Two Pink Lines!

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-19T08:24:00.003-05:00

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.

This and That...and Weekend Plans

2009-10-16T08:31:00.005-05:00

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....

Her First Cold

2009-10-13T15:25:00.004-05:00

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!

3 months old...

2009-10-05T08:30:00.006-05:00

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! =)

12 Weeks Later and Back to Work

2009-09-28T13:50:00.009-05:00

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...

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.

Photo Shoot

2009-07-16T11:30:00.004-05:00

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!

Pictures ... Finally....

2009-07-14T10:55:00.002-05:00

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

She's a Firecracker!

2009-07-10T21:07:00.004-05:00

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!

Still Pregnant...

2009-06-30T16:31:00.002-05:00

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!

This makes me chuckle....

2009-06-24T11:52:00.003-05:00

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

Maternity Shoot & Misc Updates

2009-06-18T13:51:00.006-05:00

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! =)

Another Baby Shower!

2009-05-29T22:46:00.005-05:00

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...

Baby Shower!

2009-05-18T11:12:00.013-05:00

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! ; )

Nursery Pics...Finally!

2009-05-14T08:33:00.013-05:00

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!

Our First Baby-Related Doctor Bill

2009-05-08T09:02:00.002-05:00

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.

Babymoon Recap

2009-05-07T09:44:00.005-05:00

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

Painting Project Complete!

2009-04-20T10:15:00.003-05:00

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.

Taking a Babymoon!

2009-04-14T08:19:00.005-05:00

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.

Surprise!

2009-04-09T10:58:00.007-05:00

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! =)

Anyone Still Checking In??

2009-03-31T16:27:00.003-05:00

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.

Family Birthplace Tour

2009-03-01T15:09:00.008-06:00

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.

First Outfit, Hat and Other Ramblings!

2009-02-20T09:54:00.006-06:00

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. =)

It's A.......

2009-02-12T09:26:00.005-06:00

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? =)

Baby Bump -- 19 Weeks

2009-02-09T14:05:00.004-06:00

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!

Classes and Other Stuff

2009-02-03T15:41:00.005-06:00

I was perusing the hospital's Web site earlier today and decided to check out their Lamaze classes since my doctor requires it. At first I was thrown off because I didn't see anything called Lamaze. "They have to have them," I thought so I started clicking on the classes they listed and finally found what I was looking for, "Prepared Childbirth Education -- Emphasis is on making childbirth a positive experience and to allow you, as a family, to take an active role in your birth experience and in your care at the medical center." It doesn't say a thing about breathing techniques, which is what I think of when I'm told to take a Lamaze class, so hopefully this is what I'm supposed to take. I had to laugh at the "positive experience" part because really, how positive can it be pushing something that big out a hole that small?! lol.... EPI-DUR-AL. Enough said.

Anyway, they suggest taking them during the 6th to 7th month, which, believe it or not....is next month already! The class is 4 weeks, meeting once a week for 2 1/2 hours. I'm going to be very good at breathing after 10 hours of this stuff! ; ) Our first session is March 16 when I'll be 24 weeks along.

I still have to sign up for a breastfeeding class but I don't know at what stage they recommend those. The hospital's site didn't really say, other than it's just a single session and spouses/partners are encouraged to attend. I can see my hubs reaction to that already, "I seriously have to go to that?" ; ) I hope he isn't the only spouse that shows up. lol.... My pediatrician's office also offers breastfeeding classes and I'm thinking I'd rather go to theirs....same length and cost....because I have to go to their office a few days after we get home so their lactation nurses can see how we're doing. If I go through their class, I'd already be familiar with them. Plus, it's closer to our house.

As for me, I feel really good during the day but nights are getting worse. I'm having more trouble getting back to sleep after I wake up (to go potty, which is often) because of the round ligament pain. It used to go away shortly after I got back into bed but now they're lasting up to half an hour. I read today that at 18 weeks your uterus is the size of a cantaloupe, so that explains why the tendons and ligaments are causing 'growing pains' from stretching to accommodate the size. They eventually go away (supposedly), but I don't know at what point. From my experience thus far, as soon as one 'bad' thing subsides, something equally unpleasant is right around the corner! lol...

We find out the gender NEXT WEEK on the 12th! (Insert high-pitched squeal here!) I probably won't update my blog until the 16th because we are heading back to my parent's house on the 13th for the three-day weekend. My mom has discovered this site so I'm afraid to announce it before we tell them in person. I say "discovered" because I never told her I started this baby blog. She had the old weight loss blog address but I knew she never checked it, so I wasn't worried at all that she'd go to it and stumble onto the news that we were expecting. However, last month out of the blue she decided to check my 'old' blog to see if I had written anything there, and viola! There was the link to the baby blog. Her comment was something like, "Gee, I could've known the news long ago!" lol... Anyway, she checks this out every now and then and I don't want the surprise to be ruined. I know you'll all understand the delay. I'll post some ultrasound pics AND a belly pic at the same time, so you have something to look forward to! ; )

Hmmm....on SECOND thought....I could have it all written and just save it as a draft...and publish it from their house that night or on the 13th! We'll see if I have time to get it done before we head out of town.

