My Crazy, Fabulous Life

Summer 2011

2011-07-20T14:27:00.006-05:00

Hello again! Before I even type a complete sentence, I just want to say that I am NOT committing to blogging again on a regular basis, but we'll see. ;-)

I just thought the few of you who still have me on your readers might like to see the latest pictures of our Baby Girl. Who, by the way, is not really a baby anymore. She's so independent! Just turned 18 months last week and is full-speed into toddler-hood! I counted her words a month or so ago and literally stopped counting when I got to about 50. Yes, I'm serious! She is such a Chatty Cathy. (Guess that more than makes up for the whole "didn't walk til 16 months" thing!)

Anyway, I went and took her 18 month pictures last weekend. I decided to skip the studio fees and put my "fancy" camera to good use. I'm very happy with the way they turned out, if I do say so myself!

And, lastly, here's one more that I took a couple of weeks ago. All I can say is, "I guess maybe I should start blogging again!" ;-)

(fyi--this is NOT on facebook yet for a reason...... thanks!)

Uh...... hello..... ??

2011-04-05T21:28:00.002-05:00

I wonder if anyone is still out there?
Am I still on anyone's feed?
Does anyone ever check in here, just to see if *maybe* I'll post again?

I'm thinking I might come back.

I mean, I can't make any promises. But I'm thinking about it.

;-)

Dear Riley

2010-07-15T21:50:00.002-05:00

To my sweet, fantastic, amazing Baby Girl, Riley:

You have been in our lives for SIX MONTHS now. I cannot believe the way the time has flown by. Although, at the same time, it seems as though you've just always been a part of our lives. I don't even remember who I was without you.

I love everything about you, Baby Girl. I love that you love your Mommy and Daddy more than anything in the world. I love the way you tuck your head into our chests and give us "hugs." I love the way your eyes sparkle when you see something you like. I love the way you smile and giggle when you are happy. I love that when you wake up in the morning, you are so happy and content. I love the way you look at night, when you are getting sleepy in my arms after your bath, bottle and story. I love absolutely everything about you, Baby Girl.

Last night after we said our prayers and you had fallen asleep in my arms, I talked to God some more. I thanked Him for the amazing miracle that He gave me in you. I asked Him to help me be the best mother that I can for you; to show me how to raise you to be the best person you can be. Afterwards, I looked down at your sweet face, so content to be sleeping there in my lap, and I told you that you've changed me, Baby Girl. You've made me the person that I was always supposed to be. The person that I didn't even know I wasn't. I was made to be your mother. I was made to love you.

Thank you for being my miracle. Thank you for being the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me. I will love you forever.

Love,
Mommy

Um, Where did I go....??

2010-06-26T17:03:00.002-05:00

Anyone remember me?

So, yes, my daughter has been 5 months old for almost 2 weeks now and I haven't posted anything since her 4 month post. **sigh**

Yes, indeed, I am off work for the summer and should have nothing but time on my hands.

Yes, I will give you a quick bullet point mini re-cap and a photo.

My girl is amazing and fantastic! She can roll over, pretty much sit up by herself and she's gotten over the "daily fussy time."

I am in so in love with her I simply cannot stand it! I love love love being home with her all day, every day!

I have an amazing friend who had her precious little boy yesterday. So happy for them!

I quit my job.

Say whaaaaaat?? Yep, I quit my job. Sadly, it's not so I can become a SAHM....but I did get a new teaching job that I'm super excited about out!

More on all of this later, I promise (and soon, I hope)! For now, here is my sweet girl:

4 Months Old!

2010-05-24T14:59:00.005-05:00

Well, it's that time again. OK, technically, it was that time over a week ago - but, you already know about my inability to get things done on time. :-)

So, back on May 15th, our little girl reached FOUR MONTHS OLD! I cannot believe how fast time is flying by. Do I say that every time I do a monthly post about her? Well, it's true!

Here's a bullet-point style recap of what's happening at this stage:

Riley loves to talk. No, really. I don't think you understand. SHE NEVER SHUTS UP. (Unless I get the camera out to videotape her, but I digress.) It's the cutest freakin' thing you've ever seen, though! There are no discernable words just yet, but she has the vowel sounds down pat! And squealing. And growling. And this weird inhaling-throaty-squeal-thing that had her Daddy convinced she was choking the first time he heard it. She is quite entertaining!

She is finally able to grab onto things and really hold on. Intentionally! And most of said "things" go directly to her mouth.

Speaking of her mouth, did you know my child can fit her entire fist in her mouth? Yeah, she rocks like that. And sometimes, she can even fit one fist PLUS part of the other hand.

She is **THIS** close to rolling over. I expect it to happen any day now!

We've been trying to get her to eat some rice cereal in the evenings. We put it in her bottle for a while, but didn't see any difference in the way she was sleeping at night. The doctor said to keep trying to feed it to her with a spoon. So, we do. For the most part, though, she doesn't love it yet. I think she just has NO idea what to do with it once it's in her mouth. The better her mood, the more she tolerates it, though.

Speaking of night-time, she is still sleeping OK, but that's it. Just OK. Not exactly what I would call "sleeping through the night" just yet. She tends to fall asleep downstairs on the couch with us after her last bottle - we lay her on her boppy to rest and she falls asleep (around 8pm). Then we transfer her (still sleeping) to her bed. She usually stays asleep until about 4am, when she starts to get restless. Giving her the paci will usually calm her back down and then she'll sleep another hour or two. But not always. Sometimes, after the 4am paci retrieval, she wakes up wanting it back every 30 minutes. THOSE are long nights. So....the doctor says it's time for some "tough love." We are ready! I repeat, We are ready!! We just have to find a few good consecutive nights when we can focus on doing what we need to do to get her putting herself to sleep. Cross your fingers for us!!

Fussiness--Our sweet Riley has what we have lovingly call "meltdowns." These usually happen when she is sleepy. She screams and cries and can usually only be calmed down by....you guessed it....me. I certainly never intended for that to happen, but it has. I'm really really really hoping she grows out of this phase soon!

Doctor Stuff--We went to the doctor last week for her 4 month checkup. I'm happy to report that she got a fantastic report! She weighed in at 14 pounds, 6 ounces (75th percentile) and her length was 25 inches (also 75th percentile). Wow! I knew she was growing, but, Wow! She got another round of shots and she hated it. The first of the three shots was OK because I was letting her get her first taste of a sucker (Doctor's suggestion, I swear!), but that distraction didn't hold long before she started wailing. She calmed down pretty quickly, though, thank goodness!

Ok, I guess that's all I can think of for this month!

Here's her "Four Month Picture." I'm still doing videos too, but I can't find a good way to upload them on here. Maybe I'll work on that this summer.

And here is a picture that.....well......I just think is kind of hilarious!

Me

2010-05-22T20:52:00.002-05:00

I saw this on my friend Kelly's blog and since she said imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.....I had to copy it from her and do it! :-)

99 Things About Me (Everything that I have accomplished is in bold)

1. Started your own blog - more than once.

2. Slept under the stars -I don't think "only inside a tent" counts.

3. Played in a band - yes, on Roc.k Band and G.uitar Hero W.orld Tour :-)

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disney World - this is the one in Florida, right?

8. Climbed a mountain

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped - and would LOVE to do it again!

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child - do my doggie children count?

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch-hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset - both!

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language - I taught myself the sign language alphabet as a teenager

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke - very badly!

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant - sort of

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving - incredible! Terrifying, but incredible!

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check - sad to say, yes, as a teen

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square - and LOVED it!

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Got a tattoo

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

------------------------------------------

OK, now you know more stuff about me! And I promise Riley's "4 Month" post is coming VERY SOON!! :-)

Yard Work

2010-05-05T09:56:00.009-05:00

Hi again! I decided I'd do a post that wasn't really baby-related. Huh. Go figure that! :-)

I wanted to show off the hard work that my wonderful husband has put into our yard over the last couple of weeks. Yay, H!

Some of you (who've been with me a LONG time....) already know the first part of the "yard story." When we bought our house in February 2008, there were these God-awful trees in the front flower beds. TREES, I tell you! We hated them so much and knew they had to go asap. So, that spring, we got to work removing them. It was no easy task, as the roots were, like, 10 feet long and all up under the yard and what not. But, H did it. (And even got the shoulder surgery to prove it - but I digress.) See? Here is what it looked like before we did anything.

In the place of these horrible trees, I wanted to plant, among other things, some hostas. They are one of my favorite plants and they grow so well. So, we planted them in the beds along the house. But, we realized that they were getting too much sun and they were completely burned up by the middle of the blazing Memphis summer. I knew they had to be moved to a shadier spot. That? Somehow didn't happen last year.

Here is an overall shot of our yard before any of this spring's work was done (yes, this was in the fall, but you can still see that there is nothing around the tree), before we moved the plants.

Since the weather warmed up this year, H decided to get to work on making a flower bed around the tree in our yard, so that we could move the hostas to the shade. He did all the work and I think it turned out fantastic! He moved the hostas and we added a couple of lillies and some other small flowers for now. See?

I kind of feel bad that I did NOT. HELP. AT. ALL. with this new yard project, but what can I say? At least I brought H's "supervisor" out from time to time to check on Daddy's progress! :-)

Up next....{dun-dun-dun}....is the back yard. No small task, I assure you.

~ Baptism ~

2010-04-29T13:43:00.011-05:00

Last Sunday, April 18, 2010, we did something very special to us. We had our sweet baby girl baptized at our church. Let me give you a little background story on "us and church."

H and I were raised in very different, though both Christian, churches. In our young adult lives, we had both stopped going to church on a regular basis (interestingly enough, for rather similar reasons, I think). In my mid and late 20's, I started attending Hope (our church) off and on with friends and acquaintances. I always liked it there and felt comfortable, but never went on a regular basis, and I never joined.

Fast forward to 2007, when H and I met and got married. I'm pretty sure we went on Christmas that year and maybe the following Easter, but that was it. Still no regular attendence. And then, Riley happened. Our very own, sent straight from God, amazing little miracle. And she changed everything in our lives, even before she was born. We found out we were pregnant with her in May 2009. We started attending church at Hope regularly that summer. Both of us. Regularly. I was so happy that it had finally "clicked" for us. We both felt pretty strongly that we wanted her raised in a Christian home and we wanted a church home to be a part of her life. A part of our lives. We joined late last summer and have been going ever since. And loving it. It is the perfect church for us. Laid-back, casual, accepting of all (no matter what you look like or how many tattoos you have, haha)....it's very "us."

OK, so that's the background story. Our church does baptisms along the lines of the "sprinkle" method. No dunking for us. It was a wonderful day. H's aunt hand-made Riley a gorgeous dress......long, white, the whole nine yards. She wore the bonnet that my mother gave her to wear home from the hospital at birth, which will also be the hankie she carries at her wedding one day.

Riley fell asleep on my chest while we were waiting and stayed asleep until I had to turn her around to face the Pastor. And, I feel the need to tell you, she was the only baby who cried. The on.ly. ba.by. ! Oh well, it was funny. Otherwise, she did great!

We had lots of family and friends with us and we followed up the church service with a casual lunch back at our house. All in all, it was a truly fantastic day. My mom got Riley her first Bible....it's tiny and has her name monogramed on it. H's mom gave her her first cross necklace. My brother and sister in law gave her a sweet little bracelet with a cross on it. She got two different "Kid's Bibles" from family and friends..... she had enough love shown to her that day to last a lifetime! How lucky we are! :-)

I'll just tell the rest of the story in pictures. Enjoy!

Our sweet girl, sleeping away.

Getting baptized by our wonderful Pastor, Craig.

The proud parents afterwards!

With Munners and Grandaddy (my parents).

Sweet baby in her bonnet.

The back of her gorgeous dress.

Just a shot so you can see the front of the dress.

Her bracelets and her first Bible.

I just couldn't resist getting this picture of her tiny hand in mine.

OK, I guess that's all for now. Stayed tuned for her "Holy Cow, she's FOUR MONTHS OLD" post coming in a couple of very short weeks! :-)

Three Months! And Easter!

2010-04-17T08:39:00.015-05:00

Hey again! I'm trying really hard not to be so incredibly late with the monthly post this time. Riley reached the THREE MONTH milestone this past Thursday. On tax day, of all things. Lucky for her, we waste NO time doing our taxes (as the refund was both received and spent long ago), so we were able to spend some time with her instead of with the IR.S.

OK, let me try and think of the fun and exciting things that have happened in the last month:

The baby girl started sleeping in her crib. IN HER VERY OWN CRIB, people! Do you know what a huge deal this was?? I spent SO many weekends telling H and one of my BFF's, "All right. This is it. I'm going to put her to sleep in her crib tonight." And then I would chicken out at the last minute and put her back to sleep in the basinette right beside our bed. But I finally worked up the nerve and it was a success!! Yippee!!

So, how is she sleeping? Pretty well, for the most part. We put her down after her last feeding of the night, somewhere around 9:30 or 10:00. She usually stays SOUND asleep until somewhere around 4am. At this time, one of us has to go in and either re-position her or move her to the bouncy seat. She goes RIGHT back to sleep until it's time for her 5:30/6:00 feeding. When it works like this, it's fantastic.

Does it work like that every night? Of course not. Some nights, she get squirmy and needs to be soothed back to sleep three times in the same night. Some nights, like last night, she wakes up at 4am and is WIDE-frickin-AWAKE and doesn't wanna go back to sleep. But we manage.

Are we doing the "lay baby down while she's drowsy, but not actually asleep, so she learns to put herself to sleep" thing? No. And I hate that, mostly for what it might mean in the future. But at night, she falls asleep on her own at about 7:30, we have to WAKE her up for the 9:30 feeding (trust me, if we don't, she wakes up at 2am - starving!) and H barely gets her through that night bottle because she is so sleepy. So, she's always completely sound asleep when we lay her down at night. As far as daytime naps go, I'm only with her 2 "daytimes" each week, so I can't do much about that. Ah, well.
She IS starting to take better and "more regular" naps, which is awesome! When she's home with me, she usually goes down for at least a one hour nap in the morning and another, longer, nap in the afternoon. She loves to sleep on her B.oppy on her side or her tummy, so I put her like that in her crib for day naps. We have this great breathing monitor that we borrowed from H's cousin, so I don't worry so much about her on her tummy. (She's strictly on her back at night, though. Just in case!)

OK, enough about sleeping. What else? Well, she squealed for the first time the other day. It was pretty darn cute!

She LOVES LOVES LOVES the camera now. Usually, when I get it out, I'll get at least one big smile from her, so we are starting to get some great pics!

Sometime between 2.5-3 months, she moved to size 1 diapers. *sniff, sniff* No more newborn teeny-tiny diapers. Speaking of diapers, we have also started using our assortment of cloth diapers. Sometimes. If I were home with her, we'd do them every day, but we're workin on it the best we can. How do I like them? Well, it really deseves a post all it's own (maybe one day this summer...), but the short answer is I LIKE THEM! Way easier than I thought....my only complaint is the bulkiness. It makes some of her clothes (the bottoms) not fit well.

What else? She loves to sit up! No, of course she can't do it on her own yet, but she likes to try. She likes to be sitting up in someone's lap and she likes sitting in her Bum.bo seat that the Easter Bunny brought her.

Oh, and one other big thing. She's teething. TEETHING AT THREE MONTHS. Yeesh, I couldn't believe it, and I wasn't sure for about a week or so, but there's no doubting it now. She drools, makes bubbles and chews on her hands all day long. Not just politely puts her hands in her mouth to check em out. CHEWS on them, I tell you. We can't feel anything on her gums yet and, luckily, she isn't too fussy over it....but I'm sure it's coming.

