Stolen From Val

1) Where did you begin 2007? Kathy's. With my leg stretched out and propped up (which is also one of the reason's we weren't by the water watching the fireworks) and with a drink in my hand (for one of the last times through now).
2) What was your status by Valentine's Day? Just found out I was pregnant (and my husband was jobless) two days before. So very excited, worried, happy and angry all at the same time.
4) How did you earn your money? Work. Blah.
5) Did you have to go to the hospital? Yup, for abdominal surgery which resulted in the most beautiful baby in the world. ;)
6) Did you have any encounters with the police? Yup, they tend to come out to respond to calls about exploding cars.
7) Where did you go on vacation? No money for a real vacation, but we did go to the in-laws second home on the shore for a few days. We did get to Ocean City for a day while there. Woohoo.
8) What did you purchase that was over $1000? A baby (even with insurance), my car, our bow window in the living room
9) Did you know anybody who got married? A couple of people from work.
10) Did you know anybody who passed away?-- Pritch.
12) Did you move anywhere? No.
14) What concerts/shows did you go to? My wonderful friend Kathy took me to see Sweet Charity at the Hippodrome and my wonderful mother took me there to see Mama Mia! Also saw The Full Monty at Toby's Dinner Theater.
15) Are you registered to vote? Yes
17) Where do you live now? Same place I've always lived (in general). Baltimore.
18) Describe your birthday? Work and then dinner out with the hubby. We even went for a little walk and got yummy gelato.
19) What's one thing you thought you wouldn't do but did in 2007? Have a baby. Especially since we had temporarily stopped trying (after being unsuccessful for about three years) when I found out I was pregnant.
20) What has been your favorite moment? Holding Abby for the first time.
21) What's something you learned about yourself? I can get through anything.
22.) Any new additions to your family?---Duh.
23.) What was your best month? October
24.) What music will you remember 2007 by? The Wheels on the Bus, If You're Happy and You Know It, Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus is Coming to Town (all the songs I've sung to Abby about a thousand times each)
26.) Made new friends? Ed became friends with our next-door neighbor. That's about it.
29) Best movie you saw this year? Hairspray, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
30) Favorite gift of the year? All my baby shower gifts. Especially my crib, monitor, bedding and "Abby" letters.
31) Favorite Night out? Going to Flemmings with the girls. Fun and yum! Wish we could afford it more often!

2 Months Old!

Can you believe my little doodlebug is 2 months old today? How crazy is that? She's getting so big and even cuter than ever (who would have thought it was even possible?). Every day she is getting more and more alert. My favorite times are after she wakes up and eats. That's her smiley, playful times. It melts my heart every time she smiles at me. :) I will be so sad on Thursday when I have to go back to work. I'm trying not to think about that too much yet. I'll deal with it when it comes.

Here's her "official" month-day shot. It's not the best picture, so we may try again after she wakes up from her nap.

And here's one from a few days ago when I actually caught a smile.

Photo Dump

I finally got around to downloading some pictures yesterday, so enjoy. :)

I love my daddy!

Preview of our Christmas card picture.

Letting us know she's slightly annoyed.

Hanging with Grandma on Thanksgiving.

Letting me know she's hungry.

Playing with her friend Jordan.

What's Been Going On

First of all, I finally got "the call" from my benefits department asking about my plans for returning to work. I wish we could afford for me to take unpaid leave, but that's out of the question. :( Wednesday is my first "official" day back, but I have an extra week's vacation that my awesome manager said I could take after my maternity leave. So I actually don't go back until next Thursday. Then I work Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I wish it didn't have to end, but that's life. I'll just cry a lot for the first week or so. And no, I haven't found daycare yet. My lead didn't pan out and neither did the couple other places I called. I'm just going to call the Baltimore County Daycare Search place tomorrow. You can't call after 3 and I didn't get home until almost 3:30 today, so that wasn't happening. I don't need anyone until January anyway. We've pretty much figured out December, with a lot of help from our mothers and some creative scheduling on my part. Again, my manager is awesome, and said I could make my own schedule for December to fit my childcare needs. He rocks.

Today was interesting. Becky and I took the girls to the Picture People in Towson to get their Christmas pictures done. We were a little afraid, considering that we're dealing with a 1-year-old and an 8-week-old. The store is right next to Nordstroms, so I took Abby there to feed her in the lovely women's lounge before our appointment, hoping to get her in a good mood. It worked until I was dumb enough to put her in the stroller to get her to Picture People. So, she was crying when we came in. When I laid her on the bench to change her into her Christmas dress though, she calmed down and was good as gold for most of the session. Hooray! The photographer even managed to get a cute one of the two of them together, so we were happy. Thank goodness I had a $50 gift card that I got as a shower gift, because they aren't cheap. I got out for an extra $45, so that wasn't too bad. We get to do the professional photos again at the end of the month with Ed's niece, but I won't be spending nearly as much then.

In other news, my daughter refuses to sleep on her back. I find this quite distressing. I asked Santa for an Angel Care monitor, like I read about on Erin's blog. Even if I wait until she's totally out before laying her down on her back, she starts grunting and groaning immediately and is usually awake within minutes. If she actually stays asleep, it's for no longer than an hour or so. On her tummy, she sleeps 5-6 hours at night. Maybe it has something to do with her poor tummy and her gas issues, but I have no idea how to clear that up either. Any thoughts?

And I'm pretty sure I was supposed to bake cookies for today, but I'm not sure I'm still in the work cookie exchange. I signed up before I left, but I'm going to double check with Carrie anyway. Not that I had time to bake yesterday. The baby wasn't feeling good and just wanted to be held all day. On top of that, our dishwasher is broken and I had a sink full of dishes and no room to bake. Ed finally had time to help me with them after I put Abby down last night. There's still more to be done though. And the repair guy can't get here until next Wednesday. Blah.

A Moment Alone

The hubby is on a late-night sales call in Virginia and the baby is asleep in her travel swing, so I actually have a moment to myself. It seems like lately all I've been doing is holding the baby. Not that I'm complaining because that's one of my favorite things to do, but she's been sleeping a lot all week and hasn't been letting me put her down much. A couple nights ago I just gave up and brought her into bed with us. I'll do that in the mornings sometimes once Ed's up, but I don't like to do it when we're both sleeping. But I was desperate for some sleep and I had tried to put her in the bassinet three times without success. She slept for almost six hours that way, so it was well worth it.

Tomorrow my mom gets her turn babysitting in the morning because I have to go get my emissions test done. How unfair is it that I had to go twice already this year (because my Taurus failed the first time) and then my new car needs the test less than six months after I got it? It sucks, I tell you! But I figure I'll try to finish up as much Christmas shopping as possible while I'm out (since I finally have my secret santa name). I don't have much left to get, so yay for me. :) I just have to be back at my mom's by noon because she's getting her new furniture for her family room delivered between noon and 4. I'm staying until it gets there so I can be the first to see it (in the house anyway, Becky went with her to pick it out). :)

I'm off to hunt for the list of Christmas presents we still have to buy. My husband's so organized it's almost sick...which is good because I've never been organized in my life.

