Baby Shower

I was blessed to have a baby shower at church a couple of weeks ago. We got diapers, wipes, some outfits and gift cards- which all have already been spent! We bought a new baby monitor with them, which we desperately needed! Our old one was getting terrible interference and keeping us up at night. Our new one is crystal clear and we love it!



I finally found a coming home outfit that I like yesterday. Nothing like waiting until the last minute.

But the pack and play is all set up, sheets and all, in our bedroom, the car seat is all washed and assembled, waiting to be installed though until tomorrow. I also finally got a baby book on Sunday and started filling it out. I'll take it with us to the hospital b/c they'll put his footprints and handprints in it for me when he's born.

Just waiting on baby now!!

It's Almost Time!

I had my make up dr's appt today, since I was sick last Thursday. I had an ultrasound, which measured the baby at 7lbs 7 oz. That would be a nice size baby! Chase was 8lbs 7oz (WAY too big for my body) and JuJu was 7lbs 11oz, which seemed sooo tiny compared to Chase. So we'll see how big he is on Thursday.

I am almost 3 cm dilated today. She didn't tell me any other measurements though. Right now, we are set to to be at the hospital at 4:30am on Thursday, start IV antibiotics by 5, finish them by 9 and start pitocin then. My dr will come over at 10:30 and break my water. With JuJu, I went from 5cm-10cm in 45 mins, so the baby could arrive pretty soon after 10:30am. My dr said she was having a hard time trying to schedule that into her schedule, since I go so fast, and her office is no longer IN the hospital. She'll actually have to drive there. Hope she makes it, lol.

In other news, Chase got the stomach virus on Saturday, the day Phil arrived back home. So he was quarantined from the rest of the family, leaving only me to take care of him, for all day Saturday and Sunday. Poor little guy, he was such a trooper! I have cleaned and disinfected door knobs, light switches, toilets and sinks more in the last 5 days than I have in months. Hopefully we are now past it all.

My mom came over today and helped us with some regular cleaning, like vacuuming, dusting, etc. We also moved some furniture and toys around, to get back to our normal way of living prior to Christmas and to get ready for baby (rocking chair in our bedroom, baby swing in living room, etc.).

As for names, we are down to Parker, Reid and Pierce. But that could change any time. :) We'll just have to see what he looks like I guess.

I can't believe that he's going to be here in 3 days! I'm trying to get as much time in with kids and Phil as I can, while also trying to get everything else done. The weather here is awesome this week, sunny and 60 degrees today, so we're trying to soak it up while we can! I love it!! Looks like that's the forecast for the day we bring the baby home too! Beautiful!

That's all for now. More cleaning, grocery shopping, family time in store for tomorrow. Looks like Phil is off work from now until March 1st! I'm still trying to figure that out, since he only "used" 2 wks vacation time, but ended up with 6 off. But I'm sure not complaining!!

Full Term

Sorry there's no picture for this post. Use your imaginations and picture me, with a really large belly! :)

I'm officially 37 wks, so it could be any time now, but I don't have babies early, so I'm not getting my hopes up. I was 1 1/2 cm and 30% effaced yesterday at my appt. That's good progress from the nothing that she said I was last week.

Everything's looking good. He's even measuring small, at 36 wks. She said she guesses that he weighs 6 1/2 lbs now. But 2 wks from now is a different story. I will get an ultrasound next Thursday at my next appt- just to check his position and size. And that will be my last appt. I'll be induced the next Thursday.

The date for the induction is Jan. 21st at 4:30 am! Yikes- I'm so not a morning person. I guess that my mom will just spend the night here with us and stay with the kids that day and Phil and I will go to the hospital. I will get my 4 hrs of antibiotics in before they even start pitocin. I'm thinking that 9am at the earliest I'll get poticin. She said she'd break my water around lunch. JuJu came about an hr after my water was broken last time, so hopefully this one won't take long either and we'll have a baby by early afternoon!

That's about all for now. In the meantime, I'm looking for a coming home outfit and trying, slowly but surely, to clean the house. Today- I swept the kitchen floor and that did me in, lol.

