Hitting the Bottle

It was a big night for Annelise.  And for Drew too.  Tonight, Drew fed Annelise with a bottle for the first time!

I attached myself to the pump this morning afternoon, and pumped for the first time.  I was so proud because I was able to get about 3 ounces!

I stuck the milk in the fridge and waited until tonight to make her first bottle.  Annelise was starving while she was waiting for it to warm up, so she wasn't a very happy camper.

She wasn't very crazy about the whole bottle idea when Drew first sat down with her.  However, once she realized that she could get some milk from sucking on the nipple of the bottle, she decided to go with it.

Drew originally made her a bottle with about 2 ounces in it, and she ate that pretty quickly.  He made another bottle with the last ounce and she ate about half of that.  I'm so proud of her!

Hopefully Mama will have a full night's sleep sometime soon!

One Month

Dear Annelise,

I can't believe that a whole month has gone by already!  I keep going back and forth between feeling like time has flown by and feeling like it has stopped completely.  I almost can't remember what life was like before you were born.  My days are completely consumed by you; from feeding you, burping you, changing you, playing with you, and rocking and bouncing you.  You are my entire world now!

I am quickly realizing that I'm going to have to write down special things that you do each day so that I can remember them when it comes time to write to you.  My brain has been in a fog due to the lack of sleep.  Honestly though, you are a pretty decent sleeper.  As soon as we got home you were giving us three and four hour stretches at night.  You fight hard to go to sleep, even with your naps sometimes.  You have been sleeping in your Rock N Play, that your Aunt Rachel bought you, every night.  You really seem to like it.  There have been one or two nights where you absolutely refused to go to sleep, so I caved in and let you fall asleep on my chest.  When you wake up the first time in the middle of the night, I nurse you and you'll generally fall back to sleep.  However, lately, you'll stay awake for an hour or two.  You wake up again a couple of hours later to eat again, fall right back to sleep, then repeat a couple of hours later.  So, we usually don't get out of bed until around noon.

You almost always have your hands up by your face.  Dad and I try to swaddle you in your blanket, but we always leave your hands out.  This doesn't surprise me because you always had a hand or a foot by your face when we tried to get ultrasound pictures of you in my belly.

Your umbilical cord stump fell off on April 21.  Dad had joked about saving it, which I wrinkled my nose at and told him that was disgusting.  It didn't matter if he wanted to save it though, Dad tossed it in your diaper champ to throw away, and before either one of us could flip the lid, Maya ate it!  Gross!!

We gave you your first real bath on April 24th.  You hated every minute of it, and screamed like crazy.  I gave you a bath by myself a few days later, and you cried at first, but eventually calmed down.  A few days after that, Dad and I gave you another bath, and you screamed the whole time.  I really hope that you learn to love bath time.

You are a very serious baby, and usually have quite the straight face on.  You give us lots of sleepy smiles, and I notice them a lot while you're falling asleep nursing.  You have started to smile at us more while you're awake and I can see that you're happy when I play with you.  You have also really started to "talk" to us.  I mimic back what you coo to try to encourage you to talk more.  We went to dinner at Grandma's house on Sunday, and Auntie Rach was holding you.  I looked at you and said, "Hi" and I swear you said "Hi" back.  It certainly sounded so much like it.  Clearly you're a genius!!

I am amazed at the head control that you have.  You love to be held on my shoulder and you lift your head up and look all around.  You are usually drawn to lights.

You have had a lot of visitors this month, and we've also taken you to meet friends and family too.  Everybody just loves you to pieces.  You don't seem to mind when someone else holds you, but you definitely prefer Mom.  We're going to have to work on that!

You have done so well with breastfeeding.  You latched on very well at the hospital and we haven't had any problems.  You definitely let me know when you are hungry.  You have also learned that when you wake up from a nap, that I change you, then usually nurse you.  If I don't following your diaper change with a feeding very quickly, you let me know that you are NOT happy about it and that it is time to eat.  Dad is going to try to give you a bottle soon.  He is anxious to be able to feed you since it's been all Mom so far.

You are the spitting image of your father.  It's almost unfair how much you look like him and how little you look like me.  You know, considering that I carried you for 9 months.  You are very much like me in that you don't like to be cold, and you get cold very easily.  We always have you wrapped in a blanket, and sometimes even two.  I'm anxious to see who you get other parts of your personality from.

