A family affair

Yesterday Jonathan's family came over to help paint the baby's room. It looks awesome, and I love the color. Jennifer, June and I did most of it but I think everyone was involved in some way.

Jonathan made up snacks and went to get another gallon of paint, and everyone else had a paint brush or roller at some point. Today I did some touch up spots and cleaned everything up and it's all done. Now we can work on actually getting things in there.

Here are my helpers, hard a work:

Even Emily helped, she was very excited to get to help paint her cousin's room.

And She was so cute!
Thanks everyone! I could have never done that myself.

23 weeks

Yesterday makes 23 weeks. The little guy has been quiet today, but I've been moving around a lot. I've gotten to where I always have to have tums around, otherwise I'm miserable. Other than that, no new symptoms. My feet still hurt and my hips are sore but I don't think those things are going to go away.

The baby's hearing is fine. The other night I was in bed and I heard this huge sound coming from something inside me. It was loud to me so I can only imagine how loud it was to him. After the second time it happened he started kicking around. He had been sleeping but that woke him up.

He's getting stronger and I've felt him move from the outside a few times, still not very often though.

This week:

• Proportions of the body are now quite similar to a newborn although thinner since he hasn't begun to form body fat.
• Bones located in the middle ear harden.
• Your baby is able to hear.
  
• The eyes are formed, though the iris still lacks pigmentation.
• The pancreas, essential in the production of hormones, is developing steadily. He has begun producing insulin, important for the breakdown of sugars.
• If born now, your baby has a 15% chance of survival, his odds going up with each passing day.
• The average baby at this stage weighs 1.1 pound (501gm) and is 11.38 inches (28.9cm) long.

so much to be thankful for

I was going to do a post and list all the things that I'm thankful for, but the list just got too long :-)

Tomorrow we're going to pain the baby's room and then maybe we'll be able to start pulling it together... I hope.

96 years

Today would have been my Nanny's 96th birthday. It's funny, I still can't find the right words to say about her, nothing seems good enough. She had a long life, a great life, and I'm grateful for that, but she didn't think she was done living. In her mind, she still had so much she was looking forward to. Her body may have been old, but her mind and her spirit still had so much and that's what makes it hard. When you see someone suffer with illness or fade over time it can be comforting when they finally go, but Nanny wasn't like that. She was the spunkiest little old lady I knew and by far the sharpest resident at that nursing home. I am so thankful that she didn't suffer, she wasn't crippled by the stroke, and that it was quick but no matter how I try and justify it, I would so much rather just have her back.

Nanny took care of me every day after school, from kindergarten through high school. She was always there. When she'd pick me up from school I'd always ask for a chocolate malt and french frys. Sometimes we'd go out for them, and sometimes she'd make them at home. I didn't get them all the time, it was a treat, but I always think of her when I have a chocolate malt.

Anyways, I could go on forever here, tell tons of stories, share lots of pictures (which I will put a few up in the next few days) but I'm too tried right now. I just got back from having dinner with my family at her favorite restraunt, Catfish Parlor. We would have been there tonight with her and I think she'd be thrilled to know that 20 of us got together to celebrate.

Another one bits the dust

Yes internet, that's right, things are still breaking around here. Only things around here seem to have a slow death, we can see them coming and watch them suffer and die miserably. This time it's our 5 disc DVD player. We've cleaned it, blown air into it, and now we're down to banging on it when it doesn't work. We're not replacing it any time soon. We have a one disc DVD player that will do in its place. It means we'll have to walk from the couch to the TV more often, which doesn't seem bad, but when you've been spoiled by being able to switch between DVD's and have two different people have what they want in there and pregnancy suck your butt into the couch like a magnet, it's a bummer.

22 Weeks!

It seems like time is flying now, thank God. I hope it continues this way. Not much is new, but the acid reflux and heart burn are getting worse. I don't expect them to get any better until this is over with. The headaches are mostly gone, which is great. My feet hurt but if I wear shoes most of the time it helps.

I love feeling him move around. Jonathan can't wait to feel him, he's just too little still. Jonathan often talks to him, reads to him, and sings or resits poetry to him. It's very cute.

This week:

• Your baby weighs close to a pound at this point!
• Your baby can now hear your conversations more clearly than before!. When you talk, read, or sing, expect her to hear you. Studies have found that newborns will suck more vigorously when read to from a book they heard frequently in utero.
• Eyelids and eyebrows are fully formed.
  
• Fingernails have grown to the end of the fingers.
• Be prepared for all those "Why" questions coming! Your baby's brain has entered a stage of rapid growth.
  
