While I'm Waiting

Overwhelming Sadness

2012-02-14T12:21:00.002-06:00

I have an all consuming fear that sometimes takes over me. It doesn't show signs that it's coming. It gives no warning. It just hits. All of the sudden. The walls come down. The tears flow. The arms embrace. The mind races.

Most of the time Peyton is in my arms and she looks at me bewildered while I sob uncontrollably.

It starts with I wonder...

I wonder what she felt in that moment. The moment she knew she would not be here to mother us all our lives as she had planned. The moment she knew she would miss the first date, the graduation, the college experience, the wedding, the grandbabies. Was her heart broken like mine is now. How did she not grieve over what she would miss. Or did she. Did she silently endure this heartache on top of the physical and metal pains she was already enduring.

I have been told that she said the hardest part about letting go was knowing that she was leaving us. How did she ever do it.

I have an incredible fear that I will leave Peyton here. That I will not be here when she is holding her own child in her arms. That I will have to say goodbye too soon.

I don't want that for her.

I don't want that for me.

Is it normal to have these fears? How do I overcome them?

For now I know this...I may not be here when shes 20, 30, 40 or even 8 for that matter, but I am here now. I need to make now count. I need to make the memories that she will have forever. That God willing I am here to remember and share with her and her children one day. Cherish every moment.

That is all I can do. Oh and document as much of it as I can. I think this fear is what drives me to write this blog, to take photos and make books, to keep up the baby book. The fear that one day that is all she will have.

I wish I had more.

4 Months

2012-01-25T09:56:00.002-06:00

Peyton Lea,

I cannot believe I am writing this post already! Time is going by so quickly and you are growing up too fast :(

You are in 3-6 month clothes. The 3 months are quickly being packed away and you are moving more to the 6 month clothes.

You are still in size 2 diaper, but I think our next purchase will be 3!

You are still on 5 oz every 3 hours. Sometimes you will go longer when you are napping.

You still get up once a night. Usually in the 2:30 to 3:30 range. Sometimes it is 4:30 and we hate that! No more sleep before the alarm goes off with that timing. You will eat and usually go back down until about 8.

You LOVE to sit up like a big girl. You dont like to recline anymore. You like to sit up in your high chair or bumbo, but that only lasts about 15 minutes. We sit you up on our lap or on the couch.

You love your rings and toys that make noise. Your play mat is still your favorite place! You will lay there flail all around making it jingle.

You love to laugh at yourself. You think you are so funny. You love to see yourself on a camera or in a mirror.

You are a complete ham. You smile all the time. Your laugh is music to my ears! I LOVE to hear you cackling.

We love to hear you babbling to yourself over the baby monitor. You talk all the time. You talk the most when you are on your play mat all alone. You talk to daddy and I a lot as well.

You love to suck on wubby. We use it a lot while we are waiting on the bottle to warm. You have started to hold onto loveys (blankets with heads on them). You suck on your hands all the time! We also found you sucking your thumb a time or two! ugh

You stick your bottom lip out and pout before you cry. It is precious.

We went to the dr yesterday and you are 14.5lbs and 24in. 50% for height and head and 60th for weight. You are a beautiful girl!

We get told all the time how much you look like your pawpaw. This thrills him.

You are so loved. Aunt Kady, pawpaw, and nana call all the time for you to come over and see them!

We adore you. I can't believe this time last year we just found out you were coming and now you are 4 months old! This has been a very special year for us.

I want to remember every minute of it.

We love you.

Mommy

Our Busy Day

2012-01-12T10:00:00.003-06:00

Peyton Lea,

You are 16 weeks old today!

Still flying by! You are getting so big. It makes me sad to see you growing so fast.

Day before yesterday you rolled from your tummy to your back 3 times! You are a pro. You just need to figure out how to go the other way.

You still LOVE tummy time. You hold that head up high and give us BIG smiles :)

You sported your Bama gear for the national championship game and they won big! I told daddy that was a sign of who you were supposed to pull for. He has been a good sport.

So, I want to tell you about yesterday...

You have your first cold :( We noticed it on Tuesday when you were extra snotty and clingy. Yesterday Beth and Ty stopped by for lunch and brought you a couple of great Christmas gifts! We love hanging out with them. I am so excited for the day you and Ty can play together.

After they left you took a bottle and went down for 3 hours! How terrific. I think all the sleep is because of your cold. It was nearing the 2.5 hr mark since you went down so I knew I didn't have long and you would be up any time. Daddy had to stay at work late, so it was just you and me. I quickly "made milk" and decided to try and make my dinner.

Let's just note that I had put a roast in the crockpot at 8:30 that morning expecting to have a wonderful dinner with daddy. He had to stay late, so dinner was already going downhill.

Back to my story...So, I quickly made my salad. Baked my potato. Made my garlic bread. Got some meat. Made my gravy. As I was putting the gravy on my potato I heard you! OH NO!!!

I had just gotten my plate ready and you were up and hungry. I knew that would happen. I dont know what I was thinking trying to eat in peace :)

I put you on your play mat and scarfed down my salad. You decided that was all I could have. I made your bottle, put you in the boppy, propped up my plate and you and I had dinner together.

Not the evening I had imagined.

I am learning to multitask.

You chilled in your bumbo, which you are starting to like, while I cleaned up. I even had time to make bottles and freeze milk. Your favorite thing in the bumbo is your links. You have fun with them and cry when you drop them in the floor. So cute.

Well, you are getting fussy in my arms, so I guess thats the end of this post...

Til next time

First Christmas

2011-12-29T08:15:00.003-06:00

Peyton Lea,

We just celebrated your very first Christmas. Right now I am still suffering from post-Christmas depression. :( It was sad to take down the decorations and know that your first one is over. You still look towards where the tree was trying to figure out where it went.

You loved to look at the tree. You could stare at the lights forever. When you were fussy dada would take you over to look at the tree. His favorite thing to do was to push the button on the carnival ornament so that it would make noise for you. It was his special thing.

We wanted to start new traditions this year that we could do each Christmas with you. We started on Christmas Eve night reading you the Christmas story. Let's just say you were less than interested. It will get better in the next years as you understand more. Another tradition that we wanted to start is baking. So, Christmas morning we made homemade cinnamon rolls. They were good, but we will have to work on those.

Christmas eve we hung out at pawpaw and nana's for a bit. Christmas day went like this...
5:00 mommy's alarm went off
5:30 mommy woke daddy and we started baking. We decided to go ahead and open our gifts while you were still sleeping and we were waiting on the dough to rise.
about 6 we woke you when we went into your room for daddy to find his gift. I had hidden it in your closet not knowing you would still be sleeping when he went to find it!
We opened your gifts with you and ate our rolls. Everyone bathed and showered.
9:30 we headed to Huntsville
11:00 church in Huntsville and then over to Great Aunt Carla's
about 4 we ate there and opened gifts

It was a great first Christmas. We weren't rushed and had time to enjoy the morning together. We really missed spending time with nana and pawpaw. Hopefully next year that will change.

You got a few toys, rattles, a book, and bath toys from mommy and daddy. Aunt Carrie gave you and outfit and book. Grandma gave you clothes as did mawmaw and pawpaw and Matthew. Great Aunt Carla gave you a stuffed moose and Great Aunt Vickie gave an outfit and book. Perfect gifts for someone who has no idea what is going on :) I am sure you will get good use out of them through the year. Maybe next year you will be awake some during Christmas ha ha

You met Great Uncle Donnie for the first time on Christmas! He adored you. When we arrived he shielded his eyes and said he didnt want to see you until we were putting you in his arms. He loves our little girl!

I feel like a bad mom because we didn't enough photos of your first Christmas. The only one we have as a family is in our pjs. We dont have any of you with just mommy or daddy. I am really sad about that. We must do better at getting the photos that really matter.

We still have Christmas at nana and pawpaw's this coming Saturday!

A few more notes about you...
Yesterday 12/28 I finally clipped your nails for the first time. I didn't even clip you!!! So proud.
Last week you started to reach for toys on your kick mat. This week you really reach for them all! You can grab them and shake them. You hit them to make them jingle. You are learning so quickly!!!

3 Months

2011-12-22T08:56:00.003-06:00

Peyton Lea,

You are 3 months already! Time is flying by and you are growing up so fast!

You are in 3-6 month clothes. Slowly outgrowing the 3 month and headed towards 6 months. Anything with feet is just about out!

You talk all the time!!! We love to hear you jabbering.

You LOVE your play mat. You lie there and kick. You like to make it jingle. Most of all you like to look at yourself. You will smile at yourself and talk on and on. You do it for hours!

You have started to hold on to wubby. You hold him and pat him while he is in your mouth.

You put your arms around my neck which I adore. My heart melts.

You have done tummy time a couple of times and are great at it! We are so excited to see you go!

You love to look at the Christmas tree! If you get fussy daddy will hold you up by the tree and you are mesmerized.

You took your first plane ride to Dallas and then on to Shreveport last Wednesday the 14th! You did amazing. You took a bottle on the way up each time and just smiled at me while we were in the air. You are your momma's baby!

You were so quiet at Bowman. We got so many compliments, as we always do, on how quiet and what a good baby you are.

The Hudsons, Keith, Becki, Max, Emma, and Grandma babysat you for the first time last Thursday the 15th while daddy and I went to my company Christmas party.

You went to Dallas, TX on the 16th and met Mike, Aspen, and Landry. We had a wonderful visit. We looked at lights and enjoyed hanging out with our babies. I hope you and Landry become the best of friends.

Your daddy's favorite time is when he gets you out of bed every morning. You just smile at him. You are definitely a morning baby!

You are doing great sleeping. You get up about once a night. Normally down at 8:30 up at 2:30 and then sleep til about 6. We really cant complain.

You have a head full of fuzzy hair! I cant wait to see what it is going to look like.

Just 2 days ago we took you up to 5oz bottles. Now you take 5oz every 3-4 hours.

You have taken to spitting up. If we don't get a good burp out of you we better watch out!

You LOVE bath time. That is when we get the biggest smiles. We will have to bathe you in the tub soon because you kick and splash until the whole kitchen is wet!

You love to be naked! We get big smiles at diaper changes or when dressing you. You love to be in just your diaper.

You are still in a size 2 diaper.

Weighing you at home we figure you are 13lbs! Growing girl.

You, just today, started reaching for toys! You reached for the blue elephant on your gym with both hands for about 10 minutes. It was awesome to see. Dad was home so he saw as well and, of course, we took video.

You love to have your head rubbed, but better stay away from those feet! They are ticklish.

I can't wait for your first Christmas in just 3 days!

I wish I could bottle up these days. I know I will want them back. You are such a joy.

Love,
Mommy

Things I don't want to forget...

2011-12-05T09:26:00.002-06:00

Peyton Lea,

You are growing so quickly I can hardly believe it! I never want to forget, so I here are some of our latest happenings...

You are 10.5 weeks old!

You are in 3-6 month clothes! We moved up just last week.

You moved to a size two diaper this past Saturday.

You have been sleeping in your room, in your crib since last Sunday, 11/27. You are doing wonderful! You go down between 8:30 and 9 each night. We usually have a feeding about 11:30, 3:30, and 6. Those vary, but something around that...a 4 hr and then a 3 hr stretch. We are so proud of our big girl! Now if you would just start sleeping through the night...

Friday night you had your first sleepover with nana and pawpaw. You did wonderful! You slept in your pack-n-play in their room. Nana said you were kicking your feet and pawpaw was just laughing at you. Aunt Kady actually called to check on you and went to visit before we did on Saturday! Mommy and daddy did great too! I missed you tons, but we loved the rest and time to relax and be together.

Sunday, December 4, you were dedicated at Gardendale Nazarene by Pastor John Parrish. We have had several people comment on how special the ceremony was. Pastor explained the roses and we went to the front where he dedicated and prayed over you. We then knelt at the altar and had the family pray with us. It was a very special time. We realize that you are God's first and he has so graciously allowed us to be your parents here on earth. My prayer is that you will always put Him first in your life. Since it is Christmas time they also had the children from the school there and they rang bells. It was so cute. I can't believe you will be up there one day! Pastor John spoke on Mary: Ordinary Woman. His main verse was "with God all things are possible". How fitting. With God ALL things are possible.

You are growing more each day! You are such a happy baby. I love to see your big smile and hear you get so excited. These are special moments we are sharing.

Love,
Mommy

2 Months!

2011-11-28T07:14:00.004-06:00

I am a week late, but last week was Thanksgiving so we did good to get the 2 month photo in!

Peyton Lea,

You are 2 months old! I really can't believe how fast you are growing. It makes me so sad.

You are in 0-3 month clothes. I think you will be out of them in the next week or two! You are getting so long!

You wear a size 1 diaper.

You weight 11.5 lbs and are 22 1/4 in long!

You eat 4.5 oz every 2.5-3 hrs during the day and 4 every 3-4 hrs at night.

You have been sleeping in your pack-n-play! You go down about 8:30 each night and get up about 4:30 or 5 every morning!

You are a morning person. When daddy gets you up you are all smiles!

You love to be naked and to have your diaper changed! You make big smiles every time!

You also love the back. You are so calm and relaxed. We removed the sling from the tub so now you sit down in the water and love it!

You also love your play mat! You can spend all morning laying there looking at yourself in the mirror! I think you get that from your daddy ha ha.

You also love to talk! You talk to yourself in the mirror and to us all the time! You are doing it now actually!

You fall asleep in the car before we are out of the driveway most times!

You are a daddy's girl! He gets all of the BIG smiles :) I am jealous

You have started sucking on your hands! You do it all the time!

You had your two month dr visit on the 22nd. You got a clean bill of health! You are perfect! You also got 4 shots :( Nana went with mommy to the doc as moral support. I think she did worse than me when it came time. She was burying her head! You did great through the first three. Just a little whining. When the 4th one hit you screamed and didn't stop. We calmed you with a passy and you were asleep by the time we were to the car. You slept most of the afternoon, but when you did wake you were fussy. You had two rounds of tylenol. One before the appointment and one after. You also ran a slight fever. Thankfully it passed in that afternoon and you were back to normal by that night and the next morning.

Sometimes when I pick you up you will hold on to me. One arm over mine and the other around my neck. I dont know if you know you are doing it yet or not, but it is my favorite moment of the entire day!

You had your first trip this last week! We went to Shreveport, LA for Thanksgiving. You slept the whole car ride which made for a long sleepless night on Wednesday! You had a great trip and were the best baby. Everyone loved to see you. I do think it wore you out and many times I have second guessed our decision to go. If I had to do it again we would stay here. I think it was too much for all of us. Everyone is worn out!

We have had several lunch dates with Beth and Ty. They are so fun. I hope you and Ty grow up to be the best of friends!

Daddy and I are enjoying every moment with you! We know we will never have this time back. We love to sit and stare at you. We make faces at you and watch you smile. We watch you sleep. I even sing to you sometimes when we are alone :)

We are sad to see you leave these baby stages, but are so excited to watch you grow!

Love,
Mommy

Diaper Review

2011-11-08T10:48:00.002-06:00

Here is my take on diapers so far...

Huggies- we HATE the stretchy back. They don't seem to fit well. We have used them only because someone gave them to us and they were already open. Will not purchase.

Luvs- they stink. Like literally stink. She smells like urine and we change her all the time. Will not buy these either. They do fit and have not leaked, but stinky.

Pampers- these are our diapers of choice! We love the fit. We love the yellow to blue line to know she is wet. Definitely our choice.

We are going to cloth diaper at home. I am waiting until she is a little bigger to fit into the diapers we have. I am ready to start that and save some $$$!

6 weeks!

2011-11-03T10:16:00.003-05:00

Peyton Lea,

It wasn't the original plan to do a 6 week post, but you are changing so quickly I feel like I need to capture it all!

