2010 in Retrospect

What an awesome year we've had! We started 2010 with a fresh new diploma in my hand anticipating the birth of our first child. The first few months of the year were spent preparing for his arrival and trying to find a job for myself. Unfortunately no job, but we were definitely ready for our little guy to arrive.

Just before he was born, my sister and her husband OFFICIALLY became the parents of Dylan on May 5th. It was a long journey for them, but well worth the wait!

Two weeks later we were blessed with our little boy, Henry Donald, born on May 19th at 11:51 pm. 8 lbs 2 oz, 21 inches long with a hint of brown hair. Since then he has become the center of our world, and we're loving it!!!

So, what do we anticipate for 2011?! More love, laughter, and a few surprises along the way! ;) Happy New Year to my family and friends! I love that you are all in our lives!!!

Some things about Henry...

Well, on my son's 7 month birthday I thought I'd say a few things about him.

First of all, he's a very happy boy! He has a warm, friendly smile that he will show to any and every one. His laugh is the most beautiful noise that I've ever heard. If you are lucky enough to really get him giggling, you won't be disappointed.

He is sympathetic toward others. A few examples...The first time I noticed this we were at a newborn playgroup and a little girl (a few months older than him) started to cry. For a few moments he looked at her with a concerned expression on his face, then HE started to cry. My theory is that either he was crying because she was or he's just an attention hog. I think the first one is more accurate, though. ;)

While we were in Texas my Mom was playing with him and started to fake cry. Again, he stared at her for a while and then he joined her. Poor little guy.

This weekend John & I were rough-housing with Waldo while Henry was watching us. Waldo really gets into this and starts to growl (in a playful way). Apparently Henry didn't like this and started to cry. We assured him that we were all okay and he seemed satisfied with that.

He's been sick for the past few days so we are really looking forward to getting him better before Christmas

Christmas Spirit

So, because our Thanksgiving day was spent worrying about Grammie in the hospital we really didn't have a normal Thanksgiving. Usually Thanksgiving day puts me in the holiday spirit. Not this year. We didn't get the traditional big feast with a late afternoon nap, nor did I thumb through the shopping ads looking for presents to buy. Also because my parents and grandmother won't be visiting us this year as we had planned, I'm a little bummed about that as well. So, since I've been back in Michigan one of my goals is to get myself in the Christmas spirit.

So, what puts you in the Christmas spirit? The things that come to my mind are spoiling those you love with gifts, wrapping presents, listening to Christmas music, watching "Home Alone" and other holiday movies, baking, giving and receiving Christmas cards, Christmas parties, church on Christmas Eve night...I could go on and on.

Call me crazy but I absolutely love to wrap Christmas gifts. This may be why sometimes I buy more than I should because I get to wrap them all. Growing up I was the "wrapper" in the house. My parents would give me the gifts that they purchased, excluding those gifts for me, to wrap. I would lock myself in my room listening to Christmas music while wrapping gifts. And I was always bummed when I had wrapped them all.

My Mom's taste in Christmas music still influences me today. I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit that among my Christmas CD's I have albums from Barry Manilow, Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton, the Carpenters, and Mannheim Steamroller. I even have an album from The Beach Boys, but that is more like my Dad's influence. You can make fun of me all you want, but their songs bring me back to Christmases growing up and all of the wonderful memories.

Every year, without fail, I sit down and watch "Home Alone". I think my sister and I received this movie as a Christmas gift in 1990 or 1991 and every year since then I have watched it around the holidays. Some years I've even watched it more than once! It's even in my DVD player right now, although I haven't had a chance to watch the whole thing yet.

This year is Henry's first Christmas. I know he won't remember this year, but I hope that as he gets older I can create some wonderful Christmas memories and traditions that he will cherish for the rest of his life like my parents did for me. <3

Home Sweet Home?

Er, kind of.

So, my trip back home to Texas started off pretty well. Henry did great on both of the flights and adjusted fairly well to his new temporary surroundings. As we were getting off of the elevator in Austin Mom practically attacked us before we could even get out of the doors. Needless to say she was super excited to see Henry. And me, I guess. :) Bags arrived on the carousel, changed Henry, readjusted the car seat in their truck and we were off to Chik-fil-a and their house. Chik-fil-a was one of my requests.

We had arrived on Monday, and Tuesday we ended up hanging out at my parents place. Henry needed some time to adjust and get in extra naps to make up for the ones that he missed while traveling. Wednesday me, mom & Henry headed to Wal-Mart for some pre-holiday shopping, then more hanging out at their house.

Thursday, Thanksgiving day, morning Henry awoke at his normal time for a bottle and before I got him back to bed I heard Grammie get up to use the restroom. Next thing I know she's walking out into the living room calling out for my Mom. Well this can't be good. Turns out that she had blood in her stool. She's 95 years old, so any kind of bleeding is never good. Within 20 minutes Mom, Dad & Grammie are in the car headed to the ER. Well, this is not how I expected to spend Thanksgiving. Grammie is admitted into the hospital and the roller coaster begins.

She spends a day in the first hospital then they transport her to another hospital an hour away. After many tests and a colonoscopy she ends up with a pacemaker. After 10 days in the hospital she is finally able to come home. She is going to be fine, but will need extra care. My Mom is there to help her, but they've also set up a Home Health nurse to come out a few times a week to check Grammie's vitals and help her bathe.

