Quick, before I get Sidetrack'd

Yesterday was Boo check-up day. Everything is going well: his heart rate was good, my glucose and iron numbers were good, etc; so the doc is pleased with our progress. We will see the doc again in 3 weeks.

Yes, that’s right, yesterday marked the last of the every 4 week appointments. Around here that’s a frightening big milestone.

When the doctor appointments get closer together it’s like a light goes off that says, “This baby is really coming, and it won’t be long until it gets here!” There is a new recognition of how much we have to do to prepare and how little time we actually have to get it done. But, as I always say, we seem to function best on a deadline; at least the things that must get done will.

So here we sit with approximately 13 weeks until we welcome baby Boo. And here we sit with a pretty big to-do list. And, actually, I probably shouldn’t be sitting at all but be up getting something accomplished. But, Little is resting and so shall I.

Have a happy Tuesday!

Yesterday I went for my 22 week doctor visit and a second ultrasound. The first ultrasound (4 weeks ago) didn’t reveal any problems, but due to the way our stubborn boy was laying the technician couldn’t get a couple of readings/measurements that they needed.

This time around she was able to get the readings she needed on the heart and cord, but the boy had his hands over his face the entire time which was giving the technician trouble because she needed to get the measurement they do of the nasal bone (or nasal opening or whatever with the nose). His sister was like this as well – hands up by her face during the ultrasound, never in the position they expected for finding the heartbeat, moving around as they looked for her heartbeat – so I’m wondering if they will both be strong-willed outside of the womb or if my children are just the type who like to suck their thumbs and be left alone.

Anyway, once again everything was good. The little guy weighs in at a 15 ounces and has a nice strong heart rate. We were able to get a couple of pictures from the ultrasound this time and he has his hand on his head like “argh, it’s been a rough day”. It is so neat to have this type of technology available so we can “see” them before we actually get to meet them.

I am feeling good but tired at this point. Everything seems to be going along happy and healthy with this pregnancy; a blessing indeed. It seems like these weeks have flown by, and we have some things we really need to get started on after Christmas – buying boy things, creating a boy room, painting, etc.

I would love to share an ultrasound pic with you, but, alas, we don’t yet have a scanner (I know, I know, my hubby is an IT guy, what are we thinking?! ); so, I will leave you with a picture of Mommy and Boo at 22.5 weeks.

Okay, I haven’t done so well at posting one thing I’m thankful for every day this month.   Oh well, I have tried to conciously take time each day to thank God for at least one thing.

Here we are a couple of days prior to Thanksgiving and I have a few pretty significant things to post about for which I’m thankful.  Today I’ll tackle some of them in list form and I’ll have a separate post tomorrow, then I’ll be absent for a few days as we celebrate Thanksgiving with family (you would have never known if I hadn’t said something, it’s not like I’m here all that often these days:-)).

1.  I’m thankful that I took the opportunity to participate in a Bible Study Fellowship class this year; I’ve talked about joining a BSF study a few times the last couple of years, and finally made the commitment back in September.  We are studying the book of Matthew, and I have been blessed by the lectures, the group discussions, and most of all by the time I have spent in the Word of God.  I am thankful for the leaders who give so much time to make the study what it is.  I am thankful for the other women who participate (especially my group) and speak life and truth into each other’s lives.  I am thankful that God is using this study in my life and the lives of so many women across the globe to draw us into deeper relationship with him.

2.  I am thankful that we will be able to spend time with Matt’s family this Thanksgiving; his parents, sister, and brother live about 10 hours from us, so we don’t see them as often as we would like.  I’m sorry that we won’t get to spend time with my sister-in-law and her family; they will be missed.  However, I’m thankful that the reason we won’t see them is because she is about 4 weeks from delivering a brand new, healthy, adorable nephew for us.

3.  I am thankful for good friends.  Over the last several years Matt and I have lived in cities where we are not near family, and our friends have become like family.  I am thankful for my friend Nicole who I left behind in East Tennessee, but who I still talk to regularly and see when we have the chance.  I had a very tough time when we first moved about 2.5 years ago, so I am thankful for my friends in our current city who have made living here a great experience.  I am thankful for the chance I had to eat lunch with my friend Diane last week.  I am thankful for the time I was able to spend with several of my girlfriends on Sunday.  I am thankful for the way our lives touch, the way we interact, and the way God has blessed my life with such wonderful women.