Baby's Sleeping and I Don't Feel Like Doing Anything

So here's a holiday survey for you (stolen from Carrie and Brooke). :)

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper, although I'll complain the entire time I'm wrapping. I use giftbags when the gift is too hard to wrap or I don't have the time.
2. REAL OR FAKE TREE? Fake. I've always had a fake tree and I will always have a fake tree. Right now we're using Ed's grandmother's old tree, but I don't think we'll get another year out of it. Hopefully next year we'll be able to afford a new one with the lights already on.
3. When do you put up the tree? When we have time, but not before the first weekend in December. We're planning on putting it up this weekend.
4. When do you take the tree down? Usually right after New Year's Day.
5. Do you like eggnog? I love eggnog, but it doesn't like me. :(
6. Favorite gift received as a child? My keyboard, my first Cabbage Patch Kid (Abby), my first real camera
7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yup, a Little People one that's NOT for playing! I love it!
8. Hardest person to buy for? My mom
9. Easiest person to buy for? Ed
10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? A set of encyclopedias
11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail, definitely. I may send e-mail greetings, but I'll have already mailed a card as well.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? I love Christmas movies! I like A Christmas Story, Christmas Vacation, It's a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street (the original), Love Actually (it counts!), all the television Christmas specials, etc.
3. When do you start shopping for Christmas? The week before Thanksgiving
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Nope.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Ham and Cookies
16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear.
17. Favorite Christmas song? O, Holy Night, The Muppets 12 Days of Christmas
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Travel, as in going to visit numerous relatives
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers? Yup
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Star, but only because there's not enough room between the top of the tree and the ceiling for an angel
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas Eve, but since Santa will be coming this year, Abby's gifts will be opened on Christmas morning.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Working retail. At least I get to miss some of it this year. Wonder if I can get myself knocked up again this February. ;)
23. What I love most about Christmas? The traditions, the memories, being with family.

That's that. :) As for yesterday, I made it okay. The class was long and boring, but I survived. Abby did great over her Gram's house. No problems with the bottles and she just slept most of the time. Ed and I both wound up over there since we were both on that side of town and traffic was a nightmare. So my MIL watched her a little longer and we went out to dinner. That was so nice to be able to do. :) I missed her, but now I know I'll be all right going back to work.

I Miss My Baby!

Today I'm finally taking that stupid insurance class that Ed's been wanting me to take so I can get my license and help him out. Ed just left to take Abby to his mother's for the day. And I'm sitting here crying because I can't stand the thought of being away from her for so long. I don't even want to think about how bad I'm going to be when I go back to work. Keep your fingers crossed that she does okay today. I'm scared about how she's going to react to only getting bottles for so long. Up until now, she's only gotten one bottle a day and I've just nursed her the rest of the time. Hopefully I pumped enough for her to get by until I pick her up. I gave my MIL three 4oz bottles and three 2oz bottles. I also gave her one of the boxes of pre-measured formula that I got from the hospital. Hopefully she won't have to resort to them, but they're there just in case. Okay, off to my boring class (from 8:30 to 3ish). Just shoot me now.

I still miss my baby. :(

Gigantic Nostrils

Have you ever looked in the mirror after staring at your baby's tiny face all day long and became frightened at how large your own features look? Especially the nostrils for some reason. Weird.

Thanksgiving went well. The turkey turned out great, but I messed up the stuffing. I let the breadcrumbs soak too long (I was attending to Princess Fussypants) so it was soggy. Everyone still ate it though, so whatever. Next time it will be perfect. :)

Everything else is good. I have a lead for a daycare provider, so I'm going to call her on Monday. Keep your fingers crossed that she is willing to accept an infant.

Birthday Greetings...1 Day Late

So sorry Val! A certain somebody wouldn't let me put her down yesterday, so I never got a chance to post. Anyway...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VAL!

I thought about you and your 30-ness all day yesterday. Hope it was a good day!

To everyone else:

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Wish me luck as I attempt to cook my first turkey! ;)

I Actually Accomplished Something!

Today Abby and I got over half of our Christmas shopping done in one shot! Woohoo! Gotta love Target. I had a $250 gift card from a Pampered Chef incentive last year...plus a $25 one I got as a gift...so that more than covered the shopping I did today. I got a crapload of toys and a cheapie present for my sister (per our choice...we're concentrating on gifts for the girls this year...we're doing the same thing with Ed's sister). Of course, now I have a living room full of stuff that needs to be wrapped. Blah.

In other news, since I'm such a gluton for punishment, I've decided to do Thanksgiving dinner at my house this year. Ed's family wasn't going to have dinner since his mom has to work and his sister will be in South Carolina. We were supposed to go over my Aunt Wanda's house for dinner, but Joe (her significant other) broke his hip on Saturday, so dinner is most definitely off. It broke my heart to not have Thanksgiving, especially since it's Abby's first, so my house it is. It will my us, my mom, hopefully Becky and family, and Ed's parents and grandmother. Unfortunately, I had already decided to do it around 4ish so I could work around the baby...not thinking that Becky's husband has a family dinner too. Hopefully they'll be able to make it here for at least a little while. Becky is planning on coming over to help me because she's awesome like that, so we'll still get to see her. :)

So, I guess that means we're grocery shopping tomorrow. Woohoo! Ed should be able to go with us, which will make things much easier. He was gone all day today (left at 6am and won't be home until 7ish), but the rest of the week should be easy for him. That's good for me since he'll be able to help me get things together for Thursday, but bad since he won't be making much money this week. This sales thing is a tough gig, but it will get a lot better once he reaches his one-year mark and starts to get commission on the business he wrote last year.

Oh...my Abby-doo will be six weeks old tomorrow. If I had given birth vaginally, I would be expected to go back to work already. So not cool...there is no way I would have been mentally ready yet. I doubt I'll be ready in three weeks when I definitely have to go back, but unfortunately we have no choice. :( Still don't have daycare, but I noticed a new sign in front of a house I pass by on my way to work everyday. I'll have to drive past again and get the number off of it to see if they have an infant spot open. I'll keep my fingers crossed for this one since it would be very convenient. So much to worry about...so little time.

Another One Bites the Dust!

Happy Birthday Kathy!!!!! Welcome to the 30 Club! ;) Sorry Val...you're next!

I Want My Bed

So it's 6:00 in the morning and I've been awake for about 2 hours now with the baby. We threw off her schedule last night by taking her on a car ride (which almost always knocks her out) during her usual night awake time. So when she woke up at 4 to eat, she thought it was her morning awake time and wouldn't go back to sleep. Blah. I can't complain too much though, since that was the first time she woke up since I put her down at 12:00. It still doesn't change the fact that I would like to be sleeping right now. She's asleep at the moment though...I put her in the travel swing that we have up here and she passed out. I might try to get a little sleep on the futon unless I'm feeling brave enough to try to take her back downstairs.

We went to the mall with our friends Claire, Jordan and Paige today. It was nice to get out with our friends...although trying to be somewhere on time with an infant is definitely tricky. Particularly when the infant is breastfed on demand, so she's not used to eating on a schedule. Of course, she decided to be Princess Fussypants as soon as I took her out of the car. I got her to fall asleep in my arms, but as soon as I put her down again, it was back to the fussing. Then she decided she was starving. I had a bottle of breastmilk with me, but she's still not very good at taking the bottle. She got down an ounce, then acted like she was done. I put her back into her carseat, and then she starting fussing and acting hungry again. So, we went home.

We really have to try to get her used to the bottle soon. As much as it kills me, I'm going to have to go back to work much sooner than I would like. I'm pretty sure I'm not allowed to take her with me to feed her whenever she's hungry. :( I've been trying to be much more consistent about the pumping. I've manged to get about 5 4-oz bags of milk frozen and I always have one or two bottles in the fridge ready to go. We try to give her one bottle a day so she gets the hang of it, but it's always a battle. The other night, Ed got her to take the whole 3oz that were in there, but it's definitely slow going. Hopefully she'll get the hang of it soon to make the transition a little easier.