While Grammie was in the hospital Dad, Henry, Carin, Dylan & I all headed up to McKinney to have a mini family reunion. My other grandmother was there and so were my cousins and aunt and uncle. It was so great to see all of them and spend some time together. The last time that all 5 cousins were together was over 10 years ago, so I hope that the next time we get together won't be that far apart.

Got milk?

Nope! As a follow up to my previous post, I am no longer pumping. This decision was made rather quickly on my return trip to Michigan.

I ended up taking my pump with me to Texas. I wasn't going to, but then I thought it might be needed, so it'd be better to have it than not. I continued to pump while I was there, even though I didn't do it consistently.

So, as I'm checking in for my return flights, somehow my bag gained 9 pounds (5 pounds over the allowed limit) since I left Michigan 8 days prior. Crap! Well, to check my bag as it was I would have had to pay $90, and I wasn't going to do that. So, luckily my Dad was standing right next to me. I found a few things that I knew I could live without until they were either shipped to me or delivered personally by my parents and then I came across my pump.

From the previous Friday to Monday I only pumped once and only got 1 ounce. So, I guess I was done. Out my pump came from my bag and thus began my new life with a little more freedom.

For the last week I've enjoyed not having to pump every two hours and to constantly be cleaning the pump acessories. Although, I did tell myself before that once I am done pumping I will use my extra time to exercise. That hasn't exactly happened yet, but I think we're getting closer. It takes a few days to get back in the swing of things when you've been gone for 8 days and have a 6 month old.

SO bummed...

I really need to use my blog today to talk about something very important to me.

Before Henry was born I had already decided that I was going to breastfeed him. My goal was to do this until he turned 1. It was never a question in my mind. For the first 3 months of his life I breastfed him 95% of the time, and the rest I pumped and gave him breastmilk by bottle.

Then my gallbladder ruined that plan. The one week in the hospital obviously left me with no choice but to feed him by bottle. Luckily I had some breastmilk stored in the fridge for emergencies like this. Unfortunately, I ended up staying in the hospital much longer than I had expected. So, John had to start mixing the breastmilk with formula. Not really what I wanted, but if my son is hungry he needs to be fed!

When I returned home from the hospital I continued pumping and giving him bottles that were a mixture of formula and breastmilk. Still not what I had planned, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

It's been over two months since my surgery and I continue to pump 7+ times a day recording every ounce that I produce. The last few weeks my supply has been decreasing. I talked to my ob/gyn about this and he prescribed something to increase my supply, although I won't be taking it because of all of the possible side effects. Drowsiness, dizziness, diahrea, depression, suicidal thoughts, involuntary muscle movements...Um, no thanks!

So, today I've only pumped a little over 8 ounces, and that includes the last two times I've pumped and barely 1/4 of an ounce came out. So, I'm thinking that we're nearing the end.

I've been pretty emotional about this lately, and I'm not sure exactly why. Is it because I feel like I'm letting Henry or myself down? Is it because Henry is growing up way too fast and is ready for other foods besides formula/breastmilk? Is it because I had planned to breastfeed/pump for a year and it doesn't look like that's going to happen? I don't know, maybe it's all of these reasons.

Anyway, I just needed to get this out because there are many times when I think about it that I feel like I could cry.

An update and other topics...

Ok, so I didn't come back to finish my post right away and since it's been over a week I've forgotten what I was going to say. Oops, again.

Since we have this kitchen remodel project in the works I'm doing my best to not overspend and buy things that we do not need. That can be a little tough at times, but I'm doing pretty good so far.

I've also made it my personal project to declutter our belongings. Or MY belongings anyway. I've already created a large pile of clothes to take to our rummage, and then I'm going to donate my shoes/purses as well.

I'm sure this is really boring to most of you, but I like to organize and be organized. There, I said it. If I could have the show "Clean House" come to my house and organize everything and force me to throw out the crap I'd love it. We don't have a messy home by any means, but I would love to live simpler. Who needs all of that crap anyway? It just takes up space and you have to spend time cleaning/maintaining it. And when I say "you", I mean "me"!

Henry is doing really well! He was sleeping through the night for a while, but now he's back to waking up once. I'm not complaining, it could be much worse.

His little personality is coming out a bit. He loves to flirt with the ladies (and they love to flirt with him), he's a bit ticklish and has the cutest little laugh. I can't believe how much I love him.

Henry and I are going to spend Thanksgiving in Texas. I'm pretty excited about this trip because the rest of my family in Texas will get to meet him, and those who have already met him will get to see how much he's changed. John would come but I'm going for 8 days and he can't take that much time off of work, plus while I'm gone he's going to work on the kitchen remodel.

Well, that's it for now. Better enough my quiet time before the little guy wakes up!

A quick update...

So, I see that I haven't updated my blog in months. Oops. :)

Henry is doing great! He is 4 months old now, has TWO teeth and just started rolling over (although, not on command)! We've been given the go-ahead to start him on rice cereal if we want, but I see no reason to rush it. He's perfectly content with his breastmilk/formula at this time.

In other news, we have been talking about remodeling our kitchen. I'm really excited about this because as our kitchen stands now it is small and does not function well with more than one person in there at a time. So, when this project starts I will do my best to post updates here.

I hear Henry waking up from his nap, so I gotta go. I wasn't finished with this post, so I'll try to post more later.

First night alone...

John had to leave town for business, so it's just Henry and I last night and tonight. I wasn't too worried about being alone with Henry, we know the drill by now. Eat and bathe around 8-9 at night, then swaddled to lay on mom & dad's bed to fall asleep. After falling asleep, lifted to bassinet to sleep until the first middle of the night feeding.

