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Monday, October 19, 2009

Pumpkin Patch

We went to Sunwest Farms on Saturday morning. It was a lot cooler than we thought it was going to be so we only spent about 10 minutes there. We headed into the building with the pumpkins and took a couple of pics and left without even buying any. The pics we got turned out great though so it wasn't a wasted trip. We actually have proof now that she smiles! lol...

Yesterday we went to Campbell's, a large nursery/garden center in town. I thought we could take her picture there, too, since they decorate really neat for the seasons and buy some pumpkins. We quickly realized that mid-October is not the time to be buying pumpkins or looking for fall photo backgrounds because according to them, it's Christmas already! The entire inside was decked out in red, green, silver, and gold. Trees were up and decorated. Not a pumpkin display to be found. We headed back outside and there were literally only about 20 pumpkins left! We picked out 3 and headed home. Note to self: buy pumpkins at the beginning of October next year. Or, just get them at Hy-Vee because they had a TON left when we went there for a few groceries afterwards.

Brianna is 3 1/2 months old now (15 weeks) now and it's amazing how much she is growing...not so much in size, she's still tiny ...but on Saturday she laughed out loud for the first time and she found her voice over the weekend, too. And boy does she like to hear herself! It sounds like she's saying "hi" over and over and over and over....! We imitate her and she smiles. Usually I have to start arousing her from sleep at 6:20 during the week but this morning I heard her in her room doing her "hi hi hi hi" thing so I went in and she was just laying there talking to the polka-dots on the crib bumper and smiling. Such a happy baby!

She's been able to roll over from her tummy to her back for about 3 weeks now and is really close to going from her back to her tummy. She gets half way over to her side but hasn't figured out how to go completely over. She's content just laying there on her side watching TV but I think she'll get it in the next couple of weeks.

I think we really lucked out because she's such a good baby. Yes, the first 4 weeks were rough and there were more than a few times where we both thought, "what the heck have we gotten ourselves into?" but the last couple of months have been so much better. Unless she's hungry she doesn't really cry. Bedtime is easy...after her last bottle of the day, Bill lays her down in her bed still somewhat awake and she goes to sleep on her own. She's been sleeping through the night since she was 8 weeks old. She's a good napper, too. When she starts getting tired and fussy we can lay her down with her paci and she falls asleep. Every now and then she needs "replugged" if it falls out before she's asleep, but not all of the time. Now that I'm back to work and don't see her during the day, I usually let her nap in my arms in the evening if she's tired. We both miss the cuddles. =)

While she likes to cuddle, she also does very well on her own and is quite independent. Given that we can't always entertain her as housework, etc. still needs to get done, this is such a good thing! We can lay her on her activity mat and she'll play by herself just fine. There have been times where I was in the kitchen washing bottles and she's fallen asleep without making a peep.

I lurk on the message boards of babycenter.com and as I read numerous entries about "my baby won't sleep," or "she cries unless I'm holding her," I'm even more thankful. Granted, things could change down the road but for now we really can't complain.

Friday, October 16, 2009

This and That...and Weekend Plans

Brianna is getting over her cold which is good. She's still pretty plugged up in the morning but once I get her nose suctioned out she's good to go till night time.

She's been wanting to sit up or stand up instead of just lying on the ground as much so I decided to put together her bouncer/entertainer thing last night. Forty-five minutes later I put her in the seat...only to discover she's too little for it. I had the platform underneath it raised as high as it would go and her feet were still at least an inch from touching. Her poor little arms are too short to reach any of the fun toys, too. I even put a blanket in with her to scooch her up some but it wasn't enough. I could tell she liked it though because I pushed the buttons that light up and play music and she was smiling and trying to reach them. The box said "4m+" so we'll try it in another month and see if she's any closer to fitting.

Tomorrow we plan to go tailgating before the Husker game. Our neighbors have a spot across downtown and we have an open invitation to join them whenever we can make it. It's supposed to be in the 50s tomorrow so we're going to head down there. Brianna has a Husker cheerleading outfit but since we'll be outside and I don't want her legs to get chilly, I'll dress her in a white long sleeve onesie with her black and red short sleeve Husker onesie on top of that with a pair of black pants. She also has a Husker blanket so we'll take that, too.

I also want to go pick out pumpkins this weekend, probably on Sunday. Since it'll be nice again I'd like to go to an actual pumpkin patch instead of just to a grocery store. I was talking to a coworker and she suggested Sunwest Farms, which is a nursery/garden center in town that has a pumpkin patch. She said they have neat displays which are perfect for pictures and they have pumpkins for sale around the building so you don't have to go out into the actual field to pick them, which would be better given Brianna's age. Plus, they don't charge anything (other than the price of the pumpkin, of course) unlike the other two area pumpkin patches. One place charges $12.25 per person; the other is $7 per person (children under age two are free at each place) and that's just to get in! You still have to pay for your pumpkins on top of that! Is that outrageous or what?! Granted, they're bigger and probably have more things to do...but given she's only 3 months old it wouldn't be worth it. Sunwest Farms will be perfectly fine for several more years.

I'll post pics from the patch later, but for now here are some pics from earlier this week....




Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Her First Cold

Brianna came down with her first cold last weekend at 14 weeks. She isn't running a fever but her nose is really stuffed up. I've been putting Little Noses saline drops in it a few times a day to loosen up the mucus so I can suction it out to give her some relief. She hates the drops and the aspirator bulb (who wouldn't?) and screams and moves all over as I'm trying to stick it in her nose. I know it'll make her feel better, but I hate that it makes her so mad. Plus, I'm afraid I'm going to poke her eye out with the end of it since she won't lie still. After a while she gives up and lets me get it all out. She also has a little bit of a cough because of the drainage, but it's not too bad. We bought a cool mist humidifier for her room so we've ran it all night the past two nights.