4. I am thankful for the precious Baby Boo who is growing and developing inside of me.  I am thankful that we had a good ultrasound yesterday and that Boo is happy and healthy in there.  I am thankful that God has chosen to gift our family with a precious baby boy this time around.  And on that note, here is a picture of mommy and Boo at 18.5 weeks (and yes, those would be short-sleeves and shorts I’m wearing today):

Wow, where has this week has gone!?  I’m a wee bit behind on my Giving Thanks days, so I will play a bit of catch up here and cover days 3 through 8.  Some of these may be a bit superficial, but they are, none the less, things that evoke gratefulness.

Day 3, Saturday: A fresh laundry room – My wonderful husband spent Saturday afternoon painting our laundry room the loveliest shade of green.  It is called “pea pod” although Matt refers to it as “grass”; that should give you an idea of the color since I was unable to get a good picture.  The best part is that he did all the work while allowing me to lie on the couch napping.  I’m telling you, he is a great catch!

Day 4, Sunday: A beautiful day –  The weekend and Monday were gorgeous days.  We had clear blue skies, temps in the 70s, and a nice little breeze blowing.  It was a great weekend to be out and about running errands and playing.  Although those won’t be the last days in the 70s here (it is supposed to be warm again this weekend), they were wonderful days before our days in the 50s on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Day 5, Monday: A healthy girl –  Little had her 15 month check-up on Monday and got a great report.  All of her milestones have been met or exceeded, she’s grown an inch and three-quarters since her 12 month check-up, and she is gaining weight (although she is still on the small side based on growth charts, oh well, she’s been consistent).  Right now she is fighting a yucky cough, but we have no long-term health or developmental concerns, and that is a great blessing.

Day 6, Tuesday: A stay-at-home Mom – I am so blessed to be able to stay home with Little – and baby Boo in days to come.  I try to step back from time to time and realize that I am only able to do this because God has blessed Matt with a good job and Matt and I have been committed from the start to me being at home.  I love being home, and even though the days get long and hard from time to time, I wouldn’t want someone else to enjoy all the fun that Little and I get to have together.   I am also grateful for my stay-at-home friends with whom we can hang out.

Day 7, Wednesday: Smoke without fire –  Yesterday afternoon I was very thankful that there doesn’t have to be fire for there to be smoke.  I was preparing to make a chicken pot pie for dinner and thought I could boil the chicken while Little and I went outside to play with the neighbor’s children.  Apparently I did not watch the time closely enough, because when we came home I opened the front door and was greeted by smoke and a nasty smell.  The pot had boiled dry and the chicken was quite burnt, but fortunately, it had not caught fire.  I immediately took the pot off the stove and put it outside, and we spent the next hour or so trying to air out the house with windows and doors open.  We are dealing with a lingering smell, but no serious effects.

Day 8, Thursday: Tiny little movements –  I’ve begun to feel the first tiny little movements that let me know Boo is kicking and doing okay.  This is so reassuring for me during the time between morning-sickness subsiding and the big ultrasound.  We go for the ultrasound a week from Monday, and I’m so excited to see this little one for the first time.

For all of these things and so many more I thank God.  He has truly been good to me.

The last few days – seemingly all of a sudden – my jeans have decided they won’t button. I’m surviving with a ponytail holder looped over the button, through the button hole, and back over the button; it works but isn’t the most attractive or effective way of keeping ones pants up.

So, right now there is a load of pants in the wash that includes my new maternity jeans and a pair of black maternity pants. On the laundry room floor, awaiting their turn in the wash, is a load of maternity shirts.

During my first pregnancy I didn’t wear maternity clothes until 17 weeks; I knew it would come sooner this time around but thought I might still have a week or two. Little was a late-summer baby which means my wardrobe consisted mainly of shorts and summery tops. This pregnancy requires me to start basically from scratch; that’s a good thing because it means lots of new clothes, but a bad thing because I haven’t done much shopping yet. I guess it’s a good thing that Fall is being slow coming to West Tennessee.

If you happen to know of a good source for petite or short-length pants, I would love to hear about it.  Pants are the hardest part because several places don’t carry petites at all, and the ones that do usually only have a couple of styles.

Well, not recently, but that’s supposedly what goes on around here. It seems like every time I come back to blog it’s been a week (or more) since I was here last. And believe me, it’s not that I don’t want to spend time with all of you who stop by; it’s just that the time keeps slipping away.

Anyway, on to a bit of this and a bit of that…

~Last Monday I visited the doctor for my first prenatal appointment. I was able to hear the baby’s heartbeat, which is always fun. Everything is going well, and the due date is set for mid-April. I thought it might be a little less awe-inspiring this time since I’ve been here before, but I was wrong. I can’t wait until my next visit and the opportunity to hear that sweet sound again. (as an aside: the baby is currently known as Baby Boo and will be referred to as such for the foreseeable future)

~The morning sickness seems to be letting up. I still have my moments, but overall I’m feeling better. I’m very glad at this turn of events.