After his bath last night I stuck with the routine and it took him about 30 minutes to drift off to sleep. No problem there, as it used to take him a lot longer to go to sleep. I'm in bed by 10, after talking to John briefly. 12:30 am the little one wakes up for his first feeding of the night. It's a little sooner than normal (usually between 1 and 2), but that's okay I'm not going to complain. After his feeding he was a little fussy, so I attempted a few things to calm him down (patting his back to get a burp out of him, swaddling him, pacifier...). Nothing seemed to work, so I decided that he didn't get enough to eat so back to nursing he went. When he was done he was still fussy. This is usually when I pass him to John while I drift back to sleep, but when I look to John's side of the bed no one is there. Damn.

So, I try swaddling him again, and then re-swaddling him because he's a little Houdini who breaks out of the swaddle...this goes on a few more times. The pacifier doesn't work, holding him doesn't work, trying to burp him doesn't work. I get a better look at him with the light of the humidifier and this little guy is WIDE awake. Eyes are wide open surveying the room. The lights are still off, so I'm not sure what he's looking at, but he is very alert. So, I lay him on the bed in his swaddle hoping that he'll fall asleep on his own. NOPE! I'm laying on the bed watching him and he is staring at me. Bright eyed and bushy tailed!

At this point I'm tempted to call John, not that he can do anything, but misery loves company right?! Well, I don't actually call him but I am swearing in my head that he won't be going on that 5 day fishing trip to Canada next month.

So, two hours after Henry wakes up for his first feeding he FINALLY falls asleep. Woo-hoo! Momma needs her sleep, too.

3:15...FORTY FIVE MINUTES LATER, guess who wakes up again?! Yep, it's time for another feeding. Are you kidding me?! I'm hoping that this feeding goes better than the last one and that I'm not up for another two hours. Thankfully it does, and I'm back to bed around 3:30.

Six o'clock rolls around and he's up again for another feeding. Even though I didn't get much rest last night, I am less stressed and will probably still allow John to go on his fishing trip. After all, John's sister is turning 40 next year and I hear that an all-inclusive vacation is in the works to celebrate...I may just have to go there myself!

Henry Update!

I can't believe that he's already TWO months old! Where has the time gone?

Well, he had his two month check up on Monday. He weighed 13 lbs 2 ozs, 20 inches long (I think somewhere someone messed up because at birth he was 21 inces, so either someone is wrong or my child is shrinking...yet gaining weight! such a mystery!). The doc says he's doing great!

He is such a sweet boy! Smiling and cooing at his mom and dad, or anyone else who plays with him. He loves to lay on his back kicking his legs and looking around the room.

Waldo has grown fonder of Henry recently. I think this has a lot to do with the fact that John & I are always with Henry. So, we think that Waldo thinks that if he hangs around Henry, he'll always be around us. Who says dogs aren't smart?! Misty still keeps her distance, although she does give Henry an occasional kiss on the head. :)

Weight Watchers update: As I mentioned earlier I joined WW recently. I am attending the weekly meetings, but I am not strict on counting the points that I am allowed. I do count them, but because I am still nursing Henry I need the extra calories. So, if I'm hungry I eat, no matter how many points I have left (if there are any left at all). As of today I have lost 4.5 pounds since joining WW. I am happy with that progress and will continue to make healthier choices when it comes to meals and snacktime. Although, I won't deny myself a treat if that's what I want. :)

Henry recently had his first plane ride. All of us flew down to Texas for a business/pleasure trip. John needed to do some business there, while Henry & I spent some time with my family. Grammie & Papa were so happy to spend the extra time with him! We'll see them again in early September. Henry also did great on the plane and was a hit with all of the passengers on our flights!

We did have another big trip planned to North Carolina for business, but it was cancelled and now we're just going to head to the west side of the state to visit John's sister at the end of the month. We haven't been to visit since March, so I'm really looking forward to the trip.

So much to do...

There's so much that I want to do and have the energy for...but not necessarily the time.

Since giving birth I feel so much better than I did during the last months/weeks of my pregnancy. I no longer have to use the restroom 3x's an hour (not that I'd have the time to do that anyway with a newborn). I can get up comfortably from any sitting position and walk around without holding my belly afraid that an 8 lb baby was going to fall out at any given moment. I have the energy to take a shower, apply makeup and do my hair...although, having the time to complete these tasks is usually the problem.

So, here are the things that I want to do...I must warn you, though, that they're aren't very exciting.

- Pack away my maternity clothes
- Bring out my summer clothes (the ones that will fit, anyway)
- Organize my kitchen cabinets better
- Reorganize the food in our cabinets so that we can actually see what we have (we don't have a pantry...just cabinets)
- Go through our bills and other mail (I hope nothing is past due!)
- Declutter our house in general
- Write Thank You notes

See? I told you they weren't too exciting. Anyway, I'm sure that I'll get to them at some point.

Since giving birth I've also lost 60% of the weight that I gained (see why I feel much better?!), but I still have some left not to mention I was a little heavier than I wanted to be before getting pregnant. So, two days ago I signed up for Weight Watchers. It's not so much about losing the weight, but I want to make sure that I lead by example and eat healthier for my family. John and I don't have horrible eating habits, but they could definitely use an improvement.

Henry's Birth Story...