I was able to stay home with her yesterday because I had the day off (holiday) but she went to daycare today. I know I can't call in every time she has a runny nose but I felt bad leaving her there hardly able to breathe. I told C to suction her nose a few times today so hopefully she did. I'm looking forward to getting home and seeing her.

Here's a picture I took a couple of weeks ago. She has a tendency to put her hands up as soon as I start to take the picture...here's a classic example of that!





Monday, October 5, 2009

3 months old...

Our little girl turned 3 months old yesterday so we had her pictures taken at Portrait Innovations over the weekend. While the pictures turned out good, we probably won't have them taken there again...at least not on a Saturday. They were really busy and there was lots of waiting around due to the way they do their shoots. We weren't just in one room; they use two with different backgrounds available in each so we had to wait about 15 minutes for the second room to open up. Then we had to wait until a computer was available to view them. Our original appointment time was 2:10 and we didn't get done until 4:00 by the time we had to keep waiting. Then the pictures were supposed to be ready in 30 minutes, but the printer ran out of paper and they got backed up so they weren't. We didn't have time to wait any longer because we had to get my husband to church because he was singing in the praise team and I needed to pump. So we didn't actually pick them up till yesterday, which was fine really.

They took a total of 46 pictures....and she didn't smile for a single one! lol... I wasn't too surprised though. In the morning when she first wakes up she's full of smiles but for the most part she's a pretty serious baby. She studies the world around her and takes it all in.

Here are two poses we ended up ordering:

We took a dress that we wanted her pics taken in, too, but they don't wait for outfit changes. In other words, they would've done another group's pictures and we would've had to wait AGAIN for a room to open up. We didn't have time and she was getting tired of having bright lights in her face anyway. Her baptism is this weekend and she's wearing that dress so I'll just be sure to have our friend get some nice pictures then.

When it's time to have her 6 month pictures taken in January we'll go to Sears instead. I know there that your appointment is done all at once, in one room, and they allow for outfit changes without squeezing in other groups at the same time. Their prices are about the same; the only difference is we'll have to wait for the pictures and not have them the same day....which isn't that big of a deal. Hopefully she's more smiley by then, too! =)

Monday, September 28, 2009

12 Weeks Later and Back to Work

Hello again! It's been forever since I posted but I've been a bit busy! Now that I'm back to work I plan to blog more. I have more down time here than at home! lol...

Brianna turned 12 weeks this past Saturday and will officially be 3 months old this coming Sunday. It's hard to believe she's that old already. She's changed so much! There are times when I go in to get her up from a nap and she seriously looks older than she did when I put her down.

She is getting bigger and gaining weight at a steady pace. We were having some problems initially but she is gaining about 6 ounces a week which is really good. She's still "dainty and petite" as her pediatrician says. At her 8 week appointment she was in the 50th percentile for weight and only the 25th percentile for height. I'm not sure how long she is now but as of last Friday she's up to 11 lbs 7 oz (she was born at 7 lbs 9 oz) so she's doing well.

I gave nursing a shot but it didn't go so well. My milk came in really fast and I was engorged by the end of the first night at home. The next morning I started seeing a lactation consultant. Since my breasts were so swollen, she couldn't latch on to eat so we pumped milk out for her, which was fed to her via a syringe for the first several days (she wouldn't take a bottle at first). Once the swelling was down, we tried nursing again and discovered that while she latched very well, she was very sleepy at the breast. In order to keep her awake, I had to switch her from side to side every 5 minutes to keep her somewhat awake and also stroke her cheek and move her arms, etc., which was frustrating and tiring. And again, since she wasn't getting much milk out....I was still having to pump and feed her the expressed milk via a bottle. That routine lasted for a couple of weeks.

When she was about 4 weeks old I thought she was staying awake a little better so I stopped pumping and let her nurse exclusively for one week. She only gained a few ounces that week and my nipples were cracked and blistered because instead of sucking the milk out, she was squeezing it out by compressing my nipple. I decided that was the last of her nursing days and that I would begin pumping.

So here we are at 12 weeks and she's only had breast milk....not a single drop of formula. For that I pat myself on the back. It's not easy to exclusively pump and takes a lot of time. In order to increase my supply, I initially started out pumping 7-8 times a day for 20 minutes each time and now I'm down to 5 pumps for 15-30 minutes depending on the time of day. I'm averaging 38 ounces a day and she eats 25-27 ounces so I'm able to freeze 10 ounces every day. My initial goal was to make it to 3 months and since I made it, I'm going to go for 6 months.

For the most part she's a really good baby now and doesn't give us much trouble. The first four weeks (at least) were really rough though. In addition to the feeding issues and two weeks of non-stop crying from 7 pm - 11 pm, my hormones were all out of whack and I seriously think I cried more those first 4 - 5 weeks than I had in my previous 35 years of life! I was *this* close to getting medication but the fog lifted.

She started sleeping through the night (7-8 hours) around week 8. She generally goes to bed around 10 pm and sleeps till 6 am. During the day she eats every 3-4 hours depending on how many ounces she eats from her bottle.

Last week she rolled over for the first time, from her tummy to her back in both directions. We were so excited and proud of her. =)

Today was her first day of daycare. My husband went with me to drop her off and I'm glad he was there. I didn't want to let her go and leave and I started to cry. He gave us a hug and the daycare lady did, too. I cried a bit on the way to work but not too much. And I waited till after lunch to call and check on her. (She was doing fine...napping.)

Here are some pics....


4 weeks...









6 weeks....









8 weeks...









10 weeks....











12 weeks...











12 weeks...
I will hopefully update this more often, or at least to post some pictures. We are having her 3-month pictures taken this weekend and her baptism is October 11, so I'll have pictures to post from that.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Photo Shoot

Just a few pics from our photo shoot last weekend when she was 7 days old....the photographer will have the rest ready next week. We can't wait to see the full gallery!












Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Pictures ... Finally....

I've finally been able to create a web album with some pics of Brianna. I'm really missing my computer at work! lol...

Click on "slideshow" to view the pics a bit larger. Enjoy...

http://picasaweb.google.com/Luhmans/Brianna02?authkey=Gv1sRgCMfY45TEx7eUEQ&feat=directlink

Friday, July 10, 2009

She's a Firecracker!

Okay, so she's already a week old and I'm just now getting around to telling all of you! It's been a bit busy, as you can imagine.

Anyway, Brianna Marie entered the world last Saturday, July 4th at 8:44 a.m. She weighed 7 lbs., 9 oz., and was 19.5" long. She has a full head of long, black hair.

I had a relatively easy labor and delivery. I began keeping track of contractions at 5:00 the evening before on Friday. At that point they were about 10 minutes apart and by 8:30 they were 4.5 minutes apart. We headed to the hospital at 9:30 and were in a room at 10:00. They checked my cervix and I was still just 1 cm dilated, but was 100% effaced. They had us walk the halls for one hour to see if there was any change, after which there was none. My doctor was out of town, so the nurse called the on-call doctor to see if he wanted to send me home or keep me there. I really didn't want to be sent home and asked the nurse to make sure to mention I was due in 2 days. She came back and said I got to stay. That was at midnight, officially the 4th of July, and he said that if I wasn't in active labor by 3 a.m., to start pitocin. They checked at 3:00 and I was only at 2 cm, so they started pitocin through my I.V.

The contractions at that point were probably 3 minutes apart (I was no longer timing them) but I was able to breathe through them just fine for the next hour and a half. Around 4:30 they were becoming pretty painful and I had to switch up my breathing to deal with them. At 4:50 I asked for the epidural. The nurse checked me and I was at 6 cm at that point. The epidural was started shortly after 5:00 but wasn't completely in and done till 5:30. Having it administered SUCKED big time and I have no problem admitting that I had an emotional, physical meltdown. By then, the contractions were every minute and strong so I was dealing with that pain, while trying to stay as still as possible. I was bawling and cussing...I even dropped a couple of F bombs. It was not my most shining moment. ; )

Once he had it in and it took effect, it was wonderful. He came back in later to see if I was feeling contractions and I wasn't...I remember telling him I loved him. lol...

The doctor came in around 7:00 a.m. and broke my water. I was 9.5 cm and at 7:40 I was fully dilated and ready to push. I have to tell you that all during my pregnancy I was afraid of labor and delivery, but honestly, it wasn't bad at all. I'm soooo very proud of myself and how calm I stayed. I never once screamed, moaned, or cussed. I closed my eyes and pushed when they told me to. The nurse I had was awesome and I think that helped a lot. The baby was stuck under my pelvic bone for a bit, so she had me pull on one end of towel as I pushed and she pulled the other end. Essentially, we were playing tug-of-war. We finally got her through...I don't remember how many minutes it took though. They eventually called the doctor when I was crowning, which I didn't feel at all. He came in and after maybe 6 or 9 pushes, she was out. I pushed for right at an hour. In the end, I was left with a 2nd degree tear and needed stitches, but again, I didn't feel any of that.

As I said, she has lots of dark hair. While she was still inside, the doctor kept commenting on her hair and how it had been a while since he'd seen so much on a baby. He was playing with it and formed it into a baby mohawk of sorts! lol....

She is truly beautiful and we are very blessed to have her. The last week has been trying, stressful, and tiring....but every time I look at her I know it's worth it. Each day gets a bit better...or perhaps we're getting better at this parenting thing. =)

For my weight loss blog followers, I'll get back to WW in a month or two. Right now I don't have time to count points and be that strict with what I eat.

I hadn't stepped on my scale for months, but according to the doctor's scale I figure I gained approximately 55 pounds. Wowzer! As of today though, I'm 'only' up 37 pounds from where I was when I got pregnant. I'm breastfeeding so that will help get the pounds off.

I'll have pictures available soon. I'll be blogging from home for the next 12 weeks and my computer here always gives me fits when it comes to adding pictures. So please....be patient. I promise to get them up some how!

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Still Pregnant...

Just a little update....I'm still pregnant but I can tell my body is getting ready! My pelvic region has been super sore the past two days so I'm sure that's a sign that the bones and what not are widening in preparation of a little (or big!) body descending through there. I have developed the waddle, simply because it hurts to walk! I had cramps all day yesterday and started having contractions around 4:45 that lasted till 8:00 or so. They never got into a rhythm or got any stronger, so they were just the good ol' braxton hicks variety. I've been a bit crampy today but have only had a few contractions. I still haven't lost my mucus plug or had the bloody show, but I'm on the lookout for both! lol...

At my appointment last Thursday, I was only 1 cm dilated but 80% effaced. My doctor was very happy with that progress, especially with the effacement. I'm anxious to see where I'm at this Thursday, even though my last cervical check HURT! =(

Speaking of Thursday...it's my last day at work! I'm tired of everyone asking, "You're still here?!", "Are you ready?", or "How are you feeling?" I will be using vacation leave until she arrives, at which time I will go on family/medical leave for 12 weeks which is deducted from my accumulated sick leave.

We are getting excited...."nervous anticipation" as the hubs puts it...for her arrival. Stay tuned!

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

This makes me chuckle....