Speaking of which, I still haven't found daycare. The biggest problem is that the best time to call around is during the day when I'm alone with her. Usually as soon as I try to get something like that done, she starts to fuss. I have to find someplace that can take her 3 days a week with some flexibility and that won't cost us an arm and a leg. Wishful thinking, I know. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm desperate!

Pictures!

The official "Month-Day" shot

My baby with some funky hair

Either pissed about the hat or the carseat. As soon as we get moving though, she's usually out like a light!

Hanging with Mr. Turtle!

1 Month Old

Can you believe that Abby was 1 month old on Friday? It's crazy how quickly time is flying! I was going to post the "official" month-day shot, but blogger is choosing not to let me publish photos at the moment. Maybe later.

Her doctor's appointment went well enough. We actually had to wait for the first time, so by the time the doctor saw us, she was hungry with a dirty diaper. Needless to say, she wasn't a happy camper. She's now up to 9lbs 12oz and has gained an inch, so she's growing like crazy. Yay Abby!

Yesterday we had Ed's family over for his "birthday dinner." It was nice enough. My father-in-law made his "famous" pasta, so I didn't have to do much cooking. I just had to worry about the salad and garlic bites. I couldn't eat either due to my baby's gas issues, so that was a bummer. Maybe next time. :)

I'll try to post some photos later. Hopefully blogger will resolve it's issues soon. The baby is all of a sudden having a fit, so I must go. :(

Yes, We're Still Alive

It's just so darned hard to get upstairs to the computer for more than a few minutes at a time! But we're still doing good here. Abby still wants to eat all the time (she's just like both of her parents!) and she's getting so big so fast! It's crazy! The most exciting thing that has happened this week is that I'm now able to drive again! Hooray!!! I was starting to go stir crazy trapped in the house all the time. Monday morning I took her to work to show her off and then we went to Best Buy and Target later in the day to get Ed's birthday presents.

Yesterday I had my four week follow-up appointment with my OB. Why didn't anyone tell me that visit would be even more uncomfortable than the pre-birth visits? At least I don't have to go back again until February for my yearly appointment. Everything "down there" is settling back to where it belongs. And apparently my incision "looks great" and won't look like much more than a scratch by the time it heals. Whatever...it's not like I (or anyone else) can see it anyway. He also asked me if I had thought about birth control...which I had not. He said I had three basic choices, "Condoms, having another baby or a low-dose pill (so I can still breastfeed)." I chose option "C," so I have to go to Target sometime this week to get that prescription filled. Good times...but at least it will get me out of the house!

Today we went to Walmart to pick up Abby's birth announcements. It took me awhile to order them because I just couldn't get a good picture of her to use. I'm not in love with the picture I wound up going with, but it works. Hopefully I can work on getting those out today and tomorrow.

Friday is her one-month doctor's visit. I'll try to update again then, but I make no promises!

Happy Halloween (1 Day Late)

Here's a few pictures of Abby in her various Halloween finery. The costume was just a little big on her, but it made me laugh. :)

Sorry I'm a Blog Slacker

This is the first time I've been able to get on the computer at all in three days...much less have a few minutes to update. But the baby is downstairs with Ed sleeping happily in her swing, so here I am. Woohoo!

It's been life with a baby here...nothing too exciting. I feel like I'm nursing her 24/7, but I know it's not quite that bad. She is hungry an awful lot though...and she has some problems with gas. I don't know what I could be eating to upset her tummy, but there are some days when it's just awful. I think that salad is now off limits to me, both times I've eaten some she's been really fussy. And a little dairy seems to be fine...just not too much. Most veggies are a no-go now too, but I'm not a big broccoli-cauliflower person anyway, so that doesn't bother me. I just feel so horrible when it's bad and she's obviously struggling. There's not much you can do besides give her some gas drops and hope they help. I'll just pray she grows out of it.

Nights have been okay. Some are great and some not so much. Last night was a good one. Ed and I were catching up on some of our shows until late last night. I fed her while we were down there around 11:30 and she slept until 3, ate, and went back down until 5:30, ate again, and when right back down until 8:30. That I can deal with. It's the nights where she won't go back down for a couple of hours that suck. At least this is just a temporary stage too.

She had her two-week check-up on Tuesday. She up at 8 lbs 6 oz...that's a full pound gain since her last appointment. She's also up to 21 1/2 inches. She's getting big so fast...it's crazy! She wasn't a happy camper at the doctor's though. It was chilly in the office and as soon as the doctor had Ed put her down on the table, she had a fit. Then she decided that she was starving, which did nothing to calm the crying...and neither did the heel prick she had to endure at the end. Not fun at all. We wanted to stop by BRU while we were there, so Ed parked in the back of the parking lot and I fed her in the back of the car. She went right to sleep after that and we were able to get our errands done, so it wasn't all bad.

Yesterday was an interesting day. It was my mom's birthday and we had planned to go in town to see my grandmothers with her so we could show off Abby. My mom called around 10 to tell us that all the crazy rain we had Friday night totally flooded her basement. The whole basement..all three rooms. It wasn't pretty at all. Apparently her sump pump died during the night. What timing. She had to get a plumber in to replace it. Then my BIL rented a huge wet-dry vac and went to work to get some of the water out. Ed and I came over in the afternoon and Ed helped with the moving of stuff and vacuuming. We were there until 8ish, I think. At least my mom got to spend most of the day with her two granddaughters, so that helped to make the day a little happier for her. Not a fun birthday overall though.

I think that's a pretty good idea of my life at the moment. Hopefully I'll be able to post again a little sooner next time! :)

Just Another Day

Grandma is here again cuddling with the baby, so I actually have a little time to get some stuff done. I finally got to download photos, so here are some of my little Abby for your viewing pleasure:

She's such a cutie. ;)

Yesterday was a day of visitors. Grandma came with lunch and then Ed's aunt and cousin showed up unexpectedly. Then Val came bearing a very yummy chicken casserole so I didn't have to cook dinner for me and Ed. Score! I need that recipe, Val...Ed and I both loved it. :)

The Incredible Shrinking Woman

One good thing about breastfeeding constantly is that I'm definitely burning the calories. As of this morning, I'm down 21 pounds from last Tuesday morning. That would put me at my lowest weight in about 5 1/2 years or so. I know it's probably not the healthiest thing to be losing weight so quickly, but I really can't help it. For one thing, I'm definitely not eating enough. I sleep through breakfast and then usually don't have time to eat much of a lunch. Especially now that Ed's been gone during the day. He's usually the one who makes sure that I eat. We do have dinner every night...thank goodness I planned ahead for that one...and I snack a little throughout the day. Not that I'm complaining, mind you...I just need to stay healthy since I'm nursing.

Last night was stressful...Ed was gone until about 1 am. He had a group presentation at 10 pm just outside of D.C. Another metro place, so he got the night shift. It was worth it...he had a really good day. It's just stressful being alone that late after being alone for most of the day with the baby who never stops nursing. He has to make us money though, so I'll deal. And I keep crying for no reason...darned hormones. It's starting to get old. I wouldn't even mind so much if it was when I was alone, but it always seems to be when Ed's home and then it just makes him more worried about me. I don't want to worry him, but once the tears start they're hard to turn off. Hopefully this stage will pass quickly.

Getting Better All the Time

I think I'm starting to understand her feeding needs a little better now. Apparently, when I think she's done, she's not actually done...she's merely fallen asleep. The trick is to wake her up somehow so she can go for another 5 to 15 minutes. This made last night much better...I actually got a little bit of sleep and everything! Good thing too since we had two early visitors...my Uncle Stas around 10 and my Aunt Wanda at 11:30. She was good as gold for my aunt, but decided she was starving just before my uncle came. Since he's totally freaked out by breastfeeding, I just let her cry while he was here. Needless to say, it was a very short visit!