Until next time....good luck on your weight loss/exercise efforts and to the two of you TTC...I'm sending some baby-making vibes your way. ; )

p.s.

I think I've been feeling the baby move here and there a bit. Not positive though.....could just be gas bubbles. ; )

Enough!

2009-01-28T16:38:00.002-06:00

lol.... As soon as my TWO bellies merge into ONE belly, I will post a belly pic! ; ) So far I don't really have that cute "baby bump" goin' on! I have a lower pooch, an indentation where my pants go and where my belly button is, and another upper pooch. This is how it's been since I can remember....I have TWO bellies! The only difference is they're larger and aren't quite as defined as they once were but they still aren't one. I pinky promise that as soon as they merge, I will have the hubs take a photo so I can share it with all of you. If I posted it now, you'd just be disappointed! I don't want to let you down....so please be patient and stay tuned. =)

More Gear

2009-01-26T11:18:00.009-06:00

The store called and said our crib was in so we went and picked it up over the weekend. I wanted to look at the bedding again to make sure we still liked it so we walked around and did that and also looked at travel systems (stroller/car seat combo). They had a Graco system that we really liked and had everything I wanted. The stroller (Quattro Tour Sport) can hold a child up to 50 pounds and the car seat (Safeseat, Step 1) can hold an infant up to 30 pounds and 32" tall. Most only hold up 22 pounds and 29" tall. Given that the hubs is 6'3" there's a chance we could have a tall baby. I didn't want him/her to be growing out of it in less than a year, so I wanted one of the 30 pound/32" ones. They say that they fit 97% of children up to 1 year of age.

The stroller drives really nice and turns corners on a dime! I didn't even run into anything! lol... Here are some pics...and yes, this is the color! It looks more peach here, but it's actually orange. Nectar, to be exact. Not too girly, not too boyish!

We've had some friends ask why we're buying stuff and "Are you not having a baby shower?" Yes, there will be a shower, but honestly, we don't feel comfortable putting "big ticket" items such as furniture and a travel system on a gift registry. We don't want to look greedy. Other than the bedding, dresser, and possibly a glider, we won't be purchasing anything else. We'll register for things like a pack-n-play, swing, bouncer, changing pad, baby monitor and miscellaneous stuff like bottles, extra sheets, washcloths, etc. I'm sure my office and my husband's lab mates will give us a gift card somewhere and we'll use that to buy whatever we don't get that we wanted. Or, it can always be used for diapers!

I'm now 17 weeks along and feeling pretty good during the day. Night-time isn't so good. I wake up at least 4 times to go to the bathroom and it hurts to get out of bed and walk because the ligaments and tendons in my abdomen are stretching to accommodate my growing uterus, which in turn causes a good deal of pain. It doesn't bother me during the day because I'm moving around enough to stay limber, I guess. My doctor said eventually I'll feel it at all hours.

I had a gift card to Motherhood Maternity so I went and bought a pair of tan corduroy pants and a pair of jeans over the weekend. Each have the "secret fit belly," aka full panel.....and are soooo very SEXY! lol.... They are super comfortable though and should fit well into pregnancy since the panel is super stretchy. I didn't think I'd like the full coverage but it's nice on cold days. I'll take an extra layer of warmth any day! =) I also went last weekend and bought 2 pairs of dress slacks and several shirts at Target and Shopko. I'm now set for clothes until spring/summer when it gets warmer and I'm much larger.

I've now gained 8.8 pounds. I have gained the average 'suggested' amount of 1 pound per week each of the past 2 weeks so I feel pretty good about that. I'm looking forward to my next appointment which is 2 weeks and 3 days away (not that I'm counting or anything).

Monthly Checkup

2009-01-14T15:17:00.004-06:00

I had my 15-week checkup this morning. The nurse was having problems finding the heartbeat so I was starting to worry even though she said not to be concerned. She said sometimes it's hard to detect it during weeks 14-20 because the baby is moving around a lot and they tend to "escape" from the dopplar. She finally found it after 5 minutes (which seemed much longer) and it was thumping at 150 bpm which is a good rate (normal is 110-170).

I've now gained 7 pounds...4 of which were just last week (yes, as in 7 days)! Eegads! lol... I told her I was a bottomless pit and was hungry to the point of lightheadedness every 1.5 hours and had to eat something. She said babies don't gain weight gradually, but in spurts so that's what was going on. It was completely normal and she's not concerned at all. This week I'm back to my regular 3 meals and 3 snacks vs 3 meals and about 6 or 7 snacks! It was BAD! lol... She said not to be alarmed if I don't gain much over the next couple of weeks until it hits another growth spurt.

My next appt is Thursday, February 12, and they'll do an ultrasound to determine gender! =) It's perfect timing because we're going back to McCook the next day for the weekend. It'll be nice to be able to tell my parents the news in person since they had to find out via flowers and a phone call that we were expecting. We'll also have pictures to show which will be fun. I will scan them in and post them here, too. And maybe by then I'll have a belly pic, too!