...especially since we're probably not having any more. (Hopefully this doesn't offend any of you. )


Thursday, June 18, 2009

Maternity Shoot & Misc Updates

A couple of weeks ago, when I was one day shy of 36 weeks, I had a maternity shoot. I wanted some professional pics, just for us, to capture this once in a lifetime experience. The photographer took oodles of pics, but these are the only ones I plan on ordering. She is also doing a newborn shoot for us around 1 week of age. I have a feeling we'll be purchasing a lot more of those!











































My favorite is the picture with the little shoes on my belly. There's a story behind it, which could be why. Right after the photographer placed them there, she rolled or something and one of the shoes started to topple off my stomach! She had to put in back in place to take the picture.

I also really like the one in the Cubs jersey. Again, another story behind it! You see, this is the jersey my husband was wearing the night we met. In all honesty, I was actually drawn to the jersey first (I'm a Cubs fan)....then realized the guy IN the shirt was pretty cute. ; ) So really, had it not been for the jersey...we might not be where are today!

I am currently 37 weeks, 5 days....17 days from my due date! I'm very achy during the night and in the morning, but once I get moving around I feel pretty good. I do get uncomfortable as the day goes on, but that's to be expected. I read the message boards on Baby Center though and I think either I have it really good or they're major drama queens. They're bitching about everything....from the weather to their husbands to their baby showers....you name it and there's a "Another Vent!" post. lol....

I am down to weekly doctor visits now. At last week's appointment she checked my cervix for dilation and I wasn't dilated at all, not even .5 cm! She did say it was soft and she's head-down which is good news. Being dilated means nothing, really. You can walk around for weeks at 3 cm. I hadn't been having Braxton Hicks contractions until this past week. I haven't had a lot of them, and they haven't been too painful either. And to be honest, I'm not sure that's what the feeling is anyway! lol... She might just be moving weird or something. Her movements have become quite painful in the past weeks since she's getting bigger and stronger and running out of room. I have another appointment today so we'll see if I'm still 'tight as a clam.'

While my baby bump isn't sticking out as far as others at my stage, it is very wide. I'm solid from side to side. This leads my doctor to think she might be a "bigger than average" baby. Great! lol... I asked what that meant and she said an 8 lb baby vs a 7 lb baby. However, she didn't clarify whether that was an 8 lb 2 oz baby....or an 8 lb 15 oz baby! As long as she doesn't have a big ol' head and broad shoulders (like my husband), I'll be alright. When I told him that he asked, "So you'd prefer the body of a punter to a linebacker then?" lol.... Exactly! ; )

I have a bag packed which includes clothing for me and my husband and I also packed her diaper bag with some sleepers, hats, socks, two 'coming home' outfits (in case the dress that I wore home is too small for her), and her baby book (have to get her footprints/handprints in there).

We had the carseat bases installed last week, so that's taken care of, too. The infant seat is in her room with the bags, so we'll just have to grab them and go.

There's still two things we need to assemble...the travel crib (small pack 'n play we'll use for the first few weeks in our room) and the swing. The swing can wait till after she arrives, but we do need to get the travel crib put together so we're not doing it after she comes home. Perhaps this weekend we can do that.

I think I've rambled enough, so I'll wrap this up by saying that quite possibly, the next time I post...will be to announce Miss Brianna's arrival! =)

Friday, May 29, 2009

Another Baby Shower!

My coworkers threw me a baby shower last Friday! My "cube mate" collected money from whoever wanted to contribute and went shopping. We received a lot of great gifts....a swing, activity mat, a package of diapers, onesies, sleepers, receiving blankets, crib sheets, bottles, bottle drying rack & brush, window shade for the car, teething toys, diaper rash cream, and even some nursing pads! My boss also knitted her the cutest little button-down sweater and matching hat. I love it and can't wait till she can wear it.

In addition to the package of diapers, one of my coworkers made me three "diaper cakes" out of rolled up diapers! Stuck in between the diapers were mini bottles of Johnson & Johnson baby wash, shampoo, lotion, powder, and three teething toys. The top layer on the big cake was made out of onesies, and top of those was a baby rattle. I'd seen them in pictures before, but they are even cuter in person.

I'm writing this from home and for some reason, I can't get pictures to load into Blogger. My computer locks up and blows out my internet connection completely. I am able to upload to my Picasa site though, so here's a link to some pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/Luhmans/BabyShowers#slideshow/

Last night we went to Target and bought an activity 'gym' and a CD player for her room. We had a 10% off coupon for stuff left on our registry, so we went ahead and bought the gym thing even though she won't use it till she's 4 months old or so. Just trying to save money where we can!

We now have pretty much everything we registered for so I guess we're as ready as we can be. Thirty-six days and counting...

Monday, May 18, 2009

Baby Shower!

My two sister-in-laws hosted a friends & family baby shower for me this past weekend and I received some really nice gits. The highlights include a pack 'n play lite, convertible car seat (for when she outgrows the infant car seat), space saver high chair, bath tub & lots of bathing supplies, and a boppy pillow. We also received a decorative pillow, a comforter that I'll use for tummy time, a photo album, four super cute outfits, an adorable polka-dot rain coat that should fit her perfect next spring, and one of the softest blankets I've ever felt! I wish it came in adult-size! =)

We also received two very special gifts from our mothers. My mom gave me the dress I wore home from the hospital 35 years ago! The dress was given to me by my Great Grandma Lenhart, who was my mom's grandmother. It's in perfect condition other than a very small formula stain on a bit of lace on the collar. I had no idea she had been saving it for this long! lol... We will take it to the hospital and plan on it being Brianna's "coming home" outfit as well. I've attached a picture of me in the dress when I was one week old, which she included in the card. (Check out my head of hair! lol...)

The other gift was a book my husband had as a child called "Bruce's Loose Tooth," which is a story about a duck who is trying to help a moose with a loose tooth. He received it as a birthday gift when he was two and his mom still had it. (As a side note, the hostesses asked the guests to bring their favorite book to start a 'library' for Brianna.) The book is in very good condition considering it's 32 years old! It's a hardback book and the spine is a bit loose, but that's it. We'll be sure to tell her when she's older that the book belonged to her daddy.