Little lady, I love you more than words can possibly say.  You have no idea how long I've waited for you and I feel so blessed to be able to call you mine.  You are surrounded by so much love and we are all so excited to watch you grow up.

Love you forever,
Mommy

Bath Time

Annelise's umbilical cord stump fell off on Saturday, so Drew and I decided to give her her first bath last night.  It was successfully traumatic for all those involved.  She screamed the entire time.  I'd actually like to know if there is a newborn who didn't scream the whole time during their first bath.

Proof:

You would have thought we were torturing her by how loud her screams were!

Look at that poor sad little pathetic face!

She also pooped all over the towel.

I'm really hoping that she'll start to enjoy her baths more.  Drew and I were thinking that maybe we should have the water warmer next time.  I bought a digital thermometer that displays the temperature of the water throughout her bath, and when I put her in the tub, it read 99*, which according to their recommendations is too warm.  However, our BIL, Eric, said that Wesley liked to take a bath in water that was around 102*.  So, maybe we'll experiment with it being a little warmer.

Annelise's Vlogging Debut

Introducing....

Please meet my daughter, Annelise Jean.

She was born Monday, April 2nd at 6:27 PM. She weighed 7 pounds 10 ounces and was 20 3/4 inches long.

Drew and I are totally and completely in love with her and could not be any happier.

Overdue

I'm still pregnant.

I'm still pregnant and I really don't think this little lady has any intentions of going anywhere anytime too soon.

So, she's being evicted tomorrow.

I've been such a slacker on updates, but I'll make up for that now.  I had a doctor's appointment on Thursday.  First, I had an ultrasound to check on her growth.  They measured her at about 7 1/2 pounds.  Then, I met with the doctor.  He did an internal and gave me the (awful) news that I was only a fingertip dilated.  Yes, 40w1d and I was only a fingertip dilated.  Seriously body, you suck!

The plan was to send me over to the hospital that evening and start the induction process.  So, my doctor left the room to go call the hospital.  When he came back, he had some more (awful) news.  The hospital was full, so he couldn't send me over for an induction.  Just fabulous!!

So, he told me that I would go in Sunday night to start the induction process!  I am to check in at the hospital at 5:30 PM tomorrow.  They are going to start with some Cervadil and then we're going to go from there.

I won't lie, I was really disappointed as we left the doctor's office on Thursday.  I was so looking forward to having my daughter in my arms on Friday.  Drew and I have tried to enjoy our last few days of "freedom".  Now, I'm excited that tomorrow is finally the day that we will be on our way to meeting our daughter.

Maternity Pictures

I finally picked up the disc of maternity photos from Kristen, and so I thought I'd share some of my favorites here.  I had such a great time working with Kristen that we booked her to do our birth photography and our newborn pictures.

All of the following photos are courtesy of Photography by Kristen.

This one is one of my favorites!!  The hubs looks so handsome!

I was absolutely freezing in this picture!  She had a fan blowing on me and it was just torture.  But I thought the picture turned out so cool.

37 Weeks: Full Term

I seriously canNOT believe that I am full term today!  It's so surreal to me.  There were so many days that I cried and cried and never thought that I would be able to experience a pregnancy and have a child, and now, we're just a few short weeks away from meeting her.

I had a doctor's appointment last week and had my Group B Strep test done, and my first internal check.  The GBS came back negative.  The internal hurt like hell!  Doc said that my cervix was hard as a rock.  He did an ultrasound, and thankfully, she is head down.  So, that eliminates the need to have a c-section planned for this time.  Praise God!  He also thinks that I'm going to go past my due date.  Boo!  She is measuring in the 34th week, so we know that she's going to be little.  Otherwise, everything else looks great.

I had my first Non-Stress Test on Monday.  Basically, they hook me up to two monitors, one that measures contractions, and one that measures the baby's heartbeat.  Then, I sit there for awhile and push a button every time I feel her move.  Fun!  NSTs are pretty standard, and I'll probably have a few more before I deliver.  Unless I go early.

I can really tell that I'm getting down to the end.  My poor feet are so swollen!  On Monday, I couldn't fit into any of my shoes, so I had to wear socks and slip on sandals to the doctor's office.  Awesome, right?  I have since bought a couple of pairs of shoes to get me by.  My doctor isn't concerned about the swelling and just instructed me to watch my sodium intake and rest more with my feet up.  No problem!