All right. Now for the "Easter Post." We had a busy day planned for Easter this year. First up was church (no big thing for Riley--she's an old pro at this by now). Then it was back home to open her Easter basket. There just wasn't time to get it done before we left. Then, we sprinted over to H's mom's house for lunch. After lunch, we got in some "lazy time" with family at her house. Late afternoon, we made a quick stop by H's grandmother, so she could see her favorite new baby in her pretty dress. Last stop of the day was my parents' house for dinner. It was a busy, but nice, day.

But, can I just TELL you what all this "back and forth and go-go-go" routine did to my sweet baby girl? It made her have a complete meltdown by the time we go to my mom's house for dinner! I mean, full-on, crying and screaming that could be consoled by no one but me. And even I couldn't keep her calm for long periods of time. We certainly learned our lesson about babies and holiday visits. I'm thinking things will be a bit different at Thanksgiving and Christmas this year.

Here are some of the "pre-meltdown" pics.

And last, here is her official 3 month photo. I have the video, too, but I think I'll try to put it in a post by itself to see if it'll load better. Oh, and up next for REAL posts will be the one about her baptism, which was this weekend!

See? I told you everything goes in the mouth!! :-)

TWO MONTHS! (3 weeks ago....)

2010-03-31T11:28:00.013-05:00

Want to hear a "logic problem?" OK.

If a new mother wanted to be a good blogger and update her friends and loved ones with information about her baby girl, but didn't want to actually take away time from said baby girl, but the mother really did have lots of great stuff to tell people about her, but didn't really have the time to sit down and type that blog post.......you get the idea!

So, Baby Riley is technically closer to 3 months than she is to 2 months, but whatever. Between going back to work AND still trying to meet all the demands (and joys!) of having an infant, well, there just has NOT been any time to blog about it all. And now (dammit!), I'm struggling to remember everything that I would have wanted to report for the two-month-post. Oh well.....I'd rather have taken the time to LIVE it and LOVE it, than to stop and write about it. :-)

Here's what I can remember.

We had another visit to the doctor for her two month checkup. I'm happy to report that all was good! She weighed in at 10.5 pounds and was 22.5 inches long. That put her just slightly above the 50th percentile for weight and at about the 75th percentile for height. The doctor was pleased with her growth and we talked about how she was doing better since we switched her to the formula made to deal with "fussiness and gas." And then....*sigh*.....she had to have her first round of shots. I was really dreading this, but it wasn't as bad as I thought. The nurse at our office is really fantastic - she had everything ready so she could do it all really fast and had the ba.nd-aids all lined up, stuck to her shirt and ready to go! H snuggled down with Baby Riley while she "got shot" and I stood to the side taking pictures - but I did NOT CRY!! Yay. Riley cried from pain for about a minute or so. Then she calmed down a bit, but proceeded to cry for another 15 minutes because she was so MAD! Guess she got her Mama's temperment.

(Incidentally, I also weighed her myself just the other day and she weighed 12 POUNDS! Wow!)

OK, what else....? I don't know if I've mentioned it in earlier posts or not, but Riley was having some issues with what I called "random fussiness." Sometimes it would be accompanied by lots of grunting, straining and red-faced-ness. It wasn't constipation and after a few phone calls to the doctor's office, we decided to switch her formula to En.famil's "Gen.tle Ease," which is for fussy and gassy babies. After a week or so, I could really tell a difference. She seemed much happier and was definitely less fussy! Just in the last couple of weeks, she has developed some similar symptoms, but I think this time it IS constipation. So....I made another call to the doctor's office the other day and we are going to try the old-fashioned K.aro syrup remedy. If that doesn't work, then it's on to the prune juice remedy! I guess our mothers and grandmothers really DID know what they were doing! (haha, only kidding!)

As always, Riley continues to become more alert and aware of her surroundings every day. She discovered her hands sometime during her second month and now she CANNOT seem to keep them out of her mouth! She also loves looking at her toys - we have infant toys hanging on her bouncy seat and on the handle of her carseat. She will just stare at them forever sometimes. She started to reach for them, but she hasn't quite been successful at grabbing them yet. She HAS, however, become successful at grabbing any fabric that is nearby. She regularly yanks her clothes or her burp cloth up to her mouth. I'm hoping that her next big accomplishment will be rolling over....but, honestly, there hasn't been much progress on that front just yet.

Her personality is really starting to show more and more! She is such a happy girl - especially first thing after waking up (weird, I know). In the mornings, she LOVES to talk and sing. Her fussiest times are usually when she's tired (already fighting sleep, I'm afraid), but it never fails that, when she wakes up, she's ready for lots of smiles and conversation! Oh, and she finally enjoys her baths instead of screaming through the entire thing! Yay!

(this picture is supposed to be sideways.....don't know how to fix it on blogger.....)

OK, I guess that's all I can think of for now! Maybe I won't be so late with her Three Month post (and that's in only another 9 days, come to think of it!), but I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you! :-)

Here is her "official" two month old picture. There is a two month video, too....but stupid Blogger is being stupid, so I can't get it to upload. Oh well!

Still here....BAD blogger....BAD reader.....

2010-03-19T08:42:00.002-05:00

Hi.

I'm still here and things are still great....I've just had NO time to blog lately. And no time READ blogs lately, either. So let me officially apologize to everyone on my blogroll b/c I really miss knowing what's going on in your lives and I really really really hope to catch up soon!!

I also need to do some blogging of my own about what's been going on with us. Hopefully, you'll see posts from me soon on:

Baby Riley turning 2 months old! Wow!
Our fantastic Spring Break, complete with baby play dates and all!
The "minor" surgery I'm having today (long story, trust me!)

Hope all is well with everyone and if you normally read my blog....please don't give up on me!!

:-)

Been There, Done That

2010-03-05T14:07:00.005-06:00

I can't believe I'm a BTDT!!

"A what?" you say?

Well, in the blogosphere and internet world, BTDT stands for "been there, done that," and refers to women who are gaining (or have gained) experience at mommy-hood.

So, like I said, I can't believe I'm a BTDT now! OK, well I guess I'm not really far enough into the mommy gig to call myself that, but I'm far enough into it that I have some information (advice? assvice?) to share! And, hey, I'll even separate it into categories for you.

So.....here goes:

Stuff I think you should know about the first few weeks of this parenting thing:

The hospital:

Epidurals are awesome. Like, sent straight from Heaven awesome. No, really. I can't even begin to tell you how much I appreciated being TOTATLLY numb from my abdomen to my toes. If you are on the fence about this, just do it. Really.
Be nice to your nurses. They control the pain meds. haha. Seriously, they are your link to everything you want or need while you're there.
Take anything that isn't nailed down. But, you know, be reasonable. I mean, sure, there may be SEVEN of those bed-protector-pad-things, but will you really need all of them? No. I took two of those exact things and didn't use either one. But it's not a bad idea to take things that you think you might want or need at home. On the MUST TAKE list: all the diapers/wipes they have, the blue nose-sucker thing (WAY better than the one you bought at B-r-U), extra baby blankets, anything to make your girly parts feel better (extra pads, cold packs shaped like pads, all the epi-foam they'll give you), the squeezy water bottle they give you to "rinse" yourself
Take your own "granny panties" to the hospital with you. Yes, they give you those weird mesh panty things, which are great to hold the ginormous pad they'll give you. But, lemme tell you -- those mesh panty things are one size fits all. And if you are anywhere on the "small" side of life, then they won't fit you snugly. So, I put my granny panties on OVER the mesh panties to keep them nice and secure.
Speaking of things you should take with you.....here's some other things I was very glad to have: pillows, stretchy pants and comfy tanks/tops, a charger for my cell phone, extra batteries for the camera, my own socks (do NOT wear during or immediately after delivery), chapstick, a nursing bra, my hair dryer and just enough makeup to make me feel human (for me, this was just eyeliner and mascara).
And then there were things that we took with us but didn't need or use: stuff to keep us "occupied," such as books, magazines, the Wii (yes, indeed, my husband took the Wii) -- as it turns out, there was plenty to keep us occupied, you know, what with LABOR going on and all.

If you are breastfeeding:

First and foremost, keep trying. It most likely WILL get easier after the first couple of days.
If you have no clue how much milk the baby is getting or how much milk the baby should be getting, fear not. None of us had any clue. I know it's super frustrating when someone says, "don't worry, you'll figure it out soon enough," but it's true. After a week or two, you'll just all of a sudden realize that you're doing OK at it.
You must have nipple cream (urgh, I can't believe I just used the word "nipple" on my blog!). I recommend the one by Lans.inoh
If you're going to be home for a while, I also recommend wearing a nursing tank top. It's easy-peasy...no real bra necessary! I got this one from Target and it was great.
Before you settle in for a nursing session, get the remote. Or a book. Seriously. After you've worked out the "kinks," nursing can take some time for each feeding. I would get bored and was glad to have the TV or something to look at on my laptop or in a book. Yes, I know that seems "horrible".....I was supposed to be bonding with my baby, and sometimes I would just look down at her and touch her head. But for the most part, she just wanted to eat. She didn't really care what I was doing.
OK, this last one is important. Unless your pediatrician says otherwise, do NOT WORRY FOR A SECOND if you decide to give your baby some formula! Most days, Riley got one bottle of formula a day - usually at night with H, so I could sleep. It will be OK. Trust me.

The first few weeks:

Nothing that I say can ever prepare you for the sleep deprivation that you will experience. NOTHING. I'm not trying to scare you, but you truly won't understand it until you've experienced it. I look back now and think it's pretty hilarious how people kept telling me to "stock up on sleep now while you're pregnant," because it honestly wouldn't have mattered. It was seriously the hardest thing my body has ever had physically adjust to.
ACCEPT ANY AND ALL HELP THAT IS OFFERED TO YOU during those first few weeks. I don't care who the person is that's offering, or what they are offering to do -- accept the help. And don't feel guilty about it. Especially if it's another BTDT mom who's offering -- she knows what you're going through and probably knows what you need better than you do.
Don't feel badly for calling the pediatrician's office for every little thing. That's what they are there for!
There is no nice way to say this next one -- the post-delivery bleeding sucks. Big time. Get yourself some good pads and get used to it. I discovered pads called In.finity by Al.ways and, as much as I hate the entire concept of a pad, these were the best I've ever seen.
If at any point before you go to your doctor for your 6 week checkup you think anything with you is not quite right....CALL the office and ask about it. Six weeks is a long time to wait if you think something is wrong.
On that same note, if you think the typical "baby blues" is getting beyond what's expected, or if someone in your life tells you that, CALL YOUR DOCTOR! And don't wait. There is absolutely no shame in any feeling you may be having. Remember that your body is going through a massive hormone shift in a very short period of time and once you combine that with all the changes in your daily life, you've got what could be a recipe for emotional and mental disaster. NONE of this means that you aren't a good mother or that you don't adore and love your baby more than life itself. It just means that you need to remember to take care of yourself, too. Remember, what your baby needs more than ANYTHING is YOU - and preferably at your best!

OK...I guess that's all I can think of for now. Not to mention it's taken me days (literally) to get this post done, so I guess I'll stop here.

I may not have been a BTDT for very long and there are a ton of mothers who know way more than me, but if you are reading this and getting ready to have a baby, feel free to ask me ANYTHING - I'll answer it! :-)

1 Month Old!

2010-02-19T08:57:00.009-06:00

I can't believe it, but Baby Riley is ONE MONTH OLD now! (OK, technically, she has been since Monday, and today she's actually 5 weeks old....but I'm behind schedule on posting...what else is new??)

Anyhoo....I've decided that I'm going to try my best to do an update every month on the 15th (or, you know, soon after) and make it her "monthly post." I'm also going to totally steal a great idea from a blogger friend of mine, over at Hope Springs Eternal, and take videos of her at each month mark and post them for you to see! (That friend actually does weekly videos, but I know I'd never be able to keep up with that!)

All in all, Riley is doing very well. She's growing like CRAZY and getting more active and engaged every day! Here are some highlights from the last few weeks, in bullet point style, b/c that somehow seems easier today:

Breastfeeding is still going well and I'm proud to say that Riley seems to be really thriving on it and growing very well. We are now in the process of transitioning over to formula (since I go back to work soon), so I'm hoping she continues to do great.
We have both been sleeping better at night -- thanks to the help of one great bouncy seat! Yes, indeed, I have been letting my child sleep in a bouncy seat. Whatever works, right? Laying in the pack n play or in the bassinette, she would wake up fussy halfway through the night. I think she sleeps better in bouncy seat b/c she sits more upright. I may get one of those incline wedges to go on top of the crib mattress and see how that works, too.
We've also figured out that she has been battling some gas-related issues. She would get all grunty and strain-y and red-faced, trying to pass gas. It started to seem excessive to me and it was waking her up in the wee morning hours, so I called the doctor's office yesterday. We started a "before every feeding" regimine of gas drops yesterday and that seems to help, so we'll see.
Speaking of the doctor, we went in unexpectedly last week for what turned out to be a pretty bad case of diaper rash. It cleared up quickly and things are all good now -- we are just making sure she gets ointment with every diaper change. They weighed her while we there, and at just shy of 4 weeks old, she weighed NINE POUNDS! Wow!
And speaking of her growth.... she is already starting to grow out of some of her clothes. I've had to pull some of the newborn sizes out of her "wardrobe." We are still working on growing into the 0-3 month sizes, though.

Some things about her adorable little personality and such:

Just within the last week, Baby Riley has started to smile and "talk" when someone talks to her. It is the cutest thing I've ever seen! She also loves to talk to the toys hanging from her bouncy seat and she's even tried to reach for them a few times.
She still LOVES to stare at the ceiling fan in the living room. It's gotten to be a comfort thing for her -- it helps calm her down when she's upset.
She also loves the "white noise" around the house. She sits in a little travel size swing while I'm in the shower each day and the sound of the water puts her to sleep every time. She also calms down and falls asleep while I'm blow drying my hair every day and whenever I run the vacuum cleaner. I think we're going to be purchasing a white noise machine very soon, to help in the transition to her crib.
She's enjoyed some "tummy time" this week. I lay her blanket out on the couch and put her on top of it. However, she's not really using this time to practice lifting her head...she usually just falls asleep instead.
Lately, Riley looks a LOT like her Daddy! It's pretty cute!

OK, that's all I can think of for now! (Oh, and btw, I am doing MUCH better, thank goodness! That's all.) I think I'll leave you with another picture and that "one month old video."

How are we doing?

2010-02-08T09:59:00.008-06:00

That seems to be the "question du jour" (does that mean "of the day?" I don't actually speak French). In any case, that is the question that everyone wants to know lately. The answer to the question?

Well....it depends on the day. Actually, it depends on the hour.

But I continue to believe this is all normal and to be expected. Right?!? Right.

Anyway, Baby Riley is now about 3 1/2 weeks old. CANNOT believe that! She? Is perfect and wonderful and fantastic and amazing and the love of my life and....should I go on? I can finally tell that she is getting bigger. I only know this because she actually feels heavier to me now. Our scale at home is super crappy, so I have no clue what she actually weighs now, but it's got be at least 8 1/2 pounds. She still doesn't fit well into any of the 0-3 month size clothes, so she's still wearing LOTS of newborn gowns, but that's OK - they are easier, anyway! So, in addition to being bigger, her behaviors are changing some, too. She is doing a great job of lifting her head when she's on her tummy. Sometimes, she also likes to sit straight up in my lap and pretty much balances her head all on her own. She seems like a much older baby to me when she does this!

