The Little One

11 weeks, 3 days

The Big Sister

Testing, Testing 1, 2, 3

Eviction Notice

Thank you for your consoling comments about losing the baby weight.  I know it can and WILL be lost, and I can't wait to get started on it!

In the meantime Eric and I went to our 38 week appointment yesterday, which turned out to be more interesting than normal.  Since my doctor is out of town, I had to see a nurse practitioner.  She became very concerned when I told her the baby wasn't moving as much as she used to, and the fact that I haven't been doing kick counts didn't help the situation.  Before she allowed us to leave the hospital she ordered a non-stress test for the baby.  The test monitored Maddie's heart rate (perfect), movements (good), and my contractions (steady).  After that test an ultrasound was done to measure the amount of amniotic fluid.  The tech, who is not a certified sonographer, made us laugh when after a few minutes she asked with a bit of concern, "Has your doctor mentioned where the baby's head is?"  She had looked all over the upper part of my belly, over Maddie's legs and torso, and couldn't find her head.  Once I told her Maddie was head down, she was able to find her head and was relieved to know I wasn't carrying a headless baby.  :)

I found this cartoon and it pretty much sums up how I'm feeling these days, but my doctor assured me he has never had a patient that has stayed pregnant forever.

P.S.  I'll be locking the baby pool on Friday, so if you want to put in your guess do it soon!

So Call Me a Hypocrite

A blogger friend recently wrote a post about her concern with her weight gain during the first half of her pregnancy.  Here was my comment in response:

Scary, isn't it? Don't stress over it though; it doesn't accomplish anything. If your doctor's worried, he'll let you know.

I haven't recorded my weight, so I don't have a clue what I weighed at 21 weeks. I just know where I started. What makes me giggle is the fact that my doctor must have recorded my weight incorrectly at some point because he seems to think I've gained 10 pounds less than I actually have. I'm not going to correct him. :)

Well I'm not giggling or :)ing anymore.  I have just a little over 2 weeks to go and I have no self-control when it comes to eating.  Does that mean I'm eating excessive amounts of healthy food?  NO!  I'm eating cookies, brownies, cake, candy, and ice cream. 

All of the pregnancy books say that a person of average weight should gain between 25 and 35 pounds.  My original goal?  25 pounds.  After I exceeded that I told myself I wouldn't gain more than 30 pounds.  Then my goal became 35 pounds.  Well I have very successfully passed that goal and yet I STILL eat without abandon!

I hate the scale, I hate my lack of self-control, and I hate to think how this is going to affect me after the baby is born.  Will I relearn self-control?  Will I be able to lose this weight?

Sorry for the rant.  Just had to get it out.

It's Baby Pool Time!

So I found this website where you can set up a baby pool and with Maddie being less than a month away, I thought now would be a great time to get it up and running.  This game was designed so you can join in the excitement and anticipation of our soon-to-be-born baby girl.  There is no registration involved.

Simply click on this Expectnet.com link or on the icon on the right side of the page and enter your guesses.  Please know that Eric's and my guesses are simply that--guesses.  My doctor has not predicted a weight or length for Maddie, nor has he predicted that she'll be born early.

Please participate by entering your guess!  Don't forget to check back after Maddie is born to see if you are the overall winner.

35 Weeks

Five more to go!

Oh-So-Pretty Baby Shower

Last Saturday this lovely group of ladies got together and threw a shower for baby Madilyn.

The shower was so much more than I imagined!  Lots of family and friends showed up, including Emily, one of my high school friends who flew in from Georgia.

After munching on some yummy brunch food, games were played.  Knowing that I don't like to be the center of attention, they had Eric be the "star" of the games.  Eric's first challenge was to beat two other people of his choice in a diapering competition.  Not only was Eric the last one to get the diaper on the doll, but he slammed the doll face down on the table in his eagerness to get started.  I think he's going to need a little more practice on a Cabbage Patch doll before Maddie arrives.

Eric won the next competition to see who could put a bottle together first, but lost the last two--a baby food tasting challenge and a swaddling challenge.  After watching his attempt at swaddling, I think Eric's going to need even more practice with a Cabbage Patch doll.  Swaddling to him consisted of wrapping the doll up like a burrito, leaving her arm bent behind her back.