• With some help from mom, baby's liver is starting to break down bilirubin, a substance produced by red blood cells.
• If your baby is male his testes begin their descent to the scrotum.
• Primitive sperm have formed and he is producing testosterone.
• Length is 10.94 inches (27.8cm); weight is nearly 1 pound (430gm).

refrigerator woes, and a belly shot

This is being delivered on Sunday. We're just praying that things are done breaking around here. We're having to put some projects on hold and re-arrange things to make everything work, but at least I'm still working for a little while longer. And now our refrigerator will match the rest of our appliances.

Also, here's a belly picture. As you can see, I'm getting big! I had a stranger mention something to me at the grocery store the other day. At least I don't just look fat anymore.

21 Weeks

The little guy is definitely growing, I feel him more every day. Today I tried to take a nap but he wouldn't stop kicking me. It's cute now, but I have a feeling that it's going to get old. Unfortunately my feet are growing and most of my shoes are too small now. It's a bummer because I love my shoes. I went and got some ugly crocks, I don't like how they look but they fit.

My stomach still isn't back to normal. I'm hoping it regulates soon. And my back and hips are still really sore. It's not nearly as bad as it was a few weeks ago though, thank God.

Oh, and thanks to my friend Beth we have a bunch of 0-3 month clothes! They are so tiny and cute!

Here is how the baby looks in my belly this week:

• White blood cells are under production. Leukocytes (or white blood cells) form our body's defense system. They help fight infections and diseases.
• Your little one's skin has changed from translucent to become more opaque.
• Your infant's tongue is fully formed. If you were able to peek you might catch your son or daughter practicing giving you a raspberry!
• Baby swallows more this week. After your baby takes in amniotic fluid, his body absorbs the water in the liquid and moves the rest into the large bowel. This is good practice for his digestive system!
• Wake and sleep periods become more consistent. Some research suggests that baby sets her internal clock to match the outside world's even before birth! Your eating and sleeping habits as well levels of light and noise serve as her signals.
• Length is now measured crown to heel.
• Baby measures about 10.51 inches (26.7cm) and weighs nearly 12.7 ounces (360g).

Because you asked...

I've had several people ask what we still need for the baby. Well, lots of crap. 1st, there's the registry. Check out the links to the right. We're going to try the cloth diaper thing so we need some supplies and diapers for that, those are on the Amazon registry. Also, the little guy needs clothes. I have a few things but oddly enough I have no idea how much we really need.

We were going to go with IKEA sheets and decore, but I was having trouble finding the pictures I wanted and even the sheet set. And then I found this on ebay for only $50.00 so this is what we're using. I actually like it much better, it's very cute. I'll register for a few other accessories at babies-r-us.

We'd like this from IKEA, it's the TROFAST storage combination, but we'd like different colored bins. This is just an accessory, nothing that's necessary but great for toys and stuff.We have a dresser from my nanny, but Jonathan is worried that it's not very stable. Eventually we'd like this one from IKEA, it matches the crib. It's the LEKSVIK 4-drawer chest.
I also like this from IKEA. It's the LEKSVIK High Cabinet.



My parents already got us the crib, here it is!

And they got us the glider/ottoman! I think they're a little excited about the baby. :-) Here it is just out of the box.

And me putting it together.

And the finished product. It looks great.

Thank you mom and dad!

As you can tell from the pictures, the room needs a little paint.

We have a thumb sucker!

I went into the doctor today to be checked. Yesterday I had pain in my lower abdomen that lasted 9 hours. I talked to the nurse yesterday evening and she told me to get checked today. Everything was fine, they took some blood and are running some tests but the pain is gone and they aren't worried.

I saw the little guy sucking his thumb on the sonogram again. He was huge compared to 5 weeks ago. He was measuring good though and his heart rate was perfect.

If I could fine the little camera I'd get a belly picture up. Today at the grocery store was the first time a stranger mentioned something about being pregnant to me. Clearly the bump is getting bigger.

Ask a Toddler...

This video cracks me up, enjoy!

Sick up-date

I didn't work today, I stayed at home in bed. Things are getting better. I drank a ton of water and some gatoraid. For most of the day I ate mostly bland food, rice, bananas, and apple sauce. This evening I craved veggies and broke down and had some peas and some squash. I'm having a little more cramping this evening after the veggies, but it was worth it.

The plan is to work tomorrow, as long as tonight and the morning are okay.

Feeling crappy

I stared having some stomach cramping last night and was a little concerned, just because I didn't know what was going on.

And today I've had awful diarrhea and very painful cramping. I called the doctors office and they think I have a stomach virus of some kind. Lovely. I didn't eat much today, I tired, but I just couldn't ever get more than a few bites down. I'm drinking lots of water and gatoraid and praying I feel better soon.

I did work today but tomorrow is questionable, we'll see how I feel in the morning.