As of 10/30 you are in 0-3 month clothes! I can't believe your newborn clothes have been packed away. :( We were sad to see them go. They were so cute, but you are just too long for them!

You are up to 4oz bottles most of the time! You get 3.5 overnight and first thing in the morning, but through the day they are all 4! You are growing like a weed!

You take a good nap in your swing every morning right after daddy leaves for work.

You are sleeping in the pack-and-play!

You still eat every 2.5 hrs! We are waiting on those longer spurts of rest.

You are still in newborn diapers, but not much longer!

You are such a happy baby in the mornings. So many smiles. Daddy and I love it :)

You started in the nursery at 4 weeks! That wasn't the original plan, but you were so awake that morning we decided it was best to head on down.

Love,
Mommy

Photo Card

2011-10-27T11:37:00.004-05:00

Storytime Pink Baby Announcements

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1 Month

2011-10-25T07:15:00.003-05:00

Peyton,

I can't believe you are a month old already! Time has really flown. It seems like just yesterday we were finding out we were pregnant and now you are here and a month old! Looking back at your birth photos I am already sad. You look so different! You are changing every day!

At one month you...

wear newborn clothes
weigh 8-3
are 22.25 inches long
eat 2.5oz every 3 hours
lost your belly button at 3 weeks and 1 day! (at nana and pawpaw's no less which made mommy sad)
sleep in your carseat at night
love praise music
look into my face when I am holding you
turn your head toward whoever is talking especially if it's mommy or daddy
love to kick and squirm on the couch
loves to stretch
hiccups and sneezes
roll onto your side to sleep (we have found you in your carseat on your side! you have been doing this since the day we brought you home! you prefer to sleep on your right side, but mommy turns you on your left so that you don't get a flat head)

Mommy and daddy love you more than you will ever know! This month has been the most challenging and rewarding of our lives. We never knew we could love someone as much as we love you. We love to stare at you and see all of your crazy expressions!

I love spending my days with you. Some are more tiring that others, but they are all so rewarding. No matter how cranky you are we always have some precious time of grins and squirms. Lots of cuddle time is always in order.

You have already had a lot of outings. On your first day home we went to pawpaw's to watch football! We haven't missed a Saturday since. You have been to Aunt Kady's, church, shopping, the Race for the Cure, and several other places.

Pawpaw and nana babysat you for a wedding when you were only 1 week old and then again when you were 3 weeks old while daddy and I went on a date!

I have taken to calling you several nicknames over the last month...toots-a-lot, snorts-a-lot, little squirt, peanut...Daddy calls you P-Lea.

I am looking forward to what the next month will hold.

Love,

Mommy

I am going to figure this child out...

2011-10-21T09:39:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was not a day I want to repeat...

We have had a couple of those where she has cried every time she is laid down and is still fussy after a feeding. It makes the day really long when you only have one hand and the other is holding an 8lb baby. It is impossible to get anything done!

Thinking back we remembered this is how she acted her first few weeks when she wasn't getting enough to eat, SO we added .5oz to her feedings. She now takes 3 oz at each feeding. She is completely satisfied and is SLEEPING! Ahh...how fabulous :)

Now to get off this blog and work on my photo book while I have two hands!

The hardest thing...

2011-10-18T07:53:00.002-05:00

BREASTFEEDING!

I knew that breastfeeding would be a challenge. I had heard the horror stories of pain and I knew it would be difficult when you wanted to go out. I did know. I just didn't know how difficult it would be. There are challenges I never expected.

We were doing alright until that last appointment when she was underweight. At that point I had to start pumping everything and quantifying everything she ate. That is where it started to go down hill.

Since then I have tried to breastfeed once and she wanted nothing to do with it. She has gotten used to the bottle. It makes me sad to say the least.

Pumping is more painful than I thought it would be or should be. Maybe I am doing it wrong?

My supply is also still very low. I have not been able to get it up through pumping or these supplements I have started taking. It is very discouraging. I have thought about giving up since I am unable to produce what she needs, but I know every bit helps.

I am thinking about calling and meeting with the lactation specialist about all of my "issues". If we could work out the supply I think I would be more encouraged to work through the pain or try to wean her off the bottle.

Prayers in this area would be much appreciated. This is where I am struggling the most.

In other areas...Life with a 3.5 week old....

She sleeps! She wakes every 3 hours for a feeding. Craig will warm her bottle, change her, and feed her. I go pump while she eats.

Her belly button fell off Friday night (10/14) while pawpaw and nana were babysitting. To say I was sad is an understatement. I feel like I missed her first milestone.

Sunday (10/16) we gave her a real bath for the first time. She absolutely LOVED it. With the sponge baths she would cry while we bathed her. She was cold. When we went to give her this bath she whimpered while we undressed her, but as soon as we sat her in the warm water she was completely relaxed and content. She sat there and let me bathe her. She loves her hair washed. It was a great experience.

Craig and I had our fist date night on the 14th. We ate at Chuy's and saw Courageous GREAT movie! Pawpaw and nana had a great time babysitting Peyton. We did miss her, but we didn't call to check on her! So proud :)

Peyton took her first road trip to Huntsville on Sunday. We went to church and lunch with the family. They loved showing her off. Everyone loves our baby girl!

She is changing so much. It is exciting to watch and sad all at the same time. She is getting so big. She is so alert. She loves to look right at us. If you talk she will turn her head towards you. She definitely knows mommy and daddy.

Her last weights were...10/11 6lbs 14.5oz and yesterday 10/17 we weighted her at Dr Mitchell's and she was 7lbs 11oz! She is going to be a chunky monkey at this rate :)

She loves to lay out and stretch and squirm. I let her do it several times a day and it will last about an hr before she is tired of it.

She went to the race for the cure Saturday! She was such a good girl! We didn't do the race, but we had a great time. Next year we will participate. This year we need a little more healing time so that we do not over do it.

We fall more in love with her every day. I am excited to watch her grow!

2 week Dr Appt Update

2011-10-06T13:17:00.002-05:00

We went to Peyton's 2 week checkup today...

She is down to 6lbs 3oz :( This made mommy very sad. Until next Tuesday I have to pump everything we are going to give her so that we can measure what she is eating. If I can't pump 2 oz we add formula to make it to 2 or 2.5.

She is in 5% for weight, at least she is on the chart!, 45% for head, and 50% for height. Perfect little girl once we fatten her up :)

She had blood drawn and only screamed for a moment. Then they removed the urine bag and that brought on howls. It made me so sad I almost cried with her.

She is content now and sleeping away :)

2011-10-06T13:14:00.002-05:00

Peyton Lea,

It melts my heart when you are falling asleep and open one little eye to look up and make sure I am still there. I love it.

I also love to see the big grin you get when you are full and finished feeding. It is the look of complete relaxation.

Mommy

Postpartum

2011-10-05T11:57:00.003-05:00

One thing I had underestimated was how difficult these first few weeks of mommyhood would be.

Going to the bathroom is an ordeal. There are so many "steps" to take care of with each visit. Once I am healed it will be a great relief! With a newborn demanding all your time it makes this extra frustrating.

Sleep! I knew we would be losing sleep, but I expected a schedule. I thought oh she will eat every 3 hours and will sleep the rest of the time. I can do every 3 hours! Yeah right! She may eat every 1, 2, or 3 and she doesn't just sleep! Sometimes she never sleeps!

My house is staying picked up only because I insist, but it needs a cleaning something terrible. Craig and I are going to have to figure out how to get that done! Now that we have a swing maybe we can put her in that and get it done. A clean house = sanity for me.

Emotions...I have never been an emotional person, so I didn't expect to have any depression. I never had any emotional times during pregnancy so I expected it to just all be normal. Not so! I have been terribly emotional. I attribute it to hormones and lack of sleep! I cry most evening/nights. I know Craig has to be tired of it. Yesterday he said "do you need to talk to someone". He is very worried about postpartum depression. Most of my sadness comes from loneliness. I miss my hubby. Even though he is here he is not here. He is with her or I am with her. We have her in our arms all evening so that leaves no room for the other person. With her in the middle of our bed we don't have that time either. It is a whole new life that I am adjusting too. Someone taking all our time and attention. I am also alone all day with no interaction with adults. I think it happens at night because I have had a long day and know a long, dark, sleepless night is ahead. I get emotional about the strangest things...coming home from the hospital, her due date passing, her growing up already. Prayer is definitely needed in this category for Craig and I both. The sadness is overwhelming at times and I know Craig doesn't know how to help. Really there is no way for him to help. It will just take time.

Mommyhood is a lot harder than I ever thought it would be, BUT I love this little girl more than I ever thought I could love someone. I am amazed by her daily. Like my dad said...it is amazing how quickly you get attached! I still can't believe she is mine :)

Peyton's Birth Story

2011-10-04T10:40:00.001-05:00

It has taken me a while...almost two weeks...to get around to writing this. I hope I can remember everything!

I went in on Wednesday, September 21st, for my 39 week appointment. At that time I was 2cm and 70%. We went ahead and scheduled me to be induced on the 22nd! So exciting! I had to be at the hospital at 5am. Craig went to work that day and I came home and prepared for baby! We went to church that night and no one could believe we were there when we were having a baby in the morning! I saw it as a great way to pass the time and I love church! We actually both slept well that night. I was expecting not to be able to sleep, but I think God knew we would need that rest!

The morning of the 22nd we woke at 3:30 and were out the door about 4:15. It was a strange feeling heading to the hospital knowing that when we got back in the car we would be a family of three!

When we arrived they took us straight to our room and let us settle in. They had me in the bed hooked to an IV by 5:15. At 5:30 they checked me and I was already 3cm! I had dilated a cm since my appt the day before! They broke my water at 5:30 and at 5:50 they started the pitocin.

My family arrived around 7or 7:30 that morning. Dad, Kady, Sherry, and Stephen hung out with us while we waited. I really started to feel the contractions coming on but they were not unbearable. They did get so close together that it was almost constant pain and that is when I decided to call for the epidural. I had asked my nurse before then when I should get the epidural and she would only say "you'll know". I felt like a sissy for asking for the epidural so early. I thought "I am only 3!", "I will be without my legs all day"! They had told me to expect a 10-12 hour labor since this was my first.

We sent everyone out to get Starbucks while they put in my epidural. It was actually a very easy process. They had me sit cross legged on the bed while they did it. I felt the burn of the numbing shot then a LOT of pressure in my bottom. I also had a "charlie horse" in my left leg. Turns out my left side numbed and they had to roll me onto my right to have it numb as well. At least we got them both numb!

The family came back in while I waited on the epidural to take effect. Once I was numb we sent the family out, this time Craig stayed, while they were going to put in the catheter and check me again. They inserted the catheter and then she checked me. Her eyes got wide and she said something like "you are not going to believe this!" She let the student nurse check me and then told me that I was 9.5! She said there was only a lip! The doc was going to be mad at her because she didn't have anything ready. She didn't expect me to go so fast and didn't think she would even be there when I actually delivered since she got off at 3. She said she thinks I could have gone natural since I was probably that far along when they gave me the epidural. I disagree! The 1.5 hrs of pushing would have killed me!

I have to say when she told me that is when it hit me. My eyes started to tear up and I felt an overwhelming anxiety! I called my family and told them they could come in and wish us luck or they could just stay in the waiting room. They opted to stay out.

At 10:15 we started pushing. Craig and the student nurse would hold my legs and we would push 3 times with each contraction. At 11:15 the price is right had been turned off, Craig said it ruined the moment, and the nurse said we would only push another 30 minutes before calling the doc. At this point I was tired. Mostly mentally. I was getting tired physically, but for me it was more of a mental game. I could not SEE progress so I was getting terribly discouraged.

The nurse had been telling me it was just getting the baby past the pelvic bone. Well, she was right. As soon as her head made it past that point the nurse said "we aren't going to push again until the doctor arrives". She called for him and with my next contraction I told her that I could feel a lot of pressure. She checked and Peyton was coming on her own! I was not pushing and she was coming on out. The nurse grabbed my legs and held them together and called for the doctor 2 more times!

I have to say those minutes were the longest of the day! I was panicked! I could not believe we had been trying so long to get this baby out and now she was holding it in! She said she had delivered 21 babies and was not going to make it 22.

When Dr Damrich arrived he saw the baby and RUSHED to get into a gown and catch the baby. He wasnt there more than 2 minutes before she was out. At 11:53 we had our baby girl!

She had such great color they immediately put her on me and did a 5 minute apgar (she got a 9.9!). As soon as she was in my arms the tears started to flow. I couldn't even talk.

As for daddy...I was so proud of him. He watched the whole thing. He didnt know what was going on when they broke my water so he saw that on accident. The rest he chose to watch. He was amazed. He would tell me when he could see her head. It would get me all teary eyed and I had to tell him to stop. I couldn't concentrate when he would say that and I would start to cry. I really thought he would be more emotional, but he said it was more amazement.

We were in awe!

They let me feed her and then they warmed her. They bathed her and warmed her again. The family didn't see her until she was about 2 hours old! Dad and Sherry didn't get to hold her until about 3:15 when she finally came out of the warmer.

It was a day to remember. I have been told to get to the hospital fast with the next one! :) I guess Peyton was about ready to make her appearance on her own. We just helped her out a bit.

To my daughter, Peyton Lea

2011-10-04T10:28:00.002-05:00

10/4/11

To my precious baby girl, Peyton Lea...

I cannot believe you are already 12 days old! It is already going by too quickly! You are changing every day. It already makes me sad to look back at photos from when you were born because you already look so much older.

You definitely have your days and nights mixed up. You sleep all day and are awake all night. You go into what I call coma sleep during the day where it is impossible to wake you. During the night you are wide eyed. You hate for us to lay you down! We have had a few miserable nights. We finally decided the best way for you to sleep right now is in your car seat in the middle of our bed. I pray we get out of this stage SOON!

One night we were up changing you, this was probably night 2 at home, and during the diaper change you decided to start pooping and then tried to nurse on my shirt. That brought us a little laugh in our sleep deprived state.

We noticed at about 11 days old you are so much more alert. You track our voices with your eyes. You know mommy and daddy.

You are one gassy baby! I think we will go through this bottle of gas drops in a week! Your daddy says you have grown man toots and they stink....daddy wants to put you out in the hall.

You like to eat! Mommy hopes you are getting enough. You sure do seem to enjoy it. You usually fall asleep while feeding. Mommy has a hard time waking you to feed sometimes and then keeping you awake is also a challenge.

You have daddy's hair...poor child :) At least you can grow it long and the cow licks will never matter. You have the long Marinakis fingers. Aunt Kady is so happy you have something of hers!

continued...10/5/11

Yesterday was a rough day. Hence the two days it has taken me to write this. You had to be held all day! Every time I tried to lay you down even for a moment you would cry. You never had a good nap. You were awake and alert almost all day! I did lay you down while I took a shower and felt like the worst mom in the world when I could hear you screaming while I was in there. I had hoped this would help you sleep last night, but that was not to be. You had a new cry for us! Rather than a muawah it was more of a waaa shrill. It was awful! The worst part is that we cannot figure out why you do this every night. You are fed, degassed :), dry, and loved. Everything is the same as during the day, but you cry. You just won't stop. The only thing that calms you is for daddy to swing you in your car seat, but that is a bit heavy and doesn't last long. Hopefully Dr Blair will be able to help us with that tomorrow.

We are over the moon and completely in love with you. We are so blessed to have you as our daughter. We look forward to each new stage ahead.