Well, at 40+ weeks my OB scheduled me for a Non-Stress Test to check on the baby. I went in on May 14th to be monitored and everything was still going well. The baby's heart rate was still great and I learned that I had been having contractions, but never felt them. So, since things were still going well with the baby they sent me home with another appointment scheduled for Tuesday, May 18th. I left the appointment feeling hopeful that I wouldn't need that appointment because Baby W would come on his own before then, but as we all know it didn't happen that way.

The weekend was spent monitoring every pain and twinge, hoping that I was in the early stages of labor.

So, Tuesday arrives and I'm feeling great. All of the cramping that I had felt over the weekend had stopped, much to everyone's disappointment. At my last OB appointment my doctor discussed that if I had not delivered by week 41 that they would want to schedule an induction. I really wanted the baby to come on his own, but obviously that's not something I had much control over.

Tuesday afternoon John and I head to labor & delivery for my scheduled Non-Stress Test. Before we left I asked him if he thought we should take our hospital bags with us just in case they wanted to start the induction. We agreed that they would probably just send us home and have us come back the next morning or in a few days.

The non-stress test went well, meaning the baby was still doing great in the womb. The nurse left and came back with one of the residents. I don't remember much of what he said, mainly because he was from Lithuania (spelling?). He and the nurse left and returned moments later with one of my OB's. At the sight of him I knew that we weren't going anywhere until this baby was born.

My OB said some things along the lines of even though me and the baby are doing great still, we really need to get him out because the placenta is getting old. So, he ends with "If it's okay, we'd like to get you admitted and start the induction process?". At that point I wanted to tell him we needed some time to think about it, but realized that I didn't have much of a choice at this point. So, off we went to our room where we would spend the next 5 days.

The plan was to get me dilated to at least a 3 by 5 am the next morning by inserting a folly bulb catheter and then start pitocin at 5 am the next morning.

By Wednesday morning the folly bulb had done it's job and I was dilated to 4 centimeters. I was given a light breakfast of cereal, and then the pitocin began.

For the first few hours I wasn't in any kind of pain, probably because they started with a low dose of pitocin and gradually increased it every 1/2 hour or so. By 10:30 Wednesday morning, I received my first dose of pain medication. It really took the edge off for a few hours.

At 1:30 pm I needed the next pain medication. This is called the walking epidural. They insert it like the regular epidural, but it only last for a few hours. I immediately felt relief from the pain of the contractions that I had felt. The medication made me feel like there were feathers all over my body.

At this point I was still dilating, but slowly. By 6 in the evening I was still only dilated to 7 when I received the big epidural. The next few hours were spent sleeping some, talking to my family and being checked to see how dilated I was. Finally, by 9:30 I was completely dilated to 10! I tried a few pushes, but the baby was still too high, so we decided to wait a while and let the contractions do their job.

At 10:50 I started pushing for real...I had a 11:59 pm deadline that I was determined to get to. At 11:51 pm Henry was born!

I've heard from so many moms that you will soon forget the pain of delivery and be willing to do it again someday...to be honest, I thought they were all crazy. Now that I've been through this myself, I HAVE forgotten all about the pain and would most definitely give birth again. Henry is the most amazing gift I have ever received!

One day closer...

Well, even though there have been no signs that Baby W will be making his appearance today, we are one day closer to meeting him. I know many people are excited to meet him, and so are we!

We are ready to meet the little guy who made his mommy tired and somewhat nauseaus during the first trimester...

We are ready to meet the little guy who gave his mommy her energy back during the second trimester, so that she could finish the semester and her college degree...and also create a peaceful nursery for him to live in once he is born...

And we are ready to meet the little guy who took back his mommy's energy and made her tired again in the third trimester...

We are ready to meet the little guy who made his mommy gain weight and lose the ability to put her shoes on properly...who made mommy's hands/feet/ankles/face swell more than she ever wanted them to...

And we are ready to meet the little guy who amazes us everytime we see or feel him move inside of his mommy...

We are ready to meet the little guy who is going to change our world forever...

What a great weekend!

Let me just start this out by saying that Baby W is not here yet. If he were, I promise you all would know by now. :)

My great weekend started on Friday, May 7th, by turning 30 years old. It's still weird to think that I'm no longer in my 20's and that I've started the 4th decade of my life. John took me out for my favorite breakfast (belgian waffle w/ strawberries & whipped cream) that morning at Bob Evans. It was a yummy breakfast, and it was really nice to just sit and talk with him. Not that we don't do that at home, but it was nice to have an extra morning last week to just relax and spend some time together.

I received tons of messages on Facebook, emails and cards from family & friends wishing me happiness on my special day. For lunch I had a mini-birthday party that included two of my sister in laws, my parents in law and a brother in law. We had chinese take-out at my house and just talked for an hour or so. The rest of the afternoon I rested and waited for John to come home.

When John came home we decided we'd go out for mexican food with his brother and family, and while we were waiting one of John's college buddies was driving through town and stopped for a quick visit.

Dinner was great, and my sister in law brought a cheesecake with some candles so that they could sing to me. Our waiter also brought me a flan and a sombrero with a singing quartet. The only thing missing from this dinner was a nice, big margarita! Oh well, I guess next year I can make up for it.

After dinner, John & I went to the bakery/coffee shop next door. I had a nice calming hot tea (it had been cold and rainy all day), while he had a fancy coffee (don't remember what it was). His brother also joined us and they split a banana cream pie...YUMMY!!!

Saturday was spent doing some shopping with my sister in law and niece, secretly hoping to start labor, but no such luck! The rest of the day I hung out at home and then John & I watched Couples Retreat. Cute movie, but not as funny as I had expected.