We had a group consultation with a pediatrician last night. He was very personable and down-to-earth. We were very impressed with him and his practice so we are defnitely choosing him. They have three offices in town and the north location is only a couple of minutes from our house. Their medical records are stored electronically so they can be accessed from each of the three offices, as well as at the three hospitals in town and from the doctors' homes. The east location is open on Saturdays and Sundays, too, which will be really nice since kids don't just get sick or hurt Monday - Friday.

That's all for now!

P.S. Please pray that the baby cooperates next month and has its legs open or something so the tech can get a good look at its parts! lol... This is NOT the time for modesty! hahaha... If she can't tell, we won't find out till July when he or she is born!

Let the Shopping Begin!

2009-01-11T15:44:00.011-06:00

I drive by a kids furniture store every day on my way to work called Kids Stuff Super Store, so we finally went there yesterday to take a look. We were very surprised....it was A LOT bigger on the inside than it looks from the outside. They had lots and lots of cribs, dressers, bedding sets, strollers, car seats, gliders...you name, they have it! I will definitely be registering there in a few months!

One particular crib was on sale for $70 off. We went back today to see when the sale ends, and it ends at the end of January. We both really liked it and the price was right, so we went ahead and ordered it. They didn't have it in stock here in town, but there's one up in Omaha so it'll be shipped down in 1-2 weeks. It's a 3-in-1 convertible crib, meaning that it converts to a toddler bed, and then again into an adult full-size bed. We ordered it in "cinnamon" which is a shade between oak and cherry. (Shown is honey.)

It's made of solid wood and the frame is steel so it should hold up very well. The mattress adjusts from 9" - 26" which will be nice. I found some reviews online and they were all very positive.

There's a dresser that matches it that we will buy on down the road when we have the nursery cleared out and ready for furniture. (The dresser comes fully assembled where the crib is just in a box and has to be put together.) The only picture I could find showed it in black, but here it is anyway. What I like about it is that I can sit a lamp and baskets of stuff on the higher part and put a changing pad on the lower part of the dresser. The drawers slide out nice and it's also made of solid wood. The other thing that we like about it is it's bigger than most of the other ones we saw. They didn't have as many drawers and weren't as tall....since the hubs is 6'3" and WILL be changing diapers, this dresser will be better for him.

We also have bedding picked out. It's funny because I'd been searching online looking at bedding sets over and over and finally had it down to a couple of choices for each sex. Then we go into this store and I found two sets I like even better! And the best part is I don't have to guess what the fabric feels like or what the color will look like in person. Plus, the price of each is about what I was willing to spend on a set, too.

The room we're turning into a nursery is a light shade of green now, called 'ryegrass.' If it's a girl we shouldn't need to paint because I think the shade of green in the bedding will match. I'll just buy the border stuff and put that around the room to jazz it up a bit. If the green doesn't match, well, Amy will be painting. =) And if it's a boy, she'll definitely be painting because green walls with a blue & brown set wouldn't look the best. ; ) So here's pics of each of the ones we have it narrowed down to. As soon as we find out what we're having we'll go and purchase it.

It's My Birthday!

2009-01-05T09:48:00.004-06:00

That's right my friends. I turned 35 at 3:47 this morning, meaning I'm halfway to 70! lol... I don't feel any older though and I think I look better now than ever before (except for the perpetual pimple that refuses to go away). As my friend reminded me, this will be the last 'quiet' birthday I'll have for quite a number of years! Instead of a celebratory drink tonight, I'll be having a celebratory dessert instead! Not a bad tradeoff, really! =)

I brought cupcakes to the office today as my "I'm having a baby" announcement. I'm due 6 months from today! It's hard to see, but I used white gel frosting and made the male/female symbols on top of each. I should've made the pink frosting a bit brighter because the white didn't show up very well...but they're still cute (and most importantly, YUMMY) and they got the message across! It's been a pretty fun day and they're all really happy and excited for us.

I have no news to report....other than I'm SO thankful to have the first trimester behind me. I feel really good that the amount I gained was within the "recommended" amount of 3-5 pounds. I got on the scale Saturday morning and I'm at 153.2 for a net gain of 3.2 pounds. It doesn't sound like much but let me tell you, the tummy's bigger than an "I ate too much and gained 3 pounds" type of thing. I only have two pairs of khaki pants that I can still button (comfortably). I'm using elastic ponytail holders for all of my other pants. I just have to make sure I wear longer shirts so people don't see that my pants are unzipped! lol...

My next doctor's appointment is on the 14th. We'll listen for the heartbeat again and I'll have bloodwork done, too. Otherwise, nothing too exciting. I'm already looking forward to February's appointment because we'll find out if it's a boy or a girl! It's hard to believe that we'll know in 5 or 6 weeks! Eeek! =)

I hope all of you had a great New Year's. We actually stayed up a little past midnight and watched the ball drop. The next day we certainly paid for it as we napped off and on most of the day. My husband only has 5 more days of at-home I.V. antibiotics so hopefully he'll regain his energy once he's done with those. He's back to work today after being off for 3 weeks due to his knee surgeries and recovery. He started physical therapy last Monday and he's getting his range of motion back a little. It's not going to be easy or quick, but he'll get there.

