Peek-A-Not

Oh my...where does the time go? We have been very bad bloggers lately. We spent this past weekend in Orlando watching Ali's nephew play in his All-stars baseball tournament. I needed a couple of cocktails after the 1st night of 12-13yo male testerone...OMG! We did manage to sneak off into two baby stores and register. I love B*b*ies- R -Us! We bought the baby's bedding, so now I really need to finish the nursery. I am getting very excited and nervous too. I get scared the most about being able to afford a child and if I will be a good parent. I'm sure that's all normal.?.



We leave next week for KY for a visit with my family. I can't wait. We haven't been home in 2 years and I miss them. We have a baby shower scheduled the 11th and our family reunion on the 12th. There are 85 of us cousins and I hope to see everyone at the picnic. We are in search of a new camera, since ours took a dive , so I will be sure to take some pics.



I will also update you with a new ultrasound pic taken a week ago. He/she is so stinkin cute. The ultrasound lady was so nice and switched over to 4D for us and gave us pictures...so very REAL.....I just get all giddy inside! Our little pea pod had it's legs crossed and heels tucked into his/her crotch...so we couldn't see the sex even if we wanted to....oh the suspense of it all!!!!!

Dreams etc..

All I'm saying is you gotta love the sex dreams when your pregnant. Without getting too detailed :-) I am always amazed at how vivid they are. Too bad it's Monday and when I woke up, La had already gone to work. It might have been for the best... she may have been overtaken and overwhelmed with ALL I was feeling :-)

24 weeks tomorrow! It is so hard to believe... 6 whole months! I was thinking this morning our baby weighs about 1.5lbs. That is so big compared to that little peanut he/she (better know as shim or pea pod) used to be.

Pregnancy so far... Overall, very enjoyable. My not so pleasant has mostly been GI related. Tons of heartburn with anything I eat or even drink sometimes, feeling full but not satisfied, gnawing nausea at times. The heartburn really has been the most unsuspected. Of course, I had heard of moms complaining of this but I always thought it would be a here and there kind of thing and more so at the end. For me it was my first symptom and has hung around everyday since then. The other unsuspected thing is this pounding heartbeat. Sounds strange but being aware, hearing my heartbeat in my ears or just feeling that pound most of the day- I was not expecting that.

The parts I love which far outweigh the GI discomfort are: feeling the baby move...all the time, seeing my body change, my boobs getting veiny and nipples darker, my belly growing. Thinking about pea pod, talking and singing to him/her. Being aware of our togetherness as often as I can. Daydreaming about when pea pod is here. All these things are the best, best parts!

This week we are signing up for childbirth classes, working on the nursery, working on the registry, cleaning out another closet. I have been on a 'get rid of stuff' binge which for me who likes to keep everything is a big deal. But these days I am wanting minimal stuff. I was on my way to getting rid of all but 5 pairs of underwear, 5shirts, 5bottoms etc when La stopped me. She said we would just have to go out and buy more.. whatever... she might have been right. I still might get rid of some more clothes today... I might like to have to replace them... if I h-a-d to.



I just ordered a breast pump. The M.ed.ela Pu.mp in S.tyle. Luckily we get them at cost at the hospital and can payroll deduct. This brand is the most popular with the moms I talked to.

Cloth Diapers 101

Ali and I attended a cloth diaper class the other night. We left there with a lot of useful information on over 10 or so different brands and styles. I personally like an all in one type. I think Ali is leaning the more old school route with the cloth diaper and then a cover..also known as t*h*irsties. Has anyone used any of these ie. fuzzy bunz , g diapers, bum genius or any other brand that you may have liked. Let us know what ya think.

Go give a BIG FAT CONGRATS TO http://amyandmelissa.blogspot.com/

Everything Must Go

I think Ali is nesting. I came home from work today to find my dear wife with her hair clipped back, t-shirt tight , looking like a halter top and mismatched pj bottoms. The house was smelling like a whole bottle of Mr. Cl*e*an had been poured thru out. I found trash bags strung all over, and if it wasn't looking like it could be trash last month, everything is being thrown away today. It really is a good feeling to go through all this junk...and boy can we accumulate stuff. So, everything must go!!!!!

****DON'T FORGET TO VOTE>>>>>>OVER THERE... THE BABY POOL>>>>>>>>>*******

Fo Real...

La felt the baby move for real this morning. She thought she had a couple weeks ago but figured out today that she really had. Our pea pod moves around all the time. I love it! We put up a little guessing game for the date/size etc... so take a guess.