I've also already made out our menu for the next 4 weeks and I'm cooking extra each night for the next 2 weeks and freezing half, or making double and freezing that. Hopefully that will cover us for the first 2 weeks that we are home with a newborn and then Phil's parents will be here at week 3. Phil will then go back to work and my church will bring some meals for the weeks he's out of town. That's going to be the challenge- him being totally not here. Not jus,t "I'll be home at dinner time." It'll be, "I'll be back in 4 days, etc." That's my biggest source of anxiety right now. That's why I'm saving the meals from church until then. I'll need all the help I can get, I have a feeling!

35 1/2 wks

The time is drawing near, and I can feel it! I've been feeling the freaking out part of "We're gonna have a baby soon.", so I need to get some things done around here! Like buy some diapers, etc. :)

I had my OB appt today and I'm not dilated at all! Not even one little bit! And the baby is as high as he can be, -4. But, that's been the story with my other two, so I wasn't expecting anything different, just hoping for it!

But, we did discuss my fear of not getting my IV antibiotics in time (4 hrs before delivery), like with Julianna. In turn, Julianna had to be admitted to the hospital after I was discharged so that she could stay an extra day to finish up her 3 days of antibiotics that she had to have, since she came so quickly and I didn't get all my antibiotics before hand. I thought that this was a good reason not to be induced this time around, but my doctor said that this was a good reason to be induced. She said that since my labors are so quick, that I probably wouldn't get my 4 hrs of antibiotics if I went into labor on my own, but also might not have time for my epidural! Well, we can't have that! :)

So, I went ahead and signed up to be induced, but I can always cancel it. Right now, the date is Jan. 21st, the day before my mom's birthday. So that means I only have about 3 weeks left! Ahh! I have a lot to do before then, starting with getting all the Christmas stuff put away and then starting some cleaning!

I'm now going to the dr every week and I think she'll do an ultrasound in two weeks, to check the baby's size and position. I've gotten that at 38 wks with my other two, that's why I assume I'll get it again with this one.

Other than that, everything is going well. I only gained 2 lbs since my last visit, which is what I should gain in 2 wks. I'm not sure how I didn't gain 10 lbs, given all the Christmas food and goodies I've eaten in the last 2 weeks!!

Updates of the Day

I was really excited to go to my OB appointment today and get weighed b/c I've been trying really hard to be good about what I'm eating and to walk (2 mi) as many days a week as possible. Usually about 4 or 5 days a week. So..............drum roll please........I LOST 2 lbs! And did I mention that it was over Thanksgiving?!! At first I thought that she might be upset by that, but she wasn't. She said that if I've been walking a lot that I probably don't have a much fluid on me as I did 2 weeks ago. I'm definitely not trying to lose weight, just trying to be careful about what I'm eating (although Phil's already talked me into eating cookies tonight, lol) and making sure I'm drinking a TON of water and exercising.

I am already worried about this weekend though b/c I'll be out of town at a conference for work....sitting down for 9 hrs each day and having to eat out for every meal. I've already been contemplating how I'm going to get some exercise in. Maybe they'll have a workout room at the hotel! That would be ideal.

Also in the news from today- Chase's preschool called today and said that I needed to come and get him b/c he had stuff coming out of his eye. Sure enough, it looked like snot was running out of his eye and down his face when I picked him up. He's been having lots of allergy problems in the last 2 weeks, so apparently it has now worked it's way into a sinus infection. So he got oral and eye antibiotics today. I'm still so very thankful for my family's health this year though! That's the first antibiotic anyone's been on since their surgeries last Jan and March! Thank you Lord!!! Other than a gunky eye and nose, he's totally fine. No fever or anything else.

