He knows....

There is no doubt that our puppy, Tressel, knows there is something up and he's about to be a brother soon.....spending a little time cuddling with mommy and feeling William move and listening to baby.

Growing a Human - Whoa...I'm Pregnant!!!

Cramps....sore boobs....no period.....what's up???

I guess I had always envisioned figuring out I was pregnant after hanging my head in a toilet from morning sickness.  So without even a little dabble of morning sickness (......yet.....), I wasn't thinking too much of it.  Two days late on my period....I began to wonder.

I had a pregnancy test hiding in my bathroom closet (one left from a box of two from previously wondering if I was pregnant).  It was about 6:00am on Friday, March 12th.  I woke up to get ready for work and decided to settle my paranoia and pee on a stick....

......I'm pretty sure I had to rub my eyes twice and a third time and a fourth.  I must still be sleepy and I'm imagining those two lines that just appeared.  I grabbed the box - maybe I wasn't exactly even sure how to read this thing.  I'm still sitting on the toilet with my underwear around my ankles.  What exactly does one do now?  I figured the best thing was to wipe, flush, wash my hands and then.....go wake the father of my baby. 

"Umm, Adam.....wake up, please......Adam?  I need to you to wake up, please.  I may have just taken a very important test and I need so share the results.......Adam???  Please, wake up!!!"

This method was barely even effective in getting him to roll away from me to fall back asleep.  I needed another tactic. 

The most effective way of waking up a man out of a dead sleep?.....only three words are needed:  "Babe, I'm pregnant."

The rest of the morning was a blur.  My hands were shaking and I couldn't wipe the smile off my face.  Adam grabbed the video camera and asked me a few questions and captured some footage of the magical pregnancy test - as magical as a plastic stick that I had recently peed on can be.  I still had to go to work!!

I grabbed another test on the way to work and took it alone in a stall.  Another positive!!  I called Adam - still unable to wipe the same smile off my face.  We were pregnant!

Growing a Human - My Take

As my pregnancy inches toward an end, I felt inclined to take a few entries to be able to document my own experience with growing my first little one.  Because looking back at a lot that has happened over that last nine months pretty much makes me laugh - I'm going to just make bulleted points and highlights of the 'holy-shit' moments or thoughts or lessons that I've experienced myself during this time.  So coming up next week - I'll plan on breaking out the trimesters and milestones each day!  Kind of like a countdown to the scheduled DELIVERY DATE!!!!

Stay tuned!!!

William's Birthday will be November 12th!!

OK....as we may have been expecting - little stinker did not turn and is completely content where he's at in the breech position.

Over the last week, I have done a little reading and asking around regarding external version and I made the decision that it wasn't best for me and baby boy.  I did not want to put any unnecessary stress on the baby and I'm less than thrilled at the idea of having to have an emergency c-section or it being completely unsuccessful (as many are...).

Also, over the last week, I have let the idea of a c-section sink in and have accepted that this is what will be best for upside-down William and me. 

So....with all that said - November 12th should be William's birthday!!!  Unless I go into labor between now and then, surgery is scheduled for 15 days from now!!!  YIKES!!  [deep breaths......]

William is almost here!!! 

[in the spirit of football season - he'll be here in time for three Ohio State regular season games!!  Vs. Penn State, Iowa and of course the big rivalry, Michigan!!  hehe, I know, I'm pathetic]

Can you ever be prepared?

As the day gets closer and closer that Adam and I will be welcoming William into our family, we are trying to get things ready to be as prepared as possible.  We have set up the baby's room, washed clothes, set up the bassinet, ordered our cloth diapers and set up the car seat.  All the "obvious" get-ready-for-baby tasks. 

We have what we need to add William to our medical insurance when he's born, I have notified just about everyone at work to let them know of my impending maternity leave (like me waddling down the halls doesn't give THAT away) and everything is ready thru HR. 

We have selected a pediatrician. 

I have started stocking up on some things we need around the house - to eliminate any unnecessary trips to the store right after we bring baby home.  I have even typed up address labels of family and friends so when we decide to send out birth announcements, we won't have to take the time to write them all out (and ordered return address labels too!). 

We even went and bought a new camera to be able to capture those amazing moments with our baby boy from the moment we welcome him into our world!

We have taken the childbirth classes and breastfeeding classes.  We have read the baby books. 