We are reading a few childbirth books--- I.na Mae Gaskin's Guide. The Br.adley Method. Hyp.nobirthing. I am thinking about taking the hypnobirthing class. Anybody have any experience with hypnobirthing? I have not had many patients use it but I like the philosophy the best so far. La said she is fine with hypno 'as long as we can be in a group class. I don't want it to be just us- up in some crunch bugs house with incense lit'. I don't know what to do with her sometimes. I think the only class that will work with our schedule will be private. Better start burning incense at home now to get her used to it :-)

Belly shot progression... Note for next pregnancy. Use the same or similiar outfit each time.

Grateful

19 week belly shot

We are back from a wonderful vacation! We talked and laughed and read and ate and walked (well, me just a little) and basked in the sun and cool breeze. La gave me a soft pink shirt on Mother's Day with the word mom on it. It was so sweet! I love it and I love you, La.

This morning I woke up in my soft bed to feeling our sweet baby moving around inside me.
Life is good... I am very grateful! :-)

Blame it on the fibroid

Just got home from the MFM doctor. It appears the culprit is Ali's fibroid. Before pregnancy it was 2cm x 3cm and it is now 5cm x 6cm, about the size of the baby's head. It is positioned between the back of the cervix and the rectum. The good thing about that is that it prevents in most cases the cervix from opening because in a way it blocks it and the bad part is the discomfort of having this thing push on her rectum and all the nerve fibers that run along the sacrum. That would explain Ali's description of feeling like there is a "knife in her butt". So they will watch the growth of the fibroid... hopefully the baby grows faster than the fibroid and moves out of the way. The doc said in 1% or less of these cases the fibroid grows and doesn't move out of the way and obstructs a term vaginal delivery. We are not even worrying about that... we'll just roll with whatever. For the discomfort, Ali can use M.ot.rin as needed and lots of hand and knees positioning to get the 'knife out of her butt'.

For the fun part... our baby looks beautiful! He or she was rolling around, doing flips, swallowing fluid, sucking his/her fist. Heart and brain looks wonderful. Cord, limbs, nuchal fold -- all normal. Weighs 8oz.

Thank you all for your kind words and thoughts. We so appreciate them!

Contractions

The contractions started around 5pm every 4-5minutes. We went to triage and saw Dr.G who prescribed terb and vi.sta.ril. Ali is still contracting and has cramping. Dr. G will call us in the morning to have us go for our formal ultrasound tomorrow instead of next Wed. No vag check tonight...she didn't want to irritate things more...FHR 160's..will update when I know more.

Scared...Need To Breathe...Triage *Updated*

Ali has been cramping all night long. She describes them as bad period cramps.....We are worried sick. Waiting on a call from the Dr. to tell us what to do. Dear God....I pray and pray and pray.

**UPDATE**

Ali was seen yesterday by Dr. G who said cervix was nice and closed and she was measuring between 18-20 weeks...listened to the baby's heartbeat..all was good and very active. So glad that happened yesterday, because it did help to ease some(not all) fears today. Ali had such horrible cramping all night...she couldn't get rest and then she did she dreamed her water broke...great. We called the Dr. this am and since she was just seen yesterday she prescribed bed rest and plenty of fluids and if cramping got worse, call, and she would be seen. Cramps are still there, not worse, just there. Ali has felt the baby move(thank God) so we feel good about that. We did get in touch with the midwife...she told her to drink plenty of cranberry juice and if not better to come in tomorrow for a urine sample. She is resting.....Thank you for all your words of support. We have our formal ultrasound next Wed and no peeking for parts......KJ :)

Going On 18 Weeks And Off For Our Babymoon

We are back from my parents and miss them already. I can't believe we won't see them again til Oct. They are headed up North to see their other grand kids. I told my brother he is gonna have to share my mom soon, so get in all the time he needs now. Granted he has 2 sets of twins 11 months apart (ages 6 and 7) and we will only have one. I just wanted to prepare him now.

We are 18 weeks tomorrow. Wow...time really flies! We leave again for the beach to celebrate our baby moon. We are going with our good friends S+K, who before we left for my parents had us over for dinner, and as we were greeted at their front door, they wanted us to know that they are not crazy...and that they are not planning on taking our baby, but rather love us and this baby very much...so we walk in and this is what greeted us..

There's more..............

and more......... I couldn't fit it all in.