What other news is there.....oh, we're getting a new roof, courtesy of our insurance company! We found that out yesterday. We've been trying to get a new roof out of them for years now and it finally happened! We will have to pay our deductible though. But, we don't have to worry about our insurance company dropping us or raising our rates b/c we are getting it fixed after a national disaster (tornadoes that went through this summer) and insurance companies aren't allowed to drop you, etc. if your areas was declared a national disaster (you have up to 1 yr to make the claim). So yea for us! We'll be getting an $11,ooo roof for $1,5oo (our deductible plus the upgrade for an architectural roof). Another 'Thank You Lord'!

We probably won't be getting it until spring though due to the low temps now.

Well, I think that's all the news for today. Pray for Phil as he's Mr. Mom all weekend, starting at noon Friday. He does such a great job with them that I'm not worried, but I know how it is to be the only adult around for 3 days straight.

9 More Weeks....

Or a couple less if I'm lucky! I'm 31 weeks today and have not been taking any belly pictures lately. Phil snapped this one during our Christmas pictures, so there's not really much of the belly showing, sorry. Use your imagination....it's huge!

At my appointment last week, my OB said that gaining 6 lbs in 2 wks is a bit above average (and 9 lbs at the last appt in 4 wks), and at this point, I'm on track to gain more with this baby than I did with Chase, which was 50 lbs. I soooo do not want to gain more than 50 lbs, so I've made some changes!

First of all, no more desserts at night! Phil still partakes and I sit and watch him eat cookies or ice cream while I eat my yogurt. It's definitely not the same, but I use my imagination for one, and I also spice it up with nuts and fruit.

Secondly, I am trying really hard to walk most nights of the week. I really have to do it when Phil's here b/c I can't push the kids in the double stroller (over 100 lbs) and walk for exercise. It's just too much for those loose groin muscles, or whatever is loose in that area that causes me not to be able to strain. So far (in a bit over 1 wks time) I don't think that I've gained any weight! It's not that I'm trying to diet or not gain weight, I just don't want to be huge and miserable by the end, or as much as can be avoided, lol.

The baby is good and is head down. He has the hiccups all the time and kicks me a lot on my right side. He's always getting his feet stuck in my right rib cage, preventing me from bending over at times. Chase has gotten to feel him kick and have the hiccups. Both of which seem to freak him out a bit.

We still don't have a name, but have several in the running. I think I'll have to do a poll again on the blog to get everyone's opinions.

Other than the fact that I'm steadily outgrowing all my clothes with not many to grow into, there's not much else to report. I go back to the dr. next Tuesday. I'm going every 2 weeks now with nothing exciting happening until she starts to check me, at 36 or 37 weeks.

Oh, and I passed my glucose test with flying colors. My blood sugar was 89. And she said that my hematacrit was really good for this stage of pregnancy, at 38.

23 Weeks

Wow! It's been a while since I've taken my picture...and the belly is growing! I had my OB appt today and I've gained 5 lbs this month. Yikes! My BP was good and the baby's heartbeat was good too.

I had to see another dr today b/c mine had gone to break someone's water. I totally understand that, so I gladly saw another dr. It is determined that I already have a clogged milk duct...and the baby's not even here yet! She said to do the same thing that I did the whole time I was nursing Julianna and had clogged milk ducts and Mastitis, warm compress and massage. She also said that since I'm already having trouble with this duct, that I'll probably have issues with nursing this baby, just like with Julianna, great! She did say that there is a group of dr's here who specialize in breast health and that I might benefit from seeing them. She said that they may end up needing to cut into the duct. Lovely! But, I'd rather get all issues resolved before the baby comes than deal with Mastitis and clogged milk ducts for over a year, like I did with Julianna.

We also discussed flu vaccines and H1N1 vaccines. She definitely said that I should get them, even if Phil had the Swine Flu, I should still get one. She was very dismissive of any hesitations I had about the vaccines and said a little bit of mercury that the vaccines contain is less than I'm exposed to on a daily basis just in the environment. Hum. Well, that may or may not be true, but if those vaccines come in lose does or mercury free, I'll take them in those forms. If we didn't have a new baby coming in the winter time, I probably wouldn't even be considering them. But these vaccines will not only give me immunity to these illnesses, but also give the baby immunity. I think I'll definitely get the mercury free flu vaccine, but I'm still not sure about the H1N1.