Have a great week and I'll check in next week after my appointment.

The Secret's Out!

2008-12-28T17:03:00.002-06:00

First I'll tell you about my family's reaction. I had told my mom to call me as soon as the flowers got there so I knew they were delivered, etc. My phone rang around 10:00 a.m. Christmas Eve and it was her, "The flowers just came." That was all she said! I then asked, "So?" "They're pretty," she responded. WTF?? "Have you read the card yet?" I asked. "Your dad is opening it now." I could hear him reading it in the background and then she finally said something like, "Oh!" I don't really remember but it was good. They're happy and excited for us. I guess when it was delivered my dad made the comment that it looked more like a 4th of July arrangement than a Christmas one so I heard him say, "Now it makes sense!" lol.... She did say she was surprised...to which I replied, "you aren't the only one!" lol... We talked for a bit and then I asked if she had received the second card I had sent them and she said yes. I told her to wait to open it till they opened their other presents on Christmas Day.

When my grandparents and aunt got there for lunch (on Christmas Day) she had them read the card for the flowers and I guess my aunt started to cry. Mom called around 2:00 after she had opened the card...the one with the heartbeat recorded into it and said that it was pretty neat. My sister-in-law said she told my brother at Thanksgiving that she bet I was pregnant since I was sick all weekend! They are excited, too.

Moving on to my husband's family. We gave the wine bottles to his mom and sister right before we sat down to dinner. They opened them and each caught on fairly quickly. Then our nieces read the bottles and there was lots of screaming. His mom gave me a hug and screached so loud into my right ear that I swear it was bleeding internally! OUCH! In the meantime his dad was like, "What's going on?" since he hadn't seen the bottle yet. Someone yelled out, "She's pregnant!" and then he was excited, too. It took about 10 minutes for everyone to calm down. The nieces are thrilled that they're finally getting a 1st cousin. The girls are older; 14, 19, and 21 so they will be more like aunts to them but they are thrilled. (My husband's only sibling is 13 years older than him.) The middle one has already offered to babysit whenever we need her to since she's going to college in town and the youngest informed us that she'll babysit once she's down here for college, too.

So it's safe to say that the baby will be more than welcome in its new family. =)

I still haven't broke the news to my coworkers (well, a few of them know but that's it). We always take treats for the whole office on our birthday so that's when I'm telling....January 5...a week from tomorrow. I'm going to bake cupcakes and frost them in pink and blue. If I'm feeling ambitious I might make the gender symbols on top of each with gel or whatever that stuff is. I'm going to have to make 4 dozen though so we'll see.

As for me, I'm in the last week of the first trimester. All I have to say about that is GOOD RIDDANCE! lol... The last week or two have been pretty good so I think I'm on the upswing. I weighed myself this morning and I'm only up 1.8 from where I started but my abdomen is definitely larger. My pants that were once slightly baggy (especially at the end of the day from being stretched out) are fitting a bit snug. I bought some elastic pony tail holders today to use when I can't comfortably button my pants anymore (you put one end around the button and weave it through the hole and back around the button to give you more room). I'm putting off buying maternity pants for as long as I can! I did buy some roomy shirts at Penney's a couple of days ago. They're all from the regular women's section but the style right now is long and flowy...perfect for expanding bellies! All are lightweight material so I'll be able to wear them this spring, too.

We're going to have a really wild New Year's Eve this year as our plan is to go see Marley & Me around 7ish and then 'attempt' to ring in the new year. My husband is still on I.V. antibiotics and will have to do his nightly infusion at 10:00 p.m. so if we decide to stay out, he'll likely be doing it a bar, which is weird but whatever. If we do go somewhere, it'll be to Libations II which is a comfy sort of place. But given that the medicine makes him drowsy and the slightest amount of alcohol has the same effect times two, I'm not promising we'll see 2009 make its debut. We might end up coming home, having a glass of wine (my doc says that would be fine) and heading to bed before the fancy ball drops at midnight. We'll see though.

Have a happy and SAFE New Year's and I'll chat with you next year! ; )

Wine Labels

2008-12-22T13:27:00.009-06:00

I finally got around to printing the labels for the wine we're giving to my husband's parents and sister. The pics don't show the detail, but the background is a light green and white plaid.

We have a Heartbeat!

2008-12-19T15:06:00.004-06:00

I went to the doctor two days ago and I was able to hear the heartbeat! It was beating very fast at 173 beats/minute and was loud and clear. It was really good to hear it and to know that things seem to be progressing just fine. Since my hubs wasn't able to make it to the appointment I recorded it on my cell phone and played it for him later. I won't go into all of the details , but he spent 5 days in the hospital and had 2 surgeries due to a staph infection in his knee which developed 4 weeks after his initial knee surgery November 14 (sigh). He wasn't out of the hospital yet at the time of my appointment....thus the recording. He's home now and recovering well but will be administering his own antibiotics every 8 hours via an I.V. in his arm until January 10. Sounds fun, eh?!