We tried out her swing for the first time last night. She seemed to like it...she stayed there with minimal fuss for about an hour. Then she started to cry "for real" and her daddy went and got her. She was fine after that...she just wanted to be cuddled. And who can resist that?

Yay for Grandma!

My mom is here snuggling with her newest grandchild, so I get to have a little time on the computer. Woohoo! For your viewing enjoyment, here are a few hospital pictures:

I'm still waiting for Ed to download the rest off of our camera, so you'll get more when he gets around to it.

Other than that, things are going okay here. My daughter is just like both of her parents...likes to party all night and sleep all day. Last night she wanted to feed every hour and a half...so by the time I was done feeding, changing, and cuddling her to sleep she was ready to eat again. Good times. Ed's been helping a lot, but I try to do as much as I can by myself in the middle of the night so he can get some sleep. He needs to work during the day and he won't be bringing home much bacon if he's half asleep all the time. At least I can sleep during the day with her. I just keep reminding myself that this stage is temporary.

The breastfeeding was a bit of a challenge at first. The first night at the hospital, being totally out of it, I was really having trouble with it. So they gave me a nipple shield to use and had her in the "football position" for me. She would fuss at the hospital every time she had to latch on, but I had the nurses there to help me (I really miss the nurses). When we got her home, the fussing just got worse. We would have to spend at least 20 minutes each time trying to get her on...with her having a fit each time. Not fun...especially at 3:00 am. We finally decided to try without the shield and with a cradle hold instead, and voila...no problem since. I was just so relieved that I wasn't even mad that the solution was that simple.

At least I know that she's getting enough to eat. The day we left the hospital (the place with the wonderful nurses), her weight was down to 6lbs 14oz from her birth weight of 7lbs 5oz. When we went to the doctor yesterday, it was up to 7lbs 6oz. Hopefully my milk will keep on coming like that. And we're constantly changing her diapers, so that's a good sign too. We like poopy diapers...it means she's getting the jaundice out!

For those who have inquired...I'm home and ready for visitors. Later in the afternoon is usually good...around 3ish. That gives me enough time to catch up on some sleep in the morning and early afternoon. Just give me a call when you'd like to come see us and I'll let you know when a good time is. I'll try to time it so you're not stuck waiting for me to finish feeding her...unless you don't mind looking at my boob. At this point, I barely care who does anymore. Just ask Kathy who made it in time for her feeding last night. ;)

Last, but not least, congratulations to Meg and Tim on the birth of Paige! I can't wait to see her! How cool is it that she and Abby are less than a week apart? Our cookout in the spring will be fun...it's a baby-palooza! Although Meg did sound waaaaaaaaaaaay too chipper on the phone yesterday not long after delivering...that's just not fair! But I'm glad at least one of us had an easy time of it! We're really happy for you guys! :)

Miss Me?

I hope so! Sorry for not checking in, but it's been hard to find time to get upstairs to the computer...plus, I'm not allowed to carry the baby up and down stairs. :( But daddy's cuddling with her right now, so I could steal a couple of minutes computer time.

As I'm sure you read on Val's blog, the labor and birth wasn't too much fun. I knew it was going to be bad when right off the bat they had to stick me three times to get the IV going. That was fun...apparently I have "rolling veins." They finally got that going and did the check to confirm I was three centimeters going in.

The contractions started very mildly for a decent amount of time. I had lots of company to keep my mind off of it (thanks Val, Erin, Meg, and family). Then they started to get bad and I asked for the epidural. That was something I was dreading (the whole "needle in the back" thing freaked me out), but it was better than the pain. So the no-more-pain doctor came in and did that. Right away, my blood pressure dropped and he had to rush back in to give me some medication to get it back up. I wasn't feeling too hot after that...apparently the pain relief of the epidural has some side affects for me.

After they gave me the epidural, the contractions started to calm down. Not a good sign. I was at four centimeters at this point with no end in sight. They had the petocin turned up as high as it could go and I still wasn't making much progress. Finally, after being stuck at four centimeters for about eight and a half hours, the doctor said we should go ahead and get her. I agreed and they turned my epidural up. While I was feeling no pain, it also made me totally sick to my stomach and I actually started to throw-up as they were wheeling me to the OR. That was fun...especially as I was trying to cover my mouth with my hand as they were wheeling me past my family (who were all trying to take pictures).

They got me prepped and Ed came into the OR and the next thing you knew, I had a baby. Weird. I was sad that I could see her right away, instead I was busy throwing-up again as they were stitching me up (as I did again when I got to my room and once more the next day). But hearing her cry was one of the best moments of my life (despite the sickness). They wheeled me to the recovery room (where I got a terrible case of the shakes) and I got to watch everyone come in two-at-a-time and meet my baby.

The next couple days weren't fun, but I survived and I have the sweetest baby in the world, so it's all good. :) We came home on Saturday and life has been trying to keep her happy ever since. We had a doctor's appointment today because she has a slight case of jaundice (apparently Ed and I have opposing blood types), but it's getting much better.

I have to go nurse the little piggy now, but I'll try to get back on later with pictures!

Happy Thoughts

We're getting ready to leave in less than 20 minutes. I'm getting the sick-to-my-stomach nervous feeling. Didn't get much in the way of sleep last night. We both tossed and turned like crazy. Hopefully it will have been enough to get me through today. Wish me luck!

Still Freaking Out!

My stupid errands took forever to run today. I figured I could just drop the form I needed filled out for work off at my doctor's office, but they wanted me to wait for him to have a free moment so he could "fill it out with me." So, there was a half-hour right there. Naturally, that was the busiest I've ever seen his office (including the 16-year-old girl in the Catholic school uniform with the sobbing mother...can you guess why she was there?). At least he made me a copy of my chart to take with me tomorrow while I was there, so that was good.

There were still a couple of things I needed for the baby, so I stopped at K-Mart...and being K-Mart, they didn't have one of them. So I just said "screw it" and went to BRU instead. Got what I needed and headed off to the Verizon store to return a charger we bought and had shipped to the house on the word of the salesguy that it was a car charger...it wasn't (but at least the shipping was free). I then realized that I forgot to actually take the charger with me, so I had to run home to get it. There was a crowd at the Verizon store (stupid federal holiday), so there was another half-hour wasted.

My last stop was to the post office to mail off a large envelope of thank-you cards to my co-workers. Yes, I know the post-office is closed, but this one has a nice self-serve station that stays open all the time. Apparently, I'm not the only one who appreciates this service, because I had to wait behind four other people to use it. I finally got home around 1:30 and promptly fell asleep.

At least I made a good chunk of the day go by without thinking of tomorrow. But, now it's on my mind again. I think I'll go finish cleaning the kitchen!

My Last Day of Freedom

No! I'm not in labor!

It's so nerve wrecking know that "at this time tomorrow." Like, "at this time tomorrow they're going to be sticking me with an i.v. to get the dreaded contractions started." Good times. At least later tonight it should be, "at this time tomorrow, the worst will be over and I'll have my baby (God willing)." Now that's something to look forward to.

Today I have some errands to run and a couple things to get done around the house. I'll even make dinner (salmon and taters) for the last time for awhile. All the while trying to keep my mind off of the "this time tomorrow."

Good Morning All!

Still not in labor...haha! :P

The anniversary was nice enough. Nothing even remotely exciting, but we had a nice dinner out. Probably our last one for awhile. We didn't want to go anywhere too expensive since money's a little tight right now, so Carrabba's it was. It's cool...I love Carrabba's...plus we just happened to have received a coupon in the mail from them yesterday for a free appetizer. Score! We were both stuffed afterwards, but he took me to Friendly's late last night so I could get a sundae. What a guy. ;) And I got roses, so that was a bonus. Too bad I'll only get to enjoy them for a few days before I'm stuck in hospital land. Blah.