Adam has notified his teachers that his baby is due to make sure they are prepared for a possible absence and to be able to submit work ahead of time.

We have attended a baptism class at our church to figure out what we need to do when we are ready to have him baptized.

The guest bedroom is ready for when my family comes to town for William's birth.

I've gotten our bills paid and up to date to avoid having to do that right after his birth.

I still need to pack my bag for hospital and I'd like to pre-register at hospital too.  I also want to buy a few nursing bras also.

Just about every idea that comes to my head to get "ready" for baby, we've been trying to get done to be better "prepared."

With all of this.....I just kind of chuckle to myself.  Like ANY of this will make a difference in trying to keep our world right side up when we are getting ready to welcome a baby into this world and into our lives and into our family.  I'm sure we still won't be able to figure out which way is up!  I realize that it is impossible to be prepared for such an amazing, life-changing event!  We are so anxious and excited and nervous!

Anything that you did before welcoming your little one(s) to try to be more "prepared"??  Or am I really missing something BIG that I should be doing???

Monday Blog Hopping!

Good morning and happy Monday!!!   

I'm Monday blog hopping!!  Looking to find some new mommy blogs or interested in gaining some new followers for you mommy blog?   Check out this blog hop for today.




New follower to Does This Baby Make Me Look Fat?  Thanks for stopping by!!  Make sure to leave a comment that includes your blog so I return the favor!!

Also, make sure to check out my current giveaway - $20 gift code to ANY CSN online store!! 

Don't Blink.....

It's that time of the year!!! The time when we can pull out the sweaters and sweatshirts, turn of the AC, open the windows to let in fresh air, buy apple cider, watch the leaves change colors and take a deep breath to smell FALL! I've lived in the Midwest my entire life and I don't think you ever get fully used to the winters and cold weather and snow and sleet. I don't exactly enjoy the cold winters (except for the Christmas season). I wouldn't trade it for someplace warm year-round though....because then I would miss out on fall!!


Breath it in, take the time to look around - because it'll be over in a flash and then we're stuck with the cold and snow. As my cousin, Jenna, put it - this kind of weather "is good for the soul"!

Have a great weekend!!!

Operation 'Flip William'

OK - I am now 36 weeks today and had my most recent OB appointment yesterday, complete with another sono to get position of baby.  Well......the little man is still in breech position.  Head is up where it has been and one leg up and another leg down.  I was very disappointed and crushed and I understand this is absolutely ridiculous!  I have had a wonderfully successful and healthy pregnancy so far and hearing myself become upset about this seems absolutely absurd!  How lucky I am!!

I was hoping to avoid a c-section if I could and this certainly doesn't put me in a position to have much of an option.  However....I will continue and give "alternative" methods a shot before I give up.  There seems to be a good amount of fluid around baby so turning still might be possible.

So the midwife recommended Spinning Babies for some resources of some harmless, at home techniques I could try.  They might not be very effective - but since they won't hurt me or the baby, why not give 'em a whirl, right?  These "methods" seem absolutely ridiculous though, it's honestly hard not to laugh. 

• Putting ice pack where baby's head is to try to get him to move away from the cold  (my bald husband seems to think this is a fantastic idea since he knows what it's like to have a cold head, HA!)
• Playing music or talking to the bottom of my belly so baby will follow the sound  (I'm wondering if William would like rap, pop or light rock....hmmm)
• Laying with my hips positioned higher than my shoulders  (well sure.....I can barely get up out of bed, but let me just somehow figure out how to accomplish this for an extended period of time...I'm going to go ahead and not count on being graceful for this event)
• Webster maneuver - still not entirely sure what this is, supposedly can help relax ligaments holding baby in place to help encourage baby to turn.
• External Cephalic Version - this will be the last option and I'm quite nervous about this one.  Next week I will be talking to doctor on risks and benefits and see if this is something we want to try....EEK!  I would be admitted to hospital and have two doctors trying to externally (yes, pushing on my belly and baby) turn the baby - while being monitored to ensure baby is handling this just fine.