Sunday was my first Mother's Day. I received the cutest wind chime for our backyard. I'll have to take a picture of it another day, because today it has been cold, windy and rainy ALL DAY LONG!!!

After church there was a Mother's Day brunch that was pretty yummy, and then later that afternoon we headed over to my father in law's for a family dinner (again, more yummy food). The day ended by John doing some cleaning around the house, and me relaxing in my pj's.

Even with celebrating two milestones this weekend, it was still a pretty low-key weekend...but I enjoyed every minute of it! Now, if only Baby W would decide to get here...

Their journey to Dylan...

For the past year and a half my sister and her husband have been going through the adoption process. To be honest, I never thought that they wanted children, but apparently Carin never wanted to give birth to her own child.

During Christmas 2008, our family was given the news that Carin & Rusty would be starting the adoption process. After the initial shock of this announcement wore off, we were all completely supportive of their dreams to adopt a little boy. After months of classes and background checks they were finally approved to be matched with a child. This approval came in June.

The next step for them was to be matched with a child. Sometime in July, a match was confirmed. After reviewing his file, Carin & Rusty moved forward with the process and met with Dylan. A few short weeks later, mid-August, Dylan moved for the last time into Carin & Rusty's home.

Yesterday, nine months after Dylan moved in, the adoption became official. Dylan now has his Forever Family, and never needs to worry again about being taken away to a new strange place. Aside from his loving parents, Dylan now has two sets of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins!

Welcome to the family, Dylan! We love you and are so excited to have you in our lives!!!

Nesting...

This nesting business is playing tricks on my mind. Every now and then I get urges to clean the house, organize, disinfect, etc...but then it goes away. When I get the urges I think "Woohoo! Maybe he'll be making his appearance this week!"...but then nothing! I know I'm still early, so I'm not completely expecting him to arrive before his due date, but it would be nice.

We've tried a few of the old wives' tales to see if anything happens, not in a desperate attempt to induce labor, but more of a "Well, it wouldn't hurt to try" kind of thing. Last week I rode the 4-wheeler for a short while, I walked at the mall for a couple of hours on Saturday and yesterday I made a spicy garlic chicken stir-fry thing.

Obviously we haven't seen any results from these efforts. But it could be considered proof that he will come when he's ready, which is what I've said all along.

I just hope he doesn't take too much longer. I'm looking forward to the day where I can get up from the couch without much effort, scratching my feet when they itch because of all of the blood flow, getting dressed without it becoming a balancing act, seeing my ankle bones again, etc...

So, little one, if you are reading this...Momma loves you and wants you to be happy, healthy and comfortable, but eventually if the show doesn't get on the road she will evict you! (In all honesty, I really hope he comes on his own...sooner rather than later!) :)

38 weeks and 6 days...

He's ready...

John is, not Baby W. Sorry to get your hopes up! :)



Over the last week or so he's been casually asking me if I want to take the 4-wheeler for a ride or mow the yard (we have a riding lawn mower, so it's not as bad as it sounds). I've declined every time...until tonight.

After I thoroughly cleaned out my vehicle (nesting, perhaps?!) I took the 4-wheeler around the trees behind our house so that Waldo would chase me and wear himself out. I used to do it all of the time pre-pregnancy. It really helped Waldo settle down in the evenings when all he wanted to do was play. Anyway, the ride only lasted 10-15 minutes and I didn't really go that fast.

So, if I go into labor in the next few days, this could be why. Or it could be because of the full moon coming on Thursday. We shall see!

Already full-term...

Can't believe it! I'm 37 weeks today. That means that we're full-term and that I could go into labor at any moment.

We're ready for this event to take place, too. Bags are packed...diaper bag is completely ready and our hospital bag is at least 50% packed. John is a quick packer, so he will have time to throw his stuff into the suitcase before we head to the hospital.

Our plan is to labor at home for as long as possible...until either my water breaks or the contractions become 5 minutes apart or too intense for me to handle. Of course, this plan might change when it comes time, but this is the plan for now.

The house is also ready for the new addition to the family. The nursery is set-up and organized, with everything put away. We have the swing ready for action, and the bassinet is in our room for when we come home from the hospital. Hopefully the dogs get what is going on, and I think that they do because it seems like whenever I sit or lay down they're right next to me. And I do mean right next to me. Often I have one of them on each side, kind of like a Melisa sandwich. :)

We're even prepared for our guests (parents & grandmother) to arrive after he arrives.

We cleaned house on Saturday morning, so we just have to keep that up until the time comes.

Other than that things are good. Ready to get the show on the road (not in an impatient kind of way...we're just ready for it whenever the time comes).

What's left to do?

Well, I feel fairly prepared for our son to be born. His room is ready. We have all of his clothes washed and put away (except for the clothes I just bought last week...they are in the washing machine). The car seat is in my vehicle and has been inspected by the state. Our house is fairly clean, although this will always be on the "To Do" list. We even have the date set for his baptism (end of June).

So, what is left to do?...

- Pack the hospital bag (yes, I'm still working on that. I HATE packing!)
- Pack Baby W's bag (this one should be fairly easy...maybe I'll even attempt it tonight)
- Finalize plans for where the dogs will go once we go into labor and head for the hospital (we are assuming that our neighbors will watch them, but need to make sure that they are willing...which they normally are)
- Attend remaining doctor visits

- Wait...and wait...and wait...and wait...etc.

