Just a thought...

Addison,

Today Mommy is 34 weeks pregnant with you. That means that in a mere three weeks you will be considered a full term baby should you decide to grace us with your presence. I have a big conversation coming up with my Doctor concerning your arrival and when it should take place for the health and safety of me and the fact I have Crohns disease. I swore up and down that I would allow nature to take it's course for your arrival. I wanted you to come when you were ready and when my body was fully prepared for it to happen but now I must take into consideration whether you need a healthy Mommy or risk ending up with a sick Mommy. So many decisions I have had to make over the course of these last eight months pertaining to your well being and so many more that are yet to come. I have already started putting your needs in front of my own. Money that was gifted to me over the holidays has been spent on you and I don't regret it for a second...I only wish I could do more for you as I am sure most all parents feel.

I am starting to drive Daddy a little on the crazy side. Even though your nursery still hasn't been completed I can't help but walk by and open up the door and just stand there in awe of what it is about to become and the countless hours you and I will spend in there just gazing upon one another. He quickly walks by and shuts the door not understanding my need to keep the door open. You are the light of my life already and I can't even begin to understand how much that will grow once I have you in my arms.

You have so many people anxiously awaiting your arrival. Your Aunt Nikki and Aunt Heather are just as excited as we are and your Uncle Matt and Uncle Steve, well they have become very protective of you already. I think Aunt Megan is just excited to share your arrival with all of her friends and shout proudly from the roof tops that she is an Aunt...silly teenagers!

We won't even begin to discuss how your Grandparents are doing. Your Grandpa Blankenship no longer cares about my well being, it's "how is my Granddaughter doing, you keep her safe". Grandma B is just as excited, she is stocking up for your arrival and I fear that she may snatch you one day and not give you back. She proudly showed off the bumpers for your cradle and the quilt that a friend made for her, all that is to be kept at her house, on Christmas. And she kept saying she wanted a boy, I think she has gotten over that rather nicely. Your Papaw takes pride in reminding me that I am carrying precious cargo...or "his" granddaughter as he says. There was great debate on Christmas about what your nickname would be. Dylan is currently going by pickle, and Mya, your soon to be cousin goes by peanut...he informed me that you would go by pumpkin. I guess we have a letter p thing going on here and in true fashion it must revolve around food.

Your Daddy is slowly coming around. Deep down inside he's excited, he just doesn't show it. I think it's a man thing and he says it will all change the minute he sees you for the first time. After the few short seconds you will be laid upon my chest at birth you will be going straight to your Daddy's arms. I will have gotten to hold you for the past nine months at that point so it's only fair that he gets his turn and that it takes place after I have kicked the few people that will be in the room out on their fannies...hopefully Grandma B, Aunt Nikki, and Aunt Heather will understand.


Daddy has now compared you to your four legged brothers and sadly it's somewhat true. The boys know when it's time to be fed, they harass you and run around like crazed animals until you give in and just feed them already. After they have full tummies they are out for the count, curled up like precious bundles scattered around the living room. It's those moments of peace that Mommy treasures...those few hours that I don't want to skin them alive for destroying something. Sadly Addison, you are the same way. When its time to eat you slowly start moving about in my tummy and during the time in which I am feeding the both of us, you grow more fierce in your movements to the point Mommy is in pain and can barely eat. Shortly after finishing though you settle down nicely until we must start the process all over again. At least your nice to Mommy when it's lights out, you must like your sleep like I do. Please continue with that after your arrival!

Anyway, I just wanted to remind you how loved you are and how excited we are to finally meet you. Life for everyone is about to change for the better in just a few short weeks.

Love Always,
Mommy

Momma's on a roll!

Today was a very good shopping today at the Blankenship homestead. Not only did I save about $100 on Addison's car seat/stroller but I also saved $60 on her baby swing.

Our next baby shower is on January 10th which will be here before I know it. I still can't believe how close we are to meeting our little girl. A few more things to buy and we should be all set.

33 Weeks and counting!

Here I am below at 33 weeks pregnant . I can't believe that in seven weeks I will be holding my little bundle of joy.

Until then take a look at this little bundle of joy...I could just eat him up he's so darn cute!


He was way to busy to smile for the camera in that last picture. His priority at the time was chewing on his fingers and watching TV.

Hope that everyone had a very Merry Christmas. Ours was wonderful and full of family, more family tomorrow which is great.

Update

Can you tell these past few weeks haven't been very eventful...haven't posted since November. I apologize Uncle Dan...I'm a bad baby updater!


Anyway, I have had two ultrasounds since and an appointment or two since my last post so I guess it's about time I share some information.



Everything remains good, my blood pressure is excellent and swelling is relatively minor at this point in the game. The only thing that seems to be swelling are my feet/ankles and I only notice it at the end of the day. I blame it on having to sit at a desk for eight hours a day with little to no movement unless I am getting up to use the ladies room or grabbing something off of the printer. I should really move around more!



Anyway, I passed my glucose test with an 84, 140 being the cut off before they start looking at you for gestational diabetes, so that was pretty awesome. I have had my RhoGAM shot so that is over and done with. It wasn't so bad, before I knew it the nurse was slapping on a band-aid and the sucker didn't even leave a mark. It still cracks me up how nervous I get about needles, you would think I would be a pro by now but they still bother me a little bit. It was worse this time since it had been awhile since I have had a shot, actually it's been a long while, try freshman year of college, so even though they say the needles stuck in you for blood draws or my infusions are worse, I was still somewhat panicked about it and would have much rather had my blood drawn.

*Ultrsound pic from November 11th I don't think I ever shared with you. Today was yet another ultrasound and the little lady is once again measuring with a delivery date of February 10th, gee I wonder why my Doctor won't listen to me. She still says my due date is the 18th, I guess my dates and all of the ultrasounds aren't proof enough. We are actually prepping ourselves for a January delivery, not sure why, but I just have this gut feeling that she will be here at the end of January sometime. Not that it really matters what I feel or the tech determines by ultrasound, I figure she will come when she is good and ready and just to be stubborn she will probably come right on the 18th to make her Mother look foolish. She comes from a very long line of stubborn ass' so I wouldn't expect any different...LOL.

She is measuring right on track with a weight just under four pounds. I still can't believe I have something inside of me that large...then she knocks me in the bladder and I remember that yes, I do have something that large inside of me. She is head down and face down so she is ready to go...I wonder if she realizes she has another eight weeks yet...who knows what her rush is (once again the whole January delivery flashes in my mind)! Maybe it's because it's Christmas and she isn't to thrilled about missing out on the festivities. Or could it be because Daddy selfishly mentioned that her arrival before the 31st would be nice because we could claim her on our taxes? I have forbidden her from coming until the carpet is down in her room and the crib is put together and ready to go...we will see who she listens to...Mom or Dad. On another cute note, she has hair and what the ultrasound tech said appears to be lots. The tech asked me, "do you see all of those squiggly, fuzzy lines around her head?", "yes" I replied, "that's her hair" she pointed out. That is very reassuring since both her Mom and Dad had lots of hair that stood on end when born. In fact Daniel's Mom mentioned that if this baby was born with no hair and it didn't stand up on end, then Daniel wasn't the father...LOL. Further proof that yes folks, my husband is the father of my unborn child.

Her heartbeat was a good 153 but unfortunately due to her size and the lack of space she has left we were unable to get any really good pictures. We didn't even get a glance at her face since she was head down. I thought it was really cute when the tech stopped the probe for the ultrasound right over top of her head. You could actually see Addison rotate her head back and forth in my cervix. It was like she had an itch and she was rubbing her nose to relieve it. Just like her younger brother I tell you. Lennon has a bad habit of scratching his nose by rubbing it back and forth on the couch, it appeared that she was doing the same.