So what's a gal to do?  William might be just content and safest in the position he's in, and c-section will be the "best" way to go.  I will admit, I was sitting watching the Yankees game last night with hubs, with an ice pack on the top of my belly and Adam's Ipod and headphones on my lower belly.  I also scheduled an appointment with a chiropractor this Friday to try the Webster maneuver (and maybe once again early next week??).  Next week, I'll discuss ECV in more detail with my OB.  We'll give these things a shot and see what happens.  If little man is happy to be where he is for the next few weeks, then mommy will just have to listen to that and accept c-section as the best option to meet him!

Let Operation "Flip William" commence.....

Green Blog Hop!

Good morning, good morning!!!  Another Wednesday means another Green Blog Hop!!  That's where you'll find me today!  Give a looksie at all the great green blogs there are to meet great people and get great ideas for making some baby steps towards green in your life!!  Got a green blog?  Add your link to the list to gain more visibility!!  You can start by clicking the icon below......Enjoy!

Cloth Diaper Motivation!

The decision to try cloth diapers for William did not come without a fight....Adam suggested it.....I completely fought back!  After a little bit of research on my own, I had created a list of a few things on why I had changed my mind and finally agreed!  Not only is money a motivator, but the fact that what I would be using on my baby's rear would be healthier and make less of an impact on the environment than using disposables. 

Well, Emily over at Mommy Made Green has done it again - found a great resource to spread the "green" word!  Check out this video, The Dirties on Diapering, to stay informed on what you may be putting on your baby's bum! 

Meet Braxton.....Braxton Hicks

35 weeks, 5 days into pregnancy.  That means approximately less than 5 weeks to go!

I've been feeling the 'practice contractions' for quite some time now.  Barely able to feel them, but I could feel (with my hands) my belly-region tighten up like a rock and attributed it to those. 

Over the past week or so?  Much stronger.  They still don't 'hurt', but for the dozen or more that I'm having a day, they are definitely more noticeable and sometimes take me by surprise. 

What do you have when you have a pregnant "hypochondriac"?  A paranoid, soon-to-be mother that keeps thinking she's going into labor at any moment.  HA!  They are coming somewhat regularly and I try to just go lay down if I can, drink some water and try to relax!  Getting a little (OK, a lot!) anxious!!  And I'm trying not to scare Adam in the meantime!  hehe

Pre-Baby Date Night

So less than 5 weeks 'til baby is due.  Adam and I understand (OK, we don't actually comprehend it), that our lives will never be the same.  The days of 'me' and 'us' will no longer have the same meaning.  So to surprise me and to be able to spend a little pre-baby "us" time, Adam surprised me with a dinner date!  He made reservations at my favorite restaurant in Peoria - a real treat for us!!  The food was amazing and I had a great time!  [I especially loved the fact that my belly barely fit in the booth we were seated in - hehe]

Thanks, Adam! I love you so much and can't wait for William to come so I can watch you be an amazing daddy!!

Friday Hopping

Blogs, blogs everywhere!  Here are some of the Friday Blog Hops that you can find me in today!!

I Love Surprises!!

Texts between my hubby and I this morning:

Adam:  Don't eat too much when you get home tonight
Me:  Why?
Adam:  I am taking you out for dinner - wear something nice  :-)
Me:  Where we going or is it a surprise?
Adam:  Surprise

YAY!!  Date with my hubby tonight!  I kinda like him.... :)

Link to Giveaway - for Breast Cancer Awareness

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. 

What a wonderful feeling to walk into a grocery store, turn on the TV, walk into a store or watch a football game and see the pink everywhere to raise awareness - but seeing pink is only able to raise the awareness for the cause.  All you ladies out there have to be responsible for your monthly self-checks (hey, I'll feel mine if you feel yours!!) and mammograms.

My bestie, Jaclyn - over at Snap, Crackle, Pop is doing a great giveaway and has a great post on some resources for more information!!  She is also holding a giveaway for a pair of Breast Cancer Awareness earrings! 

Definitely stop over to visit and enter for your chance to win!!

Waiting for William

It's a baby shower!!  We are "waiting for William!"

We have felt so much love from my family and friends and the showering of wonderful gifts to prepare for William!  I am still slowly washing sheets and blankets and clothes and putting things away and organizing the baby room - so pics of the finished room still to come.  In the meantime, here's a recap of two of my showers - one thrown by friends and another by family!  Thanks to everyone for all of their love and support!  [and apologies to everyone at the family shower when I wasn't much fun to be around while fighting off that ear infection, pain and no sleep!]