39 Weeks! Baby Day!

2011-09-22T05:08:00.000-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 39 Weeks
Size of baby: Mini Watermelon
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 168 (+32.5)
Maternity Clothes: She has moved down, so stretchy or maternity pants ONLY! I am really running out of things to wear!
Gender: It's a GIRL! Peyton Lea!
Movement: Last Thursday night during the MSU LSU game she moved like never before! I think she likes football!
What I miss: Sleeping on my tummy.
Cravings: Nothing really.
Symptoms: The past few days she has found a spot that sends shooting pains down my leg. The doc's reaction...ahh she has found the nerves in your pelvis. I definitely have a waddle. ha
Best Moment this week: Kady's wedding!
What I am MOST looking forward to: Her! Holding her in my arms! Knowing she is coming is the absolute most exciting thing, but it still hasn't set in and felt real yet. Maybe it will once she is in my arms!

Doc Update:
BP 109/70
HR 151
2CM 70%
We are going to have her today! Be there at 5AM and break water around 6. Hopefully we will have her by early afternoon!

38 Weeks!

2011-09-15T06:52:00.004-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 38 Weeks
Size of baby: Leek
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 168 (+32.5)
Maternity Clothes: She has moved down, so stretchy or maternity pants ONLY! I am really running out of things to wear!
Gender: It's a GIRL! Peyton Lea!
Movement: Movements are lessening. I think she is getting a little cramped in there!
What I miss: Sleeping on my tummy.
Cravings: Nothing really.
Symptoms: Hip pains, big belly...I think I have forgotten how nice it was to just be able to move quickly and easily and without much thought.
Best Moment this week: Thinking that this time next week we should have her!
What I am MOST looking forward to: Her! Holding her in my arms! I am counting it down! I also really thought she would be here by now. I am starting to struggle with anxiety over her actually coming. I just can't wait anymore!

Dr Appt update:
BP 106/62
Heart Rate 142
Belly measuring right on track
1.5CM still 50%

Going in next Wednesday and hopefully going to have baby Peyton next week! Hopefully!

37 Weeks!

2011-09-08T15:29:00.004-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 37 Weeks
Size of baby: Swiss Chard
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 168.5 (+33) What is up with this wweight gain!? I am not eating that bad. I hope it is all going to Peyton!
Maternity Clothes: She has moved down, so stretchy or maternity pants ONLY! I am really running out of things to wear! The weather cooled this week and I need it to be a little warmer for a while. At least for shorts! I still LOVE dresses!
Gender: It's a GIRL! Peyton Lea!
Movement: Very strong movements. She likes to put her feet in my right ribs. She moves all the time.
What I miss: Sleeping on my tummy.
Cravings: Nothing really.
Symptoms: Swelling has taken hold! It was that I would swell from standing too much and it would go down in a day, but now it has stuck with me :( She has really dropped! Everyone is starting to comment on it :)
Best Moment this week: Seeing the finish line drawing nearer :)
What I am MOST looking forward to: Her! Holding her in my arms! I am counting it down!

Dr Appt Update:
Didn't get the stats today. I think HR was 147.
I can tell you that I am 1cm and 50% effaced. Starting that way. Wish it would just jump on up there :)

Last night we decided to make a run to the hospital to get checked. I had contractions all day and they were consistently 7 minutes apart at this time. I didn't realize they keep you for 4 hours to monitor! We got there at about midnight. They hooked me up to the heart rate and contraction monitors and checked my cervix. I have to say the check was the MOST painful thing so far. I actually cried it hurt so bad. My cervix was posterior, so she had to "move it" forward. I was trying not to scream out, but I couldn't stop the tears from flowing. Since I had an appt this morning they let us go after 2 hours rather than the normal 4. That was a boring 2 hours. It was cool to listen to Peyton's heart beat for that long and see my contractions. Poor Craig was exhausted. He tried to sleep a little in that tiny chair. They told me I was a finger tip and 50. I was having regular contractions every 7 minutes, but I would have some good ones and some weak ones. She said we need to get them all to be the "good" ones. So, once they all get up to that same intensity I guess we will have a baby!

Come on Peyton!

Pregnancy Brain

2011-09-07T09:10:00.002-05:00

I always thought "pregnancy brain" was just an excuse for people who were a little nutty :)

I have to admit that I was WRONG! I have had a few bouts with it lately. I wish I had documented them along the way, but maybe I can start now?

The other day Craig asked me to put beef in the fridge to thaw for dinner. I went to the kitchen, got it out of the bottom freezer drawer, and then I put it in the top freezer drawer :) Needless to say it did not thaw moving from one part of the freezer to the other!

If I can remember more of them I will be sure to edit this post to add...

36 Weeks!

2011-09-01T21:42:00.003-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 36 Weeks
Size of baby: Crenshaw Melon
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 166 (+30.5)
Maternity Clothes: She has moved down, so stretchy or maternity pants ONLY! I still LOVE dresses!
Gender: It's a GIRL! Peyton Lea!
Movement: Very strong movements. She likes to put her feet in my right ribs. She moves all the time. I thought they slowed down later in pregnancy as they ran out of room! Not this little one! She has never been more active!
What I miss: Sleeping on my tummy.
Cravings: Nothing really.
Symptoms: Breathing, reflux
Best Moment this week: Finishing out the registry! We have all we need for her to come. I am so ready!
What I am MOST looking forward to: Her! Holding her in my arms! I am counting it down!

Dr Appt Update:
BP 109/60
HR 147
Belly Measuring 35 weeks
She has moved into the pelvis! We had our strep B culture done. He was with us less than 3 minutes because he was rushing down to do a c-section.

35 Weeks!

2011-08-25T13:59:00.004-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 35 Weeks
Size of baby: Honeydew Melon
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 164.5 (+29)
Maternity Clothes: Well, I think she has shifted. My normal pants that I have been wearing are now so tight they leave marks and are uncomfortable. I hope that means she is moving down!
Gender: It's a GIRL! Peyton Lea!
Movement: Very strong movements. She likes to put her feet in my right ribs. She moves all the time. I thought they slowed down later in pregnancy as they ran out of room! Not this little one! She has never been more active!
What I miss: Sleeping on my tummy.
Cravings: Nothing really.
Symptoms: Breathing, reflux
Best Moment this week: We had our 2 childbirth classes! 1 on breastfeeding and 1 on c-sections and postpartum. We also had the tour of the birthing suites. It feels that much more real and exciting!
What I am MOST looking forward to: Her! Holding her in my arms! I am counting it down!

34 Weeks!

2011-08-18T09:22:00.002-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 34 Weeks
Size of baby: Average Cantaloupe
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 163.5 (+28)
Maternity Clothes: Pants and a few shirts. I still wear my normal lounging shorts and capris. I also wear normal dresses. My t-shirts are starting to fit tighter. Not sure what I will wear at that point!
Gender: It's a GIRL! Peyton Lea!
Movement: The little booger...if I roll to the left side she sometimes doesn't like it and will start punching into the bed until I roll back over! She hiccups all the time!
What I miss: Sleeping on my tummy. Breathing easily!
Cravings: Nothing really.
Symptoms: Breathing, reflux, back aches
Best Moment this week: Washing all of her clothes! They are all clean and put away waiting on someone to wear them!
What I am MOST looking forward to: Her! Holding her in my arms! I am counting it down!

This week her stroller and car seat, extra base, bedding, extra diaper bag, and bjorn all came in! I am so excited to have them in hand! I also started my hospital bag and diaper bag. Not much in them, but they are sitting out ready to be filled!

Dr Update:
bp 98/54
heart rate 157

33 Weeks!

2011-08-11T13:40:00.003-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 33 Weeks
Size of baby: Pineapple
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 163.5 (+28)
Maternity Clothes: Pants and a few shirts. I still wear my normal lounging shorts and capris. I also wear normal dresses. My t-shirts are starting to fit tighter. Not sure what I will wear at that point!
Gender: It's a GIRL! Peyton Lea!
Movement: She is still a mover! Her kicks have gotten a lot stronger and her movements are much more pronounced. You can see just about all of them on my belly now!
What I miss: Sleeping on my tummy. Breathing easily!
Cravings: Nothing really.
Symptoms: Breathing, reflux, back aches
Best Moment this week: My baby shower :) Craig, Peyton, and I are so blessed to have such a loving church family! We are almost set for her arrival. A few more things to get and waiting on some things in the mail! So excited to see her room coming together.
What I am MOST looking forward to: Her! Holding her in my arms! I am counting it down!

All of my milestones are passing! It is going by so fast! First it was my Shreveport shower, then my Gdale shower, now I guess it is Kady's showers and wedding! Everything is going by so fast! I can hardly believe it. Next thing I know everything will be over and she will be on her way :)

High Chairs!

2011-08-10T07:59:00.002-05:00

Why do high chairs have to be so confusing and frustrating? I didn't spend this much time picking out our stroller/car seat combo!

After asking a few ladies and looking online I have 3 I am considering. I am sure there would be more, but I refuse to look at more and make my list longer!

Chicco Polly Double Pad Highchair: $135
http://www.amazon.com/Chicco-Double-Fabric-Highchair-Adventure/dp/B000UCCATW/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
-Hard to clean
-Fabric
-Recommended by a blogger friend
-Removable tray liner
-2 cushions so one is always clean
-Folds

Fisher-Price EZ Clean High Chair: $83
http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Clean-High-Chair-Circles/dp/B004G81SUS/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
-Easy to clean

Graco Blossom Highchair: $160
http://www.amazon.com/Graco-1776144-Blossom-Highchair-Clairmont/dp/B003O69NNW/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1312981519&sr=1-1
-High chair, booster, and youth chair all in one
-Expensive
-Will I use a booster?
-I can see the youth chair being useful.
-Does not fold

Am I behind?

2011-08-05T07:58:00.002-05:00

I must be because I googled and it told me I was. I mean everything on the internet just has to right!?

When did you pack your hospital bag?

I feel like...I am only 32 weeks. I still have 8 to go! It is too early to have a bag packed, sitting, waiting.

When I googled last night everyone was saying by the end of the 2nd trimester or 30 weeks.

Am I really behind? I feel like I need to get on the ball!

Guess that will be on my to-do list for sometime next week. I guess...

32 Weeks!

2011-08-04T09:54:00.004-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 32 Weeks
Size of baby: Large Jicama (?)
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 162 (+26.5)
Maternity Clothes: Pants and I have started wearing some shirts because they are so cute! I LOVE dresses, but they are not actually maternity.
Gender: It's a GIRL! Peyton Lea!
Movement: She is still a mover! Every time she hears Craig she will move. Sunday during worship she was just a moving in there.
What I miss: Sleeping on my tummy. Breathing easily!
Cravings: Nothing really.
Symptoms: Breathing, reflux
Best Moment this week: My mind isn't functioning. I can't remember the week...looking forward to my baby shower Sunday!
What I am MOST looking forward to: Her! Holding her in my arms! I am counting it down!

Dr Appt Update from Today:
BP : 99/58
Heart rate: 146
Iron: 10.7 :(
They gave me an iron pill to take every morning. Ick
According to their chart I have not gained any weight in the last 2 weeks!
Checked my thyroid and will call me with those results.
Belly is measuring at 31 weeks.
I told him about my belly getting hard and sore and he said those are contractions already! Wow :) So exciting!

Random Thoughts

2011-08-02T07:50:00.002-05:00

I can't believe we can already say "Peyton will be here NEXT MONTH"!

Baby hiccups are the worst. They give me reassurance, but after 10 minutes of the little pop, pop, pop I am ready for them to be over. For my sake and hers. I have read that they are not as bad for babies as they are for us. I sure hope that is true! She had them 5 times on Saturday and at least 3 yesterday. Every other day it has been at least a couple. I couldn't take it. Poor thing!

Sunday's sermon hit me. It made me realize how far we have come. Pastor John preached on James 1 and going through trials. I have been through many. This time last year the trial we faced defined my life. It ate at me every day. It had been 5 long years and I was at the end of my rope. Looking back I am not sure that I could have done it different because I know how debilitating those emotions were. I hope I never have to find out. I do know God carried me through them or I would have never made it. I do know that the trials in my life do not define me, but are my greatest testimony. I pray I get to use them to reach others. I think I have already started that process but am always open to new opportunities. If he had preached this sermon a year ago I think I would have fallen on my face in tears. Even this year I had to hold them back, but I have a renewed hope because of the Lord's goodness and faithfulness. I needed this past Sunday morning just to help me remember. I never want to forget.

On a lighter note...

Nursing bras are purchased, postpartum wrap purchased, nursing PJs needed, baby detergent buying today.

Shower is Sunday!

Time is flying and we have so much to do! I hope time doesn't get away from me. With every weekend this month booked and the wedding I am sure it will go by so fast! Oh my I can't wait!

Wedding gift 1 and 2 down (PC shower and cookware). Wedding gift 3 on its way. Wedding gift 4 in the works. Wedding gift 5, probably today! Wow that seems like a lot, but some of them are quite small. I am so excited to give them. I hope they are special to them. I will have to post about them as they are given. I really want to share!

I have my Kindle. Trying to figure it out. I hope I like it as much as I think I will and Aunt Carla says I will. I think it will be great when Peyton is here. Stocking up on all the free books I can!

I need to find a way to Texas. It is killing me not being able to go meet the two Hill babies. I wish they would come this way for the wedding.

I think that's all I have in there right now...

31 Weeks!

2011-07-28T08:13:00.002-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 31 Weeks
Size of baby: Four Navel Oranges
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 160.5 (+25)
Maternity Clothes: Pants and I have started wearing some shirts because they are so cute! I LOVE dresses, but they are not actually maternity.
Gender: It's a GIRL! Peyton Lea!
Movement: She is still a mover most days, but she likes to relax sometimes. See previous post.
What I miss: Sleeping on my tummy.
Cravings: Nothing really.
Symptoms: Breathing, reflux, oh my aching back! :)
Best Moment this week: 31 weeks, really!? We are down to single digits now! How exciting. 63 days to go. Oh yes I am counting them down!
What I am MOST looking forward to: Her! Holding her in my arms! I am counting it down!

Baby Kristy

2011-07-27T09:14:00.002-05:00

Want to know what Craig thought about me as a baby?

Well, last night I went to find out how much I weighed when I was born. Craig and I made our predictions on Peyton, so I wanted to find out how close I was to my weight. I knew I was a chunky baby. I am a DAVIS :)

When I opened my cute little baby book the first thing I came across was my hospital photo. Now I am thinking oh how cute! Craig walks in and I think it went something like this

"WHOA!"
"Hey, Jerry"
"Look at that head! It's HUGE!"
"Did your mom have a c-section?"
"If I saw that photo I wouldn't have married you."

That led us to looking through my baby photo album and his baby book. What we found is that I still have the same facial expressions even today. I am the spitting image of my dad. (we all knew that) We do not have photos of Craig as a baby. I think we found one and his head was turned. At every milestone I weighed more than Craig :) He advanced quicker than me. (might have to do with less weight to pull up and older siblings)

Later when we were getting ready for bed Craig said something to the effect of "I can't look at you. Every time I do all I see is that photo." Oh how nice!

I am glad he got a nice good laugh out of it.

Now for our predictions on Peyton:
Craig: 7lb 6oz
Kristy: 8lb 3oz

Our birth weights:
Craig: 7lb 3oz
Kristy: 8lb 6oz

Fears

2011-07-26T10:53:00.003-05:00

I have decided that the days where she is super active are a double-edged sword. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the days where she is super active. I love feeling her moving around constantly. BUT that means the next day I feel nothing!

I am pretty comfortable with her schedule at this point. She is usually up when I wake up, awake right before lunch, and more active in the evenings.