I feel like I'm forgetting something else, hopefully nothing too important.

Car seat update...

For those of you wondering...I took the car seat to be inspected/installed by the local police station and they installed it correctly, making sure that it was super tight in the vehicle. So, we don't need to buy a new one just yet! Woohoo!!!

Today's Visitors...

Panic, anxiety and nesting. OH, and there was a spider crawling on the wall in my kitchen. Unfortunately for him his stay was shortlived.

The others I'm surprised at their arrival, I wasn't expecting them for a few more weeks. I'm 35 weeks today, so technically I have 5 weeks left, but at this point Baby W could arrive at any time. Although I hope he cooks for a little while longer so that I have time to get everything done that I need/want to. And so he'll be a healthier little guy!

This could have all been brought on by the fact that I may have to buy a new stroller and soon. See, last fall we had a rummage sale and friends of my sister in law had a Graco Travel System they were giving away. They made us an awesome deal (maybe $30 for all of it) so we of course couldn't refuse.

Well, over the weekend we went ahead and installed the car seat into my vehicle and the extra base into John's, however it does not seem that safe. We were able to lift up the base at the front and also move it from side to side. I'm thinking that if we ever got into an accident, the baby would not be safe.

So, I've spent some of this morning researching stroller systems and finding a user manual for the stroller system we already have (we were not given one when we purchased is last fall). After much frustration I decided to give the local police station a call (no, not to turn myself in for preventitive negligence), but because they can inspect if they've been installed properly or do the installation themselves. Once they call me back to make that appointment, I'll see what they say about the car seat & base. Hopefully John & I just didn't know what we were doing when installing it and won't need to buy a new one. But if we do need to, then we will.

So, that was the panic and anxiety portion of my visitors.

On to the nesting...I've had the motivation for cleaning/organizing the house, but haven't always had the energy. I have energy today, so I'm hoping it sticks around for a while so I can get my long "To Do" list DONE!

Although for now I've got to head out to a furniture store in search of a rocker/glider for the nursery. My father in law and mother in law have generously offered to buy one for us, all we have to do is find one. So, I better get going before they retract their offer.

Also, on my way there I'm also going to stop by Starbucks for a Caramel Frappucinno because panic, anxiety and nesting could always use caffeine!!!

The nursery is ALMOST complete...

all we need now is the baby! :)

Well, the baby and a few other things. We'd like to get a rocker to put in the corner, instead of having the swing there. The swing was a gift from my sister and her family (Thanks sis!). We plan on using the swing out in the living room area or whenever we're in the basement. Or wherever it is needed!



The bookcase that John built is filling up quickly. We have extra blankets, books, a basket of toys, piggy bank, and a night light from my childhood. Above the bookcase are a couple of floating shelves with decorative items and the camera for the video monitor that we purchased to keep an eye on our little guy.

We went with the MobiCam which can be purchased at Wal-Mart for $90. You can also buy it at Target for an extra $30, but who wants to do that? We've tested it out for sound and picture and so far it appears to be a good product, but the real test will come once Baby W arrives!



If you'll recall I blogged about our tree decal fiasco the other day. Well, that day I went to work on the tree, and the problem has been resolved. I traced the tree, took down all of the stickers and then painted the tree and the leaves. We left the birds and the nests off, but they can be added at any time if needed. You can see the finished results below.

Also in the below picture is the travel crib/pack 'n play that we registered for and received at our shower. We plan on using the bassinet function as a bassinet in our bedroom for a while. Hopefully we won't need to use it too long once we feel comfortable putting him in his crib at night. His crib is only 15 feet away from us, so let's hope that this isn't a problem.




Other than that things are going well. In 8 weeks or less Baby W will be here, and all of my blogs will be about him and how he's doing! Can't wait!

Changes have been made...

Our temporary solution to my swelling feet has been to move one of our recliners from the basement back into the living room. In order to do this we needed to move the desk/computer, again, so it's new home is in the basement.







Now, I can relax in our living room upstairs, with my feet propped up, playing on my NEW laptop. That's right...Happy Early Birthday to Me!!! (By the way, this was totally John's idea!)

Public Service Announcement: Regarding Tree Decal

So, John & I purchased a tree decal to put up in the nursery. We bought it from AllPosters.com. It arrived quickly (with standard shipping), the packaging was in good condition, and it was easy to put together on the wall (just time consuming). Once the final product was up, we loved it!

Fast forward a few days and we noticed that the edges of some of the stickers (it was like a puzzle with all of the stickers) were starting to peel up around the edges. So, we thought simply smoothing it out would solve the problem. Wrong!

More and more of the stickers started having this problem and no matter how often we smoothed them out they would peel right back up. So, we contacted the company and received a full refund (minus the shipping costs) and were not required to send the product back (which is good because we threw away the packaging it came in).

So, now we are deciding whether to trace the tree and paint it on or not. We love the tree and how it looks, and something definitely needs to be on that wall because it is bare...but I would most likely be doing all of the work of tracing and painting the tree.

Here are some pictures of how the decal is peeling:

A closer look at the organization of the closet...

Here are more detailed pictures of how the clothes are organized in the closet:

0-3 Months: Most of these clothes are in the dresser, so that is why there is only 1 item in this section.



3-6 Months



6-9 Months



9-12 Months



And the bottom of the closet:

Nursery Organization: Round 1

I finally started putting things away in the nursery. The organization of these items is still possibly a work in progress, but it's a start.