I think the hardest thing I'm dealing with when it comes to "taking care of baby" is that she's rather inconsistent. Meaning that every few days, she changes her routine. She'll have one routine for a few days and, just when I'm starting to adjust and get used to it....she changes the routine! Argh!

All in all, though, our girl is a really good baby. She only cries when something is truly wrong and, even then, she doesn't really "cry" much. Having a dirty diaper doesn't always make her cry, even! She does get fussy sometimes, but she generally quiets down VERY quickly if someone will just hold her. I'd say that's her biggest "thing" right now....she just wants to be HELD sometimes. I think she just gets tired of sitting or laying by herself. And who can blame her? I'm sure the rotation of "lay in the pack n play," "sit in the bouncy seat," and "hang out in the swing" gets old sometimes. Currently, her three favorite things to do are:

1. Be held so she can stare (fixate?) at the ceiling fan in the living room

2. Be held and snuggled down all cozy enough to sleep in someone's arms

3. Have "tummy time" on mommy or daddy's shoulder/chest. She almost always falls asleep when we do this, but still. She loves it.

See?

OK, so now you know that Baby Riley is doing great.....wanna know how I'm doing?

Well, the short answer is, "I don't know." I'm hanging in there and I have a TON of great support - which is truly awesome. That's all I feel like saying for now.

I can tell you that, over the last week or so, I (and we) have gotten out of the house a lot more! I've been out by myself, mostly just to run errands and do grocery shopping and stuff, but it's still nice to get out and about. We've also had some outings together - with AND without Daddy, even! We went to see Daddy at work last week and drove out to my mom's house to visit. My mom and I also took Riley on her first shopping trip last week! We went to both Target and Sam's. And, just like any daughter of mine would do, guess when was the ONLY time she woke up on this outing? While inside TARGET, of course. Clearly, she didn't want to miss her first visit to our favorite place. That's my girl!! :-)

OK, how about some more pictures? Remember those black and white pregnancy photos we took and hung on the wall in the nursery? Well, one of my goals for her first few weeks of life was to take some black and white photos of her to hang there, too. I kept meaning to do it earlier, but it just didn't happen. We finally took some the other day. These are the three that I think we've decided to frame and put up in her room:

This one wasn't "planned"...but it just turned out to be too sweet to NOT put up (I think I've already shown this to you, actually):

This one was sort of planned. I knew I wanted a "baby feet" picture on the wall, but I wasn't sure what I wanted it to look like. Then I saw some gorgeous newborn photos on this bloggy friend's website. I just HAD to copy the idea! (hope you don't mind, T!)

Then there is this one. This one was also sort of planned in advance. I've known for a LONG time that I wanted a picture of Baby Riley all curled up in her Daddy's hands/arms. My original "vision" was to do one where he is holding her entirely in his two hands. But.....I think we waited a little too long and she got a little too big. So, we laid her over his arms instead. And I am JUST as happy with this one. I LOVE IT!!

OK, I want to show you one more. I don't think this one will hang on the wall (we are out of space and frames), but I love this shot, too. This one was H's mom's idea....I think his cousin did one like this with her little girl. Our wedding rings hanging from her sweet little toes! :-)

Oh, and MOMS-TO-BE.....stay tuned!! I'm working on my "stuff you should know" post! :-)

The first TWO WEEKS!

2010-01-30T17:26:00.013-06:00

Yesterday marked the day that our sweet baby girl has been in this world for two weeks. I thought I'd try to update on what all happened and how things have been going during that time. (warning---this could be another long post!). First of all, there are a couple of things I thought of from our time in the hospital that I forgot to mention in the last post.

Hospital stuff: I forgot to talk about the one "scary issue" we had during my labor. Everything is obviously OK, but this was a big deal to us at the time. See, at some point during labor (I honestly can't even remember WHEN during labor this was happening...), my blood pressure was repeatedly dropping too low. Everytime this would happen to me, it would cause the baby's heartrate to drop in response. This was very concerning to the nurses, which made me freak out, but only a little bit. They finally decided to give me some kind of meds through the IV to stabalize my blood pressure and that seemed to do the trick - both for me and the baby.

I also forgot to tell you how many WONDERFUL visitors we had during our days in the hospital! Obviously, all of our parents were there (including H's dad and stepmom from East TN, whose visit to town that weekend was coincidentally well-timed). My brother and SIL and my three nephews, who were all adorably excited to meet Baby Riley....H's sister....H's "brother/cousin"....a TON of my good friends.....just loads of people who all couldn't wait to ooh and aah over our sweet girl! (We've also had some fantastic visitors since we've been home, which has also been nice!)

The first few days home: We came home from the hospital on Sunday 1/17/10 (the hospital staff said we could go home on Saturday if we wanted to. Um....thank you very much, but NO!). We live literally 2 miles from the hospital, but that drive to our house seemed to take forever. Honestly, those first few days at home are kind of a blur to me. My mom stayed over for the first four nights to help out -- what a lifesaver! It was nice to have an "experienced" hand here, not to mention just having the extra set of hands, period. H was off work that whole first week, too. There's NO WAY I could have done it without both of them that week! Riley decided that her "fussy time" was going to be from about 9 or 10:00pm until about 2:00am that first week. I would go to bed around 9:00 those nights and my mom and H would stay up and get her through that fussy time. That way, I could get up again in the middle of the night and feed her and take over til the next day. It was exhausting, but it worked pretty well. Here is a picture of her first "bath" (she's only getting sponge-style baths at this point):

And speaking of feeding her....

Breastfeeding: So, I was completely unsure of this before I got pregnant....actually, I thought I would really never be interested at ALL in breastfeeding. After I got pregnant, though, H and I had several conversations about it and I did some "soul-searching" over it. I decided that I wanted to at least give it a try. H really believes in the benefits of breastfeeding for the baby and I just couldn't deny the cost-saving aspect of it. I knew before she was ever born that, even if breastfeeding worked for us, I couldn't get too "attached" to it, since I have to go back to work after 6 weeks of maternity leave. Anyhoo.... the nurses in the hospital were SUPER helpful to me in learning how to do it. And, I'm happy to say that it has been going very well - much better than I ever expected!! No, if you're wondering, I haven't gotten all crazy "La Leche League" over it or anything, but it is working for us and I'm happy about that. I like it because it's easy...I don't have to mix bottles, or wash bottles or any of that, which is awesome. Especially in the middle of the night! The only thing I sometimes DON'T like about it is that it puts all the responsibility for feeding on me. I always have to be "on" and ready to feed her every 3 hours or so. But, I've overcome that one hitch by letting H or my mom give her a bottle of formula every once in a while, so I can have a break (usually to get some sleep!). And, speaking of the breastfeeding working well, here's how I know it's working.....

Pediatrician visits: We've had two visits to the pediatrician now and both visits have been absolutely FANTASTIC!! I love this doctor so much. He is the same doctor that H went to as a child (which made me think he was going to be ancient, but it turns out he's not!). Our first visit was the Tuesday after she was born. She weighed in at 7lbs, 6oz that day (down only 4oz from her birth weight of 7lbs, 10oz) and she still measured 20" long. He spent a lot of time looking her over and he gave her an "A+" in all regards. He actually spent most of the time talking to us (me) about breastfeeding. He is very encouraging and very down to earth - I love the way he explains things in a real-world way for us! He wanted her to be back up to her birth weight by the next visit, to make sure that the breastfeeding was working. Here's a pic of that first visit:

So, our second visit was a week and a half later, on 1/28/10 (Riley was 13 days old at this point). I couldn't believe it, but Riley weighed in at 8lbs, 1oz!! She gained 11 ounces since our first doctor visit. Wow! She also measured 20.5" long. The doctor came in and asked me how the breastfeeding was going. I said, "OK, I guess." He was all, "What do you mean you GUESS??" I wasn't sure how to take this question and then he just smiled and patted me on the shoulder. He said, "I don't know exactly what you're doing, but KEEP DOING IT, Mama, because it's working!" Phew!! This was so reassuring!! It was exactly what I needed to hear! He checked her all out again and gave her another fantastic report! We had a ton of questions for him and he patiently answered every one. We also wanted to know how important it is to keep her on a strict schedule for feeding.... because everything I've read says she must be eating every 3 hours. But most of the time, once she gets tired and falls asleep for the night, she does NOT want to be woken up to eat! He said it's perfectly OK to let her sleep. He said she'll wake up if she's hungry enough, or I can wake her up if I "need" to feed her. Otherwise, we can go as long between feedings as we're both comfortable with. He explained that the longer it's been between feedings, the more she'll eat, so she'll still get as much as if we were feeding more often. THIS WAS SUCH A RELIEF! Hooray for letting a newborn and her mama sleep!! :-)

Here's a picture of us on our way to the second doctor visit. It was really cold out, so she got to wear her adorable little "fuzzy bear" cover up thing:

Um....about me: You know how you hear about new mother's emotions being a bit out of control? Well, uh, I've been a textbook example of that these past two weeks! More than anything, I've been completely overcome with love and complete amazement for this precious baby girl. I never knew it was even possible to feel love like this! It truly surpasses anything I've ever known before. And I've been lucky that even on the roughest, most stressful of days (or nights), those feelings I have towards her have never faltered one bit. I look at her sweet little face and I know without a doubt that this is THE greatest love of my life!

Now. Since I was so honest in that last paragraph....I think it is equally important to be honest when I talk about this next bit. So, here goes.

I have had MORE than one "mental breakdown" in these first two weeks. The first came last Saturday, after we had been home for one week. As I already mentioned, my mom stayed overnight the first four nights, from Sunday - Wednesday. Looking back on those days, I think this allowed me to get enough sleep to keep going. We were feeling pretty confident about things, so we tried it on our own for Thursday and Friday nights. H still took the evening shift (aka, at that time, Riley's "fussy time") and allowed me to sleep for a couple of hours until I got back up in the middle of the night with her. I was getting sleep, but it was obviously in 2-3 hour periods, between feedings. This interrupted sleep was NOT something I was used to.

So...fast forward to Saturday. I had a huge mental breakdown. I literally cried all day long. I couldn't tell you now what got me started, but once I got going, I just could not stop. H and my mom were both great and very supportive -- as were a couple of my best friends who I talked to on the phone. Obviously, I was sleep deprived, exhausted and feeling more than a little overwhelmed with everything. I was feeling like there was no way I would be able to do this; I just couldn't understand how anyone makes it work. I wanted to give up on breastfeeding and just ask my mother to move in with us and be the "night-nurse" or something! Obviously, I didn't do either of those things. I took some time to myself and H and my mom took over for the ENTIRE night on Saturday night, so I could get about 7 hours of UN-interrupted sleep. That night's sleep did wonders for me! On Sunday, I knew that was just what I had needed! I felt refreshed and I didn't want to give up on everything anymore. Yay!

Since then, I've had a few other breakdowns, but not quite as extreme as that first one. I've done a lot of talking to H, who has been great and has somehow managed to understand what this is like for me. I've also done a lot of talking to some good friends, all of whom have BEEN THERE AND DONE THAT! They all gave me great advice! Things like:
--accept help from anyone who offers
--sleep or nap whenever she is asleep, even if it isn't a "desirable" time of day
--feeling overwhelmed and totally stressed out is NORMAL
--it's OK if I need to just "walk away" sometimes
And, they ALL offered to come stay at my house overnight and help with the baby if I wanted them to! How great are those friends?? Pretty great, I know!

The rest of our time: This past week has actually been pretty great! H took one extra day off of work on Monday to help me out, but he went back to work on Tuesday. I was very nervous about this, but we did OK. Honestly, it's not the days that are hard -- it's the nights. I have just figured out that I am NOT the kind of person who does well with sleep deprivation. But, I think my body is adjusting. We had my mom come over one more night this week to help from about 9:00pm - 1:00am (so I could sleep), which was a huge help again. And, for at least several nights this week, Baby Riley has done a better job of sleeping at night. WOOHOO!! She still sometimes wants to stay up til 1 or 2 am, but then she's all about sleeping from then until 10:00 the next morning (well, you know, with one feeding in between). So, I just try to follow her schedule, instead of wishing that she'd follow mine! :-)

Overall, things at our house are great! I may LOOK like a zombie most of the time -- I rarely get out of my "stretchy pants" during the day, my hair is always in a ponytail and I never have on makeup anymore -- but it's all OK. I wouldn't trade one day with my little girl for anything in the world.

I love watching her discover this world a little more each day.

I love the way she gazes around the room, taking everything in. You can just see the wonder and amazement in her little eyes.

I love stroking her soft head while she's eating or napping in my arms.

I love the way she feels curled up on my chest and hearing her soft little sighs as she settles down.

I love the way she "smiles," even if it is while she's sleeping. It makes me wonder what she must be thinking or dreaming about.

I love the way she loves to be held close by her mommy and daddy.

I love the way she makes funny faces - ALL THE TIME! See, look, I'm not kidding:

I guess you could say I love EVERYTHING about this precious baby who has changed our lives in so many unimaginable ways!

Labor & Delivery Story -- FINALLY!

2010-01-27T11:27:00.006-06:00

Hi. So, yes, I am aware that my child is now 12 days old....and you've been wanting to read updates on her/me/us for DAYS now! Well, I've been wanting to actually have TIME to give you those updates for DAYS now, too! This "being at home with a newborn" thing is sooooo much harder than I ever could have imagined. Seriously.

Anyway..on to the story of my labor and Baby Riley's delivery! (it might be long....get settled in!)
I think the last thing I updated on was our decision to go into the hospital for an induction on the evening of Thursday, 1/14. That afternoon, my mom, H and I went out for lunch and then H and I went home to try and rest up for what was to come. We got all the last-minute things we wanted to take with us, made sure the car seat was ready and I even managed to nap for a couple of hours that afternoon. You should know that I was also still having pretty steady contractions all afternoon, too. Sometimes they were totally bearable, sometimes they were intense enough that I had to just freeze, focus and breathe to get through them. For most of the afternoon, they were anywhere from 2 minutes to 6 minutes apart. But remember, not all of them were bad, so I was making it through them OK.

Fast forward to 8:00pm....we arrived at the hospital. My mom and dad met us there, too. H's mom was at a different hospital with her mother, unfortunately (crazy timing, I know! H's Grandmother has had a rough time of it, btw, but it is looking like things will be OK.) We had to check in at the ER, even though we were pre-registered and they made me ride up to L&D in a wheelchair, for goodness' sake. I felt so silly, since I was fine to walk! They took us straight to our room (you don't ever have to change rooms at this hospital-yay!) and the nurse gave me a gown to change into. Turns out, I knew my overnight nurse from when were kids, cheering together. Small world! She was the first of many FANTASTIC nurses!!!

The PLAN for induction was to start me on Cerv.adil around 9pm, which is used to soften and thin out your cervix to help get things ready for the medication that makes you dialate. I would stay on this all night and then they were going to start me on Pit.ocin in the morning, which is the medicine that causes you to dialate. The cerv.adil is some kind of "insert" and as the nurse put it in, she told me that it would probably also cause my contractions to intensify. She gave me some Am.bien to help me sleep (and hopefully help my body relax, even though I was having contractions), and she gave me some pain meds, but I don't remember what those were. We were hopeful that we'd be able to get a little bit of sleep throughout the night. H got his cot all fixed up and put it right beside my bed, my mom and dad came in just to check on us and wish us well (they were headed home for the night, with my mom planning on returning in the morning). So, we settled in for the night and all was well.