I must tell you about one of the cakes that was at the shower. My nieces (ages 21, 19, and 15) made me a "belly cake" on their own. They used FOUR cake mixes to make it...two chocolate and two white...and 'marbleized' it since I love marble cakes. It was baked in a glass dish and I swear the thing weighs 10 pounds! lol.... It is seriously HEAVY! We didn't cut into it at the shower since there was a "real" cake, too, but we had friends over last night and we ate the boobs! lol.... Mmmm....DELICIOUS! Here's a picture of the belly cake, as well as one of the "real" cake and the table. You can't quite see it, but they put baby feeding spoons and pacifiers on the table for decorations.
All of the guests received goody bags with chocolate and suckers in them, as well as water bottles with personalized labels that had my name, due date, shower date, location and "Celebration Facts." I tried taking a picture but it didn't turn out so here's what they said:

Celebration Facts:
Serving Size:

1 Baby-on-the-Way
(due to arrive: 07/05/09)
Amount/Serving %DV
Excitement 100%
Anticipation 100%
Preparation & Planning LOTS!
Shopping TONS!

We went to Target yesterday and bought some metal cube things to put in her closet for storage. I'll be able to put things like blankets, towels, burp cloths, etc. in them and free up space in the dresser. I think it will work out very well.

We now have all of the 'big' items except for the swing, which we will likely buy in the coming weeks. Otherwise it's just small stuff like additional onesies, sleepers, crib sheets, and of course diapers! We're supposed to receive a coupon for 10% off an entire purchase from Target for doing a registry there, but the associate wasn't sure when we would get it, other than before the registry expires, which is my due date. I'd like to hold off on buying everything till we get it because that could save a chunk of change!

33 weeks down, 7 to go! ; )

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Nursery Pics...Finally!

The nursery has been officially complete for about a week now. We really like how it turned out. The picture that shows the way the green paint color looks like in person is the one with the curtains closed. It looks off in the others. Plus, I think I forgot the flash in some of them. ; )












You will see we have chosen her name so it's no surprise now! Her full name will be Brianna Marie Luhman. =) (fyi...it'll be pronounced "bree-ah-na".)

I have to tell you about a couple of things on the shelf. The picture frame on the far right side was painted by yours truly! One night after dinner, my husband asked if I wanted to go to a place called Paint Yourself Silly and paint pottery. We'd never done something like that before but it was so much fun! It took me two hours to paint it but I love how well it matches her room. I'll put a picture in once she arrives. =)

The other item on the shelf that has a bit of history is the Pooh bear. He belonged to my husband when he was a baby and he carried him around with him as he got older. He passed it down to one of his nieces when she was born and when we told his sister we were expecting, she gave it back to him for our little one. He's in really good shape considering he's about 34 years old!



Friday, May 8, 2009

Our First Baby-Related Doctor Bill

I never got around to blogging about the little ordeal that caused the $464.00 doctor bill so I'll tell you about it now. We made a trip to labor & delivery Saturday, April 25, because of 'decreased fetal movement.' Usually she's very active most hours of the day, especially in the evenings. The Friday night before, we went for Mexican food and got home around 7:30 and watched tv till it was time for bed. I hadn't felt her move at all prior to going to bed but didn't worry too much. I figured she was just taking a ciesta! During the night I was awake from about 1 - 2:30 a.m. and again, I felt nothing that whole time. Usually when I'm awake like that, she is, too. It's like she keeps me company when I have my bouts of insomnia. I fell back asleep and woke up at 6 a.m. I laid there till 7:00 and still no movement. I began poking my belly, shaking it, everything....trying to get her to move. I got up and had 2 glasses of orange juice and some twizzlers thinking the sugar rush might arouse her. We were both poking my belly by this time, to no avail. I finally called my doctor's office around 8:00 and they paged the on-call doctor. She told me to go to the hospital and have them hook her up to a fetal monitor to check things out. By that time it had been about 10-12 hours since I'd felt any movement.

We got to the hospital, headed up to the 4th floor where L&D is, told them I hadn't felt her move since the evening before, and I was in "triage" in less than a minute. The nurse had me lay down on a bed while she was getting the monitors ready (the cords were tangled a bit). A few minutes later, right before she was ready to put them on me...guess what? SHE KICKED! TWO VERY HARD ONES! It was if she were saying, "I'M FINE! LEAVE ME ALONE AND QUIT POKING ME!" lol.... The nurse went ahead and hooked everything up and monitored her for 30 minutes. I had to push a button every time she kicked, which was often. She was back to her active little self. Her heartrate was anywhere from 158-168 and the nurse said everything looked great. Apparently she was just in a deep sleep or something.

Even though it turned out to be nothing, I'm glad we went in and had things checked out. It's better to be safe and paranoid than sorry later. We both felt a huge sense of relief.

The bill we received yesterday said the charges had been submitted to our insurance but they haven't processed it yet, so the balance due on the statement was $0. It'll be interesting to see what portion of the $464 we'll be responsible for. I guess we'll find out in the coming weeks.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Babymoon Recap

We had a really fun time on our trip to Kansas City. It rained off and on the whole way down there and was raining pretty good when we got to the stadium for the game. I wore one of my husband's jackets that has a hood so I stayed nice and dry. The game started about 40 minutes late but then the rain stopped, sun came out, and it got HOT! I ended up with a sunburn on my chest and forearms (complete with lines from where my watch was!). It's turned into a decent tan though, so it's all good. ; ) The Royals won and it was a really great time! (The vanilla yogurt sundae with crushed oreos wasn't bad either....mmmm!)

