Baby Shower time!

Well, we had our 1st baby shower this weekend and it was AWESOME! Bryan's family threw it and we had a great time. We got lots of great stuff for Baby D...our car seat, a video monitor, lots of blankets, a stroller, bath time supplies, some ADORABLE baby flip flops, the list could go on! We feel much more prepared to bring a child into this world now!!! It's just amazing to me how much stuff one little person requires. Thank God someone invented baby showers!

I also went to the doctor last Friday and apparently I'm a really boring/easy patient because the doctor spent about 30 seconds with me! Things are just chugging along with everything being very normal. I go in a week and 1/2 for the hospital ultrasound to see how big our little man is and then back to the doctor on May 1st. I'll definetly update after that!

So I'm seriously running out of room for my uterus to grow anymore. The top of it is hitting right under my bra and it is SO irritating. It stings and itches like all the time on the left side. Oh, the joys of pregnancy :)

Some good news is that I still have not gotten stretch marks. YAY!!! They run in my family, so I was sure I was going to end up with lots. But, I have been using this lotion from Origins, Precipitation Extra, that my friend Lisa highly suggested. And apparently it's working! Thank you Lisa!!! I know I shouldn't jinx myself though because I have a couple friends that got stretch marks in the final days of their pregnancy. Yikes! I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

Well, I guess that's it. Just getting more and more excited as the count down continues!

In the home stretch!

As the days go by Bryan and I are getting more and more EXCITED!!! I just can't believe we will meet our little boy next month! YAY! I have a feeling that the next few weeks are just going to fly by. Since my last post, we went to an all day childbirth preparation class at the hospital I'll be delivering at (Memorial Hermann in the Med Center). It was very informative and got us even more excited for the big day. Now I feel a little more ready to go into this whole labor thing. I know now more than ever that I DEFINETLY want an epidural! We saw videos of au natural child birth and the epidural way and I personally think it's a no brainer. In the class of 9 couples I, however, was the only 1 planning on getting one. I don't know what those other ladies were thinking! And Bryan is VERY grateful I'm getting one as well...he knows I'll be cranky enough with the less intense contractions :)

I've also been contacting other child care options but I think we're gonna stick with the Y by our house. We both felt comfortable with it and it's within our budget. So I feel good that that big decision is settled because it was kinda stressin' me out trying to find the "perfect" place. And we all know where the "perfect" place would be...with me! But that's just not gonna happen yet, so we have to settle for 2nd best.

Well, we went to the doctor on Friday and everything is going great with the pregnancy. Our doctor even gave us an ultrasound (after we kind of begged...what?...we just miss seeing our baby!) It was kind of hard to figure out what everything was b/c the little guy is so scwunched up in there. What I was most interested in seeing was what position he was in. I just never know what I'm feeling...it's it a butt, a knee, a shoulder? I was so excited to learn that he was head down, in launch position. I'm hoping he stays in that way! Bryan, on the other hand, was most interested in finding the part that makes our boy a boy. So the doctor was searching and searching and...finally! The testicles! He even took a picture for Bryan to keep. Good Lord! It was seriously like being in a room with a couple of 12 year old boys...they just loving checking out their "stuff."

The next ultrasound will be in 4 weeks. We'll go back to the hospital and they'll do measurements and figure out how big he is. And since he was measuring large at the last hospital ultrasound, I'm hoping they tell me he's big enough to induce a little early. We'll see!!! I just think it would be great to have him in mid-May...but that's not really my decision :)

I also found out about a month ago that I'm anemic from the pregnancy. I've been taking a perscription iron supplemement that has really helped a lot but I still get super run down sometimes. That's probably just being pregnant though. It's all worth it!

Well, that's all the updates I can think of. More to come!

My new diaper bag!

Isn't she pretty?! I actually had to get this picture off the internet because I am having camera issues. The darn thing has decided not to want to charge. I've gotten a new cable and everything and it still doesn't work. Now I'm going to attempt to take it back to Target...hopefully they will work with me and just exchange it out for one that works! So, pending that exchange, the belly pic might be delayed.
Hope everyone's having a great Wednesday!

Awesome weekend

So I just got back from a Women's Retreat and it was AWESOME! I feel so refreshed and renewed and just all around good inside and out. I made deeper connections with friends and new friendships with ladies I didn't know very well. I feel so grateful that we all got away for a weekend and spent some time getting re-centered and closer to God.
The baby belly got LOTS of lovin'...so little Pumpernickle, as my friend Tori has named him, is already being doted on. I just can't wait to love on him from the outside!!! A couple ladies even felt him movin' around...too cool.
So on the way home from the retreat there's this newish outlet mall that happens to have a Coach store. Do you know where this is heading??? A few of us stopped and I just had to see if they had any cute diaper bags. Well, guess what?!?! They did!!! I am TOTALLY obsessed with my purchase, which by the way, was a steal of a deal. I got this precious bright blue sateen diaper bag (normally over $300) for $125! Now, you may be asking yourself, does she really need a $125 diaper bag? Once you see a pic (I'll post this week sometime), you know the answer is YES! My fellow shopping buddies agree :)
So not only was this weekend great for my soul, it now has some tangible evidence of fabulousness.
I'll post another belly shot this week too. Can't believe I have just 11 weeks of this pregnancy to go!!!