THEN....I found out just how correct my nurse was when she said my contractions would intensify! HOO-BOY!! They intensified, all right, and increased in frequency, so they were steadily coming every 2-3 minutes! ALL of the contractions became the intense kind, during which I was just trying to remember to breathe and trying to will my body to relax through them. That worked pretty well for a couple of hours. H was fantastic. During every contraction, he would hold my hand (if I wanted him to) and rub my back or my arm, just to try to help keep me calm. He kept reminding me to breathe and relax. The am.bien was sort of working, and I was sleeping for a minute or two between each contraction, but each one would wake me up because of the pain!

So...after a couple of hours of breathing my way through the pain, it started to get to the point where I was feeling like I couldn't do it anymore. The intensity had probably started around 10pm and by midnight or 1:00am, it was nearly impossible to get through each one, b/c it hurt so damn badly. I felt like the pain meds she had given me weren't doing anything at all to help. I wanted something more or stronger, but the nurse told me she had given me all she could. She checked my cervix a few times throughout those first few hours, but I was still only dialated to 1cm. So, from about 1am-3am, I was absolutely miserable. I was trying really hard to keep up the breathing and the relaxation, but it was so hard. About every third contraction or so, I would just cry and tell H that I couldn't do it anymore. He kept trying to reassure me and help me along, thank goodness. During those hours between 1 and 3, he also tried telling the nurse how bad I was hurting and tried to get me some more pain medicine, but she told him the same thing--she couldn't give me anything else.

Finally, at about 3am or so, I had just HAD IT. I knew that my body could not take any more pain. I hit the nurse call button myself and cried out, telling her that I couldn't take it anymore. She came in and checked my cervix one more time. I was having another contraction and crying and trying to breathe and focus and all that, so while I could tell she said something to H, I had no idea what it was. During my contraction, I hear H say, "Good news, babe!!" I remember screaming at him that, "I CAN'T LISTEN TO YOU RIGHT NOW!!" So, he waited til the contraction was over. I looked at him and heard him say the most glorious words I'd ever heard. "You're at 3cm! You can have the epidural!" Oh. My. God. I've never been so happy in my whole life!

It took about a half hour for the anesthesiologist to get there and when he did, he made H leave the room during the epidural (hospital policy). I wasn't happy about that, but my desire to get rid of the pain far surpassed my frustration over this rule. My nurse was GREAT during the epidural. She stayed in front of me the whole time, helping me stay in the bent over position and letting me squeeze the crap out of her hands while I was contracting, and simultaneously having to remain totally still while he had that needle in my back. So, how was the epidural process? Not that bad, compared to what I had been feeling for the last 4-5 hours. I felt the needle go in, but it wasn't that bad. The weird thing was that I could feel it moving around in my back or my spine or whatever, as he was finding the right place. That felt totally bizarre. He had a little trouble getting it to the right spot, so I think mine took a little longer than most. But then it was done. And, holy crap, the relief came SO fast!! I started going numb on one side faster than the other, but soon I felt NOTHING from about the middle of my back/abdomen all the way to my feet. It was fantastic. H says that by the time he came back in the room, the possessed, maniacal wife he left there had been replaced by his normal, friendly, talkative wife! :-)

I didn't feel another single contraction the entire time I was there, even though they kept coming stronger than ever! H and I were able to get a little bit of sleep, even! Around 5am, the on-call doctor from my doctor's practice came in check my progress. I think at that point, I was dialated to somewhere around 5cm (remember, the original plan was to start me on pit.ocin early in the morning). He was pleased with the progress I'd made and he made the call to NOT start me on pit.ocin, since I was progressing on my own. Yay! He also broke my water while he was in there. Water breaking? Yeah, I didn't feel a thing! Within an hour after breaking my water, I'd made it to 6cm and the nurses were just waiting on my doctor to come make morning rounds to evaluate me herself. She came in around 8:00 or 9:00am, I think (the details are all a little foggy) and I had made more progress. I remember, she looked at me and said, "So, you weren't really 'induced' after all. You were in labor and all this would have happened overnight anyway!" That made me feel better, since we had struggled with the decision to induce in the first place.

I can't remember if my doctor came in once or twice before the pushing and delivery began, but I do remember that by 9:00am, I was fully dialated to 10cm and they said I was ready to start pushing! Woah!! That freaked me out. A lot! I got really scared, but H and my mom and his mom (who were all in the room) kept reassuring me that everything would be OK. I also remember my doctor looking at me, very seriously, and saying, "You need to prepare yourself for the fact that you may not be able to deliver vaginally. I'm thinking that your pelvic bone may not allow the baby to come through." That freaked me out, too, but I just said, "OK. Whatever is best for the baby is all I care about." And that much was very true!

So, around 9:00am, they started prepping the room and the bed for delivery. My new nurse (the day nurse) was the most fantastic woman on the planet! I really felt like she was placed there directly from God that day. I could not have asked for a better nurse on our delivery day. Anyway, she explained how the pushing would work and what I was supposed to do. I had H on my right side and his main job was to support my back and help me crunch up as much as possible for each push/contraction. My mom and H's mom were on my left, with my mom closest to my legs and his mom by me head. His mom was counting with the nurse each time I had to push. My mom was taking pictures (waist-up only, mind you!), and helping push my other leg up (since I couldn't actually control my legs, you know). And this is how we stayed. For TWO HOURS. That's how long I pushed to try and get her out. Oddly enough, it didn't seem like two hours at all. I kept looking at the clock and I'd be amazed that 30 minutes had already passed by. It's very odd to be doing something with your body that you can't even really feel. More than once, I asked if I was "doing it right," since I couldn't really tell.

My doctor was supposed to come back in at 10:45 to see how thing were progressing. At about 10:45, or close to it, she wasn't there yet, and our nurse had asked for her several times. Finally, I remember her tone of voice changing and telling one of the other nurses to call the doctor and get her here, NOW. I remember thinking, "Oh, Lord. Sherry (the nurse) is going to deliver this baby all by herself." (Which she totally could have, by the way!) But, the doctor came in after just a few minutes and got ready to coax Baby Riley out the rest of the way. I pushed a few more times and then my doctor looked up, directly at me, and said "OK. You have to push right now harder than you ever have. Right now." I knew she was worried about something and, in my head, all I could think was, "Oh, sh*t. I don't know HOW to push any harder than I am already. I CAN'T FEEL ANYTHING!" But, I guess I did it, because within the next minute, Baby Riley was out and they laid her up on my stomach! WOW. I repeat, WOW!

(As it turns out, the doctor was worried about something. She could see enough to know that the umbilical cord was wrapped about the baby's neck, so she wanted her out ASAP. There weren't any problems from the cord around her neck, thank God, mostly because it was only partially wrapped around, not enough to hurt her.)

There absolutely are not words to describe how it felt to have her there, living, breathing and CRYING, right on top of me. The nurse was toweling her off and H and I both just kept our hands and arms around her, totally amazed. I was also crying like a maniac, by the way!

After a couple of minutes, the nurse took her over to the little baby-cart thing and finished cleaning her up. She had a pretty good amount of fluid that they had to suction out, which took a few minutes longer than expected, but she was perfectly healthy!! H went over to watch her getting cleaned up, while the doctor finished up on me. I didn't have to "do anything" to deliver the placenta. In fact, I didn't even know that part was done until I asked. I had to have a few stitches after tearing a bit and having to have an episiotomy, but it didn't even seem like a big deal at the time.

After what seemed like only a few more minutes, they had everything with me and the baby all cleaned up, and they brought Baby Riley over to us, all cozied up in her blanket. Her eyes were wide open and she seemed to be taking everything in - very calm and thoughtful-like. H and I just kept staring at her and kissing her and looking at each other in disbelief. It was truly the most amazing feeling I've ever known in my life.

So that's it.
That's how, at 11:08am on Friday January 15, 2010, my life was changed forever.

A Picture Post

2010-01-20T12:47:00.008-06:00

I have been thinking a lot about doing a more detailed post on the labor and delivery story...but that's about all I've done so far....THINK about it. :-)

In the meantime, here are a few pictures (I know that's what you really want, anyway!):

Here is one of the first pictures of her after being born....see how red her hair is under the bright light?? :-)

And here is our first "family picture".....please ignore the fact that I look horrendous.....having a baby takes its toll on your appearance, you know!

Here is our sweet girl all dressed up for her hospital pictures in her "going home" outfit.

And here is our new family on the day we headed home from the hospital.

And, last but not least (for now), this is a picture of Riley in the car on her first "outing"...to the doctor on Tuesday!

I'll keep working on that labor and delivery story and hopefully, I'll have time to catch up on reading some of your blogs soon (but bear with me as I get further and further behind on your lives)!

Baby Riley is here!!

2010-01-18T10:22:00.003-06:00

Hi! Most of you know this by now, but Baby Riley made her grand appearance on Friday!

Here's the big info:

Riley Katherine
born: Friday, January 15, 2010
time: 11:08 am
weight: 7 pounds, 10 ounces
length: 20 inches

She is beautiful, perfectly healthy and perfectly wonderful! We are head over heels in love with her already!!

I'm doing fine, just zombie-like right now. We came home yesterday and little Riley seems to think night-time is for waking and being a bit fussy - neither one of us got any night time sleep before 4 am. So...we're trying to fix it all and work it all out.

I promise pics will come soon...but right now, I don't even know where the camera is, let alone can I upload the pictures. :-)

Thanks to everyone for your love and support!!!

Where we are NOW and the plan

2010-01-14T14:22:00.002-06:00

So....this is going to be really short and to the point (sorry to those who are begging for the long story).

At the doctor on Tuesday, I'd made no progress, dialation wise, and she really preferred that we just wait one more week, see how I was doing on the 19th and then schedule induction for NEXT Thursday night if things still weren't happening. We asked about inducing at the "one week past due date" instead and she said that she would agree to that, so we were trying to decide if we wanted to wait it out or go ahead with the induction for Tuesday 1/19, which would be a hospital admission on the evening of Monday 1/18. I was supposed to go back to do on Friday morning for a re-check and to let them know my decision.

Well, yesterday morning (Wed 1/13) I started feeling crampy as I was getting dressed for work. Contractions continued all day, spaced anywhere from 2-7 minutes apart, varying intensity. We went back to the doctor so they could watch my contractions. Doc (NOT my regular doc) said my cervix still showed no progress and the contractions just weren't intense enough to bring about the cervical changes necessary to make it "real labor." So, she sent us home with instructions to go to hospital if the intensity jacked up to a point where I felt like I couldn't really take it.

We did about 45 minutes of walking on Wednesday afternoon and then fast forward to about 8:00 Wednesday night. That intensity? Well, it was jacking up, alright. By 8:30 or 9:00, I thought we should head to the hospital and so did the nurse we called. So, off we went. They took me to L&D triage, hooked me up to the monitors again and watch for a little bit -- all while asking me about a BAZILLION questions (at least H was there with me, to help out with answers and give support). Nurse #1 was asking questions and doing all computer input -- lover her, so nice and sweet. Nurse #2 was doing all the physical stuff -- HATED her, she was so rough and hurting me. She did the MOST painful internal check I've ever had and said there was still no dialation. Damn.

After talking to the doctor on call, Nurse #1 decided to put me on pain/relax/sleepytime IV drip, fill me with some fluid and watch what happened to contractions. Her theory was that nothing would slow down "real labor" and if the pain/sleepy/relax meds slowed the contractions down, then it was either very early labor or just not "real." I was also dehydrated, which she said was contributing to the contractions. About 2 nanoseconds after starting the drip of Sta.dol, I was drunker than a skunk and soon fell asleep. They monitored me that way for 30 minutes - 1 hour (I don't really know) and the contractions slowed down to about every 8-9 minutes and were barely waking me up. So.....they sent us home.

I had plenty of meds in me to sleep really well and I woke up about 5:30 this morning to go to the bathroom. I still felt groggy from the medicine, but I was OK and only noticed a few mild contractions at this point. **TMI alert!!** In the bathroom, I finally lost the mucous plug. I went back to bed and got up between 8:30-9:00 and called my doctor's office. Filled them in and discussed everything from last night. They decided they wanted to see me, so off we went again this morning.

The doc I saw this morning (NOT my doc) showed that I had dialated to 1cm (finally!) and she tried stretching it a bit more (hurt, but OK -- necessary). She wanted us to take home a prescription for meds that would help the pain and help me sleet at night, so I could work through this early labor in the comfort of my own home - with my bed, my stuff, my shower, etc, etc. She figured we'd either progress all the way to full blown labor on our own, or if I still needed to be induced on Monday night, I'd be better rested and prepared for it, after having spent so much time at home. We had her call my regular doc at the other office, just to see what she said. (btw....we had asked about just going in to be induced tonight, so that I wouldn't have to potentially go through days and days of this painful early labor).

My doc said we COULD induce tonight, if that's what we wanted. She just wanted to see some kind of cervical process before inducing me and I guess getting to 1cm was enough for her. So, what did I do, now that I was facing this option I had been hoping for?

I cried, of course.

My mom, H and I sat in waiting area for about 30 minutes trying to figure out what to do. In the end, I just decided to go on in TONIGHT and get the induction started. In the event that I had tried to tough it out at home for a few more days, the thought of going through all that work and pain, only to find that my cervix still wasn't cooperating.........well, that was just more than I could handle. Yes, yes, I know that I'm going against my OWN plan of trying things as naturally as possible and not interfering with meds and such, but, you know, I changed my mind.

So, anyway.......the three of us just went to grab some lunch, H is running last minute errands, Munners is hanging out at our house and I'm getting ready to take a couple of hour nap before the big show tonight. We go in at 8:00 pm and they will start cerv.adil overnight, hoping to thin things out. Then the plan calls for pit.ocin starting tomorrow morning. We'll see how it goes.

I'm very nervous, about a LOT of things, but I'm trying to stay both calm and positive.

Any prayers or positive thoughts you have would be appreciated!

(btw...no internet at hospital, so we are limited to what we can do on our phones and H's ITouch.....we'll try our best to keep everyone updated and I'll be back sometime soon.)

Quick 40-Wk Doctor Update

2010-01-12T14:25:00.002-06:00

Hi there. I wanted to do a very quick (and boring) update from my doctor's appointment this morning, for those of you who have been anxiously awaiting some kind of news.

Sorry to disappoint....but there still isn't anything to report. There's been no dialation or effacement, so clearly my body is still not ready to do what needs to be done. Was I bummed out? Yes, to say the least. Was I surprised? No, not entirely.

It actually turned out to be a rather stressful morning for me, because I left the doctor's office feeling totally and completely unsure about what to do. Short version - we have to decide whether to wait it out (and, if so, how long?) or to induce (and, if so, when?).

Sound like an easy decision to make? Well, it isn't.

I'll be back later today (or tomorrow) with a full weekly update.

The "Nothing to Report" Report

2010-01-10T20:41:00.004-06:00

So, hello. I'm still here. Still waiting. And, as I thought many of you might have allowed your minds to wonder, "Hmm...did Baby Riley make an appearance and they just forgot to tell me?" I thought I'd go ahead and set your mind at ease. NOTHING HAS HAPPENED.

Please. Let me repeat.

NOTHING. HAS. HAPPENED.

