. I felt something and looked at DH whose eyes got real big. I smiled and asked, "Did you feel that?" and he nodded. Then he was just staring at my stomach waiting for more.

The next night, I was laying in bed and the Black Buffalo had his head on my belly. DH looked at him and said, "Baby, kick Shadow in the head." Silly boys! Then this past Saturday, we got to sleep in...finally! I was laying on my back and DH was on his side with his arm over my belly. We were both half asleep and I felt the baby move. Without opening his eyes, DH moved his hand to my belly. I whispered, "Did you move your arm because you felt the baby kick?" He nodded. It's so much fun and so real now! However, when he kicked me square in the vagina the other day, I had to give him the "Dude, that's TOTALLY not cool" talk.