After games were played it was time to open gifts and, oh my goodness, there were a lot to open!  I think Maddie got just about everything she needed, plus some extra fun stuff.  We are so blessed!

We finished off the shower by eating some yummy cake and coloring letters for Maddie's ABC book.  You can see come of the completed letters hanging in the background.

Eric and I couldn't have asked for a better shower!  To see a few more pictures you can go to my "Oh Baby!" album on Facebook.

P.S.  As of my Tuesday doctor's appointment this week, there is no stopping labor once it starts.  Maddie could be here anyday, but I'm hoping she'll be content to stay where she is for a few more weeks!

Ball?

Today was my first day working as an aide at a Mother's Day Out program.  I'll be working two days a week through the end of July, assuming Maddie doesn't decide to come early.  My big job is to get snacks ready and for the rest of the time I just go from class to class helping out as needed.

This morning when I checked in on one of the classes, a 2 year old girl came up to me, pointed at my belly, and asked, "Ball?"  I said, "No, baby."  She smiled at me, shook her head, and said, "Ball."  I laughed and moved on.

Later in the morning I went back to the same class and as soon as I stepped through the door the same girl ran up, touched my belly, and exclaimed, "Ball!"  I corrected her again, but she just shook her head and walked off across the room.  As I sat there watching her, she picked up a ball and shoved it under her shirt.  Haha!  Here's a picture of the two of us each with a "ball" under our shirts.  Little ones are too funny. :)

Stroller Question

I know of someone who is selling a $145 jogging stroller for $75.  It is used, but in good shape.  I know that once the baby is old enough I plan to walk a couple of miles around the neighborhood on a daily basis. Will I need a jogging stroller or should I save my money and buy an umbrella stroller instead?

All about Baby, Again

My life is all about the baby now, especially since I'm done with teaching.  Be forewarned that 90% of the posts for the next several months are all going to be about a sweet little girl. :)

This past Monday at my doctor's appointment I was told that I might start feeling more pelvic pressure pretty soon, even to the point where it might feel like if I take too big of a stride the baby will fall out between my legs.  Haha!  Nice image, huh?  I figure that would be easier than actual labor and delivery, so bring it on!  Seriously though, the doctor did say that after my next appointment at 34 weeks if I went into labor they would do nothing to stop it.  What?!  I don't anticipate delivering that early, but knowing that nothing would be done to stop it kind of puts the pressure on Eric and me to make sure things are ready.

Speaking of getting things ready, all this week we've been working on getting Maddie's room put together.  We still have work to do, but here's a teaser:

Last night Stacey and Wes came into town with their not-so-little-anymore baby Makenzie.  She's such a sweet, happy little girl!  We enjoyed spending our short time together and this morning Stacey took some maternity pictures for us.  I'm excited to see how they turn out!

So what's on schedule for today?  Eric and I are about to leave to go see Toy Story 3 in 3D.  I'm pretty excited, even though the last time we went to see one of the Toy Story movies we were the only two non-parents in the theater.  This evening we'll be going to a Round Rock Express baseball game with the family.  I'm not a big fan of baseball, but I do like Dell Diamond.  Hopefully we'll get some seats in the shade and maybe I'll even get to eat a funnel cake.

Weird Dreams

Right before school starts every year I start having bizarre dreams in which I'm NEVER prepared for the first day.  Well since I don't have school to worry about this year, my mind has apparently decided that I should dream about every possible birth outcome!

The first dream I had was lovely; I delivered a healthy, beautiful baby girl and Eric was in LOVE.

In the next dream I delivered a baby BOY.  I don't think he'd like the pink room we painted last night.

My most recent delivery dream resulted in not just one baby girl, but twin girls!  At one point I was holding Maddie and Eric was holding her no-name twin and the babies waved at each other.  Haha!

With two months left to go, I don't even want to imagine any other possibilities!

Maddie Ann

As you've probably seen on Facebook, our baby girl's name will be Madilyn Ann, Maddie for short. We can't wait to meet her!