Back to my appointment...I FINALLY met my doctor! She's SUPER nice and I'm so glad I chose her over my PCP. She was really friendly and easy to talk to...I felt very comfortable with her. She asked if I feel like I'm eating healthy and I told her that until this last week, which included lots of fast food runs (due to spending so much time at the hospital away from home), I had been doing well with my eating. I also told her that prior to becoming pregnant, I had lost almost 70 pounds via WW. She said that was great and she's going to help me watch my weight during pregnancy so I don't gain a lot of excess pounds since I worked so hard to get them off in the first place. We are shooting for a 30-pound gain which will put me at 180 (still 40 pounds less than when I began WW). She asked if I minded if she told me that I had gained too much in between my visits and I told her no. I need that accountability! So far I've gained exactly 3 pounds and I'm this close to the end of my first trimester, so I'm doing fine!

I'm feeling much better, too. I still get a little sleepy in the evenings but I've been able to stay up past 9:00 the past few nights (it was after 11 last night...stayed up to watch a volleyball game). I also don't feel as queezy, which is really nice...and the "girls" aren't as tender either. I'm very happy about that! lol.... What I'm NOT happy about is the fact that my chin has TWO pimples on it...thanks pregnancy hormones! Argghhh..... I feel like I'm 16 again. =( Oh well...this too shall pass.

I almost forgot...I told the nurse why I was recording the heartbeat and I also wanted to play it for family and she had a great suggestion. You know those greeting cards that you can record a personal message in? Well, I bought a Christmas one for grandparents and recorded the recording of the heartbeat into it. When you open the card, it plays the heartbeat for 8 seconds and then starts playing "Away in a Manger." I'm going to send it to my parents with a "do not open until Christmas Eve NIGHT" message on the envelope. I don't want her to open it before she gets the flowers because she might be a bit confused. ; ) On the inside I wrote, "This is my heartbeat at 11.5 weeks." I'm glad she suggested it because now my parents will get to hear it, too, and I won't feel like they're being left out since my husband's parents will hear it 'in person'.

I'll let all of you know how the telling of the family goes after next week. Only FIVE more days and everyone will know! The best part is that I can finally quit lying to my mom and mother-in-law about my WW weigh-ins! lol.... ; )

I still don't have a tummy pic to post...although I must admit...some of my pants are getting tight and I do have a pooch that isn't just a fat roll! ; ) lol... One of these days, I promise.

I hope all of you have a very blessed Christmas and a safe New Year. =)

Two Years Down....

2008-12-10T08:39:00.007-06:00

Yesterday was our 2-year anniversary and it was a great day. When I got home from work I found a neatly wrapped package in the bathroom on the vanity. I could tell it was from Kaye since it looked exactly like the packaging that held my engagement ring and I had a hunch what it was. I opened it and was thrilled to see the diamond hoop earrings that I had been looking at off and on for many, many months! I love, love, LOVE them! =) Aren't they gorgeous?!

For dinner we went to a fairly new restaurant in town, Carmela's Bistro & Wine Bar. We went there shortly after they opened but we didn't eat; we just had some wine. It's a very intimate place...dim lighting, candles on the tables, fancy curtains on the windows, wine bottles everywhere...perfect for celebrating an anniversary. I was slightly worried about what to get because the list of foods that set off my gag reflex is growing...but I went ahead and ordered what sounded good, the Chicken Milano. It was a grilled chicken breast with sauteed mushrooms, onions, artichoke hearts and spinach in a creamy sauce served on orzo with sauteed green beans and red peppers. OMG! DELICOUS! And best of all...it didn't make me gag! =) My husband went with a strip steak stuffed with buffalo cheese and it had some sort of glaze on it with orzo and I believe squash. He said his was perfectly cooked and yummy as well. I asked if they had any non-alcoholic wine and unfortunately they didn't so I drank water....but the hubs went with the Bistro Red Flight. It was 3 samples of red wines....probably 3 oz of each. We had a really nice time and highly recommend it if you ever get to Lincoln, Nebraska. =)

After dinner we went to Target (how romantic! haha) to pick up a few things then we headed to Granite City for dessert. =) They have a "GC Big Cookie" that is an 'enormous almond toffee chocolate chip cookie' that comes warm in a small pizza pan (10" or so)....with vanilla bean icecream on top drizzled with caramel. TO. DIE. FOR! I had a glass of milk with it and the hubs had a mug of their stout which pairs perfect with chocolate. We ate almost all of the cookie (oink, oink!) and took a little bit with us in a to-go box.

I was stuffed and slightly uncomfortable by the time we got home. It was past my bedtime so I put on my big elastic-waisted pajama bottoms (they fit when I was still 220) and my thermal top and headed for bed while the hubs stayed up and watched some tv.