Insomnia has hit and it sucks!  Usually, when I get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, I can fall right back to sleep.  Now, I struggle.  I laid awake the other night for three hours.  Ugh!  I keep telling myself that all of this is to prepare me for a newborn.

Her room is almost done!  We have a few more finishing touches and then I'll be sharing that.

Showered

Today was the baby shower for my side of the family and friends.  So many people came and we are so blessed!  Here are a few pictures from today.

Maya really likes this toy.  It's a My Pal Violet, and when I push the hands and feet, it talks and sings.  Maya will look at it and turn her head to the side, then try to bite at it.  It ought to be real fun to keep her away from all of the baby's toys!

Thank you to everyone who came and showered us with gifts.  We are so thankful and we are so blessed to have so many great people in our lives!

36 Weeks: Maternity Pictures

Today, Drew and I went and had my maternity pictures taken.  This subject has been quite the battle for us.  When I found out I was pregnant, and I knew that this one was going to stick around, I told him that I wanted maternity pictures from Bobbi and Mike.  I have been a fan of their work for ages now and I love, love, love every image that they post.  I even told Drew that the maternity session could be my anniversary, Christmas, birthday, and "push present".  He wouldn't go for it.  I agree that the session would have cost a little much, but I just wanted some great pictures.  Reluctantly, I let it go.

He told me to find someone local, so we began researching.  We found Kristen at Photography by Kristen and I loved what I saw on her website.  After a little chatting back and forth, and rescheduling, we were finally able to go today to take some pictures.

We had a great time and she was so sweet to work with.  Now, I just have to practice some patience until my photos are ready.  This is the part that I'm not so good at.

Tonight, we treated ourselves to massages.  I received a gift certificate from some wonderful ladies back when I had the miscarriage, and I've been waiting to use it.  I decided that now was the perfect time since I'm starting to feel sore.  I had a prenatal massage and Drew got a deep tissue.  Honestly, it was just ok.  I mean, don't get me wrong, it felt great to have someone rub my back, but I was hoping to feel better than I do afterwards.  I think I really just wanted some more pressure, especially on my lower back and feet.

No belly picture this week.  I'll share my maternity photos when I get them.

35 weeks: 35/35

33 weeks

34 weeks

35 weeks

This week marks 35 weeks, 35 (ish) days to go!  I can't believe that I've finally hit this milestone.  It seemed so far away in the beginning and I felt like I would never make it.

Physically, I feel huge.  Everybody keeps telling me that I'm all belly and that if it wasn't for the belly (and boobs) nobody would be able to tell that I was pregnant.  I've noticed my hands, feet, and ankles swelling up some.  Actually, I had a discussion with Drew the other day about whether my ankles were swollen or fat.  My vote was fat, his was swollen.

I've gained 27 pounds so far, and my poor feet can feel it!  I can also feel it when I try to put my socks and shoes on.

My belly button is so ready to pop out.  Every week, when we take my belly picture, I always say that next week my belly button will be popped out.  I can't believe that it hasn't done it yet.

Her movements are absolutely crazy at this point!  I am always wincing as she stretches and rolls around, and my belly contorts into the weirdest shapes as she moves.  As painful as it is, it's amazing too!  I've been able to feel her hiccup for quite a few weeks now.  Sometimes, I can even see my belly move with her hiccups.  Right now, her hiccups are the only way that I can tell if she's head up or down.

My sleep has been awful lately.  I truly believe that all the getting up in the middle of the night to pee is simply practice for when the baby actually comes.  Thankfully, I'm able to fall back to sleep quickly when I do wake up.

I have a feeling that the next few weeks are just going to fly by with all of the stuff that we have going on.  I am so anxious and excited to meet our little lady!

Baby Shower

My amazing sister-in-law threw me a fabulous baby shower today.  She started planning back at Thanksgiving, and when she came into town over Christmas, completed the remainder of it.  Once I heard that she wasn't going to be coming to the shower, I put my foot down and insisted on flying her up here so that she could be a part of what she planned.  It just didn't seem right that she did all of that work and then not be able to enjoy it.  So, Drew and I picked her up from the airport yesterday, and we just got back from dropping her back off there.  Yes, it was quite a quick trip.  But, the shower was amazing!

My sister was in charge of taking pictures, and she did a great job.  I have about a gabillion to choose from, but since I'm sure you don't want to be bored looking at all of them, I'll just share some that have a little story.