S has offered to take care of our new little one on the one day a week we will need childcare. They have been collecting these things for the past couple years so that we can just drop off the baby and some breast milk and they have everything else... and I mean they have everything else. We said we could just move in with them and be set. The clothes in the closet are all labeled with the state and the year they were purchased. We are so blessed with wonderful friends. Now I am afraid we are going to need to find new peeps to hang out with because these people are obviously into babysitting :-)

Happy Birthday Mom!

We're here in Central Florida visiting my parents. They live in a very active retirement community, that we joke, it's D.isn.ey for 55y.o. and older. I hope I get around as great as they do when I'm their age. We have such a great time here and we can't wait til we can bring our little boo here too.



So Happy"69th" Birthday Mom and soon to be Grandmaw (again)!

Here we are heading to the pool

If You Put Your Cold Hand There... I'm Gonna....

I placed my cold hand on Ali's belly Sunday morning and I felt a kick. It was amazing! We had our 16 week appt last Friday and heard the heartbeat with a Doppler. The midwife said "he" is very active(150) and was kicking all around, obviously does not like anything cold. Our friend C gave us a medical Doppler to use and we have played with it non stop. This is really real!!!! and I have had some moments of freak out! Wheewww like just now. Ok, it's gonna be ok...right?

Baby Got Bump

We have been bad belly photographers. Ali is 16 weeks today and I think she is finally starting to show...how exciting!

To Snoogle...Or Not To Snoogle?

That's this weeks question. Ali is having trouble getting comfortable at night. I already seem to think we need to invest in a king size bed...since we have introduced more pillows. So if you have a snoogle..let us know what you think or any other comfortable device you might recommend.

Our first purchase over $10

Thank you everyone for your advice... it made me feel less 'behind'. I found the checklist online... love that... and we had actually already done everything we were 'supposed to' by now, except for three things. A friend told us about this jogger stroller she saw at a local consignment shop so we went by to check it out. It's in great shape and was only $50... so we bought it. Very exciting!!

La started on the nursery mural tonight...looking good :-)...we will post when it is finished

What to do when?

I am feeling like I have no idea what to do first and when for planning for our baby's arrival. It feels like planning a wedding but without that book that says 8 months before you do this, 6 months before you do that, 5 months before... and so forth. Is there a book like that for this? When do we sign up for birth classes? I don't even know where they are! What books must I be reading? When do we register? Which car seat do we choose? Wash the baby clothes? What all needs to be done? What am I missing? I am feeling clueless today, not knowing where to start.

Birth Place

In the comments on the last post, Mimi asked if we were going to deliver at my hospital.

I have toyed with the idea of home birth. In fact, my colleagues hear me say quite often 'you k-n-o-w the hospital is no place to have a baby'... half joking, but half not. But getting La to agree to that is a battle I am not up for and I think both people really have to be on board for a good home birth, fear is a powerful thing and the energy needs to be right. So the next best place for us is my 'work home'. And while we tend to be very possessive of each other in the sense we all want to take care of each other, we are also very respectful, so it will work out fine to have all my work peeps within walking distance. I work with some really good people. You know that expression this person 'is good people'... that is the majority of my co-workers. We say all the time... we stay here mostly because we genuinely like each other and like spending our days together.
So, my goal is to labor at home as long as possible and then go up there for the birth. Our doula is a midwife I used to work with, but retired last winter for a life with more sleep and to pursue her massage therapy career. I am so happy she agreed to help us. She has an amazing spirit and her presence will make me feel safe, encouraged and cared for.

Hatched By 2 Chicks

Ali is 14 weeks today...yipppeeee... We spent our weekend at gay pride. It was so much fun to see old friends and ones that have had a baby. Ali wore a maternity shirt...not that she's showing much, but it seems to be comfortable...and we're all about comfort. After pride we stopped by C & A's house to pick up a gift her and her mom bought for us...it is so damn cute....I took a pic to show it off and that's what our baby will wear to gay pride next year.

In baby news...We are trying to figure out if we will do the testing for Downs and spina bifida? I hear there are a lot of false positives? I guess we both feel like if it's not going to change our minds, why take the test? Ali also plans on a natural child birth...you go girl...(I am woman..hear me roar)...so that brings up our hiring a Douala. I think it is totally a great idea. I am such a fix it kinda person, so I see this as someone really helping her do this! I think I may need the epidural or some kind of meds. I am still in ahhhh...I just love this baby!