Friends Shower thrown by my sis and Jaclyn!

I love these ladies!

How many engineers does it take to set up the co-sleeper bassinet??  It appears 4.... 

So excited for the co-sleeper!!

Mom and aunts!

Rocking chair - Reserved for William :)

Homemade quilt and bibs from Alisha!!

Explaining how cloth diapers work - showing the Flip

GULP!

So I love having the ticker at the top of the blog to show the countdown for William's arrival.  I love being able to countdown to when we can "expect" him to make his big entrance (or close enough). 

However, the shocking truth that there are only 37 days left until my due date is just that....shocking! 

That means there are only about 37 days until my life will never the same again.  About 37 days until I get to fall in love as a mother for the first time.  Only about 37 days until I can wrap my arms around a baby boy that I have been waiting to meet for months!  Just about 37 more days to try to finish up the list of things to do around the house to prepare for baby while getting my last few hours of baby-free sleep (even though third trimester pregnancy sleep isn't exactly wonderful).  Likely another 37 days until my life is thrust into warp speed as we watch our baby boy grow at the speed of light!

Where did the time go?! 

William, Mommy and Daddy are so excited to meet you!!  We love you so much already!

Sunday Morning Stroll

Beautiful day out.  Leaves are finally starting to change.  Going for a walk with the hubby and puppy!

Signs you are Ginormously Pregnant

So now that I'm 34 weeks pregnant (while being the size of someone that has been growing a baby for nine years), I've become an expert on being huge and understanding the signs that allow me to realize this.  Here is what I've learned......

1. EVERYTHING you sit on/in (ie. chair, car, couch, toilet seat, bed, husband's lap, etc.) makes a noise (ie. groaning, squeaking, cracking sound) upon sitting on it.
2. You could drop money and depending on the total amount, you might be content leaving it for someone else to pick up instead of working up the energy to bend over and pick it up yourself.
3. People politely smile at you with the oh-honey-you-look-huge-and-you-must-have-seventeen-babies-in-there-or-are-10-weeks-overdue eyes.
4. No matter what you wear, the bottom of your belly is starting to hang out of the bottom of EVERYTHING....even the maternity clothes that you thought you would never be able to fill a few months ago.
5. You are still able to walk, so you comprehend that you still have legs and feet....you just have to see them second-hand now, like in pictures or in the mirror.....
6. You sit in the most un-ladylike position, with your legs spread apart to allow room for your belly....and you don't even care anymore.
7. Your husband tells you "Good job, babe" after successfully putting on your underwear - like THIS is a major accomplishment in your day.  (haha - seriously Adam did this yesterday.  I think he's entertained watching me try to get dressed in the morning)
8. It's 40 degrees outside and you are content wearing flip flops because there is no way that you are going to attempt to put on socks and shoes.
9. You can now use your belly as a table - need an extra spot to fold laundry or place an iced beverage....look no further....
10. The driver's seat in your car is set so far back that your arms can barely reach and every time you drive you get the song "Low Rider" stuck in your head....

Thankful Thursday - 10.7.10

I want to send my thanks to two people in particular this week.  As you may have read, I was feeling pretty lousy over the weekend while visiting my family [lousy isn't even the word that begins to describe it].  With pretty much no sleep, barely anything to eat and tons of pain, I just wanted to curl up in a ball and make it go away. 

The fact that I'm 27 years old and live five hours away from 'home' holds nothing to the fact that it was so wonderful have my "moms" taking care of me.  My mom was the one who drove me to the ER at 2:00am, even though she was going to have a house full of company in less than 12 hours and helped to comfort me.  My mother-in-law had made the trip to Cincy with me and also helped try to relieve the pain and get me my medicine. 

I understand that I'm about to be a mother in about short 6 weeks, but it was so wonderful having both of them there to help me.  I love them both for everything they did (and do on a regular basis) and I would have been a mess without them!!

Love you, Mom and Mary!  Thanks so much for everything!

I'm a Buckeye!!

I'm an alumni of The Ohio State University.  I'm in love with Ohio State football.  Heck, my dog is named after the football coach!  I can sing you the songs, I can do cheer you the cheers! 

My son....will be raised an Ohio State fan, if I have anything to say about it.  hehe

My friends and family obviously support this decision as they have been showering me with Buckeye-themed gifts (whether my hubby likes it or not!!  hehe). 