Do I seem frustrated? **SIGH** I really don't want to be frustrated. I really want to be patient and be OK with the fact that she'll come on her own time. But, ACK! That's hard to do. I mean, I guess technically I am ok with the fact that she'll come when she is ready. I suppose the real issue is that I just wish I knew when that was going to be. Or, as I was explaining to my mom tonight, I just wish I had a final "expiration date" stamped on this pregnancy. You know, an "if nothing ever happens on it's own, we'll induce on this date" date. Know what I mean? I'm thinking I'm going to have really press the doctor on Tuesday to give me one of those dates, so at least I have something in mind, even if it turns out to be totally wrong because the baby comes on her own before that date!

Argh! Do I sound as completely rambling and crazy as I'm afraid I do? (humor me and say "no!")

And, just in case you're wondering, here are the things I've "tried" this weekend:
Raspberry tea-I made of cup of hot raspberry tea yesterday morning. I do not really LIKE hot tea, so it was hard to get down. Then I was at a baby shower yesterday afternoon (for work baby #3-yay!) and they had iced raspberry tea. What a coincidence! It was yummy, and I drank a whole glass. I made some of mine in iced form last night and I'm working on drinking that, too. (Lotta good its done, but whatever.)
Walking- OK, so I haven't "officially" taken a good, long walk, but I've meant to. Does that count? We went to the mothership last night and I walked all over the store (slowly, but still). AND we were there for, like, an hour. Does that count? I parked really far away from the building at church this morning and walked back instead of riding the tram. Does that count?
House Cleaning- I did some vacuuming TWICE this weekend - both yesterday and today. Both times, H took over for me halfway through (sweet? yes!), but I still did a moderate amount. And various other household cleaning tasks had me up and down, bending and stooping and squatting today.
Spicy Foods-I've eaten some hot dip a couple of times this weekend (that's sort of like salsa only not exactly). And I made Mexican for dinner tonight (though I don't consider that "spicy" at all...).

Ugh. Even looking at my list as I just typed it.....I know that I didn't really try. I could do better. I WILL do better. I'm going to take an official walk in the next couple of days, since so many of you have told me that is the best thing I can do! (Oh, and that OTHER thing that so many of you are telling me to do? *tsk, tsk* Like I would REPORT that on my very public blog for the world to see!) ;-)

OK, so just for fun, here is something I've been thinking about for the last few days.

Things I'm looking forward to post-pregnancy*:

NOT being in the bathroom once an hour.
Being able to sit comfortably in practically any position.
Wearing ALL of my shoes again, not just the ones that fit swollen feet.
Being able to bend all the way over.
Oh! Sleeping on my stomach!
NOT having a snotty nose all day long.
Being able to drink caffeine without suffering painful indigestion. Oh, how I miss you, Real Coke and sweet tea from a restaurant.
Being able to have a little bit of this friend because, even though I didn't visit with this friend terribly often, absence DOES make the heart grow fonder! :-)
Being able to, um....erm.....see all the body parts that I'm supposed to be able to see. (sorry, I know that's TMI, but it's true!)
OK, last but not least (and on a serious note), getting to meet and get to know my sweet baby girl!

*Disclaimer: Yes, I know that this list might make me seem like some ungrateful person, who is complaining about being pregnant or is taking for granted the fact that she's pregnant. TRUST ME, NEITHER IS TRUE! I still know that I am very lucky and blessed to be pregnant and I don't take it for granted at all! And, like I told H the other day, I would carry her inside my tummy for 18 months if that's what it took to get her here. (But, phew! I'm glad it doesn't!) :-)

I'll be back on Tuesday with my regular weekly update and an update from our latest doctor's appointment. See you then!

39 Weeks (and still hanging on...)

2010-01-05T15:19:00.008-06:00

So....I am convinced that Baby Riley got some STUBBORN genes from her Daddy. Um...from her Mommy. Um.....well, maybe from both of us! More explanation on that in the "doctor's appt" info below. Suffice it to say that I'm 39 weeks pregnant as of yesterday. And still pregnant, of all crazy things to be!

Week 38 (12/29/09-1/05/10): Ok. So. How to sum up Week 38? In a word, I'd say, URGH. So descriptive, huh? I'm still feeling huuuuuge. And slooooow. And HUGE. And SLOW. I guess physically, I actually feel OK, though. Except my new development this week? Horrible pain in one of my ribs. I've never had a bruised rib, but this is what I imagine it might feel like. My official assessment of the cause? Well, two things, really. First of all, I think my ribs are still expanding. You know, to make room for the BABY and all. Secondly, though, I think there is another problem. Remember me talking about the excessive snot in my head/nose a couple of weeks ago? Well, all that snot equals lots of nose-blowing. Which I think may have caused a little trauma to said ribs. Argh. It hurts. A lot. So, I've resigned myself to "soft-nose-blowing" only (haha) and we'll see if it gets any better.

Other than that, I've got no real problems to report. It is now nearly impossible to bend over. I can still get my shoes on and all that, it just takes me a little longer. Of course, the swollen feet mean my shoe wardrobe is severly limited, anyway, so who really cares? Aah....the joys of late-term pregnancy. Not that I would trade it for anything, mind you. It all means that I get to hold my little miracle soon, so it's all more than worth it! (It doesn't stop me from complaining sometimes, though!) :-)

39 Week Doctor's Appt: I was back at the doctor for my weekly visit yesterday. This time, H left work for a little while to go with me - yay! We just figured, now that we're down to the wire, it would probably be best if he's there with me. You know, just in case the doctor is all, "Hey! You're dialated to 4! Let's get you over to the hospital!!" Not that she actually said that or anything remotely similar, of course. But, hey. It could happen. Here's the info that we DID get:
Blood Pressure: 104/62 (hey! at least something is looking good!)
Weight Gain: -1 pound from last week, which puts me at +16/17 overall (what? I didn't do a little happy dance on the scale or anything!)
Belly Measurement: No change from last week (you KNOW what this means....see below!)
Dialation: Absolutely none. Still.

So. Yeah. That "no change" in the belly measurement thing? I'm betting you've already figured out what that resulted in. Another ultrasound. Yay for getting to see Baby Riley again! Boo for all these ultrasounds that we have to pay for! Oh well. Better safe than sorry. And....just like last time, the u/s showed that everything was just fine. Here's that info:
Baby's position: head down, still good girl (feet over to the side in Mommy's ribs, but I digress)
Amniotic fluid: at "10," which is in the normal range (remember that below 5 is cause for concern)
Baby's size: Estimated to be just under 7 pounds (around 6-14 or 6-15). But even the u/s tech said that this estimate can be off a lot at this point.

It was great to find out that everything is still A-OK inside. Our only "frustration" with yesterday's appointment was finding out that I've made no progress yet. We were really hoping to hear that I'd started dialating or SOMEthing. Yes, yes, I know that either way, it means nothing. Some women stay dialated to 2cm for weeks and nothing happens in the way of labor/delivery. And I know that some women show no dialation (like me) and then all of sudden go into labor and have the baby 5 hours later. I just keep trying to remind myself that that last scenario could be me at any point now! I'm trying to stay positive! FYI, we did ask the doctor about scheduling an induction if we've gotten to our due date next week and there's still no sign of labor coming. She said that it all depends on the progress made by my cervix at the time. She wants to give my body as much time as possible to start making progress on its own before she'll induce. She explained that inducing when your body has made NO progress on its own is more likely to result in a "failed induction," which would turn into a C-section. Which we don't want. Obviously. So, in short, we just have to wait til next week and re-evaulate things then.

(Lord, please send me patience. And some for H, too.) :-)

We're like two kids on Christmas Eve who just cannot even imagine the thought of waiting 8 WHOLE HOURS OVERNIGHT FOR SANTA. OVERNIGHT? 8 HOURS?? Noooooo! We can't do it!!!! I know, I know, it will be here before we know it. It's just hard to wait now that everything is done and ready. I've just got to find some things to keep me busy until it happens. Here's what I've come up with so far:
--work on the rug for the nursery, since it is nowhere near being done
--read the rest of my "getting prepared" books--like "What to Expect" (finish the "when you're expecting" one and keep reading in the "the first year" one)
--clean out and re-organize the guest room. Or the used-to-be-bonus-room-man-cave which is now the "store room" (but this? does NOT sound like fun to me)
--go to the mall for daily "get labor started" walks

I'm taking suggestions for other things to do while I wait. GOT ANY??

Well, this week, I'm not giving you two of the things that I normally give you. One is the link to the description of pregnancy and baby at this stage. I mean, really? It's all the same as last week. The second is a weekly belly shot of me. Sorry, we just didn't get around to taking it yet. But, really? It would look the exact same as last week. Only, you know, I might look a tad bit more miserable. But who really needs to see that, anyway?

Instead, I'll tell you that the OTHER thing filling up our time over the past week has been THIS:

Yep. That's right. We had a little bit of Christmas money for spending. Did we spend it stocking up on baby stuff, like all good parents would? NO. We decided to get a Wii. And the new Mario game.
Fun? HECK YEAH!!!!! :-) (Sorry, Baby Riley....)

Picture Post - BABY'S ROOM!

2010-01-01T22:39:00.010-06:00

OK.....I know you've been anxiously awaiting this for, oh, about 3 or 4 months now.

Haha!

I guess with only 10 days to go til our due date, it's about time we call the nursery "finished." I have to say that I'm really happy with the way it turned out. You may remember that the first step for us was cleaning out the room that used to be our "office / catch all" room. What a mess THAT was. Then, we picked out the fabrics that would create the color-theme. I didn't want her room to have a "theme" persay, other than just the colors. No certain type of animal, or circus theme or whatever. But I did love the pink-and-brown combo. And, boy has it ever taken over the room. I love it, though. Anyway....we picked the fabric and then we picked the paint color and decided on how to do the walls. We decided to use the crib that was originally my brother's and then mine. Just a fresh coat of paint and it was ready to go. My dad found the dresser and chest for the room - and they are perfect. The rest of the stuff....well, it just sort of came together.

I'd like to give a huge THANK-YOU and "shout-out" to Baby Riley's Grandmothers, because they have both been an enormous help in getting this room together! Munners (my mom) helped me pick fabric, sewed/created every fabric-related thing you see in the room and has been over to help me organize and do little, random things to get her room organized. Oma (H's mom) helped H paint the walls and then sand and paint the crib. HUGE HUGE HUGE HELP, on all accounts!!!! :-)

Here is the rest of the story, told with pics.

This is the view of one corner of the room, where you can really see how we decided to paint the walls. I wasn't sure about the pink at first, but I think all the brown furniture "tones it down" a bit and I've grown to love it.

This next one shows the other side of that same wall. I love how the window treatment turned out!

This one is the crib, with her name hanging above, just exactly like I envisioned it so many months ago!

This is the last real wall in the room. It has a super long dresser, which is doubling as a changing table. For a long time, I wasn't sure what to do with the giant white space of wall above the dresser, and then I realized that I wanted to fill it with black and white photos. We went ahead and hung all five frames, two frames have the pregnancy shots we did a couple of weeks ago. The other three are for b&w pictures of Baby Riley after she's born. I LOVE the way this wall turned out and I can't wait to see it with the pics of her there, too!

This is a just a closer-up image of the dresser, with the lamp. I thought I was going to steal my friend Sarah's idea of hole-punching the shade and threading the ribbon through, but that wouldn't have worked for this shade. I like the way it turned out, anyway!

This last picture shows one other thing hanging on a small piece of the wall....one of my best friends made it and I love it! It's a personalized hair bow holder. Adorable, huh??

Ok, now you've pretty much seen it all!

Whadya think??

Week 38 (!)

2009-12-30T21:51:00.008-06:00

And....so....I'm back, as promised, to do my regular weekly post. In case you didn't know, I'm 38 weeks pregnant now.
THAT MEANS LESS THAN TWO WEEKS TO GO.
I only have one word for that - unbelievable. (By the way, my emotions are mostly back to normal today. I mean, as normal as they can be, considering I'm THIS close to what will surely be the most life-altering experience of my entire life. Nope, nothing there to get emotional about. Nothing. at. all.)

Week 37 (12/22/09-12/28/09): I don't think I've made it (officially) to the point of being "miserable," (and I might never actually use that word, considering how truly thankful I still am every second of every day to just be pregnant)....but I may just be getting close. ;-) No, I'm only kidding. I'm nowhere near miserable. Just rather uncomfortable. And awkward. And slow. Oh, I'm just soooo slow. And remember how last week I told you about my ankles being in a constant state of "swollen?" Well, as if it were humanly possible, they have gotten worse. My ankles stay swollen 24/7 now, they are even that way when I wake up in the morning. And my feet are ridiculous blimp-like-looking-things by about the middle of the day. It's hideous. And heinous. But also temporary, or so I've been told.

But, the rest of me feels mostly OK. I never really had the "OMG, I can't breathe" thing happen much - I think because I've been carrying Baby Riley kind of low for the entire pregnancy. But, I can still tell that she has dropped lower than she was a few weeks ago. Oh, and on that note, I think my hips have finally spread a little bit. I had a pair of pre-pregnancy jeans (they were my "fat jeans" - one size larger than I normally wear) that I've been wearing all throughout my pregnancy. I could always button them all the way and everything (b/c they sat so low on my hips, they were below my belly). In fact, they are the jeans I'm wearing in those black and white photos I posted on Christmas. But, all of a sudden the other day, I just couldn't button them anymore. Hmphh. I guess this whole "birthing a baby" thing IS coming soon, after all!

Week 38 Doctor's Appt: I had my regular weekly appointment yesterday and all was good again. Yay! Here is the play-by-play of the highlights:
Blood Pressure: 104/50, back to "normal" for me
Weight Gain: +2 more pounds since last week, for a total of 18 pounds so far (damn all that Christmas candy I've been eating!)
Belly Measurement: 35 cm, same as last week (but you remember last week was a different doc, so who knows?)
Dialation: still none, but my doctor said I have made a tiny bit of progress in the "effacement" department (the thinning or "shortening" of the cervix)

I also asked the doctor the following questions and got the following responses:
Q: What signs of labor do YOU want me to have before heading to the hospital?
A: She said I should go in if my water breaks (obviously), if I have any bleeding or if my contractions are REGULAR at 5 minutes apart. That's great and very straightforward, but I'm thinking it would be very difficult to have contractions that are like 6-10 minutes apart and NOT go to the hospital!
Q: Would we consider inducing at (or before?) my due date, if I'm just feeling "done?"
A: She said she would induce me up to a week early (if I wanted to), but ONLY if my cervix looked like it had made some progress on its own, which at this point, it has NOT. She will let me go up to one week beyond my due date and then induce anyway (I guess that would be regardless of the condition of my cervix). Side note: I do not want to induce early. In fact, I'm hoping we don't have to induce at all. I'd rather Baby Riley come on her own.

So, in short, we're still just taking it one week at a time and we'll wait and see what things look like next Tuesday at 39 weeks. So, what have I accomplished this week? Well, a lot, actually. The nursery is pretty much DONE and I just cannot even tell you how ECSTATIC I am about that!! I decided that I need to rearrange the stuff in all of the drawers, b/c I don't think the "flow" of it all works quite like I want it. So, that's on my agenda for tomorrow. Also on my agenda? To take all the PICTURES of the nursery so you can all see it! I absolutely promise that those pics will get posted before the end of the week! :-)

So...week 38. HERE is the story of what's happening this week, but it's really so uneventful, that even the website doesn't have much to say. And HERE is the weekly picture of a baby at this state, but again, it doesn't look that different from before. Just a little more crowded!