I also asked her about increasing my vitamin intake with supplements to increase my immunity during this flu season and she was very dismissive of that too. I have a list of supplements from a dr friend who specializes in natural medicine that I'm gonna do a post on, so I'll post them there.

In 4 weeks I go back and do my glucose test, which hopefully will be fine, like the last 2 pregnancies. I'll do that right before Halloween.

Other than that, I'm still trying to think of baby names. Anybody got any good ideas?

It's a..........

BOY!!!!! Chase was right all along (along with several of you)! Based on my pg symptoms, I thought it was a boy early on, but I wanted another little girl (they are just so much fun to dress up), so I was hoping for a girl.

Phil was hoping for another boy so that Julianna would be special and be the only princess, so he got his wish.

Chase has always said it was a boy (except for lately when he said it was twins). Even a while ago we were going through the underwear he's outgrown and he said "Let's give it to the baby!" I told him that it was little boy underwear, so we could only do that IF it was a boy. He very confidently responded, "It IS a boy." I guess he has a better sixth sense than I do.


Phil got called into work to sleep at the airport last night, but luckily he didn't called out to a flight during the night. He was relieved of "sleeping duty" at 6:30 am and was able to meet me and the kids at the dr's office at 8.

I could tell from almost the moment she put the wand on me that it was a boy- it was that obvious! Phil was pretty distracted with Julianna who is cutting 2 molars and was super fussy, but Chase did a great job and watched the monitor and even asked the tech, "Where's the cord?" Somehow he remembered that from months ago when he asked me how the baby eats and applied it to the ultrasound! That amazes me!!!

Phil had to leave the ultrasound about halfway through b/c Julianna was just unbearable, but we have it all on DVD, so we watched it when I got home.



Everything measured great on the baby and he measured at 19 wks 2 days and I am 19 wks today. I was curious about that measurement since she moved my due date back almost 2 weeks at my first appt based on my first ultrasound measurements, from Jan. 19th to the 28th.

My BP was good 119/70 something I think, and I've gained 15 lbs so far. I gained about 50 with Chase and 38 with Julianna, I think. So hopefully this one will be even less, or at least not 50!!

We're currently working on names, focusing on family names from Phil's side, since Julianna's middle name, Mae, is from my family (Chase's whole name is just a name we liked, no family history there).

I think that's all. I go back in 4 weeks for just a regular appt and then in 8 weeks I do my glucose test, yuck!

Tomorrow, tomorrow.......

Well, tomorrow's the big day! I go at 8 am for the ultrasound! I'm super excited, but sad that I might be doing it alone. Somehow I've gone from having my whole family coming to the ultrasound to possibly going alone. :( Phil got called in to work and may not be able to make it in the morning. If that's the case, then there's no way I'm taking 2 kids, by myself, to that appt. Uncle Korey will come over at the crack of dawn to watch them for me.

Anyway, hopefully Phil will be finished with work by 8 am and can make it, with the kids.

16 Weeks

Sixteen weeks and doing well! I haven't had as many headaches this week, which is wonderful! I pretty much feel like a "normal" person, as far as energy goes, but I'm definitely noticing a change in my gait...and my belly for sure is getting big.

I'm pretty sure that I have felt the baby move for the last week. The feeling is so minute, that it's hard to say for sure, but I think that's what I feel. It's always when I sit down at the computer.

I can also tell that I'm getting bigger. My scrubs are now pretty tight and I'll probably be in maternity pants for work in the next week. I can no longer tie the draw string, lol. My legs also look bigger to me. When I told Phil that last night he said, "Your belly- nothing. Look how big your stomach is!" That's always what a pg girl wants to hear, lol.

I leave tomorrow for a conference for work in Birmingham. I'll be gone all weekend. Hopefully Phil will be okay home alone with the kids all weekend! And hopefully I won't miss them too much!

15 weeks

I've officially "popped". I know I don't look any bigger in this picture than normal, but this is my size now all day long as opposed to only after meals a few weeks ago.