Today she was not up when I woke. I commented on it to Craig before he left. About 8:30 I started to get more and more worried. I googled and went and drank OJ and laid down. I mean google has to be right about how to make my baby move! Still nothing. Then I had a panic/crying attack. Nothing. I took a shower because I planned to call the doc and go in immediately. I got out called Craig and laid down again. This time I felt a LITTLE movement. Nothing at all like normal. I decided to give it time. Maybe she would wake around her normal 10:30. Not so. She has given me a LITTLE movement just to let me know she is still there, but nothing to enjoy. At least it has eased my nerves a LITTLE.

I have decided that these fears stem from an event that happened to my boss a few years ago. Otherwise I would think nothing of it.

A few years ago my boss and his wife were expecting their 2nd baby boy. They had only a short time left to go. I want to say she was in the early 30s as far as weeks go. She didn't feel movement and they went in only to find the baby boy had passed away. I had always heard of the 1st trimester miscarriages, but this was devastating.

I have a very real fear that is going to happen to Peyton. I have these attacks, not as severe as today, but I have them. I have voiced my concerns to Craig. I just can't find a way around them. Death and loss is all to real in my world not to have the fear that I might never hold her in my arms.

I know that day will bring new fears, but I am so ready for these to be in the past. 65 days. Only 65 days. I am hoping it is less than that!

As I close out this post my belly is bouncing and it feels so good to have that reassurance.

My prayer today is this: That I have the comfort and peace within my heart that comes from the realization that God my father is also the father of my unborn baby. That even in the womb he knows her, he cares for her, he is watching over her. I know that he has given her to us as a gift and a blessing. He has entrusted her into our care as her parents, but only as her earthly parents. He continues to be and always will be her heavenly father even as he continues to form her.

Can't Wait for My Turn

2011-07-25T08:14:00.002-05:00

My best friend Appy is at the hospital right now having her little boy Landry! I am so super excited for her and so so so jealous!

I wish I could find a way to Dallas to be there with her and the family. It makes me sad not to be there. You better believe that if I still lived in Shreveport I would have headed out as soon as I got the message!

Looking forward to the day when our little ones get to meet!

Come on September!

Praying for a safe, quick, healthy delivery for mommy and baby!

30 Weeks!

2011-07-21T10:03:00.003-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 30 Weeks
Size of baby: Cabbage
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 161.5 (+26)
Maternity Clothes: Pants and I have started wearing some shirts because they are so cute! I LOVE dresses, but they are not actually maternity.
Gender: It's a GIRL! Peyton Lea!
Movement: She is still a mover even though she refused to move during the ultrasound today!
What I miss: Sleeping on my tummy.
Cravings: Nothing really.
Symptoms: Breathing, Swelling hands, feet, and calves, reflux
Best Moment this week: 4D!
What I am MOST looking forward to: Her! Holding her in my arms! I am counting it down!

Dr Appt Update:
BP 106/60
Heart rate 165
Iron 11.1. The low previously had been 11.8. They gave me a list of iron rich foods that I am to incorporate into my diet. If it goes any lower they are putting me on iron pills.
Less salt. My BP is great, so the swelling has to be from salt.
We are now on a 2 week schedule! That means it is getting closer :)
We made our delivery payment today!

We had our 4D today. First I think something didn't want us to make it to the doc. There was a wreck on 65, we went to Odom Rd to find the rd blocked by police while debris from the storm last night was being removed, then we get to the exit for the hospital and the light was out. Fun!

I am so glad Dad, Sherry, and Kady got to share in this special time with us. I loved hearing their reactions. Like dad said it makes you want to hold her.

I just have to share this before talking about the 4D. I had already gone back, but Sherry happily relayed this story...

Before we enter the office
Kady to dad: you have to be quiet in here
Dad makes a pit stop while we enter the office
Craig is up at the window paying and dad walks in to the Dr office.
Front desk lady: May I help you
Dad: loudly I am going to have a baby!
Lady: smiling Should I get you a wheelchair
Dad: Well, I am pretty tired
Sherry and Lady burst into laughter :)

Typical dad. I am sure Kady wanted to crawl under the couch and Craig was just at the window thinking and this is my father-in-law :) ha ha

At first Peyton had her hands and arms in front of her face. She REFUSED to let us get a glimpse. After a few minutes and the tech smashing on my belly she finally stuck her tongue out at us and moved them out of the way. We got some great shots of her feet, hands, and face. Here are our initial thoughts...

Davis Feet
Marinakis Chin and long, skinny Fingers
My Ears
Craig's Mouth and Smile
She has hair!
Whose nose? Craig's?

This was at the beginning of the session. I can hear her saying ha ha you can't see me and sticking her tongue out at us.

Pears, Pears, and more Pears!

2011-07-20T07:52:00.004-05:00

Last Thursday, July 14th, we started picking pears. I know our neighbors thought we were crazy having Craig on an extension ladder up in a tree while it was thundering, but it rained EVERY afternoon and we had to pick them. There is not a pear left within our reach on that tree! Last year we got in trouble for not having enough pears and that was not going to happen this year! :)

Friday afternoon we headed to Huntsville to make some pear preserves. After dinner we started the long process of peeling and cutting up the pears. Our tree has a huge yield of small pears. I think I would rather fewer large pears.

Saturday morning after a doughnut and Starbucks run we were back at it. I think we peeled pears from 9am to 2pm. Everyone's hands were stained and cramping.

BUT

It was all worth it when we at that homemade bread with our homemade pear preserves. YUMMY!

Sherry came dressed to go eat. We wrapped her up to shield her from the juice as she cut pears. What a MESSY job!

After our day of pears we all went to Red Lobster to celebrate pawpaw's 73rd birthday!

Sometimes I wish I lived in Huntsville...then I remember my family and church in G'dale, the extra hr to Shreveport, and the traffic and I am glad we chose this home :) I sure do like to visit though!

Kady's Pampered Chef

2011-07-20T07:42:00.003-05:00

We had Kady's Pampered Chef party last night. It was a great time. Well, other than my AC going out right before the party and it never dropping below 80 in here. She got lots of great things and we had fun times with everyone together.

Here are some photos from the party...

On the menu
Salad
Spinach and Artichoke Bread Bowl
Chicken Poppy-seed Casserole
Strawberry Trifle Bowl Dessert

Did you notice the sweat beads or see anyone fanning themselves? Oh yes, it was hot in here.

29 Weeks!

2011-07-14T06:53:00.003-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 29 Weeks
Size of baby: Butternut Squash
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 159.5 (+24)
Maternity Clothes: Pants and I have started wearing some shirts because they are so cute! I LOVE dresses, but they are not actually maternity.
Gender: It's a GIRL! Peyton Lea!
Movement: She is still a mover. Dad and Sherr finally got to see her move. Dad refuses to feel it. Ha.
What I miss: Sleeping on my tummy.
Cravings: Nothing really.
Symptoms: The shortness of breath and since Sunday the back pain has hit and it is intense. If I don't sit, sleep, stand exactly the right way it hurts. Craig has been good about back rubs :)
Best Moment this week: Girl time at the lake.
What I am MOST looking forward to: Her! Holding her in my arms! I am counting it down!

Lake Time!

2011-07-12T09:18:00.001-05:00

Before I get to lake time...I notice that I missed a few important happenings! So, let's recap!

Craig and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary on Saturday, June 25th. I did a little bridesmaid dress shopping that morning and we ran a few errands that afternoon. For our date night outing we headed to Formaggio's. We had never been there, but I had a restaurant.com coupon so we decided to try it out.

I don't think we will go back. I had ravioli and Craig had a muffuletta. The food was good. The atmosphere not so much. It was more of a college kid hangout than a nice restaurant. We had tiramisu for dessert. I think it would have been better if we bought it out of the freezer section at Wal-mart. It was an experience.

We went from there to the Summit to check out the new Pirate's of the Caribbean movie. It was good, but not all it was hyped up to be. Although it wasn't the greatest we still had a wonderful evening!

Here we are before we headed out...

As part of her gift to us Sherry refurbished some furniture that was used when I was a baby. This cradle was made by guys in our church and I have photos of Kady as a baby in this. Sherry polished it up for us and it is the PERFECT addition to our living room. So nice looking and makes me think of Peyton when I am sitting there staring at it :)

She took this glider rocker and painted it to match our bedroom furniture. It looks so great in the room. I am really impressed. It fits right in and I cannot wait to have Peyton here to sit and rock.

We also FINALLY put together our bouncy seat. It is so cute and I bet it will be comfy too!

Now on to lake time! Kady, Anna, Aunt Vickie, Aunt Carla, Mawmaw, and I headed out to the Murphree lake place on Smith Lake last Thursday to spend the weekend! (Hannah was at NYC and we missed her terribly, but I know she had a fantabulous time)

Friday was overcast. We had fun floating on the water. There was a lot of this...

That evening we played scattegories on the deck and watched the sun go down.

Of course we ate a LOT! Friday and Saturday morning mawmaw made homemade biscuits, eggs, and bacon. Sunday morning it was pancakes and sausage. Friday night Kady and I made stuffed bell peppers. Aunt Carla made a great strawberry angel food cake dessert. Oh and we also made homemade chocolate ice cream! Saturday night it was a mexican casserole and peach cobbler by Aunt Vickie and Anna. Needless to say I am not looking forward to posting my weight gain this week! I am sure it was more fatty than baby :)

Mawmaw in her Amoco hat. So stylish :)

The three grandaughters and Peyton :)

Our last night we played some spades on the deck and then moved inside to finish up scattegories.

It was a wonderful weekend! Next year I think we are taking the boys.

28 Weeks!

2011-07-07T10:13:00.004-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 28 Weeks
Size of baby: Chinese Cabbage
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 157.5 (+22) That is better. Getting some of the travel weight evened out.
Maternity Clothes: Pants and I have started wearing some shirts because they are so cute! I LOVE dresses, but they are not actually maternity.
Gender: It's a GIRL! Peyton Lea!
Movement: She is still a mover. I still can't get her to move when we are around anyone! Craig is still the only one to feel her. Stubborn little thing :)
What I miss: Nothing
Cravings: Nothing really.
Symptoms: Lately...leg pain/swelling when I stand for any length of time, shortness of breath especially after I eat, some reflux, bending is becoming harder :)
Best Moment this week: Just enjoying every minute of it
What I am MOST looking forward to: Her! Holding her in my arms! I am headed to the lake tomorrow, so that will be interesting. Wonder how it will feel. Hope I can carry off the swimsuit!

Day in the Life- Day 6

2011-07-06T07:04:00.003-05:00

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Back to work, back to work, always back to work...

This day is going to look VERY familiar

5:20- Craig's alarm went off and he set out to getting ready and making breakfast
5:35- My internal alarm went off for some reason. I think it was the needed potty break. At least I slept this long... it was up and at em for chocolate chip muffins (a staple in this house) and some Top Shot
6:20- He was out the door and I was back to work.
We can basically skip down now until 3:30! The day was work, work, work. I take a lunch break at 11 and have cereal most days. Today it was Frosted Mini Wheats. My FAVORITE! I also take my shower during my lunch break.
3:30- Craig gets home.
4:00- Dinner time. We made grilled chicken quarters, rice, green beans, salad, and strawberry pretzel dessert leftover from the 4th.
From then on it was basically a LAZY afternoon. I read. Craig watched animal shows on netflix.
10:00- Bed time!

Wow we are boring. I was talking to Craig last night, sometimes we have something to do EVERY weekend and EVERY weeknight. Then there are times like this where we have been at home for the last month or so for every weekend. We have gotten a lot done. Our weeknights are filled with nothing. We sit and relax. I guess we should just enjoy it :) It seems to come in waves. This is a downtime. I think the busy time is just around the corner though. I can already see it.

Day in the Life- Day 5

2011-07-05T06:57:00.005-05:00

Monday, July 4, 2011

8:10- I woke to a hungry belly. I made it about 15 minutes before I woke Craig :) He wanted Krispy Kreme for breakfast and if we were going to make that drive before eating we had to get moving.

9:45- Out the door and headed to Krispy Kreme and Starbucks for breakfast! Yummy! We also made a stop at buy buy baby to make a return and look at all the baby stuff! Makes me so much more anxious for Peyton to arrive!

11- Made a stop at Walgreens to finish my coupon shopping.

12:30- Stopped by dad's to see the rocker Sherry had been painting for us. It looks fantastic! I can't wait to have it in the nursery!

1:30- Home for a quick lunch. Banana sandwich. YUMMY! I had time to read my book an about a 30 minute nap. We also made the dessert for that evening and some hamburger patties.

4:30- Dinner was on the grill and in the oven. We had hamburgers on Hawaiian buns, cream corn, and scalloped potatoes.

5:45- Back to dad's with our dessert. Just spent some time hanging out with family.

8:30- Home putting up laundry and dishes. Productive but relaxing day. Enjoyed time with Craig and Dad and Sherr. Read some more of my book and then it was bedtime about 9. Not bad :)

Back to work tomorrow :(

Day in the Life- Day 4

2011-07-05T06:57:00.003-05:00

Sunday, July 3, 2011

7:00- My internal alarm clock went off as it does almost every Sunday. Not sure why I even set my church alarm for 8! Shower time! Craig got up as I was getting out. I had him grab the paper and I clipped coupons while he made breakfast. It was bacon and egg muffins this morning.

8:50- Out the door! I have to say this was a little early for us. We usually head out about 9-9:15

9:05- Already at church! Realizing we needed something for the picnic we decided to make a Walgreens run. I did a little coupon shopping and we grabbed some drinks and chips for the picnic.

9:40- Little late to SS, but we don't actually get started until 9:45 so it was all good.

11:45- Church is out. headed to the pavilion for the picnic.

1:30- Home! Nap time for me. I woke about 3:30 I think.

4:00- Had some cereal for dinner and settled in with my book. Craig watched some TV and made his homemade fruit rollups.

Midnight- Rollups were done and I was past done. Bed time for us!

Day in the Life- Day 3

2011-07-02T18:39:00.002-05:00

Saturday, July 2, 2011

4:30- Potty break :(
5:30- This time it was my alarm that went off. Time to get busy!
6:10- Out the door to grab a biscuit and meet Kady and Mrs Rachael. We headed out to Sams to get food prices for the upcoming wedding. We wanted to be there at 7 when it opened to beat the crowd. I would have braved the crowd and took my sleep, but I didn't have a say.
8:00- Back from Sams and Kady and I headed to Target. I helped her register and we picked up a few things including an incredibly cute maternity swim top for $17! I am ready for the lake!
10:00- I headed to Wal-Mart for a few groceries I hadn't gotten at my sales.
11:00- Home! Craig helped me put everything up and made us some fantastic hot dogs for lunch. Then I started on the crunches and cakes for Jessie's place. I made 2 crunches and 2 cakes which made 4 actual pans. Lots of dessert!
12:30- Off to bed! NAP TIME! So tired. I think I slept for 2 hrs.
3:15- Cakes are iced and we headed out the door.
4:00- Headed to Jessie's Place with all the food. Joining us were Ed and Melody and Jessica, Laura, and Richard Padgett.
5:30- Serving done! We headed to Niki's West for dinner. My first experience and it was FANTASTIC! I had a veggie plate and now I can hardly move I am so full!
6:15-HOME! I am printing out my weekly photos for my belly book, writing these blogs, and anticipating reading my book. That is it for our evening. Time to relax!

Day in the Life- Day 2

2011-07-02T18:35:00.002-05:00

Friday, July 1, 2011

A lot of this is the same ole same ole...