~Little and I contracted a head-cold last week. I hate having a stuffy nose. Little didn’t sleep well at all on Saturday night because she couldn’t suck her thumb and breath at the same time, which means none of us slept well. Needless to say, we didn’t do much this weekend.

~I finished Memoirs of a Geisha, the first book from my Fall Into Reading list. I really enjoyed the book and found myself caught up in the narrative of the peasant-girl-turned-kept-woman to the point that I didn’t want to quit reading. Arthur Golden does a great job of story-telling and presenting exotic places and people in a such a way that I could picture them in my mind. If you haven’t read this one yet, I would recommend it (but be warned that there are a few parts that are quite risque).

~The “Bookshelf” portion of my sidebar is being updated to contain the books I’ve chosen to read this fall. If I add anything to my list, I will also add it to the bookshelf.

~I love to read on recommendation. If you have a favorite book, or a book you’ve read recently that you really enjoyed, I would love to hear about it. Please leave me a note in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by, and hopefully I’ll meet you here again soon!

The last several days have been spent in that lovely early-pregnancy haze of nausea and sleepiness. I seem to have totally lost the ability for coherent thought.

For example, last night while giving Little a bath Matt asked me to hand him the shampoo. I sat there a second then started to hand him a towel thinking he needed to dry his hands. He looked at me like I was crazy (and can you really blame him?) and said he needed the shampoo, so he could wash the baby. I honestly thought when he asked the first time that he had looked at me and said “boo”. Yeah, it’s that bad!

So, I leave you today with nothing. I just wanted to check in and say that we’re making it around here. Hopefully I’ll be able to put a couple of thoughts together in a coherent way again soon.

Here we are on Thursday morning and I’ve posted nary a thing this week. Bad blogger!

The thing is, I’ve been so tired that Little’s afternoon naptime (when I usually find time to blog) has turned into naptime for me as well. What is it that is causing this tiredness you ask? That would be the tiny one growing inside of me.

Yep, last week Matt and I found out that we are going to be parents again. I think I’m about 6-7 weeks along, but I won’t have a definite due date until I see the doctor in a few weeks. So far fatigue is the major “symptom” I’m dealing with, but I do experience some queasiness from time to time. And cravings? Just about anything that isn’t good for me – chips, brownies, french fries, Taco Bell tacos.

Needless to say, we are very excited; although, I do find myself wondering sometimes how I’ll handle two children under two years old.

Today I am exactly 38 weeks pregnant…only a couple more to go! This week’s doctor’s appointment went well; my blood pressure and Little’s heart rate are both still right where they should be. She doesn’t seem to be too interested in making an early appearance (at least not yet)…everything is still about where we were this time last week (2 cm dilated and 50% effaced). It looks like we will be induced on the 7th (or possibly the 8th) if she hasn’t come by then. The doctor said last week that it looks like she will probably be an 8-9 pounder.

Life is often uncomfortable at this point (as any of you who’ve been here can attest). It is nice for temps to be in the low 90s this week instead of the temps right around 100 with 105 degree heat indices that we went through last week! I’m retaining some fluid (evidenced by the fact that my rings are a little tighter than usual), having a few contractions (mostly braxton-hicks), and not sleeping real well. But life is good!

Everything is now purchased and washed for Little’s room. We have to assemble the changing table and get the bedding on the bed, but it is all ready to go. Hopefully, M and I can get some of that done this evening and have some “completed” pictures of her room to send out before too long. We are pleased with the way it has all come together.

Thanks for continuing to keep us in your prayers as we near the end of this phase. Lots of love to you all!

Monday was week 36 and another doctor’s appointment under our belts, so to speak. Everything still looks good and the doc said it could happen at any time now. Little is confirmed to be head down and descending and I’m dilated 1-2 with 50% thinning. We’ll see what news the visit next Monday holds. I’m working on packing my hospital bag.

Her nursery is coming along nicely. M is working on the trim and should have it finished up this weekend. Her bed is together and ready for mattress and bedding; she has a dust ruffle and valance (thanks to Great Grandma B); and we are looking for a dresser, changing table, or something like that to finish things in the furniture department. I have to wash all of her clothes, sheets, etc. Right now I’m trying to figure out exactly what detergent to use; if anyone has any suggestions, let me know.

We’ll keep you posted!