Drew's grandma gave me this quilt and told me that it was made by some women down in Florida where we like to go and vacation.

Drew's aunt made me a "Hooter Hider".  I'll use this when I nurse or pump if I'm in public and need to cover myself.  She also made one for Jessica when she had her baby shower and I loved it, so I am very honored that she made one for me.  I love that fabric that she chose!

This bag was filled with diapers and some baby wash and lotion and was a gift from Drew's cousin that lives in Africa.  This bag is crocheted from plastic bags!  Yes, plastic bags!!!  I was amazed when his aunt told me this.  There is a flower on the front of the bag that you can tell is made from plastic bag material, but you'd never be able to guess that the bag is made from plastic bags.  I love it!

This was one of Drew's quilts when he was a baby.  It amazes me what his mother has kept all these years. I think that Drew's daughter will love laying on there and looking at all the colors.

The cake matched the invitation perfectly!

We were showered with so many great gifts and our little lady is definitely spoiled!  We are so, so grateful!

32 Weeks: Growth Scan

Today, we had a growth scan at my doctor's appointment.  The little lady has been head down for every ultrasound, and yesterday, I know she was head down because I felt her have hiccups four times and each time I felt them down low.  But, wouldn't you know, she has decided to flip and is now breeched.  Oh joy! I'm not too worried about it at this point because I know that she still has quite a bit of time to flip back around.

The ultrasound tech took some measurements, and let us know that she is about 3 pounds 15 ounces.  I know to take this number as a grain of salt, because it's usually wrong.  She is in the 37th percentile right now.

The tech tried to take some 3D pictures since we didn't really get any good ones a couple of weeks ago, but again, we have a stubborn little lady on our hands.  She had her arms and legs in front of her face the whole time.  She's obviously camera shy!

After the ultrasound, Drew and I met with the doctor.  We talked about a c-section since she is breeched.  Basically, I have another ultrasound at 36 weeks to see if she has flipped, and also one at 38 weeks.  If she remains breech, I'll have a c-section on March 19th.  If she turns, my doctor will check me at my 38 week appointment, and if I am dilated at all, he will induce me.  If I am not dilated, he will let me go and check me again when he gets back from vacation.

It makes it very real to have a potential end date.  I know that she can still come any time between now and then, but it's still very surreal to have a possible birthday for this little lady.

At our childbirth class tonight, we got a tour of the labor and delivery floor at the hospital that we'll be delivering at.  The rooms are pretty big and have recently been remodeled.  I am very happy with the security that they have in place on the floor.  I feel like delivering there will be a positive experience.  Crossing my fingers that I get great nurses!

I ordered her baby book on Monday, and it arrived this afternoon.  I'm very happy with it!  I'll do a separate post on that soon.  I also ordered a quote for her nursery to put on the wall, but I'm still waiting on that.

Drew keeps telling me that he wants to put the bedding on her crib.  It's so cute how excited he is for that.  I have my first shower in about two weeks, so I'll probably wash the bedding after that.  Her room is slowly coming together and I hope to have it finished within the next few weeks.

Still basically feeling the same.  It's hard to move around and she always feels like she's trying to kick her way out of my belly.  I'm sure she's starting to run out of space in there!

In Which I Talk About Hashbrowns!

31 Weeks: Feelin' the Burn

29 weeks

30 weeks

31 weeks

Ok, now that we're all caught up with the bump, let's talk other stuff.  I had a doctor's appointment a couple of weeks ago.  Everything looked and sounded great.  I've gained about 20 pounds so far and my fundal measurement has finally caught up.  While we were there, Drew asked them about doing a 3D ultrasound and they were going to get us right in, but the tech had an appointment, so we scheduled the ultrasound for the next week.

So, we went back the next week (which was last week) and had the 3D ultrasound done.  Unfortunately, the little lady is quite stubborn and feisty, just like her mama.  She refused to get into a good position for pictures.  The tech even sent us out to get lunch and come back with the hopes that she would move into a good position.  No such luck.  We did get a couple of pictures that were decent.  We go for our growth scan ultrasound next week, and the tech said that she would try to get some better pictures then.  Fingers crossed!