So there we go, oh wait, I have not gained anymore weight since the nine pound event in November. The Doctor said it wasn't unusual to have a large increase like that and since I hadn't gained any since then chances are it was most likely water retention.

New Bedding

Note to self, do not share with anyone your bedding selection that has been chosen for your baby to be's nursery until bedding has actually been purchased or has been received.

Remember the bedding I showed you a week or so ago? Yeah, well, it was a big flop, damn e-bayers, needless to say it's going bye-bye so something else had to be picked. Once again my MIL stepped up to the plate and agreed to split the cost of bedding with us so that we could have something nice. She ordered it today and it should be here within the next two to four weeks. Does anyone else out there love their MIL's? I have always been curious because it seems like most could live without them.

Anyway, here is the new bedding. It's not in hand yet so don't be surprised if some major event means we have to pick something else but I am confident with this one so please keep your fingers crossed!

Daniel wouldn't allow all girly colors in the nursery so I couldn't paint all of the walls pink. We also both wanted a farm theme. I think this bedding was a nice compromise don't you?

Results

Peanut...good news, we passed our glucose test with flying colors. I am a little concerned though, when I asked the nurse whether she thought the 45 minute delay that took place Friday could affect my results her comment was..."you're the one".

Why do I get the feeling my ordeal was the topic of conversation for a day or so afterwards...LOL. I did ask if I should redo it just to make sure we were all right but she said that I was fine. YAY, now we just have to get through the big shot in the rear on the 7th.

It's official...

I told you you would love Thanksgiving and if your movement Saturday afternoon after our first meal was any indication...you LOVED it!!! You were all over the place and beating the heck out of your Mommy. The good news though is that since you were so excited after having had turkey and Grandma's stuffing, Daddy FINALLY got to feel you kick for the first time. You also gave Aunt Megan a nice little kick as well although I don't think she was quite as excited as your Father was. Oh how Mommy loves feeling you roll around like a monkey in her belly, I think I am going to miss having that once you arrive but at least once you're here that means I can snuggle and love on you in person. It's getting closer and closer!

28 week appointment...

Daughter, would you mind explaining to your Mother why she has gained 9 lbs. in 4 weeks? I realize it's winter but you are not a squirrel...please stop storing food for your winter hibernation.

I had another dream this morning about you and you came out with these perfectly round cheeks, maybe you have squirrel tendencies after all.

Any who, we had another decent appointment I guess you could say. Your heart rate was 150 and my blood pressure and urine were once again clean. It was after those announcements that the appointment went south of the border.

Do you know why they call the glucose test a one hour glucose test?

It's because one hour from the time you drink your lovely orange beverage they are supposed to take your blood. Not one hour and forty five minutes later as was the case today. How they manage to misplace your file and then proceed to forget about you is beyond me but they did. It didn't help that I was dehydrated which meant trying to get blood was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Four nurses and five sticks later they finally found blood. This was after they all had to argue about who was going to do it and then proceed to ignore my request to just redo the test at another time when we were all better prepared. I was actually pretty proud of myself though. Needle sticks #3 and #4 were done after I pretty much told them to have at it. For anyone that knows me and the chore it is to get blood from my veins this is a new thing. Normally after the second one I wave the white flag and tell them to back the hell away before anyone gets hurt. It didn't even get dizzy from all of the commotion. I think Mommy has finally put on a pair of her big girl underwear...YAY!!

Hopefully they are able to use the blood and not force us to deal with it again. You didn't move much this morning and I knew why. Mommy hadn't fed you since around 7 o'clock last night so her lil' peanut was just hungry and tired of all the bull crap. I just fed you a single with cheese from Wendy's and you haven't stopped moving since. I guess since I have gained (gulp) 9 lbs. in such a short period of time that maybe a burger from Wendy's wasn't the greatest of ideas but I was in a rush to get home, feed your brothers, and then get back to work since I had been gone since 9:15 this morning. Hell...let's be honest, the cheeseburger probably wasn't smart but the thought of even considering going on a diet is just a joke. Our first Thanksgiving dinner is tomorrow followed by at least one more and then we head into the Christmas season which means Christmas parties, our holiday bake off, Christmas Eve, and then Christmas day. By then you will be a month away from joining us in the real world so why make myself suffer? Not only that but what kind of mother would I be if I didn't allow to you participate in all of the wonderful food during this season?

Do you like Pink?

Peanut...do you like pink? As in the color pink?

If not then I am sorry. You have more pink clothing than I know what to do with. This is not entirely my fault, I swear. Just about everything that has been purchased for you is either all pink or has hints of pink through out.

Would you prefer purple, maybe a suttle shade of orange instead? You just let Mommy know okay dear!

I painted your room yellow, does that help a little bit? Of course the bedding Mommy bought you last night has pink all over it so once again, do you like pink? I sure hope you do, because if not, then I don't know what to tell you girlfriend!

We were going to remain neutral and do your room in a farm theme but I found your new bedding on e-bay for much, much cheaper. I knew I had to have it as soon as I saw it. See last week when I was starting to realize we probably wouldn't be able to afford your farm bedding, I started drawing up butterflies and lady bugs to paint on each of your walls. Little did I know that while surfing on e-bay last night for a cheaper version of the farm bedding that I would stumble upon the bedding I actually bought for you. The butterflies and lady bugs were almost identical to the ones that I had been drawing for you. I feel that it must have been fate that I stumbled upon it with less than two minutes to go before the end of the auction.

I really hope you like it. I am pretty sure you won't really care but I hope you like it just the same.

Baby Shower #1

This afternoon was our first baby shower. It also happened to be co-ed and kid friendly. We had so much fun and there was sooooo much food. Here are some pictures to enjoy including my latest belly shot.

All of the yummy food

The presents!

The cake, wouldn't know if it was yummy or not, my tummy wasn't cooperating later in the evening so I didn't get to try it out.

Whose belly is bigger??

Some of the siblings and me.

And lastly, my almost 28 week belly shot.

Another ultrasound (Revised)

We had another ultrasound today and honestly, I don't think I will ever tire of seeing my daughter on the big screen. They confirmed that yes she was in fact still a girl, not sure how I would have broken the news to our family had she have suddenly grown an extra part. She is still wonderful and healthy and is weighing in at 2lbs. 1oz., with a heart rate of 156. She has a nice round tummy and I believe she is going to have her Daddy's nose and her Mommy's lips. We finally got a nice profile shot of her today which I will try to post sometime tomorrow, it's quite entertaining. She had her right arm over her forehead as if she was having the worst day ever and people, if her top lip was stuck out any further it might swallow her bottom lip whole. My little peanut...I cannot wait until she is finally here so that I can snuggle and love on her in person!
~As promised I added the picture to the post. My sister said she looked just like her...I think she is going to look like her Daddy. I guess we will have to wait and see.

Emotional...I think not!!

I know that being overly emotional is a part of being pregnant but I would like to think I have been rather "normal" during this pregnancy. Normal meaning no worse than what I was before pregnancy, so sorry that I am unable to control my emotions during "Extreme Home Makeover" people (a.k.a. Daniel), when that darn Ty Pennington starts to cry I just can't control myself anymore!

I felt the firestorm of emotional fury start last night. I have absolutely no idea what brought it on but I swear one second I was fine and the next I felt like a train waiting to derail. I first noticed it while making dinner, for the life of me I could not get the Frisco Melts that I was making for Daniel to turn out right, instead of just giving up and retreating to my bedroom at 6:00 in the evening like I did last Thursday night, I stayed strong and kept on trucking only to be relieved when my wonderful husband ate two and then praised me on Facebook for making them. It's amazing what a little praise will do to a woman's spirit when she is down. We made it through the rest of dinner, Daniel was kind enough to put everything away for me, and I thought all was better. I still couldn't figure out why I was filling all funky to begin with though.