Read All About It **updated**

Ali was at work yesterday when her and her co-worker S decided to do an us scan. This is Ali's way of telling her co-workers who don't know yet. They placed our cutie patootie(one that doesn't look like a puppy dog running up the hill...refer to 1st us scan) up at work today on a sign in the most "used" bathroom for "employees only". They used one of the us pics and the sign that read "Can you guess who my mommy is?" So far no one has guessed Ali...hee hee. I would love to be a fly on the wall..... Her one co-worker V...came out of the bathroom and said; wait a minute...who the hell is this...you have to know V, she is a true redneck! I love it!

**update**

The plot thickens... what is the most natural next step for a bunch of L&D nurses to do with a guessing game? Yep, you guessed it... turn it into a gambling ring on Fac*e*book. They have about $70 in the pot so far. Ha... loving it!

Friday Night's

Ali and I went over to a friends house to tell her our news and visit with her and her son J. He was born Oct 2008. He is 5mo's old and is the cutest, hefty fella. I got to see what it feels like(for a couple hours) to be a parent. I fed him and bathed him and Ali put him to sleep. It was so nice to visit with her and her husband. We only planned on staying for a little bit, but I think C really enjoyed the company and help.

We left C and A's and decided to go by Bo*ders and pick out a baby name book. There are many! We have a short list of names we like. It's hard to name someone else! We also browsed through parenting magazines and have wanted to purchase a co-sleeper. Anyone have one and can give us some advice?

Start Your Engines....Heartbeat 160

So today was our 12 week check-up. We didn't get to see our favorite midwife, she is sick. Ali was bummed, but all went well. C put the Doppler to her belly....and there it was swooosh....swoosh....swoosh... a whopping 160. Hallelujah! I of course cried....and busted out we did it! Ali lost 3 pounds...is still sick, but thinks it's getting better, still looks like Casper the ghost, but had a little pink ..thanks to the pimple coming up by her nose :) Ahhhh those hormones!

Our next appt is April 24th... And we're not finding out the sex.....Ohhhh the excitement of it all!!!!

Prayers For Grandpa

Ali's dad has not been feeling well for a long time and thought he might of had a stroke. The MRI results are back, seems to have a mass in his facial region(sinus cavity or between his ear). They're not quite sure exactly where? CT scan scheduled for next week. A hard part to this will be her travels to S. Florida this weekend to visit. Her family is very accepting of me, especially her dad, mom not so much with our relationship, but figures I've been here for 10 years...not going anywhere. Don't get me wrong she shows me affection, but we just don't talk about us. We don't change things when she comes to visit, and she has peeked into the nursery. She has asked Ali's sister, "Is your sister planning on having a baby"? K just dodged that question. So here's the tricker. Ali has gotten sick just about everyday and is extremely tired, so being at her parents this weekend shouldn't be any different? Her curious george mom will probably suspect "something", but Ali is not in a place to tell her yet. So rewind 10 years when Ali came out to her mom, well, that was a disaster....her mom is a devout Baptist and was crushed(I'm going litely by that phrase) , hence our reason for not telling her quite yet. I just don't want any added stress for her right now...we are finally 11 weeks and counting up to get over the hurdle. So, please pray for Ali's dad and for her that this trip will be uneventful...for now.


***UPDATE****
CT results came back today. Dr said it doesn't look good(what does that mean?) And needs to see ENT ASAP...well to them that's tomorrow(Wed)

What's new on the homefront

Well, we hit 10 weeks. Ali is still sick and very tired and her boobs, well, let's just say their ATOMIC! I told her recently that the pregnancy aliens came and took my wife away. She is so quiet and just doesn't seem to be herself lately. I miss her a lot! Her quietness I guess is attributed to the excess saliva and just feeling so nauseous. I guess this will get better? Our next Drs appt is on the 26th...prayers that we continue to hear a heartbeat and watch a healthy baby grow.

To all those on the TCC and TWW train...we pray and think of you often.

Oh, and she proceeds to tell me about this dream she had the other night....she dreamed the baby was born a girl with boy parts.....what's the signifigance of that dream? Who knows...I just laughed.

Ohhhhhh...9 weeks!

We are 9 weeks today. I finally took a belly shot of Ali's weeee little bump. This is a scarey week for us.. This is the week when our last baby stopped growing. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

We just LOVE this BABY!!!!!!!!!!

~La

Good Night...Sleep Tight..Work In Progress

This was our accomplishment this weekend. Ali's sister was kind enough to give us this crib set that her boys rarely slept in. She has been saving it for 12 years now and it's in great condition! Thanks Aunt K! There's more to do, but just wanted to get a head start...it feels good. More pictures to follow one day :)