I had a migraine last week that actually made me throw up and be nauseated all day. It was terrible! That has never happened to me before. I got an Imitrex Rx at the dr this week, so I have that if I need it now. I've been having almost daily headaches, so she said that I could just drink some caffiene for my headaches (that won't work for the migraines though), so I've been trying that more. I guess that's better for the baby than popping Tylenol every 4 hours or ending up with a migraine.

I also found out last week that I have Group B Strep in my urine, which they are treating with antibiotics. Since I became allergic to penicillin last year, they had to give me something else which did NOT sit well with my stomach! I found myself nauseated again and with an upset stomach all last weekend. They changed it on Monday to a different antibiotic and all is well now. But they said that I am now considered "Group B Strep Positive" for this pregnancy (just as I was for all my others), so I'll have to get antibiotics in labor for 4 hours before the baby is born, or else the baby may be born with it, which can lead to terrible illnesses. Julianna was born too quickly and I did not get all my antibiotics. Her white blood cell count started to increase right after she was born, so we had to stay 3 days in the hospital and she had to get 2 different antibiotics during that time, so we are not messing around this time. I guess I'm hoping for a labor that lasts at least 4 hrs this time. :)

We have our ultrasound scheduled for Sept. 3rd at 8am! I'm super excited!! We are definitely going to take Chase with us, and probably Julianna too if we don't get someone to watch her.

I've gained about 5 lbs so far, so I don't think that's too bad. I heard the baby's heartbeat, but I can't remember what it was- but it was good.

Just looking forward to feeling the baby move now. I keep thinking that I've felt it already a couple of times, but I'm sure that it's really too early for that.

13 Weeks

Thirteen weeks! I think I'm in my 2nd trimester now, depending on what source I'm reading. I feel like I'm getting there since I haven't napped for 2 weeks which seemed like an impossible feat a few weeks ago!! I've even got some serious chores done around the house, which had been neglected for, oh, about the last 3 months. So that felt good.

Not much else going on pregnancy-wise, other than the fact that you can vote on the poll on the right side as to whether or not this is going to be a boy or a girl. We'll know in 5 weeks and I am so excited to find out. I feel like I'm more excited this time around than with Chase (we didn't find out with Julianna), but I'm sure that's not true. :)

12 weeks

I'm 12 weeks today and feeling well. I actually haven't taken a nap all week! I can't really tell that I'm eating a whole lot more, but there are times when my blood sugar just drops and I need food NOW! So I try and stay on top of that to prevent Grumpy Mommy from entering the picture. :)

My belly is already getting in the way of doing things like bending over pretty far, which is not encouraging this early in the pregnancy. I'm hoping this rapid growth of my belly slows down a bit in the 2nd trimester!

Not much else to report. I'm just feeling blessed to be feeling well these days!

10 wks

First of all, we're gonna have to figure out how to make these pictures come out not so dark, now that the deck is covered.

Secondly, I am 10 wks (11 on Thursday) and had my 10 wk appt today. I got to hear the baby's heart beat, 167, right where it should be. I've gained 2 lbs since my last appt, which was encouraging since I had a stomach virus all weekend. I thought it might be pg related, but the doctor confirmed, by my symptoms which I won't go in to, that it was indeed a stomach virus. So, I had lost 6 lbs this weekend, no doubt all fluids, but apparently I'm back! Today is the first day that I have felt almost totally better and it all started Thursday night, so that was a long time! Luckily Phil was home and took care of the kids so that I could rest and sleep. I did have to call in sick for work on Saturday though. But they sure wouldn't have wanted me in my condition!

Not much else to report on the pg front. My next appt is August 5th and then we will find out the sex at the appt after that (beginning of Sept). And yes, we are going to find out the sex this time. Phil doesn't want to, but I just need to. We didn't find out witht Julianna and I feel like her life has just been up in the air since before she was even born. I need some control over things in my life right now after what all went on last year, so we are going to find out. Any guesses?