Daniel was the first to wave the white flag last night, he was in bed at 8:30. Someone had a busy day of hanging gutters on Sunday and then another draining day at work on Monday so he was tired. I jumped on the computer; my husband says I am addicted so it's only fair I keep up my addiction for his sake and that's when I noticed it...I couldn't breath. I was breathing as if I was a sixty year old chain smoker who needed to be hooked up to her portable oxygen tank, it was horrible and actually somewhat scary when you can't get a good breath in. Of course this brought on the thoughts of being eight months pregnant with an oxygen tank strapped to my back while walking around Babies R Us which did not help in the least.

I somehow managed to stay up until about 10:30 or so which is highly unusual for this chick since becoming pregnant and woke this morning in my usual groggy mood. I mean come on...who actually enjoys getting up by the sound of an alarm screaming in your ear only to have to force yourself to get dressed so that you can go to work?? Just me!! Well it's not because of the pregnancy because this was my typical morning before the start of my baby.

Anyway, skip ahead a few hours and I get home at lunch to let the dogs out and to be fed. I go to put my key in the door when I hear a noise, it almost sounded like a dish breaking but not quite and I couldn't figure out what it was so I cautiously opened the door hoping that it was just my imagination when to my horror I discover what the sound was. Lennon, our dear sweet Lennon; the same dog that has cost almost $5,000 in surgeries since March...of this YEAR, who ate my entire bottle of Tums Halloween weekend, who torments the absolute hell out of poor Bandit, who wakes us up at all hours of the morning when he wants on the couch but nobody else will get off, who has made it so that Animal Planet cannot be watched in peace at our home, who enjoys eating the rinds from pineapples straight out of the garbage, who slurps peanut oil out of his Dads turkey fryer, likes kicking back with a good magazine only to destroy it later, who must sit in your lap at all times, who tries to get in the tub while you are showering so that he can get a drink of water, and who finds it entertaining to lay in the middle of the kitchen floor so quietly that Mom doesn't realize he is there until she and everything in her hand go flying in the air after turning around and tripping over him. Yes my friends, that sweet and innocent Great Dane who is the apple of his Fathers eye, the one currently in discussion.

That sweet little boy was the cause for the noise I heard while unlocking the front door, the noise that sent me over the edge...that caused my train to derail! There laying before me was the following; a bag of cotton balls, used primarily to clean Bandits ears was torn to shreds with cotton balls layering the floor of the entire living room, it looked like it had rained golf ball sized hail in that room. A piece of wood that I had already taken from him once, splintered into a hundred pieces of smaller wood, something that was black and now resembles a chunk missing from a ladies wig...I still don't know what it started this life out as. A bag of Halls lozenges...I hope for his sake his throat feels better! A tube of neosporin with puncture holes all over it, sort of reminded me of the tube of baby butt cream my Mom always kept on hand for my little sister when she was a baby, our Great Danes then always somehow managed to get a hold of the tubes and would always leave puncture marks and cream oozing out of the bottom, ah memories! The bag of candy cane ornaments that my MIL purchased for me to hang on our Christmas tree this year (those are what made the noise I heard, dogs shuffling them across the floor while they worked their way to the front door.) And then...to my absolute horror I saw it...a picture, not just any picture, a picture of one of my Mom's horses. For a quick second I scanned my brain to figure out where it came from, where I had stored it to keep safe from harms way and then it hit me. It had come from the hard back leather covered photo album I bought last year that I painstakingly added picture after picture to, all in the appropriate date order. He had torn it to shreds, SHREDS people, piece after piece of leather scattered all over the living room. Page after page of photos torn from it's binding, some intact others ripped in half.

It was then that I felt it, the first tear drop, the first sense of range and utter disbelief, the first crack in the dam that I had built up during this pregnancy. I refused to be an emotional roller coaster during this journey and for almost seven months I had succeeded only to be broken by a one year old Great Dane who had destroyed what is most precious to me...my photos.

Ask anyone that knows me, my camera goes everywhere with me, I take picture after picture for safe keeping, to allow my past to be brought with me to my future and this retarded dog had destroyed it and destroyed my dam of emotional strength. I cried...I cried hard, I cried long, I cried loudly, I cried to the point of nausea, to the point of snot bubbles and a damp shirt, to the point of questioning whether I even wanted to feed them. I cried while I swept up the mess, pulling each and every salvageable picture from the wreckage, I cried while I posted on Facebook that I hated my dogs, I cried when getting their food bowls, I cried when I took said food bowl and hit Lennon in the ass with it, I cried when I realized I couldn't afford another album and new pictures because I had to buy Christmas presents instead, and I cried when I left to come back to work after seeing Lennon curled up in a ball on the couch sound asleep with no idea of what he had just done to me.

I ask you; is this a face of an innocent, a face of complete guilt, and the reason for his Mothers emotional and hormonal breakdown at lunch?

Damn it...it's the eyes I tell you and that stupid pink nose, curse the nose and those floppy ears to go with it. How can I go from rage with this dog one second to one of love and understanding the next? To hit his tush with his food bowl and then feel complete guilt afterwards knowing that it didn't even hurt him and then to question why I didn't make it hurt and then feel bad for thinking that.

And then I look at this picture, the one saved right next to the above one on my computer,

and I realize, I am going to have to smack this tush to and then feel complete and utter guilt about it when she comes to me with tears down her little chubby cheeks wanting to be consoled. I will have to remind myself I had to do it and to not let her sense my defeat and guilt for her demise. I have to teach her right from wrong and help ensure that she grows up to be a responsible adult and as much as it pains me, that is going to require a pop on the fanny a time or two.

Lord help me, this parenting craps going to be tough sometimes!

On a good note though, I am hoping today's emotional breakdown equals no more for at least another seven months but lets hope and pray Daniel doesn't come home and ask what happened or why I am not in a talkative mood. I can't guarantee that I will be able to hold back the waterworks for a second time and lord knows he can't handle tears so then I will have to control my hormonal rage for a second time and not tell him to fix his own blessed dinner! Maybe I should text him ahead of time with a warning, what do you think?

Paint

Operation paint the nursery has begun. We picked a lovely shade of yellow to slap on the bare white walls and I must say it's turning out rather pretty. We have gone with a lovely shade of apricot mousse since we threw green out the window because our bedroom is green as well as Dylan's nursery so we wanted peanut's room to be different.

We have less than one week to get that room cleared out completely and ready to go because Saturday is the first baby shower. I am so excited I can't see straight. Hopefully we will have lots of pictures to share!

100 days and couting...

Peanut, I can hardly believe it but today is the last day that there will be three numbers shown on our little ticker. Tomorrow starts 99 days until your estimated arrival date and Mommy is getting very, very anxious. I tried taking your cousin Dylan home with me on Saturday but Aunt Nikki was being a pooper and wouldn't let me, even after I told her it would only be until my little lady gets here she kept saying no. I think it probably has something to do with the whole breast feeding dilemma. Anyway, keep baking away, I got the run down for some of the Thanksgiving events for one side of the family this morning and let me tell you, you won't know what to do with yourself in about two and a half weeks. Hopefully next year at this time you will be old enough that we can at least feed you some soft foods that way you really get to enjoy the festivities!

Happy Halloween

Toby says Happy Halloween!

He along with Lennon decided to eat my bottle of Tums today, silly children!
That will be all of the candy they will receive.

My Ride

Back in 2006 Daniel and I were newly engaged, I was back in the world of being a self sufficient adult living on my own, and the car that I was given (given but still had to make the monthly payment on) was nearing that last payment. I had dreamt of the day when I would write that check to my Mother knowing that I would be without a car payment. Then it happened, I realized I was an adult with an excellent credit rating surrounded by people who were buying new cars left and right. I woke up on a Sunday morning explained to Daniel that now that we were becoming a family we needed a bigger vehicle and because neither of our vehicles at the time were new enough to take on trips we needed a new one. "I will make the payment, you add me and the car to your car insurance and together we will have some new wheels!" is how we worked it out.