Our childbirth class has been so informative.  Last week, we learned all about the different stages of labor.  This week, we learned about pain meds.  I think that I'm slightly more terrified now that I have all of that knowledge.  We discussed narcotics, epidurals, and Cesarean sections.  She also showed us some different tools that the doctor may have to use such as the vacuum and the forceps.  I think that I may be scarred for life after seeing those forceps.  ::Shiver::

Physically, I'm starting to feel very big.  It takes me a little bit to get up from a sitting or laying position, and I usually have some groans that go along with me getting up.  I'm sure that I'll look back on this week when I'm further along and think that I was hardly big at all.  Ha!  I mentioned earlier that I've gained about 20 pounds, and I can feel it.  I think that the fact that my body has packed on so much weight in such a short amount of time is shocking it.  It's starting to be difficult to walk for any length of time because I'm not used to all the extra weight.  I can tell that Drew gets a little irritated when I have to sit down, but he's really understanding because he can tell that it's a lot for me to adjust to.

It's so adorable to catch him looking at my belly.  He really wasn't too attached to the pregnancy in the beginning, but since I've sprouted this lump in the front, he's really opened up to it.  He still gets freaked out when he feels her move.  I'll lay in bed at night and point to a spot where she has a body part sticking out and he'll push there a little bit and then get freaked out when she moves it away.  It's so funny!

Speaking of those body parts, I swear that she is trying to bust out of my belly sometimes.  I'm constantly putting my hands on my belly and telling her to keep her arms and legs inside the ride at all times.  Her movements have gotten strong!  I find myself wincing or gasping sometimes because it hurts.  I still love feeling her move, but I'm convinced that my insides are black and blue from her movements.

The heartburn!  Oh the heartburn!  This started with a vengeance a couple of weeks ago.  Milk didn't touch it and it made me extremely nauseous.  I actually called up Drew, crying, and begged him to come home.  I don't know why; it's not like there was anything he could have done to help me.  The next night, I made a trip to go get some Tums after I got heartburn, but it must have been too late because the Tums did nothing for it.  It's been better lately, and I know to take some Tums if I feel like I'm starting to get heartburn.  Maybe this means our little lady will be born with some hair after all?

I feel like I may be having some Braxton Hicks, but I'm not certain.  The nurse said that my belly would get rock hard, and while it definitely feels hard, I don't know if it's rock hard.  I feel like my belly gets tight, but it's never really painful, just uncomfortable.  It's hard to tell if it's a contraction or if it's little body parts.  I really wish I knew.

According to the app on my phone, the little lady is about 16 inches in length and weighs about 3.3 pounds.  I'm curious to see about what she actually is when we go for our ultrasound next week.

It's Never Too Late

I had grand plans of doing a blog post at the first of year, like everyone does, and talking about what happened last year and what I want to achieve this year.  However, that post didn't happen when I wanted it to.  Better late than never, right.

Last year was filled with lots of ups and downs.  Infertility treatments dominated a lot of our thoughts.  Just when we thought that we had won over the IF devil, reality smacked me in the face and we were left to pick up the pieces of our broken hearts and mourn the loss of a baby.  However, I'm not one to stay down for long, and we quickly tried again.  Thankfully, that baby has proven to be our sticky baby and she is currently kicking away.  (She has a tendency to do that when I sit scrunched up, as if to tell me that I'm cramping her space.)

I also launched my photography business, Tania Beth Photography.  My website is in desperate need of updating, and that is definitely part of my goals.

We have been blessed that Drew has the job that he does.  He brings home a great paycheck and enjoys the work.  He works long hours, which we both dislike at times, but we know that it's not forever.

So, what are our plans for the upcoming year?  Well, we are so excited that we will be adding a daughter to our family.  We are so anxiously awaiting her arrival, just not too soon!  Our lives are going to change more than we can even imagine at this point.  And, we're excited for it!

We also plan on really focusing and working on our finances.  We plan on paying off some bills and bulking up our savings account.  We have some good foundations laid, we just need to stick to the plan.

We also have a bunch of home improvement projects that we want to do this year, both inside and outside. We've sort of dubbed this year "The Year of the Outside" since we haven't done a whole lot of work to the outside of the house.  Our house has wood siding that is in desperate need of repair and painting.  That will probably be our big project for the year.  I can't tell you how excited I will be drive to drive up to a newly painted house.

Pregnancy Catch Up

I know, I know, I know!

I have been quite the slacker when it comes to my weekly check-in posts.  I'm not even going to go into the excuses.  Let's just get started, shall we.

25 weeks

26 weeks

27 weeks

Drew and I were slackers and didn't take a 28 week picture.