Why God made Moms...

Answers given by 2nd grade school children to the following questions:

Why did God make mothers?
1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2.. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did God make mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3. God made my mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.

What ingredients are mothers made of?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.

Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?
1. We're related.
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's mom like me.

What kind of a little girl was your mom?
1. My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.

What did mom need to know about dad before she married him?
1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your mom marry your dad?
1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my mom eats a lot
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

Who's the boss at your house?
1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.

What's the difference between moms and dads?
1. Moms work at work and work at home and dads just go to work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller and stronger, but moms have all the real power 'cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friends.
4. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.

What does your mom do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don't do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

What would it take to make your mom perfect?
1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Diet. You know, her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.

Just thought that was too cute not to share :)

Third Trimester...here we come!

So I can't believe I'm actually beginning the final trimester. Time flies when you're pregnant! It's just amazing to me that our sweet baby will be here in 3 months...or less! And I'm really hoping he comes a little early, especially since he's already measuring large. I've had several friends deliver at 37 weeks and I'm all about that! Lots of walks and jumping jacks are in order at that point...ha! Well, I'm sure our little guy will come when he's ready :)

I went to my dr. appt. last week and took the standard blood glucose test to see if I have gestational diabetes. I got my blood drawn, drank this really sugary fruit punch drink (it tasted like Koolaid...yum!) and got my blood drawn again an hour later. Not a big fan of needles, but the lady that does it is really nice and good at distracting you while she's poking. So I'll post the results when I get them (hopefully next week). I'm hoping I don't have it - they say 7-8% of all pregnant ladies get it.

While at the doctor they checked the baby's heart rate and it was 150. It's been consistently on the high side of normal so that whole myth about girl's having higher heart rates has been proven false! I'm also going to the doctor every 2 weeks from here on out. I'm so happy about that! It's always something to look forward to :)

Well, we registered last Friday and had so much fun at Babies R Us. It started out a little overwhelming, but got easier the further we got into it. We picked out the cutest little Froggy mobile! I love it! The colors for the room are going to be sage green and dark brown. The room is really coming along too. Bryan put the crib together and positioned the rocking recliner. I think getting the room ready has gotten me even more excited about meeting our little man! Well that, and seeing a 2 day old baby last weekend! A friend of mine, Wanda, just became a grandma a week ago Thursday and I visited her and Samantha, the mama, and Paeyton Elizabeth, in the hospital. She was just so precious and little!

Other than that, things are fairly uneventful. More updates as they come!

100 days to go!

Okay, I've really got to work on my blogging skills...my updates are so far and few between. I'm on the computer all day at work and don't usually like to get back on in the evenings...so that's my excuse :)

Things are going really well with the pregnancy. Haven't been back to the doctor since the last post - I go next Thursday (YAY!).

Tomorrow is a big day...Bryan and I both took off work and are going to register! So exciting! I'm hoping it won't be quite as overwhelming as a wedding registery. That was stressful for me! Bryan handles that kind of stuff much better :) Thank God I found someone to balance me out!

We did get our crib already, so that's done. It's beautiful! Here's a pic...


We were just amazed because we ordered it online (cribs.com) and thought it would take a few weeks to come in, but no! It came in 3 days! It's been sitting in a box in the study/soon-to-be-nursery for the past few weeks. This weekend is the weekend we are going to assemble it! We've just been waiting for our lap top to come in so we could move the desk and computer out and move baby stuff in!

And we actually already have lots of baby items to put in the nursery. We have been super blessed by lots of hand me down baby stuff from a few of our friends that just had babies in the past year. Thank you thank you thank you to Lisa & Colin (and baby Will!), Julie & Dan (and their 4 beautiful kids), and Jenn & Toby (and Kenzie). We are so grateful to have such generous people in our lives.

So I've been feeling Baby D move A LOT! It is so cool because he's gotten big enough that I can see his kicks from the outside. Sometimes Bryan and I just stare at my belly when he's movin' around. It is just incredible!

My body is of course continuing to change. My belly button now actually looks like a button - it is pushed so far out it's not even funny! I'm gaining weight steadily, and although I know it's healthy, it still makes me feel horrible. :( I don't look horrible, but it has been a struggle to feel good about myself on some days. THEREFORE, I went SHOPPING! I've been having great luck getting cute, inexpensive maternity clothes at Motherhood. So last Sunday I was out and about and Bryan told me not to come home until I bought some new clothes. What a husband! I mean, he's a really good guy, but he was also tired of hearing me complain about my body. And what better way to make a woman feel good about they way she looks...buy some cute, flattering clothes! So I've had a fashion show all week wearing my new outfits. Love it!

My back has been acting up lately too. It's an old injury that is definetly being aggrevated by the soccer ball I'm now carrying around in front of me. By the way, that's how big my uterus is...the size of a soccer ball...WHOA! I've been doing prenatal yoga which has been amazing and very helpful. I'm definetly a yoga fan now. The stretching and toning that it does really makes me feel great! I'm also going to start swimming again. That's supposed to be awesome for preggo people...I just have to get motivated to do it! Exercising throughout this pregnancy has really helped me feel better about all the bodily changes going on. It's supposed to help with labor too, so I'm counting on that!

Well, I guess that's about it...I'll post after the doctor visit next week. Oh, and I do have an updated belly shot...