We also got a little more done around the house yesterday (I told you it wasn't an exciting anniversary). We finished decorating the nursery with what we had for now. I'm still not completely done, but it definitely looks cute right now. We also got the living room clean and the mirrors installed in the cars. Today I'm cooking up a storm and cleaning the kitchen. I don't feel like doing either, but it has to get done.

I was supposed to take that insurance training class tomorrow, but my darling husband didn't actually look at the class schedule...he just took his boss' word for it that the training is every Monday. Apparently, it's every Monday except for the second Monday of the month...in which case they have the training on the first Saturday instead. So, I should have taken it yesterday. Guess I'll just have to wait until after the baby. At least now I can stop by my doctor's office tomorrow to drop off the form for them to fill out so I can get my short-term disability pay from work. That's just a little important.

That's all for now. Gotta get to the kitchen or else nothing will get done. Go Ravens!

So Sleepy

I'm just about ready for bed, but I realized that I hadn't posted yet today. Can't have anyone thinking I secretly went into labor. ;) Today was busy...Val came over and we walked the entire Towson Town Center. She was determined to send me into labor....hopefully it didn't work! No babies on my anniversary! But we had fun and Jordan was hysterical...she just thought everything was amusing today (except for being woken up to get transferred into her car seat). She is just too cute! :)

After I rested up a bit, I made a shopping list and Ed and I went to the grocery store. I'm going to attempt to be productive enough this weekend to prepare some meals that I can freeze for the upcoming weeks. Good times. At least I'll get a nice dinner out tomorrow for our anniversary. :) After we got home and had a quick dinner, we caught up on some of our television shows and then Ed put together the swing. Slowly but surely it's all coming together. And now I'm going to bed.

Oops...

I think I took a couple of years off of my poor husband's life tonight. He had to umpire the late games, so after he left I decided to call my mom to see if she wanted to go get dinner. After we ate, we went back to her house and I installed her new DSL modem for her. She was still having some problems with downloading things, so I was trying to figure it out. Next thing you know, it's almost 11. I was worried that Ed might have been trying to get a hold of me, but there were no new calls on my cell phone.

When I got home, he still wasn't here, but there was a panicky message from him to the tune of "Where are you? Are you in labor? Is everything alright?" I called him back right away and he said that he had tried to call about six times and was doing about 95mph all the way home with visions of me on the floor having a baby by myself. I asked why he hadn't called my cell phone and he said he figured it was dead like it usually is. That's an oops on both of us. It's nice to feel loved and worried about though. I just hope he recovers from the near-coronary.

Will I Be Blogging From the Hospital?

Only if my sister is nice enough to bring her laptop with her when she comes to see me. Unfortunately, that won't be until I've been in labor for awhile because she has to teach a class that day and won't be there until about 2. Blogging from my phone is pretty much out because not only is my phone embarrassingly old and useless, but we also don't have an internet plan right now. We tried to get me a better phone yesterday, but if we wait until the beginning of January, we can both get new phones and save a lot more money. So, waiting it is. We're also going to upgrade our plan to include internet at that time, but it doesn't do us much good now. Maybe Val can bring her work laptop and we can both update from there. ;)

Today I'm going to try to talk myself into cleaning my bathroom and making a shopping list so we can go to the grocery store tomorrow night. Last night, while Ed was at his last night of softball, I went to the mall to get him an anniversary present. We're cheesy (like anyone didn't already know that one) and we always do the "traditional" anniversary gifts for each other. Apparently the sixth anniversary is "sugar," so candy it is. I went to Wockenfuss and had them make a nice big box with four of his favorite chocolates. Luckily they wrap too, so I'm not tempted to break into it before I give it to him! His favorites also happen to be four of my favorites...go figure. ;)

Uhhhhhh...Make That the 9th!

So I called the doctor to get the time for Monday and apparently the hospital couldn't fit me in on Monday morning, so I'm now being induced Tuesday at 8:30. Sorry Kathy, I know you'll be out of town. :( You better come see me as soon as you get home though.

Here's one for the old TMI file. The doctor must have really been digging around in there today because I've been spotting since I got home. Is that normal?

October 8th It Is

Unless she decides to come on her own before then, that is. My doctor, due to concerns about the jumpy blood pressure and the recent protein in the urine, has decided to induce me on Monday. Don't go rushing to the pool, it's now closed. ;) My sister was the only one who guessed the 8th, but she also guessed a boy, so the game is still up in the air.

I'm still 2 centimeters, but my cervix is "ready to go" and the baby has definitely dropped. I'm starting to freak out.

No More Work...

Now what the heck do I do? Okay, okay, I have plenty to do to get the house ready for the baby and the influx of visitors we will have once she get home...I just don't feel like doing any of it. Guess the nesting still hasn't kicked in, huh? At least my incredible, nesting hubby has gotten most of the house in shape. My bathroom, the living room and the kitchen are all that are left. Oh, and the sunroom, but I'm not too worried about that one until the christening party sometime in January. Plus, I want to prepare some freezable meals so that we have something decent to eat once she gets here when I'm sure I REALLY won't feel like cooking. So much to do, so little will to do it.

The breastfeeding class was good. Very informative...both Ed and I were happy we went. Although he had a mini-fit when I told him it was two and a half hours long...once we already got there. ;) He survived though and I'm pretty sure he absorbed a lot so he can help me out when I can't remember what to do. He was funny when the passed out the "babies" to practice positioning on...I'm just fumbling with the thing and he's giving me instructions. "No, not that hand...hold the shoulders with your other hand. This hand is to hold your breast. Yeah, like that." Hehehe.

I'm Done!!!

It's a little bittersweet because I'm going to miss (most of) my co-workers, but it's mostly just sweet! :) I called benefits today to make sure they got my fax with the note the other day. They did and said they're sending me a packet in the mail with information on how to enroll the baby and something my doctor needs to fill out and return. Hopefully they're not questioning my leaving early. But I always have the blood pressure thing to blame it on. They also needed me to fax a new note once they figured out I was working today since the orignial note said I was done starting today. The new note was done by the one of the office staff, not the doctor, and blamed it on my blood pressure and not just "due to pregnancy" (which is what the last note said). Whatever works.

Now I'm just running through everything in my head to make sure I didn't forget anything. Everyone was much sadder than me about this being my last day, but I assured them that they'll be seeing plenty of me. Plus, I left directions to my house for anyone who wants to come and visit us, so it's all good. I was glad I got to finally see my manager today (it's been three weeks...I was on vacation, then he was at the manager's conference in Florida, then he was on vacation last week). I got to go over things with him and was assured that I must come back as soon as possible. He also promised that he would try to keep calls to me about work stuff to a minimum. I'll believe that one when I see it. ;)

Now that I'm officially on leave, Ed wants me to try to get my insurance license before the baby is born. Yup, you read me right. Apparently his office is swamped with paperwork and other things that nobody has time to do. If I get the license, I can do a lot of it at home and take the baby to the office with me to do the rest. His boss would pay me in premiums, so it would be some extra money for us. Of course, the class I have to take is only available on Mondays...since today was out, I can't go into labor until after next Monday. Well, actually, until after I get a little studying in and pass the exam. Then she can come.