Later that evening we went to Joe's Crab Shack for dinner. We'd never been to one before, but it was a lot like the Bubba Gump's we ate at in Chicago last May. Bill ordered crab legs for the first time and although they were good, he said he'd never order them again...too much trouble! It was quite entertaining to watch though! ; ) I ordered fried shrimp (nice and safe) but it was the most bizarre looking shrimp I'd ever seen! Instead of it being just one big piece of meat coming off of the tail, it was like they cut it in half and then fried it. So when you picked it up by the tail, there were two pieces of meat hanging from it and you could dangle them! It reminded me of testicles! lol.... They tasted good but I had a hard time getting over how they looked. I prefer traditional looking shrimp!

The following day we went on a tour of Kaufman Stadium (the ballpark we were at the day before), went shopping at the biggest mall I think I've ever been to, took a tour of Boulevard Brewing Company, and had dinner at another local brewery. I was pretty exhausted by the end of the day. (Not too exhausted to walk across the parking lot to the Rib Crib at 9:00 and share a gigantic brownie sundae with the husband though! haha...)

Our final day there we went to the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library & Museum. I'm not much into history, but it was actually quite interesting. They were celebrating his birthday a week early and the promotion was "the buck stops here." Admission was only $1! The town (Independence, MO) was having a celebration, too, so we went to the town square and each had a free piece of birthday cake. Yummmy! We walked around the area and found a local cafe with great food and nice prices. I had a BLT (with lots and lots of bacon) with a side of mac-n-cheese. Not many places offer that a side! lol.... It was like my mom used to make it...and not the orange crap from a box. hahaha....

After lunch we headed back to Lincoln. It was just enough time to be gone and just what we needed. =)

I've uploaded pics to my picasa site. I've posted a link to the slideshows, but you may have to click the "play" button to get them to start.

Baseball Game & Ballpark Tour:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Luhmans/KCRoyalsGameTour#slideshow

Boulevard Brewing Company:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Luhmans/KCBoulevardBrewingCoTour#slideshow

Truman Presidential Library & Museum:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Luhmans/KCHarrySTrumanPresidentialLibraryMuseum#slideshow

Monday, April 20, 2009

Painting Project Complete!

We put our own "personal touch" on the house this past weekend and we really like how it turned out. The hallway and entryway were done in champagne gold which is a nice bright shade with a light yellow undertone. The walls leading down to the stairway will also be done in this same color and will be painted by a professional this Friday. We didn't want to mess with either scaffolding or a tall ladder, so we decided to pay someone else to risk falling! lol...

In the living room we used a color called pumpkin butter. It's a very warm color and not near as scary as the pics indicate! Our kitchen and dining room was done in a dark terra cotta color when we moved in and the pumpkin butter compliments it very well.

I've attached some pics, but please keep in mind that the pics don't do it justice. One of them looks much more orange than it is; another makes it look yellower than it is! And the hallway color just plain doesn't show much.








Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Taking a Babymoon!

Babymoon: a trip taken by parents who are expecting a baby; designed as a sort of “last hurrah” before the birth of the child.

The trip we have planned isn't at a resort or a luxury spa like some babymoon destinations, but we will be spending time doing something we enjoy as a couple. And that's what's important. We don't need to be spending thousands of dollars right now!

We honeymooned in Kansas City....and that's where we will be babymooning as well. We are going to leave town Thursday morning, April 30, and catch a KC Royals baseball game that afternoon at 1:10 p.m. Our seats are only 6 rows up from the field on the 3rd base side and we should have a pretty good view of a player who grew up in the city we live in and played college ball here in town. Plus, I've never been to a Royals game so I'm looking forward to it.

Afterwards we'll head to the hotel and change clothes and go somewhere nice for dinner. Where, I don't know, but we have time to figure that out. It looks like there are some nice restaurants near the hotel so we may ask the staff what they recommend. Oh, and there's a Hooters nearby! lol....I told my husband I'm afraid if we went in, they'd think I was looking for a job the way my chest is looking these days! hahahahaha! =)

When we get back to the hotel we'll likely hang out at the pool or hot tub. I have a swim suit from my "fat" days that I'm thinking will fit me again. It's one of those 2 piece suits where the bottom looks like a skirt and the top is a tank. The waistband of the bottom is completely elastic so I'm sure it will stretch enough. Hopefully the tank is big enough to cover my growing belly! lol... Or, I can hope there's no one else in the pool area! ; )

Regarding the hot tub....at my first appointment, the pregnancy education nurse said hot tubs are a no-no during pregnancy because my core body temperature isn't to exceed 102 degrees for more than 10 minutes. I did some googling this morning and studies have shown an increased risk of birth defects in babies of women who had an increased body temperature during the first trimester of pregnancy...but since I'm now in my third trimester, I don't know if the danger is still there. I'm thinking I can probably sit on the steps with my butt and legs in the water, or possibly sit completely in it but only for 5 minutes at a time and pay attention to how hot I'm getting. I go to the doctor a few days before the trip, so I'll ask her what she thinks.

We'll check out of the hotel the following morning on Friday and will have lunch and likely hit a nearby shopping mall before heading back home. It'll be a quick trip, but it'll be nice to go somewhere for fun one last time, just the two of us, without having to arrange a baby-sitter.

Side notes:

  • We are painting this weekend! The foyer and hallway will be done in 'champagne gold' and the living room in 'pumpkin butter.' It should look nice with the paint in our dining room/kitchen which is sort of a dark terracotta color.
  • Our first childbirth education class is this coming Monday (the 20th).
  • March of Dimes walk is the 26th. If you'd like to support me, you can do so by clicking on the logo at the top of my page on the right.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Surprise!

I get together with a group of 6 friends one night each month for dinner and we call it GNO (Girl's Night Out). Last night we met at Famous Dave's and to my surprise, they threw me a baby shower! =) I was very shocked...and thrilled!