4th of July

Well, our 4th of July weekend was pretty uneventful. I have been sick since Thursday night and it was worse on Saturday. I was supposed to work, but had to call in sick. I'm guessing now that it is just pregnancy related since no one else in the house got it, but I would have bet money that I had a stomach virus. I get this with every pregnancy, so maybe I should take a hint. :) I go to the dr tomorrow so I'm going to ask her if intestinal issues come with pregnancy.

Anyway, enough of that! Friday my friend Leslie and her husband and baby Ella came over. I wasn't feeling well then, but hung in there. Chase is always the charmer and wasted no time in kissing Ella when she got here. (Sorry, I didn't take any pics all weekend.)

Saturday I ate Jello for breakfast, threw up my chicken noodle soup for lunch and then stayed in bed the rest of the day feeling horrible. Phil managed the kids and took them out to dinner, but had a hard time finding a place that was open. The hit Chick-Fil-A in the last 5 minutes they were open and took it to the park. I took a dose of Phenergan and was knocked out for the night. I slept 12 hrs!

I woke up Sunday feeling much better, and weighing 6 lbs less than I did a few days ago. Needless to say, I had no energy. I had a bagel for breakfast. We did not make it to church, but geared up to go to my parents' house. We made it there by 1 and put the kids down for their naps. I rested on the couch and got a nap in myself. My uncle Terry came over and we all ate dinner for the 4th. I did manage to eat some dinner and felt pretty okay then.

So here we are today, Monday. I'm still working on my stamina and taking it easy. I don't have a 10 wk pg pic, so I'll have to work on that. I'm currently working on a mountain of dirty laundry that has been accumulating upstairs for a few weeks now and I'm pretty sure that Phil was dressing the kids from the pile of dirty clothes in the laundry basket which he obviously thought were clean. :) Here's to laundry and starting your week!

9 wk picture

I'm 9 1/2 wks now. This is my picture from Sunday. We take them on Sundays for one b/c I've usually showered for church that day and I'm usually dressed that day too. :)

I'm still feeling well. I'm not having to nap each day, so that is good. I almost felt worse after napping than I did if I just powered through the exhaustion, so I'm trying to stay awake during the day, but maybe sleep in a bit in the mornings, if Phil is home. That seems to be working out better.

I haven't really had many food cravings yet, other than whatever I see on commercials at night after dinner. Last night it was a Captain D's commercial and the battered fish looked soooo yummy! Nights before it's been the pasta at Olive Garden. Yesterday morning during church I had to leave the service in search of some food. I was starving! Luckily there were some cinnamon roll type things sitting out from breakfast and I finished them off! I was going to have to get in on snack time in one of my kids' rooms if I couldn't find anything. I'm not above Goldfish!! So it looks like it's time to start carrying food in my purse again.

Oh yeah, and I cut my hair off! It is waaayyy too hot here for this pregnant girl to have long hair. It feels sooo great!!

9 wks today

I'm 9 wks today, but I don't have a picture for today, sorry! But here are the pics from the last few weeks, since we knew that I was pregnant. We found out the day we left for our vacation to Knoxville and had a pretty quiet 6 hr ride there while I tried to let it soak in that we were having another one so soon. I think I've accepted it now. :)

6 wks

7 wks

8 wks

Look how my belly just popped out there on that 8th week! I mean 8 weeks, that's nothing! I guess those ab muscles are just toast by the third time around. Needless to say, I'm already wearing some maternity clothes v. some just "bigger" clothes. Funny that I had just gone through my closet and gotten out all my materniy clothes and packed them up a few weeks before I found out. So, last Friday I got them all back out again!

I havn't really been sick yet, just really tired. It's working that is wearng me out! But I've been up all day today without a nap! That's a big milestone for me this week. Tuesday I really didn't get out of bed after working all day Friday, Saturday and Monday and doing Father's Day festivities all day Sunday. I was worn out!! I've had some nausea here and there and some bad headaches (like I had with Chase), but nothing too bad...yet. My next appt is July 7th and I'll be 10 wks.