When I was about 6 months pregnant Jeff was reading a pregnancy book for expecting fathers and stumbled upon a concept that I thought was BRILLIANT! This book said that you should give your wife a push gift after she has the baby. A 'push gift' is a gift that the husband gets the wife as a token of his appreciation for all that she went through to carry and deliver the baby. I'm sure you can use your imagination about why it's called a "push" gift.
Jeff and I actually talked about it and decided that something very small would be just fine. Nothing extravagent was necessary considering that we were pretty tight on funds as Jeff goes to school. In addition, he had already surprised me with what I lovingly called my "fat girl wedding ring". It was a larger ring than my normal wedding ring and designed to be worn in the later months of pregnancy when I was too swollen to fit in the original. I wore it for a few months and then it became too small. Towards the end of the pregnancy my fingers looked like bananas and putting jewelry on them was not even a consideration. In fact, I got Carpel Tunnel from the pregnancy because of the swelling in my arms and hands - one of the other side effects of pregnancy that I was not aware of going in to it.
Anyway, on Thursday night Jeff had a big dinner planned and had worked very hard to make a special evening for us where he would present my Push Gift. I was oblivious to the entire thing and was extremely surprised and thrilled with the level of planning that went on behind the scenes. Unfortunately, Andrew had other plans. He was quite fussy and was not willing to allow us to have a nice dinner. So, we ended up eating Taco Bell and putting the steaks and wine to the side for another night. But, I did get my push gift. As I opened the bag, I saw a Dallas Cowboys shirt and I was quite pleased with that. I had wanted one that I could wear and it was perfect. As I took the shirt out of the bag, I noticed that there was a little box at the bottom of the bag. I quickly threw the shirt to the side and dove head first in to the bag to get my hands on that box.
To my complete surprise, my wonderful husband had met with our jeweler and bought me DIAMOND EARRINGS!! I was so shocked and completely surprised - I started crying and was very excited and emotional. What an amazing gift - they are beautiful and I'm so excited! I am wearing them all the time now.
I figured that if I can get this kind of stuff after a pregnancy, I can totally handle having at least one more kiddo!
Thanks to my wonderful hubby for the great gift. I feel very special and I love my new BLING!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
Weight Loss - 35 and counting...
In many areas of my life I'm considered an "average" person. However, in other areas, I tend to go above and beyond the average person and really hit it out of the park. An example of this is when I got pregnant. The "average" person gains between 35 and 40 pounds during their pregnancy. I went ahead and gained that much by 7 months pregnant. By the time I was ready to deliver him, I had gained 53 pounds! I had hit a weight that I previously thought would make me jump off a bridge. But, there was nothing to do but laugh at it and hope that my child was going to weigh 25 pounds at birth.
Thank goodness Jeff had gained quite a bit of sympathy weight because if he had not, I would have weighed one pound more than he did at our wedding. I was, what I considered, a mix of the Michelin Man and a Goodyear Blimp. Weighing more than my 6'2" husband was not something I was going to take lightly - pregnant or not. So, as long as he weighed more than I did - I was able to laugh at the scale each time I got on it. Laugh/whimper a little bit - all the same thing.
So, when I left the hospital and looked like I was about 8 months pregnant, I got a little bit worried that the losing weight process was going to get the best of me. No one tells you that you are going to look very pregnant when you leave the hospital. No one tells you that your stomach will still poke out as if the baby is still there. No one tells you that the lady at Target will ask you when you are due as you push a stroller through the check-out line (really, lady, really?).
Luckily, it did start falling off. After 2 weeks, I've lost 35 of the 53 pounds. I think the final pounds are going to be much more difficult, but I have faith that they will come off too.
To make that happen, I'd like to say goodbye to the following foods:
1. Whataburger Taquito - I will miss you the most.
2. Snow Cones with extra Condensed Milk
3. Oreos, Fritos, Bean Dip
4. Most Mexican Food places within a 10 mile radius of my house.
5. Cookies, Ice Cream, Cake and Brownies
Once I lose all the "baby weight" - I need to address the 20 pounds of weight gained after our wedding. So, I have a loooonnng way to go, but I have faith that this will all work out great!