Oh wait, according to my girls (Kathy, Val and Meg), I can't have her until the 15th...that fits best into everyone's schedule. Except for my MIL, who wants her to come the weekend of the 13th because that's her weekend off. I say, she'll come when she comes and hopefully everyone can be there. I'm lucky to have friends who want to be there though, so I'm a very happy girl. I now have several volunteers to be the third person in the room while I'm pushing. I think Becky may have reconsidered not wanting to be there...she just doesn't want to have to look at my hooha. I say, who does? Certainly not me!

Now I'm off to go rest a little before our breastfeeding class tonight. I know, I know...you're totally jealous!

One More Day

Got through my horrid weekend at work...finally. Just have to go in on Monday and tie up all my loose ends and then I can go on maternity leave in peace. Yay me!

We even got some more stuff done here at home today. We put together the pack-n-play. The main part was easy, the bassinet took a second to figure out, but you needed an engineering degree to figure out the changing table part. Sheesh...took us both way too long to put that part together. It doesn't help that the instructions aren't all that clear about specifics. I had to make Ed walk away because he was getting frustrated and I figured it out. But now it's all together and it's one more thing I can check off my list.

We also packed our bag for the hospital. I have a huge purple (of course) bag that fit all my stuff, Ed's stuff and the baby's stuff. I didn't bother with a nightgown...I don't have anything appropriate and it's easier just to wear the hospital gown. I don't have any nursing bras...I'm planning on just getting one or two from the lactation store at the hospital. Mostly because I'd rather wait until I have a better idea of what size I'll need before I invest in one. For the most part, I'll probably stick to sports bras (assuming I can find some that fit) during my maternity leave. I'll need the real thing for when I go back to work though (assuming the breast feeding works out, which I hope it does). We even have a small bag packed for the labor and delivery room with things to distract us, snacks for Ed, and the small necessities for me.

Tomorrow Ed's going to install the car seat bases and then I'll finally feel comfortable about going into labor whenever. I'm still hoping to at least go until my due date, but everybody else seems to think I'm going to go early. I guess we'll see. :)

Rough Night Continues

You would think that after my rough night at work, that I would at least be able to get a decent night's sleep. Yeah, not so much. I had to get up three times to pee (it's usually only once or twice), my hips were killing me and it was a leakage night (in not just the one, but now both breasts...yeehah!). I did the pillow between the legs thing for my hips, which helped for a bit. Then that just started to cause different aches, so I tossed it on the floor. And now that I'm sleepy and grumpy, I'm off for another fun-filled day at work. Later!

Now I'm Really So Done!

What a craptastic work day. The event was a fiasco...the author was over an hour late and the crowd was pitiful. Really not good for my stress level and blood pressure. But at least it's over now. I just have to get through tomorrow and Monday and then I'm home free! Woohoo!

Ugh, to make matter worse, I wound up on my feet way more than I wanted tonight. I think they may actually be swollen for the first time this pregnancy. Darn that husband of mine for umpiring the late games today. :( I could use a foot massage.

I think the baby might be sitting lower all of a sudden. All I know is that I'm feeling a lot of discomfort a lot lower then usual. Last night was terrible. When I was on my side, I felt okay, but when I tried to roll over to the other side, it hurt like hell (the rolling process, not being on the other side). Especially when my back was to the mattress. Blah.

I'm So Done...

Only three more days of work before I'm finished for a nice, long time. I called the benefits department today and they had me fax over the note and will take care of everything for me. :) The lady I talked to was very nice and made sure I understood all my benefits, which I made sure I did the day I found out I was pregnant. Unfortunately, the next two days of work are going to suck. I have a biggish event tomorrow that I'm scared to death nobody will show up for. And Saturday I have a bookfair with a costumed character visit AND a booksigning. Monday I'm basically going in for the manager's meeting, to actually talk to my boss for the first time in three weeks and to make sure all my loose ends are tied up so I can have a peaceful maternity leave (at least as far as work goes).

Today Carrie and I (and a select few of our co-workers) indulged in my beloved Chinese buffet one last time before my leave starts. Yum! Good thing Ed umpires tonight so I'm not expected to provide dinner, cause I'm still stuffed. And I received not one, but two homemade blankets from two co-workers today. That brings my homemade blanket total up to 4. I appreciate every one of them, I just have to make sure I use them all! I have baby blankets out the wazoo. I do have to say that the one my MIL made is the prettiest. That one has a permanent home over the crib rail. Plus it matches the bedding perfectly.

This weekend our big projects (besides my having to work Saturday and go to a shower on Sunday) are to close the swimming pool, get the car seat bases into the cars and pack for the hospital. I would appreciate the usual feedback about what to pack. Comment away!

I'm at a 2!

Moving right along...woohoo! My doctor told me to feel free to go into labor at any time, but I still need a week or two. But she'll come when she's good and ready. He also wrote me my magic "get out of work" note! Score! Monday will be my last day at the store...and I couldn't be happier. It's definitely a good thing since my blood pressure was a little high again today. As usual, it went down when they had me on my side, but I'd rather not take chances with work stressing me out. Now I'm off to get my milkshake and to watch my new favorite movie at my sister's.

20 Days to Go!

Or thereabouts. I'm definitely starting to feel like my time to get ready is growing short. I'm off today (yes...that means I have to work on Saturday...blah) so right now I'm putting off getting into the shower to get ready for my doctor's appointment. At least I'm not as anxious about the internal this time since I now know what to expect. It's the "not knowing" that's the killer. I had to wake up earlier than I wanted (not that I was sleeping well anyway) to drop something off at 9 and then went to the grocery store to get some sale stuff. I love sales. Now I have slightly over 2 hours until I have to leave for my appointment. Afterwards, I'll make my Chick-Fil-A run and then go to my sister's house. We're going to watch Knocked Up while Claire (hopefully) takes a nap. Fun stuff.

My Husband is Nesting

Well, at least one of us is! If it wasn't for him, the house would still be in total shambles. As it is, we've managed to deep clean the nursery, our bedroom, the upstairs and the basement (mostly). We did a lot of the basement this weekend. He's so into it that he's even moving furniture to vacuum and dust under and behind things. I don't think my downstairs sectional had been moved since we got it six years ago! That's bad, I know, but it is what it is. We still have to do our bathrooms, the living room and the kitchen. He wants to add the sunroom to the list, but we won't really be using it much for awhile. Although we will need it for the christening party, so I guess we might as well do it now.

Work was work. I'm finally making some headway as far as the maternity leave prep goes. I've been creating a very detailed list of everything that needs to be taken care of when I'm gone. I'm sure I'll still get calls, but this should take care of most questions. It's very exciting that I'm going to be missing a good chunk of the year's bookfairs...I just wish I could be gone through most of December too. I'll take missing all of November though. If I can hold her in until her due date, that will take me all the way through November. We'll see.

Being Slightly Productive

Despite the fact that I was in my nightgown until 1pm, I managed to get a couple of things done today. Ed had to go to the DC area to meet with someone who wants insurance, so while he was gone I folded and put away the last of the baby's shower gifts that I washed the other day. I unloaded and loaded the dishwasher, I made a list of the few things we still need from BRU, and clipped the coupons I needed from the last BRU catalog we got. In case you couldn't tell, Ed volunteered to take me to BRU when he gets home a little later. Yay! Between my returns (assuming they take everything back...I'm trying to return some things I'm not sure they carry), $30 in gift cards and the $20 off coupon, the stroller I want should only cost us $15 or so. The rest of the stuff I need shouldn't add up to too much, but we have a couple Visa gift cards from my mom that will more than cover it.

Yesterday I played with the infant car seat. I put it all together and figured out how to get it in and out of the base (I know, it's easy...but I worry). I even figured out how to fit the snuzzler in there. The straps don't seem like they leave much room for the baby, but I guess the baby is bigger in my mind then she will be when she gets here. Now all I have to do is get Ed to install the bases in our cars. At least I have the latch system in mine, so that will make it much easier.