So, I guess that's it. Here is our weekly belly shot.....look any bigger to you? I can't even tell anymore!

And, while you're waiting on pictures of the nursery, here are a couple of other things that have appeared throughout our house. It is kind of bizarre to walk through your living room and pass by a "Pack-N-Play," for goodness sake. Just one of those things that it never occurred to you would be there, you know?

I do love this particular pack-n-play, though. H's mom got this for us and we were really excited about it. It's mostly pink and brown (like her room) and it has the attachments on top for diaper changing and a little "infant napper" that vibrates, makes sound, etc. Fancy stuff, huh?

And then there is THIS. We didn't plan on having this, but I LOVE IT! The bassinette was a gift from my parents and we decided to put this in our bedroom (leaving the pack-n-play free to go downstairs, saving me much needed steps during the daytime --yay!). So, here it sits, in the corner, right next to my side of the bed. Odd? A little. But great? YES! (Oh, and, no, that is not a drainage spout -like it kinda looks like - on the side. It's a switch that either locks it or frees it up so you can rock it back and forth!)

OK, that's it! Stay tuned in the next day or so for those nursery pictures!!

OH, AND HAPPY EARLY NEW YEAR!!!

Not a post Post

2009-12-29T20:03:00.003-06:00

So, I'm supposed to do my weekly post today, since I've made it to 38 weeks today.

BUT I'M NOT.

See (short version), my emotions decided to take a walk on the wild side tonight and I spent about 2 hours crying over every. random. thing.
I couldn't find the car in the Wal-Hell parking lot. Cried.
H didn't answer his phone when I tried to call from said parking lot. Cried.
The next store I went to didn't have what I went for. Cried.
H made some silly comment about a hat I bought for Baby Riley. Cried.
H tried to talk to me about me being upset. Cried.

Get the picture? Yes, I'm fine. Yes, my hormones are CLEARLY out of whack.

So....instead of doing my regular post tonight, I'm having some me time. I'm pj'ed out on the couch, having Vel.veeta Shells n Cheese for dinner (yes, just that and nothing else). Oh, AND I'm "hanging out" with Carrie and the girls, because that is ALWAYS a sure fire way to make myself feel better. I randomly picked Season 5 from the box set, Anchors Away Episode.
"Ladies! Seamen, 12 o'clock!!" HA! I LOVE IT!!

See you tomorrow with my regular post.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T22:58:00.006-06:00

Today is Christmas Day. Granted, there is only one hour left in this day, but I wanted to do this post while it was still "the holiday."

I know Thanksgiving is the traditional "what I'm thankful for" holiday, but for two days straight I've been thinking about what is going on in my life and how incredibly thankful I am for every bit of it. I've been thinking about the miracle of Christmas and how very blessed I am to be experiencing my very own miracle right now. It is truly amazing to think how my life will be changed in just a few short weeks. I could never attempt to actually explain why miracles happen. I only know that they DO. I have never been so overwhelmed with feelings of love and intense emotion in my life. And, just think, this baby hasn't even been born yet. Imagine what I'll feel THEN!

Christmas has been great so far. We celebrated the holiday with my parents and family last night (a Christmas Eve tradition). This morning, we had "our" Christmas, with just us and the dogs, then headed to H's mom's house for lunch and the afternoon. We ended tonight back with my whole family for dinner. Tomorrow will be our get-togethers with H's dad's side of the family. We've had a great two days spending time with family and, yes, we got some awesome gifts, too. Tonight, on the drive to my mom's house, H said, "You know, I just feel like I didn't get everything I wanted for Christmas this year." I was sort of surprised that he said this, but then he continued to say, "Because we didn't get Riley yet." AH! There went my heart -- it just lept out of my body and landed in a puddle at my feet!

**sigh** OK, enough emotion for one night. :-)

Here is a picture of us at church yesterday -- the trees there were just so pretty, I had to have a picture!

AND......Here is what I promised you the other day. A few of our "pregnancy shots."

Here is my very own almost-Christmas MIRACLE!

THIS LAST ONE IS MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE:

I HOPE YOU HAVE ALL HAD A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS!!

37 Weeks (yes, that means only THREE more!)

2009-12-23T20:28:00.005-06:00

So, I'm pretty sure the birth of this baby is going to TOTALLY SNEAK UP ON ME! Yes, yes, technically, I've known it was coming for the last, oh, 32 1/2 weeks or so.....but still. Maybe it's just that nothing and no amount of time can every really prepare you for something like this. Yes. That must be it.

Week 36 (12/15/09-12/21/09): So, while I've still felt (overall) pretty good, I'm going to have to say that these weeks ARE getting to be more difficult and I'm feeling more and more uncomfortable. I really feel like a giant whale with legs, trying to navigate through the life of an average human being. Not so easy all the time, as you can imagine. Here are some random bits of "things" that are on my mind from this past week:
--My ankles. Seriously, they are in a CONSTANT state of swollen now. It's really quite ridiculous. I haven't seen my ankle bones in I-don't-know-how-long. Oh well, at least it's "pants season."
--Snot. Yes, snot has been on my mind lately, since the amount of that lovely substance that wants to come OUT of my body is overwhelming. I have a runny nose all. day. long. For real. It blows. (haha, pun totally intended!)
--Paper cuts. How random is that?? But, I swear, over the past couple of weeks, it's like I'm a complete magnet for any and all kinds of paper cuts imaginable. I even got one the other day opening an early Christmas present. Guess where I got it? Underneath my fingernail. No, unfortunately, I'm not kidding. My fingers and hands have little cut marks all over them. Bizarre.
--And then there is this one more thing, which I have mentioned before. I'm not going to go into detail here, for the sake of those who do NOT want "tmi" about me. For those who DO want "tmi" about me, just click here for a refresher of what body part(s) I'm talking about. (I told you it was tmi!) Suffice it to say, this problem has gotten more frequent and much more intense over the past week. As in, excrutiating pain at times, that forces me to stop whatever else I'm doing at the time, so I can crunch up into a ball until it goes away. Because, you know, excrutiating pain in that body part will not allow you to actually stand up straight. Yeah. Not fun, I assure you. But, also not "abnormal," according to the doctor. Apparently, it's just Baby Riley burrowing down where she's supposed to be.

So, thats what has been happening over the past week or so. Still, on the whole, not a bad experience.

Week 37 Doctor's Appt: I had another weekly doctor's appointment today. Other than having to wait for-eeeever......the visit was a good one. My doc doesn't work on Wednesday, so I saw someone else. I liked this doctor. There is a chance (like 1 out of 10 or something) that he could be the one on call when I deliver, so I'm glad I met him. Anyway.... the visit itself was uneventful. No concerns, no unexpected ultrasounds. All-around good. Here's the recap:
My blood pressure: 104/60! Whoa! That's, like, sky-high! H was so pleased!!
My weight gain: +2 pounds since last week. That puts me at 16 pounds total. Again, H was so pleased!! :-) Seriously.
My belly measurement: Today's doc measured my belly at 2 cm of growth since last week, putting me at 35 cm. This could be a difference in the way the doctors measure, so we'll see next week what my regular doctor gets.
Dialation: Still none. No progress, no nothing. But that's still OK.

Did I mention that I'm now OFF WORK FOR TWO WHOLE WEEKS??? Can you tell I'm excited?! I used the past 2 days to get finished up on Christmas shopping (finally done-YAY!). Once we get through the holiday this week, I plan on using my time off next week to finish up baby-related stuff. Her nursery is very very close to being done! Which means I'm very very close to posting pictures of it for you! Woo-hoo! I can't wait for you all to see it! H finished up everything on the crib and got it all put together. It really does look great, at least I think so, anyway. I've just got some last-minute touches to do and a few more things to get put away. :-)

OK, so now that we are at 37 weeks, I'm considered "full-term." In my head, this translates to, "If I go into labor now, they will do absolutely nothing to postpone it." Which means that (like every single person I encounter lately seems to want to remind me), she could come any day now. I just need maybe another week and then I would be OK with that. Oh, and speaking of babies being born, big SHOUT OUT to this friend (aka, "Pregnant teacher #1" at work). Baby Rigby decided to make his entrance on his OWN terms....no induction necessary! Congrats to them!

And, speaking of 37 weeks, HERE is the information on what is going on this week--pretty much baby's only job at this point to pack on a little more weight before birth! And HERE is the weekly photo of a 37 week old fetus. BTW, the doc said today that Baby Riley was, indeed, head down, just like she is supposed to be! Good girl!

I've decided to take weekly photos every week during this last month, instead of just every other week. So, here you go.....it looks about the same as week 36 to me, but I'll let you be the judge.

Oh, and this past weekend, two of our very best friends in the world helped us out by taking some "artistic pregnancy photos" for us. They turned out soooo great and I can't wait to get one or two of them hung on the wall in the nursery (along with some shots of Baby Riley that will come in the future). Anyway....I was all set to post a couple of those pics in this weekly post for your viewing pleasure, but for some reason.........I'm going to make you wait! :-) I know, I'm just AWFUL like that.

36 Weeks (and SO behind schedule...)

2009-12-17T20:36:00.007-06:00

Behind schedule in my LIFE, that is. Not the pregnancy. Hence the reason I actually got to the 36-week mark two whole days ago and I'm just now doing the blog post. Ah, well. Between the fact that it is the week before Christmas AND that it is the last week of work for me before the winter break .... I've just been really busy and somehow the weekly blog post hasn't gotten done. Anyway, I'm here and I'm now officially what I would call "IN THE HOME STRETCH." Less than 4 weeks to go is just not very much time.

Week 35 (12/8/09-12/14/09): OK. I'll admit it. I've started to get more uncomfortable in the past week. It's becoming quite an effort to move, particularly at the end of a long day. I actually asked H the other day if I woke him up at night. He wondered what I was talking about. I explained that I was asking because, every time I have to turn over from one side to the other (which is often), I make lots of noise. As in, grunting and groaning because of the effort it takes to physically roll over. (Good news: Apparently I do NOT wake him up with all this "vocalized effort.")

Oh, and speaking of not feeling well, the "House of Sick" is finally back to normal. Well, as "normal" as we ever get. Ha! In all seriousness, we are better. My doctor put me on antibiotics and either that helped or whatever I had finally ran its course. I still have a lingering cough, but its nothing like it was. We are so glad to be rid of the funk! :-)

Last weekend, in the midst of my feeling-like-crapness, I started to feel frustrated. Frustrated about all the THINGS that still needed to be done. Now, mind you, I couldn't exactly TELL YOU what all those things were, but I knew there were just ...... lots of things to be done. I got off the couch and declared that "I didn't have time to be sick anymore." And I started cleaning the house. But my brain was still on hyper-drive thinking about all the baby-related stuff that probably need to be done. You know, if I could figure out what those things were. So in my stressed out state, I called my mom. She came over and spent the rest of the day here, helping me figure out what else needed to be done and helping me do some of it. What she really did, though was help me calm down. It was immensely helpful for me to just see her here and see that she was NOT freaking out about how much there was left to do. My brain was all, "Hmm. How 'bout that. Maybe it IS all ok." So, anyway, we got some baby-related things done and I got my brain wrapped around what is still left to be done. And now I feel pretty sure that I can get it all done.

The same time all this was going on, H's mom was also here, helping him work on painting the crib. I'm SOOO happy to say that they finally finished it up tonight. (THANK GOODNESS FOR GRANDMOTHERS!) So, all there is left to do is put the hardware back on, so we can set it up in the nursery. I can't WAIT to get it in there!! THAT ROOM WILL BE DONE BEFORE CHRISTMAS! Or else, dammit! ;-)

Week 36 Doctor's Appt: I had my 36 week visit at the doctor today. After last week's super fast and easy visit, I was expecting another quickie today. Oh, was I wrong. Here's the overall run-down:
Weight gain: 14 pounds so far (this was up 2-3 pounds from last week)
Blood Pressure: 106/50 (low bottom number again, but nobody seems concerned, so I'm not either)
Dialation: none (that a new stat for the weekly list, huh?)
Belly measurement: absolutely no change from last week (still at 32-33cm)

Yeah, so that last thing listed above? Apparently that was a problem. My doctor said that since I wasn't showing any outside growth since last week, she was concerned that my levels of amniotic fluid might be too low. So, she sent me back for another ultrasound. And, she was apparently concerned enough that she came in to watch the ultrasound, too. Seriously, she's never done that before.
GREAT NEWS: the ultrasound showed everything was just fine! Here's the run-down of that info:
Baby's estimated weight: 6 pounds 3 ounces
Baby's heartrate: 130bpm ("perfect" according to u/s tech)
Amniotic Fluid Level: 13.1 (whatever that means, but they don't get concerned unless it is below 5, so I guess it was really OK)
Baby's position: overall, she was head down (good girl), but she was a little sideways (I can SO tell when she's laying sideways. Ouch.)
Gender: still a girl (**phew!**)

OK, I guess that's all I really have to report this week. That's enough, though, right?? As always, HERE is the summary of what Baby Riley and I are going through this week and HERE is the weekly pic of baby. *sigh* The description is back to fruit I'm not familiar with (who the heck has ever heard a "crenshaw melon"????). But that picture? Must be accurate because I could totally see her little chubby cheeks on today's ultrasound! So adorable!!

Here is the weekly belly shot. This was taken two days ago, when I was exactly 36 weeks pregnant. And it officially shows that
I. AM. GIGANTIC. Or, at least, my belly is.

I am also going to start giving you pictures of "stuff." Things that we've collected for the baby and the nursery that I really want to share. For now, you just get one thing. I finished making the letters for Baby Riley's name last night. These will hang on her wall, above the crib. :-)

OH, and quick shout to "Work-Pregnancy #1"..... these friends of mine were due just about exactly 2 weeks before me, on December 28. They were already scheduled for an induction this coming Monday, but it looks like Baby Rigby had other plans! Wishing them luck!! :-)

A letter to my girl

2009-12-12T20:00:00.003-06:00

Dear Sweet Baby Girl,

We are officially one month away from your "due date" today. That's right, today is December 12th and you are due to arrive on January 12th. I know you'll actually come when you're ready, whether it's before, after, or right on that day. Whenever you get here, Daddy and I will be waiting with open arms! I couldn't even begin to explain how excited we are for you to be here with us.....you know, here on the outside!

Sometimes, it seems like you've been a part of our lives forever. I already have a hard time remembering what my life was like without you in it. Other times, though, it seems like just yesterday that we found out about you. Oh, Baby Riley, I will never, ever forget that day. It was May 8, 2009, just two days before Mother's Day. Finding out about you will forever be the greatest Mother's Day gift of my life. I knew from the very moment that I saw the test that said "pregnant," that I was blessed so much more than I could ever deserve. I know that God has given you to us for a reason and I can only hope to live up to His plans for me as your mother. One thing I know will never fail, though -- and that is the love that Daddy and I have for you. We will never falter there. NEVER.

Speaking of people who love you already, do you know there are SO many of them?? You have grandparents that can't wait to meet you -- Munners and Grandaddy, Oma and Grandad, Nanny and Grandpa --gosh, you are one lucky girl! On top of that, you have aunts and uncles, cousins, tons of friends, extended family.....the list just goes on and on. Oh! And you have two brothers and a sister already, too, as I'm sure you've heard over the last few months. You know, they are a little furrier than you and they tend to show their excitement by barking and show their love by licking, but they mean well. And they are going to love you so much!