Now, I'm going to go eat some carrots.
Thank goodness Jeff had gained quite a bit of sympathy weight because if he had not, I would have weighed one pound more than he did at our wedding. I was, what I considered, a mix of the Michelin Man and a Goodyear Blimp. Weighing more than my 6'2" husband was not something I was going to take lightly - pregnant or not. So, as long as he weighed more than I did - I was able to laugh at the scale each time I got on it. Laugh/whimper a little bit - all the same thing.
So, when I left the hospital and looked like I was about 8 months pregnant, I got a little bit worried that the losing weight process was going to get the best of me. No one tells you that you are going to look very pregnant when you leave the hospital. No one tells you that your stomach will still poke out as if the baby is still there. No one tells you that the lady at Target will ask you when you are due as you push a stroller through the check-out line (really, lady, really?).
Luckily, it did start falling off. After 2 weeks, I've lost 35 of the 53 pounds. I think the final pounds are going to be much more difficult, but I have faith that they will come off too.
To make that happen, I'd like to say goodbye to the following foods:
1. Whataburger Taquito - I will miss you the most.
2. Snow Cones with extra Condensed Milk
3. Oreos, Fritos, Bean Dip
4. Most Mexican Food places within a 10 mile radius of my house.
5. Cookies, Ice Cream, Cake and Brownies
Once I lose all the "baby weight" - I need to address the 20 pounds of weight gained after our wedding. So, I have a loooonnng way to go, but I have faith that this will all work out great!
Now, I'm going to go eat some carrots.
Mastitis, Congestion and Finals...oh my!
The first 10 days of Andrew's life were great except anything related to breast feeding. I was having an extremely hard time with it and had talked with 3 lactation specialists to try to help me through the process. The problem began right when he was born. Andrew was born "tongue tied" - it's when the tongue is connected to the bottom of the mouth too close to the edge of the tongue. It's hereditary and I had it when I was a baby. It's an easy fix, but prevented him from sticking out his tongue, opening his mouth wide or latching on properly when it came time for feedings. He had a Frenectomy done when he was 2 days old to fix the issue. The process for fixing it is literally numbing it and cutting it. Very simple and it was done in about 20 seconds. However, those 2 days before it was fixed created a habit for both of us that was making it almost unbearable for me to feed him. Not to mention, my milk did not come in for over 5 days which made our poor guy lose almost a pound of his birth weight.
By the third lactation specialist, I had almost given up entirely and was going to pump exclusively. However, she met with me and gave me hope that we could make it all work. However, the very next day, I started feeling quite a bit of pain in my chest. Within a few hours, I was suffering from unbelievable chills, a fever of 102.1 and my left breast was tender and bright red. The next day, I was diagnosed at the emergency clinic with Mastitis and was told I was going to have to be admitted to the hospital for 48 hours to help me get better. I was a mess. My parents had left the day before and I was crying like a big baby. After getting in touch with my OB, I was told I did not have to be admitted and that I would need to start antibiotics immediately.
While this was going on, Jeff was taking up the slack for me being down for the count. He was up for ALL the feedings, changings, etc... Problem was - he had 3 finals within 2 days and was not getting any of his studying done. It was crucial that he make certain grades in these classes or he would be prevented from moving forward with his nursing school pre-requisites. He was stressed, I was sick and Andrew was getting a cold. AAAAGGGHHH. We got Jennifer to come out and stay for 2 nights with us and help me while Jeff studied. It all worked out great! Jeff took his finals, made the grades he needed and I am now back to normal. Thanks Jenn!
As far as Andrew's cold - it's just some congestion and yes, I did take him to the doctor. I'm definitely "that mom" who rushes her new child to the doctor at the first sign of something weird. What the heck do I know? The doctor's visit was totally worth it because they taught me how to use the bulb syringe to clean out the boogers from Andrew's nose. NOW - if you are in the mood to do something absolutely disgusting - suck some green boogers out of a kid's nose. SO GROSS and heart breaking because it makes him so miserable as you do it. Between my gags, his screaming and Jeff asking "is this normal" - we got it done. WHEW! Now we have a happy baby again.