It was a perfect night and I couldn't have asked for more. =)

Suckiness

2008-12-02T08:33:00.009-06:00

That's how my Thanksgiving holiday was....sucky. I had body aches and chills last Tuesday. I was constipated Wednesday and Thursday. I had diarrhea all freaking day on Friday. Saturday my bowels still hurt. Sunday I was finally feeling somewhat better. I had read that constipation goes along with pregnancy but I figured I ate enough fiber that I wouldn't have to worry too much about it. Wrong. I've now resorted to prune juice to help things 'move' along better!

The good thing about being sick all weekend was that no one questioned why I wasn't having at least a glass of wine. I actually spent Thanksgiving Day alone in the basement, except for the 15 minutes I was at the table eating lunch and maybe an hour in the evening after everyone had left. I still went to bed at my normal 9:00 time each night and no one questioned it.

So the secret is still safe. =)

We went to the florist Saturday morning and ordered the arrangement for my parents. I decided to go with the one below. I found a square vase just like the one pictured and a small flag so I took those in with me and also left the picture with them. It will be delivered by noon on Christmas Eve.

A couple of you have asked for belly pics...but really there's nothing to show just yet. Up until Thanksgiving I had only gained 2.4 pounds....but due to my stomach issues I ended up losing 1.4 which leaves me only 1 pound heavier than when I found out I was pregnant.

The lower tummy pooch I started out with hasn't changed much...it might be more round, but not noticeable to anyone but me. I'm still able to wear all of my regular jeans and pants with no trouble.

What are getting bigger though are my boobs. I had to buy new bras last week...I'm a FULL CUP larger! Already! In certain shirts I feel I look like I got a boob job. lol.... ; )

But yes, as soon as my tummy starts showing a bit more I will take a picture and post it.

My next appointment is two weeks from tomorrow and we're looking forward to hearing the heartbeat. I wish I had a video camera just so I could pick up the sound from the machine and post it here, but we don't have one yet.

I almost forgot...one of our friend's has offered to help paint the nursery and the other bedroom as a shower gift! She likes to paint and had some really neat ideas so it should be pretty fun. Too bad we can't start for several more months!

That's all for now...and thanks for still checking in on me. =)

Not much to write about!

2008-11-24T15:53:00.004-06:00

I'm finding that I don't really have a weekly update for this blog like I did for my weightloss blog! I don't have much new to tell....

I will report that even though I know it's okay to be be gaining weight now, it's hard to see the number going up after praying for it to go down for a year! I'm 8 weeks along and I've gained 2.4 pounds since I found out I was pregnant 4 weeks ago. I'm not upset with that but I'm really trying to stay between 3-5 pounds during the first 13 weeks. I've read that that's an average amound of gain so that's my target. I'll admit that I haven't ate as healthy as I could be. =(

Other than feeling tired all the time and like my boobs have been beaten with a meat tenderizer...I'm doing well. The nausea that I had been experiencing for a week was related to the prenatal vitamins. I started taking them before bed and since then I haven't felt sick during the day. I still get the stabbing pains in my abdomen from the cyst but I'm getting used to them.

We're going back to my parents' home for Thanksgiving. We'll leave here around 1 or 1:30 on Wednesday and will be there in time for dinner....er, supper as my mom calls it. I've requested she make meatloaf and scalloped potatoes that night. Mmmm....comfort food!

She told me she made a blueberry pie (my favorite and I request it every year) and I can have "a small slice" of it. What?! I asked why a small slice and not a regular slice and she said she didn't want me to blow my progress on one meal. You see, she thinks I'm still doing WW....she doesn't know I'm knocked up. ; ) lol....

My MIL also asks my hubs each week how my weigh-in went. He tells her I either maintained or had a small gain....so really, he's being honest. ; )

We've decided to give bottles of wine to his parents and sister at Christmas as a way of telling them the news. I've designed a label that we're going to stick on the bottle. It has a cartoon-like picture of a stork with the words "Special Delivery" at the top and underneath the picture it says "Carefully Aged 40 Weeks" and then beneath that it says "Ready to Enjoy on July 5, 2009." Once we have it stuck to the bottles I'll take a picture and post it.

I've decided, and the hubs has reluctantly agreed, that spare bedroom #1 will be turned into the nursery. This is the room we just repainted last New Year's Day. It will require another change of color eventually. The bedding set from that room will be moved to spare bedroom #2...which will also require painting. Okay, okay....technically we wouldn't have to since the walls are a neutral light beige, but I want it to be green like the other room is now. It's a light shade, very pretty. I think it was called seagrass or something like that. We still have some left so I can get another gallon no problem.

The nursery will be painted a medium shade of brown as the plan as of now is to decorate in either pink/brown or blue/brown. I'd love to do brown on the bottom, like up to the window, and then either light pink or light blue the rest of the way up....but the hubs reminded me that we aren't exactly DIYers. lol... I have two cousins in town who are good at DIY jobs though so maybe I'll recruit one of them. =)

Okay, that's all for now. I hope you all have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving. Don't pass out from too much turkey. ; )

We have daycare!