5:20- Craig's alarm went off and he set out to getting ready and making breakfast
6:00- Craig woke me up. Time to eat :)
We watched some Mall Cops while we had our breakfast of pancakes!
6:20- He was out the door and I was back to work.
We can basically skip down now until 3:30! The day was work, work, work. I take a lunch break at 11 and have cereal most days. Today it was Frosted Mini Wheats. My FAVORITE! I also take my shower during my lunch break.
3:30- Craig gets home. We piddled around a little.
5:00- We headed to dads for spaghetti and for Craig to cut the grass.
10:00- Back home we go! We watched a LOT of food network and spent 1.5 hrs on the phone with ATT transferring dad and sherry's cell phones
11:15- After a little reading it was off to bed.

End of the month...

2011-07-01T12:33:00.000-05:00

Since it's the end of the month I figured I would give a quick blurb on my budget...

We were only about 250 over which isn't bad seeming as my sister decided to get married and I had to put a dep on the dress, we had our termite renewal, and our car AC went out! Take out those things and we would have been WAY under. We will have to make it up somewhere though. That is why it is called a budget :)

Day in the Life

2011-07-01T07:57:00.002-05:00

A blogger "friend" has been doing "day-in-the-life" posts for five days. She has kids so her life is rather busy, but I thought maybe I would do the same for a week. Just so that after Peyton is here and we think "what did I ever do before she was here" I can look back and know.

Life is busy.

So, lets start with yesterday and I will try to go through next Wednesday at least.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

5:20- Craig's alarm went off and he set out to getting ready and making breakfast
6:00- Craig woke me up. Time to eat :)
We watched some Mall Cops while we had our breakfast of cinnamon rolls.Yummy!
6:20- He was out the door and I was back to work.
We can basically skip down now until 3:30! The day was work, work, work. I take a lunch break at 11 and have cereal most days. Today it was Frosted Mini Wheats. My FAVORITE! I also take my shower during my lunch break.
3:30- Craig gets home.
4:00- Dinner time. We made tacos/taco salad and had a leftover crab rangoon for dessert.
4:30- Craig was out mowing the yard. He is already ready for fall when the mowing season is over.
5:20- Brandy stopped by to drop off baby clothes and post-baby items for me!
4:30-6:30- I cleaned up the kitchen, got dressed for the day, and started the prequel to the Omalley series by Dee Henderson. I am hooked already!
6:30-Craig came in and had his shower and got ready for our errands
7:00- We were out the door for some "quick" errands. We ran by the bank, library, walmart, target, winn dixie. This couponing thing has me going to several stores, but I have made the most of it :)
9:30- Home and groceries put away. We quickly did our 27 week photos. Craig went to work on his computer, reinstalling windows and software. I went back to my book.
11:15- Off to bed.

This was not a normal night. We are usually in the bed MUCH earlier, but we had things to do and it was Thursday night. We had Friday and a long weekend to look forward to!

When Peyton gets here I can only imagine these outings will get much more difficult, but I am looking forward to it!

27 Weeks!

2011-06-30T12:50:00.002-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 27 Weeks
Size of baby: Cauliflower
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 159 (+23.5) What is happening!? I am not eating any more than normal. I did travel again this week, so it could still be travel weight, but 3lbs!? WOW!
Maternity Clothes: Pants and I have started wearing some shirts because they are so cute! I LOVE dresses, but they are not actually maternity.
Gender: It's a GIRL! Peyton Lea!
Movement: She is still a mover. I have started to see it on my belly in the last 2 weeks. She is still sideways or head up. I still get low kicks and movements. Only one high kick so far.
What I miss: Nothing :)
Cravings: Nothing really.
Symptoms: My belly is really starting to swell! Lots of people are starting to comment on it. It is actually becoming uncomfortable and I know I have a long way to go! This past week it has become hard to breathe.
Best Moment this week: Watching my belly jump :)
What I am MOST looking forward to: Her! Holding her in my arms!

Wedding Blues...

2011-06-29T12:54:00.002-05:00

First let me say I am SOOOOOO looking forward to Sept. I am getting a new brother-in-law and my baby girl Peyton. All in the same month! It is going to be busy and exciting that is for sure.

BTW (I just have a feeling that Peyton will be here before the wedding on the 17th)

but

I am a little sad.

I always looked forward to the day my sister would get engaged and then married. I always pictured it in my head this way...

Right after she got engaged she would run home to show us all her ring and we would all be so excited and ohh and ahh over it. We would celebrate together.

I would be the matron of honor. Standing next to her. Her best friend.

We would go dress shopping and she would try on every dress in the store just so we could see. It would be a fun girl's day out.

I would help her with the plans. Picking out the flowers, cake, etc.

I would plan showers for friends and family.

It would be months of celebration.

Instead it has been this way...

She got engaged while I was out of town. I got a phone call after I already knew it was coming (thanks dad for the heads up). I didn't do very well at being excited. Honestly my heart was broken that I wasn't here and that she didn't care. I actually had to hold back tears so Craig's family wouldn't see.

I am the co-matron of honor. I love, love, love the other girl. I honestly do. It has nothing to do with that. It all has to do with me being her sister. I feel like we have gotten close over the past years and this makes me wonder...does she? Am I just not enough to hold the title on my own?

She and I never looked at wedding books together. She had already done that without me. The day we went dress shopping she didn't want to try anything on. it was actually a little sad. The only time she seemed happy that day was when she found "the one". I am glad I was there for the moment she found her dress. It brought tears to my eyes. I know I will bawl on the wedding day.

I have been going with her to meetings with the flower person and doing all of the calling for the catering. I guess I thought she would care more. She would be more excited about it.

She isn't letting me throw her anything more than a Pampered Chef party. What about the lingerie shower? I was really looking forward to doing that for her.

I guess I just made this out to be such an exciting time in my head. It just hasn't been what I always dreamed, but I guess nothing ever is.

26 Weeks!

2011-06-23T09:39:00.004-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 26 Weeks
Size of baby: Hothouse Cucumber (huh?)
Total Weight Gain/Loss: I don't even want to write this...156 (+20.5) eww. That travel food killed me last week. Not to mention I didn't have a true weight for last week. Let's see what happens next Thursday!
Maternity Clothes: Pants and I have started wearing some shirts because they are so cute! I LOVE dresses, butt hey are not actually maternity.
Gender: It's a GIRL! Peyton Lea!
Movement: She is constantly moving! I LOVE it!
What I miss: Nothing :)
Cravings: Nothing really.
Symptoms: I don't think I have any. It is getting harder to bend over. :)
Best Moment this week: Heard her heartbeat yesterday. 143. Also passed my 1hr glucose with "flying colors".
What I am MOST looking forward to: Her! Holding her in my arms!

Oh and I would like to point out that we are now in double digits! 98 days to go!

Shreveport: Work, Baby Shower, and a Wedding!

2011-06-21T07:41:00.009-05:00

Beware...long post with LOTS of photos :)

Last week was a whirlwind...I already blogged about the travel on Monday. Other than that it was a GREAT but BUSY week!

I worked in the office Tues-Thurs. It is weeks like that when I miss being in the office. It was so much fun to have my coworkers around. Surprisingly I got a lot accomplished in those few days and had time to catch up with everyone. I wish we lived closer.

Thursday night I had my first baby shower for Peyton! My sisters-in-law threw it for me. Thanks to Becki, Carrie, and Kristie! It was beautiful and lots of fun.

The table with all the yummy food.

Me with the hostesses and my mother-in-law (Kristie, Becki, Me, Carrie, Terri)

Crystal, Brandi, Jennie

Laura, Stephane with Kelley, Erin

Playing the toilet paper game. Erin won a Hobby Lobby gift card. I think I was 9 sheets around :)

Me with all the cute baby girl gifts :) I never thought I would like pink so much. (look at those legs/ankles! Whew. I know I have Davis legs, but those things were extra swollen. after 2 days at home they are about back to normal again)

The cutest outfit from Stephane and Patrick. I cannot wait to put her in this!

Basket of goodies from Keith and Becki! Everything was monogrammed. I love it :)

Our diaper bag! Craig was excited to see something he picked out. So cute!

The delicious cake!

Craig arrive right after the party and had to get a photo!

Friday afternoon before heading to the wedding rehearsal we met our friends Heath and Crystal Nevins at The Well. It had been WAY too long. We enjoyed the time catching up. Their little girl will be here in November. We look forward to getting them together when we are over for Thanksgiving! BTW if you are in SP the Rwandan Special at The Well is SOOOOOO yummy!

That night we headed to Southern Trace for the wedding rehearsal. It was HOT...I am not even sure that word fits what it felt like out there.

Our table at the rehearsal dinner at Robinson Film Center downtown. Fun times with old friends. Craig had fun catching up with them. (Me, Craig, Jennie, Matt, Michael, Autumn, Judd)

Craig and I after the rehearsal dinner. Excuse my evil eyes.

Saturday we went to Jill's Gymnastics for Rilea's 6th birthday party.

Wedding time! Here is the groom's cake. His mother made this cake to look like his camera. She is so talented and it was yummy.

Craig and I at the wedding.

The bride and groom.

Craig during the ceremony. Looking all handsome in his tux.

Craig and his best friend Matt, the groom.

All of the Hudsons at the reception. Cooling off and filling up :)

When we got home there was a gift waiting for us! The Hills, Bischoffs, and Fallwells sent us her bouncer. You can also see the mess of shower items strewn about. I had to go through it all again!

Since it was Father's day Craig also had a special gift waiting on him when we got home. He only took a photo of the knife, but he also received a pink camping chair and fishing pole set for Peyton. He was so excited! He is ready for her to be old enough to go out with him.

That was our weekend away! Whew tires me just thinking about it. I would do it all over again. We had so much fun. Now that it has passed it is just one more thing checked off on the way to Peyton's arrival! We are getting closer :)

25 Weeks!

2011-06-16T07:25:00.003-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 25 Weeks
Size of baby: Rutabaga
Total Weight Gain/Loss: As of this past Sunday150.5 (+15) Down even more. I am sure I will be up next week after this week of travel.
Maternity Clothes: Pants and I have started wearing some shirts because they are so cute!
Gender: It's a GIRL! Peyton Lea!
Movement: She is constantly moving! I LOVE it! Craig is still the only other one to feel her. Her kicks have really gotten strong over the last week. You can see almost all of them on my belly now.
What I miss: Nothing :)
Cravings: Nothing really.
Symptoms: With the travel this week...sore abdomen from carrying weight in my carry-ons, swollen legs (finally went down today, 3 days later!), and a severe leg cramp! (see previous post)
Best Moment this week: I am sure it will be my shower tonight!
What I am MOST looking forward to: Her! Holding her in my arms!I am also very much looking forward to my 1st shower tonight! So excited!

Travel, Swelling, and Cramps

2011-06-15T10:49:00.002-05:00

Well, I am in Shreveport! I made it after a LONG day of travel.

Lets just say I will NEVER fly American again! I got the airport an hr before my "scheduled" flight. I was told it was too late to check-in, you only have to check-in 30 minutes prior. I looked over my itinerary and they had moved me to an earlier flight. REALLY! You weren't going to tell me about this? They say they notified my "travel agent" which is AmEx online, so no updates came my way. Thanks for that.

I spent the next 4 hrs in the bham airport. Made it to Dallas where I spent 2 hrs in their airport and finally arrived in SP at 4:45. Long day. I had a quick salad and potato at Ruby Tuesday's and called it a night.

I have to say traveling at 24.5 weeks pregnant was harder than I expected. I couldn't carry weight. Shouldn't lift. My legs were swelling. I had to potty. It was not terrible but not as easy as I thought it would be.

When I got here my belly was sore, attributed it to the weight of my carry ons that I lugged around all day, and my legs were swollen. That is not unusual for me after a day of travel. What happened that night was.

That night I woke up with the MOST painful leg cramp I have EVER had in my LIFE! BAD! I thought I would cry. I prayed to God to make it stop.

I attributed the cramp to travel, but according to women on FB they are normal and painful during pregnancy.

Even today, 2 days later, my legs are swollen, crampy, and VERY sore. I just can't figure out what to do to get them to go down. Yesterday I hydrated as best I could. I probably should have done more, actually I probably should have hydrated more before my flight as I was instructed by the nurse :). I have spent a lot of time with my feet up resting. The swelling just won't leave. Normally it is gone at this point.

I will keep hydrating today and I am considering calling the doc.

Today I have lunch with Carrie and Jennie. I am considering Monjunis for dinner. Lasagna. Yummy! I have been looking forward to that for some time now.

Tomorrow is BABY SHOWER DAY and my 25 week post (oh and Craig will get to SP :))! I hope to have pics to post on Friday. I am so excited I just can't stand it.

24 Weeks!

2011-06-09T08:28:00.001-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 24 Weeks
Size of baby: Corn
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 152.5 (+17) Making up for the big gain last week?
Maternity Clothes: Pants and I have started wearing some shirts because they are so cute!
Gender: It's a GIRL! Peyton Lea!
Movement: Yes mam! This little girl likes to move. She is constantly moving! I LOVE it! Craig is still the only other one to feel her.
What I miss: Nothing :)
Cravings: Nothing really.
Symptoms: Sometimes I forget she is even in there :) It is going GREAT! Just have an expanding waistline
Best Moment this week: Gifts arriving! We have a play mat, clothing, and her baby monitor. So excited. We also bought her toy storage!
What I am MOST looking forward to: Her! That's it. Holding her in my arms!

Weekends at Home

2011-06-06T06:55:00.003-05:00

It has been so nice to have 2 weekends in a row at home. As you already know, last weekend Sherry painted Peyton's room, we did the chair rail, and finished the back deck. This weekend was a "lazy" weekend.

Craig set out at 4AM to take photos. I woke up with the garage door raising and him getting back home at 8:30. That is so LATE for me!!! He was shocked I was still in bed.

I had just a few things I wanted to get done on our lazy day ;)

Craig started by cleaning out the gutters and mowing the back and side yard. I cleaned the house. I tried to do an extra good job cleaning the fans in the bedrooms and vacuuming under the couches. After lunch I had one more project up my sleeve.

Fist let me say Craig was complaining about all of the work on our day off. I told him I was perfectly capable of doing this on my own. Of course he never would have lived it down, but he was off the hook nonetheless.

I went into the garage and cleaned off a shelf we had down there. As I started to drag it across the floor he stumbled into the garage letting me know he could hear it all the way across the house. From there he never complained again. He helped me hang a two-shelf unit that I had bought well over a year ago and never had the space or the need to hang it. We got it up in the spot where the old rack had been and re organized it.
The old rack moved across the garage by my deep freeze to become our stock-up storage location. Yes, I know not very stocked right now, but we are just starting. There are more items on it even today.

With that food out of the kitchen I was able to move my cookbooks and clear a cabinet just for Peyton! I am making room so when we get all of her goodies they have a place to go right too. No clutter :)

Oh and in the midst of all of the shelving fun a wonderful gift came for Peyton! I was so excited!
Thank you to my awesome co-worker Vanessa! I am so excited for Peyton to be here to play with it.

We relaxed a few minutes and Dad showed up to check out the new goodies! Craig grilled some chicken and corn and I made rice and salad. It was a yummy dinner minus the slight grilling disaster. Charred chicken anyone? We have to figure out how to turn that grill down.

At 7:15 I was ready to crash, but I knew it was too early to call it a night. To keep myself awake Craig and I went out on the deck and made a fire in our fire pit. Granted it was in the 90s, but it was bearable :) I read a book by the fire while Craig took pictures of it.

I must say I was so proud of this day for a few reasons...
-We checked a LOT of items off my list
-I had written down $40+ for the shelving needed to store stock-up items. Then I remembered the long lost shelves and we did the project for $0! That is awesome because honestly shelving is not in our budget these days.
-We actually took some time to relax. We also used our fire pit that we bought a while back with the best of intentions and then never used.