By the third lactation specialist, I had almost given up entirely and was going to pump exclusively. However, she met with me and gave me hope that we could make it all work. However, the very next day, I started feeling quite a bit of pain in my chest. Within a few hours, I was suffering from unbelievable chills, a fever of 102.1 and my left breast was tender and bright red. The next day, I was diagnosed at the emergency clinic with Mastitis and was told I was going to have to be admitted to the hospital for 48 hours to help me get better. I was a mess. My parents had left the day before and I was crying like a big baby. After getting in touch with my OB, I was told I did not have to be admitted and that I would need to start antibiotics immediately.
While this was going on, Jeff was taking up the slack for me being down for the count. He was up for ALL the feedings, changings, etc... Problem was - he had 3 finals within 2 days and was not getting any of his studying done. It was crucial that he make certain grades in these classes or he would be prevented from moving forward with his nursing school pre-requisites. He was stressed, I was sick and Andrew was getting a cold. AAAAGGGHHH. We got Jennifer to come out and stay for 2 nights with us and help me while Jeff studied. It all worked out great! Jeff took his finals, made the grades he needed and I am now back to normal. Thanks Jenn!
As far as Andrew's cold - it's just some congestion and yes, I did take him to the doctor. I'm definitely "that mom" who rushes her new child to the doctor at the first sign of something weird. What the heck do I know? The doctor's visit was totally worth it because they taught me how to use the bulb syringe to clean out the boogers from Andrew's nose. NOW - if you are in the mood to do something absolutely disgusting - suck some green boogers out of a kid's nose. SO GROSS and heart breaking because it makes him so miserable as you do it. Between my gags, his screaming and Jeff asking "is this normal" - we got it done. WHEW! Now we have a happy baby again.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Welcome Home Andrew Grayson Walker!
Andrew Grayson Walker was born via C-Section at 1:33 pm on Wednesday, November 25th. He weighed 9 lbs, 4oz and was 20.5 inches long. He came out with a full head of blond hair! I wanted to share the details leading up to his arrival and a little information about his first week. So..here we go...
Delivery Eve - Tuesday, November 24th
I knew that I was on a short time frame considering that I was going to give birth on Wednesday. So, I recruited some help from my great friend Jennifer. I offered dinner and wine if she would help me get the house decorated for Christmas. Jeff had a big test in Anatomy & Physiology and was not available to help me except for dragging out our 10 foot tree and putting it together so that I could attempt to decorate it.
We decorated the front yard with lights, the windows, put out all the cute Christmas knick-knacks and then tackled the tree. I could not have done it without her. She reached all the stuff at the top from a ladder and I moved around the bottom hanging things and then watching them drop as my belly bumped in to them. But, we got it done in time for our homecoming. I knew that I was not going to be able to do it when I got home....especially not after the c-section.
Here is a picture of our tree with Jeff and I in front of it showing how much bigger my belly had become compared to his. I'm all about making other people feel skinny.... yep.
Delivery Day - Wednesday, November 25th
We arrived to the hospital at 11am and the C-Section was scheduled to begin at 1pm. They actually rolled me out to the operating room at 1:11pm. I was not very nervous or anything - pretty grateful that I was not having major contractions or being put through hours of labor. The most painful part of the entire process was getting the epidural. I was not a lucky recipient of either the IV or the Epidural - both had to be done twice. The Epidural was quite a bit more painful than I expected - mostly from a pinching nerve/extreme pressure perspective. When he told me he had to do it again, I thought he was kidding. Turns out he was not. But, really, there is no turning back at that point so nothing really mattered.
I was absolutely deadened from the chest down. They rolled me to the operating room and the entire c-section took about 15 minutes. Andrew was born at 1:33pm and I was back in the recovery room by 1:45. Now that's what I call an efficient process!
I was brought to my room and the stay at what I keep calling "the hotel" began. I was greeted with flowers, cookies, balloons and stuffed animals from the wonderful group of friends and family that I have. It was so nice and thoughtful and I can't express my appreciation enough. In addition, my mom decided to fly in early and surprise me in the hospital about an hour after Andrew was born. That meant so much to me and I was thrilled to have her there with me early. In addition to my mom, I want to thank everyone who came to visit and especially to my friend Danielle who brought my family an entire Thanksgiving Dinner to the hospital on Thanksgiving Day. I am so blessed to have such wonderful people in my life.