While you've been cooking away on the inside, Daddy and I have been working hard to get things ready for you on the outside. Your room is nearly done and we really hope you love it! It's nice and girly, just the way your Daddy wanted! :-) By the way, he's already crazy about you (it shouldn't be too hard for you to wrap him completely around your little finger once you get here). He wants everything to be perfect for you -- it's so sweet. I have a feeling you are definitely going to be "Daddy's Little Girl."

So, my sweet little girl, we are anxiously awaiting your arrival. You already fit perfectly into our little family -- I know you were absolutely meant to be here. You've changed our lives already in so many ways. And all of them for the better. I can't wait to see your precious little face and get to know you even better than I do already. Take your time, little one, but know that Mommy and Daddy are here and waiting whenever you get ready to join us.

We love you so much and we'll see you soon.
All my love,
Mommy

Update from The House of SICK.

2009-12-11T16:11:00.003-06:00

So, as I mentioned in my last post, this has quite an eventful week, health-wise. It's probably just easier if I refer to our home as the "House of SICK." Blah.

As you know, they thought H had the flu. Luckily, he did not. He just felt like complete crap-ola for about 4 days. As in, he didn't get off the couch for four whole days. My official medical assessment? I think he had some kind of nasty stomach virus, but we ended up never getting a specific diagnosis for his mystery illness, since by the time it was time to go back to the doctor the second time, he was actually feeling better. And....speaking of feeling better....H is now pretty much back to normal. He's been back at work for a couple of days and seems to be fine.

And it's a pretty good thing he's feeling better because fate decided it was MY turn to feel like complete crap-ola. (Hey, at least we took turns being sick, right? That way, we can take care of each other.) Anyway, my cough started Monday night and was all down in my chest on Tuesday. Wednesday was more of the same for me and I stayed home from work, presumably to take H to the doctor, but I was also hoping a day of rest might help me feel better, too. No such luck. I went to work yesterday, but coughed like a maniac all the way through. What's weird, though, is that I haven't ever really developed anything other than the cough (knock on wood). So, that brings me to last night. Ugh. Miserable, that's all I have to say. When I woke up this morning feeling no better at all, I decided it was finally time to head to the doctor. Not that I really thought the doctor could DO anything, but I wanted to make sure I didn't get any worse -- for my sake and Baby Riley's. I figure she hasn't been enjoying the hacking cough, either.

At this stage in pregnancy, my OB wants to be the doctor to see me for anything. She didn't really tell me WHAT was wrong with me, but she did give me some antibiotics and some suggestions for OTC meds that may help. Let's hope. And, because I guess I'm just lucky, she also decided to go ahead and do my first internal exam while I was there. Never mind that I wasn't scheduled for this til next week's appointment, but whatever. It wasn't that bad.
She did the Group B Strep swab, and hopefully those results will come back A-OK.
She also checked my cervix for the first time. It is still totally closed up, and I'm pretty sure that at 35 weeks, that's a GOOD thing. :-)

So, that's it. Hopefully the next update from the House of SICK will be to say that EVERYONE IS JUST FINE AND COMPLETELY BACK TO NORMAL.
Oh, please....let that be the next report!

P.S.--I know some readers may be tired of hearing me "complain" about us being sick.... but remember, this is my blog and I'm using it chronicle my life right now. And being sick this week is what's going on in my life. That's all. :-)

Week 35 and some other stuff...

2009-12-08T18:41:00.008-06:00

35 weeks down, 5 weeks to go. It gets more surreal every day, as it gets closer and closer! This has been quite a week .... keep reading!

Week 34 (12/1/09-12/7/09): As far as the pregnancy goes, I felt good again this week. Baby Riley continues to move and squirm on a regular basis and she's started landing some really good kicks in my ribs, but they don't usually hurt. This next bit may be "tmi" (sorry, I've warned you), but I've also been feeling the strangest and sort of painful sensation in the last week. It's like someone is literally pulling on my urethra (told you, tmi!). First of all, it is a bizarre feeling. But more than that -- IT HURTS! We were walking around Wal-Hell the other day and I lost count of how many times I had to stop walking and lean over until the feeling went away. Weird! Oh, and also....the swelling of my ankles is like a daily occurrence now. Sometimes my feet join the "fat" party, too. So fun.

Week 35 Doctor's Appt: I had another regular doctor's visit yesterday. It was the quickest and easiest visit yet (probably b/c I didn't ask any questions). Here's the run-down:

Heartbeat: Sounded good and strong again. She never tells me how many bpm it is. Oh well.

Weight Gain: I've gained 1 pound since the last visit. That brings my total gain to 12 or 13 pounds.

Blood Pressure: 106/58 Woot! This is almost HIGH for me! :-)

Measurement: I was right. I've really grown. My belly measurement was up to 32, almost 33, cm. You may remember that this measurement should be close the same number of weeks I am, so I'm doing good in that regard!

That was it. I have to start going once a week now, so I'll be back in that office before I know it. And, joy of joys, we get to start the "internal checks" next week. Yee. Haw.

According to the website I read each week, Baby Riley weighs a little over 5 pounds now (wow! that's like a real baby!) and she's now the size of a honeydew. Cute! HERE is that weekly report and HERE is the weekly look at what she might be looking like right now (check out the 3-d ultrasound pic for this week--its adorable).

In other news, there have been better weeks around our house. :-( Sunday, H started running a fever and feeling lousy. He ended up all achy and flu-ish feeling. He stayed home on Monday and only got worse. So, off to the doctor we went on Monday night. His temp was 102 (way too high for a grown up) and the doc thought it was probably the flu. YIKES!! I was not happy to hear this! We got the test results back tonight, though, and found out it is NOT the flu. Great! Except now his illness is a mystery. If he's not better tomorrow, we are going back in. And how about the pregnant wife? Well, I started coughing last night and that only got worse today. I don't have any other symptoms of anything, so we'll see what happens for me.

There have been GOOD events this week, though. We got all of our Christmas decorations put up over the weekend (before all the sickness and what-not began). I love Christmas decorations so much, but I really hate when the time comes to take them down. I always feel like the house looks so empty after it comes down. We may not have made ANY progress on the nursery (yes, I know you are waiting on pics!), but at least we have a festive house! Here are a few pics:

Our Christmas Tree

The mantle (yes, the dogs have stockings!)

Can you tell how much Rusty just LOVES to wear his antlers?? :-)

And this one just proves that my Baby Boy has been around for enough Christmases to know that a stocking is something to get EXCITED about!!

Week 34, only 6 more to go!

2009-12-02T22:17:00.007-06:00

So, I'm a day late. I was **this** close to being 2 days late....because it is currently AFTER 10pm, which is waaaaay later than I should be up. But that's just how dedicated I am to keeping you informed. Ha! (It's probably going to be a quickie, though....)

Week 33 (11/24/09-11/30/09): Mark this one down as another "good feeling week." Well, mostly. I still feel like I'm getting H-U-G-E. No, seriously. Wait til you see the weekly belly picture below and you'll see it, too. Baby Riley and I have definitely been growing over the last week or two. I'm finding that I have to put more effort into simple things. You know, like rolling over in bed, or bending over to pick something up. PHEW, who knew those things could wear you out and make you grunt and groan out loud? I'll be curious to see what that tape-measure-measurement thing is next week at my doctor's appointment. Bet it'll be a lot bigger!

So, as you know, this past week was Thanksgiving. We had a nice day. We got pumpkin donuts (mmm....SO good and SO my favorite!) and headed to H's mom's house to watch the Macy's Parade and scour the ads from the newspaper. We stayed through Thanksgiving lunch and had a great time. We ended the day at my parent's house for yet another Thanksgiving meal for dinner. Friday, H had to go back to work (blah!) and I actually braved a couple of stores on Black Friday to do a little shopping. The crowds weren't too bad (but I did wait til about 8am to head out) and I got a couple of good deals. We spent Friday night at H's mom's house again for leftovers and a movie, where I promptly fell asleep in the recliner. That was great, but when I woke up to head home.....ugh.... not so great. I felt horribly sick to my stomach and ended up being sick. All. night. long. I was miserable and didn't leave the house all day Saturday, trying to just feel a little better.

I guess the "home-body-ness" stuck around, because even though I was feeling better, I didn't leave the house all day Sunday, either. It was a pretty relaxing weekend. I got the rest of Baby Riley's stuff washed and folded - it's now just waiting for me to figure out how to organize it and put it all away. I also cleaned out and rearranged the kitchen cabinets, so now we have several empty shelves, just waiting to be filled up with baby bottles and other baby feeding gear! Woohoo!

OK, I'll wrap up the Thanksgiving weekend story by posting our "official" Thanksgiving picture! (Oma has already started her Christmas decorations.....hence the tree in the background!)
EDIT: the more I look at this picture, the more I think, "Gah. I look awful. My face is so puffy and...PALE." Ick. In any case, just fyi, I was kidding about the "official" T'giving pic...we don't really do that! :-)

So...what to expect this week, in WEEK 34?? Well, HERE is your weekly shot of Baby Riley and HERE is your description of what's probably going on in there. Apparently, she's about the size/weight of a canteloupe now - Yay! Another fruit I'm actually familiar with! And, it looks like we crossed the line into a "safer zone," meaning that, if she were to be born now, she'd probably be just fine. Not that I want her to come this early, of course, but that little peace of mind is reassuring!

OK, I guess that's about it for now. This week, we are looking forward to:
--putting up the Christmas decorations and the TREE this weekend! Yay!
--having another doctor's appointment on Monday
--being THAT much closer to winter break at school! YES!!

And, as promised, here is that weekly belly shot of me and Baby Riley. This was taken today, at 34 weeks and 1 day. Told ya we've been GROWING!! :-)

SEE YOU NEXT WEEK!

Hello, December!

2009-12-01T21:41:00.004-06:00

Can you believe that December is here already?? Not only does that mean that Christmas is a smaller number of days away that I even care to think about, but it also means that this year is almost over! I swear, time really does pass faster and faster the older I get.

Anyhoo....I'm technically 34 weeks pregnant today, so its time for my weekly post, but it just ain't happening tonight. So, you know, if you were all on the edge of your seat waiting to see what happened for me this past week, then, well....I appreciate your excitement. But, I'm going to have to put you off til tomorrow! :-)

See, I was feeling really tired tonight and thought I'd chill at home. H had somewhere to be, so it's just been me and the dogs.
I could have done my weekly post.
I could have graded my students' projects from last week.
I could have worked on some crafty-related projects for the nursery.
I could have done some organizing of "stuff" in the nursery.
I could have gone for a long walk around the neighborhood. **Ha! That last one actually makes me laugh out loud! Ha!**

But I didn't do any of those things.

I went to TARGET instead. And got some great deals on a few much-needed items that actually fit all the way over my growing belly. And, really, who doesn't love a productive trip to Target? (fyi, "great deals" means something along the lines of two sweaters, one long sleeved shirt and one dress all for under $50!) YAY!!

See you tomorrow!

Week 33!

2009-11-24T16:26:00.007-06:00

Aaaannnd......the weeks just keep on FLYIN' by, don't they?? I signed on to my blog earlier today to click on one my favorite blogs (you know... those..... ---> over there, in the list on the right? Check 'em out, if you haven't already).... anyhoo, when I logged on, I looked at my weekly ticker up above and just about FELL. OUT. OF. MY. CHAIR. when I saw the countdown said only 49 days to go! What the...?? I mean, I know we're only 7 weeks away, and I guess I know that isn't very many days, but still. Woah.

This makes sense with the way I've been feeling for the last few days, though. Which is s-t-r-e-s-s-e-d. As in, stressed over lack of time. I feel like there is SO much left to do, and SO little time. Sunday, I just had a complete breakdown. When I think about keeping up with the demands of my job and my coaching responsibilities, and doing everyday things like grocery shopping, keeping us fed, keeping the laundry done, keeping this house clean (which is no easy feat with 3 dogs, btw), and THEN I think about getting everything ready for the BABY that is coming....my brain just can't process it all. I know that I have to learn to let some of it go and not be worried that there is dog hair all over the house, or that there is no decent food in the pantry, but that's hard to do. I'm trying, though. Trying to just focus on all that I'm excited about and looking forward to. Cuz, you know, there really are a LOT of things that fall into that category. And, God bless him, I know that H does understand. Particularly after my breakdowns and freak outs over the last couple of days....he's there to do whatever I need. But sometimes I forget to tell him in advance what I need. Instead, I just wait til I'm overwhelmed and freak out -- not good. **sigh** Ah, well. I didn't mean to get off track like that. Let's go back a step and I'll give you the update for last week.

Week 32 (11/17/09-11/23/09): Thankfully, I'm still feeling mostly great. Feeling HUGE, but mostly great. I told the girls at work the other day that I feel like I've officially crossed the line from being "cute and pregnant" to be "huge and pregnant." Sometimes, I can literally feel the skin on my stomach stretching! (Yeah, I'm just waiting for those belly-stretch-marks to pop out any day now!) Hmm...what's new this week? Well, I'm having more trouble sleeping at night than before. I wake up every time I need to roll from one side to the other. Every time. And, I'm having trouble sleeping on my left side because I start to get pains in my chest, as if my lung is hurting (is that even possible?). I figure it's just my uterus following gravity and compressing my left lung. I've started sleeping with an extra pillow under my head/shoulders, to kind of prop myself up a bit, which is sort of helping. AND, in other news (haha), I think I had my first Braxton-Hicks contraction the other day. We were sitting in the movie theater (watching New Moon, which was pretty good, btw, considering I thought it was the worst book, but I digress) and all of a sudden the lowest part of my abdomen tightened up for about 30 seconds. It made me sort of double-over, but it didn't necessarily hurt. And then, it was over. It left me feeling slightly breathless, like I needed to exhale. Interesting experience.

Week 33 Doctor's Appt: I had another regular doctor's appointment today. It was pretty uneventful and everything checked out OK. In brief:
Weight gain: none since appt 2 weeks ago (total in pregnancy so far 11 (12?) pounds)
BP: 102/56, which is back to "normal" for me, after last time's slightly low reading
HearTbeat: sounded strong and lovely, as always
I did ask the doctor about the measurements she takes of my stomach at every visit. She said she is measuring the size of my uterus and it should roughly correlate, in centimeters, to the number of weeks pregnant I am. Two weeks ago, at 31 weeks, I was measuring 27 centimeters, which is why she sent me in for the ultrasound to check things out. Today, at 33 weeks, I was measuring 30 centimeters. She explained that I'm probably just going to always measure "small" b/c of how I'm carrying the baby, but that as long as I'm growing every week, then it is fine.

Lastly, HERE is your weekly picture of what Baby Riley looks like and HERE is your summary of what we are experiencing. Finally! They've compared her to a pineapple. Something I understand! The site also says that I may experience some numbness and tingling in my hands and fingers because of fluid retention. Good to know now, since my completely numb left hand had me perplexed on Sunday afternoon.

This week promises to be a good one. H and I both have the day off work tomorrow (the day before Thanksgiving). His plan is to finish painting the crib so we can get it put together and get it in her room. My plan is to sort through all the stuff we've accumulated through baby showers and whatnot, so I can figure out what we have and what we still need. I envision some trips to the "mothership" in my future...!
We have a busy Thanksgiving Day, making the rounds to three different groups of family, but it'll be fun. Friday, I think I might really push myself to the limit and not get off the couch all day. :-)

Oh, and in case you missed my video post from yesterday (you can still go watch!), or if you didn't make it all the way to the end.....