After I was done playing, Ed took me to Damon's for a yummy dinner (we had a buy-one-entree-get-one-free coupon...score!). Our waitress was the biggest ditz ever. It took her ten minutes to realize that she had our table, she kept mixing up everything we ordered and she forgot to take our coupon off of the bill. She tried though...and we got two good meals for under $20 (she didn't put on the sodas). So, it was a pretty good night.

Amazing Discovery

Apparently Giant has an off-brand of diet soda called Waist Watchers (cheesy name) that is caffeine free AND is made with Splenda! It's a miracle! I think there's root beer (which I have and it's not bad...not as good as the name brands, but it's good enough), orange soda and ginger ale. Why oh why didn't I discover them earlier in the pregnancy? I know, I'm such a soda junkie!

Hi Abby!

Had the third ultrasound today and actually got a picture this time. It's a "moving profile," meaning that there was a really good profile on the monitor and as soon as she hit the print button, the baby moved her head. But you get the idea.

Everything still looks normal, so yay! I'm not telling the estimated fetal weight because I don't want to influence any pool guesses. ;)

Survivor started last night. I'm a fan of the hot gravedigger guy. Television season will be in full swing next week. :) We have way too many shows, so Ed and I refuse to start anything new. It will be hard enough to keep up once the baby gets here, so some of our old ones might have to go. If it has CSI in the title, they will be the first to depart. At least Lost and 24 don't start until the new year.

I'm at a 1!

Not that it really means all that much, but at least I know things are starting to progress down there. I did not enjoy the "procedure," but it is what it is. As Becky said, just wait till I'm in labor and they do it every hour or so. Good times. My blood pressure was pretty high today, but I knew it would be because I was so anxious about the visit. But as soon as she had me lie on my side, it went right down. He gave me another referral for an ultrasound, so that appointment is at 2 tomorrow. I have to go all by myself too, since Ed will be at a "Benefits Fair" at Hopkins for work and my mom has clients coming in all day at her work. No worries...it should be pretty much the same as last time.

And for those of you who were worried about me and my desperate milkshake situation, it all turned out fine. I had to run some errands after the doctor's appointment for work and by the time I was done, it was 11 and the perfect time for a CFA milkshake. So all is good with the world.

Preparing to be Violated

So my first cervix-check doctor's appointment is tomorrow morning. Now there's something to look forward to! It's all a means to an end though. Speaking of which, I'm 36 weeks today! Only a month to go...it's the final countdown. :)

Nothing very exciting happening today. Got some more stuff done at work...I'm getting there slowly but surely. Clipped coupons when I got home so Ed and I could go grocery shopping. Our cupboard was embarrassingly bare...as was the fridge and various cabinets. We didn't get too much because there weren't many good sales, but at least we have some food now. Baby needs to eat!

You know what I just realized? My doctor's appointment is at 9:45 tomorrow. When I get out, it will still be too early to get a Chick-Fil-A milkshake! Bloody hell! If there was ever an appointment that deserved a milkshake, tomorrow's would be it. I guess I'll just have to wait and get one from the ice cream shop on the Avenue. It's just not the same though.

Baby Pool Fun

Wow...Scary Santa is just mean. Other than that, the general consensus so far is that I'm going to have a decent-sized baby. The date, on the other hand, is all over the place. I'm still rooting for "the later the better." But as long as she gives us a week between our anniversary (October 6th) and her birthday, it's all good. I would like to reserve the right to go away for our anniversary in upcoming years.

In other news, today was back to work. Blah. I got through by reminding myself constantly, "it's just temporary, it's just temporary." I got some things done, but I have a long way to go before I'm ready for maternity leave. I just have to force myself to do it, as much as I don't feel like it. I had fun after work going through my new presents with my mom. I even got most of it either put away or put in the laundry pile. Now to return to the thank you notes. I still have some to do from my first shower...although not many. I'm getting there, slowly but surely.

Look!

I just noticed my ticker is finally on the last picture!

Crazy Weekend

Well, crazy but fun! At least yesterday and today were fun. Friday I had to go into work for a little while (yes, I'm aware I'm on vacation...at least until tomorrow). I even got around to calling about getting in with the pediatrician that was recommended to me. He's accepting new patients AND they take my insurance. Score! They had an opening later that afternoon, so I went in and met with him. He's very nice (and Polish), asked me questions about the pregnancy and told me about the practice. There are seven doctors there, so there's always someone available if you have an emergency...even on a Sunday. I'm all about that. Plus everyone there was very nice...I'm happy with my decision. Now I have to get on the ball and figure out daycare. Blah. Anyone have any ideas about that one for me?

Yesterday we went to B.F.E. for our friends' son's third birthday party. It was outside, but the day was beautiful (or at least I thought so...most everyone else was saying it was a little too cold). They had good food (as usual) and Meg, Val and Don were all there, so we had a lovely time. The only downside was that they had regular cake and ice cream cake and Ed got me the regular cake. You should never deny a pregnant woman ice cream. ;) In his defense, he didn't know there was ice cream cake until too late...oh well. Then Ed and I finished watching the childbirth DVD last night. I'm just happy that he has a better idea of what's going to happen when I go into labor. There wasn't too much that I wasn't already aware of, but I did learn a few things.

Today was my work shower at Carrie's house. Everything was wonderful...great food (yummy brunch-style goodies), lots of nice gifts and good company (it's always fun to hang out with work friends outside of work). Plus a couple of "old school" B&Ners were there, so it was fun to see and hang out with them too. My mom's going to come over tomorrow to go through all my new stuff with me. Personally, I think she just likes to look at the baby things. And, as a bonus, Carrie got me the lamp that goes with my bedding. That was one of the things I really wanted and I was excited to get it. Thanks for everything Care-Bear! :)

Unfortunately, the vacation's over and it's back to work tomorrow. The bright side is that it may only be for a couple more weeks. :) Here's hoping that the doctor comes through and writes me that magical note.

What the Heck

It may be a little early, but I decided to put up the baby pool because I know that I'd probably forget about it if I waited another week or so. At least the gender is a gimmie (I hope), but you're on your own for the rest. Perhaps I'll come up with a small prize for the winner. Good luck!

Today was an exhausting day. I got to babysit my Claire Bear while Becky went to the dentist (yuck). Becky had put her down for a nap when I got there, but she really didn't want to take it. She "cried" for what seemed like an hour before she finally fell asleep. I managed to get about 6 thank you cards written (in addition to the 20 I did yesterday) before she woke up screaming. So I ran upstairs (or at least, walked up there as fast as my pregnant body would let me) and got her. She wasn't too happy to find out that it wasn't going to be mommy coming to get her, but she calmed down after I took her downstairs and put on her Baby Einstein DVD and started playing with her. Then it was all good...until I had to change her diaper and tried to put a fresh onesie on her. She wasn't having any of that, so she got to be "naked baby" until mommy got home (fresh from getting the first half of a root canal done...again, I say "yuck.").

Now I'm just waiting for Ed to get home from umpiring so we can have dinner. I'm trying to eat well today and tomorrow since I'm going to a birthday party (for a 3-year-old) on Saturday and to my work baby shower on Sunday and I would like to enjoy the food on both those occasions. So, no milkshakes for me today. :( That's usually just my Wednesday post-doctor's-appointment treat anyway. Doesn't mean I don't really want one right now...I just have to resist. At least I have my "light" ice cream treats to tide me over...yum!