The First Week
I went home after 2 days in the hospital. The hospital wants you to stay for 3 and insurance pays for you to stay for 4 when you undergo a C-Section. I, on the other hand, was itching to go home when the last stitch was put in. I'm not one for being woken up 5 times in the night to "check vitals" and then several other times for meds, checking on Andrew, etc... Jeff stayed at the hospital with me both nights and was an absolute trooper during the entire process. I could not move much and he became the professional diaper changer.
We did not have a name for our baby boy until Friday so the entire maternity floor knew him as Baby Boy Walker. We were tossing around names that we liked and finally decided on our last day to name him Andrew Grayson Walker.
When we got home, we started the process of getting adjusted to our new bundle of joy being home with us. The late nights, the diaper changes, the sounds of a baby crying, spit up and the problems of breast feeding were challenging, but the rewards were much better! Watching Andrew open his big blue eyes and stare at us in wonder, watching him sleep and learning his little ways have been such a neat experience!
The first week seemed to fly by as I look back on it now. I think I was in a bit of a daze and am finally getting back to my normal self. Learning to live on less sleep is part of that adjusting process and I'm finally figuring it all out. I look like crap, but according to Andrew, I look great, have an amazing singing voice and am probably the most intriguing person in the entire world. So, hey - I'm good.
More to come!
Delivery Eve - Tuesday, November 24th
I knew that I was on a short time frame considering that I was going to give birth on Wednesday. So, I recruited some help from my great friend Jennifer. I offered dinner and wine if she would help me get the house decorated for Christmas. Jeff had a big test in Anatomy & Physiology and was not available to help me except for dragging out our 10 foot tree and putting it together so that I could attempt to decorate it.
We decorated the front yard with lights, the windows, put out all the cute Christmas knick-knacks and then tackled the tree. I could not have done it without her. She reached all the stuff at the top from a ladder and I moved around the bottom hanging things and then watching them drop as my belly bumped in to them. But, we got it done in time for our homecoming. I knew that I was not going to be able to do it when I got home....especially not after the c-section.
Here is a picture of our tree with Jeff and I in front of it showing how much bigger my belly had become compared to his. I'm all about making other people feel skinny.... yep.
Delivery Day - Wednesday, November 25th We arrived to the hospital at 11am and the C-Section was scheduled to begin at 1pm. They actually rolled me out to the operating room at 1:11pm. I was not very nervous or anything - pretty grateful that I was not having major contractions or being put through hours of labor. The most painful part of the entire process was getting the epidural. I was not a lucky recipient of either the IV or the Epidural - both had to be done twice. The Epidural was quite a bit more painful than I expected - mostly from a pinching nerve/extreme pressure perspective. When he told me he had to do it again, I thought he was kidding. Turns out he was not. But, really, there is no turning back at that point so nothing really mattered.
I was absolutely deadened from the chest down. They rolled me to the operating room and the entire c-section took about 15 minutes. Andrew was born at 1:33pm and I was back in the recovery room by 1:45. Now that's what I call an efficient process!
I was brought to my room and the stay at what I keep calling "the hotel" began. I was greeted with flowers, cookies, balloons and stuffed animals from the wonderful group of friends and family that I have. It was so nice and thoughtful and I can't express my appreciation enough. In addition, my mom decided to fly in early and surprise me in the hospital about an hour after Andrew was born. That meant so much to me and I was thrilled to have her there with me early. In addition to my mom, I want to thank everyone who came to visit and especially to my friend Danielle who brought my family an entire Thanksgiving Dinner to the hospital on Thanksgiving Day. I am so blessed to have such wonderful people in my life.
The First Week
I went home after 2 days in the hospital. The hospital wants you to stay for 3 and insurance pays for you to stay for 4 when you undergo a C-Section. I, on the other hand, was itching to go home when the last stitch was put in. I'm not one for being woken up 5 times in the night to "check vitals" and then several other times for meds, checking on Andrew, etc... Jeff stayed at the hospital with me both nights and was an absolute trooper during the entire process. I could not move much and he became the professional diaper changer.