2008-11-13T11:03:00.005-06:00

I wanted to get daycare out of the way since places fill up fast. So many of the providers I called either knew they'd have no openings when we needed it in October (I'm taking 12 weeks off from work after the baby arrives in July) or wouldn't know till next summer. I didn't want to put it off till then.

I ended up finding a licensed in-home daycare in our area...a 5-minute drive away...who would have a vacancy when we need it. She told me over the phone that she's been licensed for 15 years (with no negative reports...I checked), she has 3 kids of her own (ages 18, 6, 20 months), and she has a part-time assistant who has 7 grown kids and 6 grandkids!

We interviewed her Monday night and I visited on Tuesday when the kids were there. I also talked to two moms whose kids go there, and my husband talked to one of the dads (via email...turns out they work for the same company). They all gave her glowing reviews and are very happy with the care she provides and all said they would recommend her to their friends and family. We went over last night and paid a retainer fee (equal to two weeks of care) so she will keep the spot, which becomes vacant in August, open for us.

She operates the daycare out of her basement (a walk-out) and it was very clean and organized. There were posters with baby sign language, the alphabet, colors, shapes, numbers and also a poster with all of the kids' birthdays on it. Lots of toys and books but they were all put away on shelves and toyboxes. No clutter at all. The yard was large and had lots of play stuff, too.

The infants (18 months and younger) sleep in portable cribs in a separate room; the older kids nap in the main room on mats. Also, the infants are only in the other room while they are sleeping or getting diaper changes; otherwise they are in the main room with the other kids in bouncers, swings, etc. so they aren't just lying in a bed all day long and secluded.

She teaches a preschool program to the older kids (ages 3-5) which includes sign language. The younger kids also learn stuff since they're in there, too.

She also particpates in the USDA food program so other than breastmilk, we don't have to supply any other food which will be nice. I won't have to pack containers of baby food, snacks, etc. each day.

When I visited they were just getting ready for lunch (ravioli, green beans, applesauce and milk) and her assistant was leading the 5 older kids in prayer at a little table. The younger ones were in little chairs with trays attached on the floor and she and the assistant fed them. After lunch, the younger ones (4 total) walked into their room to take a nap. Very orderly and no fussing at all. She fed the baby and then took him in as well. I was very impressed with how organized and scheduled everything was.

The kids at the daycare were all nicely dressed and well-groomed...none of them looked "ghetto" if you know what I mean. lol....

I'm happy with our decision and glad it's out of the way. One less thing to worry about!

Here's a picture of her house:

Opinions Please

2008-11-08T18:24:00.006-06:00

As I've said before, we've decided to tell our families at Christmas but here's my problem...we alternate whose family we spend the major holidays with and this year we'll be with my husband's family. We could make an extra trip to my hometown the weekend before, but given that it's a 4-hour drive one way and could be bad weather....we aren't really wanting to do that.

I have an idea and would just like your thoughts. I could call the florist back home and ask if they could deliver a floral arrangement on Christmas Eve to my parents for the centerpiece for dinner. Since the baby is going to arrive around the 4th of July, I thought it could be sort of a patriotic theme with red, white and blue flowers and maybe a small American flag. I found a few ideas online....what do you think?

On the card we could say something like, "I'm looking forward to meeting you around July 5! Love, Baby L."

Granted, I wouldn't be able to see their reaction...which I know will be complete shock...but I know they'll call as soon as they read it. I don't think my mom will be upset that I didn't tell them in person. On the other hand, I don't want to make her mad or hurt her feelings, you know? So do you think it's an okay idea or should we go home??

On a side note, I'm hoping that I don't go too much earlier than my due date because I found out today that my parents will be gone June 21-28 to Niagara Falls! But I also don't want to be much later than the 5th because they have plans to go 'tanking' down the Calamus River with my dad's 3 siblings and their families. I was looking forward to going, too, but it's July 10-12, so my husband and I obviously won't be going now!

Lab Results

2008-11-07T16:37:00.002-06:00

Just an update...my doctor's office called and said my progesterone levels are nice and high so no more blood draws or need for further treatment. =)

First Ultrasound

2008-11-06T15:33:00.005-06:00

I had to go in for an ultrasound today because the doctor was concerned about the stabbing-like pain I've been having on the left side of my abdomen. It turns out I have a cyst on my left ovary but it's nothing to worry about.

Apparently when the egg was released from my left ovary, it left a cavity which sealed over and filled with fluid. The cyst is producing the progesterone for the baby until the placenta takes over. They aren't all that uncommon and 99% of them dissolve on their own by the 13th week. Until then, I'll experience the sharp jabbing pains where the cyst is on that side. As the ultrasound tech said, "the pain can stop you in your tracks" which is a very good description because it literally has. So the next 7 weeks or so won't be the most comfortable, but at least I know nothing is wrong. Most importantly, the baby is developing in the uterus where it should.

I did have to get my blood drawn to check my body's progesterone levels to make sure they'll be high enough to sustain the pregnancy once the cyst dissolves and the placenta takes over. The results will be back tomorrow. If they're too low I'll be put on progesterone.