20 Weeks

1/2 way there! Things are going well. I feel him moving more, still not very consistently but it's getting easier to distinguish between what the baby feels like and what's digestion related. Jonathan reads to the baby most nights, usually Dr. Seuss. My back and hips are feeling better now that I've become good friends with the chiropractor. They are still a little sore but I can sleep okay and they don't stop me from doing things anymore, thank God. I'm still having a lot of headaches though, which is frustrating.

I had my 20 week nurse visit on Friday. Everything looked good, I got to hear his heart beat and it was strong, and we found out that I will be having the baby at Seton down town. I also scheduled the next big sonogram where they measure all the organs and body parts, it will be December 5th.

This Week:

• The rapid growth stage is about over. While things have slowed down, this next stage is vital to survival.
  
• The baby's heart grows stronger. His legs are reaching their relative size. With the increase muscle develop occurring as well, you will start feeling much more than tiny flutter kicks soon!
  
• Immunities are being transferred from you to your baby now. These immune cells will protect him from viruses you've already had for up to six months after birth!
  
• The nerve cells for taste, smell, hearing, seeing, and touch are now developing in a specialized areas of the brain. Production slows down as existing nerve cells grow larger and make more complex connections.
  
• Your baby may startle in reaction to loud sounds. Amazingly, he can actually hear noises outside of the womb. Familiar voices, music, and sounds that baby becomes accustomed to during his development stages often are calming after birth.
  
• Baby is about 6.46 inches (16.4cm) and weighs around 10.58 ounces (300g).

On a different note: I have someone coming out to look at the refrigerator tomorrow and assess the damage. We're keeping our fingers crossed.

The many faces of Grace

The last few days with Grace were good. I'm tired, very tired. Here are some pictures I took, in no particular order.

This one is a bit blurry, but very cute.

"Mmmmm, breakfast"

She's so cute!

She loved the waterfall.

"What's this thing on my head?"

"Can we go home yet?"

These next two pictures are really great, but I had to edit the mosquitoes out.


"Hook Em' Horns"


"Please God, let the longhorns win the national title"

Election Night 2008

I'm so ready for this election to be over with, I really don't care who wins at this point. 2 years of campaigning is WAY too long, all we need is 2 months. And people have gotten really ugly about this one. It's difficult to even talk to people about it because of how defensive and violent most people get. It's crazy.

What I want my kid to know about the election is to go vote. I don't care who they vote for but I don't think people should complain about the government unless they've voted.

Thank God it's almost over.

19 Weeks

The pregnancy has been rather un-eventful lately... thank God. My appetite has increased but baby is going through a growth spurt so I'm assuming those two things are related. The only thing that has been really different is that the baby has moved to my butt and is growing there now. My back and hips are still rather sore but the chiropractor is helping a ton. I'm hoping to get a massage later in the week and I think that will help a lot too.

This Week:

• Your baby has the same awake and sleep patterns of a newborn. He has a favorite position for sleep and recognizable active and rest periods.
• Throughout baby's body, nerves are being coated with a fatty substance called myelin, which insulates the nerves so that impulses can flow smoothly.
• Scalp hair becomes apparent this week. It has sprouted and continues to grow.
• The milk teeth buds have already developed and over the next few days the buds for the permanent teeth will begin to form behind the milk teeth.
• If it's a boy, the genitals are distinct and recognizable.
• Your baby is swallowing amniotic fluid and his or her kidneys are making urine.
• Your little one's size is around 6.02 inches (15.3cm) and 8.47 ounces (240gm).

I'll be spend some of the later part of the week with this little girl. This is my youngest niece, Grace. My brother and sister-in-law are going on vacation to Mexico and both sets of grandparents and I are taking care of her. It should be an interesting week.

The funeral

Later today is Nanny's funeral. There's so much that I want to say about her but I just can't put it into words right now. I think I just need to get past today. Everyone is coming over to our house after the burial so I've been cleaning for the past two days, I've at least had that to keep me busy.

The good news is that timing wise everything worked out well. My cousin Jeffery (the oldest great-grandchild) who plays pro football for the Carolina Panthers has a bi-week and he was already at his lake house in Marble Falls. The cousins from Houston were all planning on being together this weekend anyways, so they drove up. And my dad, who could have been out of the country for work and who has been out of town for the last 4 weeks was flying back Thursday morning anyways. Most of us would have dropped everything and been here anyways but Jeffery's schedule is tricky and if my dad had been in Japan or Germany God only knows when he would have gotten back.

On a completely different note, my back completely freaked out on me Wednesday. I just picked a chiropractor off the insurance list and they were able to get me in that afternoon. Cooper went with me and cried most of the time but he was fine. I really liked him, it helped some and I've been back once already. Both my back, left hip, and elbow have been sore the last few days. But then again I haven't been sleeping great and I've been on my feet all day with the cleaning. Tomorrow I'm planning on staying on the couch most of the day.