We have already collected the following OSU baby gifts - blanket, books, pacifiers, bibs, onesies, shirts, basketball shorts, shoes, hats, Mr. Potato (or Buckeye) Head [who knew they even made such a thing!], scarlet and gray homemade burp cloths, baby plate/spoon/cup, socks, rattle and a toy truck.  Seriously - we could open our own little shop of Buckeye baby gear!!!  Isn't it fun?!

Now that I'm feeling better, I'm hoping to start washing some of the baby clothes and hopefully start pulling William's room together!  I want to show off all the other wonderful gifts that friends and family have given too!  So, more pictures to come of the baby room!!

Cloth Diaper Additions!!

So, I've added a few more additions to our cloth diaper stash to start off for William!  I'm trying not to go overboard or even worry about a complete stash right now because I'm hoping to find a cloth diaper trial after William makes his arrival and to be able to try other CDs that I might not have considered previously!  So if anyone knows of a great site with a CD trial - let me know!

Thanks to my friend, Brandi, and my mother-in-law, Mary, we have added some Flip diapers to our collection!  Mary also bought me a pack of the bumGenius flannel wipes too!  Wohoo!  Now William can have some diapers and a clean bum! 

So this brings my stash to the following:

• 4 - Flip Covers (with 12 of the stay-dry inserts)
• 1 - bumGenius 4.0 OS pocket (with snaps)
• 1 - bumGenius Elemental AIO organic (with snaps)
• 1 - Thirsties duo wrap
• 1 - FuzziBunz OS pocket
• 12 - bumGenius flannel wipes

It's a start!!  Still would like to get a diaper sprayer and will definitely need to get some wetbags.

Also, am I going to be driven crazy with the snaps instead of the hook and loop?  I like the fact that they might hold up longer and will be nice when a toddler gets wandering hands and decides to try to take of his diaper...but for a wiggling newborn during a diaper change - will I be pulling my hair out wishing I had the hook and loop instead??

I know everyone is different, but if any of you CDing moms have something you absolutely love and would like to recommend - let me know!!

I'm Back!

I'm back and I'm feeling much better!!  (insert sigh of relief)

So now I just need to catch up on work, clean the house and do laundry. 

And since I returned from Cincinnati from my family shower with bundles and bundles of goodies for William - I think it might be nice to start organizing his room so we can bring our baby boy home to a happy, clean and organized space instead of one that looks like the baby department of Target and Babies R Us exploded into one of our bedrooms.  What a lovely idea.....

Mommy Guilt

I realize I've been absent from writing for a few days - originally this was due to the fact that I was traveling to visit family in Ohio for a family thrown baby shower!!  This will be my last trip before William is due - since I'm getting closer to the due date, I want to stay kind close to home.

However, the weekend had an unexpected turn.  Pain in my ear Friday, led to leaving my cousin's wedding early Friday evening, which led to absolutely no sleep that night and eventually landed me in the ER at about 2:00am because the pain was beginning to be unbearable.  A quick diagnosis of an outer ear infection, with a few prescriptions (an oral antibiotic and a pain med) and I was on my way home.  The pain medication barely touched the pain - the night continued with no sleep. 

Saturday - the day of the baby shower.  I was not well.  It was wonderful being able to see family and friends, but I really wish I was able to enjoy it more.  Had called my OB in Illinois and they had called me in some additional ear drops to help with the infection and inflammation.  The night came - another night with no sleep.  Sunday - time to head back to Illinois.  I'm so thankful my mother-in-law had made the trip with me and she was able to drive and I was able to get a little more rest.  After arriving home, still in intense pain, I headed back to the ER.  This time, the infection had become more severe and eardrum had ruptured.  Change of pain meds, a shot for the pain while in the hospital and I was sent home where I was finally able to get some sleep.

The 'mommy guilt' comes into the fact that I'm 33 weeks pregnant and now on an oral antibiotic, an oral pain med and ear drops.  All have been deemed fine for someone who is pregnant.  I also understand that mommy needs to be healthy for baby to be healthy - I have an infection (that eventually could get worse if untreated), I wasn't eating or sleeping because of the pain and my blood pressure was up because of the pain also.  So I'm doing what I need to do to get myself better.  Still hard for me not to feel as if I'm doing something wrong.....