In the top drawer of the dresser (with the dividers) we have all of our diapering needs on the far left; in the middle we have little socks/booties and gowns/play 'n sleeprs; and in the bigger section we have clothes from 0-3 months (onesies, shorts, pants, etc.). Most of the clothes that we have are in the 0-3 month range, so we will need to get bigger sizes as he grows.



In the middle drawer we currently have hats, bibs and receiving blankets. This is also where we will store burp cloths and swaddling blankets. These items definitely won't fill up this drawer, so we will have extra space for other items.



In the bottom drawer we have a variety of blankets and extra sheets for the crib. We've already received many blankets and they have already filled up this drawer, so at the moment that is all that will be going in there.



The closet still has plenty of room for things, but at the moment we are storing diapers/wipes, the comforter that came with the bedding set, a Bumbo, the Boppy pillow, diaper bag, floor mat, bathing supplies (including a tub), a humidifier, and a booster seat.

You cannot tell in this picture but I have made hanging dividers for the closet to organize clothes by their sizes. Here are the sections, from left to right: Newborn, 0-3, 3-6, 6-9, 9-12, and 12-18. This should help when I'm frantically looking for an outfit for our baby to wear.



I'm sure that once he's here and we've developed habits or routines my organization process may change a bit, but until then this will at least give us an idea of what we have and what we still need.

Baby W's Mama Update...

How far along? 32 weeks, 4 days

Total weight gain? Still not sharing

How big is baby? Around 17 inches long, and about 4 pounds

Maternity clothes? Yes, I've been enjoying them for a while now

Stretch marks? I just noticed some small ones on my sides.

Sleep? Haven't slept through the night in a long time. Get up twice now for a potty break, and struggle to find a comfortable position at times.

Best moment this week? Putting away all of the gifts we received from our baby shower.

Movement? Yes! His back/butt bulge out on the right side of my stomach while the left side gets all of the kicks and jabs.

Food cravings? Not really.

Labor signs? No. Although I'm at the point now where Braxton Hicks contractions should be starting. I hear it's practice for the real deal!

Belly button in or out? It's out for the most part.

What I miss? Sleeping through the night (I doubt I'll get to experience this again anytime soon!). Wearing my wedding ring.

What I'm looking forward to? Meeting our little guy, and for the swelling to go away. Imagine wearing ankle weights around your ankles 24/7...that should give you some sort of idea of how my feet feel.

Milestone? Baby W's head is still down in preparation for his departure. Let's hope it stays that way!

A pregnancy vent...

I realize that once I became pregnant I would gain weight. That is a no-brainer. There is nothing anyone can do about this. And if someone could do something about it there would be many more babies born under nourished...and we really shouldn't want that. I DON'T want that. I want our baby boy to be born as healthy as can be.

Anyway, why is it that people in general feel that it is okay to make comments about your weight when you are pregnant? Would they make those same comments to you if you were not pregnant? Probably not. It can still be hurtful whether or not there is a baby growing inside of you.

The reason for this vent is that between Saturday and Tuesday I received at least one comment per day about my weight from various people.

Now, I feel that during this pregnancy I've remained pretty level-headed (I admit that I've had my moments...but they've been rare and not that bad), but the volume of comments in a short amount of time has made me feel a little more self-conscious about how I look and how I feel.

The first from this past weekend was someone telling me that a handful of people have come up to her asking if I was carrying twins. No, I am not, but thank you for making me feel bigger than I thought I was.

Another comment was from someone closer to me about how she saw someone who is due the same day as me with her second child and that I am bigger than she is. Typically you are bigger with your second child, so this makes me think that when we are blessed with baby #2 I will be as big as the house. Granted our house isn't that big, but it's still a house.

Someone else made a comment about how my face has filled out. Yes, I've noticed that as well. This is why I don't like many pictures of myself lately, because I don't look the same. I've been told that it goes away after the baby is born, but according to some this is only if you "work hard at it". So, thank you for taking away the dream that I'll ever look good again. This should help decrease the risk that I'll go through postpartum depression.

I apologize that this post has been bit of a downer (and a bit sarcastic), but it's been on my mind and I wanted to get it off of my chest.

I still have the hope that I will be able to get back down to my pre-pregnancy weight (and hopefully even lower than that), but I'm also aware that it's going to take some time and some work from me. That is OKAY. Hopefully we are blessed with a healthy, bouncy baby boy. And him and I will spend our summer getting to know one another and taking advantage of the summer months by taking long walks in the parks.

So, even though I've been a little down on myself about this the last few days I know that pregnancy is only temporary, and so is the weight gain.

Weekend Get-A-Way

We went to the west side of the state this weekend to visit John's sister and her family. Saturday we took a drive and stopped by the beach looking over Lake Michigan. It wasn't the best day for a visit to the beach, but we still had a good time.



And I thought this shirt made me look smaller. HA!!!



At the beach with one of my nieces. She told me the next day not to pop any of the buttons off of the coat I was wearing (It was her mothers, but was given to me). Gotta love the brutally honest child!



By the way, in these photos I'm 31 weeks and 5 days.

The 5 S's of Calming Your Baby

We had our last birthing preparation class last night. I'm kind of sad that they're over. We covered so much in such a short amount of time (3 classes, totaling 8 hours), and I feel more prepared on what may or may not happen during childbirth. I have signed up for the breastfeeding course, so I do have that to look forward to.

Anyway, back to the 5 S's...

We watched a video on this starring the guy who came up with this concept. He's a doctor and a professor at a major university (although now I can't remember which one or his name for that matter).