We did not have a name for our baby boy until Friday so the entire maternity floor knew him as Baby Boy Walker. We were tossing around names that we liked and finally decided on our last day to name him Andrew Grayson Walker.
When we got home, we started the process of getting adjusted to our new bundle of joy being home with us. The late nights, the diaper changes, the sounds of a baby crying, spit up and the problems of breast feeding were challenging, but the rewards were much better! Watching Andrew open his big blue eyes and stare at us in wonder, watching him sleep and learning his little ways have been such a neat experience!
The first week seemed to fly by as I look back on it now. I think I was in a bit of a daze and am finally getting back to my normal self. Learning to live on less sleep is part of that adjusting process and I'm finally figuring it all out. I look like crap, but according to Andrew, I look great, have an amazing singing voice and am probably the most intriguing person in the entire world. So, hey - I'm good.
More to come!
Friday, November 20, 2009
We have a date!
Well, today we had our sonogram to see how big this baby is and turns out - he is not small! We figured that - but it was going to determine a few things for us.
Our doctor told us that we had 3 options:
1. If he is over 8.5 pounds we will schedule a C-Section to prevent any potential harm to the baby - which I agree with and am totally fine with.
2. If he is 8.5 pounds - we will induce him and try to deliver naturally.
3. If he is under 8.5 pounds - we will just let him decide when he wants to arrive.
We are picking door #1. He is measuring 9 pounds, 5 oz. right now! - GULP -Keep in mind that he is gaining about an ounce each day... So, a C-Section will be scheduled for Wednesday, November 25th - and at that point, he will be closer to 10 pounds! BIG GULP
The sad thing is that we will be spending our Thanksgiving in the hospital, but the great thing is that we have so much to be thankful for and we have a definite date that we will get to meet this fat turkey!
I'm still trying to talk our doctor in to changing our date for delivery to Monday, but for some reason, she does not listen to what I say or want. So, mark your calendars - this baby will be here no later than Wednesday, November 25th. Now, if he wants to come early - I'm totally fine with that too. Maybe even today!!
Our doctor told us that we had 3 options:
1. If he is over 8.5 pounds we will schedule a C-Section to prevent any potential harm to the baby - which I agree with and am totally fine with.
2. If he is 8.5 pounds - we will induce him and try to deliver naturally.
3. If he is under 8.5 pounds - we will just let him decide when he wants to arrive.
We are picking door #1. He is measuring 9 pounds, 5 oz. right now! - GULP -Keep in mind that he is gaining about an ounce each day... So, a C-Section will be scheduled for Wednesday, November 25th - and at that point, he will be closer to 10 pounds! BIG GULP
The sad thing is that we will be spending our Thanksgiving in the hospital, but the great thing is that we have so much to be thankful for and we have a definite date that we will get to meet this fat turkey!
I'm still trying to talk our doctor in to changing our date for delivery to Monday, but for some reason, she does not listen to what I say or want. So, mark your calendars - this baby will be here no later than Wednesday, November 25th. Now, if he wants to come early - I'm totally fine with that too. Maybe even today!!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
No news is.... no news.
Things are progressing along through the ninth month exactly as I had read in the books that they would. Meaning - I'm more irritable, completely done with being pregnant and wanting each little stomach flurry to be a contraction. However, the extra time of no baby gives me time to finish several projects around the house and get in some last minute work with clients. So, there is definitely a positive. The big question now is whether Baby Walker will join us before Thanksgiving, after Thanksgiving or actually on Thanksgiving. It's really up to him, but we have had some interesting developments in the last few days.