I had no clue what I wanted and throughout the years my tastes had constantly changed. The first car I wanted was blue Chevy Camaro, then I moved on to a cherry apple red Ford Mustang, then it was a hunter green Pontiac Grand Am, then I moved onto the Navy Blue Pontiac Grand Prix and somewhere between the Pontiac's was the red Chevy Monte Carlo. Now I could actually buy one of those on my own and I had no idea what I wanted and if I still wanted them. So we drove on down to the local Pontiac dealership and test drove the Pontiac Torrent which I liked but I also new I had more options in this big world of ours so we said our thanks to the salesman and said we wanted to continue weighing our options. We got into my car and then made our way to a Chevy dealership where we found the Chevy Equinox. We got there in time to talk to a salesman however not in time to test drive anything so we looked around, took his card and headed back to my place.

I am still not sure why I made the decision I did but I made one and I decided on the Equinox. I called the salesman arranged a time to test drive it and picked it up on a Monday night to "play with" overnight. By Tuesday I was in love and just knew that this was the vehicle for me, the vehicle that I knew was destined for when I became a mother, it was my Mommy mobile I explained. My loan got approved and in fact I bought the car at the right moment. While they were still reviewing my application Chevy came out with their 100% financing plan for qualified buyers and lucky me qualified. I was approved for a loan that would only include the cost of the car and absolutely no interest...YAY!! So by the end of the week this ride came home with me.

I was in love and I just kept telling people over and over again...it's my Mommy mobile, we needed something like this for when we have kids.

Well, here we are three years later and my dreams of becoming a Mommy have come true but it has left me with one serious question.

What in the hell was I thinking???

Seriously, it's big enough for the hubby and I and about two of our dogs and that's it. Now I am supposed to stuff in there a carseat, stroller in the back, and still be able to get groceries in there with all of that. And what in gods name am I supposed to do if we have to take a dog to the vet or some sort of event. There is no way I will be able to have all of that in this vehicle along with a dog! And there is no way we are taking two cars to one place and besides, no dogs are allowed in the 300m that has leather interior. Mommy mobile...honestly Katie you just wanted a new car and that's what you had to tell yourself to sign the papers and not throw up everywhere.

So now I am left with yet another decision...do I need to swallow my pride and eventually when the money situation straightens out, buy one of these?

A minivan???????

CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mental Note

Example A- Do not blog about dear daughter allowing you to sleep at night. If you blog about being able to rest peacefully she will then proceed to beat the holy heck out you for a good two to three hours at bedtime. This will then prevent you from falling asleep anytime before midnight leaving you very tired and restless when the alarm starts its obnoxious blare at 6 a.m. Also, please do not blame Bandit the dog for not waking you up when it goes off like he normally does, he was tired too and needed that extra full hour of sleep just like you did!!! And remember, your co-workers did not prevent you from falling asleep, use words when speaking to them instead of grunts and dirty glares!!

Example B- Do not brag about your perfect complexion. If you do, by the time you get home and then proceed to wake up the following morning, you will have a ginormous zit located in the crease of your chin right under your lip! Cover up anybody?

Example C- Never comment on how well you feel at six months of pregnancy. If you comment on how you wouldn't think you were pregnant if it weren't for the test and ultrasound pictures, you will wake up the next morning with very sore boobies as well as a very tender lower belly due to your unborn child's acrobatic maneuvers while she should have been sleeping last night.

Example D- You now know that your child does indeed like Olive Garden! You know this because you can now tell the difference between her liking Olive Garden and disliking Taco Bell. DO NOT eat Taco Bell again for at least the next three months!

Lastly, please remember that just because you are married now and no longer use your maiden name, your true last name will always still be Murphy. You can marry, divorce, and then remarry nine more times and you will still have the Murphy blood coursing through your veins. You have heard of Murphy's Law, you have lived Murphy's Law, you know why they named the law after your family!! In the future please remember this, as maybe it will keep you from opening your big mouth about how well things are going. You should know by now that if you show the good in your life attention, the bad will come barrelling through!! Can I get an AMEN from my fellow Murphy's??

Now on that note, we are broke as a joke and tickled pink about it! Did you hear me Mega Millions, we are broke and glad. Teach me a lesson and now make me rich beyond words, I promise I will be unhappy, well...at least until the new white Chevy Suburban gets delivered and the new house is done being built. I can be miserable with a home movie theater, gourmet kitchen, and jacuzzi tub, honest I can!!

Little Tidbits

Peanut, today marks the 25th week in which you have been growing in my belly. I swear I just took the pregnancy test yesterday and yet here we are just a mere 15 week until your big day. I thought in order to help Mommy's pregnancy brain from forgetting a few things I would mark them down here for you.

• I don't know if you really love Olive Garden or really hate it but this past Monday when I had Olive Garden for lunch you went crazy. Crazy to the point I had to ask you to settle down because your constant moving around was actually starting to get uncomfortable here while sitting at my desk. Chances are it's because you loved it because honestly, who can resist their salad and bread sticks??
• I think something about knowing I had only gained two pounds this entire pregnancy set my appetite off and running. The people at Frisch's are becoming my best friends. I have had two big boys in less than five days and the more tarter sauce on the burger the better!!! Does this mean you will love tarter sauce just like me? Your Great-Aunt Robin craved hamburgers with only ketchup and cheese while pregnant with your Aunt Heather and guess what...Aunt Heather will only eat hamburgers with ketchup and cheese.
• Even though you have become very active, you are actually allowing me to sleep. I am no longer uncomfortable and can actually lay titled on my tummy and even on my back for a little while. Usually laying on my back is when I feel you move around the most. Not sure if that means you like it or not, maybe that's your sign for me to roll over, but right now I am pushing it so I apologize if you don't care for it.
• You still won't kick for Daddy and he is actually starting to think you may not like him. You kick and kick and kick and then when Daddy places his hand on my tummy you stop, and then start right back up the minute he moves his hand. I told him he needed to talk to you more, we will see if he listens. Everyone else says it's because his hand is soothing to you, whatever people, it's because she loves her Mommy. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
• I have decided that I will be breastfeeding you full time. Mommy has made herself a nervous wreck thinking about whether this was a good idea or not since I get the Remicade infusions but I have spoken to a lot of women on babycenter.com who get the same infusion and they all breastfeed without problems. Studies have shown the worse that will happen is your body will build an immunity to the medication and should you fall into the 2% of children who get the disease from their parents then Remicade will not be a course of treatment for you. Luckily most do not get diagnosed until they are in there twenties and I figure by then they will have much better medicines for treating this horrible disease. I am truly sorry if this turns out to be the wrong decision but honestly, this decision has been a tough one for me and for the life of me I don't know which one is better so I am going with what I think is best.
• Also, please do not think that because you are going to be breastfed that you will not have to use a bottle. I have decided that you will get the best of both worlds. Cousin Dylan refuses a bottle leaving Aunt Nikki to be the only food provider. The first time Daddy comes to me while I have shampoo in my hair because your hungry and crying like you might starve to death, there will be consequences. I want to be able to take a shower in peace and if that means Daddy has to nuke a bottle and feed you then so be it. I am also doing this for the sake of when I go back to work. My boobies will not exactly be at your disposal and Aunt Nikki's are not for lease, she will have to feed you somehow.
• Pretty much the one and only complaint I have right now is the heartburn/indigestion that I occasionally get. It gets pretty wicked sometimes and I would love to not be able to deal with it but the fact I am not a fat miserable pregnant woman right now doesn't really allow me an opportunity to complain. Life could be really uncomfortable right now but it's not so I need to hush. My back is fine, my boobs aren't leaky, and if I couldn't feel you move or have the pictures to prove you're in there, I would honestly question the pregnancy test and Doctors.
• Thanks to you I have the pregnancy glow I hear about so often. My skin is clean and clear and I swear a little mascara and a hint of blush and I can be out of the door and ready to go. No need for all of the other applications. Rumor has it that when you are pregnant with a girl the acne is worse. They say the baby girls suck the beauty right out of their Mom's, I think you have done the complete opposite, you have made me even prettier. Can I say that without being full of myself???
• Lastly, have I told you lately just how much I love you? You are not even here yet and I have this overwhelming love for you that I have never felt before. There have been a few Moms on the baby board you have lost their little ones. These kids weren't supposed to come out for another three months but for some reason they came early and weren't strong enough to survive. Addison, please stay in there until February!! I don't want to know what it's like to lose a child or to know that my body failed you somehow. I need you more than I think I have even come to realize and I don't think I would be strong enough to move on without you. When I leave the hospital I want to leave with you in tow.