Playing the Good Wife

I let Ed talk me into accompanying him to softball tonight. It wasn't too bad...they won both games and he played okay. I have to say though, I'm not taking my daughter to any of those games until the guys in the league learn how to extend their vocabulary beyond the various forms of the f-word. At least it was nice and cool out once the sun started going down and he even took me out to dinner afterwards, so it was worth leaving the house for.

It's Wednesday, so I had my weekly doctor's appointment today. Apparently being on vacation is good for me...my blood pressure was way down. My doctor said it's better than his this week. I told him I was on vacation and he asked me how long I was planning on working. I said until either he or the baby say otherwise...but that I needed at least two more weeks. He said, "That should be fine," which leads me to believe that he may write me out of work early. That would be nice, but I definitely need to get my rear in gear and get everything together so I can leave worry-free. Let the stress begin!

Pregnancy Obsession

So my latest thing is having the need to watch every baby show that I come across on daytime television. I don't care if it's Bringing Home Baby or A Baby Story or even those horrible Discovery Health shows about the high-risk mothers. I just need to watch it all. I used to go out of my way to avoid the anything showing actual labor and delivery, but now I'm fascinated. I've slowly come to peace with the fact that I'm going to have to go through that and that it will be painful and gross. That's life.

We've also finally started to watch the DVD of the "classes." It's actually not too bad. It's basically just a recording of a woman in New York who's been doing these classes forever just giving her normal presentation. At least she's amusing and gets the information across. Much more comfortable to watch it in my family room when we have time than to have to go to classes. We've gotten through the first three "classes" already...even Ed admits that it's not too bad. Thanks again for lending me the DVD, Brooke!

So Much Stuff...So Little Room

My mom came over this morning and helped me go through all the stuff I got yesterday. And boy, is there a lot of stuff. I'm still trying to figure out where I'm going to put it all. I already cleared out the small cabinet in my bathroom for her bath stuff and medicine. I'm going to clear out space in a kitchen cabinet today for bottles and such (which will be tough, since I have A LOT of kitchen stuff). All the blankets, burp clothes, clothes, sleep sacks, etc. are in a laundry basket waiting to be taken downstairs and washed. And my living room is still full of things that I have to think of places for. My house is finally starting to feel really small. I didn't even mention all the stuff we currently have down in our family room that we inherited and don't know what to do with. ;)

There are definitely worse problems to have and I need all of the stuff. I just wish I had more space. But, we'll figure it out...we always do. :) There are at least a few things that can be stored for awhile, since she won't need them until at least 5 months or so. I'll be dropping all that off at my mom's later this week. I still have some clothes over there that I need anyway. Got to have the Ravens gear ready immediately upon birth! And there's some Halloween stuff over there too...although I got a really cute Halloween sleeper yesterday and I got her a costume off E-Bay.

She's been our "wiggle worm" for a couple of months now, so I figured the caterpillar was close enough. And it has a lot of purple. I like purple. Oh, and I got it for $8 (including shipping, which I always do since I hate to pay for shipping). Can't beat that. :)

Day of the Thousand Presents

My family and friends baby shower was today and it was absolutely lovely. Thank you, thank you, thank you to my wonderful sister, mother and friends who worked so hard on it. It was beautiful and everyone had a terrific time. :)

I got a million gifts too...and most of it was off my registry. Woohoo! I didn't get a lot of clothes, which was most definitely a good thing. But the things I did get were very cute and I'm going to hang onto them. Then my mother-in-law decided to be tricky and got us the pack-and-play off of our registry, but didn't have the store take it off. She thought I was being too nosey by checking the registry every day. I have no idea what she is talking about. ;) At least nobody else bought it (although Dave and Deb were close), so I just took it off when I got home. Along with a couple other things that weren't taken off. And there was only one repeat, so that was pretty darned good.

Here's some fun photos (including some of pregnant me...just for Nelly). :)

Actually, this is pregnant me and Meghan.

This is only a fraction of the gifts.

The beautiful favors that Val made.

Me and the girls.

Yuck

So I haven't had any leakage issues since the first time I wrote about it. Until Wednesday night anyway. Then it happened again this morning when I was lying in bed watching television. I know it's normal and natural, but it's still kind of gross. And it's weirding me out that it keeps happening on the same side. Hopefully my right side will catch up with my left by the time I start breastfeeding. And now that you know way more than you need to about my boobs, I'm going to go. ;)

I'm on Vacation!

I don't have to go back to work until a week from Monday! Yay for me! :) Of course, that meant today sucked because I had to get ready for said vacation, but now I'm off and life is good. :) If anyone wants to play (or do lunch) next week, let me know.

Go Other Birds!

Ed and I went to an Ironbirds game last night with some people from work. It was much fun. We've never been to a minor league game before and I just loved the goofiness of it all. They had people from the stands down on the field in between innings for silly contests, the mascot was chasing kids around with a water gun, there's moon bounce in the left field stands, and they throw a lot of stuff into the crowd. Ed, as usual, made me late so we missed the poetry and "shadow baseball" game before the national anthem. Gotta love it. I should get a group of my peps together next year to go to a game...our tickets were only $9.50 each and since we were with a group, we got free baseball caps. It's very kid-friendly too (obviously). Good times, I tell you!

Thank Goodness I Took Off Today

We had our hospital tour this morning and my doctor's appointment at 11 today. I'm wiped. The hospital tour was very informative...I'm glad we went. At least now Ed knows what to expect when the time comes. The hospital has definitely stepped up it's security a bit since Claire was born there last year. There's now a security/information desk as soon as you walk in through the outside entrance. Apparently visitors, in addition to giving up their ID's, now get their pictures taken and a personalized visitor's badge is issued (with said picture) that they have to display at all times. I like it...you can't be too safe now-a-days.

They've started to redo the labor and delivery rooms as well. I believe there are currently four updated rooms that you can get on a first-come-first-served basis. They're not quite as cozy and homey as the other rooms, but they're bigger and brighter with a really nice flat screen tv and a couch for dad/visitors. Personally, I'd be happy with either room....although if I'm in labor during a Raven's game, Ed's rooting for the room with the nice television. ;) Can't blame him there.

Doctor's appointment was fine. The nurse lectured me about drinking enough water...apparently my urine sample "told her" that I was a little dehydrated. I told her that we took the hospital tour earlier and I wasn't drinking so I wouldn't have to worry about having to pee while I was there. My blood pressure was a little high, but I also attribute that to being on my feet for over an hour a little earlier in the day. Plus, you have to consider my hectic weekend. It wasn't too bad though...my doctor didn't even say anything about it. Just have to keep going back every week. He got the results of the ultrasound and everything was normal there. And I finally have to suffer the internal exam in two weeks. Blah.

Yesterday I found out that the pediatrician I wanted (the one Claire goes to) no longer accepts patients with my insurance. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Now I have to find another one at random. Anyone in my area have a good one they'd like to recommend?

********UPDATED*********
I found two possible pediatricians, but I can't find any information on either one online. Any ideas?

Party Time

After a day of cooking, I get to enjoy a party at a house other than mine. Woohoo! I didn't even do that much yesterday when you compare it to what I would have done if the party was here and I was still exhausted. Although Becky's new kitchen is very nice to cook in. Lots and lots of counter space...especially in comparison to her last house. And she has a convection oven. I can't even begin to describe how jealous I am of that. I just have to look through her manual to figure out how to use that feature. Lucky for her it's not a double-decker convection oven or I'd be moving in! ;)

Gotta go get ready to leave. We're bringing our serving tables and some folding chairs. We already packed for the eastern shore, so as soon as we get home from Becky's, we're leaving for there. Good times.