Here's a list of what we received:

  • the bouncer we registered for. =)
  • a yellow and pink blanket that will be perfect to bring her home in since it's nice and lightweight (it'll be hot, remember!)
  • a bedtime book
  • a cover to use on wooden high chairs at restaurants, a bib ("I Love Mommy") and a toy to keep her entertained on her first "baby's night out" with the hubs. ; )
  • hooded towel and washcloth set with a bunny on the part that covers the head.
  • a pink coat made of soft faux-suede material and lined with sheepskin with a hood and a pouch/pocket in the front to keep her hands warm (not that she'll understand that and actually put them in there, but it's super cute anyway).
  • a fuschia lightweight ribbed turtleneck sweater and matching corduroy overalls with a zebra print on the pockets.
  • a giant rubber ducky. Seriously. And when I say giant, I mean the size of a basketball. The girl who gave it to me wasn't able to make it, which is probably good, because I'm sure I had that "WTF?" look on my face after I opened it. I looked in the wrapping to see if there was something else with it like a towel, baby wash...something to explain it but there was nothing. Just a huge duck! The other girls were like, "I wouldn't put that in the bathtub with her, it'll scare her!" lol.... This friend (also my cousin) has been trying to get pregnant since 2004 with no luck and they are now looking into adoption. I'm thinking now that the reason she wasn't able to make it last night was because it would've been too hard for her since she's very upset about not being able to have kids of their own. So perhaps shopping is too tough and she just grabbed the first thing she saw or something. I really don't know. But the duck is going to straight to the basement, out of sight. It even scared our dog! My husband's comment was, "Where's the 8-person hot tub that goes with it?" since you always see rubber duckies in hot tubs when they're for sale. lol.... If you know someone who is into rubber duckies, by all means let me know and I'll mail it to them. ; ) Or Shanna....perhaps you want it for your new hot tub?! lol...

On another note, the DIY shelf is almost done....now we just need to paint it. I originally wanted it pink and bought pink paint....but now I'm thinking I want to paint it a dark brown to match the furniture in the room. We need to go to Home Depot soon anyway so I'll look for some there. We decided we want to repaint the living room, hallway and foyer of our house and we have the paint picked out, we just need to go buy it. Our plan is to paint next weekend. I'll post pics eventually, and of the nursery once the shelf is up.

We're heading to my in-laws house in Iowa tomorrow for Easter. This will be our last road trip before she's born. I still can't believe July is just around the corner!

I hope you all have a safe, happy and blessed Easter! =)

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Anyone Still Checking In??

I've been bad about blogging lately! Lots has been going on...

  • Crib is assembled, dresser purchased, nursery is complete! Well, except for one shelf...a DIY project that hasn't come to fruition quite yet. I'll take pics one of these days.
  • Stroller is assembled. It almost took as long to assemble as the crib! And I think my husband would agree that it was much more difficult, too!
  • We purchased a new vehicle for me....said stroller was too big to fit in the trunk of my Pontiac G6 (small opening) so I am now driving a 2009 Subaru Forrester! =) Much more cargo room!
  • Baby is moving lots, especially in the wee hours of the morning when I'm trying to sleep!
  • Baby showers are scheduled...May 16 with friends and a few family members, and June 5 with coworkers.
  • We start "prepared childbirth education" classes in a few weeks, April 20.
  • I'm signed up to walk in the March of Dimes walk April 26. I'll be 30 weeks along by then...I made my friend promise to walk slow! hahaha

I'm packin' on the pounds....and choosing not to share with you exactly how many! lol...

I took a few pics this morning to share with you. This is me, 26 weeks & 2 days pregnant.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Family Birthplace Tour

In September, 2008, the hospital where our daughter will be born opened their new Family Birthplace. We'd heard very good things about it and how nice it was but we had no idea how great it truly was. Kid you not...we've stayed in hotels that weren't as nice as the two private suites we will be in. The whole addition is beautifully decorated and just has a warmth about it. There are lots of pictures of babies and families on the walls and inspiring quotes.

Upon arrival to the hospital we will be checked into a labor & delivery room. In the room is a couch that pulls out into a bed, a flat screen tv, and a dvd player. There is also Wi-Fi throughout the hospital, so we can bring out laptop to pass the time if we wish. My favorite thing was in the bathroom...a HEATED toilet seat! lol... I wish I had that here at home! =)

I will remain in the labor & delivery room until after she's born. I assumed I would be taken elsewhere for the actual delivery, but that's not the case. She will be born in that room and will remain with me the entire time, unless she needs to go have tests done or go to the NICU. Below is a pic of one of the labor & delivery rooms.

A few hours after delivery I will be transferred to a post-partum room. It also has the pull-out couch, flatscreen tv, and dvd player....plus it has a very nice rocker recliner and a mini-fridge. The hubs says he will bring a home brew to enjoy. =) Besides being able to order food (I looked through the menu and mmmmm....), we will have 24-hour access to a hospitality suite which had several snack and beverage items, all of which are free. Here is a pic of one of the post-partum rooms.

The rooms are nice and spacious and plenty of roomy for visitors, but there are also a couple of areas for them to hang out (if we get tired of them, as the nurse put it). One of them is a living room setting with a fireplace, couches and chairs. The other is more like a general waiting room area but has a nice flat screen and a computer for them to use if they want.

After the tour was complete we went up and visited my coworker's daughter who gave birth two days earlier. It was nice to see a room "in action" or whatever and not just an empty one. We each held her baby and surprisingly enough...she didn't cry at all! lol.... It was kind of surreal actually....I mean in just 4 months I'll be in that bed and we'll be holding our own daughter. All I can say is Wow.

Friday, February 20, 2009

First Outfit, Hat and Other Ramblings!