Just a few more months and you will become a reality and let me tell you, we can't wait!!!

Another great appointment

We had yet another great appointment this morning. Addison was very cooperative when it came time to hold still for the heartbeat and it clocked in at 151. I was very proud, especially since she hasn't been quite as active this week which worried her Mommy just a tad. My blood pressure is great, my urine came back clean as a whistle and to top it all off I was informed of how much weight I have gained during the pregnancy so far...are you sitting down??

Ready....I have gained a whopping...two pounds. That's right my friends, I am six months pregnant and have only gained two whole pounds. I am not sure if God is playing a cruel joke where he's going to allow my weight to stay the same and then overnight I balloon up to the size of a beached whale or what. I told the Doctor it was because I was like a grizzly bear, I had already stored up enough fat that my body didn't need anymore for this baby to grow. She's knocked up as well so I don't know if she laughed because it was funny or laughed because she couldn't hit me instead...lol. Thinking about it though I think my weight gain or lack there of has something to do with the fact I had been on steroids for the past year. I think my body trying to go back to normal plus growing a little peanut in my belly has thrown everything off. I will be curious to see what the weight gain will be in any future pregnancies.

I did mention the gall bladder issues I had last week and she reassured me once again that even though I am miserable the baby is not affected at all. To be safe rather than sorry we are doing another ultrasound just to make sure it's still a normal size. If it doesn't come back bad then she pretty much told me I needed to suck it up and deal with it, not in those exact words though. Since the baby isn't affected the possible side affects of a surgery with an unborn child on board are not worth the risk. I guess since I have suffered with it this long, another three months won't kill me, especially since I will be rewarded so nicely in the end.

Since we forgot to ask during our last ultrasound I did remember to ask how the baby looked then. Was she normal in size? What is my due date according to the ultrasound? Is she healthy?
I got wonderful answers to each of my questions, she is measuring perfect, my due date according to the ultrasound stills says the 10th or the 11th (they still won't change it from the 18th though), and she is healthy as a horse!! I brought up my Remicade infusions and I was told because of them they wanted an ultrasound done every four to six weeks for the remainder of my pregnancy so that they can monitor her growth. That means I should be getting a better profile shot of my dear daughter. Since she wouldn't hold still last time they got her profile as her head was tilted so it wasn't the best.

Anyway, it's Friday which means I don't have to come to work tomorrow and plus I had a great appointment, what more could I ask for??

Exciting things are starting to happen

I have had a rough couple of days thanks to my gall bladder problems coming back in full force, sadly I don't think we are going to get through this pregnancy without a surgery but honestly everyone, I am so desperate for relief I almost welcome a surgery.

Anyway, after drugging myself every three to four hours Wednesday night just to get some sort of mild relief, Addison came out of her Tylenol induced coma and has been beating the crap out of me since. Daniel swears this little girl is going to be the first baby ever to be born with an addiction to Tylenol, what can I say...I am in serious pain here people. So yesterday after being stuck at home trying to recover from the past few days I gently laid my hands on my tummy for some Mommy and Addison bonding time and what do you know, she kicked the crap out of my hand...TWICE!! It was the very first time I had actually felt her movement from the outside, I have been feeling it on the inside for several weeks now and it was the greatest thing ever, I think it was even better than when we found out it was a little girl in there. Right now she is only kicking for her Mommy, when Daddy tried getting a good swift kick last night she decided that she didn't want to play along...HAHA!! Poor Daddy!!

Speaking of Daddy, he is leaving this weekend for his job interview in West Virginia, he has decided that his love of white water rafting is something that he wants to do on the weekends, I have remained quiet on the matter as I am sure we all know what my feelings are on my husband leaving me every weekend starting next March and ending next October with a newborn and four dogs, that's another post though and why I have elected to stay mum on the matter. Since I think he feels somewhat guilty of the amount of time he is going to be spending away from home and plus since he had to stop by Wal-Mart to grab some snacks for while he is down there, I am sure he was inundated with "Did you remember Sweetest Day posters", he bought me three red roses and brought them to me at work. The roses worked for now!! :) Now if only I can get him to rinse out his nightly ice cream bowls...LOL.

Dearest Child...

Can you please take mercy on your poor mother and allow her to get some much needed sleep? You don't allow me to sleep on my back, you get mad when I attempt to sleep on my sides, and obviously sleeping on my tummy is out of the question. I refuse to sleep in the recliner out in the living room, have you ever heard three Great Danes snoring all at the same time? Last night I felt like I was on a ship due to the tossing and turning that I was constantly doing to find some sort of comfortable position, when your father who used to be in the Navy by the way, wakes up sea sick one morning, I am blaming you little one!!

Now we have four more months of this to go and I realize you are only going to get bigger and that your sleeping quarters are getting smaller but PLEASE give me at least one side, preferably my left. If not I will be withholding the tangerines that you seem to thoroughly love for the remainder of this pregnancy and until you get teeth!!

To my little peanut...

Peanut,
I know that we have about four months to go before you make your grand appearance and believe me, I want you in there for as long as you need to take, but after getting to hold your cousin Dylan and hearing him coo softly in the telephone to his Auntie Katie I must admit...I am ready for you to get here now.

I can't wait to hear your first cry, hold you in my arms, and then see the look on your Daddy's face when he sees yours for the first time. I can't wait to bring you home and rock you softly watching your gaze drift from place to place. I can't wait to be awaken early in the morning to your cries and to be satisfied that the minute I pick you up from your crib your tears will stop. I can't wait to bathe you and then take in the scent of your wonderful baby smell and I can't wait to dress you in all of your cute outfits. I also can't wait for the moment when your Daddy has to change your first dirty diaper, lord knows I will have difficulties, but we will see just how well he does.

I dread the day I must drop you off with Aunt Nikki and cousin Dylan so that I can go back to work, but I look forward to the moment when I can pick you up and will take great pleasure in watching you grin the moment you realize Mommy is there to take you home.

Please also know you have a brother at home who can't wait to play dress up and do sweeper patrol after your first high chair feeding. Bandit was quite excited, or as excited as a dog who doesn't understand can be, when Daddy told him he had a sister on the way. He is fed up with being the little brother surrounded by all of your big brothers. He is thrilled to finally have someone at his level.

You have lots of Aunt and Uncles, and Grandparents who can't wait to meet you. So please don't mess around when its time to arrive, Dylan thought he would be cute by taking way longer than he should have. I don't think the family will cooperate the second time around my little love bug!! Also, the quicker you get here the quicker Uncle Matt and Uncle Steve can quit worrying about whether the big dogs will mistake you for a chew toy. They seem to forget that they had a great dane at that age as well who allowed them both to crawl all over him.

Love Always,
Mommy

Dylan Raymond Landis

Dylan has finally made his arrival. He showed up at 1:41 p.m. without having to do a c-section. He was 7lbs 7oz, 21in long. Mother and son are doing wonderful!! We were beginning to think that kid was never going to get here.