Below is a picture of what H and I are MOST THANKFUL FOR THIS YEAR!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO EVERYONE!

ps--because one of my great friends asked for me to explain the "we have 10 pets" things from a previous post...... You already know we have 3 dogs. A couple of weeks ago, H came hom with a small fish tank and a few tiny little fish. He keeps sneaking new fish into the tank, though, and I think the current total is up to 7. Or is it 8? :-)

Baby Shower Video

2009-11-23T22:05:00.004-06:00

I made a new "picture video." This one includes pics from ALL FOUR showers! :-) It'll take a few minutes to watch, but it's worth it! I love this song so much and ..... OH! This is important .... you have to watch all the way to the end, because the very best picture is also the very last one! ENJOY!

Thanks, Katie

2009-11-20T22:12:00.004-06:00

I don't get "tagged" for me-me type posts that often, so thanks, Katie, for tagging me on this one! I'm honored! :-)

The rules for Kreativ Blogger are:

1. List 7 things about myself others might not know.

2. Award 7 people with the award.

Here goes:

1. I love to fly. It doesn't scare me at all and I actually look forward to it whenever I'm going to get on an airplane. Even those little prop-planes that you have to walk on the tarmac to get to. I'm crazy, I know.

2. We now have a total of TEN pets in our house. Betcha didn't know THAT!

3. I'm a "news snob." Seriously, I have ONE network that I'll watch for news, weather, etc (including the local news, too) and I really think the other ones are completely inferior.

4. I *hate* snow most of the time, but I miss being able to ski and snowboard. I miss those activites a lot, actually.

5. I can think of at least 5 procedures I'd get from a plastic surgeon if money were no object. Without the least bit of hesitation, either.

6. If someone told me I was only allowed to shop at ONE store for anything I might ever need for the rest of my life, I'd pick Target. I would not think twice about that decision and I don't think I'd ever regret it.

7. I'm still mulling over ideas for that *shh*book*shh*. But I wonder if that's one of things that'll just never happen?

OK, that's it. I'm going to tag these people:

:-)

Week 32

2009-11-18T21:32:00.006-06:00

Hi again! It's me. Not that you were expecting anyone else, of course. :-) We've made it to 32 weeks. Which means there is officially only 2 months to go. Or, 8 weeks, which somehow sounds like even less time to me than "2 months." I can't believe how quickly time is passing. I'm excited because I want to meet Baby Riley more than anything in the world, but I'm also anxious because I feel like there is just SO much left to do before she gets here. Argh!!

Week 31 (11/10/09-11/16/09): Last week was a very BUSY week, but another great one. I'm thrilled to report that I'm still feeling fantastic....but if I had to pick one new word to describe how I'm feeling, it would have to be.....CROWDED. I'm really starting to feel like there just isn't enough room in there for all of me AND all of her! It is especially bad sometimes when I'm sitting down. And that is really unfortunate. Because sitting down is my favorite way to be. I think the little one is feeling the cramped nature of things, too - if her kicks and wiggles are any indication. Let's just say she does NOT hesitate to let me know when she's uncomfortable. Outspoken like her mom, I'm guessing! Besides the "crowded" factor, I'm also officially starting to feel like a ginormous pregnant woman. I just feel like I take up twice as much space as I used to. And I think I'm walking differently. Maybe not quite the "waddle" just yet, but I'm getting there. AND.... I've made another big leap. I've officially moved on to H's side of the closet. Yep. I've given up on wearing my size small t-shirts around the house and now I wear his t-shirts at night when I get home. Hey, it may not look great, but it sure is comfy!

And....on to the busy-ness that was this past week!

1. First of all, cheerleading is kicking my butt. Working from 7:30-4:00 is one thing. Adding DAILY cheer practices until 5:30 to that is insane. Adding one or two morning practices on to that is just plain out of control. Don't get me wrong. This is all by choice. I suppose I could have given up coaching altogether this year, but I didn't want to. I love my girls and I love helping them get better at what they do. And it's only for another month. Then, I'll have to give the reigns over to someone else. **sigh**

2. Childbirth Class. Lemme give you the short version of this LONG story. The hospital we chose offers free childbirth classes once a month. They are an all-day-Saturday thing. We signed up for the class in December. We had a baby shower scheduled the same day as the one in November, so that would not work. The one in January is only 3 days before my due date, so clearly that would not work. Anyhoo....I get a phone call last week telling me they have cancelled the December class. AND THEY DID NOT RESCHEDULE IT. Please, let me interpret that for you. We were told to either "just take the November or January class instead." Really? REALLY?? I ended up yelling - and then crying - and then yelling again - at the scheduling lady on the phone.

I know missing the class may not seem like a big deal but, as I explained to H, the amount of stress NOT having the class would cause me would probably be unbearable. The thought of going into childbirth with NO preparation whatsoever was more than I could have imagined. So, long story short (too late, I know), we ended up going to the first 1/2 of the class this past Saturday and left at the lunch break so that we could make it to the baby shower. I think it will end up being OK, since the class was nearly worthless, anyway. No breathing techniques covered. No "natural" pain management covered. No sitting on the floor with pillows like you see on TV. (Good thing it was free....) The booklet they gave us was sort of helpful, though. In any case, I left the class feeling like I know a little bit about what to expect and knowing that I need to do some more research and reading on my own to make sure I'm ready for the big day. Ah, well.

3. Baby Showers!! We had our third shower this past weekend, yay! This one was hosted by H's sister and his aunt for his side of the family. It was very nice and we received a lot of wonderful items that we really needed! I know I'm behind on telling you shower stories (there was that second shower weekend before last, too). I promise to get on that ASAP!! Really!

Allright. Let's see what we can expect this week. Week 32. HERE is the weekly summary of what baby and I are probably experiencing and HERE is the weekly look inside. Seriously? A jicama? Can't they EVER compare her to something that I'm actually familiar with? Here's what I do understand. It says she probably weighs 3.75 pounds -- all good! And it says she probably has hair on her head. Did I tell you that the ultrasound tech told us last week that she could see hair on the back of Baby Riley's head?? How cute! Can't wait to see the COLOR!

On the agenda for the next week:

--Our final shower on Saturday! Yay!!

--finally sorting through all the STUFF. Yay? (Fun, but lots of work) :-)

--having another doctor's appointment. OK.

--starting my 5 1/2 day break for Thanksgiving. YAY times a million!!

Aaaannnd...............here are a few pictures to keep you entertained:

My weekly shot, taken yesterday at 32 weeks exactly.

Although this second picture really has nothing to do with my weekly post...I just couldn't resist. My BABY BOY had his 9th birthday yesterday, so I thought you'd like to see his adorable face!

Got VETERANS? Thank 'em.

2009-11-11T18:01:00.003-06:00

(posting 3 days in a row?? I know, right? But this is important!)

I'm sure you already know this, but today, November 11, is VETERAN'S DAY. I'd like to tell you a little story.

There once was a man, born on the early side of the 1900's, who came of age right around the time of World War II. That young man was raised in Memphis, on the banks of the Mississippi River - quite literally. He and his many brothers and sisters may not have had much in terms of material wealth, but they had each other. They loved God and they loved their family. So, when the war started, guess what that young man did? He joined the United States Army, of course. He served on the front lines, through some of the most awful conditions that you and I wouldn't even want to imagine, let alone experience first hand. Well, he did it. He lived through all the horrors and fought like hell for his country. He came back home, still loving God and still loving his family. He raised a family of his own. One of his own was a daughter; that daughter had a daughter. That grandaughter is so thankful for what her Grandfather did for her freedom. He is a Veteran and TODAY IS HIS DAY.

That man also had a son. His son followed in his father's footsteps and also served his generation in the Army. That son may not have seen the horrors of a war like World War II, but his sacrifice for his country was no less profound. He deserves the credit for our freedom, too. He is a Veteran and TODAY IS HIS DAY.

Remember that man's grandaughter? Well, she is grown and married now. Her husband served his country in the United States Navy. Her husband was lucky. He never had to experience the trauma that can come with war-time service. Would he have proudly and willingly taken on any assignment his country had given him during his time of service? Absolutely. Without question. Are his sacrifices part of the reason we know freedom today? Absolutely. Without question. He is a Veteran and TODAY IS HIS DAY.

You've probably figured it out already, but let me explain. That first man is my Grandfather, whom I adore. His son is my uncle, who is also one of the greatest men I know. That last one? You already know - that is H, my husband. The love of my life and the father of my child. Are those 3 men the only Veterans I have known? Not by a long shot. My other Grandfather also served his country in the Navy. My "Godfather" served in the Army first, then joined the Navy and continued to serve. There are others, as well, but those are the stories that I decided to tell you today.

I am so proud of all these Veterans who have personally touched my life. I am so thankful for everything that they have all done, along with all the other millions of people who have served this country. I know that our freedom is a direct result of everything they have done. And our freedom will continue to be because of their sacrifices.

So, if you know a Veteran, I hope you thanked them today.

Week 31!

2009-11-10T19:40:00.003-06:00

Holy she-ite. Do you realize what "Week 31" means?? It means that our countdown of weeks is now in the SINGLE DIGITS. Yes, you heard that correctly. We only have 9 weeks to go. If someone out there can tell me how THAT happened, I'd be much obliged. Much obliged, indeed.

Week 30 (11/3/09 - 11/9/09): I have felt great again this week and Baby Riley has seemed to be feeling just fantastic! I say this because she pretty much has not stopped moving ALL WEEK LONG. I am in no way complaining. I'm just sayin. It's like a constant bumper car ride inside my belly. I can even see the movements from the outside on a regular basis. I'm pretty much convinced that this child actually never sleeps in there. It's such a reassuring feeling -- to feel her and know (think?) that it means everything is just right in her world.

On another note, I've started taking the iron supplements on a regular basis like the doctor ordered. I was hoping that a nice side effect would be that I'd have more energy. No such luck. At least not as far as I can tell. I feel about the same as I did before. Ah, well. In any case, week 30 was another good week, for which I'm thankful. Again.

However...I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. Or the first shoe. Or something. Meaning, I keep waiting for the true "horribleness" that is preganancy to come along and smack me in the face while I'm blissfully unaware. You know what I'm talking about -- people bitch and complain about being pregnant all the time. All the crappy crap that comes with being pregnant. And I....well.... I'm wondering when and if all that will happen to me. Let me just give you a brief run-down of ALL the horrible things that various people TOLD me would happen while I was pregnant:

I would be unrecognizably fat. Er, um, I mean "large." Not true. Hasn't happened. At least not yet, so far as I can tell.

I would be miserably hot. All the time. Hasn't happened. My temperature guage has pretty much stayed the exact same, with my same tendencies to get cold like always.

I would have acne and face breakouts to rival a small chain of Indonesian volcano islands. Hasn't happened. My complexion has been about the same as always.

I would not be able to tie my own shoes anymore. Hasn't happened. Although I do acknowledge that this one may be true and just hasn't happened YET.

My hair would fall out. Or get extra thick. Hasn't happened, either way. It's the same as it always was.

My feet would grow and none of my shoes would fit anymore. Again, hasn't happened.

OK....I guess that's enough pressing my luck for one week. Let's hope I didn't just jinx myself by talking about all those things. But in any case, my point is this: I wish people would think about what they say (not to mention how they say it) when talking to pregnant women. Because, clearly, as I've said since the beginning of this journey, "What happened to YOU might not happen to ME. Everyone is different." Thank you very much. *getting off my soapbox now*

Week 31 Doctor's Appt: I had another doctor's appointment today. Overall, it was a good visit. Here are the highlights:

Weight gain: 2 pounds since my last appt three weeks ago. That makes 11 pounds total for the pregnancy.

Blood Pressure: 98/52 The nurse commented that this was pretty low, even for me, but the doctor didn't say anything about it, so I'm not concerned at this point.

Baby's heartrate: sounded great, thump-thumping away!

My growth measurement: Not quite as much as it should be, according to the doctor (this is the tape measure across the belly measurement, btw). And so, that meant.....

Since I wasn't measuring quite the size I "should" be at 31 weeks, the doctor sent me to the ultrasound tech to look and make sure Baby Riley is growing like SHE should be. Did this freak me out? Surprisingly, not at all. I had no doubt that they were going to tell me everything was fine. I called H at work and he left right away to come be there for the ultrasound. And guess what? The tech said just what I imagined: Everything was perfect on the inside. Baby Riley looks to weigh 3 pounds, 11 ounces, which is at the 49th percentile for 31-week fetal growth. That means she is perfectly average in size and weight! Yay! And, just for fun, would you like to know what position our little gymnast was lying in? She was head-down, with BOTH feet pulled up over her head. Basically, her legs were resting on her forehead. Of course she was. What else would we expect? :-)

So, I'm on the every-two-weeks-plan for doctor's visits, until Week 36 when we start going once a week. Should be fun! And, because I know you'd hate to miss this, HERE is your weekly "picture" of Baby Riley and HERE is your summary of what she and I are experiencing. It says she is about the size of 4 naval oranges and that she's getting ready for a growth spurt. Oh, boy!

All right. I guess that it is for this weekly report. I'm going to try to do another post this week about Shower #2 from last weekend, but we'll see how that goes. Speaking of that, I have a question:

When you log onto this page, does the music from the Shower 1 slideshow play automatically? If so, I've go to figure out a different plan, b/c then what will happen if I post another slideshow with music? Right. You see my dilemma.

RANDOM photo of the week:

Here is one of those things that I never actually thought would be in my house, just hanging out with the dryer sheets and stain remover. It's sort of bizarre when you look down and realize that these little touches start to change what your home is. Change in a good way, obviously. But still odd.

I started washing baby clothes last weekend. An entire TUB full of newborn and 0-3 months clothes that a friend gave me. Baby Riley is SET for the first few months. Woot!

Oh, and DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW INCREDIBLE THIS DREFT STUFF SMELLS?? Man, oh, man. I had noooo idea!

SHOWER 1 !!

2009-11-09T22:07:00.003-06:00

OK, so I should definitely be in the bed, since it is now past 10pm, which is like my "danger, danger, you are up too late" cut-off time of night. But, I've been trying to get this post ready, since Shower #1 was over a week ago now.

Shower #1 was hosted by my sister-in-law (brother's wife) and held at my mother's house. It was for my side of the family and since it was the day after Halloween (and you know that IS my favorite holiday), it had a Halloween-theme! Odd for a baby shower? Hmm... maybe. But I'm sort of odd, you know. I actually couldn't think of a BETTER theme for my first baby shower than all black-and-orange and creepy-like! The decorations that my mom and SIL did were out of this world, but my favorite thing was the cake. I mean, how can you NOT love a cake made of pregnant Bar.bie dressed as a witch for Halloween?

Anyway, lots of my family was there including my wonderful cousin M and her daughters J and A, my Grandmother (and Grandfather - his first ever baby shower-yay!), my Aunt A from out of town and many others, including a few friends, as well. It was a great afternoon and instead of posting a ton of pics, I thought I'd try something ambitious.

You'll have to tell me what you think! :-)

Hi. Welcome. And all that stuff.

2009-11-08T20:39:00.002-06:00

Well, I've made the switch. It's too early to tell if I like it better or not, but so far, so good!

It isn't time for my "weekly" post yet. And I **promise** that the SHOWER posts are coming very soon (there have been 2 now)!!

So...in the meantime... maybe you could, you know, update my new blog address in your blog roll, or your reader, or your favorites list...or, whatever.

:-)