23 Weeks!

2011-06-02T10:12:00.002-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 23 Weeks
Size of baby: Large Mango
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 153 (+17.5) WHOA! What happened this week?
Maternity Clothes: Pants and I have started wearing some shirts because they are so cute!
Gender: It's a GIRL! Peyton Lea!
Movement: Yes mam! This little girl likes to move. She is constantly moving! I LOVE it! Craig is still the only other one to feel her.
What I miss: Nothing :)
Cravings: Nothing really.
Symptoms: Sometimes I forget she is even in there :) It is going GREAT! Just have an expanding waistline
Best Moment this week: Finishing her room! Well, the painting at least. Decorating won't be big. So excited!
What I am MOST looking forward to: Her! That's it. Holding her in my arms!

Couponing Adventure

2011-06-01T11:08:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I went on a couponing adventure. I expect this to happen every week on Monday and Wednesday. This week it fell on Tuesday because of the holiday.

Here are the details of my excursion. (Item, normal price, sale price, coupon, I pd)

TARGET::
Men's Degree Deodorant, 2.34, none, target $2/2, mf BOGO, $.34
Men's Degree Deodorant, 3.64, none, target $2/2, mf BOGO, $0

Men's Speedstick Deodorant, 2.84, 1.99, mf $.75/1, $1.24

Women's Degree Deodorant, 2.34, none, target $1/1, mf $.75/1, $.59

Johnson's Baby Wash, 2.99, none, target $2/2, $1.99
Johnson's Baby Lotion, 2.99, none, target $2/2, $1.99

Banana Boat Sunscreen, 6.99, 6.49, mf $1/1, $5.49
Banana Boat Sunscreen, 6.99, none, none, $6.99
$5 gift card for purchasing these

My total was $18.63 before tax and I took home a $5 gift card! I think that was alright :) The sunscreen wasnt a deep discount, but it is needed and by purchasing now I got the gift card. My best purchase by far was the deodorant. Score!

WALGREENS::
Sun Detergent, 4.99, 2.99, none, $2.99
Sun Detergent, 4.99, 2.99, none, $2.99

Frosted Flakes, ??, 1.99, mf $1/2, $1.49
Frosted Flaked, ??, 1.99, mf $1/2, $1.49

Got2B Glued, 5.99, BOGO, none, $5.99
Got2B Glued, 5.99, BOGO, none, $0

Off Smooth & Dry, ??, 4.99, mf $.75/1, $4.24

Aquafresh, 2.29, .99, none, $.99
Aquafresh, 2.29, .99, none, $.99

Angel Soft, $, 4.00, none, $4.00

Register Rewards Redeemed -$4

Total was $21.17 before tax. No register rewards this week :( These were probably all good purchases except for the Off...oops

Tonight we head to Winn Dixie. Hopefully that will be it for our shopping this week. Maybe we will rack up a few of those spend free days I posted about earlier.

Budget

2011-06-01T08:51:00.003-05:00

Craig and I have been BAD about staying on budget lately. Really BAD! I am ashamed to say what we spent last month. I don't think I have even told him. Oh dear!

We have had a budget for years. We do better some months and worse others. The budget has changed over the years, but it has remained. We are really focused on getting a handle on things before Peyton gets here.

So, it's the beginning of a new month and we have this novel idea that this month we are going to make it our goal to stay within the lines. Now, looking today this is going to be VERY difficult to do this month. We have a truck oil change needed, the car AC is being fixed today, our termite renewal is due, and we are taking a trip to Shreveport ohhh and it is our anniversary and father's day month. Joy! Add those together with the fact that I am a new couponer :) and we are already in trouble!

Needless to say IF we can do it this will be a major accomplishment! It may even make me excited to see if we can do it.

Goal in place. Now how to get there...

I talked to Craig last night and I am going to keep a running "balance" written in a visible place so that he always knows how much we have left in our budget.

I read an article today about a woman who went 10 consecutive days without spending a dime. I don't think with my new couponing strategy that will work, but I am going to implement that in my own way. I want to have 10-15 days throughout the month where we don't spend anything. When we have one we will mark it on the calendar.

Just do it. We will just have to say NO. We are BAD about going out to eat just because everyone else is. We will have to learn to say no. We have plenty of food at home. We usually even have a meal planned. How bad of us.

If all else fails I have told Craig we will be going back to the envelope system. We used this when we first started and then I found Discover. I LOVE Discover. I don't want to revert because I like making money just for spending money. I don't have to do anything out of the ordinary and Discover pays me. We have NEVER payed them a dime in interest and have made 100s. I want to make it work without having to go to envelopes and cash, but we will do what we have to do. UGH!

I plan to keep myself accountable on here. So here we go.

Lots of Painting Going On...

2011-05-31T07:00:00.004-05:00

FINALLY! It was finally time to work on Peyton's room. I have been waiting for this. I am such an impatient person. I like to have things completed. The thought of her room sitting there waiting on me to work on it has driven me nuts!

Here is the before of her room.

Sherry came over about 9 Saturday morning to get started. I went in and helped her line off the room. We then left her by herself in there. She is such a good painter. She had the first coat on in 2 hours probably and the 2nd only took an hr.

While Sherry painted inside I went ahead and painted the chair rail outside. Much easier to do this than paint it on the wall!

Once all of the painting was done we needed to hang my chair rail. Craig went to Lowe's and got the hose for the air compressor, but forgot the connectors. We decided to go ahead and make our cuts so we were at least ready to hang. That evening Don was coming over for dinner, so we asked him to bring the connectors. Now, I KNOW I asked for a male and female, but he brought two male connectors. After dinner we headed to Krispy Kreme for some hot-and-nows...yummy...on the way back we made a 3rd trip to Lowe's to get the female connector. When we got back the boys hooked it all up and in 15 minutes we had it all on the walls.

Sunday after my nap :) I caulked the rail, and here is the finished product.

After every step of her room, the closet, the furniture, we always take a pic of me and Peyton beside it. Here we are Sunday night.

So, while Sherry and I worked on Peyton's room Saturday Craig, looking oh so pitiful, worked on the back deck. It was about time it got completed since we started on it months ago!

Craig did an awesome job and NEVER complained. Not once! I have an amazing hubby. I don't brag on him enough.

Saturday I did go out and help him while the rail dried and Sherry painted the room. I have to say my legs paid for it! They hurt so bad even still today. It is awful how out of shape I am. Anyways, we got a LOT done Saturday. After lunch we ran out of paint and steam. When Craig went to Lowe's to get the hose he also got another gallon of paint. When he returned it was just too hot to be painting out there, so we called it a day. Sunday afternoon about 5 we got back out there and finished it all up in about 2 hours!

So satisfying to see two projects completed! I will have to put up pics of the finished back deck. Now to decorate Peyton's room and wait on her arrival!

22 Weeks!

2011-05-26T10:08:00.003-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 22 Weeks
Size of baby: Spaghetti Squash...she is up to 1lb now!!!
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 150.5 (+15)
Maternity Clothes: Pants and I have started wearing some shirts because they are so cute!
Gender: It's a GIRL! Peyton Lea!
Movement: Yes mam! This little girl likes to move. She is constantly moving! I LOVE it!
What I miss: Nothing :)
Cravings: Nothing really.
Symptoms: Sometimes I forget she is even in there :) It is going GREAT!
Best Moment this week: The little heartbeat this morning :) Nothing better.
What I am MOST looking forward to: We are painting this weekend! I will post pics!

We had a dr appt today. Nothing much to report. The nurse told me I was rocking my blood pressure. 100/56. Her heart rate was 156. Next time I see Dr Davis and have my glucose test. Yummy!

I'm Doing it Again

2011-05-21T10:50:00.003-05:00

Couponing that is...

I started off about ohh a couple of years ago with this little book...

Now, I must say there is nothing wrong with this book, but it isn't for me. I am super organized. I love for everything to have its place and be in it! This book had cardboard pages with categories and you tucked all of your coupons in.

I found this hard to use. The coupons fall out or sink down in there. You can't see them. You had to make sure to plan ahead to go to the store or you would be there forever digging out coupons you might have.

I saved a little, but I spent a lot. I would buy things because I had a coupon. When I got over that I found that most of the coupons in the paper brought down the cost of the name brand item, but it still wasn't cheaper than the store brand. I found myself paying for papers and not using any coupons.

That is when it ended.

Yesterday is when it began again. I have heard more and more people talking about it and I have to get back in. With a baby on the way saving money sounds even better than ever.

I went in search of something super organized. A method I can work with. Here is what I came up with...

It is a lot larger, yes, but I can see EVERYTHING! There are 36 organizational categories and behind each is a couple of pages of baseball card holders so each coupon has its own pocket! Brilliant! I can see everything!

I watched some videos and did some research. What I found is that yes, if you use coupons like I was they are not useful. You have to find out when items are on sale and use your coupon then to get them even lower.

I also learned something that I think will challenge me to the core. Instead of panning meals and buying around those, you buy and then plan around what you bought! That gets the most use out of your coupons. You have to stock pile.

Craig loves the idea of stocking up. He has wanted to do it for a while now so that we have food on hand in the case of a disaster. I can see with these tornadoes how this would not only help us, but we would be able to donate so much more if we have a pile ready.

You also have to shop often. We like to shop once every few weeks and buy everything in a few trips. I have learned you have to shop often to get the deals. No impulse buying though. Sticking to your list and your coupons.

I have yet to see if this system will work for me, but I am going to give it a try. I have only spent a little paper and ink to print the coupons and dividers, $10 on baseball card pages, and $4 on page protectors. Low investment if I can make it work.

I am excited for Sunday. Ready to get a paper and get to work. I have a lot to learn, but here's to one foot in the door!

Mother's Day

2011-05-20T11:03:00.000-05:00

I just realized I never did a Mother's Day post!

I considered this my first pre-mother's day. Peyton is alive and well. I have a daughter. She just opts to spend all of her time chilling in my belly :)

Craig is such a sweetie, but he is also a little booger. He knew I wanted the necklace, but rather than just order it himself he had me order it. He said I would know about it when it crossed our credit card anyway. True, but it is the thought that counts. Ahh well. I still ended up with this little necklace that I am in LOVE with!

That night Craig did do something very special for me. He wanted to make me any dinner I chose, so I decided on Olive Garden at home!

He made their dressing from scratch. So Yummy. Probably my favorite part of the meal?

He also made homemade fettuccine alfredo using a recipe that is supposed to be theirs. I have to say it was DELICIOUS! Tasted just like OG if not better.

To top it off he made a strawberry pretzel dessert that we ate on for several days. It was super yummy. I think that was his favorite. I think this meal will stay on our menu!

It was a very special pre-mother's day. I can't wait until next year when Peyton is here to celebrate it with us!

Braxton Hicks Already?

2011-05-19T14:05:00.002-05:00

Last Friday I think it was I started having what I am going to call Braxton Hicks contractions. If that's not what they are then I am not sure what is going on.

I think I had two on Friday and two Saturday. What reminded me of these is that I am having them now.

My stomach gets really tight and to the touch it is very hard. It is not painful just a little uncomfortable and most of that is mental. I want to make sure nothing is wrong.

What I have noticed is they happen when I am on my feet a lot. I was up a lot last Friday and Saturday getting ready for Dad's party. Last night I spent 2 hours on my feet cooking at church. That seems to trigger them.

When we left last night I told Craig that my belly was really heavy. I was beat. Overdoing it?

I have a dr appt next Thursday, so I plan to ask him then unless they get worse before then and I will call.

21 Weeks!

2011-05-19T11:43:00.001-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 21 Weeks
Size of baby: Banana
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 150 (+14.5)
Maternity Clothes: Pants and I have started wearing some shirts because they are so cute!
Gender: It's a GIRL! Peyton Lea!
Movement: Yes mam! This little girl likes to move. She is constantly moving! I LOVE it!
What I miss: Nothing :)
Cravings: Nothing really.
Symptoms: Sometimes I forget she is even in there :) It is going GREAT!
Best Moment this week: Dad's 50th birthday! I painted a photo frame and put Peyton's pic in it from her.
What I am MOST looking forward to: I really can't wait to get her in my arms!

Because every post is better with a photo...

2011-05-19T10:51:00.003-05:00

I went back and added my weekly photo to every post for weeks 4 and 7-now! You can watch my bump grow!

Since I do like to do my posts early I will probably have to go back and add the photos on Friday. We don't take them until the evenings.

20 Weeks! Halfway there!

2011-05-12T06:59:00.001-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 20 Weeks...I have been waiting for this milestone! So excited to be there!
Size of baby: Small Cantaloupe
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 149 (+13.5)whew! what happened? I haven't eaten more...actually less, but I guess Peyton is growing!
Maternity Clothes: Pants and I have started wearing some shirts because they are so cute!
Gender: It's a GIRL! Peyton Lea!
Movement: Yes mam! This little girl likes to move. She is constantly moving! I LOVE it!
What I miss: Nothing :)
Cravings: Nothing really.
Symptoms: A little belly that people are starting to see :). The backaches have really started to kick in.
Best Moment this week: So many...registering, feeling so much more movement, helping with the shower invites
What I am MOST looking forward to: Decorating! So ready to get started!

Loving every minute of it!

She's a Kicker....

2011-05-10T10:43:00.002-05:00

and I LOVE to feel it!

I love the reassurance that she is in there and doing alright. I have been feeling her kick since right at 17 weeks. It is always on the lower right, but yesterday I felt her on the left a couple of times. I know she rolls a lot because I can feel that, but I think she did a turn yesterday!

If she keeps the same sleep patters out in the world that she has right now we are in TROUBLE! She is awake in the mid-morning and in the evenings. She sleeps most of the day. The problem is she is awake most of the night or at least around 3-4. I wake up at that time most nights and she is moving! Now granted all of this is based off of what I feel. I dont know when she is actually awake/asleep, but those are her kick patterns.

Oh and my girl loves chocolate! Last Friday I had chocolate chip muffins for breakfast and she kicked aggressively all morning. That night I had chocolate syrup on my Yogurt Mountain and she was kicking up a storm. Craig felt her good! ha.

I think God gives me this little window to her. Some times when I am having a scared moment or haven't felt her in a while I will say a quick prayer for one little kick. There she goes! Craig will tell you. It happens.

I feel like God has plans already for this little one. Big plans. That is a whole post in itself, and I will save it for later.

Belly Book

2011-05-06T09:16:00.002-05:00

Have I told you how much I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my belly book? Each week I update it with photos of my belly and ramble on about how I feel, changes in my cravings, mood, feelings, body. There is a place to keep track of Dr visits and ultrasound photos. It absolutely rocks!

When we first found out we were expecting I knew I wanted to have a play-by-play I could look back on for years to come. I think it will be especially neat when we are expecting again to look back at this one!

I started looking at baby books to see what was available and what they could offer by way of recording the pregnancy. What I found was NOTHING! They were not what I wanted at all. After some online research I found the greatest book ever "The Belly Book" by Amy Krouse Rosenthal.

I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who wants to document their pregnancy. We have waited for this for so long I don't want to forget any of it. I can look over this and tell you what my cravings have been. My weight gain. What my stats were at my doc visits. I can tell you about when we found out about the baby, when/how everyone found out, our feelings and emotions, when we first read a prayer together, the first time I felt her move and the first time Craig felt it.

You can look through and see a pic from each of my ultrasounds. You can see my belly week by week. It is so neat. Honestly today I cried looking at it. It is so strange to look at those early ultrasounds, the day we had the transfer, and know that all led us to here, to Peyton. She was that little bean. The little peanut. How exciting that she now has a name!

Here is a link to the book on amazon...