Dylan

We are still patiently awaiting Dylan. Nikki was admitted to the hospital last night to start the procedures for induction. They started her pitocin drip this morning at 4 a.m. and guess what...not a darn thing happened. She had contractions pretty strong but she didn't dilate but maybe half a centimeter. They stopped it late this morning to give her a break and allow her to shower and eat but it's being started back up this evening so hopefully this little guy will make his appearance tomorrow on his own. From what I understand he is coming tomorrow whether he likes it or not, if nothing further happens for her she is getting the big "c" word...c-section! She was a nervous wreck about it but I think she is so tired and miserable that she is actually to the point where she will welcome one. Hopefully when you stop back by this little blog of mine tomorrow a nice picture of him will be up to show the world, ok maybe not the world, but maybe the handful of you who are faithful followers which I appreciate greatly by the way.

On a side note I spent a few hours with her last night while they got everything started and selfishly it was kind of nice. We are birthing at the same hospital and chances are may have the same nurses. It was nice to get a feel of the place while not being escorted around on a tour and her nurse last night was kind enough to offer me some guidance and answer some questions that I had concerning the dreaded epidural. I still can't believe that in four months I am going to be the one in the bed while Nikki is the one in the chair looking on. I just pray that Addison is a little bit more generous when it comes time to making her grand entrance into the world. I keep telling her, "don't make me come in there and get you". I wonder if she plans on listening? My fear is that the wonderful cold weather in Ohio during the month of February will keep her in way past her due date. I mean who can blame her, I don't want to be in the cold Ohio weather during that month let alone should a baby whose been snuggled inside of my nice warm womb for almost ten months.

We're on team...

PINK!!!!!!!!!

We have a healthy, very active little girl on the way and we are ecstatic!! Daddy got a kick out of watching her box with both arms in my belly, no wonder my tummy is always sore where she's hanging out.

I guess mother's intuition was right this time. I have had a gut feeling since we found out that we were pregnant that this little one was going to be a little girl. So glad I was right, I would have hated to put away all of those little pink outfits that I have already bought!

Two Days

People, we have two days left until we know whether Jack or Addison will be coming to the family. It will be nice to actually call the baby by it's name and not feel guilty for saying Addison for the past five months when in fact it is Jack in there or just saying baby like Daniel has been doing. The goal is to wait to tell everyone on Saturday night so that everyone finds out at once but something tells me that since my husband was on the phone with everyone and their brother five seconds after the pregnancy test came back positive, that keeping either of us shut up for over 24 hours is going to be very hard to do. Plus Nikki still hasn't popped Dylan out yet and something tells me it is going to happen this weekend whether he likes it or not. The poor girl had been dilated to two for the past several weeks and then found out in the early part of this week that she had gone from two to ZERO...what??? Aren't you supposed to go forward and not go back? I guess it's possible but right now it's a very touchy subject with her and she informed me this morning that during her appointment tomorrow she is going in there to plead her case for induction and if pleading doesn't work she's dropping to the floor and starting the water works. Thankfully my baby will be here right on time, no later, no sooner...isn't that right little one?

Little one...isn't that right??

Come on now, work with Mommy, you will be here on February 10th correct???

Shit...I got no response. The good news is I am willing to give this kid until the 14th since I think it would be cool to have a valentines day baby, but that is between me and you, don't tell the kid though!!! Thankfully being due in the second week of February means that more than likely, unless I go early, that I am for sure having a February baby. Unlike my poor sister who thought she was having a September baby but has now decided he would rather be an October baby.

On another note, I think it's time for us to renew our membership to Sam's Club. Did you know that a Twix bar a day out of the vending machine at work at seventy cents a pop calculates to roughly $140 during this pregnancy? I wonder how much money I could save if I bought them in bulk?

I also didn't realize how much diapers cost. I mean really, is it necessary to charge someone almost $20 a box for something that is going to be shit in and then tossed? We will literally be throwing money in the trash with these things. I have received one package so far as a birthday gift from my Grandparents, and I guess I should really start buying a package with each pay check but man it tears me up to spend that kind of money. Guess that is something I should have thought about before I let my husband knock me up...lol. So far to date we have received or bought the following items for the baby; crib, rocking horse, excasaucer, 1 package of diapers, two tubs of baby wipes, two pacifiers, several outfits, one toy/rattle, two baby books, and three bottles. I think we better start shopping don't you? Look out Babies R Us, Mommy is going to be on the prowl on Friday!!!

20 Week Appointment

Today was our twenty week appointment and everything went really well. I almost canceled it after being up all night sick to my stomach but I was dieing to schedule the big ultrasound so I pulled myself together and went.

This little child of mine is already quite the character. He or she had myself and the nurse laughing out loud because the little one was not being tolerant of the doppler this morning. The poor nurse would find the heartbeat, you would hear it for a second or two and then swoosh, the baby would take off in another direction. After about a minute or two of that little game the nurse would find the heartbeat and then all of sudden, BANG, the child would kick the doppler and then off he or she would go. I kid you not this went on for what seemed like four to five minutes before we got a heart rate of 147.

I have my glucose test scheduled on the 13th, yuck! Not sure how that is going to go but I remain optimistic that I pass it with flying colors. My next appointment is on the 23rd and oh yes, the ultrasound is scheduled next Friday at 7:45 in the morning. Anyone else so excited they could pee their pants or would that just be me??? The bad news that came from today was that I have to have a RH- shot in the next few weeks, seriously, nobody told me about that shot so I was non to thrilled with that news but I have to do what I have to do to ensure the health of not only this baby but myself as well.

20 weeks and counting...

Today we are officially twenty weeks into this pregnancy which really takes my breath away. It seriously feels just like yesterday that I came walking out of the bathroom, tears streaming down my cheek, waving the pregnancy test in Daniel's face. It had been a long two and a half years of trying but yet it came as a total surprise to both of us. So much so that the week prior to knowing for sure when I commented that I might be, Daniel swore up and down I wasn't and to quit getting all worked up about it...what did he know!!

Not only is today the official twenty week marker but it is my 26th birthday which puts me at four away from being thirty. I will be honest with you, that number scares the absolute hell out of me...LOL. Daniel got through his without any problems but you are looking at someone who had issues with turning 25 so that should be interesting.

Today is also big for our marriage! For the first time in the almost three years that we have been married, my husband is now working first shift which means I will have someone to eat dinner with, watch TV with, and to also celebrate my actual birthday with.

Seriously, could this day get any better??

Our first big baby purchase...

Would anyone care to know what we are doing tonight?

No, well tough, I am telling you anyway...lol!!!

We are making the first big baby purchase since we found out we were expecting. My wonderful MIL has stepped up to the plate and has offered to buy the little ones crib and it is currently sitting on hold for us at Babies R Us. Would you like to see the one we have picked? If yes then please see below.

Now as you can see the changing table is attached to the crib which means we won't have to purchase an extra changing table. I spent weeks researching cribs and after countless favorites, reading customers reviews to the last letter, and weighing the pros and cons of picking this particular one as opposed to others, we decided that this one my friends, is the big winner. Here are my reasons; it's a lifetime crib which means that not only will it be a crib but it will also eventually be a toddler bed and then sometime after that a full size bed, it has a changing table attached which means we won't have the added expense of having to go out and buy a stand alone changing table that can only be used for so long, this one can be used on it's own as a nightstand if we so choose. My last reason is the big one, the nursery is relatively small so I knew we wouldn't have room for all of the furniture we originally thought we might need so buying a dresser was out of the question. This changing table has drawers attached which means all of the small things I knew would need to be in grabbing distance during diapers changes would be right there safe and sound. This means that we can get away with not having a dresser and thankfully the closet is set up in a way that it has shelves so the plan is to buy smaller baskets for the clothes that cannot be hung.