We've done a lot of work in the nursery.  The bedding arrived so we picked paint colors and painted the walls.  We decided to paint three walls a light yellow and the fourth wall is a light blue.  I plan on doing lots of accents in pink and sage green.  The bedding incorporates all of those colors and I think that everything will look so cute when it all comes together.  The crib has been assembled, the mattress is in there, the chair arrived and is in it's place, and we were also able to order the dresser and that has arrived and been put in it's spot.  All that is left to do now is small decorating stuff.

When we got the furniture arranged in the nursery, I sat in the chair and just rocked and daydreamed about what it will be like to hold the little lady in my arms and stare at her beautiful face.  It's so close, yet so far away!

At my last doctor's appointment, back in December, I was told that I would have to do the one hour glucose tolerance test (GTT) during my 28th week.  After talking with Drew, I called the doctor's office and asked if I could do it a week early, the last week of December, so that it would be covered by our insurance since we had met our deductible.  They said that was fine, and off to the hospital we went.  Once we got there, I peed in a cup, then drank the glucola.  It really wasn't too bad since I have a sweet tooth anyway.  But, it was a lot of liquid to drink at one time.  Drew and I went back out to the waiting area to wait for an hour.  After an hour, we went back, they drew blood, and sent us home.

Well, last Thursday, I received a call from my doctor's office that I had failed the one hour test.  I was bummed to say the least.  They told me that I would have to take the three hour test and that that was a fasting test.  Cue panic!

Since getting pregnant, I have to eat pretty quickly after I get up, otherwise I get sick.  I was terrified that I would have to go take this test, on an empty stomach, and not eat for quite a few hours.

We decided to go on Friday so that I could get the test done and over with.  It was A-W-F-U-L!!!!  The lab opened at 7 AM, and we showed up right around then.  Again, I peed in a cup and waited for the lab to call with the results from that.  Everything came back ok, so they drew blood and handed me the drink.  This one was the same amount of liquid, but double the sugary nastiness!  It was horrible and not pleasant to get down.  After choking it down, Drew and I went out to the waiting area.  It was all downhill from there.  I felt nauseous and jittery and just overall crappy.  I sipped on water, but it was a long hour waiting for my first blood draw.  Actually, it was a long hours two and three too!  I managed to not puke (thank God!) and made it home, where I promptly ate a little bit and took a nap.

The nurse who teaches our childbirth class (more on that in a minute) knew that I was going in that day to take the test, and very nicely looked up my results for me.  She called me before they left for the day to let me know that I had PASSED!!!  Yay!!!!!

Speaking of childbirth class, Drew and I had our first class last week.  We go once a week, for two hours, for five weeks.  I really enjoyed it, and I think Drew did too.  The nurse went over the different parts of a pregnancy, some diet stuff, and then we worked on a couple breathing exercises.  I'm mostly excited for the L&D tour, but that's not for a few weeks.

The little lady has grown so much in the past few weeks.  Her movements are crazy now!  She is getting so strong, and sometimes, she really hurts me when she stretches out.  I can only imagine how much stronger they are going to get.  According to the app on my phone, she should weigh about 2 1/4 pounds and measures almost 15 inches.  That blows my mind!

Once You Go Mac. . . .

Drew and I joined the dark side last night.

We have been looking at getting a Mac and doing research and hemming and hawing it for quite a few months.  Honestly, it's been over a year.

We made the plunge last night since they were on sale at Best Buy.  We originally went to Best Buy to buy a power cord for our wireless router since Luuuucifer (Leo) chewed through it.  They didn't have just a power cord, so we had to buy a whole new router.  While we were there, we looked at the Macs (for about the gabillionth time) and finally decided to just buy the darn thing already.  We already knew that we weren't going to be exchanging Christmas gifts, so we bought it as our gift to each other.

After we left Best Buy, we went to Office Depot to purchase the desk that we've been eyeing for a few weeks.  What was our old office is becoming the nursery, and we're changing what was a spare bedroom into the new office.  The new desk will be here tomorrow and then I plan on spending the rest of the weekend in organization mode.  Our house has been chaos since we've starting cleaning the nursery out and I am so ready to have some organization back into my life.

I'll post some pics in a few days!

24 Weeks: Viability!

There are many milestones that a woman anxiously awaits during pregnancy.  Hearing the heartbeat, the safety of entering the 2nd trimester, feeling little flutters, finding out the sex, being half baked.  This week's milestone really means a lot to me.  I have reached viability!  Viability means that the baby has a greater chance of survival if they were to be born at this point.  However, the little lady still needs to stay put and bake for at least 13 more weeks.