The Belly Book

19 Weeks!

2011-05-05T08:50:00.003-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 19 Weeks
Size of baby: Heirloom Tomato?
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 146 (+10.5)
Maternity Clothes: Pants and I have started wearing some shirts because they are so cute!
Gender: It's a GIRL! Peyton Lea!
Movement: Yes mam! This little girl likes to move. Craig felt her for the first time this week!
What I miss: Being able to just do things like I used to. I want so badly to go to work days, but I know I will over do it.
Cravings: Nothing really.
Symptoms: A little belly that people are starting to see :). Nothing much really.
Best Moment this week: Craig feeling her for the first time!
What I am MOST looking forward to: Decorating! So ready to get started!

I had a breakdown today...

2011-04-29T21:06:00.001-05:00

Today has been a crazy day, well actually the past few have been crazy. It is hard to put into words what we have experienced since Wednesday. We woke that morning at 5:45 to loud thunder and our power going out. We headed to dad's only to find them in the dark as well! About 3 that afternoon the power was restored, but that only lasted a little while. Around 7 the power went out again with the next round of storms. Dad was restored last night and us today.

What happened during the storms is that an F5 tornado spanning 1 mile wide crossed the entire state of AL. It devastated Tuscaloosa, Pratt City, Fultondale, and so many more. Driving through Fultondale it is unreal the devastation and to think how close to home it is.

God has brought the mission field to us.

Yesterday our church delivered hotdogs to those who lost their homes. Today I joined them and we returned to Fultondale Estates with BBQ sandwhiches, chips, and water. Tomorrow it will be burgers.

The people were so appreciative. Offering to pay or give a donation. It means so much to them and I don't feel like we are doing enough. I want to do so much more, but my body and my husband won't let me.

Tomorrow he will help cut trees and I will help serve again. We will do what we can for our neighbors in need.

Since words cannot do it justice, here are a few photos from today. Remember Alabama in your prayers.

Now for the breakdown...I dont know if it was from the stress of the past few days or what I saw today in Fultondale or the fact that I just picked up flowers for decoration Sunday or the pregnancy hormones. On the way home from Wal-Mart all alone in my car I had a major breakdown. Sobbing, tears, gasping for breath. The whole 9 yards. All I could think was I just want to tell her it's a girl! I just want her to know it's a girl.

I miss my mother all the time. I miss her more than words can say or actions can show. Going through this pregnancy so far I have only had a few "moments". I have a feeling they are going to get more and more frequent as I now know her gender, know her name, start to feel her, get her room, and her clothes, my home, my heart, my life ready for her. It hurts my heart to know Peyton will never know mom. She will never touch her or see her or hear her say her name. She will not know the woman she was. How much she would have loved to have granddaughter. I will never see her with my child.

I have known these things for as long as she has been gone, but now they are all becoming real to me.

This I know. I will tell Peyton about her all the time. I will show her photos. We will watch home videos together. She will know her. She will know her love through me. One day they will meet face to face. What a joyous day that will be. I can already see it now.

18 Weeks! It's a GIRL!!!

2011-04-29T20:55:00.002-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 18 Weeks
Size of baby: Sweet Potato
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 146 (+10.5)
Maternity Clothes: Pants and I have started wearing some shirts because they are so cute!
Gender: It's a GIRL! Peyton Lea! We found out today!
Movement: Yes mam! This little girl likes to move.
What I miss: Being able to just do things like I used to. I want so badly to go to work days, but I know I will over do it.
Cravings: Nothing really.
Symptoms: A little belly that people are starting to see :). Nothing much really.
Best Moment this week: Seeing our baby girl!
What I am MOST looking forward to: Decorating. Having her in my arms.

We had our 18 week appointment this morning. Little girl is a wiggle worm! When we first went in she was laying in a position where we couldn't tell what she was. That didn't last long. As the lady started the exam Peyton started the show! She rolled for us a couple of times. Her legs NEVER stopped moving. It is something I will never forget! She was standing in there at one point.

She is 9oz and measuring 6 days early.

Here is the progression of my bump so far...4 weeks and then 7-18

Finally here is Ms Peyton Lea Hudson

Babymoon

2011-04-29T20:39:00.004-05:00

Craig and I took a mini vacation over the Easter holiday. We hated to be away over Easter, but it is really the only time that worked for us. After much searching we decided to head for Savannah, GA

We arrived late Thursday and went straight to bed.

Friday we spent some time walking through the market and down River Street. We ate lunch at Lady and Sons, which is Paula Deen's restaurant. We took a trolley tour of the town. We had a little nap and headed back down to the river front. We took a tour of the Peacemaker. A beautiful boat run by the Twelve Tribes. Very neat. You should google them. We bought a beautiful piece of pottery from them that was made on the ship! That evening we went on our Riverboat Dinner Cruise. I think that was the highlight of my trip! We were seated next to a Pastor and his wife from Louisville, KY. They were so much fun to talk to.

Saturday we headed for the Lighthouse on Tybee Island. Climbed all the way to the top. Not sure what I was thinking. The climb actually wasn't that bad, but the height was! I was terrified. I did not enjoy my time at the top. I hugged the building the whole time. We looked at a few of the keepers cabins and then came the funniest moment of the trip. Our admission also included a museum. Craig asked if I wanted to go and my response "No, it's going to be just a bunch of old broke junk." He laughed about that the rest of the trip. From there we headed for the beach there on Tybee Island. We decided to walk and find lunch. A local pointed us to Stingray's which I think was Craig's highlight of the trip. He is still talking about the food. He had fish and I had fried shrimp. Both were SPECTACULAR! From there we went down the pier for a while and then over to Fort Pulaski. Let me say that was not my cup of tea. Luckily it was state parks week, so we didn't have to waste any money getting in. We did get to see a cannon firing which was cool. Craig explored a little while I went to get out of the sun. I was already a little toasty from my time at the beach. We thought about a movie and decided on finding local dinner and ice cream instead. We found a small Italian place that was fantastic. Thanks Yelp! It was off the beaten path and exactly what we wanted. For ice cream we headed back into Savannah. After walking a mile to find the place Craig wanted to go was closed we found a little shop with local ice cream that was the best!

Sunday it was home in time for Easter lunch!

Looking forward to our next weekend adventure!

I can feel it :)

2011-04-25T09:34:00.002-05:00

Wednesday night/Thursday morning I woke up about 3AM as is the norm around here. Lying there trying to go back to sleep I felt this little thud in my tummy. Like a bubble or popcorn. I thought, hoped, prayed it might be the be beginning of movement. I only told Craig because honestly I didn't know what I was feeling and felt like a dummy.

Thursday on the way to Savannah I felt another small thud. Friday when we laid down for a nap another thud. Sunday on the way home another little thud.

Today in the same spot, always in the lower right, several thuds. Now I am certain that the little popcorn feeling in my belly is baby :) The doc told us we have a mover and now I can feel it happening!

I am beyond thrilled and it has brought tears to my eyes. No more wondering if it is really in there. Now I know that there is a little life growing.

I know Craig can't wait to feel it. I look forward to that moment more than anything!

17 Weeks

2011-04-21T07:17:00.003-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 17 Weeks
Size of baby: Onion
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 144 (+8.5)
Maternity Clothes: Pants and I have started wearing some shirts because they are so cute!
Gender: 1 week...7 days! Oh my I can hardly contain my excitement!
Movement: Still waiting. Thought I might have felt something last night, but not sure just yet. Everyone says it should be any day now!
What I miss: Sleep. I thought that didn't come until after the baby was born!
Cravings: Nothing really.
Symptoms: A little belly that people still can't see :). Nothing much really.
Best Moment this week: Hearing the heart beat and scheduling our gender appointment!
What I am MOST looking forward to: Finding out the gender!

Dr Appt Update

2011-04-20T12:29:00.002-05:00

I think I spoke too soon about these visits being in and out...Dr Damrich was on call, so he was making rounds when we got there. Put about a 20-30 minute wait in.

They had to do my finger stick twice because the first showed low iron. Doc said it was 13 I believe. That could be way off. Either way he said it was not low enough to treat yet.

He had a little trouble finding the heart beat which made Craig and I hold our breath a little. When he did find it he kept losing it. Looks like we have a little mover in there. Wish I could feel all that moving! The heart rate was 157 this time. Not a big change from the 160 last time. Still up there.

My bp was 100/66.

He asked how I was doing and the conversation went something like this:
"Well, I had a panic attack last week thinking that it wasn't in there anymore"
"Where would it have gone?"
"Well, it fell out of course!" (I really didn't say that for fear of being laughed out of the room, but that is what I told Craig last week)
Then he let me hear the heart beat.

Nothing else to report. OHHHHH Yes there is....

We find out the gender next Thursday!!! He offered to let us wait two weeks so that we would get a better picture, but really I just have to know what it is! Can't wait!

Fatty Fatty 2x4

2011-04-19T13:19:00.002-05:00

I have been OBSESSED with my weight gain so far. I cannot believe I am about to hit 10lbs! I think the obsession comes from the fact that I just lost a lot of weight last year and now I am putting it all back on. Granted the putting back on is for a good reason, but it is hard to watch that number climb. I worked so hard to get it off!

Today I found a pregnancy weight gain tracker. With my height and starting weight I have gained about 1-2lbs more at this point that I "should" have.

Honestly if I just felt better about myself I think it would be easier to handle. Walking would take care of that I think. When I walk I feel so great. My body and my mind feel better. Now that the weather is getting better and I have some energy back I plan to try to make it to the track 2-3 times a week.

I think it might help too if everyone didn't say how thin I am and comment on my lack of belly. In my mind I see that as...I have gained x lbs and if they arent in my belly then they must be on my thighs!

Now, I just have to leave Craig at home and head to the track. I don't need him telling me I am overdoing it or to slow down. I hear that daily and think that is helping the weight gain...well, that and the brownies :)

16 Weeks!

2011-04-14T12:52:00.003-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 16 Weeks
Size of baby: Avocado
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 142.5 (+7)
Maternity Clothes: Pants...thats about it!
Gender: 3 more weeks!
Movement: Still waiting. Everyone says it should be any day now!
What I miss: Sleep. I thought that didn't come until after the baby was born!
Cravings: Nothing really.
Symptoms: A little belly. Other than that...I actually panicked this week and told Craig that I don't think it's in there anymore! I can't see, feel, hear anything...
Best Moment this week: Putting together the crib and dresser :)
What I am MOST looking forward to: Finding out the gender! I can't wait!

Mother's Day/Father's Day Ideas

2011-04-08T10:34:00.006-05:00

I have never done this before, but I am going to link up to Kelly's Korner's Show Us Your Life this week!

We will start with Father's day because that one is easier on me...

I have the GREATEST father in the world. You could not ask for a better one. We are the spitting image of each other, but we could not be more different :)

Father's day is usually low key. Church in the morning followed by lunch at my dad's or grandparent's house. Sometimes we will do a card. Most times we do nothing. Our favorite thing is just spending time together.

Dad and I at the Race for the Cure

Now on to Mother's day...

This has been one of the worst holiday's of my life for many years now. I lost my mother to breast cancer when I was only 13. I have also been struggling with infertility for the past 5ish years. Either of those would make this day hard, but combine them and it is excruciating.

Mom

Normally mother's day consists of going to the mother's day breakfast at church followed by the service and then lunch with family. I remember once at the breakfast the speaker was talking about our roles in life as a mother and/or daughter. In that moment I realized that I neither am nor do I have a mother. That was a life altering, gut wrenching moment in my life. The service is usually geared towards mothers and gifts are handed out. Another awkward moment. Everyone tries to include you and show you love, but when you heart is so broken it is hard to breathe much less celebrate.

I do have to say that I have the most wonderful step-mother a girl could ask for. She has been in my life for about 12 years now and has been such a blessing. She can never fill that void completely, but she is very much a safe place in my life.

Normally I am not good at mother's day gifts because I would rather rush it on past and pretend it never happened. Last year was different though. I got my step-mother and mother-in-law the cutest necklaces by Lisa Leonard (click here to go to her website)

This year is going to be completely different because for the first time in 14 years I am going to celebrate this day because I am EXPECTING! After 5 years and a round of IVF we are going to have a little one in September! I am so excited to get this started, and have been waiting so long, I am going to ask for a mother's day gift for myself this year (I am a mom. My baby just happens to be in my belly :))and I know just what I want. It just happens to be by Lisa Leonard as well. You can go HERE to see the necklace I want with our little ones name on it. Now I just have to figure out how to drop some not-so-subtle hints to my hubby :)

I am still looking around and thinking of ideas of what to give Craig this year! Hmmmm. Time to start thinking. I think I have one in my head!

I do have to comment on what Kelly mentioned in her post about remembering those who have loss or are experiencing infertility. I have been through both and I can attest to the aching heart those women will have that day. I plan to take action this mother's day. Whether through a card or a small gift I want to show those women love. Maybe just for a moment that day they will have hope or joy through the tears.

For more Mother's Day/Father's Day Ideas check out the Show Us Your Life Post on Kelly's Korner!! Here is the link.

Super Busy

2011-04-08T06:36:00.003-05:00

Things have gotten super busy around here. The next 2 weekends are spoken for and the last 3 were as well. We are ready for a do nothing Saturday or at least one where we can work around our house.

Yesterday we sold the oven (FINALLY!) and cleaned the house.
Today the baby dresser arrives (YAY!), the appliance man comes to fix the fridge, I have several phone calls for work, we are having a date night! (Outback and Battle LA)
Tomorrow it is Project Homeless Connect and yard work.
Sunday I have the nursery :|

What a weekend. I am tired just thinking about it.

15 Weeks!

2011-04-07T07:28:00.004-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 15 Weeks
Size of baby: Naval Orange
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 141.5 (+6)
Maternity Clothes: Pants...thats about it!
Gender: 4 more weeks!
Movement: Still waiting. Everyone says it should be any day now!
What I miss: Nothing that I can think of
Cravings: Nothing really.
Symptoms: Headaches. Every day. Headaches.
Best Moment this week: People are starting to notice my belly, but I still think it looks like fat :)
What I am MOST looking forward to: Finding out the gender! I can't wait!

14 Weeks!

2011-03-31T07:06:00.003-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 14 Weeks
Size of baby: Lemon
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 141 (+5.5)
Maternity Clothes: I think I have moved on in to the pants. I would just rather be comfortable.
Gender: 5 more weeks!
Movement: Still waiting. Everyone says it should be any day now!
What I miss: Nothing that I can think of
Cravings: Nothing really.
Symptoms: My belly is starting to grow...FINALLY :)
Best Moment this week: Cleaning out the baby room and ordering furniture!!!
What I am MOST looking forward to: Finding out the gender! I can't wait!

Moving right along...

2011-03-30T07:52:00.003-05:00

The casing is painted and the room is empty. Well, minus the baby things we have already been given. It is so strange. I told Craig that it looks like we are moving or something. I am glad to see the process starting and moving along quickly now.

Next it is paint colors and putting the crib together! How exciting.

We still need to know...boy or girl?

I haven't written this down anywhere, so I want to record it here for later. Here are the gifts baby Hudson has already received!
Mommy and Daddy- piggy bank
Aunt Kady- Diapers
Brandy- duck outfit
Mrs Lenora- two outfits and a homemade changing blanket!
Don and Lydia- Target gift card

We have also had the following given to us:
Keith and Becki- books on pregnancy and parenting, pack-n-play, crib mattress, travel swing, bouncy seat, booster seat for eating, boppy, choo-choo
Heather Parrish- book

Cards:
Don and Lydia
Richard and Laura
Mrs Lenora

We purchased:
Crib, Dresser, Udder Cover (ha), Sling

Kady also gave me the Home Willow Tree for my birthday!

All this baby stuff....I am ready for a yard sale!

Progress!

2011-03-29T12:16:00.002-05:00

The crib and dresser have been ordered! We decided against the other pieces because of room size and the need for something like a desk later in life. Too much furniture!