Now at the end of the day the crib is a little on the expensive side, we're talking between three and four hundred, but if you were to add up the cost of buying a crib, dresser, and changing table we were talking close to a thousand dollars if they were all purchased from Babies R Us. I am anal like that and wanted all of the items to match and I knew there was no way in you know what that we would have a thousand dollars just laying around for nursery furniture so at the end of the day I think we have made an excellent decision. We offered to split the cost of the crib however the MIL said no so off to Babies R Us we go.

I can't believe we are to the point where we are buying a crib. This pregnancy seems as if though it has flown by. My sister and I were talking just the other day and she said she couldn't believe how fast mine is flying and how slow hers is taking. She is two centimeters dilated by the way!

To make it seem like this pregnancy has gone even quicker is the fact my Doctor must have been having an off day during that first appointment when she said my due date was February 18th, that didn't seem right to me and our ultrasound tech confirmed that it was off at our 9 week ultrasound. I have been telling everyone I was due the 10th but was still sticking with the week that I was told I was at in the pregnancy. I finally sat down today and pulled the calendar off of the wall and started counting the weeks that have passed since this journey began so to say. As I originally suspected we are due on February 10th which means I am a week farther than the Doctor originally thought. Next Wednesday I will be 20 weeks which more importantly means we are half way through this journey. I cannot believe that in four months I will have this little one in my arms. It all just seems so surreal, how I went from wanting a baby so bad to actually putting those feelings aside so that I could devote all of my time to getting well and then bang, Baby B is on their way. I guess what they say about not thinking about getting pregnant or trying so hard and it will happen is true. We are proof that it is true and I guess when you have something else to put your mind towards so that you aren't thinking about it, it actually becomes feasible and not easier said than done.

Our next appointment is the 25th so I am excited that we will finally be able to schedule the ultrasound that will reveal whether this little peanut is a girl or a boy. Daniel has finally been moved to first shift which thankfully should only last until February, but I am sad to think he is going to miss out on all of the appointments starting with this next one up until the baby is hatched. He did say that they should allow him off long enough to join me for the ultrasound but even if they don't I have come up with a plan so no matter what happens I won't find out before he does. You may be wondering why I am not thrilled with the idea of him being on first shift, it's something we have wanted for awhile now because it would be nice to see my husband more than twice a week, but now that the baby is on the way we were sorta glad it never happened because my being on first while he was on second meant one thing...NO DAYCARE!!! I refuse to have my child in daycare at this point because it just seems so unfair to have to put my newborn in daycare with the kids and all of their pesky germs, especially now with the swine flu going around. I know that some have no choice but I was hoping it wouldn't be a choice that we would have to make. We also didn't want to have to do it because honestly, there is no way that we would be able to afford it even if we tightened our purse strings at home. We figured that since my sister will be a SAHM that she would watch the baby for those two hours that we wouldn't be available and she happily agreed. Now though we could possibly be facing the fact that the baby might be away from home during the entire day, my sister is OK with it but my fear is having two newborns under one roof that she is responsible for entirely will be overwhelming. She always said she wanted twins so I guess this is as close as she may get...LOL. I guess we will play everything by ear. For now the goal is to get this baby here, we will worry about babysitters later!!

Hopefully my next post with either be with the results about whether it a boy or girl, or when it is scheduled! I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will be the first one and that they get me in right away because honestly not only am I going mad waiting, but our families are ready to know as well.

One thing...

I have one thing to say...round ligament pain sucks. I feel like I have just done fifty sit ups after having not done any in ten years...lol. As much as the pain and discomfort sucks I know it just means things are growing and shifting around like they should be to make room for my little one. I have already started having trouble sleeping, I can't sleep on my back, I can't sleep on my tummy, obviously, but even sleeping on my sides hurt. I was starting to wonder I am just being a big fat complainer but my sister confirmed today that she started having trouble sleeping around the same time. It's nice having someone to go to so that we can compare notes, now if only our husbands would understand...lol. Good news for my sister though, after her doctors appointment this morning the doctor confirmed she has completely thinned out and Dylan should be here within the week. I am going to be an Auntie, YAY!! She is definitely ready as she can't even sit without being completely miserable. I joked with her today that I will wait until her labor and delivery to determine whether or not I want to go through with this, she promised not to scream to loud. The girls at work informed me that I am in to far to turn back now, I am going through this whether I want to or not.

On a nursery note, we are starting to work on the nursery this weekend. We have lots of stuff that needs to find a new place in our home so this should be interesting. As I mentioned in a previous post we are doing a farm theme in the nursery and my step-dads girlfriend has offered to do a mural for us. I can't wait until the room is done and ready for the baby. The nursery takes priority but then we get to start working on the spare bedroom upon the nursery's completion. The room is currently being used as Daniel's personal walk in closet so we have to organize and get the furniture arranged. We're slapping on a fresh coat of paint and getting some new bedding and then that room will be ready to go for any overnight guests that we might have in the first few weeks of the baby being home. It's ridiculous that we have been in this house for three years next month and it's taken a pregnancy to push us into getting things done around here.

I am off to bed now, hopefully I can get comfortable, this ache in my belly really needs to cease until it's time to get up...lol.

Heartbeat

Today was our 12 week check up that should have been done almost three weeks ago but got cancelled and then rescheduled...oops, so that meant we finally got to hear our little one's heartbeat. I went in wondering if they would be able to find it being that we are only at 15 weeks and plus my belly is where I store all of my extra poundage, but they found it right away and confirmed that yes, there is still someone growing inside of me. The heartbeat was at 155 which is good and everything including my blood pressure checked out normal. If I am correct the heartbeat was lower than what it was the first time they checked it during out ultrasound so my first thought is that it is a boy, darn it. But the kind lady who was standing in line in front of me at Subway over heard my conversation with my sister giving her all of the details. I got off the phone and the lady excused herself and said "I couldn't help but over hear you, I am 18 weeks pregnant and we just found out we're having a little girl and her heartbeat was 151." So I guess that means we still have a shot even though the more stories I hear the less credibility I give to the old heartbeat wives tale. The big ultrasound is in four weeks, I don't know how I am going to wait that long. I keep telling everyone that since I have already reached my out of pocket maximum for the year thanks to my $6,000 a pop Remicade treatments that I may just have to develop some severe cramping and make my way over to the hospital for a short visit...lol. How wrong of me is that? LOL What an impatient Mother is willing to do for an answer. On the bad side of things it looks like my gall bladder is on it's way out, they are trying to get the baby delivered first and then take it out so let's keep our fingers crossed that everything remains calm like it has done since I have gotten pregnant.

Bedding

We've picked our bedding and here within the next month or so are going to begin the big nursery project. I absolutely cannot wait until that room is done and I can go in there and sit waiting until the day I get to lay my little one down in his or her crib. This bedding is one that we had originally picked but after Babies R Us decided to no longer sell it we settled for something else at Wal-Mart. Well low and behold I ran across our first pick today at a different store that we will be registering at as well and I was so excited I just had to call Daniel and tell him the good news. I gave him two options, we can either do this one no matter what sex the baby is or we can go crazy and do pinks and purples if we're having a girl, needless to say he said a big fact NO to the pinks and purples so this is the winner no matter what. What do you think??

This one was our back up plan and the one we already showed everyone...oops.

I like the farm animals so much better Baby B is going to be a little cowgirl or cowboy!

Belly Shot #1, Week 14

As promised here is belly shot number one. Please keep in mind that there is a reason why the camera is mine and that I am the photographer in this household, the husband doesn't a put a lot of effort into it and is having a hard time grasping why we are even taking belly shots...MEN!! You'll notice I had an intruder in the picture, we woke him from his slumber and as you can see he is feeling much better than what he was last Saturday after having his gut cut wide open to remove a sock that wouldn't come back out on it's own. This isn't the greatest of shots, I was told to move my hands...lol. I think I look bigger towards the top of my tummy than what I do towards the bottom so I don't know what's going on. We will see how I continue to progress.