Baby Name Jumble

Eric's mom figured it out really fast.  Can you?

3D/4D Ultrasound

For those of you who haven't seen it on Facebook. . . .

Turns out instead of looking at us, our baby girl would rather look at my back. We poked and prodded her and fed her a milkshake AND a snowcone, all without success. Thankfully the tech was really patient. We're going back next Thursday to see if she will be more cooperative.

One good thing about our visit today was we were able to get another confirmation that our baby girl is indeed a girl.  Bring on the pink!  :)

Exciting Week and a Half

• 3D/4D ultrasound on Wednesday--Hope she cooperates!
• Possible baby name reveal later in the week--Trying to decide whether or not to take some monetary bribes first.  :)
• Field trip Friday--We're only taking the "good" ones, so it should be fun.
• Rangers game with Sarah on Saturday--A year is too long to wait between visits.
• School baby shower the following Tuesday--Cake and presents, yay!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

It is amazing how much a body changes during pregnancy! Yesterday I realized I couldn't remember what I looked like without a belly, so I pulled up a picture from when I first found out I was pregnant at 4 weeks. Then I had Eric take a picture of me at 26 weeks and 3 days. Wow!

Daddy's Girl

Even though they haven't met face to face, our baby girl already has Eric wrapped around her really little finger. 

About a month ago he picked this out for her:

Then yesterday after an all day school trip he came home with these two:

What a lucky girl to have a daddy who loves her so much!  It makes my heart happy.  :)

Appointments and Blizzards

Well my grandfather ended up passing away on Sunday night.  He hadn't been awake since Friday morning, so it was almost a relief when he finally let go.  Unbeknownst to him he was soon to become a great-grandfather to not just one new baby, but two.  Turns out one of my cousins is pregnant with a little boy and is due at the end of September.

In other news, Eric's appointment went well last week.  He's now allowed to slowly start putting weight on his right leg.  Hopefully he'll be free of crutches in the next week or two.  We're supposed to go to a Rangers game on May 8th with our friends Brett and Allison.  It sure would be miserable to have to hobble around the ballpark on crutches!

Yesterday I had a doctor's appointment.  He said my weight gain looks great, even though it kind of freaks me out.  I also learned that my stress, since it's not physical, has no effect on the baby.  Thank goodness!  Before Dr. F had me get on the exam table to measure my belly and listen to the heartbeat, he asked if I had been having any contractions.  At 23 weeks?  Uh, no.  Then he had me get on the exam table and as he started to measure he stopped and told me to feel how hard my belly was.  Apparently I was having a contraction right then and didn't even know it!  He said it's not uncommon to start having contractions this early and I'd begin recognizing them more and more as my uterus gets larger.

Yesterday I also typed my official resignation letter.  I really want to be home to raise my baby, but the thought of going from two incomes down to one scares me.  Despite my fears, Eric is insistent that I stay home.  I am so lucky to have a husband that wants the best for me and our baby!  Now I can officially begin the countdown to not only the end of school year, but also the end of teaching--32 teaching days!!!

One more thing, for the next week Dairy Queen is having a deal where you buy one blizzard and get the second one for $0.25. This is not good for a pregnant girl!

Oh yeah, and thank you for the advice about the baby registry.  We're working on getting one together and boy are there a bunch of baby products out there!  If you think of any more suggestions, please let me know.

Choices, Choices, Choices

*Update #2:  I've changed the Tulip picture.  The new one is much better.

*Update #1:  I've included a poll on the right so you shy stalkers can share your opinion as well.  :)

There are soooo many options out there for crib bedding and if you know me, I don't need hundreds of choices.  I've spent HOURS looking at different designs and now I need YOUR help.  Tell me which one of these you like best, or maybe you can even point me in the direction of a totally different bedding set.  Keep in mind that we don't necessarily have intentions of buying all of the extras--diaper stackers, rugs, lamps, wall paper, wall hangings, etc--so try to focus on just the bedding.  Without further ado, here are the selections:

Hannah-$

Jacana-$$

Love Bird-$$

Madison-$$

Mod Butterfly-$$

Penelope-$$

Tulip-$