One of my coworkers bought our little girl her first outfit! I couldn't resist taking a picture and posting it, so here it is! (The shirt says "Bee Happy" on it.) It's newborn size so hopefully she'll be able to wear it right away. Oh, and that's the baby blanket that matches her bedding underneath it.

When we found out we were having a girl, my husband made one request ... that she have a Cubs hat to wear home from the hospital. We got on Ebay last weekend and found a newborn size baseball cap that will be perfect. Here it is!

My parents are coming to town on Sunday to help move furniture around to "make room for baby." =) The queen bed that's in the nursery now will go to the other spare guest room along with the night stand (a round table w/a cloth on it) and the chest of drawers is heading to the basement. The king bed that's in the other guest room is moving to the basement along with the dresser and nightstand. And, finally....a dresser that's in the basement now will be brought upstairs to go into the guest room since it will match the queen headboard better than the one we did have in there. If you haven't figured it out, we have lots of spare furniture! lol...

They are also bringing us a glider and a jogging stroller that my brother & sister-in-law are giving us that they no longer use. The cushions on the glider are cranberry, but I have an ivory chenille blanket I'll throw over it and it'll be fine. My parents are also buying us the crib mattress as an early shower gift, so we'll get that this weekend, too. They've offered to help put the crib together, but we'll see if we have time since they're only here for the afternoon.

Last weekend I cleaned out the closet in the nursery so that's taken care of. A lot of stuff got taken to the basement or pitched. I found things that had been boxed up from 4 moves ago and had no business even making it in the house when we moved in two years ago! lol....

The bedding came with a valance for the window but I'd prefer full-length curtains instead. There is a large east-facing window in her bedroom and even with wood blinds, it's still very light in there and the valance wouldn't block out any light whatsoever. I found some curtains online (Wal-Mart) which are supposed to block out sunlight, quiet outside noise (in our low-key neighborhood that's the garbage truck), and also heat/cold. They received really good reviews so I ordered a pair of light pink panels. I wanted ivory but they didn't come in that color; only sand and beige which I didn't think would look very good since the bedding doesn't have those colors in it. They're supposed to arrive sometime during the week of March 2.

I rescheduled my lamaze classes to begin April 20. My doctor prefers I start when I'm 28 weeks along, so I had to move it back. I'll be just starting my 29th week the night of the first class.

Things are going well with me. Still having some stretching pains at night but I don't think they've been as bad this week. I've also slept a little bit better, too. The scale is going up and up and by leaps and bounds which I'm not liking, but I can't exactly try to not gain weight! I'm hoping it does slow down though because as of yesterday I've gained almost 18 pounds. I had another 4 pound gain this last week and 3 the week before. I'm halfway through my pregnancy though so maybe that's not so bad? My doctor didn't seem concerned last week and she said she'd tell me if I was gaining too much too rapidly. My next appointment is March 12.

She's moving around and "dancing" a lot. I put my husband's hand on my tummy last night in bed and he was able to feel one of the kicks a little. I told him in a couple of weeks he'd be able to feel it better. I also *think* I saw my tummy move the other night in the bathtub when she kicked a couple of times! I kept staring to see if it moved again, but it didn't even though she was still moving around.

I guess that's it for now. Hope all is well with each of you. =)

Thursday, February 12, 2009

It's A.......

You can thank Mother Nature for this early post! Our trip back home this weekend was canceled because pretty much the whole state of Nebraska is expecting to get 4-8" of snow! It's supposed to start tomorrow (Friday) morning and we planned to leave in the afternoon. My mom called last night and said she didn't want us driving back and risk having an accident.

So since I already called and told her the news, it's safe for me to go ahead and tell you! =) We're having a -- wait, are you SURE you want to know and not be surprised later?? hahahaha.... Before I tell, someone asked if we'd be sharing the name and the answer is probably not. Although we might change our minds later on. Okay, are you ready?? It's a .... oh, one other thing! I bought the bedding set on my way home from the appointment! Yay! I can't wait till the nursery is all decorated and complete! Hopefully our little girl will love it! Eeeeekkkk! =) Did you catch that? It's a GIRL!!!!

The ultrasound went great...she was uber active! The tech was having trouble getting good pics because she was moving around so much. She said, "You've got a wild one in there!" lol.... We were able to see all four chambers of the heart and it beating. My husband finally got to hear it in person, too. It was thumping at 157 beats/minute. She showed us the kidneys, stomach, spine, brain, etc. Everything looks perfect and no signs of any problems. We are ecstatic!

We celebrated by stopping by Granite City. The hubs had a big mug of beer and I enjoyed a virgin blood mary followed by a glass of milk. =)

I took pictures of the ultrasound pictures since I don't have a scanner here at home. I didn't want to make you wait till Tuesday when I'm back at the office. She gave us two pictures that were taken in 4D but the "picture of a picture" thing didn't work very well, so I'm not posting them here. You could see a cute button nose though, so perhaps she'll get my nose and not her daddy's. ; )

Here's our daughter's first picture (it isn't perfectly clear since she didn't stay still for ANY of the pics...but it's the best we have!). Beautiful, eh? =)





Monday, February 9, 2009

Baby Bump -- 19 Weeks

Okay, so here's the much anticipated first pictures of my baby bump. One is a true side shot; the other one my upper body is twisted a bit so that's why they look so different. You can still see the indentation a little from where my two bellies haven't quite meshed (at least I can) but I tried to disguise it by not pulling the camisole tightly down. I've also posted the pic that was taken the morning I found out I was pregnant for a comparison. You'll also notice that the side picture was taken before I fixed my hair and the 'twisted' one was taken after I was ready to be seen in public. lol....



Seventy-two hours from RIGHT NOW I will be at my doctor's office having the ultrasound! Stay tuned!