Look at that bump!!  Drew keeps commenting that I definitely look pregnant now, and not just chubby.

I know that I haven't updated in a few weeks, so there is lots to catch up on.

While we were in Georgia, a friend of mine alerted me of a sale that diapers.com was having for 30% off Britax strollers and car seats.  Since that is the system that we have decided to go with, I hustled over to the website and quickly made my purchase.  We saved A TON of money!!  I placed the order on the Friday after Thanksgiving, and the stroller and car seat were delivered that Monday.  I could not believe how quickly that came!

I already mentioned that Drew and I ordered the chair for the nursery last week.  And I ordered the bedding.  That should be here any day now.  As soon as the bedding arrives, we'll be picking out paint colors.  Then, the real fun begins.  I just can't wait to get this little lady's room all set up for her.

Physically, I've been feeling pretty good.  I still have occasional moments where I don't feel very well, but they aren't often.  It's starting to get harder and harder to move around, and I know that that is only going to get worse.  I'm pretty sure that I'm starting to get my first stretch mark on my breast.  I really shouldn't be surprised that the first one is there given how out of control they've grown, but it still makes me a little sad.  I've also noticed that my belly button is getting shallower.

The little lady is definitely a mover and a shaker!  Feeling her move inside of me is absolutely incredible.  I could sit and watch her make my belly move for hours.  It's been fun to feel her movements in different parts of my belly.  At first, they were all down low, and now I can sometimes feel some above my belly button.

Drew and I interviewed a pediatrician this evening.  My OB has sort of been riding me to pick one and since I have an appointment with him next week, I figured I should at least meet with one so that I can say that I'm working on it.  We really liked Dr. B.  He's been in the practice for a LONG time and is very well known in this area.  We liked the answers that he gave us to our questions and he never rushed us at all.  I appreciated that.  I hate going to a doctor's office and feeling pressured to get my questions out as quick as possible so that they can move on to their next patient.  He seems very on top of his game and proactive in his care.  Plus, like I said, the fact that he's been doing this forever makes me feel very comfortable.  My only set back is that he has a very strong accent and so it's hard for me to understand him at times.  That really is my own issue, and I just need to listen really hard when he talks.  We may interview another pediatrician just to see what else is there.  This other pedi is another well known doctor in the area.

This week, the baby is just over a pound and almost a foot long, about the size of an ear of corn.  She doesn't have much fat on her, but she'll soon start plumping up.  Her brain is growing quickly and taste buds are continuing to develop.  The lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" and cells that produce surfactant, which is a substance that will help the air sacs in the lungs inflate once the baby is born.

December Already?

I seriously can't believe that it's December already.  Where has the year gone?  We all say that every year, don't we?

I picked Rachel up from school on Thursday and she spent the night so we could do some baby stuff.  It was really nice to be able to have someone to hang out with.  Drew has been working INSANE hours.  He went into work at 6 PM on Tuesday night and didn't get home until about 2:30 AM Thursday morning.  Yep, that's about 32 hours!  I'm slightly lonely.  So, I was really thankful that Rachel came to keep me company.

We went to BRU and a local furniture store to look at chairs for the nursery.  We found one we liked and I took Drew there today to order it.  Yes, he liked it too. 

After we grabbed some dinner, we came home and just spent time hanging out and watching tv.  Rachel spent most of the evening trying to feel the baby move.  She wasn't as active as she usually is at night.  However, Leo enjoyed snuggling with us.

He has enjoyed snuggling on my belly sometimes.  It's weird for him because he's really not a snuggler.

Like I said earlier, Drew and I went and ordered the chair for the nursery today.  I also ordered the crib bedding.  As soon as that arrives, we'll pick out paint colors and get started on the nursery.  I am dying to get this little girl's room set up.

Remember the dilemma we had with the crib, where they were out of stock?  Well, now we have the same problem with the dresser.  We didn't order the dresser when we ordered the crib because we knew that we weren't going to be setting up the room right away and I didn't want all of the furniture taking up space in my house.  Plus, they assured us that the dresser would be available when we were ready to order.  Figures, right?  So, now we're just patiently waiting and hoping that the dresser becomes available soon.  Hopefully we won't have to wait too long.