We also went ahead and ordered the bed rails to make it a full size bed. In case it isn't around in a few years we will be prepared.

Last night I put the trim up around the window and caulked it. Today I painted it, so that project is done!

Tonight the room should be cleaned out and we will be ready to roll!

Baby Furniture

2011-03-28T08:17:00.004-05:00

I think I know what I want to do for the baby room.

First, I know it is still early, but I am a planner so getting this done sooner than later will help me not to stress :)

Kady and Stephen are probably going to come over tonight and help clean out the room.

I have found my furniture :) It will probably be ordered today! (that was Craig's idea. he is so excited. I love it) We won't get all of the pieces. It will be the bed and either the changer/hutch or dresser.

Crib
Dresser
Changer with Hutch

I am pretty sure I want to do green on the bottom of the room with a white chair rail. The top of the room will stay the same.

The bedding I have in mind for girl is

and for boy...

or

What was I thinking?

2011-03-24T15:00:00.005-05:00

A long time ago I started using out guest closet as a storage place for items for a yard sale, old prom dresses, and hangars.

A few months ago I decided I want to actually have a yard sale to get rid of some of these items in my house I don't need, want, or use. I decided to just put them in a corner of the same room.

When I received a box of maternity clothes a month or more ago I had no where to put them, actually I still don't. I decided the guest bed was a good place to lay and sort them. They are still there.

Now it is baby time and this will no longer be the guest room but the baby room. That means tonight is clean-out night! I am going to try to find a place to store the stuff for the yard sale. A place to put the baby things we have already acquired. And most of all a place for maternity clothes. I have no idea where to put them. My closet and drawers are full of regular clothes and I will only wear these for a short period of time. Suggestions? How did you separate your maternity clothes from your normal wear?

13 Weeks!

2011-03-24T07:24:00.002-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 13 Weeks
Size of baby: Peach
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 141 (+5.5)
Maternity Clothes: Getting there! :) I have some pants I am about to start wearing. For now I love dresses!
Gender: 6 more weeks!
Movement: They say there are tiny movements now that it has limbs, but not enough to feel
What I miss: Sleeping through the night!
Cravings: Nothing really.
Symptoms: Pain! Lots of pain in the lower abdomen. The doc said it is streaching
Best Moment this week: Hearing the heartbeat!
What I am MOST looking forward to: Having a belly that looks more like baby and less like fatty :)

IT'S A GIRL

2011-03-23T09:53:00.002-05:00

or a BOY

Today we had another dr appt. First of all let me say that they didn't have to do any blood work today, so considering my shots stopped last Tuesday, this is the longest I have been without a stick in 4 months!

My bp was 99/60.

And the reason I said it is a girl...the heart rate was 160! As soon as the doc put the wand to my stomach he said "it's a girl" then he proceeded to tell us that he is wrong just about every time. He said people come to see what he thinks the baby will be so that they know it is just the opposite.

Weekly post coming tomorrow!

Updates

2011-03-21T07:49:00.002-05:00

Busy day! Trying to catch up from a couple of missed days at work last week.

Last Tuesday, the 15th, I took my last progesterone shot! YAY! I was scheduled for one more on Wednesday, but I didn't have enough meds to make a full dose. It is so nice to be "normal" again :) I have to say that the nausea has really stopped. I wonder if the two were related?

Wednesday after work Kady and I headed down to Valley, AL to see some very special friends! Aspen and Jamie were down visiting family over their spring break and were having a double baby shower! How exciting. We had a wonderful time visiting with our life long friends. I only wish it could have been a longer visit. I am looking forward to seeing Appy in June and then hopefully getting together with our BABIES at Thanksgiving! Oh how weird that sounds :)

Friday night we had our first supper club at the Murphree's. Wonderful food and good times!

Saturday a couple of the teen boys came over to help us paint our decks. The color did not turn out exactly as I had wanted, but it is livable. Glad we started on the back :) We still have a lot of painting to do, but we made a good dent. Needless to say my back and legs are killing me!!!

Today I am awaiting the arrival of my maternity pants I ordered! Friday I put on the only pair that was fitting only to find them a bit uncomfortable. My belly is starting to grow. Finally! I am so thankful for the spring weather so I can finally wear dresses!

Today is also the start of DWTS! I am so excited! I really think this year it might be able to the dancing more than popularity since none of them are very well known.

Today a lot of my coworkers are headed to Chicago for the user summit and I am very sad to be here instead of headed there to be with them. :(

Karen Kingsbury's book Leaving comes out tomorrow and I can't wait! I think I might run out to the mail today just to see if it came a day early!

Lots going on this week! I also have a dr appt Wednesday! I hope to be able to find out when our gender appt will be.

This weekend...Shreveport. I don't think Craig has been there since Thanksgiving. I am not sure how I will survive the trip since the short one this week wore me out! We will see.

12 Weeks!

2011-03-17T08:58:00.002-05:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 12 Weeks
Size of baby: Plum
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 138 (+2.5)
Maternity Clothes: Getting there! :) I ordered some from motherhood.com this week and can't wait for them to arrive!
Gender: 8 more weeks!
Movement: They say there are tiny movements now that it has limbs, but not enough to feel
What I miss: Sleeping through the night! Oh how I miss being rested. I did get about 5 nights of full sleep this week! Last night was not one of them.
Cravings: Nothing really. My appetite feels like it is slowing. I no longer snack between lunch and dinner or dinner and bed. I REALLY do not want sweets! Repulsive would be the word.
Symptoms: Nausea! It was in full force yesterday!
Best Moment this week: Going to Aspen and Jamie's double baby shower! Can't wait to get to that point :)

11 Weeks!

2011-03-10T09:21:00.003-06:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 11 Weeks
Size of baby: Lime
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 138.5 (+3)
Maternity Clothes: Getting there! :)
Gender: 9 more weeks!
Movement: They say there are tiny movements now that it has limbs, but not enough to feel
What I miss: Sleeping through the night! Oh how I miss being rested.
Cravings: Nothing really. My appetite feels like it is slowing. I no longer snack between lunch and dinner or dinner and bed. I REALLY do not want sweets! Repulsive would be the word.
Symptoms: Nausea! It has subsided a little, but sometimes still hits right after I eat.
Best Moment this week: This has been a very uneventful week! Nothing really to report.

Maternity Clothes

2011-03-09T15:46:00.000-06:00

Target has the same dress in regular and maternity. The only difference is that the maternity dress comes in "maternity sizing". I am not sure what that even means.

Should I pay the extra $7 to get maternity or just go for the regular? Should I get my normal size or one up in hopes of wearing it longer? With a dress does it really matter?

I just want some cute summer dresses. :)

10 Weeks!

2011-03-03T09:38:00.003-06:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 10 Weeks
Size of baby: Prune
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 138 (+2.5)
Maternity Clothes: Getting there! :)
Gender: 10 more weeks!
Movement: They say there are tiny movements now that it has limbs, but not enough to feel
What I miss: Sleeping through the night!
Cravings: Nothing really. I am tired of eating. It is like a chore rather than something I enjoy. I REALLY do not want sweets! Repulsive would be the word.
Symptoms: Nausea after I eat. I have found that if I lay on my right side it will go away. Strange I know, but whatever works.
Best Moment this week: Guess it is a double edged sword, but I guess not going to the doc. I miss seeing the baby, but it means everything is good. Everything is right on track.

Complaining

2011-03-01T10:04:00.003-06:00

When we found out we were expecting I made a promise to myself that I would not complain through this whole pregnancy. I have waited for this for 5 LONG years. I have wanted to experience all of this for so long, I want to just soak it all in and not complain a bit. What I have found is that it is hard.

It is so hard not to say anything when I feel nauseated after every meal. When I am so hungry I could eat a whole cow. I am only 9.5 weeks in! I can only imagine what is to come.

There is one girl that I really admire. I watched her throughout her pregnancy, on facebook no less, and she only had glowing things to say through the whole thing. How thankful she was. How blessed she was. I know it was not easy and now that I am living it I admire her even more. I want to be this girl.

I have also seen the other side. I have seen someone who wanted a child for many years complain about every aspect of their pregnancy. It makes you wonder what they were thinking it would be like. I do not want to be this girl.

I think I have done a pretty good job. I do write down what is happening because I want to remember, but I am not complaining about it. It is uncomfortable and a nuisance, but I would not trade this experience for the world. Every time someone asks me how I feel, which is WAY too often :), I always respond with a good or great.

The truth is they don't really want to hear about my ailments. Honestly although I do feel sickly a good bit of the time, but I am great because I have a little one growing inside of me and that is all I have ever wanted.

9 Weeks!

2011-02-24T14:49:00.004-06:00

First of all I cannot believe it has already been 9 weeks! Each one seems to last forever, but overall they have gone by quickly!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 9 Weeks
Size of baby: Green Olive
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 137 (+1.5)
Maternity Clothes: Getting there! :)
Gender: 11 more weeks!
Movement: They say there is tiny movements now that it has limbs, but not enough to feel
What I miss: Sleeping through the night!
Cravings: Nothing really. I am tired of eating. It is like a chore rather than something I enjoy. I REALLY do not want sweets! Repulsive would be the word.
Symptoms: Nausea after I eat. I have found that if I lay on my right side it will go away. Strange I know, but whatever works. The headaches have been in full force this week. Monday I was in bed all day with a headache. Today it was only a few hours. Tylenol seems to do the trick.
Best Moment this week: Hearing the heartbeat! We didn't get the rate, but we heard it which was all we wanted. Going to a regular Dr! Although...I am so used to the specialized treatment and going in ever week that the thought of not going back for 4 weeks and not seeing the baby for even longer bothers me. He said I could come back sooner if needed though :)

I am such a planner. I want to have the room done now. I can't stand thinking there is something I am going to need to do. Guess we will have to wait a few more months though!

Here is the latest photo of baby Hudson! Measuring 8 weeks and 5 days

Books

2011-02-22T15:27:00.002-06:00

I have found several books recently that I just LOVE...

What to Expect... doesn't everyone read this book? I "read" it when I first got it. Now I use it more as a look-up tool. I love having it around for all of those little questions there is no need to bother a dr about.

The Belly Book. Probably my FAVORITE book by far! I love this book. It is exactly what I have been looking for. I have this blog that allows me to record everything, but it isn't likely I will go back and read everything. It isn't likely when my kids are older that they will even see this page. This book allows me to capture everything about my pregnancy. Photos of my belly and sonograms. Cravings and aversions. Dr appt info. Everything I want to write down I have been able to in this book. It is like the pre-baby book.

Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy. This book had a lot of language. I don't know why I expected any different. It had me laughing out loud. Seriously. This book is hilarious. It is short and an easy read. I read it all in one day! Feels like a waste of money, but it was good for a few hours of laughter. She tells it like it is. Ha

8 Weeks and Appointment

2011-02-17T13:19:00.003-06:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 8 Weeks
Size of baby: raspberry
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 136.5 (+1)
Maternity Clothes: Getting there! :)
Gender: 12 more weeks!
Movement: They say there is tiny movements now that it has limbs, but not enough to feel
What I miss: Sleeping through the night.
Cravings: Nothing. I eat because I am hungry but it is hard to find something I want. I want meals not snacks!
Symptoms: Tiredness is lessening! I have a bit of nausea right after I eat and sometimes when I am hungry. I have had a lot of breathing moments ha. I feel like I have been walking on the treadmill after just standing up or doing something minor.
Best Moment this week: My birthday! and the Sonogram today! The baby has a head and limbs! Much more exciting than a bean. Now it is a peanut!

They are continuing my shots for 4 more weeks, until I am 12 weeks. I am released to my regualr OB and will see him next week. We have less than 5% of miscarriage now! Baby measured 8 weeks and sac was 8 weeks 2 days. All is well!

Nausea and Appetite

2011-02-14T07:28:00.002-06:00

Last Friday was an unusual day. I woke up hungry and was never able to satisfy the need for food. I was hungry to the point of feeling sick all day long. It was pure misery. After every meal or snack I still wanted more. We had a large dinner at the White House and that seemed to cure the hunger pains.

Saturday went back to my large but satiable appetite. Craig, Kady, and I went to the mall, where I made my first maternity purchase, and then on to pick up her dresser in Leeds. I took a wonderful 2 hr nap at dad's and then we had my birthday dinner of pork tenderloin, macaroni casserole, and green beans. Yummy!

Yesterday the severe nausea hit. After my nap I woke up and Craig and I had a piece of cake. MISTAKE! I don't know if it was the sweets that did it or what, but I was miserable. Laying on the couch not moving. Craig made me some "real food" which seemed to help some. After my shot I had some nuts that seemed to cure the nausea. We went on to church and all was good. After church I had a little macaroni and the nausea hit again. Misery. After about 30 minutes it went away.

It has not yet hit today, the hunger or the nausea, maybe I will be back to my normal hungry self.

Oh...and the first maternity purchase? The Tummy Sleeve at Motherhood Maternity. I can wear it over my normal jeans and leave them unbuttoned. That is great right now since my favorite pair is rather tight and uncomfortable, but maternity pants are still out of the question.

7 Weeks!

2011-02-10T09:51:00.003-06:00

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 7 Weeks
Size of baby: blueberry
Total Weight Gain/Loss: 136.5 (+1)
Maternity Clothes: Not even close, but I can't wait! :)
Gender: 13 more weeks!
Movement: Don't expect this for a long while now.
What I miss: Sleeping through the night.
Cravings: Bready/Cakey foods. We bought some honey buns and other snacks on Monday. I figured out that if I let myself get hungry I feel sick. I now have bfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner. Hope I don't start packing on lbs!
Symptoms: So, so tired! My appetite. That's about it.
Best Moment this week: Just laughing at Craig I guess. He is so excited to see me get hungry or want different food. He cracks me up.

7 Week Appointment

2011-02-09T09:43:00.006-06:00

Today I am 6 wks 6 days!

The baby looked more like a blob today than it did last week. We did not get a very clear picture. The best one is below. I did see the little hear beating fast in there!

The baby is measuring 6wks 4 days and the fluid is 7wks 1 day

They say next week we should be able to see the head and know which way is up :)

My progesterone today is 167. Shots continue...

Oh my right ovary...poor thing is still enlarged. I think she said it measured a 5+ and they want it to be less than 4. She checked the blood flow and that is good. Guess we just wait for it to shrink!

Exercise and TV

2011-02-03T08:50:00.002-06:00

Craig and I decided to pull the plug on our satellite TV late last year and finally took the plunge at the end of December. I have to say that we have been without live TV for a little over a month now and I have not missed even one time! Granted we do have an antenna and pick up 5 channels and a Roku box which lets us watch Hulu and Netflix. We are not completely TV-less, but I never thought getting rid of TV would be so easy. We will have to see how long that lasts come football season though :)

Today I jumped back on the exercise train! I was doing my treadclimber 3-4 times a week religiously from the time I got it until Dec 26th. I had to stop then because of my IVF treatment plan. No exercise while on my stim meds. It was hard to give it up. It has been hard to finally get back on. I technically could have gotten back on a week or so after the transfer. Honestly I have been afraid to hurt the baby. I never want to do ANYTHING to jeopardize this pregnancy.

I am clear to do light exercise. They say walking or something. Nothing aerobic. I decided today was the day I was getting back on. I locked the tc in treadmill mode to lighten the aerobic activity and did 30 minutes at 2.5. It felt wonderful! I forgot how much I love it. Even without the full burn it was wonderful to be moving again. I know I will gain weight. I am supposed to. It is healthy. I just don't want to gain excess weight from being stagnant and eating too much ha. I also know it will make pregnancy, birth, and post-pregnancy so much easier if I keep it up throughout the whole 9 months. So, here is to light exercise 3-4 times a week!