The yolk sac is a good size and the amount of fluid is good, too. Everything looks normal. =) She measured the baby at 2 mm or 1/12" .... TINY! It's measuring at 5 weeks 3 days and according to my last period, I'm 5 weeks 5 days so they're very close. She said usually they're doing good to be within a week of eachother and mine are only 2 days apart. See, it pays to be OCD! Each month I would circle the date my period started on my calendar so I knew the exact date. lol...

Before we started she told me not to be concerned if we couldn't see the heartbeat since I'm less than 6 weeks, but guess what? WE DID! And it was thumping nice and strong...and fast!

She sent me home with 3 photos. I tried scanning them but they didn't turn out good enough to post. So you'll just have to take my word for it....he/she is absolutely gorgeous. lol... ; )

Five Weeks, Four Days

2008-11-05T11:06:00.004-06:00

I met with a nurse/pregnancy educator at my new OB 's office today. Her name is Bonnie and she was really nice...though loud! We were in a very small room but she was talking loud enough for a lecture hall! lol...

My new due date is July 5. The July 1 date came from a web site that used my LMP (last menstrual period) and the number of days in my menstrual cycle. When the doctor's office calculated the due date, they don't figure in your normal cycle (mine is only 23 days), so that's why the date is a few days later. But either way, we can expect him (or her) the first week of July.

I received lots of information and free stuff...even a "dad approved" diaper bag. It's black with tan trim. I'm excited to get home so I can go through everything because I haven't had a chance to yet.

She asked me how things have been going and if I'm experiencing any cramping, which is normal. I haven't had cramps really for a few days, but I get a stabbing sensation on the left side of my abdomen so I mentioned that to her. I haven't felt it since Monday, but up until then I'd had it nearly every day I think and a couple of times a day. She was concerned about that so the next time it happens I have to call the office and report it. More than likely I'll have to go in and get an ultrasound done to make sure nothing is wrong. I just thought it was "round ligament pain," which I've read a lot about or just growing pains from my uterus getting larger. So now I'm a little worried and hope that it doesn't happen again.

I'm starting to have a few food issues...no more turkey sandwiches for me. The smell of it about made me gag yesterday and after one bite, I couldn't do it. My yogurt later in the afternoon was hard to choke down, too. So far I haven't vomitted and I hope I don't!

That's all for now...

First Doctor's Visit

2008-10-28T12:59:00.008-05:00

I went to my regular doctor this morning and was very disappointed with my visit. All he did was ask very basic questions like when was my last period (Sept. 29), have I taken a home pregnancy test (yes), was it positive (yes), how many I took (1), and if the pregnancy was planned (no). I'm not sure why he asked that last question and it kinda bugged me. Why does it matter now? Then he sent me for bloodwork to confirm the pregnancy and said his office would call with the results. That was it. He didn't even tell me congratulations! I felt very uneasy when I left.

His office called back a little while ago with the blood tests and confirmed what we already knew...I'm indeed pregnant! Since this morning's visit didn't go as I thought it would, I have decided to take my uterus elsewhere and have my future visits with an OB/GYN. The daughter of a co-worker is pregnant with her second child and I remember her saying how much she really likes her and how down-to-earth she is. I went ahead and told her the news (she's excited) and she gave me the doctor's name.

I called and visited with the receptionist...who congratulated me, by the way...and she made me an appointment next Wednesday, November 5th. It's just with one of the nurses and will be mainly to gather medical history. Another nurse called just a while ago and asked some more basic questions....am I taking prenatal vitamins (yes), how am I feeling (fine other than my breasts are super tender), have I experienced any bleeding (no) or cramping (yes...and she explained why) and also what the first appointment will be like. She said I will receive so much information that I'll have to "have a hammer to bang it all in with." Alrighty then! She also told me congratulations and to call if I have any questions between now and next week. I feel like I am going to be in good hands.

I won't see Dr. Placek until December 17th when I am roughly 12 weeks along. She will do a Doppler ultrasound and we will get to hear the baby's heartbeat. =) I asked the nurse if we would get to see him/her and she said that an image ultrasound won't be done until I'm 20 weeks along, which is somewhat disappointing. We aren't planning to tell family and friends until Christmas (I want to get through the first trimester), and I wanted to frame a picture of an ultrasound to give to the grandparents as a way of breaking the news. I'll have to figure out another way, which is not a big deal.

I'm looking forward to my appointment next week and will share how that goes.

Two Pink Lines

2008-10-25T22:39:00.003-05:00

Two pink lines appeared in the 'magic window' of the pregnancy test this morning indicating that we're pregnant. I obviously don't have a due date since I haven't been to the doctor, but according to a few websites I will be due some time during the first week of next July.

This pregnancy wasn't planned; however, we have decided that it's in God's plan for us and it will be fine. We're both still in shock and I'm not going to lie...freaked out and scared.

I bought the book "What to Expect When You're Expecting" so hopefully that will ease some of our fears and answer some of the preliminary questions we have.

We don't have a preference as to a boy or a girl...all we want are 10 fingers, 10 toes and 23 pairs of chromosomes. =)