On Monday (38 Weeks) I went to the doctor and found out that I was measuring 41 weeks, 2 cm dilated and still 70% effaced. In the big scheme of things, that really does not matter much. Apparently, every woman is different so I could be walking around not dilated at all and give birth faster than someone who is 4 cm dilated. It's all up in the air. However, on Wednesday we had a bit of a bleeding scare and rushed to the doctor to see if there was a problem. The baby's heartbeat was perfectly normal and she examined me and gave me some interesting news. I went from 2 cm dilated to 3 cm dilated in 2 days - so that's a good sign of progression in the right direction. She is expecting me to start full labor within 24-48 hours. Apparently, the bleeding that was occurring is not common, but does happen in some women and it's a sure fire sign that labor is soon to begin. As of 1:30 pm today - we will be at 24 hours and I'm not any closer to delivering this boy than I was - at least from what I can tell. If labor does not start by Friday, I'm going back in to have another sonogram to give them an idea of how big he is. If he is measuring over 8.5 pounds - the doc will go ahead and plan to induce on Wednesday. That puts us in the hospital on Thanksgiving day, but that's ok. The good thing is - I have an end in sight!
A great thing from our experience today - the thought of possibly going in to labor in the middle of the night put Jeff and I in to full gear "get it done" mode. We had some left over things that needed to be done to the nursery to make it completely ready for Baby Walker. Shelves to hang, a few more things to clean out, etc... It's officially done even down to the new monitor and night light. And for those who knew that Jeff originally wanted an entire Dallas Cowboys Themed nursery, notice that we have an entire shelf dedicated to the Cowboys. However, it may have to share some space with a few LSU things to keep things balanced. :-) Here are a few pics of the nursery.
Two nights ago, Jeff, who is apparently in his own nesting mode, decided that we really needed surround sound speakers mounted in our living room before the baby got here. Mind you, he bought the speaker wire to do this project over 2 years ago and had to fish it out of the garage to begin this project. I had clean floors and a clean house that became blanketed with tools, sheet rock dust and wires coming from the attic. However, he has finished the project - I'm surrounded with sound - the shop vac (Jeff's best friend) sucked up all trace of the mess and we are back to normal and he can scratch that project off his list as being done before the baby arrives. Good job J!
This is a challenging time for Jeff because he is in school and working along with dealing with his big pregnant wife. I'd love to say that I'm always sweet, caring, understanding and downright lovable, but I don't think anyone would buy that. So, he studies late in the evenings after I've gone to bed and have stopped bombarding him with "honey-do's" or "let's go here to eat" or "help, this is too heavy" statements. He is maintaining B's in his classes, so we are very pleased. However, it looks like he will have to do an extra semester of Pre-Requisites before being able to apply to Nursing School. It's unfortunate and extends his school time by another 6 months, but it is for the best and will really help his chances of getting in to a good program. But, even with all of this on his mind - he still came home with flowers for me the other night. He knows this is hard on me and is making an effort to ease some of it. I'm very grateful for that.
I'm still so excited for Christmas that I can barely stand it. We are heading in to Louisiana this year again, but doing so earlier than normal. We will be attending the Cowboys/Saints game at the Superdome on December 19th. Mom will be watching the baby and we will head out to cheer on the Cowboys (and Saints...shhhhh). I now have 8 outfits for Christmas for our new baby boy. I know - overboard. But, I don't care. If I could hang bells on him and have Christmas carolers follow him around, I would probably do that. Jeff's family will be joining us again for Christmas in Louisiana this year - so I think it's going to be the perfect Christmas!
So, all in all - we really have no news yet. The cars are packed with our bags for the hospital and we are just waiting for him to say "go" and we are off to the races. Getting very excited to meet this little guy -- and NAME him.
More to come...
On Monday (38 Weeks) I went to the doctor and found out that I was measuring 41 weeks, 2 cm dilated and still 70% effaced. In the big scheme of things, that really does not matter much. Apparently, every woman is different so I could be walking around not dilated at all and give birth faster than someone who is 4 cm dilated. It's all up in the air. However, on Wednesday we had a bit of a bleeding scare and rushed to the doctor to see if there was a problem. The baby's heartbeat was perfectly normal and she examined me and gave me some interesting news. I went from 2 cm dilated to 3 cm dilated in 2 days - so that's a good sign of progression in the right direction. She is expecting me to start full labor within 24-48 hours. Apparently, the bleeding that was occurring is not common, but does happen in some women and it's a sure fire sign that labor is soon to begin. As of 1:30 pm today - we will be at 24 hours and I'm not any closer to delivering this boy than I was - at least from what I can tell. If labor does not start by Friday, I'm going back in to have another sonogram to give them an idea of how big he is. If he is measuring over 8.5 pounds - the doc will go ahead and plan to induce on Wednesday. That puts us in the hospital on Thanksgiving day, but that's ok. The good thing is - I have an end in sight!