1) Swaddling...we were given life-size baby dolls to practice this swaddling technique in class. It is fairly easy to do, although it was a plastic baby we were using and not one that was fussy or flinging his arms around (that might make this a little more difficult to do in real life).

2) Side position...Instead of holding the baby on its back, you would turn the baby on its side. They also referred to this as holding a football, I'm sure to make it easier for the guys to relate to and remember. :)

3) Shushing...Not "shush, shush, shush", but "Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"...deep breath..."Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"...deep breath..."Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"...and so on...The babies in the video almost immediately stopped crying and calmed down. It was amazing. This technique is to imitate the noises that the babies hear in the womb. Makes sense to me.

4) Swinging...This can either be done on your lap while also using the first two S's listed, or it can be done with a real baby swing while being swaddled. It was also recommended that a faster speed on the swing be used, since the lowest one would not be fast enough to imitate the movement the baby felt while in the womb.

5) Sucking...A pacifier or your finger can be used to do this. In the video they did not recommend feeding or breastfeeding for this 5th S, especially since the other 4 S's would be used at this same time. Might make it difficult to breastfeed if you're also swinging your baby at the same time.

So, there you have it. My main reason for posting about these 5 S's was so that when I need them (which I'm sure I will) and don't remember them (which I'm sure will happen during a stressful moment) I will have them to refer to and remind myself what needs to be done to calm my baby. I might even have to print out the 5 S's if there is no time to check my blog for instructions (which I'm sure there won't be).

On another note, this pregnancy has caused my feet/ankles and hands to swell. Lately the tips of a few of my fingers on my right hand have a numbing feeling, almost like if I had burnt those fingers (which I didn't). So, I looked up what this might be in one of my pregnancy books, and apparently it is pregnancy related carpal tunnel (which will go away postpartum). I informed John of my self-diagnosis, and apparently he didn't believe me because he brought it up in class to our instructor. Probably to his disbelief, she immediately recognized the diagnosis and asked me a few questions about what I was feeling. Um, I believe this is what you'd call a "I told you so!" moment! :)

Our baby shower is this weekend, along with a birthday party for one of our nephews. Needless to say it's going to be a busy weekend, but a fun one!

29 weeks and 5 days - Belly Shot

I finally had John take a picture of me last night. *Side note - please forgive the tired, worn-out look on my face...the picture was taken at 9 o'clock last night, so I was in fact tired and worn-out. :)

This thing can suck!

In preparation of our little one, we decided it was time to get a new vacuum cleaner. Our old one (which is only 6 years old) just wasn't doing its job anymore. So, the store with the most deals (Kohls) sent me an email last week about 20% off of your online purchase PLUS free shipping. Well, those kinds of deals are just too hard to pass up so we went online shopping for a new vacuum. Low and behold they were already on sale, so that meant the sale price plus the discount AND the free shipping. Woohoo...Jackpot!

Anyway, our new vacuum showed up yesterday evening and was put to use first thing this morning. I wanted to see just how good this thing was so after I vacuumed each room I took a picture of the dirt container and then emptied it for the next room.

Here are the results:

The first room I tackled was our living room...



Next was the hallway...


Then the nursery...


On to our bedroom...


I am honestly amazed. For one, because of how much dirt this thing picked up, and two, because of how much dirt there was to pick up! I am so glad that we decided to get a new vacuum, because now we can keep our house that much cleaner for our little one!

OH, for those wondering...we purchased the Bissell Lift-Off Multi-Cyclonic Pet Upright Vacuum. Regular price was $219.99...we paid $143.99 (plus tax). Gotta love Kohls!!!

Nursery = Pretty Much Done

Baby W & Mama Update

We had our last monthly appointment this past Thursday. From now on we will be going every two weeks, and then at some point we'll start going weekly. These last few months are going to fly by!

It was a normal appointment, but included an ultrasound of the location of the placenta. At our big ultrasound in December (I was 20 weeks) they said that I had a low-lying placenta which could have potentially been in the way at the time of birth and would cause a lot of bleeding. After doing some research, many doctors tell all of their pregnant patients this, but only 1% of the time is it actually a problem.

So, according to our ultrasound two days ago the placenta is now high and where it needs to be. I thought this would be the case, but it's good to have it confirmed.

The doc also said that the baby's head is already down. Which is great because the baby's head needs to be down by the time I deliver, but just as long as he understands that he has to stay in there for another 10 weeks or so.

An update on mama:

How far along? 28 weeks, 5 days

Total weight gain? Hahahaha...no comment

How big is baby? Around 15 inches long, and between 2-2.5 pounds

Maternity clothes? Yes, I've been enjoying them for a while now

Stretch marks? Nope...Woohoo!!!

Sleep? I don't remember the last time I slept through the night (I'm sure this is training for when the little one arrives).

Best moment this week? John putting the furniture in the nursery. Pictures to come later!

Movement? Yes! Baby W moves mostly in the evenings, and a little in the mornings. During the day I usually don't feel him too much, but that could be because I'm moving around as well.

Food cravings? None really. At least none that last longer than a day or two.

Labor signs? No, and it better stay that way for a while.

Belly button in or out? It's still in, but barely. It's definitely getting flatter.

What I miss? Sleeping through the night

What I'm looking forward to? My shower coming up in a couple of weeks and organizing everything for when the baby comes.

Milestone?Hmmm, I'm not sure if this is a milestone or not, but I can no longer wear my wedding ring due to the swelling going on in my hands and feet. :(