Annaleigh

Even though I am lacking in the posting department there are several blogs that I follow daily. A blog that I have found myself drawn to on a daily basis is called "Three Cheers for Babies". After discovering Brooke through her cooking blog I became an avid follower of her baby blog as well. After years of unsuccessful tries at motherhood she and her husband Joe finally conceived after a successful fertility treatment. They quickly discovered that not only did the treatment work, but it worked thrice. They were pregnant with three wonderful little babies. Sadly Brooke delivered very early in her pregnancy and her triplets; Charlie, Lily, and Annaleigh were born prematurely. Even though they have had their share of ups and downs the babies continued to grow and thrive in the NICU.

Sadly Annaleigh unexpectedly was diagnosed with a disease called NEC today, it affects the digestive system of the baby and it moves very swiftly. Often times the babies recover after having the setback but in Annaleigh's case it was too late. Her surgeon discovered that her bowels were completely dead and essentially there was nothing that they could do. More than likely Annaleigh will not survive the weekend, possibly not even the night. Being pregnant with my first child after years of trying I can relate to the miracle that their conception and ultimate birth was. I can't relate though to what they must be going through. The pain and sadness that they are feeling is one I pray that I never have to experience as a parent. Tonight, please keep Brooke, Joe, and Annaleigh along with their others babies in your thoughts and prayers. I pray that God takes Annaleigh peacefully and that he allows Charlie and Lily to continue to grow and thrive in honor of the sister that they will never know or experience.

Yay

I am a few days late in posting this but I have wonderful news...I am officially in my second trimester. I honestly cannot believe how quickly those first 13 weeks went by and it floors me that we are a 1/3 of the way through this pregnancy. I am feeling really well other than the fact I am still experiencing morning sickness and now for whatever reason, I am experiencing the pregnancy headaches that no one bothered to tell me about...lol. I have had this headache for almost two weeks now and nothing is really helping. The morning sickness isn't as bad as it was in the beginning but it's still enough to drive me crazy. The funny part about the morning sickness is that the majority of it occurs during my morning showers and nightly baths. My Aunt thinks it is because the baby is not fond of warm water, this leads me to believe that we are most definitely having a little girl, she is already wanting things done her way. I can imagine bath time in our house is going to be interesting to say the least.

We have already registered and I hope that here in the next few weeks we will get a start on the nursery. This house is filled with procrastinators so as long as it's finished before the big arrival I am not going to stress very much. We have had lots of offers of help in preparing the room so I think once we start it's going to go quickly and smoothly. As of right now we are doing a jungle theme but I am slowly moving to pinks and purples for a little girl and if its a boy I see a farm theme in our future.

Our next appointment is next Friday where I hope to hear the heartbeat for the first time. I am also going to do my best in persuading my Doctor to schedule the big ultrasound for sooner rather than later. I am so anxious in finding out whether this is my little girl or if the Grandma's are going to get their wish and have a little man. I took yet another gender prediction test online today and it predicted a girl just like all of the others. I am confident that it's a girl but I am not confident enough to place money on it.

Also...is it to early to start feeling the baby?? I swear I felt a little something on Wednesday evening. I was kicking back in the recliner when I felt this oh so suttle flutter in my lower belly. It was nothing I have ever felt before so I immediately thought that it might be the baby but I have never done this before so I am not sure. I learned today that the baby is more than likely the size of a lemon. My husband being the funny guy that he is quickly ran to the refrigerator, grabbed the bottle of lemon juice that comes in the shape of a lemon and held it against my stomach. He pretty much implied I was a little far on the chubby side to only be carrying something that is the size of a lemon. He also said I have a muffin top, needless to say he almost got whipped. I am still working up the courage to post the first belly shot, I swear I am bigger than what I should be, but maybe not.

Anyway that's where we stand so far, the best is yet to come though.

Dogs and Children oh my...

As I type this Lennon is undergoing emergency surgery to fix a blockage in his intestines. I really don't know how much more I can take with this dog and all of the surgeries he has had to go under here recently. It breaks my heart that he is suffering and that there is nothing that I can do about it but try to support him as best as I can. I did realize tonight though while giving the surgeon the okay to perform the operation, I am not going to do good if and when my child ever get's sick. I am already dreading the round of shots he or she will have. Something tells me I will do the most crying. Lord help us all!!

My nephew to be...

See, my little sister really is pregnant, obviously she is a lot further along than what I am. We had a scare last night thinking that she was in pre-term labor, but she wasn't, hopefully Dylan continues baking for the next month as he is supposed to. Nikki's mother-in-law and I are throwing her her first baby shower this coming Sunday and part of my gift to her was a baby belly photo shoot. I am thrilled with how the pictures turned out and I thought in order to toot my own horn, I would share them with everyone. I am only posting a few but I hope you enjoy them.

By the way, sitting in the waiting room at the hospital in the maternity ward, watching all of the pregnant women come in and out, really helped the fact I will be one of those women in less than six months. It's officially sunk in that this is for real for us. I also bought the first few baby clothes that were gender related. I hit up a garage sale and spent $2.50 on 5 outfits for a little girl. I figured even if we do have a boy, I could always resell all of the girl clothing we have bought and received on e-bay and still make our money back on them since none of the outfits were purchased brand new.

Anyway, here are the pictures.

Almost there...

Wednesday I will officially be twelve weeks pregnant, which means only one more to go before I am officially knocking on my second trimesters door. I cannot believe how quickly these first twelve weeks have gone by. The morning sickness is still here...no where near what it was in the beginning though which is a good thing. I am finally able to eat things and Pringles have truly become my best friend. I am cooking more which I think my husband is excited about. This coming weekend is going to be a big cooking fest at my house. My sister Nikki's baby shower is this Sunday and I am bringing the majority of the food. I can't wait until it's time for my shower, mainly because it means that we will be that much closer to finally getting to meet this little one that is currently residing in my tummy. The baby clothes are already starting to pour in, mainly girl clothes as that is what everyone thinks we are having. My Dad's girlfriend Donna hit up Gymboree the other weekend and bought not only girl clothes but boys as well, just in case!! I am growing ever more anxious with this baby. I can't stand walking by the clothes and not stopping to just pick them up and give them a good wiff. I can't wait for the day when there will be someone inside of them. We have just a few more weeks until we can find out the sex of the baby but in the mean time I have been hitting up google for all of the old wives tales on how to determine the gender of your unborn child. So far the girls are winning, the only boy tales we have gotten is the wedding ring on the string thing and the fact I am craving salty foods instead of sweats as they say you do with girls.

I finally gave my five vials of blood for the pre-natal testing. To say it was a chore would be an understatement. We went ahead and waited until my next Remicade treatment in hopes that we could get it done with one stick at one sitting instead of two sticks during two sittings. Four sticks later they finally found gold in my left arm. The veins in my right arm have finally given up on us and no longer produce any blood. We can do the infusion in the them but they just don't share the precious red stuff. The fourth stick we moved to the left arm and we hit gold, the blood flowed freely and after having to assist the nurse in taking the blood I about hit the floor. The medical field is definitely not an option for this chicken. I am just glad to have it over and done with and I hope the results provide us with more good news when it comes to the health of this pregnancy. I also hope I don't have to do give up that much blood again during this pregnancy. As a reward for making it through another stressful treatment we went out to dinner and then registered for the baby at Babies R Us which was so exciting. We will register for more stuff once we know for sure what we are having but in the meantime we thought it would be ok to get the stuff we know we will need such as bottles and pacifiers out of the way.

Here's to hoping that the next six months fly by just like the first twelve weeks have done. I know I will need the time to get everything ready to go for the baby but I just can't wait until my snuggle buddy gets here.