A great thing from our experience today - the thought of possibly going in to labor in the middle of the night put Jeff and I in to full gear "get it done" mode. We had some left over things that needed to be done to the nursery to make it completely ready for Baby Walker. Shelves to hang, a few more things to clean out, etc... It's officially done even down to the new monitor and night light. And for those who knew that Jeff originally wanted an entire Dallas Cowboys Themed nursery, notice that we have an entire shelf dedicated to the Cowboys. However, it may have to share some space with a few LSU things to keep things balanced. :-) Here are a few pics of the nursery.
Two nights ago, Jeff, who is apparently in his own nesting mode, decided that we really needed surround sound speakers mounted in our living room before the baby got here. Mind you, he bought the speaker wire to do this project over 2 years ago and had to fish it out of the garage to begin this project. I had clean floors and a clean house that became blanketed with tools, sheet rock dust and wires coming from the attic. However, he has finished the project - I'm surrounded with sound - the shop vac (Jeff's best friend) sucked up all trace of the mess and we are back to normal and he can scratch that project off his list as being done before the baby arrives. Good job J!
This is a challenging time for Jeff because he is in school and working along with dealing with his big pregnant wife. I'd love to say that I'm always sweet, caring, understanding and downright lovable, but I don't think anyone would buy that. So, he studies late in the evenings after I've gone to bed and have stopped bombarding him with "honey-do's" or "let's go here to eat" or "help, this is too heavy" statements. He is maintaining B's in his classes, so we are very pleased. However, it looks like he will have to do an extra semester of Pre-Requisites before being able to apply to Nursing School. It's unfortunate and extends his school time by another 6 months, but it is for the best and will really help his chances of getting in to a good program. But, even with all of this on his mind - he still came home with flowers for me the other night. He knows this is hard on me and is making an effort to ease some of it. I'm very grateful for that.
I'm still so excited for Christmas that I can barely stand it. We are heading in to Louisiana this year again, but doing so earlier than normal. We will be attending the Cowboys/Saints game at the Superdome on December 19th. Mom will be watching the baby and we will head out to cheer on the Cowboys (and Saints...shhhhh). I now have 8 outfits for Christmas for our new baby boy. I know - overboard. But, I don't care. If I could hang bells on him and have Christmas carolers follow him around, I would probably do that. Jeff's family will be joining us again for Christmas in Louisiana this year - so I think it's going to be the perfect Christmas!
So, all in all - we really have no news yet. The cars are packed with our bags for the hospital and we are just waiting for him to say "go" and we are off to the races. Getting very excited to meet this little guy -- and NAME him.
More to come...
Thursday, November 5, 2009
This is the month...Fingers Crossed
Well it's November. All of my previously pregnant friends have delivered except one. She and I are it. The others have all delivered healthy babies and are happily home and getting settled. My cousin delivered in her home last night at 4am - totally natural and that booger was 11.5 pounds. Dear Lord, Make me a bird....All I can say is that I would have have been a basket case and would have had the police, firemen, neighbors, clergy and anyone else in screaming distance at my doorstep. Kudos to my cousin and her new baby boy, Alex! Her experience makes me know that mine will likely be easier than that, so I have a lot to look forward to.
As we enter in to the month that our baby is due, I can start to feel the anxiety building in me. I'm really ready to have him here. I'm no longer worried with what I can and can't finish in time for his arrival. I've started reading again about what to expect and I think that causes quite a bit of the anxiety. So, I'm putting the books down and just going in to this with an open mind and a complete ignorance of what may happen. Works for me--So I say. But knowing me, I will likely be cramming like a college student right before the doctor says push.
When I hit 35 weeks, we scheduled an appointment with a 3d/4d imaging place. The facility was fantastic. We were able to video stream the sonogram live to the grandparents, uncles and friends who were interested in it, while keeping the private, personal atmosphere that we wanted to experience during the process. We have a video, pictures, a link for future viewing, etc... Our appointment was 30 minutes long and $135. It was absolutely worth it. The pictures are amazing and he looks like such a chubby kiddo. I loved it! I highly recommend this for anyone wanting to see their baby before it arrives. I've included some of his best poses.
I have doctor appointments each week now and we are at the point of checking things out to see how I have progressed. As of last week, I'm officially 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced. We will not check again until next week. Today's appointment was just a heartbeat and measuring visit. I'm officially 36 weeks and 3 days but I'm measuring at 38.5 weeks. But, there are no real contractions to make note of - just random pains and aches and nausea is about all that's going on around here. And, of course, he is moving around like crazy getting bigger and bigger and running out of room. And, no matter how hard he kicks, I don't think he can get my chest to get out of his way. But, I do applaud his efforts. I think we are going to have a driven child. I like that.
It turns out that my blood pressure was extremely high today and the doctor considered admitting me to the hospital to monitor it and try to get it down. He let me sit for a little while and came back to take it again. It went down just enough to let me go home. Thank Goodness! I have had no problems with high blood pressure throughout this process so I think today was a bit of a fluke. If it stays high, they may induce or he may just decide to grace us with his presence early. So, just to be safe, we went to Babies R Us and purchased everything that we felt like we needed to be fully prepared for when he gets here. I have one major item left to purchase (The video monitor) and then we are done for the first month or so.
I also purchased several Christmas outfits for Baby Walker. Jeff is worried that I'm going overboard on the Christmas clothing, but I don't think it is possible to go overboard on Christmas stuff - poor kid.
That's about it for now. My next post may include stories of a new baby - or may not. It's all up to him now.
As we enter in to the month that our baby is due, I can start to feel the anxiety building in me. I'm really ready to have him here. I'm no longer worried with what I can and can't finish in time for his arrival. I've started reading again about what to expect and I think that causes quite a bit of the anxiety. So, I'm putting the books down and just going in to this with an open mind and a complete ignorance of what may happen. Works for me--So I say. But knowing me, I will likely be cramming like a college student right before the doctor says push.
When I hit 35 weeks, we scheduled an appointment with a 3d/4d imaging place. The facility was fantastic. We were able to video stream the sonogram live to the grandparents, uncles and friends who were interested in it, while keeping the private, personal atmosphere that we wanted to experience during the process. We have a video, pictures, a link for future viewing, etc... Our appointment was 30 minutes long and $135. It was absolutely worth it. The pictures are amazing and he looks like such a chubby kiddo. I loved it! I highly recommend this for anyone wanting to see their baby before it arrives. I've included some of his best poses.
I have doctor appointments each week now and we are at the point of checking things out to see how I have progressed. As of last week, I'm officially 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced. We will not check again until next week. Today's appointment was just a heartbeat and measuring visit. I'm officially 36 weeks and 3 days but I'm measuring at 38.5 weeks. But, there are no real contractions to make note of - just random pains and aches and nausea is about all that's going on around here. And, of course, he is moving around like crazy getting bigger and bigger and running out of room. And, no matter how hard he kicks, I don't think he can get my chest to get out of his way. But, I do applaud his efforts. I think we are going to have a driven child. I like that.
It turns out that my blood pressure was extremely high today and the doctor considered admitting me to the hospital to monitor it and try to get it down. He let me sit for a little while and came back to take it again. It went down just enough to let me go home. Thank Goodness! I have had no problems with high blood pressure throughout this process so I think today was a bit of a fluke. If it stays high, they may induce or he may just decide to grace us with his presence early. So, just to be safe, we went to Babies R Us and purchased everything that we felt like we needed to be fully prepared for when he gets here. I have one major item left to purchase (The video monitor) and then we are done for the first month or so.
I also purchased several Christmas outfits for Baby Walker. Jeff is worried that I'm going overboard on the Christmas clothing, but I don't think it is possible to go overboard on Christmas stuff - poor kid.
That's about it for now. My next post may include stories of a new baby